Fluid shear stress regulates vascular remodeling via VEGFR-3 activation, although independently of its ligand, VEGF-C, in the uterus during pregnancy

PubMed Central

Park, Yang-Gyu; Choi, Jawun; Jung, Hye-Kang; Song, In Kyu; Shin, Yongwhan; Park, Sang-Youel; Seol, Jae-Won

2017-01-01

Early pregnancy is characterized by an increase in the blood volume of the uterus for embryonic development, thereby exerting fluid shear stress (FSS) on the vascular walls. The uterus experiences vascular remodeling to accommodate the increased blood flow. The blood flow-induced FSS elevates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and their receptors, and regulates vascular remodeling through the activation of VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3). However, the mechanisms responsible for FSS-induced VEGFR-3 expression in the uterus during pregnancy are unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that vascular remodeling in the uterus during pregnancy is regulated by FSS-induced VEGFR-3 expression. We examined the association between VEGFR-3 and FSS through in vivo and in vitro experiments. In vivo experiments revealed VEGFR-3 expression in the CD31-positive region of the uterus of pregnant mice; VEGF-C (ligand for VEGFR-3) was undetected in the uterus. These results confirmed that VEGFR-3 expression in the endometrium is independent of its ligand. In vitro studies experiments revealed that FSS induced morphological changes and increased VEGFR-3 expression in human uterine microvascular endothelial cells. Thus, VEGFR-3 activation by FSS is associated with vascular remodeling to allow increased blood flow in the uterus during pregnancy. PMID:28849193

Fluid shear stress regulates vascular remodeling via VEGFR-3 activation, although independently of its ligand, VEGF-C, in the uterus during pregnancy.

PubMed

Park, Yang-Gyu; Choi, Jawun; Jung, Hye-Kang; Song, In Kyu; Shin, Yongwhan; Park, Sang-Youel; Seol, Jae-Won

2017-10-01

Early pregnancy is characterized by an increase in the blood volume of the uterus for embryonic development, thereby exerting fluid shear stress (FSS) on the vascular walls. The uterus experiences vascular remodeling to accommodate the increased blood flow. The blood flow‑induced FSS elevates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and their receptors, and regulates vascular remodeling through the activation of VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3). However, the mechanisms responsible for FSS-induced VEGFR-3 expression in the uterus during pregnancy are unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that vascular remodeling in the uterus during pregnancy is regulated by FSS-induced VEGFR-3 expression. We examined the association between VEGFR-3 and FSS through in vivo and in vitro experiments. In vivo experiments revealed VEGFR-3 expression in the CD31-positive region of the uterus of pregnant mice; VEGF-C (ligand for VEGFR‑3) was undetected in the uterus. These results confirmed that VEGFR-3 expression in the endometrium is independent of its ligand. In vitro studies experiments revealed that FSS induced morphological changes and increased VEGFR-3 expression in human uterine microvascular endothelial cells. Thus, VEGFR-3 activation by FSS is associated with vascular remodeling to allow increased blood flow in the uterus during pregnancy.

Effects of signaling inescapable shock on subsequent escape learning: implications for theories of coping and "learned helplessness".

PubMed

Jackson, R L; Minor, T R

1988-10-01

The present experiments reveal that shuttle-escape performance deficits are eliminated when exteroceptive cues are paired with inescapable shock. Experiment 1 indicated that, as in instrumental control, a signal following inescapable shock eliminated later escape performance deficits. Subsequent experiments revealed that both forward and backward pairings between signals and inescapable shock attenuated performance deficits. However, the data also suggest that the impact of these temporal relations may be modulated by qualitative aspects of the cues because the effects of these relations depended upon whether an increase or decrease in illumination (Experiment 2) or a compound auditory cue (Experiment 4) was used. Preliminary evidence suggests that the ability of illumination cues to block escape learning deficits may be related to their to reduce contextual fear (Experiment 3). The implications of these data for conceptions of instrumental control and the role of fear in the etiology of effects of inescapable shock exposure are discussed.

Student Experiences of Neurodiversity in Higher Education: Insights from the BRAINHE Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffin, Edward; Pollak, David

2009-01-01

The number of students with identified learning differences (LDs) of all kinds is increasing in higher education. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 27 current and previous students with a range of specific LDs by means of semi-structured interviews, using a thematic approach. The findings revealed that participants shared many…

Trajectories of Female Student's Career Decision between High School and College: Organizationally Separate but Developmentally Linked

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Kyung-Nyun

2012-01-01

This study examined the relationships between experiences in high school, the choice of college majors, and postcollege career decisions among female college students in Korea, applying growth curve modeling. Findings revealed that as students gained college experience, the possibility of a career-related decision increased each year, but slowly.…

Music-induced changes in functional cerebral asymmetries.

PubMed

Hausmann, Markus; Hodgetts, Sophie; Eerola, Tuomas

2016-04-01

After decades of research, it remains unclear whether emotion lateralization occurs because one hemisphere is dominant for processing the emotional content of the stimuli, or whether emotional stimuli activate lateralised networks associated with the subjective emotional experience. By using emotion-induction procedures, we investigated the effect of listening to happy and sad music on three well-established lateralization tasks. In a prestudy, Mozart's piano sonata (K. 448) and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata were rated as the most happy and sad excerpts, respectively. Participants listened to either one emotional excerpt, or sat in silence before completing an emotional chimeric faces task (Experiment 1), visual line bisection task (Experiment 2) and a dichotic listening task (Experiment 3 and 4). Listening to happy music resulted in a reduced right hemispheric bias in facial emotion recognition (Experiment 1) and visuospatial attention (Experiment 2) and increased left hemispheric bias in language lateralization (Experiments 3 and 4). Although Experiments 1-3 revealed an increased positive emotional state after listening to happy music, mediation analyses revealed that the effect on hemispheric asymmetries was not mediated by music-induced emotional changes. The direct effect of music listening on lateralization was investigated in Experiment 4 in which tempo of the happy excerpt was manipulated by controlling for other acoustic features. However, the results of Experiment 4 made it rather unlikely that tempo is the critical cue accounting for the effects. We conclude that listening to music can affect functional cerebral asymmetries in well-established emotional and cognitive laterality tasks, independent of music-induced changes in the emotion state. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Retrieval Practice and Spacing Effects in Young and Older Adults: An Examination of the Benefits of Desirable Difficulty

PubMed Central

Maddox, Geoffrey B.; Balota, David A.

2015-01-01

The present study examined how the function relating continued retrieval practice (e.g., 1, 3, or 5 tests) and long-term memory retention is modulated by desirable difficulty (Bjork, 1994). Of particular interest was how retrieval difficulty differed across young and older adults and across manipulations of lag (Experiment 1) and spacing (Experiment 2). To extend on previous studies, acquisition phase response latency was used as a proxy for retrieval difficulty, and analysis of final test performance was conditionalized on acquisition phase retrieval success to more directly examine the influence of desirable difficulty on retention. Results from Experiment 1 revealed that continued testing in the short lag condition led to consistent increases in retention, whereas continued testing in the long lag condition led to increasingly smaller benefits in retention for both age groups. Results from Experiment 2 revealed that repeated spaced testing enhanced retention relative to taking one spaced test for both age groups; however, repeated massed testing only enhanced retention over taking one test for young adults. Across both experiments, the response latency results were overall consistent with an influence of desirable difficulty on retention. Discussion focuses on the role of desirable difficulty during encoding in producing the benefits of lag, spacing, and testing. PMID:25616776

A comprehensive test of evolutionarily increased competitive ability in a highly invasive plant species

PubMed Central

Joshi, Srijana; Gruntman, Michal; Bilton, Mark; Seifan, Merav; Tielbörger, Katja

2014-01-01

Background and Aims A common hypothesis to explain plants' invasive success is that release from natural enemies in the introduced range selects for reduced allocation to resistance traits and a subsequent increase in resources available for growth and competitive ability (evolution of increased competitive ability, EICA). However, studies that have investigated this hypothesis have been incomplete as they either did not test for all aspects of competitive ability or did not select appropriate competitors. Methods Here, the prediction of increased competitive ability was examined with the invasive plant Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) in a set of common-garden experiments that addressed these aspects by carefully distinguishing between competitive effect and response of invasive and native plants, and by using both intraspecific and interspecific competition settings with a highly vigorous neighbour, Urtica dioica (stinging nettle), which occurs in both ranges. Key Results While the intraspecific competition results showed no differences in competitive effect or response between native and invasive plants, the interspecific competition experiment revealed greater competitive response and effect of invasive plants in both biomass and seed production. Conclusions The use of both intra- and interspecific competition experiments in this study revealed opposing results. While the first experiment refutes the EICA hypothesis, the second shows strong support for it, suggesting evolutionarily increased competitive ability in invasive populations of L. salicaria. It is suggested that the use of naturally co-occurring heterospecifics, rather than conspecifics, may provide a better evaluation of the possible evolutionary shift towards greater competitive ability. PMID:25301818

Effect of storage of pheromone lures for Amyelois transitella: field performance and compound ratios

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Experiments during the flight of the overwintering generation of navel orangeworm revealed that Suterra NOW Biolure pheromone lures held in storage at -20°C increased significantly in field effectiveness with time in storage over a period of 0-2 years. This increase in field effectiveness coincided ...

A longitudinal study of conversations with parents about sex and dating during college.

PubMed

Morgan, Elizabeth M; Thorne, Avril; Zurbriggen, Eileen L

2010-01-01

Emerging adulthood is a time of sexual and romantic relationship development as well as change in the parent-child relationship. This study provides a longitudinal analysis of 30 young adults' (17 women, 13 men) sexual experiences, attitudes about sexuality and dating, and reported conversations with parents about sexuality and dating from the 1st and 4th years of college. Self-report questionnaires revealed increases in general closeness with parents, increases in sexual and dating experiences, and more sexually permissive as well as more gender stereotyped attitudes. Qualitative analyses of individual interviews indicated a movement from unilateral and restrictive sex-based topics to more reciprocal and relationship-focused conversations over time. Gender analyses revealed that young women reported more restrictive sex messages and young men more positive sex messages. Participants also described increased openness and comfort in talking about sexual topics with both mothers and fathers from the 1st to 4th year of college. Overall, the results suggest that prior findings of increased mutuality with parents during the college years extend to the traditionally taboo topic of sexuality. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Neural mechanisms underlying ecstasy-related attentional bias.

PubMed

Roberts, Gloria M P; Garavan, Hugh

2013-08-30

Conditioned responses to cues associated with drug taking play a pivotal role in a number of theories of drug addiction. This study examined whether attentional biases towards drug-related cues exist in recreational drug users who predominantly used ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine). Experiment 1 compared 30 ecstasy users, 25 cannabis users, and 30 controls in an attentional distraction task in which neutral, evocative, and ecstasy-related pictures were presented within a coloured border, requiring participants to respond as quickly as possible to the border colour. Experiment 2 employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the attentional distraction task and tested 20 ecstasy users and 20 controls. Experiment 1 revealed significant response speed interference by the ecstasy-related pictures in the ecstasy users only. Experiment 2 revealed increased prefrontal and occipital activity in ecstasy users in all conditions. Activations in response to the ecstasy stimuli in these regions showed an apparent antagonism whereby ecstasy users, relative to controls, showed increased occipital but decreased right prefrontal activation. These results are interpreted to reflect increased visual processing of, and decreased prefrontal control over, the irrelevant but salient ecstasy-related stimuli. These results suggest that right inferior frontal cortex may play an important role in controlling drug-related attentional biases and may thus play an important role in mediating control over drug usage. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of fenofibrate on oxidative DNA damage and on gene expression related to cell proliferation and apoptosis in rats.

PubMed

Nishimura, Jihei; Dewa, Yasuaki; Muguruma, Masako; Kuroiwa, Yuichi; Yasuno, Hiroaki; Shima, Tomomi; Jin, Mailan; Takahashi, Miwa; Umemura, Takashi; Mitsumori, Kunitoshi

2007-05-01

To investigate the relationship between fenofibrate (FF) and oxidative stress, enzymatic, histopathological, and molecular biological analyses were performed in the liver of male F344 rats fed 2 doses of FF (Experiment 1; 0 and 6000 ppm) for 3 weeks and 3 doses (Experiment 2; 0, 3000, and 6000 ppm) for 9 weeks. FF treatment increased the activity of enzymes such as carnitine acetyltransferase, carnitine palmitoyltransferase, fatty acyl-CoA oxidizing system, and catalase in the liver. However, it decreased those of superoxide dismutase in the liver in both experiments. Increased 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels in liver DNA and lipofuscin accumulation were observed in the treated rats of Experiment 2. In vitro measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in rat liver microsomes revealed a dose-dependent increase due to FF treatment. Microarray (only Experiment 1) or real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed that the expression levels of metabolism and DNA repair-related genes such as Aco, Cyp4a1, Cat, Yc2, Gpx2, Apex1, Xrcc5, Mgmt, Mlh1, Gadd45a, and Nbn were increased in FF-treated rats. These results provide evidence of a direct or indirect relationship between oxidative stress and FF treatment. In addition, increases in the expression levels of cell cycle-related genes such as Chek1, Cdc25a, and Ccdn1; increases in the expression levels of cell proliferation-related genes such as Hdgfrp3 and Vegfb; and fluctuations in the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes such as Casp11 and Trp53inp1 were observed in these rats. This suggests that cell proliferation induction, apoptosis suppression, and DNA damage due to oxidative stresses are probably involved in the mechanism of hepatocarcinogenesis due to FF in rats.

Differing Roles of Functional Movement Variability as Experience Increases in Gymnastics

PubMed Central

Busquets, Albert; Marina, Michel; Davids, Keith; Angulo-Barroso, Rosa

2016-01-01

Current theories, like Ecological Dynamics, propose that inter-trial movement variability is functional when acquiring or refining movement coordination. Here, we examined how age-based experience levels of gymnasts constrained differences in emergent movement pattern variability during task performance. Specifically, we investigated different roles of movement pattern variability when gymnasts in different age groups performed longswings on a high bar, capturing the range of experience from beginner to advanced status. We also investigated the functionality of the relationships between levels of inter-trial variability and longswing amplitude during performance. One-hundred and thirteen male gymnasts in five age groups were observed performing longswings (with three different experience levels: beginners, intermediates and advanced performers). Performance was evaluated by analysis of key events in coordination of longswing focused on the arm-trunk and trunk-thigh segmental relations. Results revealed that 10 of 18 inter-trial variability measures changed significantly as a function of increasing task experience. Four of ten variability measures conformed to a U-shaped function with age implying exploratory strategies amongst beginners and functional adaptive variability amongst advanced performers. Inter-trial variability of arm-trunk coordination variables (6 of 10) conformed to a \\-shaped curve, as values were reduced to complete the longswings. Changes in coordination variability from beginner to intermediate status were largely restrictive, with only one variability measure related to exploration. Data revealed how inter-trial movement variability in gymnastics, relative to performance outcomes, needs careful interpretation, implying different roles as task experience changes. Key points Inter-trial variability while performing longswings on a high bar was assessed in a large sample (113 participants) divided into five age groups (form beginners to advanced gymnasts). Longswing assessment allowed us to evaluate inter-trial variability in representative performance context. Coordination variability presented two different configurations across experience levels depending on the variable of interest: either a U-shaped or a L- or \\-shaped graph. Increased inter-trial variability of the functional phase events offered flexibility to adapt the longswing performance in the advanced gymnasts, while decreasing variability in arm-trunk coordination modes was critical to improve longswing and to achieve the most advanced level. In addition, the relationship between variability measures and the global performance outcome (i.e. the swing amplitude) revealed different functional roles of movement variability (exploratory or restrictive) as a function of changes in experience levels. PMID:27274664

Public judgment on science expenditure in the national budget of Japan: An experimental approach to examining the effects of unpacking science.

PubMed

Yokoyama, Hiromi M; Nakayachi, Kazuya

2014-07-01

How does the public assess an appropriate financial allocation to science promotion? This article empirically examined the subadditivity effect in the judgment of budgetary allocation. Results of the first experiment showed that the ratio of the national budget allocated for science promotion by participants increased when science was decomposed into more specific categories compared to when it was presented as "science promotion" alone. Consistent with these findings, results of the second experiment showed that the allotment ratio to science promotion decreased when the number of other expenditure items increased. Meanwhile, the third experiment revealed that in the case of a budgetary cutback, the total amount taken from science promotion greatly increased when science was decomposed into subcategories. The subadditivity effect and increase in the total allotment ratio by unpacking science promotion was confirmed by these three experiments not only on budgetary allocation but also on budgetary cutback.

A sense of embodiment is reflected in people's signature size.

PubMed

Rawal, Adhip; Harmer, Catherine J; Park, Rebecca J; O'Sullivan, Ursula D; Williams, J Mark G

2014-01-01

The size of a person's signature may reveal implicit information about how the self is perceived although this has not been closely examined. We conducted three experiments to test whether increases in signature size can be induced. Specifically, the aim of these experiments was to test whether changes in signature size reflect a person's current implicit sense of embodiment. Experiment 1 showed that an implicit affect task (positive subliminal evaluative conditioning) led to increases in signature size relative to an affectively neutral task, showing that implicit affective cues alter signature size. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated increases in signature size following experiential self-focus on sensory and affective stimuli relative to both conceptual self-focus and external (non-self-focus) in both healthy participants and patients with anorexia nervosa, a disorder associated with self-evaluation and a sense of disembodiment. In all three experiments, increases in signature size were unrelated to changes in self-reported mood and larger than manipulation unrelated variations. Together, these findings suggest that a person's sense of embodiment is reflected in their signature size.

A Sense of Embodiment Is Reflected in People's Signature Size

PubMed Central

Rawal, Adhip; Harmer, Catherine J.; Park, Rebecca J.; O'Sullivan, Ursula D.; Williams, J. Mark G.

2014-01-01

Background The size of a person's signature may reveal implicit information about how the self is perceived although this has not been closely examined. Methods/Results We conducted three experiments to test whether increases in signature size can be induced. Specifically, the aim of these experiments was to test whether changes in signature size reflect a person's current implicit sense of embodiment. Experiment 1 showed that an implicit affect task (positive subliminal evaluative conditioning) led to increases in signature size relative to an affectively neutral task, showing that implicit affective cues alter signature size. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated increases in signature size following experiential self-focus on sensory and affective stimuli relative to both conceptual self-focus and external (non-self-focus) in both healthy participants and patients with anorexia nervosa, a disorder associated with self-evaluation and a sense of disembodiment. In all three experiments, increases in signature size were unrelated to changes in self-reported mood and larger than manipulation unrelated variations. Conclusions Together, these findings suggest that a person's sense of embodiment is reflected in their signature size. PMID:24533088

How Costly is Hospital Quality? A Revealed-Preference Approach*

PubMed Central

Romley, John A.; Goldman, Dana P.

2013-01-01

We analyze the cost of quality improvement in hospitals, dealing with two challenges. Hospital quality is multidimensional and hard to measure, while unobserved productivity may influence quality supply. We infer the quality of hospitals in Los Angeles from patient choices. We then incorporate ‘revealed quality’ into a cost function, instrumenting with hospital demand. We find that revealed quality differentiates hospitals, but is not strongly correlated with clinical quality. Revealed quality is quite costly, and tends to increase with hospital productivity. Thus, non-clinical aspects of the hospital experience (perhaps including patient amenities) play important roles in hospital demand, competition, and costs. PMID:22299199

New Voices in the Struggle/Nuevas Voces en la Lucha: Toward Increasing Latina/o Faculty in Theological Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Caroline Sotello Viernes; Hernandez, Edwin I.; Pena, Milagros; Gonzalez, Juan Carlos

2008-01-01

Little progress has been made to increase Latina/o faculty representation in theological education. In this study, 33 interviews with Latina/o theological faculty identify supports and challenges to their scholarly development. Latino critical theory guides the analysis. Narratives reveal faculty experiences with oppression, challenging dominant…

A comprehensive test of evolutionarily increased competitive ability in a highly invasive plant species.

PubMed

Joshi, Srijana; Gruntman, Michal; Bilton, Mark; Seifan, Merav; Tielbörger, Katja

2014-12-01

A common hypothesis to explain plants' invasive success is that release from natural enemies in the introduced range selects for reduced allocation to resistance traits and a subsequent increase in resources available for growth and competitive ability (evolution of increased competitive ability, EICA). However, studies that have investigated this hypothesis have been incomplete as they either did not test for all aspects of competitive ability or did not select appropriate competitors. Here, the prediction of increased competitive ability was examined with the invasive plant Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) in a set of common-garden experiments that addressed these aspects by carefully distinguishing between competitive effect and response of invasive and native plants, and by using both intraspecific and interspecific competition settings with a highly vigorous neighbour, Urtica dioica (stinging nettle), which occurs in both ranges. While the intraspecific competition results showed no differences in competitive effect or response between native and invasive plants, the interspecific competition experiment revealed greater competitive response and effect of invasive plants in both biomass and seed production. The use of both intra- and interspecific competition experiments in this study revealed opposing results. While the first experiment refutes the EICA hypothesis, the second shows strong support for it, suggesting evolutionarily increased competitive ability in invasive populations of L. salicaria. It is suggested that the use of naturally co-occurring heterospecifics, rather than conspecifics, may provide a better evaluation of the possible evolutionary shift towards greater competitive ability. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Preliminary Investigation of Cyclic Behavior at SHADOZ Sites Between the Equator and 5 deg S Latitude

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidlin, F. J.

2009-01-01

Investigation of cyclic behavior of temperature and ozone data from five SHADOZ sites between the Equator and 5degS Latitude (Nairobi, Ascension Island, Natal, San Crystobal, and Watukoset) reveal an amazing array of oscillations. In particular, eight years of measurements (1998-2007) reveal changes such as decreasing amounts of ozone at some pressure levels and/or sites, while other levels and/or sites experience increasing ozone. Temperature changes of 1-2 C occur that also experience irregular oscillations. This study is preliminary and only concentrates on the 250-, 200-, 100-, 70-, and 50-hPa pressure surfaces. Surfaces existing below and above the tropopause behave differently.

Interfacial self-healing of nanocomposite hydrogels: Theory and experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qiming; Gao, Zheming; Yu, Kunhao

2017-12-01

Polymers with dynamic bonds are able to self-heal their fractured interfaces and restore the mechanical strengths. It is largely elusive how to analytically model this self-healing behavior to construct the mechanistic relationship between the self-healing properties (e.g., healed interfacial strength and equilibrium healing time) and the material compositions and healing conditions. Here, we take a self-healable nanocomposite hydrogel as an example to illustrate an interfacial self-healing theory for hydrogels with dynamic bonds. In the theory, we consider the free polymer chains diffuse across the interface and reform crosslinks to bridge the interface. We analytically reveal that the healed strengths of nanocomposite hydrogels increase with the healing time in an error-function-like form. The equilibrium self-healing time of the full-strength recovery decreases with the temperature and increases with the nanoparticle concentration. We further analytically reveal that the healed interfacial strength decreases with increasing delaying time before the healing process. The theoretical results quantitatively match with our experiments on nanosilica hydrogels, and also agree well with other researchers' experiments on nanoclay hydrogels. We expect that this theory would open promising avenues for quantitative understanding of the self-healing mechanics of various polymers with dynamic bonds, and offer insights for designing high-performance self-healing polymers.

How Are Preferences Revealed?

PubMed Central

Beshears, John; Choi, James J.; Laibson, David; Madrian, Brigitte C.

2009-01-01

Revealed preferences are tastes that rationalize an economic agent’s observed actions. Normative preferences represent the agent’s actual interests. It sometimes makes sense to assume that revealed preferences are identical to normative preferences. But there are many cases where this assumption is violated. We identify five factors that increase the likelihood of a disparity between revealed preferences and normative preferences: passive choice, complexity, limited personal experience, third-party marketing, and intertemporal choice. We then discuss six approaches that jointly contribute to the identification of normative preferences: structural estimation, active decisions, asymptotic choice, aggregated revealed preferences, reported preferences, and informed preferences. Each of these approaches uses consumer behavior to infer some property of normative preferences without equating revealed and normative preferences. We illustrate these issues with evidence from savings and investment outcomes. PMID:24761048

Effects of Welfare and Employment Policies on Young Children: New Findings on Policy Experiments Conducted in the Early 1990s. Social Policy Report. Volume 19, Number 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Pamela A.; Gennetian, Lisa A.; Duncan, Greg J.

2005-01-01

Over the past 30 years, welfare and other public programs for poor families have focused increasingly on promoting parents' self-sufficiency by requiring and supporting employment. Evidence from a diverse set of random-assignment experiments now reveals some of the conditions under which promoting work among low-income, single parents helps or…

The effect of non-caloric sweeteners on cognition, choice, and post-consumption satisfaction.

PubMed

Hill, Sarah E; Prokosch, Marjorie L; Morin, Amanda; Rodeheffer, Christopher D

2014-12-01

Consumers often turn to non-caloric sweeteners (NCS) as a means of promoting a healthy body weight. However, several studies have now linked their long-term use to increased weight gain, raising the question of whether these products produce unintended psychological, physiological, or behavioral changes that have implications for weight management goals. In the following, we present the results of three experiments bearing on this issue, testing whether NCS-consumption influences how individuals think about and respond to food. Participants in each of our three experiments were randomly assigned to consume a sugar-sweetened beverage, an unsweetened beverage, or a beverage sweetened with NCS. We then measured their cognition (Experiment 1), product choice (Experiment 2), and subjective responses to a sugar-sweetened food (Experiment 3). Results revealed that consuming NCS-sweetened beverages influences psychological processes in ways that - over time - may increase calorie intake. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of affective valence on working memory processes.

PubMed

Gotoh, Fumiko

2008-02-01

Recent research has revealed widespread effects of emotion on cognitive function and memory. However, the influence of affective valence on working or short-term memory remains largely unexplored. In two experiments, the present study examined the predictions that negative words would capture attention, that attention would be difficult to disengage from such negative words, and that the cost of attention switching would increase the time required to update information in working memory. Participants switched between two concurrent working memory tasks: word recognition and a working memory digit updating task. Experiment 1 showed substantial switching cost for negative words, relative to neutral words. Experiment 2 replicated the first experiment, using a self-report measure of anxiety to examine if switching cost is a function of an anxiety-related attention bias. Results did not support this hypothesis. In addition, Experiment 2 revealed switch costs for positive words without the effect of the attention bias from anxiety. The present study demonstrates the effect of affective valence on a specific component of working memory. Moreover, findings suggest why affective valence effects on working memory have not been found in previous research.

Adaptation effects to attractiveness of face photographs and art portraits are domain-specific

PubMed Central

Hayn-Leichsenring, Gregor U.; Kloth, Nadine; Schweinberger, Stefan R.; Redies, Christoph

2013-01-01

We studied the neural coding of facial attractiveness by investigating effects of adaptation to attractive and unattractive human faces on the perceived attractiveness of veridical human face pictures (Experiment 1) and art portraits (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 revealed a clear pattern of contrastive aftereffects. Relative to a pre-adaptation baseline, the perceived attractiveness of faces was increased after adaptation to unattractive faces, and was decreased after adaptation to attractive faces. Experiment 2 revealed similar aftereffects when art portraits rather than face photographs were used as adaptors and test stimuli, suggesting that effects of adaptation to attractiveness are not restricted to facial photographs. Additionally, we found similar aftereffects in art portraits for beauty, another aesthetic feature that, unlike attractiveness, relates to the properties of the image (rather than to the face displayed). Importantly, Experiment 3 showed that aftereffects were abolished when adaptors were art portraits and face photographs were test stimuli. These results suggest that adaptation to facial attractiveness elicits aftereffects in the perception of subsequently presented faces, for both face photographs and art portraits, and that these effects do not cross image domains. PMID:24349690

Trait-based Modeling Reveals How Plankton Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function (BEF) Relationships Depend on Environmental Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, S. L.; Chen, B.; Vallina, S. M.

2017-12-01

Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function (BEF) relationships, which are most commonly quantified in terms of productivity or total biomass yield, are known to depend on the timescale of the experiment or field study, both for terrestrial plants and phytoplankton, which have each been widely studied as model ecosystems. Although many BEF relationships are positive (i.e., increasing biodiversity enhances function), in some cases there is an optimal intermediate diversity level (i.e., a uni-modal relationship), and in other cases productivity decreases with certain measures of biodiversity. These differences in BEF relationships cannot be reconciled merely by differences in the timescale of experiments. We will present results from simulation experiments applying recently developed trait-based models of phytoplankton communities and ecosystems, using the `adaptive dynamics' framework to represent continuous distributions of size and other key functional traits. Controlled simulation experiments were conducted with different levels of phytoplankton size-diversity, which through trait-size correlations implicitly represents functional-diversity. One recent study applied a theoretical box model for idealized simulations at different frequencies of disturbance. This revealed how the shapes of BEF relationships depend systematically on the frequency of disturbance and associated nutrient supply. We will also present more recent results obtained using a trait-based plankton ecosystem model embedded in a three-dimensional ocean model applied to the North Pacific. This reveals essentially the same pattern in a spatially explicit model with more realistic environmental forcing. In the relatively more variable subarctic, productivity tends to increase with the size (and hence functional) diversity of phytoplankton, whereas productivity tends to decrease slightly with increasing size-diversity in the relatively calm subtropics. Continuous trait-based models can capture essential features of BEF relationships, while requiring far fewer calculations compared to typical plankton diversity models that explicitly simulate a great many idealized species.

Early events in plant hypersensitive response leaves revealed by IR thermography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boccara, Martine; Boue, Christine; De Paepe, Rosine; Boccara, Albert C.

2001-10-01

Infrared thermography is used to reveal the establishment of Erwinia amylovora harpin-induced hypersensitive response (HR) in Nicotiana sylvestris leaves. We observed a decrease in temperature (1-2 degree(s)C) in the harpin infiltrated zone, correlated with an increase in stomatal opening, strongly suggesting that the temperature decrease is due to higher transpiration rate. IRT experiments were conducted in a laboratory environment and could be widely applied for genotype screening and monitoring drug effects.

Environmental Pollutant Ozone Causes Damage to Lung Surfactant Protein B (SP-B)

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Lung surfactant protein B (SP-B) is an essential protein found in the surfactant fluid at the air–water interface of the lung. Exposure to the air pollutant ozone could potentially damage SP-B and lead to respiratory distress. We have studied two peptides, one consisting of the N-terminus of SP-B [SP-B(1–25)] and the other a construct of the N- and C-termini of SP-B [SP-B(1–25,63–78)], called SMB. Exposure to dilute levels of ozone (∼2 ppm) of monolayers of each peptide at the air–water interface leads to a rapid reaction, which is evident from an increase in the surface tension. Fluorescence experiments revealed that this increase in surface tension is accompanied by a loss of fluorescence from the tryptophan residue at the interface. Neutron and X-ray reflectivity experiments show that, in contrast to suggestions in the literature, the peptides are not solubilized upon oxidation but rather remain at the interface with little change in their hydration. Analysis of the product material reveals that no cleavage of the peptides occurs, but a more hydrophobic product is slowly formed together with an increased level of oligomerization. We attributed this to partial unfolding of the peptides. Experiments conducted in the presence of phospholipids reveal that the presence of the lipids does not prevent oxidation of the peptides. Our results strongly suggest that exposure to low levels of ozone gas will damage SP-B, leading to a change in its structure. The implication is that the oxidized protein will be impaired in its ability to interact at the air–water interface with negatively charged phosphoglycerol lipids, thus compromising what is thought to be its main biological function. PMID:26270023

Associations between trajectories of perceived racial discrimination and psychological symptoms among African American adolescents

PubMed Central

Smith-Bynum, Mia A.; Lambert, Sharon F.; English, Devin; Ialongo, Nicholas S.

2014-01-01

Many African American adolescents experience racial discrimination, with adverse consequences; however, stability and change in these experiences over time have not been examined. We examined longitudinal patterns of perceived racial discrimination assessed in grades 7 – 10 and how these discrimination trajectories related to patterns of change in depressive and anxious symptoms and aggressive behaviors assessed over the same 4-year period. Growth mixture modeling performed on a community epidemiologically-defined sample of urban African American adolescents (n = 504) revealed three trajectories of discrimination: (1) increasing, (2) decreasing, and (3) stable low. As predicted, African American boys were more frequent targets for racial discrimination as they aged, and were more likely to be in the increasing group. Results of parallel process growth mixture modeling revealed that youth in the increasing racial discrimination group were four times more likely to be in an increasing depression trajectory than youth in the low stable discrimination trajectory. Though youth in the increasing racial discrimination group were nearly twice as likely to be in the high aggression trajectory, results were not statistically significant. These results indicate an association between variation in the growth of perceived racial discrimination and youth behavior and psychological well-being over the adolescent years. PMID:24955844

Associations between trajectories of perceived racial discrimination and psychological symptoms among African American adolescents.

PubMed

Smith-Bynum, Mia A; Lambert, Sharon F; English, Devin; Ialongo, Nicholas S

2014-11-01

Many African American adolescents experience racial discrimination, with adverse consequences; however, stability and change in these experiences over time have not been examined. We examined longitudinal patterns of perceived racial discrimination assessed in Grades 7-10 and how these discrimination trajectories related to patterns of change in depressive and anxious symptoms and aggressive behaviors assessed over the same 4-year period. Growth mixture modeling performed on a community epidemiologically defined sample of urban African American adolescents (n = 504) revealed three trajectories of discrimination: increasing, decreasing, and stable low. As predicted, African American boys were more frequent targets for racial discrimination as they aged, and they were more likely to be in the increasing group. The results of parallel process growth mixture modeling revealed that youth in the increasing racial discrimination group were four times more likely to be in an increasing depression trajectory than were youth in the low stable discrimination trajectory. Though youth in the increasing racial discrimination group were nearly twice as likely to be in the high aggression trajectory, results were not statistically significant. These results indicate an association between variation in the growth of perceived racial discrimination and youth behavior and psychological well-being over the adolescent years.

Design of high entropy alloys based on the experience from commercial superalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Z.; Huang, Y.; Wang, J.; Liu, C. T.

2015-01-01

High entropy alloys (HEAs) have been drawing increasing attention recently and gratifying results have been obtained. However, the existing metallurgic rules of HEAs could not provide specific information of selecting candidate alloys for structural applications. Our brief survey reveals that many commercial superalloys have medium and even to high configurational entropies. The experience of commercial superalloys provides a clue for helping us in the development of HEAs for structural applications.

Nursing Academic Administrators' Lived Experiences With Incivility and Bullying From Faculty: Consequences and Outcomes Demanding Action.

PubMed

LaSala, Kathleen B; Wilson, Vicki; Sprunk, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

There are an increasing number of nursing academic administrators who identify themselves as victims of faculty incivility. This study examined experiences that academic administrators encountered with faculty incivility using a phenomenological research design. Three major themes emerged: faculty inappropriate behaviors, consequences of faculty behaviors on administrator targets, and administrators call for action. Findings revealed that incivility had devastating effects on administrators personally and professionally.

The financial costs of sadness.

PubMed

Lerner, Jennifer S; Li, Ye; Weber, Elke U

2013-01-01

We hypothesized a phenomenon that we term myopic misery. According to our hypothesis, sadness increases impatience and creates a myopic focus on obtaining money immediately instead of later. This focus, in turn, increases intertemporal discount rates and thereby produces substantial financial costs. In three experiments, we randomly assigned participants to sad- and neutral-state conditions, and then offered intertemporal choices. Disgust served as a comparison condition in Experiments 1 and 2. Sadness significantly increased impatience: Relative to median neutral-state participants, median sad-state participants accepted 13% to 34% less money immediately to avoid waiting 3 months for payment. In Experiment 2, impatient thoughts mediated the effects. Experiment 3 revealed that sadness made people more present biased (i.e., wanting something immediately), but not globally more impatient. Disgusted participants were not more impatient than neutral participants, and that lack of difference implies that the same financial effects do not arise from all negative emotions. These results show that myopic misery is a robust and potentially harmful phenomenon.

Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias.

PubMed

Todd, Andrew R; Bodenhausen, Galen V; Richeson, Jennifer A; Galinsky, Adam D

2011-06-01

Five experiments investigated the hypothesis that perspective taking--actively contemplating others' psychological experiences--attenuates automatic expressions of racial bias. Across the first 3 experiments, participants who adopted the perspective of a Black target in an initial context subsequently exhibited more positive automatic interracial evaluations, with changes in automatic evaluations mediating the effect of perspective taking on more deliberate interracial evaluations. Furthermore, unlike other bias-reduction strategies, the interracial positivity resulting from perspective taking was accompanied by increased salience of racial inequalities (Experiment 3). Perspective taking also produced stronger approach-oriented action tendencies toward Blacks (but not Whites; Experiment 4). A final experiment revealed that face-to-face interactions with perspective takers were rated more positively by Black interaction partners than were interactions with nonperspective takers--a relationship that was mediated by perspective takers' increased approach-oriented nonverbal behaviors (as rated by objective, third-party observers). These findings indicate that perspective taking can combat automatic expressions of racial biases without simultaneously decreasing sensitivity to ongoing racial disparities. 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Modelling audiovisual integration of affect from videos and music.

PubMed

Gao, Chuanji; Wedell, Douglas H; Kim, Jongwan; Weber, Christine E; Shinkareva, Svetlana V

2018-05-01

Two experiments examined how affective values from visual and auditory modalities are integrated. Experiment 1 paired music and videos drawn from three levels of valence while holding arousal constant. Experiment 2 included a parallel combination of three levels of arousal while holding valence constant. In each experiment, participants rated their affective states after unimodal and multimodal presentations. Experiment 1 revealed a congruency effect in which stimulus combinations of the same extreme valence resulted in more extreme state ratings than component stimuli presented in isolation. An interaction between music and video valence reflected the greater influence of negative affect. Video valence was found to have a significantly greater effect on combined ratings than music valence. The pattern of data was explained by a five parameter differential weight averaging model that attributed greater weight to the visual modality and increased weight with decreasing values of valence. Experiment 2 revealed a congruency effect only for high arousal combinations and no interaction effects. This pattern was explained by a three parameter constant weight averaging model with greater weight for the auditory modality and a very low arousal value for the initial state. These results demonstrate key differences in audiovisual integration between valence and arousal.

Ventilation requirements for control of occupancy odor and tobacco smoke odor: laboratory studies. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cain, W.S.; Isseroff, R.; Leaderer, B.P.

1981-04-01

Experiments on occupancy odor addressed the question of why required ventilation rate per occupant increased progressively with increases in the number of persons in a space. In order to investigate ventilation requirements under approximately ideal conditions, we constructed an aluminum-lined environmental chamber with excellent control over environmental conditions and a ventilation system that provided rapid and uniform mixing of air. Psychophysical experiments on occupancy odor explored 47 different combinations of occupancy density, temperature and humidity, and ventilation rate. The experiments collected judgements both from visitors, who smelled air from the chamber only once every few minutes, and from occupants, whomore » remained in the chamber for an hour at a time. The judgements of visitors revealed that occupancy odor increased only gradually over time and rarely reached very high or objectionable levels. Judgements of occupants also revealed rather minor dissatisfaction. Only during combinations of high temperature and humidity did objectionability become more than a minor issue to either group. Experiments on cigarette smoking explored rates of 4, 8, and 16 cigarettes per hour under various environmental conditions and with ventilation rates as high as 68 cfm (34 L.s/sup -1/) per occupant. As soon as occupants lit cigarettes in the chamber, the odor level increased dramatically. At ventilation rates far greater than necessary to control occupancy odor, the odor from cigarette smoking remained quite intense. In general, the odor proved impossible to control adequately even with a ventilation rate of 68 cfm (34 L.s/sup -1/) per occupant (4 occupants) and even when only one occupant smoked at a time. As in the case of occupancy odor, a combination of high temperature and humidity exacerbated the odor problem.« less

Dimension- and space-based intertrial effects in visual pop-out search: modulation by task demands for focal-attentional processing.

PubMed

Krummenacher, Joseph; Müller, Hermann J; Zehetleitner, Michael; Geyer, Thomas

2009-03-01

Two experiments compared reaction times (RTs) in visual search for singleton feature targets defined, variably across trials, in either the color or the orientation dimension. Experiment 1 required observers to simply discern target presence versus absence (simple-detection task); Experiment 2 required them to respond to a detection-irrelevant form attribute of the target (compound-search task). Experiment 1 revealed a marked dimensional intertrial effect of 34 ms for an target defined in a changed versus a repeated dimension, and an intertrial target distance effect, with an 4-ms increase in RTs (per unit of distance) as the separation of the current relative to the preceding target increased. Conversely, in Experiment 2, the dimension change effect was markedly reduced (11 ms), while the intertrial target distance effect was markedly increased (11 ms per unit of distance). The results suggest that dimension change/repetition effects are modulated by the amount of attentional focusing required by the task, with space-based attention altering the integration of dimension-specific feature contrast signals at the level of the overall-saliency map.

Quality of physical therapy from a patient's perspective; factor analysis on web-based survey data revealed three dimensions on patient experiences with physical therapy.

PubMed

Scholte, Marijn; Calsbeek, Hilly; Nijhuis-van der Sanden, Maria W G; Braspenning, Jozé

2014-06-18

Assessing quality of care from the patient's perspective has changed from patient satisfaction to the more general term patient experience, as satisfaction measures turned out to be less discriminative due to high scores. Literature describes four to ten dimensions of patient experience, tailored to specific conditions or types of care. Given the administrative burden on patients, less dimensions and items could increase feasibility. Ten dimensions of patient experiences with physical therapy (PT) were proposed in the Netherlands in a consensus-based process with patients, physical therapists, health insurers, and policy makers. The aim of this paper is to detect the number of dimensions from data of a field study using factor analysis at item level. A web-based survey yielded data of 2,221 patients from 52 PT practices on 41 items. Principal component factor analysis at item level was used to assess the proposed distinction between the ten dimensions. Factor analysis revealed two dimensions: 'personal interaction' and 'practice organisation'. The dimension 'patient reported outcome' was artificially established. The three dimensions 'personal interaction' (14 items) (median(practice level) = 91.1; IQR = 2.4), 'practice organisation' (9 items) (median(practice level) = 88.9; IQR = 6.0) and 'outcome' (3 items) (median(practice level) = 80.6; IQR = 19.5) reduced the number of dimensions from ten to three and the number of items by more than a third. Factor analysis revealed three dimensions and achieved an item reduction of more than a third. It is a relevant step in the development process of a quality measurement tool to reduce respondent burden, increase clarity, and promote feasibility.

Rapid post-oral stimulation of intake and flavor conditioning by glucose and fat in the mouse

PubMed Central

Zukerman, Steven; Ackroff, Karen

2011-01-01

Although widely assumed to have only satiating actions, nutrients in the gut can also condition increases in intake in some cases. Here we studied the time course of post-oral nutrient stimulation of ingestion in food-restricted C57BL/6J mice. In experiment 1, mice adapted to drink a 0.8% sucralose solution 1 h/day, rapidly increased their rate of licking (within 4–6 min) when first tested with an 8% glucose solution and even more so in tests 2 and 3. Other mice decreased their licking rate when switched from sucralose to 8% fructose, a sugar that is sweet like glucose but lacks positive post-oral effects in mice. The glucose-stimulated drinking is due to the sugar's post-oral rather than taste properties, because sucralose is highly preferred to glucose and fructose in brief choice tests. A second experiment showed that the glucose-stimulated ingestion is associated with a conditioned flavor preference in both intact and capsaicin-treated mice. This indicates that the post-oral stimulatory action of glucose is not mediated by capsaicin-sensitive visceral afferents. In experiment 3, mice consumed flavored saccharin solutions as they self-infused water or glucose via an intragastric (IG) catheter. The glucose self-infusion stimulated ingestion within 13–15 min in test 1 and produced a conditioned increase in licking that was apparent in the initial minute of tests 2 and 3. Experiment 4 revealed that IG self-infusions of a fat emulsion also resulted in post-oral stimulation of licking in test 1 and conditioned increases in tests 2 and 3. These findings indicate that glucose and fat can generate stimulatory post-oral signals early in a feeding session that increase ongoing ingestion and condition increases in flavor acceptance and preference revealed in subsequent feeding sessions. The test procedures developed here can be used to investigate the peripheral and central processes involved in stimulation of intake by post-oral nutrients. PMID:21975648

The Physical Mechanism of Frictional Aging Revealed by Nanoindentation Creep

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thom, C.; Carpick, R. W.; Goldsby, D. L.

2017-12-01

A classical observation from rock friction experiments is that friction increases linearly with the logarithm of the time of stationary contact, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as aging. Aging is most often attributed to an increase in the real area of contact due to asperity creep. However, recent atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments and molecular dynamics simulations suggest that time-dependent siloxane (Si—O—Si) bonding gives rise to aging in silica-silica contacts in the absence of plastic deformation. Determining whether an increase in contact `quantity' (due to creep), contact `quality' (due to chemical bonding), or another unknown mechanism causes aging is a challenging experimental task, despite its importance for developing a physical basis for rate and state friction laws. An intriguing observation is that aging is absent in friction experiments on quartz rocks and gouge at humidities <5% and returns upon exposure of the test specimens to humid air. This behavior has been attributed to the effects of water on asperity creep (via hydrolytic weakening) or on the adhesive strength of contacts. To discern between these possibilities, we have conducted nanoindentation experiments on single crystals of quartz to measure their indentation hardness and creep behavior at humidities of 2% to 50%, and in vacuum. Samples were loaded at 1000 mN/s to a peak load of 15, 40, or 400 mN, which was then held constant for 10 s. After the peak load is reached, the tip sinks into the material with time due to creep of the indentation contact. Our experiments reveal that there is no effect of varying humidity on either indentation hardness or indentation creep behavior over the full range of humidities investigated. If asperity creep were the dominant mechanism of frictional aging for quartz in the experiments cited above, then significant increases in hardness and decreases in the growth rate of indentation contacts at low humidities is expected, in stark contrast with our nanoindentation data. Our experiments indicate that asperity creep cannot be the cause of aging in quartz rocks, and suggest that chemical bonding may instead be the dominant mechanism of frictional aging.

Mecp2 Mediates Experience-Dependent Transcriptional Upregulation of Ryanodine Receptor Type-3.

PubMed

Torres, Rodrigo F; Hidalgo, Cecilia; Kerr, Bredford

2017-01-01

Mecp2 is a DNA methylation reader that plays a critical role in experience-dependent plasticity. Increasing evidence supports a role for epigenetic modifications in activity-induced gene expression. Hence, candidate genes related to such phenomena are of great interest. Ryanodine receptors are intracellular calcium channels that contribute to hippocampal synaptic plasticity, dendritic spine remodeling, and participate in learning and memory processes. Here we exposed mice to the enriched environment (EE) paradigm, which through increased stimulation induces experience dependent-plasticity, to explore a role for methyl-cytosines, and Mecp2 in directing Ryanodine receptor 3 ( Ryr3 ) transcriptional activity. EE induced a hippocampal-specific increase in the methylation of discrete cytosines located at a Ryr3 isoform promoter; chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that EE increased Mecp2 binding to this Ryr3 isoform promoter. Interestingly, the experimental paradigm induced robust Ryr3 upregulation, accompanied by miR132 -dependent suppression of p250GAP , a pathway driving synaptogenesis. In contrast to WT mice, Mecp2-null mice showed diminished levels of Ryr3 and displayed impaired EE-induced Ryr3 upregulation, compromising miR132 dependent suppression of p250GAP and experience-dependent structural plasticity. Based on these results, we propose that Mecp2 acts as a transcriptional activator of Ryr3 , contributing to experience-dependent plasticity.

The value of believing in free will: encouraging a belief in determinism increases cheating.

PubMed

Vohs, Kathleen D; Schooler, Jonathan W

2008-01-01

Does moral behavior draw on a belief in free will? Two experiments examined whether inducing participants to believe that human behavior is predetermined would encourage cheating. In Experiment 1, participants read either text that encouraged a belief in determinism (i.e., that portrayed behavior as the consequence of environmental and genetic factors) or neutral text. Exposure to the deterministic message increased cheating on a task in which participants could passively allow a flawed computer program to reveal answers to mathematical problems that they had been instructed to solve themselves. Moreover, increased cheating behavior was mediated by decreased belief in free will. In Experiment 2, participants who read deterministic statements cheated by overpaying themselves for performance on a cognitive task; participants who read statements endorsing free will did not. These findings suggest that the debate over free will has societal, as well as scientific and theoretical, implications.

A family of hyperelastic models for human brain tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mihai, L. Angela; Budday, Silvia; Holzapfel, Gerhard A.; Kuhl, Ellen; Goriely, Alain

2017-09-01

Experiments on brain samples under multiaxial loading have shown that human brain tissue is both extremely soft when compared to other biological tissues and characterized by a peculiar elastic response under combined shear and compression/tension: there is a significant increase in shear stress with increasing axial compression compared to a moderate increase with increasing axial tension. Recent studies have revealed that many widely used constitutive models for soft biological tissues fail to capture this characteristic response. Here, guided by experiments of human brain tissue, we develop a family of modeling approaches that capture the elasticity of brain tissue under varying simple shear superposed on varying axial stretch by exploiting key observations about the behavior of the nonlinear shear modulus, which can be obtained directly from the experimental data.

Mechanical Feedback and Arrest in Gene Expression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sevier, Stuart; Levine, Herbert

The ability to watch biochemical events at the single-molecule level has increasingly revealed that stochasticity plays a leading role in many biological phenomena. One important and well know example is the noisy, ``bursty'' manner of transcription. Recent experiments have revealed relationships between the level and noise in gene expression hinting at deeper stochastic connections. In this talk we will discuss how the mechanical nature of transcription can explain this relationship and examine the limits that the physical aspects of transcription place on gene expression.

Adapting to an Uncertain World: Cognitive Capacity and Causal Reasoning with Ambiguous Observations

PubMed Central

Shou, Yiyun; Smithson, Michael

2015-01-01

Ambiguous causal evidence in which the covariance of the cause and effect is partially known is pervasive in real life situations. Little is known about how people reason about causal associations with ambiguous information and the underlying cognitive mechanisms. This paper presents three experiments exploring the cognitive mechanisms of causal reasoning with ambiguous observations. Results revealed that the influence of ambiguous observations manifested by missing information on causal reasoning depended on the availability of cognitive resources, suggesting that processing ambiguous information may involve deliberative cognitive processes. Experiment 1 demonstrated that subjects did not ignore the ambiguous observations in causal reasoning. They also had a general tendency to treat the ambiguous observations as negative evidence against the causal association. Experiment 2 and Experiment 3 included a causal learning task requiring a high cognitive demand in which paired stimuli were presented to subjects sequentially. Both experiments revealed that processing ambiguous or missing observations can depend on the availability of cognitive resources. Experiment 2 suggested that the contribution of working memory capacity to the comprehensiveness of evidence retention was reduced when there were ambiguous or missing observations. Experiment 3 demonstrated that an increase in cognitive demand due to a change in the task format reduced subjects’ tendency to treat ambiguous-missing observations as negative cues. PMID:26468653

Ecosystem experiment reveals benefits of natural and simulated beaver dams to a threatened population of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

PubMed Central

Bouwes, Nicolaas; Weber, Nicholas; Jordan, Chris E.; Saunders, W. Carl; Tattam, Ian A.; Volk, Carol; Wheaton, Joseph M.; Pollock, Michael M.

2016-01-01

Beaver have been referred to as ecosystem engineers because of the large impacts their dam building activities have on the landscape; however, the benefits they may provide to fluvial fish species has been debated. We conducted a watershed-scale experiment to test how increasing beaver dam and colony persistence in a highly degraded incised stream affects the freshwater production of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Following the installation of beaver dam analogs (BDAs), we observed significant increases in the density, survival, and production of juvenile steelhead without impacting upstream and downstream migrations. The steelhead response occurred as the quantity and complexity of their habitat increased. This study is the first large-scale experiment to quantify the benefits of beavers and BDAs to a fish population and its habitat. Beaver mediated restoration may be a viable and efficient strategy to recover ecosystem function of previously incised streams and to increase the production of imperiled fish populations. PMID:27373190

Effects of self-directed and other-directed introspection and emotional valence on activation of the rostral prefrontal cortex during aesthetic experience.

PubMed

Kreplin, Ute; Fairclough, Stephen H

2015-05-01

The medial area of the rostral prefrontal cortex (rPFC) has been implicated in self-relevant processing, autobiographical memory and emotional processing, including the processing of pleasure during aesthetic experiences. The goal of this study was to investigate changes in rPFC activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in response to affective stimuli viewed in a self-relevant or other-relevant context. Positive and negative images were displayed to 20 participants under two viewing conditions where participants were asked to think of their own emotions (self) or think about the emotions of the artist who created the work (other). The results revealed an increase of HbO when participants viewed images during the other-condition compared to the self-condition. It was concluded that viewing stimuli from the perspective of another was associated with an increase of cognitive demand. The analysis of deoxygenated haemoglobin (HHb) at right hemispheric areas revealed that activation of the rPFC during the other-condition was specific to the negative images. When images were viewed from the perspective of the self, activation of the rPFC significantly increased at the right-medial area of the rPFC for positive images. Our findings indicate that the influence of valence on rPFC activation during aesthetic experience is contingent on the context of the viewing experience and there is a bias towards positive emotion when images are viewed from the context of the self. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Case Study of "Blue Watch" on STS Leeuwin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Sandy; And Others

1996-01-01

Pre- and postvoyage interviews with seven participants on a 10-day adventure trip aboard the sail training ship Leeuwin revealed that the experience met the expectations of most participants and that participants experienced increases in self-confidence, self-esteem, motivation, and tolerance. Suggests that prevoyage briefing, postvoyage…

Seismic Borehole Monitoring of CO2 Injection in an Oil Reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gritto, R.; Daley, T. M.; Myer, L. R.

2002-12-01

A series of time-lapse seismic cross well and single well experiments were conducted in a diatomite reservoir to monitor the injection of CO2 into a hydrofracture zone, based on P- and S-wave data. A high-frequency piezo-electric P-wave source and an orbital-vibrator S-wave source were used to generate waves that were recorded by hydrophones as well as three-component geophones. The injection well was located about 12 m from the source well. During the pre-injection phase water was injected into the hydrofrac-zone. The set of seismic experiments was repeated after a time interval of 7 months during which CO2 was injected into the hydrofractured zone. The questions to be answered ranged from the detectability of the geologic structure in the diatomic reservoir to the detectability of CO2 within the hydrofracture. Furthermore it was intended to determine which experiment (cross well or single well) is best suited to resolve these features. During the pre-injection experiment, the P-wave velocities exhibited relatively low values between 1700-1900 m/s, which decreased to 1600-1800 m/s during the post-injection phase (-5%). The analysis of the pre-injection S-wave data revealed slow S-wave velocities between 600-800 m/s, while the post-injection data revealed velocities between 500-700 m/s (-6%). These velocity estimates produced high Poisson ratios between 0.36 and 0.46 for this highly porous (~ 50%) material. Differencing post- and pre-injection data revealed an increase in Poisson ratio of up to 5%. Both, velocity and Poisson estimates indicate the dissolution of CO2 in the liquid phase of the reservoir accompanied by a pore-pressure increase. The single well data supported the findings of the cross well experiments. P- and S-wave velocities as well as Poisson ratios were comparable to the estimates of the cross well data.

Behavioral and Physiological Changes Produced by a Supralethal Dose of Ionizing Radiation: Evidence for Hormone-Influenced Sex Differences in the Rat

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-03-07

unclear, it has been suggested that an increase in histamine excretion contributes to it. Since histamine is known to interact with the endocrine system ...series of experiments revealed that differences in male and female radiation response were eliminated by gonadectomy. Systemic estradiol injections...had no effect on either measure. Central nervous system alterations have been correlated with the ETI. Therefore, final experiments sought a possible

The Onset and Time Course of Semantic Priming during Rapid Recognition of Visual Words

PubMed Central

Hoedemaker, Renske S.; Gordon, Peter C.

2016-01-01

In two experiments, we assessed the effects of response latency and task-induced goals on the onset and time course of semantic priming during rapid processing of visual words as revealed by ocular response tasks. In Experiment 1 (Ocular Lexical Decision Task), participants performed a lexical decision task using eye-movement responses on a sequence of four words. In Experiment 2, the same words were encoded for an episodic recognition memory task that did not require a meta-linguistic judgment. For both tasks, survival analyses showed that the earliest-observable effect (Divergence Point or DP) of semantic priming on target-word reading times occurred at approximately 260 ms, and ex-Gaussian distribution fits revealed that the magnitude of the priming effect increased as a function of response time. Together, these distributional effects of semantic priming suggest that the influence of the prime increases when target processing is more effortful. This effect does not require that the task include a metalinguistic judgment; manipulation of the task goals across experiments affected the overall response speed but not the location of the DP or the overall distributional pattern of the priming effect. These results are more readily explained as the result of a retrospective rather than a prospective priming mechanism and are consistent with compound-cue models of semantic priming. PMID:28230394

The onset and time course of semantic priming during rapid recognition of visual words.

PubMed

Hoedemaker, Renske S; Gordon, Peter C

2017-05-01

In 2 experiments, we assessed the effects of response latency and task-induced goals on the onset and time course of semantic priming during rapid processing of visual words as revealed by ocular response tasks. In Experiment 1 (ocular lexical decision task), participants performed a lexical decision task using eye movement responses on a sequence of 4 words. In Experiment 2, the same words were encoded for an episodic recognition memory task that did not require a metalinguistic judgment. For both tasks, survival analyses showed that the earliest observable effect (divergence point [DP]) of semantic priming on target-word reading times occurred at approximately 260 ms, and ex-Gaussian distribution fits revealed that the magnitude of the priming effect increased as a function of response time. Together, these distributional effects of semantic priming suggest that the influence of the prime increases when target processing is more effortful. This effect does not require that the task include a metalinguistic judgment; manipulation of the task goals across experiments affected the overall response speed but not the location of the DP or the overall distributional pattern of the priming effect. These results are more readily explained as the result of a retrospective, rather than a prospective, priming mechanism and are consistent with compound-cue models of semantic priming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Experience with proactive interference diminishes its effects: mechanisms of change.

PubMed

Wahlheim, Christopher N; Jacoby, Larry L

2011-02-01

In three experiments, we examined the mechanisms by which prior experience with proactive interference (PI) diminished its effects. Cued recall tasks conforming to an A-B, A-D paradigm were used to induce PI effects. Experiment 1 showed that reduced PI was not due to a reduction in attention to the source of PI. Experiment 2 revealed that participants' awareness of PI effects on memory performance increased with experience, resulting in a shift in encoding processes. Experiment 3 demonstrated that changes in encoding provided additional support for recollection that further enhanced participants' ability to constrain their retrieval processing to the appropriate source of information at the time of test. These results can be interpreted as showing that experience with PI enhances awareness of its effects and allows individuals to adjust their learning and retrieval strategies to compensate for such effects.

The communication of "pure" group-based anger reduces tendencies toward intergroup conflict because it increases out-group empathy.

PubMed

de Vos, Bart; van Zomeren, Martijn; Gordijn, Ernestine H; Postmes, Tom

2013-08-01

The communication of group-based anger in intergroup conflict is often associated with destructive conflict behavior. However, we show that communicating group-based anger toward the out-group can evoke empathy and thus reduce intergroup conflict. This is because it stresses the value of maintaining a positive long-term intergroup relationship, thereby increasing understanding for the situation (in contrast to the communication of the closely related emotion of contempt). Three experiments demonstrate that the communication of group-based anger indeed reduces destructive conflict intentions compared with (a) a control condition (Experiments 1-2), (b) the communication of group-based contempt (Experiment 2), and (c) the communication of a combination of group-based anger and contempt (Experiments 2-3). Moreover, results from all three experiments reveal that empathy mediated the positive effect of communicating "pure" group-based anger. We discuss the implications of these findings for the theory and practice of communicating emotions in intergroup conflicts.

Dental plaque development on a hydroxyapatite disk in young adults observed by using a barcoded pyrosequencing approach

PubMed Central

Takeshita, Toru; Yasui, Masaki; Shibata, Yukie; Furuta, Michiko; Saeki, Yoji; Eshima, Nobuoki; Yamashita, Yoshihisa

2015-01-01

Dental plaque is a dynamic microbial biofilm ecosystem that comprises hundreds of species including difficult-to-cultivate bacteria. We observed the assembly of a plaque bacterial community through 16S rRNA gene analysis. Plaque samples that accumulated on a hydroxyapatite disk for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 days with saliva on day 0 were collected from 19 young adults using a removable resin splint. Quantitative PCR analysis showed that the total bacterial amount gradually increased and reached a plateau on day 4. Barcoded pyrosequencing analysis revealed that the microbial richness and diversity particularly increased between days 5 and 7. A principal coordinate analysis plot based on unweighted UniFrac showed the community assembly in a time-related manner, which became increasingly similar to the salivary microbiota. Facultative anaerobic bacteria such as Streptococcus, Neisseria, Abiotrophia, Gemella, and Rothia were predominant in the plaque bacterial community in the earlier days, whereas obligate anaerobes, such as Porphyromonas, Fusobacterium, Prevotella, and Capnocytophaga showed increased dominance on later days. UniFrac analysis also demonstrated that dental caries experience had a significant effect on the assembly process. Our results reveal the development pattern of the plaque bacterial community as well as the inter-individual differences associated with dental caries experience. PMID:25633431

Dental plaque development on a hydroxyapatite disk in young adults observed by using a barcoded pyrosequencing approach.

PubMed

Takeshita, Toru; Yasui, Masaki; Shibata, Yukie; Furuta, Michiko; Saeki, Yoji; Eshima, Nobuoki; Yamashita, Yoshihisa

2015-01-30

Dental plaque is a dynamic microbial biofilm ecosystem that comprises hundreds of species including difficult-to-cultivate bacteria. We observed the assembly of a plaque bacterial community through 16S rRNA gene analysis. Plaque samples that accumulated on a hydroxyapatite disk for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 days with saliva on day 0 were collected from 19 young adults using a removable resin splint. Quantitative PCR analysis showed that the total bacterial amount gradually increased and reached a plateau on day 4. Barcoded pyrosequencing analysis revealed that the microbial richness and diversity particularly increased between days 5 and 7. A principal coordinate analysis plot based on unweighted UniFrac showed the community assembly in a time-related manner, which became increasingly similar to the salivary microbiota. Facultative anaerobic bacteria such as Streptococcus, Neisseria, Abiotrophia, Gemella, and Rothia were predominant in the plaque bacterial community in the earlier days, whereas obligate anaerobes, such as Porphyromonas, Fusobacterium, Prevotella, and Capnocytophaga showed increased dominance on later days. UniFrac analysis also demonstrated that dental caries experience had a significant effect on the assembly process. Our results reveal the development pattern of the plaque bacterial community as well as the inter-individual differences associated with dental caries experience.

An Environmentally Friendly Method for Testing Photocatalytic Inactivation of Cyanobacterial Propagation on a Hybrid Ag-TiO2 Photocatalyst under Solar Illumination

PubMed Central

Chang, Shu-Yu; Huang, Winn-Jung; Lu, Ben-Ren; Fang, Guor-Cheng; Chen, Yeah; Chen, Hsiu-Lin; Chang, Ming-Chin; Hsu, Cheng-Feng

2015-01-01

Cyanobacteria were inactivated under sunlight using mixed phase silver (Ag) and deposited titanium dioxide (TiO2) coated on the surface of diatomite (DM) as a hybrid photocatalyst (Ag-TiO2/DM). The endpoints of dose-response experiments were chlorophyll a, photosynthetic efficiency, and flow cytometry measurements. In vitro experiments revealed that axenic cultures of planktonic cyanobacteria lost their photosynthetic activity following photocatalyzed exposure to sunlight for more than 24 h. Nearly 92% of Microcystis aeruginosa cells lost their photosynthetic activity, and their cell morphology was severely damaged within 24 h of the reaction. Preliminary carbon-14 (14CO3−2) results suggest that the complete inactivation of cyanobacteria arises from damage to cell wall components (peroxidation). A small concomitant increase in cell wall disorder and a consequent decrease in cell wall functional groups increase the cell wall fluidity prior to cell lysis. A high dosage of Ag-TiO2/DM during photocatalysis increased the concentration of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) in the Microcystis aeruginosa suspension by up to approximately 260%. However, photocatalytic treatment had a small effect on the disinfection by-product (DBP) precursor, as revealed by only a slight increase in the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). PMID:26690465

Teaching Practices and Pedagogical Innovations: Evidence from TALIS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vieluf, Svenja; Kaplan, David; Klieme, Eckhard; Bayer, Sonja

2012-01-01

Fortunately, teaching practices help shape the learning experiences and increase motivation and achievement for students. In addition, it has been revealed that when teachers collaborate well together they also tend to work better with students. This new informative publication clearly identifies and arranges profiles in relation to two connected…

The Leadership Experience of a Principal Using Technology to Change a School: An Autoethnography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foiles Kiel, Donna

2013-01-01

Increasingly, principals are challenged to merge technology and instruction to achieve meaningful school reform. There are limited studies revealing the personal perspective of a principal who applied servant and transformational leadership to achieve school improvement by leveraging school-wide technology integration. The purpose of this…

College Aspirations and Preparation: How AVID Students Beat the Odds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cronin, Dana

2013-01-01

A study of "at risk" high school youth revealed how student participation in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program positively affected student achievement and increased college aspirations and entrance rates. The experiences of the students, teachers, and administrators were examined using a case study approach…

Undergraduates' perceptions of the value of practical inhalation sedation experience in a UK dental school.

PubMed

Walley, S; Albadri, S

2015-10-01

This was to establish the level and reported value of paediatric IHS experience from the perspective of final year undergraduates and to evaluate whether those students with more experience expressed feeling better-prepared for future practice and more likely to undertake further postgraduate education in IHS. All final year students were invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire designed to elicit undergraduate perceptions of IHS using visual analogue scales and free-text questions. A response rate of 77 % was achieved. Results revealed that only 21 % of participants reported acting as operator sedationist in ten or more IHS cases. Thus, the majority of undergraduates' did not meet the recommended quantity of practical IHS experiences, as outlined by the British Dental Sedation Teachers Group. In general, students felt on the value of IHS in the management of anxious children and expressed a desire to undertake further postgraduate education in conscious sedation. However, those students with more experience of practical IHS expressed feeling better able to describe the IHS experience with patients and parents, and were more satisfied with the quality of teaching. Furthermore free-text comments revealed that, regardless of experience, students wished to gain more experience of the practical administration of IHS. There is a need to increase the provision of IHS training within an undergraduate curriculum, in addition to improving the accessibility of postgraduate sedation courses.

Freely Chosen Index Finger Tapping Frequency Is Increased in Repeated Bouts of Tapping.

PubMed

Hansen, Ernst Albin; Ebbesen, Brian Duborg; Dalsgaard, Ane; Mora-Jensen, Mark Holten; Rasmussen, Jakob

2015-01-01

Healthy individuals (n = 40) performed index finger tapping at freely chosen frequency during repeated bouts and before and after near-maximal muscle action consisting of 3 intense flexions of the index finger metacarpal phalangeal joint. One experiment showed, unexpectedly, that a bout of tapping increased the tapping frequency in the subsequent bout. Thus, a cumulating increase of 8.2 ± 5.4% (p < .001) occurred across 4 bouts, which were all separated by 10 min rest periods. Follow-up experiments revealed that tapping frequency was still increased in consecutive bouts when rest periods were extended to 20 min. Besides, near-maximal muscle activation, followed by 5 min rest, did not affect the tapping frequency. In conclusion, freely chosen tapping frequency was increased in repeated bouts of tapping, which were separated by 10-20 min rest periods. The observed phenomenon is suggested to be termed repeated bout rate enhancement.

Mecp2 Mediates Experience-Dependent Transcriptional Upregulation of Ryanodine Receptor Type-3

PubMed Central

Torres, Rodrigo F.; Hidalgo, Cecilia; Kerr, Bredford

2017-01-01

Mecp2 is a DNA methylation reader that plays a critical role in experience-dependent plasticity. Increasing evidence supports a role for epigenetic modifications in activity-induced gene expression. Hence, candidate genes related to such phenomena are of great interest. Ryanodine receptors are intracellular calcium channels that contribute to hippocampal synaptic plasticity, dendritic spine remodeling, and participate in learning and memory processes. Here we exposed mice to the enriched environment (EE) paradigm, which through increased stimulation induces experience dependent-plasticity, to explore a role for methyl-cytosines, and Mecp2 in directing Ryanodine receptor 3 (Ryr3) transcriptional activity. EE induced a hippocampal-specific increase in the methylation of discrete cytosines located at a Ryr3 isoform promoter; chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that EE increased Mecp2 binding to this Ryr3 isoform promoter. Interestingly, the experimental paradigm induced robust Ryr3 upregulation, accompanied by miR132-dependent suppression of p250GAP, a pathway driving synaptogenesis. In contrast to WT mice, Mecp2-null mice showed diminished levels of Ryr3 and displayed impaired EE-induced Ryr3 upregulation, compromising miR132 dependent suppression of p250GAP and experience-dependent structural plasticity. Based on these results, we propose that Mecp2 acts as a transcriptional activator of Ryr3, contributing to experience-dependent plasticity. PMID:28659760

Pre-service elementary science teaching self-efficacy and teaching practices: A mixed-methods, dual-phase, embedded case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangueza, Cheryl Ramirez

This mixed-method, dual-phase, embedded-case study employed the Social Cognitive Theory and the construct of self-efficacy to examine the contributors to science teaching self-efficacy and science teaching practices across different levels of efficacy in six pre-service elementary teachers during their science methods course and student teaching experiences. Data sources included the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) for pre-service teachers, questionnaires, journals, reflections, student teaching lesson observations, and lesson debriefing notes. Results from the STEBI-B show that all participants measured an increase in efficacy throughout the study. The ANOVA analysis of the STEBI-B revealed a statistically significant increase in level of efficacy during methods course, student teaching, and from the beginning of the study to the end. Of interest in this study was the examination of the participants' science teaching practices across different levels of efficacy. Results of this analysis revealed how the pre-service elementary teachers in this study contextualized their experiences in learning to teach science and its influences on their science teaching practices. Key implications involves the value in exploring how pre-service teachers interpret their learning to teach experiences and how their interpretations influence the development of their science teaching practices.

Extinction of likes and dislikes: effects of feature-specific attention allocation.

PubMed

Vanaelst, Jolien; Spruyt, Adriaan; Everaert, Tom; De Houwer, Jan

2017-12-01

The evaluative conditioning (EC) effect refers to the change in the liking of a neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus, CS) due to its pairing with another stimulus (unconditioned stimulus, US). We examined whether the extinction rate of the EC effect is moderated by feature-specific attention allocation. In two experiments, CSs were abstract Gabor patches varying along two orthogonal, perceptual dimensions (i.e. spatial frequency and orientation). During the acquisition phase, one of these dimensions was predictive of the valence of the USs. During the extinction phase, CSs were presented alone and participants were asked to categorise the CSs either according to their valence, the perceptual dimension that was task-relevant during the acquisition phase, or a perceptual dimension that was task-irrelevant during the acquisition phase. As predicted, explicit valence measures revealed a linear increase in the extinction rate of the EC effect as participants were encouraged to assign attention to non-evaluative stimulus information during the extinction phase. In Experiment 1, Affect Misattribution Paradigm (AMP) data mimicked this pattern of results, although the effect just missed conventional levels of significance. In Experiment 2, the AMP data revealed an increase of the EC effect if attention was focused on evaluative stimulus information. Potential mechanisms to explain these findings are discussed.

