Effect of AFT Rotor on the Inter-Rotor Flow of an Open Rotor Propulsion System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slaboch, Paul E.; Stephens, David B.; Van Zante, Dale E.

2016-01-01

The effects of the aft rotor on the inter-rotor flow field of an open rotor propulsion rig were examined. A Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) dataset that was acquired phase locked to the front rotor position has been phase averaged based on the relative phase angle between the forward and aft rotors. The aft rotor phase was determined by feature tracking in raw PIV images through an image processing algorithm. The effect of the aft rotor potential field on the inter-rotor flow were analyzed and shown to be in good agreement with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. It was shown that the aft rotor had no substantial effect on the position of the forward rotor tip vortex but did have a small effect on the circulation strength of the vortex when the rotors were highly loaded.

LMSS drive simulator for multipath propagation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vishakantaiah, Praveen; Vogel, Wolfhard J.

1989-01-01

A three-dimensional drive simulator for the prediction of Land Mobile Satellite Service (LMSS) multipath propagation was developed. It is based on simple physical and geometrical rules and can be used to evaluate effects of scatterer numbers and positions, receiving antenna pattern, and satellite frequency and position. It is shown that scatterers close to the receiver have the most effect and that directive antennas suppress multipath interference.

Over-the-Counter Relief From Pains and Pleasures Alike: Acetaminophen Blunts Evaluation Sensitivity to Both Negative and Positive Stimuli.

PubMed

Durso, Geoffrey R O; Luttrell, Andrew; Way, Baldwin M

2015-06-01

Acetaminophen, an effective and popular over-the-counter pain reliever (e.g., the active ingredient in Tylenol), has recently been shown to blunt individuals' reactivity to a range of negative stimuli in addition to physical pain. Because accumulating research has shown that individuals' reactivity to both negative and positive stimuli can be influenced by a single factor (an idea known as differential susceptibility), we conducted two experiments testing whether acetaminophen blunted individuals' evaluations of and emotional reactions to both negative and positive images from the International Affective Picture System. Participants who took acetaminophen evaluated unpleasant stimuli less negatively and pleasant stimuli less positively, compared with participants who took a placebo. Participants in the acetaminophen condition also rated both negative and positive stimuli as less emotionally arousing than did participants in the placebo condition (Studies 1 and 2), whereas nonevaluative ratings (extent of color saturation in each image; Study 2) were not affected by drug condition. These findings suggest that acetaminophen has a general blunting effect on individuals' evaluative and emotional processing, irrespective of negative or positive valence. © The Author(s) 2015.

The facilitating effect of positive emotions during an emotional Stroop task.

PubMed

Liu, Xingyu; Yang, Yisheng; Jiang, Songxiu; Li, Jie

2018-05-08

Prior research has shown that negative emotions, even though task irrelevant, are capable of delaying a participant's response to the color in which a negative emotional word is presented, a phenomenon known as the 'emotional Stroop effect'. However, relatively little is known about whether positive emotions have a similar or an opposite effect. The current study sets out to confirm the facilitating effect of positive emotions on color naming, which is predicted by Barbara Fredrickson's 'broaden and build' theory. Our results indicate that positive emotions did facilitate such processing in both of the study's experiments. We also found a significant difference in early posterior negativity amplitudes between positive and neutral stimuli, which was related to the 'fast effect'. Overall, the study's findings suggest that positive emotions can be detected quickly and automatically, and that this kind of prioritizing facilitates the ongoing cognitive processing.

The Critical Role of School Climate in Effective Bullying Prevention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Cixin; Berry, Brandi; Swearer, Susan M.

2013-01-01

Research has shown a negative association between positive school climate and bullying behavior. This article reviews research on school climate and bullying behavior and proposes that an unhealthy and unsupportive school climate (e.g., negative relationship between teachers and students, positive attitudes towards bullying) provides a social…

Physical Attractiveness: Its Influence on the Perceptions of Counselors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanders, Connie H.; Borowy, Thomas D.

Research has shown that a client's positive views of a counselor enhance commitment to treatment, positive outcome expectancies, and receptivity to counselor influence. To examine the impact of counselor gender and physical attractiveness on perceived counselor effectiveness, 60 college students evaluated male and female counselors on 15 variables…

Benefits of belonging: experimental manipulation of social inclusion to enhance psychological and physiological health parameters.

PubMed

Begen, Fiona M; Turner-Cobb, Julie M

2015-01-01

Acute changes in social belonging are important triggers for alterations in health and well-being, yet research has emphasised the negative effects of 'exclusion' at the expense of evaluating the potentially positive effects of 'inclusion'. This study examined the impact of acute belonging on physiological and psychological outcomes. A healthy population (N = 138) were randomly allocated to 'included' or 'excluded' conditions. Condition-dependent differences in pre/during-task heart rate and pre/post-task self-reports of negative/positive mood, and social self-esteem, were assessed. Included participants showed decreased heart rate and negative mood, and increased social self-esteem. No inclusion-related change in positive mood was shown. An increase in heart rate was observed in excluded participants though no changes in negative/positive mood or social self-esteem were shown. Shifts in social self-esteem acted as a mechanism through which inclusion/exclusion impacted upon negative and positive mood alterations. Results remained significant in presence of covariates (sex, global self-esteem, rumination and social anxiety). Findings suggest that acting to enhance belonging through 'inclusion' resulted in adaptive physiological and psychological outcomes. Neutral and potentially protective responses were observed in the immediate aftermath of 'exclusion'. Self-esteem served as one route through which these effects were transmitted.

Positive affect and psychobiological processes

PubMed Central

Dockray, Samantha; Steptoe, Andrew

2010-01-01

Positive affect has been associated with favourable health outcomes, and it is likely that several biological processes mediate the effects of positive mood on physical health. There is converging evidence that positive affect activates the neuroendocrine, autonomic and immune systems in distinct and functionally meaningful ways. Cortisol, both total output and the awakening response, has consistently been shown to be lower among individuals with higher levels of positive affect. The beneficial effects of positive mood on cardiovascular function, including heart rate and blood pressure, and the immune system have also been described. The influence of positive affect on these psychobiological processes are independent of negative affect, suggesting that positive affect may have characteristic biological correlates. The duration and conceptualisation of positive affect may be important considerations in understanding how different biological systems are activated in association with positive affect. The association of positive affect and psychobiological processes has been established, and these biological correlates may be partly responsible for the protective effects of positive affect on health outcomes. PMID:20097225

Geometric and perceptual effects of the location of the observer vantage point for linear-perspective images.

PubMed

Todorović, Dejan

2005-01-01

New geometric analyses are presented of three impressive examples of the effects of location of the vantage point on virtual 3-D spaces conveyed by linear-perspective images. In the 'egocentric-road' effect, the perceived direction of the depicted road is always pointed towards the observer, for any position of the vantage point. It is shown that perspective images of real-observer-aimed roads are characterised by a specific, simple pattern of projected side lines. Given that pattern, the position of the observer, and certain assumptions and perspective arguments, the perceived direction of the virtual road towards the observer can be predicted. In the 'skewed balcony' and the 'collapsing ceiling' effects, the position of the vantage point affects the impression of alignment of the virtual architecture conveyed by large-scale illusionistic paintings and the real architecture surrounding them. It is shown that the dislocation of the vantage point away from the viewing position prescribed by the perspective construction induces a mismatch between the painted vanishing point of elements in the picture and the real vanishing point of corresponding elements of the actual architecture. This mismatch of vanishing points provides visual information that the elements of the two architectures are not mutually parallel.

School-Wide Positive Behavior Support for Individuals with Severe and Profound Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Judge, Brittany A.

2015-01-01

One of the greatest challenges for alternative schools is to develop effective training programs for students with severe and profound developmental disabilities. School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) has been shown to decrease problematic behaviors in alternative schools and self-contained settings yet little is known about how effective…

Theoretical Perspectives Underlying the Application of Cooperative Learning in Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tran, Van Dat

2013-01-01

Cooperative learning has been the centre of worldwide attention because it has been shown to have strong effects on student learning, as well as other positive outcomes. Although the academic, social, affective and psychological outcomes of students taught by cooperative learning are more positive compared with students taught by the traditional…

Effects of caffeine in chewing gum on mood and attention.

PubMed

Smith, Andrew

2009-04-01

Recent research has shown that even small doses (<40mg) of caffeine can improve alertness and increase performance efficiency on attention tasks. Previous studies have given the caffeine in a variety of beverages or in capsules and it was of interest to see whether similar effects could be observed when the caffeine was given in gum. In addition, chewing gum has been shown to have behavioural effects and the present study extended our knowledge of this topic. To compare the effects of caffeinated gum (40 mg), placebo gum and no gum conditions on mood and attention. A double blind placebo controlled study was conducted with volunteers being randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. Baseline measures of mood and attention were taken prior to chewing and a test session was then conducted. One hundred and eighteen young adults participated in the study. Caffeinated gum was associated with a more positive mood and better performance on tasks requiring sustained attention. The caffeine improved the speed of encoding of new information which is consistent with previous findings. Chewing placebo gum was also found to be associated with more positive mood, both shortly after chewing and at the end of the study. The implications of the present study are that chewing caffeinated gum has been shown to improve performance efficiency and mood by its alerting and energising effects. The profile of caffeine effects is what one would predict from the existing caffeine literature and such effects may be extremely beneficial in real-life situations. Prior chewing of placebo gum was associated with a more positive mood and this also confirms previous findings.

Silk textile with antimicrobial AEM5772/5 (Dermasilk): a pilot study with positive influence on acne vulgaris on the back.

PubMed

Schaunig, Caroline; Kopera, Daisy

2017-05-01

The use of special silk textiles (Dermasilk) has shown positive effects on chronic inflammatory diseases like lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, atopic dermatitis, diabetic ulcerations, and vulvovaginal candidiasis. Wearing T-shirts of this particular fabric could be useful in the management of patients with acne vulgaris on the back and trunk. Dermasilk T-shirts were given to 14 patients with acne vulgaris papulopustulosa on the back. The patients wore these shirts every night for 6 weeks, and their acne lesions were monitored. Dermasilk represents a polymerisate of fibroin, a silk protein, and antimicrobial AEM5772/5, an unsoluble colorless, odorless ammonium with antifungal and antibacterial ability. Photographic documentation before and after 6 weeks showed a clinically significant reduction in acne lesions on the back without any concomitant treatment or change in lifestyle and living conditions. The use of Dermasilk textiles in other subacute-chronic inflammatory skin diseases has shown positive effects. This is the first report on their safe and effective use in the management of acne vulgaris papulopustulosa corporis. © 2017 The International Society of Dermatology.

Effects of a Developmental Adventure on the Self-Esteem of College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paquette, Linda; Brassard, Audrey; Guérin, Audrey; Fortin-Chevalier, Justine; Tanguay-Beaudoin, Laurence

2014-01-01

This study examines the effects of outdoor developmental adventure programming (ODA) on college students' self-esteem. Although some previous studies have shown that outdoor adventure programming has positive effects on self-esteem, others did not find any effect. A quasi-experimental study was conducted over 5 months, which included two pretests…

The Effect of Processing Fluency on Impressions of Familiarity and Liking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westerman, Deanne L.; Lanska, Meredith; Olds, Justin M.

2015-01-01

Processing fluency has been shown to have wide-ranging effects on disparate evaluative judgments, including judgments of liking and familiarity. One account of such effects is the hedonic marking hypothesis (Winkielman, Schwarz, Fazendeiro, & Reber, 2003), which posits that fluency is directly linked to affective preferences via a positive…

International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and performance

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Position Statement: The position of The Society regarding caffeine supplementation and sport performance is summarized by the following seven points: 1.) Caffeine is effective for enhancing sport performance in trained athletes when consumed in low-to-moderate dosages (~3-6 mg/kg) and overall does not result in further enhancement in performance when consumed in higher dosages (≥ 9 mg/kg). 2.) Caffeine exerts a greater ergogenic effect when consumed in an anhydrous state as compared to coffee. 3.) It has been shown that caffeine can enhance vigilance during bouts of extended exhaustive exercise, as well as periods of sustained sleep deprivation. 4.) Caffeine is ergogenic for sustained maximal endurance exercise, and has been shown to be highly effective for time-trial performance. 5.) Caffeine supplementation is beneficial for high-intensity exercise, including team sports such as soccer and rugby, both of which are categorized by intermittent activity within a period of prolonged duration. 6.) The literature is equivocal when considering the effects of caffeine supplementation on strength-power performance, and additional research in this area is warranted. 7.) The scientific literature does not support caffeine-induced diuresis during exercise, or any harmful change in fluid balance that would negatively affect performance. PMID:20205813

Computer Tablet Games' Effect on Young Children's Self-Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moawad, Ruba Abdel Matloub

2017-01-01

Playing in general has a positive effect on child development; yet with the advancement of technology, the way children play has changed, and the effects of their play have changed as well. Some studies have shown an overall negative effect of electronic games, while others have reported the opposite. This study aims to investigate the effects of…

The effects of priming on children's attitudes toward older individuals.

PubMed

Hoe, Sony; Davidson, Denise

2002-01-01

The purpose of the present research was to examine younger (7-years-old) and older (10-years-old) children's attitudes toward older individuals following one type of five primes: positive prime, negative prime, elderly prime, grandparent prime, or neutral prime. Overall, children's attitudes on three tests--Apperception, Semantic Differential, and Attribute Salience--were affected by the type of prime children were given, with positive and grandparent primes resulting in more positive views toward older individuals than negative, elderly, or neutral (control group) primes. The present research provides evidence that priming the most accessible cognitions about an individual can affect even young children's perception of the individual. These results are discussed in terms of category-based and data-driven processing and may explain the disparate findings obtained in previous studies that have shown the children's attitudes toward older individuals are sometimes negative, whereas other studies have shown that children's attitudes are more positive or neutral.

Dependence of matrix effect on ionization polarity during LC-ESI-MS analysis of derivatized amino acids in some natural samples.

PubMed

Oldekop, Maarja-Liisa; Rebane, Riin; Herodes, Koit

2017-10-01

Matrix effect, the influence of co-eluting components on the ionization efficiency of the analyte, affects the trueness and precision of the LC-ESI-MS analysis. Derivatization can reduce or eliminate matrix effect, for example, diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate (DEEMM) derivatives have shown less matrix effect compared to other derivatives. Moreover, the use of negative ion mode can further reduce matrix effect. In order to investigate the combination of derivatization and different ionization modes, an LC-ESI-MS/MS method using alternating positive/negative ion mode was developed and validated. The analyses in positive and negative ion modes had comparable limit of quantitation values. The influence of ESI polarity on matrix effect was investigated during the analysis of 22 DEEMM-derivatized amino acids in herbal extracts and honeys. Sample dilution approach was used for the evaluation of the presence of matrix effect. Altogether, 4 honeys and 11 herbal extracts were analyzed, and the concentrations of 22 amino acids in the samples are presented. In the positive ion mode, matrix effect was observed for several amino acid derivatives and the matrix effect was stronger in honey samples compared to the herbal extracts. The negative ion mode was free from matrix effect, with only few exceptions in honeys (average relative standard deviation over all analytes and matrices was 8%; SD = 7%). The matrix effect was eliminated in the positive ion mode by sample dilution and agreement between concentrations from the two ion modes was achieved for most amino acids. In conclusion, it was shown that the combination of derivatization and negative ion mode can be a powerful tool for minimizing matrix effect in more complicated applications.

Polarity Correspondence in Metaphor Congruency Effects: Structural Overlap Predicts Categorization Times for Bipolar Concepts Presented in Vertical Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lakens, Daniel

2012-01-01

Previous research has shown that words presented on metaphor congruent locations (e.g., positive words "up" on the screen and negative words "down" on the screen) are categorized faster than words presented on metaphor incongruent locations (e.g., positive words "down" and negative words "up"). These…

Organizational Culture and the Design of Computer-Mediated Communication Systems: Issues for Organizational Communication Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacker, Kenneth L.; And Others

The study of computer mediated communication (CMC) systems in organizations is necessary for a complete examination and explanation of organizational culture and communication. Research has shown that the effects of CMC systems have been both positive and negative. Positively, they have helped to augment oral communication. Negatively, they have…

Face Inversion Disproportionately Disrupts Sensitivity to Vertical over Horizontal Changes in Eye Position

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crookes, Kate; Hayward, William G.

2012-01-01

Presenting a face inverted (upside down) disrupts perceptual sensitivity to the spacing between the features. Recently, it has been shown that this disruption is greater for vertical than horizontal changes in eye position. One explanation for this effect proposed that inversion disrupts the processing of long-range (e.g., eye-to-mouth distance)…

Medical Yoga Therapy

PubMed Central

Stephens, Ina

2017-01-01

Medical yoga is defined as the use of yoga practices for the prevention and treatment of medical conditions. Beyond the physical elements of yoga, which are important and effective for strengthening the body, medical yoga also incorporates appropriate breathing techniques, mindfulness, and meditation in order to achieve the maximum benefits. Multiple studies have shown that yoga can positively impact the body in many ways, including helping to regulate blood glucose levels, improve musculoskeletal ailments and keeping the cardiovascular system in tune. It also has been shown to have important psychological benefits, as the practice of yoga can help to increase mental energy and positive feelings, and decrease negative feelings of aggressiveness, depression and anxiety. PMID:28208599

Religious Background and Educational Attainment: The Effects of Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sander, William

2010-01-01

The effects of Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism on educational attainment in the United States are examined. OLS estimates of educational attainment and Probit estimates of college attainment are undertaken. It is shown that Islam and Judaism have similar positive effects on attainment relative to Protestants and Catholics. The effect of Buddhism is…

Memorial Consequences of Answering SAT II Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsh, Elizabeth J.; Agarwal, Pooja K.; Roediger, Henry L., III

2009-01-01

Many thousands of students take standardized tests every year. In the current research, we asked whether answering standardized test questions affects students' later test performance. Prior research has shown both positive and negative effects of multiple-choice testing on later tests, with negative effects arising from students selecting…

Investigating inner-sphere reorganization via secondary kinetic isotope effects in the C-H cleavage reaction catalyzed by soybean lipoxygenase: tunneling in the substrate backbone as well as the transferred hydrogen.

PubMed

Meyer, Matthew P; Klinman, Judith P

2011-01-26

This work describes the application of NMR to the measurement of secondary deuterium (2° (2)H) and carbon-13 ((13)C) kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) at positions 9-13 within the substrate linoleic acid (LA) of soybean lipoxygenase-1. The KIEs have been measured using LA labeled with either protium (11,11-h2-LA) or deuterium (11,11-d2-LA) at the reactive C11 position, which has been previously shown to yield a primary deuterium isotope effect of ca. 80. The conditions of measurement yield the intrinsic 2° (2)H and (13)C KIEs on k(cat)/K(m) directly for 11,11-d2-LA, whereas the values for the 2° (2)H KIEs for 11,11-h2-LA are obtained after correction for a kinetic commitment. The pattern of the resulting 2° (2)H and (13)C isotope effects reveals values that lie far above those predicted from changes in local force constants. Additionally, many of the experimental values cannot be modeled by electronic effects, torsional strain, or the simple inclusion of a tunneling correction to the rate. Although previous studies have shown the importance of extensive tunneling for cleavage of the primary hydrogen at C11 of LA, the present findings can only be interpreted by extending the conclusion of nonclassical behavior to the secondary hydrogens and carbons that flank the position undergoing C-H bond cleavage. A quantum mechanical method introduced by Buhks et al. [J. Phys. Chem. 1981, 85, 3763] to model the inner-sphere reorganization that accompanies electron transfer has been shown to be able to reproduce the scale of the 2° (2)H KIEs.

Exploring the Relationship between First Year First Generation College Students and Their Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turek, Jerica L.

2012-01-01

The first year of college is one that is crucial for all students entering higher education due to the major transition issues that must be successfully navigated in order to persist to the sophomore year. Parental support has been shown to have a positive effect during this transition by providing positive coping mechanisms and allowing children…

Effects of landscape position and season of burn on fire temperature in Southern Ohio's mixed oak forests

Treesearch

Doug J. Schwemlein; Roger A. Williams

2007-01-01

The use of fire to maintain and restore oak (Quercus spp.) ecosystems is becoming an increasingly accepted silvicultural tool; however, specific management recommendations have been slow to develop as past studies have shown mixed results. By examining fire temperature in response to landscape position and season of burn, we attempted to offer...

[Theraplay--interactive therapy between parent and child in juvenile mental problems].

PubMed

Mäkelä, Jukka; Salo, Saara

2011-01-01

Parent-child interaction therapy is an effective means to prevent and correct children's mental problems. Interactive interventions shown to be effective share common features: the focus is on the support of the parent's sensitivity, positive guiding ability and reflective capability. Simultaneous participation of both parents in the therapy, application of video observation and affirmation of positive collaborative relationship with the parents seem to increase the efficacy of the intervention. The above-mentioned elements are utilized in an interactive therapy method called Theraplay.

[Biological effects of resveratrol and other constituents of wine].

PubMed

Kollár, P; Hotolová, H

2003-11-01

In recent years many scientific papers have been published concerning the positive effects of wine and its active principles, the polyphenol resveratrol being the most widely discussed compound. The results of epidemiological and experimental studies in man, animals, and in vitro have shown that polyphenols contained in wine, tea, fruit, and vegetables exert a positive effect on both the progression and regression of atherosclerosis, possess an anticancerogenic action, and due to their antioxidative effects they act against other processes connected with the reactive forms of oxygen production and lipid peroxydation in the blood plasma and membranes. Experimental findings have shown that resveratrol protects the cardiovascular system, affects lipid metabolism, and inhibits low-density lipoproteins (LDL) oxidation and blood platelet aggregation. In addition, this natural product is able to inhibit the growth of some tumours and possesses antiinflammatory properties and a number of other biological effects. This report aims to describe and characterize in a summary the biological properties of the principal active principles of wine--flavonoids and polyphenols, with a detailed focus on resveratrol, which has been described as the most interesting agent.

What Effective Schools Do

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Martin R.; Gabrieli, Christopher F. O.; Finn, Amy S.; Kraft, Matthew A.; Gabrieli, John D. E.

2014-01-01

Research has been showing that the most important development in K-12 education over the past decade has been the emergence of a growing number of urban schools that have been convincingly shown to have dramatic positive effects on the achievement of disadvantaged students. Those with the strongest evidence of success are oversubscribed charter…

Parent Perceptions of an Adapted Evidence-Based Practice for Toddlers with Autism in a Community Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stahmer, Aubyn C.; Brookman-Frazee, Lauren; Rieth, Sarah R.; Stoner, Julia Trigeiro; Feder, Joshua D.; Searcy, Karyn; Wang, Tiffnay

2016-01-01

Although data from parent-implemented Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions have shown positive effects on decreasing core symptoms of autism, there has been limited examination of the effectiveness of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions in community settings. In addition, parent perspectives of their involvement in…

Parent Perceptions of an Adapted Evidence-Based Practice for Toddlers with Autism in a Community Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stahmer, Aubyn C.; Brookman-Frazee, Lauren; Rieth, Sarah R.; Stoner, Julia Trigeiro; Feder, Joshua D.; Searcy, Karyn; Wang, Tiffany

2017-01-01

Although data from parent-implemented Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions have shown positive effects on decreasing core symptoms of autism, there has been limited examination of the effectiveness of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions in community settings. In addition, parent perspectives of their involvement in…

Effects of a Parenting Intervention on Features of Psychopathy in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Renee; Dodson, Mary Catherine; Rosenfield, David; Jouriles, Ernest N.

2011-01-01

This study examined whether Project Support, a parenting intervention shown to reduce child conduct problems, also exerts positive effects on features of psychopathy in children. Participants were 66 families (mothers and children) recruited from domestic violence shelters who participated in a randomized controlled trial evaluating Project…

The Intergenerational Effect of Parental Education on Child Health: Evidence from the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silles, Mary A.

2015-01-01

While many earlier studies have shown a positive correlation between parents' education and children health, little attempt has been made to address the possibility that unobserved characteristics underlie this intergenerational relationship. This paper explores the effect of additional schooling induced through compulsory schooling laws in Great…

[Thermoregulation in hypertensive elderly patients during physiotherapy].

PubMed

Abramovich, S G

2002-01-01

Effects of therapeutic physical factors on thermoregulation and thermoreactivity of skin were studied in 222 elderly patients with hypertension. It is shown that sodium chloride half-baths, "dry" carbon dioxide baths and general magnetotherapy correct thermal asymmetry and normalize skin thermoreactivity, i.e. produce a positive effect on microcirculation.

Clinical verification in homeopathy and allergic conditions.

PubMed

Van Wassenhoven, Michel

2013-01-01

The literature on clinical research in allergic conditions treated with homeopathy includes a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCT) for hay fever with positive conclusions and two positive RCTs in asthma. Cohort surveys using validated Quality of Life questionnaires have shown improvement in asthma in children, general allergic conditions and skin diseases. Economic surveys have shown positive results in eczema, allergy, seasonal allergic rhinitis, asthma, food allergy and chronic allergic rhinitis. This paper reports clinical verification of homeopathic symptoms in all patients and especially in various allergic conditions in my own primary care practice. For preventive treatments in hay fever patients, Arsenicum album was the most effective homeopathic medicine followed by Nux vomica, Pulsatilla pratensis, Gelsemium, Sarsaparilla, Silicea and Natrum muriaticum. For asthma patients, Arsenicum iodatum appeared most effective, followed by Lachesis, Calcarea arsenicosa, Carbo vegetabilis and Silicea. For eczema and urticaria, Mezereum was most effective, followed by Lycopodium, Sepia, Arsenicum iodatum, Calcarea carbonica and Psorinum. The choice of homeopathic medicine depends on the presence of other associated symptoms and 'constitutional' features. Repertories should be updated by including results of such clinical verifications of homeopathic prescribing symptoms. Copyright © 2012 The Faculty of Homeopathy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does alcohol affect memory for emotional and non-emotional experiences in different ways?

PubMed

Knowles, S K Z; Duka, T

2004-03-01

Alcohol has been shown to have both impairing and facilitating effects on memory, depending on the sequencing of learning and ingestion of the drug. Its effects on memory for emotional material, however, have not been shown reliably. The current experiment sought to investigate the effects of alcohol on later recall of emotional and neutral events experienced before and after alcohol drinking. Using an incidental-learning paradigm, alcohol (0.65 g/kg) or placebo was administered in a double-blind randomized design to 34 participants, between two learning phases in which they viewed and rated positive, negative and neutral images. The drug's effects on memory were assessed in a surprise test of free recall. In addition, impact of alcohol on ratings of mood states, and of valence and arousal that the pictures evoked, was examined. Alcohol facilitated memory for material seen before, and impaired memory for material seen after, its administration. Furthermore, under alcohol, emotional images in the first set were more recalled over neutral than in the second set, indicating a higher retrograde facilitation for emotional than for neutral material. Alcohol improved positive mood states but had no effect on negative mood states. Evaluation of pictures with regard to valence showed an increase of the ratings for the positive and neutral images after alcohol and a decrease after placebo. No drug effects were found for arousal ratings. Whether a picture was likely to be remembered or not (tested only for set 2) was dependent on the intensity of the arousal but not of the valence that the picture evoked in the participants. Pictures that were rated high in arousal were also remembered better, and this effect was irrespective of alcohol or placebo ingestion. These data have shown that alcohol elicits retrograde facilitation and anterograde impairment for emotional materials. Furthermore, these data demonstrate that alcohol selectively facilitates memories for emotional events experienced before administration, and suggest a possible explanation for the reinforcing effects of drinking. Copyright 2004 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Similarity to the Self Affects Memory for Impressions of Others in Younger and Older Adults

PubMed Central

Park, Jung M.; Gutchess, Angela H.

2015-01-01

Objectives. Similarity to the self has been shown to affect memory for impressions in younger adults, suggesting a self-reference effect in person memory. Because older adults show comparable self-reference effects, but prioritize memory for positive over negative information relative to young adults, we examined age differences in self-similarity effects on memory for positive and negative impressions. Method. Younger and older adults formed positive and negative impressions of others differing in the degree of similarity to the self (high, medium, low). Results. For positive impressions, both groups showed enhanced memory for self-similar others relative to dissimilar others, whereas for negative impressions, memory was poorer for those similar to the self. When collapsed across similarity to the self, younger adults remembered negative impressions better than older adults, but interestingly, older adults exhibited a trend for better memory for the positive impressions. Discussion. Results suggest that self-reference effects in impression memory are preserved with age and that older adults exhibit positivity effects in person memory consistent with previous findings. PMID:24389124

Replication of Effects of the "Positive Action" Program in Randomized Trials in Hawai'i and Chicago Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flay, Brian R.

2014-01-01

Several social-emotional learning (SEL) or social-emotional and character development (SECD) programs have been shown to be effective at improving SEL/SECD skills, and some have also provided evidence of effectiveness in improving student behavior and academic achievement (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). Very few SEL…

Exploiting Allee effects for managing biological invasions

Treesearch

Patrick C. Tobin; Ludek Berec; Andrew M. Liebhold

2011-01-01

Biological invasions are a global and increasing threat to the function and diversity of ecosystems. Allee effects (positive density dependence) have been shown to play an important role in the establishment and spread of non-native species. Although Allee effects can be considered a bane in conservation efforts, they can be a benefit in attempts to manage non-native...

Capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) use positive, but not negative, auditory cues to infer food location.

PubMed

Heimbauer, Lisa A; Antworth, Rebecca L; Owren, Michael J

2012-01-01

Nonhuman primates appear to capitalize more effectively on visual cues than corresponding auditory versions. For example, studies of inferential reasoning have shown that monkeys and apes readily respond to seeing that food is present ("positive" cuing) or absent ("negative" cuing). Performance is markedly less effective with auditory cues, with many subjects failing to use this input. Extending recent work, we tested eight captive tufted capuchins (Cebus apella) in locating food using positive and negative cues in visual and auditory domains. The monkeys chose between two opaque cups to receive food contained in one of them. Cup contents were either shown or shaken, providing location cues from both cups, positive cues only from the baited cup, or negative cues from the empty cup. As in previous work, subjects readily used both positive and negative visual cues to secure reward. However, auditory outcomes were both similar to and different from those of earlier studies. Specifically, all subjects came to exploit positive auditory cues, but none responded to negative versions. The animals were also clearly different in visual versus auditory performance. Results indicate that a significant proportion of capuchins may be able to use positive auditory cues, with experience and learning likely playing a critical role. These findings raise the possibility that experience may be significant in visually based performance in this task as well, and highlight that coming to grips with evident differences between visual versus auditory processing may be important for understanding primate cognition more generally.

GAP-43 is essential for the neurotrophic effects of BDNF and positive AMPA receptor modulator S18986.

PubMed

Gupta, S K; Mishra, R; Kusum, S; Spedding, M; Meiri, K F; Gressens, P; Mani, S

2009-04-01

Positive alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor modulators include benzamide compounds that allosterically modulate AMPA glutamate receptors. These small molecules that cross the blood-brain barrier have been shown to act as a neuroprotectant by increasing the levels of endogenous brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Positive AMPA receptor modulators have also been shown to increase the levels of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43). GAP-43 plays a major role in many aspects of neuronal function in vertebrates. The goal of this study was to determine whether GAP-43 was important in mediating the actions of positive AMPA receptor modulator (S18986) and BDNF. Using cortical cultures from GAP-43 knockout and control mice, we show that (1) GAP-43 is upregulated in response to S18986 and BDNF in control cultures; (2) this upregulation of GAP-43 is essential for mediating the neuroprotective effects of S18986 and BDNF; (3) administration of S18986 and BDNF leads to an increase in the expression of the glutamate transporters GLT-1 and GLAST that are key to limiting excitotoxic cell death and this increase in GLT-1 and GLAST expression is completely blocked in the absence of GAP-43. Taken together this study concludes that GAP-43 is an important mediator of the neurotrophic effects of S18986 and BDNF on neuronal survival and plasticity, and is essential for the success of positive AMPA receptor modulator-BDNF-based neurotrophin therapy.

Decryption of pure-position permutation algorithms.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiao-Yu; Chen, Gang; Zhang, Dan; Wang, Xiao-Hong; Dong, Guang-Chang

2004-07-01

Pure position permutation image encryption algorithms, commonly used as image encryption investigated in this work are unfortunately frail under known-text attack. In view of the weakness of pure position permutation algorithm, we put forward an effective decryption algorithm for all pure-position permutation algorithms. First, a summary of the pure position permutation image encryption algorithms is given by introducing the concept of ergodic matrices. Then, by using probability theory and algebraic principles, the decryption probability of pure-position permutation algorithms is verified theoretically; and then, by defining the operation system of fuzzy ergodic matrices, we improve a specific decryption algorithm. Finally, some simulation results are shown.

Chromatic dispersion effects in ultra-low coherence interferometry

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

Lychagov, V V; Ryabukho, V P

2015-06-30

We consider the properties of an interference signal shift from zero-path-difference position in the presence of an uncompensated dispersive layer in one of the interferometer arms. It is experimentally shown that in using an ultra-low coherence light source, the formation of the interference signal is also determined by the group velocity dispersion, which results in a nonlinear dependence of the position of the interference signal on the geometrical thickness of the dispersive layer. The discrepancy in the dispersive layer and compensator refractive indices in the third decimal place is experimentally shown to lead to an interference signal shift that ismore » an order of magnitude greater than the pulse width. (interferometry)« less

The effect of embodied emotive states on cognitive categorization.

PubMed

Price, Tom F; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2010-12-01

Research has uncovered that positive affect broadens cognitive categorization. The motivational dimensional model, however, posits that positive affect is not a unitary construct with only one cognitive consequence. Instead, this model puts forth that there are different positive affects varying in approach motivational intensity. According to this model, only positive affects lower in motivational intensity should broaden cognitive processes, whereas positive affects higher in motivational intensity should narrow cognitive processes. Consistent with these predictions, high approach positive affect has been shown to narrow attention, whereas low approach positive affect has been shown to broaden it (Gable & Harmon-Jones, 2008). High approach positive affect, therefore, might narrow categorization. Two experiments investigated this possibility by having participants respond to cognitive categorization tasks in 3 body postures designed to elicit different levels of approach motivation: reclining backward, which should evoke low approach motivation; sitting upright, which should evoke moderate approach motivation; and leaning forward, which should evoke high approach motivation. Participants smiled while in each posture in order to experience positive affect. Experiment 1 provided initial support for the idea that high approach positive affect narrows categorization and low approach positive affect broadens categorization. Experiment 2 replicated these findings with improved smiling instructions. These results extend previous work by showing that the motivational model's predictions hold for basic attentional processes as well as higher level cognitive processes such as categorization.

Simplified Aircraft-Based Paired Approach: Concept Definition and Initial Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Sally C.; Lohr, Gary W.; McKissick, Burnell T.; Abbott, Terence S.; Geurreiro, Nelson M.; Volk, Paul

2013-01-01

Simplified Aircraft-based Parallel Approach (SAPA) is an advanced concept proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to support dependent parallel approach operations to runways with lateral spacing closer than 2500 ft. At the request of the FAA, NASA performed an initial assessment of the potential performance and feasibility of the SAPA concept, including developing and assessing an operational implementation of the concept and conducting a Monte Carlo wake simulation study to examine the longitudinal spacing requirements. The SAPA concept was shown to have significant operational advantages in supporting the pairing of aircraft with dissimilar final approach speeds. The wake simulation study showed that support for dissimilar final approach speeds could be significantly enhanced through the use of a two-phased altitudebased longitudinal positioning requirement, with larger longitudinal positioning allowed for higher altitudes out of ground effect and tighter longitudinal positioning defined for altitudes near and in ground effect. While this assessment is preliminary and there are a number of operational issues still to be examined, it has shown the basic SAPA concept to be technically and operationally feasible.

Nonlinearity of resistive impurity effects on van der Pauw measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koon, D. W.

2006-09-01

The dependence of van der Pauw resistivity measurements on local macroscopic inhomogeneities is shown to be nonlinear. A resistor grid network models a square laminar specimen, enabling the investigation of both positive and negative local perturbations in resistivity. The effect of inhomogeneity is measured both experimentally, for an 11×11 grid, and computationally, for both 11×11 and 101×101 grids. The maximum "shortlike" perturbation produces 3.1±0.2 times the effect predicted by the linear approximation, regardless of its position within the specimen, while all "openlike" perturbations produce a smaller effect than predicted. An empirical nonlinear correction for f(x ,y) is presented which provides excellent fit over the entire range of both positive and negative perturbations for the entire specimen.

Bargmann's theorem and position-dependent effective mass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawamura, Kiyoshi; Brown, Ronald A.

1988-03-01

The physical significance of Galilean transformations applied to effective-mass (EM) equations for Bloch electrons in Wannier representation is discussed and contrasted with that of Galilean coordinate transformations applied to the free-particle Schrödinger equation. Mass constraints imposed on the latter by Bargmann's (1954) superselection rule do not extend to the EM, and criticisms of the position-dependent EM concept which have invoked Bargmann's theorem are shown to be without foundation. Other criticisms concerning the nonuniqueness and non-Hermiticity of effective Hamiltonians which employ this concept to describe crystals of graded composition are discussed, and it is argued that the problems are associated with the heuristic nature of the virtual-crystal model which is adopted rather than with the position-dependent EM.

Description-based reappraisal regulate the emotion induced by erotic and neutral images in a Chinese population.

PubMed

Peng, Jiaxin; Qu, Chen; Gu, Ruolei; Luo, Yue-Jia

2012-01-01

Previous emotion-regulation research has shown that the late positive potential (LPP) is sensitive to the down-regulation of emotion; however, whether LPP is also sensitive to the up-regulation of emotion remains unclear. The present study examined the description-based reappraisal effects on the up-regulation of positive emotions induced by erotic and neutral images in a Chinese population. Self-reported ratings and event-related potential (ERP) were recorded when subjects viewed pleasant and neutral images, which were shown after either a neutral or positive description. Self-reported results showed that images following positive descriptions were rated as more pleasant compared to images following neutral descriptions. ERP results revealed that the P2, P3, and slow wave (SW) components were larger for erotic pictures than for neutral pictures, while the positive description condition yielded attenuated erotic image-induced P2, P3 and SW and increased SW induced by neutral images. The results demonstrated that description-based reappraisal, as a method of reappraisal, significantly modulates the emotional experience and ERP responses to erotic and neutral images.

Description-based reappraisal regulate the emotion induced by erotic and neutral images in a Chinese population

PubMed Central

Peng, Jiaxin; Qu, Chen; Gu, Ruolei; Luo, Yue-Jia

2013-01-01

Previous emotion-regulation research has shown that the late positive potential (LPP) is sensitive to the down-regulation of emotion; however, whether LPP is also sensitive to the up-regulation of emotion remains unclear. The present study examined the description-based reappraisal effects on the up-regulation of positive emotions induced by erotic and neutral images in a Chinese population. Self-reported ratings and event-related potential (ERP) were recorded when subjects viewed pleasant and neutral images, which were shown after either a neutral or positive description. Self-reported results showed that images following positive descriptions were rated as more pleasant compared to images following neutral descriptions. ERP results revealed that the P2, P3, and slow wave (SW) components were larger for erotic pictures than for neutral pictures, while the positive description condition yielded attenuated erotic image-induced P2, P3 and SW and increased SW induced by neutral images. The results demonstrated that description-based reappraisal, as a method of reappraisal, significantly modulates the emotional experience and ERP responses to erotic and neutral images. PMID:23335894

Effective Pedagogy in Social Sciences. Educational Practices Series-23

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinnema, Claire; Aitken, Graeme

2012-01-01

This booklet is a synthesis of research on social sciences teaching that has been shown to have a positive effect on a range of desirable student outcomes: cognitive, skills, participatory and affective outcomes. Education in the social sciences plays an important role in developing students' sense of identity and influencing the ways in which…

The beneficial effects of berries on cognition, motor behavior, and neuronal function in aging

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Previously, it has been shown that strawberry or blueberry supplementations, when fed to rats from 19-21 months of age, reverse age-related decrements in motor and cognitive performance. We have postulated that these effects may be the result of a number of positive benefits of the berry polyphenol...

The Effect of Nonmasking Distractors on the Priming of Motor Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaskowski, Piotr

2007-01-01

Masked stimuli (primes) can affect the preparation of a motor response to subsequently presented target. In numerous studies, it has been shown that the compatibility effect is biphasic as it develops over time: positive (benefits for compatible trials and costs for incompatible trials) for short prime-target temporal distances and negative…

Investigating the Effects of a Math-Enhanced Agricultural Teaching Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stripling, Christopher T.; Roberts, T. Grady

2013-01-01

Numerous calls have been made for agricultural education to support core academic subject matter including mathematics. Previous research has shown that the incorporation of mathematics content into a teaching methods course had a positive effect on preservice teachers' mathematics content knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate…

Hepatitis C virus infection can mimic type 1 (antinuclear antibody positive) autoimmune chronic active hepatitis.

