WorldWideScience

Sample records for human behavior patterns

  1. T-pattern analysis for the study of temporal structure of animal and human behavior: a comprehensive review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casarrubea, M; Jonsson, G K; Faulisi, F; Sorbera, F; Di Giovanni, G; Benigno, A; Crescimanno, G; Magnusson, M S

    2015-01-15

    A basic tenet in the realm of modern behavioral sciences is that behavior consists of patterns in time. For this reason, investigations of behavior deal with sequences that are not easily perceivable by the unaided observer. This problem calls for improved means of detection, data handling and analysis. This review focuses on the analysis of the temporal structure of behavior carried out by means of a multivariate approach known as T-pattern analysis. Using this technique, recurring sequences of behavioral events, usually hard to detect, can be unveiled and carefully described. T-pattern analysis has been successfully applied in the study of various aspects of human or animal behavior such as behavioral modifications in neuro-psychiatric diseases, route-tracing stereotypy in mice, interaction between human subjects and animal or artificial agents, hormonal-behavioral interactions, patterns of behavior associated with emesis and, in our laboratories, exploration and anxiety-related behaviors in rodents. After describing the theory and concepts of T-pattern analysis, this review will focus on the application of the analysis to the study of the temporal characteristics of behavior in different species from rodents to human beings. This work could represent a useful background for researchers who intend to employ such a refined multivariate approach to the study of behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Challenges in human behavior understanding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salah, A.A.; Gevers, T.; Sebe, N.; Vinciarelli, A.

    2010-01-01

    Recent advances in pattern recognition has allowed computer scientists and psychologists to jointly address automatic analysis of of human behavior via computers. The Workshop on Human Behavior Understanding at the International Conference on Pattern Recognition explores a number of different

  3. Laban Movement Analysis towards Behavior Patterns

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    Santos, Luís; Dias, Jorge

    This work presents a study about the use of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) as a robust tool to describe human basic behavior patterns, to be applied in human-machine interaction. LMA is a language used to describe and annotate dancing movements and is divided in components [1]: Body, Space, Shape and Effort. Despite its general framework is widely used in physical and mental therapy [2], it has found little application in the engineering domain. Rett J. [3] proposed to implement LMA using Bayesian Networks. However LMA component models have not yet been fully implemented. A study on how to approach behavior using LMA is presented. Behavior is a complex feature and movement chain, but we believe that most basic behavior primitives can be discretized in simple features. Correctly identifying Laban parameters and the movements the authors feel that good patterns can be found within a specific set of basic behavior semantics.

  4. Non-Negative Tensor Factorization for Human Behavioral Pattern Mining in Online Games

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    Anna Sapienza

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Multiplayer online battle arena is a genre of online games that has become extremely popular. Due to their success, these games also drew the attention of our research community, because they provide a wealth of information about human online interactions and behaviors. A crucial problem is the extraction of activity patterns that characterize this type of data, in an interpretable way. Here, we leverage the Non-negative Tensor Factorization to detect hidden correlated behaviors of playing in a well-known game: League of Legends. To this aim, we collect the entire gaming history of a group of about 1000 players, which accounts for roughly 100K matches. By applying our framework we are able to separate players into different groups. We show that each group exhibits similar features and playing strategies, as well as similar temporal trajectories, i.e., behavioral progressions over the course of their gaming history. We surprisingly discover that playing strategies are stable over time and we provide an explanation for this observation.

  5. Introduction of the human AVPR1A gene substantially alters brain receptor expression patterns and enhances aspects of social behavior in transgenic mice

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    Rhonda Charles

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Central arginine vasopressin receptor 1A (AVPR1A modulates a wide range of behaviors, including stress management and territorial aggression, as well as social bonding and recognition. Inter- and intra-species variations in the expression pattern of AVPR1A in the brain and downstream differential behavioral phenotypes have been attributed to differences in the non-coding regions of the AVPR1A gene, including polymorphic elements within upstream regulatory areas. Gene association studies have suggested a link between AVPR1A polymorphisms and autism, and AVPR1A has emerged as a potential pharmacological target for treatment of social cognitive impairments and mood and anxiety disorders. To further investigate the genetic mechanism giving rise to species differences in AVPR1A expression patterns and associated social behaviors, and to create a preclinical mouse model useful for screening drugs targeting AVPR1A, we engineered and extensively characterized bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC transgenic mice harboring the entire human AVPR1A locus with the surrounding regulatory elements. Compared with wild-type animals, the humanized mice displayed a more widely distributed ligand-AVPR1A binding pattern, which overlapped with that of primates. Furthermore, humanized AVPR1A mice displayed increased reciprocal social interactions compared with wild-type animals, but no differences in social approach and preference for social novelty were observed. Aspects of learning and memory, specifically novel object recognition and spatial relocation recognition, were unaffected. The biological alterations in humanized AVPR1A mice resulted in the rescue of the prepulse inhibition impairments that were observed in knockout mice, indicating conserved functionality. Although further behavioral paradigms and additional cohorts need to be examined in humanized AVPR1A mice, the results demonstrate that species-specific variations in the genomic content of regulatory

  6. Rhythm Patterns Interaction - Synchronization Behavior for Human-Robot Joint Action

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    Mörtl, Alexander; Lorenz, Tamara; Hirche, Sandra

    2014-01-01

    Interactive behavior among humans is governed by the dynamics of movement synchronization in a variety of repetitive tasks. This requires the interaction partners to perform for example rhythmic limb swinging or even goal-directed arm movements. Inspired by that essential feature of human interaction, we present a novel concept and design methodology to synthesize goal-directed synchronization behavior for robotic agents in repetitive joint action tasks. The agents’ tasks are described by closed movement trajectories and interpreted as limit cycles, for which instantaneous phase variables are derived based on oscillator theory. Events segmenting the trajectories into multiple primitives are introduced as anchoring points for enhanced synchronization modes. Utilizing both continuous phases and discrete events in a unifying view, we design a continuous dynamical process synchronizing the derived modes. Inverse to the derivation of phases, we also address the generation of goal-directed movements from the behavioral dynamics. The developed concept is implemented to an anthropomorphic robot. For evaluation of the concept an experiment is designed and conducted in which the robot performs a prototypical pick-and-place task jointly with human partners. The effectiveness of the designed behavior is successfully evidenced by objective measures of phase and event synchronization. Feedback gathered from the participants of our exploratory study suggests a subjectively pleasant sense of interaction created by the interactive behavior. The results highlight potential applications of the synchronization concept both in motor coordination among robotic agents and in enhanced social interaction between humanoid agents and humans. PMID:24752212

  7. Patterns of behavior in an online community

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    Gallos, Lazaros; Rybski, Diego; Liljeros, Fredrik; Havlin, Shlomo; Makse, Hernan

    2009-03-01

    Human behavior can be seen as the expression of inherent motives. Despite the diverse range of these motives, social theorists have long identified a small number of distinct underlying mechanisms, where, consciously or unconsciously, every individual tries to exploit a different aspect of social interactions and/or optimize the efficiency of certain procedures for the benefit of the society or for personal gain. Here we show that users in an online community follow certain behavioral patterns and the choice of their favorite members is far from a random process. More importantly, these patterns are systematically modified with time as a member becomes more involved in such a community. We are able to identify a crossover in the average behavior of the members when their favorites list exceeds roughly 10 favorites. Additionally, this process allows us to identify individuals with a markedly different behavior than the average person. This study can help us understand the process of establishing friendships and the motives behind this process.

  8. Comparison of Object Recognition Behavior in Human and Monkey

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    Rajalingham, Rishi; Schmidt, Kailyn

    2015-01-01

    Although the rhesus monkey is used widely as an animal model of human visual processing, it is not known whether invariant visual object recognition behavior is quantitatively comparable across monkeys and humans. To address this question, we systematically compared the core object recognition behavior of two monkeys with that of human subjects. To test true object recognition behavior (rather than image matching), we generated several thousand naturalistic synthetic images of 24 basic-level objects with high variation in viewing parameters and image background. Monkeys were trained to perform binary object recognition tasks on a match-to-sample paradigm. Data from 605 human subjects performing the same tasks on Mechanical Turk were aggregated to characterize “pooled human” object recognition behavior, as well as 33 separate Mechanical Turk subjects to characterize individual human subject behavior. Our results show that monkeys learn each new object in a few days, after which they not only match mean human performance but show a pattern of object confusion that is highly correlated with pooled human confusion patterns and is statistically indistinguishable from individual human subjects. Importantly, this shared human and monkey pattern of 3D object confusion is not shared with low-level visual representations (pixels, V1+; models of the retina and primary visual cortex) but is shared with a state-of-the-art computer vision feature representation. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that rhesus monkeys and humans share a common neural shape representation that directly supports object perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT To date, several mammalian species have shown promise as animal models for studying the neural mechanisms underlying high-level visual processing in humans. In light of this diversity, making tight comparisons between nonhuman and human primates is particularly critical in determining the best use of nonhuman primates to

  9. INTER-RATER RELIABILITY FOR MOVEMENT PATTERN ANALYSIS (MPA: MEASURING PATTERNING OF BEHAVIORS VERSUS DISCRETE BEHAVIOR COUNTS AS INDICATORS OF DECISION-MAKING STYLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brenda L Connors

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The unique yield of collecting observational data on human movement has received increasing attention in a number of domains, including the study of decision-making style. As such, interest has grown in the nuances of core methodological issues, including the best ways of assessing inter-rater reliability. In this paper we focus on one key topic – the distinction between establishing reliability for the patterning of behaviors as opposed to the computation of raw counts – and suggest that reliability for each be compared empirically rather than determined a priori. We illustrate by assessing inter-rater reliability for key outcome measures derived from Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA, an observational methodology that records body movements as indicators of decision-making style with demonstrated predictive validity. While reliability ranged from moderate to good for raw counts of behaviors reflecting each of two Overall Factors generated within MPA (Assertion and Perspective, inter-rater reliability for patterning (proportional indicators of each factor was significantly higher and excellent (ICC = .89. Furthermore, patterning, as compared to raw counts, provided better prediction of observable decision-making process assessed in the laboratory. These analyses support the utility of using an empirical approach to inform the consideration of measuring discrete behavioral counts versus patterning of behaviors when determining inter-rater reliability of observable behavior. They also speak to the substantial reliability that may be achieved via application of theoretically grounded observational systems such as MPA that reveal thinking and action motivations via visible movement patterns.

  10. Behavioral states may be associated with distinct spatial patterns in electrocorticogram.

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    Panagiotides, Heracles; Freeman, Walter J; Holmes, Mark D; Pantazis, Dimitrios

    2011-03-01

    To determine if behavioral states are associated with unique spatial electrocorticographic (ECoG) patterns, we obtained recordings with a microgrid electrode array applied to the cortical surface of a human subject. The array was constructed with the intent of extracting maximal spatial information by optimizing interelectrode distances. A 34-year-old patient with intractable epilepsy underwent intracranial ECoG monitoring after standard methods failed to reveal localization of seizures. During the 8-day period of invasive recording, in addition to standard clinical electrodes a square 1 × 1 cm microgrid array with 64 electrodes (1.25 mm separation) was placed on the right inferior temporal gyrus. Careful review of video recordings identified four extended naturalistic behaviors: reading, conversing on the telephone, looking at photographs, and face-to-face interactions. ECoG activity recorded with the microgrid that corresponded to these behaviors was collected and ECoG spatial patterns were analyzed. During periods of ECoG selected for analysis, no electrographic seizures or epileptiform patterns were present. Moments of maximal spatial variance are shown to cluster by behavior. Comparisons between conditions using a permutation test reveal significantly different spatial patterns for each behavior. We conclude that ECoG recordings obtained on the cortical surface with optimal high spatial frequency resolution reveal distinct local spatial patterns that reflect different behavioral states, and we predict that similar patterns will be found in many if not most cortical areas on which a microgrid is placed.

  11. [Diversity and development of positional behavior in non-human primates].

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    Zhang, Jing; Qi, Xiao-Guang; Zhang, Kan; Zhang, Pei; Guo, Song-Tao; Wei, Wei; Li, Bao-Guo

    2012-10-01

    In long-term evolution, wildlife in general and primates in particular have formed specific patterns of behavior to adapt to a diverse variety of habitat environments. Current research on positional behavior in non-human primates has been found to explain a great deal about primate adaptability diversification, ecology, anatomy and evolution. Here, we summarize the noted classifications and differences in seasonal, site-specific and sex-age positional behaviors while also reviewing the development and status of non-human primate positional behavior research. This review is intended to provide reference for the future research of non-human primates and aid in further research on behavioral ecology of primates.

  12. Effect of changes in human ecology and behavior on patterns of sexually transmitted diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus infection.

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    Wasserheit, J N

    1994-01-01

    The last 20 years have witnessed six striking changes in patterns of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs): emergence of new STD organisms and etiologies, reemergence of old STDs, shifts in the populations in which STDs are concentrated, shifts in the etiological spectra of STD syndromes, alterations in the incidence of STD complications, and increases in antimicrobial resistance. For example, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) emerged to devastate the United States with a fatal pandemic involving at least 1 million people. The incidence of syphilis rose progressively after 1956 to reach a 40-year peak by 1990. In both cases, disease patterns shifted from homosexual men to include minority heterosexuals. Over the last decade, gonorrhea became increasingly concentrated among adolescents, and several new types of antimicrobial resistance appeared. Three interrelated types of environments affect STD patterns. The microbiologic, hormonal, and immunologic microenvironments most directly influence susceptibility, infectiousness, and development of sequelae. These microenvironments are shaped, in part, by the personal environments created by an individual's sexual, substance-use, and health-related behaviors. The personal environments are also important determinants of acquisition of infection and development of sequelae but, in addition, they mediate risk of exposure to infection. These are, therefore, the environments that most directly affect changing disease patterns. Finally, individuals' personal environments are, in turn, molded by powerful macroenvironmental forces, including socioeconomic, demographic, geographic, political, epidemiologic, and technological factors. Over the past 20 years, the profound changes that have occurred in many aspects of the personal environment and the macroenvironment have been reflected in new STD patterns. PMID:8146135

  13. Understanding Spatiotemporal Patterns of Human Convergence and Divergence Using Mobile Phone Location Data

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    Xiping Yang

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Investigating human mobility patterns can help researchers and agencies understand the driving forces of human movement, with potential benefits for urban planning and traffic management. Recent advances in location-aware technologies have provided many new data sources (e.g., mobile phone and social media data for studying human space-time behavioral regularity. Although existing studies have utilized these new datasets to characterize human mobility patterns from various aspects, such as predicting human mobility and monitoring urban dynamics, few studies have focused on human convergence and divergence patterns within a city. This study aims to explore human spatial convergence and divergence and their evolutions over time using large-scale mobile phone location data. Using a dataset from Shenzhen, China, we developed a method to identify spatiotemporal patterns of human convergence and divergence. Eight distinct patterns were extracted, and the spatial distributions of these patterns are discussed in the context of urban functional regions. Thus, this study investigates urban human convergence and divergence patterns and their relationships with the urban functional environment, which is helpful for urban policy development, urban planning and traffic management.

  14. Seasonality patterns of mood and behavior in the Old Order Amish.

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    Patel, Falguni; Postolache, Nadine; Mohyuddin, Hira; Vaswani, Dipika; Balis, Theodora; Raheja, Uttam K; Postolache, Teodor T

    2012-12-01

    Although humans have become partially isolated from physical seasonal environmental changes through artificial lighting and temperature control, seasonal changes in mood and behavior have been described across hemispheres, continents, ethnicities and occupations. The Old Order Amish are more exposed than the general population to environmental seasonal changes both occupationally as well as through their limited use of electric light in the winter and air conditioning in the summer; yet, their seasonal changes in mood and behavior have not been previously studied. The aim of this study was to analyze seasonal patterns in mood and behavior in the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who returned completed Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaires (SPAQ). Monthly seasonal patterns were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVAs, followed by a post hoc t-test if significant. The χ 2 was used for presence or absence of seasonal patterns for each item. More than 75% of the participants reported at least one seasonal change. More than 75 % endorsed seasonality in "feeling best" but only populations.

  15. A Formal Investigation of the Organization of Guidance Behavior: Implications for Humans and Autonomous Guidance

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    Kong, Zhaodan

    Guidance behavior generated either by artificial agents or humans has been actively studied in the fields of both robotics and cognitive science. The goals of these two fields are different. The former is the automatic generation of appropriate or even optimal behavior, while the latter is the understanding of the underlying mechanism. Their challenges, though, are closely related, the most important one being the lack of a unified, formal and grounded framework where the guidance behavior can be modeled and studied. This dissertation presents such a framework. In this framework, guidance behavior is analyzed as the closed-loop dynamics of the whole agent-environment system. The resulting dynamics give rise to interaction patterns. The central points of this dissertation are that: first of all, these patterns, which can be explained in terms of symmetries that are inherent to the guidance behavior, provide building blocks for the organization of behavior; second, the existence of these patterns and humans' organization of their guidance behavior based on these patterns are the reasons that humans can generate successful behavior in spite of all the complexities involved in the planning and control. This dissertation first gives an overview of the challenges existing in both scientific endeavors, such as human and animal spatial behavior study, and engineering endeavors, such as autonomous guidance system design. It then lays out the foundation for our formal framework, which states that guidance behavior should be interpreted as the collection of the closed-loop dynamics resulting from the agent's interaction with the environment. The following, illustrated by examples of three different UAVs, shows that the study of the closed-loop dynamics should not be done without the consideration of vehicle dynamics, as is the common practice in some of the studies in both autonomous guidance and human behavior analysis. The framework, the core concepts of which are

  16. Human behavioral contributions to climate change: psychological and contextual drivers.

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    Swim, Janet K; Clayton, Susan; Howard, George S

    2011-01-01

    We are facing rapid changes in the global climate, and these changes are attributable to human behavior. Humans produce this global impact through our use of natural resources, multiplied by the vast increase in population seen in the past 50 to 100 years. Our goal in this article is to examine the underlying psychosocial causes of human impact, primarily through patterns of reproduction and consumption. We identify and distinguish individual, societal, and behavioral predictors of environmental impact. Relevant research in these areas (as well as areas that would be aided by greater attention by psychologists) are reviewed. We conclude by highlighting ethical issues that emerge when considering how to address human behavioral contributions to climate change.

  17. Aging and human sexual behavior: biocultural perspectives - a mini-review.

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    Gray, Peter B; Garcia, Justin R

    2012-01-01

    In this mini-review, we consider an evolutionary biocultural perspective on human aging and sexuality. An evolutionary approach to senescence highlights the energetic trade-offs between fertility and mortality. By comparing humans to other primates, we situate human senescence as an evolutionary process, with shifts in postreproductive sexual behavior in this light. Age-related declines in sexual behavior are typical for humans but also highly contingent on the sociocultural context within which aging individuals express their sexuality. We briefly review some of the most comprehensive studies of aging and sexual behavior, both from the USA and cross-culturally. We frame these patterns with respect to the long-term relationships within which human sexual behavior typically occurs. Because sexuality is typically expressed within pair-bonds, sexual behavior sometimes declines in both members of a couple with age, but also exhibits sex-specific effects that have their roots in evolved sex differences. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  18. Electronic speckle-pattern interferometry (ESPI) applied to the study of mechanical behavior of human jaws

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    Roman, Juan F.; Moreno de las Cuevas, Vincente; Salgueiro, Jose R.; Suarez, David; Fernandez, Paula; Gallas, Mercedes; Blanchard, Alain

    1996-01-01

    The study of the mechanical behavior of the human jaw during chewing is helpful in several specific medical fields that cover the maxillo-facial area. In this work, electronic speckle pattern interferometry has been applied to study dead jaw bones under external stress which simulates the deformations induced during chewing. Fringes obtained after subtraction of two images of the jaw, the image of the relaxed jaw and that of the jaw under stress, give us information about the most stressed zones. The interferometric analysis proposed here is attractive as it can be done in real time with the jaw under progressive stress. Image processing can be applied for improving the quality of fringes. This research can be of help in orthognathic surgery, for example in diagnosis and treatment of fractured jaws, in oral surgery, and in orthodontics because it would help us to know the stress dispersion when we insert an osseointegrated implant or place an orthodontic appliance, respectively. Studying fragments of human jaw some results about its elasticity and flexibility were obtained.

  19. Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Dietary Patterns among Children.

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    Gubbels, Jessica S; van Assema, Patricia; Kremers, Stef P J

    2013-06-01

    Energy balance-related behavioral patterns find their origin in early childhood. The current paper provides an overview of studies that have examined such behavioral patterns, i.e., the clustering of dietary behaviors, physical activity, and/or sedentary behavior. The paper discusses the importance of examining energy balance-related behavioral patterns in children, outlines methods to examine these patterns, and provides examples of patterns that have been found (e.g., the universal sedentary-snacking and healthy intake patterns, as well as more unique or local patterns), child and parental characteristics predicting such patterns (e.g., child gender and maternal educational level), and the relationship of these patterns with overweight and related measures.

  20. Behavioral pattern separation and its link to the neural mechanisms of fear generalization.

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    Lange, Iris; Goossens, Liesbet; Michielse, Stijn; Bakker, Jindra; Lissek, Shmuel; Papalini, Silvia; Verhagen, Simone; Leibold, Nicole; Marcelis, Machteld; Wichers, Marieke; Lieverse, Ritsaert; van Os, Jim; van Amelsvoort, Therese; Schruers, Koen

    2017-11-01

    Fear generalization is a prominent feature of anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is defined as enhanced fear responding to a stimulus that bears similarities, but is not identical to a threatening stimulus. Pattern separation, a hippocampal-dependent process, is critical for stimulus discrimination; it transforms similar experiences or events into non-overlapping representations. This study is the first in humans to investigate the extent to which fear generalization relies on behavioral pattern separation abilities. Participants (N = 46) completed a behavioral task taxing pattern separation, and a neuroimaging fear conditioning and generalization paradigm. Results show an association between lower behavioral pattern separation performance and increased generalization in shock expectancy scores, but not in fear ratings. Furthermore, lower behavioral pattern separation was associated with diminished recruitment of the subcallosal cortex during presentation of generalization stimuli. This region showed functional connectivity with the orbitofrontal cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Together, the data provide novel experimental evidence that pattern separation is related to generalization of threat expectancies, and reduced fear inhibition processes in frontal regions. Deficient pattern separation may be critical in overgeneralization and therefore may contribute to the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders and PTSD. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

  1. Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Dietary Patterns among Children

    OpenAIRE

    Gubbels, Jessica S.; van Assema, Patricia; Kremers, Stef P. J.

    2013-01-01

    Energy balance-related behavioral patterns find their origin in early childhood. The current paper provides an overview of studies that have examined such behavioral patterns, i.e., the clustering of dietary behaviors, physical activity, and/or sedentary behavior. The paper discusses the importance of examining energy balance-related behavioral patterns in children, outlines methods to examine these patterns, and provides examples of patterns that have been found (e.g., the universal sedentar...

  2. Superior Pattern Processing is the Essence of the Evolved Human Brain

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    Mark eMattson

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Humans have long pondered the nature of their mind/brain and, particularly why its capacities for reasoning, communication and abstract thought are far superior to other species, including closely related anthropoids. This article considers superior pattern processing (SPP as the fundamental basis of most, if not all, unique features of the human brain including intelligence, language, imagination, invention, and the belief in imaginary entities such as ghosts and gods. SPP involves the electrochemical, neuronal network-based, encoding, integration, and transfer to other individuals of perceived or mentally-fabricated patterns. During human evolution, pattern processing capabilities became increasingly sophisticated as the result of expansion of the cerebral cortex, particularly the prefrontal cortex and regions involved in processing of images. Specific patterns, real or imagined, are reinforced by emotional experiences, indoctrination and even psychedelic drugs. Impaired or dysregulated SPP is fundamental to cognitive and psychiatric disorders. A broader understanding of SPP mechanisms, and their roles in normal and abnormal function of the human brain, may enable the development of interventions that reduce irrational decisions and destructive behaviors.

  3. Behavior patterns and coronary heart disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townsend, J. C.; Cronin, J. P.

    1975-01-01

    The relationships between two behavioral patterns, cardiac risk factors, and coronary heart disease are investigated. Risk factors used in the analysis were family history of coronary disease, smoking, cholesterol, obesity, systotic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, blood sugar, uric acid, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and white blood unit. It was found that conventional, non-behavioral pattern risk factors alone were not significantly related to coronary heart disease.

  4. Individual Differences in Spatial Pattern Separation Performance Associated with Healthy Aging in Humans

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    Stark, Shauna M.; Yassa, Michael A.; Stark, Craig E. L.

    2010-01-01

    Rodent studies have suggested that "pattern separation," the ability to distinguish among similar experiences, is diminished in a subset of aged rats. We extended these findings to the human using a task designed to assess spatial pattern separation behavior (determining at time of test whether pairs of pictures shown during the study were in the…

  5. Integration of human behavior expectations in training: human behavior simulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obeso Torices, E.

    2012-01-01

    The analysis of operating experience in nuclear Sta Maria de Garona point to fundamental human factor. After evaluation of the Peer Review, reinforcing behavior expectations was identified as improvement area. The human behavior simulator aims at minimizing human error. Making teamwork practices ensures that the equipment itself reinforces their behavior and performance in the work of the Central. The scope of practice to perform on the simulator includes all phases of execution. The team should analyze the best way to run, the impact of it on the ground and interaction with other sections, being the simulator training environment the situation closer to reality.

  6. Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Dietary Patterns among Children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gubbels, J.S.; van Assema, P.; Kremers, S.P.

    2013-01-01

    Energy balance-related behavioral patterns find their origin in early The current paper provides an overview of studies that have examined behavioral patterns, i.e., the clustering of dietary behaviors, physical activity, and/or sedentary behavior. The paper discusses the importance examining energy

  7. [Terrorism and human behavior].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leistedt, S J

    2018-04-01

    Theories of religion are essential for understanding current trends in terrorist activities. The aim of this work is to clarify religion's role in facilitating terror and outline in parallel with recent theoretical developments on terrorism and human behaviour. Several databases were used such as PubCentral, Scopus, Medline and Science Direct. The search terms "terrorism", "social psychology", "religion", "evolution", and "cognition" were used to identify relevant studies in the databases. This work examines, in a multidimensional way, how terrorists employ these features of religion to achieve their goals. In the same way, it describes how terrorists use rituals to conditionally associate emotions with sanctified symbols that are emotionally evocative and motivationally powerful, fostering group solidarity, trust, and cooperation. Religious beliefs, including promised rewards in the afterlife, further serve to facilitate cooperation by altering the perceived payoffs of costly actions, including suicide bombing. The adolescent pattern of brain development is unique, and young adulthood presents an ideal developmental stage to attract recruits and enlist them in high-risk behaviors. This work offers insights, based on this translational analysis, concerning the links between religion, terrorism and human behavior. Copyright © 2017 L'Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  8. Unraveling dynamics of human physical activity patterns in chronic pain conditions

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    Paraschiv-Ionescu, Anisoara; Buchser, Eric; Aminian, Kamiar

    2013-06-01

    Chronic pain is a complex disabling experience that negatively affects the cognitive, affective and physical functions as well as behavior. Although the interaction between chronic pain and physical functioning is a well-accepted paradigm in clinical research, the understanding of how pain affects individuals' daily life behavior remains a challenging task. Here we develop a methodological framework allowing to objectively document disruptive pain related interferences on real-life physical activity. The results reveal that meaningful information is contained in the temporal dynamics of activity patterns and an analytical model based on the theory of bivariate point processes can be used to describe physical activity behavior. The model parameters capture the dynamic interdependence between periods and events and determine a `signature' of activity pattern. The study is likely to contribute to the clinical understanding of complex pain/disease-related behaviors and establish a unified mathematical framework to quantify the complex dynamics of various human activities.

  9. The human factor: behavioral and neural correlates of humanized perception in moral decision making.

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    Majdandžić, Jasminka; Bauer, Herbert; Windischberger, Christian; Moser, Ewald; Engl, Elisabeth; Lamm, Claus

    2012-01-01

    The extent to which people regard others as full-blown individuals with mental states ("humanization") seems crucial for their prosocial motivation towards them. Previous research has shown that decisions about moral dilemmas in which one person can be sacrificed to save multiple others do not consistently follow utilitarian principles. We hypothesized that this behavior can be explained by the potential victim's perceived humanness and an ensuing increase in vicarious emotions and emotional conflict during decision making. Using fMRI, we assessed neural activity underlying moral decisions that affected fictitious persons that had or had not been experimentally humanized. In implicit priming trials, participants either engaged in mentalizing about these persons (Humanized condition) or not (Neutral condition). In subsequent moral dilemmas, participants had to decide about sacrificing these persons' lives in order to save the lives of numerous others. Humanized persons were sacrificed less often, and the activation pattern during decisions about them indicated increased negative affect, emotional conflict, vicarious emotions, and behavioral control (pgACC/mOFC, anterior insula/IFG, aMCC and precuneus/PCC). Besides, we found enhanced effective connectivity between aMCC and anterior insula, which suggests increased emotion regulation during decisions affecting humanized victims. These findings highlight the importance of others' perceived humanness for prosocial behavior - with aversive affect and other-related concern when imagining harming more "human-like" persons acting against purely utilitarian decisions.

  10. The human factor: behavioral and neural correlates of humanized perception in moral decision making.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasminka Majdandžić

    Full Text Available The extent to which people regard others as full-blown individuals with mental states ("humanization" seems crucial for their prosocial motivation towards them. Previous research has shown that decisions about moral dilemmas in which one person can be sacrificed to save multiple others do not consistently follow utilitarian principles. We hypothesized that this behavior can be explained by the potential victim's perceived humanness and an ensuing increase in vicarious emotions and emotional conflict during decision making. Using fMRI, we assessed neural activity underlying moral decisions that affected fictitious persons that had or had not been experimentally humanized. In implicit priming trials, participants either engaged in mentalizing about these persons (Humanized condition or not (Neutral condition. In subsequent moral dilemmas, participants had to decide about sacrificing these persons' lives in order to save the lives of numerous others. Humanized persons were sacrificed less often, and the activation pattern during decisions about them indicated increased negative affect, emotional conflict, vicarious emotions, and behavioral control (pgACC/mOFC, anterior insula/IFG, aMCC and precuneus/PCC. Besides, we found enhanced effective connectivity between aMCC and anterior insula, which suggests increased emotion regulation during decisions affecting humanized victims. These findings highlight the importance of others' perceived humanness for prosocial behavior - with aversive affect and other-related concern when imagining harming more "human-like" persons acting against purely utilitarian decisions.

  11. Spatiotemporal Patterns of Urban Human Mobility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Samiul; Schneider, Christian M.; Ukkusuri, Satish V.; González, Marta C.

    2013-04-01

    The modeling of human mobility is adopting new directions due to the increasing availability of big data sources from human activity. These sources enclose digital information about daily visited locations of a large number of individuals. Examples of these data include: mobile phone calls, credit card transactions, bank notes dispersal, check-ins in internet applications, among several others. In this study, we consider the data obtained from smart subway fare card transactions to characterize and model urban mobility patterns. We present a simple mobility model for predicting peoples' visited locations using the popularity of places in the city as an interaction parameter between different individuals. This ingredient is sufficient to reproduce several characteristics of the observed travel behavior such as: the number of trips between different locations in the city, the exploration of new places and the frequency of individual visits of a particular location. Moreover, we indicate the limitations of the proposed model and discuss open questions in the current state of the art statistical models of human mobility.

  12. In silico pattern-based analysis of the human cytomegalovirus genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rigoutsos, Isidore; Novotny, Jiri; Huynh, Tien; Chin-Bow, Stephen T; Parida, Laxmi; Platt, Daniel; Coleman, David; Shenk, Thomas

    2003-04-01

    More than 200 open reading frames (ORFs) from the human cytomegalovirus genome have been reported as potentially coding for proteins. We have used two pattern-based in silico approaches to analyze this set of putative viral genes. With the help of an objective annotation method that is based on the Bio-Dictionary, a comprehensive collection of amino acid patterns that describes the currently known natural sequence space of proteins, we have reannotated all of the previously reported putative genes of the human cytomegalovirus. Also, with the help of MUSCA, a pattern-based multiple sequence alignment algorithm, we have reexamined the original human cytomegalovirus gene family definitions. Our analysis of the genome shows that many of the coded proteins comprise amino acid combinations that are unique to either the human cytomegalovirus or the larger group of herpesviruses. We have confirmed that a surprisingly large portion of the analyzed ORFs encode membrane proteins, and we have discovered a significant number of previously uncharacterized proteins that are predicted to be G-protein-coupled receptor homologues. The analysis also indicates that many of the encoded proteins undergo posttranslational modifications such as hydroxylation, phosphorylation, and glycosylation. ORFs encoding proteins with similar functional behavior appear in neighboring regions of the human cytomegalovirus genome. All of the results of the present study can be found and interactively explored online (http://cbcsrv.watson.ibm.com/virus/).

  13. Simulating human behavior for national security human interactions.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bernard, Michael Lewis; Hart, Dereck H.; Verzi, Stephen J.; Glickman, Matthew R.; Wolfenbarger, Paul R.; Xavier, Patrick Gordon

    2007-01-01

    This 3-year research and development effort focused on what we believe is a significant technical gap in existing modeling and simulation capabilities: the representation of plausible human cognition and behaviors within a dynamic, simulated environment. Specifically, the intent of the ''Simulating Human Behavior for National Security Human Interactions'' project was to demonstrate initial simulated human modeling capability that realistically represents intra- and inter-group interaction behaviors between simulated humans and human-controlled avatars as they respond to their environment. Significant process was made towards simulating human behaviors through the development of a framework that produces realistic characteristics and movement. The simulated humans were created from models designed to be psychologically plausible by being based on robust psychological research and theory. Progress was also made towards enhancing Sandia National Laboratories existing cognitive models to support culturally plausible behaviors that are important in representing group interactions. These models were implemented in the modular, interoperable, and commercially supported Umbra{reg_sign} simulation framework.

  14. Changing patterns of adolescent sexual behavior: consequences for health and development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, H L

    1992-07-01

    Sexuality is a fundamental quality of human life, important for health, happiness, individual development, and indeed for the preservation of the human race. During the dynamic period of adolescence in which the passage from childhood to maturity takes place, sexuality takes on new dimensions; feelings become more intense, relationships become more complex, and the consequences of sexual behavior are radically altered. This not only affects the behavior of young people but also of those who interact with them, their families and peers, and those who work in the health, education, youth, social welfare, and other sectors. In the contemporary world the conditions of life for many young people have also changed, and with it patterns of sexual behavior. In general, earlier puberty, later marriage, a decline in the family leading to less control and more autonomy, and intense exposure to sexual stimuli via the mass media and travel across cultural boundaries have made pre-marital adolescent sexual activity more common. This has added to traditional problems of early marriage, newer problems of early pregnancy, childbirth, and induced abortion outside of marriage, sexually transmitted diseases, and human immunodeficiency syndrome infection leading to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. But the work of the World Health Organization (WHO), along with many others in the field, strongly suggests that given appropriate information and services, trust and equity between the sexes, young people will behave responsibly and well. In this paper some of the findings from methods developed by WHO for research, training, advocacy, and evaluation, and findings in relation to patterns and determinants of sexual and reproductive health and development will be described, and future directions suggested.

  15. A new method for discovering behavior patterns among animal movements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Y.; Luo, Ze; Takekawa, John Y.; Prosser, Diann J.; Xiong, Y.; Newman, S.; Xiao, X.; Batbayar, N.; Spragens, Kyle A.; Balachandran, S.; Yan, B.

    2016-01-01

    Advanced satellite tracking technologies enable biologists to track animal movements at fine spatial and temporal scales. The resultant data present opportunities and challenges for understanding animal behavioral mechanisms. In this paper, we develop a new method to elucidate animal movement patterns from tracking data. Here, we propose the notion of continuous behavior patterns as a concise representation of popular migration routes and underlying sequential behaviors during migration. Each stage in the pattern is characterized in terms of space (i.e., the places traversed during movements) and time (i.e. the time spent in those places); that is, the behavioral state corresponding to a stage is inferred according to the spatiotemporal and sequential context. Hence, the pattern may be interpreted predictably. We develop a candidate generation and refinement framework to derive all continuous behavior patterns from raw trajectories. In the framework, we first define the representative spots to denote the underlying potential behavioral states that are extracted from individual trajectories according to the similarity of relaxed continuous locations in certain distinct time intervals. We determine the common behaviors of multiple individuals according to the spatiotemporal proximity of representative spots and apply a projection-based extension approach to generate candidate sequential behavior sequences as candidate patterns. Finally, the candidate generation procedure is combined with a refinement procedure to derive continuous behavior patterns. We apply an ordered processing strategy to accelerate candidate refinement. The proposed patterns and discovery framework are evaluated through conceptual experiments on both real GPS-tracking and large synthetic datasets.

  16. Catalog Learning: Carabid Beetles Learn to Manipulate with Innate Coherent Behavioral Patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhanna Reznikova

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available One of the most fascinating problems in comparative psychology is how learning contributes to solving specific functional problems in animal life, and which forms of learning our species shares with non-human animals. Simulating a natural situation of territorial conflicts between predatory carabids and red wood ants in field and laboratory experiments, we have revealed a relatively simple and quite natural form of learning that has been overlooked. We call it catalog learning, the name we give to the ability of animals to establish associations between stimuli and coherent behavioral patterns (patterns consist of elementary motor acts that have a fixed order. Instead of budgeting their motor acts gradually, from chaotic to rational sequences in order to learn something new, which is characteristic for a conditioning response, animals seem to be “cataloguing” their repertoire of innate coherent behavioral patterns in order to optimize their response to a certain repetitive event. This form of learning can be described as “stimulus-pattern” learning. In our experiments four “wild” carabid species, whose cognitive abilities have never been studied before, modified their behavior in a rather natural manner in order to avoid damage from aggressive ants. Beetles learned to select the relevant coherent behavioral patterns from the set of seven patterns, which are common to all four species and apparently innate. We suggest that this form of learning differs from the known forms of associative learning, and speculate that it is quite universal and can be present in a wide variety of species, both invertebrate and vertebrate. This study suggests a new link between the concepts of cognition and innateness.

  17. Can Link Analysis Be Applied to Identify Behavioral Patterns in Train Recorder Data?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strathie, Ailsa; Walker, Guy H

    2016-03-01

    A proof-of-concept analysis was conducted to establish whether link analysis could be applied to data from on-train recorders to detect patterns of behavior that could act as leading indicators of potential safety issues. On-train data recorders capture data about driving behavior on thousands of routine journeys every day and offer a source of untapped data that could be used to offer insights into human behavior. Data from 17 journeys undertaken by six drivers on the same route over a 16-hr period were analyzed using link analysis, and four key metrics were examined: number of links, network density, diameter, and sociometric status. The results established that link analysis can be usefully applied to data captured from on-vehicle recorders. The four metrics revealed key differences in normal driver behavior. These differences have promising construct validity as leading indicators. Link analysis is one method that could be usefully applied to exploit data routinely gathered by on-vehicle data recorders. It facilitates a proactive approach to safety based on leading indicators, offers a clearer understanding of what constitutes normal driving behavior, and identifies trends at the interface of people and systems, which is currently a key area of strategic risk. These research findings have direct applications in the field of transport data monitoring. They offer a means of automatically detecting patterns in driver behavior that could act as leading indicators of problems during operation and that could be used in the proactive monitoring of driver competence, risk management, and even infrastructure design. © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

  18. Human behavior recognition using a context-free grammar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosani, Andrea; Conci, Nicola; De Natale, Francesco G. B.

    2014-05-01

    Automatic recognition of human activities and behaviors is still a challenging problem for many reasons, including limited accuracy of the data acquired by sensing devices, high variability of human behaviors, and gap between visual appearance and scene semantics. Symbolic approaches can significantly simplify the analysis and turn raw data into chains of meaningful patterns. This allows getting rid of most of the clutter produced by low-level processing operations, embedding significant contextual information into the data, as well as using simple syntactic approaches to perform the matching between incoming sequences and models. We propose a symbolic approach to learn and detect complex activities through the sequences of atomic actions. Compared to previous methods based on context-free grammars, we introduce several important novelties, such as the capability to learn actions based on both positive and negative samples, the possibility of efficiently retraining the system in the presence of misclassified or unrecognized events, and the use of a parsing procedure that allows correct detection of the activities also when they are concatenated and/or nested one with each other. An experimental validation on three datasets with different characteristics demonstrates the robustness of the approach in classifying complex human behaviors.

  19. Mining Temporal Patterns to Improve Agents Behavior: Two Case Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fournier-Viger, Philippe; Nkambou, Roger; Faghihi, Usef; Nguifo, Engelbert Mephu

    We propose two mechanisms for agent learning based on the idea of mining temporal patterns from agent behavior. The first one consists of extracting temporal patterns from the perceived behavior of other agents accomplishing a task, to learn the task. The second learning mechanism consists in extracting temporal patterns from an agent's own behavior. In this case, the agent then reuses patterns that brought self-satisfaction. In both cases, no assumption is made on how the observed agents' behavior is internally generated. A case study with a real application is presented to illustrate each learning mechanism.

  20. The Human Factor: Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Humanized Perception in Moral Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majdandžić, Jasminka; Bauer, Herbert; Windischberger, Christian; Moser, Ewald; Engl, Elisabeth; Lamm, Claus

    2012-01-01

    The extent to which people regard others as full-blown individuals with mental states (“humanization”) seems crucial for their prosocial motivation towards them. Previous research has shown that decisions about moral dilemmas in which one person can be sacrificed to save multiple others do not consistently follow utilitarian principles. We hypothesized that this behavior can be explained by the potential victim’s perceived humanness and an ensuing increase in vicarious emotions and emotional conflict during decision making. Using fMRI, we assessed neural activity underlying moral decisions that affected fictitious persons that had or had not been experimentally humanized. In implicit priming trials, participants either engaged in mentalizing about these persons (Humanized condition) or not (Neutral condition). In subsequent moral dilemmas, participants had to decide about sacrificing these persons’ lives in order to save the lives of numerous others. Humanized persons were sacrificed less often, and the activation pattern during decisions about them indicated increased negative affect, emotional conflict, vicarious emotions, and behavioral control (pgACC/mOFC, anterior insula/IFG, aMCC and precuneus/PCC). Besides, we found enhanced effective connectivity between aMCC and anterior insula, which suggests increased emotion regulation during decisions affecting humanized victims. These findings highlight the importance of others’ perceived humanness for prosocial behavior - with aversive affect and other-related concern when imagining harming more “human-like” persons acting against purely utilitarian decisions. PMID:23082194

  1. Statistical Patterns in Movie Rating Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Marlon; Calvão, Angelo M; Anteneodo, Celia

    2015-01-01

    Currently, users and consumers can review and rate products through online services, which provide huge databases that can be used to explore people's preferences and unveil behavioral patterns. In this work, we investigate patterns in movie ratings, considering IMDb (the Internet Movie Database), a highly visited site worldwide, as a source. We find that the distribution of votes presents scale-free behavior over several orders of magnitude, with an exponent very close to 3/2, with exponential cutoff. It is remarkable that this pattern emerges independently of movie attributes such as average rating, age and genre, with the exception of a few genres and of high-budget films. These results point to a very general underlying mechanism for the propagation of adoption across potential audiences that is independent of the intrinsic features of a movie and that can be understood through a simple spreading model with mean-field avalanche dynamics.

  2. Humanism vs. Behaviorism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Madeline

    1977-01-01

    Author argues that humanism and behaviorism are not necessarily exclusive of one another, and that principles of behaviorism, when thoughtfully applied, can lead to the achievement of humanistic goals. (RW)

  3. Statistical Patterns in Movie Rating Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Currently, users and consumers can review and rate products through online services, which provide huge databases that can be used to explore people’s preferences and unveil behavioral patterns. In this work, we investigate patterns in movie ratings, considering IMDb (the Internet Movie Database), a highly visited site worldwide, as a source. We find that the distribution of votes presents scale-free behavior over several orders of magnitude, with an exponent very close to 3/2, with exponential cutoff. It is remarkable that this pattern emerges independently of movie attributes such as average rating, age and genre, with the exception of a few genres and of high-budget films. These results point to a very general underlying mechanism for the propagation of adoption across potential audiences that is independent of the intrinsic features of a movie and that can be understood through a simple spreading model with mean-field avalanche dynamics. PMID:26322899

  4. Statistical Patterns in Movie Rating Behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlon Ramos

    Full Text Available Currently, users and consumers can review and rate products through online services, which provide huge databases that can be used to explore people's preferences and unveil behavioral patterns. In this work, we investigate patterns in movie ratings, considering IMDb (the Internet Movie Database, a highly visited site worldwide, as a source. We find that the distribution of votes presents scale-free behavior over several orders of magnitude, with an exponent very close to 3/2, with exponential cutoff. It is remarkable that this pattern emerges independently of movie attributes such as average rating, age and genre, with the exception of a few genres and of high-budget films. These results point to a very general underlying mechanism for the propagation of adoption across potential audiences that is independent of the intrinsic features of a movie and that can be understood through a simple spreading model with mean-field avalanche dynamics.

  5. Cell pattern in adult human corneal endothelium.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos H Wörner

    Full Text Available A review of the current data on the cell density of normal adult human endothelial cells was carried out in order to establish some common parameters appearing in the different considered populations. From the analysis of cell growth patterns, it is inferred that the cell aging rate is similar for each of the different considered populations. Also, the morphology, the cell distribution and the tendency to hexagonallity are studied. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that this phenomenon is analogous with cell behavior in other structures such as dry foams and grains in polycrystalline materials. Therefore, its driving force may be controlled by the surface tension and the mobility of the boundaries.

  6. Behavioral Patterns of Children Involved in Bullying Episodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos V. Santoyo

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This study applied a systematic observation strategy to identify coercive behavioral patterns in school environments. The aim was to describe stability and change in the behavioral patterns of children identified as victims of bullying. To this end, the following specific objectives were defined: (1 to identify episodes of bullying based on the frequency of negative behaviors received and power imbalances between bully and victim; (2 to describe stability and behavioral changes in student victims based on their social and academic conduct and the aggression they receive from peers and teachers; and (3 to describe the functional mechanisms responsible for the process of social organization (i.e., the Social Effectiveness, Social Responsiveness, and Social Reciprocity Indexes. The sample consisted of nine children identified as victims, nine classified as bullies, and nine matched controls, all elementary school students from the study developed at the National Autonomous University of Mexico files. A multidimensional/idiographic/follow-up observational design was used. Observational data describes asymmetry between victims and bullies based on microanalyses of the reciprocity of their behavioral exchanges. In addition, the behavioral patterns of victimized children were identified in relation to their academic activity and social relationships with peers. A model of coercive reciprocity accurately describes the asymmetry found among bullies, victims, and controls. A reduction in victimization was found to be related to: (1 responsiveness to the initiation of social interactions by peers and teachers; and (2 the time allocated to academic behavior during the study.

  7. Behavioral responses associated with a human-mediated predator shelter.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graeme Shannon

    Full Text Available Human activities in protected areas can affect wildlife populations in a similar manner to predation risk, causing increases in movement and vigilance, shifts in habitat use and changes in group size. Nevertheless, recent evidence indicates that in certain situations ungulate species may actually utilize areas associated with higher levels of human presence as a potential refuge from disturbance-sensitive predators. We now use four-years of behavioral activity budget data collected from pronghorn (Antilocapra americana and elk (Cervus elephus in Grand Teton National Park, USA to test whether predictable patterns of human presence can provide a shelter from predatory risk. Daily behavioral scans were conducted along two parallel sections of road that differed in traffic volume--with the main Teton Park Road experiencing vehicle use that was approximately thirty-fold greater than the River Road. At the busier Teton Park Road, both species of ungulate engaged in higher levels of feeding (27% increase in the proportion of pronghorn feeding and 21% increase for elk, lower levels of alert behavior (18% decrease for pronghorn and 9% decrease for elk and formed smaller groups. These responses are commonly associated with reduced predatory threat. Pronghorn also exhibited a 30% increase in the proportion of individuals moving at the River Road as would be expected under greater exposure to predation risk. Our findings concur with the 'predator shelter hypothesis', suggesting that ungulates in GTNP use human presence as a potential refuge from predation risk, adjusting their behavior accordingly. Human activity has the potential to alter predator-prey interactions and drive trophic-mediated effects that could ultimately impact ecosystem function and biodiversity.

  8. Genes, Environment, and Human Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloom, Mark V.; Cutter, Mary Ann; Davidson, Ronald; Dougherty, Michael J.; Drexler, Edward; Gelernter, Joel; McCullough, Laurence B.; McInerney, Joseph D.; Murray, Jeffrey C.; Vogler, George P.; Zola, John

    This curriculum module explores genes, environment, and human behavior. This book provides materials to teach about the nature and methods of studying human behavior, raise some of the ethical and public policy dilemmas emerging from the Human Genome Project, and provide professional development for teachers. An extensive Teacher Background…

  9. The Human Central Pattern Generator for Locomotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minassian, Karen; Hofstoetter, Ursula S; Dzeladini, Florin; Guertin, Pierre A; Ijspeert, Auke

    2017-03-01

    The ability of dedicated spinal circuits, referred to as central pattern generators (CPGs), to produce the basic rhythm and neural activation patterns underlying locomotion can be demonstrated under specific experimental conditions in reduced animal preparations. The existence of CPGs in humans is a matter of debate. Equally elusive is the contribution of CPGs to normal bipedal locomotion. To address these points, we focus on human studies that utilized spinal cord stimulation or pharmacological neuromodulation to generate rhythmic activity in individuals with spinal cord injury, and on neuromechanical modeling of human locomotion. In the absence of volitional motor control and step-specific sensory feedback, the human lumbar spinal cord can produce rhythmic muscle activation patterns that closely resemble CPG-induced neural activity of the isolated animal spinal cord. In this sense, CPGs in humans can be defined by the activity they produce. During normal locomotion, CPGs could contribute to the activation patterns during specific phases of the step cycle and simplify supraspinal control of step cycle frequency as a feedforward component to achieve a targeted speed. Determining how the human CPGs operate will be essential to advance the theory of neural control of locomotion and develop new locomotor neurorehabilitation paradigms.

  10. Dynamical Integration of Language and Behavior in a Recurrent Neural Network for Human--Robot Interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatsuro Yamada

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available To work cooperatively with humans by using language, robots must not only acquire a mapping between language and their behavior but also autonomously utilize the mapping in appropriate contexts of interactive tasks online. To this end, we propose a novel learning method linking language to robot behavior by means of a recurrent neural network. In this method, the network learns from correct examples of the imposed task that are given not as explicitly separated sets of language and behavior but as sequential data constructed from the actual temporal flow of the task. By doing this, the internal dynamics of the network models both language--behavior relationships and the temporal patterns of interaction. Here, ``internal dynamics'' refers to the time development of the system defined on the fixed-dimensional space of the internal states of the context layer. Thus, in the execution phase, by constantly representing where in the interaction context it is as its current state, the network autonomously switches between recognition and generation phases without any explicit signs and utilizes the acquired mapping in appropriate contexts. To evaluate our method, we conducted an experiment in which a robot generates appropriate behavior responding to a human's linguistic instruction. After learning, the network actually formed the attractor structure representing both language--behavior relationships and the task's temporal pattern in its internal dynamics. In the dynamics, language--behavior mapping was achieved by the branching structure. Repetition of human's instruction and robot's behavioral response was represented as the cyclic structure, and besides, waiting to a subsequent instruction was represented as the fixed-point attractor. Thanks to this structure, the robot was able to interact online with a human concerning the given task by autonomously switching phases.

  11. Dynamical Integration of Language and Behavior in a Recurrent Neural Network for Human-Robot Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Tatsuro; Murata, Shingo; Arie, Hiroaki; Ogata, Tetsuya

    2016-01-01

    To work cooperatively with humans by using language, robots must not only acquire a mapping between language and their behavior but also autonomously utilize the mapping in appropriate contexts of interactive tasks online. To this end, we propose a novel learning method linking language to robot behavior by means of a recurrent neural network. In this method, the network learns from correct examples of the imposed task that are given not as explicitly separated sets of language and behavior but as sequential data constructed from the actual temporal flow of the task. By doing this, the internal dynamics of the network models both language-behavior relationships and the temporal patterns of interaction. Here, "internal dynamics" refers to the time development of the system defined on the fixed-dimensional space of the internal states of the context layer. Thus, in the execution phase, by constantly representing where in the interaction context it is as its current state, the network autonomously switches between recognition and generation phases without any explicit signs and utilizes the acquired mapping in appropriate contexts. To evaluate our method, we conducted an experiment in which a robot generates appropriate behavior responding to a human's linguistic instruction. After learning, the network actually formed the attractor structure representing both language-behavior relationships and the task's temporal pattern in its internal dynamics. In the dynamics, language-behavior mapping was achieved by the branching structure. Repetition of human's instruction and robot's behavioral response was represented as the cyclic structure, and besides, waiting to a subsequent instruction was represented as the fixed-point attractor. Thanks to this structure, the robot was able to interact online with a human concerning the given task by autonomously switching phases.

  12. A review of human male field studies of hormones and behavioral reproductive effort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Peter B; McHale, Timothy S; Carré, Justin M

    2017-05-01

    The purpose of this paper is to review field studies of human male hormones and reproductive behavior. We first discuss life history theory and related conceptual considerations. As illustrations, distinctive features of human male life histories such as coalitional aggression, long-term partnering and paternal care are noted, along with their relevance to overall reproductive effort and developmental plasticity. We address broad questions about what constitutes a human male field study of hormones and behavior, including the kinds of hormone and behavioral measures employed in existing studies. Turning to several sections of empirical review, we present and discuss evidence for links between prenatal and juvenile androgens and sexual attraction and aggression. This includes the proposal that adrenal androgens-DHEA and androstenedione-may play functional roles during juvenility as part of a life-stage specific system. We next review studies of adult male testosterone responses to competition, with these studies emphasizing men's involvement in individual and team sports. These studies show that men's testosterone responses differ with respect to variables such as playing home/away, winning/losing, and motivation. Field studies of human male hormones and sexual behavior also focus on testosterone, showing some evidence of patterned changes in men's testosterone to sexual activity. Moreover, life stage-specific changes in male androgens may structure age-related differences in sexual behavior, including decreases in sexual behavior with senescence. We overview the considerable body of research on male testosterone, partnerships and paternal care, noting the variation in social context and refinements in research design. A few field studies provide insight into relationships between partnering and paternal behavior and prolactin, oxytocin, and vasopressin. In the third section of the review, we discuss patterns, limitations and directions for future research. This

  13. Individual Differences in Consumer Buying Patterns: A Behavioral Economic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavalcanti, Paulo R.; Oliveira-Castro, Jorge M.; Foxall, Gordon R.

    2013-01-01

    Although previous studies have identified several regularities in buying behavior, no integrated view of individual differences related to such patterns has been yet proposed. The present research examined individual differences in patterns of buying behavior of fast-moving consumer goods, using panel data with information concerning purchases of…

  14. Human Social Behavior and Demography Drive Patterns of Fine-Scale Dengue Transmission in Endemic Areas of Colombia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harish Padmanabha

    Full Text Available Dengue is known to transmit between humans and A. aegypti mosquitoes living in neighboring houses. Although transmission is thought to be highly heterogeneous in both space and time, little is known about the patterns and drivers of transmission in groups of houses in endemic settings. We carried out surveys of PCR positivity in children residing in 2-block patches of highly endemic cities of Colombia. We found high levels of heterogeneity in PCR positivity, varying from less than 30% in 8 of the 10 patches to 56 and 96%, with the latter patch containing 22 children simultaneously PCR positive (PCR22 for DEN2. We then used an agent-based model to assess the likely eco-epidemiological context of this observation. Our model, simulating daily dengue dynamics over a 20 year period in a single two block patch, suggests that the observed heterogeneity most likely derived from variation in the density of susceptible people. Two aspects of human adaptive behavior were critical to determining this density: external social relationships favoring viral introduction (by susceptible residents or infectious visitors and immigration of households from non-endemic areas. External social relationships generating frequent viral introduction constituted a particularly strong constraint on susceptible densities, thereby limiting the potential for explosive outbreaks and dampening the impact of heightened vectorial capacity. Dengue transmission can be highly explosive locally, even in neighborhoods with significant immunity in the human population. Variation among neighborhoods in the density of local social networks and rural-to-urban migration is likely to produce significant fine-scale heterogeneity in dengue dynamics, constraining or amplifying the impacts of changes in mosquito populations and cross immunity between serotypes.

  15. Determining intervention thresholds that change output behavior patterns

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Walrave, B.

    2016-01-01

    This paper details a semi-automated method that can calculate intervention thresholds—that is, the minimum required intervention sizes, over a given time frame, that result in a desired change in a system’s output behavior pattern. The method exploits key differences in atomic behavior profiles that

  16. [A study of behavior patterns between smokers and nonsmokers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, H S

    1990-04-01

    Clinical and epidemiologic studies of coronary heart disease (CHD) have from time to time over the last three decades found associations between prevalence of CHD and behavioral attributes and cigarette smoking. The main purpose of this study is reduced to major risk factor of coronary heart disease through prohibition of smoking and control of behavior pattern. The subjects consisted of 120 smokers and 90 nonsmokers who were married men older than 30 years working in officers. The officers were surveyed by means of questionnaire September 26 through October 6, 1989. The Instruments used for this study was a self-administered measurement tool composed of 59 items was made through modifications of Jenkuns Activity Survey (JAS). The Data were analysed by SAS (Statistical Analysis System) program personal computer. The statistical technique used for this study were Frequency, chi 2-test, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation Coefficient. The 15 items were chosen with items above 0.3 of the factor loading in the factor analysis. In the first factor analysis 19 factors were extracted and accounted for 86% of the total variance. However when the number of factors were limited to 3 in order to derive Jenkins classification, three factors were derived. There names are Job-Involvement, Speed & Impatience, Hard-Driving. Each of them includes 21 items, 21 and 9, respectively. The results of this study were as follow: 1. The score of the smoker group and non-smoker group in Job-Involvement (t = 5.7147, p less than 0.0001), Speed & Impatience (t = 4.6756, p less than .0001), Hard-Driving (t = 8.0822, p less than .0001) and total type A behavior pattern showed statistically significant differences (t = 8.1224, p less than .0001). 2. The score of type A behavior pattern by number of cigarettes smoked daily were not statistically significant differences. 3. The score of type A behavior pattern by duration of smoking were not significant differences. It was concluded that the

  17. Application of activity sensors for estimating behavioral patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Caleb P.; Cain, James W.; Cox, Robert D.

    2016-01-01

    The increasing use of Global Positioning System (GPS) collars in habitat selection studies provides large numbers of precise location data points with reduced field effort. However, inclusion of activity sensors in many GPS collars also grants the potential to remotely estimate behavioral state. Thus, only using GPS collars to collect location data belies their full capabilities. Coupling behavioral state with location data would allow researchers and managers to refine habitat selection models by using diel behavioral state changes to partition fine-scale temporal shifts in habitat selection. We tested the capability of relatively unsophisticated GPS-collar activity sensors to estimate behavior throughout diel periods using free-ranging female elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico, USA, 2013–2014. Collars recorded cumulative number of movements (hits) per 15-min recording period immediately preceding GPS fixes at 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 hr. We measured diel behavioral patterns of focal elk, categorizing active (i.e., foraging, traveling, vigilant, grooming) and inactive (i.e., resting) states. Active behaviors (foraging, traveling) produced more average hits (0.87 ± 0.69 hits/min, 4.0 ± 2.2 hits/min, respectively; 95% CI) and inactive (resting) behavior fewer hits (−1.1 ± 0.61 95% CI). We differentiated active and inactive behavioral states with a bootstrapped threshold of 5.9 ± 3.9 hits/15-min recording period. Mean cumulative activity-sensor hits corresponded with observed diel behavioral patterns: hits increased during crepuscular (0600, 1800 hr) observations when elk were most active (0000–0600 hr: d = 0.19; 1200–1800 hr: d = 0.64) and decreased during midday and night (0000 hr, 1200 hr) when elk were least active (1800–0000 hr: d = −0.39; 0600–1200 hr: d = −0.43). Even using relatively unsophisticated GPS-collar activity sensors, managers can

  18. Bridging Humanism and Behaviorism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Lily

    1980-01-01

    Humanistic behaviorism may provide the necessary bridge between behaviorism and humanism. Perhaps the most humanistic approach to teaching is to learn how certain changes will help students and how these changes can be accomplished. (Author/MLF)

  19. Understanding User Behavioral Patterns in Open Knowledge Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xianmin; Song, Shuqiang; Zhao, Xinshuo; Yu, Shengquan

    2018-01-01

    Open knowledge communities (OKCs) have become popular in the era of knowledge economy. This study aimed to explore how users collaboratively create and share knowledge in OKCs. In particular, this research identified the behavior distribution and behavioral patterns of users by conducting frequency distribution and lag sequential analyses. Some…

  20. Behavioral Signal Processing: Deriving Human Behavioral Informatics From Speech and Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, Shrikanth; Georgiou, Panayiotis G.

    2013-01-01

    The expression and experience of human behavior are complex and multimodal and characterized by individual and contextual heterogeneity and variability. Speech and spoken language communication cues offer an important means for measuring and modeling human behavior. Observational research and practice across a variety of domains from commerce to healthcare rely on speech- and language-based informatics for crucial assessment and diagnostic information and for planning and tracking response to an intervention. In this paper, we describe some of the opportunities as well as emerging methodologies and applications of human behavioral signal processing (BSP) technology and algorithms for quantitatively understanding and modeling typical, atypical, and distressed human behavior with a specific focus on speech- and language-based communicative, affective, and social behavior. We describe the three important BSP components of acquiring behavioral data in an ecologically valid manner across laboratory to real-world settings, extracting and analyzing behavioral cues from measured data, and developing models offering predictive and decision-making support. We highlight both the foundational speech and language processing building blocks as well as the novel processing and modeling opportunities. Using examples drawn from specific real-world applications ranging from literacy assessment and autism diagnostics to psychotherapy for addiction and marital well being, we illustrate behavioral informatics applications of these signal processing techniques that contribute to quantifying higher level, often subjectively described, human behavior in a domain-sensitive fashion. PMID:24039277

  1. The Control of Behavior: Human and Environmental

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burhoe, Ralph Wendell

    1972-01-01

    Theological perspective on human and environmental behavior, with a view toward man's ultimate concerns or longest range values and the ultimate controls of behavior. Maintains that all human behavior and destiny is ultimately in the hand of a transcendent power which prevails over any human errors.'' (LK)

  2. Complex scaling behavior in animal foraging patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premachandra, Prabhavi Kaushalya

    This dissertation attempts to answer questions from two different areas of biology, ecology and neuroscience, using physics-based techniques. In Section 2, suitability of three competing random walk models is tested to describe the emergent movement patterns of two species of primates. The truncated power law (power law with exponential cut off) is the most suitable random walk model that characterizes the emergent movement patterns of these primates. In Section 3, an agent-based model is used to simulate search behavior in different environments (landscapes) to investigate the impact of the resource landscape on the optimal foraging movement patterns of deterministic foragers. It should be noted that this model goes beyond previous work in that it includes parameters such as spatial memory and satiation, which have received little consideration to date in the field of movement ecology. When the food availability is scarce in a tropical forest-like environment with feeding trees distributed in a clumped fashion and the size of those trees are distributed according to a lognormal distribution, the optimal foraging pattern of a generalist who can consume various and abundant food types indeed reaches the Levy range, and hence, show evidence for Levy-flight-like (power law distribution with exponent between 1 and 3) behavior. Section 4 of the dissertation presents an investigation of phase transition behavior in a network of locally coupled self-sustained oscillators as the system passes through various bursting states. The results suggest that a phase transition does not occur for this locally coupled neuronal network. The data analysis in the dissertation adopts a model selection approach and relies on methods based on information theory and maximum likelihood.

  3. Identification of DWI behavior patterns and methods for change

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of behavior leading to driving while intoxicated (DWI), and to propose countermeasures for altering these patterns before they result in DWI. Two samples were studied: Los Angeles high school student...

  4. Rethinking Hearing Aid Fitting by Learning From Behavioral Patterns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Benjamin; Petersen, Michael Kai; Pontoppidan, Niels Henrik

    2017-01-01

    users to remotely enhance auditory focus and attenuate background noise to improve speech intelligibility. N=5, participants changed program settings and adjusted volume on their hearing instruments using their smartphones. We found that individual behavioral patterns affected the usage of the devices....... A significant difference between program usage, and weekdays versus weekends, were found. Users not only changed programs to modify aspects of directionality and noise reduction, but also continuously adjusted the volume. Rethinking hearing instruments as devices that adaptively learn behavioral patterns based...

  5. Patterns of poverty exposure and children's trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comeau, Jinette; Boyle, Michael H

    2018-04-01

    Using data from the Child Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we compare trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors among children exposed to five patterns of poverty from birth to age 14: always or never poor - stable patterns; a single transition into or out of poverty, or repeated fluctuations in and out of poverty - changing patterns. We also examine how low maternal education and single parenthood interact with these poverty exposures to compound their adverse effects. Finally, we compare the magnitude of effects associated with the patterns of poverty exposure, as well as their interactions with low maternal education and single parenthood, on trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors to determine if they are significantly different. Results reveal that initial levels and rates of change in children's trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors are similar across the three changing patterns of poverty exposure, leading us to combine them into a single group representing intermittent poverty. Initial disparities between children who are never poor and their counterparts who are always or intermittently poor are constant over time for internalizing behaviors and grow in magnitude for externalizing behaviors. The cumulative negative effect of poverty exposure over time is stronger for externalizing vs. internalizing behaviors. Low maternal education compounds the adverse effects of persistent poverty, an effect that is similar for externalizing and internalizing behaviors.

  6. Human V4 Activity Patterns Predict Behavioral Performance in Imagery of Object Color.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bannert, Michael M; Bartels, Andreas

    2018-04-11

    Color is special among basic visual features in that it can form a defining part of objects that are engrained in our memory. Whereas most neuroimaging research on human color vision has focused on responses related to external stimulation, the present study investigated how sensory-driven color vision is linked to subjective color perception induced by object imagery. We recorded fMRI activity in male and female volunteers during viewing of abstract color stimuli that were red, green, or yellow in half of the runs. In the other half we asked them to produce mental images of colored, meaningful objects (such as tomato, grapes, banana) corresponding to the same three color categories. Although physically presented color could be decoded from all retinotopically mapped visual areas, only hV4 allowed predicting colors of imagined objects when classifiers were trained on responses to physical colors. Importantly, only neural signal in hV4 was predictive of behavioral performance in the color judgment task on a trial-by-trial basis. The commonality between neural representations of sensory-driven and imagined object color and the behavioral link to neural representations in hV4 identifies area hV4 as a perceptual hub linking externally triggered color vision with color in self-generated object imagery. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans experience color not only when visually exploring the outside world, but also in the absence of visual input, for example when remembering, dreaming, and during imagery. It is not known where neural codes for sensory-driven and internally generated hue converge. In the current study we evoked matching subjective color percepts, one driven by physically presented color stimuli, the other by internally generated color imagery. This allowed us to identify area hV4 as the only site where neural codes of corresponding subjective color perception converged regardless of its origin. Color codes in hV4 also predicted behavioral performance in an

  7. Scaling behavior of online human activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Zhi-Dan; Cai, Shi-Min; Huang, Junming; Fu, Yan; Zhou, Tao

    2012-11-01

    The rapid development of the Internet technology enables humans to explore the web and record the traces of online activities. From the analysis of these large-scale data sets (i.e., traces), we can get insights about the dynamic behavior of human activity. In this letter, the scaling behavior and complexity of human activity in the e-commerce, such as music, books, and movies rating, are comprehensively investigated by using the detrended fluctuation analysis technique and the multiscale entropy method. Firstly, the interevent time series of rating behaviors of these three types of media show similar scaling properties with exponents ranging from 0.53 to 0.58, which implies that the collective behaviors of rating media follow a process embodying self-similarity and long-range correlation. Meanwhile, by dividing the users into three groups based on their activities (i.e., rating per unit time), we find that the scaling exponents of the interevent time series in the three groups are different. Hence, these results suggest that a stronger long-range correlations exist in these collective behaviors. Furthermore, their information complexities vary in the three groups. To explain the differences of the collective behaviors restricted to the three groups, we study the dynamic behavior of human activity at the individual level, and find that the dynamic behaviors of a few users have extremely small scaling exponents associated with long-range anticorrelations. By comparing the interevent time distributions of four representative users, we can find that the bimodal distributions may bring forth the extraordinary scaling behaviors. These results of the analysis of the online human activity in the e-commerce may not only provide insight into its dynamic behaviors but may also be applied to acquire potential economic interest.