EEG gamma coherence and other correlates of subjective reports during ayahuasca experiences.

PubMed

Stuckey, David E; Lawson, Robert; Luna, Luis Eduardo

2005-06-01

The current study examined QEEG power and coherence of ayahuasca experiences with two experienced participants in a Brazilian jungle setting. An exploratory case series design was adopted for naturalistic field research. EEGs recorded during visual imagery was compared to eyes-closed baselines. The most important findings were increases in global EEG coherence in the 36-44 Hz and 50-64 Hz frequency bands for both subjects. Widely distributed cortical hyper-coherence seems reasonable given the intense synesthesia during ayahuasca experiences. Other findings include increased modal EEG alpha frequency and global power decreases across the cortex in most frequency bands, which concur with the EEG of psychedelics literature. Exploratory analysis revealed the usefulness of analyzing single Hz bins over the standard wide-band analysis. The discovery-oriented naturalistic approach developed for this study resulted in potentially important findings. We believe that finding increases in global gamma coherence during peak psychedelic experiences might contribute to the discussion of binding theory. Also, in light of recent research with gamma coherence during advanced meditative conditions, our findings might further the comparison of shamanic psychedelic practices with meditation.

Effect of vermicompost on growth, yield and nutrition status of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum).

PubMed

Azarmi, Rasool; Ziveh, Parviz Sharifi; Satari, Mohammad Reza

2008-07-15

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of vermicompost on growth, yield and fruit quality of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum var. Super Beta) in a field condition. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with four replications. The different rates of vermicompost (0, 5, 10 and 15 t ha(-1)) was incorporated into the top 15 cm of soil. During experiment period, fruits were harvested twice in a week and total yield were recorded for two months. At the end of experiment, growth characteristics such as leaf number, leaf area and shoot dry weights were determined. The results revealed that addition of vermicompost at rate of 15 t ha(-1) significantly (at p < 0.05) increased growth and yield compared to control. Vermicompost with rate of 15 t ha(-1) increased EC of fruit juice and percentage of fruit dry matter up to 30 and 24%, respectively. The content of K, P, Fe and Zn in the plant tissue increased 55, 73, 32 and 36% compared to untreated plots respectively. The result of our experiment showed addition of vermicompost had significant (p < 0.05) positive effects on growth, yield and elemental content of plant as compared to control.

Gliding in convection currents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Georgii, W

1935-01-01

A survey of the possibilities of gliding in convection currents reveals that heretofore only the most simple kind of ascending convection currents, that is, the "thermic" of insolation, has been utilized to any extent. With the increasing experience in gliding, the utilization of the peculiar nature of the "wind thermic" and increased glider speed promises further advances. Evening, ocean, and height "thermic" are still in the exploration stage, and therefore not amenable to survey in their effects.

The whole-soil carbon flux in response to warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hicks Pries, Caitlin E.; Castanha, C.; Porras, R. C.; Torn, M. S.

2017-03-01

Soil organic carbon harbors three times as much carbon as Earth’s atmosphere, and its decomposition is a potentially large climate change feedback and major source of uncertainty in climate projections. The response of whole-soil profiles to warming has not been tested in situ. In a deep warming experiment in mineral soil, we found that CO2 production from all soil depths increased with 4°C warming; annual soil respiration increased by 34 to 37%. All depths responded to warming with similar temperature sensitivities, driven by decomposition of decadal-aged carbon. Whole-soil warming reveals a larger soil respiration response than many in situ experiments (most of which only warm the surface soil) and models.

Body image and sexual orientation: The experiences of lesbian and bisexual women.

PubMed

Smith, Marie L; Telford, Elina; Tree, Jeremy J

2017-02-01

Western cultures promote a thin and curvaceous ideal body size that most women find difficult to achieve by healthy measures, resulting in poor body image and increased risk for eating pathology. Research focusing on body image in lesbian and bisexual women has yielded inconsistent results. In total, 11 lesbian and bisexual women were interviewed regarding their experiences with body image. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed that these women experienced similar mainstream pressures to conform to a thin body ideal. Furthermore, participants perceived additional pressure to conform to heteronormative standards of beauty since the normalisation of homosexuality and the increase in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender representation in mainstream media.

Evaluation of the effects of low energetic microwave irradiation on anaerobic digestion.

PubMed

Bastiaens, Bert; Van den Broeck, Rob; Appels, Lise; Dewil, Raf

2017-11-01

The present study investigates the effects of microwave irradiation on the performance of anaerobic digestion processes. A first set of experiments is performed to distinguish the upper limit of the applied energy levels. Secondly, the effects of these treatments on the performance of the digestion process are evaluated in 3 experimental setups: (i) monitoring the acetic acid degradation, (ii) performing a biological methane potential (BMP) assay and (iii) conducting a specific methanogenic activity (SMA) test. The solubilisation experiment reveals a limited degree of disintegration of anaerobic biomass up to a microwave treatment of 10000 kJ/kg TS. Above this threshold value the soluble COD level started to rise, with up to 350% at 30000 kJ/kg TS regardless of the microwave output power. Because solubilisation of the biomass increases the easily degradable content, this would lead to false observations regarding increased activity. Therefore, solubilisation is minimized by limiting the microwave treatment to a maximum of 6000 kJ/kg TS during the second part of the experiments. Monitoring the degradation of acetic acid after a low intensity microwave treatment, reveals that microwave irradiation shortens the lag phase, e.g., from 21 to 3 h after a microwave treatment of 1000 kJ/kg TS at 100 W. However most treatments also result in a decrease of the maximum degradation and of the degradation rate of acetic acid. BMP assays are performed to evaluate the activity and performance of the entire anaerobic community. Every treatment results in a decreased biogas production potential and decreased biogas production rate. Moreover, each treatment induced an increase of the lag phase. The SMA experiments show no influence of the microwave irradiation in terms of biogas or methane production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teaching Direct Practice Techniques for Work with Elders with Alzheimer's Disease: A Simulated Group Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kane, Michael N.

2003-01-01

A role-play exercise about Alzheimer's disease was designed to teach group work with memory-impaired elders. Written comments from 26 social work students revealed four outcomes: demystifying practical knowledge, respect for diversity among memory-impaired individuals, increased awareness of elders' internal states, and awareness of the challenges…

Obstacles to Developing Digital Literacy on the Internet in Middle School Science Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colwell, Jamie; Hunt-Barron, Sarah; Reinking, David

2013-01-01

Obstacles, and instructional responses to them, that emerged in two middle school science classes during a formative experiment investigating Internet Reciprocal Teaching (IRT), an instructional intervention aimed at increasing digital literacy on the Internet, are reported in this manuscript. Analysis of qualitative data revealed that IRT enabled…

The Neural Mechanisms of Word Order Processing Revisited: Electrophysiological Evidence from Japanese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolff, Susann; Schlesewsky, Matthias; Hirotani, Masako; Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina

2008-01-01

We present two ERP studies on the processing of word order variations in Japanese, a language that is suited to shedding further light on the implications of word order freedom for neurocognitive approaches to sentence comprehension. Experiment 1 used auditory presentation and revealed that initial accusative objects elicit increased processing…

Exploring the Power of Solo, Silence, and Solitude

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knapp, Clifford E., Ed.; Smith, Thomas E., Ed.

2005-01-01

What do solitude experiences offer in this increasingly high-speed, technically dependent world? As this book inspiringly reveals, solo quests can provide powerful reconnection with the natural world, the true self, and the great mystery beyond. As Parker Palmer writes in "To Know as We Are Known," "Solitude calls us to confront…

Consciousness and Science: A Non-Dual Perspective on the Theology-Science Dialogue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sriraman, Bharath; Benesch, Walter

2013-01-01

In modern science, the synthesis of "nature/mind" in observation, experiment, and explanation, especially in physics and biology increasingly reveal a non-linear totality in which subject, object, and situation have become inseparable. This raises the interesting ontological question of the true nature of reality? Western science as seen in its…

Sex Stereotypes of Children: What Functions Do They Serve?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cann, Arnie

The series of experiments reported here investigated dimensions of children's sex stereotypes. The first study revealed that children were aware of sex stereotypes as early as 2 1/2 years of age. Furthermore, the tendency to categorize according to sex increased through their eighth year. The second study investigated whether sex stereotypes…

Neural correlates of humor detection and appreciation.

PubMed

Moran, Joseph M; Wig, Gagan S; Adams, Reginald B; Janata, Petr; Kelley, William M

2004-03-01

Humor is a uniquely human quality whose neural substrates remain enigmatic. The present report combined dynamic, real-life content and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to dissociate humor detection ("getting the joke") from humor appreciation (the affective experience of mirth). During scanning, subjects viewed full-length episodes of the television sitcoms Seinfeld or The Simpsons. Brain activity time-locked to humor detection moments revealed increases in left inferior frontal and posterior temporal cortices, whereas brain activity time-locked to moments of humor appreciation revealed increases in bilateral regions of insular cortex and the amygdala. These findings provide evidence that humor depends critically upon extant neural systems important for resolving incongruities (humor detection) and for the expression of affect (humor appreciation).

Joint Cross Well and Single Well Seismic Studies at Lost Hills, California

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gritto, Roland; Daley, Thomas M.; Myer, Larry R.

2002-06-25

A series of time-lapse seismic cross well and single well experiments were conducted in a diatomite reservoir to monitor the injection of CO{sub 2} into a hydrofracture zone, based on P- and S-wave data. A high-frequency piezo-electric P-wave source and an orbital-vibrator S-wave source were used to generate waves that were recorded by hydrophones as well as three-component geophones. The injection well was located about 12 m from the source well. During the pre-injection phase water was injected into the hydrofrac-zone. The set of seismic experiments was repeated after a time interval of 7 months during which CO{sub 2} wasmore » injected into the hydrofractured zone. The questions to be answered ranged from the detectability of the geologic structure in the diatomic reservoir to the detectability of CO{sub 2} within the hydrofracture. Furthermore it was intended to determine which experiment (cross well or single well) is best suited to resolve these features. During the pre-injection experiment, the P-wave velocities exhibited relatively low values between 1700-1900 m/s, which decreased to 1600-1800 m/s during the post-injection phase (-5%). The analysis of the pre-injection S-wave data revealed slow S-wave velocities between 600-800 m/s, while the post-injection data revealed velocities between 500-700 m/s (-6%). These velocity estimates produced high Poisson ratios between 0.36 and 0.46 for this highly porous ({approx} 50%) material. Differencing post- and pre-injection data revealed an increase in Poisson ratio of up to 5%. Both, velocity and Poisson estimates indicate the dissolution of CO{sub 2} in the liquid phase of the reservoir accompanied by a pore-pressure increase. The single well data supported the findings of the cross well experiments. P- and S-wave velocities as well as Poisson ratios were comparable to the estimates of the cross well data. The cross well experiment did not detect the presence of the hydrofracture but appeared to be sensitive to overall changes in the reservoir and possibly the presence of a fault. In contrast, the single well reflection data revealed an arrival that could indicate the presence of the hydrofracture between the source and receiver wells, while it did not detect the presence of the fault, possibly due to out of plane reflections.« less

A meta-ethnography of the acculturation and socialization experiences of migrant care workers.

PubMed

Ho, Ken H M; Chiang, Vico C L

2015-02-01

To report a meta-ethnography of qualitative research studies exploring the acculturation and socialization experiences of migrant care workers. Migrant care workers are increasingly participating in health and social care in developed countries. There is a need to understand this increasingly socioculturally diversified workforce. A comprehensive search through 12 databases and a manual search of journals related to transculture for studies on socialization and acculturation experiences (published 1993-2013) was completed. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed studies on the acculturation or socialization experiences of migrant care workers published in English in any country, using a qualitative or mixed-methods approach. This meta-ethnography employed the seven-phase Noblit and Hare method with reciprocal translation, refutational synthesis and lines-of-argument to synthesize qualitative studies. Three main themes were identified: (a) schema for the migration dream: optimism; (b) the reality of the migration dream: so close, yet so far; and (c) resilience: from chaos to order. A general framework of motivated psychosocial and behavioural adaptation was proposed. This meta-ethnography also revealed the vulnerabilities of migrant nurses in the process of acculturation and socialization. The general framework of behavioural and psychosocial adaptation revealed factors that impede and facilitate behavioural and psychosocial changes. Strategies to enrich external and internal resources should be targeted at encouraging multiculturalism and at improving the psychosocial resources of migrant care workers. It is suggested that research investigating the prominence of nursing vulnerabilities be conducted. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The influence of income on the experience of informal caregiving: policy implications.

PubMed

Williams, Allison M; Forbes, Dorothy A; Mitchell, Julie; Essar, Mary; Corbett, Brad

2003-04-01

Examining the need for an eldercare policy is relevant and timely because the population is aging, a focus of care has shifted from institutional to community based, and informal caregivers, primarily women, are increasingly pressured to be responsible for eldercare. The purpose of the study is to examine the differences in the experiences of low-income and those who are not low-income informal caregivers. Three hundred questionnaires were mailed to past and present home care clients and 58 questionnaires were returned (19% response rate). This research revealed that low-income caregivers have increased needs for support and education from those who can afford to pay for their support services. Low-income caregivers experience significantly greater caregiver distress than do caregivers who are not low income. The unique needs of low-income caregivers must be considered in the formation of Canadian eldercare policy as increased health care privatization promotes the growing inequality in health care provision.

Influence of Ongoing Task Difficulty and Motivation Level on Children's Prospective Memory in a Chinese Sample.

PubMed

Han, Pi-Guo; Han, Lei; Bian, Yu-Long; Tian, Yu; Xu, Min-Xia; Gao, Feng-Qiang

2017-01-01

Prospective memory (PM) is the process associated with the task of realizing delayed intentions in the future. Researchers distinguish two types of PM, namely time-based PM (tbPM) and event-based PM (ebPM). Experiment 1 investigated the developmental trajectory of 3- to 5-year-old preschool children's PM ability, and the occurrence of delayed retrieval (children execute the PM task in a larger window of opportunity) in both tbPM and ebPM tasks. Results revealed that the 5-year-old children outperformed the 3- and 4-year-old children in PM. Moreover, delayed retrieval was more likely to occur in tbPM task than in ebPM task. In Experiment 2, the influence of ongoing task (OT) difficulty on PM performance was investigated with a sample of 5-year-old children. Results revealed no significant effect of OT difficulty on PM performance. In Experiment 3, we improved children's motivation level to complete the OT, then explored the influence of OT difficulty on children's PM performance. Results revealed that the effect of OT difficulty on PM performance became significant after increasing the children's motivation to complete the OT. These results provide insights into the mechanism of attentional resource allocation in PM tasks and have crucial educational and social implications.

Dynamics of psychological crisis experience with psychological consulting by gestalt therapy methods.

PubMed

Fahrutdinova, Liliya Raifovna; Nugmanova, Dzhamilia Renatovna

2015-01-01

Dynamics of experience as such and its corporeal, emotional and cognitive elements in the situation of psychological consulting provisioning is covered. The aim of research was to study psychological crisis experience dynamics in the situation when psychological consulting by gestalt therapy methods is provided. Theoretical analysis of the problem of crisis situations, phenomenon and structural, and dynamic organization of experience of the subject of consulting have been carried out. To fulfill research project test subjects experience crisis situation have been selected, studied in the situation when they provided psychological consulting by methods of gestalt therapy, and methodology of study of crisis situations experience has been prepared. Specifics of psychological crisis experience have been revealed and its elements in different stages of psychological consulting by gestalt therapy methods. Dynamics of experience of psychological crisis and its structural elements have been revealed and reliable changes in it have been revealed. Dynamics of psychological crisis experience and its structural elements have been revealed and reliable changes in it have been revealed. "Desiccation" of experience is being observed, releasing its substantiality of negative impression to the end of consulting and development of the new experience of control over crisis situation. Interrelations of structural elements of experience in the process of psychological consulting have been shown. Effecting one structure causes reliable changes in all others structural elements of experience. Giving actual psychological help to clients in crisis situation by methods of gestalt therapy is possible as it was shown in psychological consulting sessions. Structure of client's request has been revealed - problems of personal sense are fixed as the most frequent cause of clients' applications, as well as absence of choices, obtrusiveness of negative thoughts, tend to getting stuck on events took place in the past, drawing into oneself, etc.

An Insecticide Further Enhances Experience-Dependent Increased Behavioural Responses to Sex Pheromone in a Pest Insect

PubMed Central

Abrieux, Antoine; Mhamdi, Amel; Rabhi, Kaouther K.; Egon, Julie; Debernard, Stéphane; Duportets, Line; Tricoire-Leignel, Hélène; Anton, Sylvia; Gadenne, Christophe

2016-01-01

Neonicotinoid insecticides are widely used to protect plants against pest insects, and insecticide residues remaining in the environment affect both target and non-target organisms. Whereas low doses of neonicotinoids have been shown to disturb the behaviour of pollinating insects, recent studies have revealed that a low dose of the neonicotinoid clothianidin can improve behavioural and neuronal sex pheromone responses in a pest insect, the male moth Agrotis ipsilon, and thus potentially improve reproduction. As male moth behaviour depends also on its physiological state and previous experience with sensory signals, we wondered if insecticide effects would be dependent on plasticity of olfactory-guided behaviour. We investigated, using wind tunnel experiments, whether a brief pre-exposure to the sex pheromone could enhance the behavioural response to this important signal in the moth A. ipsilon at different ages (sexually immature and mature males) and after different delays (2 h and 24 h), and if the insecticide clothianidin would interfere with age effects or the potential pre-exposure-effects. Brief pre-exposure to the pheromone induced an age-independent significant increase of sex pheromone responses 24 h later, whereas sex pheromone responses did not increase significantly 2 h after exposure. However, response delays were significantly shorter compared to naïve males already two hours after exposure. Oral treatment with clothianidin increased sex pheromone responses in sexually mature males, confirming previous results, but did not influence responses in young immature males. Males treated with clothianidin after pre-exposure at day 4 responded significantly more to the sex pheromone at day 5 than males treated with clothianidin only and than males pre-exposed only, revealing an additive effect of experience and the insecticide. Plasticity of sensory systems has thus to be taken into account when investigating the effects of sublethal doses of insecticides on behaviour. PMID:27902778

Retrieval attempts enhance learning regardless of time spent trying to retrieve.

PubMed

Vaughn, Kalif E; Hausman, Hannah; Kornell, Nate

2017-03-01

Attempting to retrieve information from memory is an engaging cognitive activity. We predicted that people would learn more when they had spent more time attempting to retrieve. In experiments 1a and 1b, participants were shown trivia questions for 0, 5, 10, or 30 seconds and then the answer was revealed. They took a final test immediately or after 48 hours. Retrieval enhanced learning, but the length of the retrieval attempt had no effect (i.e., final test performance was equivalent in the 5-, 10-, and 30-second conditions and worse in the 0-second condition). During the initial retrieval attempt, more time did increase recall, suggesting that participants continued to engage in productive retrieval activities when given more time. Showing the answer for longer (7 versus 2 seconds) increased learning in Experiments 2a and 2b. Experiment 3 examined the effect of retrieval success and Experiment 4 replicated the results using different materials. These results have direct implications for current theories of retrieval.

Learning how to recover from job stress: effects of a recovery training program on recovery, recovery-related self-efficacy, and well-being.

PubMed

Hahn, Verena C; Binnewies, Carmen; Sonnentag, Sabine; Mojza, Eva J

2011-04-01

This quasi-experimental study evaluated the effects of a recovery training program on recovery experiences (psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery experiences, and control during off-job time), recovery-related self-efficacy, and well-being outcomes. The training comprised two sessions held one week apart. Recovery experiences, recovery-related self-efficacy, and well-being outcomes were measured before the training (T1) and one week (T2) and three weeks (T3) after the training. A training group consisting of 48 individuals and a waitlist control group of 47 individuals were compared (N = 95). Analyses of covariance revealed an increase in recovery experiences at T2 and T3 (for mastery only at T2). Recovery-related self-efficacy and sleep quality increased at T2 and T3, perceived stress and state negative affect decreased at T3. No training effects were found for emotional exhaustion.

Relationship of personal health experiences with interest in health careers among youth from an underserved area.

PubMed

Brooks, Alyssa T; Washington, Shakira; Boekeloo, Bradley O; Gilchrist, Brian; Wang, Min Q

2013-01-01

Only 10% of health professionals are from racial/ethnic minority groups, and much research has been focused on encouraging minorities to enter a health career. The lack of health workforce diversity has many implications for the effective delivery of care to an increasingly diverse US population. The goal of this analysis is to examine the influence of personal health experiences on interest in a health career. "Personal Health Experiences" is a newly created scaled variable that assesses the influence of direct and indirect health experiences of respondents. In a sample of 134 predominantly minority 10th graders from underprivileged neighborhoods, the scale had adequate psychometric properties (range 1-7; mean 4.44, SD 1.46, median 4.60, Cronbach's alpha 0.72), and multivariate regression modeling revealed that it predicted increased "Interest in Health Careers" (B=0.46, SE 0.10, p<0.01). Future research is needed to determine the role that personal health experiences play in career choices and one's success in health career decisions. Such information could, for example, help to refine health profession recruitment strategies.

Functional neuroanatomy of arithmetic and word reading and its relationship to age

PubMed Central

Evans, Tanya M.; Flowers, D. Lynn; Luetje, Megan M.; Napoliello, Eileen; Eden, Guinevere F.

2016-01-01

Arithmetic and written language are uniquely human skills acquired during early schooling and used daily. While prior studies have independently characterized the neural bases for arithmetic and reading, here we examine both skills in a single study to capture their shared and unique cognitive mechanisms, as well as the role of age/experience in modulating their neural representations. We used functional MRI in 7- to 29-year-olds who performed single-digit subtraction, single-digit addition, and single-word reading. Using a factorial design, we examined the main effects of Task (subtraction, addition, reading) and Age (as a continuous variable), and their interactions. A main effect of Task revealed preferential activation for subtraction in bilateral intraparietal sulci and supramarginal gyri, right insula, inferior frontal gyrus, and cingulate. The right middle temporal gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus were preferentially active for both addition and reading, and left fusiform gyrus was preferentially active for reading. A main effect of Age revealed increased activity in older participants in right angular gyrus, superior temporal sulcus, and putamen, and less activity in left supplementary motor area, suggesting a left frontal to right temporo-parietal shift of activity with increasing age/experience across all tasks. Interactions for Task by Age were found in right hippocampus and left middle frontal gyrus, with older age invoking greater activity for addition and at the same time less activity for subtraction and reading. Together, in a study conducted in the same participants using similar task and acquisition parameters, the results reveal the neural substrates of these educationally relevant cognitive skills in typical participants in the context of age/experience. PMID:27566261

Biochar as a sorbent for chlorinated hydrocarbons - sorption and extraction experiments in single and bi-solute systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreiter, Inga J.; Wefer-Roehl, Annette; Graber, Ellen R.; Schüth, Christoph

2017-04-01

Biochar (BC) is increasingly deemed a potential sorbent for contaminants in soil and water remediation, and brownfield restoration. In this study, sorption and extraction experiments were performed to assess the potential of three different BCs to sorb and retain the chlorinated hydrocarbons trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). BCs studied were produced from wood chips, grain husk, and cattle manure at 450 °C. A commercially available activated carbon (AC) served as a reference. The sorption behaviour was studied in batch experiments in single solute and bi-solute systems. Resulting isotherms were fitted to the Freundlich model. To assess the desorption behaviour, a five-step extraction scheme (water at 40°C, water at 80°C, methanol at 50°C, toluene at 50°C, and n-hexane at 50°) was developed, utilizing Accelerated Solvent Extraction. Isotherms revealed distinct differences in sorption behaviour depending on BC feedstock. Sorption capacity ranked as follows: wood chip BC > grain husk BC > cattle manure BC for both contaminants. This sequence could be attributable to an increasing specific surface area, an increasing amount of carbon, and a decreasing ash content of the sorbents. It is noteworthy that all three BCs were more effective in adsorbing TCE, which is surprising, given the higher logKow of PCE. The reverse was observed for the AC. Here, sorption is purely driven by the hydrophobicity of the compound rather than sorbent properties. In bi-solute experiments, PCE sorbed as good as or stronger than TCE, yet the total mass of sorbed compounds increased slightly. In contrast, AC showed a significant decrease of TCE sorption and no significant changes in the total mass sorbed. Extraction experiments revealed that for all BCs a large fraction of the contaminants could not be readily desorbed. In all cases, water remobilized < 5 % of the total contaminant mass and up to 70 % could not be extracted by any of the solvents. The findings suggest that BC is a promising sorbent for mixed contaminant systems as it offers a diverse nature of sorption sites and is more effective in long-term immobilization than AC.

Principal Component Analysis of Chlorophyll Content in Tobacco, Bean and Petunia Plants Exposed to Different Tropospheric Ozone Concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borowiak, Klaudia; Zbierska, Janina; Budka, Anna; Kayzer, Dariusz

2014-06-01

Three plant species were assessed in this study - ozone-sensitive and -resistant tobacco, ozone-sensitive petunia and bean. Plants were exposed to ambient air conditions for several weeks in two sites differing in tropospheric ozone concentrations in the growing season of 2009. Every week chlorophyll contents were analysed. Cumulative ozone effects on the chlorophyll content in relation to other meteorological parameters were evaluated using principal component analysis, while the relation between certain days of measurements of the plants were analysed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results revealed variability between plant species response. However, some similarities were noted. Positive relations of all chlorophyll forms to cumulative ozone concentration (AOT 40) were found for all the plant species that were examined. The chlorophyll b/a ratio revealed an opposite position to ozone concentration only in the ozone-resistant tobacco cultivar. In all the plant species the highest average chlorophyll content was noted after the 7th day of the experiment. Afterwards, the plants usually revealed various responses. Ozone-sensitive tobacco revealed decrease of chlorophyll content, and after few weeks of decline again an increase was observed. Probably, due to the accommodation for the stress factor. While during first three weeks relatively high levels of chlorophyll contents were noted in ozone-resistant tobacco. Petunia revealed a slow decrease of chlorophyll content and the lowest values at the end of the experiment. A comparison between the plant species revealed the highest level of chlorophyll contents in ozone-resistant tobacco.

The Effects of Incorporating Classroom Pets into the Fourth Grade Science Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Admire, Maegan

The purpose of this study was to identify and promote successful teaching strategies that incorporate classroom pets in order to influence student engagement, achievement, and perceptions of animals. This was a small action research study conducted in a fourth grade science classroom. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained including, pre- and post-assessments, student interviews, researcher field notes, researcher journal, and student work. The results of this study revealed an increased academic achievement from the pre- to post-assessment, increased student observations and descriptions when discussing the animals, and increased student empathy toward the animals. The results also revealed that the teacher's incorporation of the animals within the science curriculum grew in ease over time, and that the animals provided the educator with opportunities to teach non-content related lessons and also a concrete experience for the teacher to apply and extend the science content.

Nonlinear dynamic characteristics of dielectric elastomer membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fox, Jason W.; Goulbourne, Nakhiah C.

2008-03-01

The dynamic response of dielectric elastomer membranes subject to time-varying voltage inputs for various initial inflation states is investigated. These results provide new insight into the differences observed between quasi-static and dynamic actuation and presents a new challenge to modeling efforts. Dielectric elastomer membranes are a potentially enabling technology for soft robotics and biomedical devices such as implants and surgical tools. In this work, two key system parameters are varied: the chamber volume and the voltage signal offset. The chamber volume experiments reveal that increasing the size of the chamber onto which the membrane is clamped will increase the deformations as well as cause the membrane's resonance peaks to shift and change in number. For prestretched dielectric elastomer membranes at the smallest chamber volume, the maximum actuation displacement is 81 microns; while at the largest chamber volume, the maximum actuation displacement is 1431 microns. This corresponds to a 1767% increase in maximum pole displacement. In addition, actuating the membrane at the resonance frequencies provides hundreds of percent increase in strain compared to the quasi-static strain. Adding a voltage offset to the time-varying input signal causes the membrane to oscillate at two distinct frequencies rather than one and also presents a unique opportunity to increase the output displacement without electrically overloading the membrane. Experiments to capture the entire motion of the membrane reveal that classical membrane mode shapes are electrically generated although all points of the membrane do not pass through equilibrium at the same moments in time.

It's what you do! Reflections on the VERB campaign.

PubMed

Wong, Faye L; Greenwell, Michael; Gates, Suzanne; Berkowitz, Judy M

2008-06-01

This article shares the first-hand experiences of the CDC's VERB team in planning, executing, and evaluating a campaign that used social marketing principles, which involved paid media advertising, promotions, and national and community partnerships to increase physical activity among children aged 9-13 years (tweens). VERB staff gained valuable experience in applying commercial marketing techniques to a public health issue. This article describes how marketing, partnership, and evaluation activities were implemented to reach a tween audience. In doing so, fundamental differences in marketing between public health and the private sector were revealed.

Salicylate-induced changes in spontaneous activity of single units in the inferior colliculus of the guinea pig.

PubMed

Jastreboff, P J; Sasaki, C T

1986-11-01

Changes in spontaneous neuronal activity of the inferior colliculus in albino guinea pigs before and after administration of sodium salicylate were analyzed. Animals were anesthetized with pentobarbital, and two microelectrodes separated by a few hundred microns were driven through the inferior colliculus. After collecting a sufficiently large sample of cells, sodium salicylate (450 mg/kg) was injected i.p. and recordings again made 2 h after the injection. Comparison of spontaneous activity recorded before and after salicylate administration revealed highly statistically significant differences (p less than 0.001). After salicylate, the mean rate of the cell population increased from 29 to 83 Hz and the median from 26 to 74 Hz. Control experiments in which sodium salicylate was replaced by saline injection revealed no statistically significant differences in cell discharges. Recordings made during the same experiments from lobulus V of the cerebellar vermis revealed no changes in response to salicylate. The observed changes in single-unit activity due to salicylate administration may represent the first systematic evidence of a tinnituslike phenomenon in animals.

Rapid Forgetting of Social Transmission of Food Preferences in Aged Rats: Relationship to Hippocampal CREB Activation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Countryman, Renee A.; Gold, Paul E.

2007-01-01

A major characteristic of age-related changes in memory in rodents is an increase in the rate of forgetting of new information, even when tests given soon after training reveal intact memory. Interference with CREB functions similarly results in rapid decay of memory. Using quantitative immunocytochemistry, the present experiment examined the…

Recovering the Street: Relocalising Urban Geography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saunders, Angharad

2013-01-01

This paper explores how audio walks can help learners re-experience and rethink the nature of urban geography. Urban thinking has increasingly begun to explore the city not from above, but from below; from the street rather than from the elite and in everyday rather than extraordinary ways. The intention has been to reveal the many stories,…

The Social World of Peer Rejected Children as Revealed by a Wireless Audio-Visual Transmission System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asher, Steven R.; Gabriel, Sonda W.

This paper describes an observational methodology designed to permit increased understanding of the day-to-day social world of school children. The methodology was developed in the course of investigations of the extent to which children classified as rejected on sociometric measures actually experience overt rejection at school. Discussions of…

Implications of Cognitive Load for Hypothesis Generation and Probability Judgment

PubMed Central

Sprenger, Amber M.; Dougherty, Michael R.; Atkins, Sharona M.; Franco-Watkins, Ana M.; Thomas, Rick P.; Lange, Nicholas; Abbs, Brandon

2011-01-01

We tested the predictions of HyGene (Thomas et al., 2008) that both divided attention at encoding and judgment should affect the degree to which participants’ probability judgments violate the principle of additivity. In two experiments, we showed that divided attention during judgment leads to an increase in subadditivity, suggesting that the comparison process for probability judgments is capacity limited. Contrary to the predictions of HyGene, a third experiment revealed that divided attention during encoding leads to an increase in later probability judgment made under full attention. The effect of divided attention during encoding on judgment was completely mediated by the number of hypotheses participants generated, indicating that limitations in both encoding and recall can cascade into biases in judgments. PMID:21734897

Evidence for task conflict in the Stroop effect.

PubMed

Goldfarb, Liat; Henik, Avishai

2007-10-01

C. M. MacLeod and P. A. MacDonald (2000) suggested that congruent and incongruent Stroop stimuli cause more task conflict than neutral stimuli because the anterior cingulate cortex is more activated with these stimuli. This study investigated behavioral expression for this pattern. Experiment 1 reduced task conflict control by increasing the proportion of nonword neutrals. Additionally, half the trials had conflict or neutral cues. The control reduction revealed the task conflict. For noncued trials, response time was longer for congruent stimuli than for neutral stimuli (reverse facilitation effect). In addition, response time for congruent stimuli was longer when stimuli were uncued vs. cued. Experiment 2 increased task conflict control by changing the neutral stimuli to noncolor words. Consequently, the task conflict expression disappeared. (c) 2007 APA

Fracture Toughness and Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of As-Cast High-Entropy Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifi, Mohsen; Li, Dongyue; Yong, Zhang; Liaw, Peter K.; Lewandowski, John J.

2015-08-01

The fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth behavior of two as-vacuum arc cast high-entropy alloys (HEAs) (Al0.2CrFeNiTi0.2 and AlCrFeNi2Cu) were determined. A microstructure examination of both HEA alloys revealed a two-phase structure consisting of body-centered cubic (bcc) and face-centered cubic (fcc) phases. The notched and fatigue precracked toughness values were in the range of those reported in the literature for two-phase alloys but significantly less than recent reports on a single phase fcc-HEA that was deformation processed. Fatigue crack growth experiments revealed high fatigue thresholds that decreased significantly with an increase in load ratio, while Paris law slopes exhibited metallic-like behavior at low R with significant increases at high R. Fracture surface examinations revealed combinations of brittle and ductile/dimpled regions at overload, with some evidence of fatigue striations in the Paris law regime.

Revealing the Influence of Silver in Ni-Ag Catalysts on the Selectivity of Higher Olefin Synthesis from Stearic Acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danyushevsky, V. Ya.; Murzin, V. Yu.; Kuznetsov, P. S.; Shamsiev, R. S.; Katsman, E. A.; Khramov, E. V.; Zubavichus, Y. V.; Berenblyum, A. S.

2018-01-01

Results on the conversion of stearic acid to olefins over Ni-Ag/γ-Al2O3 catalysts are presented. XANES and EXAFS experiments in situ and DFT calculations were applied to reveal the structure of active sites therein. It is shown that the introduction of Ag to Ni catalysts leads to an increase in the olefin yield. After a reduction in hydrogen (350°C, 3 h) alumina-supported nanoparticles of nickel sulfides and metallic Ag are formed. The role of metal hydrides formed during the reaction is extensively discussed.

The meaning of having to live with cancer in old age.

PubMed

Thomé, B; Esbensen, B A; Dykes, A-K; Hallberg, I R

2004-12-01

Little is known about how older people with cancer experience their life situation. To increase the understanding of how illness is experienced in older people with cancer, the aim of this study was to investigate the meaning of living with cancer in old age. The hermeneutic phenomenological method as described by van Manen and referred to as 'phenomenology of praxis' was used. Ten persons (seven women and three men) aged 75 and over, who had a diagnosis of cancer and who had just completed cancer treatment, were interviewed in their own homes. The analysis revealed a life world affected to varying degrees by the cancer disease. The lived experiences across the interviews were revealed in four overarching essential themes: transition into a more or less disintegrated existence, sudden awareness of the finiteness of life, redefinition of one's role in life for good and for bad, meeting disease and illness. To provide individual support and appropriate care to older people with cancer it is important for health care professionals to identify and take care of disabilities and to support the reorientation in the disintegrated life situation. It is also important to have preparedness to meet the old person's thoughts about death. Thus, it is important to encourage the old person to describe her/his illness experience to increase understanding about what is meaningful for her/him.

Fear and loathing: undergraduate nursing students' experiences of a mandatory course in applied statistics.

PubMed

Hagen, Brad; Awosoga, Oluwagbohunmi A; Kellett, Peter; Damgaard, Marie

2013-04-23

This article describes the results of a qualitative research study evaluating nursing students' experiences of a mandatory course in applied statistics, and the perceived effectiveness of teaching methods implemented during the course. Fifteen nursing students in the third year of a four-year baccalaureate program in nursing participated in focus groups before and after taking the mandatory course in statistics. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis to reveal four major themes: (i) "one of those courses you throw out?," (ii) "numbers and terrifying equations," (iii) "first aid for statistics casualties," and (iv) "re-thinking curriculum." Overall, the data revealed that although nursing students initially enter statistics courses with considerable skepticism, fear, and anxiety, there are a number of concrete actions statistics instructors can take to reduce student fear and increase the perceived relevance of courses in statistics.

The lasting legacy of childhood adversity for disease risk in later life.

PubMed

McCrory, Cathal; Dooley, Cara; Layte, Richard; Kenny, Rose Anne

2015-07-01

There has been an increased interest in the role of the childhood social environment in the etiology of adult diseases in recent years. The present study examines whether the experience of adversity during childhood increases risk for disease in later life independent of later life socioeconomic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors. The study involved a nationally representative sample of 6,912 persons aged 50 years and older who were participating in the first wave of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Childhood adversity was indexed using a 4-item measure that captured challenging and potentially noxious childhood environmental exposures including, socioeconomic disadvantage, substance abuse among parents, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. A doctor diagnosis of disease across 9 chronic disease types represented the primary outcome variables. The experience of adversity during childhood was associated with increased risk of disease in midlife and older ages across a large number of chronic disease types including cardiovascular disease, lung disease, and emotional, nervous, or psychiatric disorders. Analysis of the dose-response pattern revealed positively graded associations between the number of adverse events experienced during childhood and the occurrence of chronic disease in later life. Cox proportional hazard models revealed that the experience of adversity during childhood was associated with earlier age of onset for any physical disease type or emotional, nervous, or psychiatric disorders. These findings indicate that childhood may represent a sensitive or critical period in the development of disease and reinforces the necessity of adopting a life-course approach to the study of chronic diseases. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Negative outcomes evoke cyclic irrational decisions in Rock, Paper, Scissors.

PubMed

Dyson, Benjamin James; Wilbiks, Jonathan Michael Paul; Sandhu, Raj; Papanicolaou, Georgios; Lintag, Jaimie

2016-02-04

Rock, Paper, Scissors (RPS) represents a unique gaming space in which the predictions of human rational decision-making can be compared with actual performance. Playing a computerized opponent adopting a mixed-strategy equilibrium, participants revealed a non-significant tendency to over-select Rock. Further violations of rational decision-making were observed using an inter-trial analysis where participants were more likely to switch their item selection at trial n + 1 following a loss or draw at trial n, revealing the strategic vulnerability of individuals following the experience of negative rather than positive outcome. Unique switch strategies related to each of these trial n outcomes were also identified: after losing participants were more likely to 'downgrade' their item (e.g., Rock followed by Scissors) but after drawing participants were more likely to 'upgrade' their item (e.g., Rock followed by Paper). Further repetition analysis revealed that participants were more likely to continue their specific cyclic item change strategy into trial n + 2. The data reveal the strategic vulnerability of individuals following the experience of negative rather than positive outcome, the tensions between behavioural and cognitive influences on decision making, and underline the dangers of increased behavioural predictability in other recursive, non-cooperative environments such as economics and politics.

Who gets afraid in the MRI-scanner? Neurogenetics of state-anxiety changes during an fMRI experiment.

PubMed

Mutschler, Isabella; Wieckhorst, Birgit; Meyer, Andrea H; Schweizer, Tina; Klarhöfer, Markus; Wilhelm, Frank H; Seifritz, Erich; Ball, Tonio

2014-11-07

Experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) play a fundamental role in affective neuroscience. When placed in an MR scanner, some volunteers feel safe and relaxed in this situation, while others experience uneasiness and fear. Little is known about the basis and consequences of such inter-individually different responses to the general experimental fMRI setting. In this study emotional stimuli were presented during fMRI and subjects' state-anxiety was assessed at the onset and end of the experiment while they were within the scanner. We show that Val/Val but neither Met/Met nor Val/Met carriers of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val(158)Met polymorphism-a prime candidate for anxiety vulnerability-became significantly more anxious during the fMRI experiment (N=97 females: 24 Val/Val, 51 Val/Met, and 22 Met/Met). Met carriers demonstrated brain responses with increased stability over time in the right parietal cortex and significantly better cognitive performances likely mediated by lower levels of anxiety. Val/Val, Val/Met and Met/Met did not significantly differ in state-anxiety at the beginning of the experiment. The exposure of a control group (N=56 females) to the same experiment outside the scanner did not cause a significant increase in state-anxiety, suggesting that the increase we observe in the fMRI experiment may be specific to the fMRI setting. Our findings reveal that genetics may play an important role in shaping inter-individual different emotional, cognitive and neuronal responses during fMRI experiments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does social approval stimulate prosocial behavior? Evidence from a field experiment in the residential electricity market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoeli, Erez

At least since Veblen (1899), economists have proposed that people do good because they desire "social approval" and want to look good in front of others. Evidence from the laboratory supports this claim, but is difficult to generalize due to the unrealistic degree of scrutiny in a laboratory environment. I administer a field experiment to test the potency of social approval in a realistic and policy relevant setting. In the experiment I solicit 7893 customers of a large electric utility for a program that helps prevent blackouts. I vary whether their decision to participate in the program is revealed to their neighbors. Customers whose decision is revealed are 1.5% more likely to sign up than those whose decision is anonymous when their decision is framed as a contribution to a public good. Social approval increases participation more than offering subjects a $25 incentive, and its effect is large relative to the mean sign-up rate of 4.1%. I explore whether social approval contributes to crowding out and conditionally cooperative behavior, but the evidence is inconclusive.

Tapping the Geoscience Two-Year College Student Reservoir: Factors that Influence Student Transfer Intent and Physical Science Degree Aspirations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolfe, Benjamin A.

Colleges and universities are facing greater accountability to identify and implement practices that increase the number of two-year college (2YC) students who transfer to four-year institutions (4YC) and complete baccalaureate degrees. This is particularly true for physical science and geoscience disciplines, which have the lowest STEM degree completion rates of students transferring from 2YCs (Wilson, 2014a). A better understanding of how academic engagement experiences contribute to increased 2YC student interest in these disciplines and student intent to transfer is critical in strengthening the transfer pathway for the physical sciences and geosciences. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of the influence that background characteristics, mathematics preparation, academic experiences (e.g. faculty-student interaction, undergraduate research experiences, and field experiences), and academic advisor engagement have on 2YC student intentions to transfer to a four-year institution (4YC) with physical science or geoscience degree aspirations. Incorporating the conceptual frameworks of student engagement and transfer student capital (Laanan et al., 2010), this study used Astin's (1993; 1999) input-environment-outcomes (I-E-O) model to investigate what factors predict 2YC students' intent to transfer to a 4YC and pursue physical science or geoscience degrees. This study used a quantitative research approach with data collected from 751 student respondents from 24 2YCs. Results from three sequential multiple regression models revealed advisor interaction, speaking with a transfer advisor, and visiting the intended 4YC were significant in increased 2YC student transfer intent. Student-faculty interaction and faculty and academic advisors discussing career opportunities in the physical sciences were significant in leading to increased 2YC student intent to pursue physical science degrees or geoscience degrees. The results also substantiated the significant role that field-based experiences have in increasing student intent in pursuing geoscience related majors. Surprisingly, developmental math placement was not found to be a significant predictor of transfer intent nor intent to pursue physical science or geoscience degrees. These findings reveal that developing practices focused on transfer student capital acquisition can strengthen the pipeline of physical science and geoscience degrees and supports the suggestion that 2YCs can serve as an intervention point to broaden participation in STEM related degrees.

Experiences and perceptions of culturally and linguistically diverse family carers of people with dementia.

PubMed

Boughtwood, Desiree Leone; Adams, Jon; Shanley, Chris; Santalucia, Yvonne; Kyriazopoulos, Helena

2011-06-01

Dementia incidence rates are rapidly increasing among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australians, and there is very little local research to inform practice. In response, a qualitative study employing focus group methods was undertaken with carers from 4 CALD communities-Arabic-speaking, Chinese-speaking, Italian-speaking and, Spanish-speaking. The study examined the experiences and perceptions of these family carers with regard to their caregiving for a person living with dementia (PLWD). Analysis revealed that while considerable similarities exist across the experiences and perceptions of carers from all 4 CALD communities, there were nevertheless some important distinctions across the different groups. These study findings have significant implications for those working with CALD communities.

Language-experience plasticity in neural representation of changes in pitch salience

PubMed Central

Krishnan, Ananthanarayan; Gandour, Jackson T.; Suresh, Chandan H.

2016-01-01

Neural representation of pitch-relevant information at the brainstem and cortical levels of processing is influenced by language experience. A well-known attribute of pitch is its salience. Brainstem frequency following responses and cortical pitch specific responses, recorded concurrently, were elicited by a pitch salience continuum spanning weak to strong pitch of a dynamic, iterated rippled noise pitch contour—homolog of a Mandarin tone. Our aims were to assess how language experience (Chinese, English) affects i) enhancement of neural activity associated with pitch salience at brainstem and cortical levels, ii) the presence of asymmetry in cortical pitch representation, and iii) patterns of relative changes in magnitude along the pitch salience continuum. Peak latency (Fz: Na, Pb, Nb) was shorter in the Chinese than the English group across the continuum. Peak-to-peak amplitude (Fz: Na-Pb, Pb-Nb) of the Chinese group grew larger with increasing pitch salience, but an experience-dependent advantage was limited to the Na-Pb component. At temporal sites (T7/T8), the larger amplitude of the Chinese group across the continuum was both limited to the Na-Pb component and the right temporal site. At the brainstem level, F0 magnitude gets larger as you increase pitch salience, and it too reveals Chinese superiority. A direct comparison of cortical and brainstem responses for the Chinese group reveals different patterns of relative changes in magnitude along the pitch salience continuum. Such differences may point to a transformation in pitch processing at the cortical level presumably mediated by local sensory and/or extrasensory influence overlaid on the brainstem output. PMID:26903418

"Watch out!": Effects of instructed threat and avoidance on human free-operant approach-avoidance behavior.

PubMed

Schlund, Michael W; Treacher, Kay; Preston, Oli; Magee, Sandy K; Richman, David M; Brewer, Adam T; Cameron, Gemma; Dymond, Simon

2017-01-01

Approach-avoidance paradigms create a competition between appetitive and aversive contingencies and are widely used in nonhuman research on anxiety. Here, we examined how instructions about threat and avoidance impact control by competing contingencies over human approach-avoidance behavior. Additionally, Experiment 1 examined the effects of threat magnitude (money loss amount) and avoidance cost (fixed ratio requirements), whereas Experiment 2 examined the effects of threat information (available, unavailable and inaccurate) on approach-avoidance. During the task, approach responding was modeled by reinforcing responding with money on a FR schedule. By performing an observing response, participants produced an escalating "threat meter". Instructions stated that the threat meter levels displayed the current probability of losing money, when in fact loss only occurred when the level reached the maximum. Instructions also stated pressing an avoidance button lowered the threat level. Overall, instructions produced cycles of approach and avoidance responding with transitions from approach to avoidance when threat was high and transitions back to approach after avoidance reduced threat. Experiment 1 revealed increasing avoidance cost, but not threat magnitude, shifted approach-avoidance transitions to higher threat levels and increased anxiety ratings, but did not influence the frequency of approach-avoidance cycles. Experiment 2 revealed when threat level information was available or absent earnings were high, but earnings decreased when inaccurate threat information was incompatible with contingencies. Our findings build on prior nonhuman and human approach-avoidance research by highlighting how instructed threat and avoidance can impact human AA behavior and self-reported anxiety. © 2017 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Being the stranger: Comparing study abroad experiences of nursing students in low and high income countries through hermeneutical phenomenology.

PubMed

Maltby, Hendrika J; de Vries-Erich, Joy M; Lund, Karen

2016-10-01

To understand the experience of American nursing students who complete a study abroad trip to a low-income country, Bangladesh, versus a high-income country, the Netherlands in the development of cultural consciousness. Hermeneutic (interpretive) phenomenology was used to explore the journals of 44 students' experiences and reflections. The comprehensive understanding of the naïve and structural analysis revealed that, no matter where these students travelled, they increased their cultural consciousness. We need to revise curricula to create 'change from the familiar' experiences for all students (many cannot afford study abroad) to move students to cultural consciousness on their journey to cultural competency that may improve client health outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Childhood trauma as a risk factor for the onset of subclinical psychotic experiences: Exploring the mediating effect of stress sensitivity in a cross-sectional epidemiological community study.

PubMed

Rössler, Wulf; Ajdacic-Gross, Vladeta; Rodgers, Stephanie; Haker, Helene; Müller, Mario

2016-04-01

Childhood trauma is a risk factor for the onset of schizophrenic psychosis. Because the psychosis phenotype can be described as a continuum with varying levels of severity and persistence, childhood trauma might likewise increase the risk for psychotic experiences below the diagnostic threshold. But the impact of stressful experiences depends upon its subjective appraisal. Therefore, varying degrees of stress sensitivity possibly mediate how childhood trauma impacts in the end upon the occurrence of subclinical psychotic experiences. We investigated this research question in a representative community cohort of 1500 participants. A questionnaire, comprising five domains of physical and emotional neglect, as well as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, was used to assess childhood trauma. Based on different symptoms of subclinical psychotic experiences, we conducted a latent profile analysis (LPA) to derive distinct profiles for such experiences. Path modeling was performed to identify the direct and indirect (via stress sensitivity) pathways from childhood trauma to subclinical psychotic experiences. The LPA revealed four classes - unaffected, anomalous perceptions, odd beliefs and behavior, and combined anomalous perceptions/odd beliefs and behavior, that - except for sexual abuse - were all linked to childhood trauma. Moreover, except for physical abuse, childhood trauma was significantly associated with stress sensitivity. Thus, our results revealed that the pathways from emotional neglect/abuse and physical neglect to subclinical psychotic experiences were mediated by stress sensitivity. In conclusion, we can state that subclinical psychotic experiences are affected by childhood traumatic experiences in particular through the pathway of a heightened subjective stress appraisal. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Narrative event boundaries, reading times, and expectation.

PubMed

Pettijohn, Kyle A; Radvansky, Gabriel A

2016-10-01

During text comprehension, readers create mental representations of the described events, called situation models. When new information is encountered, these models must be updated or new ones created. Consistent with the event indexing model, previous studies have shown that when readers encounter an event shift, reading times often increase. However, such increases are not consistently observed. This paper addresses this inconsistency by examining the extent to which reading-time differences observed at event shifts reflect an unexpectedness in the narrative rather than processes involved in model updating. In two reassessments of prior work, event shifts known to increase reading time were rated as less expected, and expectedness ratings significantly predicted reading time. In three new experiments, participants read stories in which an event shift was or was not foreshadowed, thereby influencing expectedness of the shift. Experiment 1 revealed that readers do not expect event shifts, but foreshadowing eliminates this. Experiment 2 showed that foreshadowing does not affect identification of event shifts. Finally, Experiment 3 found that, although reading times increased when an event shift was not foreshadowed, they were not different from controls when it was. Moreover, responses to memory probes were slower following an event shift regardless of foreshadowing, suggesting that situation model updating had taken place. Overall, the results support the idea that previously observed reading time increases at event shifts reflect, at least in part, a reader's unexpected encounter with a shift rather than an increase in processing effort required to update a situation model.

Long-term Ecosystem Experiments, Data Assimilation, and Meta-Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hungate, B. A.; Van Groenigen, K. J.; Osenberg, C. W.; van Gestel, N.

2015-12-01

Land ecosystems affect climate and the atmosphere, and climate and atmospheric change affects ecosystems. Syntheses of ecosystem experiments investigating their responses to environmental change holds promise for understanding how to model these interactions, and thereby gain insight into Earth's future biosphere, atmosphere, and climate. Long-term experiments examining ecosystem responses are thought to be especially important in this effort, for their potential to reveal cumulative and progressive effects, subtle effects initially undetectable experimentally, but manifest more clearly over time, often with stronger implications for modeled responses than the more dramatic, short-term experimental responses. Here, we present new analyses of long-term experiments manipulating temperature, CO2 concentration, and precipitation, testing the general hypothesis that there are common temporal patterns of responses that reveal general biogeochemical characterizing ecosystem responses to these environmental changes. For example, we show that increased carbon input with elevated CO2 stimulates emissions of nitrous oxide and methane, important greenhouse gases, and that effects show no signs of diminishing over the duration of experiments that have documented responses. At the same time, we show that the temporal resolution for this response is limited, pointing to a potential limitation in the ability of experiments to address clearly long-term hypotheses. We also show that warming tends to have limited cumulative effects on total soil carbon stocks in long-term experiments, and explore the mechanisms underlying this response. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for models used to simulate long-term ecosystem responses to these environmental forcings, as well as the implications of these findings for the next generation of terrestrial ecosystem experiments.

Influence of Ongoing Task Difficulty and Motivation Level on Children’s Prospective Memory in a Chinese Sample

PubMed Central

Han, Pi-guo; Han, Lei; Bian, Yu-long; Tian, Yu; Xu, Min-xia; Gao, Feng-qiang

2017-01-01

Prospective memory (PM) is the process associated with the task of realizing delayed intentions in the future. Researchers distinguish two types of PM, namely time-based PM (tbPM) and event-based PM (ebPM). Experiment 1 investigated the developmental trajectory of 3- to 5-year-old preschool children’s PM ability, and the occurrence of delayed retrieval (children execute the PM task in a larger window of opportunity) in both tbPM and ebPM tasks. Results revealed that the 5-year-old children outperformed the 3- and 4-year-old children in PM. Moreover, delayed retrieval was more likely to occur in tbPM task than in ebPM task. In Experiment 2, the influence of ongoing task (OT) difficulty on PM performance was investigated with a sample of 5-year-old children. Results revealed no significant effect of OT difficulty on PM performance. In Experiment 3, we improved children’s motivation level to complete the OT, then explored the influence of OT difficulty on children’s PM performance. Results revealed that the effect of OT difficulty on PM performance became significant after increasing the children’s motivation to complete the OT. These results provide insights into the mechanism of attentional resource allocation in PM tasks and have crucial educational and social implications. PMID:28203212

A Diffusion Model Analysis of Adult Age Differences in Episodic and Semantic Long-Term Memory Retrieval

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaniol, Julia; Madden, David J.; Voss, Andreas

2006-01-01

Two experiments investigated adult age differences in episodic and semantic long-term memory tasks, as a test of the hypothesis of specific age-related decline in context memory. Older adults were slower and exhibited lower episodic accuracy than younger adults. Fits of the diffusion model (R. Ratcliff, 1978) revealed age-related increases in…

(Re)Telling Lived Experiences in Different Tales: A Potential Pathway in Working towards an Inclusive PE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg Svendby, Ellen

2016-01-01

Existing research reveals that there are large discrepancies between the rhetoric of inclusive practice and what actually takes place in physical education (PE) lessons. PE appears to be a conservative subject, where little has changed over the years, despite increased diversity in schools and new modes of movement in society at large. In this…

Repeated Structural Imaging Reveals Nonlinear Progression of Experience-Dependent Volume Changes in Human Motor Cortex.

PubMed

Wenger, Elisabeth; Kühn, Simone; Verrel, Julius; Mårtensson, Johan; Bodammer, Nils Christian; Lindenberger, Ulman; Lövdén, Martin

2017-05-01

Evidence for experience-dependent structural brain change in adult humans is accumulating. However, its time course is not well understood, as intervention studies typically consist of only 2 imaging sessions (before vs. after training). We acquired up to 18 structural magnetic resonance images over a 7-week period while 15 right-handed participants practiced left-hand writing and drawing. After 4 weeks, we observed increases in gray matter of both left and right primary motor cortices relative to a control group; 3 weeks later, these differences were no longer reliable. Time-series analyses revealed that gray matter in the primary motor cortices expanded during the first 4 weeks and then partially renormalized, in particular in the right hemisphere, despite continued practice and increasing task proficiency. Similar patterns of expansion followed by partial renormalization are also found in synaptogenesis, cortical map plasticity, and maturation, and may qualify as a general principle of structural plasticity. Research on human brain plasticity needs to encompass more than 2 measurement occasions to capture expansion and potential renormalization processes over time. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

War or Peace? How the Subjective Perception of Great Power Interdependence Shapes Preemptive Defensive Aggression

PubMed Central

Jing, Yiming; Gries, Peter H.; Li, Yang; Stivers, Adam W.; Mifune, Nobuhiro; Kuhlman, D. M.; Bai, Liying

2017-01-01

Why do great powers with benign intentions end up fighting each other in wars they do not seek? We utilize an incentivized, two-person “Preemptive Strike Game” (PSG) to explore how the subjective perception of great power interdependence shapes defensive aggression against persons from rival great powers. In Study 1, college students from the United States (N = 115), China (N = 106), and Japan (N = 99) made PSG decisions facing each other. This natural experiment revealed that Chinese and Japanese participants (a) made more preemptive attacks against each other and Americans than against their compatriots, and that (b) greater preexisting perceptions of bilateral competition increased intergroup attack rates. In Study 2, adult Americans (N = 127) watched real CNN expert interviews portraying United States–China economic interdependence as more positive or negative. This randomized experiment revealed that the more positive portrayal reduced preemptive American strikes against Chinese (but not Japanese), while the more negative portrayal amplified American anger about China’s rise, increasing preemptive attacks against Chinese. We also found, however, that preemptive strikes were primarily defensive and not offensive. Interventions to reduce defensive aggression and promote great power peace are discussed. PMID:28626433

War or Peace? How the Subjective Perception of Great Power Interdependence Shapes Preemptive Defensive Aggression.

PubMed

Jing, Yiming; Gries, Peter H; Li, Yang; Stivers, Adam W; Mifune, Nobuhiro; Kuhlman, D M; Bai, Liying

2017-01-01

Why do great powers with benign intentions end up fighting each other in wars they do not seek? We utilize an incentivized, two-person "Preemptive Strike Game" (PSG) to explore how the subjective perception of great power interdependence shapes defensive aggression against persons from rival great powers. In Study 1, college students from the United States ( N = 115), China ( N = 106), and Japan ( N = 99) made PSG decisions facing each other. This natural experiment revealed that Chinese and Japanese participants (a) made more preemptive attacks against each other and Americans than against their compatriots, and that (b) greater preexisting perceptions of bilateral competition increased intergroup attack rates. In Study 2, adult Americans ( N = 127) watched real CNN expert interviews portraying United States-China economic interdependence as more positive or negative. This randomized experiment revealed that the more positive portrayal reduced preemptive American strikes against Chinese (but not Japanese), while the more negative portrayal amplified American anger about China's rise, increasing preemptive attacks against Chinese. We also found, however, that preemptive strikes were primarily defensive and not offensive. Interventions to reduce defensive aggression and promote great power peace are discussed.

Cooling of hot bubbles by surface texture during the boiling crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhillon, Navdeep; Buongiorno, Jacopo; Varanasi, Kripa

2015-11-01

We report the existence of maxima in critical heat flux (CHF) enhancement for pool boiling on textured hydrophilic surfaces and reveal the interaction mechanism between bubbles and surface texture that governs the boiling crisis phenomenon. Boiling is a process of fundamental importance in many engineering and industrial applications but the maximum heat flux that can be absorbed by the boiling liquid (or CHF) is limited by the boiling crisis. Enhancing the CHF of industrial boilers by surface texturing can lead to substantial energy savings and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale. However, the fundamental mechanisms behind this enhancement are not well understood, with some previous studies indicating that CHF should increase monotonically with increasing texture density. However, using pool boiling experiments on a parametrically designed set of plain and nano-textured micropillar surfaces, we show that there is an optimum intermediate texture density that maximizes CHF and further that the length scale of this texture is of fundamental significance. Using imbibition experiments and high-speed optical and infrared imaging, we reveal the fundamental mechanisms governing the CHF enhancement maxima in boiling crisis. We acknowledge funding from the Chevron corporation.

Design, synthesis, and characterization of lightly sulfonated multigraft acrylate-based copolymer superelastomers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Misichronis, Konstantinos; Wang, Weiyu; Cheng, Shiwang

2018-01-29

Multigraft copolymer superelastomers consisting of a poly(n-butyl acrylate) backbone and polystyrene side chains were synthesized and the viscoelastic properties of the non-sulfonated and sulfonated final materials were investigated using extensional rheology (SER3). The non-linear viscoelastic experiments revealed significantly increased true stresses (up to 10 times higher) after sulfonating only 2–3% of the copolymer while the materials maintained high elongation (<700%). The linear viscoelastic experiments showed that the storage and loss modulus are increased by sulfonation and that the copolymers can be readily tuned and further improved by increasing the number of branching points and the molecular weight of the backbone.more » Here, in this way, we show that by tuning not only the molecular characteristics of the multigraft copolymers but also their architecture and chemical interaction, we can acquire thermoplastic superelastomer materials with desired viscoelastic properties.« less

The Dark Side of Context: Context Reinstatement Can Distort Memory.

PubMed

Doss, Manoj K; Picart, Jamila K; Gallo, David A

2018-04-01

It is widely assumed that context reinstatement benefits memory, but our experiments revealed that context reinstatement can systematically distort memory. Participants viewed pictures of objects superimposed over scenes, and we later tested their ability to differentiate these old objects from similar new objects. Context reinstatement was manipulated by presenting objects on the reinstated or switched scene at test. Not only did context reinstatement increase correct recognition of old objects, but it also consistently increased incorrect recognition of similar objects as old ones. This false recognition effect was robust, as it was found in several experiments, occurred after both immediate and delayed testing, and persisted with high confidence even after participants were warned to avoid the distorting effects of context. To explain this memory illusion, we propose that context reinstatement increases the likelihood of confusing conceptual and perceptual information, potentially in medial temporal brain regions that integrate this information.

Erythritol reduces small intestinal glucose absorption, increases muscle glucose uptake, improves glucose metabolic enzymes activities and increases expression of Glut-4 and IRS-1 in type 2 diabetic rats.

PubMed

Chukwuma, Chika Ifeanyi; Mopuri, Ramgopal; Nagiah, Savania; Chuturgoon, Anil Amichund; Islam, Md Shahidul

2017-08-02

Studies have reported that erythritol, a low or non-glycemic sugar alcohol possesses anti-hyperglycemic and anti-diabetic potentials but the underlying mode of actions is not clear. This study investigated the underlying mode of actions behind the anti-hyperglycemic and anti-diabetic potentials of erythritol using different experimental models (experiment 1, 2 and 3). Experiment 1 examined the effects of increasing concentrations (2.5-20%) of erythritol on glucose absorption and uptake in isolated rat jejunum and psoas muscle, respectively. Experiments 2 and 3 examined the effects of a single oral dose of erythritol (1 g/kg bw) on intestinal glucose absorption, gastric emptying and postprandial blood glucose increase, glucose tolerance, serum insulin level, muscle/liver hexokinase and liver glucose-6 phosphatase activities, liver and muscle glycogen contents and mRNA and protein expression of muscle Glut-4 and IRS-1 in normal and type 2 diabetic animals. Experiment 1 revealed that erythritol dose dependently enhanced muscle glucose ex vivo. Experiment 2 demonstrated that erythritol feeding delayed gastric emptying and reduced small intestinal glucose absorption as well as postprandial blood glucose rise, especially in diabetic animals. Experiment 3 showed that erythritol feeding improved glucose tolerance, muscle/liver hexokinase and liver glucose-6 phosphatase activities, glycogen storage and also modulated expression of muscle Glut-4 and IRS-1 in diabetic animals. Data suggest that erythritol may exert anti-hyperglycemic effects not only via reducing small intestinal glucose absorption, but also by increasing muscle glucose uptake, improving glucose metabolic enzymes activity and modulating muscle Glut-4 and IRS-1 mRNA and protein expression. Hence, erythritol may be a useful dietary supplement for managing hyperglycemia, particularly for T2D.

Peculiarities of ultrastructure of Chlorella cells growing aboard the Bion-10 during 12 days

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popova, A. F.; Sytnik, K. M.

The ultrastructure of Chlorella cells grown in darkness on a solid agar medium with organic additions aboard the Bion-1O biosatellite was studied. Certain differences in submicroscopic organization of organelles in the experimental cells were revealed compared to the Earth control. The changes are registered mainly in ultrastructure of energetic organelles - mitochondria and plastids of the experimental cells, in particular, an increase of mitochondria and their cristae size, as well as an increase of the total volume of mitochondrion per cell were established. The decrease of the starch amount in the plastid stroma and the electron density of the latter was also observed. In many experimental cells, the increase of condensed chromatin in the nuclei has been noted. Ultrastructural rearrangements in cells after laboratory experiment realized according to the thermogram registered aboard the Bion-10 were insignificant compared to the flight experiment. Data obtained are compared to results of space flight experiments carried out aboard the Bion-9 (polycomponent aquatic system) and the orbital station Mir (solid agar medium).

The influence of space flight factors on viability and mutability of plants.

PubMed

Kostina, L; Anikeeva, I; Vaulina, E

1984-01-01

The experiments with air-dried Crepis capillaris seeds aboard the Soyuz 16 spaceship and the orbital stations Salyut 5, 6, 7 have revealed an increase in the frequency of aberrant cells in seedlings grown from flight-exposed seeds during the flight (experiment) and after the flight on Earth (flight control) as compared to the ground-based control. The increase in seedlings grown during the flight is more significant than in the flight control. During the flight Arabidopsis thaliana developed from cotyledons to the flowering stage. Analysis of seeds setting on these plants after the flight has shown a reduction in the fertility of these plants and an increase in the frequency of recessive mutants ("Light block-1"). An increased frequency of mutants was also retained in the progeny of plants which had passed through a complete cycle of development during the flight ("Fiton-3"). Suppression of embryo viability was observed in all experiments and expressed itself in reduced germinating ability of seeds from the exposed plants and in the early death of seedlings. Damages resulting from chromosome aberrations are eliminated in the first postflight generation and damages resulting from gene mutations and micro-aberrations are preserved for a longer time.

Colocalization of Mating-Induced Fos and D2-Like Dopamine Receptors in the Medial Preoptic Area: Influence of Sexual Experience.

PubMed

Nutsch, Victoria L; Will, Ryan G; Robison, Christopher L; Martz, Julia R; Tobiansky, Daniel J; Dominguez, Juan M

2016-01-01

Dopamine in the medial preoptic area (mPOA) stimulates sexual activity in males. This is evidenced by microdialysis and microinjection experiments revealing that dopamine receptor antagonists in the mPOA inhibit sexual activity, whereas agonists facilitate behavior. Microdialysis experiments similarly show a facilitative role for dopamine, as levels of dopamine in the mPOA increase with mating. While the majority of evidence suggests an important role for dopamine receptors in the mPOA in the regulation of male sexual behaviors, whether sexual activity or sexual experience influence dopamine receptor function in the mPOA has not been previously shown. Here we used immunohistochemical assays to determine whether varying levels of sexual activity or experience influence the number of cells containing Fos or D2 receptor immunoreactivity. Results show that sexual experience facilitated subsequent behavior, namely experience decreased latencies. Moreover, the number of cells with immunoreactivity for Fos or D2 correlated with levels of sexual experience and sexual activity. Sexual activity increased Fos immunoreactivity. Sexually experienced animals also had significantly more D2-positive cells. Sexually inexperienced animals copulating for the first time had a larger percentage of D2-positive cells containing Fos, when compared to sexually experienced animals. Finally, regardless of experience, animals that had sex prior to sacrifice had significantly more D2-positive cells that contained Fos, vs. animals that did not copulate. These findings are noteworthy because sexually experienced animals display increased sexual efficiency. The differences in activation of D2 and changes in receptor density may play a role in this efficiency and other behavioral changes across sexual experience.

From a structural average to the conformational ensemble of a DNA bulge

PubMed Central

Shi, Xuesong; Beauchamp, Kyle A.; Harbury, Pehr B.; Herschlag, Daniel

2014-01-01

Direct experimental measurements of conformational ensembles are critical for understanding macromolecular function, but traditional biophysical methods do not directly report the solution ensemble of a macromolecule. Small-angle X-ray scattering interferometry has the potential to overcome this limitation by providing the instantaneous distance distribution between pairs of gold-nanocrystal probes conjugated to a macromolecule in solution. Our X-ray interferometry experiments reveal an increasing bend angle of DNA duplexes with bulges of one, three, and five adenosine residues, consistent with previous FRET measurements, and further reveal an increasingly broad conformational ensemble with increasing bulge length. The distance distributions for the AAA bulge duplex (3A-DNA) with six different Au-Au pairs provide strong evidence against a simple elastic model in which fluctuations occur about a single conformational state. Instead, the measured distance distributions suggest a 3A-DNA ensemble with multiple conformational states predominantly across a region of conformational space with bend angles between 24 and 85 degrees and characteristic bend directions and helical twists and displacements. Additional X-ray interferometry experiments revealed perturbations to the ensemble from changes in ionic conditions and the bulge sequence, effects that can be understood in terms of electrostatic and stacking contributions to the ensemble and that demonstrate the sensitivity of X-ray interferometry. Combining X-ray interferometry ensemble data with molecular dynamics simulations gave atomic-level models of representative conformational states and of the molecular interactions that may shape the ensemble, and fluorescence measurements with 2-aminopurine-substituted 3A-DNA provided initial tests of these atomistic models. More generally, X-ray interferometry will provide powerful benchmarks for testing and developing computational methods. PMID:24706812

Pulmonary vascular clearance of harmful endogenous macromolecules in a porcine model of acute liver failure.

PubMed

Nedredal, Geir I; Elvevold, Kjetil; Chedid, Marcio F; Ytrebø, Lars M; Rose, Christopher F; Sen, Sambit; Smedsrød, Bård; Jalan, Rajiv; Revhaug, Arthur

2016-01-01

Pulmonary complications are common in acute liver failure (ALF). The role of the lungs in the uptake of harmful soluble endogenous macromolecules was evaluated in a porcine model of ALF induced by hepatic devascularization (n = 8) vs. controls (n = 8). In additional experiments, pulmonary uptake was investigated in healthy pigs. Fluorochrome-labeled modified albumin (MA) was applied to investigate the cellular uptake. As compared to controls, the ALF group displayed a 4-fold net increased lung uptake of hyaluronan, and 5-fold net increased uptake of both tissue plasminogen activator and lysosomal enzymes. Anatomical distribution experiments in healthy animals revealed that radiolabeled MA uptake (taken up by the same receptor as hyaluronan) was 53% by the liver, and 24% by the lungs. The lung uptake of LPS was 14% whereas 60% remained in the blood. Both fluorescence and electron microscopy revealed initial uptake of MA by pulmonary endothelial cells (PECs) with later translocation to pulmonary intravascular macrophages (PIMs). Moreover, the presence of PIMs was evident 10 min after injection. Systemic inflammatory markers such as leukopenia and increased serum TNF-α levels were evident after 20 min in the MA and LPS groups. Significant lung uptake of harmful soluble macromolecules compensated for the defect liver scavenger function in the ALF-group. Infusion of MA induced increased TNF-α serum levels and leukopenia, similar to the effect of the known inflammatory mediator LPS. These observations suggest a potential mechanism that may contribute to lung damage secondary to liver disease.