PubMed Central

Pawlotsky, J M; Deforges, L; Bretagne, S; André, C; Métreau, J M; Thiers, V; Zafrani, E S; Goossens, M; Duval, J; Mavier, J P

1993-01-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been shown to induce anti-liver-kidney microsomal-1 (LKM1) antibody positive chronic active hepatitis, simulating type 2 autoimmune chronic active hepatitis. The cases of five patients presenting with features of type 1 (antinuclear antibody positive) autoimmune chronic active hepatitis and extrahepatic autoimmune manifestations, in whom immunosuppressive treatment had no effect on liver disease are presented. In these patients, HCV infection could be shown by the presence in serum of anti-HCV antibodies and HCV-RNA detected by polymerase chain reaction. These cases suggest the following: (a) chronic HCV infection can mimic type 1, as well as type 2, autoimmune chronic active hepatitis; (b) HCV infection might be systematically sought in patients presenting with features of type 1 autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, with special care in patients who are unresponsive to immunosuppressive treatment. Images Figure PMID:7686122

The effect of obesity prevention interventions according to socioeconomic position: a systematic review.

PubMed

Beauchamp, A; Backholer, K; Magliano, D; Peeters, A

2014-07-01

Obesity prevention is a major public health priority. It is important that all groups benefit from measures to prevent obesity, but we know little about the differential effectiveness of such interventions within particular population subgroups. This review aimed to identify interventions for obesity prevention that evaluated a change in adiposity according to socioeconomic position (SEP) and to determine the effectiveness of these interventions across different socioeconomic groups. A systematic search of published and grey literature was conducted. Studies that described an obesity prevention intervention and reported anthropometric outcomes according to a measure of SEP were included. Evidence was synthesized using narrative analysis. A total of 14 studies were analysed, representing a range of study designs and settings. All studies were from developed countries, with eight conducted among children. Three studies were shown to have no effect on anthropometric outcomes and were not further analysed. Interventions shown to be ineffective in lower SEP participants were primarily based on information provision directed at individual behaviour change. Studies that were shown to be effective in lower SEP participants primarily included community-based strategies or policies aimed at structural changes to the environment. Interventions targeting individual-level behaviour change may be less successful in lower SEP populations. It is essential that our efforts to prevent obesity do not leave behind the most disadvantaged members of society. © 2014 The Authors. obesity reviews © 2014 International Association for the Study of Obesity.

Recovery of carbon pools a decade after wildfire in black spruce forests of interior Alaska: effects of soil texture and landscape position

Treesearch

Gregory P. Houle; Evan S. Kane; Eric S. Kasischke; Carolyn M. Gibson; Merritt R. Turetsky

2017-01-01

We measured organic-layer (OL) recovery and carbon stocks in dead woody debris a decade after wildfire in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) forests of interior Alaska. Previous study at these research plots has shown the strong role that landscape position plays in governing the proportion of OL consumed during fire and revegetation after...

Language Research Center's Computerized Test System (LRC-CTS) - Video-formatted tasks for comparative primate research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rumbaugh, Duane M.; Washburn, David A.; Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S.; Hopkins, William D.; Richardson, W. K.

1991-01-01

Automation of a computerized test system for comparative primate research is shown to improve the results of learning in standard paradigms. A mediational paradigm is used to determine the degree to which criterion in the learning-set testing reflects stimulus-response associative or mediational learning. Rhesus monkeys are shown to exhibit positive transfer as the criterion levels are shifted upwards, and the effectiveness of the computerized testing system is confirmed.

Affirmation effects on math scores: The importance of high school track.

PubMed

Bancroft, Amanda; Bratter, Jenifer; Rowley, Kristie

2017-05-01

Stereotype threat has been shown to affect academic performance of minority racial groups. Minority girls may experience the burdens of both race and gender - a "double bind" theorized to affect the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields. A randomized controlled trial focused on alleviating stereotype threat in three high schools in a large U.S. metro demonstrates the effects of affirmative writing interventions, which have previously shown positive effects for minority and female students. Results indicate effects for these groups were insignificant. However, results also show that student track is highly significant at p < 0.001, and interactive analyses suggest that the intervention may help alleviate threat for higher-achieving students. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Positivity effect in healthy aging in observational but not active feedback-learning.

PubMed

Bellebaum, Christian; Rustemeier, Martina; Daum, Irene

2012-01-01

The present study investigated the impact of healthy aging on the bias to learn from positive or negative performance feedback in observational and active feedback learning. In active learning, a previous study had already shown a negative learning bias in healthy seniors older than 75 years, while no bias was found for younger seniors. However, healthy aging is accompanied by a 'positivity effect', a tendency to primarily attend to stimuli with positive valence. Based on recent findings of dissociable neural mechanisms in active and observational feedback learning, the positivity effect was hypothesized to influence older participants' observational feedback learning in particular. In two separate experiments, groups of young (mean age 27) and older participants (mean age 60 years) completed an observational or active learning task designed to differentially assess positive and negative learning. Older but not younger observational learners showed a significant bias to learn better from positive than negative feedback. In accordance with previous findings, no bias was found for active learning. This pattern of results is discussed in terms of differences in the neural underpinnings of active and observational learning from performance feedback.

Effect of positive emotion on consolidation of memory for faces: the modulation of facial valence and facial gender.

PubMed

Wang, Bo

2013-01-01

Studies have shown that emotion elicited after learning enhances memory consolidation. However, no prior studies have used facial photos as stimuli. This study examined the effect of post-learning positive emotion on consolidation of memory for faces. During the learning participants viewed neutral, positive, or negative faces. Then they were assigned to a condition in which they either watched a 9-minute positive video clip, or a 9-minute neutral video. Then 30 minutes after the learning participants took a surprise memory test, in which they made "remember", "know", and "new" judgements. The findings are: (1) Positive emotion enhanced consolidation of recognition for negative male faces, but impaired consolidation of recognition for negative female faces; (2) For males, recognition for negative faces was equivalent to that for positive faces; for females, recognition for negative faces was better than that for positive faces. Our study provides the important evidence that effect of post-learning emotion on memory consolidation can extend to facial stimuli and such an effect can be modulated by facial valence and facial gender. The findings may shed light on establishing models concerning the influence of emotion on memory consolidation.

On the density of the corona in regions of type 3 activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuiper, T. B. H.

1973-01-01

The east-west positions of 190 type 3 bursts were measured between 30 and 65 MHz with the log-periodic array at Clark Lake. A method is described to find the intrinsic variation of position with frequency of type 3 bursts based on the comparison of the positions of the bursts measured at any two arbitrary frequencies. It is found that the variation of position frequency agrees with the behaviour expected from coronal density models. This suggests that the measured positions were not seriously affected by scattering in the corona. Knowing the functional form of the variation of position with frequency for type 3 bursts, it is shown that the observed burst positions can be corrected for the effects of ionospheric refraction.

Building resilience with the Stress Resilience Training System: Design validation and applications.

PubMed

de Visser, Ewart J; Dorfman, Alix; Chartrand, Donald; Lamon, Jonathan; Freedy, Elan; Weltman, Gershon

2016-05-24

Resilience to stress is critical in today's military service. Past work has shown that experts handle stress in more productive ways compared to novices. Training that specifically addresses stress regulation, such as the Graduated Stress Exposure paradigm, can build individual and unit resilience as well as adaptability so that stressors trigger effective stress coping skills rather than stress injury. We developed the Stress Resilience Training System (SRTS), a product of Perceptronics Solutions Inc., to demonstrate that a software training app can provide an effective individualized method for mitigating the negative effects of situational and mission-related stress, at the same time eliciting potentially positive effects on performance. Seven separate evaluations including a usability study, controlled experiments, and field evaluations have been conducted to date. These studies have shown that the SRTS program effectively engages users to manage their stress, effectively reduces stress symptoms, and improves job performance. The SRTS system is a highly effective method for individualized training to inoculate professionals against the negative consequences of stress, while teaching them to harness its positive effects. SRTS is a technology that can be widely applied to many professions that are concerned with well-being. We discuss applications to law enforcement, athletics, personal fitness and healthcare in the Appendix.

A Fuzzy Technique for Performing Lateral-Axis Formation Flight Navigation Using Wingtip Vortices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanson, Curtis E.

2003-01-01

Close formation flight involving aerodynamic coupling through wingtip vortices shows significant promise to improve the efficiency of cooperative aircraft operations. Impediments to the application of this technology include internship communication required to establish precise relative positioning. This report proposes a method for estimating the lateral relative position between two aircraft in close formation flight through real-time estimates of the aerodynamic effects imparted by the leading airplane on the trailing airplane. A fuzzy algorithm is developed to map combinations of vortex-induced drag and roll effects to relative lateral spacing. The algorithm is refined using self-tuning techniques to provide lateral relative position estimates accurate to 14 in., well within the requirement to maintain significant levels of drag reduction. The fuzzy navigation algorithm is integrated with a leader-follower formation flight autopilot in a two-ship F/A-18 simulation with no intership communication modeled. It is shown that in the absence of measurements from the leading airplane the algorithm provides sufficient estimation of lateral formation spacing for the autopilot to maintain stable formation flight within the vortex. Formation autopilot trim commands are used to estimate vortex effects for the algorithm. The fuzzy algorithm is shown to operate satisfactorily with anticipated levels of input uncertainties.

Encouraging CPAP adherence: it is everyone's job.

PubMed

Bollig, Suzanne M

2010-09-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic disease treated effectively with the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Patient adherence to prescribed CPAP is variable, however, leaving the undertreated OSA patient at risk of development or worsening of comorbid medical conditions, including hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The severity of disease and the presence of daytime sleepiness appear to have some predictive quality for subsequent adherence, though a search for consistent predictive factors related to CPAP adherence has proven elusive. Other influences, such as sex, age, socioeconomic status, and personality traits are less robust predictors. The use of sophisticated therapy modalities such as auto-titration or bi-level PAP units has been shown to improve adherence in certain subsets of OSA patients. Adverse effects such as nasal congestion, dry mouth, or skin irritation occur in approximately 50% of CPAP users, and addressing these adverse effects may improve adherence in some patients. More encouraging, studies on the use of intensive patient education and behavioral interventions have shown more positive effects on adherence, leading to the conclusion that improvement in patient adherence to CPAP therapy requires a multi-layered approach, using combined technological, behavioral, and adverse-effect interventions.

Reconciling spatial and temporal soil moisture effects on afternoon rainfall

PubMed Central

Guillod, Benoit P.; Orlowsky, Boris; Miralles, Diego G.; Teuling, Adriaan J.; Seneviratne, Sonia I.

2015-01-01

Soil moisture impacts on precipitation have been strongly debated. Recent observational evidence of afternoon rain falling preferentially over land parcels that are drier than the surrounding areas (negative spatial effect), contrasts with previous reports of a predominant positive temporal effect. However, whether spatial effects relating to soil moisture heterogeneity translate into similar temporal effects remains unknown. Here we show that afternoon precipitation events tend to occur during wet and heterogeneous soil moisture conditions, while being located over comparatively drier patches. Using remote-sensing data and a common analysis framework, spatial and temporal correlations with opposite signs are shown to coexist within the same region and data set. Positive temporal coupling might enhance precipitation persistence, while negative spatial coupling tends to regionally homogenize land surface conditions. Although the apparent positive temporal coupling does not necessarily imply a causal relationship, these results reconcile the notions of moisture recycling with local, spatially negative feedbacks. PMID:25740589

Driving performance and driver discomfort in an elevated and standard driving position during a driving simulation.

PubMed

Smith, Jordan; Mansfield, Neil; Gyi, Diane; Pagett, Mark; Bateman, Bob

2015-07-01

The primary purposes of a vehicle driver's seat, is to allow them to complete the driving task comfortably and safely. Within each class of vehicle (e.g. passenger, commercial, industrial, agricultural), there is an expected driving position to which a vehicle cabin is designed. This paper reports a study that compares two driving positions, in relation to Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs), in terms of driver performance and driver discomfort. In the 'elevated' driving position, the seat is higher than usually used in road vehicles; this is compared to a standard driving position replicating the layout for a commercially available vehicle. It is shown that for a sample of 12 drivers, the elevated position did not, in general, show more discomfort than the standard position over a 60 min driving simulation, although discomfort increased with duration. There were no adverse effects shown for emergency stop reaction time or for driver headway for the elevated posture compared to the standard posture. The only body part that showed greater discomfort for the elevated posture compared to the standard posture was the right ankle. A second experiment confirmed that for 12 subjects, a higher pedal stiffness eliminated the ankle discomfort problem. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Effects of inter and intraspecific diversity and genetic divergence of aquatic fungal communities on leaf litter decomposition-a microcosm experiment.

PubMed

Andrade, Ricardo; Pascoal, Cláudia; Cássio, Fernanda

2016-07-01

Freshwater fungi play a key role in plant litter decomposition and have been used to investigate the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in streams. Although there is evidence of positive effects of biodiversity on ecosystem processes, particularly on biomass produced, some studies have shown that neutral or negative effects may occur. We manipulated the composition and the number of species and genotypes in aquatic fungal assemblages creating different levels of genetic divergence to assess effects of fungal diversity on biomass produced and leaf decomposition. Generally, diversity effects on fungal biomass produced were positive, suggesting complementarity between species, but in assemblages with more species positive diversity effects were reduced. Genotype diversity and genetic divergence had net positive effects on leaf mass loss, but in assemblages with higher diversity leaf decomposition decreased. Our results highlight the importance of considering multiple biodiversity measures when investigating the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Jigsaw Technique and Self-Efficacy of Vocational Training Students: A Practice Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darnon, Celine; Buchs, Celine; Desbar, Delphine

2012-01-01

Can teenagers' self-efficacy be improved in a short time? Previous research has shown the positive effect of cooperative learning methods, including "jigsaw classrooms" (Aronson and Patnoe, 1997), on various outcomes (e.g., the liking of school, self-esteem, and reduction of prejudices). The present practice report investigated the effects of…

The Effect of Gender on Perception of Case Studies and Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Marlene

2016-01-01

The case study method of teaching uses real-world narratives to teach concepts and content. This method of teaching encourages active learning, which has been shown to have a positive effect on student performance in many disciplines including science. Although more females than males pursue a postsecondary degree, more males than females pursue…

The Relationship between School Funding and Student Achievement in Kansas Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neymotin, Florence

2010-01-01

Recent changes in public school educational finance in the state of Kansas are shown to have had little positive effect on student educational achievement. A differences structure is used to determine the effect of changes in revenue per student at the district level on changes in measures of student achievement. Measures of achievement employed…

Charge movement in a GaN-based hetero-structure field effect transistor structure with carbon doped buffer under applied substrate bias

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

Pooth, Alexander, E-mail: a.pooth@bristol.ac.uk; IQE; Uren, Michael J.

2015-12-07

Charge trapping and transport in the carbon doped GaN buffer of a GaN-based hetero-structure field effect transistor (HFET) has been investigated under both positive and negative substrate bias. Clear evidence of redistribution of charges in the carbon doped region by thermally generated holes is seen, with electron injection and capture observed during positive bias. Excellent agreement is found with simulations. It is shown that these effects are intrinsic to the carbon doped GaN and need to be controlled to provide reliable and efficient GaN-based power HFETs.

Impacting the effect of fMRI noise through hardware and acquisition choices - Implications for controlling false positive rates.

PubMed

Wald, Lawrence L; Polimeni, Jonathan R

2017-07-01

We review the components of time-series noise in fMRI experiments and the effect of image acquisition parameters on the noise. In addition to helping determine the total amount of signal and noise (and thus temporal SNR), the acquisition parameters have been shown to be critical in determining the ratio of thermal to physiological induced noise components in the time series. Although limited attention has been given to this latter metric, we show that it determines the degree of spatial correlations seen in the time-series noise. The spatially correlations of the physiological noise component are well known, but recent studies have shown that they can lead to a higher than expected false-positive rate in cluster-wise inference based on parametric statistical methods used by many researchers. Based on understanding the effect of acquisition parameters on the noise mixture, we propose several acquisition strategies that might be helpful reducing this elevated false-positive rate, such as moving to high spatial resolution or using highly-accelerated acquisitions where thermal sources dominate. We suggest that the spatial noise correlations at the root of the inflated false-positive rate problem can be limited with these strategies, and the well-behaved spatial auto-correlation functions (ACFs) assumed by the conventional statistical methods are retained if the high resolution data is smoothed to conventional resolutions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Test plan : Branson TRIP travel time/data accuracy

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-04-01

In the mid 1990's the FHWA established a High Performance Concrete (HPC) program aimed at demonstrating the positive effects of utilizing HPC in bridges. Research on the benefits of using high performance concrete for bridges has shown a number of be...

Parenting and Adolescent Self-Esteem.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buri, John R.; And Others

Research has shown variables of parental nurturance (acceptance, encouragement, support) of their children to be positively correlated with their children's self-esteem. This study investigated the effects of parental nurturance and the use of permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative parental discipline upon the self-esteem of college…

Children's hostile attribution bias is reduced after watching realistic playful fighting, and the effect is mediated by prosocial thoughts.

PubMed

Boulton, Michael J

2012-09-01

Hostile attribution bias (HAB) has been found to characterize aggressive children. Watching prosocial media has been shown to have positive effects on children, and the general learning model has been used to account for these observations. This study tested the hypotheses derived from this theory that exposure to playful fighting would lead to a reduction in HAB, both immediately and after a 1-day delay, and that this effect would be mediated by positive thoughts. Four studies exposed child participants (N=242) to playful fighting versus neutral behavior primes and then tested their HAB. In two studies, thoughts about playful fighting and about children were assessed and tested as mediators. The main hypotheses were supported. The positive effect of watching playful fighting on HAB was evident immediately but not after 1 day. This effect was mediated by positive thoughts. In line with the general learning model, watching playful fighting reduced HAB in children, and positive thoughts contribute to this effect. This extends the realm of the general learning model and suggests interventions to help children avoid aggression. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A variant of nested dissection for solving n by n grid problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

George, A.; Poole, W. G., Jr.; Voigt, R. G.

1976-01-01

Nested dissection orderings are known to be very effective for solving the sparse positive definite linear systems which arise from n by n grid problems. In this paper nested dissection is shown to be the final step of incomplete nested dissection, an ordering which corresponds to the premature termination of dissection. Analyses of the arithmetic and storage requirements for incomplete nested dissection are given, and the ordering is shown to be competitive with nested dissection under certain conditions.

The Hydrogen Abstraction from A Diamond(111) Surface in A Uniform Electric Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ricca, Alessandra; Bauschlicher, Charles W., Jr.; Kang, Jeung Ku.; Musgrave, Charles B.; Arnold, James O. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

Bond breaking in a strong electric field is shown to arise from a crossing of the ionic and covalent asymptotes. The specific example of hydrogen abstraction from a diamond(111) surface is studied using a cluster model. The addition of nearby atoms in both the parallel and perpendicular direction to the electric field are found to have an effect. It is also shown that the barrier is not only related to the position of the ionic and covalent asymptotes.

Structure and Evoluton of the Large Scale Solar and Heliospheric Magnetic Fields.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

symmetric about the equator and therefore reinforces the dipole field. This has the effect of pushing the current sheet toward the equator as shown in Figure...drift only slightly in longitude. The postive sector near 90’ remains strong through the year too. The positive sector near 2700 appears to grow in...sheet position determined from coronal polarization brightness measurements from the Mauna Loa coronameter. An immediate problem with using the

Steric hindrance effects in the use of heterocyclic azodyestuffs as spectrophotometric reagents.

PubMed

Geary, W J; Bottomley, F

1967-05-01

The heterocyclic azo dyestuffs 4-(n-methyl-2 -pyridylazo)-resorcinol (where n = 3', 4', 5', 6') have been prepared, and their possible use as spectrophotometric reagents investigated. The dyestuffs are shown to function analogously to the parent ligand 4-(2'-pyridylazo) resorcinol (PAR) in giving red complexes with the ions Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+) and UO(2)(2+). Steric effects resulting from the position of the methyl group in the heterocyclic ring are shown to occur in relation both to the spectra of the dyestuffs themselves and to the sensitivity of their reactions with the metal ions.

Roselle Polyphenols Exert Potent Negative Inotropic Effects via Modulation of Intracellular Calcium Regulatory Channels in Isolated Rat Heart.

PubMed

Lim, Yi-Cheng; Budin, Siti Balkis; Othman, Faizah; Latip, Jalifah; Zainalabidin, Satirah

2017-07-01

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn.) calyces have demonstrated propitious cardioprotective effects in animal and clinical studies; however, little is known about its action on cardiac mechanical function. This study was undertaken to investigate direct action of roselle polyphenols (RP) on cardiac function in Langendorff-perfused rat hearts. We utilized RP extract which consists of 12 flavonoids and seven phenolic acids (as shown by HPLC profiling) and has a safe concentration range between 125 and 500 μg/ml in this study. Direct perfusion of RP in concentration-dependent manner lowered systolic function of the heart as shown by lowered LVDP and dP/dt max , suggesting a negative inotropic effect. RP also reduced heart rate (negative chronotropic action) while simultaneously increasing maximal velocity of relaxation (positive lusitropic action). Conversely, RP perfusion increased coronary pressure, an indicator for improvement in coronary blood flow. Inotropic responses elicited by pharmacological agonists for L-type Ca 2+ channel [(±)-Bay K 8644], ryanodine receptor (4-chloro-m-cresol), β-adrenergic receptor (isoproterenol) and SERCA blocker (thapsigargin) were all abolished by RP. In conclusion, RP elicits negative inotropic, negative chronotropic and positive lusitropic responses by possibly modulating calcium entry, release and reuptake in the heart. Our findings have shown the potential use of RP as a therapeutic agent to treat conditions like arrhythmia.

Dynamics of flexural gravity waves: from sea ice to Hawking radiation and analogue gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, S.; Sahoo, T.; Meylan, M. H.

2018-01-01

The propagation of flexural gravity waves, routinely used to model wave interaction with sea ice, is studied, including the effect of compression and current. A number of significant and surprising properties are shown to exist. The occurrence of blocking above a critical value of compression is illustrated. This is analogous to propagation of surface gravity waves in the presence of opposing current and light wave propagation in the curved space-time near a black hole, therefore providing a novel system for studying analogue gravity. Between the blocking and buckling limit of the compressive force, the dispersion relation possesses three positive real roots, contrary to an earlier observation of having a single positive real root. Negative energy waves, in which the phase and group velocity point in opposite directions, are also shown to exist. In the presence of an opposing current and certain critical ranges of compressive force, the second blocking point shifts from the positive to the negative branch of the dispersion relation. Such a shift is known as the Hawking effect from the analogous behaviour in the theory of relativity which leads to Hawking radiation. The theory we develop is illustrated with simulations of linear waves in the time domain.

Dynamics of flexural gravity waves: from sea ice to Hawking radiation and analogue gravity.

PubMed

Das, S; Sahoo, T; Meylan, M H

2018-01-01

The propagation of flexural gravity waves, routinely used to model wave interaction with sea ice, is studied, including the effect of compression and current. A number of significant and surprising properties are shown to exist. The occurrence of blocking above a critical value of compression is illustrated. This is analogous to propagation of surface gravity waves in the presence of opposing current and light wave propagation in the curved space-time near a black hole, therefore providing a novel system for studying analogue gravity. Between the blocking and buckling limit of the compressive force, the dispersion relation possesses three positive real roots, contrary to an earlier observation of having a single positive real root. Negative energy waves, in which the phase and group velocity point in opposite directions, are also shown to exist. In the presence of an opposing current and certain critical ranges of compressive force, the second blocking point shifts from the positive to the negative branch of the dispersion relation. Such a shift is known as the Hawking effect from the analogous behaviour in the theory of relativity which leads to Hawking radiation. The theory we develop is illustrated with simulations of linear waves in the time domain.

Parafoveal preview during reading: Effects of sentence position

PubMed Central

White, Sarah J.; Warren, Tessa; Reichle, Erik D.

2011-01-01

Two experiments examined parafoveal preview for words located in the middle of sentences and at sentence boundaries. Parafoveal processing was shown to occur for words at sentence-initial, mid-sentence, and sentence-final positions. Both Experiments 1 and 2 showed reduced effects of preview on regressions out for sentence-initial words. In addition, Experiment 2 showed reduced preview effects on first-pass reading times for sentence-initial words. These effects of sentence position on preview could result from reduced parafoveal processing for sentence-initial words, or other processes specific to word reading at sentence boundaries. In addition to the effects of preview, the experiments also demonstrate variability in the effects of sentence wrap-up on different reading measures, indicating that the presence and time course of wrap-up effects may be modulated by text-specific factors. We also report simulations of Experiment 2 using version 10 of E-Z Reader (Reichle, Warren, & McConnell, 2009), designed to explore the possible mechanisms underlying parafoveal preview at sentence boundaries. PMID:21500948

High But Not Low Probability of Gain Elicits a Positive Feeling Leading to the Framing Effect.

PubMed

Gosling, Corentin J; Moutier, Sylvain

2017-01-01

Human risky decision-making is known to be highly susceptible to profit-motivated responses elicited by the way in which options are framed. In fact, studies investigating the framing effect have shown that the choice between sure and risky options depends on how these options are presented. Interestingly, the probability of gain of the risky option has been highlighted as one of the main factors causing variations in susceptibility to the framing effect. However, while it has been shown that high probabilities of gain of the risky option systematically lead to framing bias, questions remain about the influence of low probabilities of gain. Therefore, the first aim of this paper was to clarify the respective roles of high and low probabilities of gain in the framing effect. Due to the difference between studies using a within- or between-subjects design, we conducted a first study investigating the respective roles of these designs. For both designs, we showed that trials with a high probability of gain led to the framing effect whereas those with a low probability did not. Second, as emotions are known to play a key role in the framing effect, we sought to determine whether they are responsible for such a debiasing effect of the low probability of gain. Our second study thus investigated the relationship between emotion and the framing effect depending on high and low probabilities. Our results revealed that positive emotion was related to risk-seeking in the loss frame, but only for trials with a high probability of gain. Taken together, these results support the interpretation that low probabilities of gain suppress the framing effect because they prevent the positive emotion of gain anticipation.

High But Not Low Probability of Gain Elicits a Positive Feeling Leading to the Framing Effect

PubMed Central

Gosling, Corentin J.; Moutier, Sylvain

2017-01-01

Human risky decision-making is known to be highly susceptible to profit-motivated responses elicited by the way in which options are framed. In fact, studies investigating the framing effect have shown that the choice between sure and risky options depends on how these options are presented. Interestingly, the probability of gain of the risky option has been highlighted as one of the main factors causing variations in susceptibility to the framing effect. However, while it has been shown that high probabilities of gain of the risky option systematically lead to framing bias, questions remain about the influence of low probabilities of gain. Therefore, the first aim of this paper was to clarify the respective roles of high and low probabilities of gain in the framing effect. Due to the difference between studies using a within- or between-subjects design, we conducted a first study investigating the respective roles of these designs. For both designs, we showed that trials with a high probability of gain led to the framing effect whereas those with a low probability did not. Second, as emotions are known to play a key role in the framing effect, we sought to determine whether they are responsible for such a debiasing effect of the low probability of gain. Our second study thus investigated the relationship between emotion and the framing effect depending on high and low probabilities. Our results revealed that positive emotion was related to risk-seeking in the loss frame, but only for trials with a high probability of gain. Taken together, these results support the interpretation that low probabilities of gain suppress the framing effect because they prevent the positive emotion of gain anticipation. PMID:28232808

Determination of capsinoids by HPLC-DAD in Capsicum species

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Capsicum fruit contain a number of phytochemicals, including the newly characterized capsinoids that have been shown to have positive effects on human health (10-15). Closely related to the pungent capsaicinoids, the non-pungent casinoids exhibit antioxidant activity, promote energy metabolism and r...

The Effects of Social Supports on Changes in Students' Perceived Instrumentality of Schoolwork for Future Goal Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shin, Jongho; Seo, Eunjin; Hwang, Hyeyoung

2016-01-01

Research on perceived instrumentality of students' academic work for attaining life goals has shown to have positive effects on academic achievement and motivation The purpose of the study was to examine the changes in perceived instrumentality over time and to identify how significant others such as parents, teachers and peers affect changes in…

How Can Positive Effects of Pop-Up Windows on Multimedia Learning Be Explained?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erhel, Severine; Jamet, Eric

2011-01-01

A large body of research has shown that incorporating text in the corresponding sections of an illustration facilitates the learning of illustrated documents. More recently, a series of studies has revealed that the use of interactive windows located close to the illustration causes similar effects. The aim of this paper is to help bring about a…

49 CFR 567.4 - Requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., or the door edge that meets the door-latch post, next to the driver's seating position, or if none of... applicable Federal motor vehicle safety, bumper, and theft prevention standards in effect on the date of... standards in effect on the date of manufacture shown above.” The expression “U.S.” or “U.S.A.” may be...

49 CFR 567.4 - Requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., or the door edge that meets the door-latch post, next to the driver's seating position, or if none of... applicable Federal motor vehicle safety, bumper, and theft prevention standards in effect on the date of... standards in effect on the date of manufacture shown above.” The expression “U.S.” or “U.S.A.” may be...

49 CFR 567.4 - Requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., or the door edge that meets the door-latch post, next to the driver's seating position, or if none of... applicable Federal motor vehicle safety, bumper, and theft prevention standards in effect on the date of... standards in effect on the date of manufacture shown above.” The expression “U.S.” or “U.S.A.” may be...

Temporal variations in the position of the heliospheric equator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obridko, V. N.; Shelting, B. D.

2008-08-01

It is shown that the centroid of the heliospheric equator undergoes quasi-periodic oscillations. During the minimum of the 11-year cycle, the centroid shifts southwards (the so-called bashful-ballerina effect). The direction of the shift reverses during the solar maximum. The solar quadrupole is responsible for this effect. The shift is compared with the tilt of the heliospheric current sheet.

Effect of Interviewer's Eyeglasses on Compliance with a Face-to-Face Survey Request and Perception of the Interviewer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guéguen, Nicolas; Martin, Angélique

2017-01-01

Several studies have shown that people photographed wearing eyeglasses were perceived more positively as to intelligence and honesty. However, the effect of wearing glasses on behavior and in real face-to-face relationships has never been examined. In two studies, interviewers wearing or not wearing eyeglasses were instructed to ask people in the…

Influence of Probiotics Administration on Gut Microbiota Core: A Review on the Effects on Appetite Control, Glucose, and Lipid Metabolism.

PubMed

Falcinelli, Silvia; Rodiles, Ana; Hatef, Azadeh; Picchietti, Simona; Cossignani, Lina; Merrifield, Daniel L; Unniappan, Suraj; Carnevali, Oliana

2018-06-02

An increasing number of studies has shown that dietary probiotics exert beneficial health effects in both humans and animals. It is well established that gut microbiota play a pivotal role in regulating host metabolism, and a growing number of studies has elucidated that probiotics positively interfere with gut microbiota. Accumulating evidence shows that probiotics, through their metabolic activity, produce metabolites that in turn contribute to positively affect host physiology. For these reasons, probiotics have shown significant potential as a therapeutic tool for a diversity of diseases, but the mechanisms through which probiotics act has not been fully elucidated yet. The goal of this review was to provide evidence on the effects of probiotics on gut microbiota changes associated with host metabolic variations, specifically focusing on feed intake and lipid and glucose metabolism. In addition, we review probiotic interaction with the gut microbiota. The information collected here will give further insight into the effects of probiotics on the gut microbiota and their action on metabolite release, energy metabolism, and appetite. This information will help to improve knowledge to find better probiotic therapeutic strategies for obesity and eating disorders.

Interferometric tests of Planckian quantum geometry models

DOE PAGES

Kwon, Ohkyung; Hogan, Craig J.

2016-04-19

The effect of Planck scale quantum geometrical effects on measurements with interferometers is estimated with standard physics, and with a variety of proposed extensions. It is shown that effects are negligible in standard field theory with canonically quantized gravity. Statistical noise levels are estimated in a variety of proposals for nonstandard metric fluctuations, and these alternatives are constrained using upper bounds on stochastic metric fluctuations from LIGO. Idealized models of several interferometer system architectures are used to predict signal noise spectra in a quantum geometry that cannot be described by a fluctuating metric, in which position noise arises from holographicmore » bounds on directional information. Lastly, predictions in this case are shown to be close to current and projected experimental bounds.« less

Effects on the positive electrode of the corrosion of AB{sub 5} alloys in nickel-metal-hydride batteries

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

Bernard, P.

1998-02-01

Effects of corrosion of MmNi{sub 4.3{minus}x}Mn{sub 0.3}Al{sub 0.4}Co{sub x} alloys (where Mm = Ce 50%, La 30%, Nd 15%, Pr 5%) are evaluated in nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-MH) cells. Particularly, it is shown how Al released by the corroded alloys pollutes the positive electrode, which endures a loss of charging efficiency, due to the formation of a hydrotalcite-like phase stabilized with Al. Furthermore, since Al is eluted from the hydride electrode and is completely trapped in the positive active material, the titration of this element in the positive electrode is a powerful technique for quantification of the corrosion of AB{sub 5} alloysmore » in Ni-MH cells.« less

Happier, faster: Developmental changes in the effects of mood and novelty on responses.

PubMed

Schomaker, Judith; Rangel-Gomez, Mauricio; Meeter, Martijn

2016-01-01

Positive mood ameliorates several cognitive processes: It can enhance cognitive control, increase flexibility, and promote variety seeking in decision making. These effects of positive mood have been suggested to depend on frontostriatal dopamine, which is also associated with the detection of novelty. This suggests that positive mood could also affect novelty detection. In the present study, children and adults saw either a happy or a neutral movie to induce a positive or neutral mood. After that, they were shown novel and familiar images. On some trials a beep was presented over headphones either at the same time as the image or at a 200-ms stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), and the task of the participant was to detect these auditory targets. Children were slower in responding than adults. Positive mood, however, speeded responses, especially in children, and induced facilitatory effects of novelty. These effects were consistent with increased arousal. Although effects of novelty were more consistent with an attentional response, in children who had watched a happy movie the novel images evoked a more liberal response criterion, suggestive of increased arousal. This suggests that mood and novelty may affect response behaviour stronger in children than in adults.

A review of the evaluation of 47 drug abuse prevention curricula available nationally.

PubMed

Dusenbury, L; Falco, M; Lake, A

1997-04-01

This review determined how many drug prevention curricula available to schools have been shown in rigorous research studies to reduce substance use behavior. Forty-seven curricula which met the following criteria were included: 1) they focused on primary prevention of alcohol and/or drug use, 2) they were classroom-based curricula designed for any grade level P-12, 3) they were nationally and currently available, and 4) program distributors were willing to provide samples of curriculum materials to determine drug abuse prevention content. Of the 47 drug abuse prevention curricula identified, 10 (21%) had been subjected to sufficiently rigorous evaluations. At least eight of the 10 programs have been shown effective at reducing tobacco or drug use, in at least some studies. The remaining two programs did not appear to have sustained effects on drug use, although they had variable success at reducing substance use early on. One of the 10 programs has been shown to have positive effects lasting into young adulthood. Six of the 10 curricula have been shown to have effects lasting for at least two years after the pretest. Two curricula have not been evaluated beyond the post-test, so it is impossible to know whether their effectiveness will last. Recommendations to increase the number of programs rigorously evaluated are offered.

Free Swimming in Ground Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochran-Carney, Jackson; Wagenhoffer, Nathan; Zeyghami, Samane; Moored, Keith

2017-11-01

A free-swimming potential flow analysis of unsteady ground effect is conducted for two-dimensional airfoils via a method of images. The foils undergo a pure pitching motion about their leading edge, and the positions of the body in the streamwise and cross-stream directions are determined by the equations of motion of the body. It is shown that the unconstrained swimmer is attracted to a time-averaged position that is mediated by the flow interaction with the ground. The robustness of this fluid-mediated equilibrium position is probed by varying the non-dimensional mass, initial conditions and kinematic parameters of motion. Comparisons to the foil's fixed-motion counterpart are also made to pinpoint the effect that free swimming near the ground has on wake structures and the fluid-mediated forces over time. Optimal swimming regimes for near-boundary swimming are determined by examining asymmetric motions.

The effects of ayahuasca ritual participation on gay and lesbian identity.

PubMed

Cavnar, Clancy

2014-01-01

The practice of drinking ayahuasca-a psychoactive brew indigenous to the Amazon-has been investigated in several studies and shown to have positive long-term effects on mental states, and a particularly strong positive effect on perceptions of identity. This article discusses if these previous findings can be found in the experience of gay people, who are often taught by their culture and religion that their lifestyles, values, and sexual orientation are unacceptable. The qualitative study examined the interview responses of 17 self-identified gay and lesbian participants who had drunk ayahuasca in a ceremonial context within the past three years, regarding their self-perceptions and integration of group beliefs. Participants drank either in shamanic or Santo Daime ceremonies or, in the case of one participant, with an Afro-Brazilian group that used ayahuasca. Participants reported affirmation of their sexual orientation, and no participants reported negative effects on perception of identity. Additional positive effects in other areas of their lives, which they attributed to ayahuasca sessions, contributed to the overall positive outcomes that were reported by this group as a result of their ritual participation.

Local versus landscape-scale effects of savanna trees on grasses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Riginos, C.; Grace, J.B.; Augustine, D.J.; Young, T.P.

2009-01-01

1. Savanna ecosystems - defined by the coexistence of trees and grasses - cover more than one-fifth the world's land surface and harbour most of the world's rangelands, livestock and large mammal diversity. Savanna trees can have a variety of effects on grasses, with consequences for the wild and domestic herbivores that depend on them. 2.Studies of these effects have focused on two different spatial scales. At the scale of individual trees, many studies have shown net positive effects of trees on sub-canopy grass nutrient concentrations and biomass. At the landscape scale, other studies have shown negative effects of high tree densities on grass productivity. These disparate results have led to different conclusions about the effects of trees on forage quality and ungulate nutrition in savannas. 3.We integrate these approaches by examining the effects of trees on grasses at both spatial scales and across a range of landscape-scale tree densities. 4.We quantified grass biomass, species composition and nutrient concentrations in these different contexts in an Acacia drepanolobium savanna in Laikipia, Kenya. Individual trees had positive effects on grass biomass, most likely because trees enrich soil nitrogen. Grass leaf phosphorus in sub-canopy areas, however, was depressed. The effects of individual trees could explain the effects of increasing landscape-scale tree cover for the biomass of only two of the four dominant grass species. 5.The negative effects of trees on grass and soil phosphorus, combined with depressed grass productivity in areas of high tree cover, suggest that ungulate nutrition may be compromised in areas with many trees. 6.Synthesis. We conclude that few, isolated trees may have positive local effects on savanna grasses and forage, but in areas of high tree density the negative landscape-scale effects of trees are likely to outweigh these positive effects. In savannas and other patchy landscapes, attempts to predict the consequences of changes in patch abundances for ecosystem services (e.g. rangeland productivity and carbon sequestration) will depend on our understanding of the extent to which local, patch-scale dynamics do or do not predict landscape-scale dynamics. ?? 2009 British Ecological Society.

Advance in multi-hit detection and quantization in atom probe tomography.

PubMed

Da Costa, G; Wang, H; Duguay, S; Bostel, A; Blavette, D; Deconihout, B

2012-12-01

The preferential retention of high evaporation field chemical species at the sample surface in atom-probe tomography (e.g., boron in silicon or in metallic alloys) leads to correlated field evaporation and pronounced pile-up effects on the detector. The latter severely affects the reliability of concentration measurements of current 3D atom probes leading to an under-estimation of the concentrations of the high-field species. The multi-hit capabilities of the position-sensitive time-resolved detector is shown to play a key role. An innovative method based on Fourier space signal processing of signals supplied by an advance delay-line position-sensitive detector is shown to drastically improve the time resolving power of the detector and consequently its capability to detect multiple events. Results show that up to 30 ions on the same evaporation pulse can be detected and properly positioned. The major impact of this new method on the quantization of chemical composition in materials, particularly in highly-doped Si(B) samples is highlighted.

Neural evidence for reduced apprehensiveness of familiarized stimuli in a mere exposure paradigm.

PubMed

Zebrowitz, Leslie A; Zhang, Yi

2012-07-01

Mere familiarization with a stimulus increases liking for it or similar stimuli ("mere exposure" effects) as well as perceptual fluency, indexed by the speed and accuracy of categorizing it or similar stimuli ("priming" effects). Candidate mechanisms proposed to explain mere exposure effects include both increased positive affect associated with greater perceptual fluency, and reduced negative affect associated with diminished apprehensiveness of novel stimuli. Although these two mechanisms are not mutually exclusive, it is difficult for behavioral measures to disentangle them, since increased liking or other indices of greater positive affect toward exposed stimuli could result from increases in positive feelings or decreases in negative feelings or both. The present study sought to clarify this issue by building on research showing a dissociation at the neural level in which the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (LOFC) is activated more by negatively valenced than by neutral or positively valenced stimuli, with the reverse effect for medial orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC). Supporting the reduced apprehensiveness hypothesis, we found lower LOFC activation to familiarized faces and objects (repetition suppression). We did not find evidence to support the positive affect hypothesis in increased activation to familiarized stimuli in MOFC or in other parts of the reward circuit that respond more to positively valenced stimuli (repetition enhancement), although enhancement effects were shown in some regions.

Older and younger adults' first impressions from faces: similar in agreement but different in positivity.