  8. Discrimination of complex human behavior by pigeons (Columba livia and humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad A J Qadri

    Full Text Available The cognitive and neural mechanisms for recognizing and categorizing behavior are not well understood in non-human animals. In the current experiments, pigeons and humans learned to categorize two non-repeating, complex human behaviors ("martial arts" vs. "Indian dance". Using multiple video exemplars of a digital human model, pigeons discriminated these behaviors in a go/no-go task and humans in a choice task. Experiment 1 found that pigeons already experienced with discriminating the locomotive actions of digital animals acquired the discrimination more rapidly when action information was available than when only pose information was available. Experiments 2 and 3 found this same dynamic superiority effect with naïve pigeons and human participants. Both species used the same combination of immediately available static pose information and more slowly perceived dynamic action cues to discriminate the behavioral categories. Theories based on generalized visual mechanisms, as opposed to embodied, species-specific action networks, offer a parsimonious account of how these different animals recognize behavior across and within species.

  9. Behavior and Body Patterns of the Larger Pacific Striped Octopus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caldwell, Roy L; Ross, Richard; Rodaniche, Arcadio; Huffard, Christine L

    2015-01-01

    Over thirty years ago anecdotal accounts of the undescribed Larger Pacific Striped Octopus suggested behaviors previously unknown for octopuses. Beak-to-beak mating, dens shared by mating pairs, inking during mating and extended spawning were mentioned in publications, and enticed generations of cephalopod biologists. In 2012-2014 we were able to obtain several live specimens of this species, which remains without a formal description. All of the unique behaviors listed above were observed for animals in aquaria and are discussed here. We describe the behavior, body color patterns, and postures of 24 adults maintained in captivity. Chromatophore patterns of hatchlings are also shown.

  10. Classroom Behavior Patterns of EMH, LD, and EH Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKinney, James D.; Forman, Susan G.

    1982-01-01

    Investigated whether classroom teachers could differentiate among educable mentally handicapped (EMH), learning disabled (LD), and emotionally handicapped (EH) students based on perceptions of classroom behavior patterns. Ratings from classroom behavior inventory scales revealed that EMH students were distinguished by low intelligence, creativity,…

  11. Behavioral patterns of environmental performance evaluation programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wanxin; Mauerhofer, Volker

    2016-11-01

    During the past decades numerous environmental performance evaluation programs have been developed and implemented on different geographic scales. This paper develops a taxonomy of environmental management behavioral patterns in order to provide a practical comparison tool for environmental performance evaluation programs. Ten such programs purposively selected are mapped against the identified four behavioral patterns in the form of diagnosis, negotiation, learning, and socialization and learning. Overall, we found that schemes which serve to diagnose environmental abnormalities are mainly externally imposed and have been developed as a result of technical debates concerning data sources, methodology and ranking criteria. Learning oriented scheme is featured by processes through which free exchange of ideas, mutual and adaptive learning can occur. Scheme developed by higher authority for influencing behaviors of lower levels of government has been adopted by the evaluated to signal their excellent environmental performance. The socializing and learning classified evaluation schemes have incorporated dialogue, participation, and capacity building in program design. In conclusion we consider the 'fitness for purpose' of the various schemes, the merits of our analytical model and the future possibilities of fostering capacity building in the realm of wicked environmental challenges. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Behavior and Body Patterns of the Larger Pacific Striped Octopus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roy L Caldwell

    Full Text Available Over thirty years ago anecdotal accounts of the undescribed Larger Pacific Striped Octopus suggested behaviors previously unknown for octopuses. Beak-to-beak mating, dens shared by mating pairs, inking during mating and extended spawning were mentioned in publications, and enticed generations of cephalopod biologists. In 2012-2014 we were able to obtain several live specimens of this species, which remains without a formal description. All of the unique behaviors listed above were observed for animals in aquaria and are discussed here. We describe the behavior, body color patterns, and postures of 24 adults maintained in captivity. Chromatophore patterns of hatchlings are also shown.

  13. Patterns of poverty exposure and children’s trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinette Comeau

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Using data from the Child Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we compare trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors among children exposed to five patterns of poverty from birth to age 14: always or never poor – stable patterns; a single transition into or out of poverty, or repeated fluctuations in and out of poverty – changing patterns. We also examine how low maternal education and single parenthood interact with these poverty exposures to compound their adverse effects. Finally, we compare the magnitude of effects associated with the patterns of poverty exposure, as well as their interactions with low maternal education and single parenthood, on trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors to determine if they are significantly different. Results reveal that initial levels and rates of change in children’s trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors are similar across the three changing patterns of poverty exposure, leading us to combine them into a single group representing intermittent poverty. Initial disparities between children who are never poor and their counterparts who are always or intermittently poor are constant over time for internalizing behaviors and grow in magnitude for externalizing behaviors. The cumulative negative effect of poverty exposure over time is stronger for externalizing vs. internalizing behaviors. Low maternal education compounds the adverse effects of persistent poverty, an effect that is similar for externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Keywords: United States, Poverty, Child mental health disparities, Externalizing behaviors, Internalizing behaviors, Multiple risk exposure

  14. Sedentary behavior patterns in non-pregnant and pregnant women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marquis Hawkins

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Sedentary behavior has been associated with adverse health outcomes among pregnant women; however, few studies have characterized sedentary behavior patterns in this population. We described patterns of accelerometer-determined indicators of sedentary behavior among a national sample of US pregnant (n = 234 women and non-pregnant (n = 1146 women participating in the NHANES 2003-06 cycles. We included women with ≥4 days of accelerometer wear of ≥10 h/day. A count threshold of <100 cpm was used to describe sedentary behavior as: 1 total accumulated sedentary time by bout length categories; 2 accumulated sedentary time within discrete bout length categories; 3 mean, median, and usual bout length; and 4 and bout frequency. Both non-pregnant and pregnant women spent up to 60% of their accelerometer wear time in sedentary behavior depending on the minimum bout threshold applied. Sedentary time was higher among pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women when lower bout thresholds (i.e. 10 min or less were applied. The majority of total sedentary time was accumulated in bouts lasting <10 min. The women averaged less than two prolonged sedentary bouts (i.e., ≥30 min per day, which accounted for nearly 20% of total accumulated sedentary time. When applying a minimum threshold of at least 15 min, sedentary time increased across pregnancy trimesters, while sedentary time was similar across trimesters when using lower thresholds. These findings provide the first characterization of accelerometer-determined indicators of sedentary behavior in pregnant women. The minimum bout threshold applied influenced estimates of sedentary time and patterns sedentary time accumulation across pregnancy trimesters.

  15. Cascading walks model for human mobility patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Xiao-Pu; Wang, Xiang-Wen; Yan, Xiao-Yong; Wang, Bing-Hong

    2015-01-01

    Uncovering the mechanism behind the scaling laws and series of anomalies in human trajectories is of fundamental significance in understanding many spatio-temporal phenomena. Recently, several models, e.g. the explorations-returns model (Song et al., 2010) and the radiation model for intercity travels (Simini et al., 2012), have been proposed to study the origin of these anomalies and the prediction of human movements. However, an agent-based model that could reproduce most of empirical observations without priori is still lacking. In this paper, considering the empirical findings on the correlations of move-lengths and staying time in human trips, we propose a simple model which is mainly based on the cascading processes to capture the human mobility patterns. In this model, each long-range movement activates series of shorter movements that are organized by the law of localized explorations and preferential returns in prescribed region. Based on the numerical simulations and analytical studies, we show more than five statistical characters that are well consistent with the empirical observations, including several types of scaling anomalies and the ultraslow diffusion properties, implying the cascading processes associated with the localized exploration and preferential returns are indeed a key in the understanding of human mobility activities. Moreover, the model shows both of the diverse individual mobility and aggregated scaling displacements, bridging the micro and macro patterns in human mobility. In summary, our model successfully explains most of empirical findings and provides deeper understandings on the emergence of human mobility patterns.

  16. Endocrinology of human female sexuality, mating, and reproductive behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motta-Mena, Natalie V; Puts, David A

    2017-05-01

    Hormones orchestrate and coordinate human female sexual development, sexuality, and reproduction in relation to three types of phenotypic changes: life history transitions such as puberty and childbirth, responses to contextual factors such as caloric intake and stress, and cyclical patterns such as the ovulatory cycle. Here, we review the endocrinology underlying women's reproductive phenotypes, including sexual orientation and gender identity, mate preferences, competition for mates, sex drive, and maternal behavior. We highlight distinctive aspects of women's sexuality such as the possession of sexual ornaments, relatively cryptic fertile windows, extended sexual behavior across the ovulatory cycle, and a period of midlife reproductive senescence-and we focus on how hormonal mechanisms were shaped by selection to produce adaptive outcomes. We conclude with suggestions for future research to elucidate how hormonal mechanisms subserve women's reproductive phenotypes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Women's sexual behavior. Population-based study among 65,000 women from four Nordic countries before introduction of human papillomavirus vaccination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Kirsten Egebjerg; Munk, Christian; Sparen, Par

    2011-01-01

    Sexual behavior is of public health interest because of the association with reproductive health and sexually transmitted infections such as human papillomavirus, which is the causal factor of cervical cancer. The aim of the study was to describe patterns in women's sexual behavior in four Nordic...

  18. The Consequences of Human Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Derek Hodgson

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Human behavior is founded on a complex interaction of influences that derive from sources both extraneous and intrinsic to the brain. It is the ways these various influences worked together in the past to fashion modern human cognition that can help elucidate the probable course of future human endeavor. A particular concern of this chapter is the way cognition has been shaped and continues to depend on prevailing environmental and ecological conditions. Whether the human predicament can be regarded simply as another response to such conditions similar to that of other organisms or something special will also be addressed. More specifically, it will be shown that, although the highly artificial niche in which most humans now live has had profound effects on ways of thinking, constraints deriving from a shared evolutionary heritage continue to have substantial effects on behavior. The way these exigencies interact will be explored in order to understand the implications for the future wellbeing of humanity.

  19. Symmetry pattern transition in cellular automata with complex behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez, Juan R.; Lopez-Ruiz, Ricardo

    2008-01-01

    A transition from asymmetric to symmetric patterns in time-dependent extended systems is described. It is shown that one dimensional cellular automata, started from fully random initial conditions, can be forced to evolve into complex symmetrical patterns by stochastically coupling a proportion p of pairs of sites located at equal distance from the center of the lattice. A nontrivial critical value of p must be surpassed in order to obtain symmetrical patterns during the evolution. This strategy is able to classify the cellular automata rules - with complex behavior - between those that support time-dependent symmetric patterns and those which do not support such kind of patterns

  20. Velocity-curvature patterns limit human-robot physical interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurice, Pauline; Huber, Meghan E; Hogan, Neville; Sternad, Dagmar

    2018-01-01

    Physical human-robot collaboration is becoming more common, both in industrial and service robotics. Cooperative execution of a task requires intuitive and efficient interaction between both actors. For humans, this means being able to predict and adapt to robot movements. Given that natural human movement exhibits several robust features, we examined whether human-robot physical interaction is facilitated when these features are considered in robot control. The present study investigated how humans adapt to biological and non-biological velocity patterns in robot movements. Participants held the end-effector of a robot that traced an elliptic path with either biological (two-thirds power law) or non-biological velocity profiles. Participants were instructed to minimize the force applied on the robot end-effector. Results showed that the applied force was significantly lower when the robot moved with a biological velocity pattern. With extensive practice and enhanced feedback, participants were able to decrease their force when following a non-biological velocity pattern, but never reached forces below those obtained with the 2/3 power law profile. These results suggest that some robust features observed in natural human movements are also a strong preference in guided movements. Therefore, such features should be considered in human-robot physical collaboration.

  1. Human Guidance Behavior Decomposition and Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feit, Andrew James

    Trained humans are capable of high performance, adaptable, and robust first-person dynamic motion guidance behavior. This behavior is exhibited in a wide variety of activities such as driving, piloting aircraft, skiing, biking, and many others. Human performance in such activities far exceeds the current capability of autonomous systems in terms of adaptability to new tasks, real-time motion planning, robustness, and trading safety for performance. The present work investigates the structure of human dynamic motion guidance that enables these performance qualities. This work uses a first-person experimental framework that presents a driving task to the subject, measuring control inputs, vehicle motion, and operator visual gaze movement. The resulting data is decomposed into subspace segment clusters that form primitive elements of action-perception interactive behavior. Subspace clusters are defined by both agent-environment system dynamic constraints and operator control strategies. A key contribution of this work is to define transitions between subspace cluster segments, or subgoals, as points where the set of active constraints, either system or operator defined, changes. This definition provides necessary conditions to determine transition points for a given task-environment scenario that allow a solution trajectory to be planned from known behavior elements. In addition, human gaze behavior during this task contains predictive behavior elements, indicating that the identified control modes are internally modeled. Based on these ideas, a generative, autonomous guidance framework is introduced that efficiently generates optimal dynamic motion behavior in new tasks. The new subgoal planning algorithm is shown to generate solutions to certain tasks more quickly than existing approaches currently used in robotics.

  2. Pattern Recognition as a Human Centered non-Euclidean Problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Duin, R.P.W.

    2010-01-01

    Regularities in the world are human defined. Patterns in the observed phenomena are there because we define and recognize them as such. Automatic pattern recognition tries to bridge the gap between human judgment and measurements made by artificial sensors. This is done in two steps: representation

  3. Goal inferences about robot behavior : goal inferences and human response behaviors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Broers, H.A.T.; Ham, J.R.C.; Broeders, R.; De Silva, P.; Okada, M.

    2014-01-01

    This explorative research focused on the goal inferences human observers draw based on a robot's behavior, and the extent to which those inferences predict people's behavior in response to that robot. Results show that different robot behaviors cause different response behavior from people.

  4. Patterns in clinical students' self-regulated learning behavior: a Q-methodology study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berkhout, Joris J; Teunissen, Pim W; Helmich, Esther; van Exel, Job; van der Vleuten, Cees P M; Jaarsma, Debbie A D C

    2017-03-01

    Students feel insufficiently supported in clinical environments to engage in active learning and achieve a high level of self-regulation. As a result clinical learning is highly demanding for students. Because of large differences between students, supervisors may not know how to support them in their learning process. We explored patterns in undergraduate students' self-regulated learning behavior in the clinical environment, to improve tailored supervision, using Q-methodology. Q-methodology uses features of both qualitative and quantitative methods for the systematic investigation of subjective issues by having participants sort statements along a continuum to represent their opinion. We enrolled 74 students between December 2014 and April 2015 and had them characterize their learning behavior by sorting 52 statements about self-regulated learning behavior and explaining their response. The statements used for the sorting were extracted from a previous study. The data was analyzed using by-person factor analysis to identify clusters of individuals with similar sorts of the statements. The resulting factors and qualitative data were used to interpret and describe the patterns that emerged. Five resulting patterns were identified in students' self-regulated learning behavior in the clinical environment, which we labelled: Engaged, Critically opportunistic, Uncertain, Restrained and Effortful. The five patterns varied mostly regarding goals, metacognition, communication, effort, and dependence on external regulation for learning. These discrete patterns in students' self-regulated learning behavior in the clinical environment are part of a complex interaction between student and learning context. The results suggest that developing self-regulated learning behavior might best be supported regarding individual students' needs.

  5. Irrational choice behavior in human and nonhuman primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perdue, Bonnie M; Brown, Ella R

    2018-03-01

    Choice behavior in humans has motivated a large body of research with a focus on whether decisions can be considered to be rational. In general, humans prefer having choice, as do a number of other species that have been tested, even though having increased choice does not necessarily yield a positive outcome. Humans have been found to choose an option more often only because the opportunity to select it was diminishing, an example of a deviation from economic rationality. Here we extend this paradigm to nonhuman primates in an effort to understand the mechanisms underlying this finding. In this study, we presented two groups of laboratory monkeys, capuchins (Cebus apella) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), as well as human subjects, with a computerized task in which subjects were presented with two differently colored icons. When the subject selected an icon, differing numbers of food pellets were dispensed (or points were assigned), making each icon correspond to a certain level of risk (one icon yielded 1 or 4 pellets/points and the other yielded 2 or 3). Initially, both options remained constantly available and we established choice preference scores for each subject. Then, we assessed preference patterns once the options were not continuously available. Specifically, choosing one icon would cause the other to shrink in size on the screen and eventually disappear if never selected. Selecting it would restore it to its full size. As predicted, humans shifted their risk preferences in the diminishing options phase, choosing to click on both icons more equally in order to keep both options available. At the group level, capuchin monkeys showed this pattern as well, but there was a great deal of individual variability in both capuchins and macaques. The present work suggests that there is some degree of continuity between human and nonhuman primates in the desire to have choice simply for the sake of having choice.

  6. [Study on feeding behavior patterns of rats on cariogenic diet].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasaki, Y

    1989-03-01

    The feeding behavior patterns of Jcl:Wistar rats fed on commercial stock diet and cariogenic diet (Diet #2000) were investigated with the newly developed autorecording system. They were caged separately under a regular light-dark cycle (L:D = 12:12). The results and conclusion were as follows. All rats have a circadian feeding rhythm, and 70-85% of feeding frequency were observed during the dark period. The group on the commercial stock diet showed a dual-peak pattern of feeding at 20:30 and 4:00. On the other hand, the cariogenic diet groups showed a more frequent feeding pattern during the dark period. The feeding frequency increased from 1:00 to 3:00 in the high sucrose diet group and more frequent feeding was observed. From these results, it was suggested that dental caries in the rats was caused by not only the local effect of sucrose in the mouth but also by the changing patterns of feeding behavior with cariogenic diet.

  7. Ecological Environment in Terms of Human Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Xiaogang; Zhou, Dehu; Lin, Hui

    2013-01-01

    In terms of human behavior, company and government policy, it is proposed that the ecological behavior of human being is the basis of influence on the ecological environment construction in Poyang Lake and measures to ensure the sustainable development of ecological environment in Poyang Lake.

  8. Social Media Research, Human Behavior, and Sustainable Society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Quan Li

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available A bibliometric analysis was conducted to review social media research from different perspectives during the period of 2008–2014 based on the Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index database. Using a collection of 10,042 articles related to social media, the bibliometric analysis revealed some interesting patterns and trend of the scientific outputs, major journals, subject categories, spatial distribution, international collaboration, and temporal evolution in keywords usage in social media studies. The research on social media has been characterized by rapid growth and dynamic collaboration, with a rising number of publications and citation. Communication, Sociology, Public, Environment & Occupational Health, Business, and Multidisciplinary Psychology were the five most common categories. Computers in Human Behavior was the journal with the most social media publications, and Computers & Education ranked first according to the average citations. The two most productive countries were the U.S. and UK, delivering about half of the publications. The proportion of China’s internationally collaborative publications was the highest. The University of Wisconsin, the University of Michigan, and Harvard University were three most productive institutions. Several keywords, such as “Facebook”, “Twitter”, “communication”, “Social Networking Sites”, “China”, “climate change”, “big data” and “social support” increasingly gained the popularity during the study period, indicating the research trends on human behavior and sustainability.

  9. Modeling and simulating human teamwork behaviors using intelligent agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Xiaocong; Yen, John

    2004-12-01

    Among researchers in multi-agent systems there has been growing interest in using intelligent agents to model and simulate human teamwork behaviors. Teamwork modeling is important for training humans in gaining collaborative skills, for supporting humans in making critical decisions by proactively gathering, fusing, and sharing information, and for building coherent teams with both humans and agents working effectively on intelligence-intensive problems. Teamwork modeling is also challenging because the research has spanned diverse disciplines from business management to cognitive science, human discourse, and distributed artificial intelligence. This article presents an extensive, but not exhaustive, list of work in the field, where the taxonomy is organized along two main dimensions: team social structure and social behaviors. Along the dimension of social structure, we consider agent-only teams and mixed human-agent teams. Along the dimension of social behaviors, we consider collaborative behaviors, communicative behaviors, helping behaviors, and the underpinning of effective teamwork-shared mental models. The contribution of this article is that it presents an organizational framework for analyzing a variety of teamwork simulation systems and for further studying simulated teamwork behaviors.

  10. Pattern Analyses Reveal Separate Experience-Based Fear Memories in the Human Right Amygdala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braem, Senne; De Houwer, Jan; Demanet, Jelle; Yuen, Kenneth S L; Kalisch, Raffael; Brass, Marcel

    2017-08-23

    Learning fear via the experience of contingencies between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) is often assumed to be fundamentally different from learning fear via instructions. An open question is whether fear-related brain areas respond differently to experienced CS-US contingencies than to merely instructed CS-US contingencies. Here, we contrasted two experimental conditions where subjects were instructed to expect the same CS-US contingencies while only one condition was characterized by prior experience with the CS-US contingency. Using multivoxel pattern analysis of fMRI data, we found CS-related neural activation patterns in the right amygdala (but not in other fear-related regions) that dissociated between whether a CS-US contingency had been instructed and experienced versus merely instructed. A second experiment further corroborated this finding by showing a category-independent neural response to instructed and experienced, but not merely instructed, CS presentations in the human right amygdala. Together, these findings are in line with previous studies showing that verbal fear instructions have a strong impact on both brain and behavior. However, even in the face of fear instructions, the human right amygdala still shows a separable neural pattern response to experience-based fear contingencies. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In our study, we addressed a fundamental problem of the science of human fear learning and memory, namely whether fear learning via experience in humans relies on a neural pathway that can be separated from fear learning via verbal information. Using two new procedures and recent advances in the analysis of brain imaging data, we localized purely experience-based fear processing and memory in the right amygdala, thereby making a direct link between human and animal research. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/378116-15$15.00/0.

  11. Behavioral Patterns in Special Education. Good Teaching Practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Dorta, Manuela; Borges, África

    2017-01-01

    Providing quality education means to respond to the diversity in the classroom. The teacher is a key figure in responding to the various educational needs presented by students. Specifically, special education professionals are of great importance as they are the ones who lend their support to regular classroom teachers and offer specialized educational assistance to students who require it. Therefore, special education is different from what takes place in the regular classroom, demanding greater commitment by the teacher. There are certain behaviors, considered good teaching practices, which teachers have always been connected with to achieve good teaching and good learning. To ensure that these teachers are carrying out their educational work properly it is necessary to evaluate. This means having appropriate instruments. The Observational Protocol for Teaching Functions in Primary School and Special Education (PROFUNDO-EPE, v.3., in Spanish) allows to capture behaviors from these professionals and behavioral patterns that correspond to good teaching practices. This study evaluates the behavior of two special education teachers who work with students from different educational stages and educational needs. It reveals that the analyzed teachers adapt their behavior according the needs and characteristics of their students to the students responding more adequately to the needs presented by the students and showing good teaching practices. The patterns obtained indicate that they offer support, help and clear guidelines to perform the tasks. They motivate them toward learning by providing positive feedback and they check that students have properly assimilated the contents through questions or non-verbal supervision. Also, they provide a safe and reliable climate for learning.

  12. Body adiposity, behavior pattern and stress in adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mário Cesar Pires

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between the body adiposity index (BAI, behavior pattern and stress of adolescents starting their courses at the Federal Technical School in Santa Catarina, Brazil. 170 subjects participated in the study, comprising 94 male subjects (mean age =14.9±1.0 and 76 female subjects (mean age =14.7±0.7. In addition to measuring body mass (BM and stature (ST in order to characterize the sample, adiposity index was calculated from triciptal and subscapular skinfolds and their sums. The data related to behavior patterns and stress were obtained using a Behavior Inventory and a Stress Symptom Inventory. It was observed, from analysis of the results, that BM and ST were within the percentage range of normality, according to the standard of Santo André, SP. When BAI for male and female subjects was compared, it was higher for female subjects. The sum of skinfolds for both male and female subjects was within the ideal range. BAI was also observed above the ideal level in 24.5% of the male subjects and in 44.7% of the female subjects. In relation to behavior pattern, most of the subjects (59.1% of males and 64.1% of females exhibited Type “A”. Female subjects exhibited more vulnerability to stress (55.2% when compared to male subjects (29.8%. The stress stage with the highest number of subjects was the resistance stage, with 53.9% and 29.8% for female and male subjects, respectively. The results failed to demonstrate an association between BAI and behavior pattern, between BAI and stress or between behavior pattern and stress. It can be concluded that behavior pattern and stress do not infl uence BAI in adolescents. RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a relação entre índice de adiposidade corporal (IAC, padrão de comportamento e estresse em adolescentes ingressantes na Escola Técnica Federal de Santa Catarina. Participaram da amostra 170 adolescentes, 94 do gênero masculino (m

  13. Behavioral patterns associated with chemotherapy-induced emesis: A potential signature for nausea in musk shrews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Christopher Horn

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms in patients with many diseases, including cancer and its treatments. Although the neurological basis of vomiting is reasonably well known, an understanding of the physiology of nausea is lacking. The primary barrier to mechanistic research on the nausea system is the lack of an animal model. Indeed investigating the effects of anti-nausea drugs in preclinical models is difficult because the primary readout is often emesis. It is known that animals show a behavioral profile of sickness, associated with reduced feeding and movement, and possibly these general measures are signs of nausea. Studies attempting to relate the occurrence of additional behaviors to emesis have produced mixed results. Here we applied a statistical method, t-pattern (temporal pattern analysis, to determine patterns of behavior associated with emesis. Musk shrews were injected with the chemotherapy agent cisplatin (a gold standard in emesis research to induce acute (< 24 h and delayed (> 24 h emesis. Emesis and other behaviors were coded and tracked from video files. T-pattern analysis revealed hundreds of non-random patterns of behavior associated with emesis, including sniffing, changes in body contraction, and locomotion. There was little evidence that locomotion was inhibited by the occurrence of emesis. Eating and drinking, and other larger body movements including rearing, grooming, and body rotation, were significantly less common in emesis-related behavioral patterns in real versus randomized data. These results lend preliminary evidence for the expression of emesis-related behavioral patterns, including reduced ingestive behavior, grooming and exploratory behaviors. In summary, this statistical approach to behavioral analysis in a pre-clinical emesis research model could be used to assess the more global effects and limitations of drugs used to control nausea and its potential correlates, including reduced feeding and

  14. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: Humanism in Action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Larry K.

    1996-01-01

    Claims that humanism, in both concept and philosophy, is encased in a literature that is predominantly abstract, making humanism difficult to translate into tangible day-to-day action. Argues that rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), however, provides a detailed method for translating humanist concepts into humanist behavior. (RJM)

  15. Mimesis: Linking Postmodern Theory to Human Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dybicz, Phillip

    2010-01-01

    This article elaborates mimesis as a theory of causality used to explain human behavior. Drawing parallels to social constructionism's critique of positivism and naturalism, mimesis is offered as a theory of causality explaining human behavior that contests the current dominance of Newton's theory of causality as cause and effect. The contestation…

  16. Ventilation patterns of the songbird lung/air sac system during different behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackelprang, Rebecca; Goller, Franz

    2013-10-01

    Unidirectional, continuous airflow through the avian lung is achieved through an elaborate air sac system with a sequential, posterior to anterior ventilation pattern. This classical model was established through various approaches spanning passively ventilated systems to mass spectrometry analysis of tracer gas flow into various air sacs during spontaneous breathing in restrained ducks. Information on flow patterns in other bird taxa is missing, and these techniques do not permit direct tests of whether the basic flow pattern can change during different behaviors. Here we use thermistors implanted into various locations of the respiratory system to detect small pulses of tracer gas (helium) to reconstruct airflow patterns in quietly breathing and behaving (calling, wing flapping) songbirds (zebra finch and yellow-headed blackbird). The results illustrate that the basic pattern of airflow in these two species is largely consistent with the model. However, two notable differences emerged. First, some tracer gas arrived in the anterior set of air sacs during the inspiration during which it was inhaled, suggesting a more rapid throughput through the lung than previously assumed. Second, differences in ventilation between the two anterior air sacs emerged during calling and wing flapping, indicating that adjustments in the flow pattern occur during dynamic behaviors. It is unclear whether this modulation in ventilation pattern is passive or active. This technique for studying ventilation patterns during dynamic behaviors proves useful for establishing detailed timing of airflow and modulation of ventilation in the avian respiratory system.

  17. Spatiotemporal detection of unusual human population behavior using mobile phone data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adrian Dobra

    Full Text Available With the aim to contribute to humanitarian response to disasters and violent events, scientists have proposed the development of analytical tools that could identify emergency events in real-time, using mobile phone data. The assumption is that dramatic and discrete changes in behavior, measured with mobile phone data, will indicate extreme events. In this study, we propose an efficient system for spatiotemporal detection of behavioral anomalies from mobile phone data and compare sites with behavioral anomalies to an extensive database of emergency and non-emergency events in Rwanda. Our methodology successfully captures anomalous behavioral patterns associated with a broad range of events, from religious and official holidays to earthquakes, floods, violence against civilians and protests. Our results suggest that human behavioral responses to extreme events are complex and multi-dimensional, including extreme increases and decreases in both calling and movement behaviors. We also find significant temporal and spatial variance in responses to extreme events. Our behavioral anomaly detection system and extensive discussion of results are a significant contribution to the long-term project of creating an effective real-time event detection system with mobile phone data and we discuss the implications of our findings for future research to this end.

  18. Leveraging Client-Side DNS Failure Patterns to Identify Malicious Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-28

    malicious behavior found in our dataset and (ii) to create ground truth to evaluate the system proposed in Section V. We begin by removing those cases that...2011. [10] S. Hao, N. Feamster, and R. Pandrangi, “Monitoring the Initial DNS Behavior of Malicious Domains,” in ACM IMC , 2011. [11] R. Perdisci et...distribution is unlimited. Leveraging Client-Side DNS Failure Patterns to Identify Malicious Behaviors The views, opinions and/or findings contained in

  19. Patterns of Service Use in Two Types of Managed Behavioral Health Care Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrick, Elizabeth Levy; Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M.; Azzone, Vanessa; McCann, Bernard; Ritter, Grant; Zolotusky, Galina; McGuire, Thomas G.; Reif, Sharon

    2009-01-01

    Objective To describe service use patterns by level of care in two managed care products: employee assistance program (EAP) combined with behavioral health benefits, and standard behavioral health benefits. Methods This is a cross-sectional analysis of administrative data for 2004 from a national managed behavioral health care organization (MBHO). Utilization of 11 specific service categories was compared across products. The weighted sample reflected exact matching on sociodemographics (N= 710,014 unweighted; 286,750 weighted). Results In the EAP/behavioral health product,, the proportion of enrollees with outpatient mental health and substance abuse office visits (including EAP) was higher (pEAP/behavioral health and standard behavioral health care products had distinct utilization patterns in this large MBHO. In particular, greater use of certain outpatient services was observed within the EAP/behavioral health product. PMID:20044425

  20. Elevated dopamine alters consummatory pattern generation and increases behavioral variability during learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark A. Rossi

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The role of dopamine in controlling behavior remains poorly understood. In this study we examined licking behavior in an established hyperdopaminergic mouse model—dopamine transporter knockout (DAT KO mice. DAT KO mice showed higher rates of licking, which is due to increased perseveration of licking in a bout. By contrast, they showed increased individual lick durations, and reduced inter-lick-intervals. During extinction, both KO and control mice transiently increased variability in lick pattern generation while reducing licking rate, yet they showed very different behavioral patterns. Control mice gradually increased lick duration as well as variability. By contrast, DAT KO mice exhibited more immediate (within 10 licks adjustments—an immediate increase in lick duration variability, as well as more rapid extinction. These results suggest that the level of dopamine can modulate the persistence and pattern generation of a highly stereotyped consummatory behavior like licking, as well as new learning in response to changes in environmental feedback. Increased dopamine in DAT KO mice not only increased perseveration of bouts and individual lick duration, but also increased the behavioral variability in response to the extinction contingency and the rate of extinction.

  1. Internet Connection Control based on Idle Time Using User Behavior Pattern Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fadilah Fahrul Hardiansyah

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The increase of smartphone ability is rapidly increasing the power consumption. Many methods have been proposed to reduce smartphone power consumption. Most of these methods use the internet connection control based on the availability of the battery power level regardless of when and where a waste of energy occurs. This paper proposes a new approach to control the internet connection based on idle time using user behavior pattern analysis. User behavior patterns are used to predict idle time duration. Internet connection control performed during idle time. During idle time internet connection periodically switched on and off by a certain time interval. This method effectively reduces a waste of energy. Control of the internet connection does not interfere the user because it is implemented on idle time. Keywords: Smartphone, User Behavior, Pattern Recognition, Idle Time, Internet Connection Control

  2. Behavioral and Single-Neuron Sensitivity to Millisecond Variations in Temporally Patterned Communication Signals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Christa A; Ma, Lisa; Casareale, Chelsea R; Carlson, Bruce A

    2016-08-24

    In many sensory pathways, central neurons serve as temporal filters for timing patterns in communication signals. However, how a population of neurons with diverse temporal filtering properties codes for natural variation in communication signals is unknown. Here we addressed this question in the weakly electric fish Brienomyrus brachyistius, which varies the time intervals between successive electric organ discharges to communicate. These fish produce an individually stereotyped signal called a scallop, which consists of a distinctive temporal pattern of ∼8-12 electric pulses. We manipulated the temporal structure of natural scallops during behavioral playback and in vivo electrophysiology experiments to probe the temporal sensitivity of scallop encoding and recognition. We found that presenting time-reversed, randomized, or jittered scallops increased behavioral response thresholds, demonstrating that fish's electric signaling behavior was sensitive to the precise temporal structure of scallops. Next, using in vivo intracellular recordings and discriminant function analysis, we found that the responses of interval-selective midbrain neurons were also sensitive to the precise temporal structure of scallops. Subthreshold changes in membrane potential recorded from single neurons discriminated natural scallops from time-reversed, randomized, and jittered sequences. Pooling the responses of multiple neurons improved the discriminability of natural sequences from temporally manipulated sequences. Finally, we found that single-neuron responses were sensitive to interindividual variation in scallop sequences, raising the question of whether fish may analyze scallop structure to gain information about the sender. Collectively, these results demonstrate that a population of interval-selective neurons can encode behaviorally relevant temporal patterns with millisecond precision. The timing patterns of action potentials, or spikes, play important roles in representing

  3. Ontology and modeling patterns for state-based behavior representation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castet, Jean-Francois; Rozek, Matthew L.; Ingham, Michel D.; Rouquette, Nicolas F.; Chung, Seung H.; Kerzhner, Aleksandr A.; Donahue, Kenneth M.; Jenkins, J. Steven; Wagner, David A.; Dvorak, Daniel L.; hide

    2015-01-01

    This paper provides an approach to capture state-based behavior of elements, that is, the specification of their state evolution in time, and the interactions amongst them. Elements can be components (e.g., sensors, actuators) or environments, and are characterized by state variables that vary with time. The behaviors of these elements, as well as interactions among them are represented through constraints on state variables. This paper discusses the concepts and relationships introduced in this behavior ontology, and the modeling patterns associated with it. Two example cases are provided to illustrate their usage, as well as to demonstrate the flexibility and scalability of the behavior ontology: a simple flashlight electrical model and a more complex spacecraft model involving instruments, power and data behaviors. Finally, an implementation in a SysML profile is provided.

  4. Patterns, Entropy, and Predictability of Human Mobility and Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Shao-Meng; Verkasalo, Hannu; Mohtaschemi, Mikael; Hartonen, Tuomo; Alava, Mikko

    2012-01-01

    Cellular phones are now offering an ubiquitous means for scientists to observe life: how people act, move and respond to external influences. They can be utilized as measurement devices of individual persons and for groups of people of the social context and the related interactions. The picture of human life that emerges shows complexity, which is manifested in such data in properties of the spatiotemporal tracks of individuals. We extract from smartphone-based data for a set of persons important locations such as “home”, “work” and so forth over fixed length time-slots covering the days in the data-set (see also [1], [2]). This set of typical places is heavy-tailed, a power-law distribution with an exponent close to −1.7. To analyze the regularities and stochastic features present, the days are classified for each person into regular, personal patterns. To this are superimposed fluctuations for each day. This randomness is measured by “life” entropy, computed both before and after finding the clustering so as to subtract the contribution of a number of patterns. The main issue that we then address is how predictable individuals are in their mobility. The patterns and entropy are reflected in the predictability of the mobility of the life both individually and on average. We explore the simple approaches to guess the location from the typical behavior, and of exploiting the transition probabilities with time from location or activity A to B. The patterns allow an enhanced predictability, at least up to a few hours into the future from the current location. Such fixed habits are most clearly visible in the working-day length. PMID:23300542

  5. Differences in gay men's AIDS risk knowledge and behavior patterns in high and low AIDS prevalence cities.

    OpenAIRE

    St Lawrence, J S; Hood, H V; Brasfield, T; Kelly, J A

    1989-01-01

    Several studies have found reductions in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) risk practices among gay men in high AIDS-prevalence cities since the start of the AIDS crisis. Much less is known about risk behavior patterns among gay men in smaller cities, where AIDS cases are less common and the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection is relatively lower. In the study, men entering gay bars in three cities, one large and two small, completed anonymous surveys of sexual practi...

  6. City rats: insight from rat spatial behavior into human cognition in urban environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaski, Osnat; Portugali, Juval; Eilam, David

    2011-09-01

    The structure and shape of the urban environment influence our ability to find our way about in the city. Understanding how the physical properties of the environment affect spatial behavior and cognition is therefore a necessity. However, there are inherent difficulties in empirically studying complex and large-scale urban environments. These include the need to isolate the impact of specific urban features and to acquire data on the physical activity of individuals. In the present study, we attempted to overcome the above obstacles and examine the relation between urban environments and spatial cognition by testing the spatial behavior of rats. This idea originated from the resemblance in the operative brain functions and in the mechanisms and strategies employed by humans and other animals when acquiring spatial information and establishing an internal representation, as revealed in past studies. Accordingly, we tested rats in arenas that simulated a grid urban layout (e.g. Manhattan streets) and an irregular urban layout (e.g. Jerusalem streets). We found that in the grid layout, rat movement was more structured and extended over a greater area compared with their restricted movement in the irregular layout. These movement patterns recall those of humans in respective urban environments, illustrating that the structure and shape of the environment affect spatial behavior similarly in humans and rats. Overall, testing rats in environments that simulate facets of urban environments can provide new insights into human spatial cognition in urban environments.

  7. Neuron-Enriched Gene Expression Patterns are Regionally Anti-Correlated with Oligodendrocyte-Enriched Patterns in the Adult Mouse and Human Brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Powell Patrick Cheng; French, Leon; Pavlidis, Paul

    2013-01-01

    An important goal in neuroscience is to understand gene expression patterns in the brain. The recent availability of comprehensive and detailed expression atlases for mouse and human creates opportunities to discover global patterns and perform cross-species comparisons. Recently we reported that the major source of variation in gene transcript expression in the adult normal mouse brain can be parsimoniously explained as reflecting regional variation in glia to neuron ratios, and is correlated with degree of connectivity and location in the brain along the anterior-posterior axis. Here we extend this investigation to two gene expression assays of adult normal human brains that consisted of over 300 brain region samples, and perform comparative analyses of brain-wide expression patterns to the mouse. We performed principal components analysis (PCA) on the regional gene expression of the adult human brain to identify the expression pattern that has the largest variance. As in the mouse, we observed that the first principal component is composed of two anti-correlated patterns enriched in oligodendrocyte and neuron markers respectively. However, we also observed interesting discordant patterns between the two species. For example, a few mouse neuron markers show expression patterns that are more correlated with the human oligodendrocyte-enriched pattern and vice-versa. In conclusion, our work provides insights into human brain function and evolution by probing global relationships between regional cell type marker expression patterns in the human and mouse brain.

  8. Exploring Long-Term Behavior Patterns in a Book Recommendation System for Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chien, Tzu-Chao; Chen, Zhi-Hong; Chan, Tak-Wai

    2017-01-01

    This study explored the behavior of students who used a book recommendation system, specifically the My-Bookstore system, over a five semester period. This study addressed two main research questions, the first being related to "the most frequent behaviors and behavioral patterns." The results showed that "visiting" behavior…

  9. Compression as a Universal Principle of Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrer-i-Cancho, Ramon; Hernández-Fernández, Antoni; Lusseau, David; Agoramoorthy, Govindasamy; Hsu, Minna J.; Semple, Stuart

    2013-01-01

    A key aim in biology and psychology is to identify fundamental principles underpinning the behavior of animals, including humans. Analyses of human language and the behavior of a range of non-human animal species have provided evidence for a common pattern underlying diverse behavioral phenomena: Words follow Zipf's law of brevity (the…

  10. A Theoretical Basis for Entropy-Scaling Effects in Human Mobility Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osgood, Nathaniel D; Paul, Tuhin; Stanley, Kevin G; Qian, Weicheng

    2016-01-01

    Characterizing how people move through space has been an important component of many disciplines. With the advent of automated data collection through GPS and other location sensing systems, researchers have the opportunity to examine human mobility at spatio-temporal resolution heretofore impossible. However, the copious and complex data collected through these logging systems can be difficult for humans to fully exploit, leading many researchers to propose novel metrics for encapsulating movement patterns in succinct and useful ways. A particularly salient proposed metric is the mobility entropy rate of the string representing the sequence of locations visited by an individual. However, mobility entropy rate is not scale invariant: entropy rate calculations based on measurements of the same trajectory at varying spatial or temporal granularity do not yield the same value, limiting the utility of mobility entropy rate as a metric by confounding inter-experimental comparisons. In this paper, we derive a scaling relationship for mobility entropy rate of non-repeating straight line paths from the definition of Lempel-Ziv compression. We show that the resulting formulation predicts the scaling behavior of simulated mobility traces, and provides an upper bound on mobility entropy rate under certain assumptions. We further show that this formulation has a maximum value for a particular sampling rate, implying that optimal sampling rates for particular movement patterns exist.

  11. Patterned control of human locomotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacquaniti, Francesco; Ivanenko, Yuri P; Zago, Myrka

    2012-01-01

    There is much experimental evidence for the existence of biomechanical constraints which simplify the problem of control of multi-segment movements. In addition, it has been hypothesized that movements are controlled using a small set of basic temporal components or activation patterns, shared by several different muscles and reflecting global kinematic and kinetic goals. Here we review recent studies on human locomotion showing that muscle activity is accounted for by a combination of few basic patterns, each one timed at a different phase of the gait cycle. Similar patterns are involved in walking and running at different speeds, walking forwards or backwards, and walking under different loading conditions. The corresponding weights of distribution to different muscles may change as a function of the condition, allowing highly flexible control. Biomechanical correlates of each activation pattern have been described, leading to the hypothesis that the co-ordination of limb and body segments arises from the coupling of neural oscillators between each other and with limb mechanical oscillators. Muscle activations need only intervene during limited time epochs to force intrinsic oscillations of the system when energy is lost. PMID:22411012

  12. Patterned control of human locomotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacquaniti, Francesco; Ivanenko, Yuri P; Zago, Myrka

    2012-05-15

    There is much experimental evidence for the existence of biomechanical constraints which simplify the problem of control of multi-segment movements. In addition, it has been hypothesized that movements are controlled using a small set of basic temporal components or activation patterns, shared by several different muscles and reflecting global kinematic and kinetic goals. Here we review recent studies on human locomotion showing that muscle activity is accounted for by a combination of few basic patterns, each one timed at a different phase of the gait cycle. Similar patterns are involved in walking and running at different speeds, walking forwards or backwards, and walking under different loading conditions. The corresponding weights of distribution to different muscles may change as a function of the condition, allowing highly flexible control. Biomechanical correlates of each activation pattern have been described, leading to the hypothesis that the co-ordination of limb and body segments arises from the coupling of neural oscillators between each other and with limb mechanical oscillators. Muscle activations need only intervene during limited time epochs to force intrinsic oscillations of the system when energy is lost.

  13. Evidence of Levy walk foraging patterns in human hunter-gatherers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raichlen, David A; Wood, Brian M; Gordon, Adam D; Mabulla, Audax Z P; Marlowe, Frank W; Pontzer, Herman

    2014-01-14

    When searching for food, many organisms adopt a superdiffusive, scale-free movement pattern called a Lévy walk, which is considered optimal when foraging for heterogeneously located resources with little prior knowledge of distribution patterns [Viswanathan GM, da Luz MGE, Raposo EP, Stanley HE (2011) The Physics of Foraging: An Introduction to Random Searches and Biological Encounters]. Although memory of food locations and higher cognition may limit the benefits of random walk strategies, no studies to date have fully explored search patterns in human foraging. Here, we show that human hunter-gatherers, the Hadza of northern Tanzania, perform Lévy walks in nearly one-half of all foraging bouts. Lévy walks occur when searching for a wide variety of foods from animal prey to underground tubers, suggesting that, even in the most cognitively complex forager on Earth, such patterns are essential to understanding elementary foraging mechanisms. This movement pattern may be fundamental to how humans experience and interact with the world across a wide range of ecological contexts, and it may be adaptive to food distribution patterns on the landscape, which previous studies suggested for organisms with more limited cognition. Additionally, Lévy walks may have become common early in our genus when hunting and gathering arose as a major foraging strategy, playing an important role in the evolution of human mobility.

  14. Nonlinear dynamics in human behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huys, Raoul [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 13 - Marseille (France); Marseille Univ. (France). Movement Science Inst.; Jirsa, Viktor K. (eds.) [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 13 - Marseille (France); Marseille Univ. (France). Movement Science Inst.; Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton, FL (United States). Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences

    2010-07-01

    Humans engage in a seemingly endless variety of different behaviors, of which some are found across species, while others are conceived of as typically human. Most generally, behavior comes about through the interplay of various constraints - informational, mechanical, neural, metabolic, and so on - operating at multiple scales in space and time. Over the years, consensus has grown in the research community that, rather than investigating behavior only from bottom up, it may be also well understood in terms of concepts and laws on the phenomenological level. Such top down approach is rooted in theories of synergetics and self-organization using tools from nonlinear dynamics. The present compendium brings together scientists from all over the world that have contributed to the development of their respective fields departing from this background. It provides an introduction to deterministic as well as stochastic dynamical systems and contains applications to motor control and coordination, visual perception and illusion, as well as auditory perception in the context of speech and music. (orig.)

  15. Human body scents: do they influence our behavior?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mildner, Sophie; Buchbauer, Gerhard

    2013-11-01

    Pheromonal communication in the animal world has been of great research interest for a long time. While extraordinary discoveries in this field have been made, the importance of the human sense of smell was of far lower interest. Humans are seen as poor smellers and therefore research about human olfaction remains quite sparse compared with other animals. Nevertheless amazing achievements have been made during the past 15 years. This is a collection of available data on this topic and a controversial discussion on the role of putative human pheromones in our modem way of living. While the focus was definitely put on behavioral changes evoked by putative human pheromones this article also includes other important aspects such as the possible existence of a human vomeronasal organ. If pheromones do have an influence on human behavior there has to be a receptor organ. How are human body scents secreted and turned into odorous substances? And how can con-specifics detect those very odors and transmit them to the brain? Apart from that the most likely candidates for human pheromones are taken on account and their impact on human behavior is shown in various detail.

  16. Rasmussen's model of human behavior in laparoscopy training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wentink, M; Stassen, L P S; Alwayn, I; Hosman, R J A W; Stassen, H G

    2003-08-01

    Compared to aviation, where virtual reality (VR) training has been standardized and simulators have proven their benefits, the objectives, needs, and means of VR training in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) still have to be established. The aim of the study presented is to introduce Rasmussen's model of human behavior as a practical framework for the definition of the training objectives, needs, and means in MIS. Rasmussen distinguishes three levels of human behavior: skill-, rule-, and knowledge-based behaviour. The training needs of a laparoscopic novice can be determined by identifying the specific skill-, rule-, and knowledge-based behavior that is required for performing safe laparoscopy. Future objectives of VR laparoscopy trainers should address all three levels of behavior. Although most commercially available simulators for laparoscopy aim at training skill-based behavior, especially the training of knowledge-based behavior during complications in surgery will improve safety levels. However, the cost and complexity of a training means increases when the training objectives proceed from the training of skill-based behavior to the training of complex knowledge-based behavior. In aviation, human behavior models have been used successfully to integrate the training of skill-, rule-, and knowledge-based behavior in a full flight simulator. Understanding surgeon behavior is one of the first steps towards a future full-scale laparoscopy simulator.

  17. Influence of human behavior on cholera dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xueying; Gao, Daozhou; Wang, Jin

    2015-09-01

    This paper is devoted to studying the impact of human behavior on cholera infection. We start with a cholera ordinary differential equation (ODE) model that incorporates human behavior via modeling disease prevalence dependent contact rates for direct and indirect transmissions and infectious host shedding. Local and global dynamics of the model are analyzed with respect to the basic reproduction number. We then extend the ODE model to a reaction-convection-diffusion partial differential equation (PDE) model that accounts for the movement of both human hosts and bacteria. Particularly, we investigate the cholera spreading speed by analyzing the traveling wave solutions of the PDE model, and disease threshold dynamics by numerically evaluating the basic reproduction number of the PDE model. Our results show that human behavior can reduce (a) the endemic and epidemic levels, (b) cholera spreading speeds and (c) the risk of infection (characterized by the basic reproduction number). Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Hidden Markov model analysis of maternal behavior patterns in inbred and reciprocal hybrid mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeria Carola

    Full Text Available Individual variation in maternal care in mammals shows a significant heritable component, with the maternal behavior of daughters resembling that of their mothers. In laboratory mice, genetically distinct inbred strains show stable differences in maternal care during the first postnatal week. Moreover, cross fostering and reciprocal breeding studies demonstrate that differences in maternal care between inbred strains persist in the absence of genetic differences, demonstrating a non-genetic or epigenetic contribution to maternal behavior. In this study we applied a mathematical tool, called hidden Markov model (HMM, to analyze the behavior of female mice in the presence of their young. The frequency of several maternal behaviors in mice has been previously described, including nursing/grooming pups and tending to the nest. However, the ordering, clustering, and transitions between these behaviors have not been systematically described and thus a global description of maternal behavior is lacking. Here we used HMM to describe maternal behavior patterns in two genetically distinct mouse strains, C57BL/6 and BALB/c, and their genetically identical reciprocal hybrid female offspring. HMM analysis is a powerful tool to identify patterns of events that cluster in time and to determine transitions between these clusters, or hidden states. For the HMM analysis we defined seven states: arched-backed nursing, blanket nursing, licking/grooming pups, grooming, activity, eating, and sleeping. By quantifying the frequency, duration, composition, and transition probabilities of these states we were able to describe the pattern of maternal behavior in mouse and identify aspects of these patterns that are under genetic and nongenetic inheritance. Differences in these patterns observed in the experimental groups (inbred and hybrid females were detected only after the application of HMM analysis whereas classical statistical methods and analyses were not able to

  19. Recognition of periodic behavioral patterns from streaming mobility data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baratchi, Mitra; Meratnia, Nirvana; Havinga, Paul J.M.; Stojmenovic, Ivan; Cheng, Zixue; Guo, Song

    2014-01-01

    Ubiquitous location-aware sensing devices have facilitated collection of large volumes of mobility data streams from moving entities such as people and animals, among others. Extraction of various types of periodic behavioral patterns hidden in such large volume of mobility data helps in

  20. Effects of behavioral patterns and network topology structures on Parrondo’s paradox

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Ye; Cheong, Kang Hao; Cen, Yu-Wan; Xie, Neng-Gang

    2016-11-01

    A multi-agent Parrondo’s model based on complex networks is used in the current study. For Parrondo’s game A, the individual interaction can be categorized into five types of behavioral patterns: the Matthew effect, harmony, cooperation, poor-competition-rich-cooperation and a random mode. The parameter space of Parrondo’s paradox pertaining to each behavioral pattern, and the gradual change of the parameter space from a two-dimensional lattice to a random network and from a random network to a scale-free network was analyzed. The simulation results suggest that the size of the region of the parameter space that elicits Parrondo’s paradox is positively correlated with the heterogeneity of the degree distribution of the network. For two distinct sets of probability parameters, the microcosmic reasons underlying the occurrence of the paradox under the scale-free network are elaborated. Common interaction mechanisms of the asymmetric structure of game B, behavioral patterns and network topology are also revealed.

  1. Understanding metropolitan patterns of daily encounters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Lijun; Axhausen, Kay W; Lee, Der-Horng; Huang, Xianfeng

    2013-08-20

    Understanding of the mechanisms driving our daily face-to-face encounters is still limited; the field lacks large-scale datasets describing both individual behaviors and their collective interactions. However, here, with the help of travel smart card data, we uncover such encounter mechanisms and structures by constructing a time-resolved in-vehicle social encounter network on public buses in a city (about 5 million residents). Using a population scale dataset, we find physical encounters display reproducible temporal patterns, indicating that repeated encounters are regular and identical. On an individual scale, we find that collective regularities dominate distinct encounters' bounded nature. An individual's encounter capability is rooted in his/her daily behavioral regularity, explaining the emergence of "familiar strangers" in daily life. Strikingly, we find individuals with repeated encounters are not grouped into small communities, but become strongly connected over time, resulting in a large, but imperceptible, small-world contact network or "structure of co-presence" across the whole metropolitan area. Revealing the encounter pattern and identifying this large-scale contact network are crucial to understanding the dynamics in patterns of social acquaintances, collective human behaviors, and--particularly--disclosing the impact of human behavior on various diffusion/spreading processes.

  2. Work-related behavior and experience patterns of entrepreneurs compared to teachers and physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voltmer, Edgar; Spahn, Claudia; Schaarschmidt, Uwe; Kieschke, Ulf

    2011-06-01

    This study examined the status of health-related behavior and experience patterns of entrepreneurs in comparison with teachers and physicians to identify specific health risks and resources. Entrepreneurs (n = 632), teachers (n = 5,196), and physicians (n = 549) were surveyed in a cross-sectional design. The questionnaire Work-related Behavior and Experience Patterns (AVEM) was used for all professions and, in addition, two scales (health prevention and self-confidence) from the Checklist for Entrepreneurs in the sample of entrepreneurs. The largest proportion of the entrepreneurs (45%) presented with a healthy pattern (compared with 18.4% teachers and 18.3% physicians). Thirty-eight percent of entrepreneurs showed a risk pattern of overexertion and stress, followed by teachers (28.9%) and physicians (20.6%). Unambitious or burnout patterns were seen in only 9.3/8.2% of entrepreneurs, respectively, and 25.3/27.3% of teachers, and 39.6/21.5% of physicians. While the distribution of patterns in teachers and physicians differed significantly between genders, a gender difference was not found among entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs with the risk pattern of overexertion scored significantly (P successful enterprise depends, in part, on the health of the entrepreneur. The large proportion of entrepreneurs with the healthy pattern irrespective of gender may support the notion that self-selection effects of healthy individuals in this special career might be important. At the same time, a large proportion was at risk for overexertion and might benefit from measures to cope with professional demands and stress and promote a healthy behavior pattern.

  3. Sexual Behavior Pattern and Related Factors in Women with Breast Cancer in Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashidi, Sanaz; Dashti, Forouzandeh

    2016-01-01

    Background: Despite the most of treatment team efforts focused on the maintaining patient’s life, attention to sexual issues don’t be considered. This stud is designed to determine the sexual behavior pattern and related factors in women with breast cancer. Methods: This descriptive- correlation study was performed on 90 women that diagnosed with breast Cancer that was admitted to Sayed-Al-Shohada hospital of Isfahan in 2010. Sampling method was available (non- random sampling) and Sexual Behavior Pattern determined with 3 domains: sexual identity, sexual role and sexual function. Data collection tools, was a questionnaire that made by the researcher and was used after determining the validity and reliability. For data analysis, was used of Descriptive- analytic statistics, frequency and ANOVA and Pearson correlation analytical tests in the SPSS statistical software (version 16). Results: Cases had 60% of Desirable sexual identity, 50% of Desirable sexual role, 40% Desirable sexual function and were be able to play 47.61% Desirable sexual behavior. Participants that their husbands had Elementary education had more desirable sexual behavior (pSexual behavior than of were working and retired (psexual behavior (psexual behavior pattern that is one of the important aspects of health, Provide valuable information to nurses and medical team and will be enhance the quality of provided services. Adopt appropriate strategies and interventions to promote sexual health, breast cancer is recommended. PMID:26925917

  4. [Motor behavior of human fetuses during the second trimester of gestation: a longitudinal ultrasound study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynoso, C; Crespo-Eguílaz, N; Alcázar, J L; Narbona, J

    2015-03-01

    The aim of this research is to contribute to knowledge of the normal spontaneous motor behavior of the human fetus during the second trimester of pregnancy. This study focuses on five patterns of spontaneous fetal movement: startle (S), axo-rhizomelic rhythmia (ARR), axial stretching (AS), general movement (GM), and diaphragmatic contraction (DC). A cohort of 13 subjects was followed up using 2D obstetrical ultrasound images at 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks of gestation. As inclusion criteria, neonatal neurological examination and general movements after eutocic delivery at term were normal in all of the subjects, and their neuromotor and cognitive development until the end of pre-school age were also normal. All these five motor patterns are present at the beginning of the 2(nd) gestational trimester, but their quantitative and qualitative traits are diverse according to gestational ages. The phasic, isolated or rhythmically repeated movements, S and ARR, are prominent at 12 and 16 weeks of gestation, and then their presence gradually diminishes. By contrast, tonic and complex AS and GM movements increase their presence and quality at 20 and 24 weeks. RAR constitute a particular periodic motor pattern not described in previous literature. Moreover, the incidence of DC is progressive throughout the trimester, in clusters of 2-6 arrhythmic and irregular beats. Fetal heart rate increases during fetal motor active periods. All five normal behavioral patterns observed in the ultrasounds reflect the progressive tuning of motor generators in human nervous system during mid-pregnancy. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  5. Simple models for studying complex spatiotemporal patterns of animal behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyutyunov, Yuri V.; Titova, Lyudmila I.

    2017-06-01

    Minimal mathematical models able to explain complex patterns of animal behavior are essential parts of simulation systems describing large-scale spatiotemporal dynamics of trophic communities, particularly those with wide-ranging species, such as occur in pelagic environments. We present results obtained with three different modelling approaches: (i) an individual-based model of animal spatial behavior; (ii) a continuous taxis-diffusion-reaction system of partial-difference equations; (iii) a 'hybrid' approach combining the individual-based algorithm of organism movements with explicit description of decay and diffusion of the movement stimuli. Though the models are based on extremely simple rules, they all allow description of spatial movements of animals in a predator-prey system within a closed habitat, reproducing some typical patterns of the pursuit-evasion behavior observed in natural populations. In all three models, at each spatial position the animal movements are determined by local conditions only, so the pattern of collective behavior emerges due to self-organization. The movement velocities of animals are proportional to the density gradients of specific cues emitted by individuals of the antagonistic species (pheromones, exometabolites or mechanical waves of the media, e.g., sound). These cues play a role of taxis stimuli: prey attract predators, while predators repel prey. Depending on the nature and the properties of the movement stimulus we propose using either a simplified individual-based model, a continuous taxis pursuit-evasion system, or a little more detailed 'hybrid' approach that combines simulation of the individual movements with the continuous model describing diffusion and decay of the stimuli in an explicit way. These can be used to improve movement models for many species, including large marine predators.

  6. On the Interplay between Order Parameter Dynamics and System Parameter Dynamics in Human Perceptual-Cognitive-Behavioral Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, T D

    2015-04-01

    Previous research has demonstrated that perceiving, thinking, and acting are human activities that correspond to self-organized patterns. The emergence of such patterns can be completely described in terms of the dynamics of the pattern amplitudes, which are referred to as order parameters. The patterns emerge at bifurcations points when certain system parameters internal and external to a human agent exceed critical values. At issue is how one might study the order parameter dynamics for sequences of consecutive, emergent perceptual, cognitive, or behavioral activities. In particular, these activities may in turn impact the system parameters that have led to the emergence of the activities in the first place. This interplay between order parameter dynamics and system parameter dynamics is discussed in general and formulated in mathematical terms. Previous work that has made use of this two-tiered framework of order parameter and system parameter dynamics are briefly addressed. As an application, a model for perception under functional fixedness is presented. Finally, it is argued that the phenomena that emerge in this framework and can be observed when human agents perceive, think, and act are just as likely to occur in pattern formation systems of the inanimate world. Consequently, these phenomena do not necessarily have a neurophysiological basis but should instead be understood from the perspective of the theory of self-organization.

  7. First contacts and the common behavior of human beings

    OpenAIRE

    Van Brakel, Jaap

    2005-01-01

    In this paper my aim is to shed light on the common behavior of human beings by looking at '' first contacts '': the situation where people with unshared histories first meet (who don't speak one an others' language, don't have access to interpreters, etc.). The limits of the human life form are given by what is similar in the common behavior(s) of human beings. But what is similar should not be understood as something that is biologically or psychologically or transcendentally shared by all ...

  8. Television and Human Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comstock, George; And Others

    To compile a comprehensive review of English language scientific literature regarding the effects of television on human behavior, the authors of this book evaluated more than 2,500 books, articles, reports, and other documents. Rather than taking a traditional approach, the authors followed a new model for the retrieval and synthesis of…

  9. Human neuroimaging studies on the hippocampal CA3 region – integrating evidence for pattern separation and completion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorena eDeuker

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Human functional magnetic imaging (fMRI studies have long investigated the hippocampus without differentiating between its subfields, even though theoretical models and rodent studies suggest that subfields support different and potentially even opposite functions. The CA3 region of the hippocampus has been ascribed a pivotal role both in initially forming associations during encoding and in reconstructing a memory representation based on partial cues during retrieval. These functions have been related to pattern separation and pattern completion, respectively. In recent years, studies using high-resolution fMRI in humans have begun to separate different hippocampal subregions and identify the role of the CA3 subregion relative to the other subregions. However, some of these findings have been inconsistent with theoretical models and findings from electrophysiology. In this review, we describe selected recent studies and highlight how their results might help to define different processes and functions that are presumably carried out by the CA3 region, in particular regarding the seemingly opposing functions of pattern separation and pattern completion. We also describe how these subfield-specific processes are related to behavioral, functional and structural alterations in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. We conclude with discussing limitations of functional imaging and briefly outline possible future developments of the field.

  10. First human hNT neurons patterned on parylene-C/silicon dioxide substrates: Combining an accessible cell line and robust patterning technology for the study of the pathological adult human brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unsworth, C P; Graham, E S; Delivopoulos, E; Dragunow, M; Murray, A F

    2010-12-15

    In this communication, we describe a new method which has enabled the first patterning of human neurons (derived from the human teratocarcinoma cell line (hNT)) on parylene-C/silicon dioxide substrates. We reveal the details of the nanofabrication processes, cell differentiation and culturing protocols necessary to successfully pattern hNT neurons which are each key aspects of this new method. The benefits in patterning human neurons on silicon chip using an accessible cell line and robust patterning technology are of widespread value. Thus, using a combined technology such as this will facilitate the detailed study of the pathological human brain at both the single cell and network level. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. a Three-Step Spatial-Temporal Clustering Method for Human Activity Pattern Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, W.; Li, S.; Xu, S.

    2016-06-01

    How people move in cities and what they do in various locations at different times form human activity patterns. Human activity pattern plays a key role in in urban planning, traffic forecasting, public health and safety, emergency response, friend recommendation, and so on. Therefore, scholars from different fields, such as social science, geography, transportation, physics and computer science, have made great efforts in modelling and analysing human activity patterns or human mobility patterns. One of the essential tasks in such studies is to find the locations or places where individuals stay to perform some kind of activities before further activity pattern analysis. In the era of Big Data, the emerging of social media along with wearable devices enables human activity data to be collected more easily and efficiently. Furthermore, the dimension of the accessible human activity data has been extended from two to three (space or space-time) to four dimensions (space, time and semantics). More specifically, not only a location and time that people stay and spend are collected, but also what people "say" for in a location at a time can be obtained. The characteristics of these datasets shed new light on the analysis of human mobility, where some of new methodologies should be accordingly developed to handle them. Traditional methods such as neural networks, statistics and clustering have been applied to study human activity patterns using geosocial media data. Among them, clustering methods have been widely used to analyse spatiotemporal patterns. However, to our best knowledge, few of clustering algorithms are specifically developed for handling the datasets that contain spatial, temporal and semantic aspects all together. In this work, we propose a three-step human activity clustering method based on space, time and semantics to fill this gap. One-year Twitter data, posted in Toronto, Canada, is used to test the clustering-based method. The results show that the

  12. Mental Programs and Social Behavior Patterns in Russian Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubsky, Anatoly Vladimirovich; Kolesnykova, Elena Yuryevna; Lubsky, Roman Anatolyevich

    2016-01-01

    The objective of the article is to reconstruct the mental programs, their cognitive, axiological and connotative structures, and construction on this basis of various modal patterns of social behavior in Russian society. Methodology of the article is based on an interdisciplinary scientific approach making it possible to conceptually disclose the…

  13. Behavioral Economics and Climate Change Policy

    OpenAIRE

    John M. Gowdy

    2007-01-01

    The policy recommendations of most economists are based on the rational actor model of human behavior. Behavior is assumed to be self-regarding, preferences are assumed to be stable, and decisions are assumed to be unaffected by social context or frame of reference. The related fields of behavioral economics, game theory, and neuroscience have confirmed that human behavior is other regarding, and that people exhibit systematic patterns of decision-making that are "irrational" according to the...

  14. Personality patterns predict the risk of antisocial behavior in Spanish-speaking adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alcázar-Córcoles, Miguel A; Verdejo-García, Antonio; Bouso-Sáiz, José C; Revuelta-Menéndez, Javier; Ramírez-Lira, Ezequiel

    2017-05-01

    There is a renewed interest in incorporating personality variables in criminology theories in order to build models able to integrate personality variables and biological factors with psychosocial and sociocultural factors. The aim of this article is the assessment of personality dimensions that contribute to the prediction of antisocial behavior in adolescents. For this purpose, a sample of adolescents from El Salvador, Mexico, and Spain was obtained. The sample consisted of 1035 participants with a mean age of 16.2. There were 450 adolescents from a forensic population (those who committed a crime) and 585 adolescents from the normal population (no crime committed). All of participants answered personality tests about neuroticism, extraversion, psychoticism, sensation seeking, impulsivity, and violence risk. Principal component analysis of the data identified two independent factors: (i) the disinhibited behavior pattern (PDC), formed by the dimensions of neuroticism, psychoticism, impulsivity and risk of violence; and (ii) the extrovert behavior pattern (PEC), formed by the dimensions of sensation risk and extraversion. Both patterns significantly contributed to the prediction of adolescent antisocial behavior in a logistic regression model which properly classifies a global percentage of 81.9%, 86.8% for non-offense and 72.5% for offense behavior. The classification power of regression equations allows making very satisfactory predictions about adolescent offense commission. Educational level has been classified as a protective factor, while age and gender (male) have been classified as risk factors.

