Variability in human body size

Science.gov (United States)

Annis, J. F.

1978-01-01

The range of variability found among homogeneous groups is described and illustrated. Those trends that show significantly marked differences between sexes and among a number of racial/ethnic groups are also presented. Causes of human-body size variability discussed include genetic endowment, aging, nutrition, protective garments, and occupation. The information is presented to aid design engineers of space flight hardware and equipment.

Do climate variables and human density affect Achatina fulica (Bowditch) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) shell length, total weight and condition factor?

Science.gov (United States)

Albuquerque, F S; Peso-Aguiar, M C; Assunção-Albuquerque, M J T; Gálvez, L

2009-08-01

The length-weight relationship and condition factor have been broadly investigated in snails to obtain the index of physical condition of populations and evaluate habitat quality. Herein, our goal was to describe the best predictors that explain Achatina fulica biometrical parameters and well being in a recently introduced population. From November 2001 to November 2002, monthly snail samples were collected in Lauro de Freitas City, Bahia, Brazil. Shell length and total weight were measured in the laboratory and the potential curve and condition factor were calculated. Five environmental variables were considered: temperature range, mean temperature, humidity, precipitation and human density. Multiple regressions were used to generate models including multiple predictors, via model selection approach, and then ranked with AIC criteria. Partial regressions were used to obtain the separated coefficients of determination of climate and human density models. A total of 1.460 individuals were collected, presenting a shell length range between 4.8 to 102.5 mm (mean: 42.18 mm). The relationship between total length and total weight revealed that Achatina fulica presented a negative allometric growth. Simple regression indicated that humidity has a significant influence on A. fulica total length and weight. Temperature range was the main variable that influenced the condition factor. Multiple regressions showed that climatic and human variables explain a small proportion of the variance in shell length and total weight, but may explain up to 55.7% of the condition factor variance. Consequently, we believe that the well being and biometric parameters of A. fulica can be influenced by climatic and human density factors.

Do climate variables and human density affect Achatina fulica (Bowditch (Gastropoda: Pulmonata shell length, total weight and condition factor?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FS. Albuquerque

Full Text Available The length-weight relationship and condition factor have been broadly investigated in snails to obtain the index of physical condition of populations and evaluate habitat quality. Herein, our goal was to describe the best predictors that explain Achatina fulica biometrical parameters and well being in a recently introduced population. From November 2001 to November 2002, monthly snail samples were collected in Lauro de Freitas City, Bahia, Brazil. Shell length and total weight were measured in the laboratory and the potential curve and condition factor were calculated. Five environmental variables were considered: temperature range, mean temperature, humidity, precipitation and human density. Multiple regressions were used to generate models including multiple predictors, via model selection approach, and then ranked with AIC criteria. Partial regressions were used to obtain the separated coefficients of determination of climate and human density models. A total of 1.460 individuals were collected, presenting a shell length range between 4.8 to 102.5 mm (mean: 42.18 mm. The relationship between total length and total weight revealed that Achatina fulica presented a negative allometric growth. Simple regression indicated that humidity has a significant influence on A. fulica total length and weight. Temperature range was the main variable that influenced the condition factor. Multiple regressions showed that climatic and human variables explain a small proportion of the variance in shell length and total weight, but may explain up to 55.7% of the condition factor variance. Consequently, we believe that the well being and biometric parameters of A. fulica can be influenced by climatic and human density factors.

affective variables of language learning

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

李文敬

2011-01-01

why people enjoy different degrees of success in second language learning,given similar opportunities.in the presence of overly negative emotions such as anxiety,fear,stress,anger or depression,our optimal learning potential maybe compromised.the affective domain refers to the emotional domain that has to do with the emotional behavior of human beings.it includes such factors as self-confidence,extroversion,anxiety,attitudes and motivation.three major factors are introduced here:self-confidence,anxiety and motivation.

The interplay between affect and theory of planned behavior variables

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keer, M.; van den Putte, B.; Neijens, P.

2012-01-01

Objectives: To assess whether affective evaluations of health behaviors moderate or mediate the influence of theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables on intention. Methods: For each of 20 health behaviors, respondents (N=300) completed questionnaire measures of affective evaluation, attitude,

How do humans affect wildlife nematodes?

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Sara B.; Lafferty, Kevin D.

2015-01-01

Human actions can affect wildlife and their nematode parasites. Species introductions and human-facilitated range expansions can create new host–parasite interactions. Novel hosts can introduce parasites and have the potential to both amplify and dilute nematode transmission. Furthermore, humans can alter existing nematode dynamics by changing host densities and the abiotic conditions that affect larval parasite survival. Human impacts on wildlife might impair parasites by reducing the abundance of their hosts; however, domestic animal production and complex life cycles can maintain transmission even when wildlife becomes rare. Although wildlife nematodes have many possible responses to human actions, understanding host and parasite natural history, and the mechanisms behind the changing disease dynamics might improve disease control in the few cases where nematode parasitism impacts wildlife.

Economic analysis of variables affecting the plantain ( Musa sp ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences ... The study examined variables affecting plantain (Musa sp) mono cropping system of production by ... land fragmentation, wrong application of fertilizer, high cost of fertilizers, lack of ...

Human Decomposition and the Factors that Affect it: A Retrospective Study of Death Scenes in Canada

OpenAIRE

Cockle, Diane Lyn

2013-01-01

Little is known about human decomposition and the variables which affect it in Canada. This study involves the retrospective analysis of 358 police death investigations from across Canada. Cases with reliable data were selected using the Canadian ViCLAS (Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System) database. A total of 36 environmental, immediate context, intrinsic and geographic variables were examined for each case. A classification system was designed based on biological processes of decomposi...

Daily weather variables and affective disorder admissions to psychiatric hospitals

Science.gov (United States)

McWilliams, Stephen; Kinsella, Anthony; O'Callaghan, Eadbhard

2014-12-01

Numerous studies have reported that admission rates in patients with affective disorders are subject to seasonal variation. Notwithstanding, there has been limited evaluation of the degree to which changeable daily meteorological patterns influence affective disorder admission rates. A handful of small studies have alluded to a potential link between psychiatric admission rates and meteorological variables such as environmental temperature (heat waves in particular), wind direction and sunshine. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test, ARIMA and time-series regression analyses to examine whether daily meteorological variables—namely wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, rainfall, hours of sunshine, sunlight radiation and temperature—influence admission rates for mania and depression across 12 regions in Ireland over a 31-year period. Although we found some very weak but interesting trends for barometric pressure in relation to mania admissions, daily meteorological patterns did not appear to affect hospital admissions overall for mania or depression. Our results do not support the small number of papers to date that suggest a link between daily meteorological variables and affective disorder admissions. Further study is needed.

Exploring the impact of climate variability during the Last Glacial Maximum on the pattern of human occupation of Iberia.

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Ariane; Levavasseur, Guillaume; James, Patrick M A; Guiducci, Dario; Izquierdo, Manuel Arturo; Bourgeon, Lauriane; Kageyama, Masa; Ramstein, Gilles; Vrac, Mathieu

2014-08-01

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a global climate event, which had significant repercussions for the spatial distribution and demographic history of prehistoric populations. In Eurasia, the LGM coincides with a potential bottleneck for modern humans and may mark the divergence date for Asian and European populations (Keinan et al., 2007). In this research, the impact of climate variability on human populations in the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is examined with the aid of downscaled high-resolution (16 × 16 km) numerical climate experiments. Human sensitivity to short time-scale (inter-annual) climate variability during this key time period, which follows the initial modern human colonisation of Eurasia and the extinction of the Neanderthals, is tested using the spatial distribution of archaeological sites. Results indicate that anatomically modern human populations responded to small-scale spatial patterning in climate variability, specifically inter-annual variability in precipitation levels as measured by the standard precipitation index. Climate variability at less than millennial scale, therefore, is shown to be an important component of ecological risk, one that played a role in regulating the spatial behaviour of prehistoric human populations and consequently affected their social networks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human and bovine viruses in the Milwaukee River Watershed: hydrologically relevant representation and relations with environmental variables

Science.gov (United States)

Corsi, Steven R.; Borchardt, M. A.; Spencer, S. K.; Hughes, Peter E.; Baldwin, Austin K.

2014-01-01

To examine the occurrence, hydrologic variability, and seasonal variability of human and bovine viruses in surface water, three stream locations were monitored in the Milwaukee River watershed in Wisconsin, USA, from February 2007 through June 2008. Monitoring sites included an urban subwatershed, a rural subwatershed, and the Milwaukee River at the mouth. To collect samples that characterize variability throughout changing hydrologic periods, a process control system was developed for unattended, large-volume (56–2800 L) filtration over extended durations. This system provided flow-weighted mean concentrations during runoff and extended (24-h) low-flow periods. Human viruses and bovine viruses were detected by real-time qPCR in 49% and 41% of samples (n = 63), respectively. All human viruses analyzed were detected at least once including adenovirus (40% of samples), GI norovirus (10%), enterovirus (8%), rotavirus (6%), GII norovirus (1.6%) and hepatitis A virus (1.6%). Three of seven bovine viruses analyzed were detected including bovine polyomavirus (32%), bovine rotavirus (19%), and bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (5%). Human viruses were present in 63% of runoff samples resulting from precipitation and snowmelt, and 20% of low-flow samples. Maximum human virus concentrations exceeded 300 genomic copies/L. Bovine viruses were present in 46% of runoff samples resulting from precipitation and snowmelt and 14% of low-flow samples. The maximum bovine virus concentration was 11 genomic copies/L. Statistical modeling indicated that stream flow, precipitation, and season explained the variability of human viruses in the watershed, and hydrologic condition (runoff event or low-flow) and season explained the variability of the sum of human and bovine viruses; however, no model was identified that could explain the variability of bovine viruses alone. Understanding the factors that affect virus fate and transport in rivers will aid watershed management for minimizing

Brain Signal Variability Differentially Affects Cognitive Flexibility and Cognitive Stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Armbruster-Genç, Diana J N; Ueltzhöffer, Kai; Fiebach, Christian J

2016-04-06

Recent research yielded the intriguing conclusion that, in healthy adults, higher levels of variability in neuronal processes are beneficial for cognitive functioning. Beneficial effects of variability in neuronal processing can also be inferred from neurocomputational theories of working memory, albeit this holds only for tasks requiring cognitive flexibility. However, cognitive stability, i.e., the ability to maintain a task goal in the face of irrelevant distractors, should suffer under high levels of brain signal variability. To directly test this prediction, we studied both behavioral and brain signal variability during cognitive flexibility (i.e., task switching) and cognitive stability (i.e., distractor inhibition) in a sample of healthy human subjects and developed an efficient and easy-to-implement analysis approach to assess BOLD-signal variability in event-related fMRI task paradigms. Results show a general positive effect of neural variability on task performance as assessed by accuracy measures. However, higher levels of BOLD-signal variability in the left inferior frontal junction area result in reduced error rate costs during task switching and thus facilitate cognitive flexibility. In contrast, variability in the same area has a detrimental effect on cognitive stability, as shown in a negative effect of variability on response time costs during distractor inhibition. This pattern was mirrored at the behavioral level, with higher behavioral variability predicting better task switching but worse distractor inhibition performance. Our data extend previous results on brain signal variability by showing a differential effect of brain signal variability that depends on task context, in line with predictions from computational theories. Recent neuroscientific research showed that the human brain signal is intrinsically variable and suggested that this variability improves performance. Computational models of prefrontal neural networks predict differential

Prenatal Exposure to Progesterone Affects Sexual Orientation in Humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinisch, June M; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Sanders, Stephanie A

2017-07-01

Prenatal sex hormone levels affect physical and behavioral sexual differentiation in animals and humans. Although prenatal hormones are theorized to influence sexual orientation in humans, evidence is sparse. Sexual orientation variables for 34 prenatally progesterone-exposed subjects (17 males and 17 females) were compared to matched controls (M age = 23.2 years). A case-control double-blind design was used drawing on existing data from the US/Denmark Prenatal Development Project. Index cases were exposed to lutocyclin (bioidentical progesterone = C 21 H 30 O 2 ; M W : 314.46) and no other hormonal preparation. Controls were matched on 14 physical, medical, and socioeconomic variables. A structured interview conducted by a psychologist and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on sexual orientation, self-identification, attraction to the same and other sex, and history of sexual behavior with each sex. Compared to the unexposed, fewer exposed males and females identified as heterosexual and more of them reported histories of same-sex sexual behavior, attraction to the same or both sexes, and scored higher on attraction to males. Measures of heterosexual behavior and scores on attraction to females did not differ significantly by exposure. We conclude that, regardless of sex, exposure appeared to be associated with higher rates of bisexuality. Prenatal progesterone may be an underappreciated epigenetic factor in human sexual and psychosexual development and, in light of the current prevalence of progesterone treatment during pregnancy for a variety of pregnancy complications, warrants further investigation. These data on the effects of prenatal exposure to exogenous progesterone also suggest a potential role for natural early perturbations in progesterone levels in the development of sexual orientation.

Human and bovine viruses in the Milwaukee River watershed: Hydrologically relevant representation and relations with environmental variables

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corsi, S.R., E-mail: srcorsi@usgs.gov [U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Water Science Center, Middleton, WI 53562 (United States); Borchardt, M.A.; Spencer, S.K. [U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2615 Yellowstone Dr., Marshfield, WI 54449 (United States); Hughes, P.E.; Baldwin, A.K. [U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Water Science Center, Middleton, WI 53562 (United States)

2014-08-15

To examine the occurrence, hydrologic variability, and seasonal variability of human and bovine viruses in surface water, three stream locations were monitored in the Milwaukee River watershed in Wisconsin, USA, from February 2007 through June 2008. Monitoring sites included an urban subwatershed, a rural subwatershed, and the Milwaukee River at the mouth. To collect samples that characterize variability throughout changing hydrologic periods, a process control system was developed for unattended, large-volume (56–2800 L) filtration over extended durations. This system provided flow-weighted mean concentrations during runoff and extended (24-h) low-flow periods. Human viruses and bovine viruses were detected by real-time qPCR in 49% and 41% of samples (n = 63), respectively. All human viruses analyzed were detected at least once including adenovirus (40% of samples), GI norovirus (10%), enterovirus (8%), rotavirus (6%), GII norovirus (1.6%) and hepatitis A virus (1.6%). Three of seven bovine viruses analyzed were detected including bovine polyomavirus (32%), bovine rotavirus (19%), and bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (5%). Human viruses were present in 63% of runoff samples resulting from precipitation and snowmelt, and 20% of low-flow samples. Maximum human virus concentrations exceeded 300 genomic copies/L. Bovine viruses were present in 46% of runoff samples resulting from precipitation and snowmelt and 14% of low-flow samples. The maximum bovine virus concentration was 11 genomic copies/L. Statistical modeling indicated that stream flow, precipitation, and season explained the variability of human viruses in the watershed, and hydrologic condition (runoff event or low-flow) and season explained the variability of the sum of human and bovine viruses; however, no model was identified that could explain the variability of bovine viruses alone. Understanding the factors that affect virus fate and transport in rivers will aid watershed management for minimizing

Human and bovine viruses in the Milwaukee River watershed: Hydrologically relevant representation and relations with environmental variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corsi, S.R.; Borchardt, M.A.; Spencer, S.K.; Hughes, P.E.; Baldwin, A.K.

2014-01-01

To examine the occurrence, hydrologic variability, and seasonal variability of human and bovine viruses in surface water, three stream locations were monitored in the Milwaukee River watershed in Wisconsin, USA, from February 2007 through June 2008. Monitoring sites included an urban subwatershed, a rural subwatershed, and the Milwaukee River at the mouth. To collect samples that characterize variability throughout changing hydrologic periods, a process control system was developed for unattended, large-volume (56–2800 L) filtration over extended durations. This system provided flow-weighted mean concentrations during runoff and extended (24-h) low-flow periods. Human viruses and bovine viruses were detected by real-time qPCR in 49% and 41% of samples (n = 63), respectively. All human viruses analyzed were detected at least once including adenovirus (40% of samples), GI norovirus (10%), enterovirus (8%), rotavirus (6%), GII norovirus (1.6%) and hepatitis A virus (1.6%). Three of seven bovine viruses analyzed were detected including bovine polyomavirus (32%), bovine rotavirus (19%), and bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (5%). Human viruses were present in 63% of runoff samples resulting from precipitation and snowmelt, and 20% of low-flow samples. Maximum human virus concentrations exceeded 300 genomic copies/L. Bovine viruses were present in 46% of runoff samples resulting from precipitation and snowmelt and 14% of low-flow samples. The maximum bovine virus concentration was 11 genomic copies/L. Statistical modeling indicated that stream flow, precipitation, and season explained the variability of human viruses in the watershed, and hydrologic condition (runoff event or low-flow) and season explained the variability of the sum of human and bovine viruses; however, no model was identified that could explain the variability of bovine viruses alone. Understanding the factors that affect virus fate and transport in rivers will aid watershed management for minimizing

Brand Loyalty: Impact of Cognitive and Affective Variables

OpenAIRE

Mourad TOUZANI; Azza TEMESSEK

2009-01-01

Studies on brand loyalty typically focus on the behavioural side of brand loyalty or on the attitudinal side. Rare are the studies that examine simultaneously both components of brand loyalty. The present study was performed to describe the conjoint contribution of cognitive and affective variables in the formation of brand loyalty. A questionnaire was administered to 400 shampoo users. A confirmatory analysis was performed to test the conceptual model presented. The results provide a better ...

Human activity and climate variability project: annual report 2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harle, K.J.; Heijnis, H.; Henderson-Sellers, A.; Sharmeen, S.; Zahorowski, W.

2002-01-01

Knowledge of the state of the Australian environment, including natural climate variability, prior to colonial settlement is vital if we are to define and understand the impact of over two hundred years of post-industrial human activity on our landscape. ANSTO, in conjunction with university partners, is leading a major research effort to provide natural archives of human activity and climate variability over the last 500 years in Australia, utilising a variety of techniques, including lead-210 and radiocarbon dating and analyses of proxy indicators (such as microfossils) as well as direct evidence (such as trace elements) of human activity and climate variability. The other major project objectives were to contribute to the understanding of the impact of human induced and natural aerosols in the East Asian region on climate through analysis and sourcing of fine particles and characterisation of air samples using radon concentrations and to contribute to the improvement of land surface parameterisation schemes and investigate the potential to use stable isotopes to improve global climate models and thus improve our understanding of future climate

Effects of Situational Variables on Affective Self-Disclosure with Acquaintances.

Science.gov (United States)

Highlen, Pamela S.; Johnston, Barbara

1979-01-01

Studied 72 college students to determine effects of subject sex and situational factors on affective self-disclosure with acquaintances. Feeling, role, and sex of subject were contextual variables influencing expression of feelings. Responding with positive feelings is the optimal situational context for expression of feelings to acquaintances.…

Sequence determinants of human microsatellite variability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakobsson Mattias

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Microsatellite loci are frequently used in genomic studies of DNA sequence repeats and in population studies of genetic variability. To investigate the effect of sequence properties of microsatellites on their level of variability we have analyzed genotypes at 627 microsatellite loci in 1,048 worldwide individuals from the HGDP-CEPH cell line panel together with the DNA sequences of these microsatellites in the human RefSeq database. Results Calibrating PCR fragment lengths in individual genotypes by using the RefSeq sequence enabled us to infer repeat number in the HGDP-CEPH dataset and to calculate the mean number of repeats (as opposed to the mean PCR fragment length, under the assumption that differences in PCR fragment length reflect differences in the numbers of repeats in the embedded repeat sequences. We find the mean and maximum numbers of repeats across individuals to be positively correlated with heterozygosity. The size and composition of the repeat unit of a microsatellite are also important factors in predicting heterozygosity, with tetra-nucleotide repeat units high in G/C content leading to higher heterozygosity. Finally, we find that microsatellites containing more separate sets of repeated motifs generally have higher heterozygosity. Conclusions These results suggest that sequence properties of microsatellites have a significant impact in determining the features of human microsatellite variability.

Endogenous Pain Modulation: Association with Resting Heart Rate Variability and Negative Affectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Den Houte, Maaike; Van Oudenhove, Lukas; Bogaerts, Katleen; Van Diest, Ilse; Van den Bergh, Omer

2017-07-21

Several chronic pain syndromes are characterized by deficient endogenous pain modulation as well as elevated negative affectivity and reduced resting heart rate variability. In order to elucidate the relationships between these characteristics, we investigated whether negative affectivity and heart rate variability are associated with endogenous pain modulation in a healthy population. An offset analgesia paradigm with noxious thermal stimulation calibrated to the individual's pain threshold was used to measure endogenous pain modulation magnitude in 63 healthy individuals. Pain ratings during constant noxious heat stimulation to the arm (15 seconds) were compared with ratings during noxious stimulation comprising a 1 °C rise and return of temperature to the initial level (offset trials, 15 seconds). Offset analgesia was defined as the reduction in pain following the 1 °C decrease relative to pain at the same time point during continuous heat stimulation. Evidence for an offset analgesia effect could only be found when noxious stimulation intensity (and, hence, the individual's pain threshold) was intermediate (46 °C or 47 °C). Offset analgesia magnitude was also moderated by resting heart rate variability: a small but significant offset effect was found in participants with high but not low heart rate variability. Negative affectivity was not related to offset analgesia magnitude. These results indicate that resting heart rate variability (HRV) is related to endogenous pain modulation (EPM) in a healthy population. Future research should focus on clarifying the causal relationship between HRV and EPM and chronic pain by using longitudinal study designs. © 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

A meta analysis of the variability in firm performance attributable to human resource variables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lloyd Kapondoro

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The contribution of Human Resource Management (HRM practices to organisation-wide performance is a critical aspect of the Human Resource (HR value proposition. The purpose of the study was to describe the strength of HRM practices and systems in influencing overall organisational performance. While research has concluded that there is a significant positive relationship between HRM practices or systems and an organisation’s market performance, the strength of this relationship has relatively not received much analysis in order to explain the degree to which HRM practices explain variance in firm performance. The study undertook a meta-analysis of published researches in international journals. The study established that HRM variables accounted for an average of 31% of the variability in firm performance. Cohen’s f2 calculated for this study as a meta effect size calculation yielded an average of 0.681, implying that HRM variables account for 68% of variability in firm performance. A one sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test showed that the distribution of R2 is not normal. A major managerial implication of this study is that effective HRM practices have a significant business case. The study provides, quantitatively, the average variability in firm success that HRM accounts for.

Understanding The Individual Impacts Of Human Interventions And Climate Change On Hydrologic Variables In India

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, T.; Chhabra, S., Jr.; Karmakar, S.; Ghosh, S.

2015-12-01

We have quantified the historical climate change and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change impacts on the hydrologic variables of Indian subcontinent by using Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) mesoscale model at 0.5° spatial resolution and daily temporal resolution. The results indicate that the climate change in India has predominating effects on the basic water balance components such as water yield, evapotranspiration and soil moisture. This analysis is with the assumption of naturalised hydrologic cycle, i.e., the impacts of human interventions like construction of controlled (primarily dams, diversions and reservoirs) and water withdrawals structures are not taken into account. The assumption is unrealistic since there are numerous anthropogenic disturbances which result in large changes on vegetation composition and distribution patterns. These activities can directly or indirectly influence the dynamics of water cycle; subsequently affecting the hydrologic processes like plant transpiration, infiltration, evaporation, runoff and sublimation. Here, we have quantified the human interventions by using the reservoir and irrigation module of VIC model which incorporates the irrigation schemes, reservoir characteristics and water withdrawals. The impact of human interventions on hydrologic variables in many grids are found more predominant than climate change and might be detrimental to water resources at regional level. This spatial pattern of impacts will facilitate water manager and planners to design and station hydrologic structures for a sustainable water resources management.

Evidence for a time-invariant phase variable in human ankle control.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert D Gregg

Full Text Available Human locomotion is a rhythmic task in which patterns of muscle activity are modulated by state-dependent feedback to accommodate perturbations. Two popular theories have been proposed for the underlying embodiment of phase in the human pattern generator: a time-dependent internal representation or a time-invariant feedback representation (i.e., reflex mechanisms. In either case the neuromuscular system must update or represent the phase of locomotor patterns based on the system state, which can include measurements of hundreds of variables. However, a much simpler representation of phase has emerged in recent designs for legged robots, which control joint patterns as functions of a single monotonic mechanical variable, termed a phase variable. We propose that human joint patterns may similarly depend on a physical phase variable, specifically the heel-to-toe movement of the Center of Pressure under the foot. We found that when the ankle is unexpectedly rotated to a position it would have encountered later in the step, the Center of Pressure also shifts forward to the corresponding later position, and the remaining portion of the gait pattern ensues. This phase shift suggests that the progression of the stance ankle is controlled by a biomechanical phase variable, motivating future investigations of phase variables in human locomotor control.

Feeling old today? Daily health, stressors, and affect explain day-to-day variability in subjective age.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotter-Grühn, Dana; Neupert, Shevaun D; Stephan, Yannick

2015-01-01

Subjective age is an important correlate of health, well-being, and longevity. So far, little is known about short-term variability in subjective age and the circumstances under which individuals feel younger/older in daily life. This study examined whether (a) older adults' felt age fluctuates on a day-to-day basis, (b) daily changes in health, stressors, and affect explain fluctuations in felt age, and (c) the daily associations between felt age and health, stressors, or affect are time-ordered. Using an eight-day daily diary approach, N = 43 adults (60-96 years, M = 74.65, SD = 8.19) filled out daily questionnaires assessing subjective age, health, daily stressors, and affect. Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. Subjective age, health, daily stressors, affect. Intra-individual variability in felt age was not explained by time but by short-term variability in other variables. Specifically, on days when participants experienced more than average health problems, stress, or negative affect they felt older than on days with average health, stress, or negative affect. No time-ordered effects were found. Bad health, many stressors, and negative affective experiences constitute circumstances under which older adults feel older than they typically do. Thus, daily measures of subjective age could be markers of health and well-being.

Analysis of the Variables that Affect Bookstore Customer Satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elis Ratna Wulan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Competition, which becomes more widespread, complex, and intense, drives companies to must be able to see the various opportunities that exist and to identify strategies for creating customer satisfaction. As an example of a company must be able to produce products with good quality, reasonable price, facilities, and companies are able to create a positive image in the eyes of consumers. This strategy is quite important in facing the competitive level of competition with rival firms. This research is aimed to analysis simultaneously or partially positive effect of the facilities, prices and corporate image on customer satisfaction, as well as analyzing the most dominant variable in effecting bookstore customer satisfaction. Data used in this research are primary data from Tmbookstore customer in Cianjur city, West Java Indonesia, which were collected from respondents using valid and reliable questionnaire. A total of 100 respondents were selected from Tmbookstore visitors by accidental sampling. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results of the research indicate that product, price, location, and simultaneously affect to bookstore consumer satisfaction. Partially, only two of the three variables that affect bookstore consumer satisfaction namely price and company image. Image of the company is the most a dominant impact on bookstore customer satisfaction.

Analysis of the Variables that Affect Bookstore Customer Satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elis Ratna Wulan

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Competition, which becomes more widespread, complex, and intense, drives companies to must be able to see the various opportunities that exist and to identify strategies for creating customer satisfaction. As an example of a company must be able to produce products with good quality, reasonable price, facilities, and companies are able to create a positive image in the eyes of consumers. This strategy is quite important in facing the competitive level of competition with rival firms. This research is aimed to analysis simultaneously or partially positive effect of the facilities, prices and corporate image on customer satisfaction, as well as analyzing the most dominant variable in effecting bookstore customer satisfaction.  Data used in this research are primary data from Tmbookstore customer in Cianjur city, West Java Indonesia, which were collected from respondents using valid and reliable questionnaire. A total of 100 respondents were selected from Tmbookstore visitors by accidental sampling. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results of the research indicate that product, price, location, and simultaneously affect to bookstore consumer satisfaction. Partially, only two of the three variables that affect bookstore consumer satisfaction namely price and company image. Image of the company is the most a dominant impact on bookstore customer satisfaction.

Emotion-affected decision making in human simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Y; Kang, J; Wright, D K

2006-01-01

Human modelling is an interdisciplinary research field. The topic, emotion-affected decision making, was originally a cognitive psychology issue, but is now recognized as an important research direction for both computer science and biomedical modelling. The main aim of this paper is to attempt to bridge the gap between psychology and bioengineering in emotion-affected decision making. The work is based on Ortony's theory of emotions and bounded rationality theory, and attempts to connect the emotion process with decision making. A computational emotion model is proposed, and the initial framework of this model in virtual human simulation within the platform of Virtools is presented.

Anatomic variables affecting interdental papilla

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Swapna A. Mahale

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the anatomic variables affecting the interdental papilla. Materials and Methods: Thirty adult patients were evaluated. Papilla score (PS, tooth form/shape, gingival thickness, crest bone height and keratinized gingiva/attached gingiva were recorded for 150 inter proximal sites. Data were analyzed using SPSS software package (version 7.0 and the significance level was set at 95% confidence interval. Pearson′s correlation was applied to correlate the relationship between the factors and the appearance of the papilla. Results: Competent papillae (complete fill interdentally were associated with: (1 Crown width (CW: length ≥0.87; (2 bone crest-contact point ≤5 mm; and (3 inter proximal gingival tissue thickness ≥1.5 mm. Gingival thickness correlated negatively with PS (r = −0.37 to −0.54 and positively with tissue height (r = 0.23-0.43. Tooth form (i.e., CW to length ratio correlated negatively with PS (r = −0.37 to −0.61. Conclusion: Gingival papilla appearance was associated significantly with tooth form/shape, crestal bone height and interproximal gingival thickness.

Default, Cognitive, and Affective Brain Networks in Human Tinnitus

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-13-1-0491 TITLE: Default, Cognitive, and Affective Brain Networks in Human Tinnitus PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Jennifer R...SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Default, Cognitive and Affective Brain Networks in Human Tinnitus 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6...Release; Distribution Unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Tinnitus is a major health problem among those currently and formerly in military

Testing of variables which affect stablity of cement solidified low-level waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boris, G.F.

1989-01-01

This paper describes the test program undertaken to investigate variables which could affect the stability of cement solidified low-level waste and to evaluate the effect of these variables on certain tests prescribed in the Technical Position on Waste Form. The majority of the testing was performed on solidified undepleted bead resin, however, six additional waste types, suggested by the NRC, were tested. The tested variables included waste loading, immersion duration, depletion level, ambient cure duration, curing environment, immersion medium and waste type. Of these, lower waste loadings, longer ambient cures prior to testing and immersion in demineralized water versus simulated sea water and potable water resulted in higher compressive strengths for bead resin samples. Immersion times longer than 90 days did not affect the resin samples. Compressive strengths for other waste types varied depending upon the waste. The strengths of all waste types exceeded the minimum criterion by at least a factor of four, up to a factor of forty. The higher waste loadings exhibit strengths less than the lower waste loadings

The macro-structural variability of the human neocortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruggel, Frithjof

2018-05-15

The human neocortex shows a considerable individual structural variability. While primary gyri and sulci are found in all normally developed brains and bear clear-cut gross structural descriptions, secondary structures are highly variable and not present in all brains. The blend of common and individual structures poses challenges when comparing structural and functional results from quantitative neuroimaging studies across individuals, and sets limits on the precision of location information much above the spatial resolution of current neuroimaging methods. This work aimed at quantifying structural variability on the neocortex, and at assessing the spatial relationship between regions common to all brains and their individual structural variants. Based on structural MRI data provided as the "900 Subjects Release" of the Human Connectome Project, a data-driven analytic approach was employed here from which the definition of seven cortical "communities" emerged. Apparently, these communities comprise common regions of structural features, while the individual variability is confined within a community. Similarities between the community structure and the state of the brain development at gestation week 32 lead suggest that communities are segregated early. Subdividing the neocortex into communities is suggested as anatomically more meaningful than the traditional lobar structure. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Statistical validity of using ratio variables in human kinetics research.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuanlong; Schutz, Robert W

2003-09-01

The purposes of this study were to investigate the validity of the simple ratio and three alternative deflation models and examine how the variation of the numerator and denominator variables affects the reliability of a ratio variable. A simple ratio and three alternative deflation models were fitted to four empirical data sets, and common criteria were applied to determine the best model for deflation. Intraclass correlation was used to examine the component effect on the reliability of a ratio variable. The results indicate that the validity, of a deflation model depends on the statistical characteristics of the particular component variables used, and an optimal deflation model for all ratio variables may not exist. Therefore, it is recommended that different models be fitted to each empirical data set to determine the best deflation model. It was found that the reliability of a simple ratio is affected by the coefficients of variation and the within- and between-trial correlations between the numerator and denominator variables. It was recommended that researchers should compute the reliability of the derived ratio scores and not assume that strong reliabilities in the numerator and denominator measures automatically lead to high reliability in the ratio measures.

Heart rate variability analysis in sheep affected by transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konold Timm

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The function of the autonomic nervous system can be assessed by determining heart rate variability (HRV, which is impaired in some brainstem diseases in humans. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs in sheep are diseases characterised by accumulation of disease-associated prion protein in the brainstem, including nuclei of the parasympathetic nervous system. This study was undertaken to assess whether analysis of HRV can be used as an aid in the diagnosis of TSEs in clinically affected, naturally or experimentally infected sheep. Findings When HRV indices were compared between 41 clinical TSE cases (18 sheep infected with scrapie and 23 sheep infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 11 control sheep and six sheep reported as scrapie suspects or dosed with BSE brain homogenate, which were not confirmed as TSE cases by postmortem tests, no significant differences were found between the groups. Median heart rate was significantly different but only when sheep were grouped by gender: it was higher in female TSE cases than in control sheep and higher in female than castrated male ovine classical BSE cases. Conclusions HRV analysis was not useful as a diagnostic aid for TSEs of sheep.

Emotion-affected decision making in human simulation

OpenAIRE

Zhao, Y; Kang, J; Wright, D K

2006-01-01

Human modelling is an interdisciplinary research field. The topic, emotion-affected decision making, was originally a cognitive psychology issue, but is now recognized as an important research direction for both computer science and biomedical modelling. The main aim of this paper is to attempt to bridge the gap between psychology and bioengineering in emotion-affected decision making. The work is based on Ortony's theory of emotions and bounded rationality theory, and attempts to connect the...

Excess Vitamin Intake before Starvation does not Affect Body Mass, Organ Mass, or Blood Variables but Affects Urinary Excretion of Riboflavin in Starving Rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriya, Aya; Fukuwatari, Tsutomu; Shibata, Katsumi

2013-01-01

B-vitamins are important for producing energy from amino acids, fatty acids, and glucose. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of excess vitamin intake before starvation on body mass, organ mass, blood, and biological variables as well as on urinary excretion of riboflavin in rats. Adult rats were fed two types of diets, one with a low vitamin content (minimum vitamin diet for optimum growth) and one with a sufficient amount of vitamins (excess vitamin diet). Body mass, organ mass, and blood variables were not affected by excess vitamin intake before starvation. Interestingly, urinary riboflavin excretion showed a different pattern. Urine riboflavin in the excess vitamin intake group declined gradually during starvation, whereas it increased in the low vitamin intake group. Excess vitamin intake before starvation does not affect body mass, organ mass, or blood variables but does affect the urinary excretion of riboflavin in starving rats.

Meta-analysis of variables affecting mouse protection efficacy of whole organism Brucella vaccines and vaccine candidates

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Vaccine protection investigation includes three processes: vaccination, pathogen challenge, and vaccine protection efficacy assessment. Many variables can affect the results of vaccine protection. Brucella, a genus of facultative intracellular bacteria, is the etiologic agent of brucellosis in humans and multiple animal species. Extensive research has been conducted in developing effective live attenuated Brucella vaccines. We hypothesized that some variables play a more important role than others in determining vaccine protective efficacy. Using Brucella vaccines and vaccine candidates as study models, this hypothesis was tested by meta-analysis of Brucella vaccine studies reported in the literature. Results Nineteen variables related to vaccine-induced protection of mice against infection with virulent brucellae were selected based on modeling investigation of the vaccine protection processes. The variable "vaccine protection efficacy" was set as a dependent variable while the other eighteen were set as independent variables. Discrete or continuous values were collected from papers for each variable of each data set. In total, 401 experimental groups were manually annotated from 74 peer-reviewed publications containing mouse protection data for live attenuated Brucella vaccines or vaccine candidates. Our ANOVA analysis indicated that nine variables contributed significantly (P-value Brucella vaccine protection efficacy: vaccine strain, vaccination host (mouse) strain, vaccination dose, vaccination route, challenge pathogen strain, challenge route, challenge-killing interval, colony forming units (CFUs) in mouse spleen, and CFU reduction compared to control group. The other 10 variables (e.g., mouse age, vaccination-challenge interval, and challenge dose) were not found to be statistically significant (P-value > 0.05). The protection level of RB51 was sacrificed when the values of several variables (e.g., vaccination route, vaccine viability, and

Fuzzy variable impedance control based on stiffness identification for human-robot cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Dachao; Yang, Wenlong; Du, Zhijiang

2017-06-01

This paper presents a dynamic fuzzy variable impedance control algorithm for human-robot cooperation. In order to estimate the intention of human for co-manipulation, a fuzzy inference system is set up to adjust the impedance parameter. Aiming at regulating the output fuzzy universe based on the human arm’s stiffness, an online stiffness identification method is developed. A drag interaction task is conducted on a 5-DOF robot with variable impedance control. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is superior.

Analysis of Intra- and Intersubject Variability in Oral Drug Absorption in Human Bioequivalence Studies of 113 Generic Products.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugihara, Masahisa; Takeuchi, Susumu; Sugita, Masaru; Higaki, Kazutaka; Kataoka, Makoto; Yamashita, Shinji

2015-12-07

In this study, the data of 113 human bioequivalence (BE) studies of immediate release (IR) formulations of 74 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) conducted at Sawai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., was analyzed to understand the factors affecting intra- and intersubject variabilities in oral drug absorption. The ANOVA CV (%) calculated from area under the time-concentration curve (AUC) in each BE study was used as an index of intrasubject variability (Vintra), and the relative standard deviation (%) in AUC was used as that of intersubject variability (Vinter). Although no significant correlation was observed between Vintra and Vinter of all drugs, Vintra of class 3 drugs was found to increase in association with a decrease in drug permeability (P(eff)). Since the absorption of class 3 drugs was rate-limited by the permeability, it was suggested that, for such drugs, the low P(eff) might be a risk factor to cause a large intrasubject variability. To consider the impact of poor water solubility on the variability in BE study, a parameter of P(eff)/Do (Do; dose number) was defined to discriminate the solubility-limited and dissolution-rate-limited absorption of class 2 drugs. It was found that the class 2 drugs with a solubility-limited absorption (P(eff)/Do high intrasubject variability. Furthermore, as a reason for high intra- or intersubject variability in AUC for class 1 drugs, effects of drug metabolizing enzymes were investigated. It was demonstrated that intrasubject variability was high for drugs metabolized by CYP3A4 while intersubject variability was high for drugs metabolized by CYP2D6. For CYP3A4 substrate drugs, the Km value showed the significant relation with Vintra, indicating that the affinity to the enzyme can be a parameter to predict the risk of high intrasubject variability. In conclusion, by analyzing the in house data of human BE study, low permeability, solubility-limited absorption, and high affinity to CYP3A4 are identified as risk factors for

Rowing, the ultimate challenge to the human body - implications for physiological variables

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Volianitis, S.; Secher, Niels H.

2009-01-01

Clinical diagnoses depend on a variety of physiological variables but the full range of these variables is seldom known. With the load placed on the human body during competitive rowing, the physiological range for several variables is illustrated. The extreme work produced during rowing...... is explained by the seated position and the associated ability to increase venous return and, thus, cardiac output. This review highlights experimental work on Olympic rowing that presents a unique challenge to the human capacities, including cerebral metabolism, to unprecedented limits, and provides a unique...

Inter-subject variability in human atrial action potential in sinus rhythm versus chronic atrial fibrillation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Sánchez

Full Text Available Human atrial electrophysiology exhibits high inter-subject variability in both sinus rhythm (SR and chronic atrial fibrillation (cAF patients. Variability is however rarely investigated in experimental and theoretical electrophysiological studies, thus hampering the understanding of its underlying causes but also its implications in explaining differences in the response to disease and treatment. In our study, we aim at investigating the ability of populations of human atrial cell models to capture the inter-subject variability in action potential (AP recorded in 363 patients both under SR and cAF conditions.Human AP recordings in atrial trabeculae (n = 469 from SR and cAF patients were used to calibrate populations of computational SR and cAF atrial AP models. Three populations of over 2000 sampled models were generated, based on three different human atrial AP models. Experimental calibration selected populations of AP models yielding AP with morphology and duration in range with experimental recordings. Populations using the three original models can mimic variability in experimental AP in both SR and cAF, with median conductance values in SR for most ionic currents deviating less than 30% from their original peak values. All cAF populations show similar variations in G(K1, G(Kur and G(to, consistent with AF-related remodeling as reported in experiments. In all SR and cAF model populations, inter-subject variability in I(K1 and I(NaK underlies variability in APD90, variability in I(Kur, I(CaL and I(NaK modulates variability in APD50 and combined variability in Ito and I(Kur determines variability in APD20. The large variability in human atrial AP triangulation is mostly determined by I(K1 and either I(NaK or I(NaCa depending on the model.Experimentally-calibrated human atrial AP models populations mimic AP variability in SR and cAF patient recordings, and identify potential ionic determinants of inter-subject variability in human atrial AP

Excess Vitamin Intake before Starvation does not Affect Body Mass, Organ Mass, or Blood Variables but Affects Urinary Excretion of Riboflavin in Starving Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aya Moriya

2013-01-01

Full Text Available B-vitamins are important for producing energy from amino acids, fatty acids, and glucose. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of excess vitamin intake before starvation on body mass, organ mass, blood, and biological variables as well as on urinary excretion of riboflavin in rats. Adult rats were fed two types of diets, one with a low vitamin content (minimum vitamin diet for optimum growth and one with a sufficient amount of vitamins (excess vitamin diet. Body mass, organ mass, and blood variables were not affected by excess vitamin intake before starvation. Interestingly, urinary riboflavin excretion showed a different pattern. Urine riboflavin in the excess vitamin intake group declined gradually during starvation, whereas it increased in the low vitamin intake group. Excess vitamin intake before starvation does not affect body mass, organ mass, or blood variables but does affect the urinary excretion of riboflavin in starving rats.

Pathogen prevalence predicts human cross-cultural variability in individualism/collectivism.

Science.gov (United States)

Fincher, Corey L; Thornhill, Randy; Murray, Damian R; Schaller, Mark

2008-06-07

Pathogenic diseases impose selection pressures on the social behaviour of host populations. In humans (Homo sapiens), many psychological phenomena appear to serve an antipathogen defence function. One broad implication is the existence of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and behaviour contingent upon the relative presence of pathogens in the local ecology. We focus specifically on one fundamental cultural variable: differences in individualistic versus collectivist values. We suggest that specific behavioural manifestations of collectivism (e.g. ethnocentrism, conformity) can inhibit the transmission of pathogens; and so we hypothesize that collectivism (compared with individualism) will more often characterize cultures in regions that have historically had higher prevalence of pathogens. Drawing on epidemiological data and the findings of worldwide cross-national surveys of individualism/collectivism, our results support this hypothesis: the regional prevalence of pathogens has a strong positive correlation with cultural indicators of collectivism and a strong negative correlation with individualism. The correlations remain significant even when controlling for potential confounding variables. These results help to explain the origin of a paradigmatic cross-cultural difference, and reveal previously undocumented consequences of pathogenic diseases on the variable nature of human societies.

Chronic human disturbance affects plant trait distribution in a seasonally dry tropical forest

Science.gov (United States)

Sfair, Julia C.; de Bello, Francesco; de França, Thaysa Q.; Baldauf, Cristina; Tabarelli, Marcelo

2018-02-01

The effects of human disturbance on biodiversity can be mediated by environmental conditions, such as water availability, climate and nutrients. In general, disturbed, dry or nutrient-depleted soils areas tend to have lower taxonomic diversity. However, little is known about how these environmental conditions affect functional composition and intraspecific variability in tropical dry forests. We studied a seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) under chronic anthropogenic disturbance (CAD) along rainfall and soil nutrient gradients to understand how these factors influence the taxonomic and functional composition. Specifically we evaluated two aspects of CAD, wood extraction and livestock pressure (goat and cattle grazing), along soil fertility and rainfall gradients on shrub and tree traits, considering species turnover and intraspecific variability. In addition, we also tested how the traits of eight populations of the most frequent species are affected by wood extraction, livestock pressure, rainfall and soil fertility. In general, although CAD and environmental gradients affected each trait of the most widespread species differently, the most abundant species also had a greater variation of traits. Considering species turnover, wood extraction is associated with species with a smaller leaf area and lower investment in leaf mass, probably due to the indirect effects of this disturbance type on the vegetation, i.e. the removal of branches and woody debris clears the vegetation, favouring species that minimize water loss. Livestock pressure, on the other hand, affected intraspecific variation: the herbivory caused by goats and cattle promoted individuals which invest more in wood density and leaf mass. In this case, the change of functional composition observed is a direct effect of the disturbance, such as the decrease of palatable plant abundance by goat and cattle herbivory. In synthesis, CAD, rainfall and soil fertility can affect trait distribution at community

Attitudinal Variables Affecting Education Reforms and Quality of Primary Education in Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

Nyenje, Aida; Nkata, James

2016-01-01

This paper establishes the extent to which attitudinal variables affect the education reforms and subsequently the quality of primary education in Uganda. The paper is based on the views of a wide spectrum of different education stakeholders including: policy analysts, Members of Parliament (MPs), education officers, Headteachers, teaching staff,…

PISA 2012 Analysis of School Variables Affecting Problem-Solving Competency: Turkey-Serbia Comparison

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emine YAVUZ

2017-12-01

Full Text Available According to the OECD's PISA 2012 Turkey problem-solving report, Turkey and Serbia are at the same mathematical literacy level. However, Serbia's average of problem-solving competency is said to be higher than Turkey's. In this study, school variables that affect problem-solving competency of the two countries were examined and compared. The method of the study was causal comparison method, and HLM analysis was performed on data of 4494 students from 147 schools in Turkey sample and 4059 students from 132 schools in Serbia sample separately. As a result of HLM analysis, "obstacle and family donation" variable for Serbia and "abandon, teacher morale and mathematics competition" variable for Turkey were statistically significant. Although it was found that for each countries different variables influence the problem-solving competency, it was quite remarkable that these variables are in common in that they are components of the school climate concept.

Positions of human dwellings affect few tropical diseases near ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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Some factors that possibly affect tropical disease distribution was investigated in about 500 randomize human dwellings. The studied factors include wild animals, domestic animals, wild plants, cultivated plants, nature of soil, nature of water, positions of human dwellings, nature of building material and position of animal ...

Human activities affecting trace gases and climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braatz, B.; Ebert, C.

1990-01-01

The Earth's climate has been in a constant state of change throughout geologic time due to natural perturbations in the global geobiosphere. However, various human activities have the potential to cause future global warming over a relatively short amount of time. These activities, which affect the Earth's climate by altering the concentrations of trace gases in the atmosphere, include energy consumption, particularly fossil-fuel consumption; industrial processes (production and use of chlorofluorocarbons, halons, and chlorocarbons, landfilling of wastes, and cement manufacture); changes in land use patterns, particularly deforestation and biomass burning; and agricultural practices (waste burning, fertilizer usage, rice production, and animal husbandry). Population growth is an important underlying factor affecting the level of growth in each activity. This paper describes how the human activities listed above contribute to atmospheric change, the current pattern of each activity, and how levels of each activity have changed since the early part of this century

Daily variability in working memory is coupled with negative affect: the role of attention and motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Brose, Annette; Schmiedek, Florian; Lövdén, Martin; Lindenberger, Ulman

2012-06-01

Across days, individuals experience varying levels of negative affect, control of attention, and motivation. We investigated whether this intraindividual variability was coupled with daily fluctuations in working memory (WM) performance. In 100 days, 101 younger individuals worked on a spatial N-back task and rated negative affect, control of attention, and motivation. Results showed that individuals differed in how reliably WM performance fluctuated across days, and that subjective experiences were primarily linked to performance accuracy. WM performance was lower on days with higher levels of negative affect, reduced control of attention, and reduced task-related motivation. Thus, variables that were found to predict WM in between-subjects designs showed important relationships to WM at the within-person level. In addition, there was shared predictive variance among predictors of WM. Days with increased negative affect and reduced performance were also days with reduced control of attention and reduced motivation to work on tasks. These findings are in line with proposed mechanisms linking negative affect and cognitive performance.

Reduced heart rate variability in pet dogs affected by anxiety-related behaviour problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wormald, Dennis; Lawrence, Andrew J; Carter, Gabrielle; Fisher, Andrew D

2017-01-01

We present here the first evidence of correlation between canine anxiety-related behavioural problems and heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is known to be related to a range of mental disorders in humans; however this has not been explored in dogs. Behavioural problems in dogs can result in suffering, property destruction and human injury. Dog behaviour problems were assessed by owner questionnaire and the extreme high and low scoring dogs were recruited into either affected (n=10) or unaffected (n=20) groups. HRV was assessed in dogs at their homes, while being held in lateral recumbency for 5min using manual restraint. Salivary cortisol samples were taken before and after HRV testing. Dogs were assessed as either being reactive to the procedure (barking, growling, struggling or shaking) or unreactive. There was no effect of reactivity or behaviour problems on salivary cortisol levels at baseline or in response to the treatment. There was a significant effect of reactivity on HR (F 1,26 =5.54; P=0.026), and no effect of behaviour problems (F 1,26 =1.07; P=0.311). There was no effect of reactivity on any of the HRV measures. The presence of behaviour problems had a significant effect on a range of measures of HRV, with unaffected dogs having higher standard deviation of RR intervals (F 1,26 =6.39; P=0.018), higher high frequency spectrum (F 1,26 =5.23; P=0.031) and higher low frequency spectrum (F 1,26 =9.25; P=0.005) power. There was no effect of behaviour problems on very low frequency spectrum power (F 1,26 =1.40; P=0.248). Together these results provide evidence for a fundamental physiological difference between dogs affected or unaffected with behaviour problems. This study provides evidence for further investigation into the role of HRV in the pathophysiology of canine anxiety-related behaviour problems. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Seasonal variability in irradiance affects herbicide toxicity to the marine flagellate Dunaliella tertiolecta

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sjollema, S.B.; Vavourakis, C.D.; van der Geest, H.G.; Vethaak, A.D.; Admiraal, W.

2014-01-01

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) and Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR) of the solar spectrum affect microalgae directly and modify the toxicity of phytotoxic compounds present in water. As a consequence seasonal variable PAR and UVR levels are likely to modulate the toxic pressure of contaminants

Human Responses to Climate Variability: The Case of South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Oppenheimer, M.; Licker, R.; Mastrorillo, M.; Bohra-Mishra, P.; Estes, L. D.; Cai, R.

2014-12-01

Climate variability has been associated with a range of societal and individual outcomes including migration, violent conflict, changes in labor productivity, and health impacts. Some of these may be direct responses to changes in mean temperature or precipitation or extreme events, such as displacement of human populations by tropical cyclones. Others may be mediated by a variety of biological, social, or ecological factors such as migration in response to long-term changes in crops yields. Research is beginning to elucidate and distinguish the many channels through which climate variability may influence human behavior (ranging from the individual to the collective, societal level) in order to better understand how to improve resilience in the face of current variability as well as future climate change. Using a variety of data sets from South Africa, we show how climate variability has influenced internal (within country) migration in recent history. We focus on South Africa as it is a country with high levels of internal migration and dramatic temperature and precipitation changes projected for the 21st century. High poverty rates and significant levels of rain-fed, smallholder agriculture leave large portions of South Africa's population base vulnerable to future climate change. In this study, we utilize two complementary statistical models - one micro-level model, driven by individual and household level survey data, and one macro-level model, driven by national census statistics. In both models, we consider the effect of climate on migration both directly (with gridded climate reanalysis data) and indirectly (with agricultural production statistics). With our historical analyses of climate variability, we gain insights into how the migration decisions of South Africans may be influenced by future climate change. We also offer perspective on the utility of micro and macro level approaches in the study of climate change and human migration.

Testing predictive models of positive and negative affect with psychosocial, acculturation, and coping variables in a multiethnic undergraduate sample

OpenAIRE

Kuo, Ben CH; Kwantes, Catherine T

2014-01-01

Despite the prevalence and popularity of research on positive and negative affect within the field of psychology, there is currently little research on affect involving the examination of cultural variables and with participants of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. To the authors’ knowledge, currently no empirical studies have comprehensively examined predictive models of positive and negative affect based specifically on multiple psychosocial, acculturation, and coping variables as pr...