PubMed

Zebrowitz, Leslie A; Franklin, Robert G; Hillman, Suzanne; Boc, Henry

2013-03-01

People readily form first impressions from faces, with consensual judgments that have significant social consequences. Similar impressions are shown by children, young adults (YA), and people from diverse cultures. However, this is the first study to systematically investigate older adults' (OA) impressions. OA and YA showed similar levels of within-age agreement in their impressions of competence, health, hostility, and trustworthiness. Both groups also showed stronger within- than between-age agreement. Consistent with other evidence for age-related increases in positivity, OA showed more positive impressions of the health, hostility, and trustworthiness of faces. These effects tended to be strongest for the most negatively valenced faces, suggesting that they derive from OA lesser processing of negative cues rather than greater processing of positive cues. An own-age bias in impressions was limited to greater OA positivity in impressions of the hostility of older faces, but not younger ones. Although OA and YA differed in vision and executive function, only OA slower processing speed contributed to age differences in impression positivity. Positivity effects in OA have not been previously linked to processing speed, and research investigating possible explanations for this effect would be worthwhile.

Older and Younger Adults’ First Impressions From Faces: Similar in Agreement but Different in Positivity

PubMed Central

Zebrowitz, Leslie A.; Franklin, Robert G.; Hillman, Suzanne; Boc, Henry

2014-01-01

People readily form first impressions from faces, with consensual judgments that have significant social consequences. Similar impressions are shown by children, young adults (YA), and people from diverse cultures. However, this is the first study to systematically investigate older adults’ (OA) impressions. OA and YA showed similar levels of within-age agreement in their impressions of competence, health, hostility, and trustworthiness. Both groups also showed stronger within- than between age agreement. Consistent with other evidence for age-related increases in positivity, OA showed more positive impressions of the health, hostility, and trustworthiness of faces. These effects tended to be strongest for the most negatively valenced faces, suggesting that they derive from OA lesser processing of negative cues rather than greater processing of positive cues. An own-age bias in impressions was limited to greater OA positivity in impressions of the hostility of older faces, but not younger ones. Although OA and YA differed in vision and executive function, only OA slower processing speed contributed to age differences in impression positivity. Positivity effects in OA have not been previously linked to processing speed, and research investigating possible explanations for this effect would be worthwhile. PMID:23276216

Genes on a Wire: The Nucleoid-Associated Protein HU Insulates Transcription Units in Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

Berger, Michael; Gerganova, Veneta; Berger, Petya; Rapiteanu, Radu; Lisicovas, Viktoras; Dobrindt, Ulrich

2016-01-01

The extent to which chromosomal gene position in prokaryotes affects local gene expression remains an open question. Several studies have shown that chromosomal re-positioning of bacterial transcription units does not alter their expression pattern, except for a general decrease in gene expression levels from chromosomal origin to terminus proximal positions, which is believed to result from gene dosage effects. Surprisingly, the question as to whether this chromosomal context independence is a cis encoded property of a bacterial transcription unit, or if position independence is a property conferred by factors acting in trans, has not been addressed so far. For this purpose, we established a genetic test system assessing the chromosomal positioning effects by means of identical promoter-fluorescent reporter gene fusions inserted equidistantly from OriC into both chromosomal replichores of Escherichia coli K-12. Our investigations of the reporter activities in mutant cells lacking the conserved nucleoid associated protein HU uncovered various drastic chromosomal positional effects on gene transcription. In addition we present evidence that these positional effects are caused by transcriptional activity nearby the insertion site of our reporter modules. We therefore suggest that the nucleoid-associated protein HU is functionally insulating transcription units, most likely by constraining transcription induced DNA supercoiling. PMID:27545593

[The potential health benefits of philanthropy].

PubMed

Vaccaro, Antoine

2014-12-01

The act of donating or doing voluntary or charitable work has a positive effect on the giver's health. Numerous French and international studies have shown the benefits of a voluntary activity. It enables people to live better and longer, by favouring their physical, psychological, social and cognitive balance.

Independent effects and interactions of stand diameter, tree diameter, crown class, and age on tree growth in mixed-species, even-aged hardwood stands

Treesearch

D.A. Marquis

1991-01-01

Many studies have shown that initial tree diameter is closely correlated with subsequent tree growth. But initial tree diameter is actually a confounded variable, incorporating both competitive position (crown class) and age.

Butyrate: A dietary inhibitor of histone deacetylases and an epigenetic regulator

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate, propionate and butyrate, also known as volatile fatty acids (VFA), are produced in the gastrointestinal tract by microbial fermentation. Consumption of dietary fibers has been shown to have positive metabolic health effects, such as increasing satiety, an...

EFFECTS OF INHALED COMBUSTION-DERIVED PARTICULATE MATTER ON INDICES OF CARDIAC, PULMONARY, AND THERMOREGULATORY FUNCTION IN SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS

EPA Science Inventory

Epidemiological studies have shown a positive relationship between elevated levels of ambient particulate matter (PM) and rates of morbidity and mortality; these correlations are further strengthened when limited to individuals with preexisting cardiopulmonary diseases. While si...

The effect of seat position on manual wheelchair propulsion biomechanics: a quasi-static model-based approach.

PubMed

Richter, W M

2001-12-01

The position of the seat relative to the rear wheels is generally adjusted to modify the rearward stability of the wheelchair. Recent studies have shown that seat position also has an effect on propulsion biomechanics and suggest that seat position can be optimized. A quasi-static wheelchair propulsion model was developed to investigate the mechanism by which seat position affects propulsion biomechanics. Inputs to the model include the length of the user's arm segments, the position of the user's shoulder, the size of handrim used and the force profile on the handrim. Outputs from the model include joint kinematics, joint torques, push angle, and push frequency. Handrim force profile was determined by averaging the force profile of five wheelchair users. Force profiles were measured using the SMARTWheel. The effect of seat position on push angle was found to be directly affected by the length of the position vector from the hub of the wheel to the shoulder and indirectly affected by the angular orientation of the vector. Decreasing hub to shoulder length was found to increase push angle, decrease push frequency, decrease shoulder torque and increase elbow extension torque. It is suggested that future research investigating the role of seat position on propulsion biomechanics include both the kinematics and kinetics of the upper extremity.

Coping and health in older adults.

PubMed

Yancura, Loriena A; Aldwin, Carolyn M

2008-02-01

Although coping has been shown to influence physical health in younger populations, whether coping affects health in older adults appears to depend upon how coping and health are conceptualized. This article reviews recent literature on coping and health in older adults in three areas. First, we discuss coping's distinct relevance to health in older adults. Second, we describe ways in which coping may differ between older and younger populations. Third, we detail recent and notable findings of coping's specific effects on biomedical health and health in general. The recent literature suggests that coping may be a developmental and multifaceted process. Positive coping strategies may have positive and even protective effects on health, whereas negative strategies may have negative effects.

Experimental Study of Wake / Flap Interaction Noise and the Reduction of Flap Side Edge Noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hutcheson, Florence V.; Stead, Daniel J.; Plassman, Gerald E.

2016-01-01

The effects of the interaction of a wake with a half-span flap on radiated noise are examined. The incident wake is generated by bars of various widths and lengths or by a simplified landing gear model. Single microphone and phased array measurements are used to isolate the effects of the wake interaction on the noise radiating from the flap side edge and flap cove regions. The effects on noise of the wake generator's geometry and relative placement with respect to the flap are assessed. Placement of the wake generators upstream of the flap side edge is shown to lead to the reduction of flap side edge noise by introducing a velocity deficit and likely altering the instabilities in the flap side edge vortex system. Significant reduction in flap side edge noise is achieved with a bar positioned directly upstream of the flap side edge. The noise reduction benefit is seen to improve with increased bar width, length and proximity to the flap edge. Positioning of the landing gear model upstream of the flap side edge also leads to decreased flap side edge noise. In addition, flap cove noise levels are significantly lower than when the landing gear is positioned upstream of the flap mid-span. The impact of the local flow velocity on the noise radiating directly from the landing gear is discussed. The effects of the landing gear side-braces on flap side edge, flap cove and landing gear noise are shown.

Depression and Pain: Independent and Additive Relationships to Anger Expression

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

morphine (a common opioid pain medication) applied to any of these areas effectively blocks peripheral pain stimuli,’*^ possibly by exciting "off-cells...0.42, pɘ.001) and cross-over effects of antidepressant and pain medication were shown. Specifically, frequency of antidepressant medication use was...episodes of ANGX. As expected, depression and pain were positively associated (/• = 0.42, p < 0.001) and crossover effects of antidepressant and pain

Brain Responses to Emotional Images Related to Cognitive Ability in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Foster, Shannon M.; Davis, Hasker P.; Kisley, Michael A.

2013-01-01

Older adults have been shown to exhibit a positivity effect in processing of emotional stimuli, seemingly focusing more on positive than negative information. Whether this reflects purposeful changes or an unintended side-effect of declining cognitive abilities is unclear. For the present study older adults displaying a wide range of cognitive abilities completed measures of attention, visual and verbal memory, executive functioning, and processing speed, as well as a socioemotional measure of time perspective. Regression analyses examined the ability of these variables to predict neural responsivity to select emotional stimuli as measured with the late positive potential (LPP), an event-related brain potential (ERP). Stronger cognitive functioning was associated with higher LPP amplitude in response to negative images (i.e., greater processing). This does not support a voluntary avoidance of negative information processing in older adults for this particular measure of attentional allocation. A model is proposed to reconcile this finding with the extant literature that has demonstrated positivity effects in measures of later, controlled attentional allocation. PMID:23276213

Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer: A Novel Neuromodulation Technology in Alzheimer’s and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases

PubMed Central

Rinaldi, Salvatore; Calzà, Laura; Giardino, Luciana; Biella, Gabriele E. M.; Zippo, Antonio G.; Fontani, Vania

2015-01-01

Global research in the field of pharmacology has not yet found effective drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Thus, alternative therapeutic strategies are under investigation, such as neurostimulation by physical means. Radio electric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) is one of these technologies and has, until now, been used in clinical studies on several psychiatric and neurological disorders with encouraging results in the absence of side effects. Moreover, studies at the cellular level have shown that REAC technology, with the appropriate protocols, is able to induce neuronal differentiation both in murine embryonic cells and in human adult differentiated cells. Other studies have shown that REAC technology is able to positively influence senescence processes. Studies conducted on AD patients and in transgenic mouse models have shown promising results, suggesting REAC could be a useful therapy for certain components of AD. PMID:25741289

Feasibility study of full-reactor gas core demonstration test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunze, J. F.; Lofthouse, J. H.; Shaffer, C. J.; Macbeth, P. J.

1973-01-01

Separate studies of nuclear criticality, flow patterns, and thermodynamics for the gas core reactor concept have all given positive indications of its feasibility. However, before serious design for a full scale gas core application can be made, feasibility must be shown for operation with full interaction of the nuclear, thermal, and hydraulic effects. A minimum sized, and hence minimum expense, test arrangement is considered for a full gas core configuration. It is shown that the hydrogen coolant scattering effects dominate the nuclear considerations at elevated temperatures. A cavity diameter of somewhat larger than 4 ft (122 cm) will be needed if temperatures high enough to vaporize uranium are to be achieved.

Fundamental studies on the nature and properties of ceramic fiber insulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, J. I.; Whittemore, O. J., Jr.; Scott, W. D.; Miller, A. D.; Smiser, L. W.; Leiser, D. B.

1975-01-01

Silica and mullite fibers used to fabricate reusable surface insulation (RSI) for the space shuttle orbiter may devitrify/recrystallize within the temperature range anticipated upon reentry. This is shown to be dependent upon impurity level, temperature, and time at temperature. It is determined that the effects of the material improvement and optimization program are positive. The degree of crystallinity is shown to have a predominant effect upon the strength of fabricated RSI tile, and limits are determined. Models are developed to predict tensile strengths and shrinkage rates of silica tile based upon readily measurable parameters. Thermal cycling which simulates reentry results in an increase in the crystallinity and in the porosity of tile coatings.

A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Giving Testimony and Learning Yogic Breathing Techniques on Battered Women's Feelings of Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franzblau, Susan H.; Echevarria, Sonia; Smith, Michelle; Van Cantfort, Thomas E.

2008-01-01

Researchers have shown that mood and sense of control over one's life are significantly affected by testimony and other forms of disclosure and that learning to control breathing has positive effects on mood and anxiety. This preliminary experiment tests whether African American and European American abused women who give testimony about their…

Leadership Effectiveness of University Deans in Lebanon and Egypt: A Study of Gender and Leadership Style

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alhourani, Lina G.

2013-01-01

Research has shown that women managers in the United States were considered more effective when they were rated higher than men in factors related to transformational leadership. Given that culture and a woman's position within a culture are different in the Middle East, this study was designed to examine the impact of gender on the effectiveness…

Use of ß-adrenergic agonists in hybrid catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ractopamine hydrochloride (RH) is a potent ß-adrenergic agonist that has been used in some species of fish to improve growth performance and dress out characteristics. While this metabolic modifier has been shown to have positive effects on growth of fish, little research has focused on the mechani...

Effects of Picture Size and Placement on Memory for Written Words.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blischak, Doreen M.; McDaniel, Mark A.

1995-01-01

Normally developing kindergarten children (n=45) were shown written words under 4 conditions representing various size and position relationships between line drawings and orthography. Results showed superior performance for word-only and enhanced-word conditions, over those conditions pairing small or large drawings with written words. Results…

Enhancing Gesture Quality in Young Singers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liao, Mei-Ying; Davidson, Jane W.

2016-01-01

Studies have shown positive results for the use of gesture as a successful technique in aiding children's singing. The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of movement training for children with regard to enhancing gesture quality. Thirty-six fifth-grade students participated in the empirical investigation. They were randomly…

Discrimination through User Fees: Fact or Fiction?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manning, Robert E.; Baker, Sidney C.

1981-01-01

In addition to raising operating funds, user fees can alter types of park users and activities. A study was done in which the establishment of a dollar per car entrance fee was shown to have positive financial as well as environmental effects for a city-owned recreational park. (JN)

Competing Contingencies for Escape Behavior: Effects of Negative Reinforcement Magnitude and Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammond, Jennifer L.

2009-01-01

Previous research has shown that problem behavior maintained by social-negative reinforcement can be treated without escape extinction by enhancing the quality of positive reinforcement for an appropriate alternative response such as compliance. By contrast, negative reinforcement (escape) for compliance generally has been ineffective in the…

Effects of Extracurricular Activities on Postsecondary Completion for Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Ashley N.; Elliott, William, III; Cheatham, Gregory A.

2017-01-01

The authors focused on participation in extracurricular activities as a way of improving the educational outcomes of children with disabilities. Regarding students in the general population, adolescent involvement in extracurricular activities has been shown to have a positive association with school involvement and adolescent self-esteem,…

Meta-analysis as a tool to study crop productivity response to poultry litter application

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Extensive research on the use of poultry litter (PL) under different agricultural practices in the USA has shown both negative and positive effects on crop productivity (either yield or aboveground biomass). However, these experimental results are substantially dependent on the experimental set-up, ...

Enhancing Self-Esteem through Self-Management Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valett, Robert E.

Self-esteem, well managed, is a powerful force for effective learning. Research has shown that good self-esteem is associated with analytical thinking, persistence, creative ability, social independence, stability and high expectations, and that the antecedents of positive self-esteem are found in parental models who provide firm guidance in the…

Deepening Learning through Learning-by-Inventing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apiola, Mikko; Tedre, Matti

2013-01-01

It has been shown that deep approaches to learning, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulated learning have strong positive effects on learning. How those pedagogical theories can be integrated in computing curricula is, however, still lacking empirically grounded analyses. In a more general level, it has been widely acknowledged that in…

High Performance Concrete in Washington State SR 18/SR 516 Overcrossing: Interim Report on Girder Monitoring

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-04-01

In the mid 1990s the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) established a High Performance Concrete (HPC) program aimed at demonstrating the positive effects of utilizing HPC in bridges. Research on the benefits of using HPC for bridges has shown a nu...

High performance concrete in Washington state SR 18/SR 516 overcrossing : interim report on materials tests

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-04-01

In the mid 1990s the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) established a High Performance Concrete (HPC) program aimed at demonstrating the positive effects of utilizing HPC in bridges. Research on the benefits of using HPC for bridges has shown a nu...

Findings from TIMSS 2007: What Drives Utilization of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuzhabekova, Aliya

2015-01-01

Prior research has shown that greatest student achievement in sciences is attributed to "inquiry-based instructional approach", in which the goal of science teaching is nurturing attitudes and skills necessary for independent quest for scientific knowledge. While prior research has clearly demonstrated positive instructional effects of…

Effect of Prosocial Cartoons on Preschool Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forge, Karen L. S.; Phemister, Sherri

If live-model prosocial programs such as "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" can facilitate favorable behavior in preschoolers, as was shown by Rushton (1982), then it seems reasonable to suggest that cartoons might have a similar positive impact. This study sought to determine whether viewing a prosocial cartoon would be as…

On the timing problem in optical PPM communications.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gagliardi, R. M.

1971-01-01

Investigation of the effects of imperfect timing in a direct-detection (noncoherent) optical system using pulse-position-modulation bits. Special emphasis is placed on specification of timing accuracy, and an examination of system degradation when this accuracy is not attained. Bit error probabilities are shown as a function of timing errors, from which average error probabilities can be computed for specific synchronization methods. Of significant importance is shown to be the presence of a residual, or irreducible error probability, due entirely to the timing system, that cannot be overcome by the data channel.

A fuzzy-logic antiswing controller for three-dimensional overhead cranes.

PubMed

Cho, Sung-Kun; Lee, Ho-Hoon

2002-04-01

In this paper, a new fuzzy antiswing control scheme is proposed for a three-dimensional overhead crane. The proposed control consists of a position servo control and a fuzzy-logic control. The position servo control is used to control crane position and rope length, and the fuzzy-logic control is used to suppress load swing. The proposed control guarantees not only prompt suppression of load swing but also accurate control of crane position and rope length for simultaneous travel, traverse, and hoisting motions of the crane. Furthermore, the proposed control provides practical gain tuning criteria for easy application. The effectiveness of the proposed control is shown by experiments with a three-dimensional prototype overhead crane.

A Paradoxical Effect of Presession Attention on Stereotypy: Antecedent Attention as an Establishing, Not an Abolishing, Operation

PubMed Central

Roantree, Christina F; Kennedy, Craig H

2006-01-01

Previous studies have shown that presession attention for problem behavior can serve as an abolishing operation when attention functions as a positive reinforcer. In the current study, we show that the stereotypy of a child with severe disabilities was undifferentiated during standard analogue functional analysis conditions. However, when noncontingent presession attention was provided, stereotypy occurred for social attention as a positive reinforcer, suggesting that the antecedent manipulation functioned as an establishing operation. PMID:17020219

A paradoxical effect of presession attention on stereotypy: antecedent attention as an establishing, not an abolishing, operation.

PubMed

Roantree, Christina F; Kennedy, Craig H

2006-01-01

Previous studies have shown that presession attention for problem behavior can serve as an abolishing operation when attention functions as a positive reinforcer. In the current study, we show that the stereotypy of a child with severe disabilities was undifferentiated during standard analogue functional analysis conditions. However, when noncontingent presession attention was provided, stereotypy occurred for social attention as a positive reinforcer, suggesting that the antecedent manipulation functioned as an establishing operation.

Charging and heat collection by a positively charged dust grain in a plasma.

PubMed

Delzanno, Gian Luca; Tang, Xian-Zhu

2014-07-18

Dust particulates immersed in a quasineutral plasma can emit electrons in several important applications. Once electron emission becomes strong enough, the dust enters the positively charged regime where the conventional orbital-motion-limited (OML) theory can break down due to potential-well effects on trapped electrons. A minimal modification of the trapped-passing boundary approximation in the so-called OML(+) approach is shown to accurately predict the dust charge and heat collection flux for a wide range of dust size and temperature.

Chewing and Attention: A Positive Effect on Sustained Attention

PubMed Central

Onozuka, Minoru

2015-01-01

Chewing is crushing food not only to aid swallowing and digestion, but also to help stress relief and regulate cognitive function, especially in attention. It is well known that chewing gum is used for sleepiness prevention during work, learning, and driving, suggesting a link between chewing and sustained attention. We hypothesized that chewing elevates attention and/or alertness, leading to improvements in cognitive performance. We carried out a systematic review of the PubMed database. We inspected the attributes of effects on attention in studies investigating the effects of chewing on attention or alertness conducted with pre-post design in healthy subjects, except elderly. We identified 151 references, 22 of which were included: 14 (64%) showed positive attributes of effects on attention, 1 (5%) showed negative attributes of effects on attention, 5 (23%) showed both positive and negative attributes of effects on attention, and 2 (9%) showed no significant attributes of effects on attention. Thus, positive attributes of effects of chewing on attention, especially on sustained attention, were shown in over half of the reports. These effects also appeared with improvement in mood and stress relief and were influenced by time-on-task effect. Further studies are needed, but chewing could be useful for modifying cognitive function. PMID:26075234

Effect of a web-based positive psychology intervention on prenatal well-being: A case series study.

PubMed

Corno, Giulia; Etchemendy, Ernestina; Espinoza, Macarena; Herrero, Rocío; Molinari, Guadalupe; Carrillo, Alba; Drossaert, Constance; Baños, Rosa Maria

2018-02-01

Detrimental effects of women's negative feelings during pregnancy have been extensively examined and documented, but research on the influence of positive feelings and protective factors on their prenatal mental health is scarce. Evidence from the positive psychology field has shown that practicing some brief positive exercises, called positive psychology interventions, can maximize well-being by increasing positive emotions, engagement, and meaning. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of a positive psychology web-based intervention on indices of women's prenatal well-being. Specifically, a case series design was adopted, and data from six women are presented. Participants were involved in a 5-week online positive psychology intervention that includes a set of positive psychology interventions specifically adapted for pregnant women. Measures of women's mental well-being, depression, pregnancy-related anxiety, life satisfaction, and social support were measured at pre- and post-intervention. Compliance with the intervention and exercise preferences were assessed at post-test. Single-item related well-being measures were assessed weekly. The findings of this case series study indicate potential effects of the intervention on supporting mental well-being and decreasing depressive symptomatology in these pregnant women. Furthermore, this study provides some suggestions for developing future online-based positive interventions addressed to pregnant women. However, these findings are preliminary, and future studies are needed in order to assess the effects of the intervention in a wider population of pregnant women. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Subliminal mere exposure: specific, general, and diffuse effects.

PubMed

Monahan, J L; Murphy, S T; Zajonc, R B

2000-11-01

The present research examined the possibility that repeated exposure may simultaneously produce specific and diffuse effects. In Study 1, participants were presented with 5-ms exposures of 25 stimuli each shown once (single-exposure condition) or with five repetitions of 5 stimuli (repeated-exposure condition). Participants in the repeated-exposure condition subsequently rated their own mood more positively than those in the single-exposure condition. Study 2 examined whether affect generated by subliminal repeated exposures transfers to unrelated stimuli. After a subliminal exposure phase, affective reactions to previously exposed stimuli, to new but similar stimuli, and to stimuli from a different category were obtained. Previously exposed stimuli were rated most positively and novel different stimuli least positively. All stimuli were rated more positively in the repeated-exposure condition than in the single-exposure condition. These findings suggest that affect generated by subliminal repeated exposure is sufficiently diffuse to influence ratings of unrelated stimuli and mood.

An experimental investigation of the interior noise control effects of propeller synchrophasing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, J. D.; Fuller, C. R.

1986-01-01

A simplified cylindrical model of an aircraft fuselage is used to investigate the mechanisms of interior noise suppression using synchrophasing techniques. This investigation allows isolation of important parameters to define the characteristics of synchrophasing. The optimum synchrophase angle for maximum noise reduction is found for several interior microphone positions with pure tone source excitation. Noise reductions of up to 30 dB are shown for some microphone positions, however, overall reductions are less. A computer algorithm is developed to decompose the cylinder vibration into modal components over a wide range of synchrophase angles. The circumferential modal response of the shell vibration is shown to govern the transmission of sound into the cylinder rather than localized transmission. As well as investigating synchrophasing, the interior sound field due to sources typical of propellers has been measured and discussed.

Team-Based Learning Instruction for Responsible Conduct of Research Positively Impacts Ethical Decision-Making

PubMed Central

McCormack, Wayne T.; Garvan, Cynthia W.

2013-01-01

Common practices for responsible conduct of research (RCR) instruction have recently been shown to have no positive impact on and possibly to undermine ethical decision-making (EDM). We show that a team-based learning (TBL) RCR curriculum results in some gains in decision ethicality, the use of more helpful meta-cognitive reasoning strategies in decision-making, and elimination of most negative effects of other forms of RCR instruction on social–behavioral responses. TBL supports the reasoning strategies and social mechanisms that underlie EDM and ethics instruction, and may provide a more effective method for RCR instruction than lectures and small group discussion. PMID:24073606

The moderating role of parental warmth on the effects of exposure to family violence.

PubMed

Harper, Felicity W K; Arias, Ileana; House, Amy S

2003-06-01

Previous research has shown parental warmth to have mixed effects on individuals in violent families. While positively associated with psychological health in some victims, parental warmth has also been positively associated with measures of psychological distress in other victims. The current study examined two models (the "buffering" and "inconsistency" theories) to clarify the effects of parental warmth. The current study also sought to clarify the role of parental warmth within the context of exposure to different types of family violence (i.e., witnessing versus victimization). Results differed depending on the type of violence exposure. Both mother and father warmth were negatively associated with secure attachment and self-esteem in combined victims and witnesses of violence, whereas, mother warmth was positively associated with self-esteem in witnesses of violence. Father warmth did not significantly impact either outcome for witnesses. Parental warmth did not influence either outcome for those who had only experienced victimization.

Effects of low-energy laser insolation upon the development of postradiation syndrome

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlova, Rimma N.; Gomberg, Vladimir G.; Boiko, Vladimir A.; Pupkova, Ludmila S.; Reznikov, Leonid L.; Dadali, V. A.

1996-04-01

Basic pathogenic research as well as the studies of clinical therapeutic aspects dealing with the long-term gamma radiation effects are of utmost significance nowadays. The main goal of the present study was to establish the capability of low-energy laser insolation to oppose the free radical oxidative chain reactions inherent to the effects of radiation. Adequate doses of low- energy laser insolation were shown to produce positive effects upon the metabolism similar to those of pharmacologic radioprotectors.

Tragedy or tragicomedy: Mixed feelings induced by positive and negative emotional events.

PubMed

Xia, Mu; Chen, Jie; Li, Hong

2016-08-01

Based on the theory of appraisal, we predicted that positive and negative events happening to the same people or things in a specific chronological order (i.e., a negative event following a positive event) would induce different mixed feelings than the same events happening to different people or things. Pairs of emotional pictures with different captions were used to create two event groups. In the "tragic event" group, the positive and negative events happened to the same person or things, and in the "tragicomic event" group, the positive and negative events happened to different people or things. We designed two experiments to explore and compare the generation of mixed feelings in those two groups. In Experiment 1, the negative event was shown first, and in Experiment 2, the negative event was shown second (although the chronological order of the depicted events was the same). The participants were 381 undergraduates: 195 in Experiment 1 and 186 in Experiment 2. In both experiments, we found that tragic events introduced less intense mixed feelings than did tragicomic events due to fewer pleasurable feelings induced by the tragic events. There was no significant difference in the report of negative emotions between the groups. Appraisal theory and negative bias effects may explain these results.

Tracing How Normative Messages May Influence Physical Activity Intention.

PubMed

van Bavel, René; Esposito, Gabriele; Baranowski, Tom; Duch-Brown, Néstor

2017-04-01

Normative messages have been shown to increase intention to do physical activity. We traced how "positive" and "negative" normative messages influenced physical activity intention by comparing constructs of the model of goal-directed behavior with descriptive norms (MGDB + DNs) across control and treatment groups in an experiment. For this purpose, 16-24-year-old respondents (n = 1,200) in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania were asked about their age, sex, and levels of physical activity before being exposed to positive and negative normative messages and completing a questionnaire with MGDB + DNs scales. Different MGDB + DNs constructs were influenced by the normative messages: compared with the control, the negative message group showed stronger attitudes (p = .003) and the positive message group showed higher positive anticipated emotions (p = .005). The positive message's effect is consistent with the literature on conformity to social norms. The negative message's effect lends itself to interpretations based on social identity and deviance regulation theories.

Aerodynamic study of time-trial helmets in cycling racing using CFD analysis.

PubMed

Beaumont, F; Taiar, R; Polidori, G; Trenchard, H; Grappe, F

2018-01-23

The aerodynamic drag of three different time-trial cycling helmets was analyzed numerically for two different cyclist head positions. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods were used to investigate the detailed airflow patterns around the cyclist for a constant velocity of 15 m/s without wind. The CFD simulations have focused on the aerodynamic drag effects in terms of wall shear stress maps and pressure coefficient distributions on the cyclist/helmet system. For a given head position, the helmet shape, by itself, obtained a weak effect on a cyclist's aerodynamic performance (<1.5%). However, by varying head position, a cyclist significantly influences aerodynamic performance; the maximum difference between both positions being about 6.4%. CFD results have also shown that both helmet shape and head position significantly influence drag forces, pressure and wall shear stress distributions on the whole cyclist's body due to the change in the near-wake behavior and in location of corresponding separation and attachment areas around the cyclist. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"CH"/N substituted mer-Gaq3 and mer-Alq3 derivatives: an effective approach for the tuning of emitting color.

PubMed

Gahungu, Godefroid; Zhang, Jingping

2005-09-22

Equilibrium geometry configurations of the "CH"/N substituted Alq3 and Gaq3 derivatives are calculated by density functional theory (B3LYP/6-31G). The frontier molecular orbital and gap energy calculations for all complexes have been performed at the HF/6-31G level. It was shown that, compared to the pristine molecules, the HOMO and LUMO are stabilized, the net effect being however an increasing/decreasing of the gap (Eg) depending on the position of the substituted group. On the basis of the equilibrium geometries, the effect of the substitution on the absorption and emission spectra was evaluated using TDB3LYP/3-21G. It was shown that the change of "CH"/N substituted position on 8-hydroxyquinoline ligand is a powerful approach for the tuning of emitting color. An important blue shift was predicted for 5-substituted 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives, an important red one being observed for 4-substituted ones. Interestingly, relatively significant blue and red shifts were also predicted for the 7- and 2-substituted derivatives. In this work, the correlation between the spectrum shifts and the metal-ligand bonding is also discussed.

The Negative Effect of School-Average Ability on Science Self-Concept in the UK, the UK Countries and the World: The Big-Fish-Little-Pond-Effect for PISA 2006

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nagengast, Benjamin; Marsh, Herbert W.

2011-01-01

Research on the relation between students' achievement (ACH) and their academic self-concept (ASC) has consistently shown a Big-Fish-Little-Pond-Effect (BFLPE); ASC is positively affected by individual ACH, but negatively affected by school-average ACH. Surprisingly, however, there are few good UK studies of the BFLPE and few anywhere in the world…

Mentoring of the Acquisition Workforce at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

of mentorship in career success was discussed along with form that mentorship took. The interview explored what elements of the mentor relationship...development that can have a significant effect on career success . Previous studies have shown that there are positive effects of mentoring beyond career ... success , including general job satisfaction and loyalty. In addition to benefits for the protégés, mentors capabilities are enhanced, and programs

Relation between reflux of bile acids into the stomach and gastric mucosal atrophy, intestinal metaplasia in biopsy specimens.

PubMed

Matsuhisa, Takeshi; Tsukui, Taku

2012-05-01

During endoscopic examinations we collected fluid in the stomach that included reflux fluid from the duodenum, and assessed the effect of quantitatively determined bile acids on glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia using biopsy specimens. A total of 294 outpatients were enrolled in this study. Total bile acid concentration was measured by an enzyme immunoassay. Glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia scores were graded according to the Updated Sydney System. An effect of refluxed bile acids on atrophy and intestinal metaplasia was shown in the high-concentration reflux group in comparison with the control group. However, when the odds ratios (ORs) were calculated according to whether Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection was present, no significant associations were shown between reflux bile acids and atrophy in either the H. pylori-positive cases or -negative cases. The same was true for intestinal metaplasia in the H. pylori-positive cases, whereas intestinal metaplasia was more pronounced in the high-concentration reflux group in the H. pylori-negative cases (OR 2.4, 95%CI 1.1-5.6). We could not clarify the effect of the reflux of bile acids into the stomach in the progression of atrophy. High-concentration bile acids had an effect on the progression of intestinal metaplasia in the H. pylori-negative cases.

Neural Evidence for Reduced Apprehensiveness of Familiarized Stimuli in a Mere Exposure Paradigm

PubMed Central

Zebrowitz, Leslie A.; Zhang, Yi

2012-01-01

Mere familiarization with a stimulus increases liking for it or similar stimuli (‘mere exposure’ effects) as well as perceptual fluency, indexed by the speed and accuracy of categorizing it or similar stimuli (‘priming’ effects). Candidate mechanisms proposed to explain mere exposure effects include both increased positive affect associated with greater perceptual fluency, and also reduced negative affect associated with diminished apprehensiveness of novel stimuli. Although these two mechanisms are not mutually exclusive, it is difficult for behavioral measures to disentangle them, since increased liking or other indices of greater positive affect toward exposed stimuli could result from increases in positive feelings or decreases in negative feelings or both. The present study sought to clarify this issue by building on research showing a dissociation at the neural level in which the lateral orbital frontal cortex (LOFC) is activated more by negatively valenced than by neutral or positively valenced stimuli, with the reverse effect for medial orbital frontal cortex (MOFC). Supporting the reduced apprehensiveness hypothesis, we found lower LOFC activation to familiarized faces and objects (repetition suppression). We did not find evidence to support the positive affect hypothesis in increased activation to familiarized stimuli in MOFC or in other parts of the reward circuit that respond more to positively valenced stimuli (repetiton enhancement), although enhancement effects were shown in some regions. PMID:22017290

Lattice Response Functions of Imperfect Crystals: Effects Due to a Local Change of Mass and Short-Range Interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benedek, G.; Nardelli, G. F.

1967-03-01

Lattice response functions, such as the thermal conductivity and dielectric susceptibility of an imperfect crystal with rocksalt structure, are evaluated in terms of the irreducible T matrix accounting for the phonon scattering. It is shown that the effect of defects on thermal conductivity and dielectric susceptibility can be accounted for by expressions which have essentially the same structure. The T matrix for a defect which affects both the mass and the short-range interaction is analyzed according to the irreducible representations of the point group which pertains to the perturbation, and the resonance conditions for Γ1, Γ12, and Γ15 irreducible representations are considered in detail for any positive impurity in KBr crystals. Hardy's deformation-dipole (DD) model is employed for the description of the host-lattice dynamics. A comparison is made with simplified models, such as diatomic linear chains with nearest-neighbor interaction; it is shown that in polar crystals an effective-force constant has to be used in order to give a reliable description of the short-range interaction between the impurity and the host lattice. An attempt is made to define such effective force constants in the framework of the DD model. The numerical calculations concern positive monovalent impurities in KBr crystals. Γ1, Γ12, and Γ15 resonance frequencies are evaluated as a function of the change of mass and nearest-neighbor force constant. For KBr:Li+ and KBr:Ag+ we also evaluate the band shape of the absorption spectrum at infrared frequencies; good agreement is found between the theoretical prediction and the experimental data on KBr:Li+. It is shown that some structures actually observed in the spectrum are due to peaks in the projected density of states of the host lattice, and have nothing to do with resonance scattering. Good agreement is found between the impurity-host-lattice interaction as estimated from a priori calculations and as deduced by fitting the Γ15 resonance frequency to the experimental data. A simple explanation of the off-center position of small ions is also suggested. Finally, concentration and stress effects on the absorption coefficient are briefly discussed.

Equilibrium positions on stationary orbits and planetary principal inertia axis orientations for the Solar System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero, Pilar; Barderas, Gonzalo; Mejuto, Javier

2018-05-01

We present a qualitative analysis in a phase space to determine the longitudinal equilibrium positions on the planetary stationary orbits by applying an analytical model that considers linear gravitational perturbations. We discuss how these longitudes are related with the orientation of the planetary principal inertia axes with respect to their Prime Meridians, and then we use this determination to derive their positions with respect to the International Celestial Reference Frame. Finally, a numerical analysis of the non-linear effects of the gravitational fields on the equilibrium point locations is developed and their correlation with gravity field anomalies shown.

Effects of degeneracy and response function in a diffusion predator-prey model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shanbing; Wu, Jianhua; Dong, Yaying

2018-04-01

In this paper, we consider positive solutions of a diffusion predator-prey model with a degeneracy under the Dirichlet boundary conditions. We first obtain sufficient conditions of the existence of positive solutions by the Leray-Schauder degree theory, and then analyze the limiting behavior of positive solutions as the growth rate of the predator goes to infinity and the conversion rates of the predator goes to zero, respectively. It is shown that these results for Holling II response function (i.e. m  >  0) reveal interesting contrast with that for the classical Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model (i.e. m  =  0).

Framing effects in medical situations: distinctions of attribute, goal and risky choice frames.

PubMed

Peng, Jiaxi; Jiang, Yuan; Miao, Danmin; Li, Rui; Xiao, Wei

2013-06-01

To verify whether three different framing effects (risky choice, attribute and goal) exist in simulated medical situations and to analyse any differences. Medical decision-making problems were established, relating to medical skill evaluation, patient compliance and a selection of treatment options. All problems were described in positive and negative frame conditions. Significantly more positive evaluations were made if the doctor's medical records were described as 'of 100 patients, 70 patients became better' compared with those described as 'of 100 patients, 30 patients didn't become better'. Doctor's advice described in a negative frame resulted in significantly more decisions to comply, compared with advice described in a positive frame. Treatment options described in terms of survival rates resulted in significantly more adventurous choices compared with options described in terms of mortality rates. Decision-making reversal appeared in the risky choice and attribute frames, but not the goal frame. Framing effects were shown to exist in simulated medical situations, but there were significant differences among the three kinds of such effects.

Positive Emotional Effects of Leisure in Green Spaces in Alleviating Work–Family Spillover in Working Mothers

PubMed Central

Chang, Po-Ju; Bae, So Young

2017-01-01

Studies have shown that family and work spillover affects well-being and that leisure activities can alleviate the negative effects of work-related stress on health. However, few studies have focused on investigating the effects of specific leisure activities among specific populations. To examine whether leisure activities in green spaces can promote individual recovery processes and alleviate the effects of work and family spillover on positive emotions, this study applied the effort-recovery model to a population of working mothers. Through online and paper questionnaires, sample data were collected from 221 working mothers in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to test the experimental hypothesis, and mediation analysis was used to determine whether leisure in green spaces is a mediating factor. The results indicated that leisure in green spaces is a mediator of the relationship of negative work and family spillover with positive emotions. In addition, strolls and park visits were found to provide greater psychological benefits to working mothers, compared with picnics. PMID:28696388

Positive Emotional Effects of Leisure in Green Spaces in Alleviating Work-Family Spillover in Working Mothers.

PubMed

Chang, Po-Ju; Bae, So Young

2017-07-11

Studies have shown that family and work spillover affects well-being and that leisure activities can alleviate the negative effects of work-related stress on health. However, few studies have focused on investigating the effects of specific leisure activities among specific populations. To examine whether leisure activities in green spaces can promote individual recovery processes and alleviate the effects of work and family spillover on positive emotions, this study applied the effort-recovery model to a population of working mothers. Through online and paper questionnaires, sample data were collected from 221 working mothers in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to test the experimental hypothesis, and mediation analysis was used to determine whether leisure in green spaces is a mediating factor. The results indicated that leisure in green spaces is a mediator of the relationship of negative work and family spillover with positive emotions. In addition, strolls and park visits were found to provide greater psychological benefits to working mothers, compared with picnics.

Effects of organizational justice on organizational citizenship behaviors: mediating effects of institutional trust and affective commitment.

PubMed

Guh, Wei-Yuan; Lin, Shang-Ping; Fan, Chwei-Jen; Yang, Chin-Fang

2013-06-01

This study investigated the mediating role of institutional trust and affective commitment on the relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors. The study participants were 315 faculty members at 67 public/private universities of technology and vocational colleges in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships between the variables and assess the goodness of fit of the overall model. Organizational justice was positively related to institutional trust and there was an indirect effect of organizational justice on affective commitment through institutional trust. In addition, the relation between institutional trust and affective commitment was positive and affective commitment was shown to have a positive relation to organizational citizenship behaviors. Institutional trust was found to indirectly affect organizational citizenship behaviors through affective commitment. Most importantly, this study suggested a mediating effect of institutional trust and affective commitment on the relation between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors. Implications, limitations, and future research were also discussed.

Middle-and High-School Students' Interest in Nanoscale Science and Engineering Topics and Phenomena

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutchinson, Kelly; Bodner, George M.; Lynn, Bryan

2011-01-01

Research has shown that an increase in students' interest in science and engineering can have a positive effect on their achievement (Baird, 1986; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; French, Immekus & Oakes, 2005; Schiefele, Krapp, & Winteler, 1992; Schwartz Bloom & Haplin, 2003; Weinburgh, 1995). Whereas many NSF-funded programs in materials…

An Implementation and Outcome Evaluation of a Multicomponent Sexuality Education Programme for High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berglas, Nancy F.; Jerman, Petra; Rohrbach, Louise A.; Angulo-Olaiz, Francisca; Chou, Chih-Ping; Constantine, Norman A.