  15. Patterns of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and diet in U.S. adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iannotti, Ronald J; Wang, Jing

    2013-08-01

    To identify patterns in adolescents' obesogenic behaviors and their relations to physical and psychological health. A nationally representative sample of 9,174 U.S. adolescents ages 11 to 16 years was surveyed on physical activity (PA), screen-based sedentary behavior (SB), frequency of consumption of healthy and unhealthy food items, weight status, weight control behavior, depression, physical symptoms, body dissatisfaction, overall health, and life satisfaction. Latent class analysis was used to identify patterns of PA, SB, and diet. A model with three latent classes best fit the data: Class 1 with high PA and high fruit and vegetable intake and low SB and intake of sweets, soft drinks, chips, and fries; Class 2 with high SB and high intake of sweets, soft drinks, chips, and fries; and Class 3 with low PA, low fruit and vegetable intake, and low intake of sweets, chips, and fries. Membership in the three classes was related to age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. In addition, members of Class 1 (26.5%) were more likely to be of normal weight status and to fare well on most of the other health indices; of Class 2 (26.4%) were less likely to be trying to lose weight but scored poorly on the mental health indices; and of Class 3 (47.2%) were less likely to be underweight and reported greater body dissatisfaction. Three prevalent patterns of adolescent obesogenic behaviors were identified and these patterns related to weight status, depression, and other indicators of physical and psychological health. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  16. Modification of medullary respiratory-related discharge patterns by behaviors and states of arousal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, F C

    1992-02-07

    The modulatory influences of behaviors and states of arousal on bulbar respiratory-related unit (RRU) discharge patterns were studied in an unanesthetized, freely behaving guinea pig respiratory model system. When fully instrumented, this model system permits concurrent monitoring and recording of (i) single units from either Bötzinger complex or nucleus para-ambiguus; (ii) electrocorticogram; and, (iii) diaphragmatic EMG. In addition to being used in surveys of RRU discharge patterns in freely behaving states, the model system also offered a unique opportunity in investigating the effects of pentobarbital on RRU discharge patterns before, throughout the course of, and during recovery from anesthesia. In anesthetized preparations, a particular RRU discharge pattern (such as tonic, incrementing or decrementing) typically displayed little, if any notable variation. The most striking development following pentobarbital was a state of progressive bradypnea attributable to a significantly augmented RRU cycle duration, burst duration and an increase in the RRU spike frequencies during anesthesia. In freely behaving states, medullary RRU activities rarely adhered to a fixed, immutable discharge pattern. More specifically, the temporal organization (such as burst duration, cycle duration, and the extent of modulation of within-burst spike frequencies) of RRU discharge patterns regularly showed complex and striking variations, not only with states of arousal (sleep/wakefulness, anesthesia) but also with discrete alterations in electrocorticogram (ECoG) activities and a multitude of on-going behavioral repertoires such as volitional movement, postural modification, phonation, mastication, deglutition, sniffing/exploratory behavior, alerting/startle reflexes. Only during sleep, and on occasions when the animal assumed a motionless, resting posture, could burst patterns of relatively invariable periodicity and uniform temporal attributes be observed. RRU activities during

  17. Mathematical models of human behavior

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møllgaard, Anders Edsberg

    at the Technical University of Denmark. The data set includes face-to-face interaction (Bluetooth), communication (calls and texts), mobility (GPS), social network (Facebook), and general background information including a psychological profile (questionnaire). This thesis presents my work on the Social Fabric...... data set, along with work on other behavioral data. The overall goal is to contribute to a quantitative understanding of human behavior using big data and mathematical models. Central to the thesis is the determination of the predictability of different human activities. Upper limits are derived....... Evidence is provided, which implies that the asymmetry is caused by a self-enhancement in the initiation dynamics. These results have implications for the formation of social networks and the dynamics of the links. It is shown that the Big Five Inventory (BFI) representing a psychological profile only...

  18. Patterns of Antenatal Care Seeking Behavior in South East Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    on inequities on ANC seeking pattern among the pregnant women in Nigeria. Aim: The study ... behavior of women remains poor and poses one of the greatest ..... data – Or tears: An application to educational enrollments in states of. India.

  19. Longitudinal patterns and predictors of multiple health risk behaviors among adolescents : the TRAILS study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, Leenke; de Winter, Andrea F.; Verhulst, Frank C.; Vollebergh, Wilma A.M.; Reijneveld, Sijmen A.

    BACKGROUND: Most studies on multiple health risk behaviors among adolescents have cross-sectionally studied a limited number of health behaviors or determinants. PURPOSE: To examine the prevalence, longitudinal patterns and predictors of individual and multiple health risk behaviors among

  20. From Annotated Multimodal Corpora to Simulated Human-Like Behaviors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rehm, Matthias; André, Elisabeth

    2008-01-01

    Multimodal corpora prove useful at different stages of the development process of embodied conversational agents. Insights into human-human communicative behaviors can be drawn from such corpora. Rules for planning and generating such behavior in agents can be derived from this information....... And even the evaluation of human-agent interactions can rely on corpus data from human-human communication. In this paper, we exemplify how corpora can be exploited at the different development steps, starting with the question of how corpora are annotated and on what level of granularity. The corpus data...

  1. A Multiscale Survival Process for Modeling Human Activity Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tianyang; Cui, Peng; Song, Chaoming; Zhu, Wenwu; Yang, Shiqiang

    2016-01-01

    Human activity plays a central role in understanding large-scale social dynamics. It is well documented that individual activity pattern follows bursty dynamics characterized by heavy-tailed interevent time distributions. Here we study a large-scale online chatting dataset consisting of 5,549,570 users, finding that individual activity pattern varies with timescales whereas existing models only approximate empirical observations within a limited timescale. We propose a novel approach that models the intensity rate of an individual triggering an activity. We demonstrate that the model precisely captures corresponding human dynamics across multiple timescales over five orders of magnitudes. Our model also allows extracting the population heterogeneity of activity patterns, characterized by a set of individual-specific ingredients. Integrating our approach with social interactions leads to a wide range of implications.

  2. Training together: how another human's presence affects behavior during virtual human-based team training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Robb

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Despite research showing that team training can lead to strong improvements in team performance, logistical difficulties can prevent team training programs from being adopted on a large scale. A proposed solution to these difficulties is the use of virtual humans to replace missing teammates. Existing research evaluating the use of virtual humans for team training has been conducted in settings involving a single human trainee. However, in the real world multiple human trainees would most likely train together. In this paper, we explore how the presence of a second human trainee can alter behavior during a medical team training program. Ninety-two nurses and surgical technicians participated in a medical training exercise, where they worked with a virtual surgeon and virtual anesthesiologist to prepare a simulated patient for surgery. The agency of the nurse and the surgical technician were varied between three conditions: human nurses and surgical technicians working together; human nurses working with a virtual surgical technician; and human surgical technicians working with a virtual nurse. Variations in agency did not produce statistically significant differences in the training outcomes, but several notable differences were observed in other aspects of the team's behavior. Specifically, when working with a virtual nurse, human surgical technicians were more likely to assist with speaking up about patient safety issues that were outside of their normal responsibilities; human trainees spent less time searching for a missing item when working with a virtual partner, likely because the virtual partner was physically unable to move throughout the room and assist with the searching process; and more breaks in presence were observed when two human teammates were present. These results show that some behaviors may be influenced by the presence of multiple human trainees, though these behaviors may not impinge on core training goals. When

  3. Event-based Modularization: How Emergent Behavioral Patterns Must Be Modularized?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Malakuti Khah Olun Abadi, Somayeh; Aksit, Mehmet

    Nowadays, detecting emergent behavioral patterns in the environment, representing and manipulating them become the main focus of many software systems such as traffic monitoring systems, runtime verification techniques and self-adaptive systems. In this paper, we discuss the need for dedicated

  4. Technological advances for studying human behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roske-Hofstrand, Renate J.

    1990-01-01

    Technological advances for studying human behavior are noted in viewgraph form. It is asserted that performance-aiding systems are proliferating without a fundamental understanding of how they would interact with the humans who must control them. Two views of automation research, the hardware view and the human-centered view, are listed. Other viewgraphs give information on vital elements for human-centered research, a continuum of the research process, available technologies, new technologies for persistent problems, a sample research infrastructure, the need for metrics, and examples of data-link technology.

  5. Inferring spatial and temporal behavioral patterns of free-ranging manatees using saltwater sensors of telemetry tags

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelblanco-Martínez, Delma Nataly; Morales-Vela, Benjamin; Slone, Daniel H.; Padilla-Saldívar, Janneth Adriana; Reid, James P.; Hernández-Arana, Héctor Abuid

    2015-01-01

    Diving or respiratory behavior in aquatic mammals can be used as an indicator of physiological activity and consequently, to infer behavioral patterns. Five Antillean manatees, Trichechus manatus manatus, were captured in Chetumal Bay and tagged with GPS tracking devices. The radios were equipped with a micropower saltwater sensor (SWS), which records the times when the tag assembly was submerged. The information was analyzed to establish individual fine-scale behaviors. For each fix, we established the following variables: distance (D), sampling interval (T), movement rate (D/T), number of dives (N), and total diving duration (TDD). We used logic criteria and simple scatterplots to distinguish between behavioral categories: ‘Travelling’ (D/T ≥ 3 km/h), ‘Surface’ (↓TDD, ↓N), ‘Bottom feeding’ (↑TDD, ↑N) and ‘Bottom resting’ (↑TDD, ↓N). Habitat categories were qualitatively assigned: Lagoon, Channels, Caye shore, City shore, Channel edge, and Open areas. The instrumented individuals displayed a daily rhythm of bottom activities, with surfacing activities more frequent during the night and early in the morning. More investigation into those cycles and other individual fine-scale behaviors related to their proximity to concentrations of human activity would be informative

  6. Identifying the Behavior Patterns That Influence on Students' Achievement in Psychological Foundations of Learning and Development: A Case of Mekelle University, Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekar, J. Master Arul; Eyasu, Mengesha

    2018-01-01

    Generally, the behavior patterns concerns a social significance of values. This paper highlights the various behavior patterns like planner behavior, solution oriented behavior, and prescriptive behavior patterns. The main objective of the present study is to identify the behavior patterns that influence on students' achievement in psychological…

  7. Fiscal 1997 report on the introductory study. Human behavior recognition evaluation technology; 1997 nendo sentan kenkyu hokokusho. Ningen kodo ninchi hyoka gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-03-01

    Importance of the human behavior technology was paid attention to to get true safety and comfortableness of life through adaptability of products/systems to all humans. In consideration of the social and technological background, the human behavior recognition evaluation technology avoids economic/social losses caused by accidents and troubles and also provides the safe life environment for living people including the aged. Further, the gist of the project was proposed to make it clear that it can give a course of making things from a viewpoint of development of products dealing with individuals (personal fit) and can give new added values and contribute to heightening of international competitiveness at the same time. Development is made of technology of dividing concrete behavior patterns into types and also accumulating them in usable forms at the time of product design and in emergency and of technology of measuring all the time information on human behaviors in daily life without restrictions and on site. Supporting technology is developed for making the most of behavior information of users for product design and in emergency. Effects of the spread are also estimated. 76 refs., 13 figs., 9 tabs.

  8. A Behavioral Theory of Human Capital Integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Jesper

    design in fostering the integration and use of human capital is bounded by individual cognitive limitations that may lead employees to deviate from expected behavior, both individually and in collaboration. The thesis consists of three research papers relying on comprehensive longitudinal project data...... with one another. The overarching contribution of the thesis is to demonstrate, through the combination of psychological and organizational theory, how the ability of firms to properly activate and apply the knowledge held by their employees is fundamentally contingent on the interplay of cognitive...... of a behavioral theory of human capital integration....

  9. Evaluating the combined effectiveness of influenza control strategies and human preventive behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Mao

    Full Text Available Control strategies enforced by health agencies are a major type of practice to contain influenza outbreaks. Another type of practice is the voluntary preventive behavior of individuals, such as receiving vaccination, taking antiviral drugs, and wearing face masks. These two types of practices take effects concurrently in influenza containment, but little attention has been paid to their combined effectiveness. This article estimates this combined effectiveness using established simulation models in the urbanized area of Buffalo, NY, USA. Three control strategies are investigated, including: Targeted Antiviral Prophylaxis (TAP, workplace/school closure, community travel restriction, as well as the combination of the three. All control strategies are simulated with and without regard to individual preventive behavior, and the resulting effectiveness are compared. The simulation outcomes suggest that weaker control strategies could suffice to contain influenza epidemics, because individuals voluntarily adopt preventive behavior, rendering these weaker strategies more effective than would otherwise have been expected. The preventive behavior of individuals could save medical resources for control strategies and avoid unnecessary socio-economic interruptions. This research adds a human behavioral dimension into the simulation of control strategies and offers new insights into disease containment. Health policy makers are recommended to review current control strategies and comprehend preventive behavior patterns of local populations before making decisions on influenza containment.

  10. Patterns of differences in brain morphology in humans as compared to extant apes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldridge, Kristina

    2011-01-01

    Although human evolution is characterized by a vast increase in brain size, it is not clear whether or not certain regions of the brain are enlarged disproportionately in humans, or how this enlargement relates to differences in overall neural morphology. The aim of this study is to determine whether or not there are specific suites of features that distinguish the morphology of the human brain from that of apes. The study sample consists of whole brain, in vivo magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and five ape species (gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos). Twenty-nine 3D landmarks, including surface and internal features of the brain were located on 3D MRI reconstructions of each individual using MEASURE software. Landmark coordinate data were scaled for differences in size and analyzed using Euclidean Distance Matrix Analysis (EDMA) to statistically compare the brains of each non-human ape species to the human sample. Results of analyses show both a pattern of brain morphology that is consistently different between all apes and humans, as well as patterns that differ among species. Further, both the consistent and species-specific patterns include cortical and subcortical features. The pattern that remains consistent across species indicates a morphological reorganization of 1) relationships between cortical and subcortical frontal structures, 2) expansion of the temporal lobe and location of the amygdala, and 3) expansion of the anterior parietal region. Additionally, results demonstrate that, although there is a pattern of morphology that uniquely defines the human brain, there are also patterns that uniquely differentiate human morphology from the morphology of each non-human ape species, indicating that reorganization of neural morphology occurred at the evolutionary divergence of each of these groups. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Different Motile Behaviors of Human Hematopoietic Stem versus Progenitor Cells at the Osteoblastic Niche

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katie Foster

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Despite advances in our understanding of interactions between mouse hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs and their niche, little is known about communication between human HSCs and the microenvironment. Using a xenotransplantation model and intravital imaging, we demonstrate that human HSCs display distinct motile behaviors to their hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC counterparts, and the same pattern can be found between mouse HSCs and HPCs. HSCs become significantly less motile after transplantation, while progenitor cells remain motile. We show that human HSCs take longer to find their niche than previously expected and suggest that the niche be defined as the position where HSCs stop moving. Intravital imaging is the only technique to determine where in the bone marrow stem cells stop moving, and future analyses should focus on the environment surrounding the HSC at this point.

  12. Diurnal Patterns and Correlates of Older Adults' Sedentary Behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jelle Van Cauwenberg

    Full Text Available Insights into the diurnal patterns of sedentary behavior and the identification of subgroups that are at increased risk for engaging in high levels of sedentary behavior are needed to inform potential interventions for reducing older adults' sedentary time. Therefore, we examined the diurnal patterns and sociodemographic correlates of older adults' sedentary behavior(s.Stratified cluster sampling was used to recruit 508 non-institutionalized Belgian older adults (≥ 65 years. Morning, afternoon, evening and total sedentary time was assessed objectively using accelerometers. Specific sedentary behaviors, total sitting time and sociodemographic attributes were assessed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire.Participants self-reported a median of 475 (Q1-Q3 = 383-599 minutes/day of total sitting time and they accumulated a mean of 580 ± 98 minutes/day of accelerometer-derived sedentary time. Sedentary time was lowest during the morning and highest during the evening. Older participants were as sedentary as younger participants during the evening, but they were more sedentary during daytime. Compared to married participants, widowers were more sedentary during daytime. Younger participants (< 75 years, men and the higher educated were more likely to engage in (high levels of sitting while driving a car and using the computer. Those with tertiary education viewed 29% and 22% minutes/day less television compared to those with primary or secondary education, respectively. Older participants accumulated 35 sedentary minutes/day more than did younger participants and men accumulated 32 sedentary minutes/day more than did women.These findings highlight diurnal variations and potential opportunities to tailor approaches to reducing sedentary time for subgroups of the older adult population.

  13. Marmosets: A Neuroscientific Model of Human Social Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freiwald, Winrich A; Leopold, David A; Mitchell, Jude F; Silva, Afonso C; Wang, Xiaoqin

    2016-01-01

    The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) has garnered interest recently as a powerful model for the future of neuroscience research. Much of this excitement has centered on the species’ reproductive biology and compatibility with gene editing techniques, which together have provided a path for transgenic marmosets to contribute to the study of disease as well as basic brain mechanisms. In step with technical advances is the need to establish experimental paradigms that optimally tap into the marmosets’ behavioral and cognitive capacities. While conditioned task performance of a marmoset can compare unfavorably with rhesus monkey performance on conventional testing paradigms, marmosets’ social cognition and communication are more similar to that of humans. For example, marmosets are amongst only a handful of primates that, like humans, routinely pair bond and care cooperatively for their young. They are also notably pro-social and exhibit social cognitive abilities, such as imitation, that are rare outside of the Apes. In this review, we describe key facets of marmoset natural social behavior and demonstrate that emerging behavioral paradigms are well suited to isolate components of marmoset cognition that are highly relevant to humans. These approaches generally embrace natural behavior and communication, which has been rare in conventional primate testing, and thus allow for a new consideration of neural mechanisms underlying primate social cognition and communication. We anticipate that through parallel technical and paradigmatic advances, marmosets will become an essential model of human social behavior, including its dysfunction in nearly all neuropsychiatric disorders. PMID:27100195

  14. Fast human behavior analysis for scene understanding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lao, W.

    2011-01-01

    Human behavior analysis has become an active topic of great interest and relevance for a number of applications and areas of research. The research in recent years has been considerably driven by the growing level of criminal behavior in large urban areas and increase of terroristic actions. Also,

  15. In Vivo Pattern Classification of Ingestive Behavior in Ruminants Using FBG Sensors and Machine Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinicius Pegorini

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Pattern classification of ingestive behavior in grazing animals has extreme importance in studies related to animal nutrition, growth and health. In this paper, a system to classify chewing patterns of ruminants in in vivo experiments is developed. The proposal is based on data collected by optical fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBG that are processed by machine learning techniques. The FBG sensors measure the biomechanical strain during jaw movements, and a decision tree is responsible for the classification of the associated chewing pattern. In this study, patterns associated with food intake of dietary supplement, hay and ryegrass were considered. Additionally, two other important events for ingestive behavior were monitored: rumination and idleness. Experimental results show that the proposed approach for pattern classification is capable of differentiating the five patterns involved in the chewing process with an overall accuracy of 94%.

  16. In Vivo Pattern Classification of Ingestive Behavior in Ruminants Using FBG Sensors and Machine Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pegorini, Vinicius; Karam, Leandro Zen; Pitta, Christiano Santos Rocha; Cardoso, Rafael; da Silva, Jean Carlos Cardozo; Kalinowski, Hypolito José; Ribeiro, Richardson; Bertotti, Fábio Luiz; Assmann, Tangriani Simioni

    2015-11-11

    Pattern classification of ingestive behavior in grazing animals has extreme importance in studies related to animal nutrition, growth and health. In this paper, a system to classify chewing patterns of ruminants in in vivo experiments is developed. The proposal is based on data collected by optical fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBG) that are processed by machine learning techniques. The FBG sensors measure the biomechanical strain during jaw movements, and a decision tree is responsible for the classification of the associated chewing pattern. In this study, patterns associated with food intake of dietary supplement, hay and ryegrass were considered. Additionally, two other important events for ingestive behavior were monitored: rumination and idleness. Experimental results show that the proposed approach for pattern classification is capable of differentiating the five patterns involved in the chewing process with an overall accuracy of 94%.

  17. Human genetics and sleep behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Guangsen; Wu, David; Ptáček, Louis J; Fu, Ying-Hui

    2017-06-01

    Why we sleep remains one of the greatest mysteries in science. In the past few years, great advances have been made to better understand this phenomenon. Human genetics has contributed significantly to this movement, as many features of sleep have been found to be heritable. Discoveries about these genetic variations that affect human sleep will aid us in understanding the underlying mechanism of sleep. Here we summarize recent discoveries about the genetic variations affecting the timing of sleep, duration of sleep and EEG patterns. To conclude, we also discuss some of the sleep-related neurological disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and the potential challenges and future directions of human genetics in sleep research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Exploring the Behavioral Patterns of Learners in an Educational Massively Multiple Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Huei-Tse

    2012-01-01

    Massively multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are very popular among students. Educational MMORPGs, however, are very rare, as are studies on gamers' behavioral patterns during such games. The current study is an empirical observation and analysis of the behavioral patterns of 100 gamers participating in an educational MMORPG called…

  19. Similar Fracture Patterns in Human Nose and Gothic Cathedral.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Shu Jin; Tse, Kwong Ming; Lee, Heow Pueh

    2015-10-01

    This study proposes that the bony anatomy of the human nose and masonry structure of the Gothic cathedral are geometrically similar, and have common fracture patterns. We also aim to correlate the fracture patterns observed in patients' midface structures with those seen in the Gothic cathedral using computational approach. CT scans of 33 patients with facial fractures were examined and compared with computer simulations of both the Gothic cathedral and human nose. Three similar patterns were found: (1) Cracks of the nasal arch with crumpling of the vertical buttresses akin to the damage seen during minor earthquakes; (2) lateral deviation of the central nasal arch and collapse of the vertical buttresses akin to those due to lateral forces from wind and in major earthquakes; and (3) Central arch collapse seen as a result of collapse under excessive dead weight. Interestingly, the finding of occult nasal and septal fractures in the mandible fractures with absence of direct nasal trauma highlights the possibility of transmission of forces from the foundation to the arch leading to structural failure. It was also found that the structural buttresses of the Gothic cathedral delineate the vertical buttresses in the human midface structure. These morphologic similarities between the human nose and Gothic cathedral will serve as a basis to study the biomechanics of nasal fractures. Identification of structural buttresses in a skeletal structure has important implications for reconstruction as reestablishment of structural continuity restores normal anatomy and architectural stability of the human midface structure. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  20. A THREE-STEP SPATIAL-TEMPORAL-SEMANTIC CLUSTERING METHOD FOR HUMAN ACTIVITY PATTERN ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Huang

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available How people move in cities and what they do in various locations at different times form human activity patterns. Human activity pattern plays a key role in in urban planning, traffic forecasting, public health and safety, emergency response, friend recommendation, and so on. Therefore, scholars from different fields, such as social science, geography, transportation, physics and computer science, have made great efforts in modelling and analysing human activity patterns or human mobility patterns. One of the essential tasks in such studies is to find the locations or places where individuals stay to perform some kind of activities before further activity pattern analysis. In the era of Big Data, the emerging of social media along with wearable devices enables human activity data to be collected more easily and efficiently. Furthermore, the dimension of the accessible human activity data has been extended from two to three (space or space-time to four dimensions (space, time and semantics. More specifically, not only a location and time that people stay and spend are collected, but also what people “say” for in a location at a time can be obtained. The characteristics of these datasets shed new light on the analysis of human mobility, where some of new methodologies should be accordingly developed to handle them. Traditional methods such as neural networks, statistics and clustering have been applied to study human activity patterns using geosocial media data. Among them, clustering methods have been widely used to analyse spatiotemporal patterns. However, to our best knowledge, few of clustering algorithms are specifically developed for handling the datasets that contain spatial, temporal and semantic aspects all together. In this work, we propose a three-step human activity clustering method based on space, time and semantics to fill this gap. One-year Twitter data, posted in Toronto, Canada, is used to test the clustering-based method. The

  1. Understanding the heavy-tailed dynamics in human behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Gordon J.; Jones, Tim

    2015-06-01

    The recent availability of electronic data sets containing large volumes of communication data has made it possible to study human behavior on a larger scale than ever before. From this, it has been discovered that across a diverse range of data sets, the interevent times between consecutive communication events obey heavy-tailed power law dynamics. Explaining this has proved controversial, and two distinct hypotheses have emerged. The first holds that these power laws are fundamental, and arise from the mechanisms such as priority queuing that humans use to schedule tasks. The second holds that they are statistical artifacts which only occur in aggregated data when features such as circadian rhythms and burstiness are ignored. We use a large social media data set to test these hypotheses, and find that although models that incorporate circadian rhythms and burstiness do explain part of the observed heavy tails, there is residual unexplained heavy-tail behavior which suggests a more fundamental cause. Based on this, we develop a quantitative model of human behavior which improves on existing approaches and gives insight into the mechanisms underlying human interactions.

  2. The effects of chronic social defeat stress on mouse self-grooming behavior and its patterning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denmark, Ashley; Tien, David; Wong, Keith; Chung, Amanda; Cachat, Jonathan; Goodspeed, Jason; Grimes, Chelsea; Elegante, Marco; Suciu, Christopher; Elkhayat, Salem; Bartels, Brett; Jackson, Andrew; Rosenberg, Michael; Chung, Kyung Min; Badani, Hussain; Kadri, Ferdous; Roy, Sudipta; Tan, Julia; Gaikwad, Siddharth; Stewart, Adam; Zapolsky, Ivan; Gilder, Thomas; Kalueff, Allan V

    2010-04-02

    Stress induced by social defeat is a strong modifier of animal anxiety and depression-like phenotypes. Self-grooming is a common rodent behavior, and has an ordered cephalo-caudal progression from licking of the paws to head, body, genitals and tail. Acute stress is known to alter grooming activity levels and disrupt its patterning. Following 15-17 days of chronic social defeat stress, grooming behavior was analyzed in adult male C57BL/6J mice exhibiting either dominant or subordinate behavior. Our study showed that subordinate mice experience higher levels of anxiety and display disorganized patterning of their grooming behaviors, which emerges as a behavioral marker of chronic social stress. These findings indicate that chronic social stress modulates grooming behavior in mice, thus illustrating the importance of grooming phenotypes for neurobehavioral stress research. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Nanoindentation creep behavior of human enamel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Li-Hong; Swain, Michael V

    2009-11-01

    In this study, the indentation creep behavior of human enamel was investigated with a nanoindentation system and a Berkovich indenter at a force of 250 mN with one-step loading and unloading method. A constant hold period of 900 s was incorporated into each test at the maximum load as well at 5 mN minimum load during unloading. The indentation creep at the maximum load and creep recovery at the minimum load was described with a double exponential function and compared with other classic viscoelastic models (Debye/Maxwell and Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts). Indentation creep rate sensitivity, m, of human enamel was measured for the first time with a value of approximately 0.012. Enamel displayed both viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior similar to that of bone. These results indicate that, associated with entrapment of particulates between teeth under functional loading and sliding wear conditions, the enamel may inelastically deform but recover upon its release. This behavior may be important in explaining the excellent wear resistance, antifatigue, and crack resistant abilities of natural tooth structure. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns are associated with selected adolescent health risk behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Melissa C; Gordon-Larsen, Penny

    2006-04-01

    Little is known about how physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and various adolescent health risk behaviors are associated. The objective of this study was to examine relationships between PA and sedentary behavior patterns and an array of risk behaviors, including leading causes of adolescent morbidity/mortality. Nationally representative self-reported data were collected (National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; wave I: 1994-1995; II: 1996; N = 11957). Previously developed and validated cluster analyses identified 7 homogeneous groups of adolescents sharing PA and sedentary behaviors. Poisson regression predicted the relative risk of health risk behaviors, other weekly activities, and self-esteem across the 7 PA/sedentary behavior clusters controlling for demographics and socioeconomic status. Main outcome measures were adolescent risk behaviors (eg, truancy, cigarette smoking, sexual intercourse, delinquency), other weekly activities (eg, work, academic performance, sleep), self-esteem. Relative to high television (TV) and video viewers, adolescents in clusters characterized by skating and video gaming, high overall sports and sports participation with parents, using neighborhood recreation center, strict parental control of TV, reporting few activities overall, and being active in school were less likely to participate in a range of risky behaviors, ranging from an adjusted risk ratio (ARR) of 0.42 (outcome: illegal drug use, cluster: strict parental control of TV) to 0.88 (outcome: violence, cluster: sports with parents). Active teens were less likely to have low self-esteem (eg, adolescents engaging in sports with parents, ARR: 0.73) and more likely to have higher grades (eg, active in school, ARR: 1.20). Participation in a range of PA-related behaviors, particularly those characterized by high parental sports/exercise involvement, was associated with favorable adolescent risk profiles. Adolescents with high TV/video viewership were less

  5. Assessing Human Judgment of Computationally Generated Swarming Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Harvey

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Computer-based swarm systems, aiming to replicate the flocking behavior of birds, were first introduced by Reynolds in 1987. In his initial work, Reynolds noted that while it was difficult to quantify the dynamics of the behavior from the model, observers of his model immediately recognized them as a representation of a natural flock. Considerable analysis has been conducted since then on quantifying the dynamics of flocking/swarming behavior. However, no systematic analysis has been conducted on human identification of swarming. In this paper, we assess subjects’ assessment of the behavior of a simplified version of Reynolds’ model. Factors that affect the identification of swarming are discussed and future applications of the resulting models are proposed. Differences in decision times for swarming-related questions asked during the study indicate that different brain mechanisms may be involved in different elements of the behavior assessment task. The relatively simple but finely tunable model used in this study provides a useful methodology for assessing individual human judgment of swarming behavior.

  6. Recurrent, robust and scalable patterns underlie human approach and avoidance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byoung Woo Kim

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Approach and avoidance behavior provide a means for assessing the rewarding or aversive value of stimuli, and can be quantified by a keypress procedure whereby subjects work to increase (approach, decrease (avoid, or do nothing about time of exposure to a rewarding/aversive stimulus. To investigate whether approach/avoidance behavior might be governed by quantitative principles that meet engineering criteria for lawfulness and that encode known features of reward/aversion function, we evaluated whether keypress responses toward pictures with potential motivational value produced any regular patterns, such as a trade-off between approach and avoidance, or recurrent lawful patterns as observed with prospect theory.Three sets of experiments employed this task with beautiful face images, a standardized set of affective photographs, and pictures of food during controlled states of hunger and satiety. An iterative modeling approach to data identified multiple law-like patterns, based on variables grounded in the individual. These patterns were consistent across stimulus types, robust to noise, describable by a simple power law, and scalable between individuals and groups. Patterns included: (i a preference trade-off counterbalancing approach and avoidance, (ii a value function linking preference intensity to uncertainty about preference, and (iii a saturation function linking preference intensity to its standard deviation, thereby setting limits to both.These law-like patterns were compatible with critical features of prospect theory, the matching law, and alliesthesia. Furthermore, they appeared consistent with both mean-variance and expected utility approaches to the assessment of risk. Ordering of responses across categories of stimuli demonstrated three properties thought to be relevant for preference-based choice, suggesting these patterns might be grouped together as a relative preference theory. Since variables in these patterns have been

  7. Nanosized fibers' effect on adult human articular chondrocytes behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stenhamre, Hanna; Thorvaldsson, Anna; Enochson, Lars; Walkenström, Pernilla; Lindahl, Anders; Brittberg, Mats; Gatenholm, Paul

    2013-01-01

    Tissue engineering with chondrogenic cell based therapies is an expanding field with the intention of treating cartilage defects. It has been suggested that scaffolds used in cartilage tissue engineering influence cellular behavior and thus the long-term clinical outcome. The objective of this study was to assess whether chondrocyte attachment, proliferation and post-expansion re-differentiation could be influenced by the size of the fibers presented to the cells in a scaffold. Polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds with different fiber morphologies were produced, i.e. microfiber (MS) scaffolds as well as nanofiber-coated microfiber scaffold (NMS). Adult human articular chondrocytes were cultured in the scaffolds in vitro up to 28 days, and the resulting constructs were assessed histologically, immunohistochemically, and biochemically. Attachment of cells and serum proteins to the scaffolds was affected by the architecture. The results point toward nano-patterning onto the microfibers influencing proliferation of the chondrocytes, and the overall 3D environment having a greater influence on the re-differentiation. In the efforts of finding the optimal scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering, studies as the current contribute to the knowledge of how to affect and control chondrocytes behavior. - Highlights: ► Chondrocyte behavior in nanofiber-coated microfiber versus microfiber scaffolds ► High porosity (> 90%) and large pore sizes (a few hundred μm) of nanofibrous scaffolds ► Proliferation enhanced by presence of nanofibers ► Differentiation not significantly affected ► Cell attachment improved in presence of both nanofibers and serum

  8. Viscoelastic behavior of discrete human collagen fibrils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svensson, Rene; Hassenkam, Tue; P, Hansen

    2010-01-01

    Whole tendon and fibril bundles display viscoelastic behavior, but to the best of our knowledge this property has not been directly measured in single human tendon fibrils. In the present work an atomic force microscopy (AFM) approach was used for tensile testing of two human patellar tendon fibr...

  9. Mistimed food intake and sleep alters 24-hour time-of-day patterns of the human plasma proteome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Depner, Christopher M; Melanson, Edward L; McHill, Andrew W; Wright, Kenneth P

    2018-06-05

    Proteomics holds great promise for understanding human physiology, developing health biomarkers, and precision medicine. However, how much the plasma proteome varies with time of day and is regulated by the master circadian suprachiasmatic nucleus brain clock, assessed here by the melatonin rhythm, is largely unknown. Here, we assessed 24-h time-of-day patterns of human plasma proteins in six healthy men during daytime food intake and nighttime sleep in phase with the endogenous circadian clock (i.e., circadian alignment) versus daytime sleep and nighttime food intake out of phase with the endogenous circadian clock (i.e., circadian misalignment induced by simulated nightshift work). We identified 24-h time-of-day patterns in 573 of 1,129 proteins analyzed, with 30 proteins showing strong regulation by the circadian cycle. Relative to circadian alignment, the average abundance and/or 24-h time-of-day patterns of 127 proteins were altered during circadian misalignment. Altered proteins were associated with biological pathways involved in immune function, metabolism, and cancer. Of the 30 circadian-regulated proteins, the majority peaked between 1400 hours and 2100 hours, and these 30 proteins were associated with basic pathways involved in extracellular matrix organization, tyrosine kinase signaling, and signaling by receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2. Furthermore, circadian misalignment altered multiple proteins known to regulate glucose homeostasis and/or energy metabolism, with implications for altered metabolic physiology. Our findings demonstrate the circadian clock, the behavioral wake-sleep/food intake-fasting cycle, and interactions between these processes regulate 24-h time-of-day patterns of human plasma proteins and help identify mechanisms of circadian misalignment that may contribute to metabolic dysregulation.

  10. Megascale processes: Natural disasters and human behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kieffer, S.W.; Barton, P.; Chesworth, W.; Palmer, A.R.; Reitan, P.; Zen, E.-A.

    2009-01-01

    Megascale geologic processes, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, and meteoritic impacts have occurred intermittently throughout geologic time, and perhaps on several planets. Unlike other catastrophes discussed in this volume, a unique process is unfolding on Earth, one in which humans may be the driving agent of megadisasters. Although local effects on population clusters may have been catastrophic in the past, human societies have never been interconnected globally at the scale that currently exists. We review some megascale processes and their effects in the past, and compare present conditions and possible outcomes. We then propose that human behavior itself is having effects on the planet that are comparable to, or greater than, these natural disasters. Yet, unlike geologic processes, human behavior is potentially under our control. Because the effects of our behavior threaten the stability, or perhaps even existence, of a civilized society, we call for the creation of a body to institute coherent global, credible, scientifi cally based action that is sensitive to political, economic, religious, and cultural values. The goal would be to institute aggressive monitoring, identify and understand trends, predict their consequences, and suggest and evaluate alternative actions to attempt to rescue ourselves and our ecosystems from catastrophe. We provide a template modeled after several existing national and international bodies. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

  11. Research opportunities in human behavior and performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, J. M. (Editor); Talbot, J. M. (Editor)

    1985-01-01

    Extant information on the subject of psychological aspects of manned space flight are reviewed; NASA's psychology research program is examined; significant gaps in knowledge are identified; and suggestions are offered for future research program planning. Issues of human behavior and performance related to the United States space station, to the space shuttle program, and to both near and long term problems of a generic nature in applicable disciplines of psychology are considered. Topics covered include: (1) human performance requirements for a 90 day mission; (2) human perceptual, cognitive, and motor capabilities and limitations in space; (3) crew composition, individual competencies, crew competencies, selection criteria, and special training; (4) environmental factors influencing behavior; (5) psychosocial aspects of multiperson space crews in long term missions; (6) career determinants in NASA; (7) investigational methodology and equipment; and (8) psychological support.

  12. Human preferences for colorful birds: Vivid colors or pattern?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lišková, Silvie; Landová, Eva; Frynta, Daniel

    2015-04-29

    In a previous study, we found that the shape of a bird, rather than its color, plays a major role in the determination of human preferences. Thus, in the present study, we asked whether the preferences of human respondents towards uniformly shaped, colorful birds are determined by pattern rather than color. The experimental stimuli were pictures of small passerine birds of the family Pittidae possessing uniform shape but vivid coloration. We asked 200 participants to rank 43 colored and 43 identical, but grayscaled, pictures of birds. To find the traits determining human preferences, we performed GLM analysis in which we tried to explain the mean preference ranks and PC axes by the following explanatory variables: the overall lightness and saturation, edges (pattern), and the portion of each of the basic color hues. The results showed that the mean preference ranks of the grayscale set is explained mostly by the birds' pattern, whereas the colored set ranking is mostly determined by the overall lightness. The effect of colors was weaker, but still significant, and revealed that people liked blue and green birds. We found no significant role of the color red, the perception of which was acquired relatively recently in evolution.

  13. Human Preferences for Colorful Birds: Vivid Colors or Pattern?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvie Lišková

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In a previous study, we found that the shape of a bird, rather than its color, plays a major role in the determination of human preferences. Thus, in the present study, we asked whether the preferences of human respondents towards uniformly shaped, colorful birds are determined by pattern rather than color. The experimental stimuli were pictures of small passerine birds of the family Pittidae possessing uniform shape but vivid coloration. We asked 200 participants to rank 43 colored and 43 identical, but grayscaled, pictures of birds. To find the traits determining human preferences, we performed GLM analysis in which we tried to explain the mean preference ranks and PC axes by the following explanatory variables: the overall lightness and saturation, edges (pattern, and the portion of each of the basic color hues. The results showed that the mean preference ranks of the grayscale set is explained mostly by the birds' pattern, whereas the colored set ranking is mostly determined by the overall lightness. The effect of colors was weaker, but still significant, and revealed that people liked blue and green birds. We found no significant role of the color red, the perception of which was acquired relatively recently in evolution.

  14. Multivariate temporal pattern analysis applied to the study of rat behavior in the elevated plus maze: methodological and conceptual highlights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casarrubea, M; Magnusson, M S; Roy, V; Arabo, A; Sorbera, F; Santangelo, A; Faulisi, F; Crescimanno, G

    2014-08-30

    Aim of this article is to illustrate the application of a multivariate approach known as t-pattern analysis in the study of rat behavior in elevated plus maze. By means of this multivariate approach, significant relationships among behavioral events in the course of time can be described. Both quantitative and t-pattern analyses were utilized to analyze data obtained from fifteen male Wistar rats following a trial 1-trial 2 protocol. In trial 2, in comparison with the initial exposure, mean occurrences of behavioral elements performed in protected zones of the maze showed a significant increase counterbalanced by a significant decrease of mean occurrences of behavioral elements in unprotected zones. Multivariate t-pattern analysis, in trial 1, revealed the presence of 134 t-patterns of different composition. In trial 2, the temporal structure of behavior become more simple, being present only 32 different t-patterns. Behavioral strings and stripes (i.e. graphical representation of each t-pattern onset) of all t-patterns were presented both for trial 1 and trial 2 as well. Finally, percent distributions in the three zones of the maze show a clear-cut increase of t-patterns in closed arm and a significant reduction in the remaining zones. Results show that previous experience deeply modifies the temporal structure of rat behavior in the elevated plus maze. In addition, this article, by highlighting several conceptual, methodological and illustrative aspects on the utilization of t-pattern analysis, could represent a useful background to employ such a refined approach in the study of rat behavior in elevated plus maze. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. A Culture-Behavior-Brain Loop Model of Human Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Shihui; Ma, Yina

    2015-11-01

    Increasing evidence suggests that cultural influences on brain activity are associated with multiple cognitive and affective processes. These findings prompt an integrative framework to account for dynamic interactions between culture, behavior, and the brain. We put forward a culture-behavior-brain (CBB) loop model of human development that proposes that culture shapes the brain by contextualizing behavior, and the brain fits and modifies culture via behavioral influences. Genes provide a fundamental basis for, and interact with, the CBB loop at both individual and population levels. The CBB loop model advances our understanding of the dynamic relationships between culture, behavior, and the brain, which are crucial for human phylogeny and ontogeny. Future brain changes due to cultural influences are discussed based on the CBB loop model. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. THE PREREQUISITES OF PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN HUMAN ONTOGENY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irina M. Sozinova

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the development of moral attitudes toward unrelated individuals from different social groups may provide insights into the role of biological and cultural factors in prosocial behavior. Children (3–11 years old, N=80 were presented with moral dilemmas describing a conflict of interests between a con-specific (human and another species (animals or aliens. Participants were asked to evaluate the behavior of a human in terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and to choose whom they would help: a human aggressor who benefits at the expense of a victim in vital need, or the victim. Results showed that the older children preferred to help non-human victims significantly more often than the younger children. The evaluation of human actions was related to the proportion of such preferences. These findings are discussed from the perspectives of kin selection theory, group selection theory and the system-evolutionary approach. The implications of the study for moral education are suggested.

  17. Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barban, Nicola; Jansen, Rick; de Vlaming, Ronald

    2016-01-01

    The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior-age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)-has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the under......The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior-age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)-has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified...

  18. Uncovering stable and occasional human mobility patterns: A case study of the Beijing subway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yong, Nuo; Ni, Shunjiang; Shen, Shifei; Chen, Peng; Ji, Xuewei

    2018-02-01

    There have generally been two kinds of approaches to the empirical study of human mobility. At the group level, some valuable information might be submerged in statistical noise, while due to the diversity of individual purpose and preference, there is still no general statistical regularity of human mobility at the individual level. In this paper, we considered group-level human mobility as the combination of several basic patterns and analyzed the collective mobility by category. Utilizing matrix factorization and correlation analysis, we extracted some of the stable/occasional components from the collective human mobility in the Beijing subway and found that the departure and arrival mobility patterns have different characteristics, both in time and space, under various conditions. We classified individual records into different patterns and analyzed the most likely trip distance by category. The proposed method can decompose stable/occasional mobility patterns from the collective mobility and identify passengers belonging to different patterns, helping us to better understand the origin of different mobility patterns and provide guidance for emergency management of large crowds.

  19. Patterns of poverty exposure and children’s trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors

    OpenAIRE

    Comeau, Jinette; Boyle, Michael H.

    2017-01-01

    Using data from the Child Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we compare trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors among children exposed to five patterns of poverty from birth to age 14: always or never poor – stable patterns; a single transition into or out of poverty, or repeated fluctuations in and out of poverty – changing patterns. We also examine how low maternal education and single parenthood interact with these poverty exposures to compound their...

  20. Hormone patterns in early human gestation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishell, D.R. Jr.; Thorneycroft, I.H.; Nagata, Y.; Murata, T.; Nakamura, R.M.

    1974-01-01

    Accurate measurement of the low concentration of gonadotropins and steroid hormones present in human serum has been made possible by the development of sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques. With the use of RIA FSH and LH, progesterone and 17OH-progesterone have been previously measured in early normal pregnancy. In order to determine the daily pattern of hormone levels in early normal pregnancy, gonadotropins as well as steroid hormone levels were measured in serum samples obtained daily from three women from the time of the last menstrual period prior to conception throughout the first few months of gestation. To further identify the steroid hormone pattern in early normal pregnancy, concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, and 17OH-progesterone were measured in individual serum samples obtained from a group of 158 women with apparently normal gestations who subsequently had therapeutic abortions. (auth)

  1. Self-regulation as a predictor of patterns of change in externalizing behaviors from infancy to adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Nicole B; Calkins, Susan D; Dollar, Jessica M; Keane, Susan P; Shanahan, Lilly

    2018-05-01

    We examined associations between specific self-regulatory mechanisms and externalizing behavior patterns from ages 2 to 15 (N = 443). The relation between multiple self-regulatory indicators across multiple domains (i.e., physiological, attentional, emotional, and behavioral) at age 2 and at age 5 and group membership in four distinct externalizing trajectories was examined. By examining each of these self-regulatory processes in combination with one another, and therefore accounting for their shared variance, we aimed to better understand which specific self-regulatory skills were associated most strongly with externalizing behavioral patterns. Findings suggest that behavioral inhibitory control and emotion regulation are particularly important in distinguishing between children who show normative declines in externalizing behaviors across early childhood and those who demonstrate high levels through adolescence.

  2. Predicting decisions in human social interactions using real-time fMRI and pattern classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollmann, Maurice; Rieger, Jochem W; Baecke, Sebastian; Lützkendorf, Ralf; Müller, Charles; Adolf, Daniela; Bernarding, Johannes

    2011-01-01

    Negotiation and trade typically require a mutual interaction while simultaneously resting in uncertainty which decision the partner ultimately will make at the end of the process. Assessing already during the negotiation in which direction one's counterpart tends would provide a tremendous advantage. Recently, neuroimaging techniques combined with multivariate pattern classification of the acquired data have made it possible to discriminate subjective states of mind on the basis of their neuronal activation signature. However, to enable an online-assessment of the participant's mind state both approaches need to be extended to a real-time technique. By combining real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and online pattern classification techniques, we show that it is possible to predict human behavior during social interaction before the interacting partner communicates a specific decision. Average accuracy reached approximately 70% when we predicted online the decisions of volunteers playing the ultimatum game, a well-known paradigm in economic game theory. Our results demonstrate the successful online analysis of complex emotional and cognitive states using real-time fMRI, which will enable a major breakthrough for social fMRI by providing information about mental states of partners already during the mutual interaction. Interestingly, an additional whole brain classification across subjects confirmed the online results: anterior insula, ventral striatum, and lateral orbitofrontal cortex, known to act in emotional self-regulation and reward processing for adjustment of behavior, appeared to be strong determinants of later overt behavior in the ultimatum game. Using whole brain classification we were also able to discriminate between brain processes related to subjective emotional and motivational states and brain processes related to the evaluation of objective financial incentives.

  3. Predicting decisions in human social interactions using real-time fMRI and pattern classification.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurice Hollmann

    Full Text Available Negotiation and trade typically require a mutual interaction while simultaneously resting in uncertainty which decision the partner ultimately will make at the end of the process. Assessing already during the negotiation in which direction one's counterpart tends would provide a tremendous advantage. Recently, neuroimaging techniques combined with multivariate pattern classification of the acquired data have made it possible to discriminate subjective states of mind on the basis of their neuronal activation signature. However, to enable an online-assessment of the participant's mind state both approaches need to be extended to a real-time technique. By combining real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and online pattern classification techniques, we show that it is possible to predict human behavior during social interaction before the interacting partner communicates a specific decision. Average accuracy reached approximately 70% when we predicted online the decisions of volunteers playing the ultimatum game, a well-known paradigm in economic game theory. Our results demonstrate the successful online analysis of complex emotional and cognitive states using real-time fMRI, which will enable a major breakthrough for social fMRI by providing information about mental states of partners already during the mutual interaction. Interestingly, an additional whole brain classification across subjects confirmed the online results: anterior insula, ventral striatum, and lateral orbitofrontal cortex, known to act in emotional self-regulation and reward processing for adjustment of behavior, appeared to be strong determinants of later overt behavior in the ultimatum game. Using whole brain classification we were also able to discriminate between brain processes related to subjective emotional and motivational states and brain processes related to the evaluation of objective financial incentives.

  4. Monthly Pattern and Distribution of Births in a Teaching Institution of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... inventory control, logistics, streamlining family planning services at institutional and community level keeping in mind the monthly pattern of hospital deliveries. Keywords: Behavior, communication, conception, delivery, demography, family planning, fertility, human resource, months, pattern, reproduction, seasonality, time ...

  5. Abolition of lemniscal barrellette patterning in Prrxl1 knockout mice: Effects upon ingestive behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakalar, Dana; Tamaiev, Jonathan; Zeigler, H Philip; Feinstein, Paul

    2015-01-01

    Ingestive behaviors in mice are dependent on orosensory cues transmitted via the trigeminal nerve, as confirmed by transection studies. However, these studies cannot differentiate between deficits caused by the loss of the lemniscal pathway vs. the parallel paralemniscal pathway. The paired-like homeodomain protein Prrxl1 is expressed widely in the brain and spinal cord, including the trigeminal system. A knockout of Prrxl1 abolishes somatotopic barrellette patterning in the lemniscal brainstem nucleus, but not in the parallel paralemniscal nucleus. Null animals are significantly smaller than littermates by postnatal day 5, but reach developmental landmarks at appropriate times, and survive to adulthood on liquid diet. A careful analysis of infant and adult ingestive behavior reveals subtle impairments in suckling, increases in time spent feeding and the duration of feeding bouts, feeding during inappropriate times of the day, and difficulties in the mechanics of feeding. During liquid diet feeding, null mice display abnormal behaviors including extensive use of the paws to move food into the mouth, submerging the snout in the diet, changes in licking, and also have difficulty consuming solid chow pellets. We suggest that our Prrxl1(-/-) animal is a valuable model system for examining the genetic assembly and functional role of trigeminal lemniscal circuits in the normal control of eating in mammals and for understanding feeding abnormalities in humans resulting from the abnormal development of these circuits.

  6. Timing of Multimodal Robot Behaviors during Human-Robot Collaboration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Lars Christian; Fischer, Kerstin; Suvei, Stefan-Daniel

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we address issues of timing between robot behaviors in multimodal human-robot interaction. In particular, we study what effects sequential order and simultaneity of robot arm and body movement and verbal behavior have on the fluency of interactions. In a study with the Care-O-bot, ...... output plays a special role because participants carry their expectations from human verbal interaction into the interactions with robots....

  7. Human Behavioral Pharmacology, Past, Present, and Future: Symposium Presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Behavioral Pharmacology Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comer, Sandra D.; Bickel, Warren K.; Yi, Richard; de Wit, Harriet; Higgins, Stephen T.; Wenger, Galen R.; Johanson, Chris-Ellyn; Kreek, Mary Jeanne

    2010-01-01

    A symposium held at the 50th annual meeting of the Behavioral Pharmacology Society in May 2007 reviewed progress in the human behavioral pharmacology of drug abuse. Studies on drug self-administration in humans are reviewed that assessed reinforcing and subjective effects of drugs of abuse. The close parallels observed between studies in humans and laboratory animals using similar behavioral techniques have broadened our understanding of the complex nature of the pharmacological and behavioral factors controlling drug self-administration. The symposium also addressed the role that individual differences, such as gender, personality, and genotype play in determining the extent of self-administration of illicit drugs in human populations. Knowledge of how these factors influence human drug self-administration has helped validate similar differences observed in laboratory animals. In recognition that drug self-administration is but one of many choices available in the lives of humans, the symposium addressed the ways in which choice behavior can be studied in humans. These choice studies in human drug abusers have opened up new and exciting avenues of research in laboratory animals. Finally, the symposium reviewed behavioral pharmacology studies conducted in drug abuse treatment settings and the therapeutic benefits that have emerged from these studies. PMID:20664330

  8. Adolescent Maltreatment in the Child Welfare System and Developmental Patterns of Sexual Risk Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, Patrick J.; Motley, Darnell; Zhang, Jinjin; Rolls-Reutz, Jennifer; Landsverk, John

    2018-01-01

    In this longitudinal study, we tested whether adolescent maltreatment and out-of-home placement as a response to maltreatment altered developmental patterns of sexual risk behaviors in a nationally representative sample of youth involved in the child welfare system. Participants included adolescents aged 13 to 17 (M=15.5, SD=1.49) at baseline (n=714), followed over 18 months. Computer-assisted interviews were used to collect self-reported sexual practices and experiences of physical and psychological abuse at both time points. Latent transition analyses were used to identify three patterns of sexual risk behaviors: abstainers, safe sex with multiple partners, and unsafe sex with multiple partners. Most adolescents transitioned to safer sexual behavior patterns over time. Adolescents exhibiting the riskiest sexual practices at baseline were most likely to report subsequent abuse and less likely to be placed into out-of-home care. Findings provide a more nuanced understanding of sexual risk among child welfare–involved adolescents and inform practices to promote positive transitions within the system. PMID:25155702

  9. Diurnal cortisol pattern, eating behaviors and overweight in low-income preschool-aged children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lumeng, Julie C; Miller, Alison; Peterson, Karen E; Kaciroti, Niko; Sturza, Julie; Rosenblum, Katherine; Vazquez, Delia M

    2014-02-01

    This study examined, among children, the associations among chaos in the home, diurnal cortisol patterns, eating behaviors and being overweight. Participants included 331 low-income children aged 3-4years. Mean salivary cortisol-intercept (representing morning peak, 60min since waking) and cortisol-slope (representing diurnal decline after peak) were calculated using mixed models from samples obtained across 3days. Parents reported chaos in the home by questionnaire and responded to the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire, generating subscales Food Responsiveness (FR), Emotional Overeating (EO), Enjoyment of Food (EF), and Satiety Responsiveness (SR). Body mass index was categorized as overweight vs. not. Path analysis evaluated associations among chaos, cortisol patterns, eating behaviors, and weight status. Children living in more chaotic homes had lower morning cortisol levels, consistent with "hypocortisolism" reported among individuals who have experienced significant allostatic load as a result of substantial early life chronic stress. Among girls, the hypocortisolism pattern predicted a higher likelihood of being overweight both directly and mediated through reduced Satiety Responsiveness; in boys, the association of the hypocortisolism pattern with being overweight was mediated entirely through Emotional Overeating. In summary, our results provide support for the conceptual model that psychosocial stress contributes to hypocortisolism, which contributes directly to a higher likelihood of being overweight in girls, and indirectly through reduced Satiety Responsiveness in girls and through increased Emotional Overeating in boys. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Scale-free fluctuations in behavioral performance: delineating changes in spontaneous behavior of humans with induced sleep deficiency.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremi K Ochab

    Full Text Available The timing and dynamics of many diverse behaviors of mammals, e.g., patterns of animal foraging or human communication in social networks exhibit complex self-similar properties reproducible over multiple time scales. In this paper, we analyze spontaneous locomotor activity of healthy individuals recorded in two different conditions: during a week of regular sleep and a week of chronic partial sleep deprivation. After separating activity from rest with a pre-defined activity threshold, we have detected distinct statistical features of duration times of these two states. The cumulative distributions of activity periods follow a stretched exponential shape, and remain similar for both control and sleep deprived individuals. In contrast, rest periods, which follow power-law statistics over two orders of magnitude, have significantly distinct distributions for these two groups and the difference emerges already after the first night of shortened sleep. We have found steeper distributions for sleep deprived individuals, which indicates fewer long rest periods and more turbulent behavior. This separation of power-law exponents is the main result of our investigations, and might constitute an objective measure demonstrating the severity of sleep deprivation and the effects of sleep disorders.

  11. A novel polar-based human face recognition computational model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Zana

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Motivated by a recently proposed biologically inspired face recognition approach, we investigated the relation between human behavior and a computational model based on Fourier-Bessel (FB spatial patterns. We measured human recognition performance of FB filtered face images using an 8-alternative forced-choice method. Test stimuli were generated by converting the images from the spatial to the FB domain, filtering the resulting coefficients with a band-pass filter, and finally taking the inverse FB transformation of the filtered coefficients. The performance of the computational models was tested using a simulation of the psychophysical experiment. In the FB model, face images were first filtered by simulated V1- type neurons and later analyzed globally for their content of FB components. In general, there was a higher human contrast sensitivity to radially than to angularly filtered images, but both functions peaked at the 11.3-16 frequency interval. The FB-based model presented similar behavior with regard to peak position and relative sensitivity, but had a wider frequency band width and a narrower response range. The response pattern of two alternative models, based on local FB analysis and on raw luminance, strongly diverged from the human behavior patterns. These results suggest that human performance can be constrained by the type of information conveyed by polar patterns, and consequently that humans might use FB-like spatial patterns in face processing.

  12. Escalation research: Providing new frontiers for applying behavior analysis to organizational behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goltz, Sonia M.

    2000-01-01

    Decision fiascoes such as escalation of commitment, the tendency of decision makers to “throw good money after bad,” can have serious consequences for organizations and are therefore of great interest in applied research. This paper discusses the use of behavior analysis in organizational behavior research on escalation. Among the most significant aspects of behavior-analytic research on escalation is that it has indicated that both the patterns of outcomes that decision makers have experienced for past decisions and the patterns of responses that they make are critical for understanding escalation. This research has also stimulated the refinement of methods by researchers to better assess decision making and the role reinforcement plays in it. Finally, behavior-analytic escalation research has not only indicated the utility of reinforcement principles for predicting more complex human behavior but has also suggested some additional areas for future exploration of decision making using behavior analysis. PMID:22478347

  13. Impact of Sliding Window Length in Indoor Human Motion Modes and Pose Pattern Recognition Based on Smartphone Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaojing Wang

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Human activity recognition (HAR is essential for understanding people’s habits and behaviors, providing an important data source for precise marketing and research in psychology and sociology. Different approaches have been proposed and applied to HAR. Data segmentation using a sliding window is a basic step during the HAR procedure, wherein the window length directly affects recognition performance. However, the window length is generally randomly selected without systematic study. In this study, we examined the impact of window length on smartphone sensor-based human motion and pose pattern recognition. With data collected from smartphone sensors, we tested a range of window lengths on five popular machine-learning methods: decision tree, support vector machine, K-nearest neighbor, Gaussian naïve Bayesian, and adaptive boosting. From the results, we provide recommendations for choosing the appropriate window length. Results corroborate that the influence of window length on the recognition of motion modes is significant but largely limited to pose pattern recognition. For motion mode recognition, a window length between 2.5–3.5 s can provide an optimal tradeoff between recognition performance and speed. Adaptive boosting outperformed the other methods. For pose pattern recognition, 0.5 s was enough to obtain a satisfactory result. In addition, all of the tested methods performed well.

  14. Recurrent, Robust and Scalable Patterns Underlie Human Approach and Avoidance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, David N.; Lehár, Joseph; Lee, Myung Joo; Blood, Anne J.; Lee, Sang; Perlis, Roy H.; Smoller, Jordan W.; Morris, Robert; Fava, Maurizio

    2010-01-01

    Background Approach and avoidance behavior provide a means for assessing the rewarding or aversive value of stimuli, and can be quantified by a keypress procedure whereby subjects work to increase (approach), decrease (avoid), or do nothing about time of exposure to a rewarding/aversive stimulus. To investigate whether approach/avoidance behavior might be governed by quantitative principles that meet engineering criteria for lawfulness and that encode known features of reward/aversion function, we evaluated whether keypress responses toward pictures with potential motivational value produced any regular patterns, such as a trade-off between approach and avoidance, or recurrent lawful patterns as observed with prospect theory. Methodology/Principal Findings Three sets of experiments employed this task with beautiful face images, a standardized set of affective photographs, and pictures of food during controlled states of hunger and satiety. An iterative modeling approach to data identified multiple law-like patterns, based on variables grounded in the individual. These patterns were consistent across stimulus types, robust to noise, describable by a simple power law, and scalable between individuals and groups. Patterns included: (i) a preference trade-off counterbalancing approach and avoidance, (ii) a value function linking preference intensity to uncertainty about preference, and (iii) a saturation function linking preference intensity to its standard deviation, thereby setting limits to both. Conclusions/Significance These law-like patterns were compatible with critical features of prospect theory, the matching law, and alliesthesia. Furthermore, they appeared consistent with both mean-variance and expected utility approaches to the assessment of risk. Ordering of responses across categories of stimuli demonstrated three properties thought to be relevant for preference-based choice, suggesting these patterns might be grouped together as a relative preference

  15. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN TERMS OF BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa Mazanowska

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Behaviourists believe human capital is seen as the potential in people. They believe that the human resource in the organization are intangible assets embodied in the employees, not the people themselves. Behavioral economics emphasizes that people aren’t owned by the company, only their abilities and skills made available to the employer on the basis of certain legal relations which holds it to manage these assets in a rational way. Recognition of behavioral economics also highlights the aspects of development and human capital perspective, which appear in the may resource Staff in the future. These may be limited to: raise, awareness of capacity, internal aspirations, motives. Human capital management is nothing but a recognition of the relevant characteristics of the potential held within the company Staff and correct its use. As a consequence, it can bring tangible benefits to the organization.

  16. Exploring Human Activity Patterns Using Taxicab Static Points

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Jiang

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the patterns of human activities within a geographical space by adopting the taxicab static points which refer to the locations with zero speed along the tracking trajectory. We report the findings from both aggregated and individual aspects. Results from the aggregated level indicate the following: (1 Human activities exhibit an obvious regularity in time, for example, there is a burst of activity during weekend nights and a lull during the week. (2 They show a remarkable spatial drifting pattern, which strengthens our understanding of the activities in any given place. (3 Activities are heterogeneous in space irrespective of their drifting with time. These aggregated results not only help in city planning, but also facilitate traffic control and management. On the other hand, investigations on an individual level suggest that (4 activities witnessed by one taxicab will have different temporal regularity to another, and (5 each regularity implies a high level of prediction with low entropy by applying the Lempel-Ziv algorithm.

  17. Quantifying trading behavior in financial markets using Google Trends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preis, Tobias; Moat, Helen Susannah; Stanley, H Eugene

    2013-01-01

    Crises in financial markets affect humans worldwide. Detailed market data on trading decisions reflect some of the complex human behavior that has led to these crises. We suggest that massive new data sources resulting from human interaction with the Internet may offer a new perspective on the behavior of market participants in periods of large market movements. By analyzing changes in Google query volumes for search terms related to finance, we find patterns that may be interpreted as "early warning signs" of stock market moves. Our results illustrate the potential that combining extensive behavioral data sets offers for a better understanding of collective human behavior.

  18. Science and Human Behavior, dualism, and conceptual modification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuriff, G E

    2003-11-01

    Skinner's Science and Human Behavior is in part an attempt to solve psychology's problem with mind-body dualism by revising our everyday mentalistic conceptual scheme. In the case of descriptive mentalism (the use of mentalistic terms to describe behavior), Skinner offers behavioral "translations." In contrast, Skinner rejects explanatory mentalism (the use of mental concepts to explain behavior) and suggests how to replace it with a behaviorist explanatory framework. For experiential mentalism, Skinner presents a theory of verbal behavior that integrates the use of mentalistic language in first-person reports of phenomenal experience into a scientific framework.

  19. You Look Human, But Act Like a Machine: Agent Appearance and Behavior Modulate Different Aspects of Human-Robot Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abubshait, Abdulaziz; Wiese, Eva

    2017-01-01

    Gaze following occurs automatically in social interactions, but the degree to which gaze is followed depends on whether an agent is perceived to have a mind, making its behavior socially more relevant for the interaction. Mind perception also modulates the attitudes we have toward others, and determines the degree of empathy, prosociality, and morality invested in social interactions. Seeing mind in others is not exclusive to human agents, but mind can also be ascribed to non-human agents like robots, as long as their appearance and/or behavior allows them to be perceived as intentional beings. Previous studies have shown that human appearance and reliable behavior induce mind perception to robot agents, and positively affect attitudes and performance in human-robot interaction. What has not been investigated so far is whether different triggers of mind perception have an independent or interactive effect on attitudes and performance in human-robot interaction. We examine this question by manipulating agent appearance (human vs. robot) and behavior (reliable vs. random) within the same paradigm and examine how congruent (human/reliable vs. robot/random) versus incongruent (human/random vs. robot/reliable) combinations of these triggers affect performance (i.e., gaze following) and attitudes (i.e., agent ratings) in human-robot interaction. The results show that both appearance and behavior affect human-robot interaction but that the two triggers seem to operate in isolation, with appearance more strongly impacting attitudes, and behavior more strongly affecting performance. The implications of these findings for human-robot interaction are discussed.

  20. Effects of early afterdepolarizations on excitation patterns in an accurate model of the human ventricles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seemann, Gunnar; Panfilov, Alexander V.; Vandersickel, Nele

    2017-01-01

    Early Afterdepolarizations, EADs, are defined as the reversal of the action potential before completion of the repolarization phase, which can result in ectopic beats. However, the series of mechanisms of EADs leading to these ectopic beats and related cardiac arrhythmias are not well understood. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the influence of this single cell behavior on the whole heart level. For this study we used a modified version of the Ten Tusscher-Panfilov model of human ventricular cells (TP06) which we implemented in a 3D ventricle model including realistic fiber orientations. To increase the likelihood of EAD formation at the single cell level, we reduced the repolarization reserve (RR) by reducing the rapid delayed rectifier Potassium current and raising the L-type Calcium current. Varying these parameters defined a 2D parametric space where different excitation patterns could be classified. Depending on the initial conditions, by either exciting the ventricles with a spiral formation or burst pacing protocol, we found multiple different spatio-temporal excitation patterns. The spiral formation protocol resulted in the categorization of a stable spiral (S), a meandering spiral (MS), a spiral break-up regime (SB), spiral fibrillation type B (B), spiral fibrillation type A (A) and an oscillatory excitation type (O). The last three patterns are a 3D generalization of previously found patterns in 2D. First, the spiral fibrillation type B showed waves determined by a chaotic bi-excitable regime, i.e. mediated by both Sodium and Calcium waves at the same time and in same tissue settings. In the parameter region governed by the B pattern, single cells were able to repolarize completely and different (spiral) waves chaotically burst into each other without finishing a 360 degree rotation. Second, spiral fibrillation type A patterns consisted of multiple small rotating spirals. Single cells failed to repolarize to the resting membrane potential hence

  1. Modeling human behaviors and reactions under dangerous environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, J; Wright, D K; Qin, S F; Zhao, Y

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes the framework of a real-time simulation system to model human behavior and reactions in dangerous environments. The system utilizes the latest 3D computer animation techniques, combined with artificial intelligence, robotics and psychology, to model human behavior, reactions and decision making under expected/unexpected dangers in real-time in virtual environments. The development of the system includes: classification on the conscious/subconscious behaviors and reactions of different people; capturing different motion postures by the Eagle Digital System; establishing 3D character animation models; establishing 3D models for the scene; planning the scenario and the contents; and programming within Virtools Dev. Programming within Virtools Dev is subdivided into modeling dangerous events, modeling character's perceptions, modeling character's decision making, modeling character's movements, modeling character's interaction with environment and setting up the virtual cameras. The real-time simulation of human reactions in hazardous environments is invaluable in military defense, fire escape, rescue operation planning, traffic safety studies, and safety planning in chemical factories, the design of buildings, airplanes, ships and trains. Currently, human motion modeling can be realized through established technology, whereas to integrate perception and intelligence into virtual human's motion is still a huge undertaking. The challenges here are the synchronization of motion and intelligence, the accurate modeling of human's vision, smell, touch and hearing, the diversity and effects of emotion and personality in decision making. There are three types of software platforms which could be employed to realize the motion and intelligence within one system, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

  2. Behavior Patterns of Antisocial Teenagers Interacting with Parents and Peers: A Longitudinal Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabrera, Francisco J. P.; Herrera, Ana del Refugio C.; Rubalcava, San J. A.; Martínez, Kalina I. M.