Zoonotic helminths affecting the human eye

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Nowaday, zoonoses are an important cause of human parasitic diseases worldwide and a major threat to the socio-economic development, mainly in developing countries. Importantly, zoonotic helminths that affect human eyes (HIE) may cause blindness with severe socio-economic consequences to human communities. These infections include nematodes, cestodes and trematodes, which may be transmitted by vectors (dirofilariasis, onchocerciasis, thelaziasis), food consumption (sparganosis, trichinellosis) and those acquired indirectly from the environment (ascariasis, echinococcosis, fascioliasis). Adult and/or larval stages of HIE may localize into human ocular tissues externally (i.e., lachrymal glands, eyelids, conjunctival sacs) or into the ocular globe (i.e., intravitreous retina, anterior and or posterior chamber) causing symptoms due to the parasitic localization in the eyes or to the immune reaction they elicit in the host. Unfortunately, data on HIE are scant and mostly limited to case reports from different countries. The biology and epidemiology of the most frequently reported HIE are discussed as well as clinical description of the diseases, diagnostic considerations and video clips on their presentation and surgical treatment. Homines amplius oculis, quam auribus credunt Seneca Ep 6,5 Men believe their eyes more than their ears PMID:21429191

Zoonotic helminths affecting the human eye

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eberhard Mark L

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Nowaday, zoonoses are an important cause of human parasitic diseases worldwide and a major threat to the socio-economic development, mainly in developing countries. Importantly, zoonotic helminths that affect human eyes (HIE may cause blindness with severe socio-economic consequences to human communities. These infections include nematodes, cestodes and trematodes, which may be transmitted by vectors (dirofilariasis, onchocerciasis, thelaziasis, food consumption (sparganosis, trichinellosis and those acquired indirectly from the environment (ascariasis, echinococcosis, fascioliasis. Adult and/or larval stages of HIE may localize into human ocular tissues externally (i.e., lachrymal glands, eyelids, conjunctival sacs or into the ocular globe (i.e., intravitreous retina, anterior and or posterior chamber causing symptoms due to the parasitic localization in the eyes or to the immune reaction they elicit in the host. Unfortunately, data on HIE are scant and mostly limited to case reports from different countries. The biology and epidemiology of the most frequently reported HIE are discussed as well as clinical description of the diseases, diagnostic considerations and video clips on their presentation and surgical treatment. Homines amplius oculis, quam auribus credunt Seneca Ep 6,5 Men believe their eyes more than their ears

Effects of musical tempo on physiological, affective, and perceptual variables and performance of self-selected walking pace.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Flávia Angélica Martins; Nunes, Renan Felipe Hartmann; Ferreira, Sandro Dos Santos; Krinski, Kleverton; Elsangedy, Hassan Mohamed; Buzzachera, Cosme Franklin; Alves, Ragami Chaves; Gregorio da Silva, Sergio

2015-06-01

[Purpose] This study investigated the effects of musical tempo on physiological, affective, and perceptual responses as well as the performance of self-selected walking pace. [Subjects] The study included 28 adult women between 29 and 51 years old. [Methods] The subjects were divided into three groups: no musical stimulation group (control), and 90 and 140 beats per minute musical tempo groups. Each subject underwent three experimental sessions: involved familiarization with the equipment, an incremental test to exhaustion, and a 30-min walk on a treadmill at a self-selected pace, respectively. During the self-selected walking session, physiological, perceptual, and affective variables were evaluated, and walking performance was evaluated at the end. [Results] There were no significant differences in physiological variables or affective response among groups. However, there were significant differences in perceptual response and walking performance among groups. [Conclusion] Fast music (140 beats per minute) promotes a higher rating of perceived exertion and greater performance in self-selected walking pace without significantly altering physiological variables or affective response.

Affective Biases in Humans and Animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, E S J; Roiser, J P

Depression is one of the most common but poorly understood psychiatric conditions. Although drug treatments and psychological therapies are effective in some patients, many do not achieve full remission and some patients receive no apparent benefit. Developing new improved treatments requires a better understanding of the aetiology of symptoms and evaluation of novel therapeutic targets in pre-clinical studies. Recent developments in our understanding of the basic cognitive processes that may contribute to the development of depression and its treatment offer new opportunities for both clinical and pre-clinical research. This chapter discusses the clinical evidence supporting a cognitive neuropsychological model of depression and antidepressant efficacy, and how this information may be usefully translated to pre-clinical investigation. Studies using neuropsychological tests in depressed patients and at risk populations have revealed basic negative emotional biases and disrupted reward and punishment processing, which may also impact on non-affective cognition. These affective biases are sensitive to antidepressant treatments with early onset effects observed, suggesting an important role in recovery. This clinical work into affective biases has also facilitated back-translation to animals and the development of assays to study affective biases in rodents. These animal studies suggest that, similar to humans, rodents in putative negative affective states exhibit negative affective biases on decision-making and memory tasks. Antidepressant treatments also induce positive biases in these rodent tasks, supporting the translational validity of this approach. Although still in the early stages of development and validation, affective biases in depression have the potential to offer new insights into the clinical condition, as well as facilitating the development of more translational approaches for pre-clinical studies.

Literacy in the Southern Sudan: A Case Study of Variables Affecting Literacy Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, J. Ronayne

1983-01-01

Describes the Local Languages Literacy Project in the Southern Sudan; delineates the most important educational, socioeconomic, and linguistic variables affecting the success of large-scale literacy programs in Africa; and questions the widely held assumption that indigenous language literacy is essential to subsequent literacy in the prestige…

The variability problem of normal human walking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simonsen, Erik B; Alkjær, Tine

2012-01-01

Previous investigations have suggested considerable inter-individual variability in the time course pattern of net joint moments during normal human walking, although the limited sample sizes precluded statistical analyses. The purpose of the present study was to obtain joint moment patterns from...... a group of normal subjects and to test whether or not the expected differences would prove to be statistically significant. Fifteen healthy male subjects were recorded on video while they walked across two force platforms. Ten kinematic and kinetic parameters were selected and input to a statistical...... cluster analysis to determine whether or not the 15 subjects could be divided into different 'families' (clusters) of walking strategy. The net joint moments showed a variability corroborating earlier reports. The cluster analysis showed that the 15 subjects could be grouped into two clusters of 5 and 10...

A Quantitative Approach to Variables Affecting Production of Short Films in Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vedat Akman

2011-08-01

Full Text Available This study aims to explore the influence of various variables affecting the production of migration themed short films in Turkey. We proceeded to our analysis using descriptive statistics to describe the main futures of the sample data quantitatively. Due to non-uniformity of the data available, we were unable to use inductive statistics. Our basic sample statistical results indicated that short film producers prefered to produce short films on domestic migration theme rather than international. Gender and university seemed on surface as significant determinants to the production of migration themed short films in Turkey. We also looked at the demografic variables to provide more insights into our quantitative approach.

Weather variability affects the Peregrine Falcon (F. p. tundrius) breeding success in South Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carlzon, Linnéa; Karlsson, Amanda; Falk, Knud

Global warming is affecting the Arctic at a much higher rate than the rest of the globe, causing a rapidly changing environment for Arctic biota. Climate change is already causing increased variability and extremes in precipitation. Although the peregrine falcon is a well-studied top predator...... in the Arctic only a few studies have identified how the changing weather patterns affect the breeding populations. Therefore, in order to understand the effects of climate change on the peregrine’s future prospects, we investigated the relationship between weather variability (“extreme weather”) and breeding......’ and total days with ‘extreme weather’ during the pre-laying and incubation period also had significant negative correlation with breeding success. Contrary to expectations (and other studies), we found no significant effect of precipitation during the nesting period. Results also indicate that other factors...

Human Empathy, Personality and Experience Affect the Emotion Ratings of Dog and Human Facial Expressions

Science.gov (United States)

Kujala, Miiamaaria V.; Somppi, Sanni; Jokela, Markus; Vainio, Outi; Parkkonen, Lauri

2017-01-01

Facial expressions are important for humans in communicating emotions to the conspecifics and enhancing interpersonal understanding. Many muscles producing facial expressions in humans are also found in domestic dogs, but little is known about how humans perceive dog facial expressions, and which psychological factors influence people’s perceptions. Here, we asked 34 observers to rate the valence, arousal, and the six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, fear, and anger/aggressiveness) from images of human and dog faces with Pleasant, Neutral and Threatening expressions. We investigated how the subjects’ personality (the Big Five Inventory), empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index) and experience of dog behavior affect the ratings of dog and human faces. Ratings of both species followed similar general patterns: human subjects classified dog facial expressions from pleasant to threatening very similarly to human facial expressions. Subjects with higher emotional empathy evaluated Threatening faces of both species as more negative in valence and higher in anger/aggressiveness. More empathetic subjects also rated the happiness of Pleasant humans but not dogs higher, and they were quicker in their valence judgments of Pleasant human, Threatening human and Threatening dog faces. Experience with dogs correlated positively with ratings of Pleasant and Neutral dog faces. Personality also had a minor effect on the ratings of Pleasant and Neutral faces in both species. The results imply that humans perceive human and dog facial expression in a similar manner, and the perception of both species is influenced by psychological factors of the evaluators. Especially empathy affects both the speed and intensity of rating dogs’ emotional facial expressions. PMID:28114335

Human Empathy, Personality and Experience Affect the Emotion Ratings of Dog and Human Facial Expressions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miiamaaria V Kujala

Full Text Available Facial expressions are important for humans in communicating emotions to the conspecifics and enhancing interpersonal understanding. Many muscles producing facial expressions in humans are also found in domestic dogs, but little is known about how humans perceive dog facial expressions, and which psychological factors influence people's perceptions. Here, we asked 34 observers to rate the valence, arousal, and the six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, fear, and anger/aggressiveness from images of human and dog faces with Pleasant, Neutral and Threatening expressions. We investigated how the subjects' personality (the Big Five Inventory, empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index and experience of dog behavior affect the ratings of dog and human faces. Ratings of both species followed similar general patterns: human subjects classified dog facial expressions from pleasant to threatening very similarly to human facial expressions. Subjects with higher emotional empathy evaluated Threatening faces of both species as more negative in valence and higher in anger/aggressiveness. More empathetic subjects also rated the happiness of Pleasant humans but not dogs higher, and they were quicker in their valence judgments of Pleasant human, Threatening human and Threatening dog faces. Experience with dogs correlated positively with ratings of Pleasant and Neutral dog faces. Personality also had a minor effect on the ratings of Pleasant and Neutral faces in both species. The results imply that humans perceive human and dog facial expression in a similar manner, and the perception of both species is influenced by psychological factors of the evaluators. Especially empathy affects both the speed and intensity of rating dogs' emotional facial expressions.

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.

Pathogen prevalence predicts human cross-cultural variability in individualism/collectivism

OpenAIRE

Fincher, Corey L; Thornhill, Randy; Murray, Damian R; Schaller, Mark

2008-01-01

Pathogenic diseases impose selection pressures on the social behaviour of host populations. In humans (Homo sapiens), many psychological phenomena appear to serve an antipathogen defence function. One broad implication is the existence of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and behaviour contingent upon the relative presence of pathogens in the local ecology. We focus specifically on one fundamental cultural variable: differences in individualistic versus collectivist values. We sug...

Internet’s Affects on the Human and Communicational Capitals of the Faculty Members and the PhD and MA Students in Universities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdi Montazerghaem

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Internet and other modern communication technologies have affected all aspects of the gathering, combining, and transforming knowledge, especially in scientific-educational and research organizations. These processes are parts of the whole intellectual capital in any organization. Intellectual capital is the hidden and intangible property which is oriented toward organizational goals. In the present study, I attempt to reflect on the affects internet has on some particular dimensions of intellectual capital, namely the human and the communicational, in Iran’s universities. According to the theoretical basis, it is shown that internet usage is an important factor in developing organizational intellectual capital (here, in the universities. Results show that human and communicational capitals are differently distributed in various universities. On the other hand, internet accessibility and consumption (type and quantity, as the independent variables of the study, have meaningful affects on human and communicational capitals in all universities. Furthermore, it is noteworthy to say that there are some other factors, as the ranking of the university, department, educational level (for students, and degree (for faculty members, and gender, which intervene in the process. Results show that internet usage, besides other factors as age, gender, marital status, could guide in explanation of the human and communicational capitals’ changes in the universities.

Do Affective Variables Make a Difference in Consumers Behavior Toward Mobile Advertising?

OpenAIRE

Mart?nez-Ruiz, Mar?a Pilar; Izquierdo-Yusta, Alicia; Olarte-Pascual, Cristina; Reinares-Lara, Eva

2017-01-01

Research into permission-based mobile marketing is increasingly common due to the widespread adoption of mobile technology and its use as a communication channel. Yet few studies have attempted to analyze the factors that determine attitudes toward mobile advertising while simultaneously considering: the links among them and consumers' intentions, behavior, and/or cognitive and affective variables simultaneously. The present research therefore sought to deepen understanding of the antecedents...

Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim M. Daw

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Although ecosystem services are increasingly recognized as benefits people obtain from nature, we still have a poor understanding of how they actually enhance multidimensional human well-being, and how well-being is affected by ecosystem change. We develop a concept of "ecosystem service elasticity" (ES elasticity that describes the sensitivity of human well-being to changes in ecosystems. ES Elasticity is a result of complex social and ecological dynamics and is context dependent, individually variable, and likely to demonstrate nonlinear dynamics such as thresholds and hysteresis. We present a conceptual framework that unpacks the chain of causality from ecosystem stocks through flows, goods, value, and shares to contribute to the well-being of different people. This framework builds on previous conceptualizations, but places multidimensional well-being of different people as the final element. This ultimately disaggregated approach emphasizes how different people access benefits and how benefits match their needs or aspirations. Applying this framework to case studies of individual coastal ecosystem services in East Africa illustrates a wide range of social and ecological factors that can affect ES elasticity. For example, food web and habitat dynamics affect the sensitivity of different fisheries ecosystem services to ecological change. Meanwhile high cultural significance, or lack of alternatives enhance ES elasticity, while social mechanisms that prevent access can reduce elasticity. Mapping out how chains are interlinked illustrates how different types of value and the well-being of different people are linked to each other and to common ecological stocks. We suggest that examining chains for individual ecosystem services can suggest potential interventions aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable ecosystems while mapping out of interlinkages between chains can help to identify possible ecosystem service trade-offs and winners and

General anesthesia suppresses normal heart rate variability in humans

Science.gov (United States)

Matchett, Gerald; Wood, Philip

2014-06-01

The human heart normally exhibits robust beat-to-beat heart rate variability (HRV). The loss of this variability is associated with pathology, including disease states such as congestive heart failure (CHF). The effect of general anesthesia on intrinsic HRV is unknown. In this prospective, observational study we enrolled 100 human subjects having elective major surgical procedures under general anesthesia. We recorded continuous heart rate data via continuous electrocardiogram before, during, and after anesthesia, and we assessed HRV of the R-R intervals. We assessed HRV using several common metrics including Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), Multifractal Analysis, and Multiscale Entropy Analysis. Each of these analyses was done in each of the four clinical phases for each study subject over the course of 24 h: Before anesthesia, during anesthesia, early recovery, and late recovery. On average, we observed a loss of variability on the aforementioned metrics that appeared to correspond to the state of general anesthesia. Following the conclusion of anesthesia, most study subjects appeared to regain their normal HRV, although this did not occur immediately. The resumption of normal HRV was especially delayed on DFA. Qualitatively, the reduction in HRV under anesthesia appears similar to the reduction in HRV observed in CHF. These observations will need to be validated in future studies, and the broader clinical implications of these observations, if any, are unknown.

Rainfall–runoff temporal variability in Kermanshah province, Iran ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Investigation of changes in rainfall and runoff patterns in various regions and determining their relationship ... efficiently reveal the human and natural factors in this variability. One of ..... pattern centers affecting on seasonal precipitation of Iran;.

Embracing your emotions: affective state impacts lateralisation of human embraces.

Science.gov (United States)

Packheiser, Julian; Rook, Noemi; Dursun, Zeynep; Mesenhöller, Janne; Wenglorz, Alrescha; Güntürkün, Onur; Ocklenburg, Sebastian

2018-01-18

Humans are highly social animals that show a wide variety of verbal and non-verbal behaviours to communicate social intent. One of the most frequently used non-verbal social behaviours is embracing, commonly used as an expression of love and affection. However, it can also occur in a large variety of social situations entailing negative (fear or sadness) or neutral emotionality (formal greetings). Embracing is also experienced from birth onwards in mother-infant interactions and is thus accompanying human social interaction across the whole lifespan. Despite the importance of embraces for human social interactions, their underlying neurophysiology is unknown. Here, we demonstrated in a well-powered sample of more than 2500 adults that humans show a significant rightward bias during embracing. Additionally, we showed that this general motor preference is strongly modulated by emotional contexts: the induction of positive or negative affect shifted the rightward bias significantly to the left, indicating a stronger involvement of right-hemispheric neural networks during emotional embraces. In a second laboratory study, we were able to replicate both of these findings and furthermore demonstrated that the motor preferences during embracing correlate with handedness. Our studies therefore not only show that embracing is controlled by an interaction of motor and affective networks, they also demonstrate that emotional factors seem to activate right-hemispheric systems in valence-invariant ways.

Aversive pavlovian responses affect human instrumental motor performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Rigoli, Francesco; Pavone, Enea Francesco; Pezzulo, Giovanni

2012-01-01

IN NEUROSCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY, AN INFLUENTIAL PERSPECTIVE DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN TWO KINDS OF BEHAVIORAL CONTROL: instrumental (habitual and goal-directed) and Pavlovian. Understanding the instrumental-Pavlovian interaction is fundamental for the comprehension of decision-making. Animal studies (as those using the negative auto-maintenance paradigm), have demonstrated that Pavlovian mechanisms can have maladaptive effects on instrumental performance. However, evidence for a similar effect in humans is scarce. In addition, the mechanisms modulating the impact of Pavlovian responses on instrumental performance are largely unknown, both in human and non-human animals. The present paper describes a behavioral experiment investigating the effects of Pavlovian conditioned responses on performance in humans, focusing on the aversive domain. Results showed that Pavlovian responses influenced human performance, and, similar to animal studies, could have maladaptive effects. In particular, Pavlovian responses either impaired or increased performance depending on modulator variables such as threat distance, task controllability, punishment history, amount of training, and explicit punishment expectancy. Overall, these findings help elucidating the computational mechanisms underlying the instrumental-Pavlovian interaction, which might be at the base of apparently irrational phenomena in economics, social behavior, and psychopathology.

Aversive Pavlovian responses affect human instrumental motor performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco eRigoli

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In neuroscience and psychology, an influential perspective distinguishes between two kinds of behavioural control: instrumental (habitual and goal-directed and Pavlovian. Understanding the instrumental-Pavlovian interaction is fundamental for the comprehension of decision-making. Animal studies (as those using the negative auto-maintenance paradigm, have demonstrated that Pavlovian mechanisms can have maladaptive effects on instrumental performance. However, evidence for a similar effect in humans is scarce. In addition, the mechanisms modulating the impact of Pavlovian responses on instrumental performance are largely unknown, both in human and non-human animals. The present paper describes a behavioural experiment investigating the effects of Pavlovian conditioned responses on performance in humans, focusing on the aversive domain. Results showed that Pavlovian responses influenced human performance, and, similar to animal studies, could have maladaptive effects. In particular, Pavlovian responses either impaired or increased performance depending on modulator variables such as threat distance, task controllability, punishment history, amount of training, and explicit punishment expectancy. Overall, these findings help elucidating the computational mechanisms underlying the instrumental-Pavlovian interaction, which might be at the base of apparently irrational phenomena in economics, social behaviour, and psychopathology.

THE HUMAN ACTIVITY AS AFFECTIVE-COGNITIVE UNIT: A HISTORIC-CULTURAL APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lígia Márcia Martins

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article puts in question the affectional-cognitive unit which sustains the human activity, with the purpose to light incorrectness of approaches which dichotomize reason and emotion. It asserts that such dissociations are founded in theorical-methodological principles which set bounds for explanations about the human psychism, so that the overcoming of referred dualisms puts on as a method matter. For making explicit that assertion, it resorted to Historic-Cultural Psychology, based on that it explains about the psychism as subjective image of objective reality, of Vygotskyan criticisms to Cartesian dualism and the need of a historic-cultural approach on emotion studies, intend to analyzing the human activity as a affective-cognitive unit and the imbricated relations that are waged, within it, among affections, emotions, feelings and thoughts. Once presented the interrelations between emotions and cognitions this exhibition argues that the concepts are necessary as a minimum unit of analysis both of thought and feelings.

Amino acid composition of soybean seeds as affected by climatic variables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constanza Soledad Carrera

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to perform a quantitative analysis of the amino acid composition of soybean seeds as affected by climatic variables during seed filling. Amino acids were determined from seed samples taken at harvest in 31 multi-environment field trials carried out in Argentina. Total amino acids ranged from 31.69 to 49.14%, and total essential and nonessential amino acids varied from 12.83 to 19.02% and from 18.86 to 31.15%, respectively. Variance components expressed as the percentage of total variation showed that the environment was the most important source of variation for all traits, followed by the genotype x environment interaction. Significant explanatory linear regressions were detected for amino acid content regarding: average daily mean air temperature and cumulative solar radiation, during seed filling; precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration, during the whole reproductive period; and the combinations of these climatic variables. Each amino acid behaves differently according to environmental conditions, indicating compensatory effects among them.

Early developmental gene enhancers affect subcortical volumes in the adult human brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Martin; Guadalupe, Tulio; Franke, Barbara; Hibar, Derrek P; Renteria, Miguel E; Stein, Jason L; Thompson, Paul M; Francks, Clyde; Vernes, Sonja C; Fisher, Simon E

2016-05-01

Genome-wide association screens aim to identify common genetic variants contributing to the phenotypic variability of complex traits, such as human height or brain morphology. The identified genetic variants are mostly within noncoding genomic regions and the biology of the genotype-phenotype association typically remains unclear. In this article, we propose a complementary targeted strategy to reveal the genetic underpinnings of variability in subcortical brain volumes, by specifically selecting genomic loci that are experimentally validated forebrain enhancers, active in early embryonic development. We hypothesized that genetic variation within these enhancers may affect the development and ultimately the structure of subcortical brain regions in adults. We tested whether variants in forebrain enhancer regions showed an overall enrichment of association with volumetric variation in subcortical structures of >13,000 healthy adults. We observed significant enrichment of genomic loci that affect the volume of the hippocampus within forebrain enhancers (empirical P = 0.0015), a finding which robustly passed the adjusted threshold for testing of multiple brain phenotypes (cutoff of P < 0.0083 at an alpha of 0.05). In analyses of individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we identified an association upstream of the ID2 gene with rs7588305 and variation in hippocampal volume. This SNP-based association survived multiple-testing correction for the number of SNPs analyzed but not for the number of subcortical structures. Targeting known regulatory regions offers a way to understand the underlying biology that connects genotypes to phenotypes, particularly in the context of neuroimaging genetics. This biology-driven approach generates testable hypotheses regarding the functional biology of identified associations. Hum Brain Mapp 37:1788-1800, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

How Do Volcanoes Affect Human Life? Integrated Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Dayton, Rebecca; Edwards, Carrie; Sisler, Michelle

This packet contains a unit on teaching about volcanoes. The following question is addressed: How do volcanoes affect human life? The unit covers approximately three weeks of instruction and strives to present volcanoes in an holistic form. The five subject areas of art, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies are integrated into…

Does human migration affect international trade? A complex-network perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Fagiolo, Giorgio; Mastrorillo, Marina

2014-01-01

This paper explores the relationships between international human migration and merchandise trade, using a complex-network approach. We firstly compare the topological structure of worldwide networks of human migration and bilateral trade over the period 1960-2000. Next, we ask whether the position of any pair of countries in the migration network affects their bilateral trade flows. We show that: (i) both weighted and binary versions of the networks of international migration and trade are strongly correlated; (ii) such correlations can be mostly explained by country economic/demographic size and geographical distance; and (iii) pairs of countries that are more central in the international-migration network trade more. Our findings suggest that bilateral trade between any two countries is not only affected by the presence of migrants from either countries but also by their relative embeddedness in the complex web of corridors making up the network of international human migration.

Variability and trends of migratory anticyclones affecting the Mediterranean

Science.gov (United States)

Hatzaki, Maria; Flocas, Helena A.; Simmonds, Ian; Kouroutzoglou, John; keay, Kevin; Rudeva, Irina

2014-05-01

A comprehensive climatology of migratory anticyclones affecting the Mediterranean was generated with the aid of the University of Melbourne finding and tracking algorithm, applied to 34 years (1979-2012) of ERA-Interim mean sea level pressures. The algorithm is employed for the first time to study anticyclones in this region, thus, its robustness and reliability in efficiently capturing the individual characteristics of the anticyclonic tracks in the Mediterranean were checked and verified. The tracks and the statistical properties of the migratory systems revealed two major anticyclonic routes: over the northern (i.e. from the Iberian towards the Balkan Peninsula) and over the southern (i.e. the North Africa coast) Mediterranean barriers. A transition of the system density and anticyclogenesis maxima is evident throughout the year from solely continental environments in winter and autumn to also maritime in spring and summer. These variations can be attributed to the seasonal variability of the major anticyclonic systems that are involved in this region. The interannual variability of synoptic systems can be attributed to natural low frequency variability. The interannual variations of the system density and strength were linked to the Northern Hemisphere modes of atmospheric variability; e.g. more (less) antiyclonic tracks are observed around the Mediterranean basin during periods of positive (negative) NAO, with a consequent enhancement (decline) of the pressure field. Moreover, possible trends in the frequency and intensity of the anticyclonic systems were explored in an attempt to examine any impacts of recent global warming conditions. Positive trends of system density, genesis and intensity prevail during the cold period over the greater area around the Mediterranean basin. During summer, the general increase in system density is not followed by a corresponding tendency in the number of the generating systems and the intensity. Regarding the depth of the

Sources of variability in human communicative skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inge eVolman

2012-11-01

Full Text Available When established communication systems cannot be used, people rapidly create novel systems to modify the mental state of another agent according to their intentions. However, there are dramatic inter-individual differences in the implementation of this human competence for communicative innovation. Here we characterize psychological sources of inter-individual variability in the ability to build a shared communication system from scratch. We consider two potential sources of variability in communicative skills. Cognitive traits of two individuals could independently influence their joint ability to establish a communication system. Another possibility is that the overlap between those individual traits influences the communicative performance of a dyad. We assess these possibilities by quantifying the relationship between cognitive traits and behavior of communicating dyads. Cognitive traits were assessed with psychometric scores quantifying cooperative attitudes and fluid intelligence. Competence for implementing successful communicative innovations was assessed by using a non-verbal communicative task. Individual capacities influence communicative success when communicative innovations are generated. Dyadic similarities and individual traits modulate the type of communicative strategy chosen. The ability to establish novel communicative actions was influenced by a combination of the communicator’s ability to understand intentions and the addressee’s ability to recognize patterns. Communicative pairs with comparable systemizing abilities or behavioral inhibition were more likely to explore the search space of possible communicative strategies by systematically adding new communicative behaviors to those already available. No individual psychometric measure seemed predominantly responsible for communicative success. These findings support the notion that the human ability for fast communicative innovations represents a special type of

Investigation of clinical pharmacokinetic variability of an opioid antagonist through physiologically based absorption modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Xuan; He, Minxia; Kulkarni, Rajesh; Patel, Nita; Zhang, Xiaoyu

2013-08-01

Identifying the source of inter- and/or intrasubject variability in pharmacokinetics (PK) provides fundamental information in understanding the pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics relationship of a drug and project its efficacy and safety in clinical populations. This identification process can be challenging given that a large number of potential causes could lead to PK variability. Here we present an integrated approach of physiologically based absorption modeling to investigate the root cause of unexpectedly high PK variability of a Phase I clinical trial drug. LY2196044 exhibited high intersubject variability in the absorption phase of plasma concentration-time profiles in humans. This could not be explained by in vitro measurements of drug properties and excellent bioavailability with low variability observed in preclinical species. GastroPlus™ modeling suggested that the compound's optimal solubility and permeability characteristics would enable rapid and complete absorption in preclinical species and in humans. However, simulations of human plasma concentration-time profiles indicated that despite sufficient solubility and rapid dissolution of LY2196044 in humans, permeability and/or transit in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract may have been negatively affected. It was concluded that clinical PK variability was potentially due to the drug's antagonism on opioid receptors that affected its transit and absorption in the GI tract. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Variability Bugs:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melo, Jean

. Although many researchers suggest that preprocessor-based variability amplifies maintenance problems, there is little to no hard evidence on how actually variability affects programs and programmers. Specifically, how does variability affect programmers during maintenance tasks (bug finding in particular......)? How much harder is it to debug a program as variability increases? How do developers debug programs with variability? In what ways does variability affect bugs? In this Ph.D. thesis, I set off to address such issues through different perspectives using empirical research (based on controlled...... experiments) in order to understand quantitatively and qualitatively the impact of variability on programmers at bug finding and on buggy programs. From the program (and bug) perspective, the results show that variability is ubiquitous. There appears to be no specific nature of variability bugs that could...

Sensitivity analysis on uncertainty variables affecting the NPP's LUEC with probabilistic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuryanti; Akhmad Hidayatno; Erlinda Muslim

2013-01-01

One thing that is quite crucial to be reviewed prior to any investment decision on the nuclear power plant (NPP) project is the calculation of project economic, including calculation of Levelized Unit Electricity Cost (LUEC). Infrastructure projects such as NPP’s project are vulnerable to a number of uncertainty variables. Information on the uncertainty variables which makes LUEC’s value quite sensitive due to the changes of them is necessary in order the cost overrun can be avoided. Therefore this study aimed to do the sensitivity analysis on variables that affect LUEC with probabilistic approaches. This analysis was done by using Monte Carlo technique that simulate the relationship between the uncertainty variables and visible impact on LUEC. The sensitivity analysis result shows the significant changes on LUEC value of AP1000 and OPR due to the sensitivity of investment cost and capacity factors. While LUEC changes due to sensitivity of U 3 O 8 ’s price looks not quite significant. (author)

Aquatic pathway variables affecting the estimation of dose commitment from uranium mill tailings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lush, D.L.; Snodgrass, W.J.; McKee, P.

1982-01-01

As one of a series of studies being carried out for the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada, the environmental variables affecting population dose commitment and critical group dose rates from aquatic pathways were investigated. A model was developed to follow uranium and natural thorium decay series radionuclides through aquatic pathways leading both to long-term sediment sinks and to man. Pathways leading to man result in both a population dose commitment and a critical group dose rate. The key variables affecting population dose commitment are suspended particulate concentrations in the receiving aquatic systems, the settling velocities of these particulates and the solid-aqueous phase distribution coefficient associated with each radionuclide. Of secondary importance to population dose commitment are the rate at which radionuclides enter the receiving waters and the value of the water to food transfer coefficients that are used in the model. For the critical group dose rate, the rate at which the radionuclides leave the tailings, the water to food transfer coefficients, the rate of water and fish consumption and the dose conversion factors for 210 Pb and 210 Po are of secondary importance (author)

Testing predictive models of positive and negative affect with psychosocial, acculturation, and coping variables in a multiethnic undergraduate sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Ben Ch; Kwantes, Catherine T

2014-01-01

Despite the prevalence and popularity of research on positive and negative affect within the field of psychology, there is currently little research on affect involving the examination of cultural variables and with participants of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. To the authors' knowledge, currently no empirical studies have comprehensively examined predictive models of positive and negative affect based specifically on multiple psychosocial, acculturation, and coping variables as predictors with any sample populations. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to test the predictive power of perceived stress, social support, bidirectional acculturation (i.e., Canadian acculturation and heritage acculturation), religious coping and cultural coping (i.e., collective, avoidance, and engagement coping) in explaining positive and negative affect in a multiethnic sample of 301 undergraduate students in Canada. Two hierarchal multiple regressions were conducted, one for each affect as the dependent variable, with the above described predictors. The results supported the hypotheses and showed the two overall models to be significant in predicting affect of both kinds. Specifically, a higher level of positive affect was predicted by a lower level of perceived stress, less use of religious coping, and more use of engagement coping in dealing with stress by the participants. Higher level of negative affect, however, was predicted by a higher level of perceived stress and more use of avoidance coping in responding to stress. The current findings highlight the value and relevance of empirically examining the stress-coping-adaptation experiences of diverse populations from an affective conceptual framework, particularly with the inclusion of positive affect. Implications and recommendations for advancing future research and theoretical works in this area are considered and presented.

Does human migration affect international trade? A complex-network perspective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giorgio Fagiolo

Full Text Available This paper explores the relationships between international human migration and merchandise trade, using a complex-network approach. We firstly compare the topological structure of worldwide networks of human migration and bilateral trade over the period 1960-2000. Next, we ask whether the position of any pair of countries in the migration network affects their bilateral trade flows. We show that: (i both weighted and binary versions of the networks of international migration and trade are strongly correlated; (ii such correlations can be mostly explained by country economic/demographic size and geographical distance; and (iii pairs of countries that are more central in the international-migration network trade more. Our findings suggest that bilateral trade between any two countries is not only affected by the presence of migrants from either countries but also by their relative embeddedness in the complex web of corridors making up the network of international human migration.

Integrating Ecological and Social Ranges of Variability in Conservation of Biodiversity: Past, Present, and Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sally L. Duncan

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Historical range of variability has been proposed as a concept that can be used by forest land managers to guide conservation of ecosystem functions and biodiversity conservation. The role of humans in historical range of variability has remained somewhat murky and unsettled, even though it is clear that humans have been, are, and will continue to be forces of disturbance and recovery in forested landscapes. We attempt to develop concepts that integrate the ecological and social forces affecting landscape variability. Toward that end, we present a conceptual framework that places "range of variability" into a broader context and integrates the ecological and social forces affecting landscapes past, present, and future. We use two terms to aid us in understanding the utility of historical range of variability as a context and future range of variability as a point of comparison: (1 the ecological range of variability is the estimated range of some ecological condition as a function of the biophysical and social forces affecting the area and (2 the social range of variability is the range of an ecological condition that society finds acceptable at a given time. We find it is important to recognize that future range of variability represents a constantly emerging and changing set of conditions, and that the more humans push a system to depart from its historical range of variabiloity domain, the less likely it becomes that historical range of variability processes will prove useful as benchmarks in recovering a system.

Human Performance Technology (HPT): An Examination of Definitions through Dependent and Independent Variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Irlbeck, Sonja A.

2002-01-01

Provides a chronological perspective of human performance technology (HPT) definitions and an evaluation of them in terms of independent and dependent variables. Discusses human competence and performance technology and compares the definitions with the goals that have been articulated for HPT. (Author/LRW)

Imagination in human social cognition, autism, and psychotic-affective conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Crespi, Bernard; Leach, Emma; Dinsdale, Natalie; Mokkonen, Mikael; Hurd, Peter

2016-05-01

Complex human social cognition has evolved in concert with risks for psychiatric disorders. Recently, autism and psychotic-affective conditions (mainly schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression) have been posited as psychological 'opposites' with regard to social-cognitive phenotypes. Imagination, considered as 'forming new ideas, mental images, or concepts', represents a central facet of human social evolution and cognition. Previous studies have documented reduced imagination in autism, and increased imagination in association with psychotic-affective conditions, yet these sets of findings have yet to be considered together, or evaluated in the context of the diametric model. We first review studies of the components, manifestations, and neural correlates of imagination in autism and psychotic-affective conditions. Next, we use data on dimensional autism in healthy populations to test the hypotheses that: (1) imagination represents the facet of autism that best accounts for its strongly male-biased sex ratio, and (2) higher genetic risk of schizophrenia is associated with higher imagination, in accordance with the predictions of the diametric model. The first hypothesis was supported by a systematic review and meta-analysis showing that Imagination exhibits the strongest male bias of all Autism Quotient (AQ) subscales, in non-clinical populations. The second hypothesis was supported, for males, by associations between schizophrenia genetic risk scores, derived from a set of single-nucleotide polymorphisms, and the AQ Imagination subscale. Considered together, these findings indicate that imagination, especially social imagination as embodied in the default mode human brain network, mediates risk and diametric dimensional phenotypes of autism and psychotic-affective conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Human likeness: cognitive and affective factors affecting adoption of robot-assisted learning systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Hosun; Kwon, Ohbyung; Lee, Namyeon

2016-07-01

With advances in robot technology, interest in robotic e-learning systems has increased. In some laboratories, experiments are being conducted with humanoid robots as artificial tutors because of their likeness to humans, the rich possibilities of using this type of media, and the multimodal interaction capabilities of these robots. The robot-assisted learning system, a special type of e-learning system, aims to increase the learner's concentration, pleasure, and learning performance dramatically. However, very few empirical studies have examined the effect on learning performance of incorporating humanoid robot technology into e-learning systems or people's willingness to accept or adopt robot-assisted learning systems. In particular, human likeness, the essential characteristic of humanoid robots as compared with conventional e-learning systems, has not been discussed in a theoretical context. Hence, the purpose of this study is to propose a theoretical model to explain the process of adoption of robot-assisted learning systems. In the proposed model, human likeness is conceptualized as a combination of media richness, multimodal interaction capabilities, and para-social relationships; these factors are considered as possible determinants of the degree to which human cognition and affection are related to the adoption of robot-assisted learning systems.

N-linked glycosylation of the immunoglobulin variable region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Bovenkamp, Fleur S.; Derksen, Ninotska I. L.; Ooijevaar-de Heer, Pleuni; van Schie, Karin A.; Kruithof, Simone; Berkowska, Magdalena A.; van der Schoot, C. Ellen; Ijspeert, Hanna; van der Burg, Mirjam; Gils, Ann; Hafkenscheid, Lise; Toes, René E. M.; Rombouts, Yoann; Plomp, Rosina; Wuhrer, Manfred; van Ham, S. Marieke; Vidarsson, Gestur; Rispens, Theo

2018-01-01

N-glycosylation sites are introduced at positions in which glycans can affect antigen binding as a result of a specific clustering of progenitor glycosylation sites in the germline sequences of variable domain genes. By analyzing multiple human monoclonal and polyclonal (auto)antibody responses, we

Genetic Variants Contribute to Gene Expression Variability in Humans

Science.gov (United States)

Hulse, Amanda M.; Cai, James J.

2013-01-01

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) studies have established convincing relationships between genetic variants and gene expression. Most of these studies focused on the mean of gene expression level, but not the variance of gene expression level (i.e., gene expression variability). In the present study, we systematically explore genome-wide association between genetic variants and gene expression variability in humans. We adapt the double generalized linear model (dglm) to simultaneously fit the means and the variances of gene expression among the three possible genotypes of a biallelic SNP. The genomic loci showing significant association between the variances of gene expression and the genotypes are termed expression variability QTL (evQTL). Using a data set of gene expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from 210 HapMap individuals, we identify cis-acting evQTL involving 218 distinct genes, among which 8 genes, ADCY1, CTNNA2, DAAM2, FERMT2, IL6, PLOD2, SNX7, and TNFRSF11B, are cross-validated using an extra expression data set of the same LCLs. We also identify ∼300 trans-acting evQTL between >13,000 common SNPs and 500 randomly selected representative genes. We employ two distinct scenarios, emphasizing single-SNP and multiple-SNP effects on expression variability, to explain the formation of evQTL. We argue that detecting evQTL may represent a novel method for effectively screening for genetic interactions, especially when the multiple-SNP influence on expression variability is implied. The implication of our results for revealing genetic mechanisms of gene expression variability is discussed. PMID:23150607

Bottom-up and top-down human impacts interact to affect a protected coastal Chilean marsh.

Science.gov (United States)

Fariña, José M; He, Qiang; Silliman, Brian R; Bertness, Mark D

2016-03-01

Many ecosystems, even in protected areas, experience multiple anthropogenic impacts. While anthropogenic modification of bottom-up (e.g., eutrophication) and top-down (e.g., livestock grazing) forcing often co-occurs, whether these factors counteract or have additive or synergistic effects on ecosystems is poorly understood. In a Chilean bio-reserve, we examined the interactive impacts of eutrophication and illegal livestock grazing on plant growth with a 4-yr fertilization by cattle exclusion experiment. Cattle grazing generally decreased plant biomass, but had synergistic, additive, and antagonistic interactions with fertilization in the low, middle, and high marsh zones, respectively. In the low marsh, fertilization increased plant biomass by 112%, cattle grazing decreased it by 96%, and together they decreased plant biomass by 77%. In the middle marsh, fertilization increased plant biomass by 47%, cattle grazing decreased it by 37%, and together they did not affect plant biomass. In the high marsh, fertilization and cattle grazing decreased plant biomass by 81% and 92%, respectively, but together they increased plant biomass by 42%. These interactions were also found to be species specific. Different responses of plants to fertilization and cattle grazing were likely responsible for these variable interactions. Thus, common bottom-up and top-down human impacts can interact in different ways to affect communities even within a single ecosystem. Incorporating this knowledge into conservation actions will improve ecosystem management in a time when ecosystems are increasingly challenged by multiple interacting human impacts.

Does solar activity affect human happiness?

Science.gov (United States)

Kristoufek, Ladislav

2018-03-01

We investigate the direct influence of solar activity (represented by sunspot numbers) on human happiness (represented by the Twitter-based Happiness Index). We construct four models controlling for various statistical and dynamic effects of the analyzed series. The final model gives promising results. First, there is a statistically significant negative influence of solar activity on happiness which holds even after controlling for the other factors. Second, the final model, which is still rather simple, explains around 75% of variance of the Happiness Index. Third, our control variables contribute significantly as well: happiness is higher in no sunspots days, happiness is strongly persistent, there are strong intra-week cycles and happiness peaks during holidays. Our results strongly contribute to the topical literature and they provide evidence of unique utility of the online data.

A highly variable segment of human subterminal 16p reveals a history of population growth for modern humans outside Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso, Santos; Armour, John A. L.

2001-01-01

We have sequenced a highly polymorphic subterminal noncoding region from human chromosome 16p13.3, flanking the 5′ end of the hypervariable minisatellite MS205, in 100 chromosomes sampled from different African and Euroasiatic populations. Coalescence analysis indicates that the time to the most recent common ancestor (approximately 1 million years) predates the appearance of anatomically modern human forms. The root of the network describing this variability lies in Africa. African populations show a greater level of diversity and deeper branches. Most Euroasiatic variability seems to have been generated after a recent out-of-Africa range expansion. A history of population growth is the most likely scenario for the Euroasiatic populations. This pattern of nuclear variability can be reconciled with inferences based on mitochondrial DNA. PMID:11158547

Variability in human metabolism of arsenic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loffredo, C.A.; Aposhian, H.V.; Cebrian, M.E.; Yamauchi, Hiroshi; Silbergeld, E.K.

2003-01-01

Estimating the nature and extent of human cancer risks due to arsenic (As) in drinking water is currently of great concern, since millions of persons worldwide are exposed to arsenic, primarily through natural enrichment of drinking water drawn from deep wells. Humans metabolize and eliminate As through oxidative methylation and subsequent urinary excretion. While there is debate as to the role of methylation in activation/detoxification, variations in arsenic metabolism may affect individual risks of toxicity and carcinogenesis. Using data from three populations, from Mexico, China, and Chile, we have analyzed the distribution in urine of total arsenic and arsenic species (inorganic arsenic (InAs), monomethyl arsenic (MMA), and dimethyl arsenic (DMA). Data were analyzed in terms of the concentration of each species and by evaluating MMA:DMA and (MMA+DMA):InAs ratios. In all persons most urinary As was present as DMA. Male:female differences were discernible in both high- and low-exposure groups from all three populations, but the gender differences varied by populations. The data also indicated bimodal distributions in the ratios of DMA to InAs and to MMA. While the gene or genes responsible for arsenic methylation are still unknown, the results of our studies among the ethnic groups in this study are consistent with the presence of functional genetic polymorphisms in arsenic methylation leading to measurable differences in toxicity. This analysis highlights the need for continuing research on the health effects of As in humans using molecular epidemiologic methods

Country-Specific Effects of Climate Variability on Human Migration

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Clark; Wise, Erika

2016-01-01

Involuntary human migration is among the social outcomes of greatest concern in the current era of global climate change. Responding to this concern, a growing number of studies have investigated the consequences of short to medium-term climate variability for human migration using demographic and econometric approaches. These studies have provided important insights, but at the same time have been significantly limited by lack of expertise in the use of climate data, access to cross-national data on migration, and attention to model specification. To address these limitations, we link data on internal and international migration over a 6-year period from 9,812 origin households in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Senegal to high-resolution gridded climate data from both station and satellite sources. Analyses of these data using several plausible specifications reveal that climate variability has country-specific effects on migration: Migration tends to increase with temperature anomalies in Uganda, tends to decrease with temperature anomalies in Kenya and Burkina Faso, and shows no consistent relationship with temperature in Nigeria and Senegal. Consistent with previous studies, precipitation shows weak and inconsistent relationships with migration across countries. These results challenge generalizing narratives that foresee a consistent migratory response to climate change across the globe. PMID:27092012

Country-Specific Effects of Climate Variability on Human Migration.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Clark; Wise, Erika

2016-04-01

Involuntary human migration is among the social outcomes of greatest concern in the current era of global climate change. Responding to this concern, a growing number of studies have investigated the consequences of short to medium-term climate variability for human migration using demographic and econometric approaches. These studies have provided important insights, but at the same time have been significantly limited by lack of expertise in the use of climate data, access to cross-national data on migration, and attention to model specification. To address these limitations, we link data on internal and international migration over a 6-year period from 9,812 origin households in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Senegal to high-resolution gridded climate data from both station and satellite sources. Analyses of these data using several plausible specifications reveal that climate variability has country-specific effects on migration: Migration tends to increase with temperature anomalies in Uganda, tends to decrease with temperature anomalies in Kenya and Burkina Faso, and shows no consistent relationship with temperature in Nigeria and Senegal. Consistent with previous studies, precipitation shows weak and inconsistent relationships with migration across countries. These results challenge generalizing narratives that foresee a consistent migratory response to climate change across the globe.

Genetic variability in the human cannabinoid receptor 1 is associated with resting state EEG theta power in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Heitland, I; Kenemans, J L; Böcker, K B E; Baas, J M P

2014-11-01

It has long been postulated that exogenous cannabinoids have a profound effect on human cognitive functioning. These cannabinoid effects are thought to depend, at least in parts, on alterations of phase-locking of local field potential neuronal firing. The latter can be measured as activity in the theta frequency band (4-7Hz) by electroencephalogram. Theta oscillations are supposed to serve as a mechanism in neural representations of behaviorally relevant information. However, it remains unknown whether variability in endogenous cannabinoid activity is involved in theta rhythms and therefore, may serve as an individual differences index of human cognitive functioning. To clarify this issue, we recorded resting state EEG activity in 164 healthy human subjects and extracted EEG power across frequency bands (δ, θ, α, and β). To assess variability in the endocannabinoid system, two genetic polymorphisms (rs1049353, rs2180619) within the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) were determined in all participants. As expected, we observed significant effects of rs1049353 on EEG power in the theta band at frontal, central and parietal electrode regions. Crucially, these effects were specific for the theta band, with no effects on activity in the other frequency bands. Rs2180619 showed no significant associations with theta power after Bonferroni correction. Taken together, we provide novel evidence in humans showing that genetic variability in the cannabinoid receptor 1 is associated with resting state EEG power in the theta frequency band. This extends prior findings of exogenous cannabinoid effects on theta power to the endogenous cannabinoid system. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of environmental forcings affecting suspended sediments variability in two macrotidal, highly-turbid estuaries

Science.gov (United States)

Jalón-Rojas, Isabel; Schmidt, Sabine; Sottolichio, Aldo

2017-11-01

The relative contribution of environmental forcing frequencies on turbidity variability is, for the first time, quantified at seasonal and multiannual time scales in tidal estuarine systems. With a decade of high-frequency, multi-site turbidity monitoring, the two nearby, macrotidal and highly-turbid Gironde and Loire estuaries (west France) are excellent natural laboratories for this purpose. Singular Spectrum Analyses, combined with Lomb-Scargle periodograms and Wavelet Transforms, were applied to the continuous multiannual turbidity time series. Frequencies of the main environmental factors affecting turbidity were identified: hydrological regime (high versus low river discharges), river flow variability, tidal range, tidal cycles, and turbulence. Their relative influences show similar patterns in both estuaries and depend on the estuarine region (lower or upper estuary) and the time scale (multiannual or seasonal). On the multiannual time scale, the relative contribution of tidal frequencies (tidal cycles and range) to turbidity variability decreases up-estuary from 68% to 47%, while the influence of river flow frequencies increases from 3% to 42%. On the seasonal time scale, the relative influence of forcings frequencies remains almost constant in the lower estuary, dominated by tidal frequencies (60% and 30% for tidal cycles and tidal range, respectively); in the upper reaches, it is variable depending on hydrological regime, even if tidal frequencies are responsible for up 50% of turbidity variance. These quantifications show the potential of combined spectral analyses to compare the behavior of suspended sediment in tidal estuaries throughout the world and to evaluate long-term changes in environmental forcings, especially in a context of global change. The relevance of this approach to compare nearby and overseas systems and to support management strategies is discussed (e.g., selection of effective operation frequencies/regions, prediction of the most

Reward-dependent modulation of movement variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Pekny, Sarah E; Izawa, Jun; Shadmehr, Reza

2015-03-04

Movement variability is often considered an unwanted byproduct of a noisy nervous system. However, variability can signal a form of implicit exploration, indicating that the nervous system is intentionally varying the motor commands in search of actions that yield the greatest success. Here, we investigated the role of the human basal ganglia in controlling reward-dependent motor variability as measured by trial-to-trial changes in performance during a reaching task. We designed an experiment in which the only performance feedback was success or failure and quantified how reach variability was modulated as a function of the probability of reward. In healthy controls, reach variability increased as the probability of reward decreased. Control of variability depended on the history of past rewards, with the largest trial-to-trial changes occurring immediately after an unrewarded trial. In contrast, in participants with Parkinson's disease, a known example of basal ganglia dysfunction, reward was a poor modulator of variability; that is, the patients showed an impaired ability to increase variability in response to decreases in the probability of reward. This was despite the fact that, after rewarded trials, reach variability in the patients was comparable to healthy controls. In summary, we found that movement variability is partially a form of exploration driven by the recent history of rewards. When the function of the human basal ganglia is compromised, the reward-dependent control of movement variability is impaired, particularly affecting the ability to increase variability after unsuccessful outcomes. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/354015-10$15.00/0.

Contribution of geodiversity, climate and spatial variables for biodiversity across a gradient of human influence

Science.gov (United States)

Tukiainen, Helena; Alahuhta, Janne; Ala-Hulkko, Terhi; Field, Richard; Lampinen, Raino; Hjort, Jan

2016-04-01

Implementation of geodiversity may provide new perspectives for nature conservation. The relation between geodiversity and biodiversity has been established in recent studies but remains underexplored in environments with high human pressure. In this study, we explored the effect of geodiversity (i.e. geological, hydrological and geomorphological diversity), climate and spatial variables on biodiversity (vascular plant species richness) in environments with different human impact. The study area ranged trough the boreal vegetation zone in Finland and included altogether 1401 1-km2 grid cells from urban, rural and natural environments. The contribution of environmental variable groups for species diversity in different environments was statistically analyzed with variation partitioning method. According to the results, the contribution of geodiversity decreased and the contribution of climate and spatial variables increased as the land use became more human-induced. Hence, the connection between geodiversity and species richness was most pronounced in natural state environments.

A preliminary analysis of human factors affecting the recognition accuracy of a discrete word recognizer for C3 systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yellen, H. W.

1983-03-01

Literature pertaining to Voice Recognition abounds with information relevant to the assessment of transitory speech recognition devices. In the past, engineering requirements have dictated the path this technology followed. But, other factors do exist that influence recognition accuracy. This thesis explores the impact of Human Factors on the successful recognition of speech, principally addressing the differences or variability among users. A Threshold Technology T-600 was used for a 100 utterance vocubalary to test 44 subjects. A statistical analysis was conducted on 5 generic categories of Human Factors: Occupational, Operational, Psychological, Physiological and Personal. How the equipment is trained and the experience level of the speaker were found to be key characteristics influencing recognition accuracy. To a lesser extent computer experience, time or week, accent, vital capacity and rate of air flow, speaker cooperativeness and anxiety were found to affect overall error rates.

Consensus and stratification in the affective meaning of human sociality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ambrasat, Jens; von Scheve, Christian; Conrad, Markus; Schauenburg, Gesche; Schröder, Tobias

2014-06-03

We investigate intrasocietal consensus and variation in affective meanings of concepts related to authority and community, two elementary forms of human sociality. Survey participants (n = 2,849) from different socioeconomic status (SES) groups in German society provided ratings of 909 social concepts along three basic dimensions of affective meaning. Results show widespread consensus on these meanings within society and demonstrate that a meaningful structure of socially shared knowledge emerges from organizing concepts according to their affective similarity. The consensus finding is further qualified by evidence for subtle systematic variation along SES differences. In relation to affectively neutral words, high-status individuals evaluate intimacy-related and socially desirable concepts as less positive and powerful than middle- or low-status individuals, while perceiving antisocial concepts as relatively more threatening. This systematic variation across SES groups suggests that the affective meaning of sociality is to some degree a function of social stratification.

Low-frequency sound affects active micromechanics in the human inner ear

Science.gov (United States)

Kugler, Kathrin; Wiegrebe, Lutz; Grothe, Benedikt; Kössl, Manfred; Gürkov, Robert; Krause, Eike; Drexl, Markus

2014-01-01

Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common auditory pathologies, resulting from overstimulation of the human cochlea, an exquisitely sensitive micromechanical device. At very low frequencies (less than 250 Hz), however, the sensitivity of human hearing, and therefore the perceived loudness is poor. The perceived loudness is mediated by the inner hair cells of the cochlea which are driven very inadequately at low frequencies. To assess the impact of low-frequency (LF) sound, we exploited a by-product of the active amplification of sound outer hair cells (OHCs) perform, so-called spontaneous otoacoustic emissions. These are faint sounds produced by the inner ear that can be used to detect changes of cochlear physiology. We show that a short exposure to perceptually unobtrusive, LF sounds significantly affects OHCs: a 90 s, 80 dB(A) LF sound induced slow, concordant and positively correlated frequency and level oscillations of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions that lasted for about 2 min after LF sound offset. LF sounds, contrary to their unobtrusive perception, strongly stimulate the human cochlea and affect amplification processes in the most sensitive and important frequency range of human hearing. PMID:26064536

Variables affecting resolution of lung phospholipids in one-dimensional thin-layer chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Krahn, J

1987-01-01

Resolution of the confusion in the literature about the separation of lung phospholipids in thin-layer chromatographic systems has awaited a systematic study of the variables that potentially affect this separation. In this study I show that: incorporation of ammonium sulfate into silica gel "GHL" has a dramatic effect on separation of lung phospholipids; this effect is equally dramatic but different in activated and nonactivated gels; when it picks up moisture, ammonium sulfate-activated gel very rapidly loses its ability to resolve lecithin from phosphatidylinositol; in gel containing ammonium sulfate, small amounts of phosphatidylethanolamine are hydrolyzed to lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine.

Global water resources affected by human interventionss and climate change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haddeland, I.; Heinke, J.; Biemans, H.; Eisner, S.; Florke, M.F.; Hanasaki, N.; Konzmann, M.; Ludwig, F.

2014-01-01

Humans directly change the dynamics of the water cycle through dams constructed for water storage, and through water withdrawals for industrial, agricultural, or domestic purposes. Climate change is expected to additionally affect water supply and demand. Here, analyses of climate change and direct

Global water resources affected by human interventions and climate change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haddeland, I.; Heinke, J.; Biemans, H.; Eisner, S.; Flörke, M.; Hanasaki, N.; Konzmann, M.; Ludwig, F.; Masaki, Y.; Schewe, J.; Stacke, T.; Tessler, Z.; Wada, Y.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/341387819; Wisser, D.