Daily Stressors as Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Use and Cravings in Community-Based Offenders

PubMed Central

Neupert, Shevaun D.; Desmarais, Sarah L.; Gray, Julie S.; Cohn, Amy M.; Doherty, Stephen; Knight, Kevin

2017-01-01

Justice-involved individuals with alcohol and drug use problems reoffend at higher rates than their non-using counterparts, with alcohol and drug use serving as an important vector to recidivism. At the daily level, exposure to stressors may exacerbate problematic alcohol and drug use; at the individual-level, prior treatment experiences may mitigate substance use as individuals adapt to and learn new coping mechanisms. We conducted a daily diary study using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology over 14 consecutive days with 117 men on probation or parole participating in a community-based treatment program (n = 860 calls) and referred to medication-assisted treatment. Participants reported daily stressors, craving for alcohol and illegal drugs, and use of alcohol and illegal drugs one time each day. Results of multilevel models showed significant day-to-day fluctuation in alcohol and drug craving and use. In concurrent models, increases in daily stressors were associated with increases in cravings and use of illegal drugs. Prior treatment experience modified many of these relationships, and additional lagged models revealed that those with less treatment experience reported an increase in next-day alcohol craving when they experienced increases in stressors on the previous day compared to those with more treatment experience. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of tailoring treatment as a function of individual differences, including prior treatment experiences, and targeting daily stressors and subsequent cravings among justice-involved adults with alcohol and drug use problems. PMID:28383933

Can physicians be replaced with gynecological teaching women to train medical students in their first pelvic examination? A pilot study from Northern Sweden.

PubMed

Grankvist, Olov; Olofsson, Anders D; Isaksson, Rose-Marie

2014-07-01

The main objective was to gain a deeper understanding of how medical students perceive and experience learning from gynecological teaching women (GTW) instead of physicians in their first pelvic examination. A second aim was to describe how the women experience their roles as GTW. Data were collected from individual interviews with 24 medical students from a medical school in Sweden and with 5 GTW. Discourse analysis was performed to acquire a deeper understanding of the informants' experiences and to understand social interactions. Five themes revealed in the medical students' experiences: "Hoping that anxiety will be replaced with security," "Meeting as equals creates a sense of calm," "Succeeding creates a sense of security for the future," "Wanting but not having the opportunity to learn more," and "Feeling relieved and grateful." One theme revealed in the GTW experiences: "Hoping to relate in a trustworthy way." To replace physicians with GTW may facilitate the learning process and may also help medical students improve their communicative skills. Using GTW will hopefully further improve students' basic medical examination techniques and physician-patient relationships. Since GTW seems to increase self-confidence and skills of medical students performing their first pelvic examination we recommend that the use of GTW is considered in the training of medical students. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of voting on tax payments

PubMed Central

Wahl, Ingrid; Muehlbacher, Stephan; Kirchler, Erich

2010-01-01

This study examines whether participating in governmental decisions influences taxpayers’ cooperation. The results of experiment 1 show that participants tend to contribute more when they can vote on different rules for a public good game. Experiment 2 reveals that tax payments are lowest in a tax simulation when participants benefit from tax payments and can not vote. However, when the participants did not benefit from tax payments, voting had no impact and cooperation was about the same as when participants benefited and could vote. Furthermore, voting increases procedural fairness and trust mediates the effect of procedural fairness on tax payments. PMID:21654938

Expanding Constructions of Elder Abuse and Neglect: Older Mothers' Subjective Experiences.

PubMed

Smith, Judith R

2015-01-01

This study examines elder abuse within the broader framework of parenting in later life and focuses on the experience of mothers with "difficult" adult children. The sample is low-income and minority older women (>62). Using constructive grounded theory, the analysis reveals that the women's lens as mothers informs their explanations for not being able to take action to limit their adult children's difficult/abusive behaviors. The author suggests the utility of incorporating a feminist framework that highlights adult child-to-mother violence as a means of increasing self-reporting of elder abuse and older women's willingness to accept services.

Investigating the Use of Vicarious and Mastery Experiences in Influencing Early Childhood Education Majors' Self-Efficacy Beliefs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bautista, Nazan Uludag

2011-06-01

This study investigated the effectiveness of an Early Childhood Education science methods course that focused exclusively on providing various mastery (i.e., enactive, cognitive content, and cognitive pedagogical) and vicarious experiences (i.e., cognitive self-modeling, symbolic modeling, and simulated modeling) in increasing preservice elementary teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. Forty-four preservice elementary teachers participated in the study. Analysis of the quantitative (STEBI-b) and qualitative (informal surveys) data revealed that personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancy beliefs increased significantly over the semester. Enactive mastery, cognitive pedagogical mastery, symbolic modeling, and cognitive self-modeling were the major sources of self-efficacy. This list was followed by cognitive content mastery and simulated modeling. This study has implications for science teacher educators.

Multisensory flavor perception.

PubMed

Spence, Charles

2015-03-26

The perception of flavor is perhaps the most multisensory of our everyday experiences. The latest research by psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists increasingly reveals the complex multisensory interactions that give rise to the flavor experiences we all know and love, demonstrating how they rely on the integration of cues from all of the human senses. This Perspective explores the contributions of distinct senses to our perception of food and the growing realization that the same rules of multisensory integration that have been thoroughly explored in interactions between audition, vision, and touch may also explain the combination of the (admittedly harder to study) flavor senses. Academic advances are now spilling out into the real world, with chefs and food industry increasingly taking the latest scientific findings on board in their food design. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Follow-up studies of world war II and Korean conflict prisoners. III. Mortality to January 1, 1976.

PubMed

Keehn, R J

1980-02-01

Mortality through 1975 in US Army veterans released from prisoner-of-war camps following World War II (Europe, Pacific) and the Korean conflict and in several non-prisoner groups is compared using death rates and standard mortality ratios. The World War II Pacific and Korean conflict experience reveal increased risk of dying among former prisoners which, though diminishing with time, persist for 9 and 13 years, respectively. Mortality from tuberculosis and from trauma contributes to the increase among Pacific ex-prisoners, while for Korea the increase is limited to trauma. An excess of deaths due to cirrhosis of the liver in all three former prisoner groups appeared from about the 10th follow-up year. While the reported mortality experience for World War II spans 30 calendar years and for Korea 22 years, no evidence of increased aging among former prisoners of war is seen in mortality from the chronic and degenerative diseases.

Sexual experience among emotionally and behaviorally disordered students in therapeutic day schools: an ecological examination of adolescent risk.

PubMed

Donenberg, Geri R; Emerson, Erin; Brown, Larry K; Houck, Christopher; Mackesy-Amiti, Mary Ellen

2012-09-01

This study examined gender differences in family, peer, partner, and mental health characteristics related to sexual experience among emotionally and behaviorally disordered students in therapeutic day schools, a population at elevated risk for negative sexual health outcomes. A total of 417 13- to 20-year-old adolescents reported on their family functioning, peer and partner relationship characteristics, mental health problems, and self-reported sexual behavior. For boys and girls, peer influence and conduct problems predicted sexual experience, and family dysfunction was related to negative peer influence. Greater rejection sensitivity was related to less sexual experience for boys and girls. The final path model revealed indirect effects of family dysfunction on boys' but not girls' sexual experiences. Findings underscore the utility of an ecological approach to understand social and personal mechanisms that increase risk and mitigate negative outcomes among emotionally and behaviorally disordered boys and girls in therapeutic day schools.

High hunger state increases olfactory sensitivity to neutral but not food odors.

PubMed

Stafford, Lorenzo D; Welbeck, Kimberley

2011-01-01

Understanding how hunger state relates to olfactory sensitivity has become more urgent due to their possible role in obesity. In 2 studies (within-subjects: n = 24, between-subjects: n = 40), participants were provided with lunch before (satiated state) or after (nonsatiated state) testing and completed a standardized olfactory threshold test to a neutral odor (Experiments 1 and 2) and discrimination test to a food odor (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 revealed that olfactory sensitivity was greater in the nonsatiated versus satiated state, with additionally increased sensitivity for the low body mass index (BMI) compared with high BMI group. Experiment 2 replicated this effect for neutral odors, but in the case of food odors, those in a satiated state had greater acuity. Additionally, whereas the high BMI group had higher acuity to food odors in the satiated versus nonsatiated state, no such differences were found for the low BMI group. The research here is the first to demonstrate how olfactory acuity changes as a function of hunger state and relatedness of odor to food and that BMI can predict differences in olfactory sensitivity.

Exposure to Smoking Imagery in the Movies and Experimenting with Cigarettes among Mexican Heritage Youth

PubMed Central

Wilkinson, Anna V; Spitz, Margaret R.; Prokhorov, Alexander V.; Bondy, Melissa L.; Shete, Sanjay; Sargent, James D

2009-01-01

There is growing evidence that an adolescent’s decision to try cigarettes is influenced by level of exposure to movies in which smoking is portrayed. Less is known about how ethnicity affects this process. We examined whether acculturation and/or country of birth influence the relationship between exposure to smoking imagery in the movies and experimenting with cigarettes among Mexican origin youth. We prospectively followed 1,328 Mexican origin adolescents aged 11–13 at baseline. We assessed which of 50 movies (randomly selected from a pool of 250 popular contemporary movies released from 1999–2004 and content analyzed for smoking) adolescents had seen. Smoking behavior was assessed at baseline and at 6-month intervals over 24 months. 10% of the adolescents had experimented at baseline; 17% tried subsequently. Multivariate analyses revealed, as exposure to smoking imagery in the movies increased, the chances of having ever experimented (AOR=1.27; 95% CI: 1.10–1.48) and of being a new experimenter (AOR=1.19; 95% CI: 1.01–1.40) increased, equivalent to a 4.2% increased risk of ever and a 3.0% increased risk of new experimenting for each additional quartile of movie exposure. This effect was moderated by country of birth. For Mexican-born youth, exposure to smoking imagery in the movies was the strongest independent predictor of new experimentation (AOR=1.52; 95% CI: 1.14–2.05). For US-born youth, we observed a ceiling effect: the percent of experimenters increased with increasing exposure, and then flattened. Among Mexican-born youth exposure to smoking imagery in the movies may be an important part of the acculturation process associated with smoking initiation. PMID:19959693

Exposure to smoking imagery in the movies and experimenting with cigarettes among Mexican heritage youth.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Anna V; Spitz, Margaret R; Prokhorov, Alexander V; Bondy, Melissa L; Shete, Sanjay; Sargent, James D

2009-12-01

There is growing evidence that an adolescent's decision to try cigarettes is influenced by level of exposure to movies in which smoking is portrayed. Less is known about how ethnicity affects this process. We examined whether acculturation and/or country of birth influence the relationship between exposure to smoking imagery in the movies and experimenting with cigarettes among Mexican origin youth. We prospectively followed 1,328 Mexican origin adolescents ages 11 to 13 years at baseline. We assessed which of 50 movies (randomly selected from a pool of 250 popular contemporary movies released from 1999 to 2004 and content analyzed for smoking) adolescents had seen. Smoking behavior was assessed at baseline and at 6-month intervals over 24 months. Ten percent of the adolescents had experimented at baseline; 17% tried subsequently. Multivariate analyses revealed, as exposure to smoking imagery in the movies increased, the chances of having ever experimented [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.27; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10-1.48] and of being a new experimenter (AOR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.01-1.40) increased, equivalent to a 4.2% increased risk of ever and a 3.0% increased risk of new experimenting for each additional quartile of movie exposure. This effect was moderated by country of birth. For Mexican-born youth, exposure to smoking imagery in the movies was the strongest independent predictor of new experimentation (AOR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.14-2.05). For U.S.-born youth, we observed a ceiling effect: the percent of experimenters increased with increasing exposure, and then flattened. Among Mexican-born youth, exposure to smoking imagery in the movies may be an important part of the acculturation process associated with smoking initiation.

Loss of Control Increases Belief in Precognition and Belief in Precognition Increases Control

PubMed Central

Greenaway, Katharine H.; Louis, Winnifred R.; Hornsey, Matthew J.

2013-01-01

Every year thousands of dollars are spent on psychics who claim to “know” the future. The present research questions why, despite no evidence that humans are able to psychically predict the future, do people persist in holding irrational beliefs about precognition? We argue that believing the future is predictable increases one’s own perceived ability to exert control over future events. As a result, belief in precognition should be particularly strong when people most desire control–that is, when they lack it. In Experiment 1 (N = 87), people who were experimentally induced to feel low in control reported greater belief in precognition than people who felt high in control. Experiment 2 (N = 53) investigated whether belief in precognition increases perceived control. Consistent with this notion, providing scientific evidence that precognition is possible increased feelings of control relative to providing scientific evidence that precognition was not possible. Experiment 3 (N = 132) revealed that when control is low, believing in precognition helps people to feel in control once more. Prediction therefore acts as a compensatory mechanism in times of low control. The present research provides new insights into the psychological functions of seemingly irrational beliefs, like belief in psychic abilities. PMID:23951136

Is valuing positive emotion associated with life satisfaction?

PubMed

Bastian, Brock; Kuppens, Peter; De Roover, Kim; Diener, Ed

2014-08-01

The experience of positive emotion is closely linked to subjective well-being. For this reason, campaigns aimed at promoting the value of positive emotion have become widespread. What is rarely considered are the cultural implications of this focus on happiness. Promoting positive emotions as important for "the good life" not only has implications for how individuals value these emotional states, but for how they believe others around them value these emotions also. Drawing on data from over 9,000 college students across 47 countries we examined whether individuals' life satisfaction is associated with living in contexts in which positive emotions are socially valued. The findings show that people report more life satisfaction in countries where positive emotions are highly valued and this is linked to an increased frequency of positive emotional experiences in these contexts. They also reveal, however, that increased life satisfaction in countries that place a premium on positive emotion is less evident for people who tend to experience less valued emotional states: people who experience many negative emotions, do not flourish to the same extent in these contexts. The findings demonstrate how the cultural value placed on certain emotion states may shape the relationship between emotional experiences and subjective well-being.

Daily Associations among Anger Experience and Intimate Partner Aggression within Aggressive and Nonaggressive Community Couples

PubMed Central

Crane, Cory A.; Testa, Maria

2014-01-01

Anger is an empirically established precipitant to aggressive responding toward intimate partners. The current investigation examined the effects of anger, as experienced by both partners, as well as gender and previous aggression, on in vivo intimate partner aggression using a prospective daily diary methodology. Participants (N = 118 couples) individually provided 56 consecutive, daily reports of affective experience and partner aggression. Multilevel models were estimated using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model framework to analyze the daily associations between anger and partner aggression perpetration among male and female participants as moderated by aggression history. Results revealed that both Actor and Partner anger were generally associated with subsequently reported daily conflict. Further, increases in daily Partner anger were associated with corresponding increases in partner aggression among females who reported high anger and males, regardless of their own anger experience. Increases in Actor anger were associated with increases in daily partner aggression only among previously aggressive females. Previously aggressive males and females consistently reported greater perpetration than their nonaggressive counterparts on days of high Actor anger experience. Results emphasize the importance of both Actor and Partner factors in partner aggression and suggest that female anger may be a stronger predictor of both female-to-male and male-to-female partner aggression than male anger, when measured at the daily level. PMID:24866529

Pushing typists back on the learning curve: revealing chunking in skilled typewriting.

PubMed

Yamaguchi, Motonori; Logan, Gordon D

2014-04-01

Theories of skilled performance propose that highly trained skills involve hierarchically structured control processes. The present study examined and demonstrated hierarchical control at several levels of processing in skilled typewriting. In the first two experiments, we scrambled the order of letters in words to prevent skilled typists from chunking letters, and compared typing words and scrambled words. Experiment 1 manipulated stimulus quality to reveal chunking in perception, and Experiment 2 manipulated concurrent memory load to reveal chunking in short-term memory (STM). Both experiments manipulated the number of letters in words and nonwords to reveal chunking in motor planning. In the next two experiments, we degraded typing skill by altering the usual haptic feedback by using a laser-projection keyboard, so that typists had to monitor keystrokes. Neither the number of motor chunks (Experiment 3) nor the number of STM items (Experiment 4) was influenced by the manipulation. The results indicate that the utilization of hierarchical control depends on whether the input allows chunking but not on whether the output is generated automatically. We consider the role of automaticity in hierarchical control of skilled performance.

Batch and fixed-bed adsorption of tartrazine azo-dye onto activated carbon prepared from apricot stones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albroomi, H. I.; Elsayed, M. A.; Baraka, A.; Abdelmaged, M. A.

2017-07-01

This work describes the potential of utilizing prepared activated carbon from apricot stones as an efficient adsorbent material for tartrazine (TZ) azo-dye removal in a batch and dynamic adsorption system. The results revealed that activated carbons with well-developed surface area (774 m2/g) and pore volume (1.26 cm3/g) can be manufactured from apricot stones by H3PO4 activation. In batch experiments, effects of the parameters such as initial dye concentration and temperature on the removal of the dye were studied. Equilibrium was achieved in 120 min. Adsorption capacity was found to be dependent on the initial concentration of dye solution, and maximum adsorption was found to be 76 mg/g at 100 mg/L of TZ. The adsorption capacity at equilibrium ( q e) increased from 22.6 to 76 mg/g with an increase in the initial dye concentrations from 25 to 100 mg/L. The thermodynamic parameters such as change in free energy (Δ G 0), enthalpy (Δ H 0) and entropy (Δ S 0) were determined and the positive value of (Δ H) 78.1 (K J mol-1) revealed that adsorption efficiency increased with an increase in the process temperature. In fixed-bed column experiments, the effect of selected operating parameters such as bed depth, flow rate and initial dye concentration on the adsorption capacity was evaluated. Increase in bed height of adsorption columns leads to an extension of breakthrough point as well as the exhaustion time of adsorbent. However, the maximum adsorption capacities decrease with increases of flow rate. The breakthrough data fitted well to bed depth service time and Thomas models with high coefficient of determination, R 2 ≥ 94.

Relative susceptibility and effects on performance of Rio Grande cutthroat trout and rainbow trout challenged with Myxobolus cerebralis

USGS Publications Warehouse

DuBey, R.J.; Caldwell, C.A.; Gould, W.R.

2007-01-01

We evaluated the susceptibility of Rio Grande cutthroat trout (RGCT) Oncorhynchus clarkii virginalis to infection by Myxobolus cerebralis in a laboratory experiment. In the same experiment, rainbow trout (RBT) O. mykiss were similarly exposed to M. cerebralis as a reference of known sensitivity to the parasite. Treatments consisting of six parasite concentrations (0, 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1,000 triactinomyxons [TAMS] per fish) were randomized within a complete block design using RGCT and RBT fry beginning at 60 d posthatch (600 degree-days at 10??C). The laboratory experiment was terminated at 130 d postexposure (1,900 degree-days at 10??C). Diagnostic metrics included clinical signs (behavioral and black tail), survival, myxospore counts, histology, and a swimming performance challenge. Clinical signs of whirling disease were observed within both species at 500 and 1,000 TAMs/fish by 66 d postexposure to the disease. Rio Grande cutthroat trout exhibited significantly lower survival (50% cumulative mortality at 1,000 TAMs/fish) and a significant concentration response compared with RBT (8% cumulative mortality at 1,000 TAMs/fish). Histological scoring of cranial sections using a 0-5 scale of increasing pathogenic effect revealed greater disease severity in RGCT (3.20) than in RBT (2.43) at 100 TAMs/fish but no difference at 1,000 TAMs/fish (4.15 and 4.12, respectively). Swimming performance revealed detectably lower critical swimming speed in both RGCT and RBT in relation to increased parasite concentrations, the RGCT exhibiting detectably lower critical swimming speeds than the RBT at increased parasite concentration. If M. cerebralis were to spread to areas supporting RGCT, population-level effects may occur. ?? Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2007.

Understanding the Role of the ‘Self’ in the Social Priming of Mimicry

PubMed Central

Wang, Yin; Hamilton, Antonia F de C

2013-01-01

People have a tendency to unconsciously mimic other's actions. This mimicry has been regarded as a prosocial response which increases social affiliation. Previous research on social priming of mimicry demonstrated an assimilative relationship between mimicry and prosociality of the primed construct: prosocial primes elicit stronger mimicry whereas antisocial primes decrease mimicry. The present research extends these findings by showing that assimilative and contrasting prime-to-behavior effect can both happen on mimicry. Specifically, experiment 1 showed a robust contrast priming effect where priming antisocial behaviors induces stronger mimicry than priming prosocial behaviors. In experiment 2, we manipulated the self-relatedness of the pro/antisocial primes and further revealed that prosocial primes increase mimicry only when the social primes are self-related whereas antisocial primes increase mimicry only when the social primes are self-unrelated. In experiment 3, we used a novel cartoon movie paradigm to prime pro/antisocial behaviors and manipulated the perspective-taking when participants were watching these movies. Again, we found that prosocial primes increase mimicry only when participants took a first-person point of view whereas antisocial primes increase mimicry only when participants took a third-person point of view, which replicated the findings in experiment 2. We suggest that these three studies can be best explained by the active-self theory, which claims that the direction of prime-to-behavior effects depends on how primes are processed in relation to the ‘self’. PMID:23565208

Fostering a Sense of Community in Residence Halls: A Role for Housing and Residential Professionals in Increasing College Student Persistence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erb, Natalee M.; Sinclair, Matthew S.; Braxton, John M.

2015-01-01

Fostering a sense of community should be at the center of every housing and residence life professional's efforts. Research conducted by Braxton et al. (2014) revealed that students who are able to identify with their residence hall community, interact with peers in this community, and find solidarity within the community experience an increased…

Orbital debris measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kessler, D. J.

What is currently known about the orbital debris flux is from a combination of ground based and in-space measurements. These measurements have revealed an increasing population with decreasing size. A summary of measurements is presented for the following sources: the North American Aerospace Defense Command Catalog, the Perimeter Acquisition and Attack Characterization System Radar, ground based optical telescopes, the Explorer 46 Meteoroid Bumper Experiment, spacecraft windows, and Solar Max surfaces.

Context Preexposure Prevents Forgetting of a Contextual Fear Memory: Implication for Regional Changes in Brain Activation Patterns Associated with Recent and Remote Memory Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biedenkapp, Joseph C.; Rudy, Jerry W.

2007-01-01

Contextual fear conditioning was maintained over a 15-day retention interval suggesting no forgetting of the conditioning experience. However, a more subtle generalization test revealed that, as the retention interval increased, rats showed enhanced generalized fear to an altered context. Preexposure to the training context prior to conditioning,…

Orbital debris measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kessler, D. J.

1986-01-01

What is currently known about the orbital debris flux is from a combination of ground based and in-space measurements. These measurements have revealed an increasing population with decreasing size. A summary of measurements is presented for the following sources: the North American Aerospace Defense Command Catalog, the Perimeter Acquisition and Attack Characterization System Radar, ground based optical telescopes, the Explorer 46 Meteoroid Bumper Experiment, spacecraft windows, and Solar Max surfaces.

The Impact of Early French Immersion Education on Language Use Patterns and Language Attitude of Post-Secondary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nix-Victorian, Janice M.

2010-01-01

Even though there are increasing numbers of Early Partial Immersion (EPI) programs in Louisiana, there was no data available on the long-term impact of these programs. The purpose of this study is to delve into the experiences of 10 former immersion students in order to reveal their accounts and perceptions of their bilingual abilities, their…

In what root-zone N concentration does nitrate start to leach significantly? A reasonable answer from modeling Mediterranean field data and closed root-zone experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurtzman, D.; Kanner, B.; Levy, Y.; Shapira, R. H.; Bar-Tal, A.

2017-12-01

Closed-root-zone experiments (e.g. pots, lyzimeters) reveal in many cases a mineral-nitrogen (N) concentration from which the root-N-uptake efficiency reduces significantly and nitrate leaching below the root-zone increases dramatically. A les-direct way to reveal this threshold concentration in agricultural fields is to calibrate N-transport models of the unsaturated zone to nitrate data of the deep samples (under the root-zone) by fitting the threshold concentration of the nitrate-uptake function. Independent research efforts of these two types in light soils where nitrate problems in underlying aquifers are common reviled: 1) that the threshold exists for most crops (filed, vegetables and orchards); 2) nice agreement on the threshold value between the two very different research methodologies; and 3) the threshold lies within 20-50 mg-N/L. Focusing on being below the threshold is a relatively simple aim in the way to maintain intensive agriculture with limited effects on the nitrate concentration in the underlying water resource. Our experience show that in some crops this threshold coincides with the end-of-rise of the N-yield curve (e.g. corn); in this case, it is relatively easy to convince farmers to fertilize below threshold. In other crops, although significant N is lost to leaching the crop can still use higher N concentration to increase yield (e.g. potato).

Remote distractor effects and saccadic inhibition: spatial and temporal modulation.

PubMed

Walker, Robin; Benson, Valerie

2013-09-12

The onset of a visual distractor remote from a saccade target is known to increase saccade latency (the remote distractor effect [RDE]). In addition, distractors may also selectively inhibit saccades that would be initiated about 90 ms after distractor onset (termed saccadic inhibition [SI]). Recently, it has been proposed that the transitory inhibition of saccades (SI) may underlie the increase in mean latency (RDE). In a first experiment, the distractor eccentricity was manipulated, and a robust RDE that was strongly modulated by distractor eccentricity was observed. However, the underlying latency distributions did not reveal clear evidence of SI. A second experiment manipulated distractor spatial location and the timing of the distractor onset in relation to the target. An RDE was again observed with remote distractors away from the target axis and under conditions with early-onset distractors that would be unlikely to produce SI, whereas later distractor onsets produced an RDE along with some evidence of an SI effect. A third experiment using a mixed block of target-distractor stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) revealed an RDE that varied with both distractor eccentricity and SOA and changes to latency distributions consistent with the timing of SI. We argue that the notion that SI underpins the RDE is similar to the earlier argument that express saccades underlie the fixation offset (gap) effect and that changes in mean latency and to the shape of the underlying latency distributions following a visual onset may involve more than one inhibitory process.

Comparisons of mental clocks.

PubMed

Paivio, A

1978-02-01

Subjects in three experiments were presented with pairs of clock times and were required to choose the one in which the hour and minute hand formed the smaller angle. In Experiments 1 and 2, the times were presented digitally, necessitating a transformation into symbolic representations from which the angular size difference could be inferred. The results revealed orderly symbolic distance effects so that comparison reaction time increased as the angular size difference decreased. Moreover, subjects generally reported using imagery to make the judgment, and subjects scoring high on test of imagery ability were faster than those scoring low on such tests. Experiment 3 added a direct perceptual condition in which subjects compared angles between pairs of hands on two drawn (analog) clocks, as well as a mixed condition involving one digital and one analog clock time. The results showed comparable distance effects for all conditions. In addition, reaction time increased from the perceptual, to the mixed, to the pure-digital condition. These results are consistent with predictions from an image-based dual-coding theory.

Shock compression of [001] single crystal silicon

DOE PAGES

Zhao, S.; Remington, B.; Hahn, E. N.; ...

2016-03-14

Silicon is ubiquitous in our advanced technological society, yet our current understanding of change to its mechanical response at extreme pressures and strain-rates is far from complete. This is due to its brittleness, making recovery experiments difficult. High-power, short-duration, laser-driven, shock compression and recovery experiments on [001] silicon (using impedance-matched momentum traps) unveiled remarkable structural changes observed by transmission electron microscopy. As laser energy increases, corresponding to an increase in peak shock pressure, the following plastic responses are are observed: surface cleavage along {111} planes, dislocations and stacking faults; bands of amorphized material initially forming on crystallographic orientations consistent withmore » dislocation slip; and coarse regions of amorphized material. Molecular dynamics simulations approach equivalent length and time scales to laser experiments and reveal the evolution of shock-induced partial dislocations and their crucial role in the preliminary stages of amorphization. Furthermore, application of coupled hydrostatic and shear stresses produce amorphization below the hydrostatically determined critical melting pressure under dynamic shock compression.« less

Shock compression of [001] single crystal silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, S.; Hahn, E. N.; Kad, B.; Remington, B. A.; Bringa, E. M.; Meyers, M. A.

2016-05-01

Silicon is ubiquitous in our advanced technological society, yet our current understanding of change to its mechanical response at extreme pressures and strain-rates is far from complete. This is due to its brittleness, making recovery experiments difficult. High-power, short-duration, laser-driven, shock compression and recovery experiments on [001] silicon (using impedance-matched momentum traps) unveiled remarkable structural changes observed by transmission electron microscopy. As laser energy increases, corresponding to an increase in peak shock pressure, the following plastic responses are are observed: surface cleavage along {111} planes, dislocations and stacking faults; bands of amorphized material initially forming on crystallographic orientations consistent with dislocation slip; and coarse regions of amorphized material. Molecular dynamics simulations approach equivalent length and time scales to laser experiments and reveal the evolution of shock-induced partial dislocations and their crucial role in the preliminary stages of amorphization. Application of coupled hydrostatic and shear stresses produce amorphization below the hydrostatically determined critical melting pressure under dynamic shock compression.

Dancing Mindfulness: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Emerging Practice.

PubMed

Marich, Jamie; Howell, Terra

2015-01-01

An extensive review of both quantitative and qualitative literature reveals numerous connections between mindfulness practice and psychological well-being. Dancing Mindfulness, as a holistic wellness practice, is a creative approach to mindfulness meditation that draws on dance as the vehicle for engaging in the ancient practice characterized by non-judgment, loving kindness, and present-centered awareness. Of the first participants who learned the Dancing Mindfulness practice in a community-based setting, 10 shared their lived experience with the practice, and these experiences were analyzed using A.P. Giorgi׳s descriptive phenomenological psychological method. As a collective sample, the women described positive experiences with the Dancing Mindfulness practice. Specific themes indicated improvements in emotional and spiritual well-being, increased acceptance, positive changes to the self, and increased application of mindfulness techniques and strategies to real-world living. Another thematic area suggested that dancing and music are the two major components of action within Dancing Mindfulness leading to these benefits. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vibrational Softening of a Protein on Ligand Binding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Balog, Erica; Perahia, David; Smith, Jeremy C

2011-01-01

Neutron scattering experiments have demonstrated that binding of the cancer drug methotrexate softens the low-frequency vibrations of its target protein, dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). Here, this softening is fully reproduced using atomic detail normal-mode analysis. Decomposition of the vibrational density of states demonstrates that the largest contributions arise from structural elements of DHFR critical to stability and function. Mode-projection analysis reveals an increase of the breathing-like character of the affected vibrational modes consistent with the experimentally observed increased adiabatic compressibility of the protein on complexation.

Curvature Effect on the Capacitance of Electric Double Layers at Ionic Liquid/Onion-Like Carbon Interfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feng, Guang; Jiang, Deen; Cummings, Peter T

Recent experiments have revealed that onion-like carbons (OLCs) offer high energy density and charging/discharging rates when used as the electrodes in supercapacitors. To understand the physical origin of this phenomenon, molecular dynamics simulations were performed for a room-temperature ionic liquid near idealized spherical OLCs with radii ranging from 0.356 to 1.223 nm. We find that the surface charge density increases almost linearly with the potential applied on electric double layers (EDLs) near OLCs. This leads to a nearly flat shape of the differential capacitance versus the potential, unlike the bell or camel shape observed on planar electrodes. Moreover, our simulationsmore » reveal that the capacitance of EDLs on OLCs increases with the curvature or as the OLC size decreases, in agreement with experimental observations. The curvature effect is explained by dominance of charge overscreening over a wide potential range and increased ion density per unit area of electrode surface as the OLC becomes smaller.« less

The Role of Grain Size on Neutron Irradiation Response of Nanocrystalline Copper

PubMed Central

Mohamed, Walid; Miller, Brandon; Porter, Douglas; Murty, Korukonda

2016-01-01

The role of grain size on the developed microstructure and mechanical properties of neutron irradiated nanocrystalline copper was investigated by comparing the radiation response of material to the conventional micrograined counterpart. Nanocrystalline (nc) and micrograined (MG) copper samples were subjected to a range of neutron exposure levels from 0.0034 to 2 dpa. At all damage levels, the response of MG-copper was governed by radiation hardening manifested by an increase in strength with accompanying ductility loss. Conversely, the response of nc-copper to neutron irradiation exhibited a dependence on the damage level. At low damage levels, grain growth was the primary response, with radiation hardening and embrittlement becoming the dominant responses with increasing damage levels. Annealing experiments revealed that grain growth in nc-copper is composed of both thermally-activated and irradiation-induced components. Tensile tests revealed minimal change in the source hardening component of the yield stress in MG-copper, while the source hardening component was found to decrease with increasing radiation exposure in nc-copper. PMID:28773270

Alertness and cognitive control: Toward a spatial grouping hypothesis.

PubMed

Schneider, Darryl W

2018-05-01

A puzzling interaction involving alertness and cognitive control is indicated by the finding of faster performance but larger congruency effects on alert trials (on which alerting cues are presented before the task stimuli) than on no-alert trials in selective attention tasks. In the present study, the author conducted four experiments to test hypotheses about the interaction. Manipulation of stimulus spacing revealed a difference in congruency effects between alert and no-alert trials for narrowly spaced stimuli but not for widely spaced stimuli, inconsistent with the hypothesis that increased alertness is associated with more diffuse attention. Manipulation of color grouping revealed similar differences in congruency effects between alert and no-alert trials for same-color and different-color groupings of targets and distractors, inconsistent with the general hypothesis that increased alertness is associated with more perceptual grouping. To explain the results, the author proposes that increased alertness is associated specifically with more spatial grouping of stimuli, possibly by modulating the threshold for parsing stimulus displays into distinct objects.

The deformation mechanisms and size effects of single-crystal magnesium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byer, Cynthia M.

In this work, we seek to understand the deformation mechanisms and size effects of single-crystal magnesium at the micrometer scale through both microcompression experiments and finite element simulations. Microcompression experiments are conducted to investigate the impact of initial dislocation density and orientation on size effects. Micropillars are fabricated using a focused ion beam and tested in a Nanoindenter using a diamond fiat tip as a compression platen. Two different initial dislocation densities are examined for [0001] oriented micropillars. Our results demonstrate that decreasing the initial dislocation density results in an increased size effect in terms of increased strength and stochasticity. Microcompression along the [23¯14] axis results in much lower strengths than for [0001] oriented samples. Post-mortem analysis reveals basal slip in both [0001] and [23¯14] micropillars. The application of a stochastic probability model shows good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results for size effects with our values of initial dislocation density and micropillar dimensions. Size effects are then incorporated into a single-crystal plasticity model (modified from Zhang and Joshi [1]) implemented in ABAQUS/STANDARD as a user-material subroutine. The model successfully captures the phenomena typically associated with size effects of increasing stochasticity and strength with decreasing specimen size and also accounts for the changing trends resulting from variations in initial dislocation density that we observe in the experiments. Finally, finite element simulations are performed with the original (traditional, without size effects) crystal plasticity model [1] to investigate the relative activities of the deformation modes of single-crystal magnesium for varying degrees of misalignment in microcompression. The simulations reveal basal activity in all micropillars, even for perfectly aligned compression along the [0001] axis. Pyramidal < c + a > activity dominates until the misalignment increases to 2°, when basal slip takes over as the dominant mode. The stress-strain curves for the case of 0° misalignment agrees well with experimental curves, indicating that good alignment was achieved during the experiments. Through this investigation, we gain a better understanding of how to control the size effects, as well as the deformation mechanisms operating at the small scale in magnesium.

The object of my aggression: Sexual objectification increases physical aggression toward women.

PubMed

Vasquez, Eduardo A; Ball, Louisa; Loughnan, Steve; Pina, Afroditi

2018-01-01

Objectification involves reducing someone to a sexual object, rather than seeing them as a full person. Despite numerous theoretical claims that people are more aggressive toward the objectified, and empirical evidence that objectification is linked to high willingness to aggress, rape proclivity, and aggressive attitudes, no research has examined a causal link between objectification and physical aggression, particularly in the context of provocation. In two experiments, we examined this predicted link. In Experiment 1, using a 2 (objectification: no/yes) × 2 (provocation: no/yes) factorial between-subjects design, we investigated the effects of objectification, induced via body focus during a face-to-face interaction, and provocation on physical aggression toward a female confederate. Our results revealed a significant main effect of provocation, a marginal main effect of objectification, and a significant interaction between these variables. In the absence of a provocation, focusing on a woman's body increased aggression toward her. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using a video of a target woman instead of a face-to-face interaction. Again, our results showed a significant two-way interaction between objectification and provocation, wherein objectification increased aggression in the absence of provocation. Overall, this research indicates that objectification can lead to heightened physical aggression toward objectified women. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Experimental assessment of diazotroph responses to elevated seawater pCO2 in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böttjer, Daniela; Karl, David M.; Letelier, Ricardo M.; Viviani, Donn A.; Church, Matthew J.

2014-06-01

We examined short-term (24-72 h) responses of naturally occurring marine N2 fixing microorganisms (termed diazotrophs) to abrupt increases in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in seawater during nine incubation experiments conducted between May 2010 and September 2012 at Station ALOHA (A Long-term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment) (22°45'N, 158°W) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). Rates of N2 fixation, nitrogenase (nifH) gene abundances and transcripts of six major groups of cyanobacterial diazotrophs (including both unicellular and filamentous phylotypes), and rates of primary productivity (as measured by 14C-bicarbonate assimilation into plankton biomass) were determined under contemporary (~390 ppm) and elevated pCO2 conditions (~1100 ppm). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) amplification of planktonic nifH genes revealed that unicellular cyanobacteria phylotypes dominated gene abundances during these experiments. In the majority of experiments (seven out of nine), elevated pCO2 did not significantly influence rates of dinitrogen (N2) fixation or primary productivity (two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), P > 0.05). During two experiments, rates of N2 fixation and primary productivity were significantly lower (by 79 to 82% and 52 to 72%, respectively) in the elevated pCO2 treatments relative to the ambient controls (two-way ANOVA, P < 0.05). QPCR amplification of nifH genes and gene transcripts revealed that diazotroph abundances and nifH gene expression were largely unchanged by the perturbation of the seawater pCO2. Our results suggest that naturally occurring N2 fixing plankton assemblages in the NPSG are relatively resilient to large, short-term increases in pCO2.

Changing beliefs and behavior through experience-taking.

PubMed

Kaufman, Geoff F; Libby, Lisa K

2012-07-01

The present research introduces the concept of experience-taking-the imaginative process of spontaneously assuming the identity of a character in a narrative and simulating that character's thoughts, emotions, behaviors, goals, and traits as if they were one's own. Six studies investigated the degree to which particular psychological states and features of narratives cause individuals, without instruction, to engage in experience-taking and investigated how the merger between self and other that occurs during experience-taking produces changes in self-judgments, attitudes, and behavior that align with the character's. Results from Studies 1-3 showed that being in a reduced state of self-concept accessibility while reading a brief fictional work increased-and being in a heightened state of self-concept accessibility decreased-participants' levels of experience-taking and subsequent incorporation of a character's personality trait into their self-concepts. Study 4 revealed that a first-person narrative depicting an ingroup character elicited the highest levels of experience-taking and produced the greatest change in participants' behavior, compared with versions of the narrative written in 3rd-person voice and/or depicting an outgroup protagonist. The final 2 studies demonstrated that whereas revealing a character's outgroup membership as a homosexual or African American early in a narrative inhibited experience-taking, delaying the revelation of the character's outgroup identity until later in the story produced higher levels of experience-taking, lower levels of stereotype application in participants' evaluation of the character, and more favorable attitudes toward the character's group. The implications of these findings in relation to perspective-taking, self-other overlap, and prime-to-behavior effects are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved

Cryptic biodiversity effects: importance of functional redundancy revealed through addition of food web complexity.

PubMed

Philpott, Stacy M; Pardee, Gabriella L; Gonthier, David J

2012-05-01

Interactions between predators and the degree of functional redundancy among multiple predator species may determine whether herbivores experience increased or decreased predation risk. Specialist parasites can modify predator behavior, yet rarely have cascading effects on multiple predator species and prey been evaluated. We examined influences of specialist phorid parasites (Pseudacteon spp.) on three predatory ant species and herbivores in a coffee agroecosystem. Specifically, we examined whether changes in ant richness affected fruit damage by the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) and whether phorids altered multi-predator effects. Each ant species reduced borer damage, and without phorids, increasing predator richness did not further decrease borer damage. However, with phorids, activity of one ant species was reduced, indicating that the presence of multiple ant species was necessary to limit borer damage. In addition, phorid presence revealed synergistic effects of multiple ant species, not observed without the presence of this parasite. Thus, a trait-mediated cascade resulting from a parasite-induced predator behavioral change revealed the importance of functional redundancy, predator diversity, and food web complexity for control of this important pest.

Stiffness of the microenvironment upregulates ERBB2 expression in 3D cultures of MCF10A within the range of mammographic density.

PubMed

Cheng, Qingsu; Bilgin, Cemal Cagatay; Fontenay, Gerald; Chang, Hang; Henderson, Matthew; Han, Ju; Parvin, Bahram

2016-07-07

The effects of the stiffness of the microenvironment on the molecular response of 3D colony organization, at the maximum level of mammographic density (MD), are investigated. Phenotypic profiling reveals that 3D colony formation is heterogeneous and increased stiffness of the microenvironment, within the range of the MD, correlates with the increased frequency of aberrant 3D colony formation. Further integrative analysis of the genome-wide transcriptome and phenotypic profiling hypothesizes overexpression of ERBB2 in the premalignant MCF10A cell lines at a stiffness value that corresponds to the collagen component at high mammographic density. Subsequently, ERBB2 overexpression has been validated in the same cell line. Similar experiments with a more genetically stable cell line of 184A1 also revealed an increased frequency of aberrant colony formation with the increased stiffness; however, 184A1 did not demonstrate overexpression of ERBB2 at the same stiffness value of the high MD. These results suggest that stiffness exacerbates premalignant cell line of MCF10A.

The effects of charge, polymerization, and cluster size on the diffusivity of dissolved Si species in pore water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokoyama, Tadashi; Sakuma, Hiroshi

2018-03-01

Silicon (Si) is the most abundant cation in crustal rocks. The charge and degree of polymerization of dissolved Si significantly change depending on solution pH and Si concentration. We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to predict the self-diffusion coefficients of dissolved Si, DSi, for 15 monomeric and polymeric species at ambient temperature. The results showed that DSi decreased with increasing negative charge and increasing degree of polymerization. The relationship between DSi and charge (Z) can be expressed by DSi/10-6 = 2.0 + 9.8e0.47Z, and that between DSi and number of polymerization (NSi) by DSi/10-6 = 9.7/NSi0.56. The results also revealed that multiple Si molecules assembled into a cluster and D decreased as the cluster size increased. Experiments to evaluate the diffusivity of Si in pore water revealed that the diffusion coefficient decreased with increasing Si concentration, a result consistent with the MD simulations. Simulation results can now be used to quantitatively assess water-rock interactions and water-concrete reactions over a wide range of environmentally relevant conditions.

Difficulties Encountered by Final-Year Male Nursing Students in Their Internship Programmes

PubMed Central

Al-Momani, Mohammed Mahmoud

2017-01-01

Background The cultural norms of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia do not encourage men to choose nursing as a career. Understanding male nursing students’ experiences of their clinical exposure to the nursing profession throughout their internship might increase their retention. This study explored the experiences of final-year male nursing students as they transitioned to the role of registered nurse. Methods A qualitative descriptive research design with an inductive content-analysis approach was used. The experiences of 22 final-year male nursing students from three public hospitals in a major city of Saudi Arabia were explored. The data were collected using focus-group interviews and documentary analysis in March 2015 and May 2015. Results Content analysis revealed three major themes: the societal and cultural image of male nurses, male students’ engagement in nursing practice, and restructuring the internship programmes’ policies to suit male students’ needs. Conclusion The findings reveal issues that mainly stem from negative social views of nursing as a male profession. Considering the students’ social and cultural needs during their internship programme will facilitate their transition into the role of registered nurse and their retention in the nursing profession. PMID:28951687

Cortical representations of communication sounds.

PubMed

Heiser, Marc A; Cheung, Steven W

2008-10-01

This review summarizes recent research into cortical processing of vocalizations in animals and humans. There has been a resurgent interest in this topic accompanied by an increased number of studies using animal models with complex vocalizations and new methods in human brain imaging. Recent results from such studies are discussed. Experiments have begun to reveal the bilateral cortical fields involved in communication sound processing and the transformations of neural representations that occur among those fields. Advances have also been made in understanding the neuronal basis of interaction between developmental exposures and behavioral experiences with vocalization perception. Exposure to sounds during the developmental period produces large effects on brain responses, as do a variety of specific trained tasks in adults. Studies have also uncovered a neural link between the motor production of vocalizations and the representation of vocalizations in cortex. Parallel experiments in humans and animals are answering important questions about vocalization processing in the central nervous system. This dual approach promises to reveal microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic principles of large-scale dynamic interactions between brain regions that underlie the complex phenomenon of vocalization perception. Such advances will yield a greater understanding of the causes, consequences, and treatment of disorders related to speech processing.

Propionibacterium acnes inhibits FOXM1 and induces cell cycle alterations in human primary prostate cells.

PubMed

Sayanjali, Behnam; Christensen, Gitte J M; Al-Zeer, Munir A; Mollenkopf, Hans-Joachim; Meyer, Thomas F; Brüggemann, Holger

2016-11-01

Propionibacterium acnes has been detected in diseased human prostate tissue, and cell culture experiments suggest that the bacterium can establish a low-grade inflammation. Here, we investigated its impact on human primary prostate epithelial cells. Microarray analysis confirmed the inflammation-inducing capability of P. acnes but also showed deregulation of genes involved in the cell cycle. qPCR experiments showed that viable P. acnes downregulates a master regulator of cell cycle progression, FOXM1. Flow cytometry experiments revealed that P. acnes increases the number of cells in S-phase. We tested the hypothesis that a P. acnes-produced berninamycin-like thiopeptide is responsible for this effect, since it is related to the FOXM1 inhibitor siomycin. The thiopeptide biosynthesis gene cluster was strongly expressed; it is present in subtype IB of P. acnes, but absent from type IA, which is most abundant on human skin. A knock-out mutant lacking the gene encoding the berninamycin-like peptide precursor was unable to downregulate FOXM1 and to halt the cell cycle. Our study reveals a novel host cell-interacting activity of P. acnes. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Neural Activity When People Solve Verbal Problems with Insight

PubMed Central

Bowden, Edward M; Haberman, Jason; Frymiare, Jennifer L; Arambel-Liu, Stella; Greenblatt, Richard; Reber, Paul J

2004-01-01

People sometimes solve problems with a unique process called insight, accompanied by an “Aha!” experience. It has long been unclear whether different cognitive and neural processes lead to insight versus noninsight solutions, or if solutions differ only in subsequent subjective feeling. Recent behavioral studies indicate distinct patterns of performance and suggest differential hemispheric involvement for insight and noninsight solutions. Subjects solved verbal problems, and after each correct solution indicated whether they solved with or without insight. We observed two objective neural correlates of insight. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (Experiment 1) revealed increased activity in the right hemisphere anterior superior temporal gyrus for insight relative to noninsight solutions. The same region was active during initial solving efforts. Scalp electroencephalogram recordings (Experiment 2) revealed a sudden burst of high-frequency (gamma-band) neural activity in the same area beginning 0.3 s prior to insight solutions. This right anterior temporal area is associated with making connections across distantly related information during comprehension. Although all problem solving relies on a largely shared cortical network, the sudden flash of insight occurs when solvers engage distinct neural and cognitive processes that allow them to see connections that previously eluded them. PMID:15094802

A Model for Designing Adaptive Laboratory Evolution Experiments.

PubMed

LaCroix, Ryan A; Palsson, Bernhard O; Feist, Adam M

2017-04-15

The occurrence of mutations is a cornerstone of the evolutionary theory of adaptation, capitalizing on the rare chance that a mutation confers a fitness benefit. Natural selection is increasingly being leveraged in laboratory settings for industrial and basic science applications. Despite increasing deployment, there are no standardized procedures available for designing and performing adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments. Thus, there is a need to optimize the experimental design, specifically for determining when to consider an experiment complete and for balancing outcomes with available resources (i.e., laboratory supplies, personnel, and time). To design and to better understand ALE experiments, a simulator, ALEsim, was developed, validated, and applied to the optimization of ALE experiments. The effects of various passage sizes were experimentally determined and subsequently evaluated with ALEsim, to explain differences in experimental outcomes. Furthermore, a beneficial mutation rate of 10 -6.9 to 10 -8.4 mutations per cell division was derived. A retrospective analysis of ALE experiments revealed that passage sizes typically employed in serial passage batch culture ALE experiments led to inefficient production and fixation of beneficial mutations. ALEsim and the results described here will aid in the design of ALE experiments to fit the exact needs of a project while taking into account the resources required and will lower the barriers to entry for this experimental technique. IMPORTANCE ALE is a widely used scientific technique to increase scientific understanding, as well as to create industrially relevant organisms. The manner in which ALE experiments are conducted is highly manual and uniform, with little optimization for efficiency. Such inefficiencies result in suboptimal experiments that can take multiple months to complete. With the availability of automation and computer simulations, we can now perform these experiments in an optimized fashion and can design experiments to generate greater fitness in an accelerated time frame, thereby pushing the limits of what adaptive laboratory evolution can achieve. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Association of Subway Driver's Depressive Symptoms and Experience of Work-Related Problems.

PubMed

Jo, Sun-Jin; Yim, Hyeon Woo; Kim, Hyoung-Ryoul; Lee, Kang Sook; Park, Jong-Ik; Chang, Sung Man

2010-12-03

Subway drivers experience various types of work-related problems during their driving, and those experiences can act as risk factors for depressive symptoms. This study was conducted to investigate the association between work-related problems and subway driver's depressive symptoms. We recruited all of the 961 current subway drivers of a subway company located in Seoul, South Korea and conducted a survey of their socio-demographic and vocational characteristics, hospital visits as an outpatient or inpatient, and work-related problem experiences during the last year. Work-related problems included an accident resulting in death or injury, a conflict with a customer, a sudden stop from an emergency bell, or a near accident. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) instrument. The survey was performed using a self-report questionnaire from April 16 to July 13, 2007. The data of 827 drivers (86.2%) were analyzed. Experience of a conflict with a passenger (p=0.011), a sudden stop from an emergency bell (p=0.001), or a near accident (p=0.001) increased the prevalence of depressive symptoms among subway drivers. A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that a sudden stop from an emergency bell increased the risk of depressive symptoms significantly (OR=2.59, p=0.026). Near accidents were marginally associated with a higher risk for depressive symptoms (OR=1.62, p=0.062). The experience of a sudden stop from an emergency bell increased subway driver's depressive symptoms, and near accidents may increase the risk of depressive symptoms. Therefore, interventions for the drivers who had experienced these work-related problems are needed.

Processed foods as an integral part of universal salt iodization programs: a review of global experience and analyses of Bangladesh and Pakistan.

PubMed

Spohrer, Rebecca; Garrett, Greg S; Timmer, Arnold; Sankar, Rajan; Kar, Basanta; Rasool, Faiz; Locatelli-Rossi, Lorenzo

2012-12-01

Despite the reference to salt for food processing in the original definition of universal salt iodization (USI), national USI programs often do not explicitly address food industry salt. This may affect program impact and sustainability, given the increasing consumption of processed foods in developing countries. To review experience of the use of iodized salt in the food industry globally, and analyze the market context in Bangladesh and Pakistan to test whether this experience may be applicable to inform improved national USI programming in developing countries. A review of relevant international experience was undertaken. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, local rural market surveys were carried out. In Bangladesh, structured face-to-face interviews with bakers and indepth interviews with processed food wholesalers and retailers were conducted. In Pakistan, face-to-face structured interviews were conducted with food retailers and food labels were checked. Experience from industrialized countries reveals impact resulting from the use of iodized salt in the food industry. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, bread, biscuits, and snacks containing salt are increasingly available in rural areas. In Bangladesh, the majority of bakers surveyed claimed to use iodized salt. In Pakistan, 6 of 362 unique product labels listed iodized salt. Successful experience from developed countries needs to be adapted to the developing country context. The increasing availability of processed foods in rural Bangladesh and Pakistan provides an opportunity to increase iodine intake. However, the impact of this intervention remains to be quantified. To develop better national USI programs, further data are required on processed food consumption across population groups, iodine contents of food products, and the contribution of processed foods to iodine nutrition.

An information-processing model of three cortical regions: evidence in episodic memory retrieval.

PubMed

Sohn, Myeong-Ho; Goode, Adam; Stenger, V Andrew; Jung, Kwan-Jin; Carter, Cameron S; Anderson, John R

2005-03-01

ACT-R (Anderson, J.R., et al., 2003. An information-processing model of the BOLD response in symbol manipulation tasks. Psychon. Bull. Rev. 10, 241-261) relates the inferior dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex to a retrieval buffer that holds information retrieved from memory and the posterior parietal cortex to an imaginal buffer that holds problem representations. Because the number of changes in a problem representation is not necessarily correlated with retrieval difficulties, it is possible to dissociate prefrontal-parietal activations. In two fMRI experiments, we examined this dissociation using the fan effect paradigm. Experiment 1 compared a recognition task, in which representation requirement remains the same regardless of retrieval difficulty, with a recall task, in which both representation and retrieval loads increase with retrieval difficulty. In the recognition task, the prefrontal activation revealed a fan effect but not the parietal activation. In the recall task, both regions revealed fan effects. In Experiment 2, we compared visually presented stimuli and aurally presented stimuli using the recognition task. While only the prefrontal region revealed the fan effect, the activation patterns in the prefrontal and the parietal region did not differ by stimulus presentation modality. In general, these results provide support for the prefrontal-parietal dissociation in terms of retrieval and representation and the modality-independent nature of the information processed by these regions. Using ACT-R, we also provide computational models that explain patterns of fMRI responses in these two areas during recognition and recall.

Indirect effects of species interactions on habitat provisioning.

PubMed

Holbrook, Sally J; Schmitt, Russell J; Brooks, Andrew J

2011-07-01

Species that shelter in a biogenic habitat can influence their refugia and, in turn, play an essential role in shaping local patterns of biodiversity. Here we explore a positive feedback loop between the provisioning rate of habitat-forming branching corals and their associated fishes and show how interactions between two groups of fish--the planktivorous damselfish and predatory hawkfish--altered the feedback. A field experiment confirmed that skeletal growth of branching coral (genus Pocillopora) increased substantially with increasing numbers (biomass) of resident fishes, likely because they greatly increased the interstitial concentrations of nutrients. Because there is a positive relationship between colony size and number (biomass) of associated fishes (primarily damselfishes in the Family Pomacentridae), a structure-function feedback loop exists in which increasing numbers of damselfish enhance coral growth and larger corals host greater abundances (and species richness) of fish. However, interactions between damselfishes and arc-eye hawkfish, Paracirrhites arcatus, a largely solitary resident, can disrupt this positive feedback loop. Field surveys revealed a marked pattern of fish occupancy related to coral size: Pocillopora colonies of sufficient size to host fish (>40 cm circumference) had either groups of damselfish or an arc-eye hawkfish; only larger colonies (>75 cm) were occupied by both the damselfish and hawkfish. Subsequent short- and long-term experiments revealed that on intermediate-sized Pocillopora colonies, arc-eye hawkfish prevented the establishment of damselfish by suppressing their recruitment. The demographic consequences to the host coral were substantial; in a 1-year-long experiment, intermediate-size Pocillopora occupied by hawkfish grew at half the rate of corals that hosted groups of damselfish. These findings indicate that: (1) species which occupy a biogenic habitat can enhance the provisioning rate of their habitat; (2) such positive feedbacks between community structure and ecosystem function can be disrupted by a strong interactor; (3) even substantial consequences on ecosystem processes that arise can be difficult to discern.

Photopigment self-screening and the determination of macular pigment absorbance using heterochromatic flicker photometry.

PubMed

Smollon, William E; Wooten, Billy R; Hammond, Billy R

2015-11-01

Heterochromatic flicker photometry (HFP) is commonly used to determine macular pigment optical density (MPOD). Since HFP in this application is a locus comparison method, an identical relative spectral response at each locus is required for a perfect measure. We know this requirement cannot be strictly true since the optical density of photopigments increases as the foveal center is approached. Thus, the self-screening effect would result in an underestimate of MPOD. An earlier study concluded that the underestimate is on the order of 30%. We examined this issue by manipulating photopigment optical density, and consequently the degree of selfscreening. A continuously exposed, 470 nm, background bleached cone photopigments over a range from 0 to 80%. MPOD was determined 10' and 30' from the foveal center. Two subjects were used in the main experiment. Five additional subjects were studied with just the 0% and 80% bleach levels. Spectral measures were obtained at 0% and 70% bleach levels for the two primary subjects. Subjects in the main experiment showed MPOD estimates that increased with increasing bleaching. The effect, however, was small: one observer's MPOD increased 0.08 and 0.02 for the 10' and 30' loci, respectively; the other observer's values were 0.04 and 0.01 for the same loci. Comparable values were obtained for the other five subjects using the 0% and 80% bleach conditions. Spectral measures were consistent with the findings of the main experiment. When self-screening is nearly abolished (80% bleach), a relatively small underestimation is revealed for the unbleached state. For the 1° target we show about 2-3% underestimation. Our 20' target reveals a larger underestimate (8-9%), consistent with longer photoreceptor outer-segments nearer the foveal center. We conclude that HFP yields values essentially independent of self-screening for targets of 1° diameter or greater. Smaller targets are less than 10% underestimated for near-zero bleach conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relative effects on math performance of single- versus multiple-ratio schedules: a case study1

PubMed Central

Lovitt, Tom C.; Esveldt, Karen A.

1970-01-01

This series of four experiments sought to assess the comparative effects of multiple- versus single-ratio schedules on a pupil's responding to mathematics materials. Experiment I, which alternated between single- and multiple-ratio contingencies, revealed that during the latter phase the subject responded at a higher rate. Similar findings were revealed by Exp. II. The third experiment, which manipulated frequency of reinforcement rather than multiple ratios, revealed that the alteration had a minimal effect on the subject's response rate. A final experiment, conducted to assess further the effects of multiple ratios, provided data similar to those of Exp. I and II. PMID:16795267

Attention to advertising and memory for brands under alcohol intoxication

PubMed Central

Orquin, Jacob L.; Jeppesen, Heine B.; Scholderer, Joachim; Haugtvedt, Curtis

2014-01-01

In an attempt to discover new possibilities for advertising in uncluttered environments marketers have recently begun using ambient advertising in, for instance, bars and pubs. However, advertising in such licensed premises have to deal with the fact that many consumers are under the influence of alcohol while viewing the ad. This paper examines the effect of alcohol intoxication on attention to and memory for advertisements in two experiments. Study 1 used a forced exposure manipulation and revealed increased attention to logos under alcohol intoxication consistent with the psychopharmacological prediction that alcohol intoxication narrows attention to the more salient features in the visual environment. Study 2 used a voluntary exposure manipulation in which ads were embedded in a magazine. The experiment revealed that alcohol intoxication reduces voluntary attention to ads and leads to a significant reduction in memory for the viewed ads. In popular terms consuming one or two beers reduces brand recall from 40 to 36% while being heavily intoxicated further reduces brand recall to 17%. PMID:24723899

Ecological evaluation of an experimental beneficial use scheme for dredged sediment disposal in shallow tidal waters.

PubMed

van der Wal, Daphne; Forster, Rodney M; Rossi, Francesca; Hummel, Herman; Ysebaert, Tom; Roose, Frederik; Herman, Peter M J

2011-01-01

An experiment was performed to test an alternative dredging strategy for the Westerschelde estuary. Clean sand dredged from the navigation channel was disposed seawards of an eroding intertidal flat in order to modify morphology and hydrodynamics, improving the multi-channel system with ecologically productive shallow water habitat. Five years of intensive monitoring revealed that part of the disposed sediment moved slowly towards the flat, increasing the very shallow subtidal and intertidal area, as planned. The sand in the impact zone became gradually finer after disposal, possibly due to reduced current velocities. Nevertheless, no changes in macrobenthic biomass, density, species richness and composition were detected in the subtidal zone, also demonstrating rapid macrobenthic recovery. In the intertidal zone, no ecological effects could be revealed superimposed on trends associated with long-term sediment fining. Thus, despite morphological success and absence of detected negative ecological impacts of the experiment, new beneficial habitat was not created. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attention to advertising and memory for brands under alcohol intoxication.

PubMed

Orquin, Jacob L; Jeppesen, Heine B; Scholderer, Joachim; Haugtvedt, Curtis

2014-01-01

In an attempt to discover new possibilities for advertising in uncluttered environments marketers have recently begun using ambient advertising in, for instance, bars and pubs. However, advertising in such licensed premises have to deal with the fact that many consumers are under the influence of alcohol while viewing the ad. This paper examines the effect of alcohol intoxication on attention to and memory for advertisements in two experiments. Study 1 used a forced exposure manipulation and revealed increased attention to logos under alcohol intoxication consistent with the psychopharmacological prediction that alcohol intoxication narrows attention to the more salient features in the visual environment. Study 2 used a voluntary exposure manipulation in which ads were embedded in a magazine. The experiment revealed that alcohol intoxication reduces voluntary attention to ads and leads to a significant reduction in memory for the viewed ads. In popular terms consuming one or two beers reduces brand recall from 40 to 36% while being heavily intoxicated further reduces brand recall to 17%.

Effects of the wood extractive betulinol and 17beta-oestradiol on reproduction in zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton)--complications due to a bacterial infection.

PubMed

Christianson-Heiska, I; Wahteristo, P; Kastilan, E-L; Bergelin, E; Bylund, G; Isomaa, B

2004-05-01

Zebrafish were exposed to the wood extractive betulinol (5 microg L(-1)) and to 17beta-oestradiol (E2, 0.27 microg L(-1)) for 8 weeks in an attempt to study the possible endocrine-disrupting activity of betulinol. Females exposed to betulinol showed increased spawning intensity, while males exposed to betulinol and E2 had increased incidences of structural alterations in the testes. However, histological examination of the fish revealed that they were infected by acid-fast bacteria suspected to be Mycobacterium sp. despite a careful examination of their health state prior to the onset of the experiment. Fish exposed to betulinol and E2 showed more serious consequences of the bacterial infection than control fish indicating that the test chemicals had weakened the immune defence of the fish. When the exposure was repeated with healthy fish, an increase in the proportion of spermatogonia was seen in the testes of betulinol-treated males. A similar alteration, although not statistically significant, was also seen in the first experiment. However, no increase in the incidences of structural alterations in the testes was seen in betulinol- and E2-treated fish in the second experiment. Our study indicates that betulinol might have an endocrine-disrupting effect in zebrafish, but the increase in incidences of structural alterations in the testes might have been caused by a synergistic action between the test compounds and the bacterial infection. Our study stresses the importance of carefully checking the health of experimental fish, not only prior to the onset of an experiment but also upon termination of the experiment, in order to avoid misinterpretation of the results.

An expected utility maximizer walks into a bar…

PubMed

Burghart, Daniel R; Glimcher, Paul W; Lazzaro, Stephanie C

2013-06-01

We conducted field experiments at a bar to test whether blood alcohol concentration (BAC) correlates with violations of the generalized axiom of revealed preference (GARP) and the independence axiom. We found that individuals with BACs well above the legal limit for driving adhere to GARP and independence at rates similar to those who are sober. This finding led to the fielding of a third experiment to explore how risk preferences might vary as a function of BAC. We found gender-specific effects: Men did not exhibit variations in risk preferences across BACs. In contrast, women were more risk averse than men at low BACs but exhibited increasing tolerance towards risks as BAC increased. Based on our estimates, men and women's risk preferences are predicted to be identical at BACs nearly twice the legal limit for driving. We discuss the implications for policy-makers.

Vegetation recovery in tidal marshes reveals critical slowing down under increased inundation

PubMed Central

van Belzen, Jim; van de Koppel, Johan; Kirwan, Matthew L.; van der Wal, Daphne; Herman, Peter M. J.; Dakos, Vasilis; Kéfi, Sonia; Scheffer, Marten; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.; Bouma, Tjeerd J.

2017-01-01

A declining rate of recovery following disturbance has been proposed as an important early warning for impending tipping points in complex systems. Despite extensive theoretical and laboratory studies, this ‘critical slowing down' remains largely untested in the complex settings of real-world ecosystems. Here, we provide both observational and experimental support of critical slowing down along natural stress gradients in tidal marsh ecosystems. Time series of aerial images of European marsh development reveal a consistent lengthening of recovery time as inundation stress increases. We corroborate this finding with transplantation experiments in European and North American tidal marshes. In particular, our results emphasize the power of direct observational or experimental measures of recovery over indirect statistical signatures, such as spatial variance or autocorrelation. Our results indicate that the phenomenon of critical slowing down can provide a powerful tool to probe the resilience of natural ecosystems. PMID:28598430

Vegetation recovery in tidal marshes reveals critical slowing down under increased inundation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Belzen, Jim; van de Koppel, Johan; Kirwan, Matthew L.; van der Wal, Daphne; Herman, Peter M. J.; Dakos, Vasilis; Kéfi, Sonia; Scheffer, Marten; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.; Bouma, Tjeerd J.

2017-06-01

A declining rate of recovery following disturbance has been proposed as an important early warning for impending tipping points in complex systems. Despite extensive theoretical and laboratory studies, this `critical slowing down' remains largely untested in the complex settings of real-world ecosystems. Here, we provide both observational and experimental support of critical slowing down along natural stress gradients in tidal marsh ecosystems. Time series of aerial images of European marsh development reveal a consistent lengthening of recovery time as inundation stress increases. We corroborate this finding with transplantation experiments in European and North American tidal marshes. In particular, our results emphasize the power of direct observational or experimental measures of recovery over indirect statistical signatures, such as spatial variance or autocorrelation. Our results indicate that the phenomenon of critical slowing down can provide a powerful tool to probe the resilience of natural ecosystems.

Particular Film Formation of Phenytoin at Silica Surfaces

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Given the increasing number of poorly soluble and thus poorly bioavailable active pharmaceutical materials, there is a demand for innovative formulation platforms for such molecules. Thus a focus on enhancing dissolution properties of poorly soluble drugs exists. Within this study, the spin coating of acetone solutions containing 5,5-diphenyl-2,4-imidazolidinedione (phenytoin) in various concentrations is evaluated. The results reveal strong variations of the morphology of deposited phenytoin crystals at silica surfaces. Individual separated particles are obtained on low phenytoin concentrations, and closely packed particular films form when the concentration is increased. As the material is isomorphic, these various morphologies have the same crystalline structure. Dissolution experiments reveal that both the apparent maximum solubility and as the dissolution rate are strongly enhanced compared to bulk powder, suggesting that formulation based on this preparative technique will allow overcoming the low solubility problematic for a variety of drugs. PMID:24417472

Biological impact of preschool music classes on processing speech in noise

PubMed Central

Strait, Dana L.; Parbery-Clark, Alexandra; O’Connell, Samantha; Kraus, Nina

2013-01-01

Musicians have increased resilience to the effects of noise on speech perception and its neural underpinnings. We do not know, however, how early in life these enhancements arise. We compared auditory brainstem responses to speech in noise in 32 preschool children, half of whom were engaged in music training. Thirteen children returned for testing one year later, permitting the first longitudinal assessment of subcortical auditory function with music training. Results indicate emerging neural enhancements in musically trained preschoolers for processing speech in noise. Longitudinal outcomes reveal that children enrolled in music classes experience further increased neural resilience to background noise following one year of continued training compared to nonmusician peers. Together, these data reveal enhanced development of neural mechanisms undergirding speech-in-noise perception in preschoolers undergoing music training and may indicate a biological impact of music training on auditory function during early childhood. PMID:23872199

Secure software practices among Malaysian software practitioners: An exploratory study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamed, Shafinah Farvin Packeer; Baharom, Fauziah; Deraman, Aziz; Yahya, Jamaiah; Mohd, Haslina

2016-08-01

Secure software practices is increasingly gaining much importance among software practitioners and researchers due to the rise of computer crimes in the software industry. It has become as one of the determinant factors for producing high quality software. Even though its importance has been revealed, its current practice in the software industry is still scarce, particularly in Malaysia. Thus, an exploratory study is conducted among software practitioners in Malaysia to study their experiences and practices in the real-world projects. This paper discusses the findings from the study, which involved 93 software practitioners. Structured questionnaire is utilized for data collection purpose whilst statistical methods such as frequency, mean, and cross tabulation are used for data analysis. Outcomes from this study reveal that software practitioners are becoming increasingly aware on the importance of secure software practices, however, they lack of appropriate implementation, which could affect the quality of produced software.

Removal combined with reduction of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution by Fe-ethylene glycol complex microspheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yong-Xing; Jia, Yong

2016-12-01

Three-dimensional Fe-ethylene glycol (Fe-EG) complex microspheres were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method, and were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The adsorption as well as reduction properties of the obtained Fe-EG complex microspheres towards Cr(VI) ions were studied. The experiment data of adsorption kinetic and isotherm were fitted by nonlinear regression approach. In neutral condition, the maximum adsorption capacity was 49.78 mg g-1 at room temperature, and was increased with the increasing of temperature. Thermodynamic parameters including the Gibbs free energy, standard enthalpy and standard entropy revealed that adsorption of Cr(VI) was a feasible, spontaneous and endothermic process. Spectroscopic analysis revealed the adsorption of Cr(VI) was a physical adsorption process. The adsorbed CrO42- ions were partly reduced to Cr(OH)3 by Fe(II) ions and the organic groups in the Fe-EG complex.

Biological impact of preschool music classes on processing speech in noise.

PubMed

Strait, Dana L; Parbery-Clark, Alexandra; O'Connell, Samantha; Kraus, Nina

2013-10-01

Musicians have increased resilience to the effects of noise on speech perception and its neural underpinnings. We do not know, however, how early in life these enhancements arise. We compared auditory brainstem responses to speech in noise in 32 preschool children, half of whom were engaged in music training. Thirteen children returned for testing one year later, permitting the first longitudinal assessment of subcortical auditory function with music training. Results indicate emerging neural enhancements in musically trained preschoolers for processing speech in noise. Longitudinal outcomes reveal that children enrolled in music classes experience further increased neural resilience to background noise following one year of continued training compared to nonmusician peers. Together, these data reveal enhanced development of neural mechanisms undergirding speech-in-noise perception in preschoolers undergoing music training and may indicate a biological impact of music training on auditory function during early childhood. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vegetation recovery in tidal marshes reveals critical slowing down under increased inundation.