2016-01-01

Numerous classroom-based interventions have aimed to improve sexual health outcomes for young people, yet few have shown strong, lasting effects. Ecological approaches that address multiple levels of a young person's environment offer largely untapped potential to positively change sexual behaviour. This paper presents results of a…

Evaluating elk habitat interactions with GPS collars

Treesearch

Mark A. Rumble; Lakhdar Benkobi; Fredrick Lindzey; R. Scott Gamo

2001-01-01

Global positioning systems (GPS) are likely to revolutionize animal telemetry studies. GPS collars allow biologists to collect systematically scheduled data when VHF telemetry data is difficult or impossible to collect. Past studies have shown that the success of GPS telemetry is greater when animals are standing, or in open habitats. To make effective use of GPS...

When it comes to antibiotics, bacteria show some NO-how.

PubMed

Patel, Bhumit A; Crane, Brian R

2010-10-01

Homologs to mammalian nitric oxide synthases are found in many mostly Gram-positive bacteria. In some genera such as bacilli, and staphylococci, these enzymes produce protects against oxidative damage, this effect has now been shown to provide an advantage against antibiotics that kill by increasing cellular levels of reactive oxygen species.

Promoting Physical Activity and Science Learning in an Outdoor Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finn, Kevin E.; Yan, Zi; McInnis, Kyle J.

2018-01-01

Outdoor education programs have been shown to have a positive effect on the educational, physical and emotional development of youth. They are increasingly being used to foster a sense of community in schools and to provide students with learning opportunities related to the environment. This article describes an integrated outdoor education…

Using CALMERSS to Enhance Teacher Well-Being: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Mark J.

2018-01-01

Prior research has shown that cognitive behavioural therapy, relaxation, mindfulness, exercise and positive psychology interventions, when conducted as single interventions, have a useful effect on depression and also increasing well-being. The purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot programme to determine the efficacy of a multi-modal…

A Review of Open Access Self-Archiving Mandate Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xia, Jingfeng; Gilchrist, Sarah B.; Smith, Nathaniel X. P.; Kingery, Justin A.; Radecki, Jennifer R.; Wilhelm, Marcia L.; Harrison, Keith C.; Ashby, Michael L.; Mahn, Alyson J.

2012-01-01

This article reviews the history of open access (OA) policies and examines the current status of mandate policy implementations. It finds that hundreds of policies have been proposed and adopted at various organizational levels and many of them have shown a positive effect on the rate of repository content accumulation. However, it also detects…

Modeling Classroom Discourse: Do Models That Predict Dialogic Instruction Properties Generalize across Populations?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samei, Borhan; Olney, Andrew M.; Kelly, Sean; Nystrand, Martin; D'Mello, Sidney; Blanchard, Nathan; Graesser, Art

2015-01-01

It has previously been shown that the effective use of dialogic instruction has a positive impact on student achievement. In this study, we investigate whether linguistic features used to classify properties of classroom discourse generalize across different subpopulations. Results showed that the machine learned models perform equally well when…

Science Adjustment, Parental and Teacher Autonomy Support and the Cognitive Orientation of Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jungert, Tomas; Koestner, Richard

2015-01-01

Research has shown that autonomy support has positive effects on academic development, but no study has examined how systemising cognitive orientation is related to important outcomes for science students, and how it may interact with autonomy support. This prospective investigation considered how systemising and support from teachers and parents…

The Effect of Pretherapy Education on Premature Terminations and Therapy Attendance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butts, R. Randolph

A review of the research on pretherapy education for psychotherapy clients has found that pretherapy training has a positive impact on encouraging clients to remain in individual or group therapy. Pretherapy training has also been shown to contribute to improving client motivation and attitudes toward the therapeutic process. The evidence suggests…

How to Create Healthy Indoor Environments in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhodes, Diane; Di Nella, Frank

2012-01-01

A green and healthy indoor environment should be a fundamental concern in the place where kids learn and grow. Good indoor air quality (IAQ) has been shown to have positive effects on student and staff productivity, performance, comfort and attendance. Conversely, poor IAQ in classrooms--caused by mold and moisture issues, problems with HVAC…

Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Female Body Esteem: A Multidimensional Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franzoi, Stephen L.

Although research has shown that regularly engaging in vigorous activity has both physical and mental benefits, including a more positive evaluation of one's own body, the multidimensional nature of people's body attitudes has not been considered. The Body Esteem Scale (BES) was developed to identify and assess different body esteem dimensions.…

Assessing fertilizer N placement on CH4 and N2O emissions in irrigated rice systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Improved N fertilizer management practices can increase rice yields and mitigate global warming potential (GWP). While banding N has been shown to have positive effects on yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), there is little information in how it affects greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from flood...

The Technological Barriers of Using Video Modeling in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marino, Desha; Myck-Wayne, Janice

2015-01-01

The purpose of this investigation is to identify the technological barriers teachers encounter when attempting to implement video modeling in the classroom. Video modeling is an emerging evidence-based intervention method used with individuals with autism. Research has shown the positive effects video modeling can have on its recipients. Educators…

An examination of the wording effect in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale among culturally Chinese people.

PubMed

Wu, Chia-Huei

2008-10-01

Previous psychometric studies of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; 1965) have shown that items with positive and negative words tend to form 2 factors instead of a single factor for global self-esteem. Recent studies using confirmatory factor analysis have indicated that there is an additional method effect behind negatively worded items. However, researchers conducted these studies using Western participants. Because J. L. Farh and B. S. Cheng (1997) suggested that culturally Chinese people tend to exhibit a modesty bias in self-evaluation, especially on positively worded items, researchers may infer that a wording effect of positively worded items would be evident for culturally Chinese people. The author examined the wording effect in the RSES for culturally Chinese people by comparing different confirmatory factor models. The author analyzed data from 2 independent samples of students at the National Taiwan University (ns = 393, 441) and a national sample of juniors recruited from 140 universities and colleges in Taiwan in 2004 (n = 28,862). Results showed that in addition to a global factor for self-esteem, method effects of positively and negatively worded items should also be specified for a model fitting culturally Chinese people.

The mixed serotonin receptor agonist psilocybin reduces threat-induced modulation of amygdala connectivity

PubMed Central

Kraehenmann, Rainer; Schmidt, André; Friston, Karl; Preller, Katrin H.; Seifritz, Erich; Vollenweider, Franz X.

2015-01-01

Stimulation of serotonergic neurotransmission by psilocybin has been shown to shift emotional biases away from negative towards positive stimuli. We have recently shown that reduced amygdala activity during threat processing might underlie psilocybin's effect on emotional processing. However, it is still not known whether psilocybin modulates bottom-up or top-down connectivity within the visual-limbic-prefrontal network underlying threat processing. We therefore analyzed our previous fMRI data using dynamic causal modeling and used Bayesian model selection to infer how psilocybin modulated effective connectivity within the visual–limbic–prefrontal network during threat processing. First, both placebo and psilocybin data were best explained by a model in which threat affect modulated bidirectional connections between the primary visual cortex, amygdala, and lateral prefrontal cortex. Second, psilocybin decreased the threat-induced modulation of top-down connectivity from the amygdala to primary visual cortex, speaking to a neural mechanism that might underlie putative shifts towards positive affect states after psilocybin administration. These findings may have important implications for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. PMID:26909323

The mixed serotonin receptor agonist psilocybin reduces threat-induced modulation of amygdala connectivity.

PubMed

Kraehenmann, Rainer; Schmidt, André; Friston, Karl; Preller, Katrin H; Seifritz, Erich; Vollenweider, Franz X

2016-01-01

Stimulation of serotonergic neurotransmission by psilocybin has been shown to shift emotional biases away from negative towards positive stimuli. We have recently shown that reduced amygdala activity during threat processing might underlie psilocybin's effect on emotional processing. However, it is still not known whether psilocybin modulates bottom-up or top-down connectivity within the visual-limbic-prefrontal network underlying threat processing. We therefore analyzed our previous fMRI data using dynamic causal modeling and used Bayesian model selection to infer how psilocybin modulated effective connectivity within the visual-limbic-prefrontal network during threat processing. First, both placebo and psilocybin data were best explained by a model in which threat affect modulated bidirectional connections between the primary visual cortex, amygdala, and lateral prefrontal cortex. Second, psilocybin decreased the threat-induced modulation of top-down connectivity from the amygdala to primary visual cortex, speaking to a neural mechanism that might underlie putative shifts towards positive affect states after psilocybin administration. These findings may have important implications for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders.

[Evaluation of the treatment effectiveness of domestic G-SCF preparations in experiments on irradiated dogs].

PubMed

Rozhdestvenskiĭ, L M; Shliakova, T G; Shchegoleva, R A; Lisina, N I; Zorin, V V

2013-01-01

We have evaluated the treatment effectiveness of Leucostim and Neupomax in dogs exposed to radiation at lethal doses of 3 and 3.5 Gy, correspondingly, by testing the dynamics of the blood cell number, first of all, leucocytes and neutrophiles, and the 45-day survival. Supportive therapy for all the dogs, including the control ones, consisted in antibiotic treatment during the acute period of 7-24 days. It was shown that both pre-parations administered consecutively for about 17-21 days after irradiation positively influenced the dynamics of all blood cells but predominantly impacted the neutrophile number dynamics. The latter ones manifested a higher nadir level and an earlier onset of restoration in the G-SCF treated dogs in comparison with the control ones. The tendency to a positive influence on the survival has been shown in Neupomax-treated dogs exposed to 3.5 Gy of radiation (plus about 40%). The results of the experiments were in good accordance with the data by foreign authors who used Neupogen. This allows a conclusion that home-produced G-SCF preparations can replace their foreign analogues.

An update on periodontic-orthodontic interrelationships

PubMed Central

Dannan, Aous

2010-01-01

Talking about periodontic-orthodontic interrelationships is related primarily to the 1960s, where a generalized increase in salivary bacterial counts, especially Lactobacillus, had been shown after orthodontic band placement. The purpose of this article is to provide the dental practitioner with basic understanding of the interrelationship between periodontics and orthodontics by means of representing classical studies, and, to give an update on this topic by demonstrating the most recent opinions concerning periodontic-orthodontic interrelationships. Specific areas reviewed are the ability of orthodontic treatment to afford some degree of protection against periodontal breakdown, short-term and long-term effects of orthodontic treatment on the periodontium, and some mucogingival considerations. Topics considering orthodontic treatment in periodontally compromised patients were not included in this review. While past studies have shown that orthodontic treatment can positively affect the periodontal health, recent reviews indicate an absence of reliable evidence for the positive effects of orthodontic therapy on patients’ periodontal status. Periodontic-orthodontic interrelationships are still controversial issues. However, a standard language between the periodontist and the orthodontist must always be established to eliminate the existing communications barrier, and to improve the outcomes of the whole treatment. PMID:20922083

An update on periodontic-orthodontic interrelationships.

PubMed

Dannan, Aous

2010-01-01

Talking about periodontic-orthodontic interrelationships is related primarily to the 1960s, where a generalized increase in salivary bacterial counts, especially Lactobacillus, had been shown after orthodontic band placement. The purpose of this article is to provide the dental practitioner with basic understanding of the interrelationship between periodontics and orthodontics by means of representing classical studies, and, to give an update on this topic by demonstrating the most recent opinions concerning periodontic-orthodontic interrelationships. Specific areas reviewed are the ability of orthodontic treatment to afford some degree of protection against periodontal breakdown, short-term and long-term effects of orthodontic treatment on the periodontium, and some mucogingival considerations. Topics considering orthodontic treatment in periodontally compromised patients were not included in this review. While past studies have shown that orthodontic treatment can positively affect the periodontal health, recent reviews indicate an absence of reliable evidence for the positive effects of orthodontic therapy on patients' periodontal status. Periodontic-orthodontic interrelationships are still controversial issues. However, a standard language between the periodontist and the orthodontist must always be established to eliminate the existing communications barrier, and to improve the outcomes of the whole treatment.

Value co-creation in healthcare through positive deviance.

PubMed

Zanetti, Cole Anthony; Taylor, Natalie

2016-12-01

To explore how converging fields of co-creation and positive deviance may increase value in healthcare. Informed by research in positive deviance, patient engagement, value co-creation, and quality improvement, we propose a positive deviance approach to co-creation of health. Co-creation has shown to improve health outcomes with regard to multiple health conditions. Positive deviance has also shown to improve outcomes in multiple healthcare and patient community environments. A positive deviance co-creation framework may aid in achieving improved outcomes for patients, care teams and their respective healthcare organizations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Global positioning method based on polarized light compass system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jun; Yang, Jiangtao; Wang, Yubo; Tang, Jun; Shen, Chong

2018-05-01

This paper presents a global positioning method based on a polarized light compass system. A main limitation of polarization positioning is the environment such as weak and locally destroyed polarization environments, and the solution to the positioning problem is given in this paper which is polarization image de-noising and segmentation. Therefore, the pulse coupled neural network is employed for enhancing positioning performance. The prominent advantages of the present positioning technique are as follows: (i) compared to the existing position method based on polarized light, better sun tracking accuracy can be achieved and (ii) the robustness and accuracy of positioning under weak and locally destroyed polarization environments, such as cloudy or building shielding, are improved significantly. Finally, some field experiments are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed global positioning technique. The experiments have shown that our proposed method outperforms the conventional polarization positioning method, the real time longitude and latitude with accuracy up to 0.0461° and 0.0911°, respectively.

[Johann Sebastian Bach: life, oeuvre and his significance for the cardiology].

PubMed

Trappe, H-J

2014-12-01

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on 1685 in Eisenach. By the time he turned 10, Bach found himself an orphan after the death of both of his parents. After working in Weimar, Arnstadt, Mühlhausen, and Köthen Bach signed a contract to become the new organist and teacher at St. Thomas Church Leipzig in 1723 and stayed there until his death. In 1749, Bach tried to fix his failing sight by having surgery the following year, but the operation ended up leaving him completely blind. Few months later, Bach suffered a stroke. He died in Leipzig on July 28, 1750. In recent years, there were some questions whether music of different styles can directly alter cardiovascular parameters, particularly by using Bach's music. In some studies it has been shown that cardiovascular parameters (blood pressure, heart rate) are influenced by music. Listening to classic music (Bach) leads to positive erffects, also music by Italian composters. In contrast, "modern" music, vocal music or songs had no positive effects on cardiovascular parameters. In addition, positive effects on cardiovascular parameters and behavioural patters have been shown in an animal study recently, by Bach's music. Recent studies showed clearly that music influences cardiovascular parameters. It is obvious that classical music (Bach) has benefitial effects, both in humans and in animals. Therefore, the music of the "Thomaskantor" will improve both, quality of life and cardiovascular health. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Strategies with Bubble Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure: Not All Bubbling Is the Same: The Seattle Positive Airway Pressure System.

PubMed

Welty, Stephen E

2016-12-01

Premature neonates are predisposed to complications, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). BPD is associated with long-term pulmonary and neurodevelopmental consequences. Noninvasive respiratory support with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been recommended strongly by the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, CPAP implementation has shown at least a 50% failure rate. Enhancing nasal CPAP effectiveness may decrease the need for mechanical ventilation and reduce the incidence of BPD. Bubble nasal CPAP is better than nasal CPAP using mechanical devices and the bubbling provides air exchange in distal respiratory units. The Seattle PAP system reduces parameters that assess work of breathing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using EPSAT to analyze high power systems in the space environment. [Environment Power System Analysis Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuharski, Robert A.; Jongeward, Gary A.; Wilcox, Katherine G.; Rankin, Tom R.; Roche, James C.

1991-01-01

The authors review the Environment Power System Analysis Tool (EPSAT) design and demonstrate its capabilities by using it to address some questions that arose in designing the SPEAR III experiment. It is shown that that the rocket body cannot be driven to large positive voltages under the constraints of this experiment. Hence, attempts to measure the effects of a highly positive rocket body in the plasma environment should not be made in this experiment. It is determined that a hollow cathode will need to draw only about 50 mA to ground the rocket body. It is shown that a relatively small amount of gas needs to be released to induce a bulk breakdown near the rocket body, and this gas release should not discharge the sphere. Therefore, the experiment provides an excellent opportunity to study the neutralization of a differential charge.

On the use of relative velocity exponents for jet engine exhaust noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, J. R.

1978-01-01

The effect of flight on jet engine exhaust noise has often been presented in terms of a relative velocity exponent, n, as a function of radiation angle. The value of n is given by the OASPL reduction due to relative velocity divided by 10 times the logarithm of the ratio of relative jet velocity to absolute jet velocity. In such terms, classical subsonic jet noise theory would result in a value of n being approximately 7 at 90 degree angle to the jet axis with n decreasing, but remaining positive, as the inlet axis is approached and increasing as the jet axis is approached. However, flight tests have shown a wide range of results, including negative values of n in some cases. In this paper it is shown that the exponent n is positive for pure subsonic jet mixing noise and varies, in a systematic manner, as a function of flight conditions and jet velocity.

 Generation of low-flux X-ray micro-planar beams and their biological effect on a murine subcutaneous tumor model

PubMed Central

Hong, Zhengshan; Zenkoh, Junko; Le, Biao; Gerelchuluun, Ariungerel; Suzuki, Kenshi; Moritake, Takashi; Washio, Masakazu; Urakawa, Junji; Tsuboi, Koji

2015-01-01

We generated low-flux X-ray micro-planar beams (MPBs) using a laboratory-scale industrial X-ray generator (60 kV/20 mA) with custom-made collimators with three different peak/pitch widths (50/200 μm, 100/400 μm, 50/400 μm). To evaluate normal skin reactions, the thighs of C3H/HeN mice were exposed to 100 and 200 Gy MPBs in comparison with broad beams (20, 30, 40, 50, 60 Gy). Antitumor effects of MPBs were evaluated in C3H/HeN mice with subcutaneous tumors (SCCVII). After the tumors were irradiated with 100 and 200 Gy MPBs and 20 and 30 Gy broad beams, the tumor sizes were measured and survival analyses were performed. In addition, the tumors were excised and immunohistochemically examined to detect γ-H2AX, ki67 and CD34. It was shown that antitumor effects of 200 Gy MPBs at 50/200 μm and 100/400 μm were significantly greater than those of 20 Gy broad beams, and were comparable with 30 Gy broad beams. γ-H2AX-positive cells demonstrated clear stripe-patterns after MPB irradiation; the pattern gradually faded and intermixed over 24 h. The chronological changes in ki67 positivity did not differ between MPBs and broad beams, whereas the CD34-positive area decreased significantly more in MPBs than in broad beams. In addition, it was shown that skin injury after MPB irradiation was significantly milder when compared with broad-beam irradiation at equivalent doses for achieving the same tumor control effect. Bystander effect and tumor vessel injury may be the mechanism contributing to the efficacy of MPBs. PMID:26141370

Does positivity operate when the stakes are high? Health status and decision making among older adults.

PubMed

English, Tammy; Carstensen, Laura L

2015-06-01

Research and theory suggest that emotional goals are increasingly prioritized with age. Related empirical work has shown that, compared with younger adults, older adults attend to and remember positive information more than negative information. This age-related positivity effect has been eliminated in experiments that have explicitly demanded processing of both positive and negative information. In the present study, we explored whether a reduction of the preference for positive information over negative information appears when the material being reviewed holds personal relevance for the individual. Older participants whose health varied from poor to very good reviewed written material prior to making decisions about health related and non-health-related issues. As predicted, older adults in relatively poor health (compared with those in relatively good health) showed less positivity in review of information while making health-related decisions. In contrast, positivity emerged regardless of health status for decisions that were unrelated to health. Across decision contexts, those individuals who focused more on positive information than negative information reported better postdecisional mood and greater decision satisfaction. Results are consistent with the theoretical argument that the age-related positivity effect reflects goal-directed cognitive processing and, furthermore, suggests that personal relevance and contextual factors determine whether positivity emerges. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Does Positivity Operate When the Stakes are High?: Health Status and Decision-Making Among Older Adults

PubMed Central

English, Tammy; Carstensen, Laura L.

2015-01-01

Research and theory suggest that emotional goals are increasingly prioritized with age. Related empirical work has shown that, compared to younger adults, older adults attend to and remember positive information more than negative information. This age-related positivity effect has been eliminated in experiments that have explicitly demanded processing of both positive and negative information. In the present study, we explored whether a reduction of the preference for positive information over negative information appears when the material being reviewed holds personal relevance for the individual. Older participants whose health varied from poor to very good reviewed written material prior to making decisions about health related and non-health related issues. As predicted, older adults in relatively poor health (compared with those in relatively good health) showed less positivity in review of information while making health-related decisions. In contrast, positivity emerged regardless of health status for decisions that were unrelated to health. Across decision contexts, those individuals who focused more on positive information than negative information reported better post-decisional mood and greater decision satisfaction. Results are consistent with the theoretical argument that the age-related positivity effect reflects goal-directed cognitive processing and, furthermore, suggests that personal relevance and contextual factors determine whether or not positivity emerges. PMID:25894484

Feeling Is Believing: Evaluative Conditioning and the Ethics of Pharmaceutical Advertising.

PubMed

Biegler, Paul; Vargas, Patrick

2016-06-01

A central goal in regulating direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals (DTCA) is to ensure that explicit drug claims are truthful. Yet imagery can also alter viewer attitudes, and the degree to which this occurs in DTCA is uncertain. Addressing this data gap, we provide evidence that positive feelings produced by images can promote favourable beliefs about pharmaceuticals. We had participants view a fictitious anti-influenza drug paired with unrelated images that elicited either positive, neutral or negative feelings. Participants who viewed positive images rated the influenza drug as significantly more effective, safe, and beneficial than did participants who viewed negative images. This effect, known as evaluative conditioning, is well described in experimental social psychology but has not previously been shown with pharmaceuticals. We discuss how evaluative conditioning in DTCA may compromise viewer autonomy, and canvass possible regulatory responses.

Amorphous ribbon transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meydan, T.; Overshott, K. J.

1984-02-01

Amorphous ribbon transducers have been investigated which consist of toroidally wound amorphous ribbon with a primary (magnetizing) winding and secondary (search coil) windings. The application of a force to the ribbon gives a linear search coil voltage against applied force characteristic. The positioning of the windings with respect to the applied force has been studied, and it is shown that the effect of the applied force is localized. Domain studies have shown that the applied force produces domain wall motion which can be correlated to the performance. These results have elucidated the operation of ac amorphous ribbon transducers and enabled improved designs to be produced.

The effect of levocabastine and furosemide pretreatment on hyperreactive response after nasal provocation with hypotonic aerosol in subjects with allergic rhinitis.

PubMed

Anzic, Srdjan Ante; Dzepina, Davor; Kalogjera, Livije

2007-11-01

Patients with allergic rhinitis demonstrate hyperreactive response in distilled water nasal provocation, shown by significant increase in nasal airway resistance (NAR). Antihistamines, including topical antihistamine, levocabastine, reduce response in non-specific nasal provocation tests. Furosemide is a diuretic which reduces hyperreactivity in lower airways, but the mode of its action is not yet fully understood. In this study, we hypothesized that either levocabastine or furosemide pre-treatment in allergic rhinitis patients reduced response to nasal challenge with non-isotonic aerosol. To test the hypothesis, we measured the effect of pre-treatment with levocabastine and furosemide in topical application on suppression of hyperreactive response to distilled water nasal inhalation. Nasal resistance was measured, prior to and after the provocation, by active anterior rhinomanometry in two randomized groups of patients, according to pre-treatment, either by levocabastine or furosemide, 20 patients in each group, respectively. Nasal airflow resistance and level of hyperreactive response considering nasal eosinophilia were tested. Significant increase in nasal resistance following provocation was found at baseline conditions (without pre-medication); pre-treatment with levocabastine and furosemide has suppressed such response. Patients with positive nasal eosinophilia showed a significantly higher increase in nasal resistance compared to those with negative smears. Furosemide has shown significantly better protective effect on nasal resistance increase in patients with positive eosinophils nasal smears. Levocabastine and furosemide pre-treatment suppress hyperreactive response to distilled water nasal provocation. Comparison of resistances (pre-treatment vs. without) showed more protective effect of furosemide, measured on both better and worse patent side of nose, in contrast to levocabastine group for which it was shown only on better patent side prior to provocation. Protection of furosemide was significantly more pronounced in patients with significant nasal eosinophilia.

Cosmological gravitational waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linder, Eric V.

1988-01-01

A cosmological background of gravitational waves would alter the propagation of radiation, inducing redshift fluctuations, apparent source position deflections, and luminosity variations. By comparing these astrophysical effects with observations, it is possible to deduce upper limits on the energy density present in gravitational waves. Emphasis is placed on microwave background anisotropy from the redshift deviations and galaxy clustering correlation functions from the angular deviations. Many of the gravitational wave effects are shown to be generalizations of the gravitational lensing formalism.

Effect of prone positioning on cannula function and impaired oxygenation during extracorporeal circulation.

PubMed

Masuda, Yoshiki; Tatsumi, Hiroomi; Imaizumi, Hitoshi; Gotoh, Kyoko; Yoshida, Shinichiro; Chihara, Shinya; Takahashi, Kanako; Yamakage, Michiaki

2014-03-01

Prone ventilation is an effective method for improving oxygenation in patients with acute respiratory failure. However, in extracorporeal circulation, there is a risk of cannula-related complications when changing the position. In this study, we investigated cannula-related complications when changing position for prone ventilation and the effect of prone ventilation on impaired oxygenation in patients who underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The study subjects were patients who underwent prone ventilation during ECMO in the period from 2004 to 2011. Indication for prone ventilation was the presence of dorsal infiltration shown by lung computed tomography. Factors investigated were cannula insertion site, dislodgement or obstruction of the cannula, malfunction of vascular access and unplanned dislodgement of the catheters when changing position. Mean arterial pressure, PaO2/FiO2, PEEP level, blood flow and rotation speed of the pump were also determined before and after position change. Five patients were selected as study subjects. The mean duration of prone positioning was 15.3 ± 0.5 h. Strict management during position changes prevented cannula-related complications in the patients who underwent extracorporeal circulation. There were no significant changes in mean arterial pressure, PEEP level, blood flow and rotation speed of the pump when changing position. Low PaO2/FiO2 prior to prone ventilation was significantly increased after supine to prone and then prone to supine position. Prone positioning to improve impaired oxygenation is a safe procedure and not a contraindication in patients receiving extracorporeal circulation.

Achieving unequal error protection with convolutional codes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mills, D. G.; Costello, D. J., Jr.; Palazzo, R., Jr.

1994-01-01

This paper examines the unequal error protection capabilities of convolutional codes. Both time-invariant and periodically time-varying convolutional encoders are examined. The effective free distance vector is defined and is shown to be useful in determining the unequal error protection (UEP) capabilities of convolutional codes. A modified transfer function is used to determine an upper bound on the bit error probabilities for individual input bit positions in a convolutional encoder. The bound is heavily dependent on the individual effective free distance of the input bit position. A bound relating two individual effective free distances is presented. The bound is a useful tool in determining the maximum possible disparity in individual effective free distances of encoders of specified rate and memory distribution. The unequal error protection capabilities of convolutional encoders of several rates and memory distributions are determined and discussed.

Positive mood enhances reward-related neural activity

PubMed Central

Nusslock, Robin

2016-01-01

Although behavioral research has shown that positive mood leads to desired outcomes in nearly every major life domain, no studies have directly examined the effects of positive mood on the neural processes underlying reward-related affect and goal-directed behavior. To address this gap, participants in the present fMRI study experienced either a positive (n = 20) or neutral (n = 20) mood induction and subsequently completed a monetary incentive delay task that assessed reward and loss processing. Consistent with prediction, positive mood elevated activity specifically during reward anticipation in corticostriatal neural regions that have been implicated in reward processing and goal-directed behavior, including the nucleus accumbens, caudate, lateral orbitofrontal cortex and putamen, as well as related paralimbic regions, including the anterior insula and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These effects were not observed during reward outcome, loss anticipation or loss outcome. Critically, this is the first study to report that positive mood enhances reward-related neural activity. Our findings have implications for uncovering the neural mechanisms by which positive mood enhances goal-directed behavior, understanding the malleability of reward-related neural activity, and developing targeted treatments for psychiatric disorders characterized by deficits in reward processing. PMID:26833919

Negative urgency and emotion regulation predict positive smoking expectancies in non-smoking youth.

PubMed

Dir, Allyson L; Banks, Devin E; Zapolski, Tamika C B; McIntyre, Elizabeth; Hulvershorn, Leslie A

2016-07-01

The purpose of the study was to better understand early risk for positive smoking expectancies, which have been shown to be consistent predictors of smoking initiation among youth. Two affect-based risk factors-negative urgency and emotion dysregulation-associated with smoking behaviors among youth, were examined for unique and interactive effects on positive smoking expectancies among substance-naïve youth. Participants were 61 10-14-year-old children with virtually no drug use (less than 5 substance use incidents across the lifetime), who were drawn from the community. Both negative urgency and emotion dysregulation were significantly associated with positive social facilitation smoking expectancies. Further, negative urgency was significantly related to positive social facilitation smoking expectancies at higher levels of emotion dysregulation (b=.09, p=.001). The findings provide evidence that both emotion dysregulation and negative urgency are positively associated with positive social-related smoking expectancies among a sample of 10-14-year-olds. Children who are emotionally dysregulated and who act rashly in response to negative emotions appear more likely to endorse beliefs regarding the socially enhancing effects of smoking, suggesting that these youth may be at high risk for smoking initiation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Double threshold in bi- and multilingual contexts: preconditions for higher academic attainment in English as an additional language

PubMed Central

Lechner, Simone; Siemund, Peter

2014-01-01

Bi- and multilingualism has been shown to have positive effects on the attainment of third and additional languages. These effects, however, depend on the type of bi- and multilingualism and the status of the languages involved (Cenoz, 2003; Jessner, 2006). In this exploratory trend study, we revisit Cummins' Threshold Hypothesis (1979), claiming that bilingual children must reach certain levels of attainment in order to (a) avoid academic deficits and (b) allow bilingualism to have a positive effect on their cognitive development and academic attainment. To this end, we examine the attainment of English as an academic language of 16-years-old school children from Hamburg (n = 52). Our findings support the existence of thresholds for literacy attainment. We argue that language external factors may override positive effects of bilingualism. In addition, these factors may compensate negative effects attributable to low literacy attainment in German and the heritage languages. We also show that low attainment levels in migrant children's heritage languages preempt high literacy attainment in additional languages. PMID:24926277

Unsweetening the Heart: Possible Pleiotropic Effects of SGLT2 Inhibitors on Cardio and Cerebrovascular Alterations in Resistant Hypertensive Subjects.

PubMed

Pioli, Mariana R; Ritter, Alessandra M V; Modolo, Rodrigo

2018-02-09

Resistant hypertension (RH) is a multifactorial disease associated with several target organ damage, such as microalbuminuria, left ventricular hypertrophy, and arterial stiffness. These subjects have high cardiovascular complications, especially when associated with diabetes condition. Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors represent a new class of oral antidiabetic drugs that have shown positive effects in diabetics and even hypertensives subjects. Several studies demonstrated positive outcomes related to blood pressure levels, body weight, and glycemic control. Also found a reduction on microalbuminuria, cardiac and arterial remodeling process, and decrease in hospitalization care due heart failure. Despite these positive effects, the outcomes found for stroke were conflicted and tend neutral effect. Based on this, we sought to assess the pleiotropic effects of SGLT-2 inhibitors and the possible impact in RH subjects. In order to analyze the prospects of SGLT-2 inhibitors as a possible medication to complement the therapy manage of this high-risk class of patients. © American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd 2017. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Adaptive positive position feedback control with a feedforward compensator of a magnetostrictive beam for vibration suppression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bian, Leixiang; Zhu, Wei

2018-07-01

In this paper, a Fe–Ga alloy magnetostrictive beam is designed as an actuator to restrain the vibration of a supported mass. Dynamic modeling of the system based on the transfer matrix method of multibody system is first shown, and then a hybrid controller is developed to achieve vibration control. The proposed vibration controller combines a multi-mode adaptive positive position feedback (APPF) with a feedforward compensator. In the APPF control, an adaptive natural frequency estimator based on the recursive least-square method is developed to be used. In the feedforward compensator, the hysteresis of the magnetostrictive beam is linearized based on a Bouc–Wen model. The further remarkable vibration suppression capability of the proposed hybrid controller is demonstrated experimentally and compared with the positive position feedback controller. Experiment results show that the proposed controller is applicable to the magnetostrictive beam for improving vibration control effectiveness.

Self-Verification Strivings in Children Holding Negative Self-Views: The Mitigating Effects of a Preceding Success Experience

PubMed Central

Thomaes, Sander; Kamphuis, Jan Henk; de Castro, Bram Orobio; Telch, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Research among adults has consistently shown that people holding negative self-views prefer negative over positive feedback. The present study tested the hypothesis that this preference is less robust among pre-adolescents, such that it will be mitigated by a preceding positive event. Pre-adolescents (n = 75) holding positive or negative global self-esteem were randomized to a favorable or unfavorable peer evaluation outcome. Next, preferences for positive versus negative feedback were assessed using an unobtrusive behavioral viewing time measure. As expected, results showed that after being faced with the success outcome children holding negative self-views were as likely as their peers holding positive self-views to display a significant preference for positive feedback. In contrast, children holding negative self-views displayed a stronger preference for negative feedback after being faced with the unfavorable outcome that matched their pre-existing self-views. PMID:21151482

Self-Verification Strivings in Children Holding Negative Self-Views: The Mitigating Effects of a Preceding Success Experience.

PubMed

Reijntjes, Albert; Thomaes, Sander; Kamphuis, Jan Henk; de Castro, Bram Orobio; Telch, Michael J

2010-12-01

Research among adults has consistently shown that people holding negative self-views prefer negative over positive feedback. The present study tested the hypothesis that this preference is less robust among pre-adolescents, such that it will be mitigated by a preceding positive event. Pre-adolescents (n = 75) holding positive or negative global self-esteem were randomized to a favorable or unfavorable peer evaluation outcome. Next, preferences for positive versus negative feedback were assessed using an unobtrusive behavioral viewing time measure. As expected, results showed that after being faced with the success outcome children holding negative self-views were as likely as their peers holding positive self-views to display a significant preference for positive feedback. In contrast, children holding negative self-views displayed a stronger preference for negative feedback after being faced with the unfavorable outcome that matched their pre-existing self-views.

A Delphi Study to Operationalize Evidence-Based Predictors in Secondary Transition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowe, Dawn A.; Alverson, Charlotte Y.; Unruh, Deanne K.; Fowler, Catherine H.; Kellems, Ryan; Test, David W.

2015-01-01

Although there are many activities (e.g., transition services), derived from correlational research, that occur while students are in school that increase the likelihood of positive post-school outcomes, many teachers continue to provide services shown to have little to no effect on outcomes of students with disabilities. The purpose of this study…

Teachers' Perceptions of Principals' Motivating Language and Public School Climates in Kuwait

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alqahtani, Abdulmuhsen Ayedh

2015-01-01

Research has shown that the overall climate in a school can encourage or deter learning. One significant factor promoting a positive climate is the use of motivational language by school leaders. This article presents empirical evidence of teachers' perceptions of motivational language used by school principals and the effects of this language on…

Social and Emotional Learning in the Kindergarten Classroom: Evaluation of the "Strong Start" Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramer, Thomas J.; Caldarella, Paul; Christensen, Lynnette; Shatzer, Ryan H.

2010-01-01

There has been increasing interest in the promotion of social and emotional learning in schools, and research has shown positive outcomes. However, relatively few studies have been conducted in kindergarten classrooms or considered the feasibility of kindergarten implementation. This study examined the effects of "Strong Start" on the social and…

Assessing Peer Leader Skill Acquisition and Group Dynamics in a First-Year Calculus Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glover, Rebecca; Hammond, Nicholas B.; Smith, Justin; Guerra, Dalyana

2018-01-01

Peer-led team learning (PLTL), specifically the model known as 'Workshops', has been shown to contribute positively and significantly to student success in STEM courses across subjects (Gosser et al., 2001). Our research adds to the SOTL literature describing the effectiveness of Workshops by reporting on the changes in student leaders. We examine…

Mastery-Approach Goals and Knowledge Transfer: An Investigation into the Effects of Task Structure and Framing Instructions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belenky, Daniel M.; Nokes-Malach, Timothy J.

2013-01-01

Although prior work has shown that mastery-approach achievement goals are related to positive learning behaviors (e.g., more interest, perseverance, and self-regulation), less is known about how these goals interact with instruction to influence knowledge transfer. To address these issues we conducted a laboratory experiment investigating how two…

How Framing Statistical Statements Affects Subjective Veracity: Validation and Application of a Multinomial Model for Judgments of Truth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hilbig, Benjamin E.

2012-01-01

Extending the well-established negativity bias in human cognition to truth judgments, it was recently shown that negatively framed statistical statements are more likely to be considered true than formally equivalent statements framed positively. However, the underlying processes responsible for this effect are insufficiently understood.…

Effects of Explicit Vocabulary Videos Delivered through iPods on Students with Language Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowman, J. Joneen; Dressler, Emily V.

2016-01-01

Poor word learning is a hallmark characteristic of students with specific language impairment (SLI). Explicit vocabulary instruction has shown to positively improve word learning in this population. Mobile technology has many advantages making it conducive for addressing the word learning needs of students with SLI. The current study utilized a…

A Comparison of Traditional and Engaging Lecture Methods in a Large, Professional-Level Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Cynthia J.; McNear, Jacquee; Metz, Michael J.

2013-01-01

In engaging lectures, also referred to as broken or interactive lectures, students are given short periods of lecture followed by "breaks" that can consist of 1-min papers, problem sets, brainstorming sessions, or open discussion. While many studies have shown positive effects when engaging lectures are used in undergraduate settings,…

A Paradoxical Effect of Presession Attention on Stereotypy: Antecedent Attention as an Establishing, Not an Abolishing, Operation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roantree, Christina F.; Kennedy, Craig H.

2006-01-01

Previous studies have shown that presession attention for problem behavior can serve as an abolishing operation when attention functions as a positive reinforcer. In the current study, we show that the stereotypy of a child with severe disabilities was undifferentiated during standard analogue functional analysis conditions. However, when…

Effects of Pretask Modeling on Attention to Form and Question Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, YouJin

2013-01-01

Over the last two decades, a growing body of research has shown positive impacts for task planning in task-based instruction (e.g., Ellis, 2005; Foster & Skehan, 1996). However, what learners plan during pretask planning, and whether any specific planning strategies are more beneficial in encouraging learners to attend to linguistic forms and…

Cage drying and the application of a dry treatment (absorbent cornstarch powder) as a means to diminish Campylobacter on transport cages.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Broiler transport cages soiled with Campylobacter-positive feces have been shown to facilitate cross contamination of broilers. Campylobacter organisms are sensitive to dry stress. Allowing feces left on transport cage flooring to dry during extended periods of nonuse would be an effective method ...

The Impact of Leadership on the Communication Satisfaction of Primary School Teachers in Serbia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terek, Edit; Glušac, Dragana; Nikolic, Milan; Tasic, Ivan; Gligorovic, Bojana

2015-01-01

This paper presents the results of research into the effects of leadership on the communication satisfaction of teachers. The data was obtained by giving questionnaires to 362 teachers from 57 primary schools in Serbia. Leadership is shown to have a strong and positive impact on the communication satisfaction of teachers in Serbian primary…

Engaging Families at the Secondary Level: An Underused Resource for Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Krista L.; Minke, Kathleen M.

2017-01-01

Parent engagement in education has been shown to have positive effects on students' academic and social/emotional success. However, much of the research has focused on younger students. Less attention has been given to parent engagement at the secondary level, especially with respect to how parents choose to engage and how adolescents perceive…

The Effects of Shared Reading and Independent Reading on Incidental Word Learning of New Vocabulary for Third Grade Proficient and Non-Proficient Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cirucci, Christina L.

2017-01-01

Research has shown a strong positive relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension (Elleman, Lindo, Morphy, & Compton, 2009; Crosson & Lesaux, 2013; Lubliner & Smetana, 2005). Vocabulary acquisition is possible for all learners through explicit vocabulary instruction and incidental word learning (Cunningham,…

Is Family-to-Work Interference Related to Co-Workers' Work Outcomes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ten Brummelhuis, Lieke L.; Bakker, Arnold B.; Euwema, Martin C.

2010-01-01

Previous studies have convincingly shown that employees' family lives can affect their work outcomes. We investigate whether family-to-work interference (FWI) experienced by the employee also affects the work outcomes of a co-worker. We predict that the employee's FWI has an effect on the co-worker's outcomes through the crossover of positive and…

How Working Collaboratively with Technology Can Foster a Creative Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gómez, Susana

2016-01-01

Research has shown that collaborative learning is a very powerful methodology as it ensures interaction among students, humanises the learning process and has positive effects on academic achievement. An activity based on this approach can also benefit from the use of technology, making this task more appealing to our students today. The aim of…

Investigating the Effects of a Daily Audio-Guided Mindfulness Intervention for Elementary School Students and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bakosh, Laura S.

2013-01-01

Mindfulness practices, used to focus and sustain attention, have been shown to promote school readiness, and to positively impact students' academic success. Yet, incorporating these practices into the normal school day has been difficult due to the curriculum changes and teacher training necessary for implementation and sustainable operation.…

PSAT Component Scores as a Predictor of Success on AP Exam Performance for Diverse Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Cristianne C.; Gonzalez, Alejandro; Leal, Lonnie; Castillo, Mary Z.; Carman, Carol A.