2014-01-01

Humans directly change the dynamics of the water cycle through dams constructed for water storage, and through water withdrawals for industrial, agricultural, or domestic purposes. Climate change is expected to additionally affect water supply and demand. Here, analyses of climate change and direct

Analysis on Variables Affecting the Creation of Tourist Destination Image: Case Study on Domestic Tourists Visiting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khairani

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine the variables that affect the image creation of tourism destinations. This research is a case study on domestic tourists visiting Yogyakarta from 2007 to 2009. This research uses an exploratory and descriptive design, conducted once in one period (cross-sectional. A number of 105 domestic tourists were selected as samples by means of non-probability sampling method and snowball sampling technique. The data were analyzed using reliability and validity tests, frequency distributions, and regression analyses. Results showed that overall image was significantly constructed and affected by cognitive and affective evaluations. Cognitive evaluation was significantly affected by the types of information source from books and movies, while affective evaluation was affected significantly by social-psychological motivations. The research also proves that Yogyakarta has fulfilled the requirements to become a tourist destination; respondents showed positive feelings towards the town and also perceived the town positively.

Salivary Proteome Patterns Affecting Human Salt Taste Sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolle, Theresa; Grondinger, Freya; Dunkel, Andreas; Meng, Chen; Médard, Guillaume; Kuster, Bernhard; Hofmann, Thomas

2017-10-25

To investigate the role of perireceptor events in inter-individual variability in salt taste sensitivity, 31 volunteers were monitored in their detection functions for sodium chloride (NaCl) and classified into sensitive (0.6-1.7 mmol/L), medium-sensitive (1.8-6.9 mmol/L), and nonsensitive (7.0-11.2 mmol/L) subjects. Chemosensory intervention of NaCl-sensitive (S + ) and nonsensitive (S - ) panellists with potassium chloride, ammonium chloride, and sodium gluconate showed the salt taste sensitivity to be specific for NaCl. As no significant differences were found between S + and S - subjects in salivary sodium and protein content, salivary proteome differences and their stimulus-induced dynamic changes were analyzed by tryptic digestion, iTRAQ labeling, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Differences in the salivary proteome between S + and S - subjects were found primarily in resting saliva and were largely independent of the dynamic alterations observed upon salt stimulation. Gene ontology enrichment analysis of key proteins, i.e., immunoglobulin heavy constant y1, myeloblastin, cathepsin G, and kallikrein, revealed significantly increased serine-type endopeptidase activity for the S + group, while the S - group exhibited augmented cysteine-type endopeptidase inhibitor activity by increased abundances in lipocalin-1 and cystatin-D, -S, and -SN, respectively. As proteases have been suggested to facilitate transepithelial sodium transport by cleaving the y-subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and protease inhibitors have been shown to reduce ENaC-mediated sodium transport, the differentially modulated proteolytic activity patterns observed in vivo for S + and S - subjects show evidence of them playing a crucial role in affecting human NaCl sensitivity.

Do the Microshear Test Variables Affect the Bond Strength Values?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea M. Andrade

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Little is known about the effect of specimen preparation and testing protocols on the micro-shear bond strength (μSBS results. To evaluate whether variations in polyethylene rod use affect (μSBS. Human dentin disks were randomly distributed into six groups (: polyethylene tube (3 levels and adhesive system (2 levels. In Group 1, polyethylene tubes filled with polymerized composite were placed on adhesive covered surfaces. Tubes were removed 24 h after water storage, leaving the rods only. In Group 2, the same procedure was performed; however, tubes were kept in place during testing. In Group 3, composite rods without tubes were placed on adhesive covered dentin. In all groups, adhesives were photoactivated after positioning filled tubes/rods on adhesive covered surfaces. Specimens were tested under shear mode and the data subjected to a two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s tests. Groups 1 and 2 resulted in statistically similar mean μSBS (; however, a greater number of pretest failures were observed for Group 1. Higher μSBS values were detected for Group 3, irrespective of adhesive system used (. Removing the polyethylene tube before composite rod is placed on dentin affects μSBS values.

Affect-Aware Adaptive Tutoring Based on Human-Automation Etiquette Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Euijung; Dorneich, Michael C

2018-06-01

We investigated adapting the interaction style of intelligent tutoring system (ITS) feedback based on human-automation etiquette strategies. Most ITSs adapt the content difficulty level, adapt the feedback timing, or provide extra content when they detect cognitive or affective decrements. Our previous work demonstrated that changing the interaction style via different feedback etiquette strategies has differential effects on students' motivation, confidence, satisfaction, and performance. The best etiquette strategy was also determined by user frustration. Based on these findings, a rule set was developed that systemically selected the proper etiquette strategy to address one of four learning factors (motivation, confidence, satisfaction, and performance) under two different levels of user frustration. We explored whether etiquette strategy selection based on this rule set (systematic) or random changes in etiquette strategy for a given level of frustration affected the four learning factors. Participants solved mathematics problems under different frustration conditions with feedback that adapted dynamic changes in etiquette strategies either systematically or randomly. The results demonstrated that feedback with etiquette strategies chosen systematically via the rule set could selectively target and improve motivation, confidence, satisfaction, and performance more than changing etiquette strategies randomly. The systematic adaptation was effective no matter the level of frustration for the participant. If computer tutors can vary the interaction style to effectively mitigate negative emotions, then ITS designers would have one more mechanism in which to design affect-aware adaptations that provide the proper responses in situations where human emotions affect the ability to learn.

Do psychological variables affect early surgical recovery?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael N Mavros

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have examined the effect of psychological variables on surgical recovery, but no definite conclusion has been reached yet. We sought to examine whether psychological factors influence early surgical recovery. METHODS: We performed a systematic search in PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO databases to identify studies examining the association of preoperative psychological variables or interventions with objectively measured, early surgical outcomes. RESULTS: We identified 16 eligible studies, 15 of which reported a significant association between at least one psychological variable or intervention and an early postoperative outcome. However, most studies also reported psychological factors not influencing surgical recovery and there was significant heterogeneity across the studies. Overall, trait and state anxiety, state anger, active coping, subclinical depression, and intramarital hostility appeared to complicate recovery, while dispositional optimism, religiousness, anger control, low pain expectations, and external locus of control seemed to promote healing. Psychological interventions (guided relaxation, couple support visit, and psychiatric interview also appeared to favor recovery. Psychological factors unrelated to surgical outcomes included loneliness, perceived social support, anger expression, and trait anger. CONCLUSION: Although the heterogeneity of the available evidence precludes any safe conclusions, psychological variables appear to be associated with early surgical recovery; this association could bear important implications for clinical practice. Large clinical trials and further analyses are needed to precisely evaluate the contribution of psychology in surgical recovery.

Human Capital Variables and Economic Growth in Nigeria: An Interactive Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adenike Mosunmola Osoba

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Various studies have focused on the relationship between human capital and economic growth all over the world. However, there is still a missing gap on the joint influence of human capital investment components on economic growth particularly in Nigeria. This study therefore examines the interactive effects of the relationship between human capital investment components and economic growth in Nigeria for the period of 1986 – 2014. The study employed secondary annual data on education expenditure, health expenditure, real gross domestic product and gross capital formation obtained from the Central Bank Statistical bulletin, 2014. The data were analyzed using Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS technique. The results of the study showed that there was positive and significant relationship between the interactive effects of human capital components and growth in Nigeria. The study concluded that the interactive effect of the human capital variables was also in conformity with the theoretical proposition that increase in human capital will enhance growth as stipulated in the modified Solow growth model by Mankiw, Romer & Weil (1992.

Elementary Students' Affective Variables in a Networked Learning Environment Supported by a Blog: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Allaire, Stéphane; Thériault, Pascale; Gagnon, Vincent; Lalancette, Evelyne

2013-01-01

This study documents to what extent writing on a blog in a networked learning environment could influence the affective variables of elementary-school students' writing. The framework is grounded more specifically in theory of self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985), relationship to writing (Chartrand & Prince, 2009) and the transactional…

Variable ATP yields and uncoupling of oxygen consumption in human brain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gjedde, Albert; Aanerud, Joel; Peterson, Ericka

2011-01-01

normalized the metabolic rate to the population average of that region. Coefficients of variation ranged from 10 to 15% in the different regions of the human brain and the normalized regional metabolic rates ranged from 70% to 140% of the population average for each region, equal to a two-fold variation......The distribution of brain oxidative metabolism values among healthy humans is astoundingly wide for a measure that reflects normal brain function and is known to change very little with most changes of brain function. It is possible that the part of the oxygen consumption rate that is coupled...... to ATP turnover is the same in all healthy human brains, with different degrees of uncoupling explaining the variability of total oxygen consumption among people. To test the hypothesis that about 75% of the average total oxygen consumption of human brains is common to all individuals, we determined...

Measuring myokines with cardiovascular functions: pre-analytical variables affecting the analytical output.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardi, Giovanni; Sansoni, Veronica; Banfi, Giuseppe

2017-08-01

In the last few years, a growing number of molecules have been associated to an endocrine function of the skeletal muscle. Circulating myokine levels, in turn, have been associated with several pathophysiological conditions including the cardiovascular ones. However, data from different studies are often not completely comparable or even discordant. This would be due, at least in part, to the whole set of situations related to the preparation of the patient prior to blood sampling, blood sampling procedure, processing and/or store. This entire process constitutes the pre-analytical phase. The importance of the pre-analytical phase is often not considered. However, in routine diagnostics, the 70% of the errors are in this phase. Moreover, errors during the pre-analytical phase are carried over in the analytical phase and affects the final output. In research, for example, when samples are collected over a long time and by different laboratories, a standardized procedure for sample collecting and the correct procedure for sample storage are acknowledged. In this review, we discuss the pre-analytical variables potentially affecting the measurement of myokines with cardiovascular functions.

High-intensity pulsed electric field variables affecting Staphylococcus aureus inoculated in milk.

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Sobrino-López, A; Raybaudi-Massilia, R; Martín-Belloso, O

2006-10-01

Staphylococcus aureus is an important milk-related pathogen that is inactivated by high-intensity pulsed electric fields (HIPEF). In this study, inactivation of Staph. aureus suspended in milk by HIPEF was studied using a response surface methodology, in which electric field intensity, pulse number, pulse width, pulse polarity, and the fat content of milk were the controlled variables. It was found that the fat content of milk did not significantly affect the microbial inactivation of Staph. aureus. A maximum value of 4.5 log reductions was obtained by applying 150 bipolar pulses of 8 mus each at 35 kV/cm. Bipolar pulses were more effective than those applied in the monopolar mode. An increase in electric field intensity, pulse number, or pulse width resulted in a drop in the survival fraction of Staph. aureus. Pulse widths close to 6.7 micros lead to greater microbial death with a minimum number of applied pulses. At a constant treatment time, a greater number of shorter pulses achieved better inactivation than those treatments performed at a lower number of longer pulses. The combined action of pulse number and electric field intensity followed a similar pattern, indicating that the same fraction of microbial death can be reached with different combinations of the variables. The behavior and relationship among the electrical variables suggest that the energy input of HIPEF processing might be optimized without decreasing the microbial death.

Early developmental gene enhancers affect subcortical volumes in the adult human brain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Becker, M.; Guadalupe, T.M.; Franke, B.; Hibar, D.P.; Renteria, M.E.; Stein, J.L.; Thompson, P.M.; Francks, C.; Vernes, S.C; Fisher, S.E.

2016-01-01

Genome-wide association screens aim to identify common genetic variants contributing to the phenotypic variability of complex traits, such as human height or brain morphology. The identified genetic variants are mostly within noncoding genomic regions and the biology of the genotype-phenotype

Inter-Individual Variability in Human Response to Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation, Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rocke, David

2016-01-01

In order to investigate inter-individual variability in response to low-dose ionizing radiation, we are working with three models, 1) in-vivo irradiated human skin, for which we have a realistic model, but with few subjects, all from a previous project, 2) ex-vivo irradiated human skin, for which we also have a realistic model, though with the limitations involved in keeping skin pieces alive in media, and 3) MatTek EpiDermFT skin plugs, which provides a more realistic model than cell lines, which is more controllable than human samples.

Inter-Individual Variability in Human Response to Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation, Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rocke, David [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

2016-08-01

In order to investigate inter-individual variability in response to low-dose ionizing radiation, we are working with three models, 1) in-vivo irradiated human skin, for which we have a realistic model, but with few subjects, all from a previous project, 2) ex-vivo irradiated human skin, for which we also have a realistic model, though with the limitations involved in keeping skin pieces alive in media, and 3) MatTek EpiDermFT skin plugs, which provides a more realistic model than cell lines, which is more controllable than human samples.

Nonlinear Synchronization for Automatic Learning of 3D Pose Variability in Human Motion Sequences

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Mozerov M

2010-01-01

Full Text Available A dense matching algorithm that solves the problem of synchronizing prerecorded human motion sequences, which show different speeds and accelerations, is proposed. The approach is based on minimization of MRF energy and solves the problem by using Dynamic Programming. Additionally, an optimal sequence is automatically selected from the input dataset to be a time-scale pattern for all other sequences. The paper utilizes an action specific model which automatically learns the variability of 3D human postures observed in a set of training sequences. The model is trained using the public CMU motion capture dataset for the walking action, and a mean walking performance is automatically learnt. Additionally, statistics about the observed variability of the postures and motion direction are also computed at each time step. The synchronized motion sequences are used to learn a model of human motion for action recognition and full-body tracking purposes.

Brand Loyalty Factors Affecting the Hotel Elections of Tourists investigation with Respect to the Demographic Variables

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Ahmet Tayfun

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors affecting hotel guests’s brand loyalty and these factors is to determine whether there is a difference or not according to the demographic variables. Within this purpose, a survey research was conducted on the guests staying in the five star hotels of Ankara, Turkey. The research was carried out in two stages, namely the pilot study and the main study. As a result of study, while the factors affecting brand loyalty differs based on the gender and the age of the participants (p0,05

Formaldehyde Crosses the Human Placenta and Affects Human Trophoblast Differentiation and Hormonal Functions.

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Guillaume Pidoux

Full Text Available The chorionic villus of the human placenta is the source of specific endocrine functions and nutrient exchanges. These activities are ensured by the syncytiotrophobast (ST, which bathes in maternal blood. The ST arises and regenerates throughout pregnancy by fusion of underlying cytotrophoblasts (CT. Any anomaly of ST formation or regeneration can affect pregnancy outcome and fetal growth. Because of its direct interaction with maternal blood, the ST is sensitive to drugs, pollutants and xenohormones. Ex vivo assays of perfused cotyledon show that formaldehyde, a common pollutant present in furniture, paint and plastics, can accumulate in the human placenta and cross to the fetal compartment. By means of RT-qPCR, immunoblot and immunocytochemistry experiments, we demonstrate in vitro that formaldehyde exerts endocrine toxicity on human trophoblasts, including a decrease in the production of protein hormones of pregnancy. In addition, formaldehyde exposure triggered human trophoblast fusion by upregulating syncitin-1 receptor expression (ASC-type amino-acid transporter 2: ASCT2. Moreover, we show that formaldehyde-exposed trophoblasts present an altered redox status associated with oxidative stress, and an increase in ASCT2 expression intended to compensate for this stress. Finally, we demonstrate that the adverse effects of formaldehyde on trophoblast differentiation and fusion are reversed by N-acetyl-L-cysteine (Nac, an antioxidant.

Lesch-Nyhan variant syndrome: variable presentation in 3 affected family members.

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Sarafoglou, Kyriakie; Grosse-Redlinger, Krista; Boys, Christopher J; Charnas, Laurence; Otten, Noelle; Broock, Robyn; Nyhan, William L

2010-06-01

Lesch-Nyhan disease is an inborn error of purine metabolism that results from deficiency of the activity of hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). The heterogeneity of clinical phenotypes seen in HPRT deficiency corresponds to an inverse relationship between HPRT enzyme activity and clinical severity. With rare exception, each mutation produces a stereotypical pattern of clinical disease; onset of neurologic symptoms occurs during infancy and is thought to be nonprogressive. To document a family in which a single HPRT gene mutation has led to 3 different clinical and enzymatic phenotypes. Case report. Settings A university-based outpatient metabolic clinic and a biochemical genetics laboratory. Patients Three males (2 infants and their grandfather) from the same family with Lesch-Nyhan variant, including one of the oldest patients with Lesch-Nyhan variant at diagnosis (65 years). Clinical and biochemical observations. Sequencing of 5 family members revealed a novel mutation c.550G>T in exon 7 of the HPRT gene. The considerably variable clinical phenotype corresponded with the variable enzymatic activity in the 3 males, with the grandfather being the most severely affected. The different phenotypes encountered in the enzymatic analysis of cultured fibroblasts from a single mutation in the same family is unprecedented. The significant decrease in the grandfather's HPRT enzymatic activity compared with that of his grandchildren could be a function of the Hayflick Limit Theory of cell senescence.

The human milk oligosaccharides are not affected by pasteurization and freeze-drying.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Won-Ho; Kim, Jaehan; Song, Seunghyun; Park, Suyeon; Kang, Nam Mi

2017-11-06

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are known as important factors in neurologic and immunologic development of neonates. Moreover, freeze-drying seems to be a promising storage method to improve the processes of human milk banks. However, the effects of pasteurization and freeze-drying on HMOs were not evaluated yet. The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare the HMOs profiles of human milk collected before and after the pasteurization and freeze-drying. Totally nine fresh human milk samples were collected from three healthy mothers at the first, second, and third week after delivery. The samples were treated with Holder pasteurization and freeze-drying. HMOs profiles were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight/time-of-flight (TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry and compared between samples collected before and after the treatments. Human milk samples showed significantly different HMO patterns between mothers. However, HMOs were not affected by lactation periods within 3 weeks after delivery (r 2  = 0.972-0.999, p pasteurization and freeze-drying were found not to affect HMO patterns in a correlation analysis (r 2  = 0.989-0.999, p pasteurization and freeze-drying of donor milks. We hope that introducing freeze-drying to the human milk banks would be encouraged by the present study. However, the storage length without composition changes of HMOs after freeze-drying needs to be evaluated in the further studies.

Quasi-supervised scoring of human sleep in polysomnograms using augmented input variables.

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Yaghouby, Farid; Sunderam, Sridhar

2015-04-01

The limitations of manual sleep scoring make computerized methods highly desirable. Scoring errors can arise from human rater uncertainty or inter-rater variability. Sleep scoring algorithms either come as supervised classifiers that need scored samples of each state to be trained, or as unsupervised classifiers that use heuristics or structural clues in unscored data to define states. We propose a quasi-supervised classifier that models observations in an unsupervised manner but mimics a human rater wherever training scores are available. EEG, EMG, and EOG features were extracted in 30s epochs from human-scored polysomnograms recorded from 42 healthy human subjects (18-79 years) and archived in an anonymized, publicly accessible database. Hypnograms were modified so that: 1. Some states are scored but not others; 2. Samples of all states are scored but not for transitional epochs; and 3. Two raters with 67% agreement are simulated. A framework for quasi-supervised classification was devised in which unsupervised statistical models-specifically Gaussian mixtures and hidden Markov models--are estimated from unlabeled training data, but the training samples are augmented with variables whose values depend on available scores. Classifiers were fitted to signal features incorporating partial scores, and used to predict scores for complete recordings. Performance was assessed using Cohen's Κ statistic. The quasi-supervised classifier performed significantly better than an unsupervised model and sometimes as well as a completely supervised model despite receiving only partial scores. The quasi-supervised algorithm addresses the need for classifiers that mimic scoring patterns of human raters while compensating for their limitations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of patient, tumour and treatment variables affecting residual motion for respiratory-gated radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, R; Ramakrishnan, V; Siebers, J V; Chung, T D; Keall, P J

2006-01-01

Respiratory gating can reduce the apparent respiratory motion during imaging and treatment; however, residual motion within the gating window remains. Respiratory training can improve respiratory reproducibility and, therefore, the efficacy of respiratory-gated radiotherapy. This study was conducted to determine whether residual motion during respiratory gating is affected by patient, tumour or treatment characteristics. The specific aims of this study were to: (1) identify significant characteristics affecting residual motion, (2) investigate time trends of residual motion over a period of days (inter-session) and (3) investigate time trends of residual motion within the same day (intra-session). Twenty-four lung cancer patients were enrolled in an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved protocol. For approximately five sessions, 331 four-minute, respiratory motion traces were acquired with free breathing, audio instructions and audio-visual biofeedback for each patient. The residual motion was quantified by the standard deviation of the displacement within the gating window. The generalized linear model was used to obtain coefficients for each variable within the model and to evaluate the clinical and statistical significance. The statistical significance was determined by a p-value <0.05, while effect sizes of ≥0.1 cm (one standard deviation) were considered clinically significant. This data analysis was applied to patient, tumour and treatment variables. Inter- and intra-session variations were also investigated. The only variable that was significant for both inhale- and exhale-based gating was disease type. In addition, visual-training displacement, breathing type and Karnofsky performance status (KPS) values were significant for inhale-based gating, and dose-per-fraction was significant for exhale-based gating. Temporal respiratory variations within and between sessions were observed for individual patients. However inter- and intra-session analyses did

Investigation of patient, tumour and treatment variables affecting residual motion for respiratory-gated radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

George, R [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States); Ramakrishnan, V [Department of Biostatistics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States); Siebers, J V [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States); Chung, T D [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States); Keall, P J [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States)

2006-10-21

Respiratory gating can reduce the apparent respiratory motion during imaging and treatment; however, residual motion within the gating window remains. Respiratory training can improve respiratory reproducibility and, therefore, the efficacy of respiratory-gated radiotherapy. This study was conducted to determine whether residual motion during respiratory gating is affected by patient, tumour or treatment characteristics. The specific aims of this study were to: (1) identify significant characteristics affecting residual motion, (2) investigate time trends of residual motion over a period of days (inter-session) and (3) investigate time trends of residual motion within the same day (intra-session). Twenty-four lung cancer patients were enrolled in an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved protocol. For approximately five sessions, 331 four-minute, respiratory motion traces were acquired with free breathing, audio instructions and audio-visual biofeedback for each patient. The residual motion was quantified by the standard deviation of the displacement within the gating window. The generalized linear model was used to obtain coefficients for each variable within the model and to evaluate the clinical and statistical significance. The statistical significance was determined by a p-value <0.05, while effect sizes of {>=}0.1 cm (one standard deviation) were considered clinically significant. This data analysis was applied to patient, tumour and treatment variables. Inter- and intra-session variations were also investigated. The only variable that was significant for both inhale- and exhale-based gating was disease type. In addition, visual-training displacement, breathing type and Karnofsky performance status (KPS) values were significant for inhale-based gating, and dose-per-fraction was significant for exhale-based gating. Temporal respiratory variations within and between sessions were observed for individual patients. However inter- and intra-session analyses did

Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development

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Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen; Gotlieb, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Social-affective neuroscience is revealing that human brain development is inherently social--our very nature is organized by nurture. To explore the implications for human development and education, we present a series of interdisciplinary studies documenting individual and cultural variability in the neurobiological correlates of emotional…

Seasonal variability in irradiance affects herbicide toxicity to the marine flagellate Dunaliella tertiolecta

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Sascha eSjollema

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR and Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR of the solar spectrum affect microalgae directly and modify the toxicity of phytotoxic compounds present in water. As a consequence seasonal variable PAR and UVR levels are likely to modulate the toxic pressure of contaminants in the field. Therefore the present study aimed to determine the toxicity of two model contaminants, the herbicides diuron and Irgarol®1051, under simulated irradiance conditions mimicking different seasons. Irradiance conditions of spring and autumn were simulated with a set of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs. Toxicity of both herbicides was measured individually and in a mixture by determining the inhibition of photosystem II efficiency (ΦPSII of the marine flagellate Dunaliella teriolecta using Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM fluorometry. Toxicity of the single herbicides was higher under simulated spring irradiance than under autumn irradiance and this effect was also observed for mixtures of the herbicides. This irradiance dependent toxicity indicates that herbicide toxicity in the field is seasonally variable. Consequently toxicity tests under standard light conditions may overestimate or underestimate the toxic effect of phytotoxic compounds.

Neuronal Substrates Underlying Performance Variability in Well-Trained Skillful Motor Task in Humans.

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Mizuguchi, Nobuaki; Uehara, Shintaro; Hirose, Satoshi; Yamamoto, Shinji; Naito, Eiichi

2016-01-01

Motor performance fluctuates trial by trial even in a well-trained motor skill. Here we show neural substrates underlying such behavioral fluctuation in humans. We first scanned brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while healthy participants repeatedly performed a 10 s skillful sequential finger-tapping task. Before starting the experiment, the participants had completed intensive training. We evaluated task performance per trial (number of correct sequences in 10 s) and depicted brain regions where the activity changes in association with the fluctuation of the task performance across trials. We found that the activity in a broader range of frontoparietocerebellar network, including the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior cingulate and anterior insular cortices, and left cerebellar hemisphere, was negatively correlated with the task performance. We further showed in another transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) experiment that task performance deteriorated, when we applied anodal tDCS to the right DLPFC. These results indicate that fluctuation of brain activity in the nonmotor frontoparietocerebellar network may underlie trial-by-trial performance variability even in a well-trained motor skill, and its neuromodulation with tDCS may affect the task performance.

Variability in the Geographic Distribution of Fires in Interior Alaska Considering Cause, Human Proximity, and Level of Suppression

Science.gov (United States)

Calef, M. P.; Varvak, A.; McGuire, A. D.; Chapin, T.

2015-12-01

The boreal forest of Interior Alaska is characterized by frequent extensive wildfires that have been mapped for the past 70 years. Simple predictions based on this record indicate that area burned will increase as a response to climate warming in Alaska. However, two additional factors have affected the area burned in this time record: the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) switched from cool and moist to warm and dry in the late 1970s and the Alaska Fire Service instituted a fire suppression policy in the late 1980s. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistics, this presentation evaluates the variability in area burned and fire ignitions in Interior Alaska in space and time with particular emphasis on the human influence via ignition and suppression. Our analysis shows that while area burned has been increasing by 2.4% per year, the number of lightning ignitions has decreased by 1.9 ignitions per year. Human ignitions account for 50% of all fire ignitions in Interior Alaska and are clearly influenced by human proximity: human fires mostly occur close to settlements, highways and in intense fire suppression zones (which are in turn close to human settlements and roads); fires close to settlements, highways and in intense fire suppression zones burn much shorter than fires further away from this sphere of human influence; and 60% of all human fire ignitions in Interior Alaska are concentrated in the Fairbanks area and thereby strongly influence regional analyses. Fire suppression has effectively reduced area burned since it was implemented but the PDO change has also had some influence. Finally, we found that human fires start earlier in the year and burn for a shorter duration than lightning fires. This study provides insights into the importance of human behavior as well as regional climate patterns as large-scale controls on fires over time and across the Alaskan boreal forest.

Variables associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine acceptance by men.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferris, Daron G; Waller, Jennifer L; Miller, Jeremiah; Patel, Pratik; Price, George A; Jackson, Lanier; Wilson, Courtesia

2009-01-01

To determine correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine acceptance for men. A convenience sample of men aged 18 to 45 years read a one-page information sheet about HPV and the HPV vaccine, then completed a 29-item questionnaire. chi(2) tests were used to determine whether differences in demographic, sexual, and vaccine-related variables existed between levels of wanting the HPV vaccine. Positive correlates of HPV vaccine acceptance included higher education (P acceptance of the HPV vaccine by men.

An analytical approach to separate climate and human contributions to basin streamflow variability

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Changbin; Wang, Liuming; Wanrui, Wang; Qi, Jiaguo; Linshan, Yang; Zhang, Yuan; Lei, Wu; Cui, Xia; Wang, Peng

2018-04-01

Climate variability and anthropogenic regulations are two interwoven factors in the ecohydrologic system across large basins. Understanding the roles that these two factors play under various hydrologic conditions is of great significance for basin hydrology and sustainable water utilization. In this study, we present an analytical approach based on coupling water balance method and Budyko hypothesis to derive effectiveness coefficients (ECs) of climate change, as a way to disentangle contributions of it and human activities to the variability of river discharges under different hydro-transitional situations. The climate dominated streamflow change (ΔQc) by EC approach was compared with those deduced by the elasticity method and sensitivity index. The results suggest that the EC approach is valid and applicable for hydrologic study at large basin scale. Analyses of various scenarios revealed that contributions of climate change and human activities to river discharge variation differed among the regions of the study area. Over the past several decades, climate change dominated hydro-transitions from dry to wet, while human activities played key roles in the reduction of streamflow during wet to dry periods. Remarkable decline of discharge in upstream was mainly due to human interventions, although climate contributed more to runoff increasing during dry periods in the semi-arid downstream. Induced effectiveness on streamflow changes indicated a contribution ratio of 49% for climate and 51% for human activities at the basin scale from 1956 to 2015. The mathematic derivation based simple approach, together with the case example of temporal segmentation and spatial zoning, could help people understand variation of river discharge with more details at a large basin scale under the background of climate change and human regulations.

Affective variables, parental involvement and competence among South Korean high school learners of English

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Annie Morris

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the relationships between various affective variables and two measures of competence in English, for 190 South Korean high school students. A 55-item questionnaire was used to measure attitudes (Attitudes toward English Speakers and their Communities and Attitudes toward the English-speaking Culture, motivation (Motivational Intensity, Desire to Learn and Attitudes toward the Learning of English, amotivation, parental involvement (Active Parental Encouragement, Passive Parental Encouragement and Parental Pressure, parental disinterest and students’ competence in L2 (English- EXAM and English-SELF. Pearson product-moment coefficients indicate that active and passive forms of parental encouragement correlate with motivationto learn, as conceptualized by Gardner (1985, 2010, as well as with parental pressure, which suggests that South Korean students report undergoing forms of pressure when their parents actively or passively encourage them. Furthermore, the obtained correlations of the active and passive forms of encouragement with different variables suggest that the two forms represent two distinct concepts. While parental disinterest correlated negatively with motivational variables, parental pressure correlated only with motivational intensity, and only weakly. Therefore, parental pressure seems not to interact significantly with participants’ attitudes, motivation and competence. Multiple linear regression analyses confirm the importance of motivation to learn for students' L2 competence.

European climate variability and human susceptibility over the past 2500 years

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Buentgen, U.

2010-09-01

Climate variations including droughts in the western US and African Sahel, landfalls of Atlantic hurricanes, and shifts in the Asian monsoon have affected human societies throughout history mainly by modulating water supply and agricultural productivity, health risk and civil conflict. Yet, discriminations of environmental impacts from political, economical and technological drivers of societal shifts are may be hampered by the indirect effects of climate on society, but certainly by the paucity of high-resolution palaeoclimatic evidence. Here we present a tree-ring network of 7284 precipitation sensitive oak series from lower elevations in France and Germany, and a compilation of 1546 temperature responsive conifers from higher elevations in the Austrian Alps, both covering the past 2500 years. Temporal distribution of historical felling dates of construction timber refers to changes in settlement activity that mirror different stages of economic wealth. Variations in Central European summer precipitation and temperature are contrasted with societal benchmarks. Prolonged periods of generally wet and warm summers, favourable for cultural prosperity, appeared during the Roman epoch between ~200 BC and 200 AD and from ~700-1000 AD, with the latter facilitating the rapid economic, cultural and political growth of medieval Europe. Unprecedented climate variability from ~200-500 AD coincides with the demise of the Western Roman Empire and the subsequent Barbarian Migrations. This period was characterized by continental-scale political turmoil, cultural stagnation and socio-economic instability including settlement abandonment, population migration, and societal collapse. Driest and coldest summers of the Late Holocene concurred in the 6th century, during which regional consolidation began. The recent political, cultural and fiscal reluctance to adapt to and mitigate projected climate change reflects the common belief of societal insusceptibility to environmental

Infrastructural and Human Factors Affecting Safety Outcomes of Cyclists

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Sergio Useche

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The increasing number of registered road crashes involving cyclists during the last decade and the high proportion of road crashes resulting in severe injuries and fatalities among cyclists constitutes a global issue for community health, urban development and sustainability. Nowadays, the incidence of many risk factors for road crashes of cyclists remains largely unexplained. Given the importance of this issue, the present study has been conducted with the aim of determining relationships between infrastructural, human factors and safety outcomes of cyclists. Objectives: This study aimed, first, to examine the relationship between key infrastructural and human factors present in cycling, bicycle-user characteristics and their self-reported experience with road crashes. And second, to determine whether a set of key infrastructural and human factors may predict their self-reported road crashes. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, a total of 1064 cyclists (38.8% women, 61.2% men; M = 32.8 years of age from 20 different countries across Europe, South America and North America, participated in an online survey composed of four sections: demographic data and cycling-related factors, human factors, perceptions on infrastructural factors and road crashes suffered. Results: The results of this study showed significant associations between human factors, infrastructural conditions and self-reported road crashes. Also, a logistic regression model found that self-reported road crashes of cyclists could be predicted through variables such as age, riding intensity, risky behaviours and problematic user/infrastructure interactions. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that self-reported road crashes of cyclists are influenced by features related to the user and their interaction with infrastructural characteristics of the road.

Human characteristics affecting nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skof, M.

1990-01-01

It is important to collect data about human behavior in work situation and data about work performance. On the basis of these data we can analyse human errors. Human reliability analysis gives us the input data to improve human behavior at a work place. We have tried to define those human characteristics that have impact on safe work and operation. Estimation of a work place was used for determination of important human characteristics. Performance estimations were used to define the availability of workers at a work place. To our experience it is very important to pay attention to R.A. and R.C. also in the area of human factor. Data for quality assurance in the area of human factor should be collected from selection procedure (the level of cognitive and conative abilities, the level of physical characteristics, the level of education and other personal data). Data for quality control should be collected from the periodical examinations of annual checking and evaluation of human working capacity as well as from training. For quality control of every day human performance data of staff estimation of their daily working performance and well-being should also be collected. With all these data more effective analyses of all events in nuclear power plants could be provided. Quality assurance and quality control in the area of human factor could help us to keep the optimum performance level of the plant staff and to avoid human errors. (author). 3 refs, 3 figs

Quantifying the effects of climate variability and human activities on runoff for Kaidu River Basin in arid region of northwest China

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Chen, Zhongsheng; Chen, Yaning; Li, Baofu

2013-02-01

Much attention has recently been focused on the effects that climate variability and human activities have had on runoff. In this study, data from the Kaidu River Basin in the arid region of northwest China were analyzed to investigate changes in annual runoff during the period of 1960-2009. The nonparametric Mann-Kendall test and the Mann-Kendall-Sneyers test were used to identify trend and step change point in the annual runoff. It was found that the basin had a significant increasing trend in annual runoff. Step change point in annual runoff was identified in the basin, which occurred in the year around 1993 dividing the long-term runoff series into a natural period (1960-1993) and a human-induced period (1994-2009). Then, the hydrologic sensitivity analysis method was employed to evaluate the effects of climate variability and human activities on mean annual runoff for the human-induced period based on precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. In 1994-2009, climate variability was the main factor that increased runoff with contribution of 90.5 %, while the increasing percentage due to human activities only accounted for 9.5 %, showing that runoff in the Kaidu River Basin is more sensitive to climate variability than human activities. This study quantitatively distinguishes the effects between climate variability and human activities on runoff, which can do duty for a reference for regional water resources assessment and management.

Human phoneme recognition depending on speech-intrinsic variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Bernd T; Jürgens, Tim; Wesker, Thorsten; Brand, Thomas; Kollmeier, Birger

2010-11-01

The influence of different sources of speech-intrinsic variation (speaking rate, effort, style and dialect or accent) on human speech perception was investigated. In listening experiments with 16 listeners, confusions of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) and vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV) sounds in speech-weighted noise were analyzed. Experiments were based on the OLLO logatome speech database, which was designed for a man-machine comparison. It contains utterances spoken by 50 speakers from five dialect/accent regions and covers several intrinsic variations. By comparing results depending on intrinsic and extrinsic variations (i.e., different levels of masking noise), the degradation induced by variabilities can be expressed in terms of the SNR. The spectral level distance between the respective speech segment and the long-term spectrum of the masking noise was found to be a good predictor for recognition rates, while phoneme confusions were influenced by the distance to spectrally close phonemes. An analysis based on transmitted information of articulatory features showed that voicing and manner of articulation are comparatively robust cues in the presence of intrinsic variations, whereas the coding of place is more degraded. The database and detailed results have been made available for comparisons between human speech recognition (HSR) and automatic speech recognizers (ASR).

MicroRNA expression variability in human cervical tissues.

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Patrícia M Pereira

Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are short (approximately 22 nt non-coding regulatory RNAs that control gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Deregulation of miRNA expression has been discovered in a wide variety of tumours and it is now clear that they contribute to cancer development and progression. Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide and there is a strong need for a non-invasive, fast and efficient method to diagnose the disease. We investigated miRNA expression profiles in cervical cancer using a microarray platform containing probes for mature miRNAs. We have evaluated miRNA expression profiles of a heterogeneous set of cervical tissues from 25 different patients. This set included 19 normal cervical tissues, 4 squamous cell carcinoma, 5 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL and 9 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL samples. We observed high variability in miRNA expression especially among normal cervical samples, which prevented us from obtaining a unique miRNA expression signature for this tumour type. However, deregulated miRNAs were identified in malignant and pre-malignant cervical tissues after tackling the high expression variability observed. We were also able to identify putative target genes of relevant candidate miRNAs. Our results show that miRNA expression shows natural variability among human samples, which complicates miRNA data profiling analysis. However, such expression noise can be filtered and does not prevent the identification of deregulated miRNAs that play a role in the malignant transformation of cervical squamous cells. Deregulated miRNAs highlight new candidate gene targets allowing for a better understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the development of this tumour type.

Isolation of primary microglia from the human post-mortem brain: effects of ante- and post-mortem variables.

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Mizee, Mark R; Miedema, Suzanne S M; van der Poel, Marlijn; Adelia; Schuurman, Karianne G; van Strien, Miriam E; Melief, Jeroen; Smolders, Joost; Hendrickx, Debbie A; Heutinck, Kirstin M; Hamann, Jörg; Huitinga, Inge

2017-02-17

Microglia are key players in the central nervous system in health and disease. Much pioneering research on microglia function has been carried out in vivo with the use of genetic animal models. However, to fully understand the role of microglia in neurological and psychiatric disorders, it is crucial to study primary human microglia from brain donors. We have developed a rapid procedure for the isolation of pure human microglia from autopsy tissue using density gradient centrifugation followed by CD11b-specific cell selection. The protocol can be completed in 4 h, with an average yield of 450,000 and 145,000 viable cells per gram of white and grey matter tissue respectively. This method allows for the immediate phenotyping of microglia in relation to brain donor clinical variables, and shows the microglia population to be distinguishable from autologous choroid plexus macrophages. This protocol has been applied to samples from over 100 brain donors from the Netherlands Brain Bank, providing a robust dataset to analyze the effects of age, post-mortem delay, brain acidity, and neurological diagnosis on microglia yield and phenotype. Our data show that cerebrospinal fluid pH is positively correlated to microglial cell yield, but donor age and post-mortem delay do not negatively affect viable microglia yield. Analysis of CD45 and CD11b expression showed that changes in microglia phenotype can be attributed to a neurological diagnosis, and are not influenced by variation in ante- and post-mortem parameters. Cryogenic storage of primary microglia was shown to be possible, albeit with variable levels of recovery and effects on phenotype and RNA quality. Microglial gene expression substantially changed due to culture, including the loss of the microglia-specific markers, showing the importance of immediate microglia phenotyping. We conclude that primary microglia can be isolated effectively and rapidly from human post-mortem brain tissue, allowing for the study of the

Does correlated color temperature affect the ability of humans to identify veins?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Argyraki, Aikaterini; Clemmensen, Line Katrine Harder; Petersen, Paul Michael

2016-01-01

In the present study we provide empirical evidence and demonstrate statistically that white illumination settings can affect the human ability to identify veins in the inner hand vasculature. A special light-emitting diode lamp with high color rendering index (CRI 84–95) was developed and the eff......In the present study we provide empirical evidence and demonstrate statistically that white illumination settings can affect the human ability to identify veins in the inner hand vasculature. A special light-emitting diode lamp with high color rendering index (CRI 84–95) was developed...... and the effect of correlated color temperature was evaluated, in the range between 2600 and 5700 K at an illuminance of 40 9 lx on the ability of adult humans to identify veins. It is shown that the ability to identify veins can, on average, be increased up to 24% when white illumination settings that do...... not resemble incandescent light are applied. The illuminance reported together with the effect of white illumination settings on direct visual perception of biosamples are relevant for clinical investigations during the night. © 2015 Optical Society of America...

Proteome Analysis of Human Sebaceous Follicle Infundibula Extracted from Healthy and Acne-Affected Skin

Science.gov (United States)

Bek-Thomsen, Malene; Lomholt, Hans B.; Scavenius, Carsten; Enghild, Jan J.; Brüggemann, Holger

2014-01-01

Acne vulgaris is a very common disease of the pilosebaceous unit of the human skin. The pathological processes of acne are not fully understood. To gain further insight sebaceous follicular casts were extracted from 18 healthy and 20 acne-affected individuals by cyanoacrylate-gel biopsies and further processed for mass spectrometry analysis, aiming at a proteomic analysis of the sebaceous follicular casts. Human as well as bacterial proteins were identified. Human proteins enriched in acne and normal samples were detected, respectively. Normal follicular casts are enriched in proteins such as prohibitins and peroxiredoxins which are involved in the protection from various stresses, including reactive oxygen species. By contrast, follicular casts extracted from acne-affected skin contained proteins involved in inflammation, wound healing and tissue remodeling. Among the most distinguishing proteins were myeloperoxidase, lactotransferrin, neutrophil elastase inhibitor and surprisingly, vimentin. The most significant biological process among all acne-enriched proteins was ‘response to a bacterium’. Identified bacterial proteins were exclusively from Propionibacterium acnes. The most abundant P. acnes proteins were surface-exposed dermatan sulphate adhesins, CAMP factors, and a so far uncharacterized lipase in follicular casts extracted from normal as well as acne-affected skin. This is a first proteomic study that identified human proteins together with proteins of the skin microbiota in sebaceous follicular casts. PMID:25238151

Variables affecting lipid oxidation in dried microencapsulated oils

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Márquez-Ruiz, Gloria

2003-09-01

Full Text Available Dried microencapsulated oils are powdery foods or ingredients, prepared by drying natural or formulated emulsions, wherein the oil globules are dispersed in a matrix of saccharides and/or proteins. The study of lipid oxidation in microencapsulated oils is a very difficult task since, in addition to the numerous variables normally involved in lipid oxidation, mainly unsaturation degree, oxygen, light, temperature, prooxidants and antioxidants, other factors exert an important influence in these heterophasic lipid systems. In this paper, the present state of the art on lipid oxidation in dried microencapsulated oils is reviewed, focused on the variables specifically involved in oxidation of these lipid systems. Such variables include those pertaining to the preparation process (type and concentration of the matrix components and drying procedure and those related to the physicochemical properties of microencapsulated oils (particle size, oil globule size, lipid distribution, water activity, pH and interactions between matrix components.Los aceites microencapsulados son alimentos o ingredientes en polvo preparados mediante secado de emulsiones naturales o formuladas, donde los glóbulos de aceite se encuentran dispersos en una matriz de hidratos de carbono y/o proteínas. El estudio de la oxidación lipídica en aceites microencapsulados es muy difícil ya que, además de las numerosas variables implicadas normalmente en la oxidación lipídica, principalmente el grado de insaturación, oxígeno, luz, temperatura, prooxidantes y antioxidantes, en estos sistemas lipídicos heterofásicos existen otros factores que ejercen una importante influencia. En este trabajo, se revisa la situación actual del conocimiento sobre oxidación lipídica en aceites microencapsulados en relación con las variables que intervienen específicamente en la oxidación de estos sistemas lipídicos. Concretamente, dichas variables incluyen las implicadas en el proceso de

Select injury-related variables are affected by stride length and foot strike style during running.

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Boyer, Elizabeth R; Derrick, Timothy R

2015-09-01

Some frontal plane and transverse plane variables have been associated with running injury, but it is not known if they differ with foot strike style or as stride length is shortened. To identify if step width, iliotibial band strain and strain rate, positive and negative free moment, pelvic drop, hip adduction, knee internal rotation, and rearfoot eversion differ between habitual rearfoot and habitual mid-/forefoot strikers when running with both a rearfoot strike (RFS) and a mid-/forefoot strike (FFS) at 3 stride lengths. Controlled laboratory study. A total of 42 healthy runners (21 habitual rearfoot, 21 habitual mid-/forefoot) ran overground at 3.35 m/s with both a RFS and a FFS at their preferred stride lengths and 5% and 10% shorter. Variables did not differ between habitual groups. Step width was 1.5 cm narrower for FFS, widening to 0.8 cm as stride length shortened. Iliotibial band strain and strain rate did not differ between foot strikes but decreased as stride length shortened (0.3% and 1.8%/s, respectively). Pelvic drop was reduced 0.7° for FFS compared with RFS, and both pelvic drop and hip adduction decreased as stride length shortened (0.8° and 1.5°, respectively). Peak knee internal rotation was not affected by foot strike or stride length. Peak rearfoot eversion was not different between foot strikes but decreased 0.6° as stride length shortened. Peak positive free moment (normalized to body weight [BW] and height [h]) was not affected by foot strike or stride length. Peak negative free moment was -0.0038 BW·m/h greater for FFS and decreased -0.0004 BW·m/h as stride length shortened. The small decreases in most variables as stride length shortened were likely associated with the concomitant wider step width. RFS had slightly greater pelvic drop, while FFS had slightly narrower step width and greater negative free moment. Shortening one's stride length may decrease or at least not increase propensity for running injuries based on the variables

Do Affective Variables Make a Difference in Consumers Behavior Toward Mobile Advertising?

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Martínez-Ruiz, María Pilar; Izquierdo-Yusta, Alicia; Olarte-Pascual, Cristina; Reinares-Lara, Eva

2016-01-01

Research into permission-based mobile marketing is increasingly common due to the widespread adoption of mobile technology and its use as a communication channel. Yet few studies have attempted to analyze the factors that determine attitudes toward mobile advertising while simultaneously considering: the links among them and consumers' intentions, behavior, and/or cognitive and affective variables simultaneously. The present research therefore sought to deepen understanding of the antecedents and consequences of attitudes toward permission-based mobile advertising. More specifically, it sought to identify the antecedents of attitudes toward mobile advertising and the bridges between these attitudes and consumers' intentions upon receiving advertising on their mobile devices. To this end, a causal model was proposed and tested with a sample of 612 mobile phone users that was collected from a panel of Spanish adults who receive advertising on their mobile phones in the form of SMS text messages. The structural model used was validated using the partial least squares (PLS) regression technique. The results show that the greatest influence was that exerted by positive emotions on feelings, suggesting that positive emotions have an indirect effect on attitude toward mobile advertising. This influence was even greater than their direct effect. Another important, though less powerful, effect was the influence of attitude on behavioral intentions to receive mobile advertising. In contrast, the influence of cognitive variables on attitude was less relevant.

Do Affective Variables Make a Difference in Consumers Behavior Toward Mobile Advertising?

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Ruiz, María Pilar; Izquierdo-Yusta, Alicia; Olarte-Pascual, Cristina; Reinares-Lara, Eva

2017-01-01

Research into permission-based mobile marketing is increasingly common due to the widespread adoption of mobile technology and its use as a communication channel. Yet few studies have attempted to analyze the factors that determine attitudes toward mobile advertising while simultaneously considering: the links among them and consumers' intentions, behavior, and/or cognitive and affective variables simultaneously. The present research therefore sought to deepen understanding of the antecedents and consequences of attitudes toward permission-based mobile advertising. More specifically, it sought to identify the antecedents of attitudes toward mobile advertising and the bridges between these attitudes and consumers' intentions upon receiving advertising on their mobile devices. To this end, a causal model was proposed and tested with a sample of 612 mobile phone users that was collected from a panel of Spanish adults who receive advertising on their mobile phones in the form of SMS text messages. The structural model used was validated using the partial least squares (PLS) regression technique. The results show that the greatest influence was that exerted by positive emotions on feelings, suggesting that positive emotions have an indirect effect on attitude toward mobile advertising. This influence was even greater than their direct effect. Another important, though less powerful, effect was the influence of attitude on behavioral intentions to receive mobile advertising. In contrast, the influence of cognitive variables on attitude was less relevant. PMID:28096797

Sex differences in the brain response to affective scenes with or without humans.

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Proverbio, Alice Mado; Adorni, Roberta; Zani, Alberto; Trestianu, Laura

2009-10-01

Recent findings have demonstrated that women might be more reactive than men to viewing painful stimuli (vicarious response to pain), and therefore more empathic [Han, S., Fan, Y., & Mao, L. (2008). Gender difference in empathy for pain: An electrophysiological investigation. Brain Research, 1196, 85-93]. We investigated whether the two sexes differed in their cerebral responses to affective pictures portraying humans in different positive or negative contexts compared to natural or urban scenarios. 440 IAPS slides were presented to 24 Italian students (12 women and 12 men). Half the pictures displayed humans while the remaining scenes lacked visible persons. ERPs were recorded from 128 electrodes and swLORETA (standardized weighted Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography) source reconstruction was performed. Occipital P115 was greater in response to persons than to scenes and was affected by the emotional valence of the human pictures. This suggests that processing of biologically relevant stimuli is prioritized. Orbitofrontal N2 was greater in response to positive than negative human pictures in women but not in men, and not to scenes. A late positivity (LP) to suffering humans far exceeded the response to negative scenes in women but not in men. In both sexes, the contrast suffering-minus-happy humans revealed a difference in the activation of the occipito/temporal, right occipital (BA19), bilateral parahippocampal, left dorsal prefrontal cortex (DPFC) and left amygdala. However, increased right amygdala and right frontal area activities were observed only in women. The humans-minus-scenes contrast revealed a difference in the activation of the middle occipital gyrus (MOG) in men, and of the left inferior parietal (BA40), left superior temporal gyrus (STG, BA38) and right cingulate (BA31) in women (270-290 ms). These data indicate a sex-related difference in the brain response to humans, possibly supporting human empathy.

A general auditory bias for handling speaker variability in speech? Evidence in humans and songbirds

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Buddhamas eKriengwatana

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Different speakers produce the same speech sound differently, yet listeners are still able to reliably identify the speech sound. How listeners can adjust their perception to compensate for speaker differences in speech, and whether these compensatory processes are unique only to humans, is still not fully understood. In this study we compare the ability of humans and zebra finches to categorize vowels despite speaker variation in speech in order to test the hypothesis that accommodating speaker and gender differences in isolated vowels can be achieved without prior experience with speaker-related variability. Using a behavioural Go/No-go task and identical stimuli, we compared Australian English adults’ (naïve to Dutch and zebra finches’ (naïve to human speech ability to categorize /ɪ/ and /ɛ/ vowels of an novel Dutch speaker after learning to discriminate those vowels from only one other speaker. Experiment 1 and 2 presented vowels of two speakers interspersed or blocked, respectively. Results demonstrate that categorization of vowels is possible without prior exposure to speaker-related variability in speech for zebra finches, and in non-native vowel categories for humans. Therefore, this study is the first to provide evidence for what might be a species-shared auditory bias that may supersede speaker-related information during vowel categorization. It additionally provides behavioural evidence contradicting a prior hypothesis that accommodation of speaker differences is achieved via the use of formant ratios. Therefore, investigations of alternative accounts of vowel normalization that incorporate the possibility of an auditory bias for disregarding inter-speaker variability are warranted.

Predicting aboveground forest biomass with topographic variables in human-impacted tropical dry forest landscapes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salinas-Melgoza, Miguel A.; Skutsch, Margaret; Lovett, Jon C.

2018-01-01

Topographic variables such as slope and elevation partially explain spatial variations in aboveground biomass (AGB) within landscapes. Human activities that impact vegetation, such as cattle grazing and shifting cultivation, often follow topographic features and also play a key role in determining

Household characteristics affecting drinking water quality and human health

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kausar, S.; Maann, A.A.; Zafar, I.; Ali, T.

2009-01-01

Pakistan's water crisis, especially serious water shortages have had a great impact on the health of the general population. Today majority of Pakistanis have no access to improved water sources which force people to consume polluted drinking water that results in the shape of waterborne diseases. In addition to this, household characteristics, includes mother's education and family income, also have an impact on drinking water quality and ultimately on human health. This study was conducted in three districts of Province Punjab both in urban and rural areas. The sample size of this study was 600 females of age group 20-60 years. From the data, it was concluded that mother's education and family income were affecting drinking water quality and human health. As the mother's years of education increased, the health issues decreased. Similarly, as the level of income increased, people suffered from water related diseases decreased. (author)

Depressed mood, positive affect, and heart rate variability in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

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Bhattacharyya, Mimi R; Whitehead, Daisy L; Rakhit, Roby; Steptoe, Andrew

2008-11-01

To test associations between heart rate variability (HRV), depressed mood, and positive affect in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Depression is associated with impaired HRV post acute cardiac events, but evidence in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) is inconsistent. Seventy-six patients (52 men, 24 women; mean age = 61.1 years) being investigated for suspected CAD on the basis of symptomatology and positive noninvasive tests, completed 24-hour electrocardiograms. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered, and positive and depressed affect was measured over the study period with the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM). A total of 46 (60.5%) patients were later found to have definite CAD. HRV was analyzed, using spectral analysis. Typical diurnal profiles of HRV were observed, with greater normalized high frequency (HF) and lower normalized low frequency (LF) power in the night compared with the day. BDI depression scores were not consistently associated with HRV. But positive affect was associated with greater normalized HF power (p = .039) and reduced normalized LF power (p = .007) independently of age, gender, medication with beta blockers, CAD status, body mass index, smoking, and habitual physical activity level. In patients with definite CAD, depressed affect assessed using the DRM was associated with reduced normalized HF power and heightened normalized LF power (p = .007) independently of covariates. Relationships between depression and HRV in patients with CAD may depend on affective experience over the monitoring period. Enhanced parasympathetic cardiac control may be a process through which positive affect protects against cardiovascular disease.

A study of the relationship between variables from the model of human occupation and subjective well-being among university students in jordan.