PubMed

van Belzen, Jim; van de Koppel, Johan; Kirwan, Matthew L; van der Wal, Daphne; Herman, Peter M J; Dakos, Vasilis; Kéfi, Sonia; Scheffer, Marten; Guntenspergen, Glenn R; Bouma, Tjeerd J

2017-06-09

A declining rate of recovery following disturbance has been proposed as an important early warning for impending tipping points in complex systems. Despite extensive theoretical and laboratory studies, this 'critical slowing down' remains largely untested in the complex settings of real-world ecosystems. Here, we provide both observational and experimental support of critical slowing down along natural stress gradients in tidal marsh ecosystems. Time series of aerial images of European marsh development reveal a consistent lengthening of recovery time as inundation stress increases. We corroborate this finding with transplantation experiments in European and North American tidal marshes. In particular, our results emphasize the power of direct observational or experimental measures of recovery over indirect statistical signatures, such as spatial variance or autocorrelation. Our results indicate that the phenomenon of critical slowing down can provide a powerful tool to probe the resilience of natural ecosystems.

A Long-term Forest Fertilization Experiment to Understand Ecosystem Responses to Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baron, J.; Advani, S. M.; Allen, J.; Boot, C.; Denef, K.; Denning, S.; Hall, E.; Moore, J. C.; Reuth, H.; Ryan, M. G.; Shaw, E.

2016-12-01

Long-term field experiments can reveal changes in ecosystem processes that may not be evident in short-term studies. Short-term measurements or experiments may have narrower objectives or unrealistic treatments in order to see a change, whereas long-term studies can reveal complex interactions that take longer to manifest. We report results from a long-term experiment (1996 to present) in subalpine forests to simulate the consequences of sustained atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. Loch Vale watershed in Rocky Mountain National Park, the location of the experiment, has received an order of magnitude greater atmospheric N deposition than estimated background since mid-20th Century. Augmenting that, in 1996 we began adding 25 kg NH4NO3 ha-1 yr-1 to three 30m x 30m old-growth Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir plots. Treated stands were matched by nearby controls. N addition caused rapid leaching of nitrate and cations from soils, and increased N mineralization and nitrification rates. These observations in the fertilized plots have been sustained over time. Soluble aluminum concentrations do not differ significantly between fertilized and control plots, but treated soils are now markedly more acidic (pH of 4.7) than original soil and controls (pH of 5.1); further acidification might increase aluminum leaching. Effects on soil carbon were complex, mediated by reductions in total microbial biomass, decreases in arbuscular mychorrizal and saprotropic fungi, and increased potential rates of N enzyme degrading activities. Initial soil C:N of 24 was lower than similar soils in low N deposition stands (C:N of 36). The C:N declined to 22 with treatment. Fertilized plots lost 11% soil C, but the mechanism is unclear. We did not measure changes in C inputs from litter, microbial biomass, or plant uptake, but there was no change in summer CO2 flux, measured in 2003, 2004, and 2014. Leaching of DOC from fertilized plots was elevated throughout the experiment, providing one pathway for C loss. The soil microfauna was dominated by nematodes; plant parasites and bacterial and fungal feeders were more abundant in fertilized plots than in controls, with fewer predaceous and omnivorous nematodes. Overall, N fertilization altered soil biogeochemical characteristics, soil food webs, and C cycling.

Daily stressors as antecedents, correlates, and consequences of alcohol and drug use and cravings in community-based offenders.

PubMed

Neupert, Shevaun D; Desmarais, Sarah L; Gray, Julie S; Cohn, Amy M; Doherty, Stephen; Knight, Kevin

2017-05-01

Justice-involved individuals with alcohol and drug use problems reoffend at higher rates than their nonusing counterparts, with alcohol and drug use serving as an important vector to recidivism. At the daily level, exposure to stressors may exacerbate problematic alcohol and drug use; at the individual level, prior treatment experiences may mitigate substance use as individuals adapt to and learn new coping mechanisms. We conducted a daily diary study using Interactive Voice Response technology over 14 consecutive days with 117 men on probation or parole participating in a community-based treatment program (n = 860 calls) and referred to medication-assisted treatment. Participants reported daily stressors, craving for alcohol and illegal drugs, and use of alcohol and illegal drugs 1 time each day. Results of multilevel models showed significant day-to-day fluctuation in alcohol and drug craving and use. In concurrent models, increases in daily stressors were associated with increases in cravings and use of illegal drugs. Prior treatment experience modified many of these relationships, and additional lagged models revealed that those with less treatment experience reported an increase in next-day alcohol craving when they experienced increases in stressors on the previous day compared to those with more treatment experience. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of tailoring treatment as a function of individual differences, including prior treatment experiences, and targeting daily stressors and subsequent cravings among justice-involved adults with alcohol and drug use problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Growth and Productivity Response of Hybrid Rice to Application of Animal Manures, Plant Residues and Phosphorus

PubMed Central

Amanullah; Khan, Shams-ul-Tamraiz; Iqbal, Asif; Fahad, Shah

2016-01-01

The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of organic sources (animal manures vs. plant residues at the rate of 10 t ha−1 each) on the productivity of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) production under different levels of phosphorus (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg P ha−1) fertilization. Two separate field experiments were conducted. In experiment (1), impact of three animal manures sources (cattle, sheep, and poultry manures) and P levels were studied along with one control plot (no animal manure and P applied) was investigated. In experiment (2), three plant residues sources (peach leaves, garlic residues, and wheat straw) and P levels were studied along with one control plot (no plant residues and P applied). Both the experiments were carried out on small land farmer field at District Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (Northwest Pakistan) during summer 2015. The results revealed that in both experiments the control plot had significantly (p ≤ 0.05) less productivity than the average of all treated plots with organic sources and P level. The increase in P levels in both experiments (animal manure vs. plant residues) resulted in higher rice productivity (90 > 60 > 30 > 0 kg P ha−1). In the experiment under animal manures, application of poultry manure increased rice productivity as compared with sheep and cattle manures (poultry > sheep > cattle manures). In the experiment under plant residues, application of peach leaves or garlic residues had higher rice productivity than wheat straw (peach leaves = garlic residues > wheat straw). On average, rice grown under animal manures produced about 20% higher grain yield than rice grown under crop residues. We conclude from this study that application of 90 kg P ha−1 along with combined application of animal manures, especially poultry manure increases rice productivity. Also, the use of either garlic residues or peach leaves, never applied before as organic manures, can increase crop productivity and will help in degraded soil for sustainable soil management. PMID:27803701

Biochar as a sorbent for chlorinated hydrocarbons - sorption and extraction experiments in single and bi-solute systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreiter, I. J.; Wefer-Roehl, A.; Graber, E. R.; Schueth, C.

2016-12-01

Biochar (BC) is increasingly deemed a potential sorbent for contaminants in soil and water remediation, and brownfield restoration. In this study, sorption and extraction experiments were performed to assess the potential of three different BCs to sorb and retain the chlorinated hydrocarbons TCE and PCE. BCs studied were produced from wood chips, grain husk, and cattle manure at 450 °C. A commercially available activated carbon (AC) served as a reference. The sorption behaviour was studied in batch experiments in single solute and bi-solute systems. Resulting isotherms were fitted to the Freundlich model. To assess the desorption behaviour, a five step extraction scheme (water at 40°C, water at 80°C, methanol at 50°C, toluene at 50°C, and n-hexane at 50°) was developed utilizing Accelerated Solvent Extraction. Isotherms revealed distinct differences in sorption behaviour depending on BC feedstock. Sorption capacity ranked as follows: wood chip BC > grain husk BC > cattle manure BC for both contaminants. This sequence could be attributable to an increasing specific surface area and a decreasing ash content of the sorbents. It is noteworthy that all three BCs were more effective in adsorbing TCE, which is surprising, given the higher logKOWof PCE. The reverse trend was observed for the AC. In bi-solute experiments, PCE sorbed as good as or stronger than TCE, yet the total mass of sorbed compounds was higher. In contrast, AC showed a significant decrease of TCE sorption. Extraction experiments revealed that for all BCs a large fraction of the contaminants could not be readily desorbed. In all cases, water remobilized < 5 % of the total contaminant mass and up to 70 % could not be extracted by any of the solvents. The findings suggest that BC is a promising sorbent for mixed contaminant systems as it offers a diverse nature of sorption sites and is more effective in long-term stabilization than AC.

Inside out: a neuro-behavioral signature of free recall dynamics.

PubMed

Shapira-Lichter, Irit; Vakil, Eli; Glikmann-Johnston, Yifat; Siman-Tov, Tali; Caspi, Dan; Paran, Daphna; Hendler, Talma

2012-07-01

Free recall (FR) is a ubiquitous internally-driven retrieval operation that crucially affects our day-to-day life. The neural correlates of FR, however, are not sufficiently understood, partly due to the methodological challenges presented by its emerging property and endogenic nature. Using fMRI and performance measures, the neuro-behavioral correlates of FR were studied in 33 healthy participants who repeatedly encoded and retrieved word-lists. Retrieval was determined either overtly via verbal output (Experiment 1) or covertly via motor responses (Experiment 2). Brain activation during FR was characterized by two types of performance-based parametric analyses of retrieval changes over time. First was the elongation in inter response time (IRT) assumed to represent the prolongation of memory search over time, as increased effort was needed. Using a derivative of this parameter in whole brain analysis revealed the default mode network (DMN): longer IRT within FR blocks correlated with less deactivation of the DMN, representing its greater recruitment. Second was the increased number of words retrieved in repeated encoding-recall cycles, assumed to represent the learning process. Using this parameter in whole brain analysis revealed increased deactivation in the DMN (i.e., less recruitment). Together our results demonstrate the naturally occurring dynamics in the recruitment of the DMN during utilization of internally generated processes during FR. The contrasting effects of increased and decreased recruitment of the DMN following dynamics in memory search and learning, respectively, supports the idea that with learning FR is less dependent on neural operations of internally-generated processes such as those initially needed for memory search. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hippocampal and extrahippocampal systems compete for control of contextual fear: Role of ventral subiculum and amygdala

PubMed Central

Biedenkapp, Joseph C.; Rudy, Jerry W.

2009-01-01

Two neural systems, a hippocampal system and an extrahippocampal system compete for control over contextual fear, and the hippocampal system normally dominates. Our experiments reveal that output provided by the ventral subiculum is critical for the hippocampal system to win this competition. Bilateral electrolytic lesions of the ventral subiculum after conditioning, but not before conditioning, impaired contextual fear conditioning. Reversibly inactivating this region by bilateral injections of muscimol produced the same results—no impairment when the injection occurred prior to conditioning but a significant impairment when this region was inactivated after conditioning. Thus, the extrahippocampal system can support contextual fear conditioning if the ventral subiculum is disabled before conditioning but not if it is disabled after conditioning. Our experiments also reveal that the basolateral region of the amygdala (BLA) is where the two systems compete for associative control of the fear system. To test this hypothesis we reasoned that the extrahippocampal system would also acquire associative control over the fear system, even if the hippocampal system were functional, if the basal level of plasticity potential in the BLA could be increased. We did this by injecting the D1 dopamine agonist, SKF82958, into the BLA just prior to conditioning. This treatment resulted in a significant increase in freezing when the ventral subiculum was disabled prior to the test. These results are discussed in relationship to the idea that D1 agonists increase plasticity potential by increasing the pool of available extrasynaptic GluR1 receptors in the population of neurons supporting acquired fear. PMID:19117915

Rogue waves in a multistable system.

PubMed

Pisarchik, Alexander N; Jaimes-Reátegui, Rider; Sevilla-Escoboza, Ricardo; Huerta-Cuellar, G; Taki, Majid

2011-12-30

Clear evidence of rogue waves in a multistable system is revealed by experiments with an erbium-doped fiber laser driven by harmonic pump modulation. The mechanism for the rogue wave formation lies in the interplay of stochastic processes with multistable deterministic dynamics. Low-frequency noise applied to a diode pump current induces rare jumps to coexisting subharmonic states with high-amplitude pulses perceived as rogue waves. The probability of these events depends on the noise filtered frequency and grows up when the noise amplitude increases. The probability distribution of spike amplitudes confirms the rogue wave character of the observed phenomenon. The results of numerical simulations are in good agreement with experiments.

Aging and cognition.

PubMed

Mather, Mara

2010-05-01

As we grow older, we gain knowledge and experience greater emotional balance, but we also experience memory loss and difficulties in learning new associations. Which cognitive abilities decline, remain stable or improve with age depends on the health of the brain and body as well as on what skills are practiced or challenged in everyday life. Recent research provides a growing understanding of the relationship between physical and cognitive changes across the life span and reveals ways to increase mental sharpness and avoid cognitive decline. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN MICE LIVER IN DYNAMICS OF CONCANAVALIN A - INDUCED HEPATITIS.

PubMed

Pavlovych, S I; Makogon, N V; Grushka, N G; Bryzgina, T M; Janchiy, R I

The injure of the liver tissue and its infiltration by cells of the innate and adaptive immunity in dynamics of Con A-induced hepatitis in mice was studied. The semiquantitative method of damage rate of microcirculation channel and liver parenchyma was used, leukocyte liver infiltration and cellular composition of infiltrates were investigated also. Primary liver reaction to the Con-A was the inflammatory changes in the vascular bed, followed by disturbances in the parenchyma.The sufficient increasing of leukocyte migration to the liver was revealed. Besides, the neutrophile infiltration was increased first with a maximum at 6 hours of the experiment (63,9 ±4,6%, p<0,001 to the control level) ,and then the lymphocyte infiltration was increased with creation of manycellular lymphocytemacrophage infiltrates (62% at 48 hours comparing to 6 hours of experiment) and sufficient quantity of plasma cells population (4,9%, p<0,05 comparing to 6 hours of experiment). The obtained data gives the base to suggest that the elevated infiltration of liver tissue by leukocytes, particularly by lymphocytes and monocytes, together with necrotic death increasing creats the conditions for effective intracellular interaction and immune response to autoantigenes. This can be the essential pathogenic mechanism of development of autoimmune liver deseases.

Can representational trajectory reveal the nature of an internal model of gravity?

PubMed

De Sá Teixeira, Nuno; Hecht, Heiko

2014-05-01

The memory for the vanishing location of a horizontally moving target is usually displaced forward in the direction of motion (representational momentum) and downward in the direction of gravity (representational gravity). Moreover, this downward displacement has been shown to increase with time (representational trajectory). However, the degree to which different kinematic events change the temporal profile of these displacements remains to be determined. The present article attempts to fill this gap. In the first experiment, we replicate the finding that representational momentum for downward-moving targets is bigger than for upward motions, showing, moreover, that it increases rapidly during the first 300 ms, stabilizing afterward. This temporal profile, but not the increased error for descending targets, is shown to be disrupted when eye movements are not allowed. In the second experiment, we show that the downward drift with time emerges even for static targets. Finally, in the third experiment, we report an increased error for upward-moving targets, as compared with downward movements, when the display is compatible with a downward ego-motion by including vection cues. Thus, the errors in the direction of gravity are compatible with the perceived event and do not merely reflect a retinotopic bias. Overall, these results provide further evidence for an internal model of gravity in the visual representational system.

Cation-containing lipid membranes – experiment and md simulations

DOE PAGES

Kučerka, Norbert; Dushanov, Ermuhammas; Kholmurodov, Kholmirzo T.; ...

2017-11-27

Here, using small angle neutron diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations we studied the interactions between calcium (Ca 2+) or zinc (Zn 2+) cations, and oriented gel phase dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers. For both cations studied at ~1:7 divalent metal ion to lipid molar ratio (Me2+:DPPC), bilayer thickness increased. Simulation results helped reveal subtle differences in the effects of the two cations on gel phase membranes.

Voice-stress measure of mental workload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alpert, Murray; Schneider, Sid J.

1988-01-01

In a planned experiment, male subjects between the age of 18 and 50 will be required to produce speech while performing various tasks. Analysis of the speech produced should reveal which aspects of voice prosody are associated with increased workloads. Preliminary results with two female subjects suggest a possible trend for voice frequency and amplitude to be higher and the variance of the voice frequency to be lower in the high workload condition.

Interfacial instability of wormlike micellar solutions sheared in a Taylor-Couette cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadigoushki, Hadi; Muller, Susan J.

2014-10-01

We report experiments on wormlike micellar solutions sheared in a custom-made Taylor-Couette (TC) cell. The computer controlled TC cell allows us to rotate both cylinders independently. Wormlike micellar solutions containing water, CTAB, and NaNo3 with different compositions are highly elastic and exhibit shear banding within a range of shear rate. We visualized the flow field in the θ-z as well as r-z planes, using multiple cameras. When subject to low shear rates, the flow is stable and azimuthal, but becomes unstable above a certain threshold shear rate. This shear rate coincides with the onset of shear banding. Visualizing the θ-z plane shows that this instability is characterized by stationary bands equally spaced in the z direction. Increasing the shear rate results to larger wave lengths. Above a critical shear rate, experiments reveal a chaotic behavior reminiscent of elastic turbulence. We also studied the effect of ramp speed on the onset of instability and report an acceleration below which the critical Weissenberg number for onset of instability is unaffected. Moreover, visualizations in the r-z direction reveals that the interface between the two bands undulates. The shear band evolves towards the outer cylinder upon increasing the shear rate, regardless of which cylinder is rotating.

Long-term nitrogen addition affects the phylogenetic turnover of soil microbial community responding to moisture pulse

DOE PAGES

Liu, Chi; Yao, Minjie; Stegen, James C.; ...

2017-12-13

How press disturbance (long-term) influences the phylogenetic turnover of soil microbial communities responding to pulse disturbances (short-term) is not fully known. Understanding the complex connections between the history of environmental conditions, assembly processes and microbial community dynamics is necessary to predict microbial response to perturbation. Here, we started by investigating phylogenetic spatial turnover (based on DNA) of soil prokaryotic communities after long-term nitrogen (N) deposition and temporal turnover (based on RNA) of communities responding to pulse by conducting short-term rewetting experiments. The results showed that moderate N addition increased ecological stochasticity and phylogenetic diversity. In contrast, high N addition slightlymore » increased homogeneous selection and decreased phylogenetic diversity. Examining the system with higher phylogenetic resolution revealed a moderate contribution of variable selection across the whole N gradient. The moisture pulse experiment showed that high N soils had higher rates of phylogenetic turnover across short phylogenetic distances and significant changes in community compositions through time. Long-term N input history influenced spatial turnover of microbial communities, but the dominant community assembly mechanisms differed across different N deposition gradients. We further revealed an interaction between press and pulse disturbances whereby deterministic processes were particularly important following pulse disturbances in high N soils.« less

Differential gene expression is not required for facultative sex allocation: a transcriptome analysis of brain tissue in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis

PubMed Central

Boulton, Rebecca A.; Green, Jade; Trivedi, Urmi; Pannebakker, Bart A.; Ritchie, Michael G.; Shuker, David M.

2018-01-01

Whole-transcriptome technologies have been widely used in behavioural genetics to identify genes associated with the performance of a behaviour and provide clues to its mechanistic basis. Here, we consider the genetic basis of sex allocation behaviour in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis. Female Nasonia facultatively vary their offspring sex ratio in line with Hamilton's theory of local mate competition (LMC). A single female or ‘foundress’ laying eggs on a patch will lay just enough sons to fertilize her daughters. As the number of ‘foundresses’ laying eggs on a patch increases (and LMC declines), females produce increasingly male-biased sex ratios. Phenotypic studies have revealed the cues females use to estimate the level of LMC their sons will experience, but our understanding of the genetics underlying sex allocation is limited. Here, we exposed females to three foundress number conditions, i.e. three LMC conditions, and allowed them to oviposit. mRNA was extracted from only the heads of these females to target the brain tissue. The subsequent RNA-seq experiment confirmed that differential gene expression is not associated with the response to sex allocation cues and that we must instead turn to the underlying neuroscience to reveal the underpinnings of this impressive behavioural plasticity. PMID:29515880

Long-term nitrogen addition affects the phylogenetic turnover of soil microbial community responding to moisture pulse

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Chi; Yao, Minjie; Stegen, James C.

How press disturbance (long-term) influences the phylogenetic turnover of soil microbial communities responding to pulse disturbances (short-term) is not fully known. Understanding the complex connections between the history of environmental conditions, assembly processes and microbial community dynamics is necessary to predict microbial response to perturbation. Here, we started by investigating phylogenetic spatial turnover (based on DNA) of soil prokaryotic communities after long-term nitrogen (N) deposition and temporal turnover (based on RNA) of communities responding to pulse by conducting short-term rewetting experiments. The results showed that moderate N addition increased ecological stochasticity and phylogenetic diversity. In contrast, high N addition slightlymore » increased homogeneous selection and decreased phylogenetic diversity. Examining the system with higher phylogenetic resolution revealed a moderate contribution of variable selection across the whole N gradient. The moisture pulse experiment showed that high N soils had higher rates of phylogenetic turnover across short phylogenetic distances and significant changes in community compositions through time. Long-term N input history influenced spatial turnover of microbial communities, but the dominant community assembly mechanisms differed across different N deposition gradients. We further revealed an interaction between press and pulse disturbances whereby deterministic processes were particularly important following pulse disturbances in high N soils.« less

Involvement of resistin-like molecule β in the development of methionine-choline deficient diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in mice.

PubMed

Okubo, Hirofumi; Kushiyama, Akifumi; Sakoda, Hideyuki; Nakatsu, Yusuke; Iizuka, Masaki; Taki, Naoyuki; Fujishiro, Midori; Fukushima, Toshiaki; Kamata, Hideaki; Nagamachi, Akiko; Inaba, Toshiya; Nishimura, Fusanori; Katagiri, Hideki; Asahara, Takashi; Yoshida, Yasuto; Chonan, Osamu; Encinas, Jeffery; Asano, Tomoichiro

2016-01-28

Resistin-like molecule β (RELMβ) reportedly has multiple functions including local immune responses in the gut. In this study, we investigated the possible contribution of RELMβ to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) development. First, RELMβ knock-out (KO) mice were shown to be resistant to methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet-induced NASH development. Since it was newly revealed that Kupffer cells in the liver express RELMβ and that RELMβ expression levels in the colon and the numbers of RELMβ-positive Kupffer cells were both increased in this model, we carried out further experiments using radiation chimeras between wild-type and RELMβ-KO mice to distinguish between the contributions of RELMβ in these two organs. These experiments revealed the requirement of RELMβ in both organs for full manifestation of NASH, while deletion of each one alone attenuated the development of NASH with reduced serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels. The higher proportion of lactic acid bacteria in the gut microbiota of RELMβ-KO than in that of wild-type mice may be one of the mechanisms underlying the lower serum LPS level the former. These data suggest the contribution of increases in RELMβ in the gut and Kupffer cells to NASH development, raising the possibility of RELMβ being a novel therapeutic target for NASH.

Inferior frontal sensitivity to common speech sounds is amplified by increasing word intelligibility.

PubMed

Vaden, Kenneth I; Kuchinsky, Stefanie E; Keren, Noam I; Harris, Kelly C; Ahlstrom, Jayne B; Dubno, Judy R; Eckert, Mark A

2011-11-01

The left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) exhibits increased responsiveness when people listen to words composed of speech sounds that frequently co-occur in the English language (Vaden, Piquado, & Hickok, 2011), termed high phonotactic frequency (Vitevitch & Luce, 1998). The current experiment aimed to further characterize the relation of phonotactic frequency to LIFG activity by manipulating word intelligibility in participants of varying age. Thirty six native English speakers, 19-79 years old (mean=50.5, sd=21.0) indicated with a button press whether they recognized 120 binaurally presented consonant-vowel-consonant words during a sparse sampling fMRI experiment (TR=8 s). Word intelligibility was manipulated by low-pass filtering (cutoff frequencies of 400 Hz, 1000 Hz, 1600 Hz, and 3150 Hz). Group analyses revealed a significant positive correlation between phonotactic frequency and LIFG activity, which was unaffected by age and hearing thresholds. A region of interest analysis revealed that the relation between phonotactic frequency and LIFG activity was significantly strengthened for the most intelligible words (low-pass cutoff at 3150 Hz). These results suggest that the responsiveness of the left inferior frontal cortex to phonotactic frequency reflects the downstream impact of word recognition rather than support of word recognition, at least when there are no speech production demands. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Long-term nitrogen addition affects the phylogenetic turnover of soil microbial community responding to moisture pulse.

PubMed

Liu, Chi; Yao, Minjie; Stegen, James C; Rui, Junpeng; Li, Jiabao; Li, Xiangzhen

2017-12-13

How press disturbance (long-term) influences the phylogenetic turnover of soil microbial communities responding to pulse disturbances (short-term) is not fully known. Understanding the complex connections between the history of environmental conditions, assembly processes and microbial community dynamics is necessary to predict microbial response to perturbation. We started by investigating phylogenetic spatial turnover (based on DNA) of soil prokaryotic communities after long-term nitrogen (N) deposition and temporal turnover (based on RNA) of communities responding to pulse by conducting short-term rewetting experiments. The results showed that moderate N addition increased ecological stochasticity and phylogenetic diversity. In contrast, high N addition slightly increased homogeneous selection and decreased phylogenetic diversity. Examining the system with higher phylogenetic resolution revealed a moderate contribution of variable selection across the whole N gradient. The moisture pulse experiment showed that high N soils had higher rates of phylogenetic turnover across short phylogenetic distances and significant changes in community compositions through time. Long-term N input history influenced spatial turnover of microbial communities, but the dominant community assembly mechanisms differed across different N deposition gradients. We further revealed an interaction between press and pulse disturbances whereby deterministic processes were particularly important following pulse disturbances in high N soils.

Age variation in the body coloration of the orb-weaver spider Alpaida tuonabo and its implications on foraging.

PubMed

Gálvez, Dumas; Añino, Yostin; De la O, Jorge M

2018-02-26

Spiders show a repertoire of strategies to increase their foraging success. In particular, some orb-weaver spiders use attractive body colorations to lure prey. Interestingly, coloration varies with age in many species, which may result in ontogenetic variation of foraging success. By using field observations, laboratory experiments and spectrophotometric analysis, we investigated whether pale juveniles and bright adults of the orb-weaver Alpaida tuonabo use different foraging strategies due to ontogenetic variation in coloration. Field observations revealed that foraging success of juveniles and adults was influenced by web properties. However, foraging success increased with body size only in adults, supporting the idea that larger individuals produce a stronger visual signal for prey. The attractiveness of the adult coloration for prey was confirmed in the laboratory with frame-web-choice experiments, in which webs bearing a spider intercepted more bees than empty webs. Our spectrophotometric analysis suggests that the yellow coloration may produce the deceiving signal for prey. Moreover, we identified potential alternative foraging strategies: cryptic juveniles at higher heights and 'attractive' adults at lower heights. This study reveals how ontogenetic colour variation may favour the use of alternative foraging strategies in orb-weaver spiders and reduces intraspecific competition.

Social constructions of dependency by blunts smokers: Qualitative reports

PubMed Central

Dunlap, Eloise; Benoit, Ellen; Sifaneck, Stephen J.; Johnson, Bruce D.

2008-01-01

Concerns about the risk of cannabis dependence have been renewed in recent years by changing patterns of consumption, including increased levels of use, easier access to high-potency strains of cannabis and the rising popularity of blunts (tobacco cigar shells filled with cannabis). Such concerns have been reinforced by a number of studies suggesting that cannabis dependence, as measured by DSM criteria, has indeed increased. However, there are reasons to question these findings. First, the studies may not accurately reflect users' experiences, for a number of methodological and conceptual reasons. Equally important, they do not examine the practice of smoking blunts, which exposes cannabis users to nicotine and has obvious implications for dependence (and other health problems). In this paper we reveal social understandings of dependence by analysing in-depth interviews with 92 users of blunts and cannabis in other forms in New York City. We also discuss ethnographic observations of these users and others that reveal practises and norms relevant to the risk of cannabis dependence. We find that users' experiences and descriptions do not correspond to official dependence criteria and that some use practices, such as smoking blunts in groups, promote moderate consumption rather than compulsive use. Respondents also associated nicotine with dependence, suggesting that research on cannabis dependence should be designed to include blunt smoking. PMID:19430592

Learning to perceive differences in solid shape through vision and touch.

PubMed

Norman, J Farley; Clayton, Anna Marie; Norman, Hideko F; Crabtree, Charles E

2008-01-01

A single experiment was designed to investigate perceptual learning and the discrimination of 3-D object shape. Ninety-six observers were presented with naturally shaped solid objects either visually, haptically, or across the modalities of vision and touch. The observers' task was to judge whether the two sequentially presented objects on any given trial possessed the same or different 3-D shapes. The results of the experiment revealed that significant perceptual learning occurred in all modality conditions, both unimodal and cross-modal. The amount of the observers' perceptual learning, as indexed by increases in hit rate and d', was similar for all of the modality conditions. The observers' hit rates were highest for the unimodal conditions and lowest in the cross-modal conditions. Lengthening the inter-stimulus interval from 3 to 15 s led to increases in hit rates and decreases in response bias. The results also revealed the existence of an asymmetry between two otherwise equivalent cross-modal conditions: in particular, the observers' perceptual sensitivity was higher for the vision-haptic condition and lower for the haptic-vision condition. In general, the results indicate that effective cross-modal shape comparisons can be made between the modalities of vision and active touch, but that complete information transfer does not occur.

Tachycardia, reduced vagal capacity, and age-dependent ventricular dysfunction arising from diminished expression of the presynaptic choline transporter.

PubMed

English, Brett A; Appalsamy, Martin; Diedrich, Andre; Ruggiero, Alicia M; Lund, David; Wright, Jane; Keller, Nancy R; Louderback, Katherine M; Robertson, David; Blakely, Randy D

2010-09-01

Healthy cardiovascular function relies on a balanced and responsive integration of noradrenergic and cholinergic innervation of the heart. High-affinity choline uptake by cholinergic terminals is pivotal for efficient ACh production and release. To date, the cardiovascular impact of diminished choline transporter (CHT) expression has not been directly examined, largely due to the transporter's inaccessibility in vivo. Here, we describe findings from cardiovascular experiments using transgenic mice that bear a CHT genetic deficiency. Whereas CHT knockout (CHT(-/-)) mice exhibit early postnatal lethality, CHT heterozygous (CHT(+/-)) mice survive, grow, and reproduce normally and exhibit normal spontaneous behaviors. However, the CHT(+/-) mouse heart displays significantly reduced levels of high-affinity choline uptake accompanied by significantly reduced levels of ACh. Telemeterized recordings of cardiovascular function in these mice revealed tachycardia and hypertension at rest. After treadmill exercise, CHT(+/-) mice exhibited slower heart rate recovery, consistent with a diminished cholinergic reserve, a contention validated through direct vagal nerve stimulation. Echocardiographic and histological experiments revealed an age-dependent decrease in fractional shortening, increased left ventricular dimensions, and increased ventricular fibrosis, consistent with ventricular dysfunction. These cardiovascular phenotypes of CHT(+/-) mice encourage an evaluation of humans bearing reduced CHT expression for their resiliency in maintaining proper heart function as well as risk for cardiovascular disease.

A field reciprocal transplant experiment reveals asymmetric costs of migration between lake and river ecotypes of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

PubMed

Kaufmann, J; Lenz, T L; Kalbe, M; Milinski, M; Eizaguirre, C

2017-05-01

Theory of local adaptation predicts that nonadapted migrants will suffer increased costs compared to local residents. Ultimately this process can result in the reduction of gene flow and culminate in speciation. Here, we experimentally investigated the relative fitness of migrants in foreign habitats, focusing on diverging lake and river ecotypes of three-spined sticklebacks. A reciprocal transplant experiment performed in the field revealed asymmetric costs of migration: whereas mortality of river fish was increased under lake conditions, lake migrants suffered from reduced growth relative to river residents. Selection against migrants thus involved different traits in each habitat but generally contributed to bidirectional reduction in gene flow. Focusing particularly on the parasitic environments, migrant fish differed from resident fish in the parasite community they harboured. This pattern correlated with both cellular phenotypes of innate immunity as well as with allelic variation at the genes of the major histocompatibility complex. In addition to showing the costs of migration in three-spined sticklebacks, this study highlights the role of asymmetric selection particularly from parasitism in genotype sorting and in the emergence of local adaptation. © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Investigating the Affinities and Persistence of VX Nerve Agent in Environmental Matrices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Love, A H; Vance, A L; Reynolds, J G

2004-03-09

Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine environmental variables that affect the affinities and persistence of the nerve agent O-ethyl S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothiolate (VX) at dilute concentrations in environmental matrices. Quantitative analyses of VX and its degradation products were performed using LC-MS. Batch hydrolysis experiments demonstrated an increasing hydrolysis rate as pH increased, as shown in previous studies, but also indicated that dissolved aqueous constituents can cause significant differences in the absolute hydrolysis rate. Adsorption isotherms from batch aqueous experiments revealed that VX has a high affinity for hydrophobic organics, a moderate affinity for montmorillonite clay, and a very low affinity formore » an iron-oxyhydroxide soil mineral, goethite. The adsorption on goethite was increased with the presence of dissolved organic matter in solution. VX degraded rapidly when dried onto goethite, when an inner-sphere complex was forced. No enhanced degradation occurred with goethite in small amounts water. These results suggest that aqueous conditions have important controls on VX adsorption and degradation in the environment and a more mechanistic understanding of these controls is needed in order to enable accurate predictions of its long-term fate and persistence.« less

Pressure signature and evaluation of hammer pulses during underwater implosion in confining environments.

PubMed

Gupta, Sachin; Matos, Helio; Shukla, Arun; LeBlanc, James M

2016-08-01

The fluid structure interaction phenomenon occurring in confined implosions is investigated using high-speed three-dimensional digital image correlation (DIC) experiments. Aluminum tubular specimens are placed inside a confining cylindrical structure that is partially open to a pressurized environment. These specimens are hydrostatically loaded until they naturally implode. The implosion event is viewed, and recorded, through an acrylic window on the confining structure. The velocities captured through DIC are synchronized with the pressure histories to understand the effects of confining environment on the implosion process. Experiments show that collapse of the implodable volume inside the confining tube leads to strong oscillating water hammer waves. The study also reveals that the increasing collapse pressure leads to faster implosions. Both peak and average structural velocities increase linearly with increasing collapse pressure. The effects of the confining environment are better seen in relatively lower collapse pressure implosion experiments in which a long deceleration phase is observed following the peak velocity until wall contact initiates. Additionally, the behavior of the confining environment can be viewed and understood through classical water hammer theory. A one-degree-of-freedom theoretical model was created to predict the impulse pressure history for the particular problem studied.

Plume dynamics from UV pulsed ablation of Al and Ti

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, William; Perram, Glen; Haugan, Timothy

2016-12-01

Pulsed laser ablation of Al and Ti with a < 3.3 J/cm2 KrF laser and Ar background pressure of up to 1 Torr was performed to study the ablated plume. Mass loss experiments revealed the number of ablated atoms per pulse increases by 30% for Ti and 20% for Al as pressure decreases from 1 Torr to vacuum. Optical emission imaging performed using a gated ICCD revealed a strong dependence of shock front parameters, defined by the Sedov-Taylor blast and classical drag models, on background pressure. Spatially resolved optical emission spectroscopy from Al I, Al II, Ti I, and Ti II revealed ion temperatures of 104 K that decreased away from the target surface along the surface normal and neutral temperatures of 103 K independent of target distance. Comparison between kinetic energy in the shock and internal excitation energy reveals that nearly 100% of the energy is partitioned into shock front kinetic energy and 1% into internal excitation.

Fostering new relational experience: clinical process in couple psychotherapy.

PubMed

Marmarosh, Cheri L

2014-03-01

One of the most critical goals for couple psychotherapy is to foster a new relational experience in the session where the couple feels safe enough to reveal more vulnerable emotions and to explore their defensive withdrawal, aggressive attacking, or blaming. The lived intimate experience in the session offers the couple an opportunity to gain integrative insight into their feelings, expectations, and behaviors that ultimately hinder intimacy. The clinical processes that are necessary include empathizing with the couple and facilitating safety within the session, looking for opportunities to explore emotions, ruptures, and unconscious motivations that maintain distance in the relationship, and creating a new relational experience in the session that has the potential to engender integrative insight. These clinical processes will be presented with empirical support. Experts from a session will be used to highlight how these processes influence the couple and promote increased intimacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

An online calculator for marine phytoplankton iron culturing experiments.

PubMed

Rivers, Adam R; Rose, Andrew L; Webb, Eric A

2013-10-01

Laboratory experiments with iron offer important insight into the physiology of marine phytoplankton and the biogeochemical cycles they influence. These experiments often rely on chelators to buffer the concentration of available iron, but the buffer can fail when cell density increases, causing the concentration of that iron to drop rapidly. To more easily determine the point when the iron concentration falls, we developed an online calculator to estimate the maximum phytoplankton density that a growth medium can support. The results of the calculator were compared to the numerical simulations of a Fe-limited culture of the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (Grunow) Fryxell and Hasle. Modeling reveals that the assumptions behind thermodynamic estimates of unchelated Fe concentration can fail before easily perceptible changes in growth rate, potentially causing physiological changes that could alter the conclusions of culture experiments. The calculator is available at http://www.marsci.uga.edu/fidoplankter. © 2013 Phycological Society of America.

Movement maintains forebrain neurogenesis via peripheral neural feedback in larval zebrafish

PubMed Central

Hall, Zachary Jonas

2018-01-01

The postembryonic brain exhibits experience-dependent development, in which sensory experience guides normal brain growth. This neuroplasticity is thought to occur primarily through structural and functional changes in pre-existing neurons. Whether neurogenesis also mediates the effects of experience on brain growth is unclear. Here, we characterized the importance of motor experience on postembryonic neurogenesis in larval zebrafish. We found that movement maintains an expanded pool of forebrain neural precursors by promoting progenitor self-renewal over the production of neurons. Physical cues associated with swimming (bodily movement) increase neurogenesis and these cues appear to be conveyed by dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in the zebrafish body: DRG-deficient larvae exhibit attenuated neurogenic responses to movement and targeted photoactivation of DRG in immobilized larvae expands the pallial pool of proliferative cells. Our results demonstrate the importance of movement in neurogenic brain growth and reveal a fundamental sensorimotor association that may couple early motor and brain development. PMID:29528285

Rapid determination of molar mass in modified Archibald experiments using direct fitting of the Lamm equation.

PubMed

Schuck, P; Millar, D B

1998-05-15

A new method is described that allows measurement of the molar mass of the solute within 15 to 30 min after start of a conventional long-column sedimentation equilibrium experiment. A series of scans of the concentration distribution in close vicinity of the meniscus, taken in rapid succession after the start of the centrifuge run, is analyzed by direct fitting using the Lamm equation and the Svedberg equation. In case of a single solute, this analysis of the initial depletion at the meniscus reveals its buoyant molar mass and sedimentation coefficient with an accuracy of approximately 10% and provides gross information about sample heterogeneity. This method can be used to study macromolecules that do not possess the prolonged stability needed in conventional sedimentation equilibrium experiments and it can increase the efficiency of sedimentation equilibrium experiments of previously uncharacterized samples.

Recognition memory reveals just how CONTRASTIVE contrastive accenting really is

PubMed Central

Fraundorf, Scott H.; Watson, Duane G.; Benjamin, Aaron S.

2010-01-01

The effects of pitch accenting on memory were investigated in three experiments. Participants listened to short recorded discourses that contained contrast sets with two items (e.g. British scientists and French scientists); a continuation specified one item from the set. Pitch accenting on the critical word in the continuation was manipulated between non-contrastive (H* in the ToBI system) and contrastive (L+H*). On subsequent recognition memory tests, the L+H* accent increased hits to correct statements and correct rejections of the contrast item (Experiments 1–3), but did not impair memory for other parts of the discourse (Experiment 2). L+H* also did not facilitate correct rejections of lures not in the contrast set (Experiment 3), indicating that contrastive accents do not simply strengthen the representation of the target item. These results suggest comprehenders use pitch accenting to encode and update information about multiple elements in a contrast set. PMID:20835405

Local processes in preattentive feature detection.

PubMed

Bacon, W F; Egeth, H E

1991-02-01

Sagi and Julesz (1987) claimed that for a target to be detected preattentively, it must be within some small critical distance of a nontarget. The independent effects of separation and display size, which were confounded in the Sagi and Julesz experiments, were examined. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that in tasks requiring search for a color-defined target, target-nontarget separation had no effect on reaction time (RT). Display size, however, was inversely related to RT. Experiment 3 ruled out the possibility that the decreasing function of RT with display size was due to arousal caused by higher display luminance. When nontarget grouping was inhibited, (Exp. 4) it was found that RT no longer decreased with increasing display size. This suggests that nontarget grouping may have been the cause of the improved performance at larger display sizes. Experiments 5 and 6 extended the results to line segments, the stimuli used by Sagi and Julesz.

Spectrophotometric analysis of tomato plants produced from seeds exposed under space flight conditions for a long time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nechitailo, Galina S.; Yurov, S.; Cojocaru, A.; Revin, A.

The analysis of the lycopene and other carotenoids in tomatoes produced from seeds exposed under space flight conditions at the orbital station MIR for six years is presented in this work. Our previous experiments with tomato plants showed the germination of seeds to be 32%Genetic investigations revealed 18%in the experiment and 8%experiments were conducted to study the capacity of various stimulating factors to increase germination of seeds exposed for a long time to the action of space flight factors. An increase of 20%achieved but at the same time mutants having no analogues in the control variants were detected. For the present investigations of the third generation of plants produced from seeds stored for a long time under space flight conditions 80 tomatoes from forty plants were selected. The concentration of lycopene in the experimental specimens was 2.5-3 times higher than in the control variants. The spectrophotometric analysis of ripe tomatoes revealed typical three-peaked carotenoid spectra with a high maximum of lycopene (a medium maximum at 474 nm), a moderate maximum of its predecessor, phytoin, (a medium maximum at 267 nm) and a low maximum of carotenes. In green tomatoes, on the contrary, a high maximum of phytoin, a moderate maximum of lycopene and a low maximum of carotenes were observed. The results of the spectral analysis point to the retardation of biosynthesis of carotenes while the production of lycopene is increased and to the synthesis of lycopene from phytoin. Electric conduction of tomato juice in the experimental samples is increased thus suggesting higher amounts of carotenoids, including lycopene and electrolytes. The higher is the value of electric conduction of a specimen, the higher are the spectral maxima of lycopene. The hydrogen ion exponent of the juice of ripe tomatoes increases due to which the efficiency of ATP biosynthesis in cell mitochondria is likely to increase, too. The results demonstrating an increase in the content of lycopene correlate with the data about increased biological activities of cell cultures of ginseng, stevia and saffron during a space flight aboard the orbital station MIR. The data obtained indicate that the space flight factors (heavy charged particles, high-energy adrons and weightlessness) have a nonspecific effect on living organisms.

Biochemical and Immunological Modifications in Saliva of SFINCSS Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volozhin, A. I.; Kuznetsov, P. A.; Ilyin, V. K.; Kuzmina, E. M.; Sashkina, T. I.

of Russian and foreign volunteers and was divided onto 3 parts, 4 persons per each depending on isolation time. All the individuals were isolated days in confined habitat.: 1st group - 240 days; 2nd and 3rd - 110 days each. 1 group members were individually orally instructed on perfect dental care, 2nd group members were given an instruction how to use means for mouth and dental care. 3rd group was only studied but was not given any instruction. Biochemical studies of non-stimulated mixed saliva were done before and after the experiment. protein concentration increased due to increasing of it's density. The urea concentration did not changed. The glucose concentration changes were flexible within norm values before experiment and sufficiently increased after the experiment only in two individuals. Natrium and potassium level was stable and did not differed from normal value before and after the experiment. There was a tendency of decreasing of calcium concentration in volunteers saliva as a result of their long-term isolation. Concentration of non-organic phosphor did not changed. Alanintranspherase (ALT) activity increased 2-3 times in 3 volunteers, aspartataminotranspherase (AST) activity increased in three people. No changes were revealed for alpha-amilase. Content of IgG increased which fact indirectly suggest bacterial overgrowth. No changes in IgA and SIgA were estimated. of urea and glucose didn't changed. The concentration of calcium had a tendency to decrease, no changes for non-organic phosphor, potassium and natrium. However ALT and AST values sufficiently increased as well as IgG concentration. isolation, despite of individual measures of mouth and dental care, and in group of 110-day isolation with no hygienic measures. Significant indices of mouth and dental state in long-term isolation are levels of: protein ALT, AST (cytoplasmatic enzymes), and IgG.

Ultrastable, Zerodur-based optical benches for quantum gas experiments.

PubMed

Duncker, Hannes; Hellmig, Ortwin; Wenzlawski, André; Grote, Alexander; Rafipoor, Amir Jones; Rafipoor, Mona; Sengstock, Klaus; Windpassinger, Patrick

2014-07-10

Operating ultracold quantum gas experiments outside of a laboratory environment has so far been a challenging goal, largely due to the lack of sufficiently stable optical systems. In order to increase the thermal stability of free-space laser systems, the application of nonstandard materials such as glass ceramics is required. Here, we report on Zerodur-based optical systems which include single-mode fiber couplers consisting of multiple components jointed by light-curing adhesives. The thermal stability is thoroughly investigated, revealing excellent fiber-coupling efficiencies between 0.85 and 0.92 in the temperature range from 17°C to 36°C. In conjunction with successfully performed vibration tests, these findings qualify our highly compact systems for atom interferometry experiments aboard a sounding rocket as well as various other quantum information and sensing applications.

Consequences of Arizona's immigration policy on social capital among Mexican mothers with unauthorized immigration status

PubMed Central

Valdez, Carmen R.; Padilla, Brian; Valentine, Jessa Lewis

2013-01-01

This study explores the consequences of increasingly restrictive immigration policies on social capital among Mexican mothers with unauthorized immigrant status in Arizona. Three focus groups conducted in Arizona explore how mothers’ experiences with immigration policies have affected their neighborhood, community, and family ties. Focus group content and interactions revealed that perceived racial profiling was common among mothers and led to fear of family separation. Several described direct experiences with detention and deportation. Although detention and deportation strengthened social ties between mothers and other unauthorized immigrants, these experiences were detrimental to social ties between mothers and members of the mainstream society, including their children's teachers. Finally, immigration policies were perceived to affect parent-child ties negatively, as mothers reported family stress, financial hardship, and decreased parental availability. PMID:24371370

Low Energy Nuclear Reactions: A Millennium Status Report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallove, Eugene F.

2000-03-01

This talk will summarize some of the more convincing recent experiments that show that helium-4, nuclear scale excess energy, tritium, low-level neutron production, and the transmutation of heavy elements can occur near room temperature in relatively simple systems. Despite inappropriate theory-based arguments against it and unethical attacks by people unfamiliar with the supporting experiments, the new field of solid state nuclear reactions is progressing. The physical theory behind the associated phenomena continues to be debated among theorists. The facts of the history of this scientific controversy suggest that it is inadvisable to rush to judgment against allegedly ``impossible" new phenomena when increasingly careful experiments have revealed new vistas in physics. Detailed discussion of evidence for solid state nuclear reactions is available elsewhere (http://www.infinite-energy.com). abstract document

[Experimental investigations of 211Am accumulation by macrophytes of the Yenisei River].

PubMed

Bolsunovskiĭ, A Ia; Zotina, T A

2002-01-01

Experiments were carried out in which 241Am was added to water samples containing macrophytes of the Yenisei River, and the radionuclide absorption rates and concentration factors were determined for the plants. It has been shown that the water moss (Fontinalis antipyretica) has a higher capacity to accumulate 241Am than the Canadian pondweed (Elodea canadensis) does. The laboratory experiments revealed that the capacity of dead biomass of the Canadian pondweed to accumulate 241Am is twice higher than that of living biomass. In contrast, no significant increase in 241Am accumulation by dead biomass of the water moss has been recorded. The transuranic element 241Am was firmly fixed by the plant biomass and was not released into water in the course of long-duration experiments.

Strong coupling between adenine nucleobases in DNA single strands revealed by circular dichroism using synchrotron radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadhane, Umesh; Holm, Anne I. S.; Hoffmann, Søren Vrønning; Nielsen, Steen Brøndsted

2008-02-01

Circular dichroism (CD) experiments on DNA single strands (dAn) at the ASTRID synchrotron radiation facility reveal that eight adenine (A) bases electronically couple upon 190nm excitation. After n=8 , the CD signal increases linearly with n with a slope equal to the sum of the coupling terms. Nearest neighbor interactions account for only 24% of the CD signal whereas electronic communication is limited to nearest neighbors for two other exciton bands observed at 218 and 251nm (i.e., dimer excited states). Electronic coupling between bases in DNA is important for nonradiative deexcitation of electronically excited states since the hazardous energy is spread over a larger spatial region.

Revealing Grain Boundary Sliding from Textures of a Deformed Nanocrystalline Pd–Au Alloy

PubMed Central

Skrotzki, Werner; Zhao, Yajun; Pukenas, Aurimas; Birringer, Rainer

2018-01-01

Employing a recent modeling scheme for grain boundary sliding [Zhao et al. Adv. Eng. Mater. 2017, doi:10.1002/adem.201700212], crystallographic textures were simulated for nanocrystalline fcc metals deformed in shear compression. It is shown that, as grain boundary sliding increases, the texture strength decreases while the signature of the texture type remains the same. Grain boundary sliding affects the texture components differently with respect to intensity and angular position. A comparison of a simulation and an experiment on a Pd–10 atom % Au alloy with a 15 nm grain size reveals that, at room temperature, the predominant deformation mode is grain boundary sliding contributing to strain by about 60%. PMID:29370130

Preliminary Studies on Aerodynamic Control with Direct Current Discharge at Hypersonic Speed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Yasumasa; Takama, Yoshiki; Imamura, Osamu; Watanuki, Tadaharu; Suzuki, Kojiro

A new idea of an aerodynamic control device for hypersonic vehicles using plasma discharges is presented. The effect of DC plasma discharge on a hypersonic flow is examined with both experiments and CFD analyses. It is revealed that the surface pressure upstream of plasma area significantly increases, which would be preferable in realizing a new aerodynamic control devices. Such pressure rise is also observed in the result of analyses of the Navier-Stokes equations with energy addition that simulates the Joule heating of a plasma discharge. It is revealed that the pressure rise due to the existence of the plasma discharge can be qualitatively explained as an effect of Joule heating.

Response of a cotton rat population to increased density

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bigler, W.J.; Lebetkin, E.H.; Cumbie, P.M.

Experiments were conducted in old-field enclosures to define some of the responses of a confined, nonreproducing cotton rat population to increases in density. Successive groups of alien animals were randomly added to a monitored resident population on two occasions. Aliens exhibited high rates of mortality and weight loss. The alien males were particularly affected, only 18 percent surviving the experiment. Residents could not be accounted for by trapping as easily as aliens. Residents concentrated in discrete areas of preferred habitat yet ranged over the entire enclosure, while aliens stayed in heavy ground cover close to the walls. Analysis of themore » average distance between captures of each group on a daily basis revealed increases in resident movements and corresponding decreases in alien movements. Changes in spatial distribution, movement patterns, sex ratio and rats of mortality due to trap deaths and predation in the alien groups reflected behavioral interactions that operate as a form of social exclusion.« less

Examination of Cognitive Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Diffusion Tensor Imaging

PubMed Central

Genova, Helen M.; Rajagopalan, Venkateswaran; DeLuca, John; Das, Abhijit; Binder, Allison; Arjunan, Aparna; Chiaravalloti, Nancy; Wylie, Glenn

2013-01-01

The present study investigated the neural correlates of cognitive fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), looking specifically at the relationship between self-reported fatigue and objective measures of cognitive fatigue. In Experiment 1, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine where in the brain BOLD activity covaried with “state” fatigue, assessed during performance of a task designed to induce cognitive fatigue while in the scanner. In Experiment 2, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to examine where in the brain white matter damage correlated with increased “trait” fatigue in individuals with MS, assessed by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) completed outside the scanning session. During the cognitively fatiguing task, the MS group had increased brain activity associated with fatigue in the caudate as compared with HCs. DTI findings revealed that reduced fractional anisotropy in the anterior internal capsule was associated with increased self-reported fatigue on the FSS. Results are discussed in terms of identifying a “fatigue-network” in MS. PMID:24223850

Examination of cognitive fatigue in multiple sclerosis using functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging.

PubMed

Genova, Helen M; Rajagopalan, Venkateswaran; Deluca, John; Das, Abhijit; Binder, Allison; Arjunan, Aparna; Chiaravalloti, Nancy; Wylie, Glenn

2013-01-01

The present study investigated the neural correlates of cognitive fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), looking specifically at the relationship between self-reported fatigue and objective measures of cognitive fatigue. In Experiment 1, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine where in the brain BOLD activity covaried with "state" fatigue, assessed during performance of a task designed to induce cognitive fatigue while in the scanner. In Experiment 2, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to examine where in the brain white matter damage correlated with increased "trait" fatigue in individuals with MS, assessed by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) completed outside the scanning session. During the cognitively fatiguing task, the MS group had increased brain activity associated with fatigue in the caudate as compared with HCs. DTI findings revealed that reduced fractional anisotropy in the anterior internal capsule was associated with increased self-reported fatigue on the FSS. Results are discussed in terms of identifying a "fatigue-network" in MS.

Habitat heterogeneity drives the host diversity-begets-parasite diversity relationship: evidence from experimental and field studies

PubMed Central

Johnson, Pieter T. J.; Wood, Chelsea L.; Joseph, Maxwell B.; Preston, Daniel L.; Haas, Sarah E.; Springer, Yuri P.

2016-01-01

Despite a century of research into the factors that generate and maintain biodiversity, we know remarkably little about the drivers of parasite diversity. To identify the mechanisms governing parasite diversity, we combined surveys of 8,100 amphibian hosts with an outdoor experiment that tested theory developed for free-living species. Our analyses revealed that parasite diversity increased consistently with host diversity due to habitat (i.e., host) heterogeneity, with secondary contributions from parasite colonization and host abundance. Results of the experiment, in which host diversity was manipulated while parasite colonization and host abundance were fixed, further reinforced this conclusion. Finally, the coefficient of host diversity on parasite diversity increased with spatial grain, which was driven by differences in their species-area curves: while host richness quickly saturated, parasite richness continued to increase with neighborhood size. These results offer mechanistic insights into drivers of parasite diversity and provide a hierarchical framework for multi-scale disease research. PMID:27147106

Why is Facebook so successful? Psychophysiological measures describe a core flow state while using Facebook.

PubMed

Mauri, Maurizio; Cipresso, Pietro; Balgera, Anna; Villamira, Marco; Riva, Giuseppe

2011-12-01

People are more and more using social networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook and MySpace to engage with others. The use of SNSs can have both positive and negative effect on the individual; however, the increasing use of SNSs might reveal that people look for SNSs because they have a positive experience when they use them. Few studies have tried to identify which particular aspects of the social networking experience make SNSs so successful. In this study we focus on the affective experience evoked by SNSs. In particular, we explore whether the use of SNSs elicits a specific psychophysiological pattern. Specifically, we recorded skin conductance, blood volume pulse, electroencephalogram, electromyography, respiratory activity, and pupil dilation in 30 healthy subjects during a 3-minute exposure to (a) a slide show of natural panoramas (relaxation condition), (b) the subject's personal Facebook account, and (c) a Stroop and mathematical task (stress condition). Statistical analysis of the psychophysiological data and pupil dilation indicates that the Facebook experience was significantly different from stress and relaxation on many linear and spectral indices of somatic activity. Moreover, the biological signals revealed that Facebook use can evoke a psychophysiological state characterized by high positive valence and high arousal (Core Flow State). These findings support the hypothesis that the successful spread of SNSs might be associated with a specific positive affective state experienced by users when they use their SNSs account.

Social hierarchies and emotions: cortical prefrontal activity, facial feedback (EMG), and cognitive performance in a dynamic interaction.

PubMed

Balconi, Michela; Pagani, Silvia

2015-04-01

In the present research, we manipulated the perceived superior/inferior status during a competitive cognitive task. In two experiments, we created an explicit and strongly reinforced social hierarchy based on incidental rating on an attentional task. Based on our hypotheses, social rank may influence nonverbal cues (such as facial mimic related to emotional response), cortical lateralized activity in frontal areas (brain oscillations), and cognitive outcomes in response to rank modulation. Thus, the facial mimic (corrugators vs. zygomatic muscle activity), frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta), and real cognitive performance [(error rate (ER); response times (RTs)] were considered. Specifically, a peer-group comparison was enrolled and an improved (experiment 1, N = 29) or decreased (experiment 2, N = 31) performance was artificially manipulated by the experimenter. Results showed a significant improved cognitive performance (decreased ER and RTs), an increased zygomatic activity (positive emotions), and a more prefrontal left-lateralized cortical response in the case of a perceived increased social ranking. On the contrary, a significant decreased cognitive performance (increased ER and RTs), an increased corrugators activity (negative emotions), and a less left-lateralized cortical response were observed as a consequence of a perceived decreased social ranking. Moreover, the correlational values revealed a consistent trend between behavioral (RTs) and EMG and EEG measures for both experiments. The present results suggest that social status not only guides social behavior, but it also influences cognitive processes and subjects' performance.

Conditions affecting the release of phosphorus from surface lake sediments.

PubMed

Christophoridis, Christophoros; Fytianos, Konstantinos

2006-01-01

Laboratory studies were conducted to determine the effect of pH and redox conditions, as well as the effect of Fe, Mn, Ca, Al, and organic matter, on the release of ortho-phosphates in lake sediments taken from Lakes Koronia and Volvi (Northern Greece). Results were evaluated in combination with experiments to determine P fractionation in the sediment. The study revealed the major effect of redox potential and pH on the release of P from lake sediments. Both lakes showed increased release rates under reductive conditions and high pH values. The fractionation experiments revealed increased mobility of the reductive P fraction as well as of the NaOH-P fraction, indicating participation of both fractions in the overall release of sediment-bound P, depending on the prevailing environmental conditions. The results were assessed in combination with the release patterns of Fe, Mn, Ca, Al, and organic matter, enabling the identification of more specific processes of P release for each lake. The basic release patterns included the redox induced reductive dissolution of P-bearing metal oxides and the competitive exchange of phosphate anions with OH- at high pH values. The formation of an oxidized surface microlayer under oxic conditions acted as a protective film, preventing further P release from the sediments of Lake Volvi, while sediments from Lake Koronia exhibited a continuous and increased tendency to release P under various physicochemical conditions, acting as a constant source of internal P loading.

List blocking and longer retention intervals reveal an influence of gist processing for lexically ambiguous critical lures

PubMed Central

McNabb, Jaimie; Hutchison, Keith A.

2016-01-01

In two experiments, we examined veridical and false memory for lists of associates from two meanings (e.g., stumble, trip, harvest, pumpkin, etc.) that converged upon a single, lexically ambiguous critical lure (e.g., fall), in order to compare the activation-monitoring and fuzzy-trace false memory accounts. In Experiment 1, we presented study lists that were blocked or alternated by meaning (within subjects), followed by a free recall test completed immediately or after a 2.5-min delay. Correct recall was greater for blocked than for alternated lists. Critical-lure false recall was greater for blocked lists on an immediate test, whereas both list types produced equivalent false recall on a delayed test. In Experiment 2, lists blocked and alternated by meaning were presented via a between-subjects design, in order to eliminate possible list-type carryover effects. Correct recall replicated the result from Experiment 1; however, blocking lists increased false recall on delayed, but not on immediate, tests. Across the experiments, clustering correct recall by meaning increased across the delay selectively for the alternated lists. Our results suggest that thematic (i.e., gist) processes are influential for false recall, especially following a delay, a pattern consistent with fuzzy-trace theory. PMID:26105976

Sounding Rocket Microgravity Experiments Elucidating Diffusive and Radiative Transport Effects on Flame Spread over Thermally-Thick Solids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olson, Sandra L.; Hegde, U.; Bhattacharjee, S.; Deering, J. L.; Tang, L.; Altenkirch, R. A.

2003-01-01

A series of 6-minute microgravity combustion experiments of opposed flow flame spread over thermally-thick PMMA has been conducted to extend data previously reported at high opposed flows to almost two decades lower in flow. The effect of flow velocity on flame spread shows a square root power law dependence rather than the linear dependence predicted by thermal theory. The experiments demonstrate that opposed flow flame spread is viable to very low velocities and more robust than expected from the numerical model, which predicts that at very low velocities (less than 5 centimeters per second), flame spread rates fall off more rapidly as flow is reduced. It is hypothesized that the enhanced flame spread observed in the experiments may be due to three- dimensional hydrodynamic effects, which are not included in the zero-gravity, two-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The effect of external irradiation was found to be more complex that the model predicted over the 0-2 Watts per square centimeter range. In the experiments, the flame compensated for the increased irradiation by stabilizing farther from the surface. A surface energy balance reveals that the imposed flux was at least partially offset by a reduced conductive flux from the increased standoff distance, so that the effect on flame spread was weaker than anticipated.

Dependence of wheat and rice respiration on tissue nitrogen and the corresponding net carbon fixation efficiency under different rates of nitrogen application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wenjuan; Huang, Yao; Chen, Shutao; Zou, Jianwen; Zheng, Xunhua

2007-02-01

To quantitatively address the role of tissue N in crop respiration under various agricultural practices, and to consequently evaluate the impact of synthetic fertilizer N application on biomass production and respiration, and hence net carbon fixation efficiency ( E ncf), pot and field experiments were carried out for an annual rotation of a rice-wheat cropping system from 2001 to 2003. The treatments of the pot experiments included fertilizer N application, sowing date and planting density. Different rates of N application were tested in the field experiments. Static opaque chambers were used for sampling the gas. The respiration as CO2 emission was detected by a gas chromatograph. A successive biomass clipping method was employed to determine the crop autotrophic respiration coefficient ( R a). Results from the pot experiments revealed a linear relationship between R a and tissue N content as R a = 4.74N-1.45 ( R 2 = 0.85, P < 0.001). Measurements and calculations from the field experiments indicated that fertilizer N application promoted not only biomass production but also increased the respiration of crops. A further investigation showed that the increase of carbon loss in terms of respiration owing to fertilizer N application exceeded that of net carbon gain in terms of aboveground biomass when fertilizer N was applied over a certain rate. Consequently, the E ncf declined as the N application rate increased.

The relation between bullying and subclinical psychotic experiences and the influence of the bully climate of school classes.

PubMed

Horrevorts, Esther M B; Monshouwer, Karin; Wigman, Johanna T W; Vollebergh, Wilma A M

2014-09-01

This study aims to examine the association between the bully climate of school classes and the prevalence of subclinical psychotic experiences among students who are involved in bullying (either as bully or as victim). Data were derived from the Dutch health behavior in school-aged children survey of 2005, a nationally representative cross-sectional study with a total of 5,509 adolescents between the age of 12 and 16. The data were analyzed using a multilevel regression analysis. The study revealed that both bullying and being bullied in school classes was associated with an increased level of subclinical psychotic experiences. The bully climate of a school class moderates this effect, i.e., the higher risk for bully-victims on subclinical psychotic experiences was less strong in classes with a higher percentage of classmates involved in bullying. Thus, bully climate has to be taken into account when studying the psychological experiences associated with being bullied.

Challenging nurse student selection policy: Using a lifeworld approach to explore the link between care experience and student values.

PubMed

Scammell, Janet; Tait, Desiree; White, Sara; Tait, Michael

2017-10-01

This study uses a lifeworld perspective to explore beginning students' values about nursing. Internationally, increasing care demand, a focus on targets and evidence of dehumanized care cultures have resulted in scrutiny of practitioner values. In England, selection policy dictates that prospective nursing students demonstrate person-centred values and care work experience. However, there is limited recent evidence exploring values at programme commencement or the effect of care experience on values. Mixed method study. A total of 161 undergraduate nursing students were recruited in 2013 from one English university. Thematic content analysis and frequency distribution to reveal descriptive statistics were used. Statistical analysis indicated that most of the values identified in student responses were not significantly affected by paid care experience. Five themes were identified: How I want care to be; Making a difference; The value of learning; Perceived characteristics of a nurse; and Respecting our humanity. Students readily drew on their experience of living to identify person-centred values about nursing.

Measuring high spatiotemporal variability in saltation intensity using a low-cost Saltation Detection System: Wind tunnel and field experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Winter, W.; van Dam, D. B.; Delbecque, N.; Verdoodt, A.; Ruessink, B. G.; Sterk, G.

2018-04-01

The commonly observed over prediction of aeolian saltation transport on sandy beaches is, at least in part, caused by saltation intermittency. To study small-scale saltation processes, high frequency saltation sensors are required on a high spatial resolution. Therefore, we developed a low-cost Saltation Detection System (SalDecS) with the aim to measure saltation intensity at a frequency of 10 Hz and with a spatial resolution of 0.10 m in wind-normal direction. Linearity and equal sensitivity of the saltation sensors were investigated during wind tunnel and field experiments. Wind tunnel experiments with a set of 7 SalDec sensors revealed that the variability of sensor sensitivity is at maximum 9% during relatively low saltation intensities. During more intense saltation the variability of sensor sensitivity decreases. A sigmoidal fit describes the relation between mass flux and sensor output measured during 5 different wind conditions. This indicates an increasing importance of sensor saturation with increasing mass flux. We developed a theoretical model to simulate and describe the effect of grain size, grain velocity and saltation intensity on sensor saturation. Time-averaged field measurements revealed sensitivity equality for 85 out of a set of 89 horizontally deployed SalDec sensors. On these larger timescales (hours) saltation variability imposed by morphological features, such as sand strips, can be recognized. We conclude that the SalDecS can be used to measure small-scale spatiotemporal variabilities of saltation intensity to investigate saltation characteristics related to wind turbulence.

AgMIP Regional Activities in a Global Framework: The Brazil Experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Assad, Eduardo D.; Marin, Fabio R.; Valdivia, Roberto O.; Rosenzweig, Cynthia E.

2012-01-01

Climate variability and change are projected to increate the frequency of extreme high-temperature events, floods, and droughts, which can lead to subsequent changes in soil moister in many locations (Alexandrov and Hoogenboom, 2000). In Brazil, observations reveal a tendency for increasing frequency of extreme rainfall events particularly in south Brazil (Alexander et al., 2006; Carvalho et al., 2014; Groissman et al., 2005), as well as projections for increasing extremes in both maximum and minimum temperatures and high spatial variability for rainfall under the IPCC SRES A2 and B2 scenarios (Marengo et al., 2009).

Awe, uncertainty, and agency detection.

PubMed

Valdesolo, Piercarlo; Graham, Jesse

2014-01-01

Across five studies, we found that awe increases both supernatural belief (Studies 1, 2, and 5) and intentional-pattern perception (Studies 3 and 4)-two phenomena that have been linked to agency detection, or the tendency to interpret events as the consequence of intentional and purpose-driven agents. Effects were both directly and conceptually replicated, and mediational analyses revealed that these effects were driven by the influence of awe on tolerance for uncertainty. Experiences of awe decreased tolerance for uncertainty, which, in turn, increased the tendency to believe in nonhuman agents and to perceive human agency in random events.

Increase Productivity Through Knowledge Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavrikova, N. A.; Dolgih, I. N.; Dyrina, E. N.

2016-04-01

Increase in competition level requires companies to improve the efficiency of work force use characterized by labor productivity. Professional knowledge of staff and its experience play the key role in it. The results of Extrusion Line operator’s working time analysis are performed in this article. The analysis revealed that the reasons of working time ineffective use connected with inadequate information exchange and knowledge management in the company. Authors suggest the way to solve this problem: the main sources of knowledge in engineering enterprise have been defined, the conditions of success and the stages of knowledge management control have been stated.

Do stressful conditions make adaptation difficult? Guppies in the oil-polluted environments of southern Trinidad

PubMed Central

Rolshausen, Gregor; Phillip, Dawn A T; Beckles, Denise M; Akbari, Ali; Ghoshal, Subhasis; Hamilton, Patrick B; Tyler, Charles R; Scarlett, Alan G; Ramnarine, Indar; Bentzen, Paul; Hendry, Andrew P

2015-01-01

The ability of populations to rapidly adapt to new environments will determine their future in an increasingly human-modified world. Although meta-analyses do frequently uncover signatures of local adaptation, they also reveal many exceptions. We suggest that particular constraints on local adaptation might arise when organisms are exposed to novel stressors, such as anthropogenic pollution. To inform this possibility, we studied the extent to which guppies (Poecilia reticulata) show local adaptation to oil pollution in southern Trinidad. Neutral genetic markers revealed that paired populations in oil-polluted versus not-polluted habitats diverged independently in two different watersheds. Morphometrics revealed some divergence (particularly in head shape) between these environments, some of which was parallel between rivers. Reciprocal transplant experiments in nature, however, found little evidence of local adaptation based on survival and growth. Moreover, subsequent laboratory experiments showed that the two populations from oil-polluted sites showed only weak local adaptation even when compared to guppies from oil-free northern Trinidad. We conclude that guppies show little local adaptation to oil pollution, which might result from the challenges associated with adaptation to particularly stressful environments. It might also reflect genetic drift owing to small population sizes and/or high gene flow between environments. PMID:26495039

Daily reports of witnessing and experiencing peer harassment in middle school.

PubMed

Nishina, Adrienne; Juvonen, Jaana

2005-01-01

Two studies examined daily incidents of peer harassment in urban middle schools. Sixth-grade students (M age = 11 years) described their daily personal experiences and witnessed accounts of peer harassment, and rated their negative feelings across a 2-week period. In Study 1 (n = 95), within-subject analyses across 4 days revealed that both personally experienced and witnessed harassment were associated with increases in daily anxiety, whereas witnessing harassment buffered students against increases in humiliation on days when they personally experienced harassment. Evidence for witnessing as a buffer against increases in humiliation and anger was also found in Study 2 (n = 97) that included 5 daily reports. Witnessing harassment also protected students against increases in negative self-perceptions.

Recent changes in the summer monsoon circulation and their impact on dynamics and thermodynamics of the Arabian Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratik, Kad; Parekh, Anant; Karmakar, Ananya; Chowdary, Jasti S.; Gnanaseelan, C.

2018-05-01

The present study examines changes in the low-level summer monsoon circulation over the Arabian Sea and their impact on the ocean dynamics using reanalysis data. The study confirms intensification and northward migration of low-level jet during 1979 to 2015. Further during the study period, an increase in the Arabian Sea upper ocean heat content is found in spite of a decreasing trend in the net surface heat flux, indicating the possible role of ocean dynamics in the upper ocean warming. Increase in the anti-cyclonic wind stress curl associated with the change in the monsoon circulation induces downwelling over the central Arabian Sea, favoring upper ocean warming. The decreasing trend of southward Ekman transport, a mechanism transporting heat from the land-locked north Indian Ocean to southern latitudes, also supports increasing trend of the upper ocean heat content. To reinstate and quantify the role of changing monsoon circulation in increasing the heat content over the Arabian Sea, sensitivity experiment is carried out using ocean general circulation model. In this experiment, the model is forced by inter-annual momentum forcing while rest of the forcing is climatological. Experiment reveals that the changing monsoon circulation increases the upper ocean heat content, effectively by enhancing downwelling processes and reducing southward heat transport, which strongly endorses our hypothesis that changing ocean dynamics associated with low-level monsoon circulation is causing the increasing trend in the heat content of the Arabian Sea.