2016-01-01

While studies have shown the positive effect of the Advanced Placement (AP) program on college readiness, there are still barriers preventing minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) students who possess high academic potential from participating in the opportunity that AP courses offer. One tool that could help identify students for…

Self-Control as Predictor of School Grades, Life Balance, and Flow in Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuhnle, Claudia; Hofer, Manfred; Kilian, Britta

2012-01-01

Background: Recently, several studies have shown that strength of self-control is a crucial factor in determining positive outcomes in individuals' lives. Most attention has been directed to the relationships that self-control has with learning and academic achievement. Aims: This article analyses the effects of self-control not only on school…

Increasing the on-Task Homework Behavior of Youth with Behavior Disorders Using Functional Behavioral Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Renee O.; Axelrod, Michael I.

2008-01-01

Research has shown a positive correlation between time spent on homework and learning. However, students often engage in off-task behaviors to escape the demands of homework. Youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) are especially likely to engage in off-task behaviors. Effective interventions to increase on-task behavior during homework…

The Impact of Accommodative Coping on Well-Being in Childhood and Adolescence: Longitudinal Findings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomsen, Tamara; Fritz, Viktoria; Mößle, Regine; Greve, Werner

2015-01-01

Coping research has consistently shown that accommodative coping is positively correlated with individuals' health. Until now, however, there have been little to no studies on the prognostic impact of accommodative coping on health, and only a few studies investigating its buffering effect on the relation between stress and health in childhood and…

The Effects of Observations and Maneuvers on Orbit Solutions

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

15 Figure 6 Example Covariance Bubble ( Rugby Ball...and smaller for the crosstrack and radial position, so the bubble ends up shaped like a rugby ball around the satellite, shown in Figure 6. The...measurements during a pass are needed, in order to efficiently use the sensor. 21 Figure 6 Example Covariance Bubble ( Rugby Ball) For

Understanding College-Student Roles: Perspectives of Participants in a High School/Community College Dual-Enrollment Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lile, Joy R.; Ottusch, Timothy M.; Jones, Terese; Richards, Leslie N.

2018-01-01

Dual-enrollment programs have been proposed as a useful way to ease students' transition from high school to community college. Several studies have shown that dual enrollment produces positive effects for students, but less is known about the mechanisms these programs use to support student success. Symbolic interactionism suggests that clarity…

Student Perceptions of Effective Use of Tablet PC Recorded Lectures in Undergraduate Mathematics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, Caroline; Sneddon, Jamie

2011-01-01

Tablet PCs have been increasingly used in undergraduate courses to create recorded lectures that are close copies of the live lectures. Research has shown that students are largely positive about the availability of tablet PC recorded lectures. However, there is some concern that the availability of such faithful recordings may encourage students…

Comparing Offenders against Women and Offenders against Children on Treatment Outcome in Offenders with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindsay, William R.; Michie, Amanda M.; Steptoe, Lesley; Moore, Fhionna; Haut, Fabian

2011-01-01

Background: Several studies have shown the positive effects of sex offender treatment for men with intellectual disabilities who have perpetrated sex offences or inappropriate sexual behaviour. The present study investigates the process of treatment change and compares two groups of offenders against adults and offenders against children. Method:…

Short-Term Study Abroad: Perspectives on Speaking Gains and Language Contact

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hernández, Todd A.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have shown that study abroad has a positive effect on second language (L2) learning outcomes for students who spend at least a semester abroad. It is unclear, however, whether a short-term experience also has a measurable impact on L2 development. The present study examines the relationship between speaking proficiency gains made…

[Correction of hypersplenism syndrome in liver cirrhosis patients during the use of magneto-infrared laser therapy (MIAT)].

PubMed

Nedogoda, V V; Skvortsova, Z S; Skvortsov, V V

2002-01-01

The clinical observation of the liver cirrhosis patients who has got the magnetoinfraredlaser therapy (MILT) with an irradiation of lien projection is presented. It was shown the positive MILT effect on the pancytopenia syndrome. The use of magnetoinfraredlaser therapy in the patients with the hypersplenia syndrome is recommended.

Measuring the Effects of Peer Learning on Students' Academic Achievement in First-Year Business Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dancer, Diane; Morrison, Kellie; Tarr, Garth

2015-01-01

Peer-assisted study session (PASS) programs have been shown to positively affect students' grades in a majority of studies. This study extends that analysis in two ways: controlling for ability and other factors, with focus on international students, and by presenting results for PASS in business statistics. Ordinary least squares, random effects…

The Effects of Applicant Attractiveness, Managerial Attributes and Gender on Executive Employment Decisions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Best, Bethia J.; Spector, Paul E.

Although it has been shown that physical attractiveness is an advantage to male applicants for managerial positions, it is not clear whether attractiveness is an advantage or disadvantage to female applicants for these jobs. Male (N=25) and female (N=22) business administration students were asked to simulate selection decisions for a high level…

Lost Opportunity: An Empirical Analysis of How Vouchers Affected Florida Public Schools. School Choice Issues in the State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forster, Greg

2008-01-01

The impact of Florida's "A+" accountability program, which until 2006 included a voucher program for chronically failing schools, on public school performance has been extensively studied. The results have consistently shown a positive effect on academic outcomes in Florida public schools. However, no empirical research has been done on…

A Multilevel Analysis of Teacher and School Academic Optimism in Taiwan Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Jason Hsinchieh; Lin, Chunn-Ying

2018-01-01

Research on teacher and school academic optimism has abounded ever since these two constructs were confirmed and shown to have positive effects on student achievement. However, one overlooked research question is the nested association between teacher and school academic optimism. This study intends to fill this gap by using hierarchical linear…

The Causal Effect of Education on Health: Evidence from the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silles, Mary A.

2009-01-01

Numerous economic studies have shown a strong positive correlation between health and years of schooling. The question at the centre of this research is whether the correlation between health and education represents a causal relation. This paper uses changes in compulsory schooling laws in the United Kingdom to test this hypothesis. Multiple…

The Effects of Attractiveness and Status on Personality Evaluation

PubMed Central

Tartaglia, Stefano; Rollero, Chiara

2015-01-01

Research on personality has shown that perceiving a person as attractive fosters positive expectations about his/her personal characteristics. Literature has also demonstrated a significant link between personality traits and occupational achievement. Present research examines the combined effects of attractiveness, occupational status, and gender on the evaluation of others’ personality, according to the Big Five model. The study consisted of a 2 (Attractiveness: High vs. Low) x 2 (occupational Status: High vs. Low) x 2 (Target gender: Male vs. Female) between-subjects experimental design (N = 476). Results showed that attractive targets were considered more positively than unattractive targets, and this effect was even stronger for male targets. Occupational status influenced perceived agreeableness (lower for high-status targets) and perceived conscientiousness (higher for high-status targets). PMID:27247685

49 CFR 236.23 - Aspects and indications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... shown by the position of semaphore blades, color of lights, position of lights, flashing of lights, or... light, shape and color of semaphore blades or any combination thereof, subject to the following conditions: (1) Night aspects of roadway signals, except qualifying appurtenances, shall be shown by lights...

49 CFR 236.23 - Aspects and indications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... shown by the position of semaphore blades, color of lights, position of lights, flashing of lights, or... light, shape and color of semaphore blades or any combination thereof, subject to the following conditions: (1) Night aspects of roadway signals, except qualifying appurtenances, shall be shown by lights...

49 CFR 236.23 - Aspects and indications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... shown by the position of semaphore blades, color of lights, position of lights, flashing of lights, or... light, shape and color of semaphore blades or any combination thereof, subject to the following conditions: (1) Night aspects of roadway signals, except qualifying appurtenances, shall be shown by lights...

49 CFR 236.23 - Aspects and indications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... shown by the position of semaphore blades, color of lights, position of lights, flashing of lights, or... light, shape and color of semaphore blades or any combination thereof, subject to the following conditions: (1) Night aspects of roadway signals, except qualifying appurtenances, shall be shown by lights...

Name-valence and physical attractiveness in Facebook: their compensatory effects on friendship acceptance.

PubMed

Greitemeyer, Tobias; Kunz, Irene

2013-01-01

Name-valence and physical attractiveness have been shown to be associated with how people respond toward others, in that people judge and behave more positively toward individuals with positive names and individuals who are physically attractive. The present research examined whether Facebook users are more likely to accept friendship requests from other Facebook users with positive (relative to negative) names and who are physically attractive (relative to being moderately attractive). In fact, both name-valence and physical attractiveness affected friendship acceptance. Moreover, results revealed that name-valence can be compensated by physical attractiveness (and vice versa). Acceptance rates of requests from users with positive names who are moderately attractive, as well as requests from users with negative names who are attractive did not significantly differ from those with positive names who are attractive.

The Older Adult Positivity Effect in Evaluations of Trustworthiness: Emotion Regulation or Cognitive Capacity?

PubMed

Zebrowitz, Leslie A; Boshyan, Jasmine; Ward, Noreen; Gutchess, Angela; Hadjikhani, Nouchine

2017-01-01

An older adult positivity effect, i.e., the tendency for older adults to favor positive over negative stimulus information more than do younger adults, has been previously shown in attention, memory, and evaluations. This effect has been attributed to greater emotion regulation in older adults. In the case of attention and memory, this explanation has been supported by some evidence that the older adult positivity effect is most pronounced for negative stimuli, which would motivate emotion regulation, and that it is reduced by cognitive load, which would impede emotion regulation. We investigated whether greater older adult positivity in the case of evaluative responses to faces is also enhanced for negative stimuli and attenuated by cognitive load, as an emotion regulation explanation would predict. In two studies, younger and older adults rated trustworthiness of faces that varied in valence both under low and high cognitive load, with the latter manipulated by a distracting backwards counting task. In Study 1, face valence was manipulated by attractiveness (low /disfigured faces, medium, high/fashion models' faces). In Study 2, face valence was manipulated by trustworthiness (low, medium, high). Both studies revealed a significant older adult positivity effect. However, contrary to an emotion regulation account, this effect was not stronger for more negative faces, and cognitive load increased rather than decreased the rated trustworthiness of negatively valenced faces. Although inconsistent with emotion regulation, the latter effect is consistent with theory and research arguing that more cognitive resources are required to process negative stimuli, because they are more cognitively elaborated than positive ones. The finding that increased age and increased cognitive load both enhanced the positivity of trustworthy ratings suggests that the older adult positivity effect in evaluative ratings of faces may reflect age-related declines in cognitive capacity rather than increases in the regulation of negative emotions.

Algebraic solutions of shape-invariant position-dependent effective mass systems

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

Amir, Naila, E-mail: naila.amir@live.com, E-mail: naila.amir@seecs.edu.pk; Iqbal, Shahid, E-mail: sic80@hotmail.com, E-mail: siqbal@sns.nust.edu.pk

2016-06-15

Keeping in view the ordering ambiguity that arises due to the presence of position-dependent effective mass in the kinetic energy term of the Hamiltonian, a general scheme for obtaining algebraic solutions of quantum mechanical systems with position-dependent effective mass is discussed. We quantize the Hamiltonian of the pertaining system by using symmetric ordering of the operators concerning momentum and the spatially varying mass, initially proposed by von Roos and Lévy-Leblond. The algebraic method, used to obtain the solutions, is based on the concepts of supersymmetric quantum mechanics and shape invariance. In order to exemplify the general formalism a class ofmore » non-linear oscillators has been considered. This class includes the particular example of a one-dimensional oscillator with different position-dependent effective mass profiles. Explicit expressions for the eigenenergies and eigenfunctions in terms of generalized Hermite polynomials are presented. Moreover, properties of these modified Hermite polynomials, like existence of generating function and recurrence relations among the polynomials have also been studied. Furthermore, it has been shown that in the harmonic limit, all the results for the linear harmonic oscillator are recovered.« less

Superabsorbent polymer-containing wound dressings have a beneficial effect on wound healing by reducing PMN elastase concentration and inhibiting microbial growth.

PubMed

Wiegand, C; Abel, M; Ruth, P; Hipler, U C

2011-11-01

A comprehensive in vitro approach was used to assess the effects of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) containing wound dressings in treatment of non-healing wounds. A slight negative effect on HaCaT cells was noted in vitro which is most likely due to the Ca(2+) deprivation of the medium by binding to the SAP. It could be shown that SAP wound dressings are able to bind considerable amounts of elastase reducing enzyme activity significantly. Furthermore, SAP's inhibit the formation of free radicals. The SAP-containing wound dressings tested also exhibited a significant to strong antimicrobial activity effectively impeding the growth of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria as well as yeasts. In conclusion, in vitro data confirm the positive effect of SAP wound dressings observed in vivo and suggest that they should be specifically useful for wound cleansing.

The Moderating Role of Autonomous Motivation on the Relationship between Subjective Well-Being and Physical Health

PubMed Central

Marcinko, Ivana

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderator effects of autonomous motivation on the relationship between subjective well-being and physical health. Using a cluster sampling approach 486 students (403 female and 83 male students) were included in this study. Subjective well-being, physical health and autonomous motivation were determined by self-report measures. Data were analysed using hierarchical regression analysis and analysis of variance. The results show that high self-determination moderates the relationship between high subjective well-being and physical health. Accordingly, the best physical health was reported by participants who had high level of subjective well-being and whose behaviours were self-determined. Additional analyses have shown that the moderating effect of self-determination is based on the moderational impact of autonomous motives and not the controlling ones. Additionally, whether autonomous motivation moderates the relationship between components of subjective well-being and physical health was also tested. The findings have shown that autonomous motives moderate relationship between physical health and one component of well-being, positive affect. Consequently, a good physical health was found among participants with high positive affect and behaviours regulated by high degree of autonomous motives. Conclusion which can be drawn from these findings is that if an individual behaves autonomously then it can contribute to positive mind—body influences and support their own health. PMID:25942449

The Moderating Role of Autonomous Motivation on the Relationship between Subjective Well-Being and Physical Health.

PubMed

Marcinko, Ivana

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderator effects of autonomous motivation on the relationship between subjective well-being and physical health. Using a cluster sampling approach 486 students (403 female and 83 male students) were included in this study. Subjective well-being, physical health and autonomous motivation were determined by self-report measures. Data were analysed using hierarchical regression analysis and analysis of variance. The results show that high self-determination moderates the relationship between high subjective well-being and physical health. Accordingly, the best physical health was reported by participants who had high level of subjective well-being and whose behaviours were self-determined. Additional analyses have shown that the moderating effect of self-determination is based on the moderational impact of autonomous motives and not the controlling ones. Additionally, whether autonomous motivation moderates the relationship between components of subjective well-being and physical health was also tested. The findings have shown that autonomous motives moderate relationship between physical health and one component of well-being, positive affect. Consequently, a good physical health was found among participants with high positive affect and behaviours regulated by high degree of autonomous motives. Conclusion which can be drawn from these findings is that if an individual behaves autonomously then it can contribute to positive mind-body influences and support their own health.

Ribonuclease from Bacillus Acts as an Antiviral Agent against Negative- and Positive-Sense Single Stranded Human Respiratory RNA Viruses

PubMed Central

Müller, Christin; Romanova, Yulia; Mostafa, Ahmed; Ulyanova, Vera; Pleschka, Stephan; Ilinskaya, Olga

2017-01-01

Bacillus pumilus ribonuclease (binase) was shown to be a promising antiviral agent in animal models and cell cultures. However, the mode of its antiviral action remains unknown. To assess the binase effect on intracellular viral RNA we have selected single stranded negative- and positive-sense RNA viruses, influenza virus, and rhinovirus, respectively, which annually cause respiratory illnesses and are characterized by high contagious nature, mutation rate, and antigen variability. We have shown that binase exerts an antiviral effect on both viruses at the same concentration, which does not alter the spectrum of A549 cellular proteins and expression of housekeeping genes. The titers of influenza A (H1N1pdm) virus and human rhinovirus serotype 1A were reduced by 40% and 65%, respectively. A preincubation of influenza virus with binase before infection significantly reduced viral titer after single-cycle replication of the virus. Using influenza A virus mini genome system we showed that binase reduced GFP reporter signaling indicating a binase action on the expression of viral mRNA. Binase reduced the level of H1N1pdm viral NP mRNA accumulation in A549 cells by 20%. Since the viral mRNA is a possible target for binase this agent could be potentially applied in the antiviral therapy against both negative- and positive-sense RNA viruses. PMID:28546965

Detecting the role of individual species for overyielding in experimental grassland communities composed of potentially dominant species.

PubMed

Roscher, Christiane; Schumacher, Jens; Weisser, Wolfgang W; Schmid, Bernhard; Schulze, Ernst-Detlef

2007-12-01

Several studies have shown that the contribution of individual species to the positive relationship between species richness and community biomass production cannot be easily predicted from species monocultures. Here, we used a biodiversity experiment with a pool of nine potentially dominant grassland species to relate the species richness-productivity relationship to responses in density, size and aboveground allocation patterns of individual species. Aboveground community biomass increased strongly with the transition from monocultures to two-species mixtures but only slightly with the transition from two- to nine-species mixtures. Tripartite partitioning showed that the strong increase shown by the former was due to trait-independent complementarity effects, while the slight increase shown by the latter was due to dominance effects. Trait-dependent complementarity effects depended on species composition. Relative yield total (RYT) was greater than 1 (RYT>1) in mixtures but did not increase with species richness, which is consistent with the constant complementarity effect. The relative yield (RY) of only one species, Arrhenatherum elatius, continually increased with species richness, while those of the other species studied decreased with species richness or varied among different species compositions within richness levels. High observed/expected RYs (RYo/RYe>1) of individual species were mainly due to increased module densities, whereas low observed/expected RYs (RYo/RYe<1) were due to more pronounced decreases in module density (species with stoloniferous or creeping growth) or module size (species with clearly-defined plant individuals). The trade-off between module density and size, typical for plant populations under the law of constant final yield, was compensated among species. The positive trait-independent complementarity effect could be explained by an increase in community module density, which reached a maximum at low species richness. In contrast, the increasing dominance effect was attributable to the species-specific ability, in particular that of A. elatius, to increase module size, while intrinsic growth limitations led to a suppression of the remaining species in many mixtures.

Medición de posiciones astrométricas con CCD en la zona de Rup 21

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bustos Fierro, I. H.; Calderón, J. H.

It is shown the utilization of the block adjustment method for the measurement of astrometric positions from a mosaic of sixteen CCD images with partial overlap, which were taken with the Telescope Jorge Sahade of CASLEO. The observations cover an area of 25' x 25' around the open cluster Rup21. The source of reference positions was ACT Reference Catalog. The internal error of the measured positions is analyzed, and the external error is estimated from the comparison with the catalog USNO-A. In this comparison it is found that the direct CCD images taken with focal reducer could be distorted by severe field curvature. The effect of the distortion presumably introduced by the optics is eliminated with the suitable corrections of the stellar positions measured on every frame, but a new systematic effect on scales of the entire field is observed, which could be due to the distribution of the reference stars.

Application of global positioning system to determination of tectonic plate movements and crustal deformations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderle, R. J.

1978-01-01

It is shown that pseudo-range measurements to four GPS satellites based on correlation of the pseudo random code transmissions from the satellites can be used to determine the relative position of ground stations which are separated by several hundred kilometers to a precision at the centimeter level. Carrier signal measurements during the course of passage of satellites over a pair of stations also yield centimeter precision in the relative position, but oscillator instabilities limit the accuracy. The accuracy of solutions based on either type of data is limited by unmodeled tropospheric refraction effects which would reach 5 centimeters at low elevation angles for widely separated stations.

VIEW OF LIVING ROOM DOORS SHOWN IN CLOSED POSITION. VIEW ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

VIEW OF LIVING ROOM DOORS SHOWN IN CLOSED POSITION. VIEW FACING WEST - Camp H.M. Smith and Navy Public Works Center Manana Title VII (Capehart) Housing, Three-Bedroom Single-Family Type 9, Birch Circle, Elm Drive, Elm Circle, and Date Drive, Pearl City, Honolulu County, HI

Specialized Color Function for Display of Signed Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalb, Virginia

2008-01-01

This Mathematica script defines a color function to be used with Mathematica's plotting modules for differentiating data attaining both positive and negative values. Positive values are shown as shades of blue, and negative values are shown in red. The intensity of the color reflects the absolute value of the data value.

Rhesus factor modulation of effects of smoking and age on psychomotor performance, intelligence, personality profile, and health in Czech soldiers.

PubMed

Flegr, Jaroslav; Geryk, Jan; Volný, Jindra; Klose, Jiří; Cernochová, Dana

2012-01-01

Rhesus-positive and rhesus-negative persons differ in the presence-absence of highly immunogenic RhD protein on the erythrocyte membrane. This protein is a component of NH(3) or CO(2) pump whose physiological role is unknown. Several recent studies have shown that RhD positivity protects against effects of latent toxoplasmosis on motor performance and personality. It is not known, however, whether the RhD phenotype modifies exclusively the response of the body to toxoplasmosis or whether it also influences effects of other factors. In the present cohort study, we searched for the effects of age and smoking on performance, intelligence, personality and self-estimated health and wellness in about 3800 draftees. We found that the positive effect of age on performance and intelligence was stronger in RhD-positive soldiers, while the negative effect of smoking on performance and intelligence was of similar size regardless of the RhD phenotype. The effect of age on four Cattell's personality factors, i.e., dominance (E), radicalism (Q(1)), self-sentiment integration (Q(3)), and ergic tension (Q(4)), and on Cloninger's factor reward dependency (RD) was stronger for RhD-negative than RhD-positive subjects, while the effect of smoking on the number of viral and bacterial diseases was about three times stronger for RhD-negative than RhD-positive subjects. RhD phenotype modulates the influence not only of latent toxoplasmosis, but also of at least two other potentially detrimental factors, age and smoking, on human behavior and physiology. The negative effect of smoking on health (estimated on the basis of the self-rated number of common viral and bacterial diseases in the past year) was much stronger in RhD-negative than RhD-positive subjects. It is critically needed to confirm the differences in health response to smoking between RhD-positive and RhD-negative subjects by objective medical examination in future studies.

Management of a concealable stigmatized identity: A qualitative study of concealment, disclosure and role flexing among young, resilient sexual and gender minority individuals

PubMed Central

Bry, Laura Jane; Mustanski, Brian; Garofalo, Robert; Burns, Michelle Nicole

2017-01-01

Disclosure of a sexual or gender minority status has been associated with both positive and negative effects on wellbeing. Few studies have explored the disclosure and concealment process in young people. Interviews were conducted with 10 sexual and/or gender minority individuals, aged 18–22 years, of male birth sex. Data were analyzed qualitatively, yielding determinants and effects of disclosure and concealment. Determinants of disclosure included holding positive attitudes about one’s identity and an implicit devaluation of acceptance by society. Coming out was shown to have both positive and negative effects on communication and social support, and was associated with both increases and decreases in experiences of stigma. Determinants of concealment included lack of comfort with one’s identity and various motivations to avoid discrimination. Concealment was also related to hypervigilance and unique strategies of accessing social support. Results are discussed in light of their clinical implications. PMID:27633070

The Illusion of Argument Justification

PubMed Central

Fisher, Matthew; Keil, Frank

2013-01-01

Argumentation is an important way to reach new understanding. Strongly caring about an issue, which is often evident when dealing with controversial issues, has been shown to lead to biases in argumentation. We suggest that people are not well calibrated in assessing their ability to justify a position through argumentation, an effect we call the illusion of argument justification. Furthermore we find that caring about the issue further clouds this introspection. We first show this illusion by measuring the difference between ratings before and after producing an argument for one’s own position. The strength of the illusion is predicted by the strength of care for a given issue (Study 1). The tacit influences of framing and priming do not override the effects of emotional investment in a topic (Study 2). However, explicitly considering counterarguments removes the effect of care when initially assessing the ability to justify a position (Study 3). Finally, we consider our findings in light of other recent research and discuss the potential benefits of group reasoning. PMID:23506085

Current drive with combined electron cyclotron wave and high harmonic fast wave in tokamak plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J. C.; Gong, X. Y.; Dong, J. Q.; Wang, J.; Zhang, N.; Zheng, P. W.; Yin, C. Y.

2016-12-01

The current driven by combined electron cyclotron wave (ECW) and high harmonic fast wave is investigated using the GENRAY/CQL3D package. It is shown that no significant synergetic current is found in a range of cases with a combined ECW and fast wave (FW). This result is consistent with a previous study [Harvey et al., in Proceedings of IAEA TCM on Fast Wave Current Drive in Reactor Scale Tokamaks (Synergy and Complimentarily with LHCD and ECRH), Arles, France, IAEA, Vienna, 1991]. However, a positive synergy effect does appear with the FW in the lower hybrid range of frequencies. This positive synergy effect can be explained using a picture of the electron distribution function induced by the ECW and a very high harmonic fast wave (helicon). The dependence of the synergy effect on the radial position of the power deposition, the wave power, the wave frequency, and the parallel refractive index is also analyzed, both numerically and physically.

Management of a Concealable Stigmatized Identity: A Qualitative Study of Concealment, Disclosure, and Role Flexing Among Young, Resilient Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals.

PubMed

Bry, Laura Jane; Mustanski, Brian; Garofalo, Robert; Burns, Michelle Nicole

2017-01-01

Disclosure of a sexual or gender minority status has been associated with both positive and negative effects on wellbeing. Few studies have explored the disclosure and concealment process in young people. Interviews were conducted with 10 sexual and/or gender minority individuals, aged 18-22 years, of male birth sex. Data were analyzed qualitatively, yielding determinants and effects of disclosure and concealment. Determinants of disclosure included holding positive attitudes about one's identity and an implicit devaluation of acceptance by society. Coming out was shown to have both positive and negative effects on communication and social support and was associated with both increases and decreases in experiences of stigma. Determinants of concealment included lack of comfort with one's identity and various motivations to avoid discrimination. Concealment was also related to hypervigilance and unique strategies of accessing social support. Results are discussed in light of their clinical implications.

Sensorimotor aspects of high-speed artificial gravity: II. The effect of head position on illusory self motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mast, F. W.; Newby, N. J.; Young, L. R.

2002-01-01

The effects of cross-coupled stimuli on the semicircular canals are shown to be influenced by the position of the subject's head with respect to gravity and the axis of rotation, but not by the subject's head position relative to the trunk. Seventeen healthy subjects made head yaw movements out of the horizontal plane while lying on a horizontal platform (MIT short radius centrifuge) rotating at 23 rpm about an earth-vertical axis. The subjects reported the magnitude and duration of the illusory pitch or roll sensations elicited by the cross-coupled rotational stimuli acting on the semicircular canals. The results suggest an influence of head position relative to gravity. The magnitude estimation is higher and the sensation decays more slowly when the head's final position is toward nose-up (gravity in the subject's head x-z-plane) compared to when the head is turned toward the side (gravity in the subject's head y-z-plane). The results are discussed with respect to artificial gravity in space and the possible role of pre-adaptation to cross-coupled angular accelerations on earth.

The positive inside rule is stronger when followed by a transmembrane helix.

PubMed

Virkki, Minttu T; Peters, Christoph; Nilsson, Daniel; Sörensen, Therese; Cristobal, Susana; Wallner, Björn; Elofsson, Arne

2014-08-12

The translocon recognizes transmembrane helices with sufficient level of hydrophobicity and inserts them into the membrane. However, sometimes less hydrophobic helices are also recognized. Positive inside rule, orientational preferences of and specific interactions with neighboring helices have been shown to aid in the recognition of these helices, at least in artificial systems. To better understand how the translocon inserts marginally hydrophobic helices, we studied three naturally occurring marginally hydrophobic helices, which were previously shown to require the subsequent helix for efficient translocon recognition. We find no evidence for specific interactions when we scan all residues in the subsequent helices. Instead, we identify arginines located at the N-terminal part of the subsequent helices that are crucial for the recognition of the marginally hydrophobic transmembrane helices, indicating that the positive inside rule is important. However, in two of the constructs, these arginines do not aid in the recognition without the rest of the subsequent helix; that is, the positive inside rule alone is not sufficient. Instead, the improved recognition of marginally hydrophobic helices can here be explained as follows: the positive inside rule provides an orientational preference of the subsequent helix, which in turn allows the marginally hydrophobic helix to be inserted; that is, the effect of the positive inside rule is stronger if positively charged residues are followed by a transmembrane helix. Such a mechanism obviously cannot aid C-terminal helices, and consequently, we find that the terminal helices in multi-spanning membrane proteins are more hydrophobic than internal helices. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effects of probiotics in lactose intolerance: A systematic review.

PubMed

Oak, Sophia J; Jha, Rajesh

2018-02-09

Over 60 percent of the human population has a reduced ability to digest lactose due to low levels of lactase enzyme activity. Probiotics are live bacteria or yeast that supplements the gastrointestinal flora. Studies have shown that probiotics exhibit various health beneficial properties such as improvement of intestinal health, enhancement of the immune responses, and reduction of serum cholesterol. Accumulating evidence has shown that probiotic bacteria in fermented and unfermented milk products can be used to alleviate the clinical symptoms of lactose intolerance (LI). In this systematic review, the effectiveness of probiotics in the treatment of LI was evaluated using 15 randomized double-blind studies. Eight probiotic strains with the greatest number of proven benefits were studied. Results showed varying degrees of efficacy but an overall positive relationship between probiotics and lactose intolerance.

Role of fruits, nuts, and vegetables in maintaining cognitive health.

PubMed

Miller, Marshall G; Thangthaeng, Nopporn; Poulose, Shibu M; Shukitt-Hale, Barbara

2017-08-01

Population aging is leading to an increase in the incidence of age-related cognitive dysfunction and, with it, the health care burden of caring for older adults. Epidemiological studies have shown that consumption of fruits, nuts, and vegetables is positively associated with cognitive ability; however, these foods, which contain a variety of neuroprotective phytochemicals, are widely under-consumed. Surprisingly few studies have investigated the effects of individual plant foods on cognitive health but recent clinical trials have shown that dietary supplementation with individual foods, or switching to a diet rich in several of these foods, can improve cognitive ability. While additional research is needed, increasing fruit, nut, and vegetable intake may be an effective strategy to prevent or delay the onset of cognitive dysfunction during aging. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Rough surface scattering based on facet model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khamsi, H. R.; Fung, A. K.; Ulaby, F. T.

1974-01-01

A model for the radar return from bare ground was developed to calculate the radar cross section of bare ground and the effect of the frequency averaging on the reduction of the variance of the return. It is shown that, by assuming that the distribution of the slope to be Gaussian and that the distribution of the length of the facet to be in the form of the positive side of a Gaussian distribution, the results are in good agreement with experimental data collected by an 8- to 18-GHz radar spectrometer system. It is also shown that information on the exact correlation length of the small structure on the ground is not necessary; an effective correlation length may be calculated based on the facet model and the wavelength of the incident wave.

An Integrative Theory-Driven Positive Emotion Regulation Intervention

PubMed Central

Weytens, Fanny; Luminet, Olivier; Verhofstadt, Lesley L.; Mikolajczak, Moïra

2014-01-01

Over the past fifteen years, positive psychology research has validated a set of happiness enhancing techniques. These techniques are relatively simple exercises that allow happiness seekers to mimic thoughts and behavior of naturally happy people, in order to increase their level of well-being. Because research has shown that the joint use of these exercises increases their effects, practitioners who want to help happiness seekers need validated interventions that combine several of these techniques. To meet this need, we have developed and tested an integrative intervention (Positive Emotion Regulation program – PER program) incorporating a number of validated techniques structured around a theoretical model: the Process Model of Positive Emotion Regulation. To test the effectiveness of this program and to identify its added value relative to existing interventions, 113 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to a 6-week positive emotion regulation pilot program, a loving-kindness meditation training program, or a wait-list control group. Results indicate that fewer participants dropped out from the PER program than from the Loving-Kindness Meditation training. Furthermore, subjects in the PER group showed a significant increase in subjective well-being and life satisfaction and a significant decrease in depression and physical symptoms when compared to controls. Our results suggest that the Process Model of Positive Emotion Regulation can be an effective option to organize and deliver positive integrative interventions. PMID:24759870

Hydrocortisone infusion exerts dose- and sex-dependent effects on attention to emotional stimuli.

PubMed

Breitberg, Alaina; Drevets, Wayne C; Wood, Suzanne E; Mah, Linda; Schulkin, Jay; Sahakian, Barbara J; Erickson, Kristine

2013-03-01

Glucocorticoid administration has been shown to exert complex effects on cognitive and emotional processing. In the current study we investigated the effects of glucocorticoid administration on attention towards emotional words, using an Affective Go/No-go task on which healthy humans have shown an attentional bias towards positive as compared to negative words. Healthy volunteers received placebo and either low-dose (0.15mg/kg) or high-dose (0.45mg/kg) hydrocortisone intravenously during two separate visits in a double-blind, randomized design. Seventy-five minutes post-infusion, the subjects performed tests of attention (Rapid Visual Information Processing [RVIP]), spatial working memory (Spatial Span) and emotional processing (Affective Go/No-go task [AGNG]). On the attention task, performance was impaired under both hydrocortisone doses relative to placebo, though the effect on error rate was not significant after controlling for age; Spatial Span performance was unaffected by hydrocortisone administration. On the AGNG task, relative to the placebo condition the low-dose hydrocortisone infusion decreased response time to emotional words while high-dose hydrocortisone increased response time. In the females specifically, both high and low dose hydrocortisone administration attenuated the normal attentional bias toward positively valenced words. These data suggest that, in healthy women, the modulation of attention by the emotional salience of stimuli is influenced by glucocorticoid hormone concentrations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relationships between autofocus methods for SAR and self-survey techniques for SONAR. [Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

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

Wahl, D.E.; Jakowatz, C.V. Jr.; Ghiglia, D.C.

1991-01-01

Autofocus methods in SAR and self-survey techniques in SONAR have a common mathematical basis in that they both involve estimation and correction of phase errors introduced by sensor position uncertainties. Time delay estimation and correlation methods have been shown to be effective in solving the self-survey problem for towed SONAR arrays. Since it can be shown that platform motion errors introduce similar time-delay estimation problems in SAR imaging, the question arises as to whether such techniques could be effectively employed for autofocus of SAR imagery. With a simple mathematical model for motion errors in SAR, we will show why suchmore » correlation/time-delay techniques are not nearly as effective as established SAR autofocus algorithms such as phase gradient autofocus or sub-aperture based methods. This analysis forms an important bridge between signal processing methodologies for SAR and SONAR. 5 refs., 4 figs.« less

Faster methods for estimating arc centre position during VAR and results from Ti-6Al-4V and INCONEL 718 alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nair, B. G.; Winter, N.; Daniel, B.; Ward, R. M.

2016-07-01

Direct measurement of the flow of electric current during VAR is extremely difficult due to the aggressive environment as the arc process itself controls the distribution of current. In previous studies the technique of “magnetic source tomography” was presented; this was shown to be effective but it used a computationally intensive iterative method to analyse the distribution of arc centre position. In this paper we present faster computational methods requiring less numerical optimisation to determine the centre position of a single distributed arc both numerically and experimentally. Numerical validation of the algorithms were done on models and experimental validation on measurements based on titanium and nickel alloys (Ti6Al4V and INCONEL 718). The results are used to comment on the effects of process parameters on arc behaviour during VAR.

MINORITY STRESS, POSITIVE IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESILIENCE AMONG SEXUAL MINORITY MALE YOUTH

PubMed Central

Bruce, Douglas; Harper, Gary W.; Bauermeister, Jose A.

2015-01-01

Introduction Minority stress processes have been shown to have significant associations with negative mental health outcomes among sexual minority populations. Given that adversity may be experienced growing up as a sexual minority in heteronormative, if not heterosexist, environments, our research on resilience among sexual minority male youth proposes that positive identity development may buffer the effects of a range of minority stress processes. Methods An ethnically diverse sample of 200 sexual minority males ages 16–24 (mean age, 20.9 years) was recruited using mixed recruitment methods. We developed and tested two new measures: concealment stress during adolescence and sexual minority-related positive identity development. We then tested a path model that assessed the effects of minority stressors, positive identity development, and social support on major depressive symptoms. Results Experience of stigma was associated with internalized homophobia (β=.138, p<.05) and major depressive symptoms (β=1.076, OR=2.933, p<.001), and internalized homophobia partially mediated experience’s effects on major depression (β=.773, OR=2.167, p<.001). Concealment stress was associated with positive identity development (β=.155, p<.05) and internalized homophobia (β=.418, p<.001), and positive identity development partially mediated concealment stress’s effects on internalized homophobia (β=−.527, p<.001). Concealment stress demonstrated a direct effect on major depression (β=1.400, OR=4.056, p<.001), and indirect paths to social support through positive identity development. Conclusions With these results, we offer an exploratory model that empirically identifies significant paths among minority stress dimensions, positive identity development, and major depressive symptoms. This study helps further our understanding of minority stress, identity development, and resources of resilience among sexual minority male youth. PMID:26478901

MINORITY STRESS, POSITIVE IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESILIENCE AMONG SEXUAL MINORITY MALE YOUTH.

PubMed

Bruce, Douglas; Harper, Gary W; Bauermeister, Jose A

2015-09-01

Minority stress processes have been shown to have significant associations with negative mental health outcomes among sexual minority populations. Given that adversity may be experienced growing up as a sexual minority in heteronormative, if not heterosexist, environments, our research on resilience among sexual minority male youth proposes that positive identity development may buffer the effects of a range of minority stress processes. An ethnically diverse sample of 200 sexual minority males ages 16-24 (mean age, 20.9 years) was recruited using mixed recruitment methods. We developed and tested two new measures: concealment stress during adolescence and sexual minority-related positive identity development. We then tested a path model that assessed the effects of minority stressors, positive identity development, and social support on major depressive symptoms. Experience of stigma was associated with internalized homophobia (β=.138, p<.05) and major depressive symptoms (β=1.076, OR=2.933, p<.001), and internalized homophobia partially mediated experience's effects on major depression (β=.773, OR=2.167, p<.001). Concealment stress was associated with positive identity development (β=.155, p<.05) and internalized homophobia (β=.418, p<.001), and positive identity development partially mediated concealment stress's effects on internalized homophobia (β=-.527, p<.001). Concealment stress demonstrated a direct effect on major depression (β=1.400, OR=4.056, p<.001), and indirect paths to social support through positive identity development. With these results, we offer an exploratory model that empirically identifies significant paths among minority stress dimensions, positive identity development, and major depressive symptoms. This study helps further our understanding of minority stress, identity development, and resources of resilience among sexual minority male youth.

The relationship between observed signs of impairment and THC concentration in oral fluid.

PubMed

Fierro, Inmaculada; González-Luque, Juan Carlos; Alvarez, F Javier

2014-11-01

Studies have shown that cannabis intake increases the risk of traffic accidents. Controlled experiments support these findings and have shown a positive dose-effect relationship. In this retrospective cross-sectional study of data from a roadside survey, we investigated whether a police officer's judgment regarding signs of impairment is related to the concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the oral fluid (OF). We investigated 2,632 cases from a representative sample of 3,302 Spanish drivers: 253 drivers positive for THC only, 32 positive for THC and ethanol, 201 with only ethanol detected in their breath, and 2,146 drivers who tested negative for ethanol in breath and drugs in OF. Recorded data comprised breath alcohol concentrations, THC concentrations in the OF, and the 31 observed signs of impairment. Subject groups were compared using the chi-square test, and logistic regression was used to examine the risk of being categorized as exhibiting signs of impairment. A relationship was found between the OF THC concentration and some observed signs of impairment. Eye signs were noticeable from a THC concentration >3.0 ng/ml in OF, and >25 ng/ml was related to behavior, facial expression, and speech signs. Alcohol and THC contribute to impairment independently and, when taken simultaneously, the effects are comparable to the sum of the effects when consumed separately. The observation of signs of impairment due to cannabis occurs in an OF concentration-related manner but, as a clinical test, OF has low sensitivity and specificity in a random roadside survey. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Joint effects of emotion and color on memory.

PubMed

Kuhbandner, Christof; Pekrun, Reinhard

2013-06-01

Numerous studies have shown that memory is enhanced for emotionally negative and positive information relative to neutral information. We examined whether emotion-induced memory enhancement is influenced by low-level perceptual attributes such as color. Because in everyday life red is often used as a warning signal, whereas green signals security, we hypothesized that red might enhance memory for negative information and green memory for positive information. To capture the signaling function of colors, we measured memory for words standing out from the context by color, and manipulated the color and emotional significance of the outstanding words. Making words outstanding by color strongly enhanced memory, replicating the well-known von Restorff effect. Furthermore, memory for colored words was further increased by emotional significance, replicating the memory-enhancing effect of emotion. Most intriguingly, the effects of emotion on memory additionally depended on color type. Red strongly increased memory for negative words, whereas green strongly increased memory for positive words. These findings provide the first evidence that emotion-induced memory enhancement is influenced by color and demonstrate that different colors can have different functions in human memory.

Effect of acute tryptophan depletion on emotions in individuals with personal and family history of depression following a mood induction.