    2017-01-01

    Antisocial behavior may begin during childhood and if maintained during adolescence, is likely to continue and escalate during adulthood. During adolescence, in particular, it has been established that antisocial behavior may be reinforced and shaped by exchanges between the teenager and his parents and peers, although the molecular process of these relations is as yet unknown. This paper explores the patterns of social interaction established by adolescents with and without the risk of engaging in antisocial behavior in order to understand the exchanges of them with their most important social groups, during 2 years. The study involved a sample of 70 adolescents classified into these two groups (with risk of antisocial behavior and control group). They were video-recorded interacting with one of their parents and one of their peers, independently. The interaction was done about the negotiation of conflictive conversational topics. Those video-records were registered by pairs of trained observers, using an observational catalog with nineteen behavioral categories, to know about the molecular interactional patterns characteristics. Thirty participants were evaluated only once, 30 were evaluated two times, and the other 10 were evaluated three times, the evaluations were performed annually. It was found that a higher occurrence of eye contact and use of open questions and elaborate answers appears to act as a protective factor for engaging in antisocial behavior. PMID:28626430

  3. Behavior Patterns of Antisocial Teenagers Interacting with Parents and Peers: A Longitudinal Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco J. P. Cabrera

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Antisocial behavior may begin during childhood and if maintained during adolescence, is likely to continue and escalate during adulthood. During adolescence, in particular, it has been established that antisocial behavior may be reinforced and shaped by exchanges between the teenager and his parents and peers, although the molecular process of these relations is as yet unknown. This paper explores the patterns of social interaction established by adolescents with and without the risk of engaging in antisocial behavior in order to understand the exchanges of them with their most important social groups, during 2 years. The study involved a sample of 70 adolescents classified into these two groups (with risk of antisocial behavior and control group. They were video-recorded interacting with one of their parents and one of their peers, independently. The interaction was done about the negotiation of conflictive conversational topics. Those video-records were registered by pairs of trained observers, using an observational catalog with nineteen behavioral categories, to know about the molecular interactional patterns characteristics. Thirty participants were evaluated only once, 30 were evaluated two times, and the other 10 were evaluated three times, the evaluations were performed annually. It was found that a higher occurrence of eye contact and use of open questions and elaborate answers appears to act as a protective factor for engaging in antisocial behavior.

  4. Micro-patterned graphene-based sensing skins for human physiological monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Long; Loh, Kenneth J.; Chiang, Wei-Hung; Manna, Kausik

    2018-03-01

    Ultrathin, flexible, conformal, and skin-like electronic transducers are emerging as promising candidates for noninvasive and nonintrusive human health monitoring. In this work, a wearable sensing membrane is developed by patterning a graphene-based solution onto ultrathin medical tape, which can then be attached to the skin for monitoring human physiological parameters and physical activity. Here, the sensor is validated for monitoring finger bending/movements and for recognizing hand motion patterns, thereby demonstrating its future potential for evaluating athletic performance, physical therapy, and designing next-generation human-machine interfaces. Furthermore, this study also quantifies the sensor’s ability to monitor eye blinking and radial pulse in real-time, which can find broader applications for the healthcare sector. Overall, the printed graphene-based sensing skin is highly conformable, flexible, lightweight, nonintrusive, mechanically robust, and is characterized by high strain sensitivity.

  5. Application of Human-Autonomy Teaming (HAT) Patterns to Reduce Crew Operations (RCO)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shively, R. Jay; Brandt, Summer L.; Lachter, Joel; Matessa, Mike; Sadler, Garrett; Battiste, Henri

    2016-01-01

    Unmanned aerial systems, robotics, advanced cockpits, and air traffic management are all examples of domains that are seeing dramatic increases in automation. While automation may take on some tasks previously performed by humans, humans will still be required, for the foreseeable future, to remain in the system. The collaboration with humans and these increasingly autonomous systems will begin to resemble cooperation between teammates, rather than simple task allocation. It is critical to understand this human-autonomy teaming (HAT) to optimize these systems in the future. One methodology to understand HAT is by identifying recurring patterns of HAT that have similar characteristics and solutions. This paper applies a methodology for identifying HAT patterns to an advanced cockpit project.

  6. Novelty, Stress, and Biological Roots in Human Market Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexey Sarapultsev

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Although studies examining the biological roots of human behavior have been conducted since the seminal work Kahneman and Tversky, crises and panics have not disappeared. The frequent occurrence of various types of crises has led some economists to the conviction that financial markets occasionally praise irrational judgments and that market crashes cannot be avoided a priori (Sornette 2009; Smith 2004. From a biological point of view, human behaviors are essentially the same during crises accompanied by stock market crashes and during bubble growth when share prices exceed historic highs. During those periods, most market participants see something new for themselves, and this inevitably induces a stress response in them with accompanying changes in their endocrine profiles and motivations. The result is quantitative and qualitative changes in behavior (Zhukov 2007. An underestimation of the role of novelty as a stressor is the primary shortcoming of current approaches for market research. When developing a mathematical market model, it is necessary to account for the biologically determined diphasisms of human behavior in everyday low-stress conditions and in response to stressors. This is the only type of approach that will enable forecasts of market dynamics and investor behaviors under normal conditions as well as during bubbles and panics.

  7. Nurses' Behaviors and Visual Scanning Patterns May Reduce Patient Identification Errors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marquard, Jenna L.; Henneman, Philip L.; He, Ze; Jo, Junghee; Fisher, Donald L.; Henneman, Elizabeth A.

    2011-01-01

    Patient identification (ID) errors occurring during the medication administration process can be fatal. The aim of this study is to determine whether differences in nurses' behaviors and visual scanning patterns during the medication administration process influence their capacities to identify patient ID errors. Nurse participants (n = 20)…

  8. Narratives of Self-Neglect: Patterns of Traumatic Personal Experiences and Maladaptive Behaviors in Cognitively Intact Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lien, Cynthia; Rosen, Tony; Bloemen, Elizabeth M; Abrams, Robert C; Pavlou, Maria; Lachs, Mark S

    2016-11-01

    To identify patterns of personal experience or behavior in self-neglect by exploring narratives of cognitively intact older adults. Descriptive study involving semistructured interviews and unstructured narratives. A parent study of self-neglect characteristics. Cognitively intact, self-neglecting older adults referred from 11 community-based senior services agencies (N = 69). Interviews included a comprehensive psychiatric assessment using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Axis-I and II Disorders and an unstructured interview that allowed subjects to describe important elements of their life stories. Content analysis was used to identify personal experiences and behavior patterns in each subject's narrative. Four types of traumatic personal experiences (psychologically traumatic loss, separation or abandonment (29%); violent victimization, physical trauma, or sexual abuse (19%); exposure to war or political violence (9%); prolonged mourning (7%)) and five behavior patterns (significant financial instability (23%), severe lifelong mental illness (16%), mistrust of people or paranoia (13%), distrust and avoidance of the medical establishment (13%), substance abuse or dependence (13%)) were identified in the life stories. Patterns of traumatic personal experiences and maladaptive behaviors that self-neglecters frequently report were identified. Experiences, perceptions, and behaviors developed over a lifetime may contribute to elder self-neglect. Further exploration and better understanding of these patterns may identify potential risk factors and areas for future targeted screening, intervention, and prevention. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

  9. Nanosized fibers' effect on adult human articular chondrocytes behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stenhamre, Hanna [Biopolymer Technology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg (Sweden); Department of Clinical Chemistry and Transfusion Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg (Sweden); Thorvaldsson, Anna, E-mail: anna.thorvaldsson@swerea.se [Biopolymer Technology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg (Sweden); Swerea IVF, Mölndal (Sweden); Enochson, Lars [Department of Clinical Chemistry and Transfusion Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg (Sweden); Walkenström, Pernilla [Swerea IVF, Mölndal (Sweden); Lindahl, Anders [Department of Clinical Chemistry and Transfusion Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg (Sweden); Brittberg, Mats [Cartilage Research Unit, University of Gothenburg, Department Orthopaedics, Kungsbacka Hospital, Kungsbacka (Sweden); Gatenholm, Paul [Biopolymer Technology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg (Sweden)

    2013-04-01

    Tissue engineering with chondrogenic cell based therapies is an expanding field with the intention of treating cartilage defects. It has been suggested that scaffolds used in cartilage tissue engineering influence cellular behavior and thus the long-term clinical outcome. The objective of this study was to assess whether chondrocyte attachment, proliferation and post-expansion re-differentiation could be influenced by the size of the fibers presented to the cells in a scaffold. Polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds with different fiber morphologies were produced, i.e. microfiber (MS) scaffolds as well as nanofiber-coated microfiber scaffold (NMS). Adult human articular chondrocytes were cultured in the scaffolds in vitro up to 28 days, and the resulting constructs were assessed histologically, immunohistochemically, and biochemically. Attachment of cells and serum proteins to the scaffolds was affected by the architecture. The results point toward nano-patterning onto the microfibers influencing proliferation of the chondrocytes, and the overall 3D environment having a greater influence on the re-differentiation. In the efforts of finding the optimal scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering, studies as the current contribute to the knowledge of how to affect and control chondrocytes behavior. - Highlights: ► Chondrocyte behavior in nanofiber-coated microfiber versus microfiber scaffolds ► High porosity (> 90%) and large pore sizes (a few hundred μm) of nanofibrous scaffolds ► Proliferation enhanced by presence of nanofibers ► Differentiation not significantly affected ► Cell attachment improved in presence of both nanofibers and serum.

  10. Spatial and temporal patterns of human Puumala virus (PUUV infections in Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Cunze

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background Worldwide, the number of recorded human hantavirus infections as well as the number of affected countries is on the rise. In Europe, most human hantavirus infections are caused by the Puumala virus (PUUV, with bank voles (Myodes glareolus as reservoir hosts. Generally, infection outbreaks have been related to environmental conditions, particularly climatic conditions, food supply for the reservoir species and land use. However, although attempts have been made, the insufficient availability of environmental data is often hampering accurate temporal and spatially explicit models of human hantavirus infections. Methods In the present study, dynamics of human PUUV infections between 2001 and 2015 were explored using ArcGIS in order to identify spatio-temporal patterns. Results Percentage cover of forest area was identified as an important factor for the spatial pattern, whereas beech mast was found explaining temporal patterns of human PUUV infections in Germany. High numbers of infections were recorded in 2007, 2010 and 2012 and areas with highest records were located in Baden-Wuerttemberg (southwest Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia (western Germany. Conclusion More reliable data on reservoir host distribution, pathogen verification as well as an increased awareness of physicians are some of the factors that should improve future human infection risk assessments in Germany.

  11. Patterns of service use in two types of managed behavioral health care plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrick, Elizabeth L; Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M; Azzone, Vanessa; McCann, Bernard; Ritter, Grant; Zolotusky, Galima; McGuire, Thomas G; Reif, Sharon

    2010-01-01

    The study examined service use patterns by level of care in two managed care plans offered by a national managed behavioral health care organization (MBHO): an employee assistance program (EAP) combined with a standard behavioral health plan (integrated plan) and a standard behavioral health plan. The cross-sectional analysis used 2004 administrative data from the MBHO. Utilization of 11 specific service categories was compared. The weighted sample reflected exact matching on sociodemographic characteristics (unweighted N=710,014; weighted N=286,750). A larger proportion of enrollees in the integrated plan than in the standard plan used outpatient mental health and substance abuse office visits (including EAP visits) (p<.01) and substance abuse intensive outpatient or day treatment (p<.05), and the proportion using residential substance abuse rehabilitation was lower (p<.05). The integrated and standard products had distinct utilization patterns in this large MBHO. In particular, greater use of certain outpatient services was observed in the integrated plan.

  12. Tritium behavior pattern in some soil-plant systems in a tropical environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soman, S.D.; Iyengar, T.S.; Sadarangani, S.H.; Vaze, P.K.

    1975-01-01

    A study of the distribution pattern of tritium in the soil/plant environment gives valuable ecological information on the natural water balance. The results of such a study for the conditions obtaining in India are given in this paper. Field studies are carried out by injection of tritium into some soil/plant systems and following the transfer pathways. The method of extraction for tissue-free-water-tritium (TFWT) is based on the vacuum freeze-drying technique while the tissue-bound-tritium (TBT) is estimated by a modified version of the Shoniger method. The determination of residence time of tritium in aqueous and organic phase in a number of tropical trees has been carried out both for stem-injection as well as intake from the soil. From the results of this study the tree biomass and transpiration rates have been determined. The tritium profile over time, for an acute exposure in certain trees such as Morinda Tinetoria, Achras Sapota etc. shows significantly different patterns compared to the normal pattern shown by Mangifera Indica, Terminalia Catappa, Ficus Glomerata etc. The period of investigation in each case varied from 400 to 1000 h. In most of the cases, the TBT fractions were very low compared to TFWT fractions in the initial stages. The tritium behavior in the tree reflects significant characteristics of the tritium behavior in the soil system. The authors have found that the leaf sampling can be used as an indicator of total environmental tritium behavior. (author)

  13. Who's afraid of Patterns?: The Particular versus the Universal and the Meaning of Humanities 3.0

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rens Bod

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The advent of Digital Humanities has enabled scholars to identify previously unknown patterns in the arts and letters; but the notion of pattern has also been subject to debate. In my response to the authors of this Forum, I argue that ‘pattern’ should not be confused with universal pattern. The term pattern itself is neutral with respect to being either particular or universal. Yet the testing and discovery of patterns – be they local or global – is greatly aided by digital tools. While such tools have been beneficial for the humanities, numerous scholars lack a sufficient grasp of the underlying assumptions and methods of these tools. I argue that in order to criticise and interpret the results of digital humanities properly, scholars must acquire a good working knowledge of the underlying tools and methods. Only then can digital humanities be fully integrated (humanities 3.0 with time-honoured (humanities 1.0 tools of hermeneutics and criticism.

  14. Integrating Humanism and Behaviorism: Toward Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Darrell

    1974-01-01

    The current emphasis on performance criteria in training programs and in professional services poses a threat to the humanistically oriented helper. This article suggests a behavioral humanism as the desired solution to the dilemma and proposes some guidelines for formulating and implementing such a synthetic system. (Author)

  15. Human behavior research and the design of sustainable transport systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schauer, James J.

    2011-09-01

    Transport currently represents approximately 19% of the global energy demand and accounts for about 23% of the global carbon dioxide emissions (IEA 2009). As the demand for mobility is expected to continue to increase in the coming decades, the stabilization of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will require the evolution of transport, along with power generation, building design and manufacturing. The continued development of these sectors will need to include changes in energy sources, energy delivery, materials, infrastructure and human behavior. Pathways to reducing carbon from the transport sector have unique challenges and opportunities that are inherent to the human choices and behavioral patterns that mold the transportation systems and the associated energy needs. Technology, government investment, and regulatory policies have a significant impact on the formulation of transportation infrastructure; however, the role of human behavior and public acceptance on the efficiency and effectiveness of transport systems should not be underestimated. Although developed, rapidly developing, and underdeveloped nations face different challenges in the establishment of transport infrastructure that can meet transport needs while achieving sustainable carbon dioxide emissions, the constraints that establish the domain of possibilities are closely related for all nations. These constraints include capital investment, fuel supplies, power systems, and human behavior. Throughout the world, there are considerable efforts directed at advancing and optimizing the financing of sustainable infrastructures, the production of low carbon fuels, and the production of advanced power systems, but the foundational work on methods to understand human preferences and behavior within the context of transport and the valuation of reductions in carbon dioxide emissions is greatly lagging behind. These methods and the associated understanding of human behavior and the willingness to pay for

  16. Measuring Human Movement Patterns and Behaviors in Public Spaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Søren Zebitz; Gade, Rikke; Moeslund, Thomas B.

    was applied to detect people. To assess the quality of the trajectories generated by the CV software, a sample of Ground Truth (GT) trajectories were digitized manually for all individuals simultaneously present in the scene in parts of the video recorded. The manual digitization was done in the T......-Analyst software developed at Lund University. Tracks of people walking alone or in social groups of different sizes were recorded, as well as people waiting, people having a conversation, and people dragging their bikes or pushing prams or wheelchairs. The tracks of ‘facers’ working for a charity organization...... will be to develop advanced methods in GIS to enable extraction of behavioral parameters for different classes of tracks that can be used to calibrate models of pedestrian movement. Our approach to tracking urban public life should be seen as a supplement to the traditional qualitative and intuitive manual...

  17. Assessment of human respiration patterns via noncontact sensing using Doppler multi-radar system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Changzhan; Li, Changzhi

    2015-03-16

    Human respiratory patterns at chest and abdomen are associated with both physical and emotional states. Accurate measurement of the respiratory patterns provides an approach to assess and analyze the physical and emotional states of the subject persons. Not many research efforts have been made to wirelessly assess different respiration patterns, largely due to the inaccuracy of the conventional continuous-wave radar sensor to track the original signal pattern of slow respiratory movements. This paper presents the accurate assessment of different respiratory patterns based on noncontact Doppler radar sensing. This paper evaluates the feasibility of accurately monitoring different human respiration patterns via noncontact radar sensing. A 2.4 GHz DC coupled multi-radar system was used for accurate measurement of the complete respiration patterns without any signal distortion. Experiments were carried out in the lab environment to measure the different respiration patterns when the subject person performed natural breathing, chest breathing and diaphragmatic breathing. The experimental results showed that accurate assessment of different respiration patterns is feasible using the proposed noncontact radar sensing technique.

  18. Patterns of sedentary behavior and compliance with public health recommendations in Spanish adolescents: the AFINOS study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez Gómez, David; Veiga, Oscar L; Zapatera, Belén; Cabanas-Sánchez, Verónica; Gomez-Martinez, Sonia; Martinez-Hernández, David; Marcos, Ascensión

    2012-12-01

    The aims of the present study were: (i) describe patterns of sedentary behavior in Spanish adolescents; and (ii) determine the proportion of adolescents that do not meet the public health recommendations for sedentary behavior. This study comprised 1,724 Spanish adolescents (882 girls), aged 13 to 16 years. Patterns of sedentary behavior (TV viewing, use of computer games, console games and surfing the Internet) were assessed using the HELENA sedentary behavior questionnaire. The total proportion of adolescents watching TV, using computer and console games, and surfing the internet for more than two hours daily was 24%, 9%, 7%, and 17%, respectively, on weekdays, and 50%, 22%, 16%, and 35%, respectively, on weekends. Over 63% of the adolescents from the study did not meet the recommendation for sedentary behavior (health, public health interventions in Spain that take these factors into consideration are needed.

  19. Talking with a Virtual Human : Controlling the Human Experience and Behavior in a Virtual Conversation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Qu, C.

    2014-01-01

    Virtual humans are often designed to replace real humans in virtual reality applications for e.g., psychotherapy, education and entertainment. In general, applications with virtual humans are created for modifying a person's knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, emotions or behaviors. Reaching these

  20. Nonmonotonic Behavior of Supermultiplet Pattern Formation in a Noisy Lotka-Volterra System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fiasconaro, A.; Valenti, D.; Spagnolo, B.

    2004-01-01

    The noise-induced pattern formation in a population dynamical model of three interacting species in the coexistence regime is investigated. A coupled map lattice of Lotka-Volterra equations in the presence of multiplicative noise is used to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution. The spatial correlation of the species concentration as a function of time and of the noise intensity is investigated. A nonmonotonic behavior of the area of the patterns as a function of both noise intensity and evolution time is found. (author)

  1. Where to look? Automating attending behaviors of virtual human characters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chopra Khullar, S.; Badler, N. I.

    2001-01-01

    This research proposes a computational framework for generating visual attending behavior in an embodied simulated human agent. Such behaviors directly control eye and head motions, and guide other actions such as locomotion and reach. The implementation of these concepts, referred to as the AVA, draws on empirical and qualitative observations known from psychology, human factors and computer vision. Deliberate behaviors, the analogs of scanpaths in visual psychology, compete with involuntary attention capture and lapses into idling or free viewing. Insights provided by implementing this framework are: a defined set of parameters that impact the observable effects of attention, a defined vocabulary of looking behaviors for certain motor and cognitive activity, a defined hierarchy of three levels of eye behavior (endogenous, exogenous and idling) and a proposed method of how these types interact.

  2. Patterns of Adolescent Bullying Behaviors: Physical, Verbal, Exclusion, Rumor, and Cyber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jing; Iannotti, Ronald J.; Luk, Jeremy W.

    2012-01-01

    Patterns of engagement in cyber bullying and four types of traditional bullying were examined using latent class analysis (LCA). Demographic differences and externalizing problems were evaluated across latent class membership. Data were obtained from the 2005-2006 Health Behavior in School-aged Survey and the analytic sample included 7,508 U.S.…

  3. HANPP Collection: Global Patterns in Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Global Patterns in Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) portion of the HANPP Collection represents a digital map of human appropriation of net...

  4. Design of Driving Behavior Pattern Measurements Using Smartphone Global Positioning System Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoyu Zhu

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of new technologies such as GPS, cellphone, Bluetooth device, etc. offers opportunities for collecting high-fidelity temporal-spatial travel data in a cost-effective manner. With the vehicle trajectory data achieved from a smartphone app Metropia, this study targets on exploring the trajectory data and designing the measurements of the driving pattern. Metropia is a recently available mobile traffic app that uses prediction and coordinating technology combined with user rewards to incentivize drivers to cooperate, balance traffic load on the network, and reduce traffic congestion. Speed and celeration (acceleration and deceleration are obtained from the Metropia platform directly and parameterized as individual and system measurements related to traffic, spatial and temporal conditions. A case study is provided in this paper to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach utilizing the trajectory data from the actual app usage. The driving behaviors at both individual and system levels are quantified from the microscopic speed and celeration records. The results from this study reveal distinct driving behavior pattern and shed lights for further opportunities to identify behavior characteristics beyond safety and environmental considerations.

  5. Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strom, Margot Stern; Parsons, William S.

    This unit for junior and senior high school students presents techniques and materials for studying about the holocaust of World War II. Emphasis in the guide is on human behavior and the role of the individual within society. Among the guide's 18 objectives are for students to examine society's influence on individual behavior, place Hitler's…

  6. Cognitive Factors Affecting Freeze-like Behavior in Humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alban, Michael W; Pocknell, Victoria

    2017-01-01

    Contemporary research on survival-related defensive behaviors has identified physiological markers of freeze/flight/fight. Our research focused on cognitive factors associated with freeze-like behavior in humans. Study 1 tested if an explicit decision to freeze is associated with the psychophysiological state of freezing. Heart rate deceleration occurred when participants chose to freeze. Study 2 varied the efficacy of freezing relative to other defense options and found "freeze" was responsive to variations in the perceived effectiveness of alternative actions. Study 3 tested if individual differences in motivational orientation affect preference for a "freeze" option when the efficacy of options is held constant. A trend in the predicted direction suggested that naturally occurring cognitions led loss-avoiders to select "freeze" more often than reward-seekers. In combination, our attention to the cognitive factors affecting freeze-like behavior in humans represents a preliminary step in addressing an important but neglected research area.

  7. Understanding Spatiotemporal Patterns of Biking Behavior by Analyzing Massive Bike Sharing Data in Chicago.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaolu Zhou

    Full Text Available The growing number of bike sharing systems (BSS in many cities largely facilitates biking for transportation and recreation. Most recent bike sharing systems produce time and location specific data, which enables the study of travel behavior and mobility of each individual. However, despite a rapid growth of interest, studies on massive bike sharing data and the underneath travel pattern are still limited. Few studies have explored and visualized spatiotemporal patterns of bike sharing behavior using flow clustering, nor examined the station functional profiles based on over-demand patterns. This study investigated the spatiotemporal biking pattern in Chicago by analyzing massive BSS data from July to December in 2013 and 2014. The BSS in Chicago gained more popularity. About 15.9% more people subscribed to this service. Specifically, we constructed bike flow similarity graph and used fastgreedy algorithm to detect spatial communities of biking flows. By using the proposed methods, we discovered unique travel patterns on weekdays and weekends as well as different travel trends for customers and subscribers from the noisy massive amount data. In addition, we also examined the temporal demands for bikes and docks using hierarchical clustering method. Results demonstrated the modeled over-demand patterns in Chicago. This study contributes to offer better knowledge of biking flow patterns, which was difficult to obtain using traditional methods. Given the trend of increasing popularity of the BSS and data openness in different cities, methods used in this study can extend to examine the biking patterns and BSS functionality in different cities.

  8. Understanding Spatiotemporal Patterns of Biking Behavior by Analyzing Massive Bike Sharing Data in Chicago.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiaolu

    2015-01-01

    The growing number of bike sharing systems (BSS) in many cities largely facilitates biking for transportation and recreation. Most recent bike sharing systems produce time and location specific data, which enables the study of travel behavior and mobility of each individual. However, despite a rapid growth of interest, studies on massive bike sharing data and the underneath travel pattern are still limited. Few studies have explored and visualized spatiotemporal patterns of bike sharing behavior using flow clustering, nor examined the station functional profiles based on over-demand patterns. This study investigated the spatiotemporal biking pattern in Chicago by analyzing massive BSS data from July to December in 2013 and 2014. The BSS in Chicago gained more popularity. About 15.9% more people subscribed to this service. Specifically, we constructed bike flow similarity graph and used fastgreedy algorithm to detect spatial communities of biking flows. By using the proposed methods, we discovered unique travel patterns on weekdays and weekends as well as different travel trends for customers and subscribers from the noisy massive amount data. In addition, we also examined the temporal demands for bikes and docks using hierarchical clustering method. Results demonstrated the modeled over-demand patterns in Chicago. This study contributes to offer better knowledge of biking flow patterns, which was difficult to obtain using traditional methods. Given the trend of increasing popularity of the BSS and data openness in different cities, methods used in this study can extend to examine the biking patterns and BSS functionality in different cities.

  9. The Study on Human-Computer Interaction Design Based on the Users’ Subconscious Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lingyuan

    2017-09-01

    Human-computer interaction is human-centered. An excellent interaction design should focus on the study of user experience, which greatly comes from the consistence between design and human behavioral habit. However, users’ behavioral habits often result from subconsciousness. Therefore, it is smart to utilize users’ subconscious behavior to achieve design's intention and maximize the value of products’ functions, which gradually becomes a new trend in this field.

  10. The Association Between Parental Behavior Patterns and the Dietary Intake of Preschool Children in Tehran Kindergartens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Pazuki

    2014-09-01

    Conclusions: Any effort to promote children’s dietary intake needs considering the role of parents in the development of feeding patterns, and interest in children to consume healthy foods. Keywords: Children, Dietary intake, Parental behavior patterns, Kindergarten

  11. A periodic pattern of SNPs in the human genome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Bo Eskerod; Villesen, Palle; Wiuf, Carsten

    2007-01-01

    By surveying a filtered, high-quality set of SNPs in the human genome, we have found that SNPs positioned 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 bp apart are more frequent than SNPs positioned 3, 5, 7, or 9 bp apart. The observed pattern is not restricted to genomic regions that are known to cause sequencing...... periodic DNA. Our results suggest that not all SNPs in the human genome are created by independent single nucleotide mutations, and that care should be taken in analysis of SNPs from periodic DNA. The latter may have important consequences for SNP and association studies....... or alignment errors, for example, transposable elements (SINE, LINE, and LTR), tandem repeats, and large duplicated regions. However, we found that the pattern is almost entirely confined to what we define as "periodic DNA." Periodic DNA is a genomic region with a high degree of periodicity in nucleotide usage...

  12. Visualizing Dynamic Bitcoin Transaction Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGinn, Dan; Birch, David; Akroyd, David; Molina-Solana, Miguel; Guo, Yike; Knottenbelt, William J

    2016-06-01

    This work presents a systemic top-down visualization of Bitcoin transaction activity to explore dynamically generated patterns of algorithmic behavior. Bitcoin dominates the cryptocurrency markets and presents researchers with a rich source of real-time transactional data. The pseudonymous yet public nature of the data presents opportunities for the discovery of human and algorithmic behavioral patterns of interest to many parties such as financial regulators, protocol designers, and security analysts. However, retaining visual fidelity to the underlying data to retain a fuller understanding of activity within the network remains challenging, particularly in real time. We expose an effective force-directed graph visualization employed in our large-scale data observation facility to accelerate this data exploration and derive useful insight among domain experts and the general public alike. The high-fidelity visualizations demonstrated in this article allowed for collaborative discovery of unexpected high frequency transaction patterns, including automated laundering operations, and the evolution of multiple distinct algorithmic denial of service attacks on the Bitcoin network.

  13. Visualizing Dynamic Bitcoin Transaction Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGinn, Dan; Birch, David; Akroyd, David; Molina-Solana, Miguel; Guo, Yike; Knottenbelt, William J.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract This work presents a systemic top-down visualization of Bitcoin transaction activity to explore dynamically generated patterns of algorithmic behavior. Bitcoin dominates the cryptocurrency markets and presents researchers with a rich source of real-time transactional data. The pseudonymous yet public nature of the data presents opportunities for the discovery of human and algorithmic behavioral patterns of interest to many parties such as financial regulators, protocol designers, and security analysts. However, retaining visual fidelity to the underlying data to retain a fuller understanding of activity within the network remains challenging, particularly in real time. We expose an effective force-directed graph visualization employed in our large-scale data observation facility to accelerate this data exploration and derive useful insight among domain experts and the general public alike. The high-fidelity visualizations demonstrated in this article allowed for collaborative discovery of unexpected high frequency transaction patterns, including automated laundering operations, and the evolution of multiple distinct algorithmic denial of service attacks on the Bitcoin network. PMID:27441715

  14. Why men matter: mating patterns drive evolution of human lifespan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shripad D Tuljapurkar

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Evolutionary theory predicts that senescence, a decline in survival rates with age, is the consequence of stronger selection on alleles that affect fertility or mortality earlier rather than later in life. Hamilton quantified this argument by showing that a rare mutation reducing survival is opposed by a selective force that declines with age over reproductive life. He used a female-only demographic model, predicting that female menopause at age ca. 50 yrs should be followed by a sharp increase in mortality, a "wall of death." Human lives obviously do not display such a wall. Explanations of the evolution of lifespan beyond the age of female menopause have proven difficult to describe as explicit genetic models. Here we argue that the inclusion of males and mating patterns extends Hamilton's theory and predicts the pattern of human senescence. We analyze a general two-sex model to show that selection favors survival for as long as men reproduce. Male fertility can only result from matings with fertile females, and we present a range of data showing that males much older than 50 yrs have substantial realized fertility through matings with younger females, a pattern that was likely typical among early humans. Thus old-age male fertility provides a selective force against autosomal deleterious mutations at ages far past female menopause with no sharp upper age limit, eliminating the wall of death. Our findings illustrate the evolutionary importance of males and mating preferences, and show that one-sex demographic models are insufficient to describe the forces that shape human senescence.

  15. Study of type a and b behavior patterns in patients with multiple sclerosis in an Iranian population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vahid Shaygannejad

    2013-01-01

    Conclusions: People with type A behavior pattern are reported to have more stress, nervousness, and anxiety. In this study, MS patients had more characteristics of type A than type B behavior. This behavior was increased in individuals with EDSS score >4.5.

  16. Which Diet-Related Behaviors in Childhood Influence a Healthier Dietary Pattern? From the Ewha Birth and Growth Cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hye Ah; Hwang, Hyo Jeong; Oh, Se Young; Park, Eun Ae; Cho, Su Jin; Kim, Hae Soon; Park, Hyesook

    2016-12-23

    This study was performed to examine how childhood dietary patterns change over the short term and which changes in diet-related behaviors influence later changes in individual dietary patterns. Using food frequency questionnaire data obtained from children at 7 and 9 years of age from the Ewha Birth and Growth Cohort, we examined dietary patterns by principal component analysis. We calculated the individual changes in dietary pattern scores. Changes in dietary habits such as eating a variety of food over two years were defined as "increased", "stable", or "decreased". The dietary patterns, termed "healthy intake", "animal food intake", and "snack intake", were similar at 7 and 9 years of age. These patterns explained 32.3% and 39.1% of total variation at the ages of 7 and 9 years, respectively. The tracking coefficient of snack intake had the highest coefficient (γ = 0.53) and that of animal food intake had the lowest (γ = 0.21). Intra-individual stability in dietary habits ranged from 0.23 to 0.47, based on the sex-adjusted weighted kappa values. Of the various behavioral factors, eating breakfast every day was most common in the "stable" group (83.1%), whereas consuming milk or dairy products every day was the least common (49.0%). Moreover, changes in behavior that improved the consumption of milk or dairy products or encouraged the consumption of vegetables with every meal had favorable effects on changes in healthy dietary pattern scores over two years. However, those with worsened habits, such as less food variety and more than two portions of fried or stir-fried food every week, had unfavorable effects on changes in healthy dietary pattern scores. Our results suggest that diet-related behaviors can change, even over a short period, and these changes can affect changes in dietary pattern.

  17. Observing Consistency in Online Communication Patterns for User Re-Identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adeyemi, Ikuesan Richard; Razak, Shukor Abd; Salleh, Mazleena; Venter, Hein S

    2016-01-01

    Comprehension of the statistical and structural mechanisms governing human dynamics in online interaction plays a pivotal role in online user identification, online profile development, and recommender systems. However, building a characteristic model of human dynamics on the Internet involves a complete analysis of the variations in human activity patterns, which is a complex process. This complexity is inherent in human dynamics and has not been extensively studied to reveal the structural composition of human behavior. A typical method of anatomizing such a complex system is viewing all independent interconnectivity that constitutes the complexity. An examination of the various dimensions of human communication pattern in online interactions is presented in this paper. The study employed reliable server-side web data from 31 known users to explore characteristics of human-driven communications. Various machine-learning techniques were explored. The results revealed that each individual exhibited a relatively consistent, unique behavioral signature and that the logistic regression model and model tree can be used to accurately distinguish online users. These results are applicable to one-to-one online user identification processes, insider misuse investigation processes, and online profiling in various areas.

  18. Magnetization behavior of nanomagnets for patterned media application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okamoto, S.; Kikuchi, N.; Kato, T.; Kitakami, O. [Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Mitsuzuka, K.; Shimatsu, T.; Muraoka, H.; Aoi, H. [Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Lodder, J.C. [Information Storage Group, MESA, University of Twente, Enschede 7500 AE (Netherlands)], E-mail: j.c.lodder@el.utwente.nl

    2008-11-15

    Bit patterned media (BPM) which utilize each magnetic nanostructured dot as one recorded bit has attracted much interest as a promising candidate for future high-density magnetic recording. In this study, the magnetization reversal behaviors of nanostructured L1{sub 0}-FePt, Co/Pt multilayer (ML), and CoPt/Ru dots are investigated. For Co/Pt and CoPt/Ru nanodots, the bi-stable state is maintained in a very wide size range up to several hundred nm, and the magnetization reversal is dominated by the nucleation of a small reversed nucleus with the dimension of domain wall width. On the other hand, the critical size for the bi-stability of L1{sub 0}-FePt is about 60 nm, and its magnetization reversal proceeds via domain wall displacement even for such a small dot size. These reversal behaviors, depending on the magnetic materials, might be attributed to the difference in structural inhomogeneity, such as defects. In addition to the magnetic properties, the structural uniformity of the material could be crucial for the BPM application.

  19. Evaluation of camouflage pattern performance of textiles by human observers and CAMAELEON

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinrich, Daniela H.; Selj, Gorm K.

    2017-10-01

    Military textiles with camouflage pattern are an important part of the protection measures for soldiers. Military operational environments differ a lot depending on climate and vegetation. This requires very different camouflage pattern to achieve good protection. To find the best performing pattern for given environments we have in earlier evaluations mainly applied observer trials as evaluation method. In these camouflage evaluation test human observers were asked to search for targets (in natural settings) presented on a high resolution PC screen, and the corresponding detection times were recorded. Another possibility is to base the evaluation on simulations. CAMAELEON is a licensed tool that ranks camouflaged targets by their similarity with local backgrounds. The similarity is estimated through the parameters local contrast, orientation of structures in the pattern and spatial frequency, by mimicking the response and signal processing in the visual cortex of the human eye. Simulations have a number of advantages over observer trials, for example, that they are more flexible, cheaper, and faster. Applying these two methods to the same images of camouflaged targets we found that CAMAELEON simulation results didn't match observer trial results for targets with disruptive patterns. This finding now calls for follow up studies in order to learn more about the advantages and pitfalls of CAMAELEON. During recent observer trials we studied new camouflage patterns and the effect of additional equipment, such as combat vests. In this paper we will present the results from a study comparing evaluation results of human based observer trials and CAMAELEON.

  20. Capturing human movement patterns in public spaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Søren Zebitz; Gade, Rikke

    2014-01-01

    Non-intrusive and non-privacy violating tracking of people by the use of thermal cameras and Computer Vision The video shows examples of data collection of pedestrian tracks in an urban plaza using a thermal camera. The data is used in my PhD project on Human Movement Patterns in Smart Cities....... The recording and analysis of the thermal videos has been made in collaboration with Rikke Gade from the Visual Analytics of People Lab at Aalborg University....

  1. [The evolution of human cultural behavior: notes on Darwinism and complexity].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peric, Mikael; Murrieta, Rui Sérgio Sereni

    2015-12-01

    The article analyzes three schools that can be understood as central in studies of the evolution of human behavior within the paradigm of evolution by natural selection: human behavioral ecology (HBE), evolutionary psychology, and dual inheritance. These three streams of thought are used to depict the Darwinist landscape and pinpoint its strong suits and limitations. Theoretical gaps were identified that seem to reduce these schools' ability to account for the diversity of human evolutionary behavior. Their weak points include issues related to the concept of reproductive success, types of adaptation, and targets of selection. An interdisciplinary approach is proposed as the solution to this dilemma, where complex adaptive systems would serve as a source.

  2. Francis Bacon's behavioral psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Paul S

    2007-01-01

    Francis Bacon offers two accounts of the nature and function of the human mind: one is a medical-physical account of the composition and operation of spirits specific to human beings, the other is a behavioral account of the character and activities of individual persons. The medical-physical account is a run-of-the-mill version of the late Renaissance model of elemental constituents and humoral temperaments. The other, less well-known, behavioral account represents an unusual position in early modern philosophy. This theory espouses a form of behavioral psychology according to which (a) supposed mental properties are "hidden forms" best described in dispositional terms, (b) the true character of an individual can be discovered in his observable behavior, and (c) an "informed" understanding of these properties permits the prediction and control of human behavior. Both of Bacon's theories of human nature fall under his general notion of systematic science: his medical-physical theory of vital spirits is theoretical natural philosophy and his behavioral theory of disposition and expression is operative natural philosophy. Because natural philosophy as a whole is "the inquiry of causes and the production of effects," knowledge of human nature falls under the same two-part definition. It is an inquisition of forms that pertains to the patterns of minute motions in the vital spirits and the production of effects that pertains both to the way these hidden motions produce behavioral effects and to the way in which a skillful agent is able to produce desired effects in other persons' behavior. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Human Behavior and Environmental Sustainability: promoting a pro-environmental behavior by harnessing the social, psychological and physical influences of the built environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abusafieh, Shaden; Razem, Maiss

    2017-11-01

    Recently, technological advancements in the sustainable design field have allowed us to reduce the ecological impact of the built environment, to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, to create healthy environments and in some cases may even rehabilitate the ecosystem. Nevertheless, several studies have been carried out showing that sustainable technology does not automatically lead to environmentally friendly behaviors in its users. Various environmental problems threaten environmental sustainability and many of these problems are rooted in human behavior. Unfortunately, there is a lack in studies which take into consideration the human behavior influences within a sustainable built environment. We believe that the built environment should be used to support human goals and requirements, but at the same time we should consider it as a context in which human values and behaviors are cultivated. This research aimed to help in promoting environmental sustainability by using architectural design in changing relevant human behavior toward an environmentally friendly behavior. In order to achieve this, the research adopted Environment-centered Approach to gain more acute perspective into the relationship between the physical environment and human behavior, focusing on social, psychological and physical influences of the built environment. It appears that environmental psychology's merits have high potential in changing behavior within the built environment. The research provides a systematic approach for selecting, assessing, evaluating the behaviors to be changed and the factors that determine them. Furthermore, this approach helps in choosing the best interventions that could be applied in built environment to encourage such a sustainable behavior. This study tried to construct an agenda for further researches to find particular architectural design elements and strategies that we can harness to develop a pro-environment human behavior.

  4. Exploring Entrainment Patterns of Human Emotion in Social Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Saike; Zheng, Xiaolong; Zeng, Daniel; Luo, Chuan; Zhang, Zhu

    2016-01-01

    Emotion entrainment, which is generally defined as the synchronous convergence of human emotions, performs many important social functions. However, what the specific mechanisms of emotion entrainment are beyond in-person interactions, and how human emotions evolve under different entrainment patterns in large-scale social communities, are still unknown. In this paper, we aim to examine the massive emotion entrainment patterns and understand the underlying mechanisms in the context of social media. As modeling emotion dynamics on a large scale is often challenging, we elaborate a pragmatic framework to characterize and quantify the entrainment phenomenon. By applying this framework on the datasets from two large-scale social media platforms, we find that the emotions of online users entrain through social networks. We further uncover that online users often form their relations via dual entrainment, while maintain it through single entrainment. Remarkably, the emotions of online users are more convergent in nonreciprocal entrainment. Building on these findings, we develop an entrainment augmented model for emotion prediction. Experimental results suggest that entrainment patterns inform emotion proximity in dyads, and encoding their associations promotes emotion prediction. This work can further help us to understand the underlying dynamic process of large-scale online interactions and make more reasonable decisions regarding emergency situations, epidemic diseases, and political campaigns in cyberspace.

  5. The Virtual Teacher (VT) Paradigm: Learning New Patterns of Interpersonal Coordination Using the Human Dynamic Clamp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostrubiec, Viviane; Dumas, Guillaume; Zanone, Pier-Giorgio; Kelso, J A Scott

    2015-01-01

    The Virtual Teacher paradigm, a version of the Human Dynamic Clamp (HDC), is introduced into studies of learning patterns of inter-personal coordination. Combining mathematical modeling and experimentation, we investigate how the HDC may be used as a Virtual Teacher (VT) to help humans co-produce and internalize new inter-personal coordination pattern(s). Human learners produced rhythmic finger movements whilst observing a computer-driven avatar, animated by dynamic equations stemming from the well-established Haken-Kelso-Bunz (1985) and Schöner-Kelso (1988) models of coordination. We demonstrate that the VT is successful in shifting the pattern co-produced by the VT-human system toward any value (Experiment 1) and that the VT can help humans learn unstable relative phasing patterns (Experiment 2). Using transfer entropy, we find that information flow from one partner to the other increases when VT-human coordination loses stability. This suggests that variable joint performance may actually facilitate interaction, and in the long run learning. VT appears to be a promising tool for exploring basic learning processes involved in social interaction, unraveling the dynamics of information flow between interacting partners, and providing possible rehabilitation opportunities.

  6. Psychophysics of human vision: The key to improved camouflage pattern design

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Baumbach, J

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available determined by the factors mentioned above, but also by the (possible) observer/enemy. The human visual system (which includes the brain) is one of the most powerful observation systems. This paper examined the eye-brain interaction, and how... these properties could aid camouflage pattern development. 2. The Human Visual System The human visual system is very complex, therefore this study was undertaken in order to better understand the human eye-brain interaction. It also assisted in forming a...

  7. Inferring human mobility using communication patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palchykov, Vasyl; Mitrović, Marija; Jo, Hang-Hyun; Saramäki, Jari; Pan, Raj Kumar

    2014-08-01

    Understanding the patterns of mobility of individuals is crucial for a number of reasons, from city planning to disaster management. There are two common ways of quantifying the amount of travel between locations: by direct observations that often involve privacy issues, e.g., tracking mobile phone locations, or by estimations from models. Typically, such models build on accurate knowledge of the population size at each location. However, when this information is not readily available, their applicability is rather limited. As mobile phones are ubiquitous, our aim is to investigate if mobility patterns can be inferred from aggregated mobile phone call data alone. Using data released by Orange for Ivory Coast, we show that human mobility is well predicted by a simple model based on the frequency of mobile phone calls between two locations and their geographical distance. We argue that the strength of the model comes from directly incorporating the social dimension of mobility. Furthermore, as only aggregated call data is required, the model helps to avoid potential privacy problems.

  8. Application of Human-Autonomy Teaming (HAT) Patterns to Reduced Crew Operations (RCO)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shively, R. Jay; Brandt, Summer L.; Lachter, Joel; Matessa, Mike; Sadler, Garrett; Battiste, Henri

    2016-01-01

    As part of the Air Force - NASA Bi-Annual Research Council Meeting, slides will be presented on recent Reduced Crew Operations (RCO) work. Unmanned aerial systems, robotics, advanced cockpits, and air traffic management are all examples of domains that are seeing dramatic increases in automation. While automation may take on some tasks previously performed by humans, humans will still be required, for the foreseeable future, to remain in the system. The collaboration with humans and these increasingly autonomous systems will begin to resemble cooperation between teammates, rather than simple task allocation. It is critical to understand this human-autonomy teaming (HAT) to optimize these systems in the future. One methodology to understand HAT is by identifying recurring patterns of HAT that have similar characteristics and solutions. A methodology for identifying HAT patterns to an advanced cockpit project is discussed.

  9. Beagle: an appropriate experimental animal for extrapolating the organ distribution pattern of Th in humans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, N.P.; Zimmerman, C.J.; Taylor, G.N.; Wrenn, M.E.

    1988-01-01

    The concentrations and the organ distribution patterns of 228Th, 230Th and 232Th in two 9-y-old dogs of our beagle colony were determined. The dogs were exposed only to background environmental levels of Th isotopes through ingestion (food and water) and inhalation as are humans. The organ distribution patterns of the isotopes in the beagles were compared to the organ distribution patterns in humans to determine if it is appropriate to extrapolate the beagle organ burden data to humans. Among soft tissues, only the lungs, lymph nodes, kidney and liver, and skeleton contained measurable amounts of Th isotopes. The organ distribution pattern of Th isotopes in humans and dog are similar, the majority of Th being in the skeleton of both species. The average skeletal concentrations of 228Th in dogs were 30 to 40 times higher than the average skeletal concentrations of the parent 232Th, whereas the concentration of 228Th in human skeleton was only four to five times higher than 232Th. This suggests that dogs have a higher intake of 228Ra through food than humans. There is a similar trend in the accumulations of 232Th, 230Th and 228Th in the lungs of dog and humans. The percentages of 232Th, 230Th and 228Th in human lungs are 26, 9.7 and 4.8, respectively, compared to 4.2, 2.6 and 0.48, respectively, in dog lungs. The larger percentages of Th isotopes in human lungs may be due simply to the longer life span of humans. If the burdens of Th isotopes in human lungs are normalized to an exposure time of 9.2 y (mean age of dogs at the time of sacrifice), the percent burden of 232Th, 230Th and 228Th in human lungs are estimated to be 3.6, 1.3 and 0.66, respectively. These results suggest that the beagle may be an appropriate experimental animal for extrapolating the organ distribution pattern of Th in humans

  10. Concept Analysis: Health-Promoting Behaviors Related to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCutcheon, Tonna; Schaar, Gina; Parker, Karen L

    2015-01-01

    The concept of health-promoting behaviors incorporates ideas presented in the Ottawa Charter of Public Health and the nursing-based Health Promotion Model. Despite the fact that the concept of health-promoting behaviors has a nursing influence, literature suggests nursing has inadequately developed and used this concept within nursing practice. A further review of literature regarding health promotion behaviors and the human papilloma virus suggest a distinct gap in nursing literature. This article presents a concept analysis of health-promoting behaviors related to the human papilloma virus in order to encourage the application of the concept into nursing practice, promote continued nursing research regarding this concept, and further expand the application of health-promoting behaviors to other situations and populations within the nursing discipline. Attributes of health-promoting behaviors are presented and include empowerment, participation, community, and a positive concept of health. Antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents are also presented, as are model, borderline, and contrary cases to help clarify the concept. Recommendations for human papilloma virus health-promoting behaviors within the nursing practice are also provided. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. A simple artificial life model explains irrational behavior in human decision-making.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolina Feher da Silva

    Full Text Available Although praised for their rationality, humans often make poor decisions, even in simple situations. In the repeated binary choice experiment, an individual has to choose repeatedly between the same two alternatives, where a reward is assigned to one of them with fixed probability. The optimal strategy is to perseverate with choosing the alternative with the best expected return. Whereas many species perseverate, humans tend to match the frequencies of their choices to the frequencies of the alternatives, a sub-optimal strategy known as probability matching. Our goal was to find the primary cognitive constraints under which a set of simple evolutionary rules can lead to such contrasting behaviors. We simulated the evolution of artificial populations, wherein the fitness of each animat (artificial animal depended on its ability to predict the next element of a sequence made up of a repeating binary string of varying size. When the string was short relative to the animats' neural capacity, they could learn it and correctly predict the next element of the sequence. When it was long, they could not learn it, turning to the next best option: to perseverate. Animats from the last generation then performed the task of predicting the next element of a non-periodical binary sequence. We found that, whereas animats with smaller neural capacity kept perseverating with the best alternative as before, animats with larger neural capacity, which had previously been able to learn the pattern of repeating strings, adopted probability matching, being outperformed by the perseverating animats. Our results demonstrate how the ability to make predictions in an environment endowed with regular patterns may lead to probability matching under less structured conditions. They point to probability matching as a likely by-product of adaptive cognitive strategies that were crucial in human evolution, but may lead to sub-optimal performances in other environments.

  12. A simple artificial life model explains irrational behavior in human decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feher da Silva, Carolina; Baldo, Marcus Vinícius Chrysóstomo

    2012-01-01

    Although praised for their rationality, humans often make poor decisions, even in simple situations. In the repeated binary choice experiment, an individual has to choose repeatedly between the same two alternatives, where a reward is assigned to one of them with fixed probability. The optimal strategy is to perseverate with choosing the alternative with the best expected return. Whereas many species perseverate, humans tend to match the frequencies of their choices to the frequencies of the alternatives, a sub-optimal strategy known as probability matching. Our goal was to find the primary cognitive constraints under which a set of simple evolutionary rules can lead to such contrasting behaviors. We simulated the evolution of artificial populations, wherein the fitness of each animat (artificial animal) depended on its ability to predict the next element of a sequence made up of a repeating binary string of varying size. When the string was short relative to the animats' neural capacity, they could learn it and correctly predict the next element of the sequence. When it was long, they could not learn it, turning to the next best option: to perseverate. Animats from the last generation then performed the task of predicting the next element of a non-periodical binary sequence. We found that, whereas animats with smaller neural capacity kept perseverating with the best alternative as before, animats with larger neural capacity, which had previously been able to learn the pattern of repeating strings, adopted probability matching, being outperformed by the perseverating animats. Our results demonstrate how the ability to make predictions in an environment endowed with regular patterns may lead to probability matching under less structured conditions. They point to probability matching as a likely by-product of adaptive cognitive strategies that were crucial in human evolution, but may lead to sub-optimal performances in other environments.

  13. An assessment of schoolyard features and behavior patterns in children's utilization and physical activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthamatten, Peter; Brink, Lois; Kingston, Beverly; Kutchman, Eve; Lampe, Sarah; Nigg, Claudio

    2014-03-01

    Careful research that elucidates how behavior relates to design in the context of elementary school grounds can serve to guide cost-efficient design with the goal of encouraging physical activity (PA). This work explores patterns in children's PA behavior within playground spaces with the specific goal of guiding healthy playground design. Data on children's utilization and PA behavior in 6 playgrounds divided into 106 observation zones were collected in 2005 and 2006 at Denver elementary school playgrounds using the System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth. Analyses of variance and t tests determined whether there were differences in utilization and behavior patterns across observations zones and between genders. This study provides evidence that children prefer to use certain types of playground zones and that they are more likely to practice moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in some zones. The authors observed statistically significant differences between genders. Boys were more likely to engage in MVPA in zones without equipment, girls were more likely to use zones with equipment. This work suggests that the inclusion or omission of specific playground features may have an impact on the way that children use the spaces.

  14. Probing neural cell behaviors through micro-/nano-patterned chitosan substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sung, Chun-Yen; Yang, Chung-Yao; Yeh, J Andrew; Chen, Wen-Shiang; Wang, Yang-Kao; Cheng, Chao-Min

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we describe the development of surface-modified chitosan substrates to examine topographically related Neuro-2a cell behaviors. Different functional groups can be modified on chitosan surfaces to probe Neuro-2a cell morphology. To prepare chitosan substrates with micro/nano-scaled features, we demonstrated an easy-to-handle method that combined photolithography, inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching, Ag nanoparticle-assisted etching, and solution casting. The results show that Neuro-2a cells preferred to adhere to a flat chitosan surface rather than a nanotextured chitosan surface as evidenced by greater immobilization and differentiation, suggesting that surface topography is crucial for neural patterning. In addition, we developed chitosan substrates with different geometric patterns and flat region depth; this allowed us to re-arrange or re-pattern Neuro-2a cell colonies at desired locations. We found that a polarity-induced micropattern provided the most suitable surface pattern for promoting neural network formation on a chitosan substrate. The cellular polarity of single Neuro-2a cell spreading correlated to a diamond-like geometry and neurite outgrowth was induced from the corners toward the grooves of the structures. This study provide greater insight into neurobiology, including neurotransmitter screening, electrophysiological stimulation platforms, and biomedical engineering. (paper)

  15. Pattern of human chorionic gonadotropin binding in the polycystic ovary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brawer, J.; Richard, M.; Farookhi, R.

    1989-01-01

    The histologic evolution of polycystic ovaries in the estradiol valerate-treated rat coincides with the development of a unique plasma pattern of luteinizing hormone. To assess the role of luteinizing hormone in polycystic ovaries, it is necessary to evaluate the luteinizing hormone sensitivity of the specific tissues in the polycystic ovary. Therefore, we examined the pattern of luteinizing hormone binding sites in polycystic ovaries. Rats at 4 or 8 weeks after estradiol valerate treatment each received an intrajugular injection of iodine 125-labeled human chorionic gonadotropin. Some rats also received a 1000-fold excess of unlabeled human chorionic gonadotropin in the same injection. Ovaries were prepared for autoradiography. Dense accumulations of grains occurred over the theca of normal and atretic secondary follicles in all ovaries and over clusters of secondary interstitial cells. The iodine label was variable over the typically hypertrophied theca of precystic follicles. The theca of definitive cysts showed little or no label. These results indicate that cyst formation coincides with the loss of luteinizing hormone/human chorionic gonadotropin binding to the affected follicles

  16. Pattern of human chorionic gonadotropin binding in the polycystic ovary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brawer, J.; Richard, M.; Farookhi, R. (McGill Univ., Montreal, Quebec (Canada))

    1989-08-01

    The histologic evolution of polycystic ovaries in the estradiol valerate-treated rat coincides with the development of a unique plasma pattern of luteinizing hormone. To assess the role of luteinizing hormone in polycystic ovaries, it is necessary to evaluate the luteinizing hormone sensitivity of the specific tissues in the polycystic ovary. Therefore, we examined the pattern of luteinizing hormone binding sites in polycystic ovaries. Rats at 4 or 8 weeks after estradiol valerate treatment each received an intrajugular injection of iodine 125-labeled human chorionic gonadotropin. Some rats also received a 1000-fold excess of unlabeled human chorionic gonadotropin in the same injection. Ovaries were prepared for autoradiography. Dense accumulations of grains occurred over the theca of normal and atretic secondary follicles in all ovaries and over clusters of secondary interstitial cells. The iodine label was variable over the typically hypertrophied theca of precystic follicles. The theca of definitive cysts showed little or no label. These results indicate that cyst formation coincides with the loss of luteinizing hormone/human chorionic gonadotropin binding to the affected follicles.

  17. Human Mobility Patterns and Cholera Epidemics: a Spatially Explicit Modeling Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mari, L.; Bertuzzo, E.; Righetto, L.; Casagrandi, R.; Gatto, M.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.; Rinaldo, A.

    2010-12-01

    Cholera is an acute enteric disease caused by the ingestion of water or food contaminated by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Although most infected individuals do not develop severe symptoms, their stool may contain huge quantities of V.~cholerae cells. Therefore, while traveling or commuting, asymptomatic carriers can be responsible for the long-range dissemination of the disease. As a consequence, human mobility is an alternative and efficient driver for the spread of cholera, whose primary propagation pathway is hydrological transport through river networks. We present a multi-layer network model that accounts for the interplay between epidemiological dynamics, hydrological transport and long-distance dissemination of V.~cholerae due to human movement. In particular, building on top of state-of-the-art spatially explicit models for cholera spread through surface waters, we describe human movement and its effects on the propagation of the disease by means of a gravity-model approach borrowed from transportation theory. Gravity-like contact processes have been widely used in epidemiology, because they can satisfactorily depict human movement when data on actual mobility patterns are not available. We test our model against epidemiological data recorded during the cholera outbreak occurred in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa during years 2000--2001. We show that human mobility does actually play an important role in the formation of the spatiotemporal patterns of cholera epidemics. In particular, long-range human movement may determine inter-catchment dissemination of V.~cholerae cells, thus in turn explaining the emergence of epidemic patterns that cannot be produced by hydrological transport alone. We also show that particular attention has to be devoted to study how heterogeneously distributed drinking water supplies and sanitation conditions may affect cholera transmission.

  18. Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Understanding Human Migration Patterns and their Utility in Forensic Human Identification Cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasia Holobinko

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Human migration patterns are of interest to scientists representing many fields. Theories have been posited to explain modern human evolutionary expansion, the diversity of human culture, and the motivational factors underlying an individual or group decision to migrate. Although the research question and subsequent approach may vary between disciplines, one thread is ubiquitous throughout most migration studies: why do humans migrate and what is the result of such an event? While the determination of individual attributes such as age, sex, and ancestry is often integral to migration studies, the positive identification of human remains is usually irrelevant. However, the positive identification of a deceased is paramount to a forensic investigation in which human remains have been recovered and must be identified. What role, if any, might the study of human movement patterns play in the interpretation of evidence associated with unidentified human remains? Due to increasing global mobility in the world's populations, it is not inconceivable that an individual might die far away from his or her home. If positive identification cannot immediately be made, investigators may consider various theories as to how or why a deceased ended up in a particular geographic location. While scientific evidence influences the direction of forensic investigations, qualitative evaluation can be an important component of evidence interpretation. This review explores several modern human migration theories and the methodologies utilized to identify evidence of human migratory movement before addressing the practical application of migration theory to forensic cases requiring the identification of human remains.

  19. Exploring the significance of human mobility patterns in social link prediction

    KAUST Repository

    Alharbi, Basma Mohammed

    2014-01-01

    Link prediction is a fundamental task in social networks. Recently, emphasis has been placed on forecasting new social ties using user mobility patterns, e.g., investigating physical and semantic co-locations for new proximity measure. This paper explores the effect of in-depth mobility patterns. Specifically, we study individuals\\' movement behavior, and quantify mobility on the basis of trip frequency, travel purpose and transportation mode. Our hybrid link prediction model is composed of two modules. The first module extracts mobility patterns, including travel purpose and mode, from raw trajectory data. The second module employs the extracted patterns for link prediction. We evaluate our method on two real data sets, GeoLife [15] and Reality Mining [5]. Experimental results show that our hybrid model significantly improves the accuracy of social link prediction, when comparing to primary topology-based solutions. Copyright 2014 ACM.

  20. Behavioral economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, David W

    2009-01-01

    It is human nature to overestimate how rational we are, both in general and even when we are trying to be. Such irrationality is not random, and the search for and explanation of patterns of fuzzy thinking is the basis for a new academic discipline known as behavioral economics. Examples are given of some of the best understood of our foibles, including prospect theory, framing, anchoring, salience, confirmation bias, superstition, and ownership. Humans have two cognitive systems: one conscious, deliberate, slow, and rational; the other fast, pattern-based, emotionally tinged, and intuitive. Each is subject to its own kind of error. In the case of rational thought, we tend to exaggerate our capacity; for intuition, we fail to train it or recognize contexts where it is inappropriate. Humans are especially poor at estimating probabilities, or even understanding what they are. It is a common human failing to reason backwards from random outcomes that are favorable to beliefs about our power to predict the future. Five suggestions are offered for thinking within our means.

  1. Behavior genetic modeling of human fertility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodgers, J L; Kohler, H P; Kyvik, K O

    2001-01-01

    Behavior genetic designs and analysis can be used to address issues of central importance to demography. We use this methodology to document genetic influence on human fertility. Our data come from Danish twin pairs born from 1953 to 1959, measured on age at first attempt to get pregnant (First......Try) and number of children (NumCh). Behavior genetic models were fitted using structural equation modeling and DF analysis. A consistent medium-level additive genetic influence was found for NumCh, equal across genders; a stronger genetic influence was identified for FirstTry, greater for females than for males....... A bivariate analysis indicated significant shared genetic variance between NumCh and FirstTry....

  2. Modeling Individual Cyclic Variation in Human Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierson, Emma; Althoff, Tim; Leskovec, Jure

    2018-04-01

    Cycles are fundamental to human health and behavior. Examples include mood cycles, circadian rhythms, and the menstrual cycle. However, modeling cycles in time series data is challenging because in most cases the cycles are not labeled or directly observed and need to be inferred from multidimensional measurements taken over time. Here, we present Cyclic Hidden Markov Models (CyH-MMs) for detecting and modeling cycles in a collection of multidimensional heterogeneous time series data. In contrast to previous cycle modeling methods, CyHMMs deal with a number of challenges encountered in modeling real-world cycles: they can model multivariate data with both discrete and continuous dimensions; they explicitly model and are robust to missing data; and they can share information across individuals to accommodate variation both within and between individual time series. Experiments on synthetic and real-world health-tracking data demonstrate that CyHMMs infer cycle lengths more accurately than existing methods, with 58% lower error on simulated data and 63% lower error on real-world data compared to the best-performing baseline. CyHMMs can also perform functions which baselines cannot: they can model the progression of individual features/symptoms over the course of the cycle, identify the most variable features, and cluster individual time series into groups with distinct characteristics. Applying CyHMMs to two real-world health-tracking datasets-of human menstrual cycle symptoms and physical activity tracking data-yields important insights including which symptoms to expect at each point during the cycle. We also find that people fall into several groups with distinct cycle patterns, and that these groups differ along dimensions not provided to the model. For example, by modeling missing data in the menstrual cycles dataset, we are able to discover a medically relevant group of birth control users even though information on birth control is not given to the model.

  3. Exploring Entrainment Patterns of Human Emotion in Social Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Chuan; Zhang, Zhu

    2016-01-01

    Emotion entrainment, which is generally defined as the synchronous convergence of human emotions, performs many important social functions. However, what the specific mechanisms of emotion entrainment are beyond in-person interactions, and how human emotions evolve under different entrainment patterns in large-scale social communities, are still unknown. In this paper, we aim to examine the massive emotion entrainment patterns and understand the underlying mechanisms in the context of social media. As modeling emotion dynamics on a large scale is often challenging, we elaborate a pragmatic framework to characterize and quantify the entrainment phenomenon. By applying this framework on the datasets from two large-scale social media platforms, we find that the emotions of online users entrain through social networks. We further uncover that online users often form their relations via dual entrainment, while maintain it through single entrainment. Remarkably, the emotions of online users are more convergent in nonreciprocal entrainment. Building on these findings, we develop an entrainment augmented model for emotion prediction. Experimental results suggest that entrainment patterns inform emotion proximity in dyads, and encoding their associations promotes emotion prediction. This work can further help us to understand the underlying dynamic process of large-scale online interactions and make more reasonable decisions regarding emergency situations, epidemic diseases, and political campaigns in cyberspace. PMID:26953692

  4. Exploring Entrainment Patterns of Human Emotion in Social Media.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saike He

    Full Text Available Emotion entrainment, which is generally defined as the synchronous convergence of human emotions, performs many important social functions. However, what the specific mechanisms of emotion entrainment are beyond in-person interactions, and how human emotions evolve under different entrainment patterns in large-scale social communities, are still unknown. In this paper, we aim to examine the massive emotion entrainment patterns and understand the underlying mechanisms in the context of social media. As modeling emotion dynamics on a large scale is often challenging, we elaborate a pragmatic framework to characterize and quantify the entrainment phenomenon. By applying this framework on the datasets from two large-scale social media platforms, we find that the emotions of online users entrain through social networks. We further uncover that online users often form their relations via dual entrainment, while maintain it through single entrainment. Remarkably, the emotions of online users are more convergent in nonreciprocal entrainment. Building on these findings, we develop an entrainment augmented model for emotion prediction. Experimental results suggest that entrainment patterns inform emotion proximity in dyads, and encoding their associations promotes emotion prediction. This work can further help us to understand the underlying dynamic process of large-scale online interactions and make more reasonable decisions regarding emergency situations, epidemic diseases, and political campaigns in cyberspace.

  5. Specifying the neurobiological basis of human attachment: brain, hormones, and behavior in synchronous and intrusive mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atzil, Shir; Hendler, Talma; Feldman, Ruth

    2011-12-01

    The mother-infant bond provides the foundation for the infant's future mental health and adaptation and depends on the provision of species-typical maternal behaviors that are supported by neuroendocrine and motivation-affective neural systems. Animal research has demonstrated that natural variations in patterns of maternal care chart discrete profiles of maternal brain-behavior relationships that uniquely shape the infant's lifetime capacities for stress regulation and social affiliation. Such patterns of maternal care are mediated by the neuropeptide Oxytocin and by stress- and reward-related neural systems. Human studies have similarly shown that maternal synchrony--the coordination of maternal behavior with infant signals--and intrusiveness--the excessive expression of maternal behavior--describe distinct and stable maternal styles that bear long-term consequences for infant well-being. To integrate brain, hormones, and behavior in the study of maternal-infant bonding, we examined the fMRI responses of synchronous vs intrusive mothers to dynamic, ecologically valid infant videos and their correlations with plasma Oxytocin. In all, 23 mothers were videotaped at home interacting with their infants and plasma OT assayed. Sessions were micro-coded for synchrony and intrusiveness. Mothers were scanned while observing several own and standard infant-related vignettes. Synchronous mothers showed greater activations in the left nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and intrusive mothers exhibited higher activations in the right amygdala. Functional connectivity analysis revealed that among synchronous mothers, left NAcc and right amygdala were functionally correlated with emotion modulation, theory-of-mind, and empathy networks. Among intrusive mothers, left NAcc and right amygdala were functionally correlated with pro-action areas. Sorting points into neighborhood (SPIN) analysis demonstrated that in the synchronous group, left NAcc and right amygdala activations showed clearer

  6. Reconceptualizing Social Work Behaviors from a Human Rights Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steen, Julie A.

    2018-01-01

    Although the human rights philosophy has relevance for many segments of the social work curriculum, the latest version of accreditation standards only includes a few behaviors specific to human rights. This deficit can be remedied by incorporating innovations found in the social work literature, which provides a wealth of material for…

  7. Personality patterns and Smoking behavior among students in Tabriz, Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fakharri, Ali; Jahani, Ali; Sadeghi-Bazargani, Homayoun; Farahbakhsh, Mostafa; Asl, Asghar Mohammadpour

    2017-03-01

    Psychological factors have always been considered for their role on risk taking behavior such as substance abuse, risky driving and smoking. The aim of this study was to determine the association between smoking behavior and potential personality patterns among high school students in Tabriz, Iran. Through a multistage sampling in a cross-sectional study, 1000 students were enrolled to represent the final grade high school student population of Tabriz, Iran in 2013. The personality patterns along with smoking status and some background information were collected through standard questionnaires along with Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). Fourteen personality patterns and ten clinical syndromes. ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to compare numeric scales among the study participants, with respect to their smoking status. Stata version 13 statistical software package was used to analyze the data. Multivariate logistic regression was used to predict likelihood of smoking by personality status. Two logistic models were developed in both of whom male sex was identified as a determinant of regular smoking (1 st model) and ever-smoking (2 nd model). Depressive personality increased the likelihood of being a regular smoker by 2.8 times (OR=2.8, 95% CI: 1.3-6.1). The second personality disorder included in the model was sadistic personality with an odds ratio of 7.9 (96% CI: 1.2-53%). Histrionic personality increased the likelihood of experiencing smoking by 2.2 times (OR=2.2, 95% CI: 1.6-3.1) followed by borderline personality (OR=2.8, 95% CI: 0.97-8.1). Histrionic and depressive personalities could be considered as strong associates of smoking, followed by borderline and sadistic personalities. A causal relationship couldn't be assumed unless well controlled longitudinal studies reached the same findings using psychiatric interviews.