The effect of phasic auditory alerting on visual perception.

PubMed

Petersen, Anders; Petersen, Annemarie Hilkjær; Bundesen, Claus; Vangkilde, Signe; Habekost, Thomas

2017-08-01

Phasic alertness refers to a short-lived change in the preparatory state of the cognitive system following an alerting signal. In the present study, we examined the effect of phasic auditory alerting on distinct perceptual processes, unconfounded by motor components. We combined an alerting/no-alerting design with a pure accuracy-based single-letter recognition task. Computational modeling based on Bundesen's Theory of Visual Attention was used to examine the effect of phasic alertness on visual processing speed and threshold of conscious perception. Results show that phasic auditory alertness affects visual perception by increasing the visual processing speed and lowering the threshold of conscious perception (Experiment 1). By manipulating the intensity of the alerting cue, we further observed a positive relationship between alerting intensity and processing speed, which was not seen for the threshold of conscious perception (Experiment 2). This was replicated in a third experiment, in which pupil size was measured as a physiological marker of alertness. Results revealed that the increase in processing speed was accompanied by an increase in pupil size, substantiating the link between alertness and processing speed (Experiment 3). The implications of these results are discussed in relation to a newly developed mathematical model of the relationship between levels of alertness and the speed with which humans process visual information. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of water repellency on infiltration of differently concentrated ethanol solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dlapa, Pavel; Hrabovský, Andrej; Hriník, Dávid; Kuric, Peter

2017-04-01

Infiltration experiments were carried out on an extremely (WDPT > 3600 s) water repellent forest soil in the Little Carpathians Mts (SW Slovakia). Measurements were performed following a long dry warm period using the Mini Disk Infiltrometer (Decagon). Replicated infiltration experiments were conducted with water and five different ethanol solutions. The infiltrometer was set to a capillary pressure head of -2 cm and filled with solutions containing 0, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 95% of ethanol by volume, respectively. Solutions used in infiltration experiments differed in density, viscosity, and surface tension. Combined effect of solution properties on infiltration into soil is strongly dependent on soil surface properties. This may lead to a decrease of infiltration rate with increasing ethanol concentration. Such behaviour should be observable in wettable soils. However, the infiltration experiments revealed a significant increase in the rate of infiltration for increasing concentrations of ethanol. The solutions showed infiltration rates of 10-4, 10-3, and 10-2 cm/s for the 5, 20, and 95% ethanol solutions, respectively. This trend suggests the dominant influence of contact angle (affected by ethanol concentration) on infiltration process. Measurements allow quantifying changes of various infiltration parameters as a function of the solution properties. The obtained results showed that similar approach can be a valuable alternative to other methods used for the evaluation of severity of soil repellency and impacts to hydrological processes.

Experimental warming reveals positive feedbacks to climate change in the Eurasian Steppe.

PubMed

Zhang, Ximei; Johnston, Eric R; Li, Linghao; Konstantinidis, Konstantinos T; Han, Xingguo

2017-04-01

Identifying soil microbial feedbacks to increasing temperatures and moisture alterations is critical for predicting how terrestrial ecosystems will respond to climate change. We performed a 5-year field experiment manipulating warming, watering and their combination in a semiarid temperate steppe in northern China. Warming stimulated the abundance of genes responsible for degrading recalcitrant soil organic matter (SOM) and reduced SOM content by 13%. Watering, and warming plus watering also increased the abundance of recalcitrant SOM catabolism pathways, but concurrently promoted plant growth and increased labile SOM content, which somewhat offset SOM loss. The treatments also increased microbial biomass, community complexity and metabolic potential for nitrogen and sulfur assimilation. Both microbial and plant community composition shifted with the treatment conditions, and the sample-to-sample compositional variations of the two communities (pairwise β-diversity distances) were significantly correlated. In particular, microbial community composition was substantially correlated with the dominant plant species (~0.54 Spearman correlation coefficient), much more than with measured soil indices, affirming a tight coupling between both biological communities. Collectively, our study revealed the direction and underlying mechanisms of microbial feedbacks to warming and suggested that semiarid regions of northern steppes could act as a net carbon source under increased temperatures, unless precipitation increases concurrently.

Cytoskeletal and morphologic impact of cellular oxidant injury.

PubMed Central

Hinshaw, D. B.; Sklar, L. A.; Bohl, B.; Schraufstatter, I. U.; Hyslop, P. A.; Rossi, M. W.; Spragg, R. G.; Cochrane, C. G.

1986-01-01

The relationship between changes in cell morphology and the cytoskeleton in oxidant injury was examined in the P388D1 cell line. Flow cytometry of cells stained with NBD-phallacidin, a fluorescent probe specific for filamentous (F) actin, revealed a substantial increase in F actin content in H2O2-injured cells over 3-4 hours. Doses of H2O2 as low as 500 microM produced sustained increases in F actin content. Experiments where catalase was used to interrupt H2O2 exposure over a long time course revealed 15-30 minutes to be the critical period of exposure to 5 mM H2O2 necessary for a sustained increase in F actin as well as large increases in membrane blebbing and later cell death. The increase in F actin with H2O2 injury was confirmed with the use of electrophoresis in acrylamide gels of 1% Triton X-100 cytoskeletal extracts from P388D1 cells. Scanning electron microscopy revealed major loss of surface convolutions in addition to the formation of blebs. Fluorescence microscopy of adherent cells using rhodamine phalloidin showed considerable cell rounding and rearrangement of cellular F actin by 30 minutes of exposure to H2O2. Transmission electron microscopy revealed side to side aggregation of F actin bundles (microfilaments) developing during this time. Considerable swelling of mitochondria and other subcellular organelles was seen after 2 hours of injury. The apparent area of attachment to the substrate was markedly diminished in injured cells. H2O2 injury produced a marked increase in F actin with an associated rearrangement of the microfilaments and simultaneous changes in the plasma membrane prior to cell death in the P388D1 cell line. Images Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 PMID:3717299

Retrieval Failure Contributes to Gist-Based False Recognition

PubMed Central

Guerin, Scott A.; Robbins, Clifford A.; Gilmore, Adrian W.; Schacter, Daniel L.

2011-01-01

People often falsely recognize items that are similar to previously encountered items. This robust memory error is referred to as gist-based false recognition. A widely held view is that this error occurs because the details fade rapidly from our memory. Contrary to this view, an initial experiment revealed that, following the same encoding conditions that produce high rates of gist-based false recognition, participants overwhelmingly chose the correct target rather than its related foil when given the option to do so. A second experiment showed that this result is due to increased access to stored details provided by reinstatement of the originally encoded photograph, rather than to increased attention to the details. Collectively, these results suggest that details needed for accurate recognition are, to a large extent, still stored in memory and that a critical factor determining whether false recognition will occur is whether these details can be accessed during retrieval. PMID:22125357

[Adjustment of time allocation and daily emotional experience during the transition to the role of a working mother].

PubMed

Hasegawa, Yuka

2010-06-01

The purpose of this study is twofold: (a) to examine how women adjust their time allocation when they become working mothers; and (b) to assess the effect of their adjustment on their daily emotional experience. Using a methodology based on the Day Reconstruction Method which is designed to reduce systematic bias, seven women responded to a questionnaire during parental leave (T1), within 1 month after returning to work (T2), and 3 months after returning to work (T3). The results revealed that most of the participants tended to utilize the time available to them for sleep and child care by decreasing housework and leisure. They experienced increased pressure in terms of time and felt more or equally energetic or intimate toward their families in both T2 and T3. The other participants, who had less time available for sleep or meals, experienced increased depression or tiredness.

An expected utility maximizer walks into a bar…

PubMed Central

Glimcher, Paul W.; Lazzaro, Stephanie C.

2013-01-01

We conducted field experiments at a bar to test whether blood alcohol concentration (BAC) correlates with violations of the generalized axiom of revealed preference (GARP) and the independence axiom. We found that individuals with BACs well above the legal limit for driving adhere to GARP and independence at rates similar to those who are sober. This finding led to the fielding of a third experiment to explore how risk preferences might vary as a function of BAC. We found gender-specific effects: Men did not exhibit variations in risk preferences across BACs. In contrast, women were more risk averse than men at low BACs but exhibited increasing tolerance towards risks as BAC increased. Based on our estimates, men and women’s risk preferences are predicted to be identical at BACs nearly twice the legal limit for driving. We discuss the implications for policy-makers. PMID:24244072

Fretting of titanium at temperatures to 650 C in air

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bill, R. C.

1975-01-01

Fretting wear experiments were conducted on high-purity titanium at temperatures up to 650 C. Results indicate that up to about 500 C, the fretting wear increases with temperature. A further increase in the temperature up to 650 C results in decreasing fretting wear. This change in trend of fretting wear with temperature is shown to be associated with a change in oxidation rate. Additional experiments at 650 C showed a transmission from a low rate of fretting wear to a higher rate occurred after exposure to a number of fretting cycles; the number of cycles required to cause this transition was dependent on the normal load. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that this transition was marked by cracking and disruption of the surface oxide film. A model was proposed that coupled the oxidation rate kinetics of titanium at 650 C with the occurrence of wear at the surface of the oxide film.

Nanostructural reorganization of bacterial cellulose by ultrasonic treatment.

PubMed

Tischer, Paula C S Faria; Sierakowski, Maria Rita; Westfahl, Harry; Tischer, Cesar Augusto

2010-05-10

In this work, bacterial cellulose was subjected to a high-power ultrasonic treatment for different time intervals. The morphological analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy revealed that this treatment changed the width and height of the microfibrillar ribbons and roughness of their surface, originating films with new nanostructures. Differential thermal analysis showed a higher thermal stability for ultrasonicated samples with a pyrolysis onset temperature of 208 degrees C for native bacterial cellulose and 250 and 268 degrees C for the modified samples. The small-angle X-ray scattering experiments demonstrated that the treatment with ultrasound increased the thickness of the ribbons, while wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments demonstrated that the average crystallite dimension and the degree of crystallinity also increased. A model is proposed where the thicker ribbons and crystallites result from the fusion of neighboring ribbons due to cavitation effects.

The investigation of soot and temperature distributions in a visualized direct injection diesel engine using laser diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Yong-taek; Kim, Ki-bum; Lee, Ki-hyung

2008-11-01

Based upon the method of temperature calibration using the diffusion flame, the temperature and soot concentrations of the turbulent flame in a visualized diesel engine were qualitatively measured. Two different cylinder heads were used to investigate the effect of swirl ratio within the combustion chamber. From this experiment, we find that the highest flame temperature of the non-swirl head engine is approximately 2400 K and that of the swirl head engine is 2100 K. In addition, as the pressure of fuel injection increases, the in-cylinder temperature increases due to the improved combustion of a diesel engine. This experiment represented the soot quantity in the KL factor and revealed that the KL factor was high when the fuel collided with the cylinder wall. Moreover, the KL factor was also high in the area of the chamber where the temperature dropped rapidly.

Traffic noise reduces foraging efficiency in wild owls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senzaki, Masayuki; Yamaura, Yuichi; Francis, Clinton D.; Nakamura, Futoshi

2016-08-01

Anthropogenic noise has been increasing globally. Laboratory experiments suggest that noise disrupts foraging behavior across a range of species, but to reveal the full impacts of noise, we must examine the impacts of noise on foraging behavior among species in the wild. Owls are widespread nocturnal top predators and use prey rustling sounds for localizing prey when hunting. We conducted field experiments to examine the effect of traffic noise on owls’ ability to detect prey. Results suggest that foraging efficiency declines with increasing traffic noise levels due to acoustic masking and/or distraction and aversion to traffic noise. Moreover, we estimate that effects of traffic noise on owls’ ability to detect prey reach >120 m from a road, which is larger than the distance estimated from captive studies with bats. Our study provides the first evidence that noise reduces foraging efficiency in wild animals, and highlights the possible pervasive impacts of noise.

Traffic noise reduces foraging efficiency in wild owls.

PubMed

Senzaki, Masayuki; Yamaura, Yuichi; Francis, Clinton D; Nakamura, Futoshi

2016-08-18

Anthropogenic noise has been increasing globally. Laboratory experiments suggest that noise disrupts foraging behavior across a range of species, but to reveal the full impacts of noise, we must examine the impacts of noise on foraging behavior among species in the wild. Owls are widespread nocturnal top predators and use prey rustling sounds for localizing prey when hunting. We conducted field experiments to examine the effect of traffic noise on owls' ability to detect prey. Results suggest that foraging efficiency declines with increasing traffic noise levels due to acoustic masking and/or distraction and aversion to traffic noise. Moreover, we estimate that effects of traffic noise on owls' ability to detect prey reach >120 m from a road, which is larger than the distance estimated from captive studies with bats. Our study provides the first evidence that noise reduces foraging efficiency in wild animals, and highlights the possible pervasive impacts of noise.

Mesocosms Reveal Ecological Surprises from Climate Change.

PubMed

Fordham, Damien A

2015-12-01

Understanding, predicting, and mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity poses one of the most crucial challenges this century. Currently, we know more about how future climates are likely to shift across the globe than about how species will respond to these changes. Two recent studies show how mesocosm experiments can hasten understanding of the ecological consequences of climate change on species' extinction risk, community structure, and ecosystem functions. Using a large-scale terrestrial warming experiment, Bestion et al. provide the first direct evidence that future global warming can increase extinction risk for temperate ectotherms. Using aquatic mesocosms, Yvon-Durocher et al. show that human-induced climate change could, in some cases, actually enhance the diversity of local communities, increasing productivity. Blending these theoretical and empirical results with computational models will improve forecasts of biodiversity loss and altered ecosystem processes due to climate change.

Adaptation to High Ethanol Reveals Complex Evolutionary Pathways

PubMed Central

Das, Anupam; Espinosa-Cantú, Adriana; De Maeyer, Dries; Arslan, Ahmed; Van Pee, Michiel; van der Zande, Elisa; Meert, Wim; Yang, Yudi; Zhu, Bo; Marchal, Kathleen; DeLuna, Alexander; Van Noort, Vera; Jelier, Rob; Verstrepen, Kevin J.

2015-01-01

Tolerance to high levels of ethanol is an ecologically and industrially relevant phenotype of microbes, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this complex trait remain largely unknown. Here, we use long-term experimental evolution of isogenic yeast populations of different initial ploidy to study adaptation to increasing levels of ethanol. Whole-genome sequencing of more than 30 evolved populations and over 100 adapted clones isolated throughout this two-year evolution experiment revealed how a complex interplay of de novo single nucleotide mutations, copy number variation, ploidy changes, mutator phenotypes, and clonal interference led to a significant increase in ethanol tolerance. Although the specific mutations differ between different evolved lineages, application of a novel computational pipeline, PheNetic, revealed that many mutations target functional modules involved in stress response, cell cycle regulation, DNA repair and respiration. Measuring the fitness effects of selected mutations introduced in non-evolved ethanol-sensitive cells revealed several adaptive mutations that had previously not been implicated in ethanol tolerance, including mutations in PRT1, VPS70 and MEX67. Interestingly, variation in VPS70 was recently identified as a QTL for ethanol tolerance in an industrial bio-ethanol strain. Taken together, our results show how, in contrast to adaptation to some other stresses, adaptation to a continuous complex and severe stress involves interplay of different evolutionary mechanisms. In addition, our study reveals functional modules involved in ethanol resistance and identifies several mutations that could help to improve the ethanol tolerance of industrial yeasts. PMID:26545090

Study on structural characteristics of pillared clay modified phosphate fertilizers and its increase efficiency mechanism*

PubMed Central

Wu, Ping-xiao; Liao, Zong-wen

2005-01-01

Three types of new high-efficiency phosphate fertilizers were made when pillared clays at certain proportions were added into ground phosphate rock. Chemical analyses showed that their soluble phosphorus content decreased more than that of superphosphate. Pot experiment showed that, under equal weights, the new fertilizers increased their efficiency by a large margin over that of superphosphate. Researches on their structures by means of XRD, IR and EPR spectrum revealed that their crystal structures changed considerably, improving their activity and preventing the fixation of available phosphorus in the soil, and consequently, greatly improved the bioavailability and became the main cause of the increase of biomass. PMID:15682504

Photoacclimation in a tropical population of Cladophora glomerata (L.) Kützing 1843 (Chlorophyta) from southeastern Brazil.

PubMed

Bautista, A I N; Necchi-Júnior, O

2008-02-01

Photoacclimation of photosynthesis was investigated in a tropical population of C. glomerata (São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil, 20 degrees 48' 24" S and 49 degrees 22' 24" W) by chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and chlorophyll a content. Plants were acclimated to two levels of irradiance: low (65 +/- 5 micromol.m(-2).s(-1)) and high (300 +/- 10 micromol.m(-2).s(-1)) and exposed short-term (4 days) and long-term (28 days) under a light-dark cycle of 12:12 hours. Photosynthesis-irradiance (PI) curves revealed distinct strategies of photoacclimation. In long-term exposure, plants acclimated by altering the photosynthetic units (PSU) number and keeping fixed the PSU size, revealed by increased rates of maximum photosynthesis (Pmax), lower photosynthetic efficiency (alpha) and higher values of the saturation parameter (Ik) under high irradiance. The short-term acclimation strategy consisted of changing the PSU size, with a fixed number of PSUs, as revealed by similar Pmax but higher alpha and lower Ik under low irradiance. Chlorophyll a contents followed the general pattern reported in green algae of higher concentrations under lower irradiance. Dark/light induction curves revealed consistently higher values of potential quantum yield under low irradiance. Initial and final values showed a higher recovery capacity in the short (84.4-90.6%) term exposure than in the long-term case (81.4-81.5%). ETR (electron transport rate) and NPQ (non-photochemical quenching) values were consistently higher under low irradiance. ETR showed a continuous and steady increase along the light exposure period in the short and long-term experiments, whereas NPQ values revealed a rapid increase after 15 seconds of light exposure, kept a slightly increasing trend and stabilized in most treatments. Lower photosynthetic performance (ETR) and recovery capacity of potential quantum yield were observed, particularly in long-term exposure, suggesting that this population is constrained by the typical high light environment of tropical regions.

The effect of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) on the proliferative response of blood lymphocytes and the phagocytic activity of blood monocytes and granulocytes in calves.

PubMed

Wójcik, R; Małaczewska, J; Siwicki, A K; Miciński, J; Zwierzchowski, G

2013-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of HMB on selected indicators of immunity in calves. The experiment was performed on 14 calves aged 30 +/- 2 days, divided into two equal groups of control (group I) and experimental (group II) animals. The feed administered to experimental group calves was supplemented with HMB at 40 mg/kg BW, whereas control calves were administered standard farm-made feed without supplementation. Blood was sampled from the jugular vein immediately before the experiment (day 0) and on experimental days 15, 30 and 60 to determine the following parameters of immunity: proliferative response of LPS- and ConA-stimulated lymphocytes (MTT), respiratory burst activity (RBA) and potential killing activity (PKA) of phagocytes. The results revealed a significant increase in RBA and MTT values in calves administered HMB in comparison with the control group throughout the experiment. In the group of animals receiving HMB, an increase in PKA values was noted only on day 30.

Increase in expression of brain serotonin transporter and monoamine oxidase a genes induced by repeated experience of social defeats in male mice.

PubMed

Filipenko, M L; Beilina, A G; Alekseyenko, O V; Dolgov, V V; Kudryavtseva, N N

2002-04-01

Serotonin transporter and monoamine oxidase (MAO) A are involved in the inactivation of serotonin. The former is responsible for serotonin re-uptake from the synapse, whereas the latter catalyzes serotonin deamination in presynaptic terminals. Expression of serotonin transporter and MAO A genes was investigated in raphe nuclei of midbrain of CBA/Lac male mice with repeated experience of social victories or defeats in 10 daily aggressive confrontations. The amount of cDNA of these genes was evaluated using multiplex RT-PCR. Two independent experiments revealed that the defeated mice were characterized by significantly higher levels of serotonin transporter and MAO A mRNAs than the control and aggressive animals. Increased expression of MAO A and serotonin transporter genes is suggested to reflect the accelerated serotonin degradation in response to activation of the serotonergic system functioning induced by social stress. Significant positive correlation between MAO A and serotonin transporter mRNA levels suggests common pathways of regulation of transcriptional activity of these genes.

Effect of diflubenzuron on the development of Pinus pinaster seedlings inoculated with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus tinctorius.

PubMed

Ramos, Miguel A; Sousa, Nadine R; Franco, Albina R; Costa, Vítor; Oliveira, Rui S; Castro, Paula M L

2013-01-01

Diflubenzuron (DFB) is an insecticide commonly used to control forest pests. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of diflubenzuron on the development of Pinus pinaster seedlings and Pisolithus tinctorius under laboratory conditions and to study the possible protective role of this ectomycorrhizal fungus against the effects of diflubenzuron. In vitro experiments revealed that diflubenzuron inhibited fungal growth at all tested concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 mg L(-1)). Root growth was inhibited at the two highest diflubenzuron concentrations. The activity of the antioxidant defence system of non-inoculated P. pinaster increased at 1 and 10 mg DFB kg(-1) substrate, and inoculation increased the threshold to the highest concentration. The protective role of the ectomycorrhizal fungus was seen in the increase of CAT activity. This study revealed that despite causing no mortality, diflubenzuron has the ability to cause sub-lethal damage to P. pinaster. The disproportionate use of this insecticide may lead to higher amounts of its residues in soil and the biosphere, endangering trees, fungi and their symbiosis.

Phosphoketolase Pathway for Xylose Catabolism in Clostridium acetobutylicum Revealed by 13C Metabolic Flux Analysis

PubMed Central

Liu, Lixia; Zhang, Lei; Tang, Wei; Gu, Yang; Hua, Qiang; Yang, Sheng; Jiang, Weihong

2012-01-01

Solvent-producing clostridia are capable of utilizing pentose sugars, including xylose and arabinose; however, little is known about how pentose sugars are catabolized through the metabolic pathways in clostridia. In this study, we identified the xylose catabolic pathways and quantified their fluxes in Clostridium acetobutylicum based on [1-13C]xylose labeling experiments. The phosphoketolase pathway was found to be active, which contributed up to 40% of the xylose catabolic flux in C. acetobutylicum. The split ratio of the phosphoketolase pathway to the pentose phosphate pathway was markedly increased when the xylose concentration in the culture medium was increased from 10 to 20 g liter−1. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the in vivo activity of the phosphoketolase pathway in clostridia has been revealed. A phosphoketolase from C. acetobutylicum was purified and characterized, and its activity with xylulose-5-P was verified. The phosphoketolase was overexpressed in C. acetobutylicum, which resulted in slightly increased xylose consumption rates during the exponential growth phase and a high level of acetate accumulation. PMID:22865845

Longing for Ex-Partners out of Fear of Being Single.

PubMed

Spielmann, Stephanie S; MacDonald, Geoff; Joel, Samantha; Impett, Emily A

2016-12-01

This research investigated whether people who fear being single have a more difficult time letting go of ex-partners following a romantic breakup. Data were collected in a cross-sectional study (N = 209, 64% women, M age  = 30 years old) as well as a 1-month daily experience study of individuals who just went through a romantic breakup (N = 117, 44% women, M age  = 27 years old). Findings from both studies revealed that those with stronger fear of being single (Spielmann et al., 2013) reported greater longing for their ex-partners. Pre- to post-breakup analyses revealed that fear of being single increased after a breakup, regardless of who initiated the breakup. Within-day analyses revealed that longing for an ex-partner and attempts to renew the relationship were greater on days with stronger fear of being single. Lagged-day analyses provided support for the conclusion that fear of being single increased longing and renewal attempts over time, but longing and renewal attempts did not influence fear of being single. These findings suggest that fear of being single is a particularly useful construct for understanding the romantic detachment process. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of silybin nanosuspensions for oral and intravenous delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yancai; Zhang, Dianrui; Liu, Zhaoping; Liu, Guangpu; Duan, Cunxian; Jia, Lejiao; Feng, Feifei; Zhang, Xiaoyu; Shi, Yanqiu; Zhang, Qiang

2010-04-01

In this study, we evaluate the effect of particle sizes on the physicochemical properties of silybin and identify the influence of silybin nanosuspensions on its permeation across the Caco-2 cell monolayer. In vivo pharmacokinetic evaluation of silybin nanosuspensions was also carried out in beagle dogs. TEM, AFM and SEM analyses revealed the effect of homogenization pressure on particle size and morphology, and confirmed the existence of a surfactant-stabilizer film on the surface of nanoparticles. DSC and XRPD experiments manifested that the crystalline state was maintained as particle size was reduced and the enhanced dissolution property was due to the increased surface area. Nanosuspensions had a significant influence on drug transport across the Caco-2 cell monolayer and the enhanced dissolution velocity was responsible for the increased permeability. A pharmacokinetics study in beagle dogs further confirmed the in vitro results and demonstrated that oral administration of silybin nanosuspensions significantly increase its bioavailability compared to the coarse powder. Nanosuspensions of silybin with smaller particle size reveal a higher potential to increase their oral bioavailability; while for intravenous infusion the lower pressure produced silybin nanosuspensions appeared to maintain a more sustained drug release profile.

Household water insecurity is associated with a range of negative consequences among pregnant Kenyan women of mixed HIV status.

PubMed

Krumdieck, Natalie R; Collins, Shalean M; Wekesa, Pauline; Mbullo, Patrick; Boateng, Godfred O; Onono, Maricianah; Young, Sera L

2016-12-01

Water insecurity (WI) is a serious and worsening problem worldwide, but its role in health outcomes among people living with HIV or pregnant women is unknown. We assessed experiences of WI in a cohort of 323 pregnant Kenyan women of mixed HIV status. The majority (77.7%) had at least one experience of WI in the previous month; it was associated with negative economic, nutrition, disease, and psychosocial outcomes. A standardized cross-culturally valid household WI scale would facilitate assessment of the prevalence and consequences of WI, and increased attention to WI could reveal an overlooked, but modifiable, cause of adverse HIV outcomes.

Unexpected acoustic stimulation during action preparation reveals gradual re-specification of movement direction.

PubMed

Marinovic, Welber; Tresilian, James; Chapple, Jack L; Riek, Stephan; Carroll, Timothy J

2017-04-21

A loud acoustic stimulus (LAS) is often used as a tool to investigate motor preparation in simple reaction time (RT) tasks, where all movement parameters are known in advance. In this report, we used a LAS to examine direction specification in simple and choice RT tasks. This allowed us to investigate how the specification of movement direction unfolds during the preparation period. In two experiments, participants responded to the appearance of an imperative stimulus (IS) with a ballistic wrist force directed toward one of two targets. In probe trials, a LAS (120dBa) was delivered around the time of IS presentation. In Experiment 1, RTs in the simple RT task were faster when the LAS was presented, but the effect on the movement kinematics was negligible. In the Choice RT task, however, movement direction variability increased when the LAS was presented. In Experiment 2, when we primed movements toward one direction, our analyses revealed that the longer participants took to start a movement, the more accurate their responses became. Our results show not only that movement direction reprogramming occurs quickly and continuously, but also that LAS can be a valuable tool to obtain meaningful readouts of the motor system's preparatory state. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crowd behaviour during high-stress evacuations in an immersive virtual environment

PubMed Central

Kapadia, Mubbasir; Thrash, Tyler; Sumner, Robert W.; Gross, Markus; Helbing, Dirk; Hölscher, Christoph

2016-01-01

Understanding the collective dynamics of crowd movements during stressful emergency situations is central to reducing the risk of deadly crowd disasters. Yet, their systematic experimental study remains a challenging open problem due to ethical and methodological constraints. In this paper, we demonstrate the viability of shared three-dimensional virtual environments as an experimental platform for conducting crowd experiments with real people. In particular, we show that crowds of real human subjects moving and interacting in an immersive three-dimensional virtual environment exhibit typical patterns of real crowds as observed in real-life crowded situations. These include the manifestation of social conventions and the emergence of self-organized patterns during egress scenarios. High-stress evacuation experiments conducted in this virtual environment reveal movements characterized by mass herding and dangerous overcrowding as they occur in crowd disasters. We describe the behavioural mechanisms at play under such extreme conditions and identify critical zones where overcrowding may occur. Furthermore, we show that herding spontaneously emerges from a density effect without the need to assume an increase of the individual tendency to imitate peers. Our experiments reveal the promise of immersive virtual environments as an ethical, cost-efficient, yet accurate platform for exploring crowd behaviour in high-risk situations with real human subjects. PMID:27605166

Crowd behaviour during high-stress evacuations in an immersive virtual environment.

PubMed

Moussaïd, Mehdi; Kapadia, Mubbasir; Thrash, Tyler; Sumner, Robert W; Gross, Markus; Helbing, Dirk; Hölscher, Christoph

2016-09-01

Understanding the collective dynamics of crowd movements during stressful emergency situations is central to reducing the risk of deadly crowd disasters. Yet, their systematic experimental study remains a challenging open problem due to ethical and methodological constraints. In this paper, we demonstrate the viability of shared three-dimensional virtual environments as an experimental platform for conducting crowd experiments with real people. In particular, we show that crowds of real human subjects moving and interacting in an immersive three-dimensional virtual environment exhibit typical patterns of real crowds as observed in real-life crowded situations. These include the manifestation of social conventions and the emergence of self-organized patterns during egress scenarios. High-stress evacuation experiments conducted in this virtual environment reveal movements characterized by mass herding and dangerous overcrowding as they occur in crowd disasters. We describe the behavioural mechanisms at play under such extreme conditions and identify critical zones where overcrowding may occur. Furthermore, we show that herding spontaneously emerges from a density effect without the need to assume an increase of the individual tendency to imitate peers. Our experiments reveal the promise of immersive virtual environments as an ethical, cost-efficient, yet accurate platform for exploring crowd behaviour in high-risk situations with real human subjects. © 2016 The Authors.

Folate-containing reduction-sensitive lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles for targeted delivery of doxorubicin.

PubMed

Wu, Bo; Yu, Ping; Cui, Can; Wu, Ming; Zhang, Yang; Liu, Lei; Wang, Cai-Xia; Zhuo, Ren-Xi; Huang, Shi-Wen

2015-04-01

The development and evaluation of folate-targeted and reduction-triggered biodegradable nanoparticles are introduced to the research on targeted delivery of doxorubicin (DOX). This type of folate-targeted lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (FLPNPs) is comprised of a poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) core, a soybean lecithin monolayer, a monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-S-S-hexadecyl (mPEG-S-S-C16) reduction-sensitive shell, and a folic acid-targeted ligand. FLPNPs exhibited high size stability but fast disassembly in a simulated cancer cell reductive environment. The experiments on the release process in vitro revealed that as a reduction-sensitive drug delivery system, FLPNPs released DOX faster in the presence of 10 mM dithiothreitol (DTT). Results from flow cytometry, confocal image and in vitro cytotoxicity assays revealed that FLPNPs further enhanced cell uptake and generated higher cytotoxicity against human epidermoid carcinoma in the oral cavity than non-targeted redox-sensitive and targeted redox-insensitive controls. Furthermore, in vivo animal experiments demonstrated that systemic administration of DOX-loaded FLPNPs remarkably reduced tumor growth. Experiments on biodistribution of DOX-loaded FLPNPs showed that an increasing amount of DOX accumulated in the tumor. Therefore, FLPNPs formulations have proved to be a stable, controllable and targeted anticancer drug delivery system.

Impact of pseudo-continuous fermentation on the ethanol tolerance of Scheffersomyces stipitis.

PubMed

Liang, Meng; Kim, Min Hea; He, Qinghua Peter; Wang, Jin

2013-09-01

In this work we conducted the pseudo-continuous fermentation, i.e., continuous fermentation with cell retention, using Scheffersomyces stipitis, and studied its effect on ethanol tolerance of the strain. During the fermentation experiments, S. stipitis was adapted to a mild concentration of ethanol (20-26 g/L) for two weeks. Two substrates (glucose and xylose) were used in different fermentation experiments. After fermentation, various experiments were performed to evaluate the ethanol tolerance of adapted cells and unadapted cells. Compared to the unadapted cells, the viability of adapted cells increased by 8 folds with glucose as the carbon source and 6 folds with xylose as the carbon source following exposure to 60 g/L ethanol for 2 h. Improved ethanol tolerance of the adapted cells was also revealed in the effects of ethanol on plasma membrane permeability, extracellular alkalization and acidification. The mathematical modeling of cell leakage, extracellular alkalization and acidification revealed that cells cultured on glucose show better ethanol tolerance than cells cultured on xylose but the differences become smaller for adapted cells. The results show that pseudo-continuous fermentation can effectively improve cell's ethanol tolerance due to the environmental pressure during the fermentation process. Copyright © 2013 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nursing and midwifery students' experiences with the course of infertility and assisted reproductive techniques: A focus group study from Turkey.

PubMed

Isbir, Gozde Gokçe; Ozan, Yeter Durgun

2018-01-01

Nurses and midwifes without sufficient knowledge of infertilitare not likely to provide counseling and support for people suffering from infertility. This study aimed to evaluate nursing and midwifery students' experiences with the Course on Infertility and Assisted Reproductive Techniques. Our study had a qualitative descriptive design. Total number of the participants was 75. The analysis revealed five primary themes and twenty-one sub-themes. The themes were (1) action, (2) learner centered method, (3) interaction, (4) nursing competencies, and (5) evaluation. The active learning techniques enabled the students to retrieve the knowledge that they obtained for a long time, contributed to social and cultural development and improved skills required for selfevaluation, communication and leadership, enhanced critical thinking, skills increased motivation and satisfaction and helped with knowledge integration. Infertility is a biopsychosocial condition, and it may be difficult for students to understand what infertile individuals experience. The study revealed that active learning techniques enabled the students to acquire not only theoretical knowledge but also an emotional and psychosocial viewpoint and attitude regarding infertility. The content of an infertility course should be created in accordance with changes in the needs of a given society and educational techniques. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Science Experiences among Female Athletes: Race Makes a Difference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraus, Rebecca S.; Hanson, Sandra L.

Sport participation is increasingly seen as a resource with considerable physical, social, and academic benefits. As a new millennium begins with girls more visible in sport, an important question is whether all girls reap these benefits. Although general academic benefits of sport have been shown, the authors' earlier work showed that experience in the male sport domain benefits young women in the elite (often male) science curriculum. Competition, self-esteem, and other individual resources gained through sport are potential sources of success in the similarly competitive male realm of science. In this research, the authors used critical feminist theory to guide their examination of racial and ethnic variations in the relation between sport participation and science experiences for young women. Data from the nationally representative National Education Longitudinal Study were used to explore the impact of sport participation in the 8th and 10th grades on 10th grade science achievement (measured by science grades and standardized test scores) and course taking for African American, Hispanic, and White women. The findings revealed that sport participation has some positive consequences for the science experiences of each of the groups of women. It also has some negative consequences, although the positive consequences outnumber the negative consequences for Hispanic and White, but not African American, women. Sport in 10th grade, especially competitive varsity sport, is most likely to have positive consequences. The findings revealed that each of the groups experiences different routes to success in science, and sport participation is present at some level in each of these routes. A consideration of multiple areas of science experience is important for understanding the connections between race and ethnicity, sport, and science for young women. Unique sociocultural contexts are used to attempt to understand these findings, and implications are discussed.

Does future-oriented thinking predict adolescent decision making?

PubMed

Eskritt, Michelle; Doucette, Jesslyn; Robitaille, Lori

2014-01-01

A number of theorists, as well as plain common sense, suggest that future-oriented thinking (FOT) should be involved in decision making; therefore, the development of FOT should be related to better quality decision making. FOT and quality of the decision making were measured in adolescents as well as adults in 2 different experiments. Though the results of the first experiment revealed an increase in quality of decision making across adolescence into adulthood, there was no relationship between FOT and decision making. In the second experiment, FOT predicted performance on a more deliberative decision-making task independent of age, but not performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Performance on the IGT was instead related to emotion regulation. The study's findings suggest that FOT can be related to reflective decision making but not necessarily decision making that is more intuitive.

Bodily maps of emotions.

PubMed

Nummenmaa, Lauri; Glerean, Enrico; Hari, Riitta; Hietanen, Jari K

2014-01-14

Emotions are often felt in the body, and somatosensory feedback has been proposed to trigger conscious emotional experiences. Here we reveal maps of bodily sensations associated with different emotions using a unique topographical self-report method. In five experiments, participants (n = 701) were shown two silhouettes of bodies alongside emotional words, stories, movies, or facial expressions. They were asked to color the bodily regions whose activity they felt increasing or decreasing while viewing each stimulus. Different emotions were consistently associated with statistically separable bodily sensation maps across experiments. These maps were concordant across West European and East Asian samples. Statistical classifiers distinguished emotion-specific activation maps accurately, confirming independence of topographies across emotions. We propose that emotions are represented in the somatosensory system as culturally universal categorical somatotopic maps. Perception of these emotion-triggered bodily changes may play a key role in generating consciously felt emotions.

Inter-annual Tropospheric Aerosol Variability in Late Twentieth Century and its Impact on Tropical Atlantic and West African Climate by Direct and Semi-direct Effects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Evans, Katherine J; Hack, James J; Truesdale, John

A new high-resolution (0.9more » $$^{\\circ}$$x1.25$$^{\\circ}$$ in the horizontal) global tropospheric aerosol dataset with monthly resolution is generated using the finite-volume configuration of Community Atmosphere Model (CAM4) coupled to a bulk aerosol model and forced with recent estimates of surface emissions for the latter part of twentieth century. The surface emissions dataset is constructed from Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP5) decadal-resolution surface emissions dataset to include REanalysis of TROpospheric chemical composition (RETRO) wildfire monthly emissions dataset. Experiments forced with the new tropospheric aerosol dataset and conducted using the spectral configuration of CAM4 with a T85 truncation (1.4$$^{\\circ}$$x1.4$$^{\\circ}$$) with prescribed twentieth century observed sea surface temperature, sea-ice and greenhouse gases reveal that variations in tropospheric aerosol levels can induce significant regional climate variability on the inter-annual timescales. Regression analyses over tropical Atlantic and Africa reveal that increasing dust aerosols can cool the North African landmass and shift convection southwards from West Africa into the Gulf of Guinea in the spring season in the simulations. Further, we find that increasing carbonaceous aerosols emanating from the southwestern African savannas can cool the region significantly and increase the marine stratocumulus cloud cover over the southeast tropical Atlantic ocean by aerosol-induced diabatic heating of the free troposphere above the low clouds. Experiments conducted with CAM4 coupled to a slab ocean model suggest that present day aerosols can shift the ITCZ southwards over the tropical Atlantic and can reduce the ocean mixed layer temperature beneath the increased marine stratocumulus clouds in the southeastern tropical Atlantic.« less

From access to success in science: An academic-student affairs intervention for undergraduate freshmen biology students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aldridge, Jacqueline Nouvelle

The first year experience is known to present an array of challenges for traditional college students. In particular, freshmen who major in a STEM discipline have their own unique set of challenges when they transition from high school science and math to college science and math; especially chemistry. As a result, students may encounter negative experiences which lower academic and social confidence. This project was designed as a pilot study intervention for a small group of freshmen biology students who were considered academically at-risk due their math SAT scores. The study occurred during the fall semester involving an enhanced active learning component based on the Peer-led Team Learning (PLTL) general chemistry supplemental pedagogy model, and a biology-focused First Year Experience (FYE). PLTL workshops took place in freshmen residence halls, creating a live-n-learn community environment. Mid-term and final chemistry grades and final math grades were collected to measure academic progress. Self-reporting surveys and journals were used to encourage participants to reconstruct their experiences and perceptions of the study. Descriptive analysis was performed to measure statistical significance between midterm and final grade performance, and a general inductive qualitative method was used to determine academic and social confidence as well as experiences and perceptions of the project. Findings of this project revealed a statistically significant improvement between chemistry midterm and final grades of the sample participants. Although academic confidence did not increase, results reveal that social confidence progressed as the majority of students developed a value for studying in groups.

Dissociation between implicit and explicit responses in postconditioning UCS revaluation after fear conditioning in humans

PubMed Central

Schultz, Douglas H.; Balderston, Nicholas L.; Geiger, Jennifer A.; Helmstetter, Fred J.

2014-01-01

The nature of the relationship between explicit and implicit learning is a topic of considerable debate. In order to investigate this relationship we conducted two experiments on postconditioning revaluation of the unconditional stimulus (UCS) in human fear conditioning. In Experiment 1, the intensity of the UCS was decreased following acquisition for one group (devaluation) and held constant for another group (control). A subsequent test revealed that even though both groups exhibited similar levels of UCS expectancy, the devaluation group had significantly smaller conditional skin conductance responses. The devaluation effect was not explained by differences in the explicit estimates of UCS probability or explicit knowledge that the UCS intensity had changed. In Experiment 2, the value of the UCS was increased following acquisition for one group (inflation) and held constant for another group (control). Test performance revealed that UCS inflation did not alter expectancy ratings, but the inflation group exhibited larger learned skin conductance responses than the control group. The inflation effect was not explained by differences in the explicit estimates of UCS probability or explicit knowledge that the UCS intensity had changed. The SCR revaluation effect was not dependent on explicit memory processes in either experiment. In both experiments we found differences on an implicit measure of learning in the absence of changes in explicit measures. Together, the differences observed between expectancy measures and skin conductance support the idea that these responses might reflect different types of memory formed during the same training procedure and be supported by separate neural systems. PMID:23731073

Bacterial and Phytoplankton Responses to Nutrient Amendments in a Boreal Lake Differ According to Season and to Taxonomic Resolution

PubMed Central

Peura, Sari; Eiler, Alexander; Hiltunen, Minna; Nykänen, Hannu; Tiirola, Marja; Jones, Roger I.

2012-01-01

Nutrient limitation and resource competition in bacterial and phytoplankton communities may appear different when considering different levels of taxonomic resolution. Nutrient amendment experiments conducted in a boreal lake on three occasions during one open water season revealed complex responses in overall bacterioplankton and phytoplankton abundance and biovolume. In general, bacteria were dominant in spring, while phytoplankton was clearly the predominant group in autumn. Seasonal differences in the community composition of bacteria and phytoplankton were mainly related to changes in observed taxa, while the differences across nutrient treatments within an experiment were due to changes in relative contributions of certain higher- and lower-level phylogenetic groups. Of the main bacterioplankton phyla, only Actinobacteria had a treatment response that was visible even at the phylum level throughout the season. With increasing resolution (from 75 to 99% sequence similarity) major responses to nutrient amendments appeared using 454 pyrosequencing data of 16S rRNA amplicons. This further revealed that OTUs (defined by 97% sequence similarity) annotated to the same highly resolved freshwater groups appeared to occur during different seasons and were showing treatment-dependent differentiation, indicating that OTUs within these groups were not ecologically coherent. Similarly, phytoplankton species from the same genera responded differently to nutrient amendments even though biovolumes of the majority of taxa increased when both nitrogen and phosphorus were added simultaneously. The bacterioplankton and phytoplankton community compositions showed concurrent trajectories that could be seen in synchronous succession patterns over the season. Overall, our data revealed that the response of both communities to nutrient changes was highly dependent on season and that contradictory results may be obtained when using different taxonomic resolutions. PMID:22715392

Changes to the Student Loan Experience: Psychological Predictors and Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mueller, Thomas

2014-01-01

This study builds on the work of scholars who have explored psychological perceptions of the student loan experience. Survey analysis ("N" = 175) revealed a multidimensional model was developed through factor analysis and testing, which revealed four latent variables: "Duress," "Mandatory," "Financial," and…

Increased confidence to engage in physical exertion: older ICD recipients' experiences of participating in an exercise training programme.

PubMed

Morken, Ingvild Margreta; Norekvål, Tone M; Isaksen, Kjetil; Munk, Peter S; Karlsen, Bjørg; Larsen, Alf I

2013-06-01

Research suggests that exercise training (ET) programmes may improve both physical and psychosocial functioning in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) recipients. Most of this research has been conducted by means of quantitative methods. However, knowledge of older ICD recipients' experiences of participating in such programmes is sparse. There is thus a need for more detailed qualitative data from the perspective of older patients. To describe older ICD recipients' experiences of participating in an ET programme. A qualitative design with semistructured interviews involving 12 older ICD recipients who had participated in a 3-month ET programme. Mini-disc recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis. The analysis revealed two major themes: (1) 'increased confidence to engage in physical exertion'; and (2) 'increased satisfaction with life'. The first theme is illustrated by three subthemes: 'perceived support from physiotherapists', 'perceiving the heart rate monitor as a motivation to exercise', and 'perceiving peers as motivators for enjoyment and making the effort to exercise'. The second theme was illustrated by the following subthemes: 'perceived psychosocial benefits', 'perceived physical benefits', and 'exercise as a new health habit'. The findings indicate that exercising in a cardiac rehabilitation centre together with peers and supervised by skilled healthcare professionals may increase motivation to exert oneself, leading to emotional and physical benefits as well as a more social and active lifestyle for older ICD recipients.

Transcriptome and proteome dynamics in chemostat culture reveal how Campylobacter jejuni modulates metabolism, stress responses and virulence factors upon changes in oxygen availability

PubMed Central

Guccione, Edward J.; Kendall, John J.; Hitchcock, Andrew; Garg, Nitanshu; White, Michael A.; Mulholland, Francis; Poole, Robert K.

2017-01-01

Summary Campylobacter jejuni, the most frequent cause of food‐borne bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, is a microaerophile that has to survive high environmental oxygen tensions, adapt to oxygen limitation in the intestine and resist host oxidative attack. Here, oxygen‐dependent changes in C. jejuni physiology were studied at constant growth rate using carbon (serine)‐limited continuous chemostat cultures. We show that a perceived aerobiosis scale can be calibrated by the acetate excretion flux, which becomes zero when metabolism is fully aerobic (100% aerobiosis). Transcriptome changes in a downshift experiment from 150% to 40% aerobiosis revealed many novel oxygen‐regulated genes and highlighted re‐modelling of the electron transport chains. A label‐free proteomic analysis showed that at 40% aerobiosis, many proteins involved in host colonisation (e.g., PorA, CadF, FlpA, CjkT) became more abundant. PorA abundance increased steeply below 100% aerobiosis. In contrast, several citric‐acid cycle enzymes, the peptide transporter CstA, PEB1 aspartate/glutamate transporter, LutABC lactate dehydrogenase and PutA proline dehydrogenase became more abundant with increasing aerobiosis. We also observed a co‐ordinated response of oxidative stress protection enzymes and Fe‐S cluster biogenesis proteins above 100% aerobiosis. Our approaches reveal key virulence factors that respond to restricted oxygen availability and specific transporters and catabolic pathways activated with increasing aerobiosis. PMID:28892295

Trophic Tangles through Time? Opposing Direct and Indirect Effects of an Invasive Omnivore on Stream Ecosystem Processes

PubMed Central

Moore, Jonathan W.; Carlson, Stephanie M.; Twardochleb, Laura A.; Hwan, Jason L.; Fox, Justin M.; Hayes, Sean A.

2012-01-01

Omnivores can impact ecosystems via opposing direct or indirect effects. For example, omnivores that feed on herbivores and plants could either increase plant biomass due to the removal of herbivores or decrease plant biomass due to direct consumption. Thus, empirical quantification of the relative importance of direct and indirect impacts of omnivores is needed, especially the impacts of invasive omnivores. Here we investigated how an invasive omnivore (signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus) impacts stream ecosystems. First, we performed a large-scale experiment to examine the short-term (three month) direct and indirect impacts of crayfish on a stream food web. Second, we performed a comparative study of un-invaded areas and areas invaded 90 years ago to examine whether patterns from the experiment scaled up to longer time frames. In the experiment, crayfish increased leaf litter breakdown rate, decreased the abundance and biomass of other benthic invertebrates, and increased algal production. Thus, crayfish controlled detritus via direct consumption and likely drove a trophic cascade through predation on grazers. Consistent with the experiment, the comparative study also found that benthic invertebrate biomass decreased with crayfish. However, contrary to the experiment, crayfish presence was not significantly associated with higher leaf litter breakdown in the comparative study. We posit that during invasion, generalist crayfish replace the more specialized native detritivores (caddisflies), thereby leading to little long-term change in net detrital breakdown. A feeding experiment revealed that these native detritivores and the crayfish were both effective consumers of detritus. Thus, the impacts of omnivores represent a temporally-shifting interplay between direct and indirect effects that can control basal resources. PMID:23209810

Task Context Influences Brain Activation during Music Listening

PubMed Central

Markovic, Andjela; Kühnis, Jürg; Jäncke, Lutz

2017-01-01

In this paper, we examined brain activation in subjects during two music listening conditions: listening while simultaneously rating the musical piece being played [Listening and Rating (LR)] and listening to the musical pieces unconstrained [Listening (L)]. Using these two conditions, we tested whether the sequence in which the two conditions were fulfilled influenced the brain activation observable during the L condition (LR → L or L → LR). We recorded high-density EEG during the playing of four well-known positively experienced soundtracks in two subject groups. One group started with the L condition and continued with the LR condition (L → LR); the second group performed this experiment in reversed order (LR → L). We computed from the recorded EEG the power for different frequency bands (theta, lower alpha, upper alpha, lower beta, and upper beta). Statistical analysis revealed that the power in all examined frequency bands increased during the L condition but only when the subjects had not had previous experience with the LR condition (i.e., L → LR). For the subjects who began with the LR condition, there were no power increases during the L condition. Thus, the previous experience with the LR condition prevented subjects from developing the particular mental state associated with the typical power increase in all frequency bands. The subjects without previous experience of the LR condition listened to the musical pieces in an unconstrained and undisturbed manner and showed a general power increase in all frequency bands. We interpret the fact that unconstrained music listening was associated with increased power in all examined frequency bands as a neural indicator of a mental state that can best be described as a mind-wandering state during which the subjects are “drawn into” the music. PMID:28706480

U.S. Navy Officer Attitudes on the Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

military units; a pre- test / post - test quasi experiment; survey analysis; relevant media analysis of articles related to the repeal and published within...and 2010. The surveys revealed an increasing acceptance of gays in the Navy. The present study, conducted post - repeal, utilized the same NPS survey...and enlisted personnel. Further, the post -repeal effects on readiness should be monitored, particularly for fairness and potential harassment. The

[The effect of potable mineral waters on the hormonal and psychological status (experimental and clinical research)].

PubMed

Polushina, N D; Babina, L M; Shvedunova, L N

1994-01-01

Experiments on 80 Wistar rats revealed the ability of Essentuki mineral waters to stimulate the reserves and sensitivity of the intestinal serotonin-producing system. A clinical trial on two groups of children (exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation or with posttraumatic astheno-neurotic syndrome) found out pronounced positive changes in the psychological status of the children which progressed in correlation with an increase of the blood serotonin levels.

Involvement of resistin-like molecule β in the development of methionine-choline deficient diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in mice

PubMed Central

Okubo, Hirofumi; Kushiyama, Akifumi; Sakoda, Hideyuki; Nakatsu, Yusuke; Iizuka, Masaki; Taki, Naoyuki; Fujishiro, Midori; Fukushima, Toshiaki; Kamata, Hideaki; Nagamachi, Akiko; Inaba, Toshiya; Nishimura, Fusanori; Katagiri, Hideki; Asahara, Takashi; Yoshida, Yasuto; Chonan, Osamu; Encinas, Jeffery; Asano, Tomoichiro

2016-01-01

Resistin-like molecule β (RELMβ) reportedly has multiple functions including local immune responses in the gut. In this study, we investigated the possible contribution of RELMβ to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) development. First, RELMβ knock-out (KO) mice were shown to be resistant to methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet-induced NASH development. Since it was newly revealed that Kupffer cells in the liver express RELMβ and that RELMβ expression levels in the colon and the numbers of RELMβ-positive Kupffer cells were both increased in this model, we carried out further experiments using radiation chimeras between wild-type and RELMβ-KO mice to distinguish between the contributions of RELMβ in these two organs. These experiments revealed the requirement of RELMβ in both organs for full manifestation of NASH, while deletion of each one alone attenuated the development of NASH with reduced serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels. The higher proportion of lactic acid bacteria in the gut microbiota of RELMβ-KO than in that of wild-type mice may be one of the mechanisms underlying the lower serum LPS level the former. These data suggest the contribution of increases in RELMβ in the gut and Kupffer cells to NASH development, raising the possibility of RELMβ being a novel therapeutic target for NASH. PMID:26818807

Dependence of nanomechanical modification of polymers on plasma-induced cross-linking

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tajima, S.; Komvopoulos, K.

2007-01-01

The nanomechanical properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) modified by inductively coupled, radio-frequency Ar plasma were investigated by surface force microscopy. The polymer surface was modified under plasma conditions of different ion energy fluences and radiation intensities obtained by varying the sample distance from the plasma power source. Nanoindentation results of the surface stiffness versus maximum penetration depth did not reveal discernible differences between untreated and plasma-treated LDPE, presumably due to the small thickness of the modified surface layer that resulted in a substrate effect. On the contrary, nanoscratching experiments demonstrated a significant increase in the surface shear resistance of plasma-modifiedmore » LDPE due to chain cross-linking. These experiments revealed an enhancement of cross-linking with increasing ion energy fluence and radiation intensity, and a tip size effect on the friction force and dominant friction mechanisms (adhesion, plowing, and microcutting). In addition, LDPE samples with a LiF crystal shield were exposed to identical plasma conditions to determine the role of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the cross-linking process. The cross-linked layer of plasma-treated LDPE exhibited much higher shear strength than that of VUV/UV-treated LDPE. Plasma-induced surface modification of the nanomechanical properties of LDPE is interpreted in the context of molecular models of the untreated and cross-linked polymer surfaces derived from experimental findings.« less

Tachycardia, reduced vagal capacity, and age-dependent ventricular dysfunction arising from diminished expression of the presynaptic choline transporter

PubMed Central

English, Brett A.; Appalsamy, Martin; Diedrich, Andre; Ruggiero, Alicia M.; Lund, David; Wright, Jane; Keller, Nancy R.; Louderback, Katherine M.; Robertson, David

2010-01-01

Healthy cardiovascular function relies on a balanced and responsive integration of noradrenergic and cholinergic innervation of the heart. High-affinity choline uptake by cholinergic terminals is pivotal for efficient ACh production and release. To date, the cardiovascular impact of diminished choline transporter (CHT) expression has not been directly examined, largely due to the transporter's inaccessibility in vivo. Here, we describe findings from cardiovascular experiments using transgenic mice that bear a CHT genetic deficiency. Whereas CHT knockout (CHT−/−) mice exhibit early postnatal lethality, CHT heterozygous (CHT+/−) mice survive, grow, and reproduce normally and exhibit normal spontaneous behaviors. However, the CHT+/− mouse heart displays significantly reduced levels of high-affinity choline uptake accompanied by significantly reduced levels of ACh. Telemeterized recordings of cardiovascular function in these mice revealed tachycardia and hypertension at rest. After treadmill exercise, CHT+/− mice exhibited slower heart rate recovery, consistent with a diminished cholinergic reserve, a contention validated through direct vagal nerve stimulation. Echocardiographic and histological experiments revealed an age-dependent decrease in fractional shortening, increased left ventricular dimensions, and increased ventricular fibrosis, consistent with ventricular dysfunction. These cardiovascular phenotypes of CHT+/− mice encourage an evaluation of humans bearing reduced CHT expression for their resiliency in maintaining proper heart function as well as risk for cardiovascular disease. PMID:20601463

Mechanisms of Enhanced Catalysis in Enzyme-DNA Nanostructures Revealed through Molecular Simulations and Experimental Analysis.

PubMed

Gao, Yingning; Roberts, Christopher C; Toop, Aaron; Chang, Chia-En A; Wheeldon, Ian

2016-08-03

Understanding and controlling the molecular interactions between enzyme substrates and DNA nanostructures has important implications in the advancement of enzyme-DNA technologies as solutions in biocatalysis. Such hybrid nanostructures can be used to create enzyme systems with enhanced catalysis by controlling the local chemical and physical environments and the spatial organization of enzymes. Here we have used molecular simulations with corresponding experiments to describe a mechanism of enhanced catalysis due to locally increased substrate concentrations. With a series of DNA nanostructures conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, we show that binding interactions between substrates and the DNA structures can increase local substrate concentrations. Increased local substrate concentrations in HRP(DNA) nanostructures resulted in 2.9- and 2.4-fold decreases in the apparent Michaelis constants of tetramethylbenzidine and 4-aminophenol, substrates of HRP with tunable binding interactions to DNA nanostructures with dissociation constants in the micromolar range. Molecular simulations and kinetic analysis also revealed that increased local substrate concentrations enhanced the rates of substrate association. Identification of the mechanism of increased local concentration of substrates in close proximity to enzymes and their active sites adds to our understanding of nanostructured biocatalysis from which we can develop guidelines for enhancing catalysis in rationally designed systems. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Probing the Unique Role of Gallium in Amorphous Oxide Semiconductors through Structure-Property Relationships

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moffitt, Stephanie L.; Zhu, Qimin; Ma, Qing

This study explores the unique role of Ga in amorphous (a-) In[BOND]Ga[BOND]O oxide semiconductors through combined theory and experiment. It reveals substitutional effects that have not previously been attributed to Ga, and that are investigated by examining how Ga influences structure–property relationships in a series of pulsed laser deposited a-In[BOND]Ga[BOND]O thin films. Element-specific structural studies (X-ray absorption and anomalous scattering) show good agreement with the results of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. This structural knowledge is used to understand the results of air-annealing and Hall effect electrical measurements. The crystallization temperature of a-IO is shown to increase by as muchmore » as 325 °C on substituting Ga for In. This increased thermal stability is understood on the basis of the large changes in local structure that Ga undergoes, as compared to In, during crystallization. Hall measurements reveal an initial sharp drop in both carrier concentration and mobility with increasing Ga incorporation, which moderates at >20 at% Ga content. This decline in both the carrier concentration and mobility with increasing Ga is attributed to dilution of the charge-carrying In[BOND]O matrix and to increased structural disorder. The latter effect saturates at high at% Ga.« less

Study of the simulated sunlight photolysis mechanism of ketoprofen: the role of superoxide anion radicals, transformation byproducts, and ecotoxicity assessment.

PubMed

Wang, Yingfei; Deng, Wen; Wang, Fengliang; Su, Yuehan; Feng, Yiping; Chen, Ping; Ma, Jingshuai; Su, Haiying; Yao, Kun; Liu, Yang; Lv, Wenying; Liu, Guoguang

2017-09-20

The aim of this study was to investigate the photolysis mechanism of ketoprofen (KET) under simulated sunlight. The results demonstrated that the photolysis of KET aligned well with pseudo first-order kinetics. Radical scavenging experiments and dissolved oxygen experiments revealed that the superoxide anion radical (O 2 ˙ - ) played a primary role in the photolytic process in pure water. Bicarbonate slightly increased the photodegradation of KET through generating carbonate radicals, while DOM inhibited the photolysis via both attenuating light and competing radicals. Moreover, Zhujiang river water inhibited KET phototransformation. Potential KET degradation pathways were proposed based on the identification of products using LC/MS/MS and GC/MS techniques. The theoretical prediction of reaction sites was derived from Frontier Electron Densities (FEDs), which primarily involved the KET decarboxylation reaction. The ecotoxicity of the treated solutions was evaluated by employing Daphnia magna and V. fischeri as biological indicators. Ecotoxicity was also hypothetically predicted through the "ecological structure-activity relationship" (ECOSAR) program, which revealed that toxic products might be generated during the photolysis process.

Feeling like a nurse: re-calling the spirit of nursing.

PubMed

Spence, Deborah; Smythe, Elizabeth

2008-12-01

To explore the essential meaning of being a nurse. Nine registered nurses were each asked to write a story of a time when they felt like a nurse. Analysis was informed by Heideggerian hermeneutic philosophy, seeking to reveal the phenomenon of "feeling like a nurse." As part of a workshop on phenomenological methodology, participants were invited to reflect on a personal experience of feeling like a nurse. These documents were analyzed according to the method of van Manen. Participants were kept informed throughout each phase. Feelings announce primordial meaning of feeling like a nurse. Nurses experience the call as mood attuned by an anxiety that creates possibilities for authentic caring. It is a way of being that encompasses watching and acting, doing to and caring for, and taking over and giving back. Moreover, it is after the encounter that the essential meaning is more clearly revealed. We argue that there is value in continuing to question the meaning of "being a nurse." Amid a complex and increasingly technological world, this calls the profession to remember the human encounter at the heart of all nursing.

Language processing abnormalities in adolescents with psychotic-like experiences: an event related potential study.

PubMed

Murphy, Jennifer; Blanchard, Mathieu M; Rawdon, Caroline; Kavanagh, Fergal; Kelleher, Ian; Clarke, Mary C; Roche, Richard A P; Cannon, Mary

2012-05-01

Language impairments are a well established finding in patients with schizophrenia and in individuals at-risk for psychosis. A growing body of research has revealed shared risk factors between individuals with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) from the general population and patients with schizophrenia. In particular, adolescents with PLEs have been shown to be at an increased risk for later psychosis. However, to date there has been little information published on electrophysiological correlates of language comprehension in this at-risk group. A 64 channel EEG recorded electrical activity while 37 (16 At-Risk; 21 Controls) participants completed the British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS-II) receptive vocabulary task. The P300 component was examined as a function of language comprehension. The at-risk group were impaired behaviourally on receptive language and were characterised by a reduction in P300 amplitude relative to the control group. The results of this study reveal electrophysiological evidence for receptive language deficits in adolescents with PLEs, suggesting that the earliest neurobiological changes underlying psychosis may be apparent in the adolescent period. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experience and limited lighting may affect sleepiness of tunnel workers

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Working on shifts, especially on a night shift, influences the endogenous sleep regulation system leading to diminished sleep time and increased somnolence. We attempted to evaluate the impact of shifts on sleepiness and correlate the sleepiness score to the experience in a shift schedule. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study consists of 42 male and 2 female workers involved in a tunnel construction. They underwent spirometry, pulse oximetry and were asked to complete the Epworth Sleepiness Scale questionnaire. Results Statistical analysis revealed that workers of lower Epworth had a mean age of 43.6 years, compared to the mean age of 36.4 years of workers with higher Epworth. Furthermore, workers of lower Epworth were characterized by a mean number of shift years equal to 14.8, while those of higher Epworth possessed a mean number of shift years equal to 8. The shift schedule did not reveal any statistically significant correlation. Conclusions Workers employed for a longer time had diminished sleepiness. However, there is no relationship between night shifts and sleepiness, possibly because of exposure to artificial lighting in the construction site. PMID:24993796

Experience and limited lighting may affect sleepiness of tunnel workers.

PubMed

Lykouras, Dimosthenis; Karkoulias, Kiriakos; Patouchas, Dimitrios; Lakoumentas, John; Sampsonas, Fotis; Tranou, Magdalini-Konstantina; Faliagka, Evanthia; Tsakalidis, Athanasios; Spiropoulos, Kostas

2014-07-03

Working on shifts, especially on a night shift, influences the endogenous sleep regulation system leading to diminished sleep time and increased somnolence. We attempted to evaluate the impact of shifts on sleepiness and correlate the sleepiness score to the experience in a shift schedule. This cross-sectional study consists of 42 male and 2 female workers involved in a tunnel construction. They underwent spirometry, pulse oximetry and were asked to complete the Epworth Sleepiness Scale questionnaire. Statistical analysis revealed that workers of lower Epworth had a mean age of 43.6 years, compared to the mean age of 36.4 years of workers with higher Epworth. Furthermore, workers of lower Epworth were characterized by a mean number of shift years equal to 14.8, while those of higher Epworth possessed a mean number of shift years equal to 8. The shift schedule did not reveal any statistically significant correlation. Workers employed for a longer time had diminished sleepiness. However, there is no relationship between night shifts and sleepiness, possibly because of exposure to artificial lighting in the construction site.

The silver lining of a mind in the clouds: interesting musings are associated with positive mood while mind-wandering

PubMed Central

Franklin, Michael S.; Mrazek, Michael D.; Anderson, Craig L.; Smallwood, Jonathan; Kingstone, Alan; Schooler, Jonathan W.

2013-01-01

The negative effects of mind-wandering on performance and mood have been widely documented. In a recent well-cited study, Killingsworth and Gilbert (2010) conducted a large experience sampling study revealing that all off-task episodes, regardless of content, have equal to or lower happiness ratings, than on-task episodes. We present data from a similarly implemented experience sampling study with additional mind-wandering content categories. Our results largely conform to those of the Killingsworth and Gilbert (2010) study, with mind-wandering generally being associated with a more negative mood. However, subsequent analyses reveal situations in which a more positive mood is reported after being off-task. Specifically when off-task episodes are rated for interest, the high interest episodes are associated with an increase in positive mood compared to all on-task episodes. These findings both identify a situation in which mind-wandering may have positive effects on mood, and suggest the possible benefits of encouraging individuals to shift their off-task musings to the topics they find most engaging. PMID:24009599

Oxygen microprofiles within the sediment-water interface studied by optode and its implication for aeration of polluted urban rivers.

PubMed

Liu, Bo; Han, Rui-Ming; Wang, Wen-Lin; Yao, Hong; Zhou, Feng

2017-04-01

To reveal the detailed vertical oxygen distribution at the sediment-water interface (SWI) and its relation with the oxygen consumption processes during and after aeration of polluted urban rivers, experimental systems constructed with collected sediment and in situ overlying water from a polluted urban river were aerated above or beneath the sediment-water interface 12 h a day for 15 days and left nonaerated for the following 10 days. The results showed that aeration of water or sediment both increased dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in the SWI, characterized by shifts in a "decrease-increase-decrease" manner during around 3 h for the aeration of water treatment (AW) and 6 h for the aeration of sediment treatment (AS). The oxygen penetration depth for AS experiments was between 0.66 and 4.16 mm with an average of 1.79 mm, significantly higher than that for AW experiments; however, the oxygen dissipation constant (mm -1 ) measuring the decay rate of DO near the SWI was greater for the AW experiments than the AS experiments. During the 10-day nonaeration period, the accumulation of nitrate in both the overlying water and sediment was greatly increased concomitantly with the higher oxygenation in AS experiments. From the nitrogen removal viewpoint, these results suggest that the SWI needs moderate oxygenation which enables nitrate and nitrite to be removed by denitrification rather than to be totally nitrified and accumulate as would result from the conventional practice by singly elevating DO concentrations.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and adult attachment interview (AAI) in a non-clinical population.

PubMed

Thomson, Paula; Jaque, S Victoria

2017-08-01

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) tend to be interrelated rather than independently occurring. There is a graded effect associated with ACE exposure and pathology, with an increase when ACE exposure is four or more. This study examined a sample of active individuals (n=129) to determine distribution patterns and relationships between ACEs, attachment classification, unresolved mourning (U), and disclosure difficulty. The results of this study demonstrated a strong relationship between increased ACEs and greater unresolved mourning. Specifically, the group differences for individuals who experienced no ACE (n=42, 33%), those with 1-3 ACEs (n=48, 37.8%), and those with ≥4 ACEs (n=37, 29.1%) revealed a pattern in which increased group ACE exposure was associated with greater lack of resolution for past trauma/loss experiences, more adult traumatic events, and more difficulty disclosing past trauma. Despite ≥4 ACEs, 51.4% of highly exposed individuals were classified as secure in the Adult Attachment Interview. Resilience in this group may be related to a combination of attachment security, college education, and engagement in meaningful activities. Likewise, adversity may actually encourage the cultivation of more social support, goal efficacy, and planning behaviors; factors that augment resilience to adversity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of environmental support on overt and covert visuospatial rehearsal.

PubMed

Lilienthal, Lindsey; Myerson, Joel; Abrams, Richard A; Hale, Sandra

2018-09-01

People can rehearse to-be-remembered locations either overtly, using eye movements, or covertly, using only shifts of spatial attention. The present study examined whether the effectiveness of these two strategies depends on environmental support for rehearsal. In Experiment 1, when environmental support (i.e., the array of possible locations) was present and participants could engage in overt rehearsal during retention intervals, longer intervals resulted in larger spans, whereas in Experiment 2, when support was present but participants could only engage in covert rehearsal, longer intervals resulted in smaller spans. When environmental support was absent, however, longer retention intervals resulted in smaller memory spans regardless of which rehearsal strategies were available. In Experiment 3, analyses of participants' eye movements revealed that the presence of support increased participants' fixations of to-be-remembered target locations more than fixations of non-targets, and that this was associated with better memory performance. Further, although the total time fixating targets increased, individual target fixations were actually briefer. Taken together, the present findings suggest that in the presence of environmental support, overt rehearsal is more effective than covert rehearsal at maintaining to-be-remembered locations in working memory, and that having more time for overt rehearsal can actually increase visuospatial memory spans.

The effects of majority versus minority source status on persuasion: a self-validation analysis.

PubMed

Horcajo, Javier; Petty, Richard E; Briñol, Pablo

2010-09-01

The present research proposes that sources in the numerical majority (vs. minority) can affect persuasion by influencing the confidence with which people hold their thoughts in response to the persuasive message. Participants received a persuasive message composed of either strong or weak arguments that was presented by a majority or a minority source. Consistent with the self-validation hypothesis, we predicted and found that the majority (vs. minority) status of the source increased the confidence with which recipients held their thoughts. As a consequence, majority (vs. minority) sources increased argument quality effects in persuasion when source status information followed message processing (Experiment 1). In contrast, when the information regarding source status preceded (rather than followed) the persuasive message, it validated the perception of the position advocated, reducing message processing. As a consequence of having more confidence in the position advocated before receiving the message, majority (vs. minority) sources reduced argument quality effects in persuasion (Experiment 2). Finally, Experiment 3 isolated the timing of the source status manipulation, revealing that sources in the numerical majority (vs. minority) can increase or decrease persuasion to strong arguments depending on whether source status is introduced before or after processing the message. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Stimulus generalization as a mechanism for learning to trust

PubMed Central

FeldmanHall, Oriel; Dunsmoor, Joseph E.; Tompary, Alexa; Hunter, Lindsay E.; Todorov, Alexander; Phelps, Elizabeth A.