PubMed

Altman, Sarah E; Shankman, Stewart A; Spring, Bonnie

2010-08-01

Acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) has shown depletion-specific increases in depressed mood and overall depressive symptoms, especially in those with a family history and in remitted patients. However, its effect on a broad range of emotions beyond depressed mood has been inconsistent, and studies have rarely employed a negative mood induction. The present double-blind study administered tryptophan-depleted and taste-matched placebo challenge drinks to individuals with a past diagnosis and family history of depression (i.e. depression-vulnerable subjects) and controls in order to investigate the effect of ATD on positive affect, anxiety, anger and depressed mood following a negative mood induction. Certain aspects of positive affect decreased due to ATD in the depression vulnerables but not in the controls. No differential effects were found on depressed mood and anxiety. A stress-induced blunted hedonic capacity may increase vulnerability to ATD and may be a core emotional abnormality in depression. Additionally, serotonin may have a stronger influence on positive affect than on other depression-related emotions during periods of stress. (c) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Novel Positional Devices for the Treatment of Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and How This Relates to Sleep Surgery.

PubMed

Ravesloot, Madeline J L; Benoist, Linda; van Maanen, Peter; de Vries, Nico

2017-01-01

If untreated, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) develops as a gradual progressive disease. In the early stage of the disease most patients with OSA are positional. The archetypical patient might progress from simple positional snoring via positional early-stage mild disease to less positional moderate and finally nonpositional severe OSA. At first, the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is high only in the supine position, and later is high in all sleeping positions. The phenomenon is reversible. After partial effective treatment, patients with severe OSA can reverse to less severe positional OSA or, in other words, the AHI drops more in the lateral position than in supine position. This has been shown for palatal surgery, multilevel surgery, bimaxillary osteotomies, and bariatric surgery. The absence or presence of positional dependency has a great influence on sleep surgery. First, the results of sleep surgery might be worse in positional patients. Second, the addition of positional therapy to sleep surgery might improve the overall outcome and, as such, enhance the indication of sleep surgery as an alternative to continuous positive airway pressure and mandibular advancement device treatment. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Aromatic hydroxylation by cytochrome P450: model calculations of mechanism and substituent effects.

PubMed

Bathelt, Christine M; Ridder, Lars; Mulholland, Adrian J; Harvey, Jeremy N

2003-12-10

The mechanism and selectivity of aromatic hydroxylation by cytochrome P450 enzymes is explored using new B3LYP density functional theory computations. The calculations, using a realistic porphyrin model system, show that rate-determining addition of compound I to an aromatic carbon atom proceeds via a transition state with partial radical and cationic character. Reactivity is shown to depend strongly on ring substituents, with both electron-withdrawing and -donating groups strongly decreasing the addition barrier in the para position, and it is shown that the calculated barrier heights can be reproduced by a new dual-parameter equation based on radical and cationic Hammett sigma parameters.

The magic of relay mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duff, Edward A.; Washburn, Donald C.

2004-09-01

Laser weapon systems would be significantly enhanced with the addition of high altitude or space-borne relay mirrors. Such mirrors, operating alone with a directed energy source, or many in a series fashion, can be shown to effectively move the laser source to the last, so-called fighting mirror. This "magically" reduces the range to target and offers to enhance the performance of directed energy systems like the Airborne Laser and even ground-based or ship-based lasers. Recent development of high altitude airships will be shown to provide stationary positions for such relay mirrors thereby enabling many new and important applications for laser weapons. The technical challenges to achieve this capability are discussed.

Male-Centric and Female-Centric Pornography Consumption: Relationship With Sex Life and Attitudes in Young Adults.

PubMed

French, Ilisha M; Hamilton, Lisa Dawn

2018-01-02

Pornography availability has increased in recent years, and while there is plenty of speculation about its effects, empirical investigation about how porn influences our lives has yielded mixed results. Additionally, few studies have addressed the effects of specific pornography characteristics. Past research has shown that male-centric pornography can be related to negative outcomes, while female-centric pornography is related to more positive outcomes, particularly in women. The present survey study examined the relationship between pornography characteristics (male- and female-centric) and the self-reported attitudes and sexual experiences of men and women. Participants in the full sample were 195 men and 310 women who completed an online questionnaire. Although effect sizes were small, women who reported viewing pornography with more female-centric features also reported more positive effects of pornography on sex life and perceptions of the other gender. While men were more likely than women to report negative effects relating to pornography use on these same measures, there were very few reported negative effects of pornography overall. These findings demonstrate a small association between the use of female-centric pornography and more positive outcomes, particularly for women.

The Effect of Operating Lamps on the Protected Area of a Unidirectional Down Flow (UDF) System.

PubMed

Traversari, A A L; Bottenheft, C; Louman, R; van Heumen, S P M; Böggemann, J

2017-04-01

Operating lamps are often seen as the most disruptive factors within the protective area in the operating theater (OT). The effect of the operation lamps (with different shapes) should be demonstrated in an OT by trial, since research on the effects of the lamps is still limited. The main aim of this study was to determine the effects of a skirt, different lamps, and the position of the lamp on the protected area. The concentration of airborne particles was measured under different circumstances, in order to determine the size and quality of the protected area. This entrainment/segregation test is based on the deliberate and controlled emission of particles outside the zone that is protected. The degree of protection (DP) at the center of the protected area was higher for the case with the skirt. This skirt stimulates more down flow and prevents the early entry of particles into the protected area. It can also be concluded that Lamp Y, due to its open shape, has the most positive effect on the DP at the center. It has also been shown that the position of the lamp has an effect on the protected area.

Is Immersion of Any Value? Whether, and to What Extent, Game Immersion Experience during Serious Gaming Affects Science Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Meng-Tzu; Lin, Yu-Wen; She, Hsiao-Ching; Kuo, Po-Chih

2017-01-01

Many studies have shown the positive impact of serious gaming on learning outcomes, but few have explored the relationships between game immersion and science learning. Accordingly, this study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of learning by playing, as well as the dynamic process of game immersion experiences, and to further identify…

The Views of Clients with Mild Intellectual Disabilities regarding Their Working Relationships with Caregivers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roeden, John M.; Maaskant, Marian A.; Curfs, Leopold M. G.

2011-01-01

Background: Research studies into the effect of therapies have shown that a good relationship between the client and his caregiver is a key factor in a positive treatment outcome. Methods: The nominal group technique (NGT) has been used in this study to discover what clients with intellectual disabilities feel contributes to a successful working…

The Role of Drama on Cultural Sensitivity, Motivation and Literacy in a Second Language Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bournot-Trites, Monique; Belliveau, George; Spiliotopoulos, Valia; Séror, Jérémie

2007-01-01

Although drama has been used successfully in English as a second language and has been shown to have positive effects on achievement and on self-confidence and motivation in various studies, it has received little attention in French immersion context where subjects are taught in French, the second language of students. The objective of this study…

The use of gibberellic acid as a presowing treatment for cherrybark and Nuttall oak acorns

Treesearch

John C. Adams; Joshua P. Adams; R. A. Williams

2010-01-01

The use of gibberellic acid to enhance growth and development in plants has been shown in many species. Gibberellic acid is a naturally occurring hormone that can, in certain concentrations, affect dormancy, flowering, fruit set, growth, frost protection, root formation, and other growth processes. The positive effect on germination by this hormone treatment could help...

Students' Readiness to Move from Consumers to Producers of Digital Video Content: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Irish and Indian Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loftus, Maria; Tiernan, Peter; Cherian, Sebastian

2014-01-01

Evidence has shown that students have greatly increased their consumption of digital video, principally through video sharing sites. In parallel, students' participation in video sharing and creation has also risen. As educators, we need to question how this can be effectively translated into a positive learning experience for students, whilst…

"I Am Really Good at It" or "I Am Just Feeling Lucky": The Effects of Emotions on Information Problem-Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Mingming

2013-01-01

The ability to search, process, extract, evaluate and integrate information for learning purposes has clearly become the basic skills of the twenty first century. Although this process is often taken as a cognitive process, research has shown a strong connection between emotion and cognition. Recent research has suggested that positive emotions…

Predictive Validity of Established Cut Points for Risk and Protective Factor Scales from the Communities That Care Youth Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briney, John S.; Brown, Eric C.; Hawkins, J. David; Arthur, Michael W.

2012-01-01

Community coalitions are a popular strategy to coordinate activities and resources to prevent adolescent substance use and delinquent behavior. Despite early evidence of their lack of effectiveness, a new generation of community coalitions has shown positive results in preventing youth substance use and delinquency. This success can be attributed…

The Centre Is Not in the Middle: Evidence from Line and Word Bisection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arduino, Lisa S.; Previtali, Paola; Girelli, Luisa

2010-01-01

English and German readers have been shown to mark a position to the left of the true centre as the subjective midpoint in word bisection. This effect resembles a well-known phenomenon observed with the bisection of solid lines (pseudoneglect), although this behavioural similarity does not imply a common origin. The purpose of the present study…

Vicarious Futurity, Hope, and Well-Being in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faso, Daniel J.; Neal-Beevers, A. Rebecca; Carlson, Caryn L.

2013-01-01

Hope is shown to provide resiliency for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) against the negative effects related to extreme parenting stressors. The broad positivity of hope may overlook opposing parental feelings about their child that may be important for well-being. Vicarious futurity (VF) is the hope and despair a parent…

Induction when Rats Respond for Liquid-Sucrose Reinforcement as a Function of Amount of Upcoming "Work"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weatherly, Jeffrey N.; Bauste, Grant A.; McDougall, Casey L.; Nurnberger, Jeri T.

2006-01-01

Previous research has shown that rats increase their rate of responding for 1% sucrose reinforcement in the first half of the session if food-pellet, rather than 1% sucrose, reinforcement will be available in the second half (i.e., positive induction). Four experiments investigated whether this induction effect would be changed by altering the…

VARIATIONS IN TEACHERS' REINFORCEMENT STYLE AND IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN DIFFERING IN PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FESHBACH, NORMA D.

TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERING TEACHER REINFORCEMENT BEHAVIOR ON STUDENTS, 21 MIDDLE-CLASS AND 12 LOWER-CLASS MALE NINTH- AND 10TH-GRADE REMEDIAL READING STUDENTS WERE SHOWN TWO FILMS. THE FIRST DEPICTED A "POSITIVE" TEACHER WHO CONSISTENTLY REWARDED CORRECT RESPONSES WHILE NEGLECTING INCORRECT ONES, AND THE SECOND SHOWED A…

Thinning effects on spotted owl prey and other forest-dwelling small mammals

Treesearch

Todd M. Willson; Eric D. Forsman

2013-01-01

Th inning has been promoted as a method for accelerating the development of late-seral habitat and improving the overall health and function of young forests in the Pacifi c Northwest. Population studies have shown early and positive responses to thinning by some small forest-floor mammals (primarily mice, terrestrial voles, and shrews). However, thinning reduces the...

Are There Pre-Existing Neural, Cognitive, or Motoric Markers for Musical Ability?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norton, Andrea; Winner, Ellen; Cronin, Karl; Overy, Katie; Lee, Dennis J.; Schlaug, Gottfried

2005-01-01

Adult musician's brains show structural enlargements, but it is not known whether these are inborn or a consequence of long-term training. In addition, music training in childhood has been shown to have positive effects on visual-spatial and verbal outcomes. However, it is not known whether pre-existing advantages in these skills are found in…

The Effects of a Speed Reading Course and Speed Transfer to Other Types of Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yen, Tran Thi Ngoc

2012-01-01

Reading fluency plays an important part in academic achievement at colleges and universities. Speed reading courses, along with repeated reading and extensive reading, are popularly used methods to help students increase their reading speed. Several studies have shown the positive influence of a speed reading course in L2/FL on students' reading…

A survey of fault diagnosis technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riedesel, Joel

1989-01-01

Existing techniques and methodologies for fault diagnosis are surveyed. The techniques run the gamut from theoretical artificial intelligence work to conventional software engineering applications. They are shown to define a spectrum of implementation alternatives where tradeoffs determine their position on the spectrum. Various tradeoffs include execution time limitations and memory requirements of the algorithms as well as their effectiveness in addressing the fault diagnosis problem.

Changes in head and neck position have a greater effect on elbow joint position sense in people with whiplash-associated disorders.

PubMed

Knox, Joanna Joy; Beilstein, Darren Jay; Charles, Scott Darren; Aarseth, Geir Arne; Rayar, Shivanthi; Treleaven, Julia; Hodges, Paul William

2006-01-01

It has been shown that perception of elbow joint position is affected by changes in head and neck position. Further, people with whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) present with deficits in upper limb coordination and movement. This study is aimed to determine whether the effect of changes in head position on elbow joint position error (JPE) is more pronounced in people with WAD, and to determine whether this is related to the participant's pain and anxiety levels. Nine people with chronic and disabling WAD and 11 healthy people participated in this experiment. The ability to reproduce a position at the elbow joint was assessed after changes in the position of the head and neck to 30 degrees , and with the head in the midline. Pain was monitored in WAD participants. Absolute elbow JPE with the head in neutral was not different between WAD and control participants (P=0.5). Changes in the head and neck position increased absolute elbow JPE in the WAD group (P<0.05), but did not affect elbow JPE in the control group (P=0.4). There was a connection between pain during testing and the effect of changes in head position on elbow JPE (P<0.05). Elbow JPE is affected by movement of the head and neck, with smaller angles of neck rotation in people with WAD than in healthy individuals. This observation may explain deficits in upper limb coordination in people with WAD, which may be due to the presence of pain or reduced range of motion in this population.

Intergroup Contact and Social Change: Implications of Negative and Positive Contact for Collective Action in Advantaged and Disadvantaged Groups.

PubMed

Reimer, Nils Karl; Becker, Julia C; Benz, Angelika; Christ, Oliver; Dhont, Kristof; Klocke, Ulrich; Neji, Sybille; Rychlowska, Magdalena; Schmid, Katharina; Hewstone, Miles

2017-01-01

Previous research has shown that (a) positive intergroup contact with an advantaged group can discourage collective action among disadvantaged-group members and (b) positive intergroup contact can encourage advantaged-group members to take action on behalf of disadvantaged outgroups. Two studies investigated the effects of negative as well as positive intergroup contact. Study 1 ( n = 482) found that negative but not positive contact with heterosexual people was associated with sexual-minority students' engagement in collective action (via group identification and perceived discrimination). Among heterosexual students, positive and negative contacts were associated with, respectively, more and less LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) activism. Study 2 ( N = 1,469) found that only negative contact (via perceived discrimination) predicted LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) students' collective action intentions longitudinally while only positive contact predicted heterosexual/cisgender students' LGBT activism. Implications for the relationship between intergroup contact, collective action, and social change are discussed.

The Effect of atmospheric humidity level to the determination of Islamic Fajr/morning prayer time and twilight appearance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohmah, Nihayatur

2016-11-01

Islamic prayer times are based on the astronomical position of the Sun in the sky. One of them is the Fajr prayer. It is marked by some indicators in the morning twilight which is white light spread in the Eastern horizon. However, determining the true time of twilight can be difficult. One of the reasons is the effect of atmospheric humidity to the appearance of morning twilight. The higher the humidity, the redder twilight sky appearance. This paper discusses this effect. It is shown that despite of the same Sun's position, sky color can vary considerably. Observations of various solar dip angle have been made to study this effect. Visibility for different angle can change accordingly. We obtained that the average solar dip for Fajr prayer by morning twilight images was -18°39'29.4".

Autonomy, Competence, and Intrinsic Motivation in Science Education: A Self- Determination Theory Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Painter, Jason

The purpose of this study was to examine a proposed motivational model of science achievement based on self-determination theory. The study relied on U.S. eighth-grade science data from the 2007 Third International Mathematics and Science Study to examine a structural model that hypothesized how perceived autonomy support, perceived competence in science, intrinsic motivation, and science achievement related to each other. Mother's education and student gender were used as controls. Findings showed that the hypothesized model provided a good fit to the data. The strongest direct effect on science achievement was students' perceived competence in science. Student intrinsic motivation was shown to have a surprisingly negative effect on science achievement. Autonomy support had positive direct effects on students' perceived competence in science and intrinsic motivation and had indirect positive effects to science achievement. Results and implications for science education are discussed.

Drawing in nursing PBL.

PubMed

Chan, Zenobia C Y

2013-08-01

The implementation of art education in nursing is said to have positive effects on nursing students. Most studies applied visual art dialogues or object design, whereas the effectiveness of drawing as a teaching and learning method is rarely examined and discussed. This paper aimed to discuss the potential and effectiveness of drawing as a learning and teaching method. Four drawings which were created by Hong Kong nursing students are demonstrated and the students' perspectives of how drawing enhanced learning are shown in this paper. Topics on drawing as a fun teaching and learning method and the way it can enhance critical thinking and creativity are also discussed. In conclusion, the activity was a great success, and students enjoyed the learning process and reflected positive comments. However, we cannot conclude that drawing is an effective teaching and learning method based on a single paper, therefore more similar studies should be conducted to investigate this method. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of Polarisation in the Ramsauer-Townsend Minima in Strongly Coupled Semiclassic Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae

2017-10-01

The influence of quantum shielding on the Ramsauer-Townsend phenomena for the total electron-atom polarisation collision cross-section is investigated in partially ionised strongly coupled semiclassic plasmas. The result shows that the quantum shielding effect changes the position of the Ramsauer energy in partially ionised strongly coupled plasmas. It is also found that the quantum shielding effect enhances the total electron-atom collision cross-section when the collision energy is greater than the Ramsauer energy; however, it suppresses the collision cross-section when the collision energy is smaller than the Ramsauer energy. In addition, it is shown that the plasma screening effect significantly changes the position of the Ramsauer energy and the influence of plasma screening on the magnitude of the collision cross-section is more significant near the Ramsauer energy domain. The variations of the Ramsauer energy and the collision cross-section due to the quantum shielding effect are also discussed.

A Longitudinal Examination of Positive Parenting Following an Acceptance-Based Couple Intervention

PubMed Central

Morrill, Melinda Ippolito; Hawrilenko, Matt; Córdova, James V.

2015-01-01

Positive parenting practices have been shown to be essential for healthy child development, and yet have also been found to be particularly challenging for parents to enact and maintain. This paper explores an innovative approach for increasing positive parenting by targeting specific positive emotional processes within marital relationships. Couple emotional acceptance is a powerful mechanism that has repeatedly been found to improve romantic relationships, but whether these effects extend to the larger family environment is less well understood. The current longitudinal study examined the role of improved levels of acceptance in mother’s and father’s positive parenting after a couple intervention. Participants included 244 parents (122 couples) in the Marriage Checkup (MC) study, a randomized, controlled, acceptance-based, intervention study. Data indicated that both women and men experienced significantly greater felt acceptance two-weeks after the MC intervention, treatment women demonstrated greater positive parenting two weeks after the intervention, and all treatment participants’ positive parenting was better maintained than control couple’s six months later. Importantly, although mothers’ positive parenting was not influenced by different levels of felt acceptance, changes in father’s positive parenting were positively associated with changes in felt acceptance. As men felt more accepted by their wives, their levels of positive parenting changed in kind, and this effect on positive parenting was found to be mediated by felt acceptance two weeks after the MC. Overall, findings supported the potential benefits of targeting couple acceptance to generate positive cascades throughout the larger family system. PMID:26551659

Drift and geodesic effects on the ion sound eigenmode in tokamak plasmas

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

Elfimov, A. G., E-mail: elfimov@if.usp.br; Smolyakov, A. I., E-mail: andrei.smolyakov@usask.ca; Melnikov, A. V.

A kinetic treatment of geodesic acoustic modes (GAMs), taking into account ion parallel dynamics, drift and the second poloidal harmonic effects is presented. It is shown that first and second harmonics of the ion sound modes, which have respectively positive and negative radial dispersion, can be coupled due to the geodesic and drift effects. This coupling results in the drift geodesic ion sound eigenmode with a frequency below the standard GAM continuum frequency. Such eigenmode may be able to explain the split modes observed in some experiments.

Effect of atmospheric turbulence on the bit error probability of a space to ground near infrared laser communications link using binary pulse position modulation and an avalanche photodiode detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Safren, H. G.

1987-01-01

The effect of atmospheric turbulence on the bit error rate of a space-to-ground near infrared laser communications link is investigated, for a link using binary pulse position modulation and an avalanche photodiode detector. Formulas are presented for the mean and variance of the bit error rate as a function of signal strength. Because these formulas require numerical integration, they are of limited practical use. Approximate formulas are derived which are easy to compute and sufficiently accurate for system feasibility studies, as shown by numerical comparison with the exact formulas. A very simple formula is derived for the bit error rate as a function of signal strength, which requires only the evaluation of an error function. It is shown by numerical calculations that, for realistic values of the system parameters, the increase in the bit error rate due to turbulence does not exceed about thirty percent for signal strengths of four hundred photons per bit or less. The increase in signal strength required to maintain an error rate of one in 10 million is about one or two tenths of a db.

Resveratrol and cancer: focus on in vivo evidence

PubMed Central

Carter, Lindsay G; D'Orazio, John A; Pearson, Kevin J

2014-01-01

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring polyphenol that provides a number of anti-aging health benefits including improved metabolism, cardioprotection, and cancer prevention. Much of the work on resveratrol and cancer comes from in vitro studies looking at resveratrol actions on cancer cells and pathways. There are, however, comparatively fewer studies that have investigated resveratrol treatment and cancer outcomes in vivo, perhaps limited by its poor bioavailability when taken orally. Although research in cell culture has shown promising and positive effects of resveratrol, evidence from rodents and humans is inconsistent. This review highlights the in vivo effects of resveratrol treatment on breast, colorectal, liver, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. Resveratrol supplementation in animal models of cancer has shown positive, neutral as well as negative outcomes depending on resveratrol route of administration, dose, tumor model, species, and other factors. Within a specific cancer type, there is variability between studies with respect to strain, age, and sex of animal used, timing and method of resveratrol supplementation, and dose of resveratrol used to study cancer endpoints. Together, the data suggest that many factors need to be considered before resveratrol can be used for human cancer prevention or therapy. PMID:24500760

Thinking about a limited future enhances the positivity of younger and older adults' recall: Support for socioemotional selectivity theory.

PubMed

Barber, Sarah J; Opitz, Philipp C; Martins, Bruna; Sakaki, Michiko; Mather, Mara

2016-08-01

Compared with younger adults, older adults have a relative preference to attend to and remember positive over negative information. This is known as the "positivity effect," and researchers have typically evoked socioemotional selectivity theory to explain it. According to socioemotional selectivity theory, as people get older they begin to perceive their time left in life as more limited. These reduced time horizons prompt older adults to prioritize achieving emotional gratification and thus exhibit increased positivity in attention and recall. Although this is the most commonly cited explanation of the positivity effect, there is currently a lack of clear experimental evidence demonstrating a link between time horizons and positivity. The goal of the current research was to address this issue. In two separate experiments, we asked participants to complete a writing activity, which directed them to think of time as being either limited or expansive (Experiments 1 and 2) or did not orient them to think about time in a particular manner (Experiment 2). Participants were then shown a series of emotional pictures, which they subsequently tried to recall. Results from both studies showed that regardless of chronological age, thinking about a limited future enhanced the relative positivity of participants' recall. Furthermore, the results of Experiment 2 showed that this effect was not driven by changes in mood. Thus, the fact that older adults' recall is typically more positive than younger adults' recall may index naturally shifting time horizons and goals with age.

Autonomous Sensor Motes Employing Liquid-Bearing Rotary Stages

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-06

breaks off (Fig. 27d) as shown in the sudden change in force, indicating rotor pull off. The minimum of each curve indicates the maximum tensile load...configuration, with marks on the curves at the minimum energy positions are shown in Fig. 39. The minimum energy positions from Fig. 39are plotted as...rates between 5 and 17 Hz rotation rate plotted vs. rotor eccentricity. The minimum energy positions are indicated on each curve . 3.3 Discussion

Effects of varying concentrations of bleach on in vitro HIV-1 replication and the relevance to injection drug use.

PubMed

Contoreggi, C; Jones, S; Simpson, P; Lange, W R; Meyer, W A

2000-01-01

The use of bleach (hypochlorite) as a disinfectant for drug injection equipment in the intravenous-drug-using population was recommended early in the HIV-1/AIDS epidemic. Epidemiological studies have challenged the use of bleach as an effective measure to prevent HIV-1 transmission. However, in vitro HIV-1 coculture studies have shown that a high concentration of bleach is an effective cytotoxic and potentially virucidal agent. In this study, we demonstrate that HIV-1 peripheral blood mononuclear cell cocultures containing low concentrations of hypochlorite in the media showed earlier conversion to HIV-1 positivity, as measured by the presence of p24 antigen. HIV-1 cocultures with high concentrations of hypochlorite in the culture media, which appeared to be highly cytotoxic, and HIV-1 cocultures without bleach in the media did not exhibit this early p24 antigen positivity. Hypochlorite chemically disinfects by releasing free chlorine that is a potent oxidant. In injection drug equipment, a low residual concentration of bleach is likely to remain in cleaned equipment despite rinsing with water. Low concentrations of oxidants have been shown to enhance tissue inflammation, in vivo, as well as HIV-1 replication in vitro. Previous studies have shown that despite vigorous cleaning of blood-contaminated injection syringes with bleach followed by water, microaggregates of residual blood remained in bleach-cleaned blood-contaminated syringes. Hypothetically, oxidant effects of the residual bleach in the bleach-cleaned syringes could enhance the possibility of infection by remaining HIV-1 contained in a contaminated syringe. We suggest that the likelihood of an injection drug user contracting HIV-1 through the sharing of a bleach-cleaned blood-contaminated syringe may be increased by the cotransmission of residual bleach and its localized tissue-inflammatory effects; however, this has not been statistically proven in epidemiological studies. Copyright 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Naturally Inspired Firefly Controller For Stabilization Of Double Inverted Pendulum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srikanth, Kavirayani; Nagesh, Gundavarapu

2015-12-01

A double inverted pendulum plant as an established model that is analyzed as part of this work was tested under the influence of time delay, where the controller was fine tuned using a firefly algorithm taking into considering the fitness function of variation of the cart position and to minimize the cart position displacement and still stabilize it effectively. The naturally inspired algorithm which imitates the fireflies definitely is an energy efficient method owing to the inherent logic of the way the fireflies respond collectively and has shown that critical time delays makes the system healthy.

Segregated nodal domains of two-dimensional multispecies Bose-Einstein condensates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Shu-Ming; Lin, Chang-Shou; Lin, Tai-Chia; Lin, Wen-Wei

2004-09-01

In this paper, we study the distribution of m segregated nodal domains of the m-mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates under positive and large repulsive scattering lengths. It is shown that components of positive bound states may repel each other and form segregated nodal domains as the repulsive scattering lengths go to infinity. Efficient numerical schemes are created to confirm our theoretical results and discover a new phenomenon called verticillate multiplying, i.e., the generation of multiple verticillate structures. In addition, our proposed Gauss-Seidel-type iteration method is very effective in that it converges linearly in 10-20 steps.

Optimisation of the vibrational response of ultrasonic cutting systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cartmell, M. P.; Lim, F. C. N.; Cardoni, A.; Lucas, M.

2005-10-01

This paper provides an account of an investigation into possible dynamic interactions between two coupled non-linear sub-systems, each possessing opposing non-linear overhang characteristics in the frequency domain in terms of positive and negative cubic stiffnesses. This system is a two-degree-of-freedom Duffing oscillator in which certain non-linear effects can be advantageously neutralised under specific conditions. This theoretical vehicle has been used as a preliminary methodology for understanding the interactive behaviour within typical industrial ultrasonic cutting components. Ultrasonic energy is generated within a piezoelectric exciter, which is inherently non-linear, and which is coupled to a bar- or block-horn, and to one or more material cutting blades, for example. The horn/blade configurations are also non-linear, and within the whole system there are response features which are strongly reminiscent of positive and negative cubic stiffness effects. The two-degree-of-freedom model is analysed and it is shown that a practically useful mitigating effect on the overall non-linear response of the system can be created under certain conditions when one of the cubic stiffnesses is varied. It has also been shown experimentally that coupling of ultrasonic components with different non-linear characteristics can strongly influence the performance of the system and that the general behaviour of the hypothetical theoretical model is indeed borne out in practice. Further experiments have shown that a multiple horn/blade configuration can, under certain circumstances, display autoparametric responses based on the forced response of the desired longitudinal mode parametrically exciting an undesired lateral mode. Typical autoparametric response phenomena have been observed and are presented at the end of the paper.

Time transfer using geostationary satellites: Implementation of a Kalman filter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyer, F.

1994-01-01

Since 1988, various experiments have shown that the TV signals transmitted by direct TV satellites may easily be used to perform time transfers at the level of a few tens of nanoseconds, the main source of error being the uncertainty on the satellite position. We first present the two methods used in our experiment to reduce the effects of the satellite residual motion: the first one consists in estimating the longitude variations of the satellite and then using this information to improve other measurements. This allows reducing the uncertainty to values between 9 and 50 nanoseconds according to the position of the involved stations. In the second method we determine the satellite position by using the data collected by three calibrated stations. Time transfer between each of these stations and a fourth one has been shown to be achievable at the precision level of ten nanoseconds. A new approach based on the use of a Kalman filter is proposed in order to take into account the dynamics of the geostationary satellite. The precisions on orbital elements and clock differences and rates determination given by the first simulated applications of the Kalman filter are presented and compared to those obtained by the other methods.

Calcium revisited, part III: effect of dietary calcium on BMD and fracture risk

PubMed Central

Burckhardt, Peter

2015-01-01

Food can be an excellent source of calcium. Dietary calcium is in general as well absorbed as calcium supplements, and exerts the same effects on bone. The main sources are dairy products, but also some vegetables and fruits contain considerable amounts of calcium. Mineral water can serve as a supplement. Cross-sectional, longitudinal and some interventional trials have shown positive effects on bone metabolism, bone density and bone loss. But the effect on fracture incidence is less certain, and that of milk, the most studied dairy product, still unproven. PMID:26331006

Which plant for which skin disease? Part 1: Atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, condyloma and herpes simplex.

PubMed

Reuter, Juliane; Wölfle, Ute; Weckesser, Steffi; Schempp, Christoph

2010-10-01

Plant extracts and isolated compounds are increasingly used in cosmetics and food supplements to improve skin conditions. We first introduce the positive plant monographs with dermatological relevance of the former German Commission E. Subsequently clinical studies with botanicals for atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, condylomata acuminata and herpes simplex are discussed. The best studies have been conducted with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis patients. Mahonia aquifolium, Hypericum perforatum, Glycyrrhiza glabra and certain traditional Chinese therapies have been shown to be effective in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Mahonia aquifolium, Indigo naturalis and Capsicum frutescens are effective treatments for psoriasis. Green tea extract and tea tree oil have been investigated in the treatment of acne. Podophyllin and green tea extract are effective treatments for condylomata acuminata. Balm mint and a combination of sage and rhubarb have been shown to be effective in the treatment of herpes simplex in proof of concept studies. © The Authors • Journal compilation © Blackwell Verlag GmbH, Berlin.

Obesity and thermogenesis related to the consumption of caffeine, ephedrine, capsaicin, and green tea.

PubMed

Diepvens, Kristel; Westerterp, Klaas R; Westerterp-Plantenga, Margriet S

2007-01-01

The global prevalence of obesity has increased considerably in the last decade. Tools for obesity management, including caffeine, ephedrine, capsaicin, and green tea have been proposed as strategies for weight loss and weight maintenance, since they may increase energy expenditure and have been proposed to counteract the decrease in metabolic rate that is present during weight loss. A combination of caffeine and ephedrine has shown to be effective in long-term weight management, likely due to different mechanisms that may operate synergistically, e.g., respectively inhibiting the phosphodiesterase-induced degradation of cAMP and enhancing the sympathetic release of catecholamines. However, adverse effects of ephedrine prevent the feasibility of this approach. Capsaicin has been shown to be effective, yet when it is used clinically it requires a strong compliance to a certain dosage, that has not been shown to be feasible yet. Also positive effects on body-weight management have been shown using green tea mixtures. Green tea, by containing both tea catechins and caffeine, may act through inhibition of catechol O-methyl-transferase, and inhibition of phosphodiesterase. Here, the mechanisms may also operate synergistically. In addition, tea catechins have antiangiogenic properties that may prevent development of overweight and obesity. Furthermore, the sympathetic nervous system is involved in the regulation of lipolysis, and the sympathetic innervation of white adipose tissue may play an important role in the regulation of total body fat in general.

Note: On the relation between Lifson-Jackson and Derrida formulas for effective diffusion coefficient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalnin, Juris R.; Berezhkovskii, Alexander M.

2013-11-01

The Lifson-Jackson formula provides the effective free diffusion coefficient for a particle diffusing in an arbitrary one-dimensional periodic potential. Its counterpart, when the underlying dynamics is described in terms of an unbiased nearest-neighbor Markovian random walk on a one-dimensional periodic lattice is given by the formula obtained by Derrida. It is shown that the latter formula can be considered as a discretized version of the Lifson-Jackson formula with correctly chosen position-dependent diffusion coefficient.

[Effect of physical activity on functional performance].

PubMed

Nikolaus, T

2001-02-01

Epidemiological studies clearly show a connection between physical activity and the occurrence of disabilities in old age. Physical exercise is possible and useful at every age. Numerous intervention trials have shown that training of endurance, strength and coordination has positive effects on the cardiovascular system, the lung, the musculo-skeletal system, metabolism and the immune system in elderly people. Even very frail elderly people can increase their muscle strength and functional capabilities by strength training. Group sessions may improve social interactions and additionally increase the quality of life.

Tearing relaxation and the globalization of transport in field-reversed configurations

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

Steinhauer, Loren; Barnes, D. C.

2009-09-15

Tearing instability of field-reversed configurations (FRC) is investigated using the method of neighboring equilibria. It is shown that the conducting wall position in experiment lies very close to the location needed for tearing stability. This strongly suggests that vigorous but benign tearing modes, acting globally, are the engine of continual self-organization in FRCs, i.e., tearing relaxation. It also explains the ''profile consistency'' and anomalous loss rate of magnetic flux. In effect, tearing globalizes the effect of edge-driven transport.

Modeling and tachometer feedback in the control of an experimental single link flexible structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garcia, Ephrahim; Inman, Daniel J.

1990-01-01

In this work a formulation for the modeling of a single link flexible structure will be introduced that includes the effects of dynamic interaction between the actuator and structure. These effects are the rotational modal participation factors for the structure's vibratory motion that occurs at the slewing axis. It will be shown, both theoretically and experimentally, that this dynamic interaction can be advantageous for vibration suppression of the flexible modes of the system during slewing positioning maneuvers.

Social identity, passion and well-being in university students, the mediating effect of passion.

PubMed

Bernabé, Miguel; Lisbona, Ana; Palací, Francisco José; Martín-Aragón, Maite

2014-11-14

Research on positive emotions associated with the performance of an activity, such as work or study, has increased exponentially in recent years. Passion is understood as an attitude and intense emotion in the performance of an activity, and it has shown both positive and negative consequences for well-being. A link between social identity and positive emotions through social category membership has been described. The aim of this work is to study the relationship between social identity, the dimensions of passion and the positive impact on university responses. A quasi-experimental design was used on a sample of 266 university students from different Spanish universities (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Universidad Miguel Hernández and Universidad de Alicante). Descriptive analyzes were performed on the study's variables using SPSS 18. Structural equation modeling was carried out with AMOS 18 and the mediational analysis with MODMED macro developed by Preacher, Rucker, and Hayes (2007). The results show that the identity of the studies had an indirect effect on positive responses mediated by passion for the studies (RMSEA = .07; CFI = .97; NFI = .96; TLI = .92). It is observed that the harmonious and obsessive dimensions of passion differ in the mediating effect on happiness and satisfaction with studies. Practical and theoretical implications for well-being are discussed.

The effectiveness of knowledge translation strategies used in public health: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Literature related to the effectiveness of knowledge translation (KT) strategies used in public health is lacking. The capacity to seek, analyze, and synthesize evidence-based information in public health is linked to greater success in making policy choices that have the best potential to yield positive outcomes for populations. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify the effectiveness of KT strategies used to promote evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) among public health decision makers. Methods A search strategy was developed to identify primary studies published between 2000–2010. Studies were obtained from multiple electronic databases (CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews). Searches were supplemented by hand searching and checking the reference lists of included articles. Two independent review authors screened studies for relevance, assessed methodological quality of relevant studies, and extracted data from studies using standardized tools. Results After removal of duplicates, the search identified 64, 391 titles related to KT strategies. Following title and abstract review, 346 publications were deemed potentially relevant, of which 5 met all relevance criteria on full text screen. The included publications were of moderate quality and consisted of five primary studies (four randomized controlled trials and one interrupted time series analysis). Results were synthesized narratively. Simple or single KT strategies were shown in some circumstances to be as effective as complex, multifaceted ones when changing practice including tailored and targeted messaging. Multifaceted KT strategies led to changes in knowledge but not practice. Knowledge translation strategies shown to be less effective were passive and included access to registries of pre-processed research evidence or print materials. While knowledge brokering did not have a significant effect generally, results suggested that it did have a positive effect on those organizations that at baseline perceived their organization to place little value on evidence-informed decision making. Conclusions No singular KT strategy was shown to be effective in all contexts. Conclusions about interventions cannot be taken on their own without considering the characteristics of the knowledge that was being transferred, providers, participants and organizations. PMID:22958371

The relevance of body positioning and its training effect on badminton smash.

PubMed

Li, Shiming; Zhang, Zhao; Wan, Bingjun; Wilde, Brandie; Shan, Gongbing

2017-02-01

One of the dominant skills in badminton is the forehand overhead smash, which consists of 1/5 attacks during games. Empirical evidences show that one has to adjust the body position in relation to the coming shuttlecock to produce a powerful and accurate smash. Therefore, positioning is a fundamental aspect influencing smash quality. Unfortunately, a search of literature has shown that there is a dearth/lack of study on this fundamental aspect. The goals of this study were to determine the influence of positioning and training experience on smash quality in order to discover information that could help learn/acquire the skill. Using 3D motion capture and full-body biomechanical modelling, 14 skilled and 15 novice players were analysed. Results have revealed that the body positioning has direct influence on shuttlecock release angle and clearance height of the offensive player. The results also suggest that, for training the positioning of beginners, one could conduct a self-selected comfort position towards a statically hanged shuttlecock and then step one foot back - a practical reference marker for learning. As one gains experience through repetitive training, improved limbs' coordination would increase smash quality further. We hope our findings will benefit practitioners for developing effective training programmes for beginners.

A Study on the Relationship between Theater Arts and Student Literacy and Mathematics Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inoa, Rafael; Weltsek, Gustave; Tabone, Carmine

2014-01-01

Past studies have shown positive correlations between the arts and academic achievement when the arts were integrated into the literature curriculum. Other studies have shown positive associations between the arts and other areas of the curriculum, such as mathematics and science. Considering the Theory of Change, which employs understandings in…

From Power to Inaction.

PubMed

Durso, Geoffrey R O; Briñol, Pablo; Petty, Richard E

2016-12-01

Research has shown that people who feel powerful are more likely to act than those who feel powerless, whereas people who feel ambivalent are less likely to act than those whose reactions are univalent (entirely positive or entirely negative). But what happens when powerful people also are ambivalent? On the basis of the self-validation theory of judgment, we hypothesized that power and ambivalence would interact to predict individuals' action. Because power can validate individuals' reactions, we reasoned that feeling powerful strengthens whatever reactions people have during a decision. It can strengthen univalent reactions and increase action orientation, as shown in past research. Among people who hold an ambivalent judgment, however, those who feel powerful would be less action oriented than those who feel powerless. Two experiments provide evidence for this hypothesized interactive effect of power and ambivalence on individuals' action tendencies during both positive decisions (promoting an employee; Experiment 1) and negative decisions (firing an employee; Experiment 2). In summary, when individuals' reactions are ambivalent, power increases the likelihood of inaction.

Mathematical modeling of the infrastructure of attosecond actuators and femtosecond sensors of nonequilibrium physical media in smart materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beznosyuk, Sergey A.; Maslova, Olga A.; Zhukovsky, Mark S.; Valeryeva, Ekaterina V.; Terentyeva, Yulia V.

2017-12-01

The task of modeling the multiscale infrastructure of quantum attosecond actuators and femtosecond sensors of nonequilibrium physical media in smart materials is considered. Computer design and calculation of supra-atomic femtosecond sensors of nonequilibrium physical media in materials based on layered graphene-transition metal nanosystems are carried out by vdW-DF and B3LYP methods. It is shown that the molybdenum substrate provides fixation of graphene nanosheets by Van der Waals forces at a considerable distance (5.3 Å) from the metal surface. This minimizes the effect of the electronic and nuclear subsystem of the substrate metal on the sensory properties of "pure" graphene. The conclusion is substantiated that graphene-molybdenum nanosensors are able to accurately orient and position one molecule of carbon monoxide. It is shown that graphene selectively adsorbs CO and fixes the oxygen atom of the molecule at the position of the center of the graphene ring C6.

Scaled position-force tracking for wireless teleoperation of miniaturized surgical robotic system.

PubMed

Guo, Jing; Liu, Chao; Poignet, Philippe

2014-01-01

Miniaturized surgical robotic system presents promising trend for reducing invasiveness during operation. However, cables used for power and communication may affect its performance. In this paper we chose Zigbee wireless communication as a means to replace communication cables for miniaturized surgical robot. Nevertheless, time delay caused by wireless communication presents a new challenge to performance and stability of the teleoperation system. We proposed a bilateral wireless teleoperation architecture taking into consideration of the effect of position-force scaling between operator and slave. Optimal position-force tracking performance is obtained and the overall system is shown to be passive with a simple condition on the scaling factors satisfied. Simulation studies verify the efficiency of the proposed scaled wireless teleoperation scheme.