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Yazdani, Farzaneh; Jibril, Musa; Kielhofner, Gary

2008-01-01

The occupational role of a university student can create challenges that negatively affect subjective well-being. Cultural factors can make these problems particularly acute for students from Arab backgrounds. This study examined the relationship between variables derived from the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and Jordanian university students' subjective well-being. Using cluster sampling, a total of 670 participants were recruited from the undergraduate student body at the University of Jordan. Data were collected from these students using the Role checklist, the Occupational Self-Assessment, the Affectometer 2, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. As hypothesized, reported roles, valuation of roles, perceived competence in volition, habituation, performance capacity/skills, and the environment were significantly correlated with subjective well-being. A discriminant analysis using the most strongly correlated items significantly classified students into known groups of high and low subjective well-being. Overall, MOHO-based variables offered an effective explanation of factors that influence subjective well-being in Jordanian university students.

Human θ burst stimulation enhances subsequent motor learning and increases performance variability.

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Teo, James T H; Swayne, Orlando B C; Cheeran, Binith; Greenwood, Richard J; Rothwell, John C

2011-07-01

Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) transiently increases motor cortex excitability in healthy humans by a process thought to involve synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP), and this is enhanced by nicotine. Acquisition of a ballistic motor task is likewise accompanied by increased excitability and presumed intracortical LTP. Here, we test how iTBS and nicotine influences subsequent motor learning. Ten healthy subjects participated in a double-blinded placebo-controlled trial testing the effects of iTBS and nicotine. iTBS alone increased the rate of learning but this increase was blocked by nicotine. We then investigated factors other than synaptic strengthening that may play a role. Behavioral analysis and modeling suggested that iTBS increased performance variability, which correlated with learning outcome. A control experiment confirmed the increase in motor output variability by showing that iTBS increased the dispersion of involuntary transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked thumb movements. We suggest that in addition to the effect on synaptic plasticity, iTBS may have facilitated performance by increasing motor output variability; nicotine negated this effect on variability perhaps via increasing the signal-to-noise ratio in cerebral cortex.

Composition of human skin microbiota affects attractiveness to malaria mosquitoes.

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Niels O Verhulst

Full Text Available The African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto continues to play an important role in malaria transmission, which is aggravated by its high degree of anthropophily, making it among the foremost vectors of this disease. In the current study we set out to unravel the strong association between this mosquito species and human beings, as it is determined by odorant cues derived from the human skin. Microbial communities on the skin play key roles in the production of human body odour. We demonstrate that the composition of the skin microbiota affects the degree of attractiveness of human beings to this mosquito species. Bacterial plate counts and 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that individuals that are highly attractive to An. gambiae s.s. have a significantly higher abundance, but lower diversity of bacteria on their skin than individuals that are poorly attractive. Bacterial genera that are correlated with the relative degree of attractiveness to mosquitoes were identified. The discovery of the connection between skin microbial populations and attractiveness to mosquitoes may lead to the development of new mosquito attractants and personalized methods for protection against vectors of malaria and other infectious diseases.

Variables That Can Affect Student Ratings of Their Professors

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Gotlieb, Jerry

2013-01-01

Attribution theory was applied to help predict the results of an experiment that examined the effects of three independent variables on students' ratings of their professors. The dependent variables were students' perceptions of whether the professor caused the students' grades and student satisfaction with their professor. The results suggest…

Human heavy-chain variable region gene family nonrandomly rearranged in familial chronic lymphocytic leukemia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, A.; Humphries, C.; Tucker, P.; Blattner, F.

1987-01-01

The authors have identified a family of human immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable-region (V/sub H/) genes, one member of which is rearranged in two affected members of a family in which the father and four of five siblings developed chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Cloning and sequencing of the rearranged V/sub H/ genes from leukemic lymphocytes of three affected siblings showed that two siblings had rearranged V/sub H/ genes (V/sub H/TS1 and V/sub H/WS1) that were 90% homologous. The corresponding germ-line gene, V/sub H/251, was found to part of a small (four gene) V/sub H/ gene family, which they term V/sub H/V. The DNA sequence homology to V/sub H/WS1 (95%) and V/sub H/TS1 (88%) and identical restriction sites on the 5' side of V/sub H/ confirm that rearrangement of V/sub H/251 followed by somatic mutation produced the identical V/sub H/ gene rearrangements in the two siblings. V/sub H/TS1 is not a functional V/sub H/ gene; a functional V/sub H/ rearrangement was found on the other chromosome of this patient. The other two siblings had different V/sub H/ gene rearrangements. All used different diversity genes. Mechanisms proposed for nonrandom selection of a single V/sub H/ gene include developmental regulation of this V/sub H/ gene rearrangement or selection of a subpopulation of B cells in which this V/sub H/ has been rearranged

Lost in Virtual Space: Studies in Human and Ideal Spatial Navigation

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Stankiewicz, Brian J.; Legge, Gordon E.; Mansfield, J. Stephen; Schlicht, Erik J.

2006-01-01

The authors describe 3 human spatial navigation experiments that investigate how limitations of perception, memory, uncertainty, and decision strategy affect human spatial navigation performance. To better understand the effect of these variables on human navigation performance, the authors developed an ideal-navigator model for indoor navigation…

Diurnal Human Activity and Introduced Species Affect Occurrence of Carnivores in a Human-Dominated Landscape.

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Dario Moreira-Arce

Full Text Available Diurnal human activity and domestic dogs in agro-forestry mosaics should theoretically modify the diurnal habitat use patterns of native carnivores, with these effects being scale-dependent. We combined intensive camera trapping data with Bayesian occurrence probability models to evaluate both diurnal and nocturnal patterns of space use by carnivores in a mosaic of land-use types in southern Chile. A total of eight carnivores species were recorded, including human-introduced dogs. During the day the most frequently detected species were the culpeo fox and the cougar. Conversely, during the night, the kodkod and chilla fox were the most detected species. The best supported models showed that native carnivores responded differently to landscape attributes and dogs depending on both the time of day as well as the spatial scale of landscape attributes. The positive effect of native forest cover at 250 m and 500 m radius buffers was stronger during the night for the Darwin's fox and cougar. Road density at 250 m scale negatively affected the diurnal occurrence of Darwin´s fox, whereas at 500 m scale roads had a stronger negative effect on the diurnal occurrence of Darwin´s foxes and cougars. A positive effect of road density on dog occurrence was evidenced during both night and day. Patch size had a positive effect on cougar occurrence during night whereas it affected negatively the occurrence of culpeo foxes and skunks during day. Dog occurrence had a negative effect on Darwin's fox occurrence during day-time and night-time, whereas its negative effect on the occurrence of cougar was evidenced only during day-time. Carnivore occurrences were not influenced by the proximity to a conservation area. Our results provided support for the hypothesis that diurnal changes to carnivore occurrence were associated with human and dog activity. Landscape planning in our study area should be focused in reducing both the levels of diurnal human activity in

Diurnal Human Activity and Introduced Species Affect Occurrence of Carnivores in a Human-Dominated Landscape.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreira-Arce, Dario; Vergara, Pablo M; Boutin, Stan

2015-01-01

Diurnal human activity and domestic dogs in agro-forestry mosaics should theoretically modify the diurnal habitat use patterns of native carnivores, with these effects being scale-dependent. We combined intensive camera trapping data with Bayesian occurrence probability models to evaluate both diurnal and nocturnal patterns of space use by carnivores in a mosaic of land-use types in southern Chile. A total of eight carnivores species were recorded, including human-introduced dogs. During the day the most frequently detected species were the culpeo fox and the cougar. Conversely, during the night, the kodkod and chilla fox were the most detected species. The best supported models showed that native carnivores responded differently to landscape attributes and dogs depending on both the time of day as well as the spatial scale of landscape attributes. The positive effect of native forest cover at 250 m and 500 m radius buffers was stronger during the night for the Darwin's fox and cougar. Road density at 250 m scale negatively affected the diurnal occurrence of Darwin´s fox, whereas at 500 m scale roads had a stronger negative effect on the diurnal occurrence of Darwin´s foxes and cougars. A positive effect of road density on dog occurrence was evidenced during both night and day. Patch size had a positive effect on cougar occurrence during night whereas it affected negatively the occurrence of culpeo foxes and skunks during day. Dog occurrence had a negative effect on Darwin's fox occurrence during day-time and night-time, whereas its negative effect on the occurrence of cougar was evidenced only during day-time. Carnivore occurrences were not influenced by the proximity to a conservation area. Our results provided support for the hypothesis that diurnal changes to carnivore occurrence were associated with human and dog activity. Landscape planning in our study area should be focused in reducing both the levels of diurnal human activity in native forest remnants

Genome scan identifies a locus affecting gamma-globin expression in human beta-cluster YAC transgenic mice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, S.D.; Cooper, P.; Fung, J.; Weier, H.U.G.; Rubin, E.M.

2000-03-01

Genetic factors affecting post-natal g-globin expression - a major modifier of the severity of both b-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia, have been difficult to study. This is especially so in mice, an organism lacking a globin gene with an expression pattern equivalent to that of human g-globin. To model the human b-cluster in mice, with the goal of screening for loci affecting human g-globin expression in vivo, we introduced a human b-globin cluster YAC transgene into the genome of FVB mice . The b-cluster contained a Greek hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) g allele resulting in postnatal expression of human g-globin in transgenic mice. The level of human g-globin for various F1 hybrids derived from crosses between the FVB transgenics and other inbred mouse strains was assessed. The g-globin level of the C3HeB/FVB transgenic mice was noted to be significantly elevated. To map genes affecting postnatal g-globin expression, a 20 centiMorgan (cM) genome scan of a C3HeB/F VB transgenics [prime] FVB backcross was performed, followed by high-resolution marker analysis of promising loci. From this analysis we mapped a locus within a 2.2 cM interval of mouse chromosome 1 at a LOD score of 4.2 that contributes 10.4% of variation in g-globin expression level. Combining transgenic modeling of the human b-globin gene cluster with quantitative trait analysis, we have identified and mapped a murine locus that impacts on human g-globin expression in vivo.

Brief psycho-education affects circadian variability in nicotine craving during cessation.

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Nosen, Elizabeth; Woody, Sheila R

2013-09-01

Nicotine cravings are a key target of smoking cessation interventions. Cravings demonstrate circadian variation during abstinence, often peaking during the morning and evening hours. Although some research has also shown diurnal variation in the efficacy of nicotine replacement medications, little research has examined how brief psychosocial interventions affect temporal patterns of craving during abstinence. The present study examined the impact of two brief psycho-education interventions on circadian variations in cravings during a 24-h period. 176 adult smokers interested in quitting participated in two lab sessions. During the first session, participants received (a) mindfulness psycho-education that encouraged acceptance of cravings as a normal, tolerable part of quitting that people should not expect to perfectly control, (b) standard cessation psycho-education, or (c) no psycho-education. Half the sample initiated a cessation attempt the following day. Dependent variables were assessed using ecological momentary assessment (24-h of monitoring, immediately after first lab session) and questionnaires four days later. Partially consistent with hypotheses, both forms of psycho-education were associated with differential diurnal variation in cravings during cessation. Relative to those receiving no psycho-education, standard smoking cessation psycho-education decreased morning cravings. Psycho-education encouraging acceptance of cravings was associated with lower craving in both the morning and evening, albeit only among successfully abstinent smokers. Results demonstrate that brief non-pharmacological interventions can affect circadian craving patterns during smoking cessation. Further investigation of mechanisms of change and of the impact of psycho-education on cessation outcomes is warranted. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Finite element analysis to investigate variability of MR elastography in the human thigh.

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Hollis, L; Barnhill, E; Perrins, M; Kennedy, P; Conlisk, N; Brown, C; Hoskins, P R; Pankaj, P; Roberts, N

2017-11-01

To develop finite element analysis (FEA) of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in the human thigh and investigate inter-individual variability of measurement of muscle mechanical properties. Segmentation was performed on MRI datasets of the human thigh from 5 individuals and FEA models consisting of 12 muscles and surrounding tissue created. The same material properties were applied to each tissue type and a previously developed transient FEA method of simulating MRE using Abaqus was performed at 4 frequencies. Synthetic noise was applied to the simulated data at various levels before inversion was performed using the Elastography Software Pipeline. Maps of material properties were created and visually assessed to determine key features. The coefficient of variation (CoV) was used to assess the variability of measurements in each individual muscle and in the groups of muscles across the subjects. Mean measurements for the set of muscles were ranked in size order and compared with the expected ranking. At noise levels of 2% the CoV in measurements of |G * | ranged from 5.3 to 21.9% and from 7.1 to 36.1% for measurements of ϕ in the individual muscles. A positive correlation (R 2 value 0.80) was attained when the expected and measured |G * | ranking were compared, whilst a negative correlation (R 2 value 0.43) was found for ϕ. Created elastograms demonstrated good definition of muscle structure and were robust to noise. Variability of measurements across the 5 subjects was dramatically lower for |G * | than it was for ϕ. This large variability in ϕ measurements was attributed to artefacts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of the environmental stimuli upon the human body in winter outdoor thermal environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sakoi, Tomonori; Kondo, Emi; Ishii, Jin

2013-01-01

the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses...... of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature) in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation....... The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect...

Quantification of variables that affect energy consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warren, C.S.

1993-01-01

Facility energy consumption is the summation of a number of contributory factors, caused by equipment that uses energy in response to demands placed by the user and according to its particular design. While energy efficiency improvements usually concentrate on individual parts or systems, overall energy consumption is analyzed by examining the use of specific fuels. Because independent variables effect the consumption of these fuels, accurate comparisons of a facility's energy consumption for time-measured periods must include these effects. In many cases, it is possible to determine and quantify the effects of one or more of the independent variables through a statistically valid regression analysis of the data. The regression model can be linear, or be dependent on other functions such as powers, time lead or lag, or exponential. The most common model is linear, but other dependencies are often encountered. Regression analyses are not difficult to accomplish, and are included as one of the tools in most spreadsheet software. The analyses provide the energy manager with a means to better understand the energy consumption of his/her facility

Derivation of main drivers affecting the possibility of human errors during low power and shutdown operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ar Ryum; Seong, Poong Hyun [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Jin Kyun; Kim, Jae Whan [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

In order to estimate the possibility of human error and identify its nature, human reliability analysis (HRA) methods have been implemented. For this, various HRA methods have been developed so far: techniques for human error rate prediction (THERP), cause based decision tree (CBDT), the cognitive reliability and error analysis method (CREAM) and so on. Most HRA methods have been developed with a focus on full power operation of NPPs even though human performance may more largely affect the safety of the system during low power and shutdown (LPSD) operation than it would when the system is in full power operation. In this regard, it is necessary to conduct a research for developing HRA method to be used in LPSD operation. For the first step of the study, main drivers which affect the possibility of human error have been developed. Drivers which are commonly called as performance shaping factors (PSFs) are aspects of the human's individual characteristics, environment, organization, or task that specifically decrements or improves human performance, thus respectively increasing or decreasing the likelihood of human errors. In order to estimate the possibility of human error and identify its nature, human reliability analysis (HRA) methods have been implemented. For this, various HRA methods have been developed so far: techniques for human error rate prediction (THERP), cause based decision tree (CBDT), the cognitive reliability and error analysis method (CREAM) and so on. Most HRA methods have been developed with a focus on full power operation of NPPs even though human performance may more largely affect the safety of the system during low power and shutdown (LPSD) operation than it would when the system is in full power operation. In this regard, it is necessary to conduct a research for developing HRA method to be used in LPSD operation. For the first step of the study, main drivers which affect the possibility of human error have been developed. Drivers

Derivation of main drivers affecting the possibility of human errors during low power and shutdown operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ar Ryum; Seong, Poong Hyun; Park, Jin Kyun; Kim, Jae Whan

2016-01-01

In order to estimate the possibility of human error and identify its nature, human reliability analysis (HRA) methods have been implemented. For this, various HRA methods have been developed so far: techniques for human error rate prediction (THERP), cause based decision tree (CBDT), the cognitive reliability and error analysis method (CREAM) and so on. Most HRA methods have been developed with a focus on full power operation of NPPs even though human performance may more largely affect the safety of the system during low power and shutdown (LPSD) operation than it would when the system is in full power operation. In this regard, it is necessary to conduct a research for developing HRA method to be used in LPSD operation. For the first step of the study, main drivers which affect the possibility of human error have been developed. Drivers which are commonly called as performance shaping factors (PSFs) are aspects of the human's individual characteristics, environment, organization, or task that specifically decrements or improves human performance, thus respectively increasing or decreasing the likelihood of human errors. In order to estimate the possibility of human error and identify its nature, human reliability analysis (HRA) methods have been implemented. For this, various HRA methods have been developed so far: techniques for human error rate prediction (THERP), cause based decision tree (CBDT), the cognitive reliability and error analysis method (CREAM) and so on. Most HRA methods have been developed with a focus on full power operation of NPPs even though human performance may more largely affect the safety of the system during low power and shutdown (LPSD) operation than it would when the system is in full power operation. In this regard, it is necessary to conduct a research for developing HRA method to be used in LPSD operation. For the first step of the study, main drivers which affect the possibility of human error have been developed. Drivers which

A Mechanistic Model of Human Recall of Social Network Structure and Relationship Affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Omodei, Elisa; Brashears, Matthew E; Arenas, Alex

2017-12-07

The social brain hypothesis argues that the need to deal with social challenges was key to our evolution of high intelligence. Research with non-human primates as well as experimental and fMRI studies in humans produce results consistent with this claim, leading to an estimate that human primary groups should consist of roughly 150 individuals. Gaps between this prediction and empirical observations can be partially accounted for using "compression heuristics", or schemata that simplify the encoding and recall of social information. However, little is known about the specific algorithmic processes used by humans to store and recall social information. We describe a mechanistic model of human network recall and demonstrate its sufficiency for capturing human recall behavior observed in experimental contexts. We find that human recall is predicated on accurate recall of a small number of high degree network nodes and the application of heuristics for both structural and affective information. This provides new insight into human memory, social network evolution, and demonstrates a novel approach to uncovering human cognitive operations.

A Meta-Analysis of Factors Affecting Trust in Human-Robot Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-01

directly affects the willingness of people to accept robot -produced information, follow robots ’ suggestions, and thus benefit from the advantages inherent...perceived complexity of operation). Consequently, if the perceived risk of using the robot exceeds its perceived benefit , practical operators almost...necessary presence of a human caregiver (Graf, Hans, & Schraft, 2004). Other robotic devices, such as wheelchairs (Yanco, 2001) and exoskeletons (e.g

An agent-based model of cellular dynamics and circadian variability in human endotoxemia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tung T Nguyen

Full Text Available As cellular variability and circadian rhythmicity play critical roles in immune and inflammatory responses, we present in this study an agent-based model of human endotoxemia to examine the interplay between circadian controls, cellular variability and stochastic dynamics of inflammatory cytokines. The model is qualitatively validated by its ability to reproduce circadian dynamics of inflammatory mediators and critical inflammatory responses after endotoxin administration in vivo. Novel computational concepts are proposed to characterize the cellular variability and synchronization of inflammatory cytokines in a population of heterogeneous leukocytes. Our results suggest that there is a decrease in cell-to-cell variability of inflammatory cytokines while their synchronization is increased after endotoxin challenge. Model parameters that are responsible for IκB production stimulated by NFκB activation and for the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines have large impacts on system behaviors. Additionally, examining time-dependent systemic responses revealed that the system is least vulnerable to endotoxin in the early morning and most vulnerable around midnight. Although much remains to be explored, proposed computational concepts and the model we have pioneered will provide important insights for future investigations and extensions, especially for single-cell studies to discover how cellular variability contributes to clinical implications.

Radiation dose exposure in patients affected by lymphoma undergoing repeat CT examinations: how to manage the radiation dose variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Paolicchi, Fabio; Bastiani, Luca; Guido, Davide; Dore, Antonio; Aringhieri, Giacomo; Caramella, Davide

2018-03-01

To assess the variability of radiation dose exposure in patients affected by lymphoma undergoing repeat CT (computed tomography) examinations and to evaluate the influence of different scan parameters on the overall radiation dose. A series of 34 patients (12 men and 22 women with a median age of 34.4 years) with lymphoma, after the initial staging CT underwent repeat follow-up CT examinations. For each patient and each repeat examination, age, sex, use of AEC system (Automated Exposure Control, i.e. current modulation), scan length, kV value, number of acquired scans (i.e. number of phases), abdominal size diameter and dose length product (DLP) were recorded. The radiation dose of just one venous phase was singled out from the DLP of the entire examination. All scan data were retrieved by our PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) by means of a dose monitoring software. Among the variables we considered, no significant difference of radiation dose was observed among patients of different ages nor concerning tube voltage. On the contrary the dose delivered to the patients varied depending on sex, scan length and usage of AEC. No significant difference was observed depending on the behaviour of technologists, while radiologists' choices had indirectly an impact on the radiation dose due to the different number of scans requested by each of them. Our results demonstrate that patients affected by lymphoma who undergo repeat whole body CT scanning may receive unnecessary overexposure. We quantified and analyzed the most relevant variables in order to provide a useful tool to manage properly CT dose variability, estimating the amount of additional radiation dose for every single significant variable. Additional scans, incorrect scan length and incorrect usage of AEC system are the most relevant cause of patient radiation exposure.

Factors affecting temporal variability of arsenic in groundwater used for drinking water supply in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayotte, Joseph D; Belaval, Marcel; Olson, Scott A; Burow, Karen R; Flanagan, Sarah M; Hinkle, Stephen R; Lindsey, Bruce D

2015-02-01

The occurrence of arsenic in groundwater is a recognized environmental hazard with worldwide importance and much effort has been focused on surveying and predicting where arsenic occurs. Temporal variability is one aspect of this environmental hazard that has until recently received less attention than other aspects. For this study, we analyzed 1245 wells with two samples per well. We suggest that temporal variability, often reported as affecting very few wells, is perhaps a larger issue than it appears and has been overshadowed by datasets with large numbers of non-detect data. Although there was only a slight difference in arsenic concentration variability among samples from public and private wells (p=0.0452), the range of variability was larger for public than for private wells. Further, we relate the variability we see to geochemical factors-primarily variability in redox-but also variability in major-ion chemistry. We also show that in New England there is a weak but statistically significant indication that seasonality may have an effect on concentrations, whereby concentrations in the first two quarters of the year (January-June) are significantly lower than in the second two quarters (July-December) (pgroundwater levels. It is possible that this difference in arsenic concentrations is related to groundwater level changes, pumping stresses, evapotranspiration effects, or perhaps mixing of more oxidizing, lower pH recharge water in wetter months. Focusing on the understanding the geochemical conditions in aquifers where arsenic concentrations are concerns and causes of geochemical changes in the groundwater environment may lead to a better understanding of where and by how much arsenic will vary over time. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Accounting for human variability and sensitivity in setting standards for electromagnetic fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, William H; Erdreich, Linda S

2007-06-01

Biological sensitivity and variability are key issues for risk assessment and standard setting. Variability encompasses general inter-individual variations in population responses, while sensitivity relates to unusual or extreme responses based on genetic, congenital, medical, or environmental conditions. For risk assessment and standard setting, these factors affect estimates of thresholds for effects and dose-response relationships and inform efforts to protect the more sensitive members of the population, not just the typical or average person. While issues of variability and sensitivity can be addressed by experimental and clinical studies of electromagnetic fields, investigators have paid little attention to these important issues. This paper provides examples that illustrate how default assumptions regarding variability can be incorporated into estimates of 60-Hz magnetic field exposures with no risk of cardiac stimulation and how population thresholds and variability of peripheral nerve stimulation responses at 60-Hz can be estimated from studies of pulsed gradient magnetic fields in magnetic resonance imaging studies. In the setting of standards for radiofrequency exposures, the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection uses inter-individual differences in thermal sensitivity as one of the considerations in the development of "safety factors." However, neither the range of sensitivity nor the sufficiency or excess of the 10-fold and the additional 5-fold safety factors have been assessed quantitatively. Data on the range of responses between median and sensitive individuals regarding heat stress and cognitive function should be evaluated to inform a reassessment of these safety factors and to identify data gaps.

Elementary students’ affective variables in a networked learning environment supported by a blog: a case study / Variables affectives des élèves du primaire dans un contexte d'apprentissage en réseau soutenu par un blogue: une étude de cas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stéphane Allaire

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This study documents to what extent writing on a blog in a blended learning environment could influence the affective variables of elementary-school students’ writing. We grounded our framework more specifically in Deci and Ryan’s theory of self-determination. Our research team used both pre and post-tests and we conducted the analysis on the basis of inferential and correlational statistics using SPSS 17®. Results indicate an increase in motivation to write in pupils who used the blog, whereas the number of comments made per post did not seem to have any definitive impact on this subject. Cette étude documente dans quelle mesure l'écriture de blogues dans un contexte d'apprentissage en réseau peut influencer les variables affectives de l'écriture chez les élèves du primaire. Le cadre d’analyse est fondé plus spécifiquement sur la théorie de l'autodétermination (Deci & Ryan, 1985, sur le rapport à l'écriture (Chartrand et Prince, 2009 et sur la théorie transactionnelle de Rosenblatt (1991. L’équipe de recherche a conduit des tests avant et après l’exercice d’écriture afin de mesurer les variables affectives. L’analyse est basée sur des statistiques déductives et corrélationnelles, traitées avec SPSS 17®. L’analyse qualitative est également utilisée pour identifier les intentions d’écriture et les thèmes des messages affichés sur le blogue. Les résultats indiquent une augmentation de la motivation d'écrire chez les élèves ayant utilisé le blogue, tandis que le nombre de commentaires formulés par message ne semble pas avoir eu d’effet décisif.

Vitrification affects nuclear maturation and gene expression of immature human oocytes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abbas Shahedi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Vitrification of oocytes is a fast-freezing technique, which may affect the quality of the human oocyte, and consequently affects the embryo development, pregnancy and birth. The aim of the current study was to investigate the consequence of in-vitro vitrification on maturation status of immature human oocytes, additionally, expression levels of stress, and apoptosis related genes. Materials and Methods: The total of 213 human immature oocytes which routinely discarded from assisted reproduction clinics were collected and divided into two groups including: (I fresh germinal vesicle (GV oocytes (n=106 (matured in-vitro  (fIVM , and  (II GV oocytes (n=107 that initially vitrified, then matured in  in-vitro (vIVM. After 36 hours of incubation, the oocytes were evaluated for nuclear maturation and expression level of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT1, stress related genes (Sod1 and Hsp70, and apoptotic related genes (Bax and Bcl-2 by quantitative Real-Time PCR. Results: Oocyte maturation rates were reduced in vIVM compared to fIVM oocytes (P=0.001. The expression of stress (Sod1 and Hsp70, and apoptotic-related genes (Bax and Bcl-2 in vIVM were significantly higher compared to the fIVM group. Additionally, pro-apoptotic gene up-regulated 4.3 times more than anti-apoptotic gene in vIVM oocyte. However, DNMT1 gene expression was reduced in vIVM oocyte (P = 0.047. Conclusions: The low survival rate of vitrified In-vitro matured GV oocytes could definitely be explained by the alterations of their gene expression profile. 

Nonsense mutations in the human β-globin gene affect mRNA metabolism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baserga, S.J.; Benz, E.J. Jr.

1988-01-01

A number of premature translation termination mutations (nonsense mutations) have been described in the human α- and β-globin genes. Studies on mRNA isolated from patients with β 0 -thalassemia have shown that for both the β-17 and the β-39 mutations less than normal levels of β-globin mRNA accumulate in peripheral blood cells. (The codon at which the mutation occurs designates the name of the mutation; there are 146 codons in human β-globin mRNA). In vitro studies using the cloned β-39 gene have reproduced this effect in a heterologous transfection system and have suggested that the defect resides in intranuclear metabolism. The authors have asked if this phenomenon of decreased mRNA accumulation is a general property of nonsense mutations and if the effect depends on the location or the type of mutation. Toward this end, they have studied the effect of five nonsense mutations and two missense mutations on the expression of human β-globin mRNA in a heterologous transfection system. In all cases studied, the presence of a translation termination codon correlates with a decrease in the steady-state level of mRNA. The data suggest that the metabolism of a mammalian mRNA is affected by the presence of a mutation that affects translation

Early variability in the conceptualisation of "sustainable development and human factors".

Science.gov (United States)

Thatcher, Andrew

2012-01-01

The sub-discipline of "sustainable development and human factors" is relatively new, first being used in 2006 with a Technical Committee of the IEA being established only in 2009 and a similar special interest group on "green ergonomics" at the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors being established in 2010. In general though, the definitions and practice of "sustainable development" is highly contentious and ambiguous across a range of disciplines. This paper examines the diversity of definitions and approaches to sustainable development and human factors in the early papers in this sub-discipline. An examination of 45 chapters and papers (from 2008 to 2011) reveals a surprising consistency in the definitions used for sustainable development but also a large proportion of the papers where no definitions are given at all. The majority of papers were, however, biased towards an economic capital and social capital emphasis, which is to be expected of work traditionally in the ergonomics paradigm. Further, most papers were theoretical in nature demonstrating a great opportunity for empirical work. The variability in definitions is discussed in relation to the future challenges facing the growth of this emergent sub-discipline and opportunities for further theoretical and empirical work.

Mechanism of blood pressure and R-R variability: insights from ganglion blockade in humans

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rong; Iwasaki, Kenichi; Zuckerman, Julie H.; Behbehani, Khosrow; Crandall, Craig G.; Levine, Benjamin D.; Blomqvist, C. G. (Principal Investigator)

2002-01-01

Spontaneous blood pressure (BP) and R-R variability are used frequently as 'windows' into cardiovascular control mechanisms. However, the origin of these rhythmic fluctuations is not completely understood. In this study, with ganglion blockade, we evaluated the role of autonomic neural activity versus other 'non-neural' factors in the origin of BP and R-R variability in humans. Beat-to-beat BP, R-R interval and respiratory excursions were recorded in ten healthy subjects (aged 30 +/- 6 years) before and after ganglion blockade with trimethaphan. The spectral power of these variables was calculated in the very low (0.0078-0.05 Hz), low (0.05-0.15 Hz) and high (0.15-0.35 Hz) frequency ranges. The relationship between systolic BP and R-R variability was examined by cross-spectral analysis. After blockade, R-R variability was virtually abolished at all frequencies; however, respiration and high frequency BP variability remained unchanged. Very low and low frequency BP variability was reduced substantially by 84 and 69 %, respectively, but still persisted. Transfer function gain between systolic BP and R-R interval variability decreased by 92 and 88 % at low and high frequencies, respectively, while the phase changed from negative to positive values at the high frequencies. These data suggest that under supine resting conditions with spontaneous breathing: (1) R-R variability at all measured frequencies is predominantly controlled by autonomic neural activity; (2) BP variability at high frequencies (> 0.15 Hz) is mediated largely, if not exclusively, by mechanical effects of respiration on intrathoracic pressure and/or cardiac filling; (3) BP variability at very low and low frequencies (rhythmicity; and (4) the dynamic relationship between BP and R-R variability as quantified by transfer function analysis is determined predominantly by autonomic neural activity rather than other, non-neural factors.

A mathematical description of nerve fiber bundle trajectories and their variability in the human retina

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansonius, N. M.; Nevalainen, J.; Selig, B.; Zangwill, L. M.; Sample, P. A.; Budde, W. M.; Jonas, J. B.; Lagreze, W. A.; Airaksinen, P. J.; Vonthein, R.; Levin, L. A.; Paetzold, J.; Schiefer, U.

2009-01-01

We developed a mathematical model wherein retinal nerve fiber trajectories can be described and the corresponding inter-subject variability analyzed. The model was based on traced nerve fiber bundle trajectories extracted from 55 fundus photographs of 55 human subjects. The model resembled the

Brain signal variability differentially affects cognitive flexibility and cognitive stability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Armbruster-Genç, D.J.N.; Ültzhöffer, K.; Fiebach, C.J.

2016-01-01

Recent research yielded the intriguing conclusion that, in healthy adults, higher levels of variability in neuronal processes are beneficial for cognitive functioning. Beneficial effects of variability in neuronal processing can also be inferred from neurocomputational theories of working memory,

Identifying community thresholds for lotic benthic diatoms in response to human disturbance.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Tao; Tang, Ting; Tan, Lu; Gu, Yuan; Jiang, Wanxiang; Cai, Qinghua

2017-06-23

Although human disturbance indirectly influences lotic assemblages through modifying physical and chemical conditions, identifying thresholds of human disturbance would provide direct evidence for preventing anthropogenic degradation of biological conditions. In the present study, we used data obtained from tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir in China to detect effects of human disturbance on streams and to identify disturbance thresholds for benthic diatoms. Diatom species composition was significantly affected by three in-stream stressors including TP, TN and pH. Diatoms were also influenced by watershed % farmland and natural environmental variables. Considering three in-stream stressors, TP was positively influenced by % farmland and % impervious surface area (ISA). In contrast, TN and pH were principally affected by natural environmental variables. Among measured natural environmental variables, average annual air temperature, average annual precipitation, and topsoil % CaCO 3 , % gravel, and total exchangeable bases had significant effects on study streams. When effects of natural variables were accounted for, substantial compositional changes in diatoms occurred when farmland or ISA land use exceeded 25% or 0.3%, respectively. Our study demonstrated the rationale for identifying thresholds of human disturbance for lotic assemblages and addressed the importance of accounting for effects of natural factors for accurate disturbance thresholds.

Variables affecting the acceptability of radappertized ground beef products. Effects of food grade phosphates, NaCl, fat level, and grinding methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, J.S.; Shults, G.W.; Mason, V.C.; Wierbicki, E.

1977-01-01

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the effect of different variables on the quality of an irradiated ground beef product. Factors studied included: different food-grade phosphates; NaCl content; fat content; and size of grind. The influence of these variables on the cooking loss (moisture retention), shear press values and sensory scores was studied. The addition of phosphates and NaCl was desirable in controlling cooking losses. The most effective phosphate was tetrasodium pyrophosphate. The addition of NaCl decreased the shear press force required to penetrate the beef patty, i.e., it tenderized the product. Phosphate addition did not affect the shear press force. Increased fat content increased the cooking losses, but did not affect the shear press force. Irradiation with sterilizing doses had a marked effect on decreasing the shear press force

Analysing inter-relationships among water, governance, human development variables in developing countries

Science.gov (United States)

Dondeynaz, C.; Carmona Moreno, C.; Céspedes Lorente, J. J.

2012-10-01

The "Integrated Water Resources Management" principle was formally laid down at the International Conference on Water and Sustainable development in Dublin 1992. One of the main results of this conference is that improving Water and Sanitation Services (WSS), being a complex and interdisciplinary issue, passes through collaboration and coordination of different sectors (environment, health, economic activities, governance, and international cooperation). These sectors influence or are influenced by the access to WSS. The understanding of these interrelations appears as crucial for decision makers in the water sector. In this framework, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) has developed a new database (WatSan4Dev database) containing 42 indicators (called variables in this paper) from environmental, socio-economic, governance and financial aid flows data in developing countries. This paper describes the development of the WatSan4Dev dataset, the statistical processes needed to improve the data quality, and finally, the analysis to verify the database coherence is presented. Based on 25 relevant variables, the relationships between variables are described and organised into five factors (HDP - Human Development against Poverty, AP - Human Activity Pressure on water resources, WR - Water Resources, ODA - Official Development Aid, CEC - Country Environmental Concern). Linear regression methods are used to identify key variables having influence on water supply and sanitation. First analysis indicates that the informal urbanisation development is an important factor negatively influencing the percentage of the population having access to WSS. Health, and in particular children's health, benefits from the improvement of WSS. Irrigation is also enhancing Water Supply service thanks to multi-purpose infrastructure. Five country profiles are also created to deeper understand and synthetize the amount of information gathered. This new

Analysing inter-relationships among water, governance, human development variables in developing countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Dondeynaz

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The "Integrated Water Resources Management" principle was formally laid down at the International Conference on Water and Sustainable development in Dublin 1992. One of the main results of this conference is that improving Water and Sanitation Services (WSS, being a complex and interdisciplinary issue, passes through collaboration and coordination of different sectors (environment, health, economic activities, governance, and international cooperation. These sectors influence or are influenced by the access to WSS. The understanding of these interrelations appears as crucial for decision makers in the water sector. In this framework, the Joint Research Centre (JRC of the European Commission (EC has developed a new database (WatSan4Dev database containing 42 indicators (called variables in this paper from environmental, socio-economic, governance and financial aid flows data in developing countries. This paper describes the development of the WatSan4Dev dataset, the statistical processes needed to improve the data quality, and finally, the analysis to verify the database coherence is presented. Based on 25 relevant variables, the relationships between variables are described and organised into five factors (HDP – Human Development against Poverty, AP – Human Activity Pressure on water resources, WR – Water Resources, ODA – Official Development Aid, CEC – Country Environmental Concern. Linear regression methods are used to identify key variables having influence on water supply and sanitation. First analysis indicates that the informal urbanisation development is an important factor negatively influencing the percentage of the population having access to WSS. Health, and in particular children's health, benefits from the improvement of WSS. Irrigation is also enhancing Water Supply service thanks to multi-purpose infrastructure. Five country profiles are also created to deeper understand and synthetize the amount of information gathered

Variability in wheat: factors affecting its nutritional value

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gutierrez del Alamo Oms, A.; Verstegen, M.W.A.; Hartog, den L.A.; Villamide, M.J.

2008-01-01

Wheat is a common raw material used to provide energy in broiler diets. Its apparent metabolisable energy and its influence on broiler performance varies between wheat samples. Reasons for that variability can be classified as intrinsic (variety, chemical composition) and extrinsic factors (growing

Valence and Efficacy: The Affective Meanings of Human Values and their Relationship to Moral Decisions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walter Renner

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Human values and value based judgments are not only based on rationality but are highly emotional by their nature. Like other emotional concepts, human values can not only be rated by their desirability or subjective evaluation, but also by their perceived power, effectiveness, or activity. This aspect has been omitted in previous research. We therefore employed the Semantic Differential to examine the factorial structure of the affective meanings of 15 German-language value terms. The demographically heterogeneous sample comprised N = 274 (N = 136 female; mean age 39.14 years, s = 18.35, range 16...88 years Austrian and German respondents. In line with our expectations we found two affective dimensions, Valence and Efficacy, which predicted central aspects of value related moral or ethical judgments. We conclude that the previously neglected dimension of Efficacy should be considered in future research on human values. Possible implications for studying consumer decisions or political voting as well as ethical aspects are discussed.

Cycling cadence affects heart rate variability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lunt, Heather C; Corbett, Jo; Barwood, Martin J; Tipton, Michael J

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect different cycling cadences have on heart rate variability (HRV) when exercising at constant power outputs. Sixteen males had ECG and respiratory measurements recorded at rest and during 8, 10 min periods of cycling at four different cadences (40, 60, 80 and 100 revs min −1 ) and two power outputs (0 W (unloaded) and 100 W (loaded)). The cycling periods were performed following a Latin square design. Spectral analyses of R–R intervals by fast Fourier transforms were used to quantify absolute frequency domain HRV indices (ms 2 ) during the final 5 min of each bout, which were then log transformed using the natural logarithm (Ln). HRV indices of high frequency (HF) power were reduced when cadence was increased (during unloaded cycling (0 W) log transformed HF power decreased from a mean [SD] of 6.3 [1.4] Ln ms 2 at 40 revs min −1 to 3.9 [1.3] Ln ms 2 at 100 revs min −1 ). During loaded cycling (at 100 W), the low to high frequency (LF:HF) ratio formed a 'J' shaped curve as cadence increased from 40 revs min −1 (1.4 [0.4]) to 100 revs min −1 (1.9 [0.7]), but dipped below the 40 revs min −1 values during the 60 revs min −1 1.1 (0.3) and 80 revs min −1 1.2 (0.6) cadence conditions. Cardiac frequency (f C ) and ventilatory variables were strongly correlated with frequency domain HRV indices (r = −0.80 to −0.95). It is concluded that HRV indices are influenced by both cycling cadence and power output; this is mediated by the f C and ventilatory changes that occur as cadence or exercise intensity is increased. Consequently, if HRV is assessed during exercise, both power output/exercise intensity and cadence should be standardized

Is it the real deal? Perception of virtual characters versus humans: an affective cognitive neuroscience perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline W. ede Borst

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Recent developments in neuroimaging research support the increased use of naturalistic stimulus material such as film, animations, or androids. These stimuli allow for a better understanding of how the brain processes information in complex situations while maintaining experimental control. While avatars and androids are well suited to study human cognition, they should not be equated to human stimuli. For example, the Uncanny Valley hypothesis theorizes that artificial agents with high human-likeness may evoke feelings of eeriness in the human observer. Here we review if, when, and how the perception of human-like avatars and androids differs from the perception of humans and consider how this influences their utilization as stimulus material in social and affective neuroimaging studies. First, we discuss how the appearance of virtual characters affects perception. When stimuli are morphed across categories from non-human to human, the most ambiguous stimuli, rather than the most human-like stimuli, show prolonged classification times and increased eeriness. Human-like to human stimuli show a positive linear relationship with familiarity. Secondly, we show that expressions of emotions in human-like avatars can be perceived similarly to human emotions, with corresponding behavioral, physiological and neuronal activations, with exception of physical dissimilarities. Subsequently, we consider if and when one perceives differences in action representation by artificial agents versus humans. Motor resonance and predictive coding models may account for empirical findings, such as an interference effect on action for observed human-like, natural moving characters. However, the expansion of these models to explain more complex behavior, such as empathy, still needs to be investigated in more detail. Finally, we broaden our outlook to social interaction, where virtual reality stimuli can be utilized to imitate complex social situations.

Is it the real deal? Perception of virtual characters versus humans: an affective cognitive neuroscience perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

de Borst, Aline W; de Gelder, Beatrice

2015-01-01

Recent developments in neuroimaging research support the increased use of naturalistic stimulus material such as film, avatars, or androids. These stimuli allow for a better understanding of how the brain processes information in complex situations while maintaining experimental control. While avatars and androids are well suited to study human cognition, they should not be equated to human stimuli. For example, the uncanny valley hypothesis theorizes that artificial agents with high human-likeness may evoke feelings of eeriness in the human observer. Here we review if, when, and how the perception of human-like avatars and androids differs from the perception of humans and consider how this influences their utilization as stimulus material in social and affective neuroimaging studies. First, we discuss how the appearance of virtual characters affects perception. When stimuli are morphed across categories from non-human to human, the most ambiguous stimuli, rather than the most human-like stimuli, show prolonged classification times and increased eeriness. Human-like to human stimuli show a positive linear relationship with familiarity. Secondly, we show that expressions of emotions in human-like avatars can be perceived similarly to human emotions, with corresponding behavioral, physiological and neuronal activations, with exception of physical dissimilarities. Subsequently, we consider if and when one perceives differences in action representation by artificial agents versus humans. Motor resonance and predictive coding models may account for empirical findings, such as an interference effect on action for observed human-like, natural moving characters. However, the expansion of these models to explain more complex behavior, such as empathy, still needs to be investigated in more detail. Finally, we broaden our outlook to social interaction, where virtual reality stimuli can be utilized to imitate complex social situations.

Human Factors Affecting the Patient's Acceptance of Wireless Biomedical Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Fensli, Rune; Boisen, Egil

In monitoring arrhythmia, the quality of medical data from the ECG sensors may be enhanced by being based on everyday life situations. Hence, the development of wireless biomedical sensors is of growing interest, both to diagnose the heart patient, as well as to adjust the regimen. However, human factors such as emotional barriers and stigmatization, may affect the patient's behavior while wearing the equipment, which in turn may influence quality of data. The study of human factors and patient acceptance is important both in relation to the development of such equipment, as well as in evaluating the quality of data gathered from the individual patient. In this paper, we highlight some important aspects in patient acceptance by comparing results from a preliminary clinical trial with patients using a wireless ECG sensor for three days out-of-hospital service, to available published results from telehomecare projects, and discuss important aspects to be taken into account in future investigations.

Psychological biases affecting human cognitive performance in dynamic operational environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takano, Kenichi; Reason, J.

1999-01-01

In order to identify cognitive error mechanisms observed in the dynamic operational environment, the following materials were analyzed giving special attention to psychological biases, together with possible cognitive tasks and these location, and internal and external performance shaping factors: (a) 13 human factors analyses of US nuclear power plant accidents, (b) 14 cases of Japanese nuclear power plant incidents, and (c) 23 cases collected in simulator experiments. In the resulting analysis, the most frequently identified cognitive process associated with error productions was situation assessment, and following varieties were KB processes and response planning, all of that were the higher cognitive activities. Over 70% of human error cases, psychological bias was affecting to cognitive errors, especially those to higher cognitive activities. In addition, several error occurrence patterns, including relations between cognitive process, biases, and PSFs were identified by the multivariate analysis. According to the identified error patterns, functions that an operator support system have to equip were discussed and specified for design base considerations. (author)

Influence diagram of physiological and environmental factors affecting heart rate variability: an extended literature overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julien Fatisson

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Heart rate variability (HRV corresponds to the adaptation of the heart to any stimulus. In fact, among the pathologies affecting HRV the most, there are the cardiovascular diseases and depressive disorders, which are associated with high medical cost in Western societies. Consequently, HRV is now widely used as an index of health.In order to better understand how this adaptation takes place, it is necessary to examine which factors directly influence HRV, whether they have a physiological or environmental origin. The primary objective of this research is therefore to conduct a literature review in order to get a comprehensive overview of the subject.The system of these factors affecting HRV can be divided into the following five categories: physiological and pathological factors, environmental factors, lifestyle factors, non-modifiable factors and effects. The direct interrelationships between these factors and HRV can be regrouped into an influence diagram. This diagram can therefore serve as a basis to improve daily clinical practice as well as help design even more precise research protocols.

Climate Variability and Human Migration in the Netherlands, 1865–1937

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Jennings, Julia A.; Gray, Clark L.

2014-01-01

Human migration is frequently cited as a potential social outcome of climate change and variability, and these effects are often assumed to be stronger in the past when economies were less developed and markets more localized. Yet, few studies have used historical data to test the relationship between climate and migration directly. In addition, the results of recent studies that link demographic and climate data are not consistent with conventional narratives of displacement responses. Using longitudinal individual-level demographic data from the Historical Sample of the Netherlands (HSN) and climate data that cover the same period, we examine the effects of climate variability on migration using event history models. Only internal moves in the later period and for certain social groups are associated with negative climate conditions, and the strength and direction of the observed effects change over time. International moves decrease with extreme rainfall, suggesting that the complex relationships between climate and migration that have been observed for contemporary populations extend into the nineteenth century. PMID:25937689

Determination of social variables affected the health belief model in adopting preventive behaviors of osteoporosis

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MH BaghianiMoghadam

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Osteoporosis is one of the most common musculoskeletal problem and a metabolic bone disorder that normally is without sign and is shown with fragile bone in the absence of prevention and treatment. This study was aimed to determine social variables affected the health belief model in adopting preventive behaviors of osteoporosis. Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on 278 women referring to 6 health Centers of Yazd city with random sampling. Data collection was using a self-reported questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software including Kruskall Wallis, Dunn Tests, Mann Whitney, Spearman correlation coefficient and regression. Results: Among the osteoporosis preventive behaviors, the most frequency was related to non smoking actions or exposure to cigarette and the lowest frequency was related to regular physical activity during every weeks. According to spearman's correlation coefficient, it was occurred a direct significant correlation between knowledge, perceived benefits, practical guide, self efficacy and preventive behaviors of women. In addition, a reverse significant correlation was occurred between perceived barrier and women's behavior (P<0.001. Overall, variables of the model predicted 0.36 of preventive behavior's variables and finally self-efficacy was the strongest prediction of behavior (P=0.000. Conclusion: according to the results, the presentation of suitable educational program with emphasize on promotion of knowledge and upgrade of HBM's level in addition increasing barriers in the context of diseases such as osteoporosis by staff of health centers is suggested.

Variability of tissue mineral density can determine physiological creep of human vertebral cancellous bone.

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Kim, Do-Gyoon; Shertok, Daniel; Ching Tee, Boon; Yeni, Yener N

2011-06-03

Creep is a time-dependent viscoelastic deformation observed under a constant prolonged load. It has been indicated that progressive vertebral deformation due to creep may increase the risk of vertebral fracture in the long-term. The objective of this study was to examine the relationships of creep with trabecular architecture and tissue mineral density (TMD) parameters in human vertebral cancellous bone at a physiological static strain level. Architecture and TMD parameters of cancellous bone were analyzed using microcomputerized tomography (micro-CT) in specimens cored out of human vertebrae. Then, creep and residual strains of the specimens were measured after a two-hour physiological compressive constant static loading and unloading cycle. Creep developed (3877 ± 2158 με) resulting in substantial levels of non-recoverable post-creep residual strain (1797 ± 1391 με). A strong positive linear correlation was found between creep and residual strain (r = 0.94, p creep rate. The TMD variability (GL(COV)) was the strongest correlate of creep rate (r = 0.79, p < 0.001). This result suggests that TMD variability may be a useful parameter for estimating the long-term deformation of a whole vertebral body. The results further suggest that the changes in TMD variability resulting from bone remodeling are of importance and may provide an insight into the understanding of the mechanisms underlying progressive failure of vertebral bodies and development of a clinical fracture. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human activities and climate variability drive fast-paced change across the world's estuarine-coastal ecosystems

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Cloern, James E.; Abreu, Paulo C.; Carstensen, Jacob; Chauvaud, Laurent; Elmgren, Ragnar; Grall, Jacques; Greening, Holly; Johansson, John O.R.; Kahru, Mati; Sherwood, Edward T.; Xu, Jie; Yin, Kedong

2016-01-01

Time series of environmental measurements are essential for detecting, measuring and understanding changes in the Earth system and its biological communities. Observational series have accumulated over the past 2–5 decades from measurements across the world's estuaries, bays, lagoons, inland seas and shelf waters influenced by runoff. We synthesize information contained in these time series to develop a global view of changes occurring in marine systems influenced by connectivity to land. Our review is organized around four themes: (i) human activities as drivers of change; (ii) variability of the climate system as a driver of change; (iii) successes, disappointments and challenges of managing change at the sea-land interface; and (iv) discoveries made from observations over time. Multidecadal time series reveal that many of the world's estuarine–coastal ecosystems are in a continuing state of change, and the pace of change is faster than we could have imagined a decade ago. Some have been transformed into novel ecosystems with habitats, biogeochemistry and biological communities outside the natural range of variability. Change takes many forms including linear and nonlinear trends, abrupt state changes and oscillations. The challenge of managing change is daunting in the coastal zone where diverse human pressures are concentrated and intersect with different responses to climate variability over land and over ocean basins. The pace of change in estuarine–coastal ecosystems will likely accelerate as the human population and economies continue to grow and as global climate change accelerates. Wise stewardship of the resources upon which we depend is critically dependent upon a continuing flow of information from observations to measure, understand and anticipate future changes along the world's coastlines.

Individual Movement Variability Magnitudes Are Explained by Cortical Neural Variability.

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Haar, Shlomi; Donchin, Opher; Dinstein, Ilan

2017-09-13

Humans exhibit considerable motor variability even across trivial reaching movements. This variability can be separated into specific kinematic components such as extent and direction that are thought to be governed by distinct neural processes. Here, we report that individual subjects (males and females) exhibit different magnitudes of kinematic variability, which are consistent (within individual) across movements to different targets and regardless of which arm (right or left) was used to perform the movements. Simultaneous fMRI recordings revealed that the same subjects also exhibited different magnitudes of fMRI variability across movements in a variety of motor system areas. These fMRI variability magnitudes were also consistent across movements to different targets when performed with either arm. Cortical fMRI variability in the posterior-parietal cortex of individual subjects explained their movement-extent variability. This relationship was apparent only in posterior-parietal cortex and not in other motor system areas, thereby suggesting that individuals with more variable movement preparation exhibit larger kinematic variability. We therefore propose that neural and kinematic variability are reliable and interrelated individual characteristics that may predispose individual subjects to exhibit distinct motor capabilities. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neural activity and movement kinematics are remarkably variable. Although intertrial variability is rarely studied, here, we demonstrate that individual human subjects exhibit distinct magnitudes of neural and kinematic variability that are reproducible across movements to different targets and when performing these movements with either arm. Furthermore, when examining the relationship between cortical variability and movement variability, we find that cortical fMRI variability in parietal cortex of individual subjects explained their movement extent variability. This enabled us to explain why some subjects

[Cardiac rhythm variability as an index of vegetative heart regulation in a situation of psychoemotional tension].

Science.gov (United States)

Revina, N E

2006-01-01

Differentiated role of segmental and suprasegmental levels of cardiac rhythm variability regulation in dynamics of motivational human conflict was studied for the first time. The author used an original method allowing simultaneous analysis of psychological and physiological parameters of human activity. The study demonstrates that will and anxiety, as components of motivational activity spectrum, form the "energetic" basis of voluntary-constructive and involuntary-affective behavioral strategies, selectively uniting various levels of suprasegmental and segmental control of human heart functioning in a conflict situation.

Dominant factors affecting temperature rise in simulations of human thermoregulation during RF exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laakso, Ilkka; Hirata, Akimasa

2011-01-01

Numerical models of the human thermoregulatory system can be used together with realistic voxel models of the human anatomy to simulate the body temperature increases caused by the power absorption from radio-frequency electromagnetic fields. In this paper, the Pennes bioheat equation with a thermoregulatory model is used for calculating local peak temperatures as well as the body-core-temperature elevation in a realistic human body model for grounded plane-wave exposures at frequencies 39, 800 and 2400 MHz. The electromagnetic power loss is solved by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, and the discretized bioheat equation is solved by the geometric multigrid method. Human thermoregulatory models contain numerous thermophysiological and computational parameters—some of which may be subject to considerable uncertainty—that affect the simulated core and local temperature elevations. The goal of this paper is to find how greatly the computed temperature is influenced by changes in various modelling parameters, such as the skin blood flow rate, models for vasodilation and sweating, and clothing and air movement. The results show that the peak temperature rises are most strongly affected by the modelling of tissue blood flow and its temperature dependence, and mostly unaffected by the central control mechanism for vasodilation and sweating. Almost the opposite is true for the body-core-temperature rise, which is however typically greatly lower than the peak temperature rise. It also seems that ignoring the thermoregulation and the blood temperature increase is a good approximation when the local 10 g averaged specific absorption rate is smaller than 10 W kg −1 .