2018-01-01

How do humans learn to trust unfamiliar others? Decisions in the absence of direct knowledge rely on our ability to generalize from past experiences and are often shaped by the degree of similarity between prior experience and novel situations. Here, we leverage a stimulus generalization framework to examine how perceptual similarity between known individuals and unfamiliar strangers shapes social learning. In a behavioral study, subjects play an iterative trust game with three partners who exhibit highly trustworthy, somewhat trustworthy, or highly untrustworthy behavior. After learning who can be trusted, subjects select new partners for a second game. Unbeknownst to subjects, each potential new partner was parametrically morphed with one of the three original players. Results reveal that subjects prefer to play with strangers who implicitly resemble the original player they previously learned was trustworthy and avoid playing with strangers resembling the untrustworthy player. These decisions to trust or distrust strangers formed a generalization gradient that converged toward baseline as perceptual similarity to the original player diminished. In a second imaging experiment we replicate these behavioral gradients and leverage multivariate pattern similarity analyses to reveal that a tuning profile of activation patterns in the amygdala selectively captures increasing perceptions of untrustworthiness. We additionally observe that within the caudate adaptive choices to trust rely on neural activation patterns similar to those elicited when learning about unrelated, but perceptually familiar, individuals. Together, these findings suggest an associative learning mechanism efficiently deploys moral information encoded from past experiences to guide future choice. PMID:29378964

Attention improves encoding of task-relevant features in the human visual cortex

PubMed Central

Jehee, Janneke F.M.; Brady, Devin K.; Tong, Frank

2011-01-01

When spatial attention is directed towards a particular stimulus, increased activity is commonly observed in corresponding locations of the visual cortex. Does this attentional increase in activity indicate improved processing of all features contained within the attended stimulus, or might spatial attention selectively enhance the features relevant to the observer’s task? We used fMRI decoding methods to measure the strength of orientation-selective activity patterns in the human visual cortex while subjects performed either an orientation or contrast discrimination task, involving one of two laterally presented gratings. Greater overall BOLD activation with spatial attention was observed in areas V1-V4 for both tasks. However, multivariate pattern analysis revealed that orientation-selective responses were enhanced by attention only when orientation was the task-relevant feature, and not when the grating’s contrast had to be attended. In a second experiment, observers discriminated the orientation or color of a specific lateral grating. Here, orientation-selective responses were enhanced in both tasks but color-selective responses were enhanced only when color was task-relevant. In both experiments, task-specific enhancement of feature-selective activity was not confined to the attended stimulus location, but instead spread to other locations in the visual field, suggesting the concurrent involvement of a global feature-based attentional mechanism. These results suggest that attention can be remarkably selective in its ability to enhance particular task-relevant features, and further reveal that increases in overall BOLD amplitude are not necessarily accompanied by improved processing of stimulus information. PMID:21632942

An Exploration of Hypotheses that Explain Herbivore and Pathogen Attack in Restored Plant Communities

PubMed Central

Blaisdell, G. Kai; Roy, Bitty A.; Pfeifer-Meister, Laurel; Bridgham, Scott D.

2015-01-01

Many hypotheses address the associations of plant community composition with natural enemies, including: (i) plant species diversity may reduce enemy attack, (ii) attack may increase as host abundance increases, (iii) enemy spillover may lead to increased attack on one host species due to transmission from another host species, or enemy dilution may lead to reduced attack on a host that would otherwise have more attack, (iv) physical characteristics of the plant community may influence attack, and (v) plant vigor may affect attack. Restoration experiments with replicated plant communities provide an exceptional opportunity to explore these hypotheses. To explore the relative predictive strengths of these related hypotheses and to investigate the potential effect of several restoration site preparation techniques, we surveyed arthropod herbivore and fungal pathogen attack on the six most common native plant species in a restoration experiment. Multi-model inference revealed a weak but consistent negative correlation with pathogen attack and host diversity across the plant community, and no correlation between herbivory and host diversity. Our analyses also revealed host species-specific relationships between attack and abundance of the target host species, other native plant species, introduced plant species, and physical community characteristics. We found no relationship between enemy attack and plant vigor. We found minimal differences in plant community composition among several diverse site preparation techniques, and limited effects of site preparation techniques on attack. The strongest associations of community characteristics with attack varied among plant species with no community-wide patterns, suggesting that no single hypothesis successfully predicts the dominant community-wide trends in enemy attack. PMID:25699672

The ORCA2 transcription factor plays a key role in regulation of the terpenoid indole alkaloid pathway

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The terpenoid indole alkaloid (TIA) pathway leads to the production of pharmaceutically important drugs, such as the anticancer compounds vinblastine and vincristine. Unfortunately, these drugs are produced in trace amounts, causing them to be very costly. To increase production of these drugs, an improved understanding of the TIA regulatory pathway is needed. Towards this end, transgenic Catharanthus roseus hairy roots that overexpress the ORCA2 TIA transcriptional activator were generated and characterized. Results Transcriptional profiling experiments revealed that overexpression of ORCA2 results in altered expression of key genes from the indole and terpenoid pathways, which produce precursors for the TIA pathway, and from the TIA pathway itself. In addition, metabolite-profiling experiments revealed that overexpression of ORCA2 significantly affects the levels of several TIA metabolites. ORCA2 overexpression also causes significant increases in transcript levels of several TIA regulators, including TIA transcriptional repressors. Conclusions Results presented here indicate that ORCA2 plays a critical role in regulation of TIA metabolism. ORCA2 regulates expression of key genes from both feeder pathways, as well as the genes (STR and SGD) encoding the enzymes that catalyze the first two steps in TIA biosynthesis. ORCA2 may play an especially important role in regulation of the downstream branches of the TIA pathway, as it regulates four out of five genes characterized from this part of the pathway. Regulation of TIA transcriptional repressors by ORCA2 may provide a mechanism whereby increases in TIA metabolite levels in response to external stimuli are transient and limited in magnitude. PMID:24099172

Modeling of Stick-Slip Behavior in Sheared Granular Fault Gouge Using the Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, Ke; Euser, Bryan J.; Rougier, Esteban

Sheared granular layers undergoing stick-slip behavior are broadly employed to study the physics and dynamics of earthquakes. In this paper, a two-dimensional implementation of the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM), which merges the finite element method (FEM) and the discrete element method (DEM), is used to explicitly simulate a sheared granular fault system including both gouge and plate, and to investigate the influence of different normal loads on seismic moment, macroscopic friction coefficient, kinetic energy, gouge layer thickness, and recurrence time between slips. In the FDEM model, the deformation of plates and particles is simulated using the FEM formulation whilemore » particle-particle and particle-plate interactions are modeled using DEM-derived techniques. The simulated seismic moment distributions are generally consistent with those obtained from the laboratory experiments. In addition, the simulation results demonstrate that with increasing normal load, (i) the kinetic energy of the granular fault system increases; (ii) the gouge layer thickness shows a decreasing trend; and (iii) the macroscopic friction coefficient does not experience much change. Analyses of the slip events reveal that, as the normal load increases, more slip events with large kinetic energy release and longer recurrence time occur, and the magnitude of gouge layer thickness decrease also tends to be larger; while the macroscopic friction coefficient drop decreases. Finally, the simulations not only reveal the influence of normal loads on the dynamics of sheared granular fault gouge, but also demonstrate the capabilities of FDEM for studying stick-slip dynamic behavior of granular fault systems.« less

Modeling of Stick-Slip Behavior in Sheared Granular Fault Gouge Using the Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method

DOE PAGES

Gao, Ke; Euser, Bryan J.; Rougier, Esteban; ...

2018-06-20

Sheared granular layers undergoing stick-slip behavior are broadly employed to study the physics and dynamics of earthquakes. In this paper, a two-dimensional implementation of the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM), which merges the finite element method (FEM) and the discrete element method (DEM), is used to explicitly simulate a sheared granular fault system including both gouge and plate, and to investigate the influence of different normal loads on seismic moment, macroscopic friction coefficient, kinetic energy, gouge layer thickness, and recurrence time between slips. In the FDEM model, the deformation of plates and particles is simulated using the FEM formulation whilemore » particle-particle and particle-plate interactions are modeled using DEM-derived techniques. The simulated seismic moment distributions are generally consistent with those obtained from the laboratory experiments. In addition, the simulation results demonstrate that with increasing normal load, (i) the kinetic energy of the granular fault system increases; (ii) the gouge layer thickness shows a decreasing trend; and (iii) the macroscopic friction coefficient does not experience much change. Analyses of the slip events reveal that, as the normal load increases, more slip events with large kinetic energy release and longer recurrence time occur, and the magnitude of gouge layer thickness decrease also tends to be larger; while the macroscopic friction coefficient drop decreases. Finally, the simulations not only reveal the influence of normal loads on the dynamics of sheared granular fault gouge, but also demonstrate the capabilities of FDEM for studying stick-slip dynamic behavior of granular fault systems.« less

Attention improves encoding of task-relevant features in the human visual cortex.

PubMed

Jehee, Janneke F M; Brady, Devin K; Tong, Frank

2011-06-01

When spatial attention is directed toward a particular stimulus, increased activity is commonly observed in corresponding locations of the visual cortex. Does this attentional increase in activity indicate improved processing of all features contained within the attended stimulus, or might spatial attention selectively enhance the features relevant to the observer's task? We used fMRI decoding methods to measure the strength of orientation-selective activity patterns in the human visual cortex while subjects performed either an orientation or contrast discrimination task, involving one of two laterally presented gratings. Greater overall BOLD activation with spatial attention was observed in visual cortical areas V1-V4 for both tasks. However, multivariate pattern analysis revealed that orientation-selective responses were enhanced by attention only when orientation was the task-relevant feature and not when the contrast of the grating had to be attended. In a second experiment, observers discriminated the orientation or color of a specific lateral grating. Here, orientation-selective responses were enhanced in both tasks, but color-selective responses were enhanced only when color was task relevant. In both experiments, task-specific enhancement of feature-selective activity was not confined to the attended stimulus location but instead spread to other locations in the visual field, suggesting the concurrent involvement of a global feature-based attentional mechanism. These results suggest that attention can be remarkably selective in its ability to enhance particular task-relevant features and further reveal that increases in overall BOLD amplitude are not necessarily accompanied by improved processing of stimulus information.

The G-protein-coupled receptor, GPR84, is important for eye development in Xenopus laevis.

PubMed

Perry, Kimberly J; Johnson, Verity R; Malloch, Erica L; Fukui, Lisa; Wever, Jason; Thomas, Alvin G; Hamilton, Paul W; Henry, Jonathan J

2010-11-01

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent diverse, multifamily groups of cell signaling receptors involved in many cellular processes. We identified Xenopus laevis GPR84 as a member of the A18 subfamily of GPCRs. During development, GPR84 is detected in the embryonic lens placode, differentiating lens fiber cells, retina, and cornea. Anti-sense morpholino oligonucleotide-mediated knockdown and RNA rescue experiments demonstrate GPR84's importance in lens, cornea, and retinal development. Examination of cell proliferation using an antibody against histone H3 S10P reveals significant increases in the lens and retina following GPR84 knockdown. Additionally, there was also an increase in apoptosis in the retina and lens, as revealed by TUNEL assay. Reciprocal transplantation of the presumptive lens ectoderm between uninjected controls and morpholino-injected embryos demonstrates that GPR84 is necessary in the retina for proper development of the retina, as well as other eye tissues including the lens and cornea. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The G-protein-coupled receptor, GPR84, is important for eye development in Xenopus laevis

PubMed Central

Perry, Kimberly J.; Johnson, Verity R.; Malloch, Erica L.; Fukui, Lisa; Wever, Jason; Thomas, Alvin G.; Hamilton, Paul W.; Henry, Jonathan J.

2010-01-01

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent diverse, multifamily groups of cell signaling receptors involved in many cellular processes. We identified Xenopus laevis GPR84 as a member of the A18 subfamily of GPCRs. During development, GPR84 is detected in the embryonic lens placode, differentiating lens fiber cells, retina and cornea. Anti-sense morpholino oligonucleotide-mediated knockdown and RNA rescue experiments demonstrate GPR84’s importance in lens, cornea and retinal development. Examination of cell proliferation using an antibody against histone H3 S10P reveals significant increases in the lens and retina following GPR84 knockdown. Additionally, there was also an increase in apoptosis in the retina and lens, as revealed by TUNEL assay. Reciprocal transplantation of the presumptive lens ectoderm between uninjected controls and morpholino injected embryos demonstrates that GPR84 is necessary in the retina for proper development of the retina, as well as other eye tissues including the lens and cornea. PMID:20925114

Anti-miR-33 therapy does not alter the progression of atherosclerosis in low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice.

PubMed

Marquart, Tyler J; Wu, Judy; Lusis, Aldons J; Baldán, Ángel

2013-03-01

To determine the efficacy of long-term anti-miR-33 therapy on the progression of atherosclerosis in high-fat, high-cholesterol-fed Ldlr(-/-) mice. Ldlr(-/-) mice received saline, or control or anti-miR-33 oligonucleotides once a week for 14 weeks. The treatment was effective, as measured by reduced levels of hepatic miR-33 and increased hepatic expression of miR-33 targets. Analysis of plasma samples revealed an initial elevation in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol after 2 weeks of treatment that was not sustained by the end of the experiment. Additionally, we found a significant increase in circulating triglycerides in anti-miR-33-treated mice, compared with controls. Finally, examination of atheromata revealed no significant changes in the size or composition of lesions between the 3 groups. Prolonged silencing of miR-33 fails to maintain elevated plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and does not prevent the progression of atherosclerosis in Ldlr(-/-) mice.

Interaction of color and geometric cues in depth perception: when does "red" mean "near"?

PubMed

Guibal, Christophe R C; Dresp, Birgitta

2004-12-01

Luminance and color are strong and self-sufficient cues to pictorial depth in visual scenes and images. The present study investigates the conditions under which luminance or color either strengthens or overrides geometric depth cues. We investigated how luminance contrast associated with the color red and color contrast interact with relative height in the visual field, partial occlusion, and interposition to determine the probability that a given figure presented in a pair is perceived as "nearer" than the other. Latencies of "near" responses were analyzed to test for effects of attentional selection. Figures in a pair were supported by luminance contrast (Experiment 1) or isoluminant color contrast (Experiment 2) and combined with one of the three geometric cues. The results of Experiment 1 show that the luminance contrast of a color (here red), when it does not interact with other colors, produces the same effects as achromatic luminance contrasts. The probability of "near" increases with the luminance contrast of the color stimulus, the latencies for "near" responses decrease with increasing luminance contrast. Partial occlusion is found to be a strong enough pictorial cue to support a weaker red luminance contrast. Interposition cues lose out against cues of spatial position and partial occlusion. The results of Experiment 2, with isoluminant displays of varying color contrast, reveal that red color contrast on a light background supported by any of the three geometric cues wins over green or white supported by any of the three geometric cues. On a dark background, red color contrast supported by the interposition cue loses out against green or white color contrast supported by partial occlusion. These findings reveal that color is not an independent depth cue, but is strongly influenced by luminance contrast and stimulus geometry. Systematically shorter response latencies for stronger "near" percepts demonstrate that selective visual attention reliably detects the most likely depth cue combination in a given configuration.

Revealing the Earth's mantle from the tallest mountains using the Jinping Neutrino Experiment.

PubMed

Šrámek, Ondřej; Roskovec, Bedřich; Wipperfurth, Scott A; Xi, Yufei; McDonough, William F

2016-09-09

The Earth's engine is driven by unknown proportions of primordial energy and heat produced in radioactive decay. Unfortunately, competing models of Earth's composition reveal an order of magnitude uncertainty in the amount of radiogenic power driving mantle dynamics. Recent measurements of the Earth's flux of geoneutrinos, electron antineutrinos from terrestrial natural radioactivity, reveal the amount of uranium and thorium in the Earth and set limits on the residual proportion of primordial energy. Comparison of the flux measured at large underground neutrino experiments with geologically informed predictions of geoneutrino emission from the crust provide the critical test needed to define the mantle's radiogenic power. Measurement at an oceanic location, distant from nuclear reactors and continental crust, would best reveal the mantle flux, however, no such experiment is anticipated. We predict the geoneutrino flux at the site of the Jinping Neutrino Experiment (Sichuan, China). Within 8 years, the combination of existing data and measurements from soon to come experiments, including Jinping, will exclude end-member models at the 1σ level, define the mantle's radiogenic contribution to the surface heat loss, set limits on the composition of the silicate Earth, and provide significant parameter bounds for models defining the mode of mantle convection.

Adult Patients' Experiences of Nursing Care Dependence.

PubMed

Piredda, Michela; Matarese, Maria; Mastroianni, Chiara; D'Angelo, Daniela; Hammer, Marilyn J; De Marinis, Maria Grazia

2015-09-01

Care dependence can be associated with suffering and humiliation. Nurses' awareness of patients' perception of care dependence is crucial to enable them in helping the dependent persons. This study aimed to describe adult patients' experience of nursing care dependence. A metasynthesis was conducted to integrate qualitative findings from 18 studies published through December 2014 on adult patients' experiences of care dependency. Procedures included the Johanna Briggs Institute approach for data extraction, quality appraisal, and integration of findings. The experience of dependence revealed the concept of the embodied person, particularly in relation to care of the physical body. The relationship between the individual and nurses within the context of care had a major impact for dependent patients. When the care relation was perceived as positive, the experience led to the development of the person in finding new balances in life, but when it was perceived as negative, it increased patient' suffering. Care dependence is manifested mostly as bodily dependence and is consistent with its relational nature. The nurse-patient relationship is important to the dependent patients' experience. A greater understanding of patients' experiences of dependence is crucial to enable nurses in improving care and decreasing patient suffering. © 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Criminal Extremity: New Evidence for Sexual Homicide.

PubMed

DeLisi, Matt; Beauregard, Eric

2018-03-01

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with a wide range of behavioral, health, and psychiatric deficits and have recently been used to study the development of serious offending careers. Unfortunately, this research paradigm has largely ignored forensic populations. This study utilized the adverse childhood experiences framework to examine the associations between exposure to violence, victimization, and total adverse childhood experiences on sexual homicide using a sample of 616 incarcerated adult male sexual offenders from Canada 85 of whom committed sexual homicide. Epidemiological tables of odds revealed that a gradient of adverse childhood experiences was associated with sexual homicide, but that the most significant risks were for offenders who had the most extensive abuse histories. In adjusted models, exposure to violence, victimization, and total adverse childhood experiences increased the odds of sexual homicide by 334%, 249%, and 546%, respectively. These effects intensified in models adjusted for childhood enuresis, cruelty to animals, parental abandonment, deviant sexual behaviors, poor self-image, and sexual problems to 559%, 326%, and 849%, respectively. The adverse childhood experiences framework is a systematic way to organize the criminogenic developmental sequela in sexual homicide. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Adverse childhood experiences and sexual victimization in adulthood.

PubMed

Ports, Katie A; Ford, Derek C; Merrick, Melissa T

2016-01-01

Understanding the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and sexual victimization (SV) in adulthood may provide important information about the level of risk for adult SV and sexual re-victimization among childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. In the present paper, we explore the relationship between ACEs, including CSA, and SV in adulthood. Data from the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study were used to examine the effect of experiences of early adversity on adult SV. Adult HMO members (n=7,272) undergoing a routine health exam provided detailed information about ACEs that occurred at age 18 or younger and their experiences of SV in adulthood. Analyses revealed that as ACE score increased, so did risk of experiencing SV in adulthood. Each of the ACE variables was significantly associated with adult SV, with CSA being the strongest predictor of adult SV. In addition, for those who reported CSA, there was a cumulative increase in adult SV risk with each additional ACE experienced. As such, early adversity is a risk factor for adult SV. In particular, CSA is a significant risk factor for sexual re-victimization in adulthood, and additional early adversities experienced by CSA survivors may heighten adult SV risk above and beyond the risk associated with CSA alone. Given the interconnectedness among various experiences of early adversity, adult SV prevention actions must consider how other violence-related and non-violence-related traumatic experiences may exacerbate the risk conferred by CSA on subsequent victimization. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Role for Memory in Prospective Timing informs Timing in Prospective Memory

PubMed Central

Waldum, Emily R; Sahakyan, Lili

2014-01-01

Time-based prospective memory (TBPM) tasks require the estimation of time in passing – known as prospective timing. Prospective timing is said to depend on an attentionally-driven internal clock mechanism, and is thought to be unaffected by memory for interval information (for reviews see, Block, Hancock, & Zakay, 2010; Block & Zakay, 1997). A prospective timing task that required a verbal estimate following the entire interval (Experiment 1) and a TBPM task that required production of a target response during the interval (Experiment 2) were used to test an alternative view that episodic memory does influence prospective timing. In both experiments, participants performed an ongoing lexical decision task of fixed duration while a varying number of songs were played in the background. Experiment 1 results revealed that verbal time estimates became longer the more songs participants remembered from the interval, suggesting that memory for interval information influences prospective time estimates. In Experiment 2, participants who were asked to perform the TBPM task without the aid of an external clock made their target responses earlier as the number of songs increased, indicating that prospective estimates of elapsed time increased as more songs were experienced. For participants who had access to a clock, changes in clock-checking coincided with the occurrence of song boundaries, indicating that participants used both song information and clock information to estimate time. Finally, ongoing task performance and verbal reports in both experiments further substantiate a role for episodic memory in prospective timing. PMID:22984950

Does it really matter that people zip through ads? Testing the effectiveness of simultaneous presentation advertising in an IDTV environment.

PubMed

Nam, Yoonjae; Kwon, Kyonghee H; Lee, Sungjoon

2010-04-01

In an IDTV environment, which facilitates self-scheduling, skipping advertisements by zipping is an emerging ad-avoidance behavior. This study explores whether an alternative ad format, called simultaneous presentation advertising (SPA), may overcome the limitations of classical sequential advertising (CSA) in controlling zipping behavior and increasing the effectiveness of ads. The experiment revealed that SPA is more effective than CSA in reducing zipping and increasing recall, but SPA was more intrusive and produced a negative product image. There was no difference regarding cognitive avoidance. This work discusses the implications of these findings in the interactive media environment.

Contrast discrimination: Second responses reveal the relationship between the mean and variance of visual signals

PubMed Central

Solomon, Joshua A.

2007-01-01

To explain the relationship between first- and second-response accuracies in a detection experiment, Swets, Tanner, and Birdsall [Swets, J., Tanner, W. P., Jr., & Birdsall, T. G. (1961). Decision processes in perception. Psychological Review, 68, 301–340] proposed that the variance of visual signals increased with their means. However, both a low threshold and intrinsic uncertainty produce similar relationships. I measured the relationship between first- and second-response accuracies for suprathreshold contrast discrimination, which is thought to be unaffected by sensory thresholds and intrinsic uncertainty. The results are consistent with a slowly increasing variance. PMID:17961625

Defect-engineered graphene chemical sensors with ultrahigh sensitivity.

PubMed

Lee, Geonyeop; Yang, Gwangseok; Cho, Ara; Han, Jeong Woo; Kim, Jihyun

2016-05-25

We report defect-engineered graphene chemical sensors with ultrahigh sensitivity (e.g., 33% improvement in NO2 sensing and 614% improvement in NH3 sensing). A conventional reactive ion etching system was used to introduce the defects in a controlled manner. The sensitivity of graphene-based chemical sensors increased with increasing defect density until the vacancy-dominant region was reached. In addition, the mechanism of gas sensing was systematically investigated via experiments and density functional theory calculations, which indicated that the vacancy defect is a major contributing factor to the enhanced sensitivity. This study revealed that defect engineering in graphene has significant potential for fabricating ultra-sensitive graphene chemical sensors.

Effect of sub chronic tryptophan supplementation on stress-induced cortisol and appetite in subjects differing in 5-HTTLPR genotype and trait neuroticism.

PubMed

Capello, Aimée E M; Markus, C Rob

2014-07-01

Stress or negative effect often increases preference for, and intake of, palatable snack foods and this may be influenced by cognitive and genetic factors related to stress and 5-HT vulnerability. The short (S) compared to the long (L) allele of the 5-HT transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been associated (i) with decreased 5-HT transporter function and availability and hence, with 5-HT vulnerability, and (ii) with greater stress-responsiveness. Stress-proneness is furthermore promoted by cognitive stress-vulnerability, a key feature of trait neuroticism. Brain 5-HT function can be manipulated by dietary administration of its amino acid precursor tryptophan (Trp), and the beneficial effects of dietary Trp on stress experience and emotional eating may be greatest following repeated administration in both stress- and 5-HT-vulnerable subjects. The aim was to examine the influence of repeated Trp administration on stress responsiveness and emotional eating in homozygous 5-HTTLPR S-allele (N=60) and L-allele (N=58) carriers with high and low neuroticism. Following seven days of Trp or PLC intake, mood, cortisol and appetite were assessed before and after exposure to acute stress and snack intake and preference were measured post-stress. It was hypothesized that Trp would reduce stress experience and emotional eating particularly in S-allele carriers with high neuroticism. Results revealed Trp treatment caused a clear reduction in stress-induced cortisol levels in S/S-allele carriers exclusively, and prevented a stress-induced increase in appetite only in S/S-allele carriers with high trait neuroticism. The findings reveal an advantageous effect of sub chronic Trp treatment on stress experience and appetite depending on stress and (genetic) serotonergic vulnerability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reciprocal repression between Fgf8 and miR-133 regulates cardiac induction through Bmp2 signaling.

PubMed

Lopez-Sanchez, Carmen; Franco, Diego; Bonet, Fernando; Garcia-Lopez, Virginio; Aranega, Amelia; Garcia-Martinez, Virginio

2015-12-01

This data article contains complementary figures and results related to the research article entitled "Negative Fgf8-Bmp2 feed-back is controlled by miR-130 during early cardiac specification" [15], which reveals what specific role miR-130 plays during the cardiac induction process. This study evidenced miR-130 a putative microRNA that targets Erk1/2 (Mapk1) 3'UTR- as a necessary linkage in the control of Fgf8 signaling, mediated by Bmp2. Thus, miR-130 regulates a negative Fgf8-Bmp2 feed-back loop responsible to achieve early cardiac specification. A significant aspect supporting our conclusions is given by the expression pattern of miR-130 during early cardiac specification, as well as by those results obtained after the designed experimental procedures. The data presented here reveal that miR-133 is also expressed within the precardiac areas during early cardiogenesis, pattern which is comparable to that of FGFR1, receptor involved in the Fgf8/ERK signaling pathway. Interestingly, our miR-133 overexpression experiments resulted in a decrease of Fgf8 expression, whereas we observed an increase of Bmp2 and subsequently of cardiac specific markers Nkx-2.5 and Gata4. Additionally, our loss-of-function experiments -through Fgf8 siRNA electroporation- showed an increase of miR-133 expression. Finally, after our Bmp2 experiments, we observed that miR-133 is upstream-regulated by Bmp2. All those results suggest that miR-133 also constitutes a crucial linkage in the crosstalk between Fgf8 and Bmp2 signaling by regulating the Fgf8/ERK pathway during cardiac induction.

How does ytterbium chloride interact with DMPC bilayers? A computational and experimental study.

PubMed

Gonzalez, Miguel A; Barriga, Hanna M G; Richens, Joanna L; Law, Robert V; O'Shea, Paul; Bresme, Fernando

2017-03-29

Lanthanide salts have been studied for many years, primarily in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments of mixed lipid-protein systems and more recently to study lipid flip-flop in model membrane systems. It is well recognised that lanthanide salts can influence the behaviour of both lipid and protein systems, however a full molecular level description of lipid-lanthanide interactions is still outstanding. Here we present a study of lanthanide-bilayer interactions, using molecular dynamics computer simulations, fluorescence electrostatic potential experiments and nuclear magnetic resonance. Computer simulations reveal the microscopic structure of DMPC lipid bilayers in the presence of Yb 3+ , and a surprising ability of the membranes to adsorb significant concentrations of Yb 3+ without disrupting the overall membrane structure. At concentrations commonly used in NMR experiments, Yb 3+ ions bind strongly to 5 lipids, inducing a small decrease of the area per lipid and a slight increase of the ordering of the aliphatic chains and the bilayer thickness. The area compressibility modulus increases by a factor of two, with respect to the free-salt case, showing that Yb 3+ ions make the bilayer more rigid. These modifications of the bilayer properties should be taken into account in the interpretation of NMR experiments.

5, 8, 11, 14-eicosatetraynoic acid suppresses CCL2/MCP-1 expression in IFN-γ-stimulated astrocytes by increasing MAPK phosphatase-1 mRNA stability.

PubMed

Lee, Jee Hoon; Kim, Hyunmi; Woo, Joo Hong; Joe, Eun-hye; Jou, Ilo

2012-02-18

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α activator, 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), is an arachidonic acid analog. It is reported to inhibit up-regulation of pro-inflammatory genes; however, its underlying mechanism of action is largely unknown. In the present study, we focused on the inhibitory action of ETYA on the expression of the chemokine, CCL2/MCP-1, which plays a key role in the initiation and progression of inflammation. To determine the effect of ETYA, primary cultured rat astrocytes and microglia were stimulated with IFN-γ in the presence of ETYA and then, expression of CCL2/MCP-1 and MAPK phosphatase (MKP-1) were determined using RT-PCR and ELISA. MKP-1 mRNA stability was evaluated by treating actinomycin D. The effect of MKP-1 and human antigen R (HuR) was analyzed by using specific siRNA transfection system. The localization of HuR was analyzed by immunocytochemistry and subcellular fractionation experiment. We found that ETYA suppressed CCL2/MCP-1 transcription and secretion of CCL2/MCP-1 protein through up-regulation of MKP-1mRNA levels, resulting in suppression of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation and activator protein 1 (AP1) activity in IFN-γ-stimulated brain glial cells. Moreover, these effects of ETYA were independent of PPAR-α. Experiments using actinomycin D revealed that the ETYA-induced increase in MKP-1 mRNA levels reflected an increase in transcript stability. Knockdown experiments using small interfering RNA demonstrated that this increase in MKP-1 mRNA stability depended on HuR, an RNA-binding protein known to promote enhanced mRNA stability. Furthermore, ETYA-induced, HuR-mediated mRNA stabilization resulted from HuR-MKP-1 nucleocytoplasmic translocation, which served to protect MKP-1 mRNA from the mRNA degradation machinery. ETYA induces MKP-1 through HuR at the post-transcriptional level in a receptor-independent manner. The mechanism revealed here suggests eicosanoids as potential therapeutic modulators of inflammation that act through a novel target.

We can do it: the interplay of construal orientation and social comparisons under threat.

PubMed

Marx, David M; Stapel, Diederik A; Muller, Dominique

2005-03-01

The authors investigated how a collective self-construal orientation in combination with positive social comparisons "turns off" the negative effects of stereotype threat. Specifically, Experiment 1 demonstrated that stereotype threat led to increased accessibility of participants' collective self ("we"). Experiment 2 showed that this feeling of "we-ness" in the stereotype threat condition centered on the participants' stereotyped group membership and not on other important social groups (e.g., students). Experiment 3 indicated that in threat situations, when participants' collective self is accessible, positive social comparison information led to improved math test performance and less concern, whereas in nonthreat situations, when the collective self is less accessible, positive comparison information led to worse test performance and more concern. Our final experiment revealed that under stereotype threat, only those comparison targets who are competent in the relevant domain (math), rather than in domains unrelated to math (athletics), enhanced participants' math test performance. ((c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-subjugation among women: exposure to sexist ideology, self-objectification, and the protective function of the need to avoid closure.

PubMed

Calogero, Rachel M; Jost, John T

2011-02-01

Despite extensive evidence confirming the negative consequences of self-objectification, direct experimental evidence concerning its environmental antecedents is scarce. Incidental exposure to sexist cues was employed in 3 experiments to investigate its effect on self-objectification variables. Consistent with system justification theory, exposure to benevolent and complementary forms of sexism, but not hostile or no sexism, increased state self-objectification, self-surveillance, and body shame among women but not men in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, we replicated these effects and demonstrated that they are specific to self-objectification and not due to a more general self-focus. In addition, following exposure to benevolent sexism only, women planned more future behaviors pertaining to appearance management than did men; this effect was mediated by self-surveillance and body shame. Experiment 3 revealed that the need to avoid closure might afford women some protection against self-objectification in the context of sexist ideology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of subjective loss of control on risk-taking behavior: the mediating role of anger

PubMed Central

Beisswingert, Birgit M.; Zhang, Keshun; Goetz, Thomas; Fang, Ping; Fischbacher, Urs

2015-01-01

Based on the Appraisal Tendency Framework on the antecedents and consequences of emotions two experimental studies examined the relationship between externally caused loss of control experiences and risk-taking behavior, as well as the assumed mediation of this relationship by the emotion anger. An experimental paradigm for inducing externally caused and consequently externally attributed loss of control which should lead to experiences of anger was developed and pretested in a Pilot Study. The relationship between loss of control experiences, anger, and risk-taking behavior was investigated using two separate student samples from Germany (N = 84, 54% female) and China (N = 125; 64% female). In line with our hypotheses, results showed that anger mediated the link between subjective loss of control experiences and increasing risk-taking behavior. Multiple group comparisons revealing similar patterns in both samples affirmed the results’ cross-cultural generalizability. These results implicate that anger makes people less risk averse in the process of economic decision making. PMID:26217244

Yoga Therapy for the Mind Eight-Week Course: Participants׳ Experiences.

PubMed

Kahya, Holly Hannah; Raspin, Courtney Grant

Mindfulness-based therapies are becoming increasingly common in the treatment of mental health conditions. While the popularity of yoga continues to rise in Western culture, little has been done to explore the psychological benefits of yoga from a qualitative, clinical perspective. This study explores participant experiences of the "Yoga Therapy for the Mind Eight-Week Course" (YTFTM), an international, manualized yoga and mindfulness-based intervention for depression and anxiety. Eight female participants took part in semi-structured interviews, and transcripts were analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis, with four master themes emerging: "Personal Journey of Change," "Ambivalence," "Mind/Body Connection," and "Group Experience." The findings highlight potential challenges of yoga and mindfulness-based interventions and the importance of providing adequate support in overcoming these. Findings also reveal that participants experience psychological benefits from the practice of yoga asana in addition to mindfulness, such as a more holistic understanding of psychological distress, adaptive coping strategies, and enhanced well-being. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Sound of Intellect: Speech Reveals a Thoughtful Mind, Increasing a Job Candidate's Appeal.

PubMed

Schroeder, Juliana; Epley, Nicholas

2015-06-01

A person's mental capacities, such as intellect, cannot be observed directly and so are instead inferred from indirect cues. We predicted that a person's intellect would be conveyed most strongly through a cue closely tied to actual thinking: his or her voice. Hypothetical employers (Experiments 1-3b) and professional recruiters (Experiment 4) watched, listened to, or read job candidates' pitches about why they should be hired. These evaluators rated a candidate as more competent, thoughtful, and intelligent when they heard a pitch rather than read it and, as a result, had a more favorable impression of the candidate and were more interested in hiring the candidate. Adding voice to written pitches, by having trained actors (Experiment 3a) or untrained adults (Experiment 3b) read them, produced the same results. Adding visual cues to audio pitches did not alter evaluations of the candidates. For conveying one's intellect, it is important that one's voice, quite literally, be heard. © The Author(s) 2015.

The cellblock token economy: token reinforcement procedures in a maximum security correctional institution for adult male felons.

PubMed Central

Milan, M A; McKee, J M

1976-01-01

Two experiments were conducted (1) to explore the application of token reinforcement procedures in a maximum security correctional institution for adult male felons and (2) to determine to what extent the reinforcement procedures disrupted the day-to-day lives of inmate participants. In Experiment 1, an expanded reversal design revealed that the combination of praise and token reinforcement was more effective than the combinations of praise and noncontingent token award or direct commands on four common institutional activities. The latter two combinations were not found to be any more effective than praise alone. Experiment 2, which also employed a reversal design, indicated that the high levels of performance observed during the token reinforcement phases of Experiment 1 could be attained without subjecting participants to undue hardship in the form of increased deprivation of either social intercourse or the opportunity to engage in recreational and entertainment activities. Client safeguards are discussed in detail. PMID:977516

Expert Game experiment predicts emergence of trust in professional communication networks.

PubMed

Bendtsen, Kristian Moss; Uekermann, Florian; Haerter, Jan O

2016-10-25

Strong social capital is increasingly recognized as an organizational advantage. Better knowledge sharing and reduced transaction costs increase work efficiency. To mimic the formation of the associated communication network, we propose the Expert Game, where each individual must find a specific expert and receive her help. Participants act in an impersonal environment and under time constraints that provide short-term incentives for noncooperative behavior. Despite these constraints, we observe cooperation between individuals and the self-organization of a sustained trust network, which facilitates efficient communication channels with increased information flow. We build a behavioral model that explains the experimental dynamics. Analysis of the model reveals an exploitation protection mechanism and measurable social capital, which quantitatively describe the economic utility of trust.

Work and nonwork outcomes of workplace incivility: Does family support help?

PubMed

Lim, Sandy; Lee, Alexia

2011-01-01

This study extended incivility research beyond the confines of the workplace by exploring the relationships between incivility, work-to-family conflict and family support. Data collected from 180 employees from various organizations in Singapore showed that incivility is not a rare phenomenon in Asian cultures. Employees experienced more incivility from superiors than coworkers or subordinates, and these experiences were related to different outcomes. Coworker-initiated incivility was associated with decreased coworker satisfaction, increased perceptions of unfair treatment, and increased depression. On the other hand, superior-initiated incivility was associated with decreased supervisor satisfaction and increased work-to-family conflict. Results also revealed that employees with high family support showed stronger relationships between workplace incivility and negative outcomes, compared with employees with low family support.

Design and implementation of temperature and humidity monitoring system for poultry farm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purnomo, Hindriyanto Dwi; Somya, Ramos; Fibriani, Charitas; Purwoko, Angga; Sadiyah, Ulfa

2016-10-01

Automatic monitoring system gains significant interest in poultry industry due to the need of consistent environment condition. Appropriate environment increase the feed conversion ratio as well as birds productivity. This will increase the competitiveness of the poultry industry. In this research, a temperature and humidity monitoring system is proposed to observer the temperature and relative humidity of a poultry house. The system is intended to be applied in the poultry industry with partnership schema. The proposed system is equipped with CCTV for visual monitoring. The measured temperature and humidity implement wireless sensor network technology. The experiment results reveals that proposed system have the potential to increase the effectiveness of monitoring of poultry house in poultry industry with partnership schema.

Driver perceptions of the safety implications of quiet electric vehicles.

PubMed

Cocron, Peter; Krems, Josef F

2013-09-01

Previous research on the safety implications of quiet electric vehicles (EVs) has mostly focused on pedestrians' acoustic perception of EVs, and suggests that EVs are more difficult for pedestrians to hear and, therefore, compromise traffic safety. The two German field studies presented here examine the experiences of 70 drivers with low noise emissions of EVs and the drivers' long-term evaluation of the issue. Participants were surveyed via interviews and questionnaires before driving an EV for the first time, after 3 months of driving, and in the first study, again after 6 months. Based on participants' reports, a catalogue of safety-relevant incidents was composed in Study 1. The catalogue revealed that low noise-related critical incidents only rarely occur, and mostly take place in low-speed environments. The degree of hazard related to these incidents was rated as low to medium. In Study 1, driver concern for vulnerable road users as a result of low noise diminished with increasing driving experience, while perceived comfort due to this feature increased. These results were replicated in Study 2. In the second study, it was additionally examined, if drivers adjust their perceived risk of harming other road users over time. Results show that the affective assessment of risk also decreased with increased driving experience. Based on individual experience, drivers adjust their evaluation of noise-related hazards, suggesting that dangers associated with low noise emissions might be less significant than previously expected. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Land Husbandry: Biochar application to reduce land degradation and erosion on cassava production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuniwati, E. D.

2017-12-01

This field experiment was carried out to examine the effect of increasing crop yield on land degradation and erosion in cassava-based cropping systems. The experiment was also aimed at showing that with proper crop management, the planting of cassava does not result in land degradation, and therefore, a sustainable production system can be obtained. The experiment was done in a farmer's fields in Batu, about 15 km south east of Malang, East Java, Indonesia. The soils are Alfisols with a surface slope of about 8%. There were 8 experimental treatments with two replications. The experiment results show that biochar applications reduce of soil erosion rate of the cassava field were not necessarily higher than those of maize in terms of crop yield and crop management. At low-to-medium yield, also observed the nutrient uptake of cassava was lower than that of maize. At high yield, only the K uptake of cassava was higher than that of maize, whereas the N and P uptake was more or less similar. Soil erosion on the cassava field was significantly higher than that on the maize field; however, this only occurred when there was no suitable crop management. Simple crop managements, such as ridging, biochar application, or manure application could significantly reduce soil erosion. The results also revealed that proper management could prevent land degradation and increase crop yield. In turn, the increase in crop yield could decrease soil erosion and plant nutrient depletion.

When Did Coloring Books Become Mindful? Exploring the Effectiveness of a Novel Method of Mindfulness-Guided Instructions for Coloring Books to Increase Mindfulness and Decrease Anxiety

PubMed Central

Mantzios, Michail; Giannou, Kyriaki

2018-01-01

Mindfulness has been associated with the use of coloring books for adults; however, the question of whether they do increase mindfulness has not been addressed. In two studies, we attempted to identify whether mindfulness is increased, and whether there is a need for ongoing guidance while coloring, similar to mindfulness meditation. In the first randomized controlled experiment, university students (n = 88) were assigned to an unguided mandala coloring group (i.e., described in mainstream literature as a mindfulness practice) or to a free-drawing group. Measurements of state mindfulness and state anxiety were taken pre- and post- experiment. Results indicated no change in mindfulness or anxiety. In the second randomized controlled experiment, university students (n = 72) were assigned to an unguided mandala coloring group (i.e., same as Experiment 1), or, to a mindfulness-guided coloring group (i.e., same as the unguided coloring group with a mindfulness practitioner guiding participants as in mindfulness breathing meditation, with instructions modified and applied to coloring). Results indicated that the mindfulness-guided mandala coloring group performed better in decreasing anxiety, but no change was observed in mindfulness. Exit interviews revealed that some participants did not like the voice guiding them while coloring, which suggested further differing and significant findings. While mindfulness-guided coloring appears promising, guidance or instructions on how to color mindfully may require further development and adjustment to enhance health and wellbeing. PMID:29441038

When Did Coloring Books Become Mindful? Exploring the Effectiveness of a Novel Method of Mindfulness-Guided Instructions for Coloring Books to Increase Mindfulness and Decrease Anxiety.

PubMed

Mantzios, Michail; Giannou, Kyriaki

2018-01-01

Mindfulness has been associated with the use of coloring books for adults; however, the question of whether they do increase mindfulness has not been addressed. In two studies, we attempted to identify whether mindfulness is increased, and whether there is a need for ongoing guidance while coloring, similar to mindfulness meditation. In the first randomized controlled experiment, university students ( n = 88) were assigned to an unguided mandala coloring group (i.e., described in mainstream literature as a mindfulness practice) or to a free-drawing group. Measurements of state mindfulness and state anxiety were taken pre- and post- experiment. Results indicated no change in mindfulness or anxiety. In the second randomized controlled experiment, university students ( n = 72) were assigned to an unguided mandala coloring group (i.e., same as Experiment 1), or, to a mindfulness-guided coloring group (i.e., same as the unguided coloring group with a mindfulness practitioner guiding participants as in mindfulness breathing meditation, with instructions modified and applied to coloring). Results indicated that the mindfulness-guided mandala coloring group performed better in decreasing anxiety, but no change was observed in mindfulness. Exit interviews revealed that some participants did not like the voice guiding them while coloring, which suggested further differing and significant findings. While mindfulness-guided coloring appears promising, guidance or instructions on how to color mindfully may require further development and adjustment to enhance health and wellbeing.

Solidarity through shared disadvantage: Highlighting shared experiences of discrimination improves relations between stigmatized groups.

PubMed

Cortland, Clarissa I; Craig, Maureen A; Shapiro, Jenessa R; Richeson, Jennifer A; Neel, Rebecca; Goldstein, Noah J

2017-10-01

Intergroup relations research has largely focused on relations between members of dominant groups and members of disadvantaged groups. The small body of work examining intraminority intergroup relations, or relations between members of different disadvantaged groups, reveals that salient experiences of ingroup discrimination promote positive relations between groups that share a dimension of identity (e.g., 2 different racial minority groups) and negative relations between groups that do not share a dimension of identity (e.g., a racial minority group and a sexual minority group). In the present work, we propose that shared experiences of discrimination between groups that do not share an identity dimension can be used as a lever to facilitate positive intraminority intergroup relations. Five experiments examining relations among 4 different disadvantaged groups supported this hypothesis. Both blatant (Experiments 1 and 3) and subtle (Experiments 2, 3, and 4) connections to shared experiences of discrimination, or inducing a similarity-seeking mindset in the context of discrimination faced by one's ingroup (Experiment 5), increased support for policies benefiting the outgroup (Experiments 1, 2, and 4) and reduced intergroup bias (Experiments 3, 4, and 5). Taken together, these experiments provide converging evidence that highlighting shared experiences of discrimination can improve intergroup outcomes between stigmatized groups across dimensions of social identity. Implications of these findings for intraminority intergroup relations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-efficacy in Environmental Education: Experiences of elementary education preservice teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardner, Cynthia Crompton

Despite research showing Environmental Education can provide positive student outcomes in academic achievement, critical thinking, motivation and engagement (Ernst, 2007; Lieberman & Hoody, 1998; Orr, 1992; Palmer, 1998; Powers, 2004; Volk & Cheak, 2003), Environmental Education is currently not a critical element in American public school K-12 education. The present study investigates self-efficacy in Environmental Education through a mixed methods research approach. The data reveal the participants' perspectives of their sense of self-efficacy in Environmental Education. It adds to the body of work on Environmental Education and self-efficacy by specifically investigating the topics through interviews with preservice teachers. Purposeful sampling is used to identify preservice elementary education teachers in their senior year of college with a high measure of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is measured using the Environmental Education Efficacy Belief Instrument (Sia, 1992). Forty-six preservice teachers completed the instrument. Six preservice teachers were interviewed to determine experiences that impact their self-efficacy in Environmental Education. Continual comparison and cross-case analysis are used to analyze the data. The results reveal a relationship between personal experiences with nature as a young child and current beliefs toward their personal efficacy and teaching outcome efficacy in Environmental Education. Similar to the findings of Sia (1992), the researcher discovered that preservice teachers realize that they lack sufficient knowledge and skill in Environmental Education but believe that effective teaching can increase students understanding of Environmental Education. While the preservice teachers do not believe they will teach Environmental Education as well as other subjects, they will continually seek out better ways to teach Environmental Education. Interviews with participants who had a high self-efficacy revealed the importance of playing outdoors as young children and having an adult role model with whom to share nature. Results showed that experiences with nature are absent in formal schooling, including courses in teacher education programs.

REGULATION OF MEMORY – FROM THE ADRENAL MEDULLA TO LIVER TO ASTROCYTES TO NEURONS1

PubMed Central

Gold, Paul E.

2014-01-01

Epinephrine, released into blood from the adrenal medulla in response to arousing experiences, is a potent enhancer of learning and memory processing. This review examines mechanisms by which epinephrine exerts its effects on these cognitive functions. Because epinephrine is largely blocked from moving from blood to brain, it is likely that the hormone's effects on memory are mediated by peripheral actions. A classic effect of epinephrine is to act at the liver to break down glycogen stores, resulting in increased blood glucose levels. The increase in blood glucose provides additional energy substrates to the brain to buttress the processes needed for an experience to be learned and remembered. In part, it appears that the increased glucose may act in the brain in a manner akin to that evident in the liver, engaging glycogenolysis in astrocytes to provide an energy substrate, in this case lactate, to augment neuronal functions. Together, the findings reveal a mechanism underlying modulation of memory that integrates the physiological functions of multiple organ systems to support brain processes. PMID:24406469

Predicting Insulin Absorption and Glucose Uptake during Exercise in Type 1 Diabetes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, Spencer; Hinshaw, Ling; Basu, Rita; Szeri, Andrew; Basu, Ananda

2017-11-01

A dose of insulin infused into subcutaneous tissue has been shown to absorb more quickly during exercise, potentially causing hypoglycemia in persons with type 1 diabetes. We develop a model that relates exercise-induced physiological changes to enhanced insulin-absorption (k) and glucose uptake (GU). Drawing on concepts of the microcirculation we derive a relationship that reveals that k and GU are mainly determined by two physiological parameters that characterize the tissue: the tissue perfusion rate (Q) and the capillary permeability surface area (PS). Independently measured values of Q and PS from the literature are used in the model to make predictions of k and GU. We compare these predictions to experimental observations of healthy and diabetic patients that are given a meal followed by rest or exercise. The experiments show that during exercise insulin concentrations significantly increase and that glucose levels fall rapidly. The model predictions are consistent with the experiments and show that increases in Q and PS directly increase k and GU. This mechanistic understanding provides a basis for handling exercise in control algorithms for an artificial pancreas. Now at University of British Columbia.

Factors Influencing Changes in Eating Patterns Among Hong Kong Young Adults Transitioning to Tertiary Education.

PubMed

Kwok, Sin Tung; Capra, Sandra; Leveritt, Michael

2016-05-01

Transitioning to tertiary education is a significant life course event that has the potential to influence lifelong eating patterns. This study used a theoretic model developed from a life course perspective to examine factors influencing the change of food choices among 31 young adults in Hong Kong after they moved on to tertiary education. Qualitative analysis of transcripts based on the constant comparative method revealed that present life course experiences, especially increased autonomy, and social-environmental factors strongly influenced young adults' present food choices. A model was developed from life course theory and social-ecological theory to reflect the factors that led to change of food choices among participants. The model provides unique insights on food choices of the future adult population. It could also be used as a reference for the development of nutrition education interventions targeting tertiary students as they experience increased autonomy. In conclusion, food choices of young adults on transitioning to tertiary education are strongly influenced by increased autonomy and change of social and environmental factors. © 2016 APJPH.

Correction of the equilibrium temperature caused by slight evaporation of water in protein crystal growth cells during long-term space experiments at International Space Station.

PubMed

Fujiwara, Takahisa; Suzuki, Yoshihisa; Yoshizaki, Izumi; Tsukamoto, Katsuo; Murayama, Kenta; Fukuyama, Seijiro; Hosokawa, Kouhei; Oshi, Kentaro; Ito, Daisuke; Yamazaki, Tomoya; Tachibana, Masaru; Miura, Hitoshi

2015-08-01

The normal growth rates of the {110} faces of tetragonal hen egg-white lysozyme crystals, R, were measured as a function of the supersaturation σ parameter using a reflection type interferometer under μG at the International Space Station (NanoStep Project). Since water slightly evaporated from in situ observation cells during a long-term space station experiment for several months, equilibrium temperature T(e) changed, and the actual σ, however, significantly increased mainly due to the increase in salt concentration C(s). To correct σ, the actual C(s) and protein concentration C(p), which correctly represent the measured T(e) value in space, were first calculated. Second, a new solubility curve with the corrected C(s) was plotted. Finally, the revised σ was obtained from the new solubility curve. This correction method successfully revealed that the 2.8% water was evaporated from the solution, leading to 2.8% increase in the C(s) and C(p) of the solution.

Vectorcardiographic results from Skylab medical experiment M092: Lower body negative pressure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffler, G. W.; Johnson, R. L.; Nicogossian, A. E.; Bergman, S. A., Jr.; Jackson, M. M.

1974-01-01

Vectorcardiograms were recorded via a modified Frank lead system from all crewmen of the three Skylab missions in conjuction with the Lower Body Negative Pressure - M092 Experiment. Data were analyzed by a specially developed computer program (VECTAN). Design of the test sequences allowed direct comparisons of supine resting, Earth based (reference) vectorcardiograms with those taken during lower body negative pressure stress and those obtained at rest in orbit, as well as combinations of these conditions. Results revealed several statistically significant space flight related changes; namely, increased testing and lower body negative pressure stressed heart rates, modestly increased PR interval and corrected QTC interval, and greatly increased P and QPS loop maximal amplitudes. In addition, orientation changes in the QRS maximum vector and the J-vector at rest in space seem quite consistent among crewmen and different from those caused by the application of lower body negative pressure. No clinical abnormalities were observed. Etiology of these findings is conjectured to be, at least in part, related to fluid mass shifts occurring in weightlessness and attendant alterations in cardiovascular dynamics and myocardial autonomic control mechanisms.

Increased expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase mRNA in rat substantia nigra after an ibotenic acid lesion in the caudate-putamen.

PubMed

Lindefors, N; Brené, S; Persson, H

1990-04-01

In situ hybridization histochemistry and RNA blots were used to study expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) mRNA in rat caudate-nucleus and substantia nigra. In situ hybridization combined with computerized image analysis revealed that in the intact substantia nigra reticulata the cross-section area of GAD mRNA positive neurons were 25% larger in the dorsolateral part as compared with the ventromedial part. A unilateral ibotenic acid injection in caudate-putamen lesioned neurons, some of which project to the ipsilateral substantia nigra. An increased level of GAD mRNA was observed in substantia nigra ipsilateral to the lesion. Computerized image analysis of sections from in situ hybridization revealed an increase in the number of silver grains over GAD mRNA positive neurons in the dorsolateral substantia nigra reticulata ipsilateral to the lesion. However, no change was observed in the ventromedial part suggesting that GAD mRNA expression in this part of the nigra is less sensitive to inhibition by caudate-putamen afferents. In agreement with in situ experiments, RNA blots showed a 2-fold increased level of GAD mRNA in substantia nigra ipsilateral to the lesion. The increased GAD mRNA expression in the deafferented substantia nigra suggests a disinhibition of nigral GABA neurons, resulting in an increased utilization of GABA in these substantia nigra neurons.

Resveratrol-induced transcriptional up-regulation of ASMase (SMPD1) of human leukemia and cancer cells.

PubMed

Mizutani, Naoki; Omori, Yukari; Kawamoto, Yoshiyuki; Sobue, Sayaka; Ichihara, Masatoshi; Suzuki, Motoshi; Kyogashima, Mamoru; Nakamura, Mitsuhiro; Tamiya-Koizumi, Keiko; Nozawa, Yoshinori; Murate, Takashi

2016-02-19

Resveratrol (RSV) is a plant-derived phytoalexin present in plants, whose pleiotropic effects for health benefits have been previously reported. Its anti-cancer activity is among the current topics for novel cancer treatment. Here, effects of RSV on cell proliferation and the sphingolipid metabolism of K562, a human leukemia cell line, were analyzed. Some experiments were also performed in HCT116, a human colon cancer cell line. RSV inhibited cell proliferation of both cell lines. Increased cellular ceramide and decreased sphingomyelin and S1P by RSV were observed in RSV-treated K562 cells. Further analysis revealed that acid sphingomyelinase mRNA and enzyme activity levels were increased by RSV. Desipramine, a functional ASMase inhibitor, prevented RSV-induced ceramide increase. RSV increased ATF3, EGR1, EGR3 proteins and phosphorylated c-Jun and FOXO3. However, co-transfection using these transcription factor expression vectors and ASMase promoter reporter vector revealed positive effects of EGR1 and EGR3 but not others. Electrophoresis mobility shift assay (EMSA) and Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay demonstrated the direct binding of EGR1/3 transcription factors with ASMase 5'-promoter. These results indicate that increased EGR1/3 and ASMase expression play an important role in cellular ceramide increase by RSV treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Downregulation of hPMC2 imparts chemotherapeutic sensitivity to alkylating agents in breast cancer cells.

PubMed

Krishnamurthy, Nirmala; Liu, Lili; Xiong, Xiahui; Zhang, Junran; Montano, Monica M

2015-01-01

Triple negative breast cancer cell lines have been reported to be resistant to the cyotoxic effects of temozolomide (TMZ). We have shown previously that a novel protein, human homolog of Xenopus gene which Prevents Mitotic Catastrophe (hPMC2) has a role in the repair of estrogen-induced abasic sites. Our present study provides evidence that downregulation of hPMC2 in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells treated with temozolomide (TMZ) decreases cell survival. This increased sensitivity to TMZ is associated with an increase in number of apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites in the DNA. We also show that treatment with another alkylating agent, BCNU, results in an increase in AP sites and decrease in cell survival. Quantification of western blot analyses and immunofluorescence experiments reveal that treatment of hPMC2 downregulated cells with TMZ results in an increase in γ-H2AX levels, suggesting an increase in double strand DNA breaks. The enhancement of DNA double strand breaks in TMZ treated cells upon downregulation of hPCM2 is also revealed by the comet assay. Overall, we provide evidence that downregulation of hPMC2 in breast cancer cells increases cytotoxicity of alkylating agents, representing a novel mechanism of treatment for breast cancer. Our data thus has important clinical implications in the management of breast cancer and brings forth potentially new therapeutic strategies.

Ocean acidification alters fish populations indirectly through habitat modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagelkerken, Ivan; Russell, Bayden D.; Gillanders, Bronwyn M.; Connell, Sean D.

2016-01-01

Ocean ecosystems are predicted to lose biodiversity and productivity from increasing ocean acidification. Although laboratory experiments reveal negative effects of acidification on the behaviour and performance of species, more comprehensive predictions have been hampered by a lack of in situ studies that incorporate the complexity of interactions between species and their environment. We studied CO2 vents from both Northern and Southern hemispheres, using such natural laboratories to investigate the effect of ocean acidification on plant-animal associations embedded within all their natural complexity. Although we substantiate simple direct effects of reduced predator-avoidance behaviour by fishes, as observed in laboratory experiments, we here show that this negative effect is naturally dampened when fish reside in shelter-rich habitats. Importantly, elevated CO2 drove strong increases in the abundance of some fish species through major habitat shifts, associated increases in resources such as habitat and prey availability, and reduced predator abundances. The indirect effects of acidification via resource and predator alterations may have far-reaching consequences for population abundances, and its study provides a framework for a more comprehensive understanding of increasing CO2 emissions as a driver of ecological change.

Meeting students halfway: Increasing self-efficacy and promoting knowledge change in astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, Janelle M.; Lombardi, Doug; Cordova, Jacqueline R.; Sinatra, Gale M.

2017-12-01

Two motivational factors—self-efficacy and interest—may be especially relevant to deepening students' understanding of astronomy. We examined the relationship between students' self-efficacy for, interest in learning about, and changes in their knowledge of stars, as measured by the Star Properties Concept Inventory (SPCI). Approximately 700 undergraduate students taking introductory astronomy responded to surveys at the start and end of their semester-long course. A sequential multiple regression analysis showed that self-efficacy post explains an appreciable percentage of variance in SPCI posttest scores, more than twice the percentage explained by all the pretest variables (SPCI, self-efficacy, and interest) combined. Knowledge and self-efficacy improved significantly over instruction; interest did not. Follow-up analyses revealed that instructors whose classes increased in self-efficacy also had the greatest increases in knowledge scores. Interviews with these instructors suggest they provide their students with more opportunities for mastery experiences with elaborated, performance-related feedback, as well as strong positive verbal persuasion and vicarious experiences through peer instruction. Through increased understanding of the relationship between motivational constructs (e.g., self-efficacy, interest) and knowledge, we can both improve our models and better inform instruction.

Effects of transmembrane hydraulic pressure on performance of forward osmosis membranes.

PubMed

Coday, Bryan D; Heil, Dean M; Xu, Pei; Cath, Tzahi Y

2013-03-05

Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging membrane separation process that continues to be tested and implemented in various industrial water and wastewater treatment applications. The growing interests in the technology have prompted laboratories and manufacturers to adopt standard testing methods to ensure accurate comparison of membrane performance under laboratory-controlled conditions; however, standardized methods might not capture specific operating conditions unique to industrial applications. Experiments with cellulose triacetate (CTA) and polyamide thin-film composite (TFC) FO membranes demonstrated that hydraulic transmembrane pressure (TMP), common in industrial operation of FO membrane elements, could affect membrane performance. Experiments were conducted with three FO membranes and with increasing TMP up to a maximum of 50 psi (3.45 bar). The feed solution was a mixture of salts and the draw solution was either a NaCl solution or concentrated seawater at similar osmotic pressure. Results revealed that TMP minimally affected water flux, reverse salt flux (RSF), and solute rejection of the CTA membrane. However, water flux through TFC membranes might slightly increase with increasing TMP, and RSF substantially declines with increasing TMP. It was observed that rejection of feed constituents was influenced by TMP and RSF.

A study on the relationships between age, work experience, cognition, and work ability in older employees working in heavy industry.

PubMed

Chung, Jaeyeop; Park, Juhyung; Cho, Milim; Park, Yunhee; Kim, DeokJu; Yang, Dongju; Yang, Yeongae

2015-01-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation of age, work experience, cognition, and work ability in older employees working in heavy industry. [Subjects and Methods] The study was conducted using 100 subjects who were over 55 years old and worked in heavy industry. To obtain data, we first had the subjects complete the MoCA-K test and Work Ability Index (WAI). The data were then analyzed by frequency and correlation using statistical software (SPSS 21.0). [Results] Through this study, we discovered a significant positive correlation between WAI and MoCA-K, age, and work experience. [Conclusion] This study revealed that work ability in older employees increases not with the number of years worked but with the enhancement of cognitive ability. Special management that focuses on cognition is therefore required for senior employees working in the field of heavy industry.

Rotomagnetic coupling in fine-grained multiferroic BiFe O3 : Theory and experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozovska, Anna N.; Eliseev, Eugene A.; Glinchuk, Maya D.; Fesenko, Olena M.; Shvartsman, Vladimir V.; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Silibin, Maxim V.; Karpinsky, Dmitry V.

2018-04-01

Using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire (LGD) theory for BiFe O3 dense fine-grained ceramics with quasispherical grains and nanosized intergrain spaces enriched by elastic defects, we calculated a surprisingly strong size-induced increase in the antiferromagnetic transition temperature caused by the joint action of rotomagnetic and magnetostrictive coupling. Notably, all parameters included in the LGD functional have been extracted from experiments, not assumed. Complementarily, we performed experiments for dense BiFe O3 ceramics, which revealed that the shift of the antiferromagnetic transition is to TN˜690 K instead of TN˜645 K for a single crystal. To explain the result theoretically, we consider the possibility of controlling the antiferromagnetic state of multiferroic BiFe O3 via biquadratic antiferrodistortive rotomagnetic, rotoelectric, magnetoelectric, and magnetostrictive couplings. According to our calculations, the highest contribution is the rotostriction contribution, while the magnetostrictive and electrostriction contributions appear smaller.

Daily Cybervictimization Among Latino Adolescents: Links with Emotional, Physical and School Adjustment

PubMed Central

Espinoza, Guadalupe

2015-01-01

The current study examines how Latino adolescents’ daily cybervictimization experiences are associated with their emotional and physical well-being and school adjustment. Latino high school students (N = 118) completed daily checklists across five consecutive school days. Hierarchical linear modeling results revealed that daily cybervictimization experiences were associated with greater feelings of distress, anger, shame and physical symptoms. Moderation analyses showed gender differences such that the daily level associations with distress and anger were significant for Latinas but not Latino adolescents. Daily cybervictimization experiences were also related to increased school attendance problems such as arriving late to class or skipping a class. Mediation models indicated that daily feelings of distress accounted for the association between single episodes of cybervictimization and attendance problems. The results address several voids in the cybervictimization literature and demonstrate that a discrete encounter of victimization online is associated with compromised well-being and school adjustment among Latino adolescents. PMID:27307652

Living within stories: Exploring the experiences of people with transient ischemic attack.

PubMed

Crowfoot, Gary Mitchell; van der Riet, Pamela Jane; Maguire, Jane Margaret

2016-03-01

A transient ischemic attack (TIA) significantly increases a person's risk of ischemic stroke. However, little is known about the experiences of these people or what influences their decision to access care. This article explores the stories of three people who experienced a TIA. All participants were interviewed after receiving a diagnosis of TIA by a specialist neurologist. By utilizing a framework of narrative inquiry, several storylines were revealed across temporal, social, and geographical landscapes. The main storylines include: bodily disruption, time stasis, altered temporal perceptions, the roles of others, and help-seeking behavior. The primary author also reflects upon his own origin and explores how this inquiry has influenced his perceptions, career, and nursing practice. This inquiry may assist healthcare workers to gain insight into the experiences of people with TIA and suggests how involvement of significant others is beneficial when educating people at risk of TIA. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Inter-hemispheric interaction facilitates face processing.

PubMed

Compton, Rebecca J

2002-01-01

Many recent studies have revealed that interaction between the left and right cerebral hemispheres can aid in task performance, but these studies have tended to examine perception of simple stimuli such as letters, digits or simple shapes, which may have limited naturalistic validity. The present study extends these prior findings to a more naturalistic face perception task. Matching tasks required subjects to indicate when a target face matched one of two probe faces. Matches could be either across-field, requiring inter-hemispheric interaction, or within-field, not requiring inter-hemispheric interaction. Subjects indicated when faces matched in emotional expression (Experiment 1; n=32) or in character identity (Experiment 2; n=32). In both experiments, across-field performance was significantly better than within-field performance, supporting the primary hypothesis. Further, this advantage was greater for the more difficult character identity task. Results offer qualified support for the hypothesis that inter-hemispheric interaction is especially advantageous as task demands increase.

Low Energy Nuclear Reactions: Status at the Beginning of the New Millenium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallove, Eugene F.

2001-03-01

This talk will summarize some of the more convincing recent experiments that show that ^4He,^3He (including impossible to explain changes in the ^4He/^3He isotopic ratio), nuclear scale excess energy, tritium, low-level neutron production, and the transmutation of heavy elements can occur near room temperature in relatively simple systems. Despite inappropriate theory-based arguments against it and unethical attacks by people unfamiliar with the supporting experiments, the new field of solid state nuclear reactions is progressing. The physical theory behind the associated phenomena continues to be debated among theorists. But progress is being made. The facts of the history of this scientific controversy suggest that it is inadvisable to rush to judgment against allegedly ``impossible" new phenomena when increasingly careful experiments have revealed new vistas in physics. Detailed discussion of evidence for solid state nuclear reactions is available

Bodily maps of emotions

PubMed Central

Nummenmaa, Lauri; Glerean, Enrico; Hari, Riitta; Hietanen, Jari K.

2014-01-01

Emotions are often felt in the body, and somatosensory feedback has been proposed to trigger conscious emotional experiences. Here we reveal maps of bodily sensations associated with different emotions using a unique topographical self-report method. In five experiments, participants (n = 701) were shown two silhouettes of bodies alongside emotional words, stories, movies, or facial expressions. They were asked to color the bodily regions whose activity they felt increasing or decreasing while viewing each stimulus. Different emotions were consistently associated with statistically separable bodily sensation maps across experiments. These maps were concordant across West European and East Asian samples. Statistical classifiers distinguished emotion-specific activation maps accurately, confirming independence of topographies across emotions. We propose that emotions are represented in the somatosensory system as culturally universal categorical somatotopic maps. Perception of these emotion-triggered bodily changes may play a key role in generating consciously felt emotions. PMID:24379370

Methods of Achieving and Maintaining Physical Fitness for Prolonged Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olree, Harry D. (Principal Investigator); Corbin, Bob; Penrod, James; Smith, Carroll

1969-01-01

This final summary report covers the five experiments that were conducted over a 24-month period beginning May 1, 1967 and ending April 30, 1969. Experiment I revealed that running and riding a bicycle ergometer produced similar gains in physical fitness variables. In Experiment I the subjects exercising at a 180 heart rate made a greater improvement in physical fitness than did those exercising a t a 140 or 160 heart rate. In Experiment II the subjects who exercised sixty minutes per day made greater gains on specified components of physical fitness than did those who exercised twenty or forty minutes per day, twelve times per week made greater gains on specified components of physical fitness than did those who exercised three or six times per week. In Experiment V, it was found that subjects could maintain a moderate level of fitness by exercising at a pulse rate of 160 beats per minute for twenty-minute periods three times per week, that subjects who "overtrained" by exercising twice daily to near exhaustion increased in fitness and that those subjects who discontinued training decreased in fitness.

Atomistic simulations of highly conductive molecular transport junctions under realistic conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

French, William R.; Iacovella, Christopher R.; Rungger, Ivan; Souza, Amaury Melo; Sanvito, Stefano; Cummings, Peter T.

2013-04-01

We report state-of-the-art atomistic simulations combined with high-fidelity conductance calculations to probe structure-conductance relationships in Au-benzenedithiolate (BDT)-Au junctions under elongation. Our results demonstrate that large increases in conductance are associated with the formation of monatomic chains (MACs) of Au atoms directly connected to BDT. An analysis of the electronic structure of the simulated junctions reveals that enhancement in the s-like states in Au MACs causes the increases in conductance. Other structures also result in increased conductance but are too short-lived to be detected in experiment, while MACs remain stable for long simulation times. Examinations of thermally evolved junctions with and without MACs show negligible overlap between conductance histograms, indicating that the increase in conductance is related to this unique structural change and not thermal fluctuation. These results, which provide an excellent explanation for a recently observed anomalous experimental result [Bruot et al., Nat. Nanotechnol., 2012, 7, 35-40], should aid in the development of mechanically responsive molecular electronic devices.We report state-of-the-art atomistic simulations combined with high-fidelity conductance calculations to probe structure-conductance relationships in Au-benzenedithiolate (BDT)-Au junctions under elongation. Our results demonstrate that large increases in conductance are associated with the formation of monatomic chains (MACs) of Au atoms directly connected to BDT. An analysis of the electronic structure of the simulated junctions reveals that enhancement in the s-like states in Au MACs causes the increases in conductance. Other structures also result in increased conductance but are too short-lived to be detected in experiment, while MACs remain stable for long simulation times. Examinations of thermally evolved junctions with and without MACs show negligible overlap between conductance histograms, indicating that the increase in conductance is related to this unique structural change and not thermal fluctuation. These results, which provide an excellent explanation for a recently observed anomalous experimental result [Bruot et al., Nat. Nanotechnol., 2012, 7, 35-40], should aid in the development of mechanically responsive molecular electronic devices. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr00459g

Electronic spectra and excited-state dynamics of acridine and its hydrated clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harthcock, Colin; Zhang, Jie; Kong, Wei; Mitsui, Masaaki; Ohshima, Yasuhiro

2017-04-01

We combine results from several different experiments to investigate the photophysics of acridine (Ac) and its hydrated clusters in the gas phase. Our findings are also compared with results from condensed phase studies. Similar to measurements of Ac dissolved in hydrocarbons, the lifetime of the first electronically excited state of isolated Ac in vacuum is too short for typical resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and laser induced fluorescence (LIF) experiments, hence no signal from REMPI and LIF can be attributed to monomeric Ac. Instead, sensitized phosphorescence emission spectroscopy is more successful in revealing the electronic states of Ac. Upon clustering with water, on the other hand, the lifetimes of the excited states are substantially increased to the nanosecond scale, and with two water molecules attached to Ac, the lifetime of the hydrated cluster is essentially the same as that of Ac in aqueous solutions. Detailed REMPI and ultraviolet-ultraviolet hole-burning experiments are then performed to reveal the structural information of the hydrated clusters. Although the formation of hydrogen bonds results in energy level reversal and energy separation between the first two excited states of Ac, its effect on the internal geometry of Ac is minimal, and all clusters with 1-3 water molecules demonstrate consistent intramolecular vibrational modes. Theoretical calculations reveal just one stable structure for each cluster under supersonic molecular beam conditions. Furthermore, different from mono- and di-water clusters, tri-water clusters consist of a linear chain of three water molecules attached to Ac. Consequently, the fragmentation pattern in the REMPI spectrum of tri-water clusters seems to be dominated by water trimer elimination, since the REMPI spectrum of Ac+.W3 is largely reproduced in the Ac+ mass channel, but not in the Ac+.W1 or Ac+.W2 channel.

Experimental evidence for the lattice instability of Bi-based superconducting systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusheng, He; Jiong, Xiang; Hsin, Wang; Aisheng, He; Jincang, Zhang; Fanggao, Chang

1989-11-01

Ultrasonic measurements, specific heat and thermal analysis experiments, X-ray diffraction study and infrared investigation revealed that there are anomalous structural changes or lattice instabilities near 200 K in single 2212 or 2223 phase samples of Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system. Detailed study showed that anomalous changes or lattice instabilities are isothermal-like processes and have the characteristics of a structural phase transition, accompanying with increases in lattice constants. Possible mechanism for this lattice instability is discussed.