  8. Neural Activity Patterns in the Human Brain Reflect Tactile Stickiness Perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Junsuk; Yeon, Jiwon; Ryu, Jaekyun; Park, Jang-Yeon; Chung, Soon-Cheol; Kim, Sung-Phil

    2017-01-01

    Our previous human fMRI study found brain activations correlated with tactile stickiness perception using the uni-variate general linear model (GLM) (Yeon et al., 2017). Here, we conducted an in-depth investigation on neural correlates of sticky sensations by employing a multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) on the same dataset. In particular, we statistically compared multi-variate neural activities in response to the three groups of sticky stimuli: A supra-threshold group including a set of sticky stimuli that evoked vivid sticky perception; an infra-threshold group including another set of sticky stimuli that barely evoked sticky perception; and a sham group including acrylic stimuli with no physically sticky property. Searchlight MVPAs were performed to search for local activity patterns carrying neural information of stickiness perception. Similar to the uni-variate GLM results, significant multi-variate neural activity patterns were identified in postcentral gyrus, subcortical (basal ganglia and thalamus), and insula areas (insula and adjacent areas). Moreover, MVPAs revealed that activity patterns in posterior parietal cortex discriminated the perceptual intensities of stickiness, which was not present in the uni-variate analysis. Next, we applied a principal component analysis (PCA) to the voxel response patterns within identified clusters so as to find low-dimensional neural representations of stickiness intensities. Follow-up clustering analyses clearly showed separate neural grouping configurations between the Supra- and Infra-threshold groups. Interestingly, this neural categorization was in line with the perceptual grouping pattern obtained from the psychophysical data. Our findings thus suggest that different stickiness intensities would elicit distinct neural activity patterns in the human brain and may provide a neural basis for the perception and categorization of tactile stickiness. PMID:28936171

  9. Folk-Psychological Interpretation of Human vs. Humanoid Robot Behavior: Exploring the Intentional Stance toward Robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thellman, Sam; Silvervarg, Annika; Ziemke, Tom

    2017-01-01

    People rely on shared folk-psychological theories when judging behavior. These theories guide people's social interactions and therefore need to be taken into consideration in the design of robots and other autonomous systems expected to interact socially with people. It is, however, not yet clear to what degree the mechanisms that underlie people's judgments of robot behavior overlap or differ from the case of human or animal behavior. To explore this issue, participants ( N = 90) were exposed to images and verbal descriptions of eight different behaviors exhibited either by a person or a humanoid robot. Participants were asked to rate the intentionality, controllability and desirability of the behaviors, and to judge the plausibility of seven different types of explanations derived from a recently proposed psychological model of lay causal explanation of human behavior. Results indicate: substantially similar judgments of human and robot behavior, both in terms of (1a) ascriptions of intentionality/controllability/desirability and in terms of (1b) plausibility judgments of behavior explanations; (2a) high level of agreement in judgments of robot behavior - (2b) slightly lower but still largely similar to agreement over human behaviors; (3) systematic differences in judgments concerning the plausibility of goals and dispositions as explanations of human vs. humanoid behavior. Taken together, these results suggest that people's intentional stance toward the robot was in this case very similar to their stance toward the human.

  10. Spatial point pattern analysis of human settlements and geographical associations in eastern coastal China - a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhonghao; Xiao, Rui; Shortridge, Ashton; Wu, Jiaping

    2014-03-10

    Understanding the spatial point pattern of human settlements and their geographical associations are important for understanding the drivers of land use and land cover change and the relationship between environmental and ecological processes on one hand and cultures and lifestyles on the other. In this study, a Geographic Information System (GIS) approach, Ripley's K function and Monte Carlo simulation were used to investigate human settlement point patterns. Remotely sensed tools and regression models were employed to identify the effects of geographical determinants on settlement locations in the Wen-Tai region of eastern coastal China. Results indicated that human settlements displayed regular-random-cluster patterns from small to big scale. Most settlements located on the coastal plain presented either regular or random patterns, while those in hilly areas exhibited a clustered pattern. Moreover, clustered settlements were preferentially located at higher elevations with steeper slopes and south facing aspects than random or regular settlements. Regression showed that influences of topographic factors (elevation, slope and aspect) on settlement locations were stronger across hilly regions. This study demonstrated a new approach to analyzing the spatial patterns of human settlements from a wide geographical prospective. We argue that the spatial point patterns of settlements, in addition to the characteristics of human settlements, such as area, density and shape, should be taken into consideration in the future, and land planners and decision makers should pay more attention to city planning and management. Conceptual and methodological bridges linking settlement patterns to regional and site-specific geographical characteristics will be a key to human settlement studies and planning.

  11. The Humanism of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Other Cognitive Behavior Therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Albert

    1996-01-01

    Describes aspects of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). REBT shows how people can both create and uncreate many of their emotional disturbances. It is a theory of personality which avoids devotion to any kind of magic and supernaturalism and emphasizes unconditional self-acceptance, antiabsolutism, uncertainty, and human fallibility. (RJM)

  12. A Human-Centered Smart Home System with Wearable-Sensor Behavior Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ji, Jianting; Liu, Ting; Shen, Chao; Wu, Hongyu; Liu, Wenyi; Su, Man; Chen, Siyun; Jia, Zhanpei

    2016-11-17

    Smart home has recently attracted much research interest owing to its potential in improving the quality of human life. How to obtain user's demand is the most important and challenging task for appliance optimal scheduling in smart home, since it is highly related to user's unpredictable behavior. In this paper, a human-centered smart home system is proposed to identify user behavior, predict their demand and schedule the household appliances. Firstly, the sensor data from user's wearable devices are monitored to profile user's full-day behavior. Then, the appliance-demand matrix is constructed to predict user's demand on home environment, which is extracted from the history of appliance load data and user behavior. Two simulations are designed to demonstrate user behavior identification, appliance-demand matrix construction and strategy of appliance optimal scheduling generation.

  13. National youth sedentary behavior and physical activity daily patterns using latent class analysis applied to accelerometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evenson, Kelly R; Wen, Fang; Hales, Derek; Herring, Amy H

    2016-05-03

    Applying latent class analysis (LCA) to accelerometry can help elucidated underlying patterns. This study described the patterns of accelerometer-determined sedentary behavior and physical activity among youth by applying LCA to a nationally representative United States (US) sample. Using 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, 3998 youths 6-17 years wore an ActiGraph 7164 accelerometer for one week, providing > =3 days of wear for > =8 h/day from 6:00 am-midnight. Cutpoints defined sedentary behavior ( = 2296 counts/minute), and vigorous activity (> = 4012 counts/minute). To account for wear time differences, outcomes were expressed as percent of day in a given intensity. LCA was used to classify daily (Monday through Sunday) patterns of average counts/minute, sedentary behavior, light activity, MVPA, and vigorous activity separately. The latent classes were explored overall and by age (6-11, 12-14, 15-17 years), gender, and whether or not youth attended school during measurement. Estimates were weighted to account for the sampling frame. For average counts/minute/day, four classes emerged from least to most active: 40.9% of population (mean 323.5 counts/minute/day), 40.3% (559.6 counts/minute/day), 16.5% (810.0 counts/minute/day), and 2.3% (1132.9 counts/minute/day). For percent of sedentary behavior, four classes emerged: 13.5% of population (mean 544.6 min/day), 30.1% (455.1 min/day), 38.5% (357.7 min/day), and 18.0% (259.2 min/day). For percent of light activity, four classes emerged: 12.3% of population (mean 222.6 min/day), 29.3% (301.7 min/day), 41.8% (384.0 min/day), and 16.6% (455.5 min/day). For percent of MVPA, four classes emerged: 59.9% of population (mean 25.0 min/day), 33.3% (60.9 min/day), 3.1% (89.0 min/day), and 3.6% (109.3 min/day). For percent of vigorous activity, three classes emerged: 76.8% of population (mean 7.1 min/day), 18.5% (23.9 min/day), and 4.7% (47.4 min/day). Classes were developed by age

  14. Viscoelastic behavior of discrete human collagen fibrils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svensson, René; Hassenkam, Tue; Hansen, Philip

    2010-01-01

    Whole tendon and fibril bundles display viscoelastic behavior, but to the best of our knowledge this property has not been directly measured in single human tendon fibrils. In the present work an atomic force microscopy (AFM) approach was used for tensile testing of two human patellar tendon...... saline, cyclic testing was performed in the pre-yield region at different strain rates, and the elastic response was determined by a stepwise stress relaxation test. The elastic stress-strain response corresponded to a second-order polynomial fit, while the viscous response showed a linear dependence...

  15. Automated classification of immunostaining patterns in breast tissue from the human protein atlas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swamidoss, Issac Niwas; Kårsnäs, Andreas; Uhlmann, Virginie; Ponnusamy, Palanisamy; Kampf, Caroline; Simonsson, Martin; Wählby, Carolina; Strand, Robin

    2013-01-01

    The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) is an effort to map the location of all human proteins (http://www.proteinatlas.org/). It contains a large number of histological images of sections from human tissue. Tissue micro arrays (TMA) are imaged by a slide scanning microscope, and each image represents a thin slice of a tissue core with a dark brown antibody specific stain and a blue counter stain. When generating antibodies for protein profiling of the human proteome, an important step in the quality control is to compare staining patterns of different antibodies directed towards the same protein. This comparison is an ultimate control that the antibody recognizes the right protein. In this paper, we propose and evaluate different approaches for classifying sub-cellular antibody staining patterns in breast tissue samples. The proposed methods include the computation of various features including gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features, complex wavelet co-occurrence matrix (CWCM) features, and weighted neighbor distance using compound hierarchy of algorithms representing morphology (WND-CHARM)-inspired features. The extracted features are used into two different multivariate classifiers (support vector machine (SVM) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier). Before extracting features, we use color deconvolution to separate different tissue components, such as the brownly stained positive regions and the blue cellular regions, in the immuno-stained TMA images of breast tissue. We present classification results based on combinations of feature measurements. The proposed complex wavelet features and the WND-CHARM features have accuracy similar to that of a human expert. Both human experts and the proposed automated methods have difficulties discriminating between nuclear and cytoplasmic staining patterns. This is to a large extent due to mixed staining of nucleus and cytoplasm. Methods for quantification of staining patterns in histopathology have many

  16. Automated classification of immunostaining patterns in breast tissue from the human protein Atlas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Issac Niwas Swamidoss

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The Human Protein Atlas (HPA is an effort to map the location of all human proteins (http://www.proteinatlas.org/. It contains a large number of histological images of sections from human tissue. Tissue micro arrays (TMA are imaged by a slide scanning microscope, and each image represents a thin slice of a tissue core with a dark brown antibody specific stain and a blue counter stain. When generating antibodies for protein profiling of the human proteome, an important step in the quality control is to compare staining patterns of different antibodies directed towards the same protein. This comparison is an ultimate control that the antibody recognizes the right protein. In this paper, we propose and evaluate different approaches for classifying sub-cellular antibody staining patterns in breast tissue samples. Materials and Methods: The proposed methods include the computation of various features including gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM features, complex wavelet co-occurrence matrix (CWCM features, and weighted neighbor distance using compound hierarchy of algorithms representing morphology (WND-CHARM-inspired features. The extracted features are used into two different multivariate classifiers (support vector machine (SVM and linear discriminant analysis (LDA classifier. Before extracting features, we use color deconvolution to separate different tissue components, such as the brownly stained positive regions and the blue cellular regions, in the immuno-stained TMA images of breast tissue. Results: We present classification results based on combinations of feature measurements. The proposed complex wavelet features and the WND-CHARM features have accuracy similar to that of a human expert. Conclusions: Both human experts and the proposed automated methods have difficulties discriminating between nuclear and cytoplasmic staining patterns. This is to a large extent due to mixed staining of nucleus and cytoplasm. Methods for

  17. Edwin Grant Dexter: an early researcher in human behavioral biometeorology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Alan E.

    2015-06-01

    Edwin Grant Dexter (1868-1938) was one of the first researchers to study empirically the effects of specific weather conditions on human behavior. Dexter (1904) published his findings in a book, Weather influences. The author's purposes in this article were to (1) describe briefly Dexter's professional life and examine the historical contexts and motivations that led Dexter to conduct some of the first empirical behavioral biometeorological studies of the time, (2) describe the methods Dexter used to examine weather-behavior relationships and briefly characterize the results that he reported in Weather influences, and (3) provide a historical analysis of Dexter's work and assess its significance for human behavioral biometeorology. Dexter's Weather influences, while demonstrating an exemplary approach to weather, health, and behavior relationships, came at the end of a long era of such studies, as health, social, and meteorological sciences were turning to different paradigms to advance their fields. For these reasons, Dexter's approach and contributions may not have been fully recognized at the time and are, consequently, worthy of consideration by contemporary biometeorologists.

  18. Human behavioral corollary on industrial workplace

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fazil, I.; Kirmani, Z.U.; Hanif, M.; Saeed, A.; Khurshid, A.

    2009-01-01

    This paper highlights a number of initiatives taken for the introduction of behavior-based safety concepts and customized process control solutions to encourage and instill safe behavior in employees at Attock Refinery Limited (ARL), Morgah Rawalpindi, Pakistan. A Safety culture is entirely dependent on the attitude of employees towards safety. After all, those who actually perform the work are responsible for their safety as well as that of those around them, and also for any accident that occurs whilst they work. In 2005, ARL established a Health Safety Environment (HSE) Department reporting directly to the CEO and it now stands transformed into the HSEQ Department with Quality having been added to its portfolio, with the logic that it is the Quality of our systems and processes that also determines the possibility or otherwise of safe/unsafe behavior. The need was felt to measure, analyze and then control unsafe behavior at the workplace. In spite of providing safety systems and necessary hardware, incident data shows that the majority of misfortunes are triggered by employees' unsafe attitude, proclivity to take shortcuts and intuitive-based decisions, bypassing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Human behavior is a very complex subject as it is linked not only to the workplace environment but has origins from home and upbringing as well. An attempt was, nevertheless, necessary to develop a tool of customized behavioral assessment tool in order to gauge the employees' behavior. On a scale of 1-100, marks were allocated to areas including safety attitude within the department(s), working conditions, supervisor's behavior towards worker safety, job loyalty, personal attitude towards job safety, seriousness towards safety, training and the employees' view about the HSEQ department. This study, based on one-on-one interviews with employees, yielded what we will term employees' potential towards unsafe behaviors, which would facilitate subsequent planning and

  19. An IoT−based system that aids learning from human behavior: A potential application for the care of the elderly

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saralegui Unai

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this paper is to describe the way of taking advantage of the non-intrusive indoor air quality monitoring system by using data oriented modeling technologies to determine specific human behaviors. The specific goal is to determine when a human presence occurs in a specific room, while the objective is to extend the use of the existing indoor air quality monitoring system to provide a higher level aspect of the house usage. Different models have been trained by means of machine learning algorithms using the available temperature, relative humidity and CO2 levels to determine binary occupation. The paper will discuss the overall acceptable quality provided by those classifiers when operating over new data not previously seen. Therefore, a recommendation on how to proceed is provided, as well as the confidence level regarding the new created knowledge. Such knowledge could bring additional opportunities in the care of the elderly for specific diseases that are usually accompanied by changes in patterns of behavior.

  20. The relationship between landscape patterns and human-caused fire occurrence in Spain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Castafreda-Aumedes, S.; Garcia-Martin, A.; Vega-Garcia, C.

    2013-05-01

    Aim of study: Human settlements and activities have completely modified landscape structure in the Mediterranean region. Vegetation patterns show the interactions between human activities and natural processes on the territory, and allow understanding historical ecological processes and socioeconomic factors. The arrangement of land uses in the rural landscape can be perceived as a proxy for human activities that often lead to the use, and escape, of fire, the most important disturbance in our forest landscapes. In this context, we tried to predict human-caused fire occurrence in a 5-year period by quantifying landscape patterns. Area of study: This study analyses the Spanish territory included in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands (497,166 km{sup 2}). Material and Methods: We evaluated spatial pattern applying a set of commonly used landscape ecology metrics to landscape windows of 10x10 sq km (4751 units in the UTM grid) overlaid on the Forest Map of Spain, MFE200. Main results: The best logistic regression model obtained included Shannon's Diversity Index, Mean Patch Edge and Mean Shape Index as explicative variables and the global percentage of correct predictions was 66.3 %. Research highlights: Our results suggested that the highest probability of fire occurrence at that time was associated with areas with a greater diversity of land uses and with more compact patches with fewer edges. (Author) 58 refs.

  1. Analyzing animal movement patterns using potential functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    H. K. Preisler; A. A. Ager; M. J. Wisdom

    2013-01-01

    The advent of GPS technology has made it possible to study human-wildlife interactions on large landscapes and quantify behavioral responses to recreation and other anthropogenic disturbances at increasingly fine scales. Of particular interest are the potential impacts on habitat use patterns, energetics, and cascading impacts on fecundity and other life history traits...

  2. Human Behavioral Contributions to Climate Change: Psychological and Contextual Drivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swim, Janet K.; Clayton, Susan; Howard, George S.

    2011-01-01

    We are facing rapid changes in the global climate, and these changes are attributable to human behavior. Humans produce this global impact through our use of natural resources, multiplied by the vast increase in population seen in the past 50 to 100 years. Our goal in this article is to examine the underlying psychosocial causes of human impact,…

  3. Spatial patterns of persistent neural activity vary with the behavioral context of short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daie, Kayvon; Goldman, Mark S; Aksay, Emre R F

    2015-02-18

    A short-term memory can be evoked by different inputs and control separate targets in different behavioral contexts. To address the circuit mechanisms underlying context-dependent memory function, we determined through optical imaging how memory is encoded at the whole-network level in two behavioral settings. Persistent neural activity maintaining a memory of desired eye position was imaged throughout the oculomotor integrator after saccadic or optokinetic stimulation. While eye position was encoded by the amplitude of network activity, the spatial patterns of firing were context dependent: cells located caudally generally were most persistent following saccadic input, whereas cells located rostrally were most persistent following optokinetic input. To explain these data, we computationally identified four independent modes of network activity and found these were differentially accessed by saccadic and optokinetic inputs. These results show how a circuit can simultaneously encode memory value and behavioral context, respectively, in its amplitude and spatial pattern of persistent firing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Influence of social upbringing on the activity pattern of captive lion Panthera leo cubs: Benefits of behavior enrichment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sibonokuhle NCUBE, Hilton Garikai Taambuka NDAGURWA

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The influence of social upbringing on the activity pattern of lion Panthera leo cubs was investigated at three sites. In this study, stimulus objects such as sticks, grass, fresh dung (elephant Loxondota africana, zebra Equus quagga, impala Aepyceros melampus, duiker Sylvicapra grimmia, kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis and wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus and cardboard boxes, were utilized in an enrichment program aimed at encouraging active behaviors of captive lion cubs at Antelope Park and Masuwe. Lion cubs at Chipangali were not behaviorally enriched. Activity patterns were recorded for 10 days at each site. We recorded moving, resting, playing, grooming, visual exploration and display of hunting instincts. We found that behavioral enrichment enhanced the active behaviors of captive lion cubs. Orphan-raised cubs spent more time moving, playing and displaying hunting instincts than mother-raised cubs, but the time spent grooming was similar across areas and suggests that grooming is not influenced by enrichment. Mother-raised cubs spent more time engaged in visual exploration than orphan-raised cubs and this could be a behavior acquired from mothers or a result of confidence to explore because of their presence. Activity patterns were different among time treatments across our three study sites. Based on these findings, we suggest that lion cubs raised in captivity could benefit from behavioral enrichment to encourage active behaviors essential for eventual reintroduction into the wild [Current Zoology 56 (4: 389–394, 2010].

  5. Binge-pattern cocaine administration causes long-lasting behavioral hyperarousal but does not enhance vulnerability to single prolonged stress in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisieski, Michael J; Perrine, Shane A

    2017-11-01

    Cocaine use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly co-occur. This could be due to vulnerability to post-traumatic symptoms conferred by previous exposure to cocaine. Therefore, we combined chronic binge-pattern cocaine with a model of psychological trauma (single prolonged stress) to determine whether the behavioral effects of psychological trauma are enhanced in cocaine-sensitized individuals. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats received 14 days of cocaine (15mg/kg/injection) or saline in a binge pattern (3 injections per day, 1h apart). Seven days after the last injection animals were exposed to traumatic stress or a control procedure. Seven days after stress, activity and anxiety-like behaviors were measured. Binge-pattern cocaine increased locomotor activity in the open field and elevated plus maze, and both cocaine and SPS exposure increased the rapidity with which rats moved through grooming sequences. Neither binge-pattern cocaine nor SPS increased anxiety-like behaviors, and no interactions were found between binge-pattern cocaine exposure and SPS exposure. A behavioral phenotype categorization approach demonstrated that cocaine-exposed groups expressed a high incidence of hyperactivity-like symptoms. These results suggest that binge-pattern cocaine exposure causes a long-lasting hyper-exploratory phenotype but does not make individuals more vulnerable to a later traumatic stress exposure. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Co-residence patterns in hunter-gatherer societies show unique human social structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Kim R; Walker, Robert S; Bozicević, Miran; Eder, James; Headland, Thomas; Hewlett, Barry; Hurtado, A Magdalena; Marlowe, Frank; Wiessner, Polly; Wood, Brian

    2011-03-11

    Contemporary humans exhibit spectacular biological success derived from cumulative culture and cooperation. The origins of these traits may be related to our ancestral group structure. Because humans lived as foragers for 95% of our species' history, we analyzed co-residence patterns among 32 present-day foraging societies (total n = 5067 individuals, mean experienced band size = 28.2 adults). We found that hunter-gatherers display a unique social structure where (i) either sex may disperse or remain in their natal group, (ii) adult brothers and sisters often co-reside, and (iii) most individuals in residential groups are genetically unrelated. These patterns produce large interaction networks of unrelated adults and suggest that inclusive fitness cannot explain extensive cooperation in hunter-gatherer bands. However, large social networks may help to explain why humans evolved capacities for social learning that resulted in cumulative culture.

  7. Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barban, Nicola; Jansen, Rick; de Vlaming, Ronald; Vaez, Ahmad; Mandemakers, Jornt J; Tropf, Felix C; Shen, Xia; Wilson, James F; Chasman, Daniel I; Nolte, Ilja M; Tragante, Vinicius; van der Laan, Sander W; Perry, John R B; Kong, Augustine; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S; Albrecht, Eva; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura; Atzmon, Gil; Auro, Kirsi; Ayers, Kristin; Bakshi, Andrew; Ben-Avraham, Danny; Berger, Klaus; Bergman, Aviv; Bertram, Lars; Bielak, Lawrence F; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Bonder, Marc Jan; Broer, Linda; Bui, Minh; Barbieri, Caterina; Cavadino, Alana; Chavarro, Jorge E; Turman, Constance; Concas, Maria Pina; Cordell, Heather J; Davies, Gail; Eibich, Peter; Eriksson, Nicholas; Esko, Tõnu; Eriksson, Joel; Falahi, Fahimeh; Felix, Janine F; Fontana, Mark Alan; Franke, Lude; Gandin, Ilaria; Gaskins, Audrey J; Gieger, Christian; Gunderson, Erica P; Guo, Xiuqing; Hayward, Caroline; He, Chunyan; Hofer, Edith; Huang, Hongyan; Joshi, Peter K; Kanoni, Stavroula; Karlsson, Robert; Kiechl, Stefan; Kifley, Annette; Kluttig, Alexander; Kraft, Peter; Lagou, Vasiliki; Lecoeur, Cecile; Lahti, Jari; Li-Gao, Ruifang; Lind, Penelope A; Liu, Tian; Makalic, Enes; Mamasoula, Crysovalanto; Matteson, Lindsay; Mbarek, Hamdi; McArdle, Patrick F; McMahon, George; Meddens, S Fleur W; Mihailov, Evelin; Miller, Mike; Missmer, Stacey A; Monnereau, Claire; van der Most, Peter J; Myhre, Ronny; Nalls, Mike A; Nutile, Teresa; Kalafati, Ioanna Panagiota; Porcu, Eleonora; Prokopenko, Inga; Rajan, Kumar B; Rich-Edwards, Janet; Rietveld, Cornelius A; Robino, Antonietta; Rose, Lynda M; Rueedi, Rico; Ryan, Kathleen A; Saba, Yasaman; Schmidt, Daniel; Smith, Jennifer A; Stolk, Lisette; Streeten, Elizabeth; Tönjes, Anke; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Ulivi, Sheila; Wedenoja, Juho; Wellmann, Juergen; Willeit, Peter; Yao, Jie; Yengo, Loic; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zhao, Wei; Zhernakova, Daria V; Amin, Najaf; Andrews, Howard; Balkau, Beverley; Barzilai, Nir; Bergmann, Sven; Biino, Ginevra; Bisgaard, Hans; Bønnelykke, Klaus; Boomsma, Dorret I; Buring, Julie E; Campbell, Harry; Cappellani, Stefania; Ciullo, Marina; Cox, Simon R; Cucca, Francesco; Toniolo, Daniela; Davey-Smith, George; Deary, Ian J; Dedoussis, George; Deloukas, Panos; van Duijn, Cornelia M; de Geus, Eco J C; Eriksson, Johan G; Evans, Denis A; Faul, Jessica D; Sala, Cinzia Felicita; Froguel, Philippe; Gasparini, Paolo; Girotto, Giorgia; Grabe, Hans-Jörgen; Greiser, Karin Halina; Groenen, Patrick J F; de Haan, Hugoline G; Haerting, Johannes; Harris, Tamara B; Heath, Andrew C; Heikkilä, Kauko; Hofman, Albert; Homuth, Georg; Holliday, Elizabeth G; Hopper, John; Hyppönen, Elina; Jacobsson, Bo; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Johannesson, Magnus; Jugessur, Astanand; Kähönen, Mika; Kajantie, Eero; Kardia, Sharon L R; Keavney, Bernard; Kolcic, Ivana; Koponen, Päivikki; Kovacs, Peter; Kronenberg, Florian; Kutalik, Zoltan; La Bianca, Martina; Lachance, Genevieve; Iacono, William G; Lai, Sandra; Lehtimäki, Terho; Liewald, David C; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Liu, Yongmei; Luben, Robert; Lucht, Michael; Luoto, Riitta; Magnus, Per; Magnusson, Patrik K E; Martin, Nicholas G; McGue, Matt; McQuillan, Ruth; Medland, Sarah E; Meisinger, Christa; Mellström, Dan; Metspalu, Andres; Traglia, Michela; Milani, Lili; Mitchell, Paul; Montgomery, Grant W; Mook-Kanamori, Dennis; de Mutsert, Renée; Nohr, Ellen A; Ohlsson, Claes; Olsen, Jørn; Ong, Ken K; Paternoster, Lavinia; Pattie, Alison; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Perola, Markus; Peyser, Patricia A; Pirastu, Mario; Polasek, Ozren; Power, Chris; Kaprio, Jaakko; Raffel, Leslie J; Räikkönen, Katri; Raitakari, Olli; Ridker, Paul M; Ring, Susan M; Roll, Kathryn; Rudan, Igor; Ruggiero, Daniela; Rujescu, Dan; Salomaa, Veikko; Schlessinger, David; Schmidt, Helena; Schmidt, Reinhold; Schupf, Nicole; Smit, Johannes; Sorice, Rossella; Spector, Tim D; Starr, John M; Stöckl, Doris; Strauch, Konstantin; Stumvoll, Michael; Swertz, Morris A; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Thurik, A Roy; Timpson, Nicholas J; Tung, Joyce Y; Uitterlinden, André G; Vaccargiu, Simona; Viikari, Jorma; Vitart, Veronique; Völzke, Henry; Vollenweider, Peter; Vuckovic, Dragana; Waage, Johannes; Wagner, Gert G; Wang, Jie Jin; Wareham, Nicholas J; Weir, David R; Willemsen, Gonneke; Willeit, Johann; Wright, Alan F; Zondervan, Krina T; Stefansson, Kari; Krueger, Robert F; Lee, James J; Benjamin, Daniel J; Cesarini, David; Koellinger, Philipp D; den Hoed, Marcel; Snieder, Harold; Mills, Melinda C

    2016-01-01

    The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB) has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the

  8. Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barban, Nicola; Jansen, Rick; De Vlaming, Ronald; Vaez, Ahmad; Mandemakers, Jornt J.; Tropf, Felix C.; Shen, Xia; Wilson, James F.; Chasman, Daniel I.; Nolte, Ilja M.; Tragante, Vinicius; Van Der Laan, Sander W.; Perry, John R B; Kong, Augustine; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S.; Albrecht, Eva; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura; Atzmon, Gil; Auro, Kirsi; Ayers, Kristin; Bakshi, Andrew; Ben-Avraham, Danny; Berger, Klaus; Bergman, Aviv; Bertram, Lars; Bielak, Lawrence F.; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Bonder, Marc Jan; Broer, Linda; Bui, Minh; Barbieri, Caterina; Cavadino, Alana; Chavarro, Jorge E.; Turman, Constance; Concas, Maria Pina; Cordell, Heather J.; Davies, Gail; Eibich, Peter; Eriksson, Nicholas; Esko, Tõnu; Eriksson, Joel; Falahi, Fahimeh; Felix, Janine F.; Fontana, Mark Alan; Franke, Lude; Gandin, Ilaria; Gaskins, Audrey J.; Gieger, Christian; Gunderson, Erica P.; Guo, Xiuqing; Hayward, Caroline; He, Chunyan; Hofer, Edith; Huang, Hongyan; Joshi, Peter K.; Kanoni, Stavroula; Karlsson, Robert; Kiechl, Stefan; Kifley, Annette; Kluttig, Alexander; Kraft, Peter; Lagou, Vasiliki; Lecoeur, Cecile; Lahti, Jari; Li-Gao, Ruifang; Lind, Penelope A.; Liu, Tian; Makalic, Enes; Mamasoula, Crysovalanto; Matteson, Lindsay; Mbarek, Hamdi; McArdle, Patrick F.; McMahon, George; Meddens, S. Fleur W; Mihailov, Evelin; Miller, Mike; Missmer, Stacey A.; Monnereau, Claire; Van Der Most, Peter J.; Myhre, Ronny; Nalls, Mike A.; Nutile, Teresa; Kalafati, Ioanna Panagiota; Porcu, Eleonora; Prokopenko, Inga; Rajan, Kumar B.; Rich-Edwards, Janet; Rietveld, Cornelius A.; Robino, Antonietta; Rose, Lynda M.; Rueedi, Rico; Ryan, Kathleen A.; Saba, Yasaman; Schmidt, Daniel; Smith, Jennifer A.; Stolk, Lisette; Streeten, Elizabeth; Tönjes, Anke; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Ulivi, Sheila; Wedenoja, Juho; Wellmann, Juergen; Willeit, Peter; Yao, Jie; Yengo, Loic; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zhao, Wei; Zhernakova, Daria V.; Amin, Najaf; Andrews, Howard; Balkau, Beverley; Barzilai, Nir; Bergmann, Sven; Biino, Ginevra; Bisgaard, Hans; Bønnelykke, Klaus; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Buring, Julie E.; Campbell, Harry; Cappellani, Stefania; Ciullo, Marina; Cox, Simon R.; Cucca, Francesco; Toniolo, Daniela; Davey-Smith, George; Deary, Ian J.; Dedoussis, George; Deloukas, Panos; Van Duijn, Cornelia M.; De Geus, Eco J C; Eriksson, Johan G.; Evans, Denis A.; Faul, Jessica D.; Sala, Cinzia Felicita; Froguel, Philippe; Gasparini, Paolo; Girotto, Giorgia; Grabe, Hans Jörgen; Greiser, Karin Halina; Groenen, Patrick J F; De Haan, Hugoline G.; Haerting, Johannes; Harris, Tamara B.; Heath, Andrew C.; Heikkilä, Kauko; Hofman, Albert; Homuth, Georg; Holliday, Elizabeth G.; Hopper, John; Hyppönen, Elina; Jacobsson, Bo; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Johannesson, Magnus; Jugessur, Astanand; Kähönen, Mika; Kajantie, Eero; Kardia, Sharon L R; Keavney, Bernard; Kolcic, Ivana; Koponen, Päivikki; Kovacs, Peter; Kronenberg, Florian; Kutalik, Zoltan; La Bianca, Martina; Lachance, Genevieve; Iacono, William G.; Lai, Sandra; Lehtimäki, Terho; Liewald, David C.; Lindgren, Cecilia M.; Liu, Yongmei; Luben, Robert; Lucht, Michael; Luoto, Riitta; Magnus, Per; Magnusson, Patrikke; Martin, Nicholas G.; McGue, Matt; McQuillan, Ruth; Medland, Sarah E.; Meisinger, Christa; Mellström, Dan; Metspalu, Andres; Traglia, Michela; Milani, Lili; Mitchell, Paul; Montgomery, Grant W.; Mook-Kanamori, Dennis; De Mutsert, Renée; Nohr, Ellen A.; Ohlsson, Claes; Olsen, Jørn; Ong, Ken K.; Paternoster, Lavinia; Pattie, Alison; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Perola, Markus; Peyser, Patricia A.; Pirastu, Mario; Polasek, Ozren; Power, Chris; Kaprio, Jaakko; Raffel, Leslie J.; Räikkönen, Katri; Raitakari, Olli; Ridker, Paul M.; Ring, Susan M.; Roll, Kathryn; Rudan, Igor; Ruggiero, Daniela; Rujescu, Dan; Salomaa, Veikko; Schlessinger, David; Schmidt, Helena; Schmidt, Reinhold; Schupf, Nicole; Smit, Johannes; Sorice, Rossella; Spector, Tim D.; Starr, John M.; Stöckl, Doris; Strauch, Konstantin; Stumvoll, Michael; Swertz, Morris A.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Roy Thurik, A.; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Tung, Joyce Y.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Vaccargiu, Simona; Viikari, Jorma; Vitart, Veronique; Völzke, Henry; Vollenweider, Peter; Vuckovic, Dragana; Waage, Johannes; Wagner, Gert G.; Wang, Jie Jin; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Weir, David R.; Willemsen, Gonneke; Willeit, Johann; Wright, Alan F.; Zondervan, Krina T.; Stefansson, Kari; Krueger, Robert F.; Lee, James J.; Benjamin, Daniel J.; Cesarini, David; Koellinger, Philipp D.; Den Hoed, Marcel; Snieder, Harold; Mills, Melinda C.

    2016-01-01

    The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior - age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB) - has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the

  9. Inspiratory flow pattern in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lafortuna, C L; Minetti, A E; Mognoni, P

    1984-10-01

    The theoretical estimation of the mechanical work of breathing during inspiration at rest is based on the common assumption that the inspiratory airflow wave is a sine function of time. Different analytical studies have pointed out that from an energetic point of view a rectangular wave is more economical than a sine wave. Visual inspection of inspiratory flow waves recorded during exercise in humans and various animals suggests that a trend toward a rectangular flow wave may be a possible systematic response of the respiratory system. To test this hypothesis, the harmonic content of inspiratory flow waves that were recorded in six healthy subjects at rest, during exercise hyperventilation, and during a maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) maneuver were evaluated by a Fourier analysis, and the results were compared with those obtained on sinusoidal and rectangular models. The dynamic work inherent in the experimental waves and in the sine-wave model was practically the same at rest; during exercise hyperventilation and MVV, the experimental wave was approximately 16-20% more economical than the sinusoidal one. It was concluded that even though at rest the sinusoidal model is a reasonably good approximation of inspiratory flow, during exercise and MVV, a physiological controller is probably operating in humans that can select a more economical inspiratory pattern. Other peculiarities of airflow wave during hyperventilation and some optimization criteria are also discussed.

  10. Deposition Pattern of Inhaled Thoron Progeny Size Distribution in Human Lung

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohamed, A.

    2005-01-01

    One of the important factors controlling the distribution of radiation dose to the different portions of the human respiratory tract is the deposition pattern of thoron progeny containing aerosol. Based on the activity size distribution parameters of thoron progeny, which were measured in El-Minia University, the deposition behavior of thoron progeny (attached and unattached) has been studied by using a stochastic deposition model. The measurements were performed with a wire screen diffusion battery and a low pressure cascade impactor (type Berner). The bronchial deposition efficiencies of particles in the size range of attached thoron progeny were found to be lower than those of unattached progeny. The effect of thoron progeny deposition by adult male has been also studied for various levels of physical exertion. An increase in the breathing rate was found to decrease the efficiencies with which inhaled progeny were deposited in the bronchi. As the ventilation rate increases from 0.54 to 1.5 m3 h-1, the average deposition efficiencies of airway generation 1 through 8 are expected to decrease by 22 % for 1.4 nm particles and by 38 % for 150 nm particles

  11. Blood levels do not predict behavioral or physiological effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in rhesus monkeys with different patterns of exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginsburg, Brett C.; Hruba, Lenka; Zaki, Armia; Javors, Martin; McMahon, Lance R.

    2014-01-01

    Background Recent changes in the legality of cannabis have prompted evaluation of whether blood levels of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or its metabolites could be used to substantiate impairment, particularly related to behavioral tasks such as driving. However, because marked tolerance develops to behavioral effects of THC, the applicability of a particular threshold of blood THC as an index of impairment in people with different patterns of use remains unclear. Studies relevant to this issue are difficult to accomplish in humans, as prior drug exposure is difficult to control. Methods Here, effects of THC to decrease rectal temperature and operant response rate compared to levels of THC and its metabolites were studied in blood in two groups of monkeys: one received intermittent treatment with THC (0.1 mg/kg i.v.) and another received chronic THC (1 mg/kg/12 h s.c.) for several years. Results In monkeys with intermittent THC exposure, a single dose of THC (3.2 mg/kg s.c.) decreased rectal temperature and response rate. The same dose did not affect response rate or rectal temperature in chronically exposed monkeys, indicative of greater tolerance. In both groups, blood levels of THC peaked 20–60 min post-injection and had a similar half life of elimination, indicating no tolerance to the pharmacokinetics of THC. Notably, in both groups, the behavioral effects of THC were not apparent when blood levels were maximal (20-min post-administration). Conclusion These data indicate that thresholds for blood levels of THC do not provide a consistent index of behavioral impairment across individuals with different patterns of THC exposure. PMID:24703610

  12. Diurnal and twenty-four hour patterning of human diseases: acute and chronic common and uncommon medical conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smolensky, Michael H; Portaluppi, Francesco; Manfredini, Roberto; Hermida, Ramon C; Tiseo, Ruana; Sackett-Lundeen, Linda L; Haus, Erhard L

    2015-06-01

    The symptom intensity and mortality of human diseases, conditions, and syndromes exhibit diurnal or 24 h patterning, e.g., skin: atopic dermatitis, urticaria, psoriasis, and palmar hyperhidrosis; gastrointestinal: esophageal reflux, peptic ulcer (including perforation and hemorrhage), cyclic vomiting syndrome, biliary colic, hepatic variceal hemorrhage, and proctalgia fugax; infection: susceptibility, fever, and mortality; neural: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobe seizures, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, hereditary progressive dystonia, and pain (cancer, post-surgical, diabetic neuropathic and foot ulcer, tooth caries, burning mouth and temporomandibular syndromes, fibromyalgia, sciatica, intervertebral vacuum phenomenon, multiple sclerosis muscle spasm, and migraine, tension, cluster, hypnic, and paroxysmal hemicranial headache); renal: colic and nocturnal enuresis and polyuria; ocular: bulbar conjunctival redness, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, intraocular pressure and anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, and recurrent corneal erosion syndrome; psychiatric/behavioral: major and seasonal affective depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, parasuicide and suicide, dementia-associated agitation, and addictive alcohol, tobacco, and heroin cravings and withdrawal phenomena; plus autoimmune and musculoskeletal: rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, axial spondylarthritis, gout, Sjögren's syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Knowledge of these and other 24 h patterns of human pathophysiology informs research of their underlying circadian and other endogenous mechanisms, external temporal triggers, and more effective patient care entailing clinical chronopreventive and chronotherapeutic strategies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. The diel vertical migration patterns and individual swimming behavior of overwintering sprat Sprattus sprattus

    KAUST Repository

    Solberg, Ingrid

    2016-11-27

    We addressed the behavioral patterns and DVM dynamics of sprat overwintering in a 150 m Norwegian fjord with increasing hypoxia by depth. An upward-facing echosounder deployed at the bottom and cabled to shore provided 4 months of continuous acoustic data. This enabled detailed studies of individual behavior, specifically allowing assessment of individual vertical migrations at dusk and dawn in relation to light, analysis of so-called rise-and-sink swimming, and investigation of the sprat’ swimming activity and behavior in severely hypoxic waters. Field campaigns supplemented the acoustic studies. The acoustic records showed that the main habitat for sprat was the upper ∼ 65 m where oxygen concentrations were ⩾ 0.7 mL O2 L-1. The sprat schooled at ∼ 50 m during daytime and initiated an upward migration about 1 hour prior to sunset. While some sprat migrated to surface waters, other individuals interrupted the ascent when at ∼20-30 m, and returned to deeper waters ∼ 20-50 min after sunset. Sprat at depth was on average larger, yet individuals made excursions to- and from upper layers. Sprat were swimming in a “rise and sink” pattern at depth, likely related to negative buoyancy. Short-term dives into waters with less than 0.45 mL O2 L-1 were interpreted as feeding forays for abundant overwintering Calanus spp. The deep group of sprat initiated a dawn ascent less than 1 hour before sunrise, ending at 20-30 m where they formed schools. They subsequently returned to deeper waters about ∼20 min prior to sunrise. Measurements of surface light intensities indicated that the sprat experienced lower light levels in upper waters at dawn than at dusk. The vertical swimming speed varied significantly between the behavioral tasks. The mixed DVM patterns and dynamic nocturnal behavior of sprat persisted throughout winter, likely shaped by individual strategies involving optimized feeding and predator avoidance, as well as relating to temperature, hypoxia and

  14. Effects of hemisphere speech dominance and seizure focus on patterns of behavioral response errors for three types of stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rausch, R; MacDonald, K

    1997-03-01

    We used a protocol consisting of a continuous presentation of stimuli with associated response requests during an intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure (IAP) to study the effects of hemisphere injected (speech dominant vs. nondominant) and seizure focus (left temporal lobe vs. right temporal lobe) on the pattern of behavioral response errors for three types of visual stimuli (pictures of common objects, words, and abstract forms). Injection of the left speech dominant hemisphere compared to the right nondominant hemisphere increased overall errors and affected the pattern of behavioral errors. The presence of a seizure focus in the contralateral hemisphere increased overall errors, particularly for the right temporal lobe seizure patients, but did not affect the pattern of behavioral errors. Left hemisphere injections disrupted both naming and reading responses at a rate similar to that of matching-to-sample performance. Also, a short-term memory deficit was observed with all three stimuli. Long-term memory testing following the left hemisphere injection indicated that only for pictures of common objects were there fewer errors during the early postinjection period than for the later long-term memory testing. Therefore, despite the inability to respond to picture stimuli, picture items, but not words or forms, could be sufficiently encoded for later recall. In contrast, right hemisphere injections resulted in few errors, with a pattern suggesting a mild general cognitive decrease. A selective weakness in learning unfamiliar forms was found. Our findings indicate that different patterns of behavioral deficits occur following the left vs. right hemisphere injections, with selective patterns specific to stimulus type.

  15. Sympatry Predicts Spot Pigmentation Patterns and Female Association Behavior in the Livebearing Fish Poeciliopsis baenschi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roth-Monzón, Andrea J.; Scott, Laura E.; Camargo, Ashley A.; Clark, Eliza I.; Schott, Eric E.; Johnson, Jerald B.

    2017-01-01

    In this study, we explored the possibility that differences in pigmentation patterns among populations of the fish Poeciliopsis baenschi were associated with the presence or absence of the closely related species P. turneri. If reproductive character displacement is responsible, spotting patterns in these two species should diverge in sympatry, but not allopatry. We predicted that female P. baenschi from sympatric sites should show a preference for associating with conspecifics vs. heterospecific males, but females from allopatric sites should show no such preferences. To evaluate these predictions, we compared spotting patterns and female association behaviors in populations of P. baenschi from Central Mexico. We found that both of our predictions were supported. Poeciliopsis baenschi that co-occured with P. turneri had spotting patterns significantly different than their counterparts from allopatric sites. Using a simultaneous choice test of video presentations of males, we also found that female P. baenschi from populations that co-occured with P. turneri spent significantly more time with males of their own species than with P. turneri males. In contrast, females from allopatric populations of P. baenschi showed no differences in the amount of time they spent with either conspecific or heterospecific males. Together, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that reproductive character displacement may be responsible for behavioral and spotting pattern differences in these populations of P. baenschi. PMID:28107407

  16. The diel vertical migration patterns and individual swimming behavior of overwintering sprat Sprattus sprattus

    KAUST Repository

    Solberg, Ingrid; Kaartvedt, Stein

    2016-01-01

    We addressed the behavioral patterns and DVM dynamics of sprat overwintering in a 150 m Norwegian fjord with increasing hypoxia by depth. An upward-facing echosounder deployed at the bottom and cabled to shore provided 4 months of continuous

  17. Behavioral safety and OHSAS 18001:2007

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rama Rao, B.S.; Hemantha Rao, G.V.S.

    2009-01-01

    Analysis of industrial accidents reveals that majority of them are due to human errors. And human errors can be due to lack of knowledge/awareness or inherent behavior of the person(s) involved in the accident. While the former can be tackled through training, the latter requires interventions aimed at behavior modification. Realizing the importance of behavioral aspect of safety, Revised Version of Occupational Health and Safety Management System standard - OHSAS 18001:2007 has incorporated 'behavior' in the planning clause 'Hazard identification, risk assessment and determining controls -4.3.1. (c)'. It reads The organization shall establish, implement and maintain a procedure for the ongoing hazard identification, risk assessment and determination of necessary controls. The procedure for hazard identification and risk assessment shall take into account HUMAN BEHAVIOR, CAPABILITIES and other HUMAN FACTORS. Planning and Control are the mantra. Thus, Risk Management and Mitigation strategies should factor in 'behavioral aspect' so as to be effective. In the absence of this, any amount of focus on safety will be incomplete and does not yield desired results. Best stage to take care of the behavioral safety is during the design of Plant and Machinery. Regular monitoring and periodical inspections will ensure early detection of unsafe behavior/practices and renders preventive measures possible. This paper discusses some of the behavioral patterns of industrial workforce, their ramifications for safety and possible remedies to minimize risk and save human capital for the overall well being of the organization, family and ultimately, the society. (author)

  18. Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Nepal: Patterns of Human Fatalities and Injuries Caused by Large Mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acharya, Krishna Prasad; Paudel, Prakash Kumar; Neupane, Prem Raj; Köhl, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Injury and death from wildlife attacks often result in people feeling violent resentment and hostility against the wildlife involved and, therefore, may undermine public support for conservation. Although Nepal, with rich biodiversity, is doing well in its conservation efforts, human-wildlife conflicts have been a major challenge in recent years. The lack of detailed information on the spatial and temporal patterns of human-wildlife conflicts at the national level impedes the development of effective conflict mitigation plans. We examined patterns of human injury and death caused by large mammals using data from attack events and their spatiotemporal dimensions collected from a national survey of data available in Nepal over five years (2010-2014). Data were analyzed using logistic regression and chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. The results show that Asiatic elephants and common leopards are most commonly involved in attacks on people in terms of attack frequency and fatalities. Although one-horned rhinoceros and bears had a higher frequency of attacks than Bengal tigers, tigers caused more fatalities than each of these two species. Attacks by elephants peaked in winter and most frequently occurred outside protected areas in human settlements. Leopard attacks occurred almost entirely outside protected areas, and a significantly greater number of attacks occurred in human settlements. Attacks by one-horned rhinoceros and tigers were higher in the winter, mainly in forests inside protected areas; similarly, attacks by bears occurred mostly within protected areas. We found that human settlements are increasingly becoming conflict hotspots, with burgeoning incidents involving elephants and leopards. We conclude that species-specific conservation strategies are urgently needed, particularly for leopards and elephants. The implications of our findings for minimizing conflicts and conserving these imperiled species are discussed.

  19. Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Nepal: Patterns of Human Fatalities and Injuries Caused by Large Mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acharya, Krishna Prasad; Paudel, Prakash Kumar; Neupane, Prem Raj; Köhl, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Injury and death from wildlife attacks often result in people feeling violent resentment and hostility against the wildlife involved and, therefore, may undermine public support for conservation. Although Nepal, with rich biodiversity, is doing well in its conservation efforts, human-wildlife conflicts have been a major challenge in recent years. The lack of detailed information on the spatial and temporal patterns of human-wildlife conflicts at the national level impedes the development of effective conflict mitigation plans. We examined patterns of human injury and death caused by large mammals using data from attack events and their spatiotemporal dimensions collected from a national survey of data available in Nepal over five years (2010–2014). Data were analyzed using logistic regression and chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. The results show that Asiatic elephants and common leopards are most commonly involved in attacks on people in terms of attack frequency and fatalities. Although one-horned rhinoceros and bears had a higher frequency of attacks than Bengal tigers, tigers caused more fatalities than each of these two species. Attacks by elephants peaked in winter and most frequently occurred outside protected areas in human settlements. Leopard attacks occurred almost entirely outside protected areas, and a significantly greater number of attacks occurred in human settlements. Attacks by one-horned rhinoceros and tigers were higher in the winter, mainly in forests inside protected areas; similarly, attacks by bears occurred mostly within protected areas. We found that human settlements are increasingly becoming conflict hotspots, with burgeoning incidents involving elephants and leopards. We conclude that species-specific conservation strategies are urgently needed, particularly for leopards and elephants. The implications of our findings for minimizing conflicts and conserving these imperiled species are discussed. PMID:27612174

  20. Regime Behavior in Paleo-Reconstructed Streamflow: Attributions to Atmospheric Dynamics, Synoptic Circulation and Large-Scale Climate Teleconnection Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravindranath, A.; Devineni, N.

    2017-12-01

    Studies have shown that streamflow behavior and dynamics have a significant link with climate and climate variability. Patterns of persistent regime behavior from extended streamflow records in many watersheds justify investigating large-scale climate mechanisms as potential drivers of hydrologic regime behavior and streamflow variability. Understanding such streamflow-climate relationships is crucial to forecasting/simulation systems and the planning and management of water resources. In this study, hidden Markov models are used with reconstructed streamflow to detect regime-like behaviors - the hidden states - and state transition phenomena. Individual extreme events and their spatial variability across the basin are then verified with the identified states. Wavelet analysis is performed to examine the signals over time in the streamflow records. Joint analyses of the climatic data in the 20th century and the identified states are undertaken to better understand the hydroclimatic connections within the basin as well as important teleconnections that influence water supply. Compositing techniques are used to identify atmospheric circulation patterns associated with identified states of streamflow. The grouping of such synoptic patterns and their frequency are then examined. Sliding time-window correlation analysis and cross-wavelet spectral analysis are performed to establish the synchronicity of basin flows to the identified synoptic and teleconnection patterns. The Missouri River Basin (MRB) is examined in this study, both as a means of better understanding the synoptic climate controls in this important watershed and as a case study for the techniques developed here. Initial wavelet analyses of reconstructed streamflow at major gauges in the MRB show multidecadal cycles in regime behavior.

  1. Virulence-associated gene pattern of porcine and human Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 4 isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneeberger, M; Brodard, I; Overesch, G

    2015-04-02

    Yersinia enterocolitica 4/O:3 is the most important human pathogenic bioserotype in Europe and the predominant pathogenic bioserotype in slaughter pigs. Although many studies on the virulence of Y. enterocolitica strains have showed a broad spectrum of detectable factors in pigs and humans, an analysis based on a strict comparative approach and serving to verify the virulence capability of porcine Y. enterocolitica as a source for human yersiniosis is lacking. Therefore, in the present study, strains of biotype (BT) 4 isolated from Swiss slaughter pig tonsils and feces and isolates from human clinical cases were compared in terms of their spectrum of virulence-associated genes (yadA, virF, ail, inv, rovA, ymoA, ystA, ystB and myfA). An analysis of the associated antimicrobial susceptibility pattern completed the characterization. All analyzed BT 4 strains showed a nearly similar pattern, comprising the known fundamental virulence-associated genes yadA, virF, ail, inv, rovA, ymoA, ystA and myfA. Only ystB was not detectable among all analyzed isolates. Importantly, neither the source of the isolates (porcine tonsils and feces, humans) nor the serotype (ST) had any influence on the gene pattern. From these findings, it can be concluded that the presence of the full complement of virulence genes necessary for human infection is common among porcine BT 4 strains. Swiss porcine BT 4 strains not only showed antimicrobial susceptibility to chloramphenicol, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, colistin, florfenicol, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, sulfamethoxazole, streptomycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim but also showed 100% antibiotic resistance to ampicillin. The human BT 4 strains revealed comparable results. However, in addition to 100% antibiotic resistance to ampicillin, 2 strains were resistant to chloramphenicol and nalidixic acid. Additionally, 1 of these strains was resistant to sulfamethoxazole. The results demonstrated that Y. enterocolitica BT 4

  2. Sherlock Holmes and the Curious Case of the Human Locomotor Central Pattern Generator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klarner, Taryn; Zehr, E Paul

    2018-03-14

    Evidence first described in reduced animal models over 100 years ago led to deductions about the control of locomotion through spinal locomotor central pattern generating (CPG) networks. These discoveries in nature were contemporaneous with another form of deductive reasoning found in popular culture-that of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective "Sherlock Holmes". Since the invasive methods used in reduced non-human animal preparations are not amenable to study in humans, we are left instead with deducing from other measures and observations. Using the deductive reasoning approach of Sherlock Holmes as a metaphor for framing research into human CPGs, we speculate and weigh the evidence that should be observable in humans based on knowledge from other species. This review summarizes indirect inference to assess "observable evidence" of pattern generating activity which leads to the logical deduction of CPG contributions to arm and leg activity during locomotion in humans. The question of where a CPG may be housed in the human nervous system remains incompletely resolved at this time. Ongoing understanding, elaboration and application of functioning locomotor CPGs in humans is important for gait rehabilitation strategies in those with neurological injuries.

  3. Differences in gay men's AIDS risk knowledge and behavior patterns in high and low AIDS prevalence cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    St Lawrence, J S; Hood, H V; Brasfield, T; Kelly, J A

    1989-01-01

    Several studies have found reductions in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) risk practices among gay men in high AIDS-prevalence cities since the start of the AIDS crisis. Much less is known about risk behavior patterns among gay men in smaller cities, where AIDS cases are less common and the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection is relatively lower. In the study, men entering gay bars in three cities, one large and two small, completed anonymous surveys of sexual practices and AIDS risk knowledge. Men in high AIDS-prevalence areas were found to have had a greater number of sexual partners, were more knowledgeable about AIDS, were much more likely to engage in low-risk practices (such as mutual masturbation or body rubbing), and had unprotected anal intercourse less frequently than gay men in smaller cities. The most common sexual activity among gay men in the larger city was mutual masturbation, a low-risk practice. The most common sexual activity among gay men in the smaller cities was unprotected anal intercourse. Increased efforts are needed to educate gay men and to promote risk behavior changes among those living in smaller cities and in communities outside the prominent AIDS epicenters.

  4. Localization of Motor Neurons and Central Pattern Generators for Motor Patterns Underlying Feeding Behavior in Drosophila Larvae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Hückesfeld

    Full Text Available Motor systems can be functionally organized into effector organs (muscles and glands, the motor neurons, central pattern generators (CPG and higher control centers of the brain. Using genetic and electrophysiological methods, we have begun to deconstruct the motor system driving Drosophila larval feeding behavior into its component parts. In this paper, we identify distinct clusters of motor neurons that execute head tilting, mouth hook movements, and pharyngeal pumping during larval feeding. This basic anatomical scaffold enabled the use of calcium-imaging to monitor the neural activity of motor neurons within the central nervous system (CNS that drive food intake. Simultaneous nerve- and muscle-recordings demonstrate that the motor neurons innervate the cibarial dilator musculature (CDM ipsi- and contra-laterally. By classical lesion experiments we localize a set of CPGs generating the neuronal pattern underlying feeding movements to the subesophageal zone (SEZ. Lesioning of higher brain centers decelerated all feeding-related motor patterns, whereas lesioning of ventral nerve cord (VNC only affected the motor rhythm underlying pharyngeal pumping. These findings provide a basis for progressing upstream of the motor neurons to identify higher regulatory components of the feeding motor system.

  5. Patterning human neuronal networks on photolithographically engineered silicon dioxide substrates functionalized with glial analogues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Mark A; Brennan, Paul M; Bunting, Andrew S; Cameron, Katherine; Murray, Alan F; Shipston, Mike J

    2014-05-01

    Interfacing neurons with silicon semiconductors is a challenge being tackled through various bioengineering approaches. Such constructs inform our understanding of neuronal coding and learning and ultimately guide us toward creating intelligent neuroprostheses. A fundamental prerequisite is to dictate the spatial organization of neuronal cells. We sought to pattern neurons using photolithographically defined arrays of polymer parylene-C, activated with fetal calf serum. We used a purified human neuronal cell line [Lund human mesencephalic (LUHMES)] to establish whether neurons remain viable when isolated on-chip or whether they require a supporting cell substrate. When cultured in isolation, LUHMES neurons failed to pattern and did not show any morphological signs of differentiation. We therefore sought a cell type with which to prepattern parylene regions, hypothesizing that this cellular template would enable secondary neuronal adhesion and network formation. From a range of cell lines tested, human embryonal kidney (HEK) 293 cells patterned with highest accuracy. LUHMES neurons adhered to pre-established HEK 293 cell clusters and this coculture environment promoted morphological differentiation of neurons. Neurites extended between islands of adherent cell somata, creating an orthogonally arranged neuronal network. HEK 293 cells appear to fulfill a role analogous to glia, dictating cell adhesion, and generating an environment conducive to neuronal survival. We next replaced HEK 293 cells with slower growing glioma-derived precursors. These primary human cells patterned accurately on parylene and provided a similarly effective scaffold for neuronal adhesion. These findings advance the use of this microfabrication-compatible platform for neuronal patterning. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. The multifactorial nature of human homosexual behavior: A brief review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barona, Daniel

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Homosexual behavior has been analyzed as an evolutionary paradox in the biological context. In this review, we will try to compile the main genetic, epigenetic, hormonal, neurological and immune explanations of homosexuality, as well as the ultimate evolutionary causes of this complex behavior in the human being, incorporating information from studies in other animal species. All these factors determine the homosexual behavior, acting most of the times, simultaneously. Hereditary and non hereditary factors determine homosexual behavior, explaining its persistence despite its apparent disadvantages in relation to reproductive fitness.

  7. Observation of Communication by Physical Education Teachers: Detecting Patterns in Verbal Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Fariña, Abraham; Jiménez-Jiménez, F; Anguera, M Teresa

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze the verbal behavior of primary school physical education teachers in a natural classroom setting in order to investigate patterns in social constructivist communication strategies before and after participation in a training program designed to familiarize teachers with these strategies. The participants were three experienced physical education teachers interacting separately with 65 students over a series of classes. Written informed consent was obtained from all the students' parents or legal guardians. An indirect observation tool (ADDEF) was designed specifically for the study within the theoretical framework, and consisted of a combined field format, with three dimensions, and category systems. Each dimension formed the basis for building a subsequent system of exhaustive and mutually exclusive categories. Twenty-nine sessions, grouped into two separate modules, were coded using the Atlas.ti 7 program, and a total of 1991 units (messages containing constructivist discursive strategies) were recorded. Analysis of intraobserver reliability showed almost perfect agreement. Lag sequential analysis, which is a powerful statistical technique based on the calculation of conditional and unconditional probabilities in prospective and retrospective lags, was performed in GSEQ5 software to search for verbal behavior patterns before and after the training program. At both time points, we detected a pattern formed by requests for information combined with the incorporation of students' contributions into the teachers' discourse and re-elaborations of answers. In the post-training phase, we detected new and stronger patterns in certain sessions, indicating that programs combining theoretical and practical knowledge can effectively increase teachers' repertoire of discursive strategies and ultimately promote active engagement in learning. This has important implications for the evaluation and development of teacher effectiveness in

  8. Spatial Point Pattern Analysis of Human Settlements and Geographical Associations in Eastern Coastal China — A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhonghao; Xiao, Rui; Shortridge, Ashton; Wu, Jiaping

    2014-01-01

    Understanding the spatial point pattern of human settlements and their geographical associations are important for understanding the drivers of land use and land cover change and the relationship between environmental and ecological processes on one hand and cultures and lifestyles on the other. In this study, a Geographic Information System (GIS) approach, Ripley’s K function and Monte Carlo simulation were used to investigate human settlement point patterns. Remotely sensed tools and regression models were employed to identify the effects of geographical determinants on settlement locations in the Wen-Tai region of eastern coastal China. Results indicated that human settlements displayed regular-random-cluster patterns from small to big scale. Most settlements located on the coastal plain presented either regular or random patterns, while those in hilly areas exhibited a clustered pattern. Moreover, clustered settlements were preferentially located at higher elevations with steeper slopes and south facing aspects than random or regular settlements. Regression showed that influences of topographic factors (elevation, slope and aspect) on settlement locations were stronger across hilly regions. This study demonstrated a new approach to analyzing the spatial patterns of human settlements from a wide geographical prospective. We argue that the spatial point patterns of settlements, in addition to the characteristics of human settlements, such as area, density and shape, should be taken into consideration in the future, and land planners and decision makers should pay more attention to city planning and management. Conceptual and methodological bridges linking settlement patterns to regional and site-specific geographical characteristics will be a key to human settlement studies and planning. PMID:24619117

  9. Rasd2 Modulates Prefronto-Striatal Phenotypes in Humans and 'Schizophrenia-Like Behaviors' in Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitucci, Daniela; Di Giorgio, Annabella; Napolitano, Francesco; Pelosi, Barbara; Blasi, Giuseppe; Errico, Francesco; Attrotto, Maria Teresa; Gelao, Barbara; Fazio, Leonardo; Taurisano, Paolo; Di Maio, Anna; Marsili, Valentina; Pasqualetti, Massimo; Bertolino, Alessandro; Usiello, Alessandro

    2016-02-01

    Rasd2 is a thyroid hormone target gene, which encodes for a GTP-binding protein enriched in the striatum where, among other functions, it modulates dopaminergic neurotransmission. Here we report that human RASD2 mRNA is abundant in putamen, but it also occurs in the cerebral cortex, with a distinctive expression pattern that differs from that present in rodents. Consistent with its localization, we found that a genetic variation in RASD2 (rs6518956) affects postmortem prefrontal mRNA expression in healthy humans and is associated with phenotypes of relevance to schizophrenia, including prefrontal and striatal grey matter volume and physiology during working memory, as measured with magnetic resonance imaging. Interestingly, quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that RASD2 mRNA is slightly reduced in postmortem prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia. In the attempt to uncover the neurobiological substrates associated with Rasd2 activity, we used knockout mice to analyze the in vivo influence of this G-protein on the prepulse inhibition of the startle response and psychotomimetic drug-related behavioral response. Data showed that Rasd2 mutants display deficits in basal prepulse inhibition that, in turn, exacerbate gating disruption under psychotomimetic drug challenge. Furthermore, we documented that lack of Rasd2 strikingly enhances the behavioral sensitivity to motor stimulation elicited by amphetamine and phencyclidine. Based on animal model data, along with the finding that RASD2 influences prefronto-striatal phenotypes in healthy humans, we suggest that genetic mutation or reduced levels of this G-protein might have a role in cerebral circuitry dysfunction underpinning exaggerated psychotomimetic drugs responses and development of specific biological phenotypes linked to schizophrenia.

  10. Employment Patterns of Less-Skilled Workers: Links to Children’s Behavior and Academic Progress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalil, Ariel; Dunifon, Rachel E.

    2012-01-01

    Using data from five waves of the Women’s Employment Survey (WES; 1997–2003), we examine the links between low-income mothers’ employment patterns and the emotional behavior and academic progress of their children. We find robust and substantively important linkages between several different dimensions of mothers’ employment experiences and child outcomes. The pattern of results is similar across empirical approaches—including ordinary least squares and child fixed-effect models, with and without an extensive set of controls. Children exhibit fewer behavior problems when mothers work and experience job stability (relative to children whose mothers do not work). In contrast, maternal work accompanied by job instability is associated with significantly higher child behavior problems (relative to employment in a stable job). Children whose mothers work full-time and/or have fluctuating work schedules also exhibit significantly higher levels of behavior problems. However, full-time work has negative consequences for children only when it is in jobs that do not require cognitive skills. Such negative consequences are completely offset when this work experience is in jobs that require the cognitive skills that lead to higher wage growth prospects. Finally, fluctuating work schedules and full-time work in non-cognitively demanding jobs are each strongly associated with the probability that the child will repeat a grade or be placed in special education. PMID:22246798

  11. A stochastic dynamic model for human error analysis in nuclear power plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delgado-Loperena, Dharma

    Nuclear disasters like Three Mile Island and Chernobyl indicate that human performance is a critical safety issue, sending a clear message about the need to include environmental press and competence aspects in research. This investigation was undertaken to serve as a roadmap for studying human behavior through the formulation of a general solution equation. The theoretical model integrates models from two heretofore-disassociated disciplines (behavior specialists and technical specialists), that historically have independently studied the nature of error and human behavior; including concepts derived from fractal and chaos theory; and suggests re-evaluation of base theory regarding human error. The results of this research were based on comprehensive analysis of patterns of error, with the omnipresent underlying structure of chaotic systems. The study of patterns lead to a dynamic formulation, serving for any other formula used to study human error consequences. The search for literature regarding error yielded insight for the need to include concepts rooted in chaos theory and strange attractors---heretofore unconsidered by mainstream researchers who investigated human error in nuclear power plants or those who employed the ecological model in their work. The study of patterns obtained from the rupture of a steam generator tube (SGTR) event simulation, provided a direct application to aspects of control room operations in nuclear power plant operations. In doing so, the conceptual foundation based in the understanding of the patterns of human error analysis can be gleaned, resulting in reduced and prevent undesirable events.