Anomalous positive flatband voltage shifts in metal gate stacks containing rare-earth oxide capping layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caraveo-Frescas, J. A.; Hedhili, M. N.; Wang, H.; Schwingenschlögl, U.; Alshareef, H. N.

2012-03-01

It is shown that the well-known negative flatband voltage (VFB) shift, induced by rare-earth oxide capping in metal gate stacks, can be completely reversed in the absence of the silicon overlayer. Using TaN metal gates and Gd2O3-doped dielectric, we measure a ˜350 mV negative shift with the Si overlayer present and a ˜110 mV positive shift with the Si overlayer removed. This effect is correlated to a positive change in the average electrostatic potential at the TaN/dielectric interface which originates from an interfacial dipole. The dipole is created by the replacement of interfacial oxygen atoms in the HfO2 lattice with nitrogen atoms from TaN.

From cradle to grave: tracking socioeconomic inequalities in mortality in a cohort of 11 868 men and women born in Uppsala, Sweden, 1915–1929

PubMed Central

Juárez, Sol P; Koupil, Ilona

2016-01-01

Background Ample evidence has shown that early-life social conditions are associated with mortality later in life. However, little attention has been given to the strength of these effects across specific age intervals from birth to old age. In this paper, we study the effect of the family's socioeconomic position and mother's marital status at birth on all-cause mortality at different age intervals in a Swedish cohort of 11 868 individuals followed across their lifespan. Methods Using the Uppsala Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study, we fitted Cox regression models to estimate age-varying HRs of all-cause mortality according to mother's marital status and family's socioeconomic position. Results Mother's marital status and family's socioeconomic position at birth were associated with higher mortality rates throughout life (HR 1.18 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.26) for unmarried mothers; 1.19 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.25) for low socioeconomic position). While the effect of family's socioeconomic position showed little variation across different age groups, the effect of marital status was stronger for infant mortality (HR 1.47 (95% CI 1.23 to 1.76); p=0.04 for heterogeneity). The results remained robust when early life and adult mediator variables were included. Conclusions Family's socioeconomic position and mother's marital status involve different dimensions of social stratification with independent effects on mortality throughout life. Our findings support the importance of improving early-life conditions in order to enhance healthy ageing. PMID:26733672

Decadal variability in the Northern Hemisphere winter circulation: Role of internal and external drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maliniemi, V.; Asikainen, T.; Mursula, K.

2017-12-01

Northern Hemisphere winter circulation is known to be affected by both internal and external (solar-related) forcings. Earlier studies have shown ENSO and volcanic activity to produce negative and positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) type responses, respectively. In addition, recent studies have shown a positive NAO response related to both geomagnetic activity (proxy for solar wind driven particle precipitation) and sunspot activity (proxy for solar irradiance). These solar-related signals have been suggested to be due to the changes in the polar vortex. Here the relative role of these four internal and external drivers on wintertime circulation in the Northern Hemisphere is studied. The phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is used to study the driver responses for different stratospheric conditions. Moreover, the effects are separated for early (Dec/Jan) and late (Feb/Mar) winter. The global pattern of ENSO is very similar (negative NAO) otherwise, but in early winter and westerly QBO the pattern is changed in the Atlantic sector to a weakly positive NAO. The positive NAO pattern due to volcanic activity is more pronounced for westerly QBO in both early and late winter. The positive NAO pattern produced by geomagnetic activity is obtained during easterly QBO phase in both early and late winter. Sunspot related NAO response in late winter is also strongly modulated by the QBO phase. These results imply that the stratospheric conditions expressed by QBO significantly modulate the way the internal and external drivers affect the Northern Hemisphere winter climate.

A comparison of positive and negative reinforcement for compliance to treat problem behavior maintained by escape.

PubMed

Slocum, Sarah K; Vollmer, Timothy R

2015-09-01

Previous research has shown that problem behavior maintained by escape can be treated using positive reinforcement. In the current study, we directly compared functional (escape) and nonfunctional (edible) reinforcers in the treatment of escape-maintained problem behavior for 5 subjects. In the first treatment, compliance produced a break from instructions. In the second treatment, compliance produced a small edible item. Neither treatment included escape extinction. Results suggested that the delivery of a positive reinforcer for compliance was effective for treating escape-maintained problem behavior for all 5 subjects, and the delivery of escape for compliance was ineffective for 3 of the 5 subjects. Implications and future directions related to the use of positive reinforcers in the treatment of escape behavior are discussed. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Exploring the effect of sound and music on health in hospital settings: A narrative review.

PubMed

Iyendo, Timothy Onosahwo

2016-11-01

Sound in hospital space has traditionally been considered in negative terms as both intrusive and unwanted, and based mainly on sound levels. However, sound level is only one aspect of the soundscape. There is strong evidence that exploring the positive aspect of sound in a hospital context can evoke positive feelings in both patients and nurses. Music psychology studies have also shown that music intervention in health care can have a positive effect on patient's emotions and recuperating processes. In this way, hospital spaces have the potential to reduce anxiety and stress, and make patients feel comfortable and secure. This paper describes a review of the literature exploring sound perception and its effect on health care. This review sorted the literature and main issues into themes concerning sound in health care spaces; sound, stress and health; positive soundscape; psychological perspective of music and emotion; music as a complementary medicine for improving health care; contradicting arguments concerning the use of music in health care; and implications for clinical practice. Using Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest Central, MEDLINE, and Google, a literature search on sound levels, sound sources and the impression of a soundscape was conducted. The review focused on the role and use of music on health care in clinical environments. In addition, other pertinent related materials in shaping the understanding of the field were retrieved, scanned and added into this review. The result indicated that not all noises give a negative impression within healthcare soundscapes. Listening to soothing music was shown to reduce stress, blood pressure and post-operative trauma when compared to silence. Much of the sound conveys meaningful information that is positive for both patients and nurses, in terms of soft wind, bird twitter, and ocean sounds. Music perception was demonstrated to bring about positive change in patient-reported outcomes such as eliciting positive emotion, and decreasing the levels of stressful conditions. Whilst sound holds both negative and positive aspects of the hospital ecosystem and may be stressful, it also possesses a soothing quality that induces positive feelings in patients. Conceptualizing the nature of sound in the hospital context as a soundscape, rather than merely noise can permit a subtler and socially useful understanding of the role of sound and music in the hospital setting, thereby creating a means for improving the hospital experience for patients and nurses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Positive Action Program in a Low-Income, Racially Diverse, Rural County: Effects on Self-Esteem, School Hassles, Aggression, and Internalizing Symptoms.

PubMed

Guo, Shenyang; Wu, Qi; Smokowski, Paul R; Bacallao, Martica; Evans, Caroline B R; Cotter, Katie L

2015-12-01

Positive Action is a school-based program that aims to decrease problem behaviors (e.g., violence, substance use) and increase positive behaviors (e.g., school engagement, academic achievement). Although a number of studies have shown that Positive Action successfully achieves these goals, few studies have evaluated the program's effectiveness in rural schools. Given that rural youth are at an increased risk for risky behaviors (e.g., violence, substance use), this is a critical gap in the existing Positive Action research base. The current study assesses the impact of Positive Action on change rates of self-esteem, school hassles, aggression, and internalizing symptoms in a group (N = 1246, 52% female) of ethnically/racially diverse (27% White, 23% African American, 12% mixed race/other, 8% Latino, 30% as American Indian) middle school youth (age range 9-20) located in two violent, low-income rural counties in North Carolina. One county engaged in Positive Action over the 3-year study window while the other county did not. Following multiple imputation and propensity score analysis, 4 two-level hierarchical linear models were run using each of the outcome measures as dependent variables. The results indicate that the program generates statistically significant beneficial effects for youth from the intervention county on self-esteem scores and school hassles scores. Although the program generates beneficial effects for intervention youth on the change in aggression scores, the finding is not statistically significant. The finding on the change in internalizing scores shows a non-significant detrimental effect: the youth from the comparison county have lower internalizing scores than those from the intervention county. Implications are discussed.

Unstalled flutter stability predictions and comparisons to test data for a composite prop-fan model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turnberg, J. E.

1986-01-01

The aeroelastic stability analyses for three graphite/epoxy composite Prop-Fan designs and post-test stability analysis for one of the designs, the SR-3C-X2 are presented. It was shown that Prop-Fan stability can be effectively analyzed using the F203 modal aeroelastic stability analysis developed at Hamilton Standard and that first mode torsion-bending coupling has a direct effect on blade stability. Positive first mode torsion-bending coupling is a destabilizing factor and the minimization of this parameter will increase Prop-Fan stability. It was also shown that Prop-Fan stability analysis using F203 is sensitive to the blade modal data used as input. Calculated blade modal properties varied significantly with the structural analysis used, and these variations are reflected in the F203 calculations.

A matter of distance-The effect of oxytocin on social discounting is empathy-dependent.

PubMed

Strang, Sabrina; Gerhardt, Holger; Marsh, Nina; Oroz Artigas, Sergio; Hu, Yang; Hurlemann, René; Park, Soyoung Q

2017-04-01

Generosity is an important behavior enriching human society and can be observed across cultures. However, generosity has been shown to be modulated as a function of social distance, also referred to as social discounting. Oxytocin and empathy are other factors that have been shown to play an important role in generous behavior. However, how exactly oxytocin and empathy impact social discounting is yet unknown. Here, we administered oxytocin or placebo in a double-blind design, and measured social discounting behavior. Additionally, individual differences in empathy were assessed. Our results show that the effect of oxytocin on generous behavior is modulated by trait empathy; only for those subjects who received oxytocin there was a positive correlation between individual trait empathy and their generous behavior towards close others. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of intermittent fasting on metabolism in men.

PubMed

Azevedo, Fernanda Reis de; Ikeoka, Dimas; Caramelli, Bruno

2013-01-01

This review analyzes the available literature on the impact of intermittent fasting (IF), a nutritional intervention, on different aspects of metabolism. The epidemic of metabolic disturbances, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome (MS), and diabetes mellitus type 2 has led to an increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, and affected patients might significantly benefit from modifications in nutritional habits. Recent experimental studies have elucidated some of the metabolic mechanisms involved with IF. Animal models have shown positive changes in glucose (lower plasma glucose and insulin levels) and in lipid metabolism (reduced visceral fat tissue and increased plasma adiponectin level), and an increased resistance to stress. Despite the limited number of samples studied, positive results have been reported on the impact of IF for human health. IF is reported to improve the lipid profile; to decrease inflammatory responses, reflected by changes in serum adipokine levels; and to change the expression of genes related to inflammatory response and other factors. Studies on obese individuals have shown that patient compliance was greater for IF than other traditional nutritional approaches (calorie restriction), and IF was found to be associated with low oxidative stress. Recent reports suggest that IF exerts a positive impact on the metabolic derangements commonly associated with cardiovascular diseases, and that it may be a viable and accessible intervention for most individuals. Therefore, further clinical studies are essential to test the effectiveness of IF in preventing and controlling metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Metal exposure influences the melanin and carotenoid-based colorations in great tits.

PubMed

Giraudeau, M; Mateos-Gonzalez, F; Cotín, J; Pagani-Nuñez, E; Torné-Noguera, A; Senar, J C

2015-11-01

Metals are naturally found in the environment but are also emitted through anthropogenic activities, raising some concerns about the potential deleterious effects of these elements on wildlife. The potential effects of metals on bird coloration have been the focus of several recent studies since animal colored-signals often reflect the physiology of their bearers and are thus used by animals to assess the quality of another individual as a mate or competitor. These studies have shown that the melanin pigmentation seems to be positively associated and the carotenoid-based coloration negatively associated with metal exposure in wild birds. Although these studies have been very useful to show the associations between metal exposure and coloration, only few of them have actually quantified the levels of metal exposure at the individual level; always focusing on one or two of them. Here, we measured the concentrations of eight metals in great tits' feathers and then assessed how these levels of metals were associated with the carotenoid and melanin-based colorations. We found that the melanin pigmentation was positively associated with the copper concentration and negatively correlated with the chromium concentration in feathers. In addition, we have shown that the carotenoid-based coloration was negatively associated with the feather's mercury concentration. This study is the first one to identify some metals that might affect positively and negatively the deposition of melanin and carotenoid into the plumage of wild birds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Postural control system influences intrinsic alerting state.

PubMed

Barra, Julien; Auclair, Laurent; Charvillat, Agnès; Vidal, Manuel; Pérennou, Dominic

2015-03-01

Numerous studies using dual-task paradigms (postural and cognitive) have shown that postural control requires cognitive resources. However, the influence of postural control on attention components has never been directly addressed. Using the attention network test (ANT), which assesses specifically each of the 3 components of attention-alertness, orientation, and executive control-within a single paradigm, we investigated the effect of postural balance demand on these 3 components. Forty-two participants completed the ANT in 3 postural conditions: (a) supine, a very stable position; (b) sitting on a chair, an intermediate position; and (c) standing with feet lined up heel to toe, a very instable position known as the Romberg position. Our results revealed that the difficulty of postural control does modulate alerting in such a way that it improves with the level of instability of the position. Regarding the orienting and executive control components of attention, performance was not different when participants were standing upright or seated, whereas in the supine position, performance dropped. The strong and specific interaction between postural control and the alerting system suggests that these mechanisms may share parts of the underlying neural circuits. We discuss the possible implication of the locus coeruleus, known to be involved in both postural balance and alerting. Also, our findings concerning orienting and executive control systems suggest that supine posture could have a specific effect on cognitive activities. These effects are discussed in terms of particularities resulting from the supine position. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

A Validation of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction in Italian Secondary School Students: The Effect of Positive Relations on Motivation and Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Passini, Stefano; Molinari, Luisa; Speltini, Giuseppina

2015-01-01

The model for interpersonal teacher behavior, mapping the various teachers' interpersonal behaviors, has been applied for research in many countries. In order to measure the students' perceptions regarding the interaction with their teachers, the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) has been developed. The QTI has been shown to be a valid…

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and Its Long-Term Effects on Educational and Labour Market Outcomes. Research Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Belle, Janna

2016-01-01

United States studies have shown that the provision of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is associated with positive social and economic outcomes, both in the short and long term. This brief reviewed the available evidence on the short and long term outcomes of ECEC within the European context: how do existing differences between EU…

Differences in single and aggregated nanoparticle plasmon spectroscopy.

PubMed

Singh, Pushkar; Deckert-Gaudig, Tanja; Schneidewind, Henrik; Kirsch, Konstantin; van Schrojenstein Lantman, Evelien M; Weckhuysen, Bert M; Deckert, Volker

2015-02-07

Vibrational spectroscopy usually provides structural information averaged over many molecules. We report a larger peak position variation and reproducibly smaller FWHM of TERS spectra compared to SERS spectra indicating that the number of molecules excited in a TERS experiment is extremely low. Thus, orientational averaging effects are suppressed and micro ensembles are investigated. This is shown for a thiophenol molecule adsorbed on Au nanoplates and nanoparticles.

Social Desirability Bias in Smoking Cessation: Effects in the Laboratory and Field

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-16

and Child Health Journal, 2(2), 77-83. Bradburn, N., Rips, L., & Shevell, S. (1987). Answering autobiographical questions: the impact of memory ...how accessible smoking outcomes are in an individual’s memory . Research has shown that smokers tend to exhibit greater accessibility for positive...body of research that suggests that acute tobacco abstinence hinders cognitive functioning, such as attention, memory , information processing

The Role of Ethnic Differences, Structural Background and Process Characteristics in the Family in Preschool Children's Language Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loboda, Liudmila; Vogelbacher, Markus; Gawlitzek, Ira

2017-01-01

Whereas recent research has shown a positive correlation between stimulating family activities and children's skills, little is known about the mediating role of the parenting style in the effect of the familial socioeconomic status (SES) and the influence of the family language on children's language proficiency. Our aim is to investigate the…

A Multisite Program Evaluation of Families and Schools Together (FAST): Continued Evidence of a Successful Multifamily Community-Based Prevention Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crozier, Mary; Rokutani, Laurie; Russett, Jill L.; Godwin, Emilie; Banks, George E.

2010-01-01

Strong school and family ties have long shown success in influencing positive child development and lasting academic success. While a multitude of programs exist to help facilitate the school-family connection, one program in particular, Families and Schools Together, or FAST, stands out as an effective prevention program that is suitable for a…

Multiscale Simulations of Barrier and Aging Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-29

Complexation Between Weakly Basic Dendrimers and Linear Polyelectrolytes: Effects of Chain Stiffness, Grafts, and pOH,” Thomas Lewis, Gunja Pandav, Ahmad Omar...November 2012. (c) Presentations 20.0010/29/2013 Venkat Ganesan, Thomas Lewis. Interactions between Grafted Cationic Dendrimers and Anionic Bilayer... dendrimers have shown great promise in drug and gene therapy applications. Despite the advantages realized through positively charged dendrimers , a

Can I Order a Burger at rnacdonalds.com? Visual Similarity Effects of Multi-Letter Combinations at the Early Stages of Word Recognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcet, Ana; Perea, Manuel

2018-01-01

Previous research has shown that early in the word recognition process, there is some degree of uncertainty concerning letter identity and letter position. Here, we examined whether this uncertainty also extends to the mapping of letter features onto letters, as predicted by the Bayesian Reader (Norris & Kinoshita, 2012). Indeed, anecdotal…

The Positive Effects Extrinsic Motivation Can Have on Intrinsic Motivation in a Math Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bilbrey, Joshua

2017-01-01

Faced with meeting the challenges that school districts have for the pass rates set before them by the state many schools have looked for new ways to engage their students and increase competency in the class. Intrinsically motivated students have always been shown to have a higher success rate compared to the students that do not possess this…

The Effect of "Massed" Task Repetitions on Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency: Does It Transfer to a New Task?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmadian, Mohammad Javad

2011-01-01

To date, research results suggest that task repetition positively affects oral task performance. However, researchers have not yet shown the extension of the benefits of repeating the same task to performance of a new task. This article first provides an overview of the currently available research findings on task repetition and then presents the…

Acoustic radiation force control: Pulsating spherical carriers.

PubMed

Rajabi, Majid; Mojahed, Alireza

2018-02-01

The interaction between harmonic plane progressive acoustic beams and a pulsating spherical radiator is studied. The acoustic radiation force function exerted on the spherical body is derived as a function of the incident wave pressure and the monopole vibration characteristics (i.e., amplitude and phase) of the body. Two distinct strategies are presented in order to alter the radiation force effects (i.e., pushing and pulling states) by changing its magnitude and direction. In the first strategy, an incident wave field with known amplitude and phase is considered. It is analytically shown that the zero- radiation force state (i.e., radiation force function cancellation) is achievable for specific pulsation characteristics belong to a frequency-dependent straight line equation in the plane of real-imaginary components (i.e., Nyquist Plane) of prescribed surface displacement. It is illustrated that these characteristic lines divide the mentioned displacement plane into two regions of positive (i.e., pushing) and negative (i.e., pulling) radiation forces. In the second strategy, the zero, negative and positive states of radiation force are obtained through adjusting the incident wave field characteristics (i.e., amplitude and phase) which insonifies the radiator with prescribed pulsation characteristics. It is proved that zero radiation force state occurs for incident wave pressure characteristics belong to specific frequency-dependent circles in Nyquist plane of incident wave pressure. These characteristic circles divide the Nyquist plane into two distinct regions corresponding to positive (out of circles) and negative (in the circles) values of radiation force function. It is analytically shown that the maximum amplitude of negative radiation force is exactly equal to the amplitude of the (positive) radiation force exerted upon the sphere in the passive state, by the same incident field. The developed concepts are much more deepened by considering the required power supply for distinct cases of zero, negative and positive radiation force states along with the frequency dependent asymmetry index. In addition, considering the effect of phase difference between the incident wave field and the pulsating object, and its possible variation with respect to spatial position of object, some practical points about the spatial average of generated radiation force, the optimal state of operation, the stability of zero radiation force states and the possibly of precise motion control are discussed. This work would extend the novel concept of smart carriers to and may be helpful for robust single-beam acoustic handling techniques. Furthermore, the shown capability of precise motion control may be considered as a new way toward smart acoustic driven micro-mechanisms and micro-machines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Serotonin and calcium homeostasis during the transition period.

PubMed

Weaver, S R; Laporta, J; Moore, S A E; Hernandez, L L

2016-07-01

The transition from pregnancy to lactation puts significant, sudden demands on maternal energy and calcium reserves. Although most mammals are able to effectively manage these metabolic adaptations, the lactating dairy cow is acutely susceptible to transition-related disorders because of the high amounts of milk being produced. Hypocalcemia is a common metabolic disorder that occurs at the onset of lactation. Hypocalcemia is also known to result in poor animal welfare conditions. In addition, cows that develop hypocalcemia are more susceptible to a host of other negative health outcomes. Different feeding tactics, including manipulating the dietary cation-anion difference and administering low-calcium diets, are commonly used preventative strategies. Despite these interventions, the incidence of hypocalcemia in the subclinical form is still as high as 25% to 30% in the United States dairy cow population, with a 5% to 10% incidence of clinical hypocalcemia. In addition, although there are various effective treatments in place, they are administered only after the cow has become noticeably ill, at which point there is already significant metabolic damage. This emphasizes the need for developing alternative prevention strategies, with the monoamine serotonin implicated as a potential therapeutic target. Our research in rodents has shown that serotonin is critical for the induction of mammary parathyroid hormone-related protein, which is necessary for the mobilization of bone tissue and subsequent restoration of maternal calcium stores during lactation. We have shown that circulating serotonin concentrations are positively correlated with serum total calcium on the first day of lactation in dairy cattle. Administration of serotonin's immediate precursor through feeding, injection, or infusion to various mammalian species has been shown to increase circulating serotonin concentrations, with positive effects on other components of maternal metabolism. Most recently, preliminary data suggest that manipulation of the serotonergic axis precalving may positively affect postcalving calcium dynamics. Combined, our research suggests a potential mechanism by which serotonin acts on the mammary gland to maintain circulating maternal calcium concentrations. Further research into serotonin's potential as a therapeutic target could contribute significantly as a preventive strategy against hypocalcemia in early lactation dairy cows. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects on Health Behavior and Health Outcomes of Internet-Based Asynchronous Communication Between Health Providers and Patients With a Chronic Condition: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Ros, Wynand JG; Schrijvers, Guus

2014-01-01

Background In support of professional practice, asynchronous communication between the patient and the provider is implemented separately or in combination with Internet-based self-management interventions. This interaction occurs primarily through electronic messaging or discussion boards. There is little evidence as to whether it is a useful tool for chronically ill patients to support their self-management and increase the effectiveness of interventions. Objective The aim of our study was to review the use and usability of patient-provider asynchronous communication for chronically ill patients and the effects of such communication on health behavior, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Methods A literature search was performed using PubMed and Embase. The quality of the articles was appraised according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) criteria. The use and usability of the asynchronous communication was analyzed by examining the frequency of use and the number of users of the interventions with asynchronous communication, as well as of separate electronic messaging. The effectiveness of asynchronous communication was analyzed by examining effects on health behavior, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Results Patients’ knowledge concerning their chronic condition increased and they seemed to appreciate being able to communicate asynchronously with their providers. They not only had specific questions but also wanted to communicate about feeling ill. A decrease in visits to the physician was shown in two studies (P=.07, P=.07). Increases in self-management/self-efficacy for patients with back pain, dyspnea, and heart failure were found. Positive health outcomes were shown in 12 studies, where the clinical outcomes for diabetic patients (HbA1c level) and for asthmatic patients (forced expiratory volume [FEV]) improved. Physical symptoms improved in five studies. Five studies generated a variety of positive psychosocial outcomes. Conclusions The effect of asynchronous communication is not shown unequivocally in these studies. Patients seem to be interested in using email. Patients are willing to participate and are taking the initiative to discuss health issues with their providers. Additional testing of the effects of asynchronous communication on self-management in chronically ill patients is needed. PMID:24434570

The effects on health behavior and health outcomes of Internet-based asynchronous communication between health providers and patients with a chronic condition: a systematic review.

PubMed

de Jong, Catharina Carolina; Ros, Wynand Jg; Schrijvers, Guus

2014-01-16

In support of professional practice, asynchronous communication between the patient and the provider is implemented separately or in combination with Internet-based self-management interventions. This interaction occurs primarily through electronic messaging or discussion boards. There is little evidence as to whether it is a useful tool for chronically ill patients to support their self-management and increase the effectiveness of interventions. The aim of our study was to review the use and usability of patient-provider asynchronous communication for chronically ill patients and the effects of such communication on health behavior, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction. A literature search was performed using PubMed and Embase. The quality of the articles was appraised according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) criteria. The use and usability of the asynchronous communication was analyzed by examining the frequency of use and the number of users of the interventions with asynchronous communication, as well as of separate electronic messaging. The effectiveness of asynchronous communication was analyzed by examining effects on health behavior, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Patients' knowledge concerning their chronic condition increased and they seemed to appreciate being able to communicate asynchronously with their providers. They not only had specific questions but also wanted to communicate about feeling ill. A decrease in visits to the physician was shown in two studies (P=.07, P=.07). Increases in self-management/self-efficacy for patients with back pain, dyspnea, and heart failure were found. Positive health outcomes were shown in 12 studies, where the clinical outcomes for diabetic patients (HbA1c level) and for asthmatic patients (forced expiratory volume [FEV]) improved. Physical symptoms improved in five studies. Five studies generated a variety of positive psychosocial outcomes. The effect of asynchronous communication is not shown unequivocally in these studies. Patients seem to be interested in using email. Patients are willing to participate and are taking the initiative to discuss health issues with their providers. Additional testing of the effects of asynchronous communication on self-management in chronically ill patients is needed.

Ultra Wideband Indoor Positioning Technologies: Analysis and Recent Advances †

PubMed Central

Alarifi, Abdulrahman; Al-Salman, AbdulMalik; Alsaleh, Mansour; Alnafessah, Ahmad; Al-Hadhrami, Suheer; Al-Ammar, Mai A.; Al-Khalifa, Hend S.

2016-01-01

In recent years, indoor positioning has emerged as a critical function in many end-user applications; including military, civilian, disaster relief and peacekeeping missions. In comparison with outdoor environments, sensing location information in indoor environments requires a higher precision and is a more challenging task in part because various objects reflect and disperse signals. Ultra WideBand (UWB) is an emerging technology in the field of indoor positioning that has shown better performance compared to others. In order to set the stage for this work, we provide a survey of the state-of-the-art technologies in indoor positioning, followed by a detailed comparative analysis of UWB positioning technologies. We also provide an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to analyze the present state of UWB positioning technologies. While SWOT is not a quantitative approach, it helps in assessing the real status and in revealing the potential of UWB positioning to effectively address the indoor positioning problem. Unlike previous studies, this paper presents new taxonomies, reviews some major recent advances, and argues for further exploration by the research community of this challenging problem space. PMID:27196906

Ultra Wideband Indoor Positioning Technologies: Analysis and Recent Advances.

PubMed

Alarifi, Abdulrahman; Al-Salman, AbdulMalik; Alsaleh, Mansour; Alnafessah, Ahmad; Al-Hadhrami, Suheer; Al-Ammar, Mai A; Al-Khalifa, Hend S

2016-05-16

In recent years, indoor positioning has emerged as a critical function in many end-user applications; including military, civilian, disaster relief and peacekeeping missions. In comparison with outdoor environments, sensing location information in indoor environments requires a higher precision and is a more challenging task in part because various objects reflect and disperse signals. Ultra WideBand (UWB) is an emerging technology in the field of indoor positioning that has shown better performance compared to others. In order to set the stage for this work, we provide a survey of the state-of-the-art technologies in indoor positioning, followed by a detailed comparative analysis of UWB positioning technologies. We also provide an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to analyze the present state of UWB positioning technologies. While SWOT is not a quantitative approach, it helps in assessing the real status and in revealing the potential of UWB positioning to effectively address the indoor positioning problem. Unlike previous studies, this paper presents new taxonomies, reviews some major recent advances, and argues for further exploration by the research community of this challenging problem space.

Antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Thymus vulgaris L. measured using a bioimpedometric method.

PubMed

Marino, M; Bersani, C; Comi, G

1999-09-01

The essential oils obtained from Thymus vulgaris L. harvested at four ontogenetic stages were evaluated for their biological activity and chemical composition. The thyme essential oils were tested for their inhibitory effects against nine strains of gram-negative bacteria and six strains of gram-positive bacteria. The bioimpedance method was chosen for studying the antibacterial activity of the essential oils and the parameter chosen for defining and quantifying the antibacterial activity of the essential oils was the detection time. The plate counting technique was used to study the inhibitory effect by direct contact. All the thyme essential oils examined had a significant bacteriostatic activity against the microorganisms tested. This activity was more marked against the gram-positive bacteria. The oil from thyme in full flower was the most effective at stopping the growth of the microbial species examined. The oils tested were also shown to have good antibacterial activity by direct contact, which appeared to be more marked against the gram-negative bacteria. Only a few of the species were capable of recovering at least 50% of their metabolic function after contact with the inhibitor, while most of the strains were shown to have been inactivated almost completely. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was the most sensitive species, given that after contact with even the lowest concentration of oil cells could not be recovered.

Characteristics of the low latitude ionospheric storm in the East-Asian region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, B.; Wan, W.; Liu, L.

2009-04-01

First, an classification of ionospheric storm effects in the sub-equatorial ionization anomaly(SEIA) region at 120°E has been performed through the analysis of ionogram data at two ionosonde stations, Wuhan (114.4°, 30.5°) and Chung-Li (121.2°, 25°), and total electron content (TEC) derived from GPS network distributed around 120°E during the year 1999-2004. Three types of negative phase are identified. One is shown to be varied in phase of F-layer height variation and the other two out of phase. Two types of positive phase are also found. The mechanisms to cause these types of ionospheric effects has been considered to be related with storm meridional thermospheric wind including traveling atmosphere disturbance(TAD), electric fields and composition changes. Then based on the 50 years of ionosonde and 8 years of global ionospheric maps (GIMs) data, features of low latitude ionospheric storm were obtained. Results shows that positive phases during 18:00-2400 LT with its center near the 21:00 LT and 24:00-08:00 LT with its center near the sunrise time have predomination in controlling the storm behavior at low latitudes. It is shown that the distortion of EIA under the effects of the above factors have significant influence on the behavior of SEIA ionogram parameters.

Effect of anxiety on memory for emotional information in older adults.

PubMed

Herrera, Sara; Montorio, Ignacio; Cabrera, Isabel

2017-04-01

Several studies have shown that anxiety is associated with a better memory of negative events. However, this anxiety-related memory bias has not been studied in the elderly, in which there is a preferential processing of positive information. To study the effect of anxiety in a recognition task and an autobiographical memory task in 102 older adults with high and low levels of trait anxiety. Negative, positive and neutral pictures were used in the recognition task. In the autobiographical memory task, memories of the participants' lives were recorded, how they felt when thinking about them, and the personal relevance of these memories. In the recognition task, no anxiety-related bias was found toward negative information. Individuals with high trait anxiety were found to remember less positive pictures than those with low trait anxiety. In the autobiographical memory task, both groups remembered negative and positive events equally. However, people with high trait anxiety remembered life experiences with more negative emotions, especially when remembering negative events. Individuals with low trait anxiety tended to feel more positive emotions when remembering their life experiences and most of these referred to feeling positive emotions when remembering negative events. Older adults with anxiety tend to recognize less positive information and to present more negative emotions when remembering life events; while individuals without anxiety have a more positive experience of negative memories.

Psychological Resilience, Affective Mechanisms, and Symptom Burden in a Tertiary Care Sample of Patients with Fibromyalgia

PubMed Central

McAllister, Samantha J; Vincent, Ann; Hassett, Afton L; Whipple, Mary O; Oh, Terry H; Benzo, Roberto P; Toussaint, Loren L

2014-01-01

Research demonstrates that patients with fibromyalgia who have higher positive and lower negative affect have lower symptom burden. Affect has been shown to be associated with resilience. This study examined the relationship between affect, resilience, and fibromyalgia symptom burden in a clinical sample of patients with fibromyalgia. We hypothesized that (a) positive and negative affect would be associated with fibromyalgia symptom burden; (b) resilience would be associated with positive and negative affect; (c) resilience would be associated with fibromyalgia symptom burden; and (d) the connection between resilience and fibromyalgia symptom burden would be mediated by both positive and negative affect. A sample of 858 patients with fibromyalgia completed questionnaires. Mediation modeling revealed statistically significant direct effects of resilience on fibromyalgia symptom burden (β =−.10, P < .001) and statistically significant indirect effects of resilience on fibromyalgia symptom burden through affect (β =−.36, P < .001), suggesting that both resilience and affect influence fibromyalgia symptom burden. Our results suggest that improving affect through resiliency training could be studied as a modality for improving fibromyalgia symptom burden. PMID:24376184

Mechanisms of Body Weight Reduction by Black Tea Polyphenols.

PubMed

Pan, Haibo; Gao, Ying; Tu, Youying

2016-12-07

Obesity is one of the most common nutritional diseases worldwide. This disease causes health problems, such as dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, hypertension and inflammation. There are drugs used to inhibit obesity. However, they have serious side effects outweighing their beneficial effects. Black tea, commonly referred to as "fermented tea", has shown a positive effect on reducing body weight in animal models. Black tea polyphenols are the major components in black tea which reduce body weight. Black tea polyphenols are more effective than green tea polyphenols. Black tea polyphenols exert a positive effect on inhibiting obesity involving in two major mechanisms: (i) inhibiting lipid and saccharide digestion, absorption and intake, thus reducing calorie intake; and (ii) promoting lipid metabolism by activating AMP-activated protein kinase to attenuate lipogenesis and enhance lipolysis, and decreasing lipid accumulation by inhibiting the differentiation and proliferation of preadipocytes; (iii) blocking the pathological processes of obesity and comorbidities of obesity by reducing oxidative stress. Epidemiological studies of the health relevance between anti-obesity and black tea polyphenols consumption remain to be further investigated.

Compassion-based emotion regulation up-regulates experienced positive affect and associated neural networks

PubMed Central

Singer, Tania

2015-01-01

Emotion regulation research has primarily focused on techniques that attenuate or modulate the impact of emotional stimuli. Recent evidence suggests that this mode regulation can be problematic in the context of regulation of emotion elicited by the suffering of others, resulting in reduced emotional connectedness. Here, we investigated the effects of an alternative emotion regulation technique based on the up-regulation of positive affect via Compassion-meditation on experiential and neural affective responses to depictions of individuals in distress, and compared these with the established emotion regulation strategy of Reappraisal. Using fMRI, we scanned 15 expert practitioners of Compassion-meditation either passively viewing, or using Compassion-meditation or Reappraisal to modulate their emotional reactions to film clips depicting people in distress. Both strategies effectively, but differentially regulated experienced affect, with Compassion primarily increasing positive and Reappraisal primarily decreasing negative affect. Imaging results showed that Compassion, relative to both passive-viewing and Reappraisal increased activation in regions involved in affiliation, positive affect and reward processing including ventral striatum and medial orbitfrontal cortex. This network was shown to be active prior to stimulus presentation, suggesting that the regulatory mechanism of Compassion is the stimulus-independent endogenous generation of positive affect. PMID:25698699

Hall effect in high- Tc Y 1Ba 2Cu 3O 7-δ superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vezzoli, G. C.; Burke, T.; Moon, B. M.; Lalevic, B.; Safari, A.; Sundar, H. G. K.; Bonometti, R.; Alexander, C.; Rau, C.; Waters, K.

1989-04-01

We have performed point-by-point and continuous Hall effect experiments as a function of temperature in polycrystalline Y 1Ba 2Cu 3O 7-δ. We have shown that the positive Hall constant shows an abrupt increase upon decreasing temperature at a value just above Tc. This temperature corresponds to where the resistance versus temperature data deviates from linearity. At very high fields of 6.8 and 15 T we observe a subsequent decrease in RH. We interpret these data as supportive of a contribution toward the superconductivity mechanism arising from internal excitions or change transfer excitations such that the bound exciton concentration increases near Tc at the expense of positive carries which are reflected in both bound and free holes.

Determination of the Interaction Position of Gamma Photons in Monolithic Scintillators Using Neural Network Fitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conde, P.; Iborra, A.; González, A. J.; Hernández, L.; Bellido, P.; Moliner, L.; Rigla, J. P.; Rodríguez-Álvarez, M. J.; Sánchez, F.; Seimetz, M.; Soriano, A.; Vidal, L. F.; Benlloch, J. M.

2016-02-01

In Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detectors based on monolithic scintillators, the photon interaction position needs to be estimated from the light distribution (LD) on the photodetector pixels. Due to the finite size of the scintillator volume, the symmetry of the LD is truncated everywhere except for the crystal center. This effect produces a poor estimation of the interaction positions towards the edges, an especially critical situation when linear algorithms, such as Center of Gravity (CoG), are used. When all the crystal faces are painted black, except the one in contact with the photodetector, the LD can be assumed to behave as the inverse square law, providing a simple theoretical model. Using this LD model, the interaction coordinates can be determined by means of fitting each event to a theoretical distribution. In that sense, the use of neural networks (NNs) has been shown to be an effective alternative to more traditional fitting techniques as nonlinear least squares (LS). The multilayer perceptron is one type of NN which can model non-linear functions well and can be trained to accurately generalize when presented with new data. In this work we have shown the capability of NNs to approximate the LD and provide the interaction coordinates of γ-photons with two different photodetector setups. One experimental setup was based on analog Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) and a charge division diode network, whereas the second setup was based on digital SiPMs (dSiPMs). In both experiments NNs minimized border effects. Average spatial resolutions of 1.9 ±0.2 mm and 1.7 ±0.2 mm for the entire crystal surface were obtained for the analog and dSiPMs approaches, respectively.

[Research progress in pathogenesis, treatment and prognosis of HPV positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma].

PubMed

Shui, C Y; Li, C; Liu, W; Cai, Y C; Jiang, J; Sun, R H; Zhou, Y Q; Qin, G

2018-05-07

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth common malignant tumors of whole body with a high incidence, which accounts for 90% of the head and neck malignant tumors. Previous studies have shown the risk factors, such as tobacco and alcohol, are related to the occurrence and development of HNSCC. However, recent studies have shown that the non-tobacco and non-alcohol related HNSCC increased year by year. At the same time, more and more studies have shown that HNSCC is related to the infection with human papilloma virus (HPV), and the occurrence and development of HPV-positive HNSCC has own characteristics in epidemiology, pathogenesis, treatment and prognosis. In this paper the research progress for HPV-positive HNSCC is reviewed.

Thinking about a Limited Future Enhances the Positivity of Younger and Older Adults’ Recall: Support for Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

PubMed Central

Barber, Sarah J.; Opitz, Philipp C.; Martins, Bruna; Sakaki, Michiko; Mather, Mara

2016-01-01

Compared with younger adults, older adults have a relative preference to attend to and remember positive over negative information. This is known as the “positivity effect,” and researchers have typically evoked socioemotional selectivity theory to explain it. According to socioemotional selectivity theory, as people get older they begin to perceive their time left in life as more limited. These reduced time horizons prompt older adults to prioritize achieving emotional gratification and thus exhibit increased positivity in attention and recall. Although this is the most commonly cited explanation of the positivity effect, there is currently a lack of clear experimental evidence demonstrating a link between time horizons and positivity. The goal of the current research was to address this issue. In two separate experiments, we asked participants to complete a writing activity, which directed them to think of time as being either limited or expansive (Experiments 1 and 2) or did not orient them to think about time in a particular manner (Experiment 2). Participants were then shown a series of emotional pictures, which they subsequently tried to recall. Results from both studies showed that regardless of chronological age, thinking about a limited future enhanced the relative positivity of participants’ recall. Furthermore, the results of Experiment 2 showed that this effect was not driven by changes in mood. Thus, the fact that older adults’ recall is typically more positive than younger adults’ recall may index naturally shifting time horizons and goals with age. PMID:27112461

A Meta-Analysis of Probiotic Efficacy for Gastrointestinal Diseases

PubMed Central

Ritchie, Marina L.; Romanuk, Tamara N.

2012-01-01

Background Meta-analyses on the effects of probiotics on specific gastrointestinal diseases have generally shown positive effects on disease prevention and treatment; however, the relative efficacy of probiotic use for treatment and prevention across different gastrointestinal diseases, with differing etiology and mechanisms of action, has not been addressed. Methods/Principal Findings We included randomized controlled trials in humans that used a specified probiotic in the treatment or prevention of Pouchitis, Infectious diarrhea, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Helicobacter pylori, Clostridium difficile Disease, Antibiotic Associated Diarrhea, Traveler's Diarrhea, or Necrotizing Enterocolitis. Random effects models were used to evaluate efficacy as pooled relative risks across the eight diseases as well as across probiotic species, single vs. multiple species, patient ages, dosages, and length of treatment. Probiotics had a positive significant effect across all eight gastrointestinal diseases with a relative risk of 0.58 (95% (CI) 0.51–0.65). Six of the eight diseases: Pouchitis, Infectious diarrhea, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Helicobacter pylori, Clostridium difficile Disease, and Antibiotic Associated Diarrhea, showed positive significant effects. Traveler's Diarrhea and Necrotizing Enterocolitis did not show significant effects of probiotcs. Of the 11 species and species mixtures, all showed positive significant effects except for Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Bifidobacterium infantis. Across all diseases and probiotic species, positive significant effects of probiotics were observed for all age groups, single vs. multiple species, and treatment lengths. Conclusions/Significance Probiotics are generally beneficial in treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases. Efficacy was not observed for Traveler's Diarrhea or Necrotizing Enterocolitis or for the probiotic species L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, and B. infantis. When choosing to use probiotics in the treatment or prevention of gastrointestinal disease, the type of disease and probiotic species (strain) are the most important factors to take into consideration. PMID:22529959

Trions in bulk and monolayer materials: Faddeev equations and hyperspherical harmonics.

PubMed

Filikhin, I; Kezerashvili, R Ya; Tsiklauri, Sh M; Vlahovic, B

2018-03-23

The negatively T - and positively T + charged trions in bulk and monolayer semiconductors are studied in the effective mass approximation within the framework of a potential model. The binding energies of trions in various semiconductors are calculated by employing the Faddeev equation with the Coulomb potential in 3D configuration space. Results of calculations of the binding energies for T - are consistent with previous computational studies, while the T + is unbound for all considered cases. The binding energies of trions in monolayer semiconductors are calculated using the method of hyperspherical harmonics by employing the Keldysh potential. It is shown that 2D T - and T + trions are bound and the binding energy of the positive trion is always greater than for the negative trion due to the heavier effective mass of holes. Our calculations demonstrate that screening effects play an important role in the formation of bound states of trions in 2D semiconductors.

Good things don't come easy (to mind): explaining framing effects in judgments of truth.

PubMed

Hilbig, Benjamin E

2012-01-01

Recently, the general phenomenon of a positive-negative-asymmetry was extended to judgments of truth. That is, negatively framed statements were shown to receive substantially higher truth ratings than formally equivalent statements framed positively. However, the cognitive mechanisms underlying this effect are unknown, so far. In the current work, two potential accounts are introduced and tested against each other in three experiments: On the one hand, negative framing may induce increased elaboration and thereby persuasion. Alternatively, negative framing could yield faster retrieval or generation of evidence and thus influence subjective veracity via experiential fluency. Two experiments drawing on response latencies and one manipulating the delay between information acquisition and judgment provide support for the fluency-based account. Overall, results replicate and extend the negatively-biased framing effect in truth judgments and show that processing fluency may account for it. © 2011 Hogrefe Publishing

Top-predator control-induced trophic cascades: an alternative hypothesis to the conclusion of Colman et al.

PubMed

Allen, Benjamin L

2015-01-22

Colman et al. (2014 Proc. R. Soc. B 281, 20133094. (doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.3094)) recently argued that observed positive relationships between dingoes and small mammals were a result of top-down processes whereby lethal dingo control reduced dingoes and increased mesopredators and herbivores, which then suppressed small mammals. Here, I show that the prerequisite negative effects of dingo control on dingoes were not shown, and that the same positive relationships observed may simply represent well-known bottom-up processes whereby more generalist predators are found in places with more of their preferred prey. Identification of top-predator control-induced trophic cascades first requires demonstration of some actual effect of control on predators, typically possible only through manipulative experiments with the ability to identify cause and effect. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Trions in bulk and monolayer materials: Faddeev equations and hyperspherical harmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filikhin, I.; Kezerashvili, R. Ya; Tsiklauri, Sh M.; Vlahovic, B.

2018-03-01

The negatively T - and positively T + charged trions in bulk and monolayer semiconductors are studied in the effective mass approximation within the framework of a potential model. The binding energies of trions in various semiconductors are calculated by employing the Faddeev equation with the Coulomb potential in 3D configuration space. Results of calculations of the binding energies for T - are consistent with previous computational studies, while the T + is unbound for all considered cases. The binding energies of trions in monolayer semiconductors are calculated using the method of hyperspherical harmonics by employing the Keldysh potential. It is shown that 2D T - and T + trions are bound and the binding energy of the positive trion is always greater than for the negative trion due to the heavier effective mass of holes. Our calculations demonstrate that screening effects play an important role in the formation of bound states of trions in 2D semiconductors.

Analyzing effective municipal solid waste recycling programs: the case of county-level MSW recycling performance in Florida, USA.

PubMed

Park, Seejeen; Berry, Frances S

2013-09-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling performance, both nationally and in Florida, USA, has shown little improvement during the past decade. This research examines variations in the MSW recycling program performance in Florida counties in an attempt to identify effective recycling programs. After reviewing trends in the MSW management literature, we conducted an empirical analysis using cross-sectional multiple regression analysis. The findings suggest that the convenience-based hypothesis was supported by showing that curbside recycling had a positive effect on MSW recycling performance. Financial (cost-saving) incentive-based hypotheses were partially supported meaning that individual level incentives can influence recycling performance. Citizen environmental concern was found to positively affect the amount of county recycling, while education and political affiliation yielded no significant results. In conclusion, this article discusses the implications of the findings for both academic research and practice of MSW recycling programs.

Probenecid: novel use as a non-injurious positive inotrope acting via cardiac TRPV2 stimulation

PubMed Central

Koch, Sheryl E.; Gao, Xiaoqian; Haar, Lauren; Jiang, Min; Lasko, Valerie M.; Robbins, Nathan; Cai, Wenfeng; Brokamp, Cole; Varma, Priyanka; Tranter, Michael; Liu, Yong; Ren, Xiaoping; Lorenz, John N.; Wang, Hong-Sheng; Jones, W. Keith; Rubinstein, Jack

2012-01-01

Probenecid is a highly lipid soluble benzoic acid derivative originally used to increase serum antibiotic concentrations. It was later discovered to have uricosuric effects and was FDA approved for gout therapy. It has recently been found to be a potent agonist of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 2 (TRPV2). We have shown that this receptor is in the cardiomyocyte and report a positive inotropic effect of the drug. Using echocardiography, Langendorff and isolated myocytes, we measured the change in contractility and, using TRPV2−/− mice, proved that the effect was mediated by TRPV2 channels in the cardiomyocytes. Analysis of the expression of Ca2+ handling and β-adrenergic signaling pathway proteins showed that the contractility was not increased through activation of the β-ADR. We propose that the response to probenecid is due to activation of TRPV2 channels secondary to SR release of Ca2+. PMID:22561103

The beneficial effects of massage therapy for insomnia in postmenopausal women.

PubMed

Hachul, H; Oliveira, D S; Bittencourt, L R A; Andersen, M L; Tufik, S

2014-06-01

With increases life expectancy, the incidence of undesirable manifestations of menopause has increased as well. The effects of lost ovarian function include progressive decrease in estradiol secretion, trophic changes in the breast, vasomotor symptoms, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. Insomnia, which has physiological consequences and can result in a loss of quality of life, is prevalent in women after menopause. Hormone therapy has been widely used to reduce menopausal symptoms, but its use in recent years has been questioned because of the reported risks of cardiovascular events and increased incidence of tumors. This controversy has generated significant interest in non-hormonal treatments among both physicians and patients. Our previous research has shown a positive effect of massage therapy on menopausal symptoms. We explored the hypothesis that massage therapy would produce beneficial effects in postmenopausal women through inflammatory and immunological changes. Recent results from self-report questionnaires have shown improvements in sleep pattern and quality of life following massage therapy. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of massage therapy for the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms, particularly insomnia, and indicate that it is a promising line of research.

Favorable effect of in-situ generated platinum in the membrane on fuel cell membrane durability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macauley, Natalia; Wong, Ka Hung; Watson, Mark; Kjeang, Erik

2015-12-01

The overall lifetime of polymer electrolyte fuel cells is often determined by the membrane durability. Platinum, which may dissolve from the catalyst layers during fuel cell operation and deposit in the membrane, has been shown to have both positive and negative effects on membrane stability. In the present work, we analyze what specific conditions are required in order to reach a favorable, membrane stabilizing effect with the controlled use of platinum in the membrane. Using accelerated membrane durability testing, field operated membrane samples, and electron microscopy, we demonstrate that a high platinum concentration with specific particle shapes and sizes is essential for enhanced membrane stability. Specifically, star shaped and dendritic particles with high particle density and high surface area are shown to be preferable. These particles contain high levels of Pt(111) and are expected to have high catalytic activity toward peroxide quenching and crossover gas consumption, thereby mitigating chemical membrane degradation. On the other hand, small, dispersed cubic particles are found to have no effect or the opposite, negative effect on membrane stability.

The beneficial effects of massage therapy for insomnia in postmenopausal women☆

PubMed Central

Hachul, H.; Oliveira, D.S.; Bittencourt, L.R.A.; Andersen, M.L.; Tufik, S.

2014-01-01

With increases life expectancy, the incidence of undesirable manifestations of menopause has increased as well. The effects of lost ovarian function include progressive decrease in estradiol secretion, trophic changes in the breast, vasomotor symptoms, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. Insomnia, which has physiological consequences and can result in a loss of quality of life, is prevalent in women after menopause. Hormone therapy has been widely used to reduce menopausal symptoms, but its use in recent years has been questioned because of the reported risks of cardiovascular events and increased incidence of tumors. This controversy has generated significant interest in non-hormonal treatments among both physicians and patients. Our previous research has shown a positive effect of massage therapy on menopausal symptoms. We explored the hypothesis that massage therapy would produce beneficial effects in postmenopausal women through inflammatory and immunological changes. Recent results from self-report questionnaires have shown improvements in sleep pattern and quality of life following massage therapy. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of massage therapy for the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms, particularly insomnia, and indicate that it is a promising line of research. PMID:26483913

The influence of ozone forcing on blocking in the Southern Hemisphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dennison, Fraser W.; McDonald, Adrian; Morgenstern, Olaf

2016-12-01

We investigate the influence of ozone depletion and recovery on tropospheric blocking in the Southern Hemisphere. Blocking events are identified using a persistent positive anomaly method applied to 500 hPa geopotential height. Using the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research-United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols chemistry-climate model, we compare reference runs that include forcing due to greenhouse gases (GHGs) and ozone-depleting substances to sensitivity simulations in which ozone-depleting substances are fixed at their 1960 abundances and other sensitivity simulations with GHGs fixed at their 1960 abundances. Blocking events in the South Atlantic are shown to follow stratospheric positive anomalies in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index; this is not the case for South Pacific blocking events. This relationship means that summer ozone depletion, and corresponding positive SAM anomalies, leads to an increased frequency of blocking in the South Atlantic while having little effect in the South Pacific. Similarly, ozone recovery, having the opposite effect on the SAM, leads to a decline in blocking frequency in the South Atlantic, although this may be somewhat counteracted by the effect of increasing GHGs.

Effect of the absolute statistic on gene-sampling gene-set analysis methods.

PubMed

Nam, Dougu

2017-06-01

Gene-set enrichment analysis and its modified versions have commonly been used for identifying altered functions or pathways in disease from microarray data. In particular, the simple gene-sampling gene-set analysis methods have been heavily used for datasets with only a few sample replicates. The biggest problem with this approach is the highly inflated false-positive rate. In this paper, the effect of absolute gene statistic on gene-sampling gene-set analysis methods is systematically investigated. Thus far, the absolute gene statistic has merely been regarded as a supplementary method for capturing the bidirectional changes in each gene set. Here, it is shown that incorporating the absolute gene statistic in gene-sampling gene-set analysis substantially reduces the false-positive rate and improves the overall discriminatory ability. Its effect was investigated by power, false-positive rate, and receiver operating curve for a number of simulated and real datasets. The performances of gene-set analysis methods in one-tailed (genome-wide association study) and two-tailed (gene expression data) tests were also compared and discussed.

CATAPHORETIC CHARGES OF COLLODION PARTICLES AND ANOMALOUS OSMOSIS THROUGH COLLODION MEMBRANES FREE FROM PROTEIN

PubMed Central

Loeb, Jacques

1922-01-01

1. It had been shown in previous papers that when a salt solution is separated from pure water by a collodion membrane, water diffuses through the membrane as if it were positively charged and as if it were attracted by the anion of the salt in solution and repelled by the cation with a force increasing with the valency. In this paper, measurements of the P.D. across the membrane (E) are given, showing that when an electrical effect is added to the purely osmotic effect of the salt solution in the transport of water from the side of pure water to the solution, the latter possesses a considerable negative charge which increases with increasing valency of the anion of the salt and diminishes with increasing valency of the cation. It is also shown that a similar valency effect exists in the diffusion potentials between salt solutions and pure water without the interposition of a membrane. 2. This makes it probable that the driving force for the electrical transport of water from the side of pure water into solution is primarily a diffusion potential. 3. It is shown that the hydrogen ion concentration of the solution affects the transport curves and the diffusion potentials in a similar way. 4. It is shown, however, that the diffusion potential without interposition of the membrane differs in a definite sense from the P.D. across the membrane and that therefore the P.D. across the membrane (E) is a modified diffusion potential. 5. Measurements of the P.D. between collodion particles and aqueous solutions (ε) were made by the method of cataphoresis, which prove that water in contact with collodion particles free from protein practically always assumes a positive charge (except in the presence of salts with trivalent and probably tetravalent cations of a sufficiently high concentration). 6. It is shown that an electrical transport of water from the side of water into the solution is always superposed upon the osmotic transport when the sign of charge of the solution in the potential across the membrane (E) is opposite to that of the water in the P.D. between collodion particle and water (ε); supporting the theoretical deductions made by Bartell. 7. It is shown that the product of the P.D. across the membrane (E) into the cataphoretic P.D. between collodion particles and aqueous solution (ε) accounts in general semiquantitatively for that part of the transport of water into the solution which is due to the electrical forces responsible for anomalous osmosis. PMID:19871981

Rhesus Factor Modulation of Effects of Smoking and Age on Psychomotor Performance, Intelligence, Personality Profile, and Health in Czech Soldiers

PubMed Central

Flegr, Jaroslav; Geryk, Jan; Volný, Jindra; Klose, Jiří; Černochová, Dana

2012-01-01

Background Rhesus-positive and rhesus-negative persons differ in the presence-absence of highly immunogenic RhD protein on the erythrocyte membrane. This protein is a component of NH3 or CO2 pump whose physiological role is unknown. Several recent studies have shown that RhD positivity protects against effects of latent toxoplasmosis on motor performance and personality. It is not known, however, whether the RhD phenotype modifies exclusively the response of the body to toxoplasmosis or whether it also influences effects of other factors. Methodology/Principal Findings In the present cohort study, we searched for the effects of age and smoking on performance, intelligence, personality and self-estimated health and wellness in about 3800 draftees. We found that the positive effect of age on performance and intelligence was stronger in RhD-positive soldiers, while the negative effect of smoking on performance and intelligence was of similar size regardless of the RhD phenotype. The effect of age on four Cattell's personality factors, i.e., dominance (E), radicalism (Q1), self-sentiment integration (Q3), and ergic tension (Q4), and on Cloninger's factor reward dependency (RD) was stronger for RhD-negative than RhD-positive subjects, while the effect of smoking on the number of viral and bacterial diseases was about three times stronger for RhD-negative than RhD-positive subjects. Conclusions RhD phenotype modulates the influence not only of latent toxoplasmosis, but also of at least two other potentially detrimental factors, age and smoking, on human behavior and physiology. The negative effect of smoking on health (estimated on the basis of the self-rated number of common viral and bacterial diseases in the past year) was much stronger in RhD-negative than RhD-positive subjects. It is critically needed to confirm the differences in health response to smoking between RhD-positive and RhD-negative subjects by objective medical examination in future studies. PMID:23209579

Novel nutraceutic therapies for the treatment of metabolic syndrome

PubMed Central

Martínez-Abundis, Esperanza; Méndez-del Villar, Miriam; Pérez-Rubio, Karina G; Zuñiga, Laura Y; Cortez-Navarrete, Marisol; Ramírez-Rodriguez, Alejandra; González-Ortiz, Manuel

2016-01-01

Nutraceutic therapies such as berberine, bitter melon, Gymnema sylvestre, Irvingia gabonensis, resveratrol and ursolic acid have been shown to help control metabolic syndrome (MetS). The effect of berberine on glucose and lipid metabolism, hypertension, obesity and MetS has been evaluated in animal models and humans. Most clinical trials involving bitter melon have been conducted to evaluate its effect on glucose metabolism; nevertheless, some studies have reported favorable effects on lipids and blood pressure although there is little information about its effect on body weight. Gymnema sylvestre helps to decrease body weight and blood sugar levels; however, there is limited information on dyslipidemia and hypertension. Clinical trials of Irvingia gabonensis have shown important effects decreasing glucose and cholesterol concentrations as well decreasing body weight. Resveratrol acts through different mechanisms to decrease blood pressure, lipids, glucose and weight, showing its effects on the population with MetS. Finally, there is evidence of positive effects with ursolic acid in in vitro and in vivo studies on glucose and lipid metabolism and on body weight and visceral fat. Therefore, a review of the beneficial effects and limitations of the above-mentioned nutraceutic therapies is presented. PMID:27076875

High-velocity angular vestibulo-ocular reflex adaptation to position error signals.

PubMed

Scherer, Matthew; Schubert, Michael C

2010-06-01

Vestibular rehabilitation strategies including gaze stabilization exercises have been shown to increase gain of the angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (aVOR) using a retinal slip error signal (ES). The identification of additional ESs capable of promoting substitution strategies or aVOR adaptation is an important goal in the management of vestibular hypofunction. Position ESs have been shown to increase both aVOR gain and recruitment of compensatory saccades (CSs) during passive whole body rotation. This may be a useful compensatory strategy for gaze instability during active head rotation as well. In vestibular rehabilitation, the imaginary target exercise is often prescribed to improve gaze stability. This exercise uses a position ES; however, the mechanism for its effect has not been investigated. We compared aVOR gain adaptation using 2 types of small position ES: constant versus incremental. Ten subjects with normal vestibular function were assessed with unpredictable and active head rotations before and after a 20-minute training session. Subjects performed 9 epochs of 40 active, high-velocity head impulses using a position ES stimulus to increase aVOR gain. Five subjects demonstrated significant aVOR gain increases with the constant-position ES (mean, 2%; range, -18% to 12%) compared with another 5 subjects showing significant aVOR gain increases to the incremental-position ES (mean, 3.7%; range, -2% to 22.6%). There was no difference in aVOR gain adaptation or CS recruitment between the 2 paradigms. These findings suggest that some subjects can increase their aVOR gain in response to high-velocity active head movement training using a position ES. The primary mechanism for this seems to be aVOR gain adaptation because CS use was not modified. The overall low change in aVOR gain adaptation with position ES suggests that retinal slip is a more powerful aVOR gain modifier.

Is there evidence for a nuclear Foucault pendulum

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

Hilton, R.R.

1990-12-03

Recent observations of the giant dipole resonance in states at high angular momentum and temperature have shown an effective narrowing of the resonance. It is pointed out that this may be interpreted as a signature of rotation of the nucleus about a symmetry axis. In this limit, the giant dipole orientation freezes in the plane of rotation, the analog of the Foucault pendulum positioned at the North Pole. All effects of rotation, other than those of pure deformation, cease to be present. In this region it is thus possible to probe the nuclear shape directly, uncontaminated by rotational effects.

A review of expectancy theory and alcohol consumption.

PubMed

Jones, B T; Corbin, W; Fromme, K

2001-01-01

Research is reviewed on the association between alcohol outcome expectancies and consumption which has led many to argue that manipulating expectancies might be a route to manipulating consumption for problem prevention and treatment. Studies indirectly and directly evaluating this latter position are reviewed. Expectancies predicting treatment outcome: two studies have shown that the more positive expectancies held at treatment, the poorer is treatment outcome, but five other studies have failed to find this. Three related studies have shown that the more negative expectancies held at treatment, the better the treatment outcome. This evaluation provides evidence inconsistent with the main position for positive expectancy and limited support for negative. Expectancy manipulations and ad libitum consumption: three studies in the laboratory have shown that increasing positive expectancies through word priming increases subsequent consumption and two studies have shown that increasing negative expectancies decreases it. A single study in the field showed a similar relationship. This evaluation provides evidence consistent with the main position but is limited by measuring consumption changes over only 1-2 hours. Prevention programmes with expectancy components: seven projects are reviewed in which positive expectancies were targeted, but only two report an expectancy change analysis and in both cases the expectancy change did not relate to subsequent consumption. This evaluation provides evidence inconsistent with the main position. Expectancy challenge: two related studies are reviewed in which positive expectancy challenges reduce subsequent consumption but changes in expectancy were not evaluated as predictors of consumption change. Two studies are reviewed which found a reduction in positive expectancy following expectancy challenge but no reduction in consumption. One study is reviewed in which when negative expectancy was increased in treatment there was a better treatment outcome at 3 months follow-up than when it was not. This evaluation provides evidence inconsistent with the main position for positive expectancy and limited consistent evidence for negative. It is concluded that the research has still to be done that securely links expectancy manipulations with subsequent changes in consumption, and fulfils the early promise from association studies.

The fading affect bias shows positive outcomes at the general but not the individual level of analysis in the context of social media.

PubMed

Gibbons, Jeffrey A; Horowitz, Kyle A; Dunlap, Spencer M

2017-08-01

Unpleasant affect fades faster than pleasant affect (e.g., Walker, Vogl, & Thompson, 1997); this effect is referred to as the Fading Affect Bias (FAB; Walker, Skowronski, Gibbons, Vogl, & Thompson, 2003a). Research shows that the FAB is consistently related to positive/healthy outcomes at a general but not at a specific level of analysis based on event types and individual differences (e.g., Gibbons et al., 2013). Based on the positive outcomes for FAB and negative outcomes for social media (Bolton et al., 2013; Huang, 2010), the current study examined FAB in the context of social media events along with related individual differences. General positive outcomes were shown in the form of robust FAB effects across social media and non-social media events, a larger FAB for non-social media events than for social media events, negative correlations of FAB with depression, anxiety, and stress as well as a positive correlation of FAB with self-esteem. However, the lack of a negative correlation between FAB and anxiety for social media events in a 3-way interaction did not show positive outcomes at a specific level of analysis. Rehearsal ratings mediated the 3-way interaction. Implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Flow interaction and noise from a counter rotating propeller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Jin-Deog; Walls, James L.; Nagel, Robert T.

1991-01-01

The aerodynamic interaction between the forward and rear rotors in a counter rotating propeller (CRP) system, has been examined using a conditional sampling technique applied to three-dimensional thermal anemometer data. The technique effectively freezes the rotors in any desired relative position and provides the inter-rotor flow field. Axial, radial and circumferential mean flow between rotors is shown relative to the 'fixed' forward rotor for various 'fixed' aft rotor positions. Acoustic far field noise data have also been collected for the same operating conditions. The acoustic results are presented with emphasis on the blade passing frequencies and interaction tone of the CRP.

Material parameters that determine the surface accuracy of large astronomical mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amur, G. I.

1983-03-01

The design and manufacture of large astronomical mirrors are examined from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The effects of birefringence, tool-load relief, cord position, and temperature gradient on the surface quality are assessed quantitatively and discussed in terms of material choice and fabrication technique. It is shown that a single cord positioned horizontally produces only minimum image distortion. Formulas for calculating the deformation of the wave front by the mirror surface due to birefringence difference, the optimum load relief, and the deformation temperature, are presented. Graphs of important relationships and a table listing the diameters and surface parameters of recently built large telescopes are provided.

Effect of convection on the microstructure of the MnBi/Bi eutectic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eisa, Gaber Faheem; Wilcox, william R.; Busch, Garrett

1986-01-01

For the quasi-regular fibrous microstructure of MnBi formed at freezing rates of 9 mm/h and above, good agreement between experimental and theoretical results for fiber spacing, freezing rate, radial position, and ampoule rotation rate is found. For the irregular blade-like microstructure formed at lower freezing rates, convection is found to coarsen the microstructure somwhat more than predicted. The volume fraction of MnBi was also shown to depend on ampoule rotation and radial position, even in the absence of ampoule rotation. The two-fold finer microstructure observed in space-processed material could not be explained by the elimination of buoyancy-driven natural convection.

Interacting hands: the role of attention for the joint Simon effect

PubMed Central

Liepelt, Roman

2014-01-01

Recent research in monkeys and humans has shown that the presence of the hands near an object enhances spatial processing for objects presented near the hand. This study aimed to test the effect of hand position on the joint Simon effect. In Experiment 1, two human co-actors shared a Simon task while placing their response hands either near the objects appearing on the monitor or away from the monitor. Experiment 2 varied each co-actor’s hand position independently. Experiment 3 tested whether enhanced spatial processing for objects presented near the hand is obtained when replacing one of the two co-actors by a non-human event-producing rubber hand. Experiment 1 provided evidence for a Simon effect. Hand position significantly modulated the size of the Simon effect in the joint Simon task showing an increased Simon effect when the hands of both actors were located near the objects on the monitor, than when they were located away from the monitor. Experiment 2 replicated this finding showing an increased Simon effect when the actor’s hand was located near the objects on the monitor, but only when the co-actor also produced action events in spatial reference. A similar hand position effect was observed in Experiment 3 when a non-human rubber hand replaced the human co-actor. These findings suggest that external action events that are produced in spatial reference bias the distribution of attention to the area near the hand. This strengthens the weight of the spatial response codes (referential coding) and hence increases the joint Simon effect. PMID:25566140

Positive Contrast Visualization of Nitinol Devices using Susceptibility Gradient Mapping

PubMed Central

Vonken, Evert-jan P.A.; Schär, Michael; Stuber, Matthias

2008-01-01

MRI visualization of devices is traditionally based on the signal loss due to T2* effects originating from the local susceptibility differences. To visualize nitinol devices with positive contrast a recently introduced post processing method is adapted to map the induced susceptibility gradients. This method operates on regular gradient echo MR images and maps the shift in k-space in a (small) neighborhood of every voxel by Fourier analysis followed by a center of mass calculation. The quantitative map of the local shifts generates the positive contrast image of the devices, while areas without susceptibility gradients render a background with noise only. The positive signal response of this method depends only on the choice of the voxel neighborhood size. The properties of the method are explained and the visualization of a nitinol wire and two stents are shown for illustration. PMID:18727096

An experimental study of the nonlinear dynamic phenomenon known as wing rock

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arena, A. S., Jr.; Nelson, R. C.; Schiff, L. B.

1990-01-01

An experimental investigation into the physical phenomena associated with limit cycle wing rock on slender delta wings has been conducted. The model used was a slender flat plate delta wing with 80-deg leading edge sweep. The investigation concentrated on three main areas: motion characteristics obtained from time history plots, static and dynamic flow visualization of vortex position, and static and dynamic flow visualization of vortex breakdown. The flow visualization studies are correlated with model motion to determine the relationship between vortex position and vortex breakdown with the dynamic rolling moments. Dynamic roll moment coefficient curves reveal rate-dependent hysteresis, which drives the motion. Vortex position correlated with time and model motion show a time lag in the normal position of the upward moving wing vortex. This time lag may be the mechanism responsible for the hysteresis. Vortex breakdown is shown to have a damping effect on the motion.

On equilibrium positions and stabilization of electrodynamic tether system in the orbital frame

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tikhonov, A. A.; Shcherbakova, L. F.

2018-05-01

An electrodynamic tether system (EDTS) in a near-Earth circular orbit is considered. EDTS contains conductive tether with lumped masses attached to it at the ends. Possible equilibrium positions of the stretched tether under the influence of gravity gradient, Ampere and Lorentz forces in orbital frame are investigated. It is shown that in addition to the vertical equilibrium position, the "inclined" equilibrium positions of the tensioned tether are also possible. Conditions are obtained for the EDTS parameters, under which there is only one vertical position of the tether equilibrium. On the basis of nonlinear differential equations of motion, using the Lyapunov functions method, sufficient conditions for the stability of the vertical position of the tether equi-librium are obtained. It is shown that stabilization of the tether in this position is possible in the presence of damping in the EDTS system. The results of numerical simulation are presented.

Psychosocial safety climate buffers effects of job demands on depression and positive organizational behaviors.

PubMed

Hall, Garry B; Dollard, Maureen F; Winefield, Anthony H; Dormann, Christian; Bakker, Arnold B

2013-01-01

In a general population sample of 2343 Australian workers from a wide ranging employment demographic, we extended research testing the buffering role of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) as a macro-level resource within the health impairment process of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Moderated structural equation modeling was used to test PSC as a moderator between emotional and psychological job demands and worker depression compared with control and social support as alternative moderators. We also tested PSC as a moderator between depression and positive organizational behaviors (POB; engagement and job satisfaction) compared with control and social support as moderators. As expected we found PSC moderated the effects of job demands on depression and further moderated the effects of depression on POB with fit to the data that was as good as control and social support as moderators. This study has shown that PSC is a macro-level resource and safety signal for workers acting to reduce demand-induced depression. We conclude that organizations need to focus on the development of a robust PSC that will operate to buffer the effects of workplace psychosocial hazards and to build environments conducive to worker psychological health and positive organizational behaviors.

Educational-entertainment as an intervention with Black adolescents exposed to community violence.

PubMed

Allen, Valerie Dorsey; Solomon, Phyllis

2012-01-01

Witnessing violence is one adverse childhood experience (ACE) associated with living in impoverished Black urban communities. Youth with higher violence avoidance self-efficacy and positive coping are more likely to avoid violence. This study evaluates educational entertainment (edutainment) as an intervention with Black adolescents exposed to community violence. Edutainment has shown success in increasing self-efficacy and positive coping skills in other domains. Self-administered scales were used to measure stress, anxiety, violence avoidance self-efficacy, and coping strategies. Data were collected pre- and nine days post-interventions/no intervention from 20 subjects receiving the edutainment intervention, 19 subjects participating in a group discussion about violence, and 21 subjects receiving no intervention (N = 60). Edutainment and no intervention were more effective than group discussion alone in increasing violence avoidance self-efficacy. Violence avoidance self-efficacy was found to have an intervening relationship between edutainment and the outcome of stress. This study indicates limited but positive effects for edutainment.

Youth Reports of Parents’ Romantic Relationship Quality: Links to Physical Health

PubMed Central

Abbas, Tazeen; Zilioli, Samuele; Tobin, Erin T.; Imami, Ledina; Kane, Heidi S.; Saleh, Daniel J.; Slatcher, Richard B.

2016-01-01

Objective Prior work has shown that negative aspects (e.g., conflict) of marriage or marriage-like relationships are associated with poor health of offspring, but much less is known about the effects of positive aspects (e.g., affection) of parental romantic relationships. This study investigated links between conflict and affection within parents’ romantic relationships and the health of youth with asthma. Method Eighty youths with asthma aged 10-17 answered daily questions over a 4-day period about conflict and affection within their parents’ romantic relationship, as well as their own daily mood, asthma symptoms, and expiratory peak flow. Results Multiple regression analyses revealed that romantic affection—but not conflict—was directly associated with higher expiratory peak flow. Further, there was a significant indirect effect of romantic affection via youth positive affect on lower asthma symptoms. Conclusion These results are the first to our knowledge to demonstrate that youth-reported positive characteristics of parents’ romantic relationships are associated with better health among youth with asthma. PMID:26998733

An accuracy assessment of Magellan Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engelhardt, D. B.; Kronschnabl, G. R.; Border, J. S.

1990-01-01

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) measurements of the Magellan spacecraft's angular position and velocity were made during July through September, 1989, during the spacecraft's heliocentric flight to Venus. The purpose of this data acquisition and reduction was to verify this data type for operational use before Magellan is inserted into Venus orbit, in August, 1990. The accuracy of these measurements are shown to be within 20 nanoradians in angular position, and within 5 picoradians/sec in angular velocity. The media effects and their calibrations are quantified; the wet fluctuating troposphere is the dominant source of measurement error for angular velocity. The charged particle effect is completely calibrated with S- and X-Band dual-frequency calibrations. Increasing the accuracy of the Earth platform model parameters, by using VLBI-derived tracking station locations consistent with the planetary ephemeris frame, and by including high frequency Earth tidal terms in the Earth rotation model, add a few nanoradians improvement to the angular position measurements. Angular velocity measurements were insensitive to these Earth platform modelling improvements.

Youth reports of parents' romantic relationship quality: Links to physical health.

PubMed

Abbas, Tazeen; Zilioli, Samuele; Tobin, Erin T; Imami, Ledina; Kane, Heidi S; Saleh, Daniel J; Slatcher, Richard B

2016-09-01

Prior work has shown that negative aspects (e.g., conflict) of marriage or marriage-like relationships are associated with poor health of offspring, but much less is known about the effects of positive aspects (e.g., affection) of parental romantic relationships. This study investigated links between conflict and affection within parents' romantic relationships and the health of youth with asthma. Eighty youths with asthma aged 10-17 answered daily questions over a 4-day period about conflict and affection within their parents' romantic relationship, as well as their own daily mood, asthma symptoms, and expiratory peak flow. Multiple regression analyses revealed that romantic affection-but not conflict-was directly associated with higher expiratory peak flow. Further, there was a significant indirect effect of romantic affection via youth positive affect on lower asthma symptoms. These results are the first to our knowledge to demonstrate that youth-reported positive characteristics of parents' romantic relationships are associated with better health among youth with asthma. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Vicarious Learning and Reduction of Fear in Children via Adult and Child Models.

PubMed

Dunne, Güler; Askew, Chris

2017-06-01

Children can learn to fear stimuli vicariously, by observing adults' or peers' responses to them. Given that much of school-age children's time is typically spent with their peers, it is important to establish whether fear learning from peers is as effective or robust as learning from adults, and also whether peers can be successful positive models for reducing fear. During a vicarious fear learning procedure, children (6 to 10 years; N = 60) were shown images of novel animals together with images of adult or peer faces expressing fear. Later they saw their fear-paired animal again together with positive emotional adult or peer faces. Children's fear beliefs and avoidance for the animals increased following vicarious fear learning and decreased following positive vicarious counterconditioning. There was little evidence of differences in learning from adults and peers, demonstrating that for this age group peer models are effective models for both fear acquisition and reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Nail-biting stuff? The effect of N-acetyl cysteine on nail-biting.

PubMed

Berk, Michael; Jeavons, Sue; Dean, Olivia M; Dodd, Seetal; Moss, Kirsteen; Gama, Clarissa S; Malhi, Gin S

2009-07-01

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is a widely available nutraceutical with a variety of actions. As a precursor of cysteine and glutathione, it has antioxidant properties that may impact on mood and contribute to an effect on impulsivity and obsessive behaviour. Via its additional effect on glutamate via the cystine-glutamate exchange system, NAC has been shown to mediate impulsivity in preclinical models of addiction, reduce craving, and cue extinction. Further, by boosting glutathione, NAC acts as a potent antioxidant and has been shown in two positive, large-scale randomized placebo-controlled trials to affect negative symptoms in schizophrenia and depression in bipolar disorder. We describe three cases in which its actions specifically on nail-biting and associated anxiety may offer a potential treatment. The spontaneous findings are reported as part of an ongoing treatment trial examining the utility of NAC in bipolar disorder. Its actions, if robustly replicated, also point to potential treatment targets in glutathione or glutamate pathways in the brain.

Further explorations of cosmogonic shadow effects in the Saturnian rings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alfven, H.; Axnaes, I.; Brenning, N.; Lindqvist, P. A.

1985-01-01

The mass distribution in the Saturnian ring system is compared with predictions from the cosmogonic theory of Alfven and Arrhenius (1975) in which matter in the rings was once a magnetized plasma, with gravitation balanced by centrifugal force and by the magnetic field. As the plasma is neutralized, the magnetic force disappears and the matter can be shown to fall in to a distance 2/3 of the original. This supports the cosmogonic shadow effect, also demonstrated for the astroidal belt and in the large scale structure of the Saturnian ring system. The relevance of the comogonic shadow effect for parts of the finer structures of the Saturnian ring system is investigated. It is shown that many structures of the present ring system can be understood as shadows and antishadows of cosmogonic origin. These appear in the form of double rings centered around a position a factor 0.64 (slightly 2/3) closer to Saturn than the causing feature.

Adolescents' reactions to the imagery displayed in smoking and antismoking advertisements.

PubMed

Shadel, William G; Niaura, Raymond; Abrams, David B

2002-06-01

This study compared adolescents' unbiased perceptions of the images displayed in smoking and antismoking advertising. Twenty-nine adolescents (ages 11-17) were shown images taken from both advertising types; all images were digitally edited so that no product information appeared in them. Participants described each image in a free-response format and rated each image on self-report dimensions. Content analyses of free-response descriptions and analyses of self-reports revealed that adolescents viewed images taken from cigarette advertisements more positively compared with images taken from antismoking advertisements. These findings suggest that I reason for the potency of cigarette advertising, compared with antismoking advertising, is the inherent positive appeal of the images displayed. Antismoking advertising may be more effective at limiting adolescent smoking if the images displayed have a more positive valence.

Does RAIM with Correct Exclusion Produce Unbiased Positions?

PubMed Central

Teunissen, Peter J. G.; Imparato, Davide; Tiberius, Christian C. J. M.

2017-01-01

As the navigation solution of exclusion-based RAIM follows from a combination of least-squares estimation and a statistically based exclusion-process, the computation of the integrity of the navigation solution has to take the propagated uncertainty of the combined estimation-testing procedure into account. In this contribution, we analyse, theoretically as well as empirically, the effect that this combination has on the first statistical moment, i.e., the mean, of the computed navigation solution. It will be shown, although statistical testing is intended to remove biases from the data, that biases will always remain under the alternative hypothesis, even when the correct alternative hypothesis is properly identified. The a posteriori exclusion of a biased satellite range from the position solution will therefore never remove the bias in the position solution completely. PMID:28672862

Novel Penicillin-Type Analogues Bearing a Variable Substituted 2-Azetidinone Ring at Position 6: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation.

PubMed

De Rosa, Margherita; Vigliotta, Giovanni; Palma, Giuseppe; Saturnino, Carmela; Soriente, Annunziata

2015-12-10

The synthesis and the biological activity of novel semi-synthetic β-lactam compounds containing an azetidinone moiety joined to the amino-nitrogen of the (+)-6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) as new antibacterial agents is reported. The synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against a panel of Gram positive and Gram negative pathogens and environmental bacteria. Tested compounds displayed good antimicrobial activity against all tested Gram positive bacteria and for Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis antimicrobial activity resulted higher than that of the reference antibiotic. Additionally, in vitro cytotoxic screening was also carried out indicating that the compounds do not cause a cell vitality reduction effective at concentration next to and above those shown to be antimicrobial.

Position uncertainty distribution for articulated arm coordinate measuring machine based on simplified definite integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Xu; Zhi-jian, Zong; Qun, Gao

2018-07-01

This paper describes a methodology for the position uncertainty distribution of an articulated arm coordinate measuring machine (AACMM). First, a model of the structural parameter uncertainties was established by statistical method. Second, the position uncertainty space volume of the AACMM in a certain configuration was expressed using a simplified definite integration method based on the structural parameter uncertainties; it was then used to evaluate the position accuracy of the AACMM in a certain configuration. Third, the configurations of a certain working point were calculated by an inverse solution, and the position uncertainty distribution of a certain working point was determined; working point uncertainty can be evaluated by the weighting method. Lastly, the position uncertainty distribution in the workspace of the ACCMM was described by a map. A single-point contrast test of a 6-joint AACMM was carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, and it was shown that the method can describe the position uncertainty of the AACMM and it was used to guide the calibration of the AACMM and the choice of AACMM’s accuracy area.

Ventilation via Cut Nasotracheal Tube During General Anesthesia

PubMed Central

Asahi, Yoshinao; Omichi, Shiro; Adachi, Seita; Kagamiuchi, Hajime; Kotani, Junichiro

2013-01-01

Many patients with disabilities need recurrent dental treatment under general anesthesia because of high caries prevalence and the nature of dental treatment. We evaluated the use of a nasal device as a possible substitute for flexible laryngeal mask airway to reduce the risk of unexpected failure accompanying intubation; we succeeded in ventilating the lungs with a cut nasotracheal tube (CNT) with its tip placed in the pharynx. We hypothesized that this technique would be useful during dental treatment under general anesthesia and investigated its usefulness as part of a minimally invasive technique. A prospective study was designed using general anesthesia in 37 dental patients with disabilities such as intellectual impairment, autism, and cerebral palsy. CNT ventilation was compared with mask ventilation with the patient in 3 positions: the neck in flexion, horizontal position, and in extension. The effect of mouth gags was also recorded during CNT ventilation. The percentages of cases with effective ventilation were similar for the 2 techniques in the neck extension and horizontal positions (89.2–97.3%). However, CNT ventilation was significantly more effective than mask ventilation in the neck flexion position (94.6 vs 45.9%; P < .0001). Mouth gags slightly reduced the rate of effective ventilation in the neck flexion position. Most dental treatments involving minor oral surgeries were performed using mouth gags during CNT ventilation. CNT ventilation was shown to be superior to mask ventilation and is useful during dental treatment under general anesthesia. PMID:23506278

Timing effects of antecedent- and response-focused emotion regulation strategies.

PubMed

Paul, Sandra; Simon, Daniela; Kniesche, Rainer; Kathmann, Norbert; Endrass, Tanja

2013-09-01

Distraction and cognitive reappraisal influence the emotion-generative process at early stages and have been shown to effectively attenuate emotional responding. Inhibiting emotion-expressive behavior is thought to be less beneficial due