The pursuit of happiness: time, money, and social connection.

PubMed

Mogilner, Cassie

2010-09-01

Does thinking about time, rather than money, influence how effectively individuals pursue personal happiness? Laboratory and field experiments revealed that implicitly activating the construct of time motivates individuals to spend more time with friends and family and less time working-behaviors that are associated with greater happiness. In contrast, implicitly activating money motivates individuals to work more and socialize less, which (although productive) does not increase happiness. Implications for the relative roles of time versus money in the pursuit of happiness are discussed.

Supercritical hydrogen-free and catalyst-free hydrogenation: Possibilities of the method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gubin, S.P.

1995-12-01

In this work, the authors generalize the results of preliminary investigations of a catalyst-free hydrogenation process, which roughly revealed the applicability limits of the method and its potentialities. Experiments were carried out in standard autoclaves of various volume and also in glass ampules placed into an autoclave, which contained the same solvent as the contents of the ampule. The transition into the supercritical state was accomplished by increasing the reactor temperature and, hence, the internal pressure.

Different erosion characteristics of sediment deposits in combined and storm sewers.

PubMed

Xu, Zuxin; Wu, Jun; Li, Huaizheng; Liu, Zhenghua; Chen, Keli; Chen, Hao; Xiong, Lijun

2017-04-01

To investigate the different erosion patterns of sediments in combined and storm sewers, sediments from three separate sewer systems and two combined sewer systems in urban Shanghai were collected for the flushing experiments. These experiments were conducted with different consolidation periods and shear velocities. As the consolidation period increases, dissolved oxygen exhibits a positive effect on the microbial transformations of organic substrates. Potential structural changes and separations of the surface and bottom layers of sediments are observed. The results also reveal that the organic matter, particle size and moisture have different effects on the erosion resistance of sediments. Furthermore, illicit connections behaved as an important factor affecting the viscosity and static friction force of particles, which directly alter the erosion resistance of sewer sediments.

Investigations onboard the biosatellite Cosmos-1667

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gazenko, O. G.; Ilyin, E. A.

The program of the 7-day flight of the biosatellite Cosmos-1667 launched in July 1985 included experiments on two rhesus monkeys, ten Wistar SPF rats, ten newts, Drosophila flies, maize seedlings, lettuce sprouts, and unicellular organisms - Tetrahymena. The primate study demonstrated that transition to orbital flight was accompanied by a greater excitability of the vestibular apparatus and an increased linear blood flow velocity in the common carotid artery. The rat studies showed that atrophy of antigravity muscles and osteoporosis of limb bones developed even during short-term exposure to microgravity. The experiments on other living systems revealed no microgravity effects on the cell division rate, proliferative activity of cells of regenerating tissues and organs, energy metabolism of developing insects, structure or chemical composition of higher plant seedlings.

Utilization of rice-husk and coconut shell carbons for water disinfection.

PubMed

Carmalin Sophia, A; Catherine, D; Bhalambaal, V M

2013-01-01

In the present study, experiments were conducted to investigate the feasibility of using carbon derived from rice husk and coconut shell for the decontamination of water containing Escherichia coli (E. coli). The effects of silver impregnation on these agro-waste carbons were also investigated. All the carbons showed >99% removal of E coli. Among the four carbons studied, rice husk based carbon (RHC) showed better removal than the other carbons investigated. However, silver impregnated carbons showed only marginal increase in the decontamination experiments. SEM and BET results reveal that the carbons were mesoporous in nature. FTIR shows the presence of functional groups viz. C=O and -OH that might be responsible.for adsorption of E. coli on the carbon.

Sexual Assault Experienced by Deaf Female Undergraduates: Prevalence and Characteristics.

PubMed

Elliott Smith, Rebecca A; Pick, Lawrence H

2015-01-01

Approximately 25% of hearing women in the United States experience rape in their life-time, whereas deaf women have been found to experience increased rates of assault consistent with other marginalized populations. This study explored sexual assault prevalence and characteristics of assault in deaf female undergraduate students. Results revealed that more than two-thirds of the participants (69%) endorsed experiencing at least one assault and more than half (56%) experienced multiple types of assault. Most assaults were committed by a man known to the survivor. Characteristics (e.g., hearing status, primary language, and ethnicity) of the survivors and the assailants are explored. The implications of this data are discussed as well as the development of culturally and linguistically sensitive outreach and educational programs.

Parent Discrimination Predicts Mexican-American Adolescent Psychological Adjustment One Year Later

PubMed Central

Gonzales, Nancy A.; Fuligni, Andrew J.

2016-01-01

This study examined whether Mexican-American parent’s experiences with discrimination are related to adolescent psychological adjustment over time. The extent to which associations between parent discrimination and adolescent adjustment vary as a function of parent’s ethnic socialization of their children was also examined. Participants included 344 high school students from Mexican or Mexican-American backgrounds (primarily second generation; ages 14 – 16 at Wave 1) and their primary caregivers who completed surveys in a two-year longitudinal study. Results revealed that parent discrimination predicted internalizing symptoms and self-esteem among adolescents, one year later. Additionally, adolescents were more likely to report low self-esteem in relation to parents’ increased experiences of discrimination when parents conveyed ethnic socialization messages to them. PMID:27224903

The origin and evolution of religious prosociality.

PubMed

Norenzayan, Ara; Shariff, Azim F

2008-10-03

We examine empirical evidence for religious prosociality, the hypothesis that religions facilitate costly behaviors that benefit other people. Although sociological surveys reveal an association between self-reports of religiosity and prosociality, experiments measuring religiosity and actual prosocial behavior suggest that this association emerges primarily in contexts where reputational concerns are heightened. Experimentally induced religious thoughts reduce rates of cheating and increase altruistic behavior among anonymous strangers. Experiments demonstrate an association between apparent profession of religious devotion and greater trust. Cross-cultural evidence suggests an association between the cultural presence of morally concerned deities and large group size in humans. We synthesize converging evidence from various fields for religious prosociality, address its specific boundary conditions, and point to unresolved questions and novel predictions.

An Investigation into the Effects of Interface Stress and Interfacial Arrangement on Temperature Dependent Thermal Properties of a Biological and a Biomimetic Material

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tomar, Vikas

2015-01-12

A significant effort in the biomimetic materials research is on developing materials that can mimic and function in the same way as biological tissues, on bio-inspired electronic circuits, on bio-inspired flight structures, on bio-mimetic materials processing, and on structural biomimetic materials, etc. Most structural biological and biomimetic material properties are affected by two primary factors: (1) interfacial interactions between an organic and an inorganic phase usually in the form of interactions between an inorganic mineral phase and organic protein network; and (2) structural arrangement of the constituents. Examples are exoskeleton structures such as spicule, nacre, and crustacean exoskeletons. A significantmore » effort is being directed towards making synthetic biomimetic materials based on a manipulation of the above two primary factors. The proposed research is based on a hypothesis that in synthetic materials with biomimetic morphology thermal conductivity, k, (how fast heat is carried away) and thermal diffusivity, D, (how fast a material’s temperature rises: proportional to the ratio of k and heat capacity) can be engineered to be either significantly low or significantly high based on a combination of chosen interface orientation and interfacial arrangement in comparison to conventional material microstructures with the same phases and phase volume fractions. METHOD DEVELOPMENT 1. We have established a combined Raman spectroscopy and nanomechanical loading based experimental framework to perform environment (liquid vs. air vs. vacuum) dependent and temperature dependent (~1000 degree-C) in-situ thermal diffusivity measurements in biomaterials at nanoscale to micron scale along with the corresponding analytical theoretic calculations. (Zhang and Tomar, 2013) 2. We have also established a new classical molecular simulation based framework to measure thermal diffusivity in biomolecular interfaces. We are writing a publication currently (Qu and Tomar, 2013) to report the framework and findings in tropocollagen-hydroxyapatite based idealized biomaterial interfaces. PHYSICAL FINDINGS 1. Analyses using experiments have revealed that in the case of bone thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity at micron scale shows significant dependence on compressive stress and temperature. Overall, there is a decrease with respect to increase in temperature and increase with respect to increase in compressive stress. Bio-molecular simulations on idealized tropocollagen-hydroxyapatite interfaces confirm such findings. However, simulations also reveal that thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity can be significantly tailored by interfacial orientation. More importantly, in inorganic materials, interfaces contribute to reduce thermal conductivity and diffusivity. However, analyses here reveal that both can be increased despite presence of a lot of interfaces. 2. Based on significant role played by interfaces in affecting bone thermal properties, a crustacean-exoskeleton system is examined for thermal diffusivity using the newly developed setup. Special emphasis here is on this system since such arrangement is found to be common in fresh water shrimp as well as in some deep water organisms surviving in environment extremes. Experiments reveal that in such system thermal diffusivity is highly tailorable. 3. Overall, experiments and models have established that in biomaterial interfaces a counterintuitive role of interfaces in mediating thermal conduction as a function of stress and temperature is possible in contrast to inorganic materials where interfaces almost always lead to reduction of thermal conductivity as a function of such factors. More investigations are underway to reveal physical origins of such counter-physical characteristics. Such principles can be significantly useful in developing new and innovative bioenergy and inorganic energy systems where heat dissipation significantly affects system performance.« less

Revealing a Child's Pathology: Physicians' Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scelles, Regine; Aubert-Godard, Anne; Gargiulo, Marcela; Avant, Monique; Gortais, Jean

2010-01-01

In this study, 12 physicians and 12 care-givers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. We explored physicians' experiences when they revealed a diagnosis. We also tried to understand which family members the physician was thinking of, with whom they identified themselves, and their first choice of the person to whom they prefer to…

Attributing extreme precipitation in the Black Sea region to sea surface warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meredith, Edmund; Semenov, Vladimir; Maraun, Douglas; Park, Wonsun; Chernokulsky, Alexander

2016-04-01

Higher sea surface temperatures (SSTs) warm and moisten the overlying atmosphere, increasing the low-level atmospheric instability, the moisture available to precipitating systems and, hence, the potential for intense convective systems. Both the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions have seen a steady increase in summertime SSTs since the early 1980s, by over 2 K in places. This raises the question of how this SST increase has affected convective precipitation extremes in the region, and through which mechanisms any effects are manifested. In particular, the Black Sea town of Krymsk suffered an unprecedented precipitation extreme in July 2012, which may have been influenced by Black Sea warming, causing over 170 deaths. To address this question, we adopt two distinct modelling approaches to event attribution and compare their relative merits. In the first, we use the traditional probabilistic event attribution approach involving global climate model ensembles representative of the present and a counterfactual past climate where regional SSTs have not increased. In the second, we use the conditional event attribution approach, taking the 2012 Krymsk precipitation extreme as a showcase example. Under the second approach, we carry out ensemble sensitivity experiments of the Krymsk event at convection-permitting resolution with the WRF regional model, and test the sensitivity of the event to a range of SST forcings. Both experiments show the crucial role of recent Black Sea warming in amplifying the 2012 Krymsk precipitation extreme. In the conditional event attribution approach, though, the explicit simulation of convective processes provides detailed insight into the physical mechanisms behind the extremeness of the event, revealing the dominant role of dynamical (i.e. static stability and vertical motions) over thermodynamical (i.e. increased atmospheric moisture) changes. Additionally, the wide range of SST states tested in the regional setup, which would be infeasible under the global modelling approach, reveal that the intensity of the Krymsk event responds highly nonlinearly to Black Sea warming and suggests a role for regional SST thresholds in more intense coastal convective extremes.

Tomography reveals buoyant asthenosphere accumulating beneath the Juan de Fuca plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawley, William B.; Allen, Richard M.; Richards, Mark A.

2016-09-01

The boundary between Earth’s strong lithospheric plates and the underlying mantle asthenosphere corresponds to an abrupt seismic velocity decrease and electrical conductivity increase with depth, perhaps indicating a thin, weak layer that may strongly influence plate motion dynamics. The behavior of such a layer at subduction zones remains unexplored. We present a tomographic model, derived from on- and offshore seismic experiments, that reveals a strong low-velocity feature beneath the subducting Juan de Fuca slab along the entire Cascadia subduction zone. Through simple geodynamic arguments, we propose that this low-velocity feature is the accumulation of material from a thin, weak, buoyant layer present beneath the entire oceanic lithosphere. The presence of this feature could have major implications for our understanding of the asthenosphere and subduction zone dynamics.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients' experiences of wearing therapeutic footwear - A qualitative investigation

PubMed Central

Williams, Anita E; Nester, Christopher J; Ravey, Michael I

2007-01-01

Background Specialist 'therapeutic' footwear is recommended for patients with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as a beneficial intervention for reducing foot pain, improving foot health, and increasing general mobility. However, many patients choose not to wear this footwear. Recommendations from previous studies have been implemented but have had little impact in improving this situation. The aim of this study was to explore RA patients' experiences of this footwear to ascertain the factors which influence their choice to wear it or not. Method Ten females and three males with RA and experience of wearing specialist footwear were recruited from four National Health Service orthotic services. Semi-structured interviews were carried out in the participants own homes. A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of the transcripts was carried out to identify themes. Results The analysis revealed two main themes from both the female and male groups. These were the participants' feelings about their footwear and their experiences of the practitioner/s involved in providing the footwear. In addition, further themes were revealed from the female participants. These were feelings about their feet, behaviour associated with the footwear, and their feelings about what would have improved their experience. Conclusion Unlike any other intervention specialist therapeutic footwear replaces something that is normally worn and is part of an individual's body image. It has much more of a negative impact on the female patients' emotions and activities than previously acknowledged and this influences their behaviour with it. The patients' consultations with the referring and dispensing practitioners are pivotal moments within the patient/practitioner relationship that have the potential to influence whether patients choose to wear the footwear or not. PMID:17976235

Effect of Salinity and Alkalinity on Luciobarbus capito Gill Na+/K+-ATPase Enzyme Activity, Plasma Ion Concentration, and Osmotic Pressure

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

We evaluated the individual and combined effects of salinity and alkalinity on gill Na+/K+-ATPase enzyme activity, plasma ion concentration, and osmotic pressure in Luciobarbus capito. Increasing salinity concentrations (5, 8, 11, and 14 g/L) were associated with an initial increase and then decrease in L. capito gill Na+/K+-ATPase activity. Activity was affected by the difference between internal and external Na+ ion concentrations and osmotic pressure (P < 0.05). Both plasma ion (Na+, K+, and Cl−) concentration and osmotic pressure increased significantly (P < 0.05). An increase in alkalinity (15, 30, 45, and 60 mM) caused a significant increase in plasma K+ and urea nitrogen concentrations (P < 0.05) but had no effect on either plasma osmotic pressure or gill filament ATPase activity. In the two-factor experiment, the saline-alkaline interaction caused a significant increase in plasma ion (Na+, Cl−, and urea nitrogen) and osmotic pressure (P < 0.05). Variance analysis revealed that salinity, alkalinity, and their interaction significantly affected osmotic pressure, with salinity being most affected, followed by alkalinity, and their interaction. Gill filament ATPase activity increased at first and then decreased; peak values were observed in the orthogonal experiment group at a salinity of 8 g/L and alkalinity of 30 mM. PMID:27981049

DHA-fluorescent probe is sensitive to membrane order and reveals molecular adaptation of DHA in ordered lipid microdomains☆

PubMed Central

Teague, Heather; Ross, Ron; Harris, Mitchel; Mitchell, Drake C.; Shaikh, Saame Raza

2012-01-01

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) disrupts the size and order of plasma membrane lipid microdomains in vitro and in vivo. However, it is unknown how the highly disordered structure of DHA mechanistically adapts to increase the order of tightly packed lipid microdomains. Therefore, we studied a novel DHA-Bodipy fluorescent probe to address this issue. We first determined if the DHA-Bodipy probe localized to the plasma membrane of primary B and immortal EL4 cells. Image analysis revealed that DHA-Bodipy localized into the plasma membrane of primary B cells more efficiently than EL4 cells. We then determined if the probe detected changes in plasma membrane order. Quantitative analysis of time-lapse movies established that DHA-Bodipy was sensitive to membrane molecular order. This allowed us to investigate how DHA-Bodipy physically adapted to ordered lipid microdomains. To accomplish this, we employed steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy measurements in lipid vesicles of varying composition. Similar to cell culture studies, the probe was highly sensitive to membrane order in lipid vesicles. Moreover, these experiments revealed, relative to controls, that upon incorporation into highly ordered microdomains, DHA-Bodipy underwent an increase in its fluorescence lifetime and molecular order. In addition, the probe displayed a significant reduction in its rotational diffusion compared to controls. Altogether, DHA-Bodipy was highly sensitive to membrane order and revealed for the first time that DHA, despite its flexibility, could become ordered with less rotational motion inside ordered lipid microdomains. Mechanistically, this explains how DHA acyl chains can increase order upon formation of lipid microdomains in vivo. PMID:22841541

Experiences of abortion: A narrative review of qualitative studies

PubMed Central

Lie, Mabel LS; Robson, Stephen C; May, Carl R

2008-01-01

Background Although abortion or termination of pregnancy (TOP) has become an increasingly normalized component of women's health care over the past forty years, insufficient attention has been paid to women's experiences of surgical or medical methods of TOP. Objective To undertake a narrative review of qualitative studies of women's experiences of TOP and their perspectives on surgical or medical methods. Methods Keyword searches of Medline, CINAHL, ISI, and IBSS databases. Manual searches of other relevant journals and reference lists of primary articles. Results Qualitative studies (n = 18) on women's experiences of abortion were identified. Analysis of the results of studies reviewed revealed three main themes: experiential factors that promote or inhibit the choice to seek TOP; experiences of TOP; and experiential aspects of the environment in which TOP takes place. Conclusion Women's choices about TOP are mainly pragmatic ones that are related to negotiating finite personal and family and emotional resources. Women who are well informed and supported in their choices experience good psychosocial outcomes from TOP. Home TOP using mifepristone appears attractive to women who are concerned about professionals' negative attitudes and lack of privacy in formal healthcare settings but also leads to concerns about management and safety. PMID:18637178

Developmental Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Current Symptoms and Impairment in Youth Referred For Trauma-Specific Services.

PubMed

Grasso, Damion J; Dierkhising, Carly B; Branson, Christopher E; Ford, Julian D; Lee, Robert

2016-07-01

By the time children reach adolescence, most have experienced at least one type of severe adversity and many have been exposed to multiple types. However, whether patterns of adverse childhood experiences are consistent or change across developmental epochs in childhood is not known. Retrospective reports of adverse potentially traumatic childhood experiences in 3 distinct developmental epochs (early childhood, 0- to 5-years-old; middle childhood, 6- to 12-years-old; and adolescence, 13- to 18-years-old) were obtained from adolescents (N = 3485) referred to providers in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) for trauma-focused assessment and treatment. Results from latent class analysis (LCA) revealed increasingly complex patterns of adverse/traumatic experiences in middle childhood and adolescence compared to early childhood. Depending upon the specific developmental epoch assessed, different patterns of adverse/traumatic experiences were associated with gender and with adolescent psychopathology (e.g., internalizing/externalizing behavior problems), and juvenile justice involvement. A multiply exposed subgroup that had severe problems in adolescence was evident in each of the 3 epochs, but their specific types of adverse/traumatic experiences differed depending upon the developmental epoch. Implications for research and clinical practice are identified.

Mechanical responses, texture evolution, and yield loci of extruded AZ31 magnesium alloy under various loading conditions: Experiment and modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabirian, Farhoud

Mechanical responses and texture evolution of extruded AZ31 Mg are measured under uniaxial (tension-compression) and multiaxial (free-end torsion) loadings. Compression loading is carried out in three different directions at temperature and strain rate ranges of 77-423 K and 10-4 -3000 s -1, respectively. Texture evolution at different intermediate strains reveals that crystal reorientation is exhausted at smaller strains with increase in strain rate while increase in temperature retards twinning. In addition to the well-known tension-compression yield asymmetry, a strong anisotropy in strain hardening response is observed. Strain hardening during the compression experiment is intensified with decreasing and increasing temperature and strain rate, respectively. This complex behavior is explained through understanding the roles of deformation mechanisms using the Visco-Plastic Self Consistent (VPSC) model. In order to calibrate the VPSC model's constants as accurate as possible, a vast number of mechanical responses including stress-strain curves in tension, compression in three directions, and free-end torsion, texture evolution at different strains, lateral strains of compression samples, twin volume fraction, and axial strain during the torsion experiment. Modeling results show that depending on the number of measurements used for calibration, roles of different mechanisms in plastic deformation change significantly. In addition, a precise definition of yield is established for the extruded AZ31magnesium alloy after it is subjected to different loading conditions (uniaxial to multiaxial) at four different plastic strains. The yield response is measured in ?-? space. Several yield criteria are studied to predict yield response of extruded AZ31. This study proposes an asymmetrical fourth-order polynomial yield function. Material constants in this model can be directly calculated using mechanical measurements. Convexity of the proposed model is discussed, and domains of constants where convexity holds are determined. Effects of grain refinement induced by Equal Channel Angular Pressing, ECAP, on mechanical responses and texture evolution are investigated. Yield strength in compression increases after ECAP, however, strain-hardening rate drops with number of ECAP passes while failure strain increases. Texture measurements reveal the higher propensity to twinning in the extruded material compared with ECAPed magnesium. Calculated Schmid factor maps are utilized to connect the observed mechanical responses to the texture.

Variation in short-term and long-term responses of photosynthesis and isoprenoid-mediated photoprotection to soil water availability in four Douglas-fir provenances

PubMed Central

Junker, Laura Verena; Kleiber, Anita; Jansen, Kirstin; Wildhagen, Henning; Hess, Moritz; Kayler, Zachary; Kammerer, Bernd; Schnitzler, Jörg-Peter; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Gessler, Arthur; Ensminger, Ingo

2017-01-01

For long-lived forest tree species, the understanding of intraspecific variation among populations and their response to water availability can reveal their ability to cope with and adapt to climate change. Dissipation of excess excitation energy, mediated by photoprotective isoprenoids, is an important defense mechanism against drought and high light when photosynthesis is hampered. We used 50-year-old Douglas-fir trees of four provenances at two common garden experiments to characterize provenance-specific variation in photosynthesis and photoprotective mechanisms mediated by essential and non-essential isoprenoids in response to soil water availability and solar radiation. All provenances revealed uniform photoprotective responses to high solar radiation, including increased de-epoxidation of photoprotective xanthophyll cycle pigments and enhanced emission of volatile monoterpenes. In contrast, we observed differences between provenances in response to drought, where provenances sustaining higher CO2 assimilation rates also revealed increased water-use efficiency, carotenoid-chlorophyll ratios, pools of xanthophyll cycle pigments, β-carotene and stored monoterpenes. Our results demonstrate that local adaptation to contrasting habitats affected chlorophyll-carotenoid ratios, pool sizes of photoprotective xanthophylls, β-carotene, and stored volatile isoprenoids. We conclude that intraspecific variation in isoprenoid-mediated photoprotective mechanisms contributes to the adaptive potential of Douglas-fir provenances to climate change. PMID:28071755

Development from childhood to adulthood increases morphological and functional inter-individual variability in the right superior temporal cortex.

PubMed

Bonte, Milene; Frost, Martin A; Rutten, Sanne; Ley, Anke; Formisano, Elia; Goebel, Rainer

2013-12-01

We study the developmental trajectory of morphology and function of the superior temporal cortex (STC) in children (8-9 years), adolescents (14-15 years) and young adults. We analyze cortical surface landmarks and functional MRI (fMRI) responses to voices, other natural categories and tones and examine how hemispheric asymmetry and inter-subject variability change across age. Our results show stable morphological asymmetries across age groups, including a larger left planum temporale and a deeper right superior temporal sulcus. fMRI analyses show that a rightward lateralization for voice-selective responses is present in all groups but decreases with age. Furthermore, STC responses to voices change from being less selective and more spatially diffuse in children to highly selective and focal in adults. Interestingly, the analysis of morphological landmarks reveals that inter-subject variability increases during development in the right--but not in the left--STC. Similarly, inter-subject variability of cortically-realigned functional responses to voices, other categories and tones increases with age in the right STC. Our findings reveal asymmetric developmental changes in brain regions crucial for auditory and voice perception. The age-related increase of inter-subject variability in right STC suggests that anatomy and function of this region are shaped by unique individual developmental experiences. © 2013.

The relationship between pulsatile GnRH secretion and cAMP production in immortalized GnRH neurons.

PubMed

Frattarelli, John L; Krsmanovic, Lazar Z; Catt, Kevin J

2011-06-01

In perifused immortalized GnRH neurons (GT1-7), simultaneous measurements of GnRH and cAMP revealed that the secretory profiles for both GnRH and cAMP are pulsatile. An analysis of GnRH and cAMP pulses in 16 independent experiments revealed that 25% of pulses coincide. Inversion of the peak and nadir levels was found in 33% and random relationship between GnRH and cAMP found in 42% of analyzed pulses. The random relation between GnRH and cAMP pulse resets to synchronous after an inverse relation between pulses occurred during the major GnRH release, indicating that GnRH acts as a switching mechanism to synchronize cAMP and GnRH release in perifused GT1-7 neurons. Activation of GnRH receptors with increasing agonist concentrations caused a biphasic change in cAMP levels. Low nanomolar concentrations increased cAMP production, but at high concentrations the initial increase was followed by a rapid decline to below the basal level. Blockade of the GnRH receptors by peptide and nonpeptide antagonists generated monotonic nonpulsatile increases in both GnRH and cAMP production. These findings indicate that cAMP positively regulates GnRH secretion but does not participate in the mechanism of pulsatile GnRH release.

Mechanistic Studies on the Radiolytic Decomposition of Perchlorates on the Martian Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Andrew M.; Abplanalp, Matthew J.; Kaiser, Ralf I.

2016-04-01

Perchlorates—inorganic compounds carrying the perchlorate ion ({{ClO}}4{}-)—were discovered at the north polar landing site of the Phoenix spacecraft and at the southern equatorial landing site of the Curiosity Rover within the Martian soil at levels of 0.4-0.6 wt%. This study explores in laboratory experiments the temperature-dependent decomposition mechanisms of hydrated perchlorates—namely magnesium perchlorate hexahydrate (Mg(ClO4)2·6H2O)—and provides yields of the oxygen-bearing species formed in these processes at Mars-relevant surface temperatures from 165 to 310 K in the presence of galactic cosmic-ray particles (GCRs). Our experiments reveal that the response of the perchlorates to the energetic electrons is dictated by the destruction of the perchlorate ion ({{ClO}}4{}-) and the inherent formation of chlorates ({{ClO}}3{}-) plus atomic oxygen (O). Isotopic substitution experiments reveal that the oxygen is released solely from the perchlorate ion and not from the water of hydration (H2O). As the mass spectrometer detects only molecular oxygen (O2) and no atomic oxygen (O), atomic oxygen recombines to molecular oxygen within the perchlorates, with the overall yield of molecular oxygen increasing as the temperature drops from 260 to 160 K. Absolute destruction rates and formation yields of oxygen are provided for the planetary modeling community.

When All Signs Point to You: Lies Told in the Face of Evidence

PubMed Central

Evans, Angela D.; Xu, Fen; Lee, Kang

2012-01-01

Young children’s ability to tell a strategic lie by making it consistent with the physical evidence of their transgression was investigated along with the sociocognitive correlates of such lie-telling behaviors. In Experiment 1, 247 Chinese children between 3 and 5 years of age (126 boys) were left alone in a room and asked not to lift a cup to see the contents. If children lifted up the cup, the contents would be spilled and evidence of their transgression would be left behind. Upon returning to the room, the experimenter asked children whether they peeked and how the contents of the cup ended up on the table. Experiment 1 revealed that young children are able to tell strategic lies to be consistent with the physical evidence by about 4 or 5 years of age, and this ability increases in sophistication with age. Experiment 2, which included 252 Chinese 4-year-olds (127 boys), identified 2 sociocognitive factors related to children’s ability to tell strategic lies. Specifically, both children’s theory-of-mind understanding and inhibitory control skills were significantly related to their ability to tell strategic lies in the face of physical evidence. The present investigation reveals that contrary to the prevailing views, even young children are able to tell strategic lies in some contexts. PMID:21244148

The Effect of Ongoing Exposure Dynamics in Dose Response Relationships

PubMed Central

Pujol, Josep M.; Eisenberg, Joseph E.; Haas, Charles N.; Koopman, James S.

2009-01-01

Characterizing infectivity as a function of pathogen dose is integral to microbial risk assessment. Dose-response experiments usually administer doses to subjects at one time. Phenomenological models of the resulting data, such as the exponential and the Beta-Poisson models, ignore dose timing and assume independent risks from each pathogen. Real world exposure to pathogens, however, is a sequence of discrete events where concurrent or prior pathogen arrival affects the capacity of immune effectors to engage and kill newly arriving pathogens. We model immune effector and pathogen interactions during the period before infection becomes established in order to capture the dynamics generating dose timing effects. Model analysis reveals an inverse relationship between the time over which exposures accumulate and the risk of infection. Data from one time dose experiments will thus overestimate per pathogen infection risks of real world exposures. For instance, fitting our model to one time dosing data reveals a risk of 0.66 from 313 Cryptosporidium parvum pathogens. When the temporal exposure window is increased 100-fold using the same parameters fitted by our model to the one time dose data, the risk of infection is reduced to 0.09. Confirmation of this risk prediction requires data from experiments administering doses with different timings. Our model demonstrates that dose timing could markedly alter the risks generated by airborne versus fomite transmitted pathogens. PMID:19503605

Cultural Stressors and Mental Health Symptoms among Mexican Americans: A Prospective Study Examining the Moderating Roles of the Family and Neighborhood Contexts

PubMed Central

Nair, Rajni L; White, Rebecca. M. B.; Zeiders, Katherine. H.; Roosa, Mark W.

2012-01-01

Studies of stress consistently have linked individuals’ experiences of stress to maladjustment, but limited attention has been given to cultural stressors commonly experienced by minority individuals. To address this, the current study examined the links between cultural stressors and prospective changes in mental health symptoms in a sample of 710 (49% female) Mexican American youth. In addition, the moderating role of both family and neighborhood cohesion was examined. In-home interviews were completed with youth, mothers (required) and fathers (optional) to collect data on youth’s experiences of cultural stressors (discrimination and language hassles) and internalizing/externalizing behavior, and mothers’ report of family cohesion and mothers’ and fathers’ report of neighborhood cohesion. Analyses revealed that youth’s experiences of discrimination and language hassles at 5th grade were related positively to increases in internalizing symptoms at 7th grade. Additionally, youths who reported higher levels of language hassles in 5th grade experienced increases in externalizing symptoms across the 2-year span. Both family and neighborhood cohesion emerged as significant moderating factors but their impact was conditional on youth’s gender and nativity. Limitations and future implications are discussed. PMID:23111841

Research of UHPC properties prepared with industrial mixer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šerelis, E.; Vaitkevičius, V.; Kerševičius, V.

2017-09-01

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) mixture with advanced mechanical and durability properties was created using decent Zyklos ZZ50HE mixer. Zyklos ZZ50HE rotating pan mixer is similar to mixer which has common concrete plants. In experiment UHPC was prepared with Zyklos ZZ50HE mixer and thereafter best composition was selected and prepared with industrial HPGM 1125 mixer. Experiment results revealed that UHPC with W/C=0.29 and advanced mechanical and durability properties can be prepared. In experiment tremendous amount of micro steel fibres (up to 147 kg/m3) were incorporated in UHPC. Concrete with excellent salt scaling resistance and great mechanical properties was obtained. Compressive strength was increased about 30 % from 116 MPa to 150 MPa and flexural strength was increased about 5 times from 6.7 to 36.2 MPa. Salt-scaling resistance at 40 cycles in 3 % NaCl solution varied from 0.006 kg/m2 to 0.197 kg/m2. There were a few attempts to create UHPC and UHPFRC with decent technology, however, unsuccessfully till now. In the world practice this new material is currently used in the construction of bridges and viaducts.

CAREGIVERS’ DIFFERING NEEDS ACROSS KEY EXPERIENCES OF THE ADVANCED CANCER DISEASE TRAJECTORY

PubMed Central

Bernard-DuBenske, Lori L.; Wen, Kuang-Yi; Gustafson, David H.; Guarnaccia, Charles A.; Cleary, James F.; Dinauer, Susan K.; McTavish, Fiona M.

2013-01-01

Familial caregivers are providing increasing amounts of care to advanced cancer patients. Increased understanding of caregivers’ needs is vital in providing necessary support to lessen caregiver burden and morbidity. Current literature has identified caregiver and patient needs at broad stages of the cancer trajectory; however, such broad stages may be too general to inform a practice of targeting specific interventions when they have the greatest utility. This study examines a variety of particular needs across a number of more discrete illness-related transition experiences specifically in the advanced cancer disease trajectory. One hundred fifty-nine female informal caregivers of people with advanced cancer completed a needs assessment survey. Analyses of these cross-sectional retrospective-report data reveal that cancer caregiver needs vary across specific key experiences occurring within the broader stages of illness identified by current literature. Furthermore, caregivers have unique needs during bereavement. While the sample characteristics are demographically limited, this study provides preliminary evidence that the broad stages are not specific enough increments for effectively examining caregiver needs, and supports the need for more precise distribution of cancer-related information at more discrete times in the illness course. PMID:18662420

Cultural stressors and mental health symptoms among Mexican Americans: a prospective study examining the impact of the family and neighborhood context.

PubMed

Nair, Rajni L; White, Rebecca M B; Roosa, Mark W; Zeiders, Katharine H

2013-10-01

Studies of stress consistently have linked individuals' experiences of stress to maladjustment, but limited attention has been given to cultural stressors commonly experienced by minority individuals. To address this, the current study examined the links between cultural stressors and prospective changes in mental health symptoms in a sample of 710 (49 % female) Mexican American youth. In addition, the moderating role of both family and neighborhood cohesion was examined. In-home interviews were completed with youth, mothers (required) and fathers (optional) to collect data on youth's experiences of cultural stressors (discrimination and language hassles) and internalizing/externalizing behavior, and mothers' report of family cohesion and mothers' and fathers' report of neighborhood cohesion. Analyses revealed that youth's experiences of discrimination and language hassles at 5th grade were related positively to increases in internalizing symptoms at 7th grade. Additionally, youths who reported higher levels of language hassles in 5th grade experienced increases in externalizing symptoms across the 2-year span. Both family and neighborhood cohesion emerged as significant moderating factors but their impact was conditional on youth's gender and nativity. Limitations and future implications are discussed.

Characterization and Mitigation of ICRF Antenna - Plasma Edge Interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Rongjie; Tynan, George; Wukitch, Steve; Lin, Yijun; Terry, Jim; Chilenski, M.; Golfinopoulos, T.; Hubbard, A.; Mumgaard, R. T.; Perkins, R.; Reinke, M. L.; Alcator C-Mod Team

2017-10-01

Recent experiments reveal that RF-induced potentials (VRF) in the SOL and impurity source at the antenna can be reduced to background levels via optimizing the power ratio between the inner and outer current straps, Pcent /Pout . Experiments indicate the antenna impurity source reduction for the field aligned antenna is due to geometrical alignment rather than electrical symmetry. Additional experiments performed without an optimized Pcent /Pout showed that VRF and the associated convection cells do not influence the impurity penetration or core impurity confinement. These results suggest the core impurity contamination associated with ICRF heating is dominated by an increased impurity source rather than a change in impurity transport. Further, the convective cell strength was expected to scale inversely with B-field. The observed poloidal velocity (measure of convective cell strength), however, decreased less than expected. In addition, the measured maximum VRF increased and penetrated farther into the SOL at higher B-field and plasma current. Results also suggest VRF is strongly influenced by the SOL plasma parameters rather than by RF parameters. Work supported by the U.S. DoE, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, User Facility Alcator C-Mod under DE-FC02-99ER54512 and DE-SC 0010720.

The influence of abrupt increases in seawater pCO2 on plankton productivity in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean

PubMed Central

Böttjer, Daniela; Letelier, Ricardo M.; Church, Matthew J.

2018-01-01

We conducted a series of experiments to examine short-term (2–5 days) effects of abrupt increases in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in seawater on rates of primary and bacterial production at Station ALOHA (22°45’ N, 158° W) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). The majority of experiments (8 of 10 total) displayed no response in rates of primary production (measured by 14C-bicarbonate assimilation; 14C-PP) under elevated pCO2 (~1100 μatm) compared to ambient pCO2 (~387 μatm). In 2 of 10 experiments, rates of 14C-PP decreased significantly (~43%) under elevated pCO2 treatments relative to controls. Similarly, no significant differences between treatments were observed in 6 of 7 experiments where bacterial production was measured via incorporation of 3H-leucine (3H-Leu), while in 1 experiment, rates of 3H-Leu incorporation measured in the dark (3H-LeuDark) increased more than 2-fold under high pCO2 conditions. We also examined photoperiod-length, depth-dependent (0–125 m) responses in rates of 14C-PP and 3H-Leu incorporation to abrupt pCO2 increases (to ~750 μatm). In the majority of these depth-resolved experiments (4 of 5 total), rates of 14C-PP demonstrated no consistent response to elevated pCO2. In 2 of 5 depth-resolved experiments, rates of 3H-LeuDark incorporation were lower (10% to 15%) under elevated pCO2 compared to controls. Our results revealed that rates of 14C-PP and bacterial production in this persistently oligotrophic habitat generally demonstrated no or weak responses to abrupt changes in pCO2. We postulate that any effects caused by changes in pCO2 may be masked or outweighed by the role that nutrient availability and temperature play in controlling metabolism in this ecosystem. PMID:29694353

Revealing the Earth’s mantle from the tallest mountains using the Jinping Neutrino Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šrámek, Ondřej; Roskovec, Bedřich; Wipperfurth, Scott A.; Xi, Yufei; McDonough, William F.

2016-09-01

The Earth’s engine is driven by unknown proportions of primordial energy and heat produced in radioactive decay. Unfortunately, competing models of Earth’s composition reveal an order of magnitude uncertainty in the amount of radiogenic power driving mantle dynamics. Recent measurements of the Earth’s flux of geoneutrinos, electron antineutrinos from terrestrial natural radioactivity, reveal the amount of uranium and thorium in the Earth and set limits on the residual proportion of primordial energy. Comparison of the flux measured at large underground neutrino experiments with geologically informed predictions of geoneutrino emission from the crust provide the critical test needed to define the mantle’s radiogenic power. Measurement at an oceanic location, distant from nuclear reactors and continental crust, would best reveal the mantle flux, however, no such experiment is anticipated. We predict the geoneutrino flux at the site of the Jinping Neutrino Experiment (Sichuan, China). Within 8 years, the combination of existing data and measurements from soon to come experiments, including Jinping, will exclude end-member models at the 1σ level, define the mantle’s radiogenic contribution to the surface heat loss, set limits on the composition of the silicate Earth, and provide significant parameter bounds for models defining the mode of mantle convection.

Revealing the Earth’s mantle from the tallest mountains using the Jinping Neutrino Experiment

PubMed Central

Šrámek, Ondřej; Roskovec, Bedřich; Wipperfurth, Scott A.; Xi, Yufei; McDonough, William F.

2016-01-01

The Earth’s engine is driven by unknown proportions of primordial energy and heat produced in radioactive decay. Unfortunately, competing models of Earth’s composition reveal an order of magnitude uncertainty in the amount of radiogenic power driving mantle dynamics. Recent measurements of the Earth’s flux of geoneutrinos, electron antineutrinos from terrestrial natural radioactivity, reveal the amount of uranium and thorium in the Earth and set limits on the residual proportion of primordial energy. Comparison of the flux measured at large underground neutrino experiments with geologically informed predictions of geoneutrino emission from the crust provide the critical test needed to define the mantle’s radiogenic power. Measurement at an oceanic location, distant from nuclear reactors and continental crust, would best reveal the mantle flux, however, no such experiment is anticipated. We predict the geoneutrino flux at the site of the Jinping Neutrino Experiment (Sichuan, China). Within 8 years, the combination of existing data and measurements from soon to come experiments, including Jinping, will exclude end-member models at the 1σ level, define the mantle’s radiogenic contribution to the surface heat loss, set limits on the composition of the silicate Earth, and provide significant parameter bounds for models defining the mode of mantle convection. PMID:27611737

Phenylpropanoid Scent Compounds in Petunia x hybrida Are Glycosylated and Accumulate in Vacuoles

PubMed Central

Cna'ani, Alon; Shavit, Reut; Ravid, Jasmin; Aravena-Calvo, Javiera; Skaliter, Oded; Masci, Tania; Vainstein, Alexander

2017-01-01

Floral scent has been studied extensively in the model plant Petunia. However, little is known about the intracellular fate of scent compounds. Here, we characterize the glycosylation of phenylpropanoid scent compounds in Petunia x hybrida. This modification reduces scent compounds' volatility, reactivity, and autotoxicity while increasing their water-solubility. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analyses revealed that flowers of petunia cultivars accumulate substantial amounts of glycosylated scent compounds and that their increasing level parallels flower development. In contrast to the pool of accumulated aglycones, which drops considerably at the beginning of the light period, the collective pool of glycosides starts to increase at that time and does not decrease thereafter. The glycoside pool is dynamic and is generated or catabolized during peak scent emission, as inferred from phenylalanine isotope-feeding experiments. Using several approaches, we show that phenylpropanoid scent compounds are stored as glycosides in the vacuoles of petal cells: ectopic expression of Aspergillus niger β-glucosidase-1 targeted to the vacuole resulted in decreased glycoside accumulation; GC–MS analysis of intact vacuoles isolated from petal protoplasts revealed the presence of glycosylated scent compounds. Accumulation of glycosides in the vacuoles seems to be a common mechanism for phenylpropanoid metabolites. PMID:29163617

Electrochemical oxygen reduction behavior of selectively deposited platinum atoms on gold nanoparticles.

PubMed

Sarkar, A; Kerr, J B; Cairns, E J

2013-07-22

Carbon-supported Pt@Au "core-shell" nanoparticles with varying surface concentration of platinum atoms have been synthesized using a novel redox-mediated synthesis approach. The synthesis technique allows for a selective deposition of platinum atoms on the surface of prefabricated gold nanoparticles. Energy dispersive spectroscopic analyses in a scanning electron microscope reveal that the platinum to gold atomic ratios are close to the nominal values, validating the synthesis scheme. X-ray diffraction data indicate an un-alloyed structure. The platinum to gold surface atomic ratio determined from cyclic voltammetry and copper under-potential deposition experiments reveal good agreement with the calculated values at low platinum concentration. However, there is an increase in non-uniformity in the deposition process upon increasing the platinum concentration. Koutecky-Levich analysis of the samples indicates a transition of the total number of electrons transferred (n) in the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction from two to four electrons upon increasing the surface concentration of platinum atoms. Furthermore, the data indicate that isolated platinum atoms can reduce molecular oxygen but via a two-electron route. Moreover, successful four-electron reduction of molecular oxygen requires clusters of platinum atoms. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

[C57BL/6 mice open field behaviour qualitatively depends on arena size].

PubMed

Lebedev, I V; Pleskacheva, M G; Anokhin, K V

2012-01-01

Open field behavior is well known to depend on physical characteristics of the apparatus. However many of such effects are poorly described especially with using of modern methods of behavioral registration and analysis. The previous results of experiments on the effect of arena size on behavior are not numerous and contradictory. We compared the behavioral scores of four groups of C57BL/6 mice in round open field arenas of four different sizes (diameter 35, 75, 150 and 220 cm). The behavior was registered and analyzed using Noldus EthoVision, WinTrack and SegmentAnalyzer software. A significant effect of arena size was found. Traveled distance and velocity increased, but not in proportion to increase of arena size. Moreover a significant effect on segment characteristics of the trajectory was revealed. Detailed behavior analysis revealed drastic differences in trajectory structure and number of rears between smaller (35 and 75 cm) and bigger (150 and 220 cm) arenas. We conclude, that the character of exploration in smaller and bigger arenas depends on relative size of central open zone in arena. Apparently its extension increases the motivational heterogeneity of space, that requires another than in smaller arenas, strategy of exploration.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Akabayov, B.; Akabayov, S; Lee , S

Gene 5 of bacteriophage T7 encodes a DNA polymerase (gp5) responsible for the replication of the phage DNA. Gp5 polymerizes nucleotides with low processivity, dissociating after the incorporation of 1 to 50 nucleotides. Thioredoxin (trx) of Escherichia coli binds tightly (Kd = 5 nM) to a unique segment in the thumb subdomain of gp5 and increases processivity. We have probed the molecular basis for the increase in processivity. A single-molecule experiment reveals differences in rates of enzymatic activity and processivity between gp5 and gp5/trx. Small angle X-ray scattering studies combined with nuclease footprinting reveal two conformations of gp5, one inmore » the free state and one upon binding to trx. Comparative analysis of the DNA binding clefts of DNA polymerases and DNA binding proteins show that the binding surface contains more hydrophobic residues than other DNA binding proteins. The balanced composition between hydrophobic and charged residues of the binding site allows for efficient sliding of gp5/trx on the DNA. We propose a model for trx-induced conformational changes in gp5 that enhance the processivity by increasing the interaction of gp5 with DNA.« less

Changes in Water-Food-Energy Nexus in India and its consistency with changes in Monsoon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barik, B.; Ghosh, S.; Pathak, A.

2017-12-01

Meeting the growing demand for food, water, and energy for a densely populated country like India is a major challenge. Green Revolution helped to maintain the food security, with Government policies such as distribution of electricity at a subsidised rate, resulting in an unregulated withdrawal of groundwater. Thus, the depleting groundwater went unnoticed as the high agricultural productivity overshadowed it. Here we present a comprehensive analysis which assess the present status of the water-food-energy nexus in India. We find that with the growth of population and consequent increase in the food demands, the food production has also increased, and this has been made possible with the intensification of irrigation. However, during the recent decade (after 1996), the increase in food production has not been sufficient to meet its growing demands, precipitating a decline in the per-capita food availability. Also, there has been a decline in the groundwater storage in India during the last decade, as derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data. Regional studies reveal contrasting trends, where North-western India and the middle Ganga basin show a decrease in the groundwater storage as opposed to an increasing storage over western-central India. We also find that, after a drought, the groundwater storage drops but is unable to recover to its original condition even after good monsoon years. The groundwater storage reveals a very strong negative correlation with the electricity consumption for agricultural usage, which may also be considered as a proxy for groundwater pumped for irrigation in a region. The electricity usage for agricultural purposes has an increasing trend and, interestingly, it does not have any correlation with the monsoon rainfall. This reveals an important finding that the irrigation has been intensified irrespective of rainfall. This also resulted in a decreasing correlation between the food production and monsoon rainfall, revealing the increasing dependency of agricultural activities on irrigation. We conclude that irrigation has become essential for agriculture to meet the food demand; hence, it should be judiciously regulated and controlled, based on the water availability from monsoon rainfall.

“I Didn’t Know It Existed Before You Called”: Protestant Clergy Experience, Education and Perceptions Regarding Genetics

PubMed Central

Ragsdale, Judy; Vaughn, Lisa; Grossoehme, Daniel

2015-01-01

Despite the intrinsic role religious/spiritual (hereafter, R/S) beliefs have in patient clinical decision-making and crisis coping, there is little research exploring the relationship that exists between clergy (professionals who provide R/S counsel and guidance) and genetic counseling patients. This qualitative, exploratory study was designed to explore Protestant clergy (N=8) perceptions of and experience with genetics-related issues. Data analysis revealed that a wide range of R/S perceptions regarding genetics-related issues exist within Protestantism, Protestant clergy have a basic understanding of genetic testing and conditions, and while directive counseling is inherent to Protestant clergy counseling, there appears to exist two opposing styles: unbiased and biased. Based on this information, there are two main implications for genetic counseling clinical practice. First, R/S assessments need to be increasingly implemented into genetic counseling sessions, so that the psychosocial needs of patients with specific R/S beliefs can be identified and addressed. An increase in R/S assessments may be accomplished by increased exposure in genetic counselor training, continuing education opportunities, and by establishing relationships with board-certified, professional chaplains. Second, genetic counselors can influence the genetic education and experience of clergy by raising awareness within their own R/S assemblies. Doing so can also serve to further educate genetic counselors in the R/S beliefs of their own traditions, thus increasing sensitivity, empathy and the quality of care provided. PMID:23054334

Multi-voxel pattern analysis reveals increased memory targeting and reduced use of retrieved details during single-agenda source monitoring

PubMed Central

McDuff, Susan G. R.; Frankel, Hillary C.; Norman, Kenneth A.

2009-01-01

We used multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) of fMRI data to gain insight into how subjects’ retrieval agendas influence source memory judgments (was item X studied using source Y?). In Experiment 1, we used a single-agenda test where subjects judged whether items were studied with the targeted source or not. In Experiment 2, we used a multi-agenda test where subjects judged whether items were studied using the targeted source, studied using a different source, or nonstudied. To evaluate the differences between single- and multi-agenda source monitoring, we trained a classifier to detect source-specific fMRI activity at study, and then we applied the classifier to data from the test phase. We focused on trials where the targeted source and the actual source differed, so we could use MVPA to track neural activity associated with both the targeted source and the actual source. Our results indicate that single-agenda monitoring was associated with increased focus on the targeted source (as evidenced by increased targeted-source activity, relative to baseline) and reduced use of information relating to the actual, non-target source. In the multi-agenda experiment, high-levels of actual-source activity were associated with increased correct rejections, suggesting that subjects were using recollection of actual-source information to avoid source memory errors. In the single-agenda experiment, there were comparable levels of actual-source activity (suggesting that recollection was taking place), but the relationship between actual-source activity and behavior was absent (suggesting that subjects were failing to make proper use of this information). PMID:19144851

On the Dissociation of Word/Nonword Repetition Effects in Lexical Decision: An Evidence Accumulation Account.

PubMed

Perea, Manuel; Marcet, Ana; Vergara-Martínez, Marta; Gomez, Pablo

2016-01-01

A number of models of visual-word recognition assume that the repetition of an item in a lexical decision experiment increases that item's familiarity/wordness. This would produce not only a facilitative repetition effect for words, but also an inhibitory effect for nonwords (i.e., more familiarity/wordness makes the negative decision slower). We conducted a two-block lexical decision experiment to examine word/nonword repetition effects in the framework of a leading "familiarity/wordness" model of the lexical decision task, namely, the diffusion model (Ratcliff et al., 2004). Results showed that while repeated words were responded to faster than the unrepeated words, repeated nonwords were responded to more slowly than the nonrepeated nonwords. Fits from the diffusion model revealed that the repetition effect for words/nonwords was mainly due to differences in the familiarity/wordness (drift rate) parameter. This word/nonword dissociation favors those accounts that posit that the previous presentation of an item increases its degree of familiarity/wordness.

On the Dissociation of Word/Nonword Repetition Effects in Lexical Decision: An Evidence Accumulation Account

PubMed Central

Perea, Manuel; Marcet, Ana; Vergara-Martínez, Marta; Gomez, Pablo

2016-01-01

A number of models of visual-word recognition assume that the repetition of an item in a lexical decision experiment increases that item's familiarity/wordness. This would produce not only a facilitative repetition effect for words, but also an inhibitory effect for nonwords (i.e., more familiarity/wordness makes the negative decision slower). We conducted a two-block lexical decision experiment to examine word/nonword repetition effects in the framework of a leading “familiarity/wordness” model of the lexical decision task, namely, the diffusion model (Ratcliff et al., 2004). Results showed that while repeated words were responded to faster than the unrepeated words, repeated nonwords were responded to more slowly than the nonrepeated nonwords. Fits from the diffusion model revealed that the repetition effect for words/nonwords was mainly due to differences in the familiarity/wordness (drift rate) parameter. This word/nonword dissociation favors those accounts that posit that the previous presentation of an item increases its degree of familiarity/wordness. PMID:26925021

Probability matching in risky choice: the interplay of feedback and strategy availability.

PubMed

Newell, Ben R; Koehler, Derek J; James, Greta; Rakow, Tim; van Ravenzwaaij, Don

2013-04-01

Probability matching in sequential decision making is a striking violation of rational choice that has been observed in hundreds of experiments. Recent studies have demonstrated that matching persists even in described tasks in which all the information required for identifying a superior alternative strategy-maximizing-is present before the first choice is made. These studies have also indicated that maximizing increases when (1) the asymmetry in the availability of matching and maximizing strategies is reduced and (2) normatively irrelevant outcome feedback is provided. In the two experiments reported here, we examined the joint influences of these factors, revealing that strategy availability and outcome feedback operate on different time courses. Both behavioral and modeling results showed that while availability of the maximizing strategy increases the choice of maximizing early during the task, feedback appears to act more slowly to erode misconceptions about the task and to reinforce optimal responding. The results illuminate the interplay between "top-down" identification of choice strategies and "bottom-up" discovery of those strategies via feedback.

Assessing the impact of a Christmas advertisement campaign on Catalan wine preference using Choice Experiments.

PubMed

Kallas, Zein; Escobar, Cristina; Gil, José Maria

2012-02-01

Our paper seeks to assess the impact of information and advertisement on consumers' preference for wines in special occasions (Christmas) in Catalonia (Spain). We apply the Choice Experiments method to study the relative importance of attributes that describe consumers' decision to purchase wine by using the Heteroskedastic Extreme Value (HEV) model. Data were obtained from two questionnaires applied to a pre and post spot samples formed by 299 and 400 individuals, respectively. Results suggest that the proposed spot does not affect the ranking of the preferred attributes, nevertheless this preference is heterogeneous. After advertising preferences scores have revealed significant differences. The relative importance of the "Catalan" wine has increased compared to the "Spanish" wine. The most preferred product is a Catalan wine made from the "Cabernet Sauvignon" variety. Wines that have been previously tasted by the consumer seem to be preferred over recommended or prestigious wines. However, advertising increases the relative importance of prestigious wines. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Apollo 14 and 16 Active Seismic Experiments, and Apollo 17 Lunar Seismic Profiling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Seismic refraction experiments were conducted on the moon by Apollo astronauts during missions 14, 16, and 17. Seismic velocities of 104, 108, 92, 114 and 100 m/sec were inferred for the lunar regolith at the Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 landing sites, respectively. These data indicate that fragmentation and comminution caused by meteoroid impacts has produced a layer of remarkably uniform seismic properties moonwide. Brecciation and high porosity are the probable causes of the very low velocities observed in the lunar regolith. Apollo 17 seismic data revealed that the seismic velocity increases very rapidly with depth to 4.7 km/sec at a depth of 1.4 km. Such a large velocity change is suggestive of compositional and textural changes and is compatible with a model of fractured basaltic flows overlying anorthositic breccias. 'Thermal' moonquakes were also detected at the Apollo 17 site, becoming increasingly frequent after sunrise and reaching a maximum at sunset. The source of these quakes could possibly be landsliding.

Temperature Effects on Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) from the Dark Ozonolysis and Photo-Oxidation of Isoprene.

PubMed

Clark, Christopher H; Kacarab, Mary; Nakao, Shunsuke; Asa-Awuku, Akua; Sato, Kei; Cocker, David R

2016-06-07

Isoprene is globally the most ubiquitous nonmethane hydrocarbon. The biogenic emission is found in abundance and has a propensity for SOA formation in diverse climates. It is important to characterize isoprene SOA formation with varying reaction temperature. In this work, the effect of temperature on SOA formation, physical properties, and chemical nature is probed. Three experimental systems are probed for temperature effects on SOA formation from isoprene, NO + H2O2 photo-oxidation, H2O2 only photo-oxidation, and dark ozonolysis. These experiments show that isoprene readily forms SOA in unseeded chamber experiments, even during dark ozonolysis, and also reveal that temperature affects SOA yield, volatility, and density formed from isoprene. As temperature increases SOA yield is shown to generally decrease, particle density is shown to be stable (or increase slightly), and formed SOA is shown to be less volatile. Chemical characterization is shown to have a complex trend with both temperature and oxidant, but extensive chemical speciation are provided.

Virtual Environments, Online Racial Discrimination, and Adjustment among a Diverse, School-Based Sample of Adolescents

PubMed Central

Tynes, Brendesha M.; Rose, Chad A.; Hiss, Sophia; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J.; Mitchell, Kimberly; Williams, David

2015-01-01

Given the recent rise in online hate activity and the increased amount of time adolescents spend with media, more research is needed on their experiences with racial discrimination in virtual environments. This cross-sectional study examines the association between amount of time spent online, traditional and online racial discrimination and adolescent adjustment, including depressive symptoms, anxiety and externalizing behaviors. The study also explores the role that social identities, including race and gender, play in these associations. Online surveys were administered to 627 sixth through twelfth graders in K-8, middle and high schools. Multiple regression results revealed that discrimination online was associated with all three outcome variables. Additionally, a significant interaction between online discrimination by time online was found for externalizing behaviors indicating that increased time online and higher levels of online discrimination are associated with more problem behavior. This study highlights the need for clinicians, educational professionals and researchers to attend to race-related experiences online as well as in traditional environments. PMID:27134698

Dynamics of an experimental unconfined aquifer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lajeunesse, E.; Guérin, A.; Devauchelle, O.

2015-12-01

During a rain event, water infiltrates into the ground where it flows slowly towards rivers. We use a tank filled with glass beads to simulate this process in a simplified laboratory experiment. A sprinkler pipe generates rain, which infiltrates into the porous material. Groundwater exits this laboratory aquifer through one side of the tank. The resulting water discharge increases rapidly during rainfall, and decays slowly after the rain has stopped.A theoretical analysis based on Darcy's law and the shallow-water approximation reveals two asymptotic regimes. At the beginning of a rain event, the water discharge increases linearly with time, with a slope proportional to the rainfall rate at the power of 3/2. Long after the rain has stopped, it decreases as the inverse time squared, as predicted by Polubarinova-Kochina (1962). These predictions compare well against our experimental data.Field measurements from two distinct catchments exhibit the same asymptotic behaviours as our experiment. This observation suggests that, despite the simplicity of the setup, our experimental results could be extended to natural groundwater flows.

“Now I Can Do Better”: A Study of Obese Women’s Experiences Following a Nonprescriptive Nutritional Intervention

PubMed Central

Ulian, Mariana D; Gualano, Bruno; Benatti, Fabiana B; de Campos-Ferraz, Patricia L; Roble, Odilon J; Modesto, Bruno T; Brito, Bruna C; Murakawa, Karina A; Torre, Mariana D; Tritto, Aline CC; Unsain, Ramiro F; de M Sato, Priscila; Scagliusi, Fernanda B

2015-01-01

The present study analyzed obese women’s experiences following a nonprescriptive nutritional intervention, implemented through a 1-year program based on the Health at Every Size® philosophy. We employed an action research method and conducted three focus groups during the intervention. We identified five interpretative axes across the focus groups, as follows: conflicts and perceptions; gaining motivation, perspective, and positioning; becoming autonomous eaters; acquiring tools; and the meetings between the nutritional therapist and participant. Our findings revealed varying levels of readiness among participants in adapting to the intervention and varying valuations of achievements related to eating and health, independent of body-weight changes. Participants reported benefiting from and expressed approval of the intervention. Participants reported positive behavioral and attitudinal changes to their diet and improvements to diet quality, diet structure, and consumption. Finally, participants seemed to show increased autonomy concerning diet and indicated increased confidence, comfort, flexibility, and positivity of attitude regarding eating. PMID:26417206

Using Experiential Learning Through Science Experiments to Increase the Motivation of Students Classified as Emotionally Disturbed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crozier, Marisa

When learning is an adventure rather than an exercise in memorization, students can enjoy the process and be motivated to participate in classroom activities (Clem, Mennicke, & Beasley, 2014). Students classified as emotionally disturbed are prone to disruptive behaviors and struggle learning in a traditional science classroom consisting of lecture and demonstrations. They cannot maintain the necessary level of attention nor have the strong reading, writing or memory skills needed to succeed. Therefore, this study examined whether the use of experiential learning would increase on-task behavior and improve the motivation of emotionally disturbed, middle school students in science. Students completed four hands-on experiments aligned with the science curriculum. The data collection methods implemented were an observation checklist with corresponding journal entries, a summative assessment in the form of lab sheets, and student interviews. Through triangulation and analysis, data revealed that the students had more on-task behaviors, were engaged in the lessons, and improved grades in science.

Evaluating residents' preferences for remediation technologies: A choice experiment approach.

PubMed

Huynh, Elisabeth; Araña, Jorge E; Prior, Jason

2018-04-15

The choice of technologies used to remediate contaminated environments is increasingly made through engagement with a multitude of stakeholders including affected residents. Despite this, little is known about how residents perceive remediation technology applications. In this study a choice experiment is designed to explore ways of understanding and measuring residents' preferences for different remediation technologies approaches using a sample of 944 residents in New South Wales, Australia. Analysis reveals that the residents' acceptability of remediation technologies can be explained by both the efficacy of the technology in improving the environmental quality of the community, and the reputational value of the technology. In particular it is found that residents prefer Monitor Natural Attenuation and Bioremediation to other remediation technologies. In particular they are willing to pay an increase in yearly taxes of $44.60 and $41.15 respectively for implementing such technologies instead of alternative remediation technologies like Chemical remediation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cross-Linguistic Similarity and Task Demands in Japanese-English Bilingual Processing

PubMed Central

Allen, David B.; Conklin, Kathy

2013-01-01

Even in languages that do not share script, bilinguals process cognates faster than matched noncognates in a range of tasks. The current research more fully explores what underpins the cognate ‘advantage’ in different script bilinguals (Japanese-English). To do this, instead of the more traditional binary cognate/noncognate distinction, the current study uses continuous measures of phonological and semantic overlap, L2 (second language) proficiency and lexical variables (e.g., frequency). An L2 picture naming (Experiment 1) revealed a significant interaction between phonological and semantic similarity and demonstrates that degree of overlap modulates naming times. In lexical decision (Experiment 2), increased phonological similarity (e.g., bus/basu/vs. radio/rajio/) lead to faster response times. Interestingly, increased semantic similarity slowed response times in lexical decision. The studies also indicate how L2 proficiency and lexical variables modulate L2 word processing. These findings are explained in terms of current models of bilingual lexical processing. PMID:24015266

Chemical analysis and antihyperglycemic activity of an original extract from burdock root (Arctium lappa).

PubMed

Tousch, Didier; Bidel, Luc P R; Cazals, Guillaume; Ferrare, Karine; Leroy, Jeremy; Faucanié, Marie; Chevassus, Hugues; Tournier, Michel; Lajoix, Anne-Dominique; Azay-Milhau, Jacqueline

2014-08-06

In the present study, we obtained a dried burdock root extract (DBRE) rich in caffeoylquinic acids derivatives. We performed the chemical characterization of DBRE and explored its antihyperglycemic potential in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Chemical analysis of DBRE using LC-MS and GC-MS revealed the presence of a great majority of dicaffeoylquinic acid derivatives (75.4%) of which 1,5-di-O-caffeoyl-4-O-maloylquinic acid represents 44% of the extract. In the in vitro experiments, DBRE is able to increase glucose uptake in cultured L6 myocytes and to decrease glucagon-induced glucose output from rat isolated hepatocytes together with a reduction of hepatic glucose 6-phosphatase activity. DBRE did not increase insulin secretion in the INS-1 pancreatic β-cell line. In vivo, DBRE improves glucose tolerance both after intraperitoneal and oral subchronic administration. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that DBRE constitutes an original set of caffeoylquinic acid derivatives displaying antihyperglycemic properties.

Ultrasound coupled with supercritical carbon dioxide for exfoliation of graphene: Simulation and experiment.

PubMed

Gai, Yanzhe; Wang, Wucong; Xiao, Ding; Zhao, Yaping

2018-03-01

Ultrasound coupled with supercritical CO 2 has become an important method for exfoliation of graphene, but behind which a peeling mechanism is unclear. In this work, CFD simulation and experiment were both investigated to elucidate the mechanism and the effects of the process parameters on the exfoliation yield. The experiments and the CFD simulation were conducted under pressure ranging from 8MPa to 16MPa, the ultrasonic power ranging from 12W to 240W and the frequency of 20kHz. The numerical analysis of fluid flow patterns and pressure distributions revealed that the fluid shear stress and the periodical pressure fluctuation generated by ultrasound were primary factors in exfoliating graphene. The distribution of the fluid shear stress decided the effective exfoliation area, which, in turn, affected the yield. The effective area increased from 5.339cm 3 to 8.074cm 3 with increasing ultrasonic power from 12W to 240W, corresponding to the yield increasing from 5.2% to 21.5%. The pressure fluctuation would cause the expansion of the interlayers of graphite. The degree of the expansion increased with the increase of the operating pressure but decreased beyond 12MPa. Thus, the maximum yield was obtained at 12MPa. The cavitation might be generated by ultrasound in supercritical CO 2 . But it is too weak to exfoliate graphite into graphene. These results provide a strategy in optimizing and scaling up the ultrasound-assisted supercritical CO 2 technique for producing graphene. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reproductive experience modified dendritic spines on cortical pyramidal neurons to enhance sensory perception and spatial learning in rats.

PubMed

Chen, Jeng-Rung; Lim, Seh Hong; Chung, Sin-Cun; Lee, Yee-Fun; Wang, Yueh-Jan; Tseng, Guo-Fang; Wang, Tsyr-Jiuan

2017-01-27

Behavioral adaptations during motherhood are aimed at increasing reproductive success. Alterations of hormones during motherhood could trigger brain morphological changes to underlie behavioral alterations. Here we investigated whether motherhood changes a rat's sensory perception and spatial memory in conjunction with cortical neuronal structural changes. Female rats of different statuses, including virgin, pregnant, lactating, and primiparous rats were studied. Behavioral test showed that the lactating rats were most sensitive to heat, while rats with motherhood and reproduction experience outperformed virgin rats in a water maze task. By intracellular dye injection and computer-assisted 3-dimensional reconstruction, the dendritic arbors and spines of the layer III and V pyramidal neurons of the somatosensory cortex and CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons were revealed for closer analysis. The results showed that motherhood and reproductive experience increased dendritic spines but not arbors or the lengths of the layer III and V pyramidal neurons of the somatosensory cortex and CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons. In addition, lactating rats had a higher incidence of spines than pregnant or primiparous rats. The increase of dendritic spines was coupled with increased expression of the glutamatergic postsynaptic marker protein (PSD-95), especially in lactating rats. On the basis of the present results, it is concluded that motherhood enhanced rat sensory perception and spatial memory and was accompanied by increases in dendritic spines on output neurons of the somatosensory cortex and CA1 hippocampus. The effect was sustained for at least 6 weeks after the weaning of the pups.

Increased gray matter density in the parietal cortex of mathematicians: a voxel-based morphometry study.

PubMed

Aydin, K; Ucar, A; Oguz, K K; Okur, O O; Agayev, A; Unal, Z; Yilmaz, S; Ozturk, C

2007-01-01

The training to acquire or practicing to perform a skill, which may lead to structural changes in the brain, is called experience-dependent structural plasticity. The main purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the presence of experience-dependent structural plasticity in mathematicians' brains, which may develop after long-term practice of mathematic thinking. Twenty-six volunteer mathematicians, who have been working as academicians, were enrolled in the study. We applied an optimized method of voxel-based morphometry in the mathematicians and the age- and sex-matched control subjects. We assessed the gray and white matter density differences in mathematicians and the control subjects. Moreover, the correlation between the cortical density and the time spent as an academician was investigated. We found that cortical gray matter density in the left inferior frontal and bilateral inferior parietal lobules of the mathematicians were significantly increased compared with the control subjects. Furthermore, increase in gray matter density in the right inferior parietal lobule of the mathematicians was strongly correlated with the time spent as an academician (r = 0.84; P < .01). Left-inferior frontal and bilateral parietal regions are involved in arithmetic processing. Inferior parietal regions are also involved in high-level mathematic thinking, which requires visuospatial imagery, such as mental creation and manipulation of 3D objects. The voxel-based morphometric analysis of mathematicians' brains revealed increased gray matter density in the cortical regions related to mathematic thinking. The correlation between cortical density increase and the time spent as an academician suggests experience-dependent structural plasticity in mathematicians' brains.

Successful Latina Scientists and Engineers: Their Lived Mentoring Experiences and Career Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

San Miguel, Anitza M.; Kim, Mikyong Minsun

2015-01-01

Utilizing a phenomenological perspective and method, this study aimed to reveal the lived career mentoring experiences of Latinas in science and engineering and to understand how selected Latina scientists and engineers achieved high-level positions. Our in-depth interviews revealed that (a) it is important to have multiple mentors for Latinas'…

Auditory stimuli enhance MDMA-conditioned reward and MDMA-induced nucleus accumbens dopamine, serotonin and locomotor responses

PubMed Central

Feduccia, Allison A.; Duvauchelle, Christine L.

2016-01-01

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), also known as ecstasy, is a popular drug often taken in environments rich in audio and visual stimulation, such as clubs and dance parties. The present experiments were conducted to test the notion that auditory stimulation influences the rewarding effects of MDMA. In Experiment 1, a conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure was conducted in which rats received MDMA (1.5 mg/kg, s.c.) in a distinctive environment accompanied by music (65–75 dB), white noise (70 dB), or no added sound. Animals were pretreated with saline on alternating days in an alternate environment. Results revealed CPP in animals exposed to white noise during MDMA trials. For Experiment 2, rats from Experiment 1 had access to operant levers that delivered intravenous MDMA (0.5 mg/kg/inj) or saline (0.1 ml) on alternate days in the presence or absence of the same types of auditory stimuli as previously experienced. After three each of MDMA and non-reinforced (saline) sessions, animals were tested for NAcc DA and 5-HT responses to MDMA (1.5 mg/kg) or saline under the same stimulus conditions. Findings revealed that NAcc DA and 5-HT increased after an MDMA injection, and both DA and 5-HT were significantly highest in animals exposed to music during the test session. These results indicate that paired sensorial stimuli can engage the same systems activated during drug use and enhance neurochemical and behavioral responses to MDMA administration. PMID:18722516

Embedding Probeware Technology in the Context of Ocean Acidification in Elementary Science Methods Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ensign, Todd I.; Rye, James A.; Luna, Melissa J.

2017-12-01

Research indicates that preservice teacher (PT) education programs can positively impact perceptions of scientific probeware use in K-8 environments. Despite the potential of probeware to improve science instruction and student engagement, its use in elementary education has been limited. Sixty-seven PT enrolled across three sections of an elementary science methods course participated in a mixed-methods study through which they utilized probeware in a thematic experience on ocean acidification. One-way repeated measures ANOVA of pre and post survey data measuring subscales of utility, ability, and intent to use probeware demonstrated a statistically significant increase with medium to large effect sizes for all subscales across all sections (p<0.01,{η}_p^2=0.384;p<0.001,{η}_p^2=0.517;p<0.001,{η}_p^2=0.214) . Analysis of reflective journals revealed over 60% felt the multiple capabilities (notably graphing) of probeware make it a useful classroom tool, and almost one-half believed that its use makes science more enjoyable and engaging. Mapping of the unitized data from the journals on the Next Generation Science Standards suggested that probeware use especially engages learners in planning and carrying out investigations and in analyzing and interpreting data. Journals also revealed that despite PT having prior experience with probeware in science courses, its use in their future elementary classroom is conditional on having a positive experience with probeware in a science methods course. Further, embedding a probeware experience in a unit on ocean acidification provides PT with strategies for addressing climate change and engaging in argument from evidence.