  12. Deformation behavior of human enamel and dentin-enamel junction under compression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaytsev, Dmitry; Panfilov, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Deformation behavior under uniaxial compression of human enamel and dentin-enamel junction (DEJ) is considered in comparison with human dentin. This deformation scheme allows estimating the total response from all levels of the hierarchical composite material in contrast with the indentation, which are limited by the mesoscopic and microscopic scales. It was shown for the first time that dental enamel is the strength (up to 1850MPa) hard tissue, which is able to consider some elastic (up to 8%) and plastic (up to 5%) deformation under compression. In so doing, it is almost undeformable substance under the creep condition. Mechanical properties of human enamel depend on the geometry of sample. Human dentin exhibits the similar deformation behavior under compression, but the values of its elasticity (up to 40%) and plasticity (up to 18%) are much more, while its strength (up to 800MPa) is less in two times. Despite the difference in mechanical properties, human enamel is able to suppress the cracking alike dentin. Deformation behavior under the compression of the samples contained DEJ as the same to dentin. This feature allows a tooth to be elastic-plastic (as dentin) and wear resistible (as enamel), simultaneously. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Reasoning about Beliefs: A Human Specialization?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Povinelli, Daniel J.; Giambrone, Steve

    2001-01-01

    Asserts that theory of mind is unique to humans and that its original function was to provide a more abstract level of describing ancient behavioral patterns, such as deception, reconciliation, and gaze following. Suggests that initial selective advantage of theory of mind may have been increased flexibility of already-existing behaviors, not…

  14. Is There a Weekly Pattern for Health Searches on Wikipedia and Is the Pattern Unique to Health Topics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabarron, Elia; Lau, Annie Y S; Wynn, Rolf

    2015-12-22

    Online health information-seeking behaviors have been reported to be more common at the beginning of the workweek. This behavior pattern has been interpreted as a kind of "healthy new start" or "fresh start" due to regrets or attempts to compensate for unhealthy behavior or poor choices made during the weekend. However, the observations regarding the most common health information-seeking day were based only on the analyses of users' behaviors with websites on health or on online health-related searches. We wanted to confirm if this pattern could be found in searches of Wikipedia on health-related topics and also if this search pattern was unique to health-related topics or if it could represent a more general pattern of online information searching--which could be of relevance even beyond the health sector. The aim was to examine the degree to which the search pattern described previously was specific to health-related information seeking or whether similar patterns could be found in other types of information-seeking behavior. We extracted the number of searches performed on Wikipedia in the Norwegian language for 911 days for the most common sexually transmitted diseases (chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, human immunodeficiency virus [HIV], and acquired immune deficiency syndrome [AIDS]), other health-related topics (influenza, diabetes, and menopause), and 2 nonhealth-related topics (footballer Lionel Messi and pop singer Justin Bieber). The search dates were classified according to the day of the week and ANOVA tests were used to compare the average number of hits per day of the week. The ANOVA tests showed that the sexually transmitted disease queries had their highest peaks on Tuesdays (PJustin Bieber had the most hits on Tuesdays. Both these tracked search queries also showed significantly lower numbers on Saturdays (P<.001). Our study supports prior studies finding an increase in health information searching at the beginning of the workweek. However, we also

  15. Evaluation technology of human behavior cognition; Ningen kodo ninchi hyoka gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    For human engineering and improvement of the living environment, the evaluation technology of human behavior cognition was studied. For the future reformation and creation of economic structure, the following are required: establishment of safe and affluent communities, further improvement of the safety and harmonious balance of people, lives and society, and R & D close to people and social needs. Introduction of Product Liability law and a fail-safe concept are examples of such efforts. However, since many accidents are found in the human society, the relation between human errors and human characteristics should be studied in detail. The cognitive science of human behavior is an objective evaluation technology from the viewpoint of human being, object, environment and society. Based on these social and technological background, the feasibility of the evaluation technology is studied, and the future trend and skeleton of this project are clarified. The domestic and foreign trends of technologies concerned are thus surveyed, and the important points, features, skeleton and ripple effect of the technology are summarized. 500 refs., 70 figs., 5 tabs.

  16. Understanding the influence of social interactions on individual's behavior pattern in a work environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chen, Chih-Wei; Aztiria, Asier; Ben Allouch, Soumaya; Aghajan, Hamid; Salah, Albert Ali; Lepri, Bruno

    2011-01-01

    In this work, we study social interactions in a work environment and investigate how the presence of other people changes personal behavior patterns. We design the visual processing algorithms to track multiple people in the environment and detect dyadic interactions using a discriminative

  17. Data Mining and Visualization of Large Human Behavior Data Sets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cuttone, Andrea

    and credit card transactions – have provided us new sources for studying our behavior. In particular smartphones have emerged as new tools for collecting data about human activity, thanks to their sensing capabilities and their ubiquity. This thesis investigates the question of what we can learn about human...... behavior from this rich and pervasive mobile sensing data. In the first part, we describe a large-scale data collection deployment collecting high-resolution data for over 800 students at the Technical University of Denmark using smartphones, including location, social proximity, calls and SMS. We provide...... an overview of the technical infrastructure, the experimental design, and the privacy measures. The second part investigates the usage of this mobile sensing data for understanding personal behavior. We describe two large-scale user studies on the deployment of self-tracking apps, in order to understand...

  18. Behavioral Correlations Associated with Fear of Humans Differ between Rural and Urban Burrowing Owls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martina Carrete

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Behavioral studies are fundamental to understanding how animal populations face global change. Although much research has centered upon the idea that individuals can adaptively modify their behaviors to cope with environmental changes, recent evidence supports the existence of individual differences in suites of correlated behaviors. However, little is known about how selection can change these behavioral structures in populations subject to different environmental constraints. The colonization of urban environments by birds has been related to their inter-individual variability in their fear of humans, measured as their flight initiation distance to an approaching human, such that urban life would select for fearless individuals. This behavior has been demonstrated to be heritable and highly consistent throughout the adult lifespan of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia. Here, we experimentally assessed, in field conditions, whether urban life involves changes in other behaviors such as exploration and antipredatory response through their correlation with fear of humans. Breeding urban birds were more fearless toward humans and were quicker to explore a new food resource and defend their nests from predators than their rural counterparts. However, while fear of humans positively correlated with exploration and antipredatory response in the rural population, it only correlated with exploration in the urban one. Predator release in urban environments could relax—and even counterselect—antipredator behaviors, thus dismantling the behavioral correlation existent in natural populations. Altogether, our results suggest that rural and urban animals may differ in some behavioral aspects, may be as a consequence of the selection processes acting during the colonization of urban areas as well as the different ecological environments encountered by individuals.

  19. The human endogenous circadian system causes greatest platelet activation during the biological morning independent of behaviors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frank A J L Scheer

    Full Text Available Platelets are involved in the thromboses that are central to myocardial infarctions and ischemic strokes. Such adverse cardiovascular events have day/night patterns with peaks in the morning (~9 AM, potentially related to endogenous circadian clock control of platelet activation. The objective was to test if the human endogenous circadian system influences (1 platelet function and (2 platelet response to standardized behavioral stressors. We also aimed to compare the magnitude of any effects on platelet function caused by the circadian system with that caused by varied standardized behavioral stressors, including mental arithmetic, passive postural tilt and mild cycling exercise.We studied 12 healthy adults (6 female who lived in individual laboratory suites in dim light for 240 h, with all behaviors scheduled on a 20-h recurring cycle to permit assessment of endogenous circadian function independent from environmental and behavioral effects including the sleep/wake cycle. Circadian phase was assessed from core body temperature. There were highly significant endogenous circadian rhythms in platelet surface activated glycoprotein (GP IIb-IIIa, GPIb and P-selectin (6-17% peak-trough amplitudes; p ≤ 0.01. These circadian peaks occurred at a circadian phase corresponding to 8-9 AM. Platelet count, ATP release, aggregability, and plasma epinephrine also had significant circadian rhythms but with later peaks (corresponding to 3-8 PM. The circadian effects on the platelet activation markers were always larger than that of any of the three behavioral stressors.These data demonstrate robust effects of the endogenous circadian system on platelet activation in humans--independent of the sleep/wake cycle, other behavioral influences and the environment. The 9 AM timing of the circadian peaks of the three platelet surface markers, including platelet surface activated GPIIb-IIIa, the final common pathway of platelet aggregation, suggests that endogenous

  20. Global spatio-temporal patterns in human migration: a complex network perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Kyle F; D'Odorico, Paolo; Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca

    2013-01-01

    Migration is a powerful adaptive strategy for humans to navigate hardship and pursue a better quality of life. As a universal vehicle facilitating exchanges of ideas, culture, money and goods, international migration is a major contributor to globalization. Consisting of countries linked by multiple connections of human movements, global migration constitutes a network. Despite the important role of human migration in connecting various communities in different parts of the world, the topology and behavior of the international migration network and its changes through time remain poorly understood. Here we show that the global human migration network became more interconnected during the latter half of the twentieth century and that migrant destination choice partly reflects colonial and postcolonial histories, language, religion, and distances. From 1960 to 2000 we found a steady increase in network transitivity (i.e. connectivity between nodes connected to the same node), a decrease in average path length and an upward shift in degree distribution, all of which strengthened the 'small-world' behavior of the migration network. Furthermore, we found that distinct groups of countries preferentially interact to form migration communities based largely on historical, cultural and economic factors.

  1. Global spatio-temporal patterns in human migration: a complex network perspective.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyle F Davis

    Full Text Available Migration is a powerful adaptive strategy for humans to navigate hardship and pursue a better quality of life. As a universal vehicle facilitating exchanges of ideas, culture, money and goods, international migration is a major contributor to globalization. Consisting of countries linked by multiple connections of human movements, global migration constitutes a network. Despite the important role of human migration in connecting various communities in different parts of the world, the topology and behavior of the international migration network and its changes through time remain poorly understood. Here we show that the global human migration network became more interconnected during the latter half of the twentieth century and that migrant destination choice partly reflects colonial and postcolonial histories, language, religion, and distances. From 1960 to 2000 we found a steady increase in network transitivity (i.e. connectivity between nodes connected to the same node, a decrease in average path length and an upward shift in degree distribution, all of which strengthened the 'small-world' behavior of the migration network. Furthermore, we found that distinct groups of countries preferentially interact to form migration communities based largely on historical, cultural and economic factors.

  2. Tonic noradrenergic activity modulates explorative behavior and attentional set shifting: Evidence from pupillometry and gaze pattern analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pajkossy, Péter; Szőllősi, Ágnes; Demeter, Gyula; Racsmány, Mihály

    2017-12-01

    A constant task for every living organism is to decide whether to exploit rewards associated with current behavior or to explore the environment for more rewarding options. Current empirical evidence indicates that exploitation is related to phasic whereas exploration is related to tonic firing mode of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus. In humans, this exploration-exploitation trade-off is subserved by the ability to flexibly switch attention between task-related and task-irrelevant information. Here, we investigated whether this function, called attentional set shifting, is related to exploration and tonic noradrenergic discharge. We measured pretrial baseline pupil dilation, proved to be strongly correlated with the activity of the locus coeruleus, while human participants took part in well-known tasks of attentional set shifting. Study 1 used the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, whereas in Study 2, the Intra/Extradimensional Set Shifting Task was used. Both tasks require participants to choose between different compound stimuli based on feedback provided for their previous decisions. During the task, stimulus-reward contingencies change periodically, thus participants are repeatedly required to reassess which stimulus features are relevant (i.e., they shift their attentional set). Our results showed that baseline pupil diameter steadily decreased when the stimulus-reward contingencies were stable, whereas they suddenly increased when these contingencies changed. Analysis of looking patterns also confirmed the presence of exploratory behavior during attentional set shifting. Thus, our results suggest that tonic firing mode of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus is implicated in attentional set shifting, as it regulates the amount of exploration. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  3. Four factors underlying mouse behavior in an open field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Shoji; Young, Jared W; Halberstadt, Adam L; Masten, Virginia L; Geyer, Mark A

    2012-07-15

    The observation of the locomotor and exploratory behaviors of rodents in an open field is one of the most fundamental methods used in the field of behavioral pharmacology. A variety of behaviors can be recorded automatically and can readily generate a multivariate pattern of pharmacological effects. Nevertheless, the optimal ways to characterize observed behaviors and concomitant drug effects are still under development. The aim of this study was to extract meaningful behavioral factors that could explain variations in the observed variables from mouse exploration. Behavioral data were recorded from male C57BL/6J mice (n=268) using the Behavioral Pattern Monitor (BPM). The BPM data were subjected to the exploratory factor analysis. The factor analysis extracted four factors: activity, sequential organization, diversive exploration, and inspective exploration. The activity factor and the two types of exploration factors correlated positively with one another, while the sequential organization factor negatively correlated with the remaining factors. The extracted factor structure constitutes a behavioral model of mouse exploration. This model will provide a platform on which one can assess the effects of psychoactive drugs and genetic manipulations on mouse exploratory behavior. Further studies are currently underway to examine the factor structure of similar multivariate data sets from humans tested in a human BPM. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Spatial Point Pattern Analysis of Human Settlements and Geographical Associations in Eastern Coastal China — A Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhonghao Zhang

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the spatial point pattern of human settlements and their geographical associations are important for understanding the drivers of land use and land cover change and the relationship between environmental and ecological processes on one hand and cultures and lifestyles on the other. In this study, a Geographic Information System (GIS approach, Ripley’s K function and Monte Carlo simulation were used to investigate human settlement point patterns. Remotely sensed tools and regression models were employed to identify the effects of geographical determinants on settlement locations in the Wen-Tai region of eastern coastal China. Results indicated that human settlements displayed regular-random-cluster patterns from small to big scale. Most settlements located on the coastal plain presented either regular or random patterns, while those in hilly areas exhibited a clustered pattern. Moreover, clustered settlements were preferentially located at higher elevations with steeper slopes and south facing aspects than random or regular settlements. Regression showed that influences of topographic factors (elevation, slope and aspect on settlement locations were stronger across hilly regions. This study demonstrated a new approach to analyzing the spatial patterns of human settlements from a wide geographical prospective. We argue that the spatial point patterns of settlements, in addition to the characteristics of human settlements, such as area, density and shape, should be taken into consideration in the future, and land planners and decision makers should pay more attention to city planning and management. Conceptual and methodological bridges linking settlement patterns to regional and site-specific geographical characteristics will be a key to human settlement studies and planning.

  5. Collective Behavior of Chiral Active Matter: Pattern Formation and Enhanced Flocking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liebchen, Benno; Levis, Demian

    2017-08-01

    We generalize the Vicsek model to describe the collective behavior of polar circle swimmers with local alignment interactions. While the phase transition leading to collective motion in 2D (flocking) occurs at the same interaction to noise ratio as for linear swimmers, as we show, circular motion enhances the polarization in the ordered phase (enhanced flocking) and induces secondary instabilities leading to structure formation. Slow rotations promote macroscopic droplets with late time sizes proportional to the system size (indicating phase separation) whereas fast rotations generate patterns consisting of phase synchronized microflocks with a controllable characteristic size proportional to the average single-particle swimming radius. Our results defy the viewpoint that monofrequent rotations form a vapid extension of the Vicsek model and establish a generic route to pattern formation in chiral active matter with possible applications for understanding and designing rotating microflocks.

  6. Accommodating complexity and human behaviors in decision analysis.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Backus, George A.; Siirola, John Daniel; Schoenwald, David Alan; Strip, David R.; Hirsch, Gary B.; Bastian, Mark S.; Braithwaite, Karl R.; Homer, Jack [Homer Consulting

    2007-11-01

    This is the final report for a LDRD effort to address human behavior in decision support systems. One sister LDRD effort reports the extension of this work to include actual human choices and additional simulation analyses. Another provides the background for this effort and the programmatic directions for future work. This specific effort considered the feasibility of five aspects of model development required for analysis viability. To avoid the use of classified information, healthcare decisions and the system embedding them became the illustrative example for assessment.

  7. Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Resembles Patterns of Pathology Progression in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Kassubek

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Recently, the characteristic longitudinal distribution pattern of the underlying phosphorylated TDP-43 (pTDP-43 pathology in the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD excluding Pick's disease (PiD across specific brain regions was described. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether in vivo investigations of bvFTD patients by use of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI were consistent with these proposed patterns of progression.Methods: Sixty-two bvFTD patients and 47 controls underwent DTI in a multicenter study design. Of these, 49 bvFTD patients and 34 controls had a follow-up scan after ~12 months. Cross-sectional and longitudinal alterations were assessed by a two-fold analysis, i.e., voxelwise comparison of fractional anisotropy (FA maps and a tract of interest-based (TOI approach, which identifies tract structures that could be assigned to brain regions associated with disease progression.Results: Whole brain-based spatial statistics showed white matter alterations predominantly in the frontal lobes cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The TOIs of bvFTD neuroimaging stages 1 and 2 (uncinate fascicle—bvFTD pattern I; corticostriatal pathway—bvFTD pattern II showed highly significant differences between bvFTD patients and controls. The corticospinal tract-associated TOI (bvFTD pattern III did not differ between groups, whereas the differences in the optic radiation (bvFTD pattern IV reached significance. The findings in the corticospinal tract were due to a “dichotomous” behavior of FA changes there.Conclusion: Longitudinal TOI analysis demonstrated a pattern of white matter pathways alterations consistent with patterns of pTDP-43 pathology.

  8. Nest Architectural Patterns by Three Wasp Species ( and with Reference to Their Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farzana Perveen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, the nest architectural patterns, elemental analysis and their behavior were carried out in three wasp species: Vespa velutina (Lepeletier, Polistes flavus (Cresson and Sceliphron formosum (Smith from the different localities of the Mansehra, Pakistan. The V. velutina nest was completely closed except for one opening for entry or exit with 1–10 layers of hexagonal cells inside the nest. The nests of P. flavus were found among bunches of leaves of trees with 1–5 layers and hexagonal cells same as in V. velutina. Nests of the S. formosum were pitcher-shaped, found in muddy places, and consisted of 1–10 cells. Social behavior of wasps showed strong foraging, defensive behaviors, pseudo-attack, subsequent erratic flight, wing buzzing, mandibular pecking, abdominal pumping and abdominal twisting with highly developed parental care. It was concluded that the behaviors of these 3 wasp species was highly developed as compared with other insects.

  9. Greater physiological and behavioral effects of interrupted stress pattern compared to daily restraint stress in rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Zhang

    Full Text Available Repeated stress can trigger a range of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety. The propensity to develop abnormal behaviors after repeated stress is related to the severity, frequency and number of stressors. However, the pattern of stress exposure may contribute to the impact of stress. In addition, the anxiogenic nature of repeated stress exposure can be moderated by the degree of coping that occurs, and can be reflected in homotypic habituation to the repeated stress. However, expectations are not clear when a pattern of stress presentation is utilized that diminishes habituation. The purpose of these experiments is to test whether interrupted stress exposure decreases homotypic habituation and leads to greater effects on anxiety-like behavior in adult male rats. We found that repeated interrupted restraint stress resulted in less overall homotypic habituation compared to repeated daily restraint stress. This was demonstrated by greater production of fecal boli and greater corticosterone response to restraint. Furthermore, interrupted restraint stress resulted in a lower body weight and greater adrenal gland weight than daily restraint stress, and greater anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. Control experiments demonstrated that these effects of the interrupted pattern could not be explained by differences in the total number of stress exposures, differences in the total number of days that the stress periods encompased, nor could it be explained as a result of only the stress exposures after an interruption from stress. These experiments demonstrate that the pattern of stress exposure is a significant determinant of the effects of repeated stress, and that interrupted stress exposure that decreases habituation can have larger effects than a greater number of daily stress exposures. Differences in the pattern of stress exposure are therefore an important factor to consider when predicting the severity of the effects of repeated

  10. Oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with human directed social behavior in dogs (Canis familiaris.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Kis

    Full Text Available The oxytocin system has a crucial role in human sociality; several results prove that polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor gene are related to complex social behaviors in humans. Dogs' parallel evolution with humans and their adaptation to the human environment has made them a useful species to model human social interactions. Previous research indicates that dogs are eligible models for behavioral genetic research, as well. Based on these previous findings, our research investigated associations between human directed social behaviors and two newly described (-212AG, 19131AG and one known (rs8679684 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in the regulatory regions (5' and 3' UTR of the oxytocin receptor gene in German Shepherd (N = 104 and Border Collie (N = 103 dogs. Dogs' behavior traits have been estimated in a newly developed test series consisting of five episodes: Greeting by a stranger, Separation from the owner, Problem solving, Threatening approach, Hiding of the owner. Buccal samples were collected and DNA was isolated using standard protocols. SNPs in the 3' and 5' UTR regions were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction based techniques followed by subsequent electrophoresis analysis. The gene-behavior association analysis suggests that oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms have an impact in both breeds on (i proximity seeking towards an unfamiliar person, as well as their owner, and on (ii how friendly dogs behave towards strangers, although the mediating molecular regulatory mechanisms are yet unknown. Based on these results, we conclude that similarly to humans, the social behavior of dogs towards humans is influenced by the oxytocin system.

  11. Oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with human directed social behavior in dogs (Canis familiaris).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kis, Anna; Bence, Melinda; Lakatos, Gabriella; Pergel, Enikő; Turcsán, Borbála; Pluijmakers, Jolanda; Vas, Judit; Elek, Zsuzsanna; Brúder, Ildikó; Földi, Levente; Sasvári-Székely, Mária; Miklósi, Adám; Rónai, Zsolt; Kubinyi, Enikő

    2014-01-01

    The oxytocin system has a crucial role in human sociality; several results prove that polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor gene are related to complex social behaviors in humans. Dogs' parallel evolution with humans and their adaptation to the human environment has made them a useful species to model human social interactions. Previous research indicates that dogs are eligible models for behavioral genetic research, as well. Based on these previous findings, our research investigated associations between human directed social behaviors and two newly described (-212AG, 19131AG) and one known (rs8679684) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the regulatory regions (5' and 3' UTR) of the oxytocin receptor gene in German Shepherd (N = 104) and Border Collie (N = 103) dogs. Dogs' behavior traits have been estimated in a newly developed test series consisting of five episodes: Greeting by a stranger, Separation from the owner, Problem solving, Threatening approach, Hiding of the owner. Buccal samples were collected and DNA was isolated using standard protocols. SNPs in the 3' and 5' UTR regions were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction based techniques followed by subsequent electrophoresis analysis. The gene-behavior association analysis suggests that oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms have an impact in both breeds on (i) proximity seeking towards an unfamiliar person, as well as their owner, and on (ii) how friendly dogs behave towards strangers, although the mediating molecular regulatory mechanisms are yet unknown. Based on these results, we conclude that similarly to humans, the social behavior of dogs towards humans is influenced by the oxytocin system.

  12. Methodological and reporting quality in laboratory studies of human eating behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Robinson, E.; Bevelander, K.E.; Field, M.; Jones, A.

    2018-01-01

    The methodological quality and reporting practices of laboratory studies of human eating behavior determine the validity and replicability of nutrition science. The aim of this research was to examine basic methodology and reporting practices in recent representative laboratory studies of human

  13. Modelling human mobility patterns using photographic data shared online.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barchiesi, Daniele; Preis, Tobias; Bishop, Steven; Moat, Helen Susannah

    2015-08-01

    Humans are inherently mobile creatures. The way we move around our environment has consequences for a wide range of problems, including the design of efficient transportation systems and the planning of urban areas. Here, we gather data about the position in space and time of about 16 000 individuals who uploaded geo-tagged images from locations within the UK to the Flickr photo-sharing website. Inspired by the theory of Lévy flights, which has previously been used to describe the statistical properties of human mobility, we design a machine learning algorithm to infer the probability of finding people in geographical locations and the probability of movement between pairs of locations. Our findings are in general agreement with official figures in the UK and on travel flows between pairs of major cities, suggesting that online data sources may be used to quantify and model large-scale human mobility patterns.

  14. In Vivo Pattern Classification of Ingestive Behavior in Ruminants Using FBG Sensors and Machine Learning

    OpenAIRE

    Pegorini, Vinicius; Karam, Leandro Zen; Pitta, Christiano Santos Rocha; Cardoso, Rafael; da Silva, Jean Carlos Cardozo; Kalinowski, Hypolito Jos?; Ribeiro, Richardson; Bertotti, F?bio Luiz; Assmann, Tangriani Simioni

    2015-01-01

    Pattern classification of ingestive behavior in grazing animals has extreme importance in studies related to animal nutrition, growth and health. In this paper, a system to classify chewing patterns of ruminants in in vivo experiments is developed. The proposal is based on data collected by optical fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBG) that are processed by machine learning techniques. The FBG sensors measure the biomechanical strain during jaw movements, and a decision tree is responsible for th...

  15. The Human Factor: Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Humanized Perception in Moral Decision Making

    OpenAIRE

    Majdandžić, Jasminka; Bauer, Herbert; Windischberger, Christian; Moser, Ewald; Engl, Elisabeth; Lamm, Claus

    2012-01-01

    The extent to which people regard others as full-blown individuals with mental states ("humanization") seems crucial for their prosocial motivation towards them. Previous research has shown that decisions about moral dilemmas in which one person can be sacrificed to save multiple others do not consistently follow utilitarian principles. We hypothesized that this behavior can be explained by the potential victim's perceived humanness and an ensuing increase in vicarious emotions and emotional ...

  16. A Comparison of Non-Typhoidal Salmonella from Humans and Food Animals Using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandt, Carol H.; Fedorka-Cray, Paula J.; Tewari, Deepanker; Ostroff, Stephen; Joyce, Kevin; M’ikanatha, Nkuchia M.

    2013-01-01

    Salmonellosis is one of the most important foodborne diseases affecting humans. To characterize the relationship between Salmonella causing human infections and their food animal reservoirs, we compared pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of non-typhoidal Salmonella isolated from ill humans in Pennsylvania and from food animals before retail. Human clinical isolates were received from 2005 through 2011 during routine public health operations in Pennsylvania. Isolates from cattle, chickens, swine and turkeys were recovered during the same period from federally inspected slaughter and processing facilities in the northeastern United States. We found that subtyping Salmonella isolates by PFGE revealed differences in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and, for human Salmonella, differences in sources and invasiveness that were not evident from serotyping alone. Sixteen of the 20 most common human Salmonella PFGE patterns were identified in Salmonella recovered from food animals. The most common human Salmonella PFGE pattern, Enteritidis pattern JEGX01.0004 (JEGX01.0003ARS), was associated with more cases of invasive salmonellosis than all other patterns. In food animals, this pattern was almost exclusively (99%) found in Salmonella recovered from chickens and was present in poultry meat in every year of the study. Enteritidis pattern JEGX01.0004 (JEGX01.0003ARS) was associated with susceptibility to all antimicrobial agents tested in 94.7% of human and 97.2% of food animal Salmonella isolates. In contrast, multidrug resistance (resistance to three or more classes of antimicrobial agents) was observed in five PFGE patterns. Typhimurium patterns JPXX01.0003 (JPXX01.0003 ARS) and JPXX01.0018 (JPXX01.0002 ARS), considered together, were associated with resistance to five or more classes of antimicrobial agents: ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfonamides and tetracycline (ACSSuT), in 92% of human and 80% of food

  17. Tracking a "facer's" behavior in a public plaza

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2014-01-01

    The video shows the tracking of a "facer's" behavior in a public plaza using a thermal camera (non-privacy violating) and a visualization of the tracks in a space-time cube in a 3D GIS. The tracking data is used in my PhD project on Human Movement Patterns in Smart Cities. The recording and analy...... and analysis of the thermal video has been made in collaboration with Rikke Gade from the Visual Analytics of People Lab at Aalborg University.......The video shows the tracking of a "facer's" behavior in a public plaza using a thermal camera (non-privacy violating) and a visualization of the tracks in a space-time cube in a 3D GIS. The tracking data is used in my PhD project on Human Movement Patterns in Smart Cities. The recording...

  18. Prediction of Human Activity by Discovering Temporal Sequence Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Kang; Fu, Yun

    2014-08-01

    Early prediction of ongoing human activity has become more valuable in a large variety of time-critical applications. To build an effective representation for prediction, human activities can be characterized by a complex temporal composition of constituent simple actions and interacting objects. Different from early detection on short-duration simple actions, we propose a novel framework for long -duration complex activity prediction by discovering three key aspects of activity: Causality, Context-cue, and Predictability. The major contributions of our work include: (1) a general framework is proposed to systematically address the problem of complex activity prediction by mining temporal sequence patterns; (2) probabilistic suffix tree (PST) is introduced to model causal relationships between constituent actions, where both large and small order Markov dependencies between action units are captured; (3) the context-cue, especially interactive objects information, is modeled through sequential pattern mining (SPM), where a series of action and object co-occurrence are encoded as a complex symbolic sequence; (4) we also present a predictive accumulative function (PAF) to depict the predictability of each kind of activity. The effectiveness of our approach is evaluated on two experimental scenarios with two data sets for each: action-only prediction and context-aware prediction. Our method achieves superior performance for predicting global activity classes and local action units.

  19. The effects of regional angling effort, angler behavior, and harvesting efficiency on landscape patterns of overfishing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunt, Len M; Arlinghaus, Robert; Lester, Nigel; Kushneriuk, Rob

    2011-10-01

    We used a coupled social-ecological model to study the landscape-scale patterns emerging from a mobile population of anglers exploiting a spatially structured walleye (Sander vitreus) fishery. We systematically examined how variations in angler behaviors (i.e., relative importance of walleye catch rate in guiding fishing site choices), harvesting efficiency (as implied by varying degrees of inverse density-dependent catchability of walleye), and angler population size affected the depletion of walleye stocks across 157 lakes located near Thunder Bay (Ontario, Canada). Walleye production biology was calibrated using lake-specific morphometric and edaphic features, and angler fishing site choices were modeled using an empirically grounded multi-attribute utility function. We found support for the hypothesis of sequential collapses of walleye stocks across the landscape in inverse proportionality of travel cost from the urban residence of anglers. This pattern was less pronounced when the regional angler population was low, density-dependent catchability was absent or low, and angler choices of lakes in the landscape were strongly determined by catch rather than non-catch-related attributes. Thus, our study revealed a systematic pattern of high catch importance reducing overfishing potential at low and aggravating overfishing potential at high angler population sizes. The analyses also suggested that density-dependent catchability might have more serious consequences for regional overfishing states than variations in angler behavior. We found little support for the hypotheses of systematic overexploitation of the most productive walleye stocks and homogenized catch-related qualities among lakes sharing similar access costs to anglers. Therefore, one should not expect anglers to systematically exploit the most productive fisheries or to equalize catch rates among lakes through their mobility and other behaviors. This study underscores that understanding landscape

  20. Reproducible pattern of microRNA in normal human skin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holst, Line; Kaczkowski, Bogumil; Gniadecki, Robert

    2010-01-01

    RNA expression pattern in normal human skin. Here we investigated miRNA expression profiles from skin biopsies of 8 healthy volunteers taken from sun protected and mildly photo damaged skin using the modified protocol for miRNA extraction. We were able to show a constant pattern of miRNA expression between......MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis via specific targeting of messenger RNA (mRNA). Aberrant mRNA expression contributes to pathological processes such as carcinogenesis. To take advantage of miRNA profiling in skin disease it is essential to investigate mi...... different individuals. We did not find any significant differences in miRNA expression between sun protected and mildly photodamaged skin. These results may be valuable for future design of studies on miRNA expression in skin disease....

  1. Reproducible pattern of microRNA in normal human skin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holst, Line; Kaczkowski, Bogumil; Gniadecki, Robert

    2010-01-01

    RNA expression pattern in normal human skin. Here we investigated miRNA expression profiles from skin biopsies of 8 healthy volunteers taken from sun protected and mildly photo damaged skin using the modified protocol for miRNA extraction. We were able to show a constant pattern of miRNA expression between...... different individuals. We did not find any significant differences in miRNA expression between sun protected and mildly photodamaged skin. These results may be valuable for future design of studies on miRNA expression in skin disease.......MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis via specific targeting of messenger RNA (mRNA). Aberrant mRNA expression contributes to pathological processes such as carcinogenesis. To take advantage of miRNA profiling in skin disease it is essential to investigate mi...

  2. Ontology-Based High-Level Context Inference for Human Behavior Identification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villalonga, Claudia; Razzaq, Muhammad Asif; Khan, Wajahat Ali; Pomares, Hector; Rojas, Ignacio; Lee, Sungyoung; Banos, Oresti

    2016-01-01

    Recent years have witnessed a huge progress in the automatic identification of individual primitives of human behavior, such as activities or locations. However, the complex nature of human behavior demands more abstract contextual information for its analysis. This work presents an ontology-based method that combines low-level primitives of behavior, namely activity, locations and emotions, unprecedented to date, to intelligently derive more meaningful high-level context information. The paper contributes with a new open ontology describing both low-level and high-level context information, as well as their relationships. Furthermore, a framework building on the developed ontology and reasoning models is presented and evaluated. The proposed method proves to be robust while identifying high-level contexts even in the event of erroneously-detected low-level contexts. Despite reasonable inference times being obtained for a relevant set of users and instances, additional work is required to scale to long-term scenarios with a large number of users. PMID:27690050

  3. Ontology-Based High-Level Context Inference for Human Behavior Identification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Villalonga

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Recent years have witnessed a huge progress in the automatic identification of individual primitives of human behavior, such as activities or locations. However, the complex nature of human behavior demands more abstract contextual information for its analysis. This work presents an ontology-based method that combines low-level primitives of behavior, namely activity, locations and emotions, unprecedented to date, to intelligently derive more meaningful high-level context information. The paper contributes with a new open ontology describing both low-level and high-level context information, as well as their relationships. Furthermore, a framework building on the developed ontology and reasoning models is presented and evaluated. The proposed method proves to be robust while identifying high-level contexts even in the event of erroneously-detected low-level contexts. Despite reasonable inference times being obtained for a relevant set of users and instances, additional work is required to scale to long-term scenarios with a large number of users.

  4. Rasd2 Modulates Prefronto-Striatal Phenotypes in Humans and ‘Schizophrenia-Like Behaviors' in Mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitucci, Daniela; Di Giorgio, Annabella; Napolitano, Francesco; Pelosi, Barbara; Blasi, Giuseppe; Errico, Francesco; Attrotto, Maria Teresa; Gelao, Barbara; Fazio, Leonardo; Taurisano, Paolo; Di Maio, Anna; Marsili, Valentina; Pasqualetti, Massimo; Bertolino, Alessandro; Usiello, Alessandro

    2016-01-01

    Rasd2 is a thyroid hormone target gene, which encodes for a GTP-binding protein enriched in the striatum where, among other functions, it modulates dopaminergic neurotransmission. Here we report that human RASD2 mRNA is abundant in putamen, but it also occurs in the cerebral cortex, with a distinctive expression pattern that differs from that present in rodents. Consistent with its localization, we found that a genetic variation in RASD2 (rs6518956) affects postmortem prefrontal mRNA expression in healthy humans and is associated with phenotypes of relevance to schizophrenia, including prefrontal and striatal grey matter volume and physiology during working memory, as measured with magnetic resonance imaging. Interestingly, quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that RASD2 mRNA is slightly reduced in postmortem prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia. In the attempt to uncover the neurobiological substrates associated with Rasd2 activity, we used knockout mice to analyze the in vivo influence of this G-protein on the prepulse inhibition of the startle response and psychotomimetic drug-related behavioral response. Data showed that Rasd2 mutants display deficits in basal prepulse inhibition that, in turn, exacerbate gating disruption under psychotomimetic drug challenge. Furthermore, we documented that lack of Rasd2 strikingly enhances the behavioral sensitivity to motor stimulation elicited by amphetamine and phencyclidine. Based on animal model data, along with the finding that RASD2 influences prefronto-striatal phenotypes in healthy humans, we suggest that genetic mutation or reduced levels of this G-protein might have a role in cerebral circuitry dysfunction underpinning exaggerated psychotomimetic drugs responses and development of specific biological phenotypes linked to schizophrenia. PMID:26228524

  5. MotionFlow: Visual Abstraction and Aggregation of Sequential Patterns in Human Motion Tracking Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Sujin; Elmqvist, Niklas; Ramani, Karthik

    2016-01-01

    Pattern analysis of human motions, which is useful in many research areas, requires understanding and comparison of different styles of motion patterns. However, working with human motion tracking data to support such analysis poses great challenges. In this paper, we propose MotionFlow, a visual analytics system that provides an effective overview of various motion patterns based on an interactive flow visualization. This visualization formulates a motion sequence as transitions between static poses, and aggregates these sequences into a tree diagram to construct a set of motion patterns. The system also allows the users to directly reflect the context of data and their perception of pose similarities in generating representative pose states. We provide local and global controls over the partition-based clustering process. To support the users in organizing unstructured motion data into pattern groups, we designed a set of interactions that enables searching for similar motion sequences from the data, detailed exploration of data subsets, and creating and modifying the group of motion patterns. To evaluate the usability of MotionFlow, we conducted a user study with six researchers with expertise in gesture-based interaction design. They used MotionFlow to explore and organize unstructured motion tracking data. Results show that the researchers were able to easily learn how to use MotionFlow, and the system effectively supported their pattern analysis activities, including leveraging their perception and domain knowledge.

  6. A comparison of antemortem tooth loss in human hunter-gatherers and non-human catarrhines: implications for the identification of behavioral evolution in the human fossil record.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilmore, Cassandra C

    2013-06-01

    Middle and Late Pleistocene fossil hominin specimens with severe antemortem tooth loss are often regarded as evidence for the precocious evolution of human-like behaviors, such as conspecific care or cooking, in ancient hominin species. The goal of this project was to ask whether the theoretical association between antemortem tooth loss and uniquely human behaviors is supported empirically in a large skeletal sample of human hunter-gatherers, chimpanzees, orangutans, and baboons. Binomial regression modeling in a Bayesian framework allows for the investigation of the effects of tooth class, genus, age, and sex on the likelihood of tooth loss. The results strongly suggest that modern humans experience more antemortem tooth loss than non-human primates and identify age in years as an important predictor. Once age is accounted for, the difference between the humans and the closest non-human genus (chimpanzees) is less pronounced; humans are still more likely on average to experience antemortem tooth loss though 95% uncertainty envelopes around the average prediction for each genus show some overlap. These analyses support theoretical links between antemortem tooth loss and modern human characteristics; humans' significantly longer life history and a positive correlation between age and antemortem tooth loss explain, in part, the reason why humans are more likely to experience tooth loss than non-human primates, but the results do not exclude behavioral differences as a contributing factor. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Weblog patterns and human dynamics with decreasing interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, J.-L.; Fan, C.; Guo, Z.-H.

    2011-06-01

    In order to describe the phenomenon that people's interest in doing something always keep high in the beginning while gradually decreases until reaching the balance, a model which describes the attenuation of interest is proposed to reflect the fact that people's interest becomes more stable after a long time. We give a rigorous analysis on this model by non-homogeneous Poisson processes. Our analysis indicates that the interval distribution of arrival-time is a mixed distribution with exponential and power-law feature, which is a power law with an exponential cutoff. After that, we collect blogs in ScienceNet.cn and carry on empirical study on the interarrival time distribution. The empirical results agree well with the theoretical analysis, obeying a special power law with the exponential cutoff, that is, a special kind of Gamma distribution. These empirical results verify the model by providing an evidence for a new class of phenomena in human dynamics. It can be concluded that besides power-law distributions, there are other distributions in human dynamics. These findings demonstrate the variety of human behavior dynamics.

  8. Replication Banding Patterns in Human Chromosomes Detected Using 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine Incorporation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoshi, Osamu; Ushiki, Tatsuo

    2011-01-01

    A novel technique using the incorporation of 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) into replicating DNA is described for the analysis of replicating banding patterns of human metaphase chromosomes. Human lymphocytes were synchronized with excess thymidine and treated with EdU during the late S phase of the cell cycle. The incorporated EdU was then detected in metaphase chromosomes using Alexa Fluor® 488 azides, through the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of organic azides with the terminal acetylene group of EdU. Chromosomes with incorporated EdU showed a banding pattern similar to G-banding of normal human chromosomes. Imaging by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in liquid conditions showed that the structure of the chromosomes was well preserved even after EdU treatment. Comparison between fluorescence microscopy and AFM images of the same chromosome 1 indicated the presence of ridges and grooves in the chromatid arm, features that have been previously reported in relation to G-banding. These results suggest an intimate relationship between EdU-induced replication bands and G- or R-bands in human chromosomes. This technique is thus useful for analyzing the structure of chromosomes in relation to their banding patterns following DNA replication in the S phase

  9. An elevated plus-maze in mixed reality for studying human anxiety-related behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biedermann, Sarah V; Biedermann, Daniel G; Wenzlaff, Frederike; Kurjak, Tim; Nouri, Sawis; Auer, Matthias K; Wiedemann, Klaus; Briken, Peer; Haaker, Jan; Lonsdorf, Tina B; Fuss, Johannes

    2017-12-21

    A dearth of laboratory tests to study actual human approach-avoidance behavior has complicated translational research on anxiety. The elevated plus-maze (EPM) is the gold standard to assess approach-avoidance behavior in rodents. Here, we translated the EPM to humans using mixed reality through a combination of virtual and real-world elements. In two validation studies, we observed participants' anxiety on a behavioral, physiological, and subjective level. Participants reported higher anxiety on open arms, avoided open arms, and showed an activation of endogenous stress systems. Participants' with high anxiety exhibited higher avoidance. Moreover, open arm avoidance was moderately predicted by participants' acrophobia and sensation seeking, with opposing influences. In a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled experiment, GABAergic stimulation decreased avoidance of open arms while alpha-2-adrenergic antagonism increased avoidance. These findings demonstrate cross-species validity of open arm avoidance as a translational measure of anxiety. We thus introduce the first ecologically valid assay to track actual human approach-avoidance behavior under laboratory conditions.

  10. Combining fMRI and behavioral measures to examine the process of human learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karuza, Elisabeth A; Emberson, Lauren L; Aslin, Richard N

    2014-03-01

    Prior to the advent of fMRI, the primary means of examining the mechanisms underlying learning were restricted to studying human behavior and non-human neural systems. However, recent advances in neuroimaging technology have enabled the concurrent study of human behavior and neural activity. We propose that the integration of behavioral response with brain activity provides a powerful method of investigating the process through which internal representations are formed or changed. Nevertheless, a review of the literature reveals that many fMRI studies of learning either (1) focus on outcome rather than process or (2) are built on the untested assumption that learning unfolds uniformly over time. We discuss here various challenges faced by the field and highlight studies that have begun to address them. In doing so, we aim to encourage more research that examines the process of learning by considering the interrelation of behavioral measures and fMRI recording during learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Behavioral and Physiological Neural Network Analyses: A Common Pathway toward Pattern Recognition and Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ninness, Chris; Lauter, Judy L.; Coffee, Michael; Clary, Logan; Kelly, Elizabeth; Rumph, Marilyn; Rumph, Robin; Kyle, Betty; Ninness, Sharon K.

    2012-01-01

    Using 3 diversified datasets, we explored the pattern-recognition ability of the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) artificial neural network as applied to diversified nonlinear data distributions in the areas of behavioral and physiological research. Experiment 1 employed a dataset obtained from the UCI Machine Learning Repository. Data for this study…

  12. Family Communication Patterns and Relational Maintenance Behavior: Direct and Mediated Associations with Friendship Closeness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ledbetter, Andrew M.

    2009-01-01

    In this study, both face-to-face and online relational maintenance behaviors were tested as mediators of family communication patterns and closeness with a same-sex friend. Participants included 417 young adults recruited from communication courses at a large university in the Midwestern United States. The obtained structural model demonstrated…

  13. Sociability and gazing toward humans in dogs and wolves: Simple behaviors with broad implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentosela, Mariana; Wynne, C D L; D'Orazio, M; Elgier, A; Udell, M A R

    2016-01-01

    Sociability, defined as the tendency to approach and interact with unfamiliar people, has been found to modulate some communicative responses in domestic dogs, including gaze behavior toward the human face. The objective of this study was to compare sociability and gaze behavior in pet domestic dogs and in human-socialized captive wolves in order to identify the relative influence of domestication and learning in the development of the dog-human bond. In Experiment 1, we assessed the approach behavior and social tendencies of dogs and wolves to a familiar and an unfamiliar person. In Experiment 2, we compared the animal's duration of gaze toward a person's face in the presence of food, which the animals could see but not access. Dogs showed higher levels of interspecific sociability than wolves in all conditions, including those where attention was unavailable. In addition, dogs gazed longer at the person's face than wolves in the presence of out-of-reach food. The potential contributions of domestication, associative learning, and experiences during ontogeny to prosocial behavior toward humans are discussed. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  14. Plutonium detection in humans using octagonal computer-generated color patterns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, W.G.; Curtis, S.P.

    1985-01-01

    Routine analysis of humans for plutonium lung burdens is accomplished with two phoswich low-energy gamma detectors. The analysis of data from each detector provides the spectroscopist with a total of eight parameters. These parameters are normalized and displayed as an octagonal histogram over laid against the historical analyses of uncontaminated humans similar in body geometry, i.e., weight, height, and chest thickness. Subjects containing lung burdens of plutonium within (one standard deviation) of the historical average yield data which are displayed on a color graphics terminal as a green octagon. Analyses which yield values greater than 1 sigma above the historical average produce a distorted yellow, orange, or red display. Thus, through color and pattern recognition, the analyst may see at a glance if the current data statistically indicate human contamination

  15. Clustering of energy balance-related behaviors in 5-year-old children: Lifestyle patterns and their longitudinal association with weight status development in early childhood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gubbels Jessica S

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study identified lifestyle patterns by examining the clustering of eating routines (e.g. eating together as a family, having the television on during meals, duration of meals and various activity-related behaviors (i.e. physical activity (PA and sedentary screen-based behavior in 5-year-old children, as well as the longitudinal association of these patterns with weight status (BMI and overweight development up to age 8. Methods Data originated from the KOALA Birth Cohort Study (N = 2074 at age 5. Principal component analysis (PCA was used to identify lifestyle patterns. Backward regression analyses were used to examine the association of lifestyle patterns with parent and child background characteristics, as well as the longitudinal associations between the patterns and weight status development. Results Four lifestyle patterns emerged from the PCA: a ‘Television–Snacking’ pattern, a ‘Sports–Computer’ pattern, a ‘Traditional Family’ pattern, and a “Fast’ Food’ pattern. Child gender and parental educational level, working hours and body mass index were significantly associated with the scores for the patterns. The Television–Snacking pattern was positively associated with BMI (standardized regression coefficient β = 0.05; p p = 0.06. In addition, the Sports–Computer pattern was significantly positively associated with an increased risk of becoming overweight at age 7 (OR = 1.28, p  Conclusions The current study showed the added value of including eating routines in cross-behavioral clustering analyses. The findings indicate that future interventions to prevent childhood overweight should address eating routines and activity/inactivity simultaneously, using the synergy between clustered behaviors (e.g. between television viewing and snacking.

  16. Fracture behavior of human molars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keown, Amanda J; Lee, James J-W; Bush, Mark B

    2012-12-01

    Despite the durability of human teeth, which are able to withstand repeated loading while maintaining form and function, they are still susceptible to fracture. We focus here on longitudinal fracture in molar teeth-channel-like cracks that run along the enamel sidewall of the tooth between the gum line (cemento-enamel junction-CEJ) and the occlusal surface. Such fractures can often be painful and necessitate costly restorative work. The following study describes fracture experiments made on molar teeth of humans in which the molars are placed under axial compressive load using a hard indenting plate in order to induce longitudinal cracks in the enamel. Observed damage modes include fractures originating in the occlusal region ('radial-median cracks') and fractures emanating from the margin of the enamel in the region of the CEJ ('margin cracks'), as well as 'spalling' of enamel (the linking of longitudinal cracks). The loading conditions that govern fracture behavior in enamel are reported and observations made of the evolution of fracture as the load is increased. Relatively low loads were required to induce observable crack initiation-approximately 100 N for radial-median cracks and 200 N for margin cracks-both of which are less than the reported maximum biting force on a single molar tooth of several hundred Newtons. Unstable crack growth was observed to take place soon after and occurred at loads lower than those calculated by the current fracture models. Multiple cracks were observed on a single cusp, their interactions influencing crack growth behavior. The majority of the teeth tested in this study were noted to exhibit margin cracks prior to compression testing, which were apparently formed during the functional lifetime of the tooth. Such teeth were still able to withstand additional loading prior to catastrophic fracture, highlighting the remarkable damage containment capabilities of the natural tooth structure.

  17. Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Risk Behavior among Young Heterosexually Active Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Erin A; Querna, Katherine; Masters, N Tatiana; Beadnell, Blair; Wells, Elizabeth A; Morrison, Diane M; Hoppe, Marilyn J

    2016-01-01

    Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is linked to sexual risk exposure among women. However, less is known about the intersection of IPV perpetration and sexual risk behavior among men. This study used data from a diverse, community sample of 334 heterosexually active young men, aged 18 to 25, across the United States to examine whether and how men with distinct IPV-related behavior patterns differed in sexual risk-related behavior and attitudes. Participants were recruited and surveyed online, and grouped conceptually based on the types of IPV perpetration behavior(s) used in a current or recent romantic relationship. Groups were then compared on relevant sexual risk variables. Men reporting both physical abuse and sexual coercion against intimate partners reported significantly higher numbers of lifetime partners, higher rates of nonmonogamy, greater endorsement of nonmonogamy, and less frequent condom use relative to nonabusive men or those reporting controlling behavior only. This group also had higher sexually transmitted infection (STI) exposure compared to men who used controlling behavior only and men who used sexual coercion only. Findings suggest that interventions with men who use physical and sexual violence need to account for not only the physical and psychological harm of this behavior but also the sexual risk to which men may expose their partners.

  18. Did warfare among ancestral hunter-gatherers affect the evolution of human social behaviors?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowles, Samuel

    2009-06-05

    Since Darwin, intergroup hostilities have figured prominently in explanations of the evolution of human social behavior. Yet whether ancestral humans were largely "peaceful" or "warlike" remains controversial. I ask a more precise question: If more cooperative groups were more likely to prevail in conflicts with other groups, was the level of intergroup violence sufficient to influence the evolution of human social behavior? Using a model of the evolutionary impact of between-group competition and a new data set that combines archaeological evidence on causes of death during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene with ethnographic and historical reports on hunter-gatherer populations, I find that the estimated level of mortality in intergroup conflicts would have had substantial effects, allowing the proliferation of group-beneficial behaviors that were quite costly to the individual altruist.

  19. Collective iteration behavior for online social networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jian-Guo; Li, Ren-De; Guo, Qiang; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

    2018-06-01

    Understanding the patterns of collective behavior in online social network (OSNs) is critical to expanding the knowledge of human behavior and tie relationship. In this paper, we investigate a specific pattern called social signature in Facebook and Wiki users' online communication behaviors, capturing the distribution of frequency of interactions between different alters over time in the ego network. The empirical results show that there are robust social signatures of interactions no matter how friends change over time, which indicates that a stable commutation pattern exists in online communication. By comparing a random null model, we find the that commutation pattern is heterogeneous between ego and alters. Furthermore, in order to regenerate the pattern of the social signature, we present a preferential interaction model, which assumes that new users intend to look for the old users with strong ties while old users have tendency to interact with new friends. The experimental results show that the presented model can reproduce the heterogeneity of social signature by adjusting 2 parameters, the number of communicating targets m and the max number of interactions n, for Facebook users, m = n = 5, for Wiki users, m = 2 and n = 8. This work helps in deeply understanding the regularity of social signature.

  20. Low cost, patterning of human hNT brain cells on parylene-C with UV & IR laser machining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raos, Brad J; Unsworth, C P; Costa, J L; Rohde, C A; Doyle, C S; Delivopoulos, E; Murray, A F; Dickinson, M E; Simpson, M C; Graham, E S; Bunting, A S

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes the use of 800nm femtosecond infrared (IR) and 248nm nanosecond ultraviolet (UV) laser radiation in performing ablative micromachining of parylene-C on SiO2 substrates for the patterning of human hNT astrocytes. Results are presented that support the validity of using IR laser ablative micromachining for patterning human hNT astrocytes cells while UV laser radiation produces photo-oxidation of the parylene-C and destroys cell patterning. The findings demonstrate how IR laser ablative micromachining of parylene-C on SiO2 substrates can offer a low cost, accessible alternative for rapid prototyping, high yield cell patterning.

  1. Patterns and Limitations of Urban Human Mobility Resilience under the Influence of Multiple Types of Natural Disaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qi; Taylor, John E

    2016-01-01

    Natural disasters pose serious threats to large urban areas, therefore understanding and predicting human movements is critical for evaluating a population's vulnerability and resilience and developing plans for disaster evacuation, response and relief. However, only limited research has been conducted into the effect of natural disasters on human mobility. This study examines how natural disasters influence human mobility patterns in urban populations using individuals' movement data collected from Twitter. We selected fifteen destructive cases across five types of natural disaster and analyzed the human movement data before, during, and after each event, comparing the perturbed and steady state movement data. The results suggest that the power-law can describe human mobility in most cases and that human mobility patterns observed in steady states are often correlated with those in perturbed states, highlighting their inherent resilience. However, the quantitative analysis shows that this resilience has its limits and can fail in more powerful natural disasters. The findings from this study will deepen our understanding of the interaction between urban dwellers and civil infrastructure, improve our ability to predict human movement patterns during natural disasters, and facilitate contingency planning by policymakers.

  2. A Language for Modeling Cultural Norms, Biases and Stereotypes for Human Behavior Models

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Solomon, Steven; van Lent, Michael; Core, Mark; Carpenter, Paul; Rosenberg, Milton

    2008-01-01

    .... The Culturally-Affected Behavior project seeks to define a language for encoding ethnographic data in order to capture cultural knowledge and use that knowledge to affect human behavior models...

  3. Industrial Buying Behavior Related to Human Resource Consulting Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grünbaum, Niels Nolsøe; Hollensen, Svend; Kahle, Lynn

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to extend the understanding of the industrial buying process in connection with purchasing professional business (B2B) services, specifically human resource (HR) consulting services. Early B2B buying-behavior literature strongly emphasizes the rational aspects...... of buying behavior in B2B services. Based on a comprehensive exploratory study of Danish companies’ purchases of HR consulting services, the authors provide insights into the factors that determine how Danish companies choose a consulting services supplier. Five hypotheses are developed based...

  4. Does sex matter? Temporal and spatial patterns of cougar-human conflict in British Columbia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teichman, Kristine J; Cristescu, Bogdan; Nielsen, Scott E

    2013-01-01

    Wildlife-human conflicts occur wherever large carnivores overlap human inhabited areas. Conflict mitigation can be facilitated by understanding long-term dynamics and examining sex-structured conflict patterns. Predicting areas with high probability of conflict helps focus management strategies in order to proactively decrease carnivore mortality. We investigated the importance of cougar (Puma concolor) habitat, human landscape characteristics and the combination of habitat and human features on the temporal and spatial patterns of cougar-human conflicts in British Columbia. Conflicts (n = 1,727; 1978-2007) involved similar numbers of male and female cougars with conflict rate decreasing over the past decade. Conflicts were concentrated within the southern part of the province with the most conflicts per unit area occurring on Vancouver Island. For both sexes, the most supported spatial models for the most recent (1998-2007) conflicts contained both human and habitat variables. Conflicts were more likely to occur close to roads, at intermediate elevations and far from the northern edge of the cougar distribution range in British Columbia. Male cougar conflicts were more likely to occur in areas of intermediate human density. Unlike cougar conflicts in other regions, cattle density was not a significant predictor of conflict location. With human populations expanding, conflicts are expected to increase. Conservation tools, such as the maps predicting conflict hotspots from this study, can help focus management efforts to decrease carnivore-human conflict.

  5. Seasonal Abundance and Host-Feeding Patterns of Anopheline Vectors in Malaria Endemic Area of Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamidreza Basseri

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Seasonal abundance and tendency to feed on humans are important parameters to measure for effective control of malaria vectors. The objective of this study was to describe relation between feeding pattern, abundance, and resting behavior of four malaria vectors in southern Iran. This study was conducted in ten indicator villages (based on malaria incidence and entomological indices in mountainous/hilly and plain regions situated south and southeastern Iran. Mosquito vectors were collected from indoor as well as outdoor shelters and the blood meals were examined by ELISA test. Over all 7654 female Anopheles spp. were captured, the most common species were Anopheles stephensi, An. culicifacies, An. fluviatilis, and An. d'thali. The overall human blood index was 37.50%, 19.83%, 16.4%, and 30.1% for An. fluviatilis, An. stephensi, An. culicifacies, and An. d'thali, respectively. In addition, An. fluviatilis fed on human blood during the entire year but the feeding behavior of An. stephensi and An. culicifacies varied according to seasons. Overall, the abundance of the female mosquito positive to human blood was 4.25% per human shelter versus 17.5% per animal shelter. This result indicates that the vectors had tendency to rest in animal shelters after feeding on human. Therefore, vector control measure should be planned based on such as feeding pattern, abundance, and resting behavior of these vectors in the area.

  6. Understanding Edward Muybridge: historical review of behavioral alterations after a 19th-century head injury and their multifactorial influence on human life and culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manjila, Sunil; Singh, Gagandeep; Alkhachroum, Ayham M; Ramos-Estebanez, Ciro

    2015-07-01

    Edward Muybridge was an Anglo-American photographer, well known for his pioneering contributions in photography and his invention of the "zoopraxiscope," a forerunner of motion pictures. However, this 19th-century genius, with two original patents in photographic technology, made outstanding contributions in art and neurology alike, the latter being seldom acknowledged. A head injury that he sustained changed his behavior and artistic expression. The shift of his interests from animal motion photography to human locomotion and gait remains a pivotal milestone in our understanding of patterns in biomechanics and clinical neurology, while his own behavioral patterns, owing to an injury to the orbitofrontal cortex, remain a mystery even for cognitive neurologists. The behavioral changes he exhibited and the legal conundrum that followed, including a murder of which he was acquitted, all depict the complexities of his personality and impact of frontal lobe injuries. This article highlights the life journey of Muybridge, drawing parallels with Phineas Gage, whose penetrating head injury has been studied widely. The wide sojourn of Muybridge also illustrates the strong connections that he maintained with Stanford and Pennsylvania universities, which were later considered pinnacles of higher education on the two coasts of the United States.

  7. Probing the reaching-grasping network in humans through multivoxel pattern decoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Bono, Maria Grazia; Begliomini, Chiara; Castiello, Umberto; Zorzi, Marco

    2015-11-01

    The quest for a putative human homolog of the reaching-grasping network identified in monkeys has been the focus of many neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies in recent years. These studies have shown that the network underlying reaching-only and reach-to-grasp movements includes the superior parieto-occipital cortex (SPOC), the anterior part of the human intraparietal sulcus (hAIP), the ventral and the dorsal portion of the premotor cortex, and the primary motor cortex (M1). Recent evidence for a wider frontoparietal network coding for different aspects of reaching-only and reach-to-grasp actions calls for a more fine-grained assessment of the reaching-grasping network in humans by exploiting pattern decoding methods (multivoxel pattern analysis--MVPA). Here, we used MPVA on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to assess whether regions of the frontoparietal network discriminate between reaching-only and reach-to-grasp actions, natural and constrained grasping, different grasp types, and object sizes. Participants were required to perform either reaching-only movements or two reach-to-grasp types (precision or whole hand grasp) upon spherical objects of different sizes. Multivoxel pattern analysis highlighted that, independently from the object size, all the selected regions of both hemispheres contribute in coding for grasp type, with the exception of SPOC and the right hAIP. Consistent with recent neurophysiological findings on monkeys, there was no evidence for a clear-cut distinction between a dorsomedial and a dorsolateral pathway that would be specialized for reaching-only and reach-to-grasp actions, respectively. Nevertheless, the comparison of decoding accuracy across brain areas highlighted their different contributions to reaching-only and grasping actions. Altogether, our findings enrich the current knowledge regarding the functional role of key brain areas involved in the cortical control of reaching-only and reach-to-grasp actions

  8. Smoking behavior of Mexicans: patterns by birth-cohort, gender, and education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopoulou, Rebekka; Lillard, Dean R; Balmori de la Miyar, Josè R

    2013-06-01

    Little is known about historical smoking patterns in Mexico. Policy makers must rely on imprecise predictions of human or fiscal burdens from smoking-related diseases. In this paper we document intergenerational patterns of smoking, project them for future cohorts, and discuss those patterns in the context of Mexico's impressive economic growth. We use retrospectively collected information to generate life-course smoking prevalence rates of five birth-cohorts, by gender and education. With dynamic panel data methods, we regress smoking rates on indicators of economic development. Smoking is most prevalent among men and the highly educated. Smoking rates peaked in the 1980s and have since decreased, slowly on average, and fastest among the highly educated. Development significantly contributed to this decline; a 1 % increase in development is associated with an average decline in smoking prevalence of 0.02 and 0.07 percentage points for women and men, respectively. Mexico's development may have triggered forces that decrease smoking, such as the spread of health information. Although smoking rates are falling, projections suggest that they will be persistently high for several future generations.

  9. Interactive human behavior analysis in open or public spaces

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hung, H.; Odobez, J.-M.; Gavrila, D.; Keyson, D.V.; Maher, M.L.; Streitz, N.; Cheok, A.; Augusto, J.C.; Wichert, R.; Englebienne, G.; Aghajan, H.; Kröse, B.J.A.

    2011-01-01

    In the past years, efforts in surveillance and open space analysis have focused on traditional computer vision problems like scene modeling or object detection and tracking. Research on human behavior recognition have tended to work on predefined simple activities such as running, jumping or left

  10. Specifying the Neurobiological Basis of Human Attachment: Brain, Hormones, and Behavior in Synchronous and Intrusive Mothers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atzil, Shir; Hendler, Talma; Feldman, Ruth

    2011-01-01

    The mother–infant bond provides the foundation for the infant's future mental health and adaptation and depends on the provision of species-typical maternal behaviors that are supported by neuroendocrine and motivation-affective neural systems. Animal research has demonstrated that natural variations in patterns of maternal care chart discrete profiles of maternal brain–behavior relationships that uniquely shape the infant's lifetime capacities for stress regulation and social affiliation. Such patterns of maternal care are mediated by the neuropeptide Oxytocin and by stress- and reward-related neural systems. Human studies have similarly shown that maternal synchrony—the coordination of maternal behavior with infant signals—and intrusiveness—the excessive expression of maternal behavior—describe distinct and stable maternal styles that bear long-term consequences for infant well-being. To integrate brain, hormones, and behavior in the study of maternal–infant bonding, we examined the fMRI responses of synchronous vs intrusive mothers to dynamic, ecologically valid infant videos and their correlations with plasma Oxytocin. In all, 23 mothers were videotaped at home interacting with their infants and plasma OT assayed. Sessions were micro-coded for synchrony and intrusiveness. Mothers were scanned while observing several own and standard infant-related vignettes. Synchronous mothers showed greater activations in the left nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and intrusive mothers exhibited higher activations in the right amygdala. Functional connectivity analysis revealed that among synchronous mothers, left NAcc and right amygdala were functionally correlated with emotion modulation, theory-of-mind, and empathy networks. Among intrusive mothers, left NAcc and right amygdala were functionally correlated with pro-action areas. Sorting points into neighborhood (SPIN) analysis demonstrated that in the synchronous group, left NAcc and right amygdala activations showed

  11. Disruption of an Evolutionarily Novel Synaptic Expression Pattern in Autism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiling Liu

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive defects in autism spectrum disorder (ASD include socialization and communication: key behavioral capacities that separate humans from other species. Here, we analyze gene expression in the prefrontal cortex of 63 autism patients and control individuals, as well as 62 chimpanzees and macaques, from natal to adult age. We show that among all aberrant expression changes seen in ASD brains, a single aberrant expression pattern overrepresented in genes involved synaptic-related pathways is enriched in nucleotide variants linked to autism. Furthermore, only this pattern contains an excess of developmental expression features unique to humans, thus resulting in the disruption of human-specific developmental programs in autism. Several members of the early growth response (EGR transcription factor family can be implicated in regulation of this aberrant developmental change. Our study draws a connection between the genetic risk architecture of autism and molecular features of cortical development unique to humans.

  12. Disruption of an Evolutionarily Novel Synaptic Expression Pattern in Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Xi; Hu, Haiyang; Guijarro, Patricia; Mitchell, Amanda; Ely, John J.; Sherwood, Chet C.; Hof, Patrick R.; Qiu, Zilong; Pääbo, Svante; Akbarian, Schahram; Khaitovich, Philipp

    2016-01-01

    Cognitive defects in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) include socialization and communication: key behavioral capacities that separate humans from other species. Here, we analyze gene expression in the prefrontal cortex of 63 autism patients and control individuals, as well as 62 chimpanzees and macaques, from natal to adult age. We show that among all aberrant expression changes seen in ASD brains, a single aberrant expression pattern overrepresented in genes involved synaptic-related pathways is enriched in nucleotide variants linked to autism. Furthermore, only this pattern contains an excess of developmental expression features unique to humans, thus resulting in the disruption of human-specific developmental programs in autism. Several members of the early growth response (EGR) transcription factor family can be implicated in regulation of this aberrant developmental change. Our study draws a connection between the genetic risk architecture of autism and molecular features of cortical development unique to humans. PMID:27685936

  13. Decorrelation and fringe visibility: On the limiting behavior of varous electronic speckle pattern correlation interferometers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Owner-Petersen, Mette

    1996-01-01

    I discuss the behavior of fringe formation in image-plane electronic speckle-pattern correlation interferometers as the limit of total decorrelation is approached. The interferometers are supposed to operate in the difference mode. The effect of decorrelation will be a decrease in fringe visibility...... until the limit of total decorrelation, when no fringes will be formed, is reached. A quantitative evaluation of the partially decorrelated fringe pattern is presented for the case of decorrelation due to both tilt and in-plane translation of an object surface element. It is shown that the fringe...

  14. Understanding the Functionality of Human Activity Hotspots from Their Scaling Pattern Using Trajectory Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tao Jia

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Human activity hotspots are the clusters of activity locations in space and time, and a better understanding of their functionality would be useful for urban land use planning and transportation. In this article, using trajectory data, we aim to infer the functionality of human activity hotspots from their scaling pattern in a reliable way. Specifically, a large number of stopping locations are extracted from trajectory data, which are then aggregated into activity hotspots. Activity hotspots are found to display scaling patterns in terms of the sublinear scaling relationships between the number of stopping locations and the number of points of interest (POIs, which indicates economies of scale of human interactions with urban land use. Importantly, this scaling pattern remains stable over time. This finding inspires us to devise an allometric ruler to identify the activity hotspots, whose functionality could be reliably estimated using the stopping locations. Thereafter, a novel Bayesian inference model is proposed to infer their urban functionality, which examines the spatial and temporal information of stopping locations covering 75 days. Experimental results suggest that the functionality of identified activity hotspots are reliably inferred by stopping locations, such as the railway station.

  15. A classification scheme of erroneous behaviors for human error probability estimations based on simulator data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yochan; Park, Jinkyun; Jung, Wondea

    2017-01-01

    Because it has been indicated that empirical data supporting the estimates used in human reliability analysis (HRA) is insufficient, several databases have been constructed recently. To generate quantitative estimates from human reliability data, it is important to appropriately sort the erroneous behaviors found in the reliability data. Therefore, this paper proposes a scheme to classify the erroneous behaviors identified by the HuREX (Human Reliability data Extraction) framework through a review of the relevant literature. A case study of the human error probability (HEP) calculations is conducted to verify that the proposed scheme can be successfully implemented for the categorization of the erroneous behaviors and to assess whether the scheme is useful for the HEP quantification purposes. Although continuously accumulating and analyzing simulator data is desirable to secure more reliable HEPs, the resulting HEPs were insightful in several important ways with regard to human reliability in off-normal conditions. From the findings of the literature review and the case study, the potential and limitations of the proposed method are discussed. - Highlights: • A taxonomy of erroneous behaviors is proposed to estimate HEPs from a database. • The cognitive models, procedures, HRA methods, and HRA databases were reviewed. • HEPs for several types of erroneous behaviors are calculated as a case study.

  16. Emotion expression in human punishment behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Erte; Houser, Daniel

    2005-05-17

    Evolutionary theory reveals that punishment is effective in promoting cooperation and maintaining social norms. Although it is accepted that emotions are connected to punishment decisions, there remains substantial debate over why humans use costly punishment. Here we show experimentally that constraints on emotion expression can increase the use of costly punishment. We report data from ultimatum games, where a proposer offers a division of a sum of money and a responder decides whether to accept the split, or reject and leave both players with nothing. Compared with the treatment in which expressing emotions directly to proposers is prohibited, rejection of unfair offers is significantly less frequent when responders can convey their feelings to the proposer concurrently with their decisions. These data support the view that costly punishment might itself be used to express negative emotions and suggest that future studies will benefit by recognizing that human demand for emotion expression can have significant behavioral consequences in social environments, including families, courts, companies, and markets.

  17. Extending unified-theory-of-reinforcement neural networks to steady-state operant behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calvin, Olivia L; McDowell, J J

    2016-06-01

    The unified theory of reinforcement has been used to develop models of behavior over the last 20 years (Donahoe et al., 1993). Previous research has focused on the theory's concordance with the respondent behavior of humans and animals. In this experiment, neural networks were developed from the theory to extend the unified theory of reinforcement to operant behavior on single-alternative variable-interval schedules. This area of operant research was selected because previously developed neural networks could be applied to it without significant alteration. Previous research with humans and animals indicates that the pattern of their steady-state behavior is hyperbolic when plotted against the obtained rate of reinforcement (Herrnstein, 1970). A genetic algorithm was used in the first part of the experiment to determine parameter values for the neural networks, because values that were used in previous research did not result in a hyperbolic pattern of behavior. After finding these parameters, hyperbolic and other similar functions were fitted to the behavior produced by the neural networks. The form of the neural network's behavior was best described by an exponentiated hyperbola (McDowell, 1986; McLean and White, 1983; Wearden, 1981), which was derived from the generalized matching law (Baum, 1974). In post-hoc analyses the addition of a baseline rate of behavior significantly improved the fit of the exponentiated hyperbola and removed systematic residuals. The form of this function was consistent with human and animal behavior, but the estimated parameter values were not. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Human action as inducing changes in the fluvial pattern of river Rivera de Huelva (Guillena sector-Sevilla)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia Martinez, B.; Baena Escudero, R.; Posada Simenon, C.

    2009-01-01

    This paper aims to highlight the changes that occur in hydro morphological the final stretch of a river as the Rivera de Huelva, with a catchment of more than 2000 km 2 , which throughout the 20 t h century has been a strong human intervention, for the construction of seven reservoir for water supply in the municipality of Seville and its metropolitan area. This intense man brigs an important change in the hydrological behaviour of the natural river, which is reflected not only in its river system, but also in the behavior of extreme hydrological events. At the morphological changes resulting in a change in the morphologic pattern of the channel, which acquires, at present, characteristics of ephemeral river with plenty of cargo and marked incision general fund. Likewise, this trend is generating significant incision instability problems in the infrastructure. (Author) 15 refs.

  19. Discriminating Drivers through Human Factor and Behavioral Difference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ju Seok Oh

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Since Greenwood and Woods' (1919 study in tendency of accident, many researchers have insisted that various human factors (sensation seeking, anger, anxiety are highly correlated with reckless driving and traffic accidents. Oh and Lee (2011 designed the Driving Behavior Determinants Questionnaire, a psychological tool to predict danger level of drivers and discriminate them into three groups (normal, unintentionally reckless, and intentionally reckless by their characteristics, attitude, and expected reckless behavior level. This tool's overall accuracy of discrimination was 70%. This study aimed to prove that the discrimination reflects the behavioral difference of drivers. Twenty-four young drivers were requested to react to the visual stimuli (tests for subjective speed sense, simple visual reaction time, and left turning at own risk. The results showed no differences in subjective speed sense among the driver groups, which means drivers' excessive speeding behaviors occur due to intention based on personality and attitude, not because of sensory disorders. In addition, there were no differences in simple reaction time among driver groups. However, the results of the ‘Left turning at drivers’ own risk task” revealed significant group differences. All reckless drivers showed a greater degree of dangerous left turning behaviors than the normal group did.

  20. Human Walking Pattern Recognition Based on KPCA and SVM with Ground Reflex Pressure Signal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaoqin Peng

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Algorithms based on the ground reflex pressure (GRF signal obtained from a pair of sensing shoes for human walking pattern recognition were investigated. The dimensionality reduction algorithms based on principal component analysis (PCA and kernel principal component analysis (KPCA for walking pattern data compression were studied in order to obtain higher recognition speed. Classifiers based on support vector machine (SVM, SVM-PCA, and SVM-KPCA were designed, and the classification performances of these three kinds of algorithms were compared using data collected from a person who was wearing the sensing shoes. Experimental results showed that the algorithm fusing SVM and KPCA had better recognition performance than the other two methods. Experimental outcomes also confirmed that the sensing shoes developed in this paper can be employed for automatically recognizing human walking pattern in unlimited environments which demonstrated the potential application in the control of exoskeleton robots.

  1. Daily rhythms of behavioral and hormonal patterns in male dromedary camels housed in boxes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lydiane Aubè

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background Daily rhythmicity has been observed for a number of hormonal and behavioral variables in mammals. It can be entrained by several external factors, such as light-dark cycle and scheduled feeding. In dromedary camels, daily rhythmicity has been documented only for melatonin secretion and body temperature. In this study, the daily rhythmicity of behavioral repertoire, cortisol and testosterone levels was investigated in captive male camels. Methods Six clinically healthy male dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius were used. The animals were housed in single boxes for 24 h daily and fed twice a day. Over a period of 48 h, behavioral observations were made and blood samples taken every two hours. The data were analyzed using diurnality index, conisor analysis and PROC mixed procedure. Results The diurnality index for rumination and lying down was close to 0 (respectively, 0.09 and 0.19, while the indices for stereotypy, standing, feeding and walking were close to 1 (respectively, 0.74, 0.84, 0.92 and 0.85. Cosinor analysis revealed daily rhythmicity for all behaviors and for cortisol levels (acrophase at 12:57 but not for testosterone. Rumination and lying down (inactive behaviors reached a peak during the scotophase, whereas feeding, walking and stereotypy (active behaviors reached a peak during the photophase around midday. Cortisol level and expression of stereotypies peaked before and after food distribution and were negatively correlated (r =  − 0.287, P = 0.005. Testosterone levels and expression of sexual behaviors were stimulated by the visual and olfactory contacts with the females and were positively correlated (r = 0.164, P = 0.040. Testosterone was also negatively correlated with cortisol (r =  − 0.297; P = 0.003. Discussion These preliminary results provided new knowledge about the daily rhythm of behaviors in camels housed in boxes, suggesting that camels exhibit diurnal behavior pattern in the maintenance

  2. Temporal and environmental patterns of sedentary and active behaviors during adolescents' leisure time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biddle, Stuart J H; Marshall, Simon J; Gorely, Trish; Cameron, Noel

    2009-01-01

    There is great interest in young people's overweight and obesity. Few data, however, describe when sedentary and physically active behaviors are likely to occur during the day or how these behaviors are related to location. The purpose of this study was to describe sedentary and active leisure-time behaviors of adolescents across the day and setting. Adolescents (male n = 579, female n = 967; aged 13-16 years) completed time-use diaries for three weekdays and one weekend day. At 15 min intervals, participants recorded what they were doing and where they were. TV viewing and sports/exercise peaked at different times in the day, although TV viewing was two to three times more likely to occur than sports/exercise. TV viewing was most likely to occur during the middle to late evening. The playing of computer games was low, particularly for girls. Weekend data showed TV viewing was the most reported activity throughout the day. For boys, "being in the garden" was highly predictive of engaging in sports/exercise, but this declined rapidly with age. Motorized travel to school was reported twice as often as active travel. Momentary assessments of behavior, in conjunction with contemporaneous reports of environmental factors, describe important patterns of leisure-time active and sedentary behaviors in youth.

  3. RELIGIOSITY AS AN INTERVENING VARIABLE IN THE CONSUMPTION PATTERN OF MOSLEM COMMUNITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Habibi A.

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Consumption is one of the basic indicators of human’s life. The level of human satisfaction is always influenced by the level of economic and social change in the culture of a region. According to Kotler, religion is part of a culture that can shape people's behavior. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of contextual factors and religiosity on food consumption patterns in Bandar Lampung, as well as to investigate the religiosity variables as an intervening variable on the contextual factors on food consumption patterns in Bandar Lampung. The results of the analysis showed that the relative and contextual factors cannot influence the consumers' buying behavior directly but influence the religiosity (as an intervening variable and the pattern of consumption indirectly.

  4. Does sex matter? Temporal and spatial patterns of cougar-human conflict in British Columbia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristine J Teichman

    Full Text Available Wildlife-human conflicts occur wherever large carnivores overlap human inhabited areas. Conflict mitigation can be facilitated by understanding long-term dynamics and examining sex-structured conflict patterns. Predicting areas with high probability of conflict helps focus management strategies in order to proactively decrease carnivore mortality. We investigated the importance of cougar (Puma concolor habitat, human landscape characteristics and the combination of habitat and human features on the temporal and spatial patterns of cougar-human conflicts in British Columbia. Conflicts (n = 1,727; 1978-2007 involved similar numbers of male and female cougars with conflict rate decreasing over the past decade. Conflicts were concentrated within the southern part of the province with the most conflicts per unit area occurring on Vancouver Island. For both sexes, the most supported spatial models for the most recent (1998-2007 conflicts contained both human and habitat variables. Conflicts were more likely to occur close to roads, at intermediate elevations and far from the northern edge of the cougar distribution range in British Columbia. Male cougar conflicts were more likely to occur in areas of intermediate human density. Unlike cougar conflicts in other regions, cattle density was not a significant predictor of conflict location. With human populations expanding, conflicts are expected to increase. Conservation tools, such as the maps predicting conflict hotspots from this study, can help focus management efforts to decrease carnivore-human conflict.

  5. Impact of Bursty Human Activity Patterns on the Popularity of Online Content

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiang Yan

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The dynamics of online content popularity has attracted more and more researches in recent years. In this paper, we provide a quantitative, temporal analysis about the dynamics of online content popularity in a massive system: Sina Microblog. We use time-stamped data to investigate the impact of bursty human comment patterns on the popularity of online microblog news. Statistical results indicate that the number of news and comments exhibits an exponential growth. The strength of forwarding and comment is characterized by bursts, displaying fat-tailed distribution. In order to characterize the dynamics of popularity, we explore the distribution of the time interval Δt between consecutive comment bursts and find that it also follows a power-law. Bursty patterns of human comment are responsible for the power-law decay of popularity. These results are well supported by both the theoretical analysis and empirical data.

  6. Broad-scale recombination patterns underlying proper disjunction in humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adi Fledel-Alon

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Although recombination is essential to the successful completion of human meiosis, it remains unclear how tightly the process is regulated and over what scale. To assess the nature and stringency of constraints on human recombination, we examined crossover patterns in transmissions to viable, non-trisomic offspring, using dense genotyping data collected in a large set of pedigrees. Our analysis supports a requirement for one chiasma per chromosome rather than per arm to ensure proper disjunction, with additional chiasmata occurring in proportion to physical length. The requirement is not absolute, however, as chromosome 21 seems to be frequently transmitted properly in the absence of a chiasma in females, a finding that raises the possibility of a back-up mechanism aiding in its correct segregation. We also found a set of double crossovers in surprisingly close proximity, as expected from a second pathway that is not subject to crossover interference. These findings point to multiple mechanisms that shape the distribution of crossovers, influencing proper disjunction in humans.

  7. Overlapping and permeability: Research on the pattern hierarchy of communication space and design strategy based on environmental behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leilei, Sun; Liang, Zhang; Bing, Chen; Hong, Xi

    2017-11-01

    This thesis is to analyze the basic pattern hierarchy of communication space by using the theory of environmental psychology and behavior combined with relevant principles in architecture, to evaluate the design and improvement of communication space in specific meaning, and to bring new observation ideas and innovation in design methods to the system of space, environment and behavior.

  8. Human mammary epithelial cells exhibit a bimodal correlated random walk pattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potdar, Alka A; Jeon, Junhwan; Weaver, Alissa M; Quaranta, Vito; Cummings, Peter T

    2010-03-10

    Organisms, at scales ranging from unicellular to mammals, have been known to exhibit foraging behavior described by random walks whose segments confirm to Lévy or exponential distributions. For the first time, we present evidence that single cells (mammary epithelial cells) that exist in multi-cellular organisms (humans) follow a bimodal correlated random walk (BCRW). Cellular tracks of MCF-10A pBabe, neuN and neuT random migration on 2-D plastic substrates, analyzed using bimodal analysis, were found to reveal the BCRW pattern. We find two types of exponentially distributed correlated flights (corresponding to what we refer to as the directional and re-orientation phases) each having its own correlation between move step-lengths within flights. The exponential distribution of flight lengths was confirmed using different analysis methods (logarithmic binning with normalization, survival frequency plots and maximum likelihood estimation). Because of the presence of non-uniform turn angle distribution of move step-lengths within a flight and two different types of flights, we propose that the epithelial random walk is a BCRW comprising of two alternating modes with varying degree of correlations, rather than a simple persistent random walk. A BCRW model rather than a simple persistent random walk correctly matches the super-diffusivity in the cell migration paths as indicated by simulations based on the BCRW model.

  9. Human mammary epithelial cells exhibit a bimodal correlated random walk pattern.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alka A Potdar

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Organisms, at scales ranging from unicellular to mammals, have been known to exhibit foraging behavior described by random walks whose segments confirm to Lévy or exponential distributions. For the first time, we present evidence that single cells (mammary epithelial cells that exist in multi-cellular organisms (humans follow a bimodal correlated random walk (BCRW.Cellular tracks of MCF-10A pBabe, neuN and neuT random migration on 2-D plastic substrates, analyzed using bimodal analysis, were found to reveal the BCRW pattern. We find two types of exponentially distributed correlated flights (corresponding to what we refer to as the directional and re-orientation phases each having its own correlation between move step-lengths within flights. The exponential distribution of flight lengths was confirmed using different analysis methods (logarithmic binning with normalization, survival frequency plots and maximum likelihood estimation.Because of the presence of non-uniform turn angle distribution of move step-lengths within a flight and two different types of flights, we propose that the epithelial random walk is a BCRW comprising of two alternating modes with varying degree of correlations, rather than a simple persistent random walk. A BCRW model rather than a simple persistent random walk correctly matches the super-diffusivity in the cell migration paths as indicated by simulations based on the BCRW model.

  10. DTIC Review: Human, Social, Cultural and Behavior Modeling. Volume 9, Number 1 (CD-ROM)

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2008-01-01

    ...: Human, Social, Cultural and Behavior (HSCB) models are designed to help understand the structure, interconnections, dependencies, behavior, and trends associated with any collection of individuals...

  11. Classifying Human Activity Patterns from Smartphone Collected GPS data: a Fuzzy Classification and Aggregation Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Neng; Lin, Ge

    2016-12-01

    Smartphones have emerged as a promising type of equipment for monitoring human activities in environmental health studies. However, degraded location accuracy and inconsistency of smartphone-measured GPS data have limited its effectiveness for classifying human activity patterns. This study proposes a fuzzy classification scheme for differentiating human activity patterns from smartphone-collected GPS data. Specifically, a fuzzy logic reasoning was adopted to overcome the influence of location uncertainty by estimating the probability of different activity types for single GPS points. Based on that approach, a segment aggregation method was developed to infer activity patterns, while adjusting for uncertainties of point attributes. Validations of the proposed methods were carried out based on a convenient sample of three subjects with different types of smartphones. The results indicate desirable accuracy (e.g., up to 96% in activity identification) with use of this method. Two examples were provided in the appendix to illustrate how the proposed methods could be applied in environmental health studies. Researchers could tailor this scheme to fit a variety of research topics.

  12. Possible effects of two-phase flow pattern on the mechanical behavior of mudstones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goto, H.; Tokunaga, T.; Aichi, M.

    2016-12-01

    To investigate the influence of two-phase flow pattern on the mechanical behavior of mudstones, laboratory experiments were conducted. In the experiment, air was injected from the bottom of the water-saturated Quaternary Umegase mudstone sample under hydrostatic external stress condition. Both axial and circumferential strains at half the height of the sample and volumetric discharge of water at the outlet were monitored during the experiment. Numerical simulation of the experiment was tried by using a simulator which can solve coupled two-phase flow and poroelastic deformation assuming the extended-Darcian flow with relative permeability and capillary pressure as functions of the wetting-phase fluid saturation. In the numerical simulation, the volumetric discharge of water was reproduced well while both strains were not. Three dimensionless numbers, i.e., the viscosity ratio, the Capillary number, and the Bond number, which characterize the two-phase flow pattern (Lenormand et al., 1988; Ewing and Berkowitz, 1998) were calculated to be 2×10-2, 2×10-11, and 7×10-11, respectively, in the experiment. Because the Bond number was quite small, it was possible to apply Lenormand et al. (1988)'s diagram to evaluate the flow regime, and the flow regime was considered to be capillary fingering. While, in the numerical simulation, air moved uniformly upward with quite low non-wetting phase saturation conditions because the fluid flow obeyed the two-phase Darcy's law. These different displacement patterns developed in the experiment and assumed in the numerical simulation were considered to be the reason why the deformation behavior observed in the experiment could not be reproduced by numerical simulation, suggesting that the two-phase flow pattern could affect the changes of internal fluid pressure patterns during displacement processes. For further studies, quantitative analysis of the experimental results by using a numerical simulator which can solve the coupled

  13. Effect of training the communication skills with cognitive-behavioral model to drug dependent couples on communication patterns and recurrent relapse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Rahbarian

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: One of the main challenges in methadone maintenance treatment is relapse and lack of sustainability on treatment. Therefore, considering the effective factors in this regard and reducing it through psychological interventions as an adjunct to medication is necessary. Objective: The current study aimed to determine the effectiveness of communication skill training based on cognitive-behavioral model on communication patterns and recurrent relapse in drug dependent couples. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental intervention with pretest-posttest and control group in 2013 which carried on 40 couple referred to public addiction treatment center of Qazvin city. These people had troubled communication patterns and were selected using convenience sampling and were divided into two groups of intervention and control, randomly. Two groups were assessed by relapse prediction scale (RPS and structured clinical interview for DSM (SCID-I for men and communication pattern questionnaire (CPQ for couples in pre and post-test. Intervention group received 9 two hours sessions of communication skill training based on cognitive-behavioral model. Data were analyzed using Levin and Box tests and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA. Findings: The difference between the intervention and control groups in the constructive communication pattern with 51% (p<0/05, in mutual avoidance pattern with 61% (p<0/0001 and in the demand / withdraw pattern with 45% (p<0/05 was statistically significant. Also, the difference between the two groups in the rate of relapse with 64% (p<0/0001 was statistically significant. Conclusion: According to the findings it seems group training of communication skill based on cognitive-behavioral model can improve the communication patterns in drug-dependent couples, as well as prevents relapse in men.

  14. How They Move Reveals What Is Happening: Understanding the Dynamics of Big Events from Human Mobility Pattern

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean Damascène Mazimpaka

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The context in which a moving object moves contributes to the movement pattern observed. Likewise, the movement pattern reflects the properties of the movement context. In particular, big events influence human mobility depending on the dynamics of the events. However, this influence has not been explored to understand big events. In this paper, we propose a methodology for learning about big events from human mobility pattern. The methodology involves extracting and analysing the stopping, approaching, and moving-away interactions between public transportation vehicles and the geographic context. The analysis is carried out at two different temporal granularity levels to discover global and local patterns. The results of evaluating this methodology on bus trajectories demonstrate that it can discover occurrences of big events from mobility patterns, roughly estimate the event start and end time, and reveal the temporal patterns of arrival and departure of event attendees. This knowledge can be usefully applied in transportation and event planning and management.

  15. Stress prompts habit behavior in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwabe, Lars; Wolf, Oliver T

    2009-06-03

    Instrumental behavior can be controlled by goal-directed action-outcome and habitual stimulus-response processes that are supported by anatomically distinct brain systems. Based on previous findings showing that stress modulates the interaction of "cognitive" and "habit" memory systems, we asked in the presented study whether stress may coordinate goal-directed and habit processes in instrumental learning. For this purpose, participants were exposed to stress (socially evaluated cold pressor test) or a control condition before they were trained to perform two instrumental actions that were associated with two distinct food outcomes. After training, one of these food outcomes was selectively devalued as subjects were saturated with that food. Next, subjects were presented the two instrumental actions in extinction. Stress before training in the instrumental task rendered participants' behavior insensitive to the change in the value of the food outcomes, that is stress led to habit performance. Moreover, stress reduced subjects' explicit knowledge of the action-outcome contingencies. These results demonstrate for the first time that stress promotes habits at the expense of goal-directed performance in humans.

  16. Investigating Relationship between Discourse Behavioral Patterns and Academic Achievements of Students in SPOC Discussion Forum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhi; Zhang, Wenjing; Cheng, Hercy N. H.; Sun, Jianwen; Liu, Sannyuya

    2018-01-01

    As an overt expression of internal mental processes, discourses have become one main data source for the research of interactive learning. To deeply explore behavioral regularities among interactions, this article firstly adopts the content analysis method to summarize students' engagement patterns within a course forum in a small private online…

  17. Patterns of movement behaviors and their association with overweight and obesity in youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carson, Valerie; Faulkner, Guy; Sabiston, Catherine M; Tremblay, Mark S; Leatherdale, Scott T

    2015-07-01

    To identify underlying subgroups based on patterns of physical activity, screen-based sedentary behavior, and sleep in a large sample of Canadian youth and to examine the associations between the identified subgroups and overweight and obesity. The study is based on 19,831 youth aged 13-18 years from across Ontario, Canada in the COMPASS study. Participants self-reported their movement behaviors (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep), height and weight, and demographics. Latent class analysis and logistic regression models were conducted. Three underlying subgroups were identified in the total sample and male and female subsamples (i.e., unhealthiest movers, active screenies, healthiest movers). In the total sample, the active screenies subgroup was 1.19 (95 % CI 1.09-1.29) times and the unhealthiest movers subgroup was 1.24 (1.14-1.36) times more likely to be classified as overweight/obese compared to the healthiest movers subgroup. Similar associations were observed in the female subsample but not in the male subsample. Public health interventions targeting youth subgroups at increased risk of overweight and obesity through integrated approaches accounting for multiple movement behaviors should be considered, especially for females.

  18. Geometry of behavioral spaces: A computational approach to analysis and understanding of agent based models and agent behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cenek, Martin; Dahl, Spencer K.

    2016-11-01

    Systems with non-linear dynamics frequently exhibit emergent system behavior, which is important to find and specify rigorously to understand the nature of the modeled phenomena. Through this analysis, it is possible to characterize phenomena such as how systems assemble or dissipate and what behaviors lead to specific final system configurations. Agent Based Modeling (ABM) is one of the modeling techniques used to study the interaction dynamics between a system's agents and its environment. Although the methodology of ABM construction is well understood and practiced, there are no computational, statistically rigorous, comprehensive tools to evaluate an ABM's execution. Often, a human has to observe an ABM's execution in order to analyze how the ABM functions, identify the emergent processes in the agent's behavior, or study a parameter's effect on the system-wide behavior. This paper introduces a new statistically based framework to automatically analyze agents' behavior, identify common system-wide patterns, and record the probability of agents changing their behavior from one pattern of behavior to another. We use network based techniques to analyze the landscape of common behaviors in an ABM's execution. Finally, we test the proposed framework with a series of experiments featuring increasingly emergent behavior. The proposed framework will allow computational comparison of ABM executions, exploration of a model's parameter configuration space, and identification of the behavioral building blocks in a model's dynamics.

  19. [Activity patterns and foraging behavior of Apis cerana cerana in the urban gardens in winter].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Fa-jun; Yang, Qing-qing; Long, Li; Hu, Hong-mei; Duan, Bin; Chen, Wen-nian

    2016-01-01

    Bees and other pollinating insects are the important parts of biodiversity due to their great role in plant reproduction and crop production. To explore the role of city garden in native bees conservation, activity patterns, visiting behaviors and flowering plants with nectar or pollen were recorded in south Sichuan in winter. The results showed that, worker bees (Apis cerana cerana) were active to collect food out hive under suitable weather conditions, the duration of working was long. Peaks of the number of outgoing, entrance and foragers without pollen appeared at 14:00-15:00, and bimodal patterns were observed. While, peak of bees with pollen appeared at 11:00, and a unimodal pattern was observed. Time significantly affected the activity of workers. The workload of honey bees on nectar and pollen collection were different, just less than twenty percent foragers carrying pollen. Temperature and humidity also affected flights of bees to some degree, and bee activities showed similar patterns on different days. However, the activities had diverse characteristics in some time. Though a less number of plants were in flowering, most of them could be utilized by A. cerana cerana, and colonies could effectively get the food resource by behavior adjustment. In addition, visiting activities of bees on the flowers of main garden plants, such as Camellia japonica, showed obvious rhythm. Increasing the flowering plants with nectar and pollen in winter by scientific management of urban gardens would facilitate the creation of suitable habitats for A. cerana cerana and maintaining the wild population.

  20. Response of human corneal fibroblasts on silk film surface patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, Eun Seok; Park, Sang-Hyug; Marchant, Jeff; Omenetto, Fiorenzo; Kaplan, David L

    2010-06-11

    Transparent, biodegradable, mechanically robust, and surface-patterned silk films were evaluated for the effect of surface morphology on human corneal fibroblast (hCF) cell proliferation, orientation, and ECM deposition and alignment. A series of dimensionally different surface groove patterns were prepared from optically graded glass substrates followed by casting poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) replica molds. The features on the patterned silk films showed an array of asymmetric triangles and displayed 37-342 nm depths and 445-3 582 nm widths. hCF DNA content on all patterned films were not significantly different from that on flat silk films after 4 d in culture. However, the depth and width of the grooves influenced cell alignment, while the depth differences affected cell orientation; overall, deeper and narrower grooves induced more hCF orientation. Over 14 d in culture, cell layers and actin filament organization demonstrated that confluent hCFs and their cytoskeletal filaments were oriented along the direction of the silk film patterned groove axis. Collagen type V and proteoglycans (decorin and biglycan), important markers of corneal stromal tissue, were highly expressed with alignment. Understanding corneal stromal fibroblast responses to surface features on a protein-based biomaterial applicable in vivo for corneal repair potential suggests options to improve corneal tissue mimics. Further, the approaches provide fundamental biomaterial designs useful for bioengineering oriented tissue layers, an endemic feature in most biological tissue structures that lead to critical tissue functions.

  1. Motion Segments Decomposition of RGB-D Sequences for Human Behavior Understanding

    OpenAIRE

    Devanne , Maxime; Berretti , Stefano; Pala , Pietro; Wannous , Hazem; Daoudi , Mohamed; Bimbo , Alberto ,

    2017-01-01

    International audience; In this paper, we propose a framework for analyzing and understanding human behavior from depth videos. The proposed solution first employs shape analysis of the human pose across time to decompose the full motion into short temporal segments representing elementary motions. Then, each segment is characterized by human motion and depth appearance around hand joints to describe the change in pose of the body and the interaction with objects. Finally , the sequence of te...

  2. Attentional Resource Allocation and Cultural Modulation in a Computational Model of Ritualized Behavior

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielbo, Kristoffer Laigaard; Sørensen, Jesper

    2016-01-01

    studies have tried to answer by focusing on ritualized behavior instead of ritual. Ritualized behavior (i.e., a set of behavioral features embedded in rituals) increases attention to detail and induces cognitive resource depletion, which together support distinct modes of action categorization. While......How do cultural and religious rituals influence human perception and cognition, and what separates the highly patterned behaviors of communal ceremonies from perceptually similar precautionary and compulsive behaviors? These are some of the questions that recent theoretical models and empirical...... patterns and the simulation data were subjected to linear and non-linear analysis. The results are used to exemplify how action perception of ritualized behavior a) might influence allocation of attentional resources; and b) can be modulated by cultural priors. Further explorations of the model show why...

  3. Deformation Behavior of Human Dentin under Uniaxial Compression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dmitry Zaytsev

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Deformation behavior of a human dentin under compression including size and rate effects is studied. No difference between mechanical properties of crown and root dentin is found. It is mechanically isotropic high elastic and strong hard tissue, which demonstrates considerable plasticity and ability to suppress a crack growth. Mechanical properties of dentin depend on a shape of samples and a deformation rate.

  4. Neuroanatomical Substrates of Rodent Social Behavior: The Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Its Projection Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, Jaewon

    2017-01-01

    Social behavior encompasses a number of distinctive and complex constructs that form the core elements of human imitative culture, mainly represented as either affiliative or antagonistic interactions with conspecifics. Traditionally considered in the realm of psychology, social behavior research has benefited from recent advancements in neuroscience that have accelerated identification of the neural systems, circuits, causative genes and molecular mechanisms that underlie distinct social cognitive traits. In this review article, I summarize recent findings regarding the neuroanatomical substrates of key social behaviors, focusing on results from experiments conducted in rodent models. In particular, I will review the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and downstream subcortical structures in controlling social behavior, and discuss pertinent future research perspectives. PMID:28659766

  5. The binding patterns of antisera to sex steroids and human gonadotropins on human and rhesus monkey spermatozoa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allag, I S; Das, R P; Roy, S

    1983-01-01

    The presence of different hormones on the surface of ejaculated spermatozoa was determined by immunofluorescence studies of the binding patterns of specific antisera to these hormones. There were striking similarities in the binding pattern of antisera to steroid hormones found on human and monkey spermatozoa. Assuming the intensity of fluorescence is proportional to the concentration of the hormone, concentrations of testosterone on the acrosomal and the postacrosomal regions were higher than levels of progesterone and estrogens. Spermatozoa with a "tapering head" had more hCG bound on the acrosomal and postacrosomal regions than spermatozoa with "normal head" (oval shaped). Correlating these findings to the functions of spermatozoa will require further studies.

  6. How hardwired is human behavior?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, N

    1998-01-01

    Time and time again managers have tried to eliminate hierarchies, politics, and interorganizational rivalry--but to no avail. Why? Evolutionary psychologists would say that they are working against nature--emotional and behavioral "hardwiring" that is the legacy of our Stone Age ancestors. In this evolutionary psychology primer for executives, Nigel Nicholson explores many of the Science's central tenets. Of course, evolutionary psychology is still an emerging discipline, and its strong connection with the theory of natural selection has sparked significant controversy. But, as Nicholson suggests, evolutionary psychology is now well established enough that its insights into human instinct will prove illuminating to anyone seeking to understand why people act the way they do in organizational settings. Take gossip. According to evolutionary psychology, our Stone Age ancestors needed this skill to survive the socially unpredictable conditions of the Savannah Plain. Thus, over time, the propensity to gossip became part of our mental programming. Executives trying to eradicate gossip at work might as well try to change their employees' musical tastes. Better to put one's energy into making sure the "rumor mill" avoids dishonesty or unkindness as much as possible. Evolutionary psychology also explores the dynamics of the human group. Clans on the Savannah Plain, for example, appear to have had no more than 150 members. The message for managers? People will likely be most effective in small organizational units. As every executive knows, it pays to be an insightful student of human nature. Evolutionary psychology adds another important chapter to consider.

  7. Schema benefit vs. proactive interference: Contradicting behavioral outcomes and coexisting neural patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oren, Noga; Shapira-Lichter, Irit; Lerner, Yulia; Tarrasch, Ricardo; Hendler, Talma; Giladi, Nir; Ash, Elissa L

    2017-09-01

    Prior knowledge can either assist or hinder the ability to learn new information. These contradicting behavioral outcomes, referred to as schema benefit and proactive interference respectively, have been studied separately. Here we examined whether the known neural correlates of each process coexist, and how they are influenced by attentional loading and aging. To this end we used an fMRI task that affected both processes simultaneously by presenting pairs of related short movies in succession. The first movie of each pair provided context for the second movie, which could evoke schema benefit and/or proactive interference. Inclusion of an easy or hard secondary task performed during encoding of the movies, as well as testing both younger (22-35y) and older (65-79y) adults, allowed examining the effect of attentional load and older age on the neural patterns associated with context. Analyses focused on three predefined regions and examined how their inter-subject correlation (inter-SC) and functional connectivity (FC) with the hippocampi changed between the first and second movie. The results in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) matched and expanded previous findings: higher inter-SC and lower FC were observed during the second compared to the first movie; yet the differentiation between the first and second movies in these regions was attenuated under high attentional load, pointing to dependency on attentional resources. Instead, at high load there was a significant context effect in the FC of the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), and greater FC in the second movie was related to greater proactive interference. Further, older adults showed context effect in the PCC and vlPFC. Intriguingly, older adults with inter-SC mPFC patterns similar to younger adults exhibited schema benefit in our task, while those with inter-SC PCC patterns similar to younger adults showed proactive interference in an independent task. The

  8. B. F. Skinner's Science and Human Behavior: its antecedents and its consequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catania, A Charles

    2003-11-01

    Skinner's Science and Human Behavior marked a transition from a treatment of behavior that took physics as its reference science to one that emphasized behavior as a fundamental part of the subject matter of biology. The book includes what may be Skinner's earliest statement about the similarity of operant selection to Darwinian natural selection in phylogeny. Other major topics discussed in the book included multiple causation, private events, the self, and social contingencies. Among the important antecedents were Skinner's own Behavior of Organisms and Keller & Schoenfeld's Pincinples of Psychology. Current developments in education, behavioral economics, and some behavior therapies can be attributed at least in part to Skinner's seminal work. The effective behavioral analysis of governmental and religious systems will probably depend on elaborations of our understanding of verbal behavior.

  9. An association of genotypes and antimicrobial resistance patterns among Salmonella isolates from pigs and humans in Taiwan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hung-Chih Kuo

    Full Text Available We collected 110 Salmonella enterica isolates from sick pigs and determined their serotypes, genotypes using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE, and antimicrobial susceptibility to 12 antimicrobials and compared the data with a collection of 18,280 isolates obtained from humans. The pig isolates fell into 12 common serovars for human salmonellosis in Taiwan; S. Typhimurium, S. Choleraesuis, S. Derby, S. Livingstone, and S. Schwarzengrund were the 5 most common serovars and accounted for a total of 84% of the collection. Of the 110 isolates, 106 (96% were multidrug resistant (MDR and 48 (44% had PFGE patterns found in human isolates. S. Typhimurium, S. Choleraesuis, and S. Schwarzengrund were among the most highly resistant serovars. The majority of the 3 serovars were resistant to 8-11 of the tested antimicrobials. The isolates from pigs and humans sharing a common PFGE pattern displayed identical or very similar resistance patterns and Salmonella strains that caused severe infection in pigs were also capable of causing infections in humans. The results indicate that pigs are one of the major reservoirs to human salmonellosis in Taiwan. Almost all of the pig isolates were MDR, which highlights the necessity of strictly regulating the use of antimicrobials in the agriculture sector in Taiwan.

  10. An association of genotypes and antimicrobial resistance patterns among Salmonella isolates from pigs and humans in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Hung-Chih; Lauderdale, Tsai-Ling; Lo, Dan-Yuan; Chen, Chiou-Lin; Chen, Pei-Chen; Liang, Shiu-Yun; Kuo, Jung-Che; Liao, Ying-Shu; Liao, Chun-Hsing; Tsao, Chi-Sen; Chiou, Chien-Shun

    2014-01-01

    We collected 110 Salmonella enterica isolates from sick pigs and determined their serotypes, genotypes using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and antimicrobial susceptibility to 12 antimicrobials and compared the data with a collection of 18,280 isolates obtained from humans. The pig isolates fell into 12 common serovars for human salmonellosis in Taiwan; S. Typhimurium, S. Choleraesuis, S. Derby, S. Livingstone, and S. Schwarzengrund were the 5 most common serovars and accounted for a total of 84% of the collection. Of the 110 isolates, 106 (96%) were multidrug resistant (MDR) and 48 (44%) had PFGE patterns found in human isolates. S. Typhimurium, S. Choleraesuis, and S. Schwarzengrund were among the most highly resistant serovars. The majority of the 3 serovars were resistant to 8-11 of the tested antimicrobials. The isolates from pigs and humans sharing a common PFGE pattern displayed identical or very similar resistance patterns and Salmonella strains that caused severe infection in pigs were also capable of causing infections in humans. The results indicate that pigs are one of the major reservoirs to human salmonellosis in Taiwan. Almost all of the pig isolates were MDR, which highlights the necessity of strictly regulating the use of antimicrobials in the agriculture sector in Taiwan.

  11. Adaptive Human aware Navigation based on Motion Pattern Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tranberg, Søren; Svenstrup, Mikael; Andersen, Hans Jørgen

    2009-01-01

    Respecting people’s social spaces is an important prerequisite for acceptable and natural robot navigation in human environments. In this paper, we describe an adaptive system for mobile robot navigation based on estimates of whether a person seeks to interact with the robot or not. The estimates...... are based on run-time motion pattern analysis compared to stored experience in a database. Using a potential field centered around the person, the robot positions itself at the most appropriate place relative to the person and the interaction status. The system is validated through qualitative tests...

  12. Defy or ally : Neuroendocrine regulation of human socio-emotional behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hermans, E.J.

    2006-01-01

    Evolution has created a human brain that is characterized by a layered, hierarchical organization. These superimposed layers have gradually evolved to generate ever more complex forms of socio-emotional behavior. The present thesis centers on the neurobiological substrates that generate this

  13. Systematic analysis of gene expression patterns associated with postmortem interval in human tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yizhang; Wang, Likun; Yin, Yuxin; Yang, Ence

    2017-07-14

    Postmortem mRNA degradation is considered to be the major concern in gene expression research utilizing human postmortem tissues. A key factor in this process is the postmortem interval (PMI), which is defined as the interval between death and sample collection. However, global patterns of postmortem mRNA degradation at individual gene levels across diverse human tissues remain largely unknown. In this study, we performed a systematic analysis of alteration of gene expression associated with PMI in human tissues. From the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database, we evaluated gene expression levels of 2,016 high-quality postmortem samples from 316 donors of European descent, with PMI ranging from 1 to 27 hours. We found that PMI-related mRNA degradation is tissue-specific, gene-specific, and even genotype-dependent, thus drawing a more comprehensive picture of PMI-associated gene expression across diverse human tissues. Additionally, we also identified 266 differentially variable (DV) genes, such as DEFB4B and IFNG, whose expression is significantly dispersed between short PMI (S-PMI) and long PMI (L-PMI) groups. In summary, our analyses provide a comprehensive profile of PMI-associated gene expression, which will help interpret gene expression patterns in the evaluation of postmortem tissues.

  14. Effects of cigarette smoking on human aggressive behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cherek, D R

    1984-01-01

    Nicotine administered by smoking experimental cigarettes produced decreases in two types of aggressive responses elicited by low and high frequency subtractions of money which were attributed to another "person". The suppressing effects of smoking different doses of nicotine on aggressive responses was dose-dependent, in that smoking the high dose of nicotine produced more suppression than smoking the low dose. The ostensible subtraction of money from another "person", the more aggressive response option available to research subjects, was generally more sensitive to the suppressing effects of nicotine than aggressive noise delivery responses. Although this effect could be attributed to another constituent of tobacco, the dose-dependent effect observed with these cigarettes which contained the same amount of tar suggest the effects are due to nicotine. The relatively selective suppression of aggressive behavior observed in humans in the present study is highly consistent with the effects of nicotine observed in a number of infrahuman species. Nicotine has been found to suppress aggressive behavior in ants (Kostowski 1968), rats (Silverman 1971), and cats (Berntson et. al. 1976). In addition, nicotine has been observed to suppress shock elicited fighting in rats (Driscoll, Baettig 1981; Rodgers 1979; Waldbillig 1980) as well as shock elicited biting in monkeys (Hutchinson, Emley 1973). The importance of determining specificity of drug action on aggressive behavior has been repeatedly emphasized in the field of behavioral pharmacology (Sidman 1959; Cook, Kelleher 1963; Thompson, Boren 1977; Miczek, Krsiak 1979). One method employed to evaluate drug specificity and identify a general non-specific excitatory or depressant drug effect is to determine the drug effect on more than one response option which is available to the subject (Sidman 1959). In this study, the same doses of nicotine which suppressed aggressive responding increased nonaggressive monetary

  15. Exploring the potential of open big data from ticketing websites to characterize travel patterns within the Chinese high-speed rail system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheng Wei

    Full Text Available Big data have contributed to deepen our understanding in regards to many human systems, particularly human mobility patterns and the structure and functioning of transportation systems. Resonating the recent call for 'open big data,' big data from various sources on a range of scales have become increasingly accessible to the public. However, open big data relevant to travelers within public transit tools remain scarce, hindering any further in-depth study on human mobility patterns. Here, we explore ticketing-website derived data that are publically available but have been largely neglected. We demonstrate the power, potential and limitations of this open big data, using the Chinese high-speed rail (HSR system as an example. Using an application programming interface, we automatically collected the data on the remaining tickets (RTD for scheduled trains at the last second before departure in order to retrieve information on unused transit capacity, occupancy rate of trains, and passenger flux at stations. We show that this information is highly useful in characterizing the spatiotemporal patterns of traveling behaviors on the Chinese HSR, such as weekend traveling behavior, imbalanced commuting behavior, and station functionality. Our work facilitates the understanding of human traveling patterns along the Chinese HSR, and the functionality of the largest HSR system in the world. We expect our work to attract attention regarding this unique open big data source for the study of analogous transportation systems.

  16. Cortical activity patterns predict robust speech discrimination ability in noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shetake, Jai A.; Wolf, Jordan T.; Cheung, Ryan J.; Engineer, Crystal T.; Ram, Satyananda K.; Kilgard, Michael P.

    2012-01-01

    The neural mechanisms that support speech discrimination in noisy conditions are poorly understood. In quiet conditions, spike timing information appears to be used in the discrimination of speech sounds. In this study, we evaluated the hypothesis that spike timing is also used to distinguish between speech sounds in noisy conditions that significantly degrade neural responses to speech sounds. We tested speech sound discrimination in rats and recorded primary auditory cortex (A1) responses to speech sounds in background noise of different intensities and spectral compositions. Our behavioral results indicate that rats, like humans, are able to accurately discriminate consonant sounds even in the presence of background noise that is as loud as the speech signal. Our neural recordings confirm that speech sounds evoke degraded but detectable responses in noise. Finally, we developed a novel neural classifier that mimics behavioral discrimination. The classifier discriminates between speech sounds by comparing the A1 spatiotemporal activity patterns evoked on single trials with the average spatiotemporal patterns evoked by known sounds. Unlike classifiers in most previous studies, this classifier is not provided with the stimulus onset time. Neural activity analyzed with the use of relative spike timing was well correlated with behavioral speech discrimination in quiet and in noise. Spike timing information integrated over longer intervals was required to accurately predict rat behavioral speech discrimination in noisy conditions. The similarity of neural and behavioral discrimination of speech in noise suggests that humans and rats may employ similar brain mechanisms to solve this problem. PMID:22098331

  17. A Tale of Many Cities: Universal Patterns in Human Urban Mobility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noulas, Anastasios; Scellato, Salvatore; Lambiotte, Renaud; Pontil, Massimiliano; Mascolo, Cecilia

    2012-01-01

    The advent of geographic online social networks such as Foursquare, where users voluntarily signal their current location, opens the door to powerful studies on human movement. In particular the fine granularity of the location data, with GPS accuracy down to 10 meters, and the worldwide scale of Foursquare adoption are unprecedented. In this paper we study urban mobility patterns of people in several metropolitan cities around the globe by analyzing a large set of Foursquare users. Surprisingly, while there are variations in human movement in different cities, our analysis shows that those are predominantly due to different distributions of places across different urban environments. Moreover, a universal law for human mobility is identified, which isolates as a key component the rank-distance, factoring in the number of places between origin and destination, rather than pure physical distance, as considered in some previous works. Building on our findings, we also show how a rank-based movement model accurately captures real human movements in different cities. PMID:22666339

  18. A tale of many cities: universal patterns in human urban mobility.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasios Noulas

    Full Text Available The advent of geographic online social networks such as Foursquare, where users voluntarily signal their current location, opens the door to powerful studies on human movement. In particular the fine granularity of the location data, with GPS accuracy down to 10 meters, and the worldwide scale of Foursquare adoption are unprecedented. In this paper we study urban mobility patterns of people in several metropolitan cities around the globe by analyzing a large set of Foursquare users. Surprisingly, while there are variations in human movement in different cities, our analysis shows that those are predominantly due to different distributions of places across different urban environments. Moreover, a universal law for human mobility is identified, which isolates as a key component the rank-distance, factoring in the number of places between origin and destination, rather than pure physical distance, as considered in some previous works. Building on our findings, we also show how a rank-based movement model accurately captures real human movements in different cities.

  19. Developing Autonomous Vehicles That Learn to Navigate by Mimicking Human Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-09-28

    navigate in an unstructured environment to a specific target or location. 15. SUBJECT TERMS autonomous vehicles , fuzzy logic, learning behavior...ANSI-Std Z39-18 Developing Autonomous Vehicles That Learn to Navigate by Mimicking Human Behavior FINAL REPORT 9/28/2006 Dean B. Edwards Department...the future, as greater numbers of autonomous vehicles are employed, it is hoped that lower LONG-TERM GOALS Use LAGR (Learning Applied to Ground Robots

  20. Modeling the exergy behavior of human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keutenedjian Mady, Carlos Eduardo; Silva Ferreira, Maurício; Itizo Yanagihara, Jurandir; Hilário Nascimento Saldiva, Paulo; Oliveira Junior, Silvio de

    2012-01-01

    Exergy analysis is applied to assess the energy conversion processes that take place in the human body, aiming at developing indicators of health and performance based on the concepts of exergy destroyed rate and exergy efficiency. The thermal behavior of the human body is simulated by a model composed of 15 cylinders with elliptical cross section representing: head, neck, trunk, arms, forearms, hands, thighs, legs, and feet. For each, a combination of tissues is considered. The energy equation is solved for each cylinder, being possible to obtain transitory response from the body due to a variation in environmental conditions. With this model, it is possible to obtain heat and mass flow rates to the environment due to radiation, convection, evaporation and respiration. The exergy balances provide the exergy variation due to heat and mass exchange over the body, and the exergy variation over time for each compartments tissue and blood, the sum of which leads to the total variation of the body. Results indicate that exergy destroyed and exergy efficiency decrease over lifespan and the human body is more efficient and destroys less exergy in lower relative humidities and higher temperatures. -- Highlights: ► In this article it is indicated an overview of the human thermal model. ► It is performed the energy and exergy analysis of the human body. ► Exergy destruction and exergy efficiency decreases with lifespan. ► Exergy destruction and exergy efficiency are a function of environmental conditions.

  1. Data-Driven Modeling of Target Human Behavior in Military Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-03-12

    Military Operations Elizabeth Mezzacappa, Ph.D. Gordon Cooke, MEME Gladstone Reid, MSBMS Robert DeMarco, MSBMS Charles Sheridan BA John...stress, and human behavior modeling and simulation issues. GORDON COOKE, MEME , is a Principal Investigator at the TBRL. He was also a Chief

  2. Mathematical Analysis for Non-reciprocal-interaction-based Model of Collective Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kano, Takeshi; Osuka, Koichi; Kawakatsu, Toshihiro; Ishiguro, Akio

    2017-12-01

    In many natural and social systems, collective behaviors emerge as a consequence of non-reciprocal interaction between their constituents. As a first step towards understanding the core principle that underlies these phenomena, we previously proposed a minimal model of collective behavior based on non-reciprocal interactions by drawing inspiration from friendship formation in human society, and demonstrated via simulations that various non-trivial patterns emerge by changing parameters. In this study, a mathematical analysis of the proposed model wherein the system size is small is performed. Through the analysis, the mechanism of the transition between several patterns is elucidated.

  3. Daily pattern of energy distribution and weight loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raynor, Hollie A; Li, Fan; Cardoso, Chelsi

    2018-08-01

    Timing of energy intake, a temporal dietary pattern, may enhance health. Eating a greater amount of energy earlier and a smaller amount of energy later in the day, a behavioral circadian rhythm, may assist with chronoenhancement. Chronoenhancement seeks to enhance entrainment (synchronization) of biological and behavioral circadian rhythms. In humans, research reports that eating a greater amount of energy early and a smaller amount of energy later in the day increases dietary induced thermogenesis, improves cardiometabolic outcomes, and enhances weight loss. However, little human research has examined if this eating pattern enhances regularity of biological circadian rhythm. In a randomized controlled 8-week pilot study, the influence of energy distribution timing on weight loss and regularity of sleep onset and wake times (marker for biological circadian rhythm) was examined. Within an hypocaloric, three-meal prescription, participants (n = 8) were assigned to either: 1) Morning: 50%, 30%, and 20% of kcal at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, respectively; or 2) Evening: 20%, 30%, and 50% of kcal at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, respectively. Percent weight loss and regularity of sleep onset and wake times were significantly (p energy distribution timing on health, longer studies conducted in free-living participants, with dietary intake assessed using time-stamped methods, that include measures of the circadian timing system are needed. This small review is based upon a symposium presentation at the Society of the Study of Ingestive Behavior in 2017. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. The ultimate intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio of loop- and dipole-like current patterns in a realistic human head model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfrommer, Andreas; Henning, Anke

    2018-03-13

    The ultimate intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio (UISNR) represents an upper bound for the achievable SNR of any receive coil. To reach this threshold a complete basis set of equivalent surface currents is required. This study systematically investigated to what extent either loop- or dipole-like current patterns are able to reach the UISNR threshold in a realistic human head model between 1.5 T and 11.7 T. Based on this analysis, we derived guidelines for coil designers to choose the best array element at a given field strength. Moreover, we present ideal current patterns yielding the UISNR in a realistic body model. We distributed generic current patterns on a cylindrical and helmet-shaped surface around a realistic human head model. We excited electromagnetic fields in the human head by using eigenfunctions of the spherical and cylindrical Helmholtz operator. The electromagnetic field problem was solved by a fast volume integral equation solver. At 7 T and above, adding curl-free current patterns to divergence-free current patterns substantially increased the SNR in the human head (locally >20%). This was true for the helmet-shaped and the cylindrical surface. On the cylindrical surface, dipole-like current patterns had high SNR performance in central regions at ultra-high field strength. The UISNR increased superlinearly with B0 in most parts of the cerebrum but only sublinearly in the periphery of the human head. The combination of loop and dipole elements could enhance the SNR performance in the human head at ultra-high field strength. © 2018 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

  5. The behavioral economics of consumer brand choice: patterns of reinforcement and utility maximization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foxall, Gordon R; Oliveira-Castro, Jorge M; Schrezenmaier, Teresa C

    2004-06-30

    Purchasers of fast-moving consumer goods generally exhibit multi-brand choice, selecting apparently randomly among a small subset or "repertoire" of tried and trusted brands. Their behavior shows both matching and maximization, though it is not clear just what the majority of buyers are maximizing. Each brand attracts, however, a small percentage of consumers who are 100%-loyal to it during the period of observation. Some of these are exclusively buyers of premium-priced brands who are presumably maximizing informational reinforcement because their demand for the brand is relatively price-insensitive or inelastic. Others buy exclusively the cheapest brands available and can be assumed to maximize utilitarian reinforcement since their behavior is particularly price-sensitive or elastic. Between them are the majority of consumers whose multi-brand buying takes the form of selecting a mixture of economy -- and premium-priced brands. Based on the analysis of buying patterns of 80 consumers for 9 product categories, the paper examines the continuum of consumers so defined and seeks to relate their buying behavior to the question of how and what consumers maximize.

  6. Publication patterns in the social sciences and humanities: evidence from eight European countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kulczycki, Emanuel; Engels, Tim; Polonen, Janne

    2018-01-01

    This study investigates patterns in the language and type of social sciences and humanities (SSH) publications in non-English speaking European countries to demonstrate that such patterns are related not only to discipline but also to each country’s cultural and historic heritage. We investigate...... publication patterns that occur across SSH publications of the whole of the SSH and of economics and business, law, and philosophy and theology publications in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Flanders (Belgium), Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. We use data from 74,022 peer-reviewed publications...... from 2014registered in at least one of the eight countries’ national databases and for 272,376 peer- reviewed publications from the period of 2011–2014 registered in at least one of the seven countries’ national databases (for all countries except Slovakia). Our findings show that publication patterns...

  7. Combining human and machine intelligence to derive agents' behavioral rules for groundwater irrigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yao; Quinn, Christopher J.; Cai, Ximing; Garfinkle, Noah W.

    2017-11-01

    For agent-based modeling, the major challenges in deriving agents' behavioral rules arise from agents' bounded rationality and data scarcity. This study proposes a "gray box" approach to address the challenge by incorporating expert domain knowledge (i.e., human intelligence) with machine learning techniques (i.e., machine intelligence). Specifically, we propose using directed information graph (DIG), boosted regression trees (BRT), and domain knowledge to infer causal factors and identify behavioral rules from data. A case study is conducted to investigate farmers' pumping behavior in the Midwest, U.S.A. Results show that four factors identified by the DIG algorithm- corn price, underlying groundwater level, monthly mean temperature and precipitation- have main causal influences on agents' decisions on monthly groundwater irrigation depth. The agent-based model is then developed based on the behavioral rules represented by three DIGs and modeled by BRTs, and coupled with a physically-based groundwater model to investigate the impacts of agents' pumping behavior on the underlying groundwater system in the context of coupled human and environmental systems.

  8. Effect of the pattern of food intake on human energy metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verboeket-van de Venne, W P; Westerterp, K R; Kester, A D

    1993-07-01

    The pattern of food intake can affect the regulation of body weight and lipogenesis. We studied the effect of meal frequency on human energy expenditure (EE) and its components. During 1 week ten male adults (age 25-61 years, body mass index 20.7-30.4 kg/m2) were fed to energy balance at two meals/d (gorging pattern) and during another week at seven meals/d (nibbling pattern). For the first 6 d of each week the food was provided at home, followed by a 36 h stay in a respiration chamber. O2 consumption and CO2 production (and hence EE) were calculated over 24 h. EE in free-living conditions was measured over the 2 weeks with doubly-labelled water (average daily metabolic rate, ADMR). The three major components of ADMR are basal metabolic rate (BMR), diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) and EE for physical activity (ACT). There was no significant effect of meal frequency on 24 h EE or ADMR. Furthermore, BMR and ACT did not differ between the two patterns. DIT was significantly elevated in the gorging pattern, but this effect was neutralized by correction for the relevant time interval. With the method used for determination of DIT no significant effect of meal frequency on the contribution of DIT to ADMR could be demonstrated.

  9. A Buffer Model Account of Behavioral and ERP Patterns in the Von Restorff Paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siri-Maria Kamp

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available We combined a mechanistic model of episodic encoding with theories on the functional significance of two event-related potential (ERP components to develop an integrated account for the Von Restorff effect, which refers to the enhanced recall probability for an item that deviates in some feature from other items in its study list. The buffer model of Lehman and Malmberg (2009, 2013 can account for this effect such that items encountered during encoding enter an episodic buffer where they are actively rehearsed. When a deviant item is encountered, in order to re-allocate encoding resources towards this item the buffer is emptied from its prior content, a process labeled “compartmentalization”. Based on theories on their functional significance, the P300 component of the ERP may co-occur with this hypothesized compartmentalization process, while the frontal slow wave may index rehearsal. We derived predictions from this integrated model for output patterns in free recall, systematic variance in ERP components, as well as associations between the two types of measures in a dataset of 45 participants who studied and freely recalled lists of the Von Restorff type. Our major predictions were confirmed and the behavioral and physiological results were consistent with the predictions derived from the model. These findings demonstrate that constraining mechanistic models of episodic memory with brain activity patterns and generating predictions for relationships between brain activity and behavior can lead to novel insights into the relationship between the brain, the mind, and behavior.

  10. Exploring asymmetric behavior pattern from Indian oil products prices using NARDL and GHSOM approaches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chattopadhyay, Manojit; Kumar Mitra, Subrata

    2015-01-01

    The present work endeavors to explore the potential asymmetries in the pricing of oil products in India where prices are not only affected by the crude oil price changes in the international markets but are also subject to government interventions. In order to protect domestic consumers from this volatility, historically the government of India tried to control the domestic price of petroleum products by cross subsidization and giving subsidies. In this paper, we analyze the impact of crude oil price on domestic oil prices by applying nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) and Growing Hierarchical Self-Organizing Map (GHSOM) approaches for the period of April, 2005–July, 2014. The GHSOM has been explored through pattern analysis on the asymmetric behavior using similarity measures. From the study it can be interpreted that the prices of products left to be determined by the market exhibit a strong asymmetry. However, pricing of the products that are monitored and controlled by the government do not exhibit any such asymmetry. Hence, the question still remains – should the government intervene in pricing petroleum products when monopolistic attitudes of large oil companies are detrimental to the interest of retail consumers? - Highlights: • We explored the potential asymmetries in the pricing of oil products in India. • Analyze cointegration and asymmetric behavior of oil products by NARDL approach. • GHSOM method has been explored for pattern analysis on the asymmetric behavior. • The analysis reveals that the market determined prices exhibits a strong asymmetry. • Oil product pricing controlled by the government do not exhibit such asymmetry.

  11. Counseling Children and Adolescents: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Humanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vernon, Ann

    1996-01-01

    Describes specific parallels between rational emotive behavior therapy and humanism. Places specific emphasis on the application of these principles with children and adolescents. Concepts are illustrated with case studies and a description of the similarities between rational emotive and humanistic, or affective, education. Highlights emotional…

  12. Intelligent Systems Approach for Automated Identification of Individual Control Behavior of a Human Operator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaychik, Kirill B.; Cardullo, Frank M.

    2012-01-01

    Results have been obtained using conventional techniques to model the generic human operator?s control behavior, however little research has been done to identify an individual based on control behavior. The hypothesis investigated is that different operators exhibit different control behavior when performing a given control task. Two enhancements to existing human operator models, which allow personalization of the modeled control behavior, are presented. One enhancement accounts for the testing control signals, which are introduced by an operator for more accurate control of the system and/or to adjust the control strategy. This uses the Artificial Neural Network which can be fine-tuned to model the testing control. Another enhancement takes the form of an equiripple filter which conditions the control system power spectrum. A novel automated parameter identification technique was developed to facilitate the identification process of the parameters of the selected models. This utilizes a Genetic Algorithm based optimization engine called the Bit-Climbing Algorithm. Enhancements were validated using experimental data obtained from three different sources: the Manual Control Laboratory software experiments, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle simulation, and NASA Langley Research Center Visual Motion Simulator studies. This manuscript also addresses applying human operator models to evaluate the effectiveness of motion feedback when simulating actual pilot control behavior in a flight simulator.

  13. Temporal-pattern recognition by single neurons in a sensory pathway devoted to social communication behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Bruce A

    2009-07-29

    Sensory systems often encode stimulus information into the temporal pattern of action potential activity. However, little is known about how the information contained within these patterns is extracted by postsynaptic neurons. Similar to temporal coding by sensory neurons, social information in mormyrid fish is encoded into the temporal patterning of an electric organ discharge. In the current study, sensitivity to temporal patterns of electrosensory stimuli was found to arise within the midbrain posterior exterolateral nucleus (ELp). Whole-cell patch recordings from ELp neurons in vivo revealed three patterns of interpulse interval (IPI) tuning: low-pass neurons tuned to long intervals, high-pass neurons tuned to short intervals, and bandpass neurons tuned to intermediate intervals. Many neurons within each class also responded preferentially to either increasing or decreasing IPIs. Playback of electric signaling patterns recorded from freely behaving fish revealed that the IPI and direction tuning of ELp neurons resulted in selective responses to particular social communication displays characterized by distinct IPI patterns. The postsynaptic potential responses of many neurons indicated a combination of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic input, and the IPI tuning of ELp neurons was directly related to rate-dependent changes in the direction and amplitude of postsynaptic potentials. These results suggest that differences in the dynamics of short-term synaptic plasticity in excitatory and inhibitory pathways may tune central sensory neurons to particular temporal patterns of presynaptic activity. This may represent a general mechanism for the processing of behaviorally relevant stimulus information encoded into temporal patterns of activity by sensory neurons.

  14. Human behavior understanding for assisted living by means of hierarchical context free grammars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosani, A.; Conci, N.; De Natale, F. G. B.

    2014-03-01

    Human behavior understanding has attracted the attention of researchers in various fields over the last years. Recognizing behaviors with sufficient accuracy from sensors analysis is still an unsolved problem, because of many reasons, including the low accuracy of the data, differences in the human behaviors as well as the gap between low-level sensors data and high-level scene semantics. In this context, an application that is attracting the interest of both public and industrial entities is the possibility to allow elderly or physically impaired people conducting a normal life at home. Ambient intelligence (AmI) technologies, intended as the possibility of automatically detecting and reacting to the status of the environment and of the persons, is probably the major enabling factor for the achievement of such an ambitious objective. AmI technologies require suitable networks of sensors and actuators, as well as adequate processing and communication technologies. In this paper we propose a solution based on context free grammars for human behavior understanding with an application to assisted living. First, the grammars of the different actions performed by a person in his/her daily life are discovered. Then, a longterm analysis of the behavior is used to generate a control grammar, taking care of the context when an action is performed, and adding semantics. The proposed framework is tested on a dataset acquired in a real environment and compared with state of the art methods already available for the problem considered.

  15. Young Investigator Program (8.5): Preventing Complex Failures of Human Interactive Systems with Erroneous Behavior Generation and Robust Human Task Behavior Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-11-13

    Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Conmittee on Energy and Commerce , House of Representatives. Technical Report GAO/OSI-93-4, 1993...Bolton & E . J. Bass. Formally verifying human-automation interaction as part of a system model: Limitations and tradeoffs. Innovations in Systems and...Software Engineering: A NASA Journal, 6(3):219–231, 2010. [5] M. L. Bolton & E . J. Bass. Using task analytic models to visualize model checker

  16. Intelligent systems approach for automated identification of individual control behavior of a human operator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaychik, Kirill B.

    Acceptable results have been obtained using conventional techniques to model the generic human operator's control behavior. However, little research has been done in an attempt to identify an individual based on his/her control behavior. The main hypothesis investigated in this dissertation is that different operators exhibit different control behavior when performing a given control task. Furthermore, inter-person differences are manifested in the amplitude and frequency content of the non-linear component of the control behavior. Two enhancements to the existing models of the human operator, which allow personalization of the modeled control behavior, are presented in this dissertation. One of the proposed enhancements accounts for the "testing" control signals, which are introduced by an operator for more accurate control of the system and/or to adjust his/her control strategy. Such enhancement uses the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), which can be fine-tuned to model the "testing" control behavior of a given individual. The other model enhancement took the form of an equiripple filter (EF), which conditions the power spectrum of the control signal before it is passed through the plant dynamics block. The filter design technique uses Parks-McClellan algorithm, which allows parameterization of the desired levels of power at certain frequencies. A novel automated parameter identification technique (APID) was developed to facilitate the identification process of the parameters of the selected models of the human operator. APID utilizes a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based optimization engine called the Bit-climbing Algorithm (BCA). Proposed model enhancements were validated using the experimental data obtained at three different sources: the Manual Control Laboratory software experiments, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle simulation, and NASA Langley Research Center Visual Motion Simulator studies. Validation analysis involves comparison of the actual and simulated control

  17. Effects of Age, Season, Gender and Urban-Rural Status on Time-Activity: Canadian Human Activity Pattern Survey 2 (CHAPS 2)

    OpenAIRE

    Matz, Carlyn J.; Stieb, David M.; Davis, Karelyn; Egyed, Marika; Rose, Andreas; Chou, Benedito; Brion, Orly

    2014-01-01

    Estimation of population exposure is a main component of human health risk assessment for environmental contaminants. Population-level exposure assessments require time-activity pattern distributions in relation to microenvironments where people spend their time. Societal trends may have influenced time-activity patterns since previous Canadian data were collected 15 years ago. The Canadian Human Activity Pattern Survey 2 (CHAPS 2) was a national survey conducted in 2010–2011 to collect time-...

  18. The bamboo-eating giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) has a sweet tooth: behavioral and molecular responses to compounds that taste sweet to humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Peihua; Josue-Almqvist, Jesusa; Jin, Xuelin; Li, Xia; Brand, Joseph G; Margolskee, Robert F; Reed, Danielle R; Beauchamp, Gary K

    2014-01-01

    A growing body of behavioral and genetic information indicates that taste perception and food sources are highly coordinated across many animal species. For example, sweet taste perception is thought to serve to detect and motivate consumption of simple sugars in plants that provide calories. Supporting this is the observation that most plant-eating mammals examined exhibit functional sweet perception, whereas many obligate carnivores have independently lost function of their sweet taste receptors and exhibit no avidity for simple sugars that humans describe as tasting sweet. As part of a larger effort to compare taste structure/function among species, we examined both the behavioral and the molecular nature of sweet taste in a plant-eating animal that does not consume plants with abundant simple sugars, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). We evaluated two competing hypotheses: as plant-eating mammals, they should have a well-developed sweet taste system; however, as animals that do not normally consume plants with simple sugars, they may have lost sweet taste function, as has occurred in strict carnivores. In behavioral tests, giant pandas avidly consumed most natural sugars and some but not all artificial sweeteners. Cell-based assays revealed similar patterns of sweet receptor responses toward many of the sweeteners. Using mixed pairs of human and giant panda sweet taste receptor units (hT1R2+gpT1R3 and gpT1R2+hT1R3) we identified regions of the sweet receptor that may account for behavioral differences in giant pandas versus humans toward various sugars and artificial sweeteners. Thus, despite the fact that the giant panda's main food, bamboo, is very low in simple sugars, the species has a marked preference for several compounds that taste sweet to humans. We consider possible explanations for retained sweet perception in this species, including the potential extra-oral functions of sweet taste receptors that may be required for animals that consume

  19. The bamboo-eating giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca has a sweet tooth: behavioral and molecular responses to compounds that taste sweet to humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peihua Jiang

    Full Text Available A growing body of behavioral and genetic information indicates that taste perception and food sources are highly coordinated across many animal species. For example, sweet taste perception is thought to serve to detect and motivate consumption of simple sugars in plants that provide calories. Supporting this is the observation that most plant-eating mammals examined exhibit functional sweet perception, whereas many obligate carnivores have independently lost function of their sweet taste receptors and exhibit no avidity for simple sugars that humans describe as tasting sweet. As part of a larger effort to compare taste structure/function among species, we examined both the behavioral and the molecular nature of sweet taste in a plant-eating animal that does not consume plants with abundant simple sugars, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca. We evaluated two competing hypotheses: as plant-eating mammals, they should have a well-developed sweet taste system; however, as animals that do not normally consume plants with simple sugars, they may have lost sweet taste function, as has occurred in strict carnivores. In behavioral tests, giant pandas avidly consumed most natural sugars and some but not all artificial sweeteners. Cell-based assays revealed similar patterns of sweet receptor responses toward many of the sweeteners. Using mixed pairs of human and giant panda sweet taste receptor units (hT1R2+gpT1R3 and gpT1R2+hT1R3 we identified regions of the sweet receptor that may account for behavioral differences in giant pandas versus humans toward various sugars and artificial sweeteners. Thus, despite the fact that the giant panda's main food, bamboo, is very low in simple sugars, the species has a marked preference for several compounds that taste sweet to humans. We consider possible explanations for retained sweet perception in this species, including the potential extra-oral functions of sweet taste receptors that may be required for animals

  20. Entropic measures of individual mobility patterns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallotti, Riccardo; Bazzani, Armando; Rambaldi, Sandro; Esposti, Mirko Degli

    2013-01-01

    Understanding human mobility from a microscopic point of view may represent a fundamental breakthrough for the development of a statistical physics for cognitive systems and it can shed light on the applicability of macroscopic statistical laws for social systems. Even if the complexity of individual behaviors prevents a true microscopic approach, the introduction of mesoscopic models allows the study of the dynamical properties for the non-stationary states of the considered system. We propose to compute various entropy measures of the individual mobility patterns obtained from GPS data that record the movements of private vehicles in the Florence district, in order to point out new features of human mobility related to the use of time and space and to define the dynamical properties of a stochastic model that could generate similar patterns. Moreover, we can relate the predictability properties of human mobility to the distribution of time passed between two successive trips. Our analysis suggests the existence of a hierarchical structure in the mobility patterns which divides the performed activities into three different categories, according to the time cost, with different information contents. We show that a Markov process defined by using the individual mobility network is not able to reproduce this hierarchy, which seems the consequence of different strategies in the activity choice. Our results could contribute to the development of governance policies for a sustainable mobility in modern cities. (paper)

  1. T-Pattern Analysis and Cognitive Load Manipulation to Detect Low-Stake Lies: An Exploratory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diana, Barbara; Zurloni, Valentino; Elia, Massimiliano; Cavalera, Cesare; Realdon, Olivia; Jonsson, Gudberg K; Anguera, M Teresa

    2018-01-01

    Deception has evolved to become a fundamental aspect of human interaction. Despite the prolonged efforts in many disciplines, there has been no definite finding of a univocally "deceptive" signal. This work proposes an approach to deception detection combining cognitive load manipulation and T-pattern methodology with the objective of: (a) testing the efficacy of dual task-procedure in enhancing differences between truth tellers and liars in a low-stakes situation; (b) exploring the efficacy of T-pattern methodology in discriminating truthful reports from deceitful ones in a low-stakes situation; (c) setting the experimental design and procedure for following research. We manipulated cognitive load to enhance differences between truth tellers and liars, because of the low-stakes lies involved in our experiment. We conducted an experimental study with a convenience sample of 40 students. We carried out a first analysis on the behaviors' frequencies coded through the observation software, using SPSS (22). The aim was to describe shape and characteristics of behavior's distributions and explore differences between groups. Datasets were then analyzed with Theme 6.0 software which detects repeated patterns (T-patterns) of coded events (non-verbal behaviors) that regularly or irregularly occur within a period of observation. A descriptive analysis on T-pattern frequencies was carried out to explore differences between groups. An in-depth analysis on more complex patterns was performed to get qualitative information on the behavior structure expressed by the participants. Results show that the dual-task procedure enhances differences observed between liars and truth tellers with T-pattern methodology; moreover, T-pattern detection reveals a higher variety and complexity of behavior in truth tellers than in liars. These findings support the combination of cognitive load manipulation and T-pattern methodology for deception detection in low-stakes situations, suggesting the

  2. Explicit instructions and consolidation promote rewiring of automatic behaviors in the human mind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szegedi-Hallgató, Emese; Janacsek, Karolina; Vékony, Teodóra; Tasi, Lia Andrea; Kerepes, Leila; Hompoth, Emőke Adrienn; Bálint, Anna; Németh, Dezső

    2017-06-29

    One major challenge in human behavior and brain sciences is to understand how we can rewire already existing perceptual, motor, cognitive, and social skills or habits. Here we aimed to characterize one aspect of rewiring, namely, how we can update our knowledge of sequential/statistical regularities when they change. The dynamics of rewiring was explored from learning to consolidation using a unique experimental design which is suitable to capture the effect of implicit and explicit processing and the proactive and retroactive interference. Our results indicate that humans can rewire their knowledge of such regularities incidentally, and consolidation has a critical role in this process. Moreover, old and new knowledge can coexist, leading to effective adaptivity of the human mind in the changing environment, although the execution of the recently acquired knowledge may be more fluent than the execution of the previously learned one. These findings can contribute to a better understanding of the cognitive processes underlying behavior change, and can provide insights into how we can boost behavior change in various contexts, such as sports, educational settings or psychotherapy.

  3. Assessment of long-range correlation in animal behavior time series: The temporal pattern of locomotor activity of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) and mosquito larva (Culex quinquefasciatus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kembro, Jackelyn M.; Flesia, Ana Georgina; Gleiser, Raquel M.; Perillo, María A.; Marin, Raul H.

    2013-12-01

    Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) is a method that has been frequently used to determine the presence of long-range correlations in human and animal behaviors. However, according to previous authors using statistical model systems, in order to correctly use DFA different aspects should be taken into account such as: (1) the establishment by hypothesis testing of the absence of short term correlation, (2) an accurate estimation of a straight line in the log-log plot of the fluctuation function, (3) the elimination of artificial crossovers in the fluctuation function, and (4) the length of the time series. Taking into consideration these factors, herein we evaluated the presence of long-range correlation in the temporal pattern of locomotor activity of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) and mosquito larva (Culex quinquefasciatus). In our study, modeling the data with the general autoregressive integrated moving average (ARFIMA) model, we rejected the hypothesis of short-range correlations (d=0) in all cases. We also observed that DFA was able to distinguish between the artificial crossover observed in the temporal pattern of locomotion of Japanese quail and the crossovers in the correlation behavior observed in mosquito larvae locomotion. Although the test duration can slightly influence the parameter estimation, no qualitative differences were observed between different test durations.

  4. Seasonal patterns in human A (H5N1 virus infection: analysis of global cases.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maya B Mathur

    Full Text Available Human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI A (H5N1 have high mortality. Despite abundant data on seasonal patterns in influenza epidemics, it is unknown whether similar patterns exist for human HPAI H5N1 cases worldwide. Such knowledge could help decrease avian-to-human transmission through increased prevention and control activities during peak periods.We performed a systematic search of published human HPAI H5N1 cases to date, collecting month, year, country, season, hemisphere, and climate data. We used negative binomial regression to predict changes in case incidence as a function of season. To investigate hemisphere as a potential moderator, we used AIC and the likelihood-ratio test to compare the season-only model to nested models including a main effect or interaction with hemisphere. Finally, we visually assessed replication of seasonal patterns across climate groups based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.We identified 617 human cases (611 with complete seasonal data occurring in 15 countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Case occurrence was much higher in winter (n = 285, p = 0.03 than summer (n = 64, and the winter peak occurred across diverse climate groups. There was no significant interaction between hemisphere and season.Across diverse climates, HPAI H5N1 virus infection in humans increases significantly in winter. This is consistent with increased poultry outbreaks and HPAI H5N1 virus transmission during cold and dry conditions. Prioritizing prevention and control activities among poultry and focusing public health messaging to reduce poultry exposures during winter months may help to reduce zoonotic transmission of HPAI H5N1 virus in resource-limited settings.

  5. Applying Learning Analytics to Explore the Effects of Motivation on Online Students' Reading Behavioral Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jerry Chih-Yuan; Lin, Che-Tsun; Chou, Chien

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to apply a sequential analysis to explore the effect of learning motivation on online reading behavioral patterns. The study's participants consisted of 160 graduate students who were classified into three group types: low reading duration with low motivation, low reading duration with high motivation, and high reading duration…

  6. Denying humanness to others: a newly discovered mechanism by which violent video games increase aggressive behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greitemeyer, Tobias; McLatchie, Neil

    2011-05-01

    Past research has provided abundant evidence that playing violent video games increases aggressive behavior. So far, these effects have been explained mainly as the result of priming existing knowledge structures. The research reported here examined the role of denying humanness to other people in accounting for the effect that playing a violent video game has on aggressive behavior. In two experiments, we found that playing violent video games increased dehumanization, which in turn evoked aggressive behavior. Thus, it appears that video-game-induced aggressive behavior is triggered when victimizers perceive the victim to be less human.

  7. Human midsagittal brain shape variation: patterns, allometry and integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruner, Emiliano; Martin-Loeches, Manuel; Colom, Roberto

    2010-01-01

    Midsagittal cerebral morphology provides a homologous geometrical reference for brain shape and cortical vs. subcortical spatial relationships. In this study, midsagittal brain shape variation is investigated in a sample of 102 humans, in order to describe and quantify the major patterns of correlation between morphological features, the effect of size and sex on general anatomy, and the degree of integration between different cortical and subcortical areas. The only evident pattern of covariation was associated with fronto-parietal cortical bulging. The allometric component was weak for the cortical profile, but more robust for the posterior subcortical areas. Apparent sex differences were evidenced in size but not in brain shape. Cortical and subcortical elements displayed scarcely integrated changes, suggesting a modular separation between these two areas. However, a certain correlation was found between posterior subcortical and parietal cortical variations. These results should be directly integrated with information ranging from functional craniology to wiring organization, and with hypotheses linking brain shape and the mechanical properties of neurons during morphogenesis. PMID:20345859

  8. Atoll-scale patterns in coral reef community structure: Human signatures on Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crane, Nicole L; Nelson, Peter; Abelson, Avigdor; Precoda, Kristin; Rulmal, John; Bernardi, Giacomo; Paddack, Michelle

    2017-01-01

    The dynamic relationship between reefs and the people who utilize them at a subsistence level is poorly understood. This paper characterizes atoll-scale patterns in shallow coral reef habitat and fish community structure, and correlates these with environmental characteristics and anthropogenic factors, critical to conservation efforts for the reefs and the people who depend on them. Hierarchical clustering analyses by site for benthic composition and fish community resulted in the same 3 major clusters: cluster 1-oceanic (close proximity to deep water) and uninhabited (low human impact); cluster 2-oceanic and inhabited (high human impact); and cluster 3-lagoonal (facing the inside of the lagoon) and inhabited (highest human impact). Distance from village, reef exposure to deep water and human population size had the greatest effect in predicting the fish and benthic community structure. Our study demonstrates a strong association between benthic and fish community structure and human use across the Ulithi Atoll (Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia) and confirms a pattern observed by local people that an 'opportunistic' scleractinian coral (Montipora sp.) is associated with more highly impacted reefs. Our findings suggest that small human populations (subsistence fishing) can nevertheless have considerable ecological impacts on reefs due, in part, to changes in fishing practices rather than overfishing per se, as well as larger global trends. Findings from this work can assist in building local capacity to manage reef resources across an atoll-wide scale, and illustrates the importance of anthropogenic impact even in small communities.

  9. Adaptable neighbours: movement patterns of GPS-collared leopards in human dominated landscapes in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odden, Morten; Athreya, Vidya; Rattan, Sandeep; Linnell, John D C

    2014-01-01

    Understanding the nature of the interactions between humans and wildlife is of vital importance for conflict mitigation. We equipped five leopards with GPS-collars in Maharashtra (4) and Himachal Pradesh (1), India, to study movement patterns in human-dominated landscapes outside protected areas. An adult male and an adult female were both translocated 52 km, and exhibited extensive, and directional, post release movements (straight line movements: male = 89 km in 37 days, female = 45 km in 5 months), until they settled in home ranges of 42 km2 (male) and 65 km2 (female). The three other leopards, two adult females and a young male were released close to their capture sites and used small home ranges of 8 km2 (male), 11 km2 and 15 km2 (females). Movement patterns were markedly nocturnal, with hourly step lengths averaging 339±9.5 m (SE) during night and 60±4.1 m during day, and night locations were significantly closer to human settlements than day locations. However, more nocturnal movements were observed among those three living in the areas with high human population densities. These visited houses regularly at nighttime (20% of locations human settlements both day and night. The small home ranges of the leopards indicate that anthropogenic food resources may be plentiful although wild prey is absent. The study provides clear insights into the ability of leopards to live and move in landscapes that are extremely modified by human activity.

  10. Empirical analysis of online human dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Zhi-Dan; Zhou, Tao

    2012-06-01

    Patterns of human activities have attracted increasing academic interests, since the quantitative understanding of human behavior is helpful to uncover the origins of many socioeconomic phenomena. This paper focuses on behaviors of Internet users. Six large-scale systems are studied in our experiments, including the movie-watching in Netflix and MovieLens, the transaction in Ebay, the bookmark-collecting in Delicious, and the posting in FreindFeed and Twitter. Empirical analysis reveals some common statistical features of online human behavior: (1) The total number of user's actions, the user's activity, and the interevent time all follow heavy-tailed distributions. (2) There exists a strongly positive correlation between user's activity and the total number of user's actions, and a significantly negative correlation between the user's activity and the width of the interevent time distribution. We further study the rescaling method and show that this method could to some extent eliminate the different statistics among users caused by the different activities, yet the effectiveness depends on the data sets.

  11. Towards high-throughput phenotyping of complex patterned behaviors in rodents: focus on mouse self-grooming and its sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyzar, Evan; Gaikwad, Siddharth; Roth, Andrew; Green, Jeremy; Pham, Mimi; Stewart, Adam; Liang, Yiqing; Kobla, Vikrant; Kalueff, Allan V

    2011-12-01

    Increasingly recognized in biological psychiatry, rodent self-grooming is a complex patterned behavior with evolutionarily conserved cephalo-caudal progression. While grooming is traditionally assessed by the latency, frequency and duration, its sequencing represents another important domain sensitive to various experimental manipulations. Such behavioral complexity requires novel objective approaches to quantify rodent grooming, in addition to time-consuming and highly variable manual observation. The present study combined modern behavior-recognition video-tracking technologies (CleverSys, Inc.) with manual observation to characterize in-depth spontaneous (novelty-induced) and artificial (water-induced) self-grooming in adult male C57BL/6J mice. We specifically focused on individual episodes of grooming (paw licking, head washing, body/leg washing, and tail/genital grooming), their duration and transitions between episodes. Overall, the frequency, duration and transitions detected using the automated approach significantly correlated with manual observations (R=0.51-0.7, pgrooming, also indicating that behavior-recognition tools can be applied to characterize both the amount and sequential organization (patterning) of rodent grooming. Together with further refinement and methodological advancement, this approach will foster high-throughput neurophenotyping of grooming, with multiple applications in drug screening and testing of genetically modified animals. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Unifying Viral Genetics and Human Transportation Data to Predict the Global Transmission Dynamics of Human Influenza H3N2

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P. Lemey (Philippe); A. Rambaut (Andrew); T. Bedford (Trevor); R. Faria (Rui); F. Bielejec (Filip); G. Baele (Guy); C.A. Russell (Colin); D.J. Smith (Derek James); O. Pybus (Oliver); K. Brockmann; M.A. Suchard (Marc)

    2014-01-01

    textabstractInformation on global human movement patterns is central to spatial epidemiological models used to predict the behavior of influenza and other infectious diseases. Yet it remains difficult to test which modes of dispersal drive pathogen spread at various geographic scales using standard

  13. [Drinking behaviors and patterns among floating population aged 18-59 years old in China, 2012].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yichong; Zhang, Mei; Jiang, Yong; Deng, Qian; Zhao, Yinjun; Huang, Zhengjing; Zeng, Xinying; Wang, Limin

    2014-11-01

    To understand the drinking behaviors and patterns among floating population in China. Floating population were selected through multistage clustering sampling method, stratified by 6 major industries in 170 counties and districts from 31 provinces/autonomous regions, and Xinjiang Construction Corps, in mainland China. Design-based methods were adopted to analyze the drinking behavior in subpopulations. A total of 48 697 floating population aged 18-59 years were included in the study. The overall prevalence rate of drinking was 51.7% with 71.9% in men and 24.7% in women, in the last 12 months. Among those who ever drank, the weekly drinking prevalence and daily alcohol intake were 53.9% and 18.7 g in males while 16.7% and 4.1 g in females, respectively, among those floating population. Weekly drinking prevalence rates, for both genders, increased along with the increase of age (P population from the construction industry had the highest prevalence rates on items as weekly drinking, daily alcohol intake and prevalence of unhealthy drinking behaviors, except for hazardous drinking behaviors. Drinking behavior was prevalent among floating population in China. Significant difference was seen between genders. Unhealthy drinking behaviors varied greatly among male drinkers at different age groups or education levels as well as among those working in the different industries.

  14. The gestational age pattern of human mortality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schöley, Jonas; Vaupel, James W.; Jacobsen, Rune

    -infant lifetable by gestational age spanning week 23 until week 100 after the last menstrual period of the mother. This joint lifetable shows a remarkable regularity in the gestational age profile of fetal- and infant mortality: Mortality rates are declining over the whole observed age range with the exception......In order to check hypotheses about the cause for "ontogenescense" -- the phenomenon of a declining force of mortality prior to maturity -- I analyse data on human mortality by gestational age. Based on extensive microdata on births, fetal- and infant deaths in the US 2009 I calculate a joint fetal...... of a "birth hump" peaking week 38. The absolute rate of decline slows down over age. The observed gestational age pattern of the force of mortality is consistent with three hypotheses concerning the causes for ontogenescense: 1) Adaptation: as the organism growths it becomes more resilient towards death, 2...

  15. A survey on human behavior towards energy saving for office worker in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mustafa, Nur Hanim; Husain, Mohd Nor; Aziz, Mohamad Zoinol Abidin Abdul; Othman, Mohd Azlishah; Malek, Fared

    2015-05-01

    Green environment is a space and energy efficient household, which can offer coziness and healthy living environment to its occupants. Human behavior is focuses to see the impact toward energy and also into green building. This probe can be taken in if everybody reads and share similar objectives in bringing off the energy in an efficient manner. This paper will present and watched over the survey feedback on energy usage by federal agency workers in Malaysia. The study will focus on the proletarians in the government sector since this population is the majority work in place. It is authoritative to present and support the tested data for a project doing, particularly connected to human existence. The matter is referred to discussing about human behavior to compare with the real situation information. Today, there are many researchers thought that the human activity as the primary ingredient for a monitoring arrangement. As a consequence, the energy monitoring system will improve the energy usage efficiency of the basic human actions in different places and surroundings.

  16. A General Model of Negative Frequency Dependent Selection Explains Global Patterns of Human ABO Polymorphism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando A Villanea

    Full Text Available The ABO locus in humans is characterized by elevated heterozygosity and very similar allele frequencies among populations scattered across the globe. Using knowledge of ABO protein function, we generated a simple model of asymmetric negative frequency dependent selection and genetic drift to explain the maintenance of ABO polymorphism and its loss in human populations. In our models, regardless of the strength of selection, models with large effective population sizes result in ABO allele frequencies that closely match those observed in most continental populations. Populations must be moderately small to fall out of equilibrium and lose either the A or B allele (N(e ≤ 50 and much smaller (N(e ≤ 25 for the complete loss of diversity, which nearly always involved the fixation of the O allele. A pattern of low heterozygosity at the ABO locus where loss of polymorphism occurs in our model is consistent with small populations, such as Native American populations. This study provides a general evolutionary model to explain the observed global patterns of polymorphism at the ABO locus and the pattern of allele loss in small populations. Moreover, these results inform the range of population sizes associated with the recent human colonization of the Americas.

  17. Understanding human behavior in times of war.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vetter, Stefan

    2007-12-01

    The Third Geneva Convention reflects on the values of humanism, declaring the rights of humaneness, honor, and protection before torture and final discharge of war prisoners after the end of a war. These days, the occurrences in Baghdad Central Detention Center (formerly known as Abu Ghraib Prison), the actions of British soldiers in Basra, and the inflamed public discussion of whether torture might be an appropriate method to obtain crucial information from terrorists put the Third Geneva Convention back in the spotlight. The aforementioned occurrences raise questions regarding the psychological mass phenomena that make us vulnerable to think and to act against our education, habits, and beliefs. Only an understanding of these phenomena will help us to act against behavior we condemn. This article is an attempt to show how cognition of societies and individuals slowly changes during longer conflicts. Furthermore, it tries to summarize the possibilities we have to confront these tendencies.

  18. Studies of Sociosexual Interactions in Rats in an Externally Valid Procedure: Are They Relevant for Understanding Human Sexual Behavior?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xi Chu

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available When a prolonged observation of groups of rats in a seminatural environment is used as testing procedure, different behavioral patterns are shown compared with what observed in a pair housed in a small cage. Males and females copulate simultaneously, they show a promiscuously and random copulatory pattern. Females remain completely receptive from the first lordosis displayed in the period of behavioral estrus until the last. There is no reduction in paracopulatory behaviors and no increase in rejections towards the end of estrus. Female paracopulatory behavior and receptivity change in a most abrupt way at both initiation and termination of behavioral estrus. It appears that, in the seminatural environment, males copulate in bouts, and males do not pursue the females unless they are fully receptive. Non-sexual, social behavior including affiliative and nonaffiliative interaction among rats is rather unrelated to sexual activities in both sex.

  19. The relationship between a low grain intake dietary pattern and impulsive behaviors in middle-aged Japanese people.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atsuhito Toyomaki

    Full Text Available Several studies indicate that dietary habits are associated with mental health. We are interested in identifying not a specific single nutrient/food group but the population preferring specific food combinations that can be related to mental health. Very few studies have examined relationships between dietary patterns and multifaceted mental states using cluster analysis. The purpose of this study was to investigate population-level dietary patterns associated with mental state using cluster analysis. We focused on depressive state, sleep quality, subjective well-being, and impulsive behaviors using rating scales. Two hundred and seventy-nine Japanese middle-aged people participated in the present study. Dietary pattern was estimated using a brief self-administered diet-history questionnaire (the BDHQ. We conducted K-means cluster analysis using thirteen BDHQ food groups: milk, meat, fish, egg, pulses, potatoes, green and yellow vegetables, other vegetables, mushrooms, seaweed, sweets, fruits, and grain. We identified three clusters characterized as "vegetable and fruit dominant," "grain dominant," and "low grain tendency" subgroups. The vegetable and fruit dominant group showed increases in several aspects of subjective well-being demonstrated by the SF-8. Differences in mean subject characteristics across clusters were tested using ANOVA. The low frequency intake of grain group showed higher impulsive behavior, demonstrated by BIS-11 deliberation and sum scores. The present study demonstrated that traditional Japanese dietary patterns, such as eating rice, can help with beneficial changes in mental health.

  20. Fear no colors? Observer clothing color influences lizard escape behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putman, Breanna J; Drury, Jonathan P; Blumstein, Daniel T; Pauly, Gregory B

    2017-01-01

    Animals often view humans as predators, leading to alterations in their behavior. Even nuanced aspects of human activity like clothing color affect animal behavior, but we lack an understanding of when and where such effects will occur. The species confidence hypothesis posits that birds are attracted to colors found on their bodies and repelled by non-body colors. Here, we extend this hypothesis taxonomically and conceptually to test whether this pattern is applicable in a non-avian reptile and to suggest that species should respond less fearfully to their sexually-selected signaling color. Responses to clothing color could also be impacted by habituation to humans, so we examine whether behavior varied between areas with low and high human activity. We quantified the effects of four T-shirt colors on flight initiation distances (FID) and on the ease of capture in western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis), and we accounted for detectability against the background environment. We found no differences in lizard behavior between sites. However, lizards tolerated the closest approaches and were most likely to be captured when approached with the T-shirt that resembled their sexually-selected signaling color. Because changes in individual behavior affect fitness, choice of clothing color by people, including tourists, hikers, and researchers, could impact wildlife populations and research outcomes.

  1. Variation of gunshot injury patterns in mortality associated with human rights abuses and armed conflict: an exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baraybar, Jose Pablo

    2015-09-01

    The analysis of the distribution of gunshot injuries in a sample of 777 sets of human remains of proven human rights abuse from Somaliland, the Balkans and Peru is compared to frequencies of injuries sustained by combatants in contemporary conflicts reported in the literature. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduced the data to three components accounting for 82.94% of the variance. The first component with 38.31% of variance shows segments Arms and thorax/abdomen to be positively correlated (0.887 and 0.662, respectively); the segment head/neck is strongly correlated (0.951) to the second component while the segment thorax/abdomen shows a low, negative correlation (-0.388). Finally in the third component only the legs are strongly correlated (0.991). Data was further subjected to a K-means cluster analysis to determine the likely groupings combining the four types of injuries. Each of the three clusters reproduced similar patterns observed in the PCA: Cluster 1 shows the prevalence of injuries to the thorax/abdomen and extremities in addition to injuries to the head/neck; Cluster 2 shows injuries to the head/neck and Cluster 3 injuries to the thorax/abdomen and a lower representation of the arms and legs. Most of the cases (70.5%), irrespective of geography and type of site (attack or detention), were grouped into Cluster 2. Such comparison shows that in human rights abuse, irrespective of their geography, gunshot injuries tend to follow a pattern favouring the head/neck and thorax/abdomen areas over the extremities, the reverse pattern observed in contemporary combat operations. In those settings gunshot wound trauma is the second cause of mortality/morbidity (after fragmenting ammunition) and its distribution concentrates on the extremities, thorax/abdomen and head; following the pattern of protective armour when it is used. Considering that human rights abuses are often presented as encounters between two armed groups in the context of counter

  2. Antibiotics and heavy metals resistance patterns of Enterococcus faecalis and faecium bacteria isolated from the human and the livestock sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yaser Sharifi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Enterococci have emerged as a major cause of nosocomial infections and within this group, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium cause the majority of human and livestock enterococcal infections. In this article, we tried to determine antibiotics and metals resistance patterns of E. faecalis and E. faecium strains. Methods: One hundred sixty different strains of E. faecalis and E. faecium were collected from livestock sewage and the human fecal waste during 15 months. Then bacterial antibiotics sensitivity tests were carried out using the Agar disc diffusion method. Results: Generally, 100% of E. faecalis strains separated from human and livestock sources (i.e. sheep showed penicillin (P/ kanamycin (K/ nitrofurantoin (N/ loracarbef (L/ Ciprofloxacin (Cc/ ampicillin (AN/ nalidixic acid (NA/ sulfamethoxazole (S antibiotics resistance patterns. In addition, 55% of isolated E. faecium showed P/S/AN/NA antibiotics resistance patterns. Each strain showed a resistance to at least two aminoglycoside antibiotics. However, E. faecalis strains from human and the livestock sources showed 94% and 100% of resistance to nitrofurantoin, respectively. The effects of different metal concentrations was evaluated in both strains. The agar dilution method was applied in this stage. Hg at 0.05 mmol/L of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC showed toxicity to both the human and livestock Enterococcus strains. Cadmium at 1 mmol/L and 0.5 mmol/L concentrations had the most toxicity to E. faecalis and E. faecium strains, respectively. Obviously, toxicity to bacteria is less than other metals. As a result, Zn/Ni/Cu/Co resistance pattern is suggested for both strains. Finally, antibiotics and heavy metals resistance patterns were monitored simultaneously. Conclusion: Almost all E. faecalis strains isolated from humans and livestock showed antibiotics and heavy metals resistance patterns of P/K/L/Cc/S/AN/NA/Zn/Cu/Co simultaneously. Moreover, 55% of E

  3. On sexual behavior and sex-role reversal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuiling, Gerard A

    2005-09-01

    Sex is not about reproduction; sex is about (re-)combination of DNA. Sex, not reproduction, always involves physical contact between two individuals; to achieve this, strategies of sexual behavior evolved. Sexual behavior, therefore, did not evolve as part of a reproductive strategy, but evolved to enable exchange of genetic material. In multicellular organisms the situation is more complicated than in unicellular organisms, as it is impossible for each cell within a multicellular body to have sex with another cell. Hence, evolution selected a system in which the possibility to have sex was limited to only one cell-line: the germ cells. As a result, sex adopted the character of fertilization, and sex and reproduction became inseparably linked. Still, in some species, including humans, sexual behavior still exhibits features of its evolutionary past: in humans (like in bonobo's) most sexual activity and many sexual behavioral patterns have nothing to do with reproduction (masturbation, homosexual behavior, for example); in humans, sexual behavior also became associated with other strategic objectives, such as intensifying the pair bond, expression of love or power. Different genders - male and female - evolved, and each gender evolved typical gender-related sexual and reproductive strategies as well. In most multicellular species, these strategies became inextricably mixed, and sexual behavior increasingly more - and in most species even exclusively - 'served' the interests of reproduction: sexual behavior became more or less synonymous with reproductive behavior. In most species, the 'mix' of sexual and reproductive strategies evolved into typical gender-related patterns of behavior, that is, in typical 'sex-roles'. Often, males are bigger and more 'beautiful' (= more intensely ornamented) than females; males compete with each other for access to females; males court females, while females choose males ('female choice'). However, ecological circumstances may cause

  4. Human motion behavior while interacting with an industrial robot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bortot, Dino; Ding, Hao; Antonopolous, Alexandros; Bengler, Klaus

    2012-01-01

    Human workers and industrial robots both have specific strengths within industrial production. Advantageously they complement each other perfectly, which leads to the development of human-robot interaction (HRI) applications. Bringing humans and robots together in the same workspace may lead to potential collisions. The avoidance of such is a central safety requirement. It can be realized with sundry sensor systems, all of them decelerating the robot when the distance to the human decreases alarmingly and applying the emergency stop, when the distance becomes too small. As a consequence, the efficiency of the overall systems suffers, because the robot has high idle times. Optimized path planning algorithms have to be developed to avoid that. The following study investigates human motion behavior in the proximity of an industrial robot. Three different kinds of encounters between the two entities under three robot speed levels are prompted. A motion tracking system is used to capture the motions. Results show, that humans keep an average distance of about 0,5m to the robot, when the encounter occurs. Approximation of the workbenches is influenced by the robot in ten of 15 cases. Furthermore, an increase of participants' walking velocity with higher robot velocities is observed.

  5. Atoll-scale patterns in coral reef community structure: Human signatures on Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole L Crane

    Full Text Available The dynamic relationship between reefs and the people who utilize them at a subsistence level is poorly understood. This paper characterizes atoll-scale patterns in shallow coral reef habitat and fish community structure, and correlates these with environmental characteristics and anthropogenic factors, critical to conservation efforts for the reefs and the people who depend on them. Hierarchical clustering analyses by site for benthic composition and fish community resulted in the same 3 major clusters: cluster 1-oceanic (close proximity to deep water and uninhabited (low human impact; cluster 2-oceanic and inhabited (high human impact; and cluster 3-lagoonal (facing the inside of the lagoon and inhabited (highest human impact. Distance from village, reef exposure to deep water and human population size had the greatest effect in predicting the fish and benthic community structure. Our study demonstrates a strong association between benthic and fish community structure and human use across the Ulithi Atoll (Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia and confirms a pattern observed by local people that an 'opportunistic' scleractinian coral (Montipora sp. is associated with more highly impacted reefs. Our findings suggest that small human populations (subsistence fishing can nevertheless have considerable ecological impacts on reefs due, in part, to changes in fishing practices rather than overfishing per se, as well as larger global trends. Findings from this work can assist in building local capacity to manage reef resources across an atoll-wide scale, and illustrates the importance of anthropogenic impact even in small communities.

  6. Holidays in lights: Tracking cultural patterns in demand for energy services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Román, Miguel O.; Stokes, Eleanor C.

    2015-06-01

    Successful climate change mitigation will involve not only technological innovation, but also innovation in how we understand the societal and individual behaviors that shape the demand for energy services. Traditionally, individual energy behaviors have been described as a function of utility optimization and behavioral economics, with price restructuring as the dominant policy lever. Previous research at the macro-level has identified economic activity, power generation and technology, and economic role as significant factors that shape energy use. However, most demand models lack basic contextual information on how dominant social phenomenon, the changing demographics of cities, and the sociocultural setting within which people operate, affect energy decisions and use patterns. Here we use high-quality Suomi-NPP VIIRS nighttime environmental products to: (1) observe aggregate human behavior through variations in energy service demand patterns during the Christmas and New Year's season and the Holy Month of Ramadan and (2) demonstrate that patterns in energy behaviors closely track sociocultural boundaries at the country, city, and district level. These findings indicate that energy decision making and demand is a sociocultural process as well as an economic process, often involving a combination of individual price-based incentives and societal-level factors. While nighttime satellite imagery has been used to map regional energy infrastructure distribution, tracking daily dynamic lighting demand at three major scales of urbanization is novel. This methodology can enrich research on the relative importance of drivers of energy demand and conservation behaviors at fine scales. Our initial results demonstrate the importance of seating energy demand frameworks in a social context.

  7. Holiday in Lights: Tracking Cultural Patterns in Demand for Energy Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roman, Miguel O.; Stokes, Eleanor C.

    2015-01-01

    Successful climate change mitigation will involve not only technological innovation, but also innovation in how we understand the societal and individual behaviors that shape the demand for energy services. Traditionally, individual energy behaviors have been described as a function of utility optimization and behavioral economics, with price restructuring as the dominant policy lever. Previous research at the macro-level has identified economic activity, power generation and technology, and economic role as significant factors that shape energy use. However, most demand models lack basic contextual information on how dominant social phenomenon, the changing demographics of cities, and the sociocultural setting within which people operate, affect energy decisions and use patterns. Here we use high-quality Suomi-NPP VIIRS nighttime environmental products to: (1) observe aggregate human behavior through variations in energy service demand patterns during the Christmas and New Year's season and the Holy Month of Ramadan and (2) demonstrate that patterns in energy behaviors closely track sociocultural boundaries at the country, city, and district level. These findings indicate that energy decision making and demand is a sociocultural process as well as an economic process, often involving a combination of individual price-based incentives and societal-level factors. While nighttime satellite imagery has been used to map regional energy infrastructure distribution, tracking daily dynamic lighting demand at three major scales of urbanization is novel. This methodology can enrich research on the relative importance of drivers of energy demand and conservation behaviors at fine scales. Our initial results demonstrate the importance of seating energy demand frameworks in a social context.

  8. HIV Risk Behavior in Persons with Severe Mental Disorders in a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    increased risk of sexual victimization may occur in the context ... sexually transmitted disease, 5.9% (6/102) reported sex trading and no reports of intravenous drug use ... Keywords: Human immuno virus, Mental health, Psychiatric patients, Risk behavior, .... Difference ..... persistent mental illness: Patterns and psychological.

  9. Flexible Human Behavior Analysis Framework for Video Surveillance Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weilun Lao

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available We study a flexible framework for semantic analysis of human motion from surveillance video. Successful trajectory estimation and human-body modeling facilitate the semantic analysis of human activities in video sequences. Although human motion is widely investigated, we have extended such research in three aspects. By adding a second camera, not only more reliable behavior analysis is possible, but it also enables to map the ongoing scene events onto a 3D setting to facilitate further semantic analysis. The second contribution is the introduction of a 3D reconstruction scheme for scene understanding. Thirdly, we perform a fast scheme to detect different body parts and generate a fitting skeleton model, without using the explicit assumption of upright body posture. The extension of multiple-view fusion improves the event-based semantic analysis by 15%–30%. Our proposed framework proves its effectiveness as it achieves a near real-time performance (13–15 frames/second and 6–8 frames/second for monocular and two-view video sequences.

  10. Physiological and behavioral patterns of corruption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaber-López, Tarek; García-Gallego, Aurora; Perakakis, Pandelis; Georgantzis, Nikolaos

    2014-01-01

    We study the behavior and emotional arousal of the participants in an experimental auction, leading to an asymmetric social dilemma involving an auctioneer and two bidders. An antisocial transfer (bribe) which is beneficial for the auctioneer (official) is paid, if promised, by the winner of the auction. Some pro-social behavior on both the auctioneers' and the bidders' sides is observed even in the absence of any punishment mechanism (Baseline, Treatment 0). However, pro-social behavior is adopted by the vast majority of subjects when the loser of the auction can inspect the transaction between the winner and the auctioneer (Inspection, Treatment 1). The inspection and punishment mechanism is such that, if a bribe is (not) revealed, both corrupt agents (the denouncing bidder) lose(s) this period's payoffs. This renders the inspection option unprofitable for the loser and is rarely used, especially toward the end of the session, when pro-social behavior becomes pervasive. Subjects' emotional arousal was obtained through skin conductance responses. Generally speaking, our findings suggest that stronger emotions are associated with decisions deviating from pure monetary reward maximization, rather than with (un)ethical behavior per se. In fact, using response times as a measure of the subject's reflection during the decision-making process, we can associate emotional arousal with the conflict between primary or instinctive and secondary or contemplative motivations and, more specifically, with deviations from the subject's pure monetary interest.

  11. Physiological and behavioral patterns of corruption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tarek eJaber-López

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available We study the behavior and emotional arousal of the participants in an experimental auction, leading to an asymmetric social dilemma involving an auctioneer and two bidders. An antisocial transfer (bribe which is beneficial for the auctioneer (official is paid, if promised, by the winner of the auction. Some pro-social behavior on both the auctioneers' and the bidders' sides is observed even in the absence of any punishment mechanism (Baseline, Treatment 0. However, pro-social behavior is adopted by the vast majority of subjects when the loser of the auction can inspect the transaction between the winner and the auctioneer (Inspection, Treatment 1. The inspection and punishment mechanism is such that, if a bribe is (not revealed, both corrupt agents (the denouncing bidder lose(s this period's payoffs. This renders the inspection option unprofitable for the loser and is rarely used, especially towards the end of the session, when pro-social behavior becomes pervasive. Subjects' emotional arousal was obtained through skin conductance responses. Generally speaking, our findings suggest that stronger emotions are associated with decisions deviating from pure monetary reward maximization, rather than with (unethical behavior per se. In fact, using response times as a measure of the subject's reflection during the decision-making process, we can associate emotional arousal with the conflict between primary or instinctive and secondary or contemplative motivations and, more specifically, with deviations from the subject's pure monetary interest.

  12. Physiological and behavioral patterns of corruption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaber-López, Tarek; García-Gallego, Aurora; Perakakis, Pandelis; Georgantzis, Nikolaos

    2014-01-01

    We study the behavior and emotional arousal of the participants in an experimental auction, leading to an asymmetric social dilemma involving an auctioneer and two bidders. An antisocial transfer (bribe) which is beneficial for the auctioneer (official) is paid, if promised, by the winner of the auction. Some pro-social behavior on both the auctioneers' and the bidders' sides is observed even in the absence of any punishment mechanism (Baseline, Treatment 0). However, pro-social behavior is adopted by the vast majority of subjects when the loser of the auction can inspect the transaction between the winner and the auctioneer (Inspection, Treatment 1). The inspection and punishment mechanism is such that, if a bribe is (not) revealed, both corrupt agents (the denouncing bidder) lose(s) this period's payoffs. This renders the inspection option unprofitable for the loser and is rarely used, especially toward the end of the session, when pro-social behavior becomes pervasive. Subjects' emotional arousal was obtained through skin conductance responses. Generally speaking, our findings suggest that stronger emotions are associated with decisions deviating from pure monetary reward maximization, rather than with (un)ethical behavior per se. In fact, using response times as a measure of the subject's reflection during the decision-making process, we can associate emotional arousal with the conflict between primary or instinctive and secondary or contemplative motivations and, more specifically, with deviations from the subject's pure monetary interest. PMID:25566002

  13. The role of conditioning, learning and dopamine in sexual behavior: a narrative review of animal and human studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brom, Mirte; Both, Stephanie; Laan, Ellen; Everaerd, Walter; Spinhoven, Philip

    2014-01-01

    Many theories of human sexual behavior assume that sexual stimuli obtain arousing properties through associative learning processes. It is widely accepted that classical conditioning contributes to the etiology of both normal and maladaptive human behaviors. Despite the hypothesized importance of

  14. The role of conditioning, learning and dopamine in sexual behavior : A narrative review of animal and human studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brom, M.; Both, S.; Laan, E.; Everaerd, W.; Spinhoven, P.

    Many theories of human sexual behavior assume that sexual stimuli obtain arousing properties through associative learning processes. It is widely accepted that classical conditioning contributes to the etiology of both normal and maladaptive human behaviors. Despite the hypothesized importance of

  15. THE PATTERN OF THE AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN THE LABORATORY MOUSE (MUS MUSCULUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria BUNEA

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Nature has found solutions for decreasing the aggressive impulse, using various inhibitory mechanisms as means of balancing the forces between two fighting individuals, thus avoiding it to lead to the destruction of their own species. These nature's “ pacifyng” solutions are mostly found in animals which are armed with various potentially lethal “weapons”, while in species that live on large territoires and thus have the possibility to avoid conflict, these mechanisms are poorly developed. The purpose of this research is to study the extent of the inhibitory mechanisms against aggression in the laboratory mouse, species in which these mechanisms of diminishing aggression and of avoiding conflicts don't work the same in artificial conditions, where individuals are forced to live in small areas, and to identify the behavioral chains that form the innate manifestations of the aggressive behavior in Mus musculus sp. The results of this study show that in the circumstance of caged individuals, which are crowded so closely together, the intensity of aggression is increasing. The dominance hierarchy is well established after their first fight, but due to the spatial constraint and the fact that there is no place where to flee, the submissive individual oftenly fights back. In every single interraction the aggressive behavior follows a fixed action pattern.

  16. Local behavioral rules sustain the cell allocation pattern in the combs of honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montovan, Kathryn J; Karst, Nathaniel; Jones, Laura E; Seeley, Thomas D

    2013-11-07

    In the beeswax combs of honey bees, the cells of brood, pollen, and honey have a consistent spatial pattern that is sustained throughout the life of a colony. This spatial pattern is believed to emerge from simple behavioral rules that specify how the queen moves, where foragers deposit honey/pollen and how honey/pollen is consumed from cells. Prior work has shown that a set of such rules can explain the formation of the allocation pattern starting from an empty comb. We show that these rules cannot maintain the pattern once the brood start to vacate their cells, and we propose new, biologically realistic rules that better sustain the observed allocation pattern. We analyze the three resulting models by performing hundreds of simulation runs over many gestational periods and a wide range of parameter values. We develop new metrics for pattern assessment and employ them in analyzing pattern retention over each simulation run. Applied to our simulation results, these metrics show alteration of an accepted model for honey/pollen consumption based on local information can stabilize the cell allocation pattern over time. We also show that adding global information, by biasing the queen's movements towards the center of the comb, expands the parameter regime over which pattern retention occurs. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Risk attitudes in a changing environment: An evolutionary model of the fourfold pattern of risk preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallpress, Dave E W; Fawcett, Tim W; Houston, Alasdair I; McNamara, John M

    2015-04-01

    A striking feature of human decision making is the fourfold pattern of risk attitudes, involving risk-averse behavior in situations of unlikely losses and likely gains, but risk-seeking behavior in response to likely losses and unlikely gains. Current theories to explain this pattern assume particular psychological processes to reproduce empirical observations, but do not address whether it is adaptive for the decision maker to respond to risk in this way. Here, drawing on insights from behavioral ecology, we build an evolutionary model of risk-sensitive behavior, to investigate whether particular types of environmental conditions could favor a fourfold pattern of risk attitudes. We consider an individual foraging in a changing environment, where energy is needed to prevent starvation and build up reserves for reproduction. The outcome, in terms of reproductive value (a rigorous measure of evolutionary success), of a one-off choice between a risky and a safe gain, or between a risky and a safe loss, determines the risk-sensitive behavior we should expect to see in this environment. Our results show that the fourfold pattern of risk attitudes may be adaptive in an environment in which conditions vary stochastically but are autocorrelated in time. In such an environment the current options provide information about the likely environmental conditions in the future, which affect the optimal pattern of risk sensitivity. Our model predicts that risk preferences should be both path dependent and affected by the decision maker's current state. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Informational Behaviors of College Students in Regard to the Human Papillomavirus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandfort, Jessica R.; Pleasant, Andrew

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To assess students' human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Participants/ Methods: Students (N = 1,282) at a large, public university in the Northeast United States completed a questionnaire during February 2008 assessing HPV knowledge, prevalence, transmission, cervical cancer risk and stigma; sexual behavior,…

  19. Dietary options and behavior suggested by plant biomarker evidence in an early human habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magill, Clayton R.; Ashley, Gail M.; Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel; Freeman, Katherine H.

    2016-03-01

    The availability of plants and freshwater shapes the diets and social behavior of chimpanzees, our closest living relative. However, limited evidence about the spatial relationships shared between ancestral human (hominin) remains, edible resources, refuge, and freshwater leaves the influence of local resources on our species' evolution open to debate. Exceptionally well-preserved organic geochemical fossils-biomarkers-preserved in a soil horizon resolve different plant communities at meter scales across a contiguous 25,000 m2 archaeological land surface at Olduvai Gorge from about 2 Ma. Biomarkers reveal hominins had access to aquatic plants and protective woods in a patchwork landscape, which included a spring-fed wetland near a woodland that both were surrounded by open grassland. Numerous cut-marked animal bones are located within the wooded area, and within meters of wetland vegetation delineated by biomarkers for ferns and sedges. Taken together, plant biomarkers, clustered bone debris, and hominin remains define a clear spatial pattern that places animal butchery amid the refuge of an isolated forest patch and near freshwater with diverse edible resources.

  20. Neurogenetics of aggressive behavior: studies in rodents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Aki; Miczek, Klaus A

    2014-01-01

    Aggressive behavior is observed in many animal species, such as insects, fish, lizards, frogs, and most mammals including humans. This wide range of conservation underscores the importance of aggressive behavior in the animals' survival and fitness, and the likely heritability of this behavior. Although typical patterns of aggressive behavior differ between species, there are several concordances in the neurobiology of aggression among rodents, primates, and humans. Studies with rodent models may eventually help us to understand the neurogenetic architecture of aggression in humans. However, it is important to recognize the difference between the ecological and ethological significance of aggressive behavior (species-typical aggression) and maladaptive violence (escalated aggression) when applying the findings of aggression research using animal models to human or veterinary medicine. Well-studied rodent models for aggressive behavior in the laboratory setting include the mouse (Mus musculus), rat (Rattus norvegicus), hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), and prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). The neural circuits of rodent aggression have been gradually elucidated by several techniques, e.g., immunohistochemistry of immediate-early gene (c-Fos) expression, intracranial drug microinjection, in vivo microdialysis, and optogenetics techniques. Also, evidence accumulated from the analysis of gene-knockout mice shows the involvement of several genes in aggression. Here, we review the brain circuits that have been implicated in aggression, such as the hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex (PFC), dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and olfactory system. We then discuss the roles of glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), excitatory and inhibitory amino acids in the brain, as well as their receptors, in controlling aggressive behavior, focusing mainly on recent findings. At the end of this chapter, we discuss how genes can be identified that underlie individual

  1. Safeguarding Self-Governance: A Grounded Theory of Older Patients’ Pattern of Behavior in Relation to their Relatives in Fast-track Programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berthelsen, Connie B.; Frederiksen, Kirsten; Lindhardt Damsgaard, Tove

    2014-01-01

    Abstract The aim of this study was to generate a grounded theory of older patients’ pattern of behavior in relation to their relatives’ involvement in fast-track programs during total joint replacement. Sixteen patients were recruited in orthopedic wards. Data collection included 11 interviews......, shielding, distancing, and masking. Keywords: Fast-track program, grounded theory, older patients, relatives, total joint replacement.......-governance emerged in the analysis as the core category of our theory and pattern of behavior of the older patients in relation to their relatives. The older patients’ main concern was to complete the fast-track program while maintaining autonomy, which they resolved through four strategies of actions: embracing...

  2. Homeostasis lighting control based on relationship between lighting environment and human behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueda, Risa; Mita, Akira

    2015-03-01

    Although each person has own preferences, living spaces which can respond to various preferences and needs have not become reality. Focusing on the lighting environments which influence on the impression of living spaces, this research aims to offer comfortable lighting environments for each resident by a flexible control. This research examines the relationship between lighting environments and human behaviors considering colored lights. In accord with the relationship, this research proposes an illuminance-color control system which flexibly changes spatial environments responding to human conditions. Firstly, the psychological evaluation was conducted in order to build human models for various environments. As a result, preferred lighting environments for each examinee were determined for particular behaviors. Moreover, satisfaction levels of lighting environments were calculated by using seven types of impression of the environments as parameters. The results were summarized as human models. Secondly, this research proposed "Homeostasis Lighting Control System", which employs the human models. Homeostasis lighting control system embodies the algorithm of homeostasis, which is one of the functions of the physiological adaptation. Human discomfort feelings are obtained automatically by the sensor agent robot. The system can offer comfortable lighting environments without controlling environments by residents autonomously based on the information from the robot. This research takes into accounts both illuminance and color. The robot communicates with the server which contains human models, then the system corresponds to individuals. Combining these three systems, the proposed system can effectively control the lighting environment. At last, the feasibility of the proposed system was verified by simulation experiments.

  3. Body odor quality predicts behavioral attractiveness in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, S Craig; Kralevich, Alexandra; Ferdenzi, Camille; Saxton, Tamsin K; Jones, Benedict C; DeBruine, Lisa M; Little, Anthony C; Havlicek, Jan

    2011-12-01

    Growing effort is being made to understand how different attractive physical traits co-vary within individuals, partly because this might indicate an underlying index of genetic quality. In humans, attention has focused on potential markers of quality such as facial attractiveness, axillary odor quality, the second-to-fourth digit (2D:4D) ratio and body mass index (BMI). Here we extend this approach to include visually-assessed kinesic cues (nonverbal behavior linked to movement) which are statistically independent of structural physical traits. The utility of such kinesic cues in mate assessment is controversial, particularly during everyday conversational contexts, as they could be unreliable and susceptible to deception. However, we show here that the attractiveness of nonverbal behavior, in 20 male participants, is predicted by perceived quality of their axillary body odor. This finding indicates covariation between two desirable traits in different sensory modalities. Depending on two different rating contexts (either a simple attractiveness rating or a rating for long-term partners by 10 female raters not using hormonal contraception), we also found significant relationships between perceived attractiveness of nonverbal behavior and BMI, and between axillary odor ratings and 2D:4D ratio. Axillary odor pleasantness was the single attribute that consistently predicted attractiveness of nonverbal behavior. Our results demonstrate that nonverbal kinesic cues could reliably reveal mate quality, at least in males, and could corroborate and contribute to mate assessment based on other physical traits.

  4. Human action pattern monitor for telecare system utilizing magnetic thin film infrared sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osada, H.; Chiba, S.; Oka, H.; Seki, K.

    2002-01-01

    The magnetic thin film infrared sensor (MFI) is an infrared sensing device utilizing a temperature-sensitive magnetic thin film with marked temperature dependence in the room temperature range. We propose a human action pattern monitor (HPM) constructed with the MFI, without a monitor camera to save the clients' privacy, as a telecare system

  5. Towards representing human behavior and decision making in Earth system models - an overview of techniques and approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller-Hansen, Finn; Schlüter, Maja; Mäs, Michael; Donges, Jonathan F.; Kolb, Jakob J.; Thonicke, Kirsten; Heitzig, Jobst

    2017-11-01

    Today, humans have a critical impact on the Earth system and vice versa, which can generate complex feedback processes between social and ecological dynamics. Integrating human behavior into formal Earth system models (ESMs), however, requires crucial modeling assumptions about actors and their goals, behavioral options, and decision rules, as well as modeling decisions regarding human social interactions and the aggregation of individuals' behavior. Here, we review existing modeling approaches and techniques from various disciplines and schools of thought dealing with human behavior at different levels of decision making. We demonstrate modelers' often vast degrees of freedom but also seek to make modelers aware of the often crucial consequences of seemingly innocent modeling assumptions. After discussing which socioeconomic units are potentially important for ESMs, we compare models of individual decision making that correspond to alternative behavioral theories and that make diverse modeling assumptions about individuals' preferences, beliefs, decision rules, and foresight. We review approaches to model social interaction, covering game theoretic frameworks, models of social influence, and network models. Finally, we discuss approaches to studying how the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations can aggregate to complex collective phenomena, discussing agent-based, statistical, and representative-agent modeling and economic macro-dynamics. We illustrate the main ingredients of modeling techniques with examples from land-use dynamics as one of the main drivers of environmental change bridging local to global scales.

  6. Evolution of life history and behavior in Hominidae: towards phylogenetic reconstruction of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, Pavel; Zrzavý, Jan

    2013-10-01

    The origin of the fundamental behavioral differences between humans and our closest living relatives is one of the central issues of evolutionary anthropology. The prominent, chimpanzee-based referential model of early hominin behavior has recently been challenged on the basis of broad multispecies comparisons and newly discovered fossil evidence. Here, we argue that while behavioral data on extant great apes are extremely relevant for reconstruction of ancestral behaviors, these behaviors should be reconstructed trait by trait using formal phylogenetic methods. Using the widely accepted hominoid phylogenetic tree, we perform a series of character optimization analyses using 65 selected life-history and behavioral characters for all extant hominid species. This analysis allows us to reconstruct the character states of the last common ancestors of Hominoidea, Hominidae, and the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor. Our analyses demonstrate that many fundamental behavioral and life-history attributes of hominids (including humans) are evidently ancient and likely inherited from the common ancestor of all hominids. However, numerous behaviors present in extant great apes represent their own terminal autapomorphies (both uniquely derived and homoplastic). Any evolutionary model that uses a single extant species to explain behavioral evolution of early hominins is therefore of limited use. In contrast, phylogenetic reconstruction of ancestral states is able to provide a detailed suite of behavioral, ecological and life-history characters for each hypothetical ancestor. The living great apes therefore play an important role for the confident identification of the traits found in the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor, some of which are likely to represent behaviors of the fossil hominins. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Gaming Device Usage Patterns Predict Internet Gaming Disorder: Comparison across Different Gaming Device Usage Patterns

    OpenAIRE

    Soo-Hyun Paik; Hyun Cho; Ji-Won Chun; Jo-Eun Jeong; Dai-Jin Kim

    2017-01-01

    Gaming behaviors have been significantly influenced by smartphones. This study was designed to explore gaming behaviors and clinical characteristics across different gaming device usage patterns and the role of the patterns on Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Responders of an online survey regarding smartphone and online game usage were classified by different gaming device usage patterns: (1) individuals who played only computer games; (2) individuals who played computer games more than smart...

  8. Temporal components of the motor patterns expressed by the human spinal cord reflect foot kinematics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanenko, Yuri P; Grasso, Renato; Zago, Myrka; Molinari, Marco; Scivoletto, Giorgio; Castellano, Vincenzo; Macellari, Velio; Lacquaniti, Francesco

    2003-11-01

    What are the building blocks with which the human spinal cord constructs the motor patterns of locomotion? In principle, they could correspond to each individual activity pattern in dozens of different muscles. Alternatively, there could exist a small set of constituent temporal components that are common to all activation patterns and reflect global kinematic goals. To address this issue, we studied patients with spinal injury trained to step on a treadmill with body weight support. Patients learned to produce foot kinematics similar to that of healthy subjects but with activity patterns of individual muscles generally different from the control group. Hidden in the muscle patterns, we found a basic set of five temporal components, whose flexible combination accounted for the wide range of muscle patterns recorded in both controls and patients. Furthermore, two of the components were systematically related to foot kinematics across different stepping speeds and loading conditions. We suggest that the components are related to control signals output by spinal pattern generators, normally under the influence of descending and afferent inputs.

  9. An Interview with Joe McMann: Lessons Learned from Fifty Years of Observing Hardware and Human Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMann, Joe

    2011-01-01

    Pica Kahn conducted "An Interview with Joe McMann: Lessons Learned in Human and Hardware Behavior" on August 16, 2011. With more than 40 years of experience in the aerospace industry, McMann has gained a wealth of knowledge. This presentation focused on lessons learned in human and hardware behavior. During his many years in the industry, McMann observed that the hardware development process was intertwined with human influences, which impacted the outcome of the product.

  10. Risk and Ambiguity in Information Seeking: Eye Gaze Patterns Reveal Contextual Behavior in Dealing with Uncertainty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittek, Peter; Liu, Ying-Hsang; Darányi, Sándor; Gedeon, Tom; Lim, Ik Soo

    2016-01-01

    Information foraging connects optimal foraging theory in ecology with how humans search for information. The theory suggests that, following an information scent, the information seeker must optimize the tradeoff between exploration by repeated steps in the search space vs. exploitation, using the resources encountered. We conjecture that this tradeoff characterizes how a user deals with uncertainty and its two aspects, risk and ambiguity in economic theory. Risk is related to the perceived quality of the actually visited patch of information, and can be reduced by exploiting and understanding the patch to a better extent. Ambiguity, on the other hand, is the opportunity cost of having higher quality patches elsewhere in the search space. The aforementioned tradeoff depends on many attributes, including traits of the user: at the two extreme ends of the spectrum, analytic and wholistic searchers employ entirely different strategies. The former type focuses on exploitation first, interspersed with bouts of exploration, whereas the latter type prefers to explore the search space first and consume later. Our findings from an eye-tracking study of experts' interactions with novel search interfaces in the biomedical domain suggest that user traits of cognitive styles and perceived search task difficulty are significantly correlated with eye gaze and search behavior. We also demonstrate that perceived risk shifts the balance between exploration and exploitation in either type of users, tilting it against vs. in favor of ambiguity minimization. Since the pattern of behavior in information foraging is quintessentially sequential, risk and ambiguity minimization cannot happen simultaneously, leading to a fundamental limit on how good such a tradeoff can be. This in turn connects information seeking with the emergent field of quantum decision theory.

  11. Modeling Human Steering Behavior During Path Following in Teleoperation of Unmanned Ground Vehicles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirinejad, Hossein; Jayakumar, Paramsothy; Ersal, Tulga

    2018-04-01

    This paper presents a behavioral model representing the human steering performance in teleoperated unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). Human steering performance in teleoperation is considerably different from the performance in regular onboard driving situations due to significant communication delays in teleoperation systems and limited information human teleoperators receive from the vehicle sensory system. Mathematical models capturing the teleoperation performance are a key to making the development and evaluation of teleoperated UGV technologies fully simulation based and thus more rapid and cost-effective. However, driver models developed for the typical onboard driving case do not readily address this need. To fill the gap, this paper adopts a cognitive model that was originally developed for a typical highway driving scenario and develops a tuning strategy that adjusts the model parameters in the absence of human data to reflect the effect of various latencies and UGV speeds on driver performance in a teleoperated path-following task. Based on data collected from a human subject test study, it is shown that the tuned model can predict both the trend of changes in driver performance for different driving conditions and the best steering performance of human subjects in all driving conditions considered. The proposed model with the tuning strategy has a satisfactory performance in predicting human steering behavior in the task of teleoperated path following of UGVs. The established model is a suited candidate to be used in place of human drivers for simulation-based studies of UGV mobility in teleoperation systems.

  12. Sleep/wake firing patterns of human genioglossus motor units.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, E Fiona; Fridel, Keith W; Rice, Amber D

    2007-12-01

    Although studies of the principal tongue protrudor muscle genioglossus (GG) suggest that whole muscle GG electromyographic (EMG) activities are preserved in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, it is unclear what influence sleep exerts on individual GG motor unit (MU) activities. We characterized the firing patterns of human GG MUs in wakefulness and NREM sleep with the aim of determining 1) whether the range of MU discharge patterns evident in wakefulness is preserved in sleep and 2) what effect the removal of the "wakefulness" input has on the magnitude of the respiratory modulation of MU activities. Microelectrodes inserted into the extrinsic tongue protrudor muscle, the genioglossus, were used to follow the discharge of single MUs. We categorized MU activities on the basis of the temporal relationship between the spike train and the respiration cycle and quantified the magnitude of the respiratory modulation of each MU using the eta (eta(2)) index, in wakefulness and sleep. The majority of MUs exhibited subtle increases or decreases in respiratory modulation but were otherwise unaffected by NREM sleep. In contrast, 30% of MUs exhibited marked sleep-associated changes in discharge frequency and respiratory modulation. We suggest that GG MUs should not be considered exclusively tonic or phasic; rather, the discharge pattern appears to be a flexible feature of GG activities in healthy young adults. Whether such flexibility is important in the response to changes in the chemical and/or mechanical environment and whether it is preserved as a function of aging or in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea are critical questions for future research.

  13. Multivariate Cholesky models of human female fertility patterns in the NLSY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Joseph Lee; Bard, David E; Miller, Warren B

    2007-03-01

    Substantial evidence now exists that variables measuring or correlated with human fertility outcomes have a heritable component. In this study, we define a series of age-sequenced fertility variables, and fit multivariate models to account for underlying shared genetic and environmental sources of variance. We make predictions based on a theory developed by Udry [(1996) Biosocial models of low-fertility societies. In: Casterline, JB, Lee RD, Foote KA (eds) Fertility in the United States: new patterns, new theories. The Population Council, New York] suggesting that biological/genetic motivations can be more easily realized and measured in settings in which fertility choices are available. Udry's theory, along with principles from molecular genetics and certain tenets of life history theory, allow us to make specific predictions about biometrical patterns across age. Consistent with predictions, our results suggest that there are different sources of genetic influence on fertility variance at early compared to later ages, but that there is only one source of shared environmental influence that occurs at early ages. These patterns are suggestive of the types of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions for which we must account to better understand individual differences in fertility outcomes.

  14. Spatio-temporal patterns of attacks on human and economic losses from wildlife in Chitwan National Park, Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamichhane, Babu Ram; Persoon, Gerard A; Leirs, Herwig; Poudel, Shashank; Subedi, Naresh; Pokheral, Chiranjibi Prasad; Bhattarai, Santosh; Thapaliya, Bishnu Prasad; de Iongh, Hans H

    2018-01-01

    Wildlife attacks on humans and economic losses often result in reduced support of local communities for wildlife conservation. Information on spatial and temporal patterns of such losses in the highly affected areas contribute in designing and implementing effective mitigation measures. We analyzed the loss of humans, livestock and property caused by wildlife during 1998 to 2016, using victim family's reports to Chitwan National Park authorities and Buffer Zone User Committees. A total of 4,014 incidents were recorded including attacks on humans, livestock depredation, property damage and crop raiding caused by 12 wildlife species. In total >400,000 US dollar was paid to the victim families as a relief over the whole period. Most of the attacks on humans were caused by rhino, sloth bear, tiger, elephant, wild boar and leopard. A significantly higher number of conflict incidents caused by rhino and elephant were observed during full moon periods. An increase in the wildlife population did not coincide with an equal rise in conflict incidents reported. Underprivileged ethnic communities were attacked by wildlife more frequently than expected. Number of attacks on humans by carnivores and herbivores did not differ significantly. An insignificant decreasing trend of wildlife attacks on humans and livestock was observed with significant variation over the years. Tiger and leopard caused >90% of livestock depredation. Tigers killed both large (cattle and buffalo) and medium sized (goat, sheep, pig) livestock but leopard mostly killed medium sized livestock. Most (87%) of the livestock killing during 2012-2016 occurred within the stall but close (conflict mitigation measures (electric and mesh wire fences) have contributed to keep the conflict incidents in control. Strengthening mitigation measures like construction of electric or mesh wire fences and predator-proof livestock corrals along with educating local communities about wildlife behavior and timely management of

  15. The use of census migration data to approximate human movement patterns across temporal scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wesolowski, Amy; Buckee, Caroline O; Pindolia, Deepa K; Eagle, Nathan; Smith, David L; Garcia, Andres J; Tatem, Andrew J

    2013-01-01

    Human movement plays a key role in economies and development, the delivery of services, and the spread of infectious diseases. However, it remains poorly quantified partly because reliable data are often lacking, particularly for low-income countries. The most widely available are migration data from human population censuses, which provide valuable information on relatively long timescale relocations across countries, but do not capture the shorter-scale patterns, trips less than a year, that make up the bulk of human movement. Census-derived migration data may provide valuable proxies for shorter-term movements however, as substantial migration between regions can be indicative of well connected places exhibiting high levels of movement at finer time scales, but this has never been examined in detail. Here, an extensive mobile phone usage data set for Kenya was processed to extract movements between counties in 2009 on weekly, monthly, and annual time scales and compared to data on change in residence from the national census conducted during the same time period. We find that the relative ordering across Kenyan counties for incoming, outgoing and between-county movements shows strong correlations. Moreover, the distributions of trip durations from both sources of data are similar, and a spatial interaction model fit to the data reveals the relationships of different parameters over a range of movement time scales. Significant relationships between census migration data and fine temporal scale movement patterns exist, and results suggest that census data can be used to approximate certain features of movement patterns across multiple temporal scales, extending the utility of census-derived migration data.

  16. Chondrogenesis and hypertrophy in response to aggregate behaviors of human mesenchymal stem cells on a dendrimer-immobilized surface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wongin, Sopita; Ogawa, Yuuki; Kim, Mee-Hae; Viravaidya-Pasuwat, Kwanchanok; Kino-Oka, Masahiro

    2017-08-01

    To investigate the behaviors of aggregates of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on chondrogenesis and chondrocyte hypertrophy using spatiotemporal expression patterns of chondrogenic (type II collagen) and hypertrophic (type X collagen) markers during chondrogenesis. hMSCs were cultured on either a polystyrene surface or polyamidoamine dendrimer surface with a fifth generation (G5) dendron structure in chondrogenic medium and growth medium. At day 7, cell aggregates without stress fibers formed on the G5 surface and triggered differentiation of hMSCs toward the chondrogenic fate, as indicated by type II collagen being observed while type X collagen was undetectable. In contrast, immunostaining of hMSCs cultured on polystyrene, which exhibited abundant stress fibers and did not form aggregates, revealed no evidence of either type II and or type X collagen. At day 21, the morphological changes of the cell aggregates formed on the G5 surface were suppressed as a result of stress fiber formation. Type II collagen was observed throughout the aggregates whereas type X collagen was detected only at the basal side of the aggregates. Change of cell aggregate behaviors derived from G5 surface alone regulated chondrogenesis and hypotrophy, and this was enhanced by chondrogenic medium. Incubation of hMSCs affects the expression of type II and X collagens via effects on cell aggregate behavior and stress fiber formation.

  17. COMPARING BEHAVIORAL DOSE-EFFECT CURVES FOR HUMANS AND LABORATORY ANIMALS ACUTELY EXPOSED TO TOLUENE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    The utility of laboratory animal data in toxicology depends upon the ability to generalize the results quantitatively to humans. To compare the acute behavioral effects of inhaled toluene in humans to those in animals, dose-effect curves were fitted by meta-analysis of published...

  18. Human papillomavirus vaccine and sexual behavior among adolescent and young women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liddon, Nicole C; Leichliter, Jami S; Markowitz, Lauri E

    2012-01-01

    Vaccines to prevent certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) and associated cancers are recommended for routine use among young women. Nationally representative reports of vaccine uptake have not explored the relationship between HPV vaccine initiation and various sexual behaviors. Explore sexual behavior and demographic correlates of HPV vaccine initiation from a nationally representative survey of adolescent and young adult women. In 2007-2008, a total of 1243 girls/women aged 15-24 years responded to questions about receiving HPV vaccine in the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). In 2010, demographic and sexual behavior correlates were evaluated in bivariate and multivariate analyses by age. HPV vaccine initiation was higher among those aged 15-19 years than those aged 20-24 years (30.3% vs 15.9%, p19 years. No association was found between HPV vaccination and risky sexual behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Pattern of Cleanliness with Technology Intervention for Innovation Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutari Mulyani, Sitti; Hendrik, Billy; Andhika Putra, Rio; Masril, Mardhiah

    2017-12-01

    Environmental solutions around the world today are making people dependent on technological developments. However, the technology cannot be separated from the community either in the form or its influence, therefore the pattern of behavior of society must also get arrangements for technology to occur as an acceleration of life done properly. This study aims to obtain patterns of community behavior on non-organic waste by using technology intervention. Gap exploration is essential for theoretical and experimental analysis of humans who dispose of unorganic and organic waste out of place. But the field of behavior analysis is uniquely tailored to contribute to this body of work. Sustainable development depends on changing technology to achieve its goals. We report on data collected form an on-line survey, which possible solutions for trash problems. In this paper we present an integrated waste management system with IT that we called I-BSC (Indonesia Bersih (Clean), Sehat (Healty) and Cerdas (Smart)). This I-BSC is not only for deposit bottles and systems but the system aims also to create awareness of waste production and management, which serves as an educational platform in urban environments for further life innovation.

  20. Mapping collective behavior in the big-data era.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentley, R Alexander; O'Brien, Michael J; Brock, William A

    2014-02-01

    The behavioral sciences have flourished by studying how traditional and/or rational behavior has been governed throughout most of human history by relatively well-informed individual and social learning. In the online age, however, social phenomena can occur with unprecedented scale and unpredictability, and individuals have access to social connections never before possible. Similarly, behavioral scientists now have access to "big data" sets - those from Twitter and Facebook, for example - that did not exist a few years ago. Studies of human dynamics based on these data sets are novel and exciting but, if not placed in context, can foster the misconception that mass-scale online behavior is all we need to understand, for example, how humans make decisions. To overcome that misconception, we draw on the field of discrete-choice theory to create a multiscale comparative "map" that, like a principal-components representation, captures the essence of decision making along two axes: (1) an east-west dimension that represents the degree to which an agent makes a decision independently versus one that is socially influenced, and (2) a north-south dimension that represents the degree to which there is transparency in the payoffs and risks associated with the decisions agents make. We divide the map into quadrants, each of which features a signature behavioral pattern. When taken together, the map and its signatures provide an easily understood empirical framework for evaluating how modern collective behavior may be changing in the digital age, including whether behavior is becoming more individualistic, as people seek out exactly what they want, or more social, as people become more inextricably linked, even "herdlike," in their decision making. We believe the map will lead to many new testable hypotheses concerning human behavior as well as to similar applications throughout the social sciences.