IVF culture medium affects post-natal weight in humans during the first 2 years of life

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kleijkers, Sander H. M.; van Montfoort, Aafke P. A.; Smits, Luc J. M.; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; Roseboom, Tessa J.; Nelissen, Ewka C. M.; Coonen, Edith; Derhaag, Josien G.; Bastings, Lobke; Schreurs, Inge E. L.; Evers, Johannes L. H.; Dumoulin, John C. M.

2014-01-01

Is post-natal growth during the first 2 years of life in IVF singletons affected by type of medium used for culturing human embryos during an IVF treatment? The in vitro culture of human embryos in medium from Cook resulted in singletons with a lower weight during the first 2 years of life compared

Monitoring variables affecting positron emission tomography measurements of cerebral blood flow in anaesthetized pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alstrup, Aage Kristian Olsen; Zois, Nora Elisabeth; Simonsen, Mette

2018-01-01

Background Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of anaesthetized pig brains is a useful tool in neuroscience. Stable cerebral blood flow (CBF) is essential for PET, since variations can affect the distribution of several radiotracers. However, the effect of physiological factors regulating...... and the monitoring parameters. Results No significant statistical correlations were found between CBF and the nine monitoring variables. However, we found that arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) and body temperature were important predictors of CBF that should be observed and kept constant. In addition, we...... found that long-duration anaesthesia was significantly correlated with high heart rate, low arterial oxygen tension, and high body temperature, but not with CBF. Conclusions The findings indicate that PaCO2 and body temperature are crucial for maintaining stable levels of CBF and thus optimizing PET...

Variability in anatomical features of human clavicle: Its forensic anthropological and clinical significance

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Jagmahender Singh Sehrawat

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Bones can reflect the basic framework of human body and may provide valuable information about the biological identity of the deceased. They, often, survive the morphological alterations, taphonomic destructions, decay/mutilation and decomposition insults. In-depth knowledge of variations in clavicular shape, size and its dimensions is very important from both clinical (fixation of clavicular fractures using external or inter-medullary devices, designing orthopedic fixation devices as well as forensic anthropological perspectives. Human clavicle is the most frequently fractured bone of human skeleton, possessing high degree of variability in its anatomical, biomechanical and morphological features. Extended period of skeletal growth (up to third decade in clavicle imparts it an additional advantage for forensic identification purposes. In present study, five categories of clavicular features like lengths, diameters, angles, indices and robustness were examined to explore the suitability of collarbone for forensic and clinical purposes. For this purpose, 263 pairs of adult clavicles (195 Males and 68 Females were collected from autopsied cadavers and were studied for 13 anatomical features. Gender and occupational affiliations of cadavers were found to have significant influences on anatomical dimensions of their clavicles. Product index, weight and circumference of collarbone were found the best univariate variables, discriminating sex of more than 80% individuals. The best multivariate Function-I (DF: -17.315 + 0.054 CL-L+0.196 CC-R+0.184 DM-L could identify sex and occupation of 89.4% (89.2% Male and 89.7% Female and 65.4% individuals, respectively. All clavicular variables were found bilaterally asymmetric; left clavicles being significantly longer in length, lighter in weight, smooth in texture and less curved than the right side bones. Among non-metric traits, sub-clavian groove, nutrient foramina and ‘type’ of clavicle exhibited

Variability in the contents of pork meat nutrients and how it may affect food composition databases.

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Reig, Milagro; Aristoy, M-Concepción; Toldrá, Fidel

2013-10-01

Pork meat is generally recognised as a food with relevant nutritional properties because of its content in high biological value proteins, group B vitamins, minerals especially heme iron, trace elements and other bioactive compounds. But pork meat also contributes to the intake of fat, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, and other substances that, in inappropriate amounts, may result in negative physiologically effects. However, there are relevant factors affecting the content of many of these substances and somehow such variability should be taken into consideration. So, genetics, age and even type of muscle have a relevant influence on the amount of fat and the contents in heme iron. Also the composition in fatty acids of triacylglycerols is very sensitive to the contents of cereals in the feed; for instance, polyunsaturated fatty acids may range from 10% to 22% in pork meat. The content of other nutrients, like vitamins E and A, are also depending on the type of feed. Some bioactive substances like coenzyme Q10, taurine, glutamine, creatine, creatinine, carnosine and anserine show a large dependence on the type of muscle. This manuscript describes the main factors affecting the composition of pork meat nutrients and how these changes may affect the general food composition databases. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecology of conflict: marine food supply affects human-wildlife interactions on land.

Science.gov (United States)

Artelle, Kyle A; Anderson, Sean C; Reynolds, John D; Cooper, Andrew B; Paquet, Paul C; Darimont, Chris T

2016-05-17

Human-wildlife conflicts impose considerable costs to people and wildlife worldwide. Most research focuses on proximate causes, offering limited generalizable understanding of ultimate drivers. We tested three competing hypotheses (problem individuals, regional population saturation, limited food supply) that relate to underlying processes of human-grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) conflict, using data from British Columbia, Canada, between 1960-2014. We found most support for the limited food supply hypothesis: in bear populations that feed on spawning salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), the annual number of bears/km(2) killed due to conflicts with humans increased by an average of 20% (6-32% [95% CI]) for each 50% decrease in annual salmon biomass. Furthermore, we found that across all bear populations (with or without access to salmon), 81% of attacks on humans and 82% of conflict kills occurred after the approximate onset of hyperphagia (July 1(st)), a period of intense caloric demand. Contrary to practices by many management agencies, conflict frequency was not reduced by hunting or removal of problem individuals. Our finding that a marine resource affects terrestrial conflict suggests that evidence-based policy for reducing harm to wildlife and humans requires not only insight into ultimate drivers of conflict, but also management that spans ecosystem and jurisdictional boundaries.

Playing a violent television game affects heart rate variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivarsson, Malena; Anderson, Martin; Akerstedt, Torbjörn; Lindblad, Frank

2009-01-01

To investigate how playing a violent/nonviolent television game during the evening affects sympathetic and parasympathetic reactions during and after playing as well as sleep quality during the night after playing. In total, 19 boys, 12-15 years of age, played television games on two occasions in their homes and participated once without gaming. Heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and physical activity were measured during gaming/participating and the night to follow using a portable combined heart rate and movement sensor. A sleep diary and questionnaires about gaming experiences and session-specific experiences were filled in. Criteria for Selection of Games: Violent game involves/rewards direct physical violence (no handguns) against another person, and nonviolent game involves/rewards no violence; same game design ('third-person game'); conducted in the same manner; no differences concerning motor activity; similar sound and light effects; no sexual content, violence against women or racial overtones. During violent (vs. nonviolent) gaming, there was significantly higher activity of the very low frequency component of the HRV and total power. During the night after playing, very low frequency, low frequency and high frequency components were significantly higher during the violent (vs. nonviolent) condition, just as total power. There were no significant differences between the three conditions (violent/nonviolent/no gaming) with respect to an index reflecting subjectively perceived sleep difficulties. Nor was there any difference between violent and nonviolent condition for any single sleep item. Violent gaming induces different autonomic responses in boys compared to nonviolent gaming--during playing and during the following night--suggesting different emotional responses. Subjectively perceived sleep quality is not influenced after a single gaming experience. Future studies should address the development of the autonomic balance after gaming over longer

Human-Robot Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Rochlis-Zumbado, Jennifer; Sandor, Aniko; Ezer, Neta

2012-01-01

Risk of Inadequate Design of Human and Automation/Robotic Integration (HARI) is a new Human Research Program (HRP) risk. HRI is a research area that seeks to understand the complex relationship among variables that affect the way humans and robots work together to accomplish goals. The DRP addresses three major HRI study areas that will provide appropriate information for navigation guidance to a teleoperator of a robot system, and contribute to the closure of currently identified HRP gaps: (1) Overlays -- Use of overlays for teleoperation to augment the information available on the video feed (2) Camera views -- Type and arrangement of camera views for better task performance and awareness of surroundings (3) Command modalities -- Development of gesture and voice command vocabularies

Natural Variability of Mexican Forest Fires

Science.gov (United States)

Velasco-Herrera, Graciela; Velasco Herrera, Victor Manuel; Kemper-Valverdea, N.

The purpose of this paper was 1) to present a new algorithm for analyzing the forest fires, 2) to discuss the present understanding of the natural variability at different scales with special emphasis on Mexico conditions since 1972, 3) to analyze the internal and external factors affecting forest fires for example ENSO and Total Solar Irradiance, and 4) to discuss the implications of this knowledge, on research and on restoration and management methods, which purpose is to enhance forest biodiversity conservation. 5) We present an estimate of the Mexican forest fires for the next decade. These results may be useful to minimize human and economic losses.

Relative roles of weather variables and change in human population in malaria: comparison over different states of India.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prashant Goswami

Full Text Available Pro-active and effective control as well as quantitative assessment of impact of climate change on malaria requires identification of the major drivers of the epidemic. Malaria depends on vector abundance which, in turn, depends on a combination of weather variables. However, there remain several gaps in our understanding and assessment of malaria in a changing climate. Most of the studies have considered weekly or even monthly mean values of weather variables, while the malaria vector is sensitive to daily variations. Secondly, rarely all the relevant meteorological variables have been considered together. An important question is the relative roles of weather variables (vector abundance and change in host (human population, in the change in disease load.We consider the 28 states of India, characterized by diverse climatic zones and changing population as well as complex variability in malaria, as a natural test bed. An annual vector load for each of the 28 states is defined based on the number of vector genesis days computed using daily values of temperature, rainfall and humidity from NCEP daily Reanalysis; a prediction of potential malaria load is defined by taking into consideration changes in the human population and compared with the reported number of malaria cases.For most states, the number of malaria cases is very well correlated with the vector load calculated with the combined conditions of daily values of temperature, rainfall and humidity; no single weather variable has any significant association with the observed disease prevalence.The association between vector-load and daily values of weather variables is robust and holds for different climatic regions (states of India. Thus use of all the three weather variables provides a reliable means of pro-active and efficient vector sanitation and control as well as assessment of impact of climate change on malaria.

You can't drink a word: lexical and individual emotionality affect subjective familiarity judgments.

Science.gov (United States)

Westbury, Chris

2014-10-01

For almost 30 years, subjective familiarity has been used in psycholinguistics as an explanatory variable, allegedly able to explain many phenomena that have no other obvious explanation (Gernsbacher in J Exp Psychol General 113:256-281, 1984). In this paper, the hypothesis tested is that the subjective familiarity of words is reflecting personal familiarity with or importance of the referents of words. Using an empirically-grounded model of affective force derived from Wundt (Grundriss der Psychologie [Outlines of Psychology]. Engelmann, Leibzig, 1896) and based in a co-occurrence model of semantics (which involves no human judgment), it is shown that affective force can account for the same variance in a large set of human subjective familiarity judgments as other human subjective familiarity judgments, can predict whether people will rate new words of the same objective frequency as more or less familiar, can predict lexical access as well as human subjective familiarity judgments do, and has a predicted relationship to age of acquisition norms. Individuals who have highly affective reactivity [as measured by Carver and White's (J Pers Soc Psychol 67(2):319-333, 1994) Behavioral Inhibition Scale and Behavioral Activation Scales] rate words as significantly more familiar than individuals who have low affective reactivity.

Acute moderate elevation of TNF-{alpha} does not affect systemic and skeletal muscle protein turnover in healthy humans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Anne Marie; Plomgaard, Peter; Fischer, Christian P

2009-01-01

-alpha infusion (rhTNF-alpha). We hypothesize that TNF-alpha increases human muscle protein breakdown and/or inhibit synthesis. Subjects and Methods: Using a randomized controlled, crossover design post-absorptive healthy young males (n=8) were studied 2 hours under basal conditions followed by 4 hours infusion...... with the phenylalanine 3-compartment model showed similar muscle synthesis, breakdown and net muscle degradation after 2 hours basal and after 4 hours Control or rhTNF-alpha infusion. Conclusion: This study is the first to show in humans that TNF-alpha does not affect systemic and skeletal muscle protein turnover, when......Context: Skeletal muscle wasting has been associated with elevations in circulating inflammatory cytokines, in particular TNF-alpha. Objective: In this study, we investigated whether TNF-alpha affects human systemic and skeletal muscle protein turnover, via a 4 hours recombinant human TNF...

Sperm DNA fragmentation affects epigenetic feature in human male pronucleus.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajabi, H; Mohseni-Kouchesfehani, H; Eslami-Arshaghi, T; Salehi, M

2018-02-01

To evaluate whether the sperm DNA fragmentation affects male pronucleus epigenetic factors, semen analysis was performed and DNA fragmentation was assessed by the method of sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA). Human-mouse interspecies fertilisation was used to create human male pronucleus. Male pronucleus DNA methylation and H4K12 acetylation were evaluated by immunostaining. Results showed a significant positive correlation between the level of sperm DNA fragmentation and DNA methylation in male pronuclei. In other words, an increase in DNA damage caused an upsurge in DNA methylation. In the case of H4K12 acetylation, no correlation was detected between DNA damage and the level of histone acetylation in the normal group, but results for the group in which male pronuclei were derived from sperm cells with DNA fragmentation, increased DNA damage led to a decreased acetylation level. Sperm DNA fragmentation interferes with the active demethylation process and disrupts the insertion of histones into the male chromatin in the male pronucleus, following fertilisation. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Androgen responsiveness to competition in humans: the role of cognitive variables

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Oliveira GA

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Gonçalo A Oliveira,1 Rui F Oliveira1,2 1Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal; 2Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal Abstract: Although androgens are commonly seen as male sex hormones, it has been established over the years that in both sexes, androgens also respond to social challenges. To explain the socially driven changes in androgens, two theoretical models have been proposed: the biosocial model and the challenge hypothesis. These models are typically seen as partly overlapping; however, they generate different predictions that are clarified here. In humans, sports competition and nonmetabolic competitive tasks have been used in the laboratory setting, as a proxy for agonistic interactions in animals. The results reviewed here show that the testosterone (T response to competition in humans is highly variable – the studies present postcompetition T levels and changes in T that depend on the contest outcome and that cannot be predicted by the current theoretical models. These conflicting results bring to the foreground the importance of considering cognitive factors that could moderate the androgen response to competition. Among these variables, we elect cognitive appraisal and its components as a key candidate modulating factor. It is known that T also modulates the cognitive processes that are relevant to performance in competition. In this article, we reviewed the evidence arising from studies investigating the effect of administering exogenous T and compare those results with the findings from studies that measured endogenous T levels. Finally, we summarized the importance of also considering the interaction between androgens and other hormones, such as cortisol, when investigating the social modulation of T, as proposed by the dual-hormone hypothesis. Keywords: testosterone, challenge hypothesis, biosocial model, cognitive

Physical attraction to reliable, low variability nervous systems: Reaction time variability predicts attractiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Emily E; Saville, Christopher W N; Ward, Robert; Ramsey, Richard

2017-01-01

The human face cues a range of important fitness information, which guides mate selection towards desirable others. Given humans' high investment in the central nervous system (CNS), cues to CNS function should be especially important in social selection. We tested if facial attractiveness preferences are sensitive to the reliability of human nervous system function. Several decades of research suggest an operational measure for CNS reliability is reaction time variability, which is measured by standard deviation of reaction times across trials. Across two experiments, we show that low reaction time variability is associated with facial attractiveness. Moreover, variability in performance made a unique contribution to attractiveness judgements above and beyond both physical health and sex-typicality judgements, which have previously been associated with perceptions of attractiveness. In a third experiment, we empirically estimated the distribution of attractiveness preferences expected by chance and show that the size and direction of our results in Experiments 1 and 2 are statistically unlikely without reference to reaction time variability. We conclude that an operating characteristic of the human nervous system, reliability of information processing, is signalled to others through facial appearance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A functional MiR-124 binding-site polymorphism in IQGAP1 affects human cognitive performance.

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Lixin Yang

Full Text Available As a product of the unique evolution of the human brain, human cognitive performance is largely a collection of heritable traits. Rather surprisingly, to date there have been no reported cases to highlight genes that underwent adaptive evolution in humans and which carry polymorphisms that have a marked effect on cognitive performance. IQ motif containing GTPase activating protein 1 (IQGAP1, a scaffold protein, affects learning and memory in a dose-dependent manner. Its expression is regulated by miR-124 through the binding sites in the 3'UTR, where a SNP (rs1042538 exists in the core-binding motif. Here we showed that this SNP can influence the miR-target interaction both in vitro and in vivo. Individuals carrying the derived T alleles have higher IQGAP1 expression in the brain as compared to the ancestral A allele carriers. We observed a significant and male-specific association between rs1042538 and tactile performances in two independent cohorts. Males with the derived allele displayed higher tactual performances as compared to those with the ancestral allele. Furthermore, we found a highly diverged allele-frequency distribution of rs1042538 among world human populations, likely caused by natural selection and/or recent population expansion. These results suggest that current human populations still carry sequence variations that affect cognitive performances and that these genetic variants may likely have been subject to comparatively recent natural selection.

The voice of emotion across species: how do human listeners recognize animals' affective states?

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Marina Scheumann

Full Text Available Voice-induced cross-taxa emotional recognition is the ability to understand the emotional state of another species based on its voice. In the past, induced affective states, experience-dependent higher cognitive processes or cross-taxa universal acoustic coding and processing mechanisms have been discussed to underlie this ability in humans. The present study sets out to distinguish the influence of familiarity and phylogeny on voice-induced cross-taxa emotional perception in humans. For the first time, two perspectives are taken into account: the self- (i.e. emotional valence induced in the listener versus the others-perspective (i.e. correct recognition of the emotional valence of the recording context. Twenty-eight male participants listened to 192 vocalizations of four different species (human infant, dog, chimpanzee and tree shrew. Stimuli were recorded either in an agonistic (negative emotional valence or affiliative (positive emotional valence context. Participants rated the emotional valence of the stimuli adopting self- and others-perspective by using a 5-point version of the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM. Familiarity was assessed based on subjective rating, objective labelling of the respective stimuli and interaction time with the respective species. Participants reliably recognized the emotional valence of human voices, whereas the results for animal voices were mixed. The correct classification of animal voices depended on the listener's familiarity with the species and the call type/recording context, whereas there was less influence of induced emotional states and phylogeny. Our results provide first evidence that explicit voice-induced cross-taxa emotional recognition in humans is shaped more by experience-dependent cognitive mechanisms than by induced affective states or cross-taxa universal acoustic coding and processing mechanisms.

Differential Responding by Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta and Humans (Homo sapiens to Variable Outcomes in the Assurance Game

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Audrey E. Parrish

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Behavioral flexibility in how one responds to variable partner play can be examined using economic coordination games in which subjects play against a variety of partners and therefore may need to alter their behavior to produce the highest payoff. But how do we study this behavioral flexibility once players have settled on a response? Here, we investigated how responding by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta and humans (Homo sapiens playing a computerized single-player version of a coordination game, the Assurance game, changed as a function of the variable responses (Stag/Hare generated by multiple simulations (SIMs. We were interested in whether individuals could track and differentially respond to changing frequencies of Stag and Hare play by the SIMs, especially with regard to the payoff dominant (Stag-Stag outcome, something that could not be done with real partners as they quickly settled on the Stag response. For both monkeys and humans, there was a linear relationship between proportion of Stag play by the subject and the likelihood of the Stag choice by the SIM such that both species increased their use of Stag as the SIM increased its use of the Stag response. However, humans more closely matched their proportion of Stag responses to that of the SIM, whereas monkeys adopted a different, but equally effective, strategy of exploiting the higher-paying Stag alternative. These results suggest that monkeys and humans demonstrate sensitivity to a dynamic game environment in which they encounter variable contingencies for the same response options, although they may employ different strategies to maximize reward.

Arthropods affecting the human eye.

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Panadero-Fontán, Rosario; Otranto, Domenico

2015-02-28

Ocular infestations by arthropods consist in the parasitization of the human eye, either directly (e.g., some insect larvae causing ophthalmomyiasis) or via arthropods feeding on lachrymal/conjunctival secretions (e.g., some eye-seeking insects, which also act as vectors of eye pathogens). In addition, demodicosis and phthiriasis may also cause eye discomfort in humans. Ophthalmomyiasis by larvae of the families Oestridae, Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae, are frequent causative agents of human ocular infestations. Over the last decades, the extensive use of macrocyclic lactones in cattle has reduced the frequency of infestations by Hypoderma bovis and Hypoderma lineatum (family Oestridae), and consequently, human infestations by these species. A prompt diagnosis of ocular myiasis (e.g., by serological tests) is pivotal for positive prognoses, particularly when the larvae are not detectable during the ophthalmologic examination. Molecular diagnoses may also assist physicians and parasitologists in achieving time-efficient diagnoses of infestations by Oestridae causing myiasis. Finally, due to widespread international travel to exotic destinations, cases of myiasis are increasing in non-endemic areas, therefore requiring physicians to acquire a profound knowledge of the clinical symptoms linked to these infestations to prevent costly, inappropriate treatments or severe complications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A universal system for highly efficient cardiac differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells that eliminates interline variability.

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Paul W Burridge

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The production of cardiomyocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC holds great promise for patient-specific cardiotoxicity drug testing, disease modeling, and cardiac regeneration. However, existing protocols for the differentiation of hiPSC to the cardiac lineage are inefficient and highly variable. We describe a highly efficient system for differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC and hiPSC to the cardiac lineage. This system eliminated the variability in cardiac differentiation capacity of a variety of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC, including hiPSC generated from CD34(+ cord blood using non-viral, non-integrating methods.We systematically and rigorously optimized >45 experimental variables to develop a universal cardiac differentiation system that produced contracting human embryoid bodies (hEB with an improved efficiency of 94.7±2.4% in an accelerated nine days from four hESC and seven hiPSC lines tested, including hiPSC derived from neonatal CD34(+ cord blood and adult fibroblasts using non-integrating episomal plasmids. This cost-effective differentiation method employed forced aggregation hEB formation in a chemically defined medium, along with staged exposure to physiological (5% oxygen, and optimized concentrations of mesodermal morphogens BMP4 and FGF2, polyvinyl alcohol, serum, and insulin. The contracting hEB derived using these methods were composed of high percentages (64-89% of cardiac troponin I(+ cells that displayed ultrastructural properties of functional cardiomyocytes and uniform electrophysiological profiles responsive to cardioactive drugs.This efficient and cost-effective universal system for cardiac differentiation of hiPSC allows a potentially unlimited production of functional cardiomyocytes suitable for application to hPSC-based drug development, cardiac disease modeling, and the future generation of clinically-safe nonviral human cardiac cells for regenerative medicine.

The past, present, and future of soils and human health studies

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Brevik, E. C.; Sauer, T. J.

2015-01-01

The idea that human health is tied to the soil is not a new one. As far back as circa 1400 BC the Bible depicts Moses as understanding that fertile soil was essential to the well-being of his people. In 400 BC the Greek philosopher Hippocrates provided a list of things that should be considered in a proper medical evaluation, including the properties of the local ground. By the late 1700s and early 1800s, American farmers had recognized that soil properties had some connection to human health. In the modern world, we recognize that soils have a distinct influence on human health. We recognize that soils influence (1) food availability and quality (food security), (2) human contact with various chemicals, and (3) human contact with various pathogens. Soils and human health studies include investigations into nutrient supply through the food chain and routes of exposure to chemicals and pathogens. However, making strong, scientific connections between soils and human health can be difficult. There are multiple variables to consider in the soil environment, meaning traditional scientific studies that seek to isolate and manipulate a single variable often do not provide meaningful data. The complete study of soils and human health also involves many different specialties such as soil scientists, toxicologists, medical professionals, anthropologists, etc. These groups do not traditionally work together on research projects, and do not always effectively communicate with one another. Climate change and how it will affect the soil environment/ecosystem going into the future is another variable affecting the relationship between soils and health. Future successes in soils and human health research will require effectively addressing difficult issues such as these.

Variables Affecting a Level of Practice and Quality of Educational Quality Assurance in Basic Education Schools

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Jakkapong Prongprommarat

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The purposes of this research were to study the Level of Practice and Quality of Educational Quality Assurance in Basic Education Schools of the Office of the Basic Education Commission. The sample consisted of 60 secondnary schools in Office of the basic Education Commission in the provinces of Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, Burirum, Surin and Khon Kaen were drawn by using proportionally with the number of teachers in each school. The data were collected by using (1 the questionnaire on the acting of educational quality assurance in basic education schools. (2 the record form the external assessment of the office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment, (3 the questionnaire on the director leadership, (2 test of the directors and teachers attitudes towards educational quality assurance, (5 test of the directors and teachers inquirying motive, (6 test of the directors and teachers working responsibility, and (7 the questionnaire on the directors and teachers cooperative. The statistical methods used to analysis the data were mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation and path analysis. The findings revealed that: 1. The level of acting of educational quality assurance in basic education schools was at a high level. There was just a fairly difference in acting of educational quality assurance in basic education schools. 2. The level of external quality assessment in basic education schools was at a good level. There was just a little difference in external quality assessment in basic education schools. 3. The variables affecting level of acting of educational quality assurance in basic education schools were the level of the school directors attitudes towards educational quality assurance (β = 0.10, the level of the school directors working responsibility (β = 0.13, the level of the teacher attitudes towards educational quality assurance (β = 0.23 and the level of the teachers inquirying motive (β = 0.49 These four

An Inclusive Design Method for Addressing Human Variability and Work Performance Issues

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Amjad Hussain

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Humans play vital roles in manufacturing systems, but work performance is strongly influenced by factors such as experience, age, level of skill, physical and cognitive abilities and attitude towards work. Current manufacturing system design processes need to consider these human variability issues and their impact on work performance. An ‘inclusive design’ approach is proposed to consider the increasing diversity of the global workforce in terms of age, gender, cultural background, skill and experience. The decline in physical capabilities of older workers creates a mismatch between job demands and working capabilities which can be seen in manufacturing assembly that typically requires high physical demands for repetitive and accurate motions. The inclusive design approach leads to a reduction of this mismatch that results in a more productive, safe and healthy working environment giving benefits to the organization and individuals in terms of workforce satisfaction, reduced turnover, higher productivity and improved product quality.

Human Capital and Economic Growth - How Strong is the Nexus?

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Marinko Škare

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The link between human capital and economic growth still remains unexplained because of the measurement issues connected to the human capital stock. This study investigates the link between human capital stock and economic growth using inclusive wealth index and ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees as proxy for human capital stock. Data from the global workplace and inclusive wealth reports are used in order to provide an international comparison of the link between human capital and inclusive wealth. Cross country comparison show human capital largerly contribute to the inclusive wealth formation. Formal education is important but also motivating working environment is needed to achieve sustainable economic growth. The finding further indicates that standard human capital growth model should be revised taking into the account variables addressing sustainable growth (not just growth and environmental variables (work conditions affecting human capital stock. Countries encouraging investments in the development of individuals both through formal education and inspiring work environments achieve higher sustainable economic growth

Variable postpartum responsiveness among humans and other primates with "cooperative breeding": A comparative and evolutionary perspective.

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Hrdy, Sarah B

2016-01-01

This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care".Until recently, evolutionists reconstructing mother-infant bonding among human ancestors relied on nonhuman primate models characterized by exclusively maternal care, overlooking the highly variable responsiveness exhibited by mothers in species with obligate reliance on allomaternal care and provisioning. It is now increasingly recognized that apes as large-brained, slow maturing, and nutritionally dependent for so long as early humans were, could not have evolved unless "alloparents" (group members other than genetic parents), in addition to parents, had helped mothers to care for and provision offspring, a rearing system known as "cooperative breeding." Here I review situation-dependent maternal responses ranging from highly possessive to permissive, temporarily distancing, rejecting, or infanticidal, documented for a small subset of cooperatively breeding primates. As in many mammals, primate maternal responsiveness is influenced by physical condition, endocrinological priming, prior experience and local environments (especially related to security). But mothers among primates who evolved as cooperative breeders also appear unusually sensitive to cues of social support. In addition to more "sapient" or rational decision-making, humankind's deep history of cooperative breeding must be considered when trying to understand the extremely variable responsiveness of human mothers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Affective Education: A Teacher's Manual to Promote Student Self-Actualization and Human Relations Skills.

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Snyder, Thomas R.

This teacher's manual presents affective education as a program to promote student self-actualization and human relations skills. Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Erik Erikson's life stages of psychosocial development form the conceptual base for this program. The goals and objectives of this manual are concerned with problem-solving…

Does temperament affect learning in calves?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Webb, Laura E.; van Reenen, Cornelis G.; Jensen, Margit Bak

2015-01-01

challenge tests, may affect learning an operant conditioning task in calves. Understanding how temperament affects learning in calves can help with the training of calves on novel automated feeding apparatuses or on novel feed components, and can thus help improve calf health and welfare.......The aim of the study was to investigate how temperament affects learning ability in calves. Nine two-month-old Holstein-Friesian bull calves were subjected to four challenge tests: novel object (NOT), novel environment (NET), social isolation (SIT), and social isolation with a novel environmental...... cue (SI/E). During these tests, hypothesised temperament variables were recorded. Hypothesised learning variables were recorded during training on an operant task. Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on temperament variables and learning variables separately. Principal components (PCs...

Intraindividual variability in cognitive performance in three groups of older adults: cross-domain links to physical status and self-perceived affect and beliefs.

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Strauss, Esther; MacDonald, Stuart W S; Hunter, Michael; Moll, Alex; Hultsch, David F

2002-11-01

Intraindividual variability of physical status and affect/beliefs as well as their relations with cognition were examined in 3 groups of older adults: healthy elderly, individuals with a nonneurological health-related disturbance (arthritis) and people with neurological compromise (dementia). The findings showed that greater inconsistency in physical performance was observed in groups characterized by central nervous system dysfunction. By contrast, fluctuations in affect appeared to reflect other more transient sources, such as pain. In general, increased inconsistency in non-cognitive domains was associated with poorer cognitive function. There were cross-domain links between inconsistency in physical functioning and fluctuations in cognitive performance, although the nature of the links depended largely upon the neurological status of the individuals. Considered together, the result indicated that measures of cognitive as well as physical variability are important behavioral markers of neurological integrity.

76 FR 65734 - Guidance for Industry on Evaluating the Safety of Flood-Affected Food Crops for Human Consumption...

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2011-10-24

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2011-D-0733] Guidance for Industry on Evaluating the Safety of Flood-Affected Food Crops for Human Consumption; Availability AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug...

Human infant faces provoke implicit positive affective responses in parents and non-parents alike.

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Senese, Vincenzo Paolo; De Falco, Simona; Bornstein, Marc H; Caria, Andrea; Buffolino, Simona; Venuti, Paola

2013-01-01

Human infants' complete dependence on adult caregiving suggests that mechanisms associated with adult responsiveness to infant cues might be deeply embedded in the brain. Behavioural and neuroimaging research has produced converging evidence for adults' positive disposition to infant cues, but these studies have not investigated directly the valence of adults' reactions, how they are moderated by biological and social factors, and if they relate to child caregiving. This study examines implicit affective responses of 90 adults toward faces of human and non-human (cats and dogs) infants and adults. Implicit reactions were assessed with Single Category Implicit Association Tests, and reports of childrearing behaviours were assessed by the Parental Style Questionnaire. The results showed that human infant faces represent highly biologically relevant stimuli that capture attention and are implicitly associated with positive emotions. This reaction holds independent of gender and parenthood status and is associated with ideal parenting behaviors.

Host outdoor exposure variability affects the transmission and spread of Zika virus: Insights for epidemic control.

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Marco Ajelli

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Zika virus transmission dynamics in urban environments follow a complex spatiotemporal pattern that appears unpredictable and barely related to high mosquito density areas. In this context, human activity patterns likely have a major role in Zika transmission dynamics. This paper examines the effect of host variability in the amount of time spent outdoors on Zika epidemiology in an urban environment.First, we performed a survey on time spent outdoors by residents of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Second, we analyzed both the survey and previously published national data on outdoors time in the U.S. to provide estimates of the distribution of the time spent outdoors. Third, we performed a computational modeling evaluation of Zika transmission dynamics, based on the time spent outdoors by each person. Our analysis reveals a strong heterogeneity of the host population in terms of time spent outdoors-data are well captured by skewed gamma distributions. Our model-based evaluation shows that in a heterogeneous population, Zika would cause a lower number of infections than in a more homogenous host population (up to 4-fold differences, but, at the same time, the epidemic would spread much faster. We estimated that in highly heterogeneous host populations the timing of the implementation of vector control measures is the major factor for limiting the number of Zika infections.Our findings highlight the need of considering host variability in exposure time for managing mosquito-borne infections and call for the revision of the triggers for vector control strategies, which should integrate mosquito density data and human outdoor activity patterns in specific areas.

Comprehensive assessment of variables affecting metabolic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Jordan.

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Qteishat, Rola Reyad; Ghananim, Abdel Rahman Al

2016-01-01

The aim of the study was to identify variables affecting metabolic control among diabetic patients treated at diabetes and endocrine clinic in Jordan. A total of 200 patients were studied by using a cross sectional study design. Data were collected from patients' medical records, glycemic control tests and prestructured questionnaires about variables that were potentially important based on previous researches and clinical judgment: Adherence evaluation, Patients' knowledge about drug therapy and non-pharmacological therapy, Anxiety and depression, Beliefs about diabetes treatment (benefits and barriers of treatment), Knowledge about treatment goals, Knowledge about diabetes, Self efficacy, and Social support. The mean (±SD) age was 53.5 (±10.38) years and mean HbA1c was 8.4 (±1.95). In the multivariate analysis, education level, and self efficacy found to have significantly independent association with metabolic control (Pknowledge and high self efficacy was significant in patients with good metabolic control. Emphasizing the importance of continuous educational programs and improving the self efficacy as well, could warrant achieving good metabolic control. Copyright © 2015 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of variables affecting drug compliance in schizophrenia

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Shakeel Ansari

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Context: As compliance of the patient during management of schizophrenia is crucial, the current study was conducted to find out the factors that affected compliance. Aims: The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence of noncompliance and to find out different factors affecting compliance in schizophrenic patients. Materials and Methods: Observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 adult schizophrenic patients. Noncompliance was assessed using the rating of medication influence (ROMI scale. Severity of illness was measured using positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS. Results: Prevalence of noncompliance was 37%. Using ROMI scale; positive relationship with psychiatrist, family pressure for taking medications, stigma, and substance abuse were found to be significant factors. Severity of illness was also found as determining factor. Conclusion: To improve the compliance in schizophrenia patients, roles of both psychiatrists and family members are crucial.

Recent and ongoing selection in the human genome

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Nielsen, Rasmus; Hellmann, Ines; Hubisz, Melissa

2007-01-01

The recent availability of genome-scale genotyping data has led to the identification of regions of the human genome that seem to have been targeted by selection. These findings have increased our understanding of the evolutionary forces that affect the human genome, have augmented our knowledge...... of gene function and promise to increase our understanding of the genetic basis of disease. However, inferences of selection are challenged by several confounding factors, especially the complex demographic history of human populations, and concordance between studies is variable. Although such studies...

Do different degrees of human activity affect the diet of Brazilian silverside Atherinella brasiliensis?

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Alves, V E N; Patrício, J; Dolbeth, M; Pessanha, A; Palma, A R T; Dantas, E W; Vendel, A L

2016-08-01

The aim of the present study was to test whether different degrees of human activity affect the diet of the Brazilian silverside Atherinella brasiliensis in two tropical estuaries. Fish were collected along the salinity gradient of two Brazilian estuaries, the heavily impacted Paraiba Estuary and the less impacted Mamanguape Estuary, in the dry and wet seasons. The findings confirm that A. brasiliensis has generalist feeding habits and is able to change its diet under different environmental conditions. The results indicate clear spatial (i.e. along the estuarine gradient) changes in diet composition in both estuaries, but diet was also influenced by the degree of anthropogenic disturbance. During the wet season in the nutrient enriched Paraiba Estuary, when human activity was higher, the diet of A. brasiliensis was poorer and dominated by few dietary items, reflecting the potential impoverishment of prey items in this heavily disturbed system. The specimens collected in the most affected estuary also had a greater frequency of micro-plastics and parasites in their stomachs, reflecting the greater degree of human disturbance in the estuary. The present findings suggest that the diet of A. brasiliensis could be a useful indicator of changes in the ecological quality of these and other tropical estuaries of the western Atlantic Ocean. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

A Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Model of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy-Affected Skeletal Muscles.

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Caron, Leslie; Kher, Devaki; Lee, Kian Leong; McKernan, Robert; Dumevska, Biljana; Hidalgo, Alejandro; Li, Jia; Yang, Henry; Main, Heather; Ferri, Giulia; Petek, Lisa M; Poellinger, Lorenz; Miller, Daniel G; Gabellini, Davide; Schmidt, Uli

2016-09-01

: Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) represents a major unmet clinical need arising from the progressive weakness and atrophy of skeletal muscles. The dearth of adequate experimental models has severely hampered our understanding of the disease. To date, no treatment is available for FSHD. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) potentially represent a renewable source of skeletal muscle cells (SkMCs) and provide an alternative to invasive patient biopsies. We developed a scalable monolayer system to differentiate hESCs into mature SkMCs within 26 days, without cell sorting or genetic manipulation. Here we show that SkMCs derived from FSHD1-affected hESC lines exclusively express the FSHD pathogenic marker double homeobox 4 and exhibit some of the defects reported in FSHD. FSHD1 myotubes are thinner when compared with unaffected and Becker muscular dystrophy myotubes, and differentially regulate genes involved in cell cycle control, oxidative stress response, and cell adhesion. This cellular model will be a powerful tool for studying FSHD and will ultimately assist in the development of effective treatments for muscular dystrophies. This work describes an efficient and highly scalable monolayer system to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into skeletal muscle cells (SkMCs) and demonstrates disease-specific phenotypes in SkMCs derived from both embryonic and induced hPSCs affected with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. This study represents the first human stem cell-based cellular model for a muscular dystrophy that is suitable for high-throughput screening and drug development. ©AlphaMed Press.

A standardized approach to study human variability in isometric thermogenesis during low-intensity physical activity

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Delphine eSarafian

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Limitations of current methods: The assessment of human variability in various compartments of daily energy expenditure (EE under standardized conditions is well defined at rest (as basal metabolic rate and thermic effect of feeding, and currently under validation for assessing the energy cost of low-intensity dynamic work. However, because physical activities of daily life consist of a combination of both dynamic and isometric work, there is also a need to develop standardized tests for assessing human variability in the energy cost of low-intensity isometric work.Experimental objectives: Development of an approach to study human variability in isometric thermogenesis by incorporating a protocol of intermittent leg press exercise of varying low-intensity isometric loads with measurements of EE by indirect calorimetry. Results: EE was measured in the seated position with the subject at rest or while intermittently pressing both legs against a press-platform at 5 low-intensity isometric loads (+5, +10, + 15, +20 and +25 kg force, each consisting of a succession of 8 cycles of press (30 s and rest (30 s. EE, integrated over each 8-min period of the intermittent leg press exercise, was found to increase linearly across the 5 isometric loads with a correlation coefficient (r > 0.9 for each individual. The slope of this EE-Load relationship, which provides the energy cost of this standardized isometric exercise expressed per kg force applied intermittently (30 s in every min, was found to show good repeatability when assessed in subjects who repeated the same experimental protocol on 3 separate days: its low intra-individual coefficient of variation (CV of ~ 10% contrasted with its much higher inter-individual CV of 35%; the latter being mass-independent but partly explained by height. Conclusion: This standardized approach to study isometric thermogenesis opens up a new avenue for research in EE phenotyping and metabolic predisposition to obesity

Neurologizing the Psychology of Affects: How Appraisal-Based Constructivism and Basic Emotion Theory Can Coexist.

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Panksepp, Jaak

2007-09-01

Abundant neurobehavioral data, not discussed by Lisa Feldman Barrett (2006), support the existence of a variety of core emotional operating systems in ancient subneocortical regions of the brain (Panksepp, 1998a, 2005a). Such brain systems are the primary-process ancestral birthrights of all mammals. There may be as many genetically and neurochemically coded subcortical affect systems in emotionally rich medial regions of the brain as there are "natural" emotional action systems in the brain. When emotional primes are aroused directly, as with local electrical or chemical stimulation, the affective changes sustain conditioned place preferences and place aversions, which are the premier secondary-process indices of affective states in animals. Humans are not immune to such brain manipulations; they typically exhibit strong emotional feelings. Human emotion researchers should not ignore these systems and simply look at the complex and highly variable culturally molded manifestations of emotions in humans if they wish to determine what kinds of "natural" emotional processes exist within all mammalian brain. Basic emotion science has generated workable epistemological strategies for under-standing the primal sources of human emotional feelings by detailed study of emotional circuits in our fellow animals. © 2007 Association for Psychological Science.

Social Process Variables Affecting Reading Performance in Delayed Readers.

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Lorton, Mary; Kukuk, Christopher

1978-01-01

Examines the relationship between 14 social process variables and the reading performances of 180 slow learners, ages 7-15. Finds that two of those factors (brith trauma and being held back in school) emerge as predictors of reading comprehension, word recognition, and spelling. (RL)

Do bells affect behaviour and heart rate variability in grazing dairy cows?

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Julia Johns

Full Text Available In alpine regions cows are often equipped with bells. The present study investigated the impact of wearing a bell on behaviour and heart rate variability in dairy cows. Nineteen non-lactating Brown-Swiss cows with bell experience were assigned to three different treatments. For 3 days each, cows were equipped with no bell (control, with a bell with inactivated clapper (silent bell or with a functional bell (functional bell. The bells weighed 5.5 kg and had frequencies between 532 Hz and 2.8 kHz and amplitudes between 90 and 113 dB at a distance of 20 cm. Data were collected on either the first and third or on all 3 days of each treatment. Whereas duration of rumination was reduced with a functional bell and a silent bell compared with no bell, feeding duration was reduced with a silent bell and was intermediate with a functional bell. Head movements were reduced when wearing a silent bell compared with no bell and tended to be reduced when wearing a functional compared to no bell. With a functional bell, lying duration was reduced by almost 4 hours on the third day of treatment compared with the first day with a functional bell and compared with no bell or a silent bell. All additional behavioural measures are consistent with the hypothesis of a restriction in the behaviour of the cows wearing bells, although this pattern did not reach significance. There was no treatment effect on heart rate variability, suggesting that the bells did not affect vago-sympathetic balance. An effect of experimental day was found for only 1 out of 10 behavioural parameters, as shown by a decrease in lying with a functional bell on day 3. The results indicate behavioural changes in the cows wearing a bell over 3 days, without indication of habituation to the bell. Altogether, the behavioural changes suggest that the behaviour of the cows was disturbed by wearing a bell. If long-lasting, these effects may have implications for animal welfare.

Do Bells Affect Behaviour and Heart Rate Variability in Grazing Dairy Cows?

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Johns, Julia; Patt, Antonia; Hillmann, Edna

2015-01-01

In alpine regions cows are often equipped with bells. The present study investigated the impact of wearing a bell on behaviour and heart rate variability in dairy cows. Nineteen non-lactating Brown-Swiss cows with bell experience were assigned to three different treatments. For 3 days each, cows were equipped with no bell (control), with a bell with inactivated clapper (silent bell) or with a functional bell (functional bell). The bells weighed 5.5 kg and had frequencies between 532 Hz and 2.8 kHz and amplitudes between 90 and 113 dB at a distance of 20 cm. Data were collected on either the first and third or on all 3 days of each treatment. Whereas duration of rumination was reduced with a functional bell and a silent bell compared with no bell, feeding duration was reduced with a silent bell and was intermediate with a functional bell. Head movements were reduced when wearing a silent bell compared with no bell and tended to be reduced when wearing a functional compared to no bell. With a functional bell, lying duration was reduced by almost 4 hours on the third day of treatment compared with the first day with a functional bell and compared with no bell or a silent bell. All additional behavioural measures are consistent with the hypothesis of a restriction in the behaviour of the cows wearing bells, although this pattern did not reach significance. There was no treatment effect on heart rate variability, suggesting that the bells did not affect vago-sympathetic balance. An effect of experimental day was found for only 1 out of 10 behavioural parameters, as shown by a decrease in lying with a functional bell on day 3. The results indicate behavioural changes in the cows wearing a bell over 3 days, without indication of habituation to the bell. Altogether, the behavioural changes suggest that the behaviour of the cows was disturbed by wearing a bell. If long-lasting, these effects may have implications for animal welfare. PMID:26110277

Encountering Science Education's Capacity to Affect and Be Affected

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Alsop, Steve

2016-01-01

What might science education learn from the recent affective turn in the humanities and social sciences? Framed as a response to Michalinos Zembylas's article, this essay draws from selected theorizing in affect theory, science education and science and technology studies, in pursuit of diverse and productive ways to talk of affect within science…

Statistical evaluation of variables affecting occurrence of hydrocarbons in aquifers used for public supply, California

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Landon, Matthew K.; Burton, Carmen A.; Davis, Tracy A.; Belitz, Kenneth; Johnson, Tyler D.

2014-01-01

The variables affecting the occurrence of hydrocarbons in aquifers used for public supply in California were assessed based on statistical evaluation of three large statewide datasets; gasoline oxygenates also were analyzed for comparison with hydrocarbons. Benzene is the most frequently detected (1.7%) compound among 17 hydrocarbons analyzed at generally low concentrations (median detected concentration 0.024 μg/l) in groundwater used for public supply in California; methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is the most frequently detected (5.8%) compound among seven oxygenates analyzed (median detected concentration 0.1 μg/l). At aquifer depths used for public supply, hydrocarbons and MTBE rarely co-occur and are generally related to different variables; in shallower groundwater, co-occurrence is more frequent and there are similar relations to the density or proximity of potential sources. Benzene concentrations are most strongly correlated with reducing conditions, regardless of groundwater age and depth. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that benzene and other hydrocarbons detected in old, deep, and/or brackish groundwater result from geogenic sources of oil and gas. However, in recently recharged (since ~1950), generally shallower groundwater, higher concentrations and detection frequencies of benzene and hydrocarbons were associated with a greater proportion of commercial land use surrounding the well, likely reflecting effects of anthropogenic sources, particularly in combination with reducing conditions.

Cross-species affective neuroscience decoding of the primal affective experiences of humans and related animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Panksepp, Jaak

2011-01-01

The issue of whether other animals have internally felt experiences has vexed animal behavioral science since its inception. Although most investigators remain agnostic on such contentious issues, there is now abundant experimental evidence indicating that all mammals have negatively and positively-valenced emotional networks concentrated in homologous brain regions that mediate affective experiences when animals are emotionally aroused. That is what the neuroscientific evidence indicates. The relevant lines of evidence are as follows: 1) It is easy to elicit powerful unconditioned emotional responses using localized electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB); these effects are concentrated in ancient subcortical brain regions. Seven types of emotional arousals have been described; using a special capitalized nomenclature for such primary process emotional systems, they are SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC/GRIEF and PLAY. 2) These brain circuits are situated in homologous subcortical brain regions in all vertebrates tested. Thus, if one activates FEAR arousal circuits in rats, cats or primates, all exhibit similar fear responses. 3) All primary-process emotional-instinctual urges, even ones as complex as social PLAY, remain intact after radical neo-decortication early in life; thus, the neocortex is not essential for the generation of primary-process emotionality. 4) Using diverse measures, one can demonstrate that animals like and dislike ESB of brain regions that evoke unconditioned instinctual emotional behaviors: Such ESBs can serve as 'rewards' and 'punishments' in diverse approach and escape/avoidance learning tasks. 5) Comparable ESB of human brains yield comparable affective experiences. Thus, robust evidence indicates that raw primary-process (i.e., instinctual, unconditioned) emotional behaviors and feelings emanate from homologous brain functions in all mammals (see Appendix S1), which are regulated by higher brain regions. Such findings suggest

Cross-species affective neuroscience decoding of the primal affective experiences of humans and related animals.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaak Panksepp

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The issue of whether other animals have internally felt experiences has vexed animal behavioral science since its inception. Although most investigators remain agnostic on such contentious issues, there is now abundant experimental evidence indicating that all mammals have negatively and positively-valenced emotional networks concentrated in homologous brain regions that mediate affective experiences when animals are emotionally aroused. That is what the neuroscientific evidence indicates. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The relevant lines of evidence are as follows: 1 It is easy to elicit powerful unconditioned emotional responses using localized electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB; these effects are concentrated in ancient subcortical brain regions. Seven types of emotional arousals have been described; using a special capitalized nomenclature for such primary process emotional systems, they are SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC/GRIEF and PLAY. 2 These brain circuits are situated in homologous subcortical brain regions in all vertebrates tested. Thus, if one activates FEAR arousal circuits in rats, cats or primates, all exhibit similar fear responses. 3 All primary-process emotional-instinctual urges, even ones as complex as social PLAY, remain intact after radical neo-decortication early in life; thus, the neocortex is not essential for the generation of primary-process emotionality. 4 Using diverse measures, one can demonstrate that animals like and dislike ESB of brain regions that evoke unconditioned instinctual emotional behaviors: Such ESBs can serve as 'rewards' and 'punishments' in diverse approach and escape/avoidance learning tasks. 5 Comparable ESB of human brains yield comparable affective experiences. Thus, robust evidence indicates that raw primary-process (i.e., instinctual, unconditioned emotional behaviors and feelings emanate from homologous brain functions in all mammals (see Appendix S1, which are regulated by

Reciprocity in computer-human interaction: source-based, norm-based, and affect-based explanations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Seungcheol Austin; Liang, Yuhua Jake

2015-04-01

Individuals often apply social rules when they interact with computers, and this is known as the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) effect. Following previous work, one approach to understand the mechanism responsible for CASA is to utilize computer agents and have the agents attempt to gain human compliance (e.g., completing a pattern recognition task). The current study focuses on three key factors frequently cited to influence traditional notions of compliance: evaluations toward the source (competence and warmth), normative influence (reciprocity), and affective influence (mood). Structural equation modeling assessed the effects of these factors on human compliance with computer request. The final model shows that norm-based influence (reciprocity) increased the likelihood of compliance, while evaluations toward the computer agent did not significantly influence compliance.

Weighting Mean and Variability during Confidence Judgments

Science.gov (United States)

de Gardelle, Vincent; Mamassian, Pascal

2015-01-01

Humans can not only perform some visual tasks with great precision, they can also judge how good they are in these tasks. However, it remains unclear how observers produce such metacognitive evaluations, and how these evaluations might be dissociated from the performance in the visual task. Here, we hypothesized that some stimulus variables could affect confidence judgments above and beyond their impact on performance. In a motion categorization task on moving dots, we manipulated the mean and the variance of the motion directions, to obtain a low-mean low-variance condition and a high-mean high-variance condition with matched performances. Critically, in terms of confidence, observers were not indifferent between these two conditions. Observers exhibited marked preferences, which were heterogeneous across individuals, but stable within each observer when assessed one week later. Thus, confidence and performance are dissociable and observers’ confidence judgments put different weights on the stimulus variables that limit performance. PMID:25793275

Variables affecting the propensity to buy branded beef among groups of Australian beef buyers.

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, L Emilio; Griffith, Garry; Wright, Victor; Fleming, Euan; Umberger, Wendy; Hoang, Nam

2013-06-01

Australian beef consumers have different preferences given their characteristics and the effect on expected quality of cues related to health, production process and eating experience. Beef brands using Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grades can help to signal quality and reduce consumers' uncertainty when shopping. The objective of this study is to identify the characteristics of beef buyers and their perceptions about product attributes that affect the propensity to buy branded beef. Binary logistic models were applied identifying differences between all respondents and the potential target market, including buyers in medium to high income segments, and between buyers in the target market who would buy branded beef for taste and health reasons. Variables increasing the propensity to buy branded beef include previous experience, appreciation for branded cuts and concern about quality more than size. Finally, variations in preferences for marbling and cut were found between buyers who would buy branded beef for taste and health reasons. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A conceptual framework to evaluate human-wildlife interactions within coupled human and natural systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anita T. Morzillo

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Landscape characteristics affect human-wildlife interactions. However, there is a need to better understand mechanisms that drive those interactions, particularly feedbacks that exist between wildlife-related impacts, human reaction to and behavior as a result of those impacts, and how land use and landscape characteristics may influence those components within coupled human and natural systems. Current conceptual models of human-wildlife interactions often focus on species population size as the independent variable driving those interactions. Such an approach potentially overlooks important feedbacks among and drivers of human-wildlife interactions that result from mere wildlife presence versus absence. We describe an emerging conceptual framework that focuses on wildlife as a driver of human behavior and allows us to better understand linkages between humans, wildlife, and the broader landscape. We also present results of a pilot analysis related to our own ongoing study of urban rodent control behavior to illustrate one application of this framework within a study of urban landscapes.

THE SEAFARERS’ HUMAN CAPITAL VARIABLES AND THE CREW PROFILE DYNAMIC ADJUSTMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catalin POPA

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The human capital is one of the most relevant functional dimensions of the maritime transportation business, considering the seaborne particularities in the crossing countries, cultures and heterogeneous environment as onboard the maritime vessels. The nowadays great competitiveness in this area of transportation services has encouraged many companies to pursue new ways to maintain a competitive advantage, valuing its human capital. Thus, in spite of the propensity for standardisation in field of human resources profile, the seafaring crews’ management is still facing lots of issues in operational tasks’ fulfilment onboard to maritime ships, due to individual misalignment within the collective framework of the on-board teams. As is presented in the article, the individual profile of a seafarer has to be precisely defined to be efficiently integrated in the crew, but not only in professional matters, but also into a comprehensive manner, in order to support a proper adjustment of the individual seafarer behaviour to the group profile requirement, onboard to maritime vessels. STCW provisions are very welcomed in establishing common standards for professional variable of the seafarers’ individual profile, but is still missing to approach the organizational dimensions, apart to the leadership skills or risk behaviour. As shown in the article below, for a recruitment agent and further, for the ship Master is important to find the suitable employee, not only in terms of professional knowledge, skills and abilities, but also in cultural or psycho-sociological individual dimensions, as to adjust the individual to the group profile, accordingly and effectively.

Accounting for pH heterogeneity and variability in modelling human health risks from cadmium in contaminated land

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gay, J. Rebecca; Korre, Anna

2009-01-01

The authors have previously published a methodology which combines quantitative probabilistic human health risk assessment and spatial statistical methods (geostatistics) to produce an assessment, incorporating uncertainty, of risks to human health from exposure to contaminated land. The model assumes a constant soil to plant concentration factor (CF veg ) when calculating intake of contaminants. This model is modified here to enhance its use in a situation where CF veg varies according to soil pH, as is the case for cadmium. The original methodology uses sequential indicator simulation (SIS) to map soil concentration estimates for one contaminant across a site. A real, age-stratified population is mapped across the contaminated area, and intake of soil contaminants by individuals is calculated probabilistically using an adaptation of the Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment (CLEA) model. The proposed improvement involves not only the geostatistical estimation of the contaminant concentration, but also that of soil pH, which in turn leads to a variable CF veg estimate which influences the human intake results. The results presented demonstrate that taking pH into account can influence the outcome of the risk assessment greatly. It is proposed that a similar adaptation could be used for other combinations of soil variables which influence CF veg .

An Integrative Process Approach on Judgment and Decision Making: The Impact of Arousal, Affect, Motivation, and Cognitive Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Roets, Arne; Van Hiel, Alain

2011-01-01

This article aims to integrate the findings from various research traditions on human judgment and decision making, focusing on four process variables: arousal, affect, motivation, and cognitive capacity/ability. We advocate a broad perspective referred to as the integrative process approach (IPA) of decision making, in which these process…

Meteorological variables affect fertility rate after intrauterine artificial insemination in sheep in a seasonal-dependent manner: a 7-year study

Science.gov (United States)

Palacios, C.; Abecia, J. A.

2015-05-01

A total number of 48,088 artificial inseminations (AIs) have been controlled during seven consecutive years in 79 dairy sheep Spanish farms (41° N). Mean, maximum and minimum ambient temperatures ( Ts), temperature amplitude (TA), mean relative humidity (RH), mean solar radiation (SR) and total rainfall of each insemination day and 15 days later were recorded. Temperature-humidity index (THI) and effective temperature (ET) have been calculated. A binary logistic regression model to estimate the risk of not getting pregnant compared to getting pregnant, through the odds ratio (OR), was performed. Successful winter inseminations were carried out under higher SR ( P 1 (maximum T, ET and rainfall on AI day, and ET and rainfall on day 15), and two variables presented OR AI day and maximum T on day 15). However, the effect of meteorological factors affected fertility in opposite ways, so T becomes a protective or risk factor on fertility depending on season. In conclusion, the percentage of pregnancy after AI in sheep is significantly affected by meteorological variables in a seasonal-dependent manner, so the parameters such as temperature reverse their effects in the hot or cold seasons. A forecast of the meteorological conditions could be a useful tool when AI dates are being scheduled.

Shape of the orbital opening: individual characterization and analysis of variability in modern humans, Gorilla gorilla, and Pan troglodytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmittbuhl, M; Le Minor, J M; Allenbach, B; Schaaf, A

1999-05-01

The description of the human orbital shape is principally qualitative in the classical literature, and characterised by adjectives such as circular, rectangular or quadrangular. In order to provide a precise quantification and interpretation of this shape, a study based on automatic image analysis and Fourier analysis was carried out on 45 human skulls (30 males, 15 females), and for comparison on 61 skulls of Gorilla gorilla (40 males, 21 females), and 34 skulls of Pan troglodytes (20 males, 14 females). Sexual dimorphism in the shape of the orbital opening was not demonstrated. Its dominant morphological features could be characterized by Fourier analysis; elliptical elongation and quadrangularity were dominant morphological features of the shape of the orbital opening in the three species. Elliptical elongation was more marked in humans and Pan, whereas quadrangularity was particularly emphasized in Gorilla. An intraspecific variability of the shape of the orbital opening existed in humans, Gorilla and Pan, and seemed close in the three species. Interspecific partition between humans, Gorilla and Pan was demonstrated despite the variability observed in the three species studied. Interspecific differences between Gorilla and the Pan-humans group were principally explained by the differences in quadrangularity, and by differences in orientation of triangularity and pentagonality. Differences in the shape of the orbital opening between humans and Pan were principally explained by differences in hexagonality, and by differences in orientation of quadrangularity. A closeness of shape between some humans and some individuals in Pan and, to a lesser degree, with some individuals in Gorilla was observed, demonstrating the existence of a morphological continuum of the shape of the orbital opening in hominoids.

Physical-mathematical model for cybernetic description of the human organs with trace element concentrations as input variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mihai, Maria; Popescu, I.V.

2003-01-01

In this paper we report a physical-mathematical model for studying the organs and humans fluids by cybernetic principle. The input variables represent the trace elements which are determined by atomic and nuclear methods of elemental analysis. We have determined the health limits between which the organs might function. (authors)

Statistical Learning and Adaptive Decision-Making Underlie Human Response Time Variability in Inhibitory Control

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Ning eMa

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Response time (RT is an oft-reported behavioral measure in psychological and neurocognitive experiments, but the high level of observed trial-to-trial variability in this measure has often limited its usefulness. Here, we combine computational modeling and psychophysics to examine the hypothesis that fluctuations in this noisy measure reflect dynamic computations in human statistical learning and corresponding cognitive adjustments. We present data from the stop-signal task, in which subjects respond to a go stimulus on each trial, unless instructed not to by a subsequent, infrequently presented stop signal. We model across-trial learning of stop signal frequency, P(stop, and stop-signal onset time, SSD (stop-signal delay, with a Bayesian hidden Markov model, and within-trial decision-making with an optimal stochastic control model. The combined model predicts that RT should increase with both expected P(stop and SSD. The human behavioral data (n=20 bear out this prediction, showing P(stop and SSD both to be significant, independent predictors of RT, with P(stop being a more prominent predictor in 75% of the subjects, and SSD being more prominent in the remaining 25%. The results demonstrate that humans indeed readily internalize environmental statistics and adjust their cognitive/behavioral strategy accordingly, and that subtle patterns in RT variability can serve as a valuable tool for validating models of statistical learning and decision-making. More broadly, the modeling tools presented in this work can be generalized to a large body of behavioral paradigms, in order to extract insights about cognitive and neural processing from apparently quite noisy behavioral measures. We also discuss how this behaviorally validated model can then be used to conduct model-based analysis of neural data, in order to help identify specific brain areas for representing and encoding key computational quantities in learning and decision-making.

Statistical learning and adaptive decision-making underlie human response time variability in inhibitory control.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Ning; Yu, Angela J

2015-01-01

Response time (RT) is an oft-reported behavioral measure in psychological and neurocognitive experiments, but the high level of observed trial-to-trial variability in this measure has often limited its usefulness. Here, we combine computational modeling and psychophysics to examine the hypothesis that fluctuations in this noisy measure reflect dynamic computations in human statistical learning and corresponding cognitive adjustments. We present data from the stop-signal task (SST), in which subjects respond to a go stimulus on each trial, unless instructed not to by a subsequent, infrequently presented stop signal. We model across-trial learning of stop signal frequency, P(stop), and stop-signal onset time, SSD (stop-signal delay), with a Bayesian hidden Markov model, and within-trial decision-making with an optimal stochastic control model. The combined model predicts that RT should increase with both expected P(stop) and SSD. The human behavioral data (n = 20) bear out this prediction, showing P(stop) and SSD both to be significant, independent predictors of RT, with P(stop) being a more prominent predictor in 75% of the subjects, and SSD being more prominent in the remaining 25%. The results demonstrate that humans indeed readily internalize environmental statistics and adjust their cognitive/behavioral strategy accordingly, and that subtle patterns in RT variability can serve as a valuable tool for validating models of statistical learning and decision-making. More broadly, the modeling tools presented in this work can be generalized to a large body of behavioral paradigms, in order to extract insights about cognitive and neural processing from apparently quite noisy behavioral measures. We also discuss how this behaviorally validated model can then be used to conduct model-based analysis of neural data, in order to help identify specific brain areas for representing and encoding key computational quantities in learning and decision-making.

Variability, Predictability, and Race Factors Affecting Performance in Elite Biathlon.

Science.gov (United States)

Skattebo, Øyvind; Losnegard, Thomas

2018-03-01

To investigate variability, predictability, and smallest worthwhile performance enhancement in elite biathlon sprint events. In addition, the effects of race factors on performance were assessed. Data from 2005 to 2015 including >10,000 and >1000 observations for each sex for all athletes and annual top-10 athletes, respectively, were included. Generalized linear mixed models were constructed based on total race time, skiing time, shooting time, and proportions of targets hit. Within-athlete race-to-race variability was expressed as coefficient of variation of performance times and standard deviation (SD) in proportion units (%) of targets hit. The models were adjusted for random and fixed effects of subject identity, season, event identity, and race factors. The within-athlete variability was independent of sex and performance standard of athletes: 2.5-3.2% for total race time, 1.5-1.8% for skiing time, and 11-15% for shooting times. The SD of the proportion of hits was ∼10% in both shootings combined (meaning ±1 hit in 10 shots). The predictability in total race time was very high to extremely high for all athletes (ICC .78-.84) but trivial for top-10 athletes (ICC .05). Race times during World Championships and Olympics were ∼2-3% faster than in World Cups. Moreover, race time increased by ∼2% per 1000 m of altitude, by ∼5% per 1% of gradient, by 1-2% per 1 m/s of wind speed, and by ∼2-4% on soft vs hard tracks. Researchers and practitioners should focus on strategies that improve biathletes' performance by at least 0.8-0.9%, corresponding to the smallest worthwhile enhancement (0.3 × within-athlete variability).

2 D gel based analysis of biological variability of the human plasma proteome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rentsch, Maria Louise; Jessen, Flemming

individuals and within an individual changes will also happen over time (e.g. after meal intake). Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the inter-individual variability of plasma protein levels in humans after meal intake. Five subjects consumed three single meals in a randomised order separated...... by one-week interval. Blood samples were drawn before the meal intake and five times during 24 hours for proteome analysis. Plasma was fractionated by use of IgY-12 spin column depleting the 12 highly abundant proteins and further processed for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The plasma proteome...

Searching for the variables that control human rule-governed "insensitivity".

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Adam E; Kyonka, Elizabeth G E

2017-09-01

Verbal rules or instructions often exert obvious and meaningful control over human behavior. Sometimes instructions benefit the individual by enabling faster acquisition of a skill or by obviating an aversive consequence. However, research has also suggested a clear disadvantage: "insensitivity" to changing underlying contingencies. The two experiments described here investigated the variables that control initial rule-following behavior and rule-following insensitivity. When the initial rule was inaccurate, behavior was consistent with the rule for approximately half of participants and all participants' behavior was mostly insensitive to changing contingencies. When the initial rule was accurate, behavior of all participants was consistent with it and behavior for nearly all participants was insensitive to changes in underlying contingencies. These findings have implications for how best to establish and maintain rule-following behavior in applied settings when deviant behavior would be more reinforcing to the individual. © 2017 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Affected in the nightclub

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Demant, Jakob Johan

2013-01-01

simultaneously with the affects of love, joy, sympathy and so on. Alcohol, illicit drugs, bouncers, music and other human or non-human actants are part of the place. It is within this heterogeneous assemblage that affects become embodied. The data consists of 273 cases from a large Copenhagen nightclub where...

Study on the identification of main drivers affecting the performance of human operators during low power and shutdown operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ar Ryum; Park, Jinkyun; Kim, Ji Tae; Kim, Jaewhan; Seong, Poong Hyun

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The performance of human operator during LPSD operation is significantly important. • Human performance is affected by drivers such as procedure, training, and etc. • Main drivers during LPSD operation at domestic NPPs were suggested. • It is expected that it will be used for estimating human reliability during LPSD operation. - Abstract: In the past, many researchers believed that a reactor during low power and shutdown operation was sufficiently safe. This belief has been changed by the number of accidents during such types of operation, which is significantly high. Also, it was pointed out that one of the main differences between low power and shutdown operation and full power operation is the significance of human action because there are huge amounts of human actions due to extensive maintenance and testing while automatic control and safety functions may be disabled and procedures are insufficient or incomplete. This paper suggests the main drivers in performing human reliability analysis. For this study, we reviewed eight reports relating to human performance during low power and shutdown operation and applied a root cause analysis method for 53 human or human-related events at domestic nuclear power plants to derive the main drivers that affect the occurrence of those events. As a result, several main drivers were derived, such as procedures, training, experience of personnel, and workload/stress. It is expected that these main drivers will be used to perform human reliability analysis for low power and shutdown operation.

UL146 variability among clinical isolates of Human Cytomegalovirus from Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Aguayo

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV is a herpesvirus associated with serious diseases in immunocompromised subjects. The region between ORF UL133 and UL151 from HCMV, named ULb' is frequently deleted in attenuated AD169 and in highly passaged laboratory strains. However, this region is conserved in low-passaged and more virulent HCMV, like the Toledo strain. The UL146 gene, which is located in the ULb' region, encodes a CXC-chemokine analogue. The diversity of UL146 gene was evaluated among fifty-six clinical isolates of HCMV from Japan. Results show that UL146 gene was successfully amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR in only 17/56 strains (30%, while the success rate for UL145/UL147 gene was 18/56 strains (32%. After DNA sequencing, the 35 amplified strains were classified into 8 groups. When compared, variability of UL146 ranged from 25.1% to 52.9% at the DNA level and from 34.5% to 67% at the amino acid level. Seven groups had the interleukin-8 (IL-8 motif ERL (Glu-Leu-Arg CXC and one group had only the CXC motif, suggesting the absence of the IL-8 function of UL146. In conclusion, we found that UL146 gene of HCMV is hyper-variable in clinical strains from Japan suggesting the possibility of a different function in each sequence group.

Aging Affects Adaptation to Sound-Level Statistics in Human Auditory Cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann, Björn; Maess, Burkhard; Johnsrude, Ingrid S

2018-02-21

Optimal perception requires efficient and adaptive neural processing of sensory input. Neurons in nonhuman mammals adapt to the statistical properties of acoustic feature distributions such that they become sensitive to sounds that are most likely to occur in the environment. However, whether human auditory responses adapt to stimulus statistical distributions and how aging affects adaptation to stimulus statistics is unknown. We used MEG to study how exposure to different distributions of sound levels affects adaptation in auditory cortex of younger (mean: 25 years; n = 19) and older (mean: 64 years; n = 20) adults (male and female). Participants passively listened to two sound-level distributions with different modes (either 15 or 45 dB sensation level). In a control block with long interstimulus intervals, allowing neural populations to recover from adaptation, neural response magnitudes were similar between younger and older adults. Critically, both age groups demonstrated adaptation to sound-level stimulus statistics, but adaptation was altered for older compared with younger people: in the older group, neural responses continued to be sensitive to sound level under conditions in which responses were fully adapted in the younger group. The lack of full adaptation to the statistics of the sensory environment may be a physiological mechanism underlying the known difficulty that older adults have with filtering out irrelevant sensory information. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Behavior requires efficient processing of acoustic stimulation. Animal work suggests that neurons accomplish efficient processing by adjusting their response sensitivity depending on statistical properties of the acoustic environment. Little is known about the extent to which this adaptation to stimulus statistics generalizes to humans, particularly to older humans. We used MEG to investigate how aging influences adaptation to sound-level statistics. Listeners were presented with sounds drawn from

The impact of the matrix of red beet products and interindividual variability on betacyanins bioavailability in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiczkowski, Wieslaw; Romaszko, Ewa; Szawara-Nowak, Dorota; Piskula, Mariusz K

2018-06-01

The influence of the matrix of red beetroot products and interindividual variability on betacyanins bioavailability in humans was studied. In a randomized crossover study 12 volunteers consumed red beet juice and crunchy slices containing betanin and isobetanin. Betalains were analyzed by the HPLC-DAD-MS. Urine samples examined after the consumption of both products contained not only native betacyanins but also their aglycones. In case of juice, the highest betacyanins urine excretion rate was observed within the first 2 h (64 nmol/h), while in case of crunchy slices within the period of 2-4 h (66 nmol/h). Among volunteers, the average total betacyanins excretion rate ranged from 18.54 to 67.96 nmol/h and, 13.15 to 63.58 nmol/h for red beet juice and crunchy slices, respectively. In total, approximately 0.3% of betacyanins (ranging from 0.12 to 0.58%) ingested from both products was excreted. The study showed that betacyanins bioavailability from juice and crunchy slices is similar, with the matrix of products consumed having an impact on betacyanins excretion profile, and the phenotype of volunteers affecting betacyanins excretion rate. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Criteria and Variables Affecting the Selection of Quality Book Ideally Suited for Translation: The Perspectives of King Saud University Staff

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Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Abanomey

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the ideal definition of QB, that is Quality Book- one that is ideally suited for translation- and the variables affecting its selection criteria among 136 members of King Saud University (KSU academic staff. A workshop was held to elicit the ideal definition of QB to answer the first question, and a 19-item electronic questionnaire with four domains was designed to help collect the data necessary to answer the other two questions of the study. The results revealed that all four domains came low; “Authorship and Publication” came the highest with a mean score of 2.28 and “Titling and Contents” came the lowest with a mean score of 1.76. 5-way ANOVA (without interaction was applied in accordance with the variables of the study at α≤ 0.05 among the mean scores. The analysis revealed significance of the variables of gender, those who translated a book or more before, and those who participated in a conference devoted for translation whereas the variables of qualification and revising a translated book did not reveal any statistical significance. Key words: Quality Book, KSU, Authorship, Translation, Titling

How a dependent's variable non-randomness affects taper equation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In order to apply the least squares method in regression analysis, the values of the dependent variable Y should be random. In an example of regression analysis linear and nonlinear taper equations, which estimate the diameter of the tree dhi at any height of the tree hi, were compared. For each tree the diameter at the ...

Affect, Reason, and Persuasion: Advertising Strategies That Predict Affective and Analytic-Cognitive Responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhuri, Arjun; Buck, Ross

1995-01-01

Develops and tests hypotheses concerning the relationship of specific advertising strategies to affective and analytic cognitive responses of the audience. Analyses undergraduate students' responses to 240 advertisements. Demonstrates that advertising strategy variables accounted substantially for the variance in affective and analytic cognition.…

Confounding of three binary-variables counterfactual model

OpenAIRE

Liu, Jingwei; Hu, Shuang

2011-01-01

Confounding of three binary-variables counterfactual model is discussed in this paper. According to the effect between the control variable and the covariate variable, we investigate three counterfactual models: the control variable is independent of the covariate variable, the control variable has the effect on the covariate variable and the covariate variable affects the control variable. Using the ancillary information based on conditional independence hypotheses, the sufficient conditions...

Heart rate variability affected by radiofrequency electromagnetic field in adolescent students.

Science.gov (United States)

Misek, Jakub; Belyaev, Igor; Jakusova, Viera; Tonhajzerova, Ingrid; Barabas, Jan; Jakus, Jan

2018-05-01

This study examines the possible effect of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) on the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The effect of RF EMF on ANS activity was studied by measuring heart rate variability (HRV) during ortho-clinostatic test (i.e., transition from lying to standing and back) in 46 healthy grammar school students. A 1788 MHz pulsed wave with intensity of 54 ± 1.6 V/m was applied intermittently for 18 min in each trial. Maximum specific absorption rate (SAR 10 ) value was determined to 0.405 W/kg. We also measured the respiration rate and estimated a subjective perception of EMF exposure. RF exposure decreased heart rate of subjects in a lying position, while no such change was seen in standing students. After exposure while lying, a rise in high frequency band of HRV and root Mean Square of the Successive Differences was observed, which indicated an increase in parasympathetic nerve activity. Tympanic temperature and skin temperature were measured showing no heating under RF exposure. No RF effect on respiration rate was observed. None of the tested subjects were able to distinguish real exposure from sham exposure when queried at the end of the trial. In conclusion, short-term RF EMF exposure of students in a lying position during the ortho-clinostatic test affected ANS with significant increase in parasympathetic nerve activity compared to sham exposed group. Bioelectromagnetics. 39:277-288, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relative Importance of Human Resource Practices on Affective Commitment and Turnover Intention in South Korea and United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaeyoon Lee

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of perceived HR practices on affective commitment and turnover intention. This study explored which HR practices were relatively more important in predicting affective commitment and turnover intention. A total of 302 employees from the United States and 317 from South Korea completed the same questionnaires for assessing the aforementioned relationships. The results illustrated that among perceived HR practices, internal mobility had the most significant association with turnover intention in both the United States and South Korea. While internal mobility was a stronger predictor of affective commitment for the United States sample, training was the most important variable for predicting affective commitment in South Korea. The second purpose of the study was to examine whether individuals’ positive affect influences the relationship between perceived HR practices and affective commitment and turnover intention. In the United States, positive affect moderated the relationship between perceived HR practices and affective commitment and turnover intention such that the relationships were stronger for individuals reporting high positive affect relative to those reporting low positive affect. However, these relationships were not significant in South Korea. We discuss the implications of these results, study limitations, and practical suggestions for future research.

Combined effects of positive and negative affectivity and job satisfaction on job performance and turnover intentions.

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Bouckenooghe, Dave; Raja, Usman; Butt, Arif Nazir

2013-01-01

Capturing data from employee-supervisor dyads (N = 321) from eight organizations in Pakistan, including human service organizations, an electronics assembly plant, a packaging material manufacturing company, and a small food processing plant, we used moderated regression analysis to examine whether the relationships between trait affect (positive affectivity [PA] and negative affectivity [NA]) and two key work outcome variables (job performance and turnover) are contingent upon the level of job satisfaction. We applied the Trait Activation Theory to explain the moderating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between affect and performance and between affect and turnover. Overall, the data supported our hypotheses. Positive and negative affectivity influenced performance and the intention to quit, and job satisfaction moderated these relationships. We discuss in detail the results of these findings and their implications for research and practice.

Incorporating twitter-based human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes in urban areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Jie; Liu, Pan; Yu, Hao; Xu, Chengcheng

2017-09-01

The primary objective of this study was to investigate how to incorporate human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes in urban areas using Twitter check-in data. This study used the data collected from the City of Los Angeles in the United States to illustrate the procedure. The following five types of data were collected: crash data, human activity data, traditional traffic exposure variables, road network attributes and social-demographic data. A web crawler by Python was developed to collect the venue type information from the Twitter check-in data automatically. The human activities were classified into seven categories by the obtained venue types. The collected data were aggregated into 896 Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ). Geographically weighted regression (GWR) models were developed to establish a relationship between the crash counts reported in a TAZ and various contributing factors. Comparative analyses were conducted to compare the performance of GWR models which considered traditional traffic exposure variables only, Twitter-based human activity variables only, and both traditional traffic exposure and Twitter-based human activity variables. The model specification results suggested that human activity variables significantly affected the crash counts in a TAZ. The results of comparative analyses suggested that the models which considered both traditional traffic exposure and human activity variables had the best goodness-of-fit in terms of the highest R 2 and lowest AICc values. The finding seems to confirm the benefits of incorporating human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes using Twitter check-in data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Natural oils affect the human skin integrity and the percutaneous penetration of benzoic acid dose-dependently

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jesper Bo

2006-01-01

three natural oils (eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, peppermint oil) would affect the skin integrity and the percutaneous penetration of benzoic acid when applied topically in relevant concentrations. An experimental in vitro model using static diffusion cells mounted with human breast or abdominal skin...

Extinction-Induced Variability in Human Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Kinloch, Jennifer M.; Foster, T. Mary; McEwan, James S. A.

2009-01-01

Participants earned points by pressing a computer space bar (Experiment 1) or forming rectangles on the screen with the mouse (Experiment 2) under differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedules, followed by extinction. Variability in interresponse time (the contingent dimension) increased during extinction, as for Morgan and Lee (1996);…

How does domain replacement affect fibril formation of the rabbit/human prion proteins.

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Xu Yan

Full Text Available It is known that in vivo human prion protein (PrP have the tendency to form fibril deposits and are associated with infectious fatal prion diseases, while the rabbit PrP does not readily form fibrils and is unlikely to cause prion diseases. Although we have previously demonstrated that amyloid fibrils formed by the rabbit PrP and the human PrP have different secondary structures and macromolecular crowding has different effects on fibril formation of the rabbit/human PrPs, we do not know which domains of PrPs cause such differences. In this study, we have constructed two PrP chimeras, rabbit chimera and human chimera, and investigated how domain replacement affects fibril formation of the rabbit/human PrPs.As revealed by thioflavin T binding assays and Sarkosyl-soluble SDS-PAGE, the presence of a strong crowding agent dramatically promotes fibril formation of both chimeras. As evidenced by circular dichroism, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and proteinase K digestion assays, amyloid fibrils formed by human chimera have secondary structures and proteinase K-resistant features similar to those formed by the human PrP. However, amyloid fibrils formed by rabbit chimera have proteinase K-resistant features and secondary structures in crowded physiological environments different from those formed by the rabbit PrP, and secondary structures in dilute solutions similar to the rabbit PrP. The results from transmission electron microscopy show that macromolecular crowding caused human chimera but not rabbit chimera to form short fibrils and non-fibrillar particles.We demonstrate for the first time that the domains beyond PrP-H2H3 (β-strand 1, α-helix 1, and β-strand 2 have a remarkable effect on fibrillization of the rabbit PrP but almost no effect on the human PrP. Our findings can help to explain why amyloid fibrils formed by the rabbit PrP and the human PrP have different secondary structures and why macromolecular crowding has different

Culture temperature affects redifferentiation and cartilaginous extracellular matrix formation in dedifferentiated human chondrocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Akira; Aoyama, Tomoki; Iijima, Hirotaka; Tajino, Junichi; Nagai, Momoko; Yamaguchi, Shoki; Zhang, Xiangkai; Kuroki, Hiroshi

2015-05-01

To date, there have been few studies on how temperature affects the phenotype and metabolism of human chondrocytes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of culture temperature on chondrocyte redifferentiation and extracellular matrix (ECM) formation using dedifferentiated mature human chondrocytes in vitro. Dedifferentiated chondrocytes were cultured in a pellet culture system for up to 21 days. The pellets were randomly divided into three groups with different culture temperature (32, 37, and 41°C). Chondrocyte redifferentiation and ECM formation were evaluated by wet weight, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), histological, and biochemical analyses. The results showed that the wet weight and the mRNA expressions of collagen type II A1 and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein at 37°C were higher than the corresponding values at 32°C. The histological and biochemical analyses revealed that the syntheses of type II collagen and proteoglycan were promoted at 37°C compared to those at 32°C, whereas they were considerably inhibited at 41°C. In conclusion, the results obtained herein indicated that temperature affects chondrocyte redifferentiation and ECM formation, and modulation of temperature might thus represent an advantageous means to regulate the phenotype and biosynthetic activity of chondrocytes. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Characterization of Cement Particles Found in Peri-implantitis-Affected Human Biopsy Specimens.

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Burbano, Maria; Wilson, Thomas G; Valderrama, Pilar; Blansett, Jonathan; Wadhwani, Chandur P K; Choudhary, Pankaj K; Rodriguez, Lucas C; Rodrigues, Danieli C

2015-01-01

Peri-implantitis is a disease characterized by soft tissue inflammation and continued loss of supporting bone, which can result in implant failure. Peri-implantitis is a multifactorial disease, and one of its triggering factors may be the presence of excess cement in the soft tissues surrounding an implant. This descriptive study evaluated the composition of foreign particles from 36 human biopsy specimens with 19 specimens selected for analysis. The biopsy specimens were obtained from soft tissues affected by peri-implantitis around cement-retained implant crowns and compared with the elemental composition of commercial luting cement. Nineteen biopsy specimens were chosen for the comparison, and five test cements (TempBond, Telio, Premier Implant Cement, Intermediate Restorative Material, and Relyx) were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. This enabled the identification of the chemical composition of foreign particles embedded in the tissue specimens and the composition of the five cements. Statistical analysis was conducted using classification trees to pair the particles present in each specimen with the known cements. The particles in each biopsy specimen could be associated with one of the commercial cements with a level of probability ranging between .79 and 1. TempBond particles were found in one biopsy specimen, Telio particles in seven, Premier Implant Cement particles in four, Relyx particles in four, and Intermediate Restorative Material particles in three. Particles found in human soft tissue biopsy specimens around implants affected by peri-implant disease were associated with five commercially available dental cements.

Social variables affecting mate preferences, copulation and reproductive outcome in a pack of free-ranging dogs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Cafazzo

Full Text Available Mating and reproductive outcome is often determined by the simultaneous operation of different mechanisms like intra-sexual competition, mating preferences and sexual coercion. The present study investigated how social variables affected mating outcome in a pack of free-ranging dogs, a species supposed to have lost most features of the social system of wolves during domestication. We found that, although the pack comprised multiple breeding individuals, both male copulation success and female reproductive success were positively influenced by a linear combination of dominance rank, age and leadership. Our results also suggest that mate preferences affect mating outcome by reinforcing the success of most dominant individuals. In particular, during their oestrous period bitches clearly searched for the proximity of high-ranking males who displayed affiliative behaviour towards them, while they were more likely to reject the males who intimidated them. At the same time, male courting effort and male-male competition for receptive females appeared to be stronger in the presence of higher-ranking females, suggesting a male preference for dominant females. To our knowledge, these results provide the first clear evidence of social regulation of reproductive activities in domestic dogs, and suggest that some common organizing mechanisms may contribute to shape the social organization of both dogs and wolves.

The sequence of cortical activity inferred by response latency variability in the human ventral pathway of face processing.

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Lin, Jo-Fu Lotus; Silva-Pereyra, Juan; Chou, Chih-Che; Lin, Fa-Hsuan

2018-04-11

Variability in neuronal response latency has been typically considered caused by random noise. Previous studies of single cells and large neuronal populations have shown that the temporal variability tends to increase along the visual pathway. Inspired by these previous studies, we hypothesized that functional areas at later stages in the visual pathway of face processing would have larger variability in the response latency. To test this hypothesis, we used magnetoencephalographic data collected when subjects were presented with images of human faces. Faces are known to elicit a sequence of activity from the primary visual cortex to the fusiform gyrus. Our results revealed that the fusiform gyrus showed larger variability in the response latency compared to the calcarine fissure. Dynamic and spectral analyses of the latency variability indicated that the response latency in the fusiform gyrus was more variable than in the calcarine fissure between 70 ms and 200 ms after the stimulus onset and between 4 Hz and 40 Hz, respectively. The sequential processing of face information from the calcarine sulcus to the fusiform sulcus was more reliably detected based on sizes of the response variability than instants of the maximal response peaks. With two areas in the ventral visual pathway, we show that the variability in response latency across brain areas can be used to infer the sequence of cortical activity.

Impacts of human recreation on carnivores in protected areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Angela Darnell; Leberg, Paul L

2018-01-01

Mammalian carnivores can be particularly sensitive to human disturbance, even within protected areas (PAs). Our objective was to understand how human disturbance affects carnivore communities in southern Arizona, USA by studying habitat occupancy based on data collected using non-invasive methods in three PAs with different levels of human disturbance. Carnivore occupancy varied based on human disturbance variables (i.e., roads, trails, etc.). Common carnivore species (coyotes, gray foxes, and bobcats) had high occupancy probability in highly disturbed sites, while all other carnivore species had a higher probability of occupancy in low disturbance protected areas. Additionally, overall carnivore diversity was higher in PAs with low human disturbance. Edges of PAs appeared to negatively impact occupancy of nearly all carnivore species. We also found the presence of roads and trails, and not necessarily how much they are used, had a significant negative impact on the occupancy of most carnivore species. Furthermore, the overall level of disturbance within a PA influenced how sensitive carnivores were to human disturbance variables. Carnivores were more sensitive in PAs with higher levels of disturbance and were relatively unaffected by disturbance variables in a PA with low base levels of disturbance. Increased visitation to PAs, expected with the region's high level of population growth, is likely to cause shifts in the carnivore communities favoring species that are less sensitive to disturbance.

[Development and validation of a questionnaire about the main variables affecting the individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange].

Science.gov (United States)

Pascual-Ezama, David; San Martín Castellanos, Rafael; Gil-Gómez de Liaño, Beatriz; Scandroglio, Bárbara

2010-11-01

Development and validation of a questionnaire about the main variables affecting the individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange. There is a considerable lack of information about the methodology usually used in most of the studies about individual investor's behavior. The studies reviewed do not show the method used in the selection of the items or the psychometric properties of the questionnaires. Because of the importance of investment in the Stock Exchange nowadays, it seems relevant to obtain a reliable instrument to understand individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange. Therefore, the goal of the present work is to validate a questionnaire about the main variables involved in individual investors' behavior in the Stock Exchange. Based on previous studies, we elaborated a questionnaire using the Delphi methodology with a group of experts. The internal consistency (Cronbach alpha=.934) and validity evidence of the questionnaire show that it may be an effective instrument and can be applied with some assurance.

Environmental layout complexity affects neural activity during navigation in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Slone, Edward; Burles, Ford; Iaria, Giuseppe

2016-05-01

Navigating large-scale surroundings is a fundamental ability. In humans, it is commonly assumed that navigational performance is affected by individual differences, such as age, sex, and cognitive strategies adopted for orientation. We recently showed that the layout of the environment itself also influences how well people are able to find their way within it, yet it remains unclear whether differences in environmental complexity are associated with changes in brain activity during navigation. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how the brain responds to a change in environmental complexity by asking participants to perform a navigation task in two large-scale virtual environments that differed solely in interconnection density, a measure of complexity defined as the average number of directional choices at decision points. The results showed that navigation in the simpler, less interconnected environment was faster and more accurate relative to the complex environment, and such performance was associated with increased activity in a number of brain areas (i.e. precuneus, retrosplenial cortex, and hippocampus) known to be involved in mental imagery, navigation, and memory. These findings provide novel evidence that environmental complexity not only affects navigational behaviour, but also modulates activity in brain regions that are important for successful orientation and navigation. © 2016 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Genetic variability in captive populations of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula.

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Santiago, Leandro R; Francisco, Flávio O; Jaffé, Rodolfo; Arias, Maria C

2016-08-01

Low genetic variability has normally been considered a consequence of animal husbandry and a major contributing factor to declining bee populations. Here, we performed a molecular analysis of captive and wild populations of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula, one of the most commonly kept species across South America. Microsatellite analyses showed similar genetic variability between wild and captive populations However, captive populations showed lower mitochondrial genetic variability. Male-mediated gene flow, transport and division of nests are suggested as the most probable explanations for the observed patterns of genetic structure. We conclude that increasing the number of colonies kept through nest divisions does not negatively affect nuclear genetic variability, which seems to be maintained by small-scale male dispersal and human-mediated nest transport. However, the transport of nests from distant localities should be practiced with caution given the high genetic differentiation observed between samples from western and eastern areas. The high genetic structure verified is the result of a long-term evolutionary process, and bees from distant localities may represent unique evolutionary lineages.

A word expressing affective pain activates the anterior cingulate cortex in the human brain: an fMRI study.

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Osaka, Naoyuki; Osaka, Mariko; Morishita, Masanao; Kondo, Hirohito; Fukuyama, Hidenao

2004-08-12

We present an fMRI study demonstrating that an onomatopoeia word highly suggestive of subjective pain, heard by the ear, significantly activates the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) while hearing non-sense words that did not imply affective pain under the same task does not activate this area in humans. We concluded that the ACC would be a pivotal locus for perceiving affective pain evoked by an onomatopoeia word that implied affective pain closely associated with the unpleasantness of pain. We suggest that the pain affect sustained by pain unpleasantness may depend on ACC-prefrontal cortical interactions that modify cognitive evaluation of emotions associated with word-induced pain.

[The influence of affect on satisfaction with conversations and interpersonal impressions from the perspective of dyadic affective combinations].

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Ken, Fujiwara; Daibo, Ikuo

2013-12-01

This study examined the influence of affect on interpersonal relationships in a dyadic communication context. The combination of speakers' affective states was considered, as compared to previous studies which considered only the individual's affective state. The independent variables, in a between-subjects design, were affective condition (positive vs. negative) and affective combination (similar vs. dissimilar). Participants (N = 86) took a test on creative thinking and were given false feedback. Then they had a 6-minute conversation and answered questions about their satisfaction with the conversation and their impressions of their partner. Results showed that the two-factor interactions were significant for satisfaction with the conversation and interpersonal impressions (social desirability) of the partner. The scores for these variables in the positive affect condition were higher than in the negative affect condition only when the affective combination was dissimilar. These results show that individual's affect could not predict conversational outcomes. The results were discussed in terms of incorrect inferences about the partner's affective state and imbalanced conversation activity.

Contouring variability of human- and deformable-generated contours in radiotherapy for prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gardner, Stephen J; Wen, Ning; Kim, Jinkoo; Liu, Chang; Pradhan, Deepak; Aref, Ibrahim; Cattaneo, Richard II; Vance, Sean; Movsas, Benjamin; Chetty, Indrin J; Elshaikh, Mohamed A

2015-01-01

This study was designed to evaluate contouring variability of human-and deformable-generated contours on planning CT (PCT) and CBCT for ten patients with low-or intermediate-risk prostate cancer. For each patient in this study, five radiation oncologists contoured the prostate, bladder, and rectum, on one PCT dataset and five CBCT datasets. Consensus contours were generated using the STAPLE method in the CERR software package. Observer contours were compared to consensus contour, and contour metrics (Dice coefficient, Hausdorff distance, Contour Distance, Center-of-Mass [COM] Deviation) were calculated. In addition, the first day CBCT was registered to subsequent CBCT fractions (CBCTn: CBCT2–CBCT5) via B-spline Deformable Image Registration (DIR). Contours were transferred from CBCT1 to CBCTn via the deformation field, and contour metrics were calculated through comparison with consensus contours generated from human contour set. The average contour metrics for prostate contours on PCT and CBCT were as follows: Dice coefficient—0.892 (PCT), 0.872 (CBCT-Human), 0.824 (CBCT-Deformed); Hausdorff distance—4.75 mm (PCT), 5.22 mm (CBCT-Human), 5.94 mm (CBCT-Deformed); Contour Distance (overall contour)—1.41 mm (PCT), 1.66 mm (CBCT-Human), 2.30 mm (CBCT-Deformed); COM Deviation—2.01 mm (PCT), 2.78 mm (CBCT-Human), 3.45 mm (CBCT-Deformed). For human contours on PCT and CBCT, the difference in average Dice coefficient between PCT and CBCT (approx. 2%) and Hausdorff distance (approx. 0.5 mm) was small compared to the variation between observers for each patient (standard deviation in Dice coefficient of 5% and Hausdorff distance of 2.0 mm). However, additional contouring variation was found for the deformable-generated contours (approximately 5.0% decrease in Dice coefficient and 0.7 mm increase in Hausdorff distance relative to human-generated contours on CBCT). Though deformable contours provide a reasonable starting point for contouring

Affective Learning: Environmental Ethics and Human Ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Gough, Noel P.

1977-01-01

This discussion of home economics as a discipline which should focus on its affective foundations, covers the following areas: Affective context of home economics education, the adequacy of the home economics value complex for coping with environmental problems, and toward an acceptable environmental ethic. (SH)

Connecting art and science: An interdisciplinary strategy and its impact on the affective domain of community college human anatomy students

Science.gov (United States)

Petti, Kevin

Educational objectives are often described within the framework of a three-domain taxonomy: cognitive, affective and psychomotor. While most of the research on educational objectives has focused on the cognitive domain, the research that has been conducted on the affective domain, which speaks to emotions, attitudes, and values, has identified a number of positive outcomes. One approach to enhancing the affective domain is that of interdisciplinary education. Science education research in the realm of interdisciplinary education and affective outcomes is limited; especially research conducted on community college students of human anatomy. This project investigated the relationship between an interdisciplinary teaching strategy and the affective domain in science education by utilizing an interdisciplinary lecture in a human anatomy class. Subjects were anatomy students in a California community college who listened to a one-hour lecture describing the cultural, historical and scientific significance of selected pieces of art depicting human dissection in European medieval and Renaissance universities. The focus was on how these renderings represent the state of anatomy education during their respective eras. After listening to the lecture, subjects were administered a 35-question survey that was composed of 14 demographic questions and 21 Likert-style statements that asked respondents to rate the extent to which the intervention influenced their affective domain. Descriptive statistics were then used to determine which component of the affective domain was most influenced, and multiple regression analysis was used to examine the extent to which individual differences along the affective continuum were explained by select demographic measures such as gender, race/ethnicity, education level, and previous exposure to science courses. Results indicate that the interdisciplinary intervention had a positive impact on every component of the affective domain hierarchy

Effect of the Environmental Stimuli upon the Human Body in Winter Outdoor Thermal Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshihito Kurazumi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In order to manage the outdoor thermal environment with regard to human health and the environmental impact of waste heat, quantitative evaluations are indispensable. It is necessary to use a thermal environment evaluation index. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation. The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect psychological responses to heat. The use of thermal environment evaluation indices that comprise short-wave solar radiation and heat conduction in winter outdoor spaces is a valid approach.

Effect of the Environmental Stimuli upon the Human Body in Winter Outdoor Thermal Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kurazumi, Yoshihito; Kondo, Emi; Ishii, Jin; Sakoi, Tomonori; Fukagawa, Kenta; Bolashikov, Zhecho Dimitrov; Tsuchikawa, Tadahiro; Matsubara, Naoki; Horikoshi, Tetsumi

2013-01-01

In order to manage the outdoor thermal environment with regard to human health and the environmental impact of waste heat, quantitative evaluations are indispensable. It is necessary to use a thermal environment evaluation index. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature) in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation. The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect psychological responses to heat. The use of thermal environment evaluation indices that comprise short-wave solar radiation and heat conduction in winter outdoor spaces is a valid approach. PMID:23861691

Examining the causes of memory strength variability: recollection, attention failure, or encoding variability?

Science.gov (United States)

Koen, Joshua D; Aly, Mariam; Wang, Wei-Chun; Yonelinas, Andrew P

2013-11-01

A prominent finding in recognition memory is that studied items are associated with more variability in memory strength than new items. Here, we test 3 competing theories for why this occurs-the encoding variability, attention failure, and recollection accounts. Distinguishing among these theories is critical because each provides a fundamentally different account of the processes underlying recognition memory. The encoding variability and attention failure accounts propose that old item variance will be unaffected by retrieval manipulations because the processes producing this effect are ascribed to encoding. The recollection account predicts that both encoding and retrieval manipulations that preferentially affect recollection will affect memory variability. These contrasting predictions were tested by examining the effect of response speeding (Experiment 1), dividing attention at retrieval (Experiment 2), context reinstatement (Experiment 3), and increased test delay (Experiment 4) on recognition performance. The results of all 4 experiments confirm the predictions of the recollection account and are inconsistent with the encoding variability account. The evidence supporting the attention failure account is mixed, with 2 of the 4 experiments confirming the account and 2 disconfirming the account. These results indicate that encoding variability and attention failure are insufficient accounts of memory variance and provide support for the recollection account. Several alternative theoretical accounts of the results are also considered. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

[Mother-newborn relational risk - Study of prevalence and associated variables].

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Maribel; Poo, Ana María; Baeza, Bernardita; Bustos, M Luis

2015-01-01

Clinical evidence reveals the importance of mother-newborn bonding experience for health promoting and maintenance of human life. If the newborn lacks care and affection, she/he may develop an attachment disorder. A predictive scale regarding the risk of mothernewborn relationships is available, which makes possible an early intervention to prevent the development of relational disorders. The aim of this study is to apply the Kimelman measurement scale to determine the relational risk in mother-newborn pairs, as well as the prevalence and the associated biopsychosocial variables. A cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample of 333 mother-infant pairs in postpartum maternity at Temuco hospital. The Kimelman mother-newborn attachment assessment guide was used. Biopsychosocial variables were obtained from the mothers studied. The association of biopsychosocial variables with relational risk was analyzed using OR and confidence intervals of 95%. The prevalence of high relational risk was 43.8%. The associated biopsychosocial variables included, women with no steady partner, single parent, teenage mothers, unwanted and unplanned pregnancy. Almost half of the mothers were in the high risk group. Early identification of relational risk and its related variables could help in the intervention in this vulnerable group. Copyright © 2015. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.

Do high fetal catecholamine levels affect heart rate variability and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objectives. To deternrine the relationship between Umbilical arterial catecholamine levels and fetal heart rate variability and meconium passage. Study design. A prospective descriptive study was perfonned. Umbilical artery catecholamine levels were measured in 55 newborns and correlated with fetal heart rate before ...

Human platelet lysate supplementation of mesenchymal stromal cell delivery: issues of xenogenicity and species variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Ashley B; Butts, Emily B; Copland, Ian B; Stevens, Hazel Y; Guldberg, Robert E

2017-10-01

Immunogenicity of fetal bovine serum (FBS) poses a problem for its use in the propagation of autologous mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for cell therapy. Human platelet lysate (hPL), an enriched growth factor solution containing mitogenic and angiogenic cues, has potential utility in replacing FBS for human MSC (hMSC) delivery strategies. Despite its potentiation of hMSC number in vitro, little is known concerning its capacity to supplement implanted hMSC-seeded constructs and promote tissue regeneration in vivo. In this study, we tested the effects of incorporating hPL in cell-seeded constructs implanted subcutaneously into immunocompromised rats, investigated in vitro interactions between hPL and rat MSCs (rMSCs) and determined interspecies variability in the PL product [hPL vs rat PL (rPL)] and its effect on cultured MSCs (hPL/hMSCs vs rPL/rMSCs). The overarching aim was to determine the utility of hPL to foster MSC survival in preclinical rodent models. Exposure to hPL-supplemented media resulted in rMSC death, by a process attributable to heat-labile proteins, but not membrane attack complex formation. In the in vitro syngeneic model, the rodent product proved fundamentally distinct from the human product, with rPL having substantially lower growth factor content than hPL. Moreover, contrary to the positive effects of hPL on hMSC expansion, rPL did not reduce rMSC doubling time for the serum concentrations examined. When tested in vivo, hPL did not improve cell survival within hydrogel constructs through 2 weeks postimplantation. In summary, this study highlights the many facets of xenogenicity and interspecies variability that must be considered in the preclinical evaluation of hPL. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Variability of human hepatic UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Little, JM; Lester, R; Kuipers, F; Vonk, R; Mackenzie, PI; Drake, RR; Frame, L; Radominska-Pandya, A

1999-01-01

The availability of a unique series of liver samples from human subjects, both control patients (9) and those with liver disease (6; biliary atresia (2), retransplant, chronic tyrosinemia type I, tyrosinemia, Wilson's disease) allowed us to characterize human hepatic UDP-glucuronosyltransferases

Non-linear Heart Rate Variability as a Discriminator of Internalizing Psychopathology and Negative Affect in Children With Internalizing Problems and Healthy Controls

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlotte Fiskum

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Internalizing psychopathology and dysregulated negative affect are characterized by dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system and reduced heart rate variability (HRV due to increases in sympathetic activity alongside reduced vagal tone. The neurovisceral system is however, a complex nonlinear system, and nonlinear indices related to psychopathology are so far less studied in children. Essential nonlinear properties of a system can be found in two main domains: the informational domain and the invariant domain. sample entropy (SampEn is a much-used method from the informational domain, while detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA represents a widely-used method from the invariant domain. To see if nonlinear HRV can provide information beyond linear indices of autonomic activation, this study investigated SampEn and DFA as discriminators of internalizing psychopathology and negative affect alongside measures of vagally-mediated HRV and sympathetic activation.Material and Methods: Thirty-Two children with internalizing difficulties and 25 healthy controls (aged 9–13 were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist and the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire, Revised, giving an estimate of internalizing psychopathology, negative affect and effortful control, a protective factor against psychopathology. Five minute electrocardiogram and impedance cardiography recordings were collected during a resting baseline, giving estimates of SampEn, DFA short-term scaling exponent α1, root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD, and pre-ejection period (PEP. Between-group differences and correlations were assessed with parametric and non-parametric tests, and the relationships between cardiac variables, psychopathology and negative affect were assessed using generalized linear modeling.Results: SampEn and DFA were not significantly different between the groups. SampEn was weakly negatively related to heart rate (HR in the controls

Affective Man-Machine Interface: Unveiling Human Emotions through Biosignals

Science.gov (United States)

van den Broek, Egon L.; Lisý, Viliam; Janssen, Joris H.; Westerink, Joyce H. D. M.; Schut, Marleen H.; Tuinenbreijer, Kees

As is known for centuries, humans exhibit an electrical profile. This profile is altered through various psychological and physiological proce-sses, which can be measured through biosignals; e.g., electromyography (EMG) and electrodermal activity (EDA). These biosignals can reveal our emotions and, as such, can serve as an advanced man-machine interface (MMI) for empathic consumer products. However, such a MMI requires the correct classification of biosignals to emotion classes. This chapter starts with an introduction on biosignals for emotion detection. Next, a state-of-the-art review is presented on automatic emotion classification. Moreover, guidelines are presented for affective MMI. Subsequently, a research is presented that explores the use of EDA and three facial EMG signals to determine neutral, positive, negative, and mixed emotions, using recordings of 21 people. A range of techniques is tested, which resulted in a generic framework for automated emotion classification with up to 61.31% correct classification of the four emotion classes, without the need of personal profiles. Among various other directives for future research, the results emphasize the need for parallel processing of multiple biosignals.

Effects of supine, prone, and lateral positions on cardiovascular and renal variables in humans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pump, Bettina; Talleruphuus, Ulrik; Christensen, Niels Juel

2002-01-01

The hypothesis was tested that changing the direction of the transverse gravitational stress in horizontal humans modulates cardiovascular and renal variables. On different study days, 14 healthy males were placed for 6 h in either the horizontal supine or prone position following 3 h of being...... supine. Eight of the subjects were in addition investigated in the horizontal left lateral position. Compared with supine, the prone position slightly increased free water clearance (349 +/- 38 vs. 447 +/- 39 ml/6 h, P = 0.05) and urine output (1,387 +/- 55 vs. 1,533 +/- 52 ml/6 h, P = 0...

Affect in Human-Robot Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Werry, I., Rae, J., Dickerson, P., Stribling, P., & Ogden, B. (2002). Robotic Playmates: Analysing Interactive Competencies of Children with Autism ...WE-4RII. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Edmonton, Canada. 35. Moravec, H. (1988). Mind Children : The Future of...and if so when and where? • What approaches, theories , representations, and experimental methods inform affective HRI research? Report Documentation

Can the usage of human growth hormones affect facial appearance and the accuracy of face recognition systems?

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Jake; Martin, Michael; Bourlai, Thirimachos

2014-06-01

In law enforcement and security applications, the acquisition of face images is critical in producing key trace evidence for the successful identification of potential threats. The goal of the study is to demonstrate that steroid usage significantly affects human facial appearance and hence, the performance of commercial and academic face recognition (FR) algorithms. In this work, we evaluate the performance of state-of-the-art FR algorithms on two unique face image datasets of subjects before (gallery set) and after (probe set) steroid (or human growth hormone) usage. For the purpose of this study, datasets of 73 subjects were created from multiple sources found on the Internet, containing images of men and women before and after steroid usage. Next, we geometrically pre-processed all images of both face datasets. Then, we applied image restoration techniques on the same face datasets, and finally, we applied FR algorithms in order to match the pre-processed face images of our probe datasets against the face images of the gallery set. Experimental results demonstrate that only a specific set of FR algorithms obtain the most accurate results (in terms of the rank-1 identification rate). This is because there are several factors that influence the efficiency of face matchers including (i) the time lapse between the before and after image pre-processing and restoration face photos, (ii) the usage of different drugs (e.g. Dianabol, Winstrol, and Decabolan), (iii) the usage of different cameras to capture face images, and finally, (iv) the variability of standoff distance, illumination and other noise factors (e.g. motion noise). All of the previously mentioned complicated scenarios make clear that cross-scenario matching is a very challenging problem and, thus, further investigation is required.

Rapid and Quantitative Assay of Amyloid-Seeding Activity in Human Brains Affected with Prion Diseases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanae Takatsuki

Full Text Available The infectious agents of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are composed of amyloidogenic prion protein, PrPSc. Real-time quaking-induced conversion can amplify very small amounts of PrPSc seeds in tissues/body fluids of patients or animals. Using this in vitro PrP-amyloid amplification assay, we quantitated the seeding activity of affected human brains. End-point assay using serially diluted brain homogenates of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients demonstrated that 50% seeding dose (SD50 is reached approximately 10(10/g brain (values varies 10(8.79-10.63/g. A genetic case (GSS-P102L yielded a similar level of seeding activity in an autopsy brain sample. The range of PrPSc concentrations in the samples, determined by dot-blot assay, was 0.6-5.4 μg/g brain; therefore, we estimated that 1 SD50 unit was equivalent to 0.06-0.27 fg of PrPSc. The SD50 values of the affected brains dropped more than three orders of magnitude after autoclaving at 121°C. This new method for quantitation of human prion activity provides a new way to reduce the risk of iatrogenic prion transmission.

Natural and human-induced variability in the composition of fish assemblages in the Northwestern Cuban shelf.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Sansón, Gaspar; Aguilar, Consuelo; Hernández, Ivet; Cabrera, Yureidy; Suarez-Montes, Noelis; Bretos, Fernando; Guggenheim, David

2009-09-01

The main goal of the study was to obtain field data to build a baseline of fish assemblage composition that can be used comparatively for future analyses of the impact of human actions in the region. A basic network of 68 sampling stations was defined for the entire region (4,050 km2). Fish assemblage species and size composition was estimated using visual census methods at three different spatial scales: a) entire region, b) inside the main reef area and c) along a human impact coastal gradient. Multivariate numerical analyses revealed habitat type as the main factor inducing spatial variability of fish community composition, while the level of human impact appears to play the main role in fish assemblage composition changes along the coast. A trend of decreasing fish size toward the east supports the theory of more severe human impact due to overfishing and higher urban pollution in that direction. This is the first detailed study along the northwest coast of Cuba that focuses on fish community structure and the natural and human-induced variations at different spatial scales for the entire NW shelf. This research also provides input for a more comprehensive understanding of coastal marine fish communities' status in the Gulf of Mexico basin.

Continuous Analysis of Affect from Voice and Face

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gunes, Hatice; Nicolaou, Mihalis A.; Pantic, Maja; Salah, Albert Ali; Gevers, Theo

2011-01-01

Human affective behavior is multimodal, continuous and complex. Despite major advances within the affective computing research field, modeling, analyzing, interpreting and responding to human affective behavior still remains a challenge for automated systems as affect and emotions are complex

Modular Construction of Large Non-Immune Human Antibody Phage-Display Libraries from Variable Heavy and Light Chain Gene Cassettes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Nam-Kyung; Bidlingmaier, Scott; Su, Yang; Liu, Bin

2018-01-01

Monoclonal antibodies and antibody-derived therapeutics have emerged as a rapidly growing class of biological drugs for the treatment of cancer, autoimmunity, infection, and neurological diseases. To support the development of human antibodies, various display techniques based on antibody gene repertoires have been constructed over the last two decades. In particular, scFv-antibody phage display has been extensively utilized to select lead antibodies against a variety of target antigens. To construct a scFv phage display that enables efficient antibody discovery, and optimization, it is desirable to develop a system that allows modular assembly of highly diverse variable heavy chain and light chain (Vκ and Vλ) repertoires. Here, we describe modular construction of large non-immune human antibody phage-display libraries built on variable gene cassettes from heavy chain and light chain repertoires (Vκ- and Vλ-light can be made into independent cassettes). We describe utility of such libraries in antibody discovery and optimization through chain shuffling.

Dynamic Network Communication in the Human Functional Connectome Predicts Perceptual Variability in Visual Illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhiwei; Zeljic, Kristina; Jiang, Qinying; Gu, Yong; Wang, Wei; Wang, Zheng

2018-01-01

Ubiquitous variability between individuals in visual perception is difficult to standardize and has thus essentially been ignored. Here we construct a quantitative psychophysical measure of illusory rotary motion based on the Pinna-Brelstaff figure (PBF) in 73 healthy volunteers and investigate the neural circuit mechanisms underlying perceptual variation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We acquired fMRI data from a subset of 42 subjects during spontaneous and 3 stimulus conditions: expanding PBF, expanding modified-PBF (illusion-free) and expanding modified-PBF with physical rotation. Brain-wide graph analysis of stimulus-evoked functional connectivity patterns yielded a functionally segregated architecture containing 3 discrete hierarchical networks, commonly shared between rest and stimulation conditions. Strikingly, communication efficiency and strength between 2 networks predominantly located in visual areas robustly predicted individual perceptual differences solely in the illusory stimulus condition. These unprecedented findings demonstrate that stimulus-dependent, not spontaneous, dynamic functional integration between distributed brain networks contributes to perceptual variability in humans. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Teacher and Student Variables Affecting Special Education Evaluation and Referral

Science.gov (United States)

Woodson, Lorenzo Adrian

2017-01-01

Past research has revealed that African American/Black boys are referred for special education evaluation at disproportionately higher rates than boys of other racial/ethnic groups. This correlational study used survey methodology to examine whether student and teacher demographic variables predicted how likely a teacher would refer boy students…

Human-Robot Teams Informed by Human Performance Moderator Functions

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-29

performance factors that affect the ability of a human to drive at night, which includes the eyesight of the driver, the fatigue level of the driver...where human factors are factors that affect the performance of an individual. 7 for human interaction. For instance, they explain the various human... affecting trust in human-robot interaction. Human Factors 53(5), 517-527 (2001) 35. Hart, S. G. and Staveland, L. E. Development of NASA-TLX (Task

Hydroclimate variability: comparing dendroclimatic records and future GCM scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapp, S.

2008-01-01

Drought events of the 20th Century in western North America have been linked to teleconnections that influence climate variability on inter-annual and decadal to multi-decadal time scales. These teleconnections represent the changes sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical and extra-tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean, ENSO (El-Nino Southern Oscillation) and PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation), respectively, and the Atlantic Ocean, AMO (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), and also to atmospheric circulation patterns (PNA: Pacific-North American). A network of precipitation sensitive tree-ring chronologies from Montana, Alberta, Saskatchewan and NWT highly correlate to the climate moisture index (CMI) of precipitation potential evapotranspiration (P-PET), thus, capturing the long-term hydroclimatic variability of the region. Reconstructions of annual and seasonal CMI identify drought events in previous centuries that are more extreme in magnitude, frequency and duration than recorded during the instrumental period. Variability in the future climate will include these natural climate cycles as well as modulations of these cycles affected by human induced global warming. The proxy hydroclimate records derived from tree-rings present information on decadal and multi-decadal hydroclimatic variability for the past millennium; therefore, providing a unique opportunity to validate the climate variability simulated by GCMs (Global Climate Models) on longer time scales otherwise constrained by the shorter observation records. Developing scenarios of future variability depends: 1) on our understanding of the interaction of these teleconnection; and, 2) to identify climate models that are able to accurately simulate the hydroclimatic variability as detected in the instrumental and proxy records. (author)

A survey to study and compare factors affecting human resources efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MOHSEN KHADEMI

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The human resources are considered the main asset of any society. If used properly and effectively, it will create other sources and above all the added value. The quality of the life is usually dependent on the quality of human professional life including factors such as job security, services and welfare pensions, health services, income, and job quality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and priority of the above-mentioned factors on efficacy of the staff members of the Fars Office of Education. Methods: The research sample comprised the staff members of the Fars Office of Education across the state, including 61 districts. Based on the Cochran Formula, 25 districts were randomly selected. In order to measure the factors, the Likert-type instrument designed by Hossainpoor to compare the Ideal and current situation, was used. Results: The staff rated job security as the most important factor affecting their efficacy in both current and ideal situations followed by income. Discussion: Based on the previous research and review of literature, success of the educational organizations is fully dependent on their personnel. If executives of such organizations try to attract the qualified personnel and keep them motivated, their success will be guaranteed.

[Cognitive complaints in people with human immunodeficiency virus in Spain: prevalence and related variables].

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz-Moreno, José A; Fuster-Ruiz de Apodaca, Maria J; Fumaz, Carmina R; Ferrer, Maria J; Molero, Fernando; Jaen, Àngels; Clotet, Bonaventura; Dalmau, David

2014-05-20

Cognitive complaints have been scarcely studied in people with HIV in Spain. The aim of this research was to know the prevalence of cognitive complaints in HIV-infected people, as well as its potential relationships with demographic, clinical and psychological variables, in the era of combination antiretroviral therapies. Observational multicenter study developed in 4 hospitals and 10 NGOs, in which 791 people with HIV in Spain participated. A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate demographic and clinical variables, and an assessment of cognitive complaints, emotional status and quality of life variables was also included. Descriptive and inferential tests were used for statistical analyses. Almost half of the sample (49.8%) referred cognitive complaints, in 72.1% of them an association with interference on daily living activities was found. Memory and attention were the areas most prevalently perceived as affected. The existence of cognitive complaints correlated with a longer HIV infection, lower CD4+ cell count, undetectable viral load and worse quality of life. A discriminant analysis determined that depression, anxiety, older age, living with no partner and low education level allowed to classify optimally HIV-infected people with cognitive complaints. Self-reported cognitive complaints are frequent in people infected with HIV in the current era of combination antiretroviral therapies. This fact is related to emotional disturbances and poor quality of life, but also to impaired immunological and virological status. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Adult Chinese as a Second Language Learners' Willingness to Communicate in Chinese: Effects of Cultural, Affective, and Linguistic Variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Meihua

2017-06-01

The present research explored the effects of cultural, affective, and linguistic variables on adult Chinese as a second language learners' willingness to communicate in Chinese. One hundred and sixty-two Chinese as a second language learners from a Chinese university answered the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scale, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale, Chinese Learning Motivation Scale, Use of Chinese Profile, as well as the Background Questionnaire. The major findings were as follows: (1) the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scales were significantly negatively correlated with Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale but positively correlated with length of stay in China and (2) Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale was a powerful negative predictor for the overall willingness to communicate in Chinese and the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scales, followed by length of stay in China, Chinese Learning Motivation Scale, interaction attentiveness, and Chinese proficiency level. Apparently, students' willingness to communicate in Chinese is largely determined by their Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale level and length of stay in China, mediated by other variables such as Chinese proficiency level and intercultural communication sensitivity level.

The economics of wind and solar variability. How the variability of wind and solar power affects their marginal value, optimal deployment, and integration costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirth, Lion

2014-11-14

homogenous and heterogeneous along three dimensions - time, space, and lead-time. Electricity's heterogeneity is rooted in its physics, notably the fact it cannot be stored. (Only) because of heterogeneity, the economics of wind and solar power are affected by their variability. The impact of variability, expressed in terms of marginal value, can be quite significant: for example, at 30% wind market share, electricity from wind power is worth 30-50% less than electricity from a constant source, as this study estimates. This value drop stems mainly from the fact that the capital embodied in thermal plants is utilized less in power systems with high VRE shares. Any welfare analysis of VRE needs to take electricity's heterogeneity into account. The impact of variability on VRE cannot only be expressed in terms of marginal value, but also in terms of costs, or in terms of optimal deployment. The mentioned value drop corresponds to an increase of costs by 30-50%, or a reduction of the optimal share by two thirds. These findings lead to seven policy conclusions: 1. Wind power will play a significant role (compared to today). 2. Wind power will play a limited role (compared to some political ambitions). 3. There are many effective options to integrate wind power into power systems, including transmission investments, flexibilizing thermal generators, and advancing wind turbine design. Electricity storage, in contrast, plays a limited role (however, it can play a larger role for integrating solar). 4. For these integration measures to materialize, it is important to get both prices and policies right. Prices need to reflect marginal costs, entry barriers should be tiered down, and policy must not shield agents from incentives. 5. VRE capacity should be brought to the system at a moderate pace. 6. VRE do not go well together with nuclear power or carbon capture and storage - these technologies are too capital intensive. 7. Large-scale VRE deployment is not only an

The economics of wind and solar variability. How the variability of wind and solar power affects their marginal value, optimal deployment, and integration costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirth, Lion

2014-01-01

homogenous and heterogeneous along three dimensions - time, space, and lead-time. Electricity's heterogeneity is rooted in its physics, notably the fact it cannot be stored. (Only) because of heterogeneity, the economics of wind and solar power are affected by their variability. The impact of variability, expressed in terms of marginal value, can be quite significant: for example, at 30% wind market share, electricity from wind power is worth 30-50% less than electricity from a constant source, as this study estimates. This value drop stems mainly from the fact that the capital embodied in thermal plants is utilized less in power systems with high VRE shares. Any welfare analysis of VRE needs to take electricity's heterogeneity into account. The impact of variability on VRE cannot only be expressed in terms of marginal value, but also in terms of costs, or in terms of optimal deployment. The mentioned value drop corresponds to an increase of costs by 30-50%, or a reduction of the optimal share by two thirds. These findings lead to seven policy conclusions: 1. Wind power will play a significant role (compared to today). 2. Wind power will play a limited role (compared to some political ambitions). 3. There are many effective options to integrate wind power into power systems, including transmission investments, flexibilizing thermal generators, and advancing wind turbine design. Electricity storage, in contrast, plays a limited role (however, it can play a larger role for integrating solar). 4. For these integration measures to materialize, it is important to get both prices and policies right. Prices need to reflect marginal costs, entry barriers should be tiered down, and policy must not shield agents from incentives. 5. VRE capacity should be brought to the system at a moderate pace. 6. VRE do not go well together with nuclear power or carbon capture and storage - these technologies are too capital intensive. 7. Large-scale VRE deployment is not only an

Anxiety, affect, self-esteem, and stress: mediation and moderation effects on depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Nima, Ali Al; Rosenberg, Patricia; Archer, Trevor; Garcia, Danilo

2013-01-01

Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator) changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression. Two hundred and two university students (males  = 93, females  = 113) completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses. The results indicated that (i) anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii) that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii) that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv) that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression. The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators.

Analysis of variables affecting unemployment rate and detecting for cluster in West Java, Central Java, and East Java in 2012

Science.gov (United States)

Samuel, Putra A.; Widyaningsih, Yekti; Lestari, Dian

2016-02-01

The objective of this study is modeling the Unemployment Rate (UR) in West Java, Central Java, and East Java, with rate of disease, infant mortality rate, educational level, population size, proportion of married people, and GDRP as the explanatory variables. Spatial factors are also considered in the modeling since the closer the distance, the higher the correlation. This study uses the secondary data from BPS (Badan Pusat Statistik). The data will be analyzed using Moran I test, to obtain the information about spatial dependence, and using Spatial Autoregressive modeling to obtain the information, which variables are significant affecting UR and how great the influence of the spatial factors. The result is, variables proportion of married people, rate of disease, and population size are related significantly to UR. In all three regions, the Hotspot of unemployed will also be detected districts/cities using Spatial Scan Statistics Method. The results are 22 districts/cities as a regional group with the highest unemployed (Most likely cluster) in the study area; 2 districts/cities as a regional group with the highest unemployed in West Java; 1 district/city as a regional groups with the highest unemployed in Central Java; 15 districts/cities as a regional group with the highest unemployed in East Java.

Brand Loyalty: Impact of Cognitive and Affective Variables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mourad TOUZANI

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Studies on brand loyalty typically focus on the behavioural side ofbrand loyalty or on the attitudinal side. Rare are the studies that examinesimultaneously both components of brand loyalty. The present study wasperformed to describe the conjoint contribution of cognitive and affectivevariables in the formation of brand loyalty. A questionnaire was administered to400 shampoo users. A confirmatory analysis was performed to test theconceptual model presented. The results provide a better knowledge about therole played by each factor in brand loyalty formation and emphasises the majorrole played by affective factors.

Modelling Inter-relationships among water, governance, human development variables in developing countries with Bayesian networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Dondeynaz, C.; Lopez-Puga, J.; Carmona-Moreno, C.

2012-04-01

Improving Water and Sanitation Services (WSS), being a complex and interdisciplinary issue, passes through collaboration and coordination of different sectors (environment, health, economic activities, governance, and international cooperation). This inter-dependency has been recognised with the adoption of the "Integrated Water Resources Management" principles that push for the integration of these various dimensions involved in WSS delivery to ensure an efficient and sustainable management. The understanding of these interrelations appears as crucial for decision makers in the water sector in particular in developing countries where WSS still represent an important leverage for livelihood improvement. In this framework, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has developed a coherent database (WatSan4Dev database) containing 29 indicators from environmental, socio-economic, governance and financial aid flows data focusing on developing countries (Celine et al, 2011 under publication). The aim of this work is to model the WatSan4Dev dataset using probabilistic models to identify the key variables influencing or being influenced by the water supply and sanitation access levels. Bayesian Network Models are suitable to map the conditional dependencies between variables and also allows ordering variables by level of influence on the dependent variable. Separated models have been built for water supply and for sanitation because of different behaviour. The models are validated if complying with statistical criteria but either with scientific knowledge and literature. A two steps approach has been adopted to build the structure of the model; Bayesian network is first built for each thematic cluster of variables (e.g governance, agricultural pressure, or human development) keeping a detailed level for interpretation later one. A global model is then built based on significant indicators of each cluster being previously modelled. The structure of the

Modern Virtual Reality. And the effects of affecting human senses to increase immersion

OpenAIRE

Ekros, Matthias

2015-01-01

Modern virtual reality is an ever growing subject in today’s society. I delved deeper into some key moments in the development of modern virtual reality. Oculus Rift has shown incredible potential. Some developments even seek to envelope the human senses in virtual reality as well.   With several different approaches to the same solution there are many ways that the experience can affect the overall immersion of a consumer into the product.  The tests I performed were primarily focused around...

Human impacts affect tree community features of 20 forest fragments of a vanishing neotropical hotspot.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, José Aldo Alves; de Oliveira-Filho, Ary Teixeira; Eisenlohr, Pedro V; Miranda, Pedro L S; de Lemos Filho, José Pires

2015-02-01

The loss in forest area due to human occupancy is not the only threat to the remaining biodiversity: forest fragments are susceptible to additional human impact. Our aim was to investigate the effect of human impact on tree community features (species composition and abundance, and structural descriptors) and check if there was a decrease in the number of slender trees, an increase in the amount of large trees, and also a reduction in the number of tree species that occur in 20 fragments of Atlantic montane semideciduous forest in southeastern Brazil. We produced digital maps of each forest fragment using Landsat 7 satellite images and processed the maps to obtain morphometric variables. We used investigative questionnaires and field observations to survey the history of human impact. We then converted the information into scores given to the extent, severity, and duration of each impact, including proportional border area, fire, trails, coppicing, logging, and cattle, and converted these scores into categorical levels. We used linear models to assess the effect of impacts on tree species abundance distribution and stand structural descriptors. Part of the variation in floristic patterns was significantly correlated to the impacts of fire, logging, and proportional border area. Structural descriptors were influenced by cattle and outer roads. Our results provided, for the first time, strong evidence that tree species occurrence and abundance, and forest structure of Atlantic seasonal forest fragments respond differently to various modes of disturbance by humans.

Acute Consumption of Flavan-3-ol-Enriched Dark Chocolate Affects Human Endogenous Metabolism.

Science.gov (United States)

Ostertag, Luisa M; Philo, Mark; Colquhoun, Ian J; Tapp, Henri S; Saha, Shikha; Duthie, Garry G; Kemsley, E Kate; de Roos, Baukje; Kroon, Paul A; Le Gall, Gwénaëlle

2017-07-07

Flavan-3-ols and methylxanthines have potential beneficial effects on human health including reducing cardiovascular risk. We performed a randomized controlled crossover intervention trial to assess the acute effects of consumption of flavan-3-ol-enriched dark chocolate, compared with standard dark chocolate and white chocolate, on the human metabolome. We assessed the metabolome in urine and blood plasma samples collected before and at 2 and 6 h after consumption of chocolates in 42 healthy volunteers using a nontargeted metabolomics approach. Plasma samples were assessed and showed differentiation between time points with no further separation among the three chocolate treatments. Multivariate statistics applied to urine samples could readily separate the postprandial time points and distinguish between the treatments. Most of the markers responsible for the multivariate discrimination between the chocolates were of dietary origin. Interestingly, small but significant level changes were also observed for a subset of endogenous metabolites. 1 H NMR revealed that flavan-3-ol-enriched dark chocolate and standard dark chocolate reduced urinary levels of creatinine, lactate, some amino acids, and related degradation products and increased the levels of pyruvate and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate, a phenolic compound of bacterial origin. This study demonstrates that an acute chocolate intervention can significantly affect human metabolism.

Determination of supplier-to-supplier and lot-to-lot variability in glycation of recombinant human serum albumin expressed in Oryza sativa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grant E Frahm

Full Text Available The use of different expression systems to produce the same recombinant human protein can result in expression-dependent chemical modifications (CMs leading to variability of structure, stability and immunogenicity. Of particular interest are recombinant human proteins expressed in plant-based systems, which have shown particularly high CM variability. In studies presented here, recombinant human serum albumins (rHSA produced in Oryza sativa (Asian rice (OsrHSA from a number of suppliers have been extensively characterized and compared to plasma-derived HSA (pHSA and rHSA expressed in yeast (Pichia pastoris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The heterogeneity of each sample was evaluated using size exclusion chromatography (SEC, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC and capillary electrophoresis (CE. Modifications of the samples were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS. The secondary and tertiary structure of the albumin samples were assessed with far U/V circular dichroism spectropolarimetry (far U/V CD and fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively. Far U/V CD and fluorescence analyses were also used to assess thermal stability and drug binding. High molecular weight aggregates in OsrHSA samples were detected with SEC and supplier-to-supplier variability and, more critically, lot-to-lot variability in one manufactures supplied products were identified. LC-MS analysis identified a greater number of hexose-glycated arginine and lysine residues on OsrHSA compared to pHSA or rHSA expressed in yeast. This analysis also showed supplier-to-supplier and lot-to-lot variability in the degree of glycation at specific lysine and arginine residues for OsrHSA. Both the number of glycated residues and the degree of glycation correlated positively with the quantity of non-monomeric species and the chromatographic profiles of the samples. Tertiary structural changes were observed for most OsrHSA samples which

Variable responses of human and non-human primate gut microbiomes to a Western diet.

Science.gov (United States)

Amato, Katherine R; Yeoman, Carl J; Cerda, Gabriela; Schmitt, Christopher A; Cramer, Jennifer Danzy; Miller, Margret E Berg; Gomez, Andres; Turner, Trudy R; Wilson, Brenda A; Stumpf, Rebecca M; Nelson, Karen E; White, Bryan A; Knight, Rob; Leigh, Steven R

2015-11-16

The human gut microbiota interacts closely with human diet and physiology. To better understand the mechanisms behind this relationship, gut microbiome research relies on complementing human studies with manipulations of animal models, including non-human primates. However, due to unique aspects of human diet and physiology, it is likely that host-gut microbe interactions operate differently in humans and non-human primates. Here, we show that the human microbiome reacts differently to a high-protein, high-fat Western diet than that of a model primate, the African green monkey, or vervet (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Specifically, humans exhibit increased relative abundance of Firmicutes and reduced relative abundance of Prevotella on a Western diet while vervets show the opposite pattern. Predictive metagenomics demonstrate an increased relative abundance of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism in the microbiome of only humans consuming a Western diet. These results suggest that the human gut microbiota has unique properties that are a result of changes in human diet and physiology across evolution or that may have contributed to the evolution of human physiology. Therefore, the role of animal models for understanding the relationship between the human gut microbiota and host metabolism must be re-focused.

Study of the natural radiation background affected on the human body in some areas of Viet Nam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngo Van Thanh

2008-01-01

The author had studied the natural radiation background in 68 districts belong 40 provinces and cities of Vietnam from 2002 to 2005. The estimated results clearly show that the average external irradiation dose levels and the average annual external radiation equivalent dose affected on the human body are 0.181± 0.0189 μSv/h and 1599 ± 171.8 μSv/year respectively, both are in normal limit; the highest levels are in Lai Chau district (Lai Chau province); the lowest levels are in Buon Ma Thuot city (DakLak province), Phuoc Son district (Quang Nam province), Tan An district (Long An province). The radon concentration in the human being and the average annual internal inhalation irradiation equivalent dose affected on the human beings are 26.9 ± 15.89 Bq/m 3 and 392.88 ± 231.99 μSv/year respectively; the maximums are in Nha Trang city (Khanh Hoa province), Bac Binh district (Binh Phuoc province); the minimums are in Vung Tau city (Ba Ria- Vung Tau province), Tan An district (Long An province), Rach Gia district (Kien Giang province). The terrestrial radionuclide concentrations in the cereals, foodstuffs (rice, meat, vegetables), water, earth and the average annual internal irradiation equivalent dose are 829.2 ± 38.06 Bq/kg and 229.3 ± 67.70 μSv/year respectively; the highest levels are in Phong Tho district (Lai Chau province), Dien Bien city; the lowest levels are in Dong Xoai district (Binh Phuoc province), Tan An district (Long An province). The average total annual natural radiation background effective equivalent dose level affected on the human body is 2206.9 ± 529.30 μSv/year; the highest levels are in Lai Chau district (Lai Chau province); the lowest levels are in Tan An district (Long An province). The 14 maps of Natural Radiation Background in several localized regions belong 40 provinces and cities of Viet Nam had been set up. These results can reserve for serviceman and public health in the both wartime and peacetime. (author)

Clinical Characteristics and Genetic Variability of Human Rhinovirus in Mexico

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Hilda Montero

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Human rhinovirus (HRV is a leading cause of acute respiratory infection (ARI in young children and infants worldwide and has a high impact on morbidity and mortality in this population. Initially, HRV was classified into two species: HRV-A and HRV-B. Recently, a species called HRV-C and possibly another species, HRV-D, were identified. In Mexico, there is little information about the role of HRV as a cause of ARI, and the presence and importance of species such as HRV-C are not known. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics and genetic variability of HRV in Mexican children. Genetic characterization was carried out by phylogenetic analysis of the 5′-nontranslated region (5′-NTR of the HRV genome. The results show that the newly identified HRV-C is circulating in Mexican children more frequently than HRV-B but not as frequently as HRV-A, which was the most frequent species. Most of the cases of the three species of HRV were in children under 2 years of age, and all species were associated with very mild and moderate ARI.

transformation of independent variables in polynomial regression ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ada

preferable when possible to work with a simple functional form in transformed variables rather than with a more complicated form in the original variables. In this paper, it is shown that linear transformations applied to independent variables in polynomial regression models affect the t ratio and hence the statistical ...

A probabilistic model of human variability in physiology for future application to dose reconstruction and QIVIVE.

Science.gov (United States)

McNally, Kevin; Loizou, George D

2015-01-01

The risk assessment of environmental chemicals and drugs is undergoing a paradigm shift in approach which seeks the full replacement of animal testing with high throughput, mechanistic, in vitro systems. This new approach will be reliant on the measurement in vitro, of concentration-dependent responses where prolonged excessive perturbations of specific biochemical pathways are likely to lead to adverse health effects in an intact organism. Such an approach requires a framework, into which disparate data generated by in vitro, in silico, and in chemico systems can be integrated and utilized for quantitative in vitro-to-in vivo extrapolation (QIVIVE), ultimately to the human population level. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models are ideally suited to this and are needed to translate in vitro concentration- response relationships to an exposure or dose, route and duration regime in human populations. Thus, a realistic description of the variation in the physiology of the human population being modeled is critical. Whilst various studies in the past decade have made progress in describing human variability, the algorithms are typically coded in computer programs and as such are unsuitable for reverse dosimetry. In this report we overcome this limitation by developing a hierarchical statistical model using standard probability distributions for the specification of a virtual US and UK human population. The work draws on information from both population databases and cadaver studies.

A probabilistic model of human variability in physiology for future application to dose reconstruction and QIVIVE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin eMcNally

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The risk assessment of environmental chemicals and drugs is undergoing a paradigm shift in approach which seeks the full replacement of animal testing with high throughput, mechanistic, in vitro systems. This new approach will be reliant on the measurement in vitro, of concentration-dependent responses where prolonged excessive perturbations of specific biochemical pathways are likely to lead to adverse health effects in an intact organism. Such an approach requires a framework, into which disparate data generated by in vitro, in silico and in chemico systems can be integrated and utilised for quantitative in vitro-to-in vivo extrapolation (QIVIVE, ultimately to the human population level. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK models are ideally suited to this and are needed to translate in vitro concentration- response relationships to an exposure or dose, route and duration regime in human populations. Thus a realistic description of the variation in the physiology of the human population being modelled is critical. Whilst various studies in the past decade have made progress in describing human variability, the algorithms are typically coded in computer programs and as such are unsuitable for reverse dosimetry. In this report we overcome this limitation by developing a hierarchical statistical model using standard probability distributions for the specification of a virtual US and UK human population. The work draws on information from both population databases and cadaver studies.

Anxiety, affect, self-esteem, and stress: mediation and moderation effects on depression.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Al Nima

Full Text Available Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression.Two hundred and two university students (males  = 93, females  = 113 completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses.The results indicated that (i anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression.The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators.

Anxiety, Affect, Self-Esteem, and Stress: Mediation and Moderation Effects on Depression

Science.gov (United States)

Nima, Ali Al; Rosenberg, Patricia; Archer, Trevor; Garcia, Danilo

2013-01-01

Background Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator) changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression. Methods Two hundred and two university students (males  = 93, females  = 113) completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses. Main Findings The results indicated that (i) anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii) that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii) that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv) that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression. Conclusion The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators. PMID:24039896

Variables Affecting Secondary School Students' Willingness to Eat Genetically Modified Food Crops

Science.gov (United States)

Maes, Jasmien; Bourgonjon, Jeroen; Gheysen, Godelieve; Valcke, Martin

2017-04-01

A large-scale cross-sectional study (N = 4002) was set up to determine Flemish secondary school students' willingness to eat genetically modified food (WTE) and to link students' WTE to previously identified key variables from research on the acceptance of genetic modification (GM). These variables include subjective and objective knowledge about genetics and biotechnology, perceived risks and benefits of GM food crops, trust in information from different sources about GM, and food neophobia. Differences between WTE-related variables based on students' grade level, educational track, and gender were analyzed. The students displayed a rather indecisive position toward GM food and scored weakly on a genetics and biotechnology knowledge test. WTE correlated most strongly with perceived benefits and subjective and objective knowledge. The results have clear implications for education, as they reiterate the need to strengthen students' scientific knowledge base and to introduce a GM-related debate at a much earlier stage in their school career.

Affective response to a loved one's pain: insula activity as a function of individual differences.

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Viridiana Mazzola

Full Text Available Individual variability in emotion processing may be associated with genetic variation as well as with psychological predispositions such as dispositional affect styles. Our previous fMRI study demonstrated that amygdala reactivity was independently predicted by affective-cognitive styles (phobic prone or eating disorders prone and genotype of the serotonin transporter in a discrimination task of fearful facial expressions. Since the insula is associated with the subjective evaluation of bodily states and is involved in human feelings, we explored whether its activity could also vary in function of individual differences. In the present fMRI study, the association between dispositional affects and insula reactivity has been examined in two groups of healthy participants categorized according to affective-cognitive styles (phobic prone or eating disorders prone. Images of the faces of partners and strangers, in both painful and neutral situations, were used as visual stimuli. Interaction analyses indicate significantly different activations in the two groups in reaction to a loved one's pain: the phobic prone group exhibited greater activation in the left posterior insula. These results demonstrate that affective-cognitive style is associated with insula activity in pain empathy processing, suggesting a greater involvement of the insula in feelings for a certain cohort of people. In the mapping of individual differences, these results shed new light on variability in neural networks of emotion.

Summer Drivers of Atmospheric Variability Affecting Ice Shelf Thinning in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Deb, Pranab; Orr, Andrew; Bromwich, David H.; Nicolas, Julien P.; Turner, John; Hosking, J. Scott

2018-05-01

Satellite data and a 35-year hindcast of the Amundsen Sea Embayment summer climate using the Weather Research and Forecasting model are used to understand how regional and large-scale atmospheric variability affects thinning of ice shelves in this sector of West Antarctica by melting from above and below (linked to intrusions of warm water caused by anomalous westerlies over the continental shelf edge). El Niño episodes are associated with an increase in surface melt but do not have a statistically significant impact on westerly winds over the continental shelf edge. The location of the Amundsen Sea Low and the polarity of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) have negligible impact on surface melting, although a positive SAM and eastward shift of the Amundsen Sea Low cause anomalous westerlies over the continental shelf edge. The projected future increase in El Niño episodes and positive SAM could therefore increase the risk of disintegration of West Antarctic ice shelves.

Study of variables affecting critical value notification in a laboratory catering to tertiary care hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Rachna; Chhillar, Neelam; Tripathi, Chandra B

2015-01-01

During post-analytical phase, critical value notification to responsible caregiver in a timely manner has potential to improve patient safety which requires cooperative efforts between laboratory personnel and caregivers. It is widely accepted by hospital accreditors that ineffective notification can lead to diagnostic errors that potentially harm patients and are preventable. The objective of the study was to assess the variables affecting critical value notification, their role in affecting it's quality and approaches to improve it. In the present study 1,187 critical values were analysed in the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory catering to tertiary care hospital for neuropsychiatric diseases. During 25 months of study period, we evaluated critical value notification with respect to clinical care area, caregiver to whom it was notified and timeliness of notification. During the study period (25 months), the laboratory obtained 1,279 critical values in clinical chemistry. The analytes most commonly notified were sodium and potassium (20.97 & 20.8 % of total critical results). Analysis of critical value notification versus area of care showed that critical value notification was high in ICU and emergency area followed by inpatients and 64.61 % critical values were notified between 30 and 120 min after receiving the samples. It was found that failure to notify the responsible caregiver in timely manner represent an important patient safety issue and may lead to diagnostic errors. The major area of concern are notification of critical value for outpatient samples, incompleteness of test requisition forms regarding illegible writing, lack of information of treating physician and location of test ordering and difficulty in contacting the responsible caregiver.

XO-2b: A HOT JUPITER WITH A VARIABLE HOST STAR THAT POTENTIALLY AFFECTS ITS MEASURED TRANSIT DEPTH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zellem, Robert T.; Griffith, Caitlin A.; Pearson, Kyle A.; Fitzpatrick, M. Ryleigh; Teske, Johanna K.; Biddle, Lauren I.; Turner, Jake D.; Henry, Gregory W.; Williamson, Michael H.

2015-01-01

The transiting hot Jupiter XO-2b is an ideal target for multi-object photometry and spectroscopy as it has a relatively bright (V-mag = 11.25) K0V host star (XO-2N) and a large planet-to-star contrast ratio (R p /R s ≈ 0.015). It also has a nearby (31.″21) binary stellar companion (XO-2S) of nearly the same brightness (V-mag = 11.20) and spectral type (G9V), allowing for the characterization and removal of shared systematic errors (e.g., airmass brightness variations). We have therefore conducted a multiyear (2012–2015) study of XO-2b with the University of Arizona’s 61″ (1.55 m) Kuiper Telescope and Mont4k CCD in the Bessel U and Harris B photometric passbands to measure its Rayleigh scattering slope to place upper limits on the pressure-dependent radius at, e.g., 10 bar. Such measurements are needed to constrain its derived molecular abundances from primary transit observations. We have also been monitoring XO-2N since the 2013–2014 winter season with Tennessee State University’s Celestron-14 (0.36 m) automated imaging telescope to investigate stellar variability, which could affect XO-2b’s transit depth. Our observations indicate that XO-2N is variable, potentially due to cool star spots, with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.0049 ± 0.0007 R-mag and a period of 29.89 ± 0.16 days for the 2013–2014 observing season and a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.0035 ± 0.0007 R-mag and 27.34 ± 0.21 day period for the 2014–2015 observing season. Because of the likely influence of XO-2N’s variability on the derivation of XO-2b’s transit depth, we cannot bin multiple nights of data to decrease our uncertainties, preventing us from constraining its gas abundances. This study demonstrates that long-term monitoring programs of exoplanet host stars are crucial for understanding host star variability

Political Depression, Cruel Optimism and Pedagogies of Reparation: Questions of Criticality and Affect in Human Rights Education

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Zembylas, Michalinos

2018-01-01

This article argues that there is an urgent need to engage with a deeper analysis of the contemporary culture of "political depression" and its affective implications in human rights education (HRE). In particular, the article focuses on the following questions: How might a theorization of political depression be relevant to efforts that…

The Affective Core of the Self: A Neuro-Archetypical Perspective on the Foundations of Human (and Animal Subjectivity

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Antonio Alcaro

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Psychologists usually considered the “Self” as an object of experience appearing when the individual perceives its existence within the conscious field. In accordance with such a view, the self-representing capacity of the human mind has been related to corticolimbic learning processes taking place within individual development. On the other hand, Carl Gustav Jung considered the Self as the core of our personality, in its conscious and unconscious aspects, as well as in its actual and potential forms. According to Jung, the Self originates from an inborn dynamic structure integrating the essential drives of our “brain–mind,” and leading both to instinctual behavioral actions and to archetypal psychological experiences. Interestingly, recent neuroethological studies indicate that our subjective identity rests on ancient neuropsychic processes that humans share with other animals as part of their inborn constitutional repertoire. Indeed, brain activity within subcortical midline structures (SCMSs is intrinsically related to the emergence of prototypical affective states, that not only influence our behavior in a flexible way, but alter our conscious field, giving rise to specific feelings or moods, which constitute the first form of self-orientation in the world. Moreover, such affective dynamics play a central role in the organization of individual personality and in the evolution of all other (more sophisticated psychological functions. Therefore, on the base of the convergence between contemporary cutting-edge scientific research and some psychological intuitions of Jung, we intend here to explore the first neuroevolutional layer of human mind, that we call the affective core of the Self.

Does human pressure affect the community structure of surf zone fish in sandy beaches?

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Leonardo Lopes; Landmann, Júlia G.; Gaelzer, Luiz R.; Zalmon, Ilana R.

2017-01-01

Intense tourism and human activities have resulted in habitat destruction in sandy beach ecosystems with negative impacts on the associated communities. To investigate whether urbanized beaches affect surf zone fish communities, fish and their benthic macrofaunal prey were collected during periods of low and high human pressure at two beaches on the Southeastern Brazilian coast. A BACI experimental design (Before-After-Control-Impact) was adapted for comparisons of tourism impact on fish community composition and structure in urbanized, intermediate and non-urbanized sectors of each beach. At the end of the summer season, we observed a significant reduction in fish richness, abundance, and diversity in the high tourist pressure areas. The negative association between visitors' abundance and the macrofaunal density suggests that urbanized beaches are avoided by surf zone fish due to higher human pressure and the reduction of food availability. Our results indicate that surf zone fish should be included in environmental impact studies in sandy beaches, including commercial species, e.g., the bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix. The comparative results from the less urbanized areas suggest that environmental zoning and visitation limits should be used as effective management and preservation strategies on beaches with high conservation potential.

Social and Affective Robotics Tutorial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pantic, Maja; Evers, Vanessa; Deisenroth, Marc; Merino, Luis; Schuller, Björn

2016-01-01

Social and Affective Robotics is a growing multidisciplinary field encompassing computer science, engineering, psychology, education, and many other disciplines. It explores how social and affective factors influence interactions between humans and robots, and how affect and social signals can be

Research into human factors affecting the railway system; Studien zu menschlichen Einflussfaktoren im Eisenbahnsystem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammerl, Malte; Feldmann, Frederike; Rumke, Axel; Pelz, Markus [DLR e.V., Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Verkehrssystemtechnik

2010-07-01

The Institute for Transportation Systems (ITS) at the German Aerospace Center DLR in Braunschweig has for many years been conducting research into current and future topics relating to railway transportation. Supplementing the in-house technical infrastructure including e.g. RailSiTe {sup registered} (Rail Simulation and Testing) and RailDriVE {sup registered} (Rail Driving Validation Environment), a new test environment for Rail Human Factors Research has been established to investigate such factors as they affect locomotive drivers. The aim is to analyse current issues and new concepts regarding human-machine interaction and test them under conditions that are as true-to-life as possible without exposure to real-life safety-critical situations. The test environment allows for investigation across the spectrum, starting with workplace analysis and going on from potential modifications to existing user interfaces through to the analysis of prototype assistance systems. (orig.)

Variability in coronary artery anatomy affects consistency of cardiac damage after myocardial infarction in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jiqiu; Ceholski, Delaine K; Liang, Lifan; Fish, Kenneth; Hajjar, Roger J

2017-08-01

Low reliability and reproducibility in heart failure models are well established. The purpose of the present study is to explore factors that affect model consistency of myocardial infarction (MI) in mice. MI was induced by left coronary artery (LCA) ligation. The coronary artery was casted with resin and visualized with fluorescent imaging ex vivo. LCA characteristics and MI size were analyzed individually in each animal, and MI size was correlated with left ventricular (LV) function by echocardiography. Coronary anatomy varies widely in mice, posing challenges for surgical ligation and resulting in inconsistent MI size postligation. The length of coronary arterial trunk, level of bifurcation, number of branches, and territory supplied by these branches are unique in each animal. When the main LCA trunk is ligated, this results in a large MI, but when a single branch is ligated, MI size is variable due to differing levels of LCA ligation and area supplied by the branches. During the ligation procedure, nearly 40% of LCAs are not grossly visible to the surgeon. In these situations, the surgeon blindly sutures a wider and deeper area of tissue in an attempt to catch the LCA. Paradoxically, these situations have greater odds of resulting in smaller MIs. In conclusion, variation in MI size and LV function after LCA ligation in mice is difficult to avoid. Anatomic diversity of the LCA in mice leads to inconsistency in MI size and functional parameters, and this is independent of potential technical modifications made by the operator. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In the present study, we demonstrate that left coronary artery diversity in mice is one of the primary causes of variable myocardial infarction size and cardiac functional parameters in the left coronary artery ligation model. Recognition of anatomic diversity is essential to improve reliability and reproducibility in heart failure research. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Análisis de las variables de marketing que afectan al valor del cliente. La permanencia como variable controlable

OpenAIRE

Pedreño Santos, Ana

2015-01-01

To know how marketing variables affect customer value is essential for a company in order to be market and customer oriented, and to improve investment efficiency in both attracting and retaining customers. Thus, the assessment of the influence of marketing variables in customer value is of prime importance. This is recognized in many empirical studies of these variables, which address the impact of a single variable (or sets of a few variables) on customer value. A comprehensive, integrated ...

Physiologic variability at the verge of systemic inflammation: multiscale entropy of heart rate variability is affected by very low doses of endotoxin.

Science.gov (United States)

Herlitz, Georg N; Arlow, Renee L; Cheung, Nora H; Coyle, Susette M; Griffel, Benjamin; Macor, Marie A; Lowry, Stephen F; Calvano, Steve E; Gale, Stephen C

2015-02-01

Human injury or infection induces systemic inflammation with characteristic neuroendocrine responses. Fluctuations in autonomic function during inflammation are reflected by beat-to-beat variation in heart rate, termed heart rate variability (HRV). In the present study, we determine threshold doses of endotoxin needed to induce observable changes in markers of systemic inflammation, investigate whether metrics of HRV exhibit a differing threshold dose from other inflammatory markers, and investigate the size of data sets required for meaningful use of multiscale entropy (MSE) analysis of HRV. Healthy human volunteers (n = 25) were randomized to receive placebo (normal saline) or endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide (LPS): 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 ng/kg administered intravenously. Vital signs were recorded every 30 min for 6 h and then at 9, 12, and 24 h after LPS. Blood samples were drawn at specific time points for cytokine measurements. Heart rate variability analysis was performed using electrocardiogram epochs of 5 min. Multiscale entropy for HRV was calculated for all dose groups to scale factor 40. The lowest significant threshold dose was noted in core temperature at 0.25 ng/kg. Endogenous tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6 were significantly responsive at the next dosage level (0.5 ng/kg) along with elevations in circulating leukocytes and heart rate. Responses were exaggerated at higher doses (1 and 2 ng/kg). Time domain and frequency domain HRV metrics similarly suggested a threshold dose, differing from placebo at 1.0 and 2.0 ng/kg, below which no clear pattern in response was evident. By applying repeated-measures analysis of variance across scale factors, a significant decrease in MSE was seen at 1.0 and 2.0 ng/kg by 2 h after exposure to LPS. Although not statistically significant below 1.0 ng/kg, MSE unexpectedly decreased across all groups in an orderly dose-response pattern not seen in the other outcomes. By using repeated-measures analysis of

Trends Affecting Ohio State University Extension in the 21st Century and the Implications for Human Capital

Science.gov (United States)

Cochran, Graham R.; Ferrari, Theresa M.; Chen, Claire Yueh-Ti

2012-01-01

Research with a diverse array of organizations in the public and private sectors has documented a common set of trends affecting organizations and their human capital in the 21st century. Similar trends have been identified as important for Extension organizations and the Cooperative Extension System. It is important to determine if such trends…

Transient p53 suppression increases reprogramming of human fibroblasts without affecting apoptosis and DNA damage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Mikkel Aabech; Holst, Bjørn; Tümer, Zeynep

2014-01-01

The discovery of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has sparked great interest in the potential treatment of patients with their own in vitro differentiated cells. Recently, knockout of the Tumor Protein 53 (p53) gene was reported to facilitate reprogramming but unfortunately also led...... to genomic instability. Here, we report that transient suppression of p53 during nonintegrative reprogramming of human fibroblasts leads to a significant increase in expression of pluripotency markers and overall number of iPSC colonies, due to downstream suppression of p21, without affecting apoptosis...... and DNA damage. Stable iPSC lines generated with or without p53 suppression showed comparable expression of pluripotency markers and methylation patterns, displayed normal karyotypes, contained between 0 and 5 genomic copy number variations and produced functional neurons in vitro. In conclusion...

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Resilience-Based Intervention for Children Affected by Parental HIV: Educational Outcomes at 24-, 30-, and 36-Months

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Sayward E.; Li, Xiaoming; Zhang, JiaJia; Zhao, Junfeng; Zhao, Guoxiang

2018-01-01

Children of parents with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at-risk for a variety of negative outcomes, including poor educational achievement. The multi-level, resilience-based "ChildCARE" intervention has been found to yield short-term improvement in a number of school-related variables for children affected by parental HIV.…

Clinical significance of mobile health assessed sleep duration and variability in bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufmann, Christopher N; Gershon, Anda; Eyler, Lisa T; Depp, Colin A

2016-10-01

Sleep disturbances are prevalent, persistent, and impairing features of bipolar disorder. However, the near-term and cumulative impact of the severity and variability of sleep disturbances on symptoms and functioning remains unclear. We examined self-reported daily sleep duration and variability in relation to mood symptoms, medication adherence, cognitive functioning, and concurrent daily affect. Forty-one outpatients diagnosed with bipolar disorder were asked to provide daily reports of sleep duration and affect collected via ecological momentary assessment with smartphones over eleven weeks. Measures of depressive and manic symptoms, medication adherence, and cognitive function were collected at baseline and concurrent assessment of affect were collected daily. Analyses examined whether sleep duration or variability were associated with baseline measures and changes in same-day or next-day affect. Greater sleep duration variability (but not average sleep duration) was associated with greater depressive and manic symptom severity, and lower medication adherence at baseline, and with lower and more variable ratings of positive affect and higher ratings of negative affect. Sleep durations shorter than 7-8 h were associated with lower same-day ratings of positive and higher same-day ratings of negative affect, however this did not extend to next-day affect. Greater cumulative day-to-day sleep duration variability, but not average sleep duration, was related to more severe mood symptoms, lower self-reported medication adherence and higher levels of negative affect. Bouts of short- or long-duration sleep had transient impact on affect. Day-to-day sleep variability may be important to incorporate into clinical assessment of sleep disturbances in bipolar disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intravital multiphoton tomography as a novel tool for non-invasive in vivo analysis of human skin affected with atopic dermatitis

Science.gov (United States)

Huck, Volker; Gorzelanny, Christian; Thomas, Kai; Niemeyer, Verena; Luger, Thomas A.; König, Karsten; Schneider, Stefan W.

2010-02-01

Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory disease of human skin. Its pathogenesis is still unknown; however, dysfunctions of the epidermal barrier and the immune response are regarded as key factors for the development of AD. In our study we applied intravital multiphoton tomography (5D-IVT), equipped with a spectral-FLIM module for in-vivo and ex-vivo analysis of human skin affected with AD. In addition to the morphologic skin analysis, FLIM technology gain access to the metabolic status of the epidermal cells referring to the NADH specific fluorescence lifetime. We evaluated a characteristic 5D-IVT skin pattern of AD in comparison to histological sections and detected a correlation with the disease activity measured by SCORAD. FLIM analysis revealed a shift of the mean fluorescence lifetime (taum) of NADH, indicating an altered metabolic activity. Within an ex-vivo approach we have investigated cryo-sections of human skin with or without barrier defects. Spectral-FLIM allows the detection of autofluorescent signals that reflect the pathophysiological conditions of the defect skin barrier. In our study the taum value was shown to be different between healthy and affected skin. Application of the 5D-IVT allows non-invasive in-vivo imaging of human skin with a penetration depth of 150 μm. We could show that affected skin could be distinguished from healthy skin by morphological criteria, by FLIM and by spectral-FLIM. Further studies will evaluate the application of the 5D-IVT technology as a diagnostic tool and to monitor the therapeutic efficacy.

How musical training affects cognitive development: rhythm, reward and other modulating variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Miendlarzewska, Ewa A; Trost, Wiebke J

2013-01-01

Musical training has recently gained additional interest in education as increasing neuroscientific research demonstrates its positive effects on brain development. Neuroimaging revealed plastic changes in the brains of adult musicians but it is still unclear to what extent they are the product of intensive music training rather than of other factors, such as preexisting biological markers of musicality. In this review, we synthesize a large body of studies demonstrating that benefits of musical training extend beyond the skills it directly aims to train and last well into adulthood. For example, children who undergo musical training have better verbal memory, second language pronunciation accuracy, reading ability and executive functions. Learning to play an instrument as a child may even predict academic performance and IQ in young adulthood. The degree of observed structural and functional adaptation in the brain correlates with intensity and duration of practice. Importantly, the effects on cognitive development depend on the timing of musical initiation due to sensitive periods during development, as well as on several other modulating variables. Notably, we point to motivation, reward and social context of musical education, which are important yet neglected factors affecting the long-term benefits of musical training. Further, we introduce the notion of rhythmic entrainment and suggest that it may represent a mechanism supporting learning and development of executive functions. It also hones temporal processing and orienting of attention in time that may underlie enhancements observed in reading and verbal memory. We conclude that musical training uniquely engenders near and far transfer effects, preparing a foundation for a range of skills, and thus fostering cognitive development.

How musical training affects cognitive development: rhythm, reward and other modulating variables.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa Aurelia Miendlarzewska

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Musical training has recently gained additional interest in education as increasing neuroscientific research demonstrates its positive effects on brain development. Neuroimaging revealed plastic changes in the brains of adult musicians but it is still unclear to what extent they are the product of intensive music training rather than of other factors, such as preexisting biological markers of musicality. In this review, we synthesize a large body of studies demonstrating that benefits of musical training extend beyond the skills it directly aims to train and last well into adulthood. For example, children who undergo musical training have better verbal memory, second language pronunciation accuracy, reading ability and executive functions. Learning to play an instrument as a child may even predict academic performance and IQ in young adulthood. The degree of observed structural and functional adaptation in the brain correlates with intensity and duration of practice. Importantly, the effects on cognitive development depend on the timing of musical initiation due to sensitive periods during development, as well as on several other modulating variables. Notably, we point to motivation, reward and social context of musical education, which are important yet neglected factors affecting the long-term benefits of musical training. Further, we introduce the notion of rhythmic entrainment and suggest that it may represent a mechanism supporting learning and development of executive functions. It also hones temporal processing and orienting of attention in time that may underlie enhancements observed in reading and verbal memory. We conclude that musical training uniquely engenders near and far transfer effects, preparing a foundation for a range of skills, and thus fostering cognitive development.

Xenobiotics that affect oxidative phosphorylation alter differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells at concentrations that are found in human blood

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Laura Llobet

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Adipogenesis is accompanied by differentiation of adipose tissue-derived stem cells to adipocytes. As part of this differentiation, biogenesis of the oxidative phosphorylation system occurs. Many chemical compounds used in medicine, agriculture or other human activities affect oxidative phosphorylation function. Therefore, these xenobiotics could alter adipogenesis. We have analyzed the effects on adipocyte differentiation of some xenobiotics that act on the oxidative phosphorylation system. The tested concentrations have been previously reported in human blood. Our results show that pharmaceutical drugs that decrease mitochondrial DNA replication, such as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, or inhibitors of mitochondrial protein synthesis, such as ribosomal antibiotics, diminish adipocyte differentiation and leptin secretion. By contrast, the environmental chemical pollutant tributyltin chloride, which inhibits the ATP synthase of the oxidative phosphorylation system, can promote adipocyte differentiation and leptin secretion, leading to obesity and metabolic syndrome as postulated by the obesogen hypothesis.

Holder pasteurization affects S100B concentrations in human milk.

Science.gov (United States)

Peila, Chiara; Coscia, Alessandra; Bertino, Enrico; Li Volti, Giovanni; Galvano, Fabio; Visser, Gerard H A; Gazzolo, Diego

2018-02-01

Donor milk (DM) represents an important nutrition source for high-risk newborns. Holder pasteurization (HoP) is the most recommended procedure for DM treatment, providing a good compromise between microbiological safety and biological quality. HoP was previously shown to affect DM cytokines, growth factors and hormones levels, whilst no data concerning the possible effects of HoP on neurobiomarkers (NB) are available. Therefore, our study investigated whether the concentration in DM of a well-known NB involved in brain development/damage, namely S100B, changes due to HoP. We conducted a pretest-test study in 11 mothers, whose DM samples were sub-divided into two parts: the first was immediately frozen (-80 °C); the second was pasteurized with Holder method before freezing. S100B DM levels were measured using a commercially available immunoluminometric assay. S100B protein was detected in all milk samples. Results showed significant differences between groups (p pasteurization stresses and the need to develop new storage techniques to preserve the biological quality of human milk.

Imprecision in estimates of dose from ingested 137Cs due to variability in human biological characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarz, G.; Dunning, D.E. Jr.

1982-01-01

An attempt has been made to quantify the variability in human biological parameters determining dose to man from ingestion of a unit activity of soluble 137 Cs and the resulting imprecision in the predicted total-body dose commitment. The analysis is based on an extensive review of the literature along with the application of statistical methods to determine parameter variability, correlations between parameters, and predictive imprecision. The variability in the principal biological parameters (biological half-time and total-body mass) involved can be described by a geometric standard deviation of 1.2-1.5 for adults and 1.6-1.9 for children/ adolescents of age 0.1-18 yr. The estimated predictive imprecision (using a Monte Carlo technique) in the total-body dose commitment from ingested 137 Cs can be described by a geometric standard deviation on the order of 1.3-1.4, meaning that the 99th percentile of the predicted distribution of dose is within approximately 2.1 times the mean value. The mean dose estimate is 0.009 Sv/MBq (34 mrem/μ Ci) for children/adolescents and 0.01 Sv/MBq (38 mrem/μ Ci) for adults. Little evidence of age dependence in the total-body dose from ingested 137 Cs is observed. (author)

Transcriptomics and proteomics show that selenium affects inflammation, cytoskeleton, and cancer pathways in human rectal biopsies.

Science.gov (United States)

Méplan, Catherine; Johnson, Ian T; Polley, Abigael C J; Cockell, Simon; Bradburn, David M; Commane, Daniel M; Arasaradnam, Ramesh P; Mulholland, Francis; Zupanic, Anze; Mathers, John C; Hesketh, John

2016-08-01

Epidemiologic studies highlight the potential role of dietary selenium (Se) in colorectal cancer prevention. Our goal was to elucidate whether expression of factors crucial for colorectal homoeostasis is affected by physiologic differences in Se status. Using transcriptomics and proteomics followed by pathway analysis, we identified pathways affected by Se status in rectal biopsies from 22 healthy adults, including 11 controls with optimal status (mean plasma Se = 1.43 μM) and 11 subjects with suboptimal status (mean plasma Se = 0.86 μM). We observed that 254 genes and 26 proteins implicated in cancer (80%), immune function and inflammatory response (40%), cell growth and proliferation (70%), cellular movement, and cell death (50%) were differentially expressed between the 2 groups. Expression of 69 genes, including selenoproteins W1 and K, which are genes involved in cytoskeleton remodelling and transcription factor NFκB signaling, correlated significantly with Se status. Integrating proteomics and transcriptomics datasets revealed reduced inflammatory and immune responses and cytoskeleton remodelling in the suboptimal Se status group. This is the first study combining omics technologies to describe the impact of differences in Se status on colorectal expression patterns, revealing that suboptimal Se status could alter inflammatory signaling and cytoskeleton in human rectal mucosa and so influence cancer risk.-Méplan, C., Johnson, I. T., Polley, A. C. J., Cockell, S., Bradburn, D. M., Commane, D. M., Arasaradnam, R. P., Mulholland, F., Zupanic, A., Mathers, J. C., Hesketh, J. Transcriptomics and proteomics show that selenium affects inflammation, cytoskeleton, and cancer pathways in human rectal biopsies. © The Author(s).

How the marine biotoxins affect human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Morabito, Silvia; Silvestro, Serena; Faggio, Caterina

2018-03-01

Several marine microalgae produce dangerous toxins very damaging to human health, aquatic ecosystems and coastal resources. These Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in recent decades seem greatly increased regarding frequency, severity and biogeographical level, causing serious health risks as a consequence of the consumption of contaminated seafood. Toxins can cause various clinically described syndromes, characterised by a wide range of symptoms: amnesic (ASP), diarrhoetic (DSP), azaspirazid (AZP), neurotoxic (NSP) and paralytic (PSP) shellfish poisonings and ciguatera fish poisoning. The spread of HABs is probably a result of anthropogenic activities and climate change, that influence marine planktonic systems, including global warming, habitat modification, eutrophication and growth of exogenous species in response to human pressures. HABs are a worldwide matter that requests local solutions and international cooperation. This review supplies an overview of HAB phenomena, and, in particular, we describe the major consequences of HABs on human health.

Macroeconomic Variables Affecting Bist30 Index Value in Turkey

OpenAIRE

Özge KORKMAZ; Eşref Savas BASCI; Süleyman Serdar KARACA

2016-01-01

In finance literature, main financial stock indices are important to determine country’s financial development and it’s behavior against the effect of macro-economic conditions. These conditions can listed as interest rate, inflation rate, money supply, exchange rate, industrial production index, and etc.  In changing world economy, macro economic conditions can affect to the financial stability and capital markets. Some economies have a financial vulnerability, and it is important to measure...

Wide Variability in Caloric Density of Expressed Human Milk Can Lead to Major Underestimation or Overestimation of Nutrient Content.

Science.gov (United States)

Sauer, Charles W; Boutin, Mallory A; Kim, Jae H

2017-05-01

Very-low-birth-weight infants continue to face significant difficulties with postnatal growth. Human milk is the optimal form of nutrition for infants but may exhibit variation in nutrient content. This study aimed to perform macronutrient analysis on expressed human milk from mothers whose babies are hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit. Up to five human milk samples per participant were analyzed for protein, carbohydrate, and fat content using reference chemical analyses (Kjeldahl for protein, high pressure liquid chromatography for carbohydrates, and Mojonnier for fat). Calorie content was calculated. A total of 64 samples from 24 participants was analyzed. Wide variability was found in calorie, protein, carbohydrate, and fat composition. The authors found an average of 17.9 kcal/ounce, with only 34% of samples falling within 10% of the expected caloric density. The assumption that human milk contains 20 kcal/ounce is no longer supported based on this study. This supports promoting an individualized nutrition strategy as a crucial aspect to optimal nutrition.

Factors affecting the within-river spawning migration of Atlantic salmon, with emphasis on human impacts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorstad, E.B.; Okland, F.; Aarestrup, Kim

2008-01-01

experience, water discharge, water temperature, water velocity, required jump heights, fish size, fish acclimatisation, light, water quality/pollution, time of the season, and catch and handling stress. How each of these factors affects the upstream migration is to a varying extent understood; however...... be delayed at natural migration barriers. Often, the magnitude of delay is not predictable; fish may be considerably delayed at barriers that appear to humans to be easily passable, or they may quickly pass barriers that appear difficult. Stressful events like catch-and-release angling may affect upstream...... predicted under which conditions a fish will pass a given migration barrier or which conditions are needed to stimulate migration at different sites. The strong focus on the effects of water discharge in past work may have hampered consideration of other factors. Exploration of the influence of these other...

Teacher self-efficacy and its relationship with students’ affective and motivational variables in higher education

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Susana Rodríguez

2014-12-01

Full Text Available During the past few decades, researchers have proposed that teacher self-efficacy influences student achievement and motivation. The main aim of this work is to identify possible teacher self-efficacy profiles and to determine possible differences in some affective-motivational variables of students. 95 teachers and 1924 students from five Spanish public Universities took part in this study. Using cluster analysis, three distinctive profiles of teachers were generated: high self-efficacy, medium self-efficacy, and low self-efficacy. ANOVA results suggest that teachers with intermediate self-efficacy perception have more learning-oriented students than teachers with high self-efficacy. Students of teachers who are overconfident of their teaching capacity seem to engage less in studying to learn, they are more indifferent to the subjects, and they value the contents of the subject less. These students could also be less confident about the results of their efforts, showing a low perception of self-efficacy, greater academic work avoidance, and more anxiety than students of teachers with a moderate perception of self-efficacy. The results are discussed in light of the hypothesis of overconfidence.

Gene expression signatures affected by ethanol and/or nicotine in normal human normal oral keratinocytes (NHOKs

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Jeffrey J. Kim

2014-12-01

Full Text Available It has been reported that nicotine/alcohol alters epigenetic control and leads to abrogated DNA methylation and histone modifications, which could subsequently perturb transcriptional regulation critically important in cellular transformation. The aim of this study is to determine the molecular mechanisms of nicotine/alcohol-induced epigenetic alterations and their mechanistic roles in transcriptional regulation in human adult stem cells. We hypothesized that nicotine/alcohol induces deregulation of epigenetic machinery and leads to epigenetic alterations, which subsequently affect transcriptional regulation in oral epithelial stem cells. As an initiating step we have profiled transcriptomic alterations induced by the combinatory administration of EtOH and nicotine in primary normal human oral keratinocytes. Here we provide detailed experimental methods, analysis and information associated with our data deposited into Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO under GSE57634. Our data provide comprehensive transcriptomic map describing molecular changes induced by EtOH and nicotine on normal human oral keratinocytes.

Domestic animal hosts strongly influence human-feeding rates of the Chagas disease vector Triatoma infestans in Argentina.

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Ricardo E Gürtler

Full Text Available The host species composition in a household and their relative availability affect the host-feeding choices of blood-sucking insects and parasite transmission risks. We investigated four hypotheses regarding factors that affect blood-feeding rates, proportion of human-fed bugs (human blood index, and daily human-feeding rates of Triatoma infestans, the main vector of Chagas disease.A cross-sectional survey collected triatomines in human sleeping quarters (domiciles of 49 of 270 rural houses in northwestern Argentina. We developed an improved way of estimating the human-feeding rate of domestic T. infestans populations. We fitted generalized linear mixed-effects models to a global model with six explanatory variables (chicken blood index, dog blood index, bug stage, numbers of human residents, bug abundance, and maximum temperature during the night preceding bug catch and three response variables (daily blood-feeding rate, human blood index, and daily human-feeding rate. Coefficients were estimated via multimodel inference with model averaging.Median blood-feeding intervals per late-stage bug were 4.1 days, with large variations among households. The main bloodmeal sources were humans (68%, chickens (22%, and dogs (9%. Blood-feeding rates decreased with increases in the chicken blood index. Both the human blood index and daily human-feeding rate decreased substantially with increasing proportions of chicken- or dog-fed bugs, or the presence of chickens indoors. Improved calculations estimated the mean daily human-feeding rate per late-stage bug at 0.231 (95% confidence interval, 0.157-0.305.Based on the changing availability of chickens in domiciles during spring-summer and the much larger infectivity of dogs compared with humans, we infer that the net effects of chickens in the presence of transmission-competent hosts may be more adequately described by zoopotentiation than by zooprophylaxis. Domestic animals in domiciles profoundly affect the

Benchmarking Variable Selection in QSAR.

Science.gov (United States)

Eklund, Martin; Norinder, Ulf; Boyer, Scott; Carlsson, Lars

2012-02-01

Variable selection is important in QSAR modeling since it can improve model performance and transparency, as well as reduce the computational cost of model fitting and predictions. Which variable selection methods that perform well in QSAR settings is largely unknown. To address this question we, in a total of 1728 benchmarking experiments, rigorously investigated how eight variable selection methods affect the predictive performance and transparency of random forest models fitted to seven QSAR datasets covering different endpoints, descriptors sets, types of response variables, and number of chemical compounds. The results show that univariate variable selection methods are suboptimal and that the number of variables in the benchmarked datasets can be reduced with about 60 % without significant loss in model performance when using multivariate adaptive regression splines MARS and forward selection. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

FACTORS AFFECTING VARIABILITY OF UDDER MORPHOLOGY TRAITS OF SHEEP

OpenAIRE

Prpić, Zoran; Mioč, Boro; Vnučec, Ivan; Pavić, Vesna; Konjačić, Miljenko

2013-01-01

Until recently, selection of dairy sheep breeds was focused almost exclusively on increasing the amount of milk produced and so today they produce several times more milk than breeds selected for meat and wool. However, due to the permanent striving for increasing sheep milk production udder weight becomes too great, and suspensory system can not withstand this overweight so it ruptures more often. That significantly shortens the duration of animal’s production life and adversely affects udde...

Reprogramming Methods Do Not Affect Gene Expression Profile of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Trevisan, Marta; Desole, Giovanna; Costanzi, Giulia; Lavezzo, Enrico; Palù, Giorgio; Barzon, Luisa

2017-01-20

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are pluripotent cells derived from adult somatic cells. After the pioneering work by Yamanaka, who first generated iPSCs by retroviral transduction of four reprogramming factors, several alternative methods to obtain iPSCs have been developed in order to increase the yield and safety of the process. However, the question remains open on whether the different reprogramming methods can influence the pluripotency features of the derived lines. In this study, three different strategies, based on retroviral vectors, episomal vectors, and Sendai virus vectors, were applied to derive iPSCs from human fibroblasts. The reprogramming efficiency of the methods based on episomal and Sendai virus vectors was higher than that of the retroviral vector-based approach. All human iPSC clones derived with the different methods showed the typical features of pluripotent stem cells, including the expression of alkaline phosphatase and stemness maker genes, and could give rise to the three germ layer derivatives upon embryoid bodies assay. Microarray analysis confirmed the presence of typical stem cell gene expression profiles in all iPSC clones and did not identify any significant difference among reprogramming methods. In conclusion, the use of different reprogramming methods is equivalent and does not affect gene expression profile of the derived human iPSCs.

Affective medicine. A review of affective computing efforts in medical informatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Luneski, A; Konstantinidis, E; Bamidis, P D

2010-01-01

Affective computing (AC) is concerned with emotional interactions performed with and through computers. It is defined as "computing that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotions". AC enables investigation and understanding of the relation between human emotions and health as well as application of assistive and useful technologies in the medical domain. 1) To review the general state of the art in AC and its applications in medicine, and 2) to establish synergies between the research communities of AC and medical informatics. Aspects related to the human affective state as a determinant of the human health are discussed, coupled with an illustration of significant AC research and related literature output. Moreover, affective communication channels are described and their range of application fields is explored through illustrative examples. The presented conferences, European research projects and research publications illustrate the recent increase of interest in the AC area by the medical community. Tele-home healthcare, AmI, ubiquitous monitoring, e-learning and virtual communities with emotionally expressive characters for elderly or impaired people are few areas where the potential of AC has been realized and applications have emerged. A number of gaps can potentially be overcome through the synergy of AC and medical informatics. The application of AC technologies parallels the advancement of the existing state of the art and the introduction of new methods. The amount of work and projects reviewed in this paper witness an ambitious and optimistic synergetic future of the affective medicine field.

Soil variability in mountain areas

OpenAIRE

Zanini, E.; Freppaz, M.; Stanchi, S.; Bonifacio, E.; Egli, M.

2015-01-01

The high spatial variability of soils is a relevant issue at local and global scales, and determines the complexity of soil ecosystem functions and services. This variability derives from strong dependencies of soil ecosystems on parent materials, climate, relief and biosphere, including human impact. Although present in all environments, the interactions of soils with these forming factors are particularly striking in mountain areas.

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

Controlling a virtual forehand prosthesis using an adaptive and affective Human-Machine Interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Rezazadeh, I Mohammad; Firoozabadi, S M P; Golpayegani, S M R Hashemi; Hu, H

2011-01-01

This paper presents the design of an adaptable Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for controlling virtual forearm prosthesis. Direct physical performance measures (obtained score and completion time) for the requested tasks were calculated. Furthermore, bioelectric signals from the forehead were recorded using one pair of electrodes placed on the frontal region of the subject head to extract the mental (affective) measures while performing the tasks. By employing the proposed algorithm and above measures, the proposed HMI can adapt itself to the subject's mental states, thus improving the usability of the interface. The quantitative results from 15 subjects show that the proposed HMI achieved better physical performance measures in comparison to a conventional non-adaptive myoelectric controller (p < 0.001).

Why does multiple sclerosis only affect human primates?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

't Hart, Bert A.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) develops exclusively in humans. Non-human primates are resistant against MS, although they are highly susceptible to the MS animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Unravelling of the cause(s) underlying this discrepancy is highly relevant as

Psychosocial predictors of affect in adult patients undergoing orthodontic treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Peñacoba, Cecilia; González, M José; Santos, Noelia; Romero, Martín

2014-02-01

In this paper we propose to study the role of psychosocial variables in affect in adult patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, considering that affect is a key variable in treatment adherence. Seventy-four patients (average age 33,24 ± 10,56) with metal multibracket-fixed orthodontic treatment were included. Patients were assessed twice. The first stage, at the beginning of treatment, included assessment of dental impact (Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire), trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), self-esteem (Rosenberg's self-esteem scale), and self-efficacy (General Self-efficacy Scale). In the second stage, 6 months later, positive and negative affect towards treatment was assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Dental social impact differentiates between patients with high and low negative affect, while self-efficacy differentiates between patients with high and low positive affect. Trait anxiety and self-esteem differentiate between both types of affect (positive and negative). Trait anxiety and self-esteem (when trait anxiety weight is controlled) are significant predictor variables of affective balance. These results have important practical implications, because it seems essential to adopt a bio-psychosocial model incorporating assessment methods focusing on day-to-day changes in mood and well-being.

Particle size and surface charge affect particle uptake by human dendritic cells in an in vitro model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foged, Camilla; Brodin, Birger; Frøkjær, Sven

2005-01-01

Current vaccine development includes optimization of antigen delivery to antigen presenting cells, such as dendritic cells (DC). Particulate systems have attracted increasing attention in the development of vaccine delivery systems. In the present study, we investigated DC uptake of model...... fluorescent polystyrene particles with a broad size range and variable surface properties. Localization of particles was investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy and uptake was quantified by flow cytometry. Immature DC were generated from mononuclear cells isolated from human blood...

XO-2b: A HOT JUPITER WITH A VARIABLE HOST STAR THAT POTENTIALLY AFFECTS ITS MEASURED TRANSIT DEPTH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zellem, Robert T.; Griffith, Caitlin A. [Department of Planetary Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Boulevard, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Pearson, Kyle A.; Fitzpatrick, M. Ryleigh; Teske, Johanna K.; Biddle, Lauren I. [Department of Astronomy, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Turner, Jake D. [Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Henry, Gregory W.; Williamson, Michael H., E-mail: rzellem@lpl.arizona.edu, E-mail: griffith@lpl.arizona.edu [Center of Excellence in Information Systems, Tennessee State University, 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd., P.O. Box 9501, Nashville, TN 37209 (United States)

2015-09-01

The transiting hot Jupiter XO-2b is an ideal target for multi-object photometry and spectroscopy as it has a relatively bright (V-mag = 11.25) K0V host star (XO-2N) and a large planet-to-star contrast ratio (R{sub p}/R{sub s} ≈ 0.015). It also has a nearby (31.″21) binary stellar companion (XO-2S) of nearly the same brightness (V-mag = 11.20) and spectral type (G9V), allowing for the characterization and removal of shared systematic errors (e.g., airmass brightness variations). We have therefore conducted a multiyear (2012–2015) study of XO-2b with the University of Arizona’s 61″ (1.55 m) Kuiper Telescope and Mont4k CCD in the Bessel U and Harris B photometric passbands to measure its Rayleigh scattering slope to place upper limits on the pressure-dependent radius at, e.g., 10 bar. Such measurements are needed to constrain its derived molecular abundances from primary transit observations. We have also been monitoring XO-2N since the 2013–2014 winter season with Tennessee State University’s Celestron-14 (0.36 m) automated imaging telescope to investigate stellar variability, which could affect XO-2b’s transit depth. Our observations indicate that XO-2N is variable, potentially due to cool star spots, with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.0049 ± 0.0007 R-mag and a period of 29.89 ± 0.16 days for the 2013–2014 observing season and a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.0035 ± 0.0007 R-mag and 27.34 ± 0.21 day period for the 2014–2015 observing season. Because of the likely influence of XO-2N’s variability on the derivation of XO-2b’s transit depth, we cannot bin multiple nights of data to decrease our uncertainties, preventing us from constraining its gas abundances. This study demonstrates that long-term monitoring programs of exoplanet host stars are crucial for understanding host star variability.

Interfacial modulation of urban affect

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Samson, Kristine

Urban culture can increasingly be understood as interface culture (Munster) in which urban design, cultural institutions and architecture increasingly operate as affective interfaces distributing and mediating human perception, consumption and social encounters. As noted by Amin and Thrift (2002......, Massey 2006), they also exclude in depth social and human interaction. Through analysis of three examples of urban affective interfaces (The High Line in New York, Superkilen in Copenhagen and Stålsat By, Frederiksværk, the paper examines how affective urban interfaces modulate and mediate urban...... environments as bodily and sensorial experiences. It asks what is mediated through the interface – whether the. It also asks, what is excluded when urban environments become affective interfaces in the global networked city. Whereas urban interface collect and distribute the bodily and sensible in relational...

Toxicokinetics of the food-toxin IQ in human placental perfusion is not affected by ABCG2 or xenobiotic metabolism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Immonen, E; Kummu, M; Petsalo, A

2010-01-01

Metabolizing enzymes and transporters affect toxicokinetics of foreign compounds (e.g. drugs and carcinogens) in human placenta. The heterocyclic amine, 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) is a food-borne carcinogen being metabolically activated by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, especial...

Introduction: Affective Ecologies and Conservation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neera M Singh

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Engaging the affective and materialist turn in the social sciences, this special section elaborates on how analytical attention on affect and affective relations is central to understanding human-nature relations and to conservation interventions. The contributors to this section use conceptual resources from affect theory, new materialism, and indigenous ontologies to illustrate the practical significance of paying attention to affect in understanding nature-society relations. This introduction reviews these conceptual resources to make a case for affective political ecology.

Influence of climate on emergency department visits for syncope: role of air temperature variability.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Galli

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Syncope is a clinical event characterized by a transient loss of consciousness, estimated to affect 6.2/1000 person-years, resulting in remarkable health care and social costs. Human pathophysiology suggests that heat may promote syncope during standing. We tested the hypothesis that the increase of air temperatures from January to July would be accompanied by an increased rate of syncope resulting in a higher frequency of Emergency Department (ED visits. We also evaluated the role of maximal temperature variability in affecting ED visits for syncope. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We included 770 of 2775 consecutive subjects who were seen for syncope at four EDs between January and July 2004. This period was subdivided into three epochs of similar length: 23 January-31 March, 1 April-31 May and 1 June-31 July. Spectral techniques were used to analyze oscillatory components of day by day maximal temperature and syncope variability and assess their linear relationship. There was no correlation between daily maximum temperatures and number of syncope. ED visits for syncope were lower in June and July when maximal temperature variability declined although the maximal temperatures themselves were higher. Frequency analysis of day by day maximal temperature variability showed a major non-random fluctuation characterized by a ∼23-day period and two minor oscillations with ∼3- and ∼7-day periods. This latter oscillation was correlated with a similar ∼7-day fluctuation in ED visits for syncope. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that ED visits for syncope were not predicted by daily maximal temperature but were associated with increased temperature variability. A ∼7-day rhythm characterized both maximal temperatures and ED visits for syncope variability suggesting that climate changes may have a significant effect on the mode of syncope occurrence.

Disease in a more variable and unpredictable climate

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, T. A.; Raffel, T.; Rohr, J. R.; Halstead, N.; Venesky, M.; Romansic, J.

2014-12-01

Global climate change is shifting the dynamics of infectious diseases of humans and wildlife with potential adverse consequences for disease control. Despite this, the role of global climate change in the decline of biodiversity and the emergence of infectious diseases remains controversial. Climate change is expected to increase climate variability in addition to increasing mean temperatures, making climate less predictable. However, few empirical or theoretical studies have considered the effects of climate variability or predictability on disease, despite it being likely that hosts and parasites will have differential responses to climatic shifts. Here we present a theoretical framework for how temperature variation and its predictability influence disease risk by affecting host and parasite acclimation responses. Laboratory experiments and field data on disease-associated frog declines in Latin America support this framework and provide evidence that unpredictable temperature fluctuations, on both monthly and diurnal timescales, decrease frog resistance to the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Furthermore, the pattern of temperature-dependent growth of the fungus on frogs was inconsistent with the pattern of Bd growth in culture, emphasizing the importance of accounting for the host-parasite interaction when predicting climate-dependent disease dynamics. Consistent with our laboratory experiments, increased regional temperature variability associated with global El Niño climatic events was the best predictor of widespread amphibian losses in the genus Atelopus. Thus, incorporating the effects of small-scale temporal variability in climate can greatly improve our ability to predict the effects of climate change on disease.

Latent variables and route choice behavior

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prato, Carlo Giacomo; Bekhor, Shlomo; Pronello, Cristina

2012-01-01

In the last decade, a broad array of disciplines has shown a general interest in enhancing discrete choice models by considering the incorporation of psychological factors affecting decision making. This paper provides insight into the comprehension of the determinants of route choice behavior...... and bound algorithm. A hybrid model consists of measurement equations, which relate latent variables to measurement indicators and utilities to choice indicators, and structural equations, which link travelers’ observable characteristics to latent variables and explanatory variables to utilities. Estimation...

Evaluation of Several Learning Environment Variables at Secondary Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murat Tuncer

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Health is an issue whose importance needs to be focused in the learning environment and learning activities in education. The level of teaching and learning is known to effect health of learners. Learning environments are teeming with many variables. Ambient temperature, noise, humidity and illumination are a few of them. If these variables are outside the specified limits for ambient levels this may need to a loss of learning and adversely affect the health of learners. This research was conducted to evaluate this aspect at institutions of secondary education in Turkey. The literature discusses the findings of various measurements that were taken with a variety of devices such as the Environment Meter-DT 8820, GMI PN 66094 and AARONIA AG SPECTRAN at randomly selected schools and classes. The temperature and carbon dioxide values in the classrooms were outside the defined limits according to research findings. In addition, many classrooms had noise levels above limits which could impair human health and some color selections in classrooms were made incorrectly. When the results of the findings are analyzed, we find the learner’s metabolism is negatively affected; attention loss and serious health problems may be experienced in the long run. It is highly recommended that laws and regulations regarding school construction and settlement be enacted and that precise limits be defined in those laws. In addition, it is thought establishing electromechanical systems to measure indoor and outdoor air quality in classrooms would bring benefits

Does Globalization Affect Human Well-Being?

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Tsai, Ming-Chang

2007-01-01

The prevailing theorizing of globalization's influence of human well-being suggests to assess both the favorable and unfavorable outcomes. This study formulates a dialectical model, adopts a comprehensive globalization measure and uses a three-wave panel data during 1980-2000 to empirically test direct and indirect effects of global flows' human…

Phenotypic variability in LQT3 human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and their response to antiarrhythmic pharmacologic therapy: An in silico approach.

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Paci, Michelangelo; Passini, Elisa; Severi, Stefano; Hyttinen, Jari; Rodriguez, Blanca

2017-11-01

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are in vitro models with the clear advantages of their human origin and suitability for human disease investigations. However, limitations include their incomplete characterization and variability reported in different cell lines and laboratories. The purpose of this study was to investigate in silico ionic mechanisms potentially explaining the phenotypic variability of hiPSC-CMs in long QT syndrome type 3 (LQT3) and their response to antiarrhythmic drugs. Populations of in silico hiPSC-CM models were constructed and calibrated for control (n = 1,463 models) and LQT3 caused by I NaL channelopathy (n = 1,401 models), using experimental recordings for late sodium current (I NaL ) and action potentials (APs). Antiarrhythmic drug therapy was evaluated by simulating mexiletine and ranolazine multichannel effects. As in experiments, LQT3 hiPSC-CMs yield prolonged action potential duration at 90% repolarization (APD 90 ) (+34.3% than controls) and large electrophysiological variability. LQT3 hiPSC-CMs with symptomatic APs showed overexpression of I CaL , I K1 , and I NaL , underexpression of I Kr , and increased sensitivity to both drugs compared to asymptomatic LQT3 models. Simulations showed that both mexiletine and ranolazine corrected APD prolongation in the LQT3 population but also highlighted differences in drug response. Mexiletine stops spontaneous APs in more LQT3 hiPSC-CMs models than ranolazine (784/1,401 vs 53/1,401) due to its stronger action on I Na . In silico simulations demonstrate our ability to recapitulate variability in LQT3 and control hiPSC-CM phenotypes, and the ability of mexiletine and ranolazine to reduce APD prolongation, in agreement with experiments. The in silico models also identify potential ionic mechanisms of phenotypic variability in LQT3 hiPSC-CMs, explaining APD prolongation in symptomatic vs asymptomatic LQT3 hiPSC-CMs. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by

Bayesian Hierarchical Structure for Quantifying Population Variability to Inform Probabilistic Health Risk Assessments.

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Shao, Kan; Allen, Bruce C; Wheeler, Matthew W

2017-10-01

Human variability is a very important factor considered in human health risk assessment for protecting sensitive populations from chemical exposure. Traditionally, to account for this variability, an interhuman uncertainty factor is applied to lower the exposure limit. However, using a fixed uncertainty factor rather than probabilistically accounting for human variability can hardly support probabilistic risk assessment advocated by a number of researchers; new methods are needed to probabilistically quantify human population variability. We propose a Bayesian hierarchical model to quantify variability among different populations. This approach jointly characterizes the distribution of risk at background exposure and the sensitivity of response to exposure, which are commonly represented by model parameters. We demonstrate, through both an application to real data and a simulation study, that using the proposed hierarchical structure adequately characterizes variability across different populations. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL VARIABLES AFFECTING THE USE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

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TUNÇ DEMİRBİLEK

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Management’s safety approach and commitment are related to occupational health and safety applications in workplaces. However, personal characteristics and attitudes on their health of employees are very influential factors on occupational health and safety applications. For examine of interaction between behaviors and the health and safety applications it is required that determine of employee’s perceptions. For this reason this paper’s purpose is to establish of safety needs, attitudes and behaviors of employees and their perceptions regarding management’s safety approach and applications. The study’s focal point is use of personal protective equipment as an indicator “safety behavior”. In empirical study, assumption variables regarding the use of personal protective equipment are safety effectively, safety need, management attitudes and protective equipment conditions. The fundamental hypothesis of this paper is use of personal protective equipment is related to individual and organizational variables. Implications of research findings are to indicate impelling the workers to safety behaviour or using the personal protective equipment by their feeling of the safety behaviour and availability of personal protective equipment.

Demographic and psychological variables affecting test subject evaluations of ride quality

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Duncan, N. C.; Conley, H. W.

1975-01-01

Ride-quality experiments similar in objectives, design, and procedure were conducted, one using the U.S. Air Force Total In-Flight Simulator and the other using the Langley Passenger Ride Quality Apparatus to provide the motion environments. Large samples (80 or more per experiment) of test subjects were recruited from the Tidewater Virginia area and asked to rate the comfort (on a 7-point scale) of random aircraft motion typical of that encountered during STOL flights. Test subject characteristics of age, sex, and previous flying history (number of previous airplane flights) were studied in a two by three by three factorial design. Correlations were computed between one dependent measure, the subject's mean comfort rating, and various demographic characteristics, attitudinal variables, and the scores on Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. An effect of sex was found in one of the studies. Males made higher (more uncomfortable) ratings of the ride than females. Age and number of previous flights were not significantly related to comfort ratings. No significant interactions between the variables of age, sex, or previous number of flights were observed.

Additive effects of affective arousal and top-down attention on the event-related brain responses to human bodies.

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Hietanen, Jari K; Kirjavainen, Ilkka; Nummenmaa, Lauri

2014-12-01

The early visual event-related 'N170 response' is sensitive to human body configuration and it is enhanced to nude versus clothed bodies. We tested whether the N170 response as well as later EPN and P3/LPP responses to nude bodies reflect the effect of increased arousal elicited by these stimuli, or top-down allocation of object-based attention to the nude bodies. Participants saw pictures of clothed and nude bodies and faces. In each block, participants were asked to direct their attention towards stimuli from a specified target category while ignoring others. Object-based attention did not modulate the N170 amplitudes towards attended stimuli; instead N170 response was larger to nude bodies compared to stimuli from other categories. Top-down attention and affective arousal had additive effects on the EPN and P3/LPP responses reflecting later processing stages. We conclude that nude human bodies have a privileged status in the visual processing system due to the affective arousal they trigger. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental setting and natural factors and human influences affecting water quality in the White River Basin, Indiana

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Schnoebelen, Douglas J.; Fenelon, Joseph M.; Baker, Nancy T.; Martin, Jeffrey D.; Bayless, E. Randall; Jacques, David V.; Crawford, Charles G.

1999-01-01

The White River Basin drains 11,349 square miles of central and southern Indiana and is one of 59 Study Units selected for water-quality assessment as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National WaterQuality Assessment Program. Defining the environmental setting of the basin and identifying the natural factors and human influences that affect water quality are important parts of the assessment.

Century-scale Changes in Environmental Synchrony and Variability and their Effects on Populations of Birds and Reproduction of Trees

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Koenig, W.

2016-12-01

The ecological impacts of modern global climate change are detectable in a wide variety of phenomena ranging from shifts in species ranges to changes in community composition and human disease dynamics. Thus far, however, little attention has been given to temporal changes in environmental spatial synchrony-the coincident change in abundance or value across the landscape-or environmental variability, despite the importance of these factors as drivers of population rescue and extinction and reproductive dynamics of both animal and plant populations. We quantified spatial synchrony of widespread North American wintering birds species using Audubon Christmas Bird Counts over the past 50 years and seed set variability (mast fruiting) among trees over the past century and found that both spatial synchrony of the birds and seed set variability have significantly increased over these time periods. The first of these results was mirrored by significant increases in spatial synchrony of mean maximum air temperature across North America, primarily during the summer, while the second is consistent with the hypothesis that climate change is resulting in greater seed set variability. These findings suggest the potential for temporal changes in envioronmental synchrony and variability to be affecting a wide range of ecological phenomena by influencing the probability of population rescue and extinction and by affecting ecosystem processes that rely on the resource pulses provided by mast fruiting plants.

The Affective Dimensions of Mathematical Difficulties in Schoolchildren

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Morena Lebens

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Mathematical difficulties (MDs are frequently characterised by cognitive deficits such as ineffective problem solving strategies and a lack of computational fluency. The established literature indicates that mathematical achievement is not only a function of cognitive factors but it also points to the importance of affective factors for the development of mathematical achievement. In the light of this evidence, the exploration of children's affective responses towards mathematics becomes a central issue. Whereas previous studies tended to research affective motivational constructs such as self-efficacy in isolation from other related constructs, the literature suffers from a shortage of research on the relationship between different affective motivational variables and their impact on mathematical achievement in different age and achievement bands. The present paper aims to address this aim by employing a newly developed instrument to measure affective motivational variables. Overall, the present findings support the assumption that children of average ability are less influenced by affective factors than children with mathematical difficulties.

EDC IMPACT: Chemical UV filters can affect human sperm function in a progesterone-like manner.

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Rehfeld, A; Egeberg, D L; Almstrup, K; Petersen, J H; Dissing, S; Skakkebæk, N E

2018-01-01

Human sperm cell function must be precisely regulated to achieve natural fertilization. Progesterone released by the cumulus cells surrounding the egg induces a Ca 2+ influx into human sperm cells via the CatSper Ca 2+ -channel and thereby controls sperm function. Multiple chemical UV filters have been shown to induce a Ca 2+ influx through CatSper, thus mimicking the effect of progesterone on Ca 2+ signaling. We hypothesized that these UV filters could also mimic the effect of progesterone on sperm function. We examined 29 UV filters allowed in sunscreens in the US and/or EU for their ability to affect acrosome reaction, penetration, hyperactivation and viability in human sperm cells. We found that, similar to progesterone, the UV filters 4-MBC, 3-BC, Meradimate, Octisalate, BCSA, HMS and OD-PABA induced acrosome reaction and 3-BC increased sperm penetration into a viscous medium. The capacity of the UV filters to induce acrosome reaction and increase sperm penetration was positively associated with the ability of the UV filters to induce a Ca 2+ influx. None of the UV filters induced significant changes in the proportion of hyperactivated cells. In conclusion, chemical UV filters that mimic the effect of progesterone on Ca 2+ signaling in human sperm cells can similarly mimic the effect of progesterone on acrosome reaction and sperm penetration. Human exposure to these chemical UV filters may impair fertility by interfering with sperm function, e.g. through induction of premature acrosome reaction. Further studies are needed to confirm the results in vivo . © 2018 The authors.

EDC IMPACT: Chemical UV filters can affect human sperm function in a progesterone-like manner

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A Rehfeld

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Human sperm cell function must be precisely regulated to achieve natural fertilization. Progesterone released by the cumulus cells surrounding the egg induces a Ca2+ influx into human sperm cells via the CatSper Ca2+-channel and thereby controls sperm function. Multiple chemical UV filters have been shown to induce a Ca2+ influx through CatSper, thus mimicking the effect of progesterone on Ca2+ signaling. We hypothesized that these UV filters could also mimic the effect of progesterone on sperm function. We examined 29 UV filters allowed in sunscreens in the US and/or EU for their ability to affect acrosome reaction, penetration, hyperactivation and viability in human sperm cells. We found that, similar to progesterone, the UV filters 4-MBC, 3-BC, Meradimate, Octisalate, BCSA, HMS and OD-PABA induced acrosome reaction and 3-BC increased sperm penetration into a viscous medium. The capacity of the UV filters to induce acrosome reaction and increase sperm penetration was positively associated with the ability of the UV filters to induce a Ca2+ influx. None of the UV filters induced significant changes in the proportion of hyperactivated cells. In conclusion, chemical UV filters that mimic the effect of progesterone on Ca2+ signaling in human sperm cells can similarly mimic the effect of progesterone on acrosome reaction and sperm penetration. Human exposure to these chemical UV filters may impair fertility by interfering with sperm function, e.g. through induction of premature acrosome reaction. Further studies are needed to confirm the results in vivo.

Rainfall erosivity and sediment load over the Poyang Lake Basin under variable climate and human activities since the 1960s

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Gu, Chaojun; Mu, Xingmin; Gao, Peng; Zhao, Guangju; Sun, Wenyi; Yu, Qiang

2018-03-01

Accelerated soil erosion exerts adverse effects on water and soil resources. Rainfall erosivity reflects soil erosion potential driven by rainfall, which is essential for soil erosive risk assessment. This study investigated the spatiotemporal variation of rainfall erosivity and its impacts on sediment load over the largest freshwater lake basin of China (the Poyang Lake Basin, abbreviate to PYLB). The spatiotemporal variations of rainfall erosivity from 1961 to 2014 based on 57 meteorological stations were detected using the Mann-Kendall test, linear regression, and kriging interpolation method. The sequential t test analysis of regime shift (STARS) was employed to identify the abrupt changes of sediment load, and the modified double mass curve was used to assess the impacts of rainfall erosivity variability on sediment load. It was found that there was significant increase (P change-points were identified in both 1985 and 2003. It was found that take annual rainfall erosivity as the explanatory variables of the double mass curves is more reasonable than annual rainfall and erosive rainfall. The estimation via the modified double mass curve demonstrated that compared with the period before change-point (1961-1984), the changes of rainfall erosivity increased 8.0 and 2.1% of sediment load during 1985-2002 and 2003-2014, respectively. Human activities decreased 50.2 and 69.7% of sediment load during the last two periods, which indicated effects of human activities on sediment load change was much larger than that of rainfall erosivity variability in the PYLB.

Adaptive antibody diversification through N-linked glycosylation of the immunoglobulin variable region.

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van de Bovenkamp, Fleur S; Derksen, Ninotska I L; Ooijevaar-de Heer, Pleuni; van Schie, Karin A; Kruithof, Simone; Berkowska, Magdalena A; van der Schoot, C Ellen; IJspeert, Hanna; van der Burg, Mirjam; Gils, Ann; Hafkenscheid, Lise; Toes, René E M; Rombouts, Yoann; Plomp, Rosina; Wuhrer, Manfred; van Ham, S Marieke; Vidarsson, Gestur; Rispens, Theo

2018-02-20

A hallmark of B-cell immunity is the generation of a diverse repertoire of antibodies from a limited set of germline V(D)J genes. This repertoire is usually defined in terms of amino acid composition. However, variable domains may also acquire N -linked glycans, a process conditional on the introduction of consensus amino acid motifs ( N -glycosylation sites) during somatic hypermutation. High levels of variable domain glycans have been associated with autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis, as well as certain follicular lymphomas. However, the role of these glycans in the humoral immune response remains poorly understood. Interestingly, studies have reported both positive and negative effects on antibody affinity. Our aim was to elucidate the role of variable domain glycans during antigen-specific antibody responses. By analyzing B-cell repertoires by next-generation sequencing, we demonstrate that N -glycosylation sites are introduced at positions in which glycans can affect antigen binding as a result of a specific clustering of progenitor glycosylation sites in the germline sequences of variable domain genes. By analyzing multiple human monoclonal and polyclonal (auto)antibody responses, we subsequently show that this process is subject to selection during antigen-specific antibody responses, skewed toward IgG4, and positively contributes to antigen binding. Together, these results highlight a physiological role for variable domain glycosylation as an additional layer of antibody diversification that modulates antigen binding.

Natural and Human-Induced Variability in Barrier-Island Response to Sea Level Rise

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Miselis, Jennifer L.; Lorenzo-Trueba, Jorge

2017-12-01

Storm-driven sediment fluxes onto and behind barrier islands help coastal barrier systems keep pace with sea level rise (SLR). Understanding what controls cross-shore sediment flux magnitudes is critical for making accurate forecasts of barrier response to increased SLR rates. Here, using an existing morphodynamic model for barrier island evolution, observations are used to constrain model parameters and explore potential variability in future barrier behavior. Using modeled drowning outcomes as a proxy for vulnerability to SLR, 0%, 28%, and 100% of the barrier is vulnerable to SLR rates of 4, 7, and 10 mm/yr, respectively. When only overwash fluxes are increased in the model, drowning vulnerability increases for the same rates of SLR, suggesting that future increases in storminess may increase island vulnerability particularly where sediment resources are limited. Developed sites are more vulnerable to SLR, indicating that anthropogenic changes to overwash fluxes and estuary depths could profoundly affect future barrier response to SLR.

The Effect of Trust and Service Quality Toward Patient Satisfaction with Customer Value as Intervening Variable

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Netty Laura

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The research was conducted at Laboratory Installation RSPI of Prof. Dr. Sulianti Saroso (RSPI-SS. Unit of analysis was patients of Medical Check Up in Laboratory Installation of RSPI-SS which is located in Sunter, North Jakarta. The samples of this research were 93 patients from 121 populations; the research method was purposive sampling technique. The instrument of statistic analysis was through PLS 3.0 which was used to test the hypothesis. The research finds seven hypotheses as the results. They are variable of trust which affects customer satisfaction positively but does not significantly affect to customer satisfaction, variable of trust which affects customer satisfaction negatively but significantly affects the customer value, variable of service quality which affects to customer satisfaction positively and significantly, variable of service quality which affected to customer value positively and significantly, variable of customer value which affects positively and significantly to customer satisfaction, intervention of customer value on the trust to customer satisfaction which affects negatively and significantly, and intervention of customer value on service quality to customer satisfaction which affects positively but not significantly.

Human Stressors Are Driving Coastal Benthic Long-Lived Sessile Fan Mussel Pinna nobilis Population Structure More than Environmental Stressors.

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Deudero, Salud; Vázquez-Luis, Maite; Álvarez, Elvira

2015-01-01

Coastal degradation and habitat disruption are severely compromising sessile marine species. The fan shell Pinna nobilis is an endemic, vulnerable species and the largest bivalve in the Mediterranean basin. In spite of species legal protection, fan shell populations are declining. Models analyzed the contributions of environmental (mean depth, wave height, maximum wave height, period of waves with high energy and mean direction of wave source) versus human-derived stressors (anchoring, protection status, sewage effluents, fishing activity and diving) as explanatory variables depicting Pinna nobilis populations at a mesoscale level. Human stressors were explaining most of the variability in density spatial distribution of fan shell, significantly disturbing benthic communities. Habitat protection affected P. nobilis structure and physical aggression by anchoring reveals a high impact on densities. Environmental variables instead played a secondary role, indicating that global change processes are not so relevant in coastal benthic communities as human-derived impacts.

Reprogramming Methods Do Not Affect Gene Expression Profile of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

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Marta Trevisan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs are pluripotent cells derived from adult somatic cells. After the pioneering work by Yamanaka, who first generated iPSCs by retroviral transduction of four reprogramming factors, several alternative methods to obtain iPSCs have been developed in order to increase the yield and safety of the process. However, the question remains open on whether the different reprogramming methods can influence the pluripotency features of the derived lines. In this study, three different strategies, based on retroviral vectors, episomal vectors, and Sendai virus vectors, were applied to derive iPSCs from human fibroblasts. The reprogramming efficiency of the methods based on episomal and Sendai virus vectors was higher than that of the retroviral vector-based approach. All human iPSC clones derived with the different methods showed the typical features of pluripotent stem cells, including the expression of alkaline phosphatase and stemness maker genes, and could give rise to the three germ layer derivatives upon embryoid bodies assay. Microarray analysis confirmed the presence of typical stem cell gene expression profiles in all iPSC clones and did not identify any significant difference among reprogramming methods. In conclusion, the use of different reprogramming methods is equivalent and does not affect gene expression profile of the derived human iPSCs.

A conceptual investigation of variables affecting the success and acceptance of SMS Marketing in Iran.

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Adhami, A; Rabiee, A; Adhami, M

2015-01-01

This paper's aim was to develop a conceptual overview of SMS marketing and delineate factors of new communications technologies on business practice. This study, which was a descriptive survey, was built on primary and secondary data source including a literature review of SMS marketing and a Questionnaire were used as the primary means of collecting secondary data. The sample size of 300 patients was determined according to the Cochran formula. Moreover, data analysis was done in SPSS by using linear regression, chi-square, t-test and Binomial test. According to the research, sex, age, education, relevance, timeliness, reliability to sender, sense of control were variables affecting the SMS marketing acceptance. This paper was qualitative and provided a solid conceptual foundation for the future empirical research on e- marketing. The potential limitation was related to the broad user of computer and mobile. In this research, we considered SMS marketing, Mobile marketing, SMS advertising as the same subject. This research will be a useful resource with important insight into the factors that may encourage or determine consumer acceptance of this new form of direct marketing. This paper addressed an important timely issue, and added to the body of literature and knowledge focusing on e-marketing.

The Affective Slider: A Digital Self-Assessment Scale for the Measurement of Human Emotions.

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Betella, Alberto; Verschure, Paul F M J

2016-01-01

Self-assessment methods are broadly employed in emotion research for the collection of subjective affective ratings. The Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), a pictorial scale developed in the eighties for the measurement of pleasure, arousal, and dominance, is still among the most popular self-reporting tools, despite having been conceived upon design principles which are today obsolete. By leveraging on state-of-the-art user interfaces and metacommunicative pictorial representations, we developed the Affective Slider (AS), a digital self-reporting tool composed of two slider controls for the quick assessment of pleasure and arousal. To empirically validate the AS, we conducted a systematic comparison between AS and SAM in a task involving the emotional assessment of a series of images taken from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), a database composed of pictures representing a wide range of semantic categories often used as a benchmark in psychological studies. Our results show that the AS is equivalent to SAM in the self-assessment of pleasure and arousal, with two added advantages: the AS does not require written instructions and it can be easily reproduced in latest-generation digital devices, including smartphones and tablets. Moreover, we compared new and normative IAPS ratings and found a general drop in reported arousal of pictorial stimuli. Not only do our results demonstrate that legacy scales for the self-report of affect can be replaced with new measurement tools developed in accordance to modern design principles, but also that standardized sets of stimuli which are widely adopted in research on human emotion are not as effective as they were in the past due to a general desensitization towards highly arousing content.

The Affective Slider: A Digital Self-Assessment Scale for the Measurement of Human Emotions.

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Alberto Betella

Full Text Available Self-assessment methods are broadly employed in emotion research for the collection of subjective affective ratings. The Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM, a pictorial scale developed in the eighties for the measurement of pleasure, arousal, and dominance, is still among the most popular self-reporting tools, despite having been conceived upon design principles which are today obsolete. By leveraging on state-of-the-art user interfaces and metacommunicative pictorial representations, we developed the Affective Slider (AS, a digital self-reporting tool composed of two slider controls for the quick assessment of pleasure and arousal. To empirically validate the AS, we conducted a systematic comparison between AS and SAM in a task involving the emotional assessment of a series of images taken from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS, a database composed of pictures representing a wide range of semantic categories often used as a benchmark in psychological studies. Our results show that the AS is equivalent to SAM in the self-assessment of pleasure and arousal, with two added advantages: the AS does not require written instructions and it can be easily reproduced in latest-generation digital devices, including smartphones and tablets. Moreover, we compared new and normative IAPS ratings and found a general drop in reported arousal of pictorial stimuli. Not only do our results demonstrate that legacy scales for the self-report of affect can be replaced with new measurement tools developed in accordance to modern design principles, but also that standardized sets of stimuli which are widely adopted in research on human emotion are not as effective as they were in the past due to a general desensitization towards highly arousing content.

Stability of Intercellular Exchange of Biochemical Substances Affected by Variability of Environmental Parameters

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Mihailović, Dragutin T.; Budinčević, Mirko; Balaž, Igor; Mihailović, Anja

Communication between cells is realized by exchange of biochemical substances. Due to internal organization of living systems and variability of external parameters, the exchange is heavily influenced by perturbations of various parameters at almost all stages of the process. Since communication is one of essential processes for functioning of living systems it is of interest to investigate conditions for its stability. Using previously developed simplified model of bacterial communication in a form of coupled difference logistic equations we investigate stability of exchange of signaling molecules under variability of internal and external parameters.

Stimulus variability and the phonetic relevance hypothesis: effects of variability in speaking style, fundamental frequency, and speaking rate on spoken word identification.

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Sommers, Mitchell S; Barcroft, Joe

2006-04-01

Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of trial-to-trial variations in speaking style, fundamental frequency, and speaking rate on identification of spoken words. In addition, the experiments investigated whether any effects of stimulus variability would be modulated by phonetic confusability (i.e., lexical difficulty). In Experiment 1, trial-to-trial variations in speaking style reduced the overall identification performance compared with conditions containing no speaking-style variability. In addition, the effects of variability were greater for phonetically confusable words than for phonetically distinct words. In Experiment 2, variations in fundamental frequency were found to have no significant effects on spoken word identification and did not interact with lexical difficulty. In Experiment 3, two different methods for varying speaking rate were found to have equivalent negative effects on spoken word recognition and similar interactions with lexical difficulty. Overall, the findings are consistent with a phonetic-relevance hypothesis, in which accommodating sources of acoustic-phonetic variability that affect phonetically relevant properties of speech signals can impair spoken word identification. In contrast, variability in parameters of the speech signal that do not affect phonetically relevant properties are not expected to affect overall identification performance. Implications of these findings for the nature and development of lexical representations are discussed.

Factors affecting farm diversification in rice-wheat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashfaq, M.; Hassan, S.; Naseer, M.Z.; Baig, I.A.; Asma, J.

2008-01-01

The risk in agriculture sector is due to various factors like weather and market conditions, particularly the demand of the commodities. This uncertainty can result in variable returns (farm income) to the decisions that farmers make in a particular season. Diversification is a frequently used risk management strategy that involves participation in more than one activity. It has the added advantage of mitigating price risk as well as fluctuations in outputs. The main purpose of this paper was to determine the factors affecting crop diversification. For determining the effect of different factors on diversification a multiple regression model was used. The values of Entropy index computed for measuring horizontal diversification were taken as dependent variable and different factors affecting diversification were taken as independent variables. The results showed that the main factors affecting diversification were size of land holding, age of respondent, education level of respondent, farming experience of respondent, off farm income of respondent, distance of farm from main road, distance of farm from main market and farm machinery. (author)

Selection on alleles affecting human longevity and late-life disease: the example of apolipoprotein E.

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Fotios Drenos

2010-04-01

Full Text Available It is often claimed that genes affecting health in old age, such as cardiovascular and Alzheimer diseases, are beyond the reach of natural selection. We show in a simulation study based on known genetic (apolipoprotein E and non-genetic risk factors (gender, diet, smoking, alcohol, exercise that, because there is a statistical distribution of ages at which these genes exert their influence on morbidity and mortality, the effects of selection are in fact non-negligible. A gradual increase with each generation of the epsilon2 and epsilon3 alleles of the gene at the expense of the epsilon4 allele was predicted from the model. The epsilon2 allele frequency was found to increase slightly more rapidly than that for epsilon3, although there was no statistically significant difference between the two. Our result may explain the recent evolutionary history of the epsilon 2, 3 and 4 alleles of the apolipoprotein E gene and has wider relevance for genes affecting human longevity.

Human resources management and firm performance: The differential role of managerial affective and continuance commitment.

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Gong, Yaping; Law, Kenneth S; Chang, Song; Xin, Katherine R

2009-01-01

In this study, the authors developed a dual-concern (i.e., maintenance and performance) model of human resources (HR) management. The authors identified commonly examined HR practices that apply to the middle manager level and classified them into the maintenance- and performance-oriented HR subsystems. The authors found support for the 2-factor model on the basis of responses from 2,148 managers from 463 firms operating in China. Regression results indicate that the performance-oriented HR subsystems had a positive relationship with firm performance and that the relationship was mediated by middle managers' affective commitment to the firm. The maintenance-oriented HR subsystems had a positive relationship with middle managers' continuance commitment but not with their affective commitment and firm performance. This study contributes to the understanding of how HR practices relate to firm performance and offers an improved test of the argument that valuable and firm-specific HR provide a source of competitive advantage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Toward hydro-social modeling: Merging human variables and the social sciences with climate-glacier runoff models (Santa River, Peru)

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Carey, Mark; Baraer, Michel; Mark, Bryan G.; French, Adam; Bury, Jeffrey; Young, Kenneth R.; McKenzie, Jeffrey M.

2014-10-01

Glacier shrinkage caused by climate change is likely to trigger diminished and less consistent stream flow in glacier-fed watersheds worldwide. To understand, model, and adapt to these climate-glacier-water changes, it is vital to integrate the analysis of both water availability (the domain of hydrologists) and water use (the focus for social scientists). Drawn from a case study of the Santa River watershed below Peru’s glaciated Cordillera Blanca mountain range, this paper provides a holistic hydro-social framework that identifies five major human variables critical to hydrological modeling because these forces have profoundly influenced water use over the last 60 years: (1) political agendas and economic development; (2) governance: laws and institutions; (3) technology and engineering; (4) land and resource use; and (5) societal responses. Notable shifts in Santa River water use-including major expansions in hydroelectricity generation, large-scale irrigation projects, and other land and resource-use practices-did not necessarily stem from changing glacier runoff or hydrologic shifts, but rather from these human variables. Ultimately, then, water usage is not predictable based on water availability alone. Glacier runoff conforms to certain expected trends predicted by models of progressively reduced glacier storage. However, societal forces establish the legal, economic, political, cultural, and social drivers that actually shape water usage patterns via human modification of watershed dynamics. This hydro-social framework has widespread implications for hydrological modeling in glaciated watersheds from the Andes and Alps to the Himalaya and Tien Shan, as well as for the development of climate change adaptation plans.

The effects of 72 hours of sleep loss on psychological variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Mikulincer, M; Babkoff, H; Caspy, T; Sing, H

1989-05-01

A study was conducted on the effects of 72 hours of sleep loss and modified continuous operations on performance and psychological variables. This paper presents the results of self-report data of 12 subjects for the following psychological variables: sleepiness, affect, motivation, cognitive difficulties, and waking dreams. The relationship between the self-report measures and performance in a visual search and memory task is also examined. Most of the psychological variables are significantly affected by the number of days of sleep deprivation, all are significantly affected by hour of day; but only sleepiness, affect and motivation are also significantly affected by the interaction between these variables. The peak hours for self-reported psychological complaints are generally between 0400 and 0800, while the lowest number of complaints are usually reported in the afternoon/early evening, between 1600 and 2000. In addition, the results showed that (a) the amplitude of the circadian component of the psychological data increased over the period of sleep loss, and (b) psychological data were more highly correlated with a measure of general performance than with accuracy. The mechanisms of sleep deprivation underlying its effects on psychological and performance measures are discussed.

Affective Computing used in an imaging interaction paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Nette

2003-01-01

This paper combines affective computing with an imaging interaction paradigm. An imaging interaction paradigm means that human and computer communicates primarily by images. Images evoke emotions in humans, so the computer must be able to behave emotionally intelligent. An affective image selection...

Taking stock of work-family initiatives: How announcements of "family-friendly" human resource decisions affect shareholder value.

OpenAIRE

Michelle M. Arthur; Alison Cook

2004-01-01

This study examines share price reactions to 231 work-family human resource policies adopted by Fortune 500 companies and announced in the Wall Street Journal between 1971 and 1996. Consistent with past research, the results suggest that firm announcements of work-family initiatives positively affected shareholder return. The authors also empirically test three hypotheses concerning how the timing of work-family initiatives influences shareholder reaction. They find that a pioneering company ...

BALANCE CAPACITY WITH VARIABILITY CAUSED BY HUMAN FACTOR: AN APPLICATION IN A LINE WITH MONTE CARLO SIMULATION