Using family and staff experiences of a botulinum toxin-A service to improve service quality.

PubMed

Burton, K L O; Bau, K; Lewis, J; Aroyan, K R; Botha, B; Botman, A G M; Stewart, K; Waugh, M-C A; Paget, S P

2017-11-01

The decision for families to proceed with botulinum toxin-A (BoNT-A) injections for managing childhood conditions involving hypertonia can be complex. Family-centred care is a service model that facilitates supporting families in this decision-making process. Understanding families' experiences of services is critical to developing family-centred care. The aim of this project was therefore to increase understanding of the experiences of families of children attending a BoNT-A service in order to improve the service and its family-centred approach to care. Sixteen staff of a BoNT-A service participated in a patient journey mapping exercise. Nine families of the service participated in in-depth interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data from the staff session and interviews were analysed independently using grounded, hermeneutic thematic analysis. Staff sessions revealed 5 core themes that related to impacting on the family experience. Family interviews revealed 4 core themes, with 7 subthemes and 1 latent theme. Areas of importance identified by families relating to BoNT-A treatment included acknowledgement of individual needs, care coordination, empowerment of families and patients, consistency in service delivery, and the distressing nature of appointment and decision-making. Comparison of the data from the staff patient journey mapping and family interviews suggested that staff have a good but incomplete understanding of the factors important to families, highlighting the need for consumer engagement in establishing family-centred care. The themes identified can guide the provision of family-centred BoNT-A injection clinics. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spread of Botrytis cinerea Strains with Multiple Fungicide Resistance in German Horticulture

PubMed Central

Rupp, Sabrina; Weber, Roland W. S.; Rieger, Daniel; Detzel, Peter; Hahn, Matthias

2017-01-01

Botrytis cinerea is a major plant pathogen, causing gray mold rot in a variety of cultures. Repeated fungicide applications are common but have resulted in the development of fungal populations with resistance to one or more fungicides. In this study, we have monitored fungicide resistance frequencies and the occurrence of multiple resistance in Botrytis isolates from raspberries, strawberries, grapes, stone fruits and ornamental flowers in Germany in 2010 to 2015. High frequencies of resistance to all classes of botryticides was common in all cultures, and isolates with multiple fungicide resistance represented a major part of the populations. A monitoring in a raspberry field over six seasons revealed a continuous increase in resistance frequencies and the emergence of multiresistant Botrytis strains. In a cherry orchard and a vineyard, evidence of the immigration of multiresistant strains from the outside was obtained. Inoculation experiments with fungicide-treated leaves in the laboratory and with strawberry plants cultivated in the greenhouse or outdoors revealed a nearly complete loss of fungicide efficacy against multiresistant strains. B. cinerea field strains carrying multiple resistance mutations against all classes of site-specific fungicides were found to show similar fitness as sensitive field strains under laboratory conditions, based on their vegetative growth, reproduction, stress resistance, virulence and competitiveness in mixed infection experiments. Our data indicate an alarming increase in the occurrence of multiresistance in B. cinerea populations from different cultures, which presents a major threat to the chemical control of gray mold. PMID:28096799

Linking pain and the body: neural correlates of visually induced analgesia.

PubMed

Longo, Matthew R; Iannetti, Gian Domenico; Mancini, Flavia; Driver, Jon; Haggard, Patrick

2012-02-22

The visual context of seeing the body can reduce the experience of acute pain, producing a multisensory analgesia. Here we investigated the neural correlates of this "visually induced analgesia" using fMRI. We induced acute pain with an infrared laser while human participants looked either at their stimulated right hand or at another object. Behavioral results confirmed the expected analgesic effect of seeing the body, while fMRI results revealed an associated reduction of laser-induced activity in ipsilateral primary somatosensory cortex (SI) and contralateral operculoinsular cortex during the visual context of seeing the body. We further identified two known cortical networks activated by sensory stimulation: (1) a set of brain areas consistently activated by painful stimuli (the so-called "pain matrix"), and (2) an extensive set of posterior brain areas activated by the visual perception of the body ("visual body network"). Connectivity analyses via psychophysiological interactions revealed that the visual context of seeing the body increased effective connectivity (i.e., functional coupling) between posterior parietal nodes of the visual body network and the purported pain matrix. Increased connectivity with these posterior parietal nodes was seen for several pain-related regions, including somatosensory area SII, anterior and posterior insula, and anterior cingulate cortex. These findings suggest that visually induced analgesia does not involve an overall reduction of the cortical response elicited by laser stimulation, but is consequent to the interplay between the brain's pain network and a posterior network for body perception, resulting in modulation of the experience of pain.

The Rewarding Aspects of Music Listening Are Related to Degree of Emotional Arousal

PubMed Central

Salimpoor, Valorie N.; Benovoy, Mitchel; Longo, Gregory; Cooperstock, Jeremy R.; Zatorre, Robert J.

2009-01-01

Background Listening to music is amongst the most rewarding experiences for humans. Music has no functional resemblance to other rewarding stimuli, and has no demonstrated biological value, yet individuals continue listening to music for pleasure. It has been suggested that the pleasurable aspects of music listening are related to a change in emotional arousal, although this link has not been directly investigated. In this study, using methods of high temporal sensitivity we investigated whether there is a systematic relationship between dynamic increases in pleasure states and physiological indicators of emotional arousal, including changes in heart rate, respiration, electrodermal activity, body temperature, and blood volume pulse. Methodology Twenty-six participants listened to self-selected intensely pleasurable music and “neutral” music that was individually selected for them based on low pleasure ratings they provided on other participants' music. The “chills” phenomenon was used to index intensely pleasurable responses to music. During music listening, continuous real-time recordings of subjective pleasure states and simultaneous recordings of sympathetic nervous system activity, an objective measure of emotional arousal, were obtained. Principal Findings Results revealed a strong positive correlation between ratings of pleasure and emotional arousal. Importantly, a dissociation was revealed as individuals who did not experience pleasure also showed no significant increases in emotional arousal. Conclusions/Significance These results have broader implications by demonstrating that strongly felt emotions could be rewarding in themselves in the absence of a physically tangible reward or a specific functional goal. PMID:19834599

Spread of Botrytis cinerea Strains with Multiple Fungicide Resistance in German Horticulture.

PubMed

Rupp, Sabrina; Weber, Roland W S; Rieger, Daniel; Detzel, Peter; Hahn, Matthias

2016-01-01

Botrytis cinerea is a major plant pathogen, causing gray mold rot in a variety of cultures. Repeated fungicide applications are common but have resulted in the development of fungal populations with resistance to one or more fungicides. In this study, we have monitored fungicide resistance frequencies and the occurrence of multiple resistance in Botrytis isolates from raspberries, strawberries, grapes, stone fruits and ornamental flowers in Germany in 2010 to 2015. High frequencies of resistance to all classes of botryticides was common in all cultures, and isolates with multiple fungicide resistance represented a major part of the populations. A monitoring in a raspberry field over six seasons revealed a continuous increase in resistance frequencies and the emergence of multiresistant Botrytis strains. In a cherry orchard and a vineyard, evidence of the immigration of multiresistant strains from the outside was obtained. Inoculation experiments with fungicide-treated leaves in the laboratory and with strawberry plants cultivated in the greenhouse or outdoors revealed a nearly complete loss of fungicide efficacy against multiresistant strains. B. cinerea field strains carrying multiple resistance mutations against all classes of site-specific fungicides were found to show similar fitness as sensitive field strains under laboratory conditions, based on their vegetative growth, reproduction, stress resistance, virulence and competitiveness in mixed infection experiments. Our data indicate an alarming increase in the occurrence of multiresistance in B. cinerea populations from different cultures, which presents a major threat to the chemical control of gray mold.

Elucidating the interactions and phytotoxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles with agriculturally beneficial bacteria and selected crop plants.

PubMed

Boddupalli, Anuraag; Tiwari, Rameshwar; Sharma, Anamika; Singh, Surender; Prasanna, Radha; Nain, Lata

2017-05-01

There is a growing interest in the use of bioinoculants to assist mineral fertilizers in improving crop production and yield. Azotobacter and Pseudomonas are two agriculturally relevant strains of bacteria which have been established as efficient bioinoculants. An experiment involving addition of graded concentrations of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles was undertaken using log phase cultures of Azotobacter and Pseudomonas. Growth kinetics revealed a clear trend of gradual decrease with Pseudomonas; however, Azotobacter exhibited a twofold enhancement in growth with increase in the concentration of ZnO concentration. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), supported by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses, illustrated the significant effect of ZnO nanoparticles on Azotobacter by the enhancement in the abundance of globular biofilm-like structures and the intracellular presence of ZnO, with the increase in its concentration. It can be surmised that extracellular mucilage production in Azotobacter may be providing a barrier to the nanoparticles. Further experiments with Azotobacter by inoculation of wheat and tomato seeds with ZnO nanoparticles alone or bacteria grown on ZnO-infused growth medium revealed interesting results. Vigour index of wheat seeds reduced by 40-50% in the presence of different concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles alone, which was alleviated by 15-20%, when ZnO and Azotobacter were present together. However, a drastic 50-60% decrease in vigour indices of tomato seeds was recorded, irrespective of Azotobacter inoculation.

Physiological relevance of LL-37 induced bladder inflammation and mast cells.

PubMed

Oottamasathien, Siam; Jia, Wanjian; Roundy, Lindsi McCoard; Zhang, Jianxing; Wang, Li; Ye, Xiangyang; Hill, A Cameron; Savage, Justin; Lee, Wong Yong; Hannon, Ann Marie; Milner, Sylvia; Prestwich, Glenn D

2013-10-01

We established the physiological relevance of LL-37 induced bladder inflammation. We hypothesized that 1) human urinary LL-37 is increased in pediatric patients with spina bifida, 2) LL-37 induced inflammation occurs in our mouse model via urothelial binding and is dose dependent and 3) LL-37 induced inflammation involves mast cells. To test our first hypothesis, we obtained urine samples from 56 pediatric patients with spina bifida and 22 normal patients. LL-37 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Our second hypothesis was tested in C57Bl/6 mice challenged with 7 LL-37 concentrations intravesically for 1 hour. At 24 hours tissues were examined histologically and myeloperoxidase assay was done to quantitate inflammation. In separate experiments fluorescent LL-37 was instilled and tissues were obtained immediately (time = 0) and at 24 hours (time = 24). To test our final hypothesis, we performed immunohistochemistry for mast cell tryptase and evaluated 5 high power fields per bladder to determine the mean number of mast cells per mm(2). Urinary LL-37 was 89-fold higher in patients with spina bifida. Mouse LL-37 dose escalation experiments revealed increased inflammation at higher LL-37 concentrations. Fluorescent LL-37 demonstrated global urothelial binding at time = 0 but was not visible at time = 24. Immunohistochemistry for tryptase revealed mast cell infiltration in all tissue layers. At higher concentrations the LL-37 challenge led to significantly greater mast cell infiltration. Urinary LL-37 was significantly increased in pediatric patients with spina bifida. To our knowledge we report for the first time that LL-37 can elicit profound, dose dependent bladder inflammation involving the urothelium. Finally, inflammation propagation involves mast cells. Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Physiological Relevance of LL-37 Induced Bladder Inflammation and Mast Cells

PubMed Central

Roundy, Lindsi McCoard; Zhang, Jianxing; Wang, Li; Ye, Xiangyang; Hill, A. Cameron; Savage, Justin; Lee, Wong Yong; Hannon, Ann Marie; Milner, Sylvia; Prestwich, Glenn D.

2014-01-01

Purpose We established the physiological relevance of LL-37 induced bladder inflammation. We hypothesized that 1) human urinary LL-37 is increased in pediatric patients with spina bifida, 2) LL-37 induced inflammation occurs in our mouse model via urothelial binding and is dose dependent and 3) LL-37 induced inflammation involves mast cells. Materials and Methods To test our first hypothesis, we obtained urine samples from 56 pediatric patients with spina bifida and 22 normal patients. LL-37 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Our second hypothesis was tested in C57Bl/6 mice challenged with 7 LL-37 concentrations intravesically for 1 hour. At 24 hours tissues were examined histologically and myeloperoxidase assay was done to quantitate inflammation. In separate experiments fluorescent LL-37 was instilled and tissues were obtained immediately (time = 0) and at 24 hours (time = 24). To test our final hypothesis, we performed immunohistochemistry for mast cell tryptase and evaluated 5 high power fields per bladder to determine the mean number of mast cells per mm2. Results Urinary LL-37 was 89-fold higher in patients with spina bifida. Mouse LL-37 dose escalation experiments revealed increased inflammation at higher LL-37 concentrations. Fluorescent LL-37 demonstrated global urothelial binding at time = 0 but was not visible at time = 24. Immunohistochemistry for tryptase revealed mast cell infiltration in all tissue layers. At higher concentrations the LL-37 challenge led to significantly greater mast cell infiltration. Conclusions Urinary LL-37 was significantly increased in pediatric patients with spina bifida. To our knowledge we report for the first time that LL-37 can elicit profound, dose dependent bladder inflammation involving the urothelium. Finally, inflammation propagation involves mast cells. PMID:23313203

The number of striatal cholinergic interneurons expressing calretinin is increased in parkinsonian monkeys.

PubMed

Petryszyn, Sarah; Di Paolo, Thérèse; Parent, André; Parent, Martin

2016-11-01

The most abundant interneurons in the primate striatum are those expressing the calcium-binding protein calretinin (CR). The present immunohistochemical study provides detailed assessments of their morphological traits, number, and topographical distribution in normal monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) and in monkeys rendered parkinsonian (PD) by MPTP intoxication. In primates, the CR+ striatal interneurons comprise small (8-12μm), medium (12-20μm) and large-sized (20-45μm) neurons, each with distinctive morphologies. The small CR+ neurons were 2-3 times more abundant than the medium-sized CR+ neurons, which were 20-40 times more numerous than the large CR+ neurons. In normal and PD monkeys, the density of small and medium-sized CR+ neurons was twice as high in the caudate nucleus than in the putamen, whereas the inverse occurred for the large CR+ neurons. Double immunostaining experiments revealed that only the large-sized CR+ neurons expressed choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). The number of large CR+ neurons was found to increase markedly (4-12 times) along the entire anteroposterior extent of both the caudate nucleus and putamen of PD monkeys compared to controls. Comparison of the number of large CR-/ChAT+ and CR+/ChAT+ neurons together with experiments involving the use of bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU) as a marker of newly generated cells showed that it is the expression of CR by the large ChAT+ striatal interneurons, and not their absolute number, that is increased in the dopamine-depleted striatum. These findings reveal the modulatory role of dopamine in the phenotypic expression of the large cholinergic striatal neurons, which are known to play a crucial role in PD pathophysiology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Frictional Properties of the Nankai Trough Accretionary Mud Samples Collected from 1000-3000 mbsf at IODP Site C0002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanagawa, K.; Hoshino, K.; Abe, K.; Sawai, M.

2016-12-01

We conducted triaxial friction experiments on the Nankai Trough accretionary mud samples collected from 1000-3000 mbsf (meters below seafloor) at IODP Site C0002 off Kii Peninsula, at confining pressures of 44-83 MPa, pore water pressures of 32-50 MPa and temperatures of 51-98°C equivalent to their in situ conditions, and at axial displacement rates changed stepwise among 0.1, 1 and 10 µm/s, in order to investigate their frictional properties changing with depth. XRD analyses of tested mud samples revealed that the content of total clay minerals tends to increase with depth from 30 to 60 wt%, while the smectite fraction in total clay minerals decreases with depth from 0.75 to 0.3. Because the temperature at 3000 mbsf reaches 100°C, this decrease in smectite fraction with depth is likely due to the progress of smectite dehydration with increasing temperature. Friction experiments on tested mud samples revealed that the steady-state friction coefficient at an axial displacement rate of 1 µm/s tends to decrease with depth from 0.5 to 0.3, according to the increasing content of total clay minerals with depth. Velocity dependence of steady-state friction also tends to decrease with depth, likely reflecting a decrease in smectite fraction in total clay minerals. Although velocity dependence of steady-state friction is mostly positive at depths down to 3000 mbsf, it is locally neutral or negative at depths deeper than 2000 mbsf, implying that faulting at these depths is conditionally stable and possibly accompanied by slow slip events.

A microcosm approach to evaluate the degradation of tributyltin (TBT) by Aeromonas molluscorum Av27 in estuarine sediments.

PubMed

Cruz, Andreia; Henriques, Isabel; Sousa, Ana C A; Baptista, Inês; Almeida, Adelaide; Takahashi, Shin; Tanabe, Shinsuke; Correia, António; Suzuki, Satoru; Anselmo, Ana Maria; Mendo, Sónia

2014-07-01

Tributyltin (TBT) is a biocide extremely toxic to a wide range of organisms, which has been used for decades in antifouling paints. Despite its global ban in 2008, TBT is still a problem of great concern due to the high levels trapped in sediments. Aeromonas molluscorum Av27 is a TBT degrading bacterium that was isolated from an estuarine system. We investigated the ability and the role of this bacterium on TBT degradation in this estuarine system, using a microcosm approach in order to mimic environmental conditions. The experiment was established and followed for 150 days. Simultaneously, changes in the indigenous bacterial community structure were also investigated. The results revealed a maximum TBT degradation rate of 28% accompanied by the detection of the degradation products over time. Additionally, it was observed that TBT degradation was significantly enhanced by the presence of Av27. In addition a significantly higher TBT degradation occurred when the concentration of Av27 was higher. TBT degradation affected the bacterial community composition as revealed by the changes in the prevalence of Proteobacteria subdivisions, namely the increase of Deltaproteobacteria and the onset of Epsilonproteobacteria. However, the addition of Av27 strain did not affect the dominant phylotypes. Total bacterial number, bacterial biomass productivity, 16S rRNA gene and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses also indicated alterations on the bacterial community structure over time, with bacteria non-tolerant to pollutants increasing their representativeness, as, for instance, the increase of the number of Alphaproteobacteria clones from 6% in the beginning to 12% at the end of the experiment. The work herein presented confirms the potential of Av27 strain to be used in the decontamination of TBT-polluted environments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Taxonomy of Individual Variations in Aesthetic Responses to Fractal Patterns

PubMed Central

Spehar, Branka; Walker, Nicholas; Taylor, Richard P.

2016-01-01

In two experiments, we investigate group and individual preferences in a range of different types of patterns with varying fractal-like scaling characteristics. In Experiment 1, we used 1/f filtered grayscale images as well as their thresholded (black and white) and edges only counterparts. Separate groups of observers viewed different types of images varying in slope of their amplitude spectra. Although with each image type, the groups exhibited the “universal” pattern of preference for intermediate amplitude spectrum slopes, we identified 4 distinct sub-groups in each case. Sub-group 1 exhibited a typical peak preference for intermediate amplitude spectrum slopes (“intermediate”; approx. 50%); sub-group 2 exhibited a linear increase in preference with increasing amplitude spectrum slope (“smooth”; approx. 20%), while sub-group 3 exhibited a linear decrease in preference as a function of the amplitude spectrum slope (“sharp”; approx. 20%). Sub-group 4 revealed no significant preference (“other”; approx. 10%). In Experiment 2, we extended the range of different image types and investigated preferences within the same observers. We replicate the results of our first experiment and show that individual participants exhibit stable patterns of preference across a wide range of image types. In both experiments, Q-mode factor analysis identified two principal factors that were able to explain more than 80% of interindividual variations in preference across all types of images, suggesting a highly similar dimensional structure of interindividual variations in preference for fractal-like scaling characteristics. PMID:27458365

Metacognition of the testing effect: Guiding learners to predict the benefits of retrieval

PubMed Central

Tullis, Jonathan G.; Finley, Jason R.; Benjamin, Aaron S.

2012-01-01

If the mnemonic benefits of testing are to be widely realized in real-world learning circumstances, people must appreciate the value of testing and choose to utilize testing during self-guided learning. Yet metacognitive judgments do not appear to reflect the enhancement provided by testing (Karpicke & Roediger, 2008). In this paper, we show that under judicious conditions learners can indeed reveal an understanding of the beneficial effects of testing as well as the interaction of that effect with delay (Experiment 1). In that experiment, subjects made judgments of learning (JOLs) for previously studied or previously tested items in either a cue-only or cue-target context, and either immediately or after a one-day delay. When subjects made judgments in a cue-only context, their JOLs accurately reflected the effects of testing, both immediately and at a delay. To evaluate the potential of exposure to such conditions for promoting generalized appreciation of testing effects, three further experiments elicited global predictions about re-studied and tested items across two study/test cycles (Experiments 2, 3, and 4). The results indicated that learners’ global naïve metacognitive beliefs increasingly reflect the beneficial effects of testing when learners experience these benefits with increasing external support. If queried under facilitative circumstances, learners appreciate the mnemonic enhancement that testing provides on both an item-by-item and global basis, but generalize that knowledge to future learning only with considerable guidance. PMID:23242770

Video game characteristics, happiness and flow as predictors of addiction among video game players: A pilot study.

PubMed

Hull, Damien C; Williams, Glenn A; Griffiths, Mark D

2013-09-01

Video games provide opportunities for positive psychological experiences such as flow-like phenomena during play and general happiness that could be associated with gaming achievements. However, research has shown that specific features of game play may be associated with problematic behaviour associated with addiction-like experiences. The study was aimed at analysing whether certain structural characteristics of video games, flow, and global happiness could be predictive of video game addiction. A total of 110 video game players were surveyed about a game they had recently played by using a 24-item checklist of structural characteristics, an adapted Flow State Scale, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, and the Game Addiction Scale. The study revealed decreases in general happiness had the strongest role in predicting increases in gaming addiction. One of the nine factors of the flow experience was a significant predictor of gaming addiction - perceptions of time being altered during play. The structural characteristic that significantly predicted addiction was its social element with increased sociability being associated with higher levels of addictive-like experiences. Overall, the structural characteristics of video games, elements of the flow experience, and general happiness accounted for 49.2% of the total variance in Game Addiction Scale levels. Implications for interventions are discussed, particularly with regard to making players more aware of time passing and in capitalising on benefits of social features of video game play to guard against addictive-like tendencies among video game players.

Video game characteristics, happiness and flow as predictors of addiction among video game players: A pilot study

PubMed Central

Hull, Damien C.; Williams, Glenn A.; Griffiths, Mark D.

2013-01-01

Aims: Video games provide opportunities for positive psychological experiences such as flow-like phenomena during play and general happiness that could be associated with gaming achievements. However, research has shown that specific features of game play may be associated with problematic behaviour associated with addiction-like experiences. The study was aimed at analysing whether certain structural characteristics of video games, flow, and global happiness could be predictive of video game addiction. Method: A total of 110 video game players were surveyed about a game they had recently played by using a 24-item checklist of structural characteristics, an adapted Flow State Scale, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, and the Game Addiction Scale. Results: The study revealed decreases in general happiness had the strongest role in predicting increases in gaming addiction. One of the nine factors of the flow experience was a significant predictor of gaming addiction – perceptions of time being altered during play. The structural characteristic that significantly predicted addiction was its social element with increased sociability being associated with higher levels of addictive-like experiences. Overall, the structural characteristics of video games, elements of the flow experience, and general happiness accounted for 49.2% of the total variance in Game Addiction Scale levels. Conclusions: Implications for interventions are discussed, particularly with regard to making players more aware of time passing and in capitalising on benefits of social features of video game play to guard against addictive-like tendencies among video game players. PMID:25215196

Capillary Pumped Heat Transfer (CHT) Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hallinan, Kevin P.; Allen, J. S.

1998-01-01

The operation of Capillary Pumped Loops (CPL's) in low gravity has generally been unable to match ground-based performance. The reason for this poorer performance has been elusive. In order to investigate the behavior of a CPL in low-gravity, an idealized, glass CPL experiment was constructed. This experiment, known as the Capillary-driven Heat Transfer (CHT) experiment, was flown on board the Space Shuttle Columbia in July 1997 during the Microgravity Science Laboratory mission. During the conduct of the CHT experiment an unexpected failure mode was observed. This failure mode was a result of liquid collecting and then eventually bridging the vapor return line. With the vapor return line blocked, the condensate was unable to return to the evaporator and dry-out subsequently followed. The mechanism for this collection and bridging has been associated with long wavelength instabilities of the liquid film forming in the vapor return line. Analysis has shown that vapor line blockage in present generation CPL devices is inevitable. Additionally, previous low-gravity CPL tests have reported the presence of relatively low frequency pressure oscillations during erratic system performance. Analysis reveals that these pressure oscillations are in part a result of long wavelength instabilities present in the evaporator pores, which likewise lead to liquid bridging and vapor entrapment in the porous media. Subsequent evaporation to the trapped vapor increases the vapor pressure. Eventually the vapor pressure causes ejection of the bridged liquid. Recoil stresses depress the meniscus, the vapor pressure rapidly increases, and the heated surface cools. The process then repeats with regularity.

Microgravity and bone cell mechanosensitivity: FLOW experiment during the DELTA mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bacabac, Rommel G.; Van Loon, Jack J. W. A.; de Blieck-Hogervorst, Jolanda M. A.; Semeins, Cor M.; Zandieh-Doulabi, Behrouz; Helder, Marco N.; Smit, Theo H.; Klein-Nulend, Jenneke

2007-09-01

The catabolic effects of microgravity on mineral metabolism in bone organ cultures might be explained as resulting from an exceptional form of disuse. It is possible that the mechanosensitivity of bone cells is altered under near weightlessness conditions, which likely contributes to disturbed bone metabolism observed in astronauts. In the experiment "FLOW", we tested whether the production of early signaling molecules that are involved in the mechanical load-induced osteogenic response by bone cells is changed under microgravity conditions. FLOW was one of the Biological experiment entries to the Dutch Soyuz Mission "DELTA" (Dutch Expedition for Life Science, Technology and Atmospheric Research). FLOW was flown by the Soyuz craft, launched on April 19, 2004, on its way to the International Space Station. Primary osteocytes, osteoblasts, and periosteal fibroblasts were incubated in plunger boxes, developed by Centre for Concepts in Mechatronics, using plunger activation events for single pulse fluid shear stress stimulations. Due to unforeseen hardware complications, results from in-flight cultures are considered lost. Ground control experiments showed an accumulative increase of NO in medium for osteocytes (as well as for osteoblasts and periosteal fibroblasts). Data from the online-NO sensor showed that the NO produced in medium by osteocytes increased sharply after pulse shear stress stimulations. COX-2 mRNA expression revealed high levels in osteoblasts compared to the other cell types tested. In conclusion, preparations for the FLOW experiment and preliminary ground results indicate that the FLOW setup is viable for a future flight opportunity.

Interactions between auditory 'what' and 'where' pathways revealed by enhanced near-threshold discrimination of frequency and position.

PubMed

Tardif, Eric; Spierer, Lucas; Clarke, Stephanie; Murray, Micah M

2008-03-07

Partially segregated neuronal pathways ("what" and "where" pathways, respectively) are thought to mediate sound recognition and localization. Less studied are interactions between these pathways. In two experiments, we investigated whether near-threshold pitch discrimination sensitivity (d') is altered by supra-threshold task-irrelevant position differences and likewise whether near-threshold position discrimination sensitivity is altered by supra-threshold task-irrelevant pitch differences. Each experiment followed a 2 x 2 within-subjects design regarding changes/no change in the task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimulus dimensions. In Experiment 1, subjects discriminated between 750 Hz and 752 Hz pure tones, and d' for this near-threshold pitch change significantly increased by a factor of 1.09 when accompanied by a task-irrelevant position change of 65 micros interaural time difference (ITD). No response bias was induced by the task-irrelevant position change. In Experiment 2, subjects discriminated between 385 micros and 431 micros ITDs, and d' for this near-threshold position change significantly increased by a factor of 0.73 when accompanied by task-irrelevant pitch changes (6 Hz). In contrast to Experiment 1, task-irrelevant pitch changes induced a response criterion bias toward responding that the two stimuli differed. The collective results are indicative of facilitative interactions between "what" and "where" pathways. By demonstrating how these pathways may cooperate under impoverished listening conditions, our results bear implications for possible neuro-rehabilitation strategies. We discuss our results in terms of the dual-pathway model of auditory processing.

Nursing care dependence in the experiences of advanced cancer inpatients.

PubMed

Piredda, Michela; Bartiromo, Chiara; Capuzzo, Maria Teresa; Matarese, Maria; De Marinis, Maria Grazia

2016-02-01

Increasing burden of cancer in Europe and socio-demographic trends imply that more cancer patients will face high levels of dependency. Care dependency is often perceived as a distressing experience by cancer patients who are concerned about becoming a burden to others. The experience of care dependence has been scarcely investigated in advanced cancer patients, especially in the hospital setting. This study aimed at describing advanced cancer patients' experiences of care dependence in hospital and of the factors perceived by them as contributing to decrease or increase this dependence. The study used a descriptive phenomenological approach based on Husserl's (1913) life world perspective. Data collection and analysis followed Giorgi's (1997) five basic methodological steps. Data were gathered by semi-structured interviews with thirteen advanced cancer adult inpatients of a teaching hospital. The interviews were audio-recorded and the recordings transcribed word for word. Three themes emerged: 'dependency discovers new meanings of life', 'active coping with dependency' and 'the care cures the dependent person'. The essential meaning of care dependency was the possibility to become aware of being a person as both an object and subject of care. Dependence appears as an experience with strong relational connotations, which enable patients to see differently their life, themselves, the world and others. Dependency is revealed as a natural experience, only partly in accordance with previous studies. Deeper insight into the meaning patients attach to care dependency can enable nurses to better meet the patient's needs, e.g. by improving caring relationships with patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The on-road experiences and awareness of sleepiness in a sample of Australian highway drivers: A roadside driver sleepiness study.

PubMed

Watling, Christopher N; Armstrong, Kerry A; Smith, Simon S; Wilson, Adrian

2016-01-01

Driver sleepiness contributes substantially to road crash incidents. Simulator and on-road studies clearly reveal an impairing effect from sleepiness on driving ability. However, the degree to which drivers appreciate the dangerousness of driving while sleepy is somewhat unclear. This study sought to determine drivers' on-road experiences of sleepiness, their prior sleep habits, and personal awareness of the signs of sleepiness. Participants were a random selection of 92 drivers traveling on a major highway in the state of Queensland, Australia, who were stopped by police as part of routine drink driving operations. Participants completed a brief questionnaire that included demographic information, sleepy driving experiences (signs of sleepiness and on-road experiences of sleepiness), and prior sleep habits. A modified version of the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) was used to assess subjective sleepiness in the 15 min prior to being stopped by police. Participants' ratings of subjective sleepiness were quite low, with 90% reporting being alert to extremely alert on the KSS. Participants were reasonably aware of the signs of sleepiness, with many signs of sleepiness associated with on-road experiences of sleepiness. Additionally, the number of hours spent driving was positively correlated with the drivers' level of sleep debt. The results suggest that participants had moderate experiences of driving while sleepy and many were aware of the signs of sleepiness. The relationship between driving long distances and increased sleep debt is a concern for road safety. Increased education regarding the dangers of sleepy driving seems warranted.

Auditory proactive interference in monkeys: The role of stimulus set size and intertrial interval

PubMed Central

Bigelow, James; Poremba, Amy

2013-01-01

We conducted two experiments to examine the influence of stimulus set size (the number of stimuli that are used throughout the session) and intertrial interval (ITI, the elapsed time between trials) in auditory short-term memory in monkeys. We used an auditory delayed matching-to-sample task wherein the animals had to indicate whether two sounds separated by a 5-s retention interval were the same (match trials) or different (non-match trials). In Experiment 1, we randomly assigned a stimulus set size of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, or 192 (trial unique) for each session of 128 trials. Consistent with previous visual studies, overall accuracy was consistently lower when smaller stimulus set sizes were used. Further analyses revealed that these effects were primarily caused by an increase in incorrect “same” responses on non-match trials. In Experiment 2, we held the stimulus set size constant at four for each session and alternately set the ITI at 5, 10, or 20 s. Overall accuracy improved by increasing the ITI from 5 to 10 s, but the 10 and 20 s conditions were the same. As in Experiment 1, the overall decrease in accuracy during the 5-s condition was caused by a greater number of false “match” responses on non-match trials. Taken together, Experiments 1 and 2 show that auditory short-term memory in monkeys is highly susceptible to PI caused by stimulus repetition. Additional analyses from Experiment 1 suggest that monkeys may make same/different judgments based on a familiarity criterion that is adjusted by error-related feedback. PMID:23526232

Visual experience sculpts whole-cortex spontaneous infraslow activity patterns through an Arc-dependent mechanism

PubMed Central

Kraft, Andrew W.; Mitra, Anish; Bauer, Adam Q.; Raichle, Marcus E.; Culver, Joseph P.; Lee, Jin-Moo

2017-01-01

Decades of work in experimental animals has established the importance of visual experience during critical periods for the development of normal sensory-evoked responses in the visual cortex. However, much less is known concerning the impact of early visual experience on the systems-level organization of spontaneous activity. Human resting-state fMRI has revealed that infraslow fluctuations in spontaneous activity are organized into stereotyped spatiotemporal patterns across the entire brain. Furthermore, the organization of spontaneous infraslow activity (ISA) is plastic in that it can be modulated by learning and experience, suggesting heightened sensitivity to change during critical periods. Here we used wide-field optical intrinsic signal imaging in mice to examine whole-cortex spontaneous ISA patterns. Using monocular or binocular visual deprivation, we examined the effects of critical period visual experience on the development of ISA correlation and latency patterns within and across cortical resting-state networks. Visual modification with monocular lid suturing reduced correlation between left and right cortices (homotopic correlation) within the visual network, but had little effect on internetwork correlation. In contrast, visual deprivation with binocular lid suturing resulted in increased visual homotopic correlation and increased anti-correlation between the visual network and several extravisual networks, suggesting cross-modal plasticity. These network-level changes were markedly attenuated in mice with genetic deletion of Arc, a gene known to be critical for activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. Taken together, our results suggest that critical period visual experience induces global changes in spontaneous ISA relationships, both within the visual network and across networks, through an Arc-dependent mechanism. PMID:29087327

Survey highlights the need to expand offerings of introductory pharmacy practice experiences in psychiatry and neurology: Benefits and example experiences.

PubMed

Bostwick, Jolene R; Leung, Gillian P; Smith, Tawny L; Ahmed, Uzma; Bainbridge, Jacquelyn L; Peyronnet, Jean-Xavier

2018-01-01

Introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs) are 1 requirement schools and colleges of pharmacy must fulfill to meet accreditation standards. The purpose of this manuscript is to report existing IPPEs in psychiatry and neurology across the United States. Two separate electronic surveys were administered to individual College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists members with board certification in psychiatric pharmacy with an academic affiliation and academic institutions in the 2014-15 academic year to assess the neuropsychiatric curriculum in pharmacy programs. Results focusing on IPPEs were summarized using descriptive statistics. Academic institutional data reveal only 37.3% offered IPPEs in psychiatry, and 6.7% offered neurology. The number of available IPPEs is low even if a program offered an available rotation. The majority of College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists member respondents (69.9%) did not offer IPPEs in psychiatry in the 2014-15 academic year, and none offered an IPPE in neurology. More than half of individual respondents feel their institution should increase IPPEs in psychiatry and neurology in order to enhance their curriculum. To expand IPPE availability, pharmacy programs should increase early exposure of pharmacy students to patients with psychiatric and neurologic conditions. Longitudinal experiences may allow students to engage in hands-on experiences, which may impact future career aspirations and reduce stigma. Current example IPPEs at the authors' institutions are included to stimulate discussion and action among readers on how IPPEs in these practice areas may be developed. Implementation of IPPEs in psychiatry and neurology is needed for students to gain experience working with these patients.

GABA(A) receptor antagonism in the ventrocaudal periaqueductal gray increases anxiety in the anxiety-resistant postpartum rat.

PubMed

Miller, Stephanie M; Piasecki, Christopher C; Peabody, Mitchell F; Lonstein, Joseph S

2010-06-01

Postpartum mammals show suppressed anxiety, which is necessary for their ability to appropriately care for offspring. It is parsimonious to suggest that the neurobiological basis of this reduced anxiety is similar to that of non-parturient animals, involving GABA(A) receptor activity in sites including the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). In Experiment 1, postpartum and diestrous virgin female rats received an intraperitoneal injection of the GABA(A) receptor antagonist (+)-bicuculline (0, 2 and 4 mg/kg) and anxiety-related behavior was assessed with an elevated plus maze. The 4 mg/kg dose of (+)-bicuculline significantly increased anxiety-related behavior, particularly in the postpartum females. Experiment 2 revealed that bicuculline's action was within the central nervous system, because anxiety in neither dams nor virgins was significantly affected by intraperitoneal injection of bicuculline methiodide (0, 2 and 6 mg/kg), which does not readily cross the blood-brain-barrier. In Experiment 3, bicuculline methiodide (2.5 ng/side) was directly infused into the ventrocaudal PAG (cPAGv) and significantly increased dams' anxiety compared to saline-infused controls. These studies expand our knowledge of how GABA(A) receptor modulators affect anxiety behaviors in postpartum rats to the widely-used elevated plus maze, and indicate that the postpartum suppression of anxiety is in part a consequence of elevated GABAergic neurotransmission in the cPAGv. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Front-Presented Looming Sound Selectively Alters the Perceived Size of a Visual Looming Object.

PubMed

Yamasaki, Daiki; Miyoshi, Kiyofumi; Altmann, Christian F; Ashida, Hiroshi

2018-07-01

In spite of accumulating evidence for the spatial rule governing cross-modal interaction according to the spatial consistency of stimuli, it is still unclear whether 3D spatial consistency (i.e., front/rear of the body) of stimuli also regulates audiovisual interaction. We investigated how sounds with increasing/decreasing intensity (looming/receding sound) presented from the front and rear space of the body impact the size perception of a dynamic visual object. Participants performed a size-matching task (Experiments 1 and 2) and a size adjustment task (Experiment 3) of visual stimuli with increasing/decreasing diameter, while being exposed to a front- or rear-presented sound with increasing/decreasing intensity. Throughout these experiments, we demonstrated that only the front-presented looming sound caused overestimation of the spatially consistent looming visual stimulus in size, but not of the spatially inconsistent and the receding visual stimulus. The receding sound had no significant effect on vision. Our results revealed that looming sound alters dynamic visual size perception depending on the consistency in the approaching quality and the front-rear spatial location of audiovisual stimuli, suggesting that the human brain differently processes audiovisual inputs based on their 3D spatial consistency. This selective interaction between looming signals should contribute to faster detection of approaching threats. Our findings extend the spatial rule governing audiovisual interaction into 3D space.

Faster forgetting contributes to impaired spatial memory in the PDAPP mouse: Deficit in memory retrieval associated with increased sensitivity to interference?

PubMed Central

Daumas, Stephanie; Sandin, Johan; Chen, Karen S.; Kobayashi, Dione; Tulloch, Jane; Martin, Stephen J.; Games, Dora; Morris, Richard G.M.

2008-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the possibility of faster forgetting by PDAPP mice (a well-established model of Alzheimer’s disease as reported by Games and colleagues in an earlier paper). Experiment 1, using mice aged 13–16 mo, confirmed the presence of a deficit in a spatial reference memory task in the water maze by hemizygous PDAPP mice relative to littermate controls. However, after overtraining to a criterion of equivalent navigational performance, a series of memory retention tests revealed faster forgetting in the PDAPP group. Very limited retraining was sufficient to reinstate good memory in both groups, indicating that their faster forgetting may be due to retrieval failure rather than trace decay. In Experiment 2, 6-mo-old PDAPP and controls were required to learn each of a series of spatial locations to criterion with their memory assessed 10 min after learning each location. No memory deficit was apparent in the PDAPP mice initially, but a deficit built up through the series of locations suggestive of increased sensitivity to interference. Faster forgetting and increased interference may each reflect a difficulty in accessing memory traces. This interpretation of one aspect of the cognitive deficit in human mutant APP mice has parallels to deficits observed in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, further supporting the validity of transgenic models of the disease. PMID:18772249

Complex conductivity of oil-contaminated clayey soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Yaping; Shi, Xiaoqing; Revil, André; Wu, Jichun; Ghorbani, A.

2018-06-01

Spectral induced polarization (SIP) is considered as a promising tool in environmental investigations. However, few works have done regarding the electrical signature of oil contamination of clayey soils upon induced polarization. Laboratory column experiments plus one sandbox experiment are conducted in this study to investigate the performances of the SIP method in oil-contaminated soils. First, a total of 12 soils are investigated to reveal the influences of water and soil properties on the saturation dependence of the complex conductivity below 100 Hz. Results show that the magnitude of the complex conductivity consistently decreases with decreasing water saturation for all soils samples. The saturation n and quadrature conductivity p exponents tend to increase slightly with increasing water salinity when using a linear conductivity model. The saturation exponent increases marginally with the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and the specific surface area (Ssp) while the quadrature conductivity exponent exhibits a relatively stronger dependence on both CEC and Ssp. For the low CEC soil samples (normally ≤10 meq/100 g), the quadrature conductivity exponent p correlates well with the saturation exponent n using the relationship p = n-1. SIP method is further applied in a sandbox experiment to estimate the saturation distribution and total volume of the oil. Results demonstrate that the SIP method has a great potential for mapping the organic contaminant plume and quantifying the oil volume.

Instructional immediacy in elearning.

PubMed

Walkem, Kerrie

2014-01-01

Instructor immediacy has been positively associated with many desirable academic outcomes including increased student learning. This study extends existing understanding of instructional immediacy behaviours in elearning by describing postgraduate nursing students' reflections on their own experience. An exploratory, descriptive survey design was used to collect qualitative data. Participants were asked what behaviours or activities help to create rapport or a positive interpersonal connection (immediacy) between students and their online teacher(s). Thematic analysis of the data revealed three main themes: acknowledging and affirming student's personal and professional responsibilities; providing clear and timely information; and utilising rich media. These findings give lecturers insight into instructional strategies they may adopt to increase immediacy in elearning and hence improve student learning outcomes.

Pre-chirp managed nonlinear amplification in fibers delivering 100  W, 60  fs pulses.

PubMed

Liu, Wei; Schimpf, Damian N; Eidam, Tino; Limpert, Jens; Tünnermann, Andreas; Kärtner, Franz X; Chang, Guoqing

2015-01-15

We demonstrate a pre-chirp managed Yb-doped fiber laser system that outputs 75 MHz, 130 W spectrally broadened pulses, which are compressed by a diffraction-grating pair to 60 fs with average powers as high as 100 W. Fine tuning the pulse chirp prior to amplification leads to high-quality compressed pulses. Detailed experiments and numerical simulation reveal that the optimum pre-chirp group-delay dispersion increases from negative to positive with increasing output power for rod-type high-power fiber amplifiers. The resulting laser parameters are suitable for extreme nonlinear optics applications such as frequency conversion in femtosecond enhancement cavities.

Metabolic changes observed in astronauts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leach, Carolyn S.; Cintron, N. M.; Krauhs, J. M.

1991-01-01

Results of medical experiments with astronauts reveal rapid loss of volume (2 l) from the legs and a transient early increase in left ventricular volume index. These findings indicate that, during space flight, fluid is redistributed from the legs toward the head. In about 2 days, total body water decreases 2 to 3 percent. Increased levels of plasma renin activity and antidiuretic hormone while blood sodium and plasma volume are reduced suggest that space flight-associated factors are influencing the regulatory systems. In addition to fluid and electrolyte loss, Skylab astronauts lost an estimated 0.3 kg of protein. Endocrine factors, including increased cortisol and thyroxine and decreased insulin, are favorable for protein catabolism. The body appears to adapt to weightlessness at some physiologic cost. Readaptation to earth's gravity at landing becomes another physiologic challenge.

Gender differences in patterns of experienced sexual coercion and associated vulnerability factors among young people in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Kuyper, Lisette; de Wit, John; Smolenski, Derek; Adam, Philippe; Woertman, Liesbeth; van Berlo, Willy

2013-11-01

The development of effective policies and programs to prevent sexual coercion among young people requires thorough understanding of the diversity of coercive sexual experiences, patterns in such types of experiences, and similarities and differences between subgroups, especially by gender, in patterns of coercive sexual experiences and associations with potential vulnerability factors. The present online self-report study assessed a wide range of coercive sexual experiences and potential vulnerability factors among a sociodemographically diverse sample of 1,319 young people (16-25 years old) in The Netherlands. Findings confirm that sexual coercion comprises a diversity of experiences, with rates differing substantially across types of coercion. Latent class analysis revealed distinct patterns of coercive sexual experiences for young women and young men. Among young men, three patterns of experiences were found: no coercive sexual experiences, experience with verbal pressure, and experience with verbal pressure as well as coercion related to alcohol intoxication. Among young women, four patterns of coercive experiences were identified. In addition to the three patterns observed among young men, a fourth pattern encompassed experiences with verbal pressure as well as the use of force or violence. Higher numbers of sexual partners, lower levels of sexual refusal skills, and higher levels of token resistance were consistently associated with increased vulnerability. Findings illustrate the importance of communication skills and suggest that sexual communication training should be an integral part of sexuality education.

A course-based research experience: how benefits change with increased investment in instructional time.

PubMed

Shaffer, Christopher D; Alvarez, Consuelo J; Bednarski, April E; Dunbar, David; Goodman, Anya L; Reinke, Catherine; Rosenwald, Anne G; Wolyniak, Michael J; Bailey, Cheryl; Barnard, Daron; Bazinet, Christopher; Beach, Dale L; Bedard, James E J; Bhalla, Satish; Braverman, John; Burg, Martin; Chandrasekaran, Vidya; Chung, Hui-Min; Clase, Kari; Dejong, Randall J; Diangelo, Justin R; Du, Chunguang; Eckdahl, Todd T; Eisler, Heather; Emerson, Julia A; Frary, Amy; Frohlich, Donald; Gosser, Yuying; Govind, Shubha; Haberman, Adam; Hark, Amy T; Hauser, Charles; Hoogewerf, Arlene; Hoopes, Laura L M; Howell, Carina E; Johnson, Diana; Jones, Christopher J; Kadlec, Lisa; Kaehler, Marian; Silver Key, S Catherine; Kleinschmit, Adam; Kokan, Nighat P; Kopp, Olga; Kuleck, Gary; Leatherman, Judith; Lopilato, Jane; Mackinnon, Christy; Martinez-Cruzado, Juan Carlos; McNeil, Gerard; Mel, Stephanie; Mistry, Hemlata; Nagengast, Alexis; Overvoorde, Paul; Paetkau, Don W; Parrish, Susan; Peterson, Celeste N; Preuss, Mary; Reed, Laura K; Revie, Dennis; Robic, Srebrenka; Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer; Rubin, Michael R; Saville, Kenneth; Schroeder, Stephanie; Sharif, Karim; Shaw, Mary; Skuse, Gary; Smith, Christopher D; Smith, Mary A; Smith, Sheryl T; Spana, Eric; Spratt, Mary; Sreenivasan, Aparna; Stamm, Joyce; Szauter, Paul; Thompson, Jeffrey S; Wawersik, Matthew; Youngblom, James; Zhou, Leming; Mardis, Elaine R; Buhler, Jeremy; Leung, Wilson; Lopatto, David; Elgin, Sarah C R

2014-01-01

There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant investment of course time is required to enable students to show gains commensurate to a summer research experience. An alumni survey revealed that time spent on a research project is also a significant factor in the value former students assign to the experience one or more years later. We conclude: 1) implementation of a bioinformatics project within the biology curriculum provides a mechanism for successfully engaging large numbers of students in undergraduate research; 2) benefits to students are achievable at a wide variety of academic institutions; and 3) successful implementation of course-based research experiences requires significant investment of instructional time for students to gain full benefit.

Changing students' perceptions of the homeless: A community service learning experience.

PubMed

Gardner, Janet; Emory, Jan

2018-03-01

The homeless are an underserved, local vulnerable population that can benefit from a service learning clinical practicum experience for baccalaureate prepared nursing students. Negative attitudes and disrespect among healthcare workers has been identified by the homeless as a barrier to healthcare. A service learning experience with a vulnerable population has been shown to change nursing students' attitudes and beliefs. A large university in a southern city partnered with a community based organization that provided services to the homeless to educate senior nursing students in a service learning experience. The goal of this project was to examine attitudes and perceptions of nursing students toward the homeless population before and after participation in a service learning clinical practicum experience. This case study utilized a pre and post experience questionnaire to collect qualitative data for the purposes of the project. The findings revealed students demonstrated a decrease in fear, an increase in empathy, and a deeper understanding of the advocacy role of nurses for people experiencing homelessness. Nurse educators are challenged to engage students with vulnerable populations to change the attitudes and perceptions for improvement in the overall health of communities served worldwide. Partnerships and service learning experiences can benefit all. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Course-Based Research Experience: How Benefits Change with Increased Investment in Instructional Time

PubMed Central

Shaffer, Christopher D.; Alvarez, Consuelo J.; Bednarski, April E.; Dunbar, David; Goodman, Anya L.; Reinke, Catherine; Rosenwald, Anne G.; Wolyniak, Michael J.; Bailey, Cheryl; Barnard, Daron; Bazinet, Christopher; Beach, Dale L.; Bedard, James E. J.; Bhalla, Satish; Braverman, John; Burg, Martin; Chandrasekaran, Vidya; Chung, Hui-Min; Clase, Kari; DeJong, Randall J.; DiAngelo, Justin R.; Du, Chunguang; Eckdahl, Todd T.; Eisler, Heather; Emerson, Julia A.; Frary, Amy; Frohlich, Donald; Gosser, Yuying; Govind, Shubha; Haberman, Adam; Hark, Amy T.; Hauser, Charles; Hoogewerf, Arlene; Hoopes, Laura L. M.; Howell, Carina E.; Johnson, Diana; Jones, Christopher J.; Kadlec, Lisa; Kaehler, Marian; Silver Key, S. Catherine; Kleinschmit, Adam; Kokan, Nighat P.; Kopp, Olga; Kuleck, Gary; Leatherman, Judith; Lopilato, Jane; MacKinnon, Christy; Martinez-Cruzado, Juan Carlos; McNeil, Gerard; Mel, Stephanie; Mistry, Hemlata; Nagengast, Alexis; Overvoorde, Paul; Paetkau, Don W.; Parrish, Susan; Peterson, Celeste N.; Preuss, Mary; Reed, Laura K.; Revie, Dennis; Robic, Srebrenka; Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer; Rubin, Michael R.; Saville, Kenneth; Schroeder, Stephanie; Sharif, Karim; Shaw, Mary; Skuse, Gary; Smith, Christopher D.; Smith, Mary A.; Smith, Sheryl T.; Spana, Eric; Spratt, Mary; Sreenivasan, Aparna; Stamm, Joyce; Szauter, Paul; Thompson, Jeffrey S.; Wawersik, Matthew; Youngblom, James; Zhou, Leming; Mardis, Elaine R.; Buhler, Jeremy; Leung, Wilson; Lopatto, David; Elgin, Sarah C. R.

2014-01-01

There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant investment of course time is required to enable students to show gains commensurate to a summer research experience. An alumni survey revealed that time spent on a research project is also a significant factor in the value former students assign to the experience one or more years later. We conclude: 1) implementation of a bioinformatics project within the biology curriculum provides a mechanism for successfully engaging large numbers of students in undergraduate research; 2) benefits to students are achievable at a wide variety of academic institutions; and 3) successful implementation of course-based research experiences requires significant investment of instructional time for students to gain full benefit. PMID:24591510

Expression and regulation of the neutral amino acid transporter B0AT1 in rat small intestine

PubMed Central

Jando, Julia; Camargo, Simone M. R.; Herzog, Brigitte

2017-01-01

Absorption of neutral amino acids across the luminal membrane of intestinal enterocytes is mediated by the broad neutral amino acid transporter B0AT1 (SLC6A19). Its intestinal expression depends on co-expression of the membrane-anchored peptidase angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and is additionally enhanced by aminopeptidase N (CD13). We investigated in this study the expression of B0AT1 and its auxiliary peptidases as well as its transport function along the rat small intestine. Additionally, we tested its possible short- and long-term regulation by dietary proteins and amino acids. We showed by immunofluorescence that B0AT1, ACE2 and CD13 co-localize on the luminal membrane of small intestinal villi and by Western blotting that their protein expression increases in distal direction. Furthermore, we observed an elevated transport activity of the neutral amino acid L-isoleucine during the nocturnal active phase compared to the inactive one. Gastric emptying was delayed by intragastric application of an amino acid cocktail but we observed no acute dietary regulation of B0AT1 protein expression and L-isoleucine transport. Investigation of the chronic dietary regulation of B0AT1, ACE2 and CD13 by different diets revealed an increased B0AT1 protein expression under amino acid-supplemented diet in the proximal section but not in the distal one and for ACE2 protein expression a reverse localization of the effect. Dietary regulation for CD13 protein expression was not as distinct as for the two other proteins. Ring uptake experiments showed a tendency for increased L-isoleucine uptake under amino acid-supplemented diet and in vivo L-isoleucine absorption was more efficient under high protein and amino acid-supplemented diet. Additionally, plasma levels of branched-chain amino acids were elevated under high protein and amino acid diet. Taken together, our experiments did not reveal an acute amino acid-induced regulation of B0AT1 but revealed a chronic dietary adaptation mainly restricted to the proximal segment of the small intestine. PMID:28915252

Compaction bands in shale revealed through digital volume correlation of time-resolved X-ray tomography scans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McBeck, J.; Kobchenko, M.; Hall, S.; Tudisco, E.; Cordonnier, B.; Renard, F.

2017-12-01

Previous studies have identified compaction bands primarily within sandstones, and in fewer instances, within other porous rocks and sediments. Using Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) of X-ray microtomography scans, we find evidence of localized zones of high axial contraction that form tabular structures sub-perpendicular to maximum compression, σ1, in Green River shale. To capture in situ strain localization throughout loading, two shale cores were deformed in the HADES triaxial deformation apparatus installed on the X-ray microtomography beamline ID19 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. In these experiments, we increase σ1 in increments of two MPa, with constant confining pressure (20 MPa), until the sample fails in macroscopic shear. After each stress step, a 3D image of the sample inside the rig is acquired at a voxel resolution of 6.5 μm. The evolution of lower density regions within 3D reconstructions of linear attenuation coefficients reveal the development of fractures that fail with some opening. If a fracture produces negligible dilation, it may remain undetected in image segmentation of the reconstructions. We use the DVC software TomoWarp2 to identify undetected fractures and capture the 3D incremental displacement field between each successive pair of microtomography scans acquired in each experiment. The corresponding strain fields reveal localized bands of high axial contraction that host minimal shear strain, and thus match the kinematic definition of compaction bands. The bands develop sub-perpendicular to σ1 in the two samples in which pre-existing bedding laminations were oriented parallel and perpendicular to σ1. As the shales deform plastically toward macroscopic shear failure, the number of bands and axial contraction within the bands increase, while the spacing between the bands decreases. Compaction band development accelerates the rate of overall axial contraction, increasing the mean axial contraction throughout the sample, and strengthens the shale sufficiently to localize shear faults. These results are critical to robust assessment of deformation patterns in shale rocks in contexts such as nuclear waste storage, hydrocarbon recovery and groundwater access.

Maternal Adverse Childhood Experience and Infant Health: Biomedical and Psychosocial Risks as Intermediary Mechanisms.

PubMed

Madigan, Sheri; Wade, Mark; Plamondon, Andre; Maguire, Jonathon L; Jenkins, Jennifer M

2017-08-01

To assess the mechanisms accounting for the transfer of risk from one generation to the next, especially as they relate to maternal adverse childhood experiences and infant physical and emotional health outcomes. Participants were 501 community mother-infant dyads recruited shortly after the birth and followed up at 18 months. Mothers retrospectively reported on their adverse childhood experiences. The main outcome measures were parent-reported infant physical health and emotional problems. Potential mechanisms of intergenerational transmission included cumulative biomedical risk (eg, prenatal and perinatal complications) and postnatal psychosocial risk (eg, maternal depression, single parenthood, marital conflict). Four or more adverse childhood experiences were related to a 2- and 5-fold increased risk of experiencing any biomedical or psychosocial risk, respectively. There was a linear association between number of adverse childhood experiences and extent of biomedical and psychosocial risk. Path analysis revealed that the association between maternal adverse childhood experiences and infant physical health operated specifically through cumulative biomedical risk, while the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and infant emotional health operated specifically through cumulative psychosocial risk. This pattern was not explained by maternal childhood disadvantage or current neighborhood poverty. Maternal adverse childhood experiences confer vulnerability to prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal psychosocial health. The association between adverse childhood experiences and offspring physical and emotional health operates through discrete intermediary mechanisms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interfacial instability of wormlike micellar solutions sheared in a Taylor-Couette cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadigoushki, Hadi; Muller, Susan J.

2014-11-01

We report experiments on wormlike micellar solutions sheared in a custom-made Taylor-Couette (TC) cell. The computer controlled TC cell allows us to rotate both cylinders independently. Wormlike micellar solutions containing water, CTAB, and NaNo3 with different compositions are highly elastic and exhibit shear banding. We visualized the flow field in the θ-z as well as r-z planes, using multiple cameras. When subject to low shear rates, the flow is stable and azimuthal, but becomes unstable above a certain threshold shear rate. This shear rate coincides with the onset of shear banding. Visualizing the θ-z plane shows that this instability is characterized by stationary bands equally spaced in the z direction. Increasing the shear rate results to larger wave lengths. Above a critical shear rate, experiments reveal a chaotic behavior reminiscent of elastic turbulence. We also studied the effect of ramp speed on the onset of instability and report an acceleration below which the critical Weissenberg number for onset of instability is unaffected. Moreover, visualizations in the r-z direction reveals that the interface between the two bands undulates with shear bands evolving towards the outer cylinder regardless of which cylinder is rotating.

Teachers’ Relationship Closeness with Students as a Resource for Teacher Wellbeing: A Response Surface Analytical Approach

PubMed Central

Milatz, Anne; Lüftenegger, Marko; Schober, Barbara

2015-01-01

Teachers’ relationship quality with students has been argued to be an important source of teacher wellbeing. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate to what extent teachers’ relationship closeness toward students, combined with attachment security is a resource protecting against teacher burnout. Eighty-three elementary school teachers reported on their most and least attached student’s relationship closeness, their attachment security and levels of burnout, as measured by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. Response surface analysis (RSA), enabling researchers to investigate the effect of congruence/incongruence of two predictors on an outcome, revealed that teachers’ depersonalization and emotional exhaustion were lowest when they developed homogenous close relationships toward the students within their classroom and when teachers in general made congruent relationship experiences. No RSA model could be specified for personal accomplishment, even though a correlational analysis revealed that increasing closeness with students fostered teachers’ personal accomplishment. Teachers’ secure attachment experiences were not directly related to burnout, but enhanced their capability to establish close relationships toward their students. Findings suggest that teachers’ relationships toward students are a resource for the teacher’s wellbeing, which highlights once again the importance of student–teacher relationships in education. PMID:26779045

Best response game of traffic on road network of non-signalized intersections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Wang; Jia, Ning; Zhong, Shiquan; Li, Liying

2018-01-01

This paper studies the traffic flow in a grid road network with non-signalized intersections. The nature of the drivers in the network is simulated such that they play an iterative snowdrift game with other drivers. A cellular automata model is applied to study the characteristics of the traffic flow and the evolution of the behaviour of the drivers during the game. The drivers use best-response as their strategy to update rules. Three major findings are revealed. First, the cooperation rate in simulation experiences staircase-shaped drop as cost to benefit ratio r increases, and cooperation rate can be derived analytically as a function of cost to benefit ratio r. Second, we find that higher cooperation rate corresponds to higher average speed, lower density and higher flow. This reveals that defectors deteriorate the efficiency of traffic on non-signalized intersections. Third, the system experiences more randomness when the density is low because the drivers will not have much opportunity to update strategy when the density is low. These findings help to show how the strategy of drivers in a traffic network evolves and how their interactions influence the overall performance of the traffic system.

L1 and L2 Spoken Word Processing: Evidence from Divided Attention Paradigm.

PubMed

Shafiee Nahrkhalaji, Saeedeh; Lotfi, Ahmad Reza; Koosha, Mansour

2016-10-01

The present study aims to reveal some facts concerning first language (L 1 ) and second language (L 2 ) spoken-word processing in unbalanced proficient bilinguals using behavioral measures. The intention here is to examine the effects of auditory repetition word priming and semantic priming in first and second languages of these bilinguals. The other goal is to explore the effects of attention manipulation on implicit retrieval of perceptual and conceptual properties of spoken L 1 and L 2 words. In so doing, the participants performed auditory word priming and semantic priming as memory tests in their L 1 and L 2 . In a half of the trials of each experiment, they carried out the memory test while simultaneously performing a secondary task in visual modality. The results revealed that effects of auditory word priming and semantic priming were present when participants processed L 1 and L 2 words in full attention condition. Attention manipulation could reduce priming magnitude in both experiments in L 2 . Moreover, L 2 word retrieval increases the reaction times and reduces accuracy on the simultaneous secondary task to protect its own accuracy and speed.

Experimental saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers using automated image analysis: Applications to homogeneous aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, G.; Ahmed, Ashraf A.; Hamill, G. A.

2016-07-01

This paper presents the applications of a novel methodology to quantify saltwater intrusion parameters in laboratory-scale experiments. The methodology uses an automated image analysis procedure, minimising manual inputs and the subsequent systematic errors that can be introduced. This allowed the quantification of the width of the mixing zone which is difficult to measure in experimental methods that are based on visual observations. Glass beads of different grain sizes were tested for both steady-state and transient conditions. The transient results showed good correlation between experimental and numerical intrusion rates. The experimental intrusion rates revealed that the saltwater wedge reached a steady state condition sooner while receding than advancing. The hydrodynamics of the experimental mixing zone exhibited similar traits; a greater increase in the width of the mixing zone was observed in the receding saltwater wedge, which indicates faster fluid velocities and higher dispersion. The angle of intrusion analysis revealed the formation of a volume of diluted saltwater at the toe position when the saltwater wedge is prompted to recede. In addition, results of different physical repeats of the experiment produced an average coefficient of variation less than 0.18 of the measured toe length and width of the mixing zone.

Behavioral sensitization to amphetamine induced by a single i.p. dose of oxotremorine in the rat.

PubMed

Gralewicz, Sławomir

2002-01-01

Earlier experiments have revealed that rats treated with a single dose of chlorphenvinphos (CVP), an irreversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, are hyposensitive to amphetamine (AMPH) given three weeks after CVP. Exposure to CVP results in an excess of acetylcholine with subsequent overactivation of the nicotinic as well as muscarinic cholinergic receptors. The purpose of the present experiment was to find out whether a selective activation of muscarinic receptors could induce behavioral hyposensitivity to AMPH. To attain this purpose, male rats were pretreated once with 0.00, 0.135, 0.27 or 0.55 mg/kg of oxotremorine, a muscarinic agonist, and challenged 15 days later with 1.0 mg/kg dose of AMPH. The pre- and postinjection open-field behavior of the rats was tested with the use of a computerized set of activity meters. The testing revealed that in oxotremorine pretreated animals the behavioral response to AMPH, i.e. increase in the ambulatory activity, was not diminished but, to the contrary, it was augmented. This effect was dose-dependent, being most pronounced in rats given the 0.55 mg/kg of oxotremorine. The possible cause of the difference between the effect of CVP and oxotremorine is discussed.

Personality of Wild Male Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra)

PubMed Central

Neumann, Christof; Agil, Muhammad; Widdig, Anja; Engelhardt, Antje

2013-01-01

Animal personalities, i.e. consistent differences in behavior across time and/or context, have received increased attention of behavioral biologists over the last years. Recent research shows that personalities represent traits on which natural and sexual selection work and which can have substantial fitness consequences. The aim of this study is to establish the personality structure of crested macaque (Macaca nigra) males as foundation for future studies on its adaptive value. We collected behavioral data through focal animal sampling and additionally conducted two sets of playback experiments. Results of a factor analysis on the behavioral data revealed a four factor structure with components we labeled Anxiety, Sociability, Connectedness and Aggressiveness. Results from the experiments revealed an additional and independent Boldness factor but the absence of Neophilia. Overall, this structure resembles other macaque and animal species with the exception of Connectedness, which might be a consequence of the species' tolerant social style. Our results thus not only form the basis for future studies on the adaptive value of personality in crested macaques but also contribute an important data point for investigating the evolution of personality structure from a comparative perspective by refining, for example, which personality factors characterized the last common ancestor of hominids and macaques. PMID:23940517

Kinetics of Cd(ii) adsorption and desorption on ferrihydrite: experiments and modeling.

PubMed

Liang, Yuzhen; Tian, Lei; Lu, Yang; Peng, Lanfang; Wang, Pei; Lin, Jingyi; Cheng, Tao; Dang, Zhi; Shi, Zhenqing

2018-05-15

The kinetics of Cd(ii) adsorption/desorption on ferrihydrite is an important process affecting the fate, transport, and bioavailability of Cd(ii) in the environment, which was rarely systematically studied and understood at quantitative levels. In this work, a combination of stirred-flow kinetic experiments, batch adsorption equilibrium experiments, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and mechanistic kinetic modeling were used to study the kinetic behaviors of Cd(ii) adsorption/desorption on ferrihydrite. HR-TEM images showed the open, loose, and sponge-like structure of ferrihydrite. The batch adsorption equilibrium experiments revealed that higher pH and initial metal concentration increased Cd(ii) adsorption on ferrihydrite. The stirred-flow kinetic results demonstrated the increased adsorption rate and capacity as a result of the increased pH, influent concentration, and ferrihydrite concentration. The mechanistic kinetic model successfully described the kinetic behaviors of Cd(ii) during the adsorption and desorption stages under various chemistry conditions. The model calculations showed that the adsorption rate coefficients varied as a function of solution chemistry, and the relative contributions of the weak and strong ferrihydrite sites for Cd(ii) binding varied with time at different pH and initial metal concentrations. Our model is able to quantitatively assess the contributions of each individual ferrihydrite binding site to the overall Cd(ii) adsorption/desorption kinetics. This study provided insights into the dynamic behavior of Cd(ii) and a predictive modeling tool for Cd(ii) adsorption/desorption kinetics when ferrihydrite is present, which may be helpful for the risk assessment and management of Cd contaminated sites.

Adverse adolescent relationship histories and young adult health: Cumulative effects of loneliness, low parental support, relationship instability, intimate partner violence and loss

PubMed Central

Adam, Emma K.; Chyu, Laura; Hoyt, Lindsay; Doane, Leah D.; Boisjoly, Johanne; Duncan, Greg; Chase-Lansdale, Lindsay; McDade, Thomas W.

2011-01-01

Purpose To examine the associations between adverse interpersonal relationship histories experienced during adolescence and health in young adulthood in a large, nationally representative sample. Methods Using data from Waves I, II and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, multiple adverse relationship experiences are examined, including high loneliness, low perceived parental support, frequent transitions in romantic relationships (relationship instability), exposure to intimate partner violence, and loss by death of important relationship figures. These histories are assessed, both individually and in a relationship risk index, as predictors of self-reported general health and depressive symptoms at Wave III (ages 18 to 27), controlling for baseline (Wave I) health and for demographic and health behavior covariates. Results Net of baseline health and covariates, each type of relationship risk (experienced between Wave I and Wave III) was related to either depression or general health at Wave III, with the strongest effects seen for exposure to intimate partner violence. In addition, a cumulative relationship risk index examining the extent to which youth experienced high levels of multiple relationship risk factors revealed that each additional adverse relationship experience increased the odds of reporting poor mental and general health at Wave III, with increases occurring in an additive manner. Conclusions Multiple types of adverse relationship experiences predicted increases in poor general health and depressive symptoms from adolescence to early adulthood. Consistent with a cumulative risk hypothesis, the more types of adverse relationship experiences a youth experienced, the worse their young adult health outcomes. PMID:21856520

A Reduced Duty Hours Model for Senior Internal Medicine Residents: A Qualitative Analysis of Residents' Experiences and Perceptions.

PubMed

Mathew, Rebecca; Gundy, Serena; Ulic, Diana; Haider, Shariq; Wasi, Parveen

2016-09-01

To assess senior internal medicine residents' experience of the implementation of a reduced duty hours model with night float, the transition from the prior 26-hour call system, and the new model's effects on resident quality of life and perceived patient safety in the emergency department and clinical teaching unit at McMaster University. Qualitative data were collected during May 2013-July 2014, through resident focus groups held prior to implementation of a reduced duty hours model and 10 to 12 months postimplementation. Data analysis was guided by a constructivist grounded theory based in a relativist paradigm. Transcripts were coded; codes were collapsed into themes. Thematic analysis revealed five themes. Residents described reduced fatigue in the early morning, counterbalanced with worsened long-term fatigue on night float blocks; anticipation of negative impacts of the loss of distributed on-call experience and on-call shift volume; an urgency to sleep postcall in anticipation of consecutive night float shifts accompanied by conflicting role demands to stay postcall for care continuity; increased handover frequency accompanied by inaccurate/incomplete communication of patients' issues; and improvement in the senior resident experience on the clinical teaching unit, with increased ownership over patient care and improved relationships with junior housestaff. A reduced duty hours model with night float has potential to improve residents' perceived fatigue on call and care continuity on the clinical teaching unit. This must be weighed against increased handover frequency and loss of the postcall day, which may negatively affect patient care and resident quality of life.

Spacelab 3 flight experiment No. 3AFT23: Autogenic-feedback training as a preventive method for space adaptation syndrome

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowings, Patricia S.; Toscano, William B.; Kamiya, Joe; Miller, Neal E.; Sharp, Joseph C.

1988-01-01

Space adaptation syndrome is a motion sickness-like disorder which affects up to 50 percent of all people exposed to microgravity in space. This experiment tested a physiological conditioning procedure (Autogenic-Feedback Training, AFT) as an alternative to pharmacological management. Four astronauts participated as subjects in this experiment. Crewmembers A and B served as treatment subjects. Both received preflight training for control of heart rate, respiration rate, peripheral blood volume, and skin conductance. Crewmembers C and D served as controls (i.e., did not receive training). Crewmember A showed reliable control of his own physiological responses, and a significant increase in motion sickness tolerance after training. Crewmember B, however, demonstrated much less control and only a moderate increase in motion sickness tolerance was observed after training. The inflight symptom reports and physiological data recordings revealed that Crewmember A did not experience any severe symptom episodes during the mission, while Crewmember B reported one severe symptom episode. Both control group subjects, C and D (who took antimotion sickness medication), reported multiple symptom episodes on mission day 0. Both inflight data and crew reports indicate that AFT may be an effective countermeasure. Additional data must be obtained inflight (a total of eight treatment and eight control subjects) before final evaluation of this treatment can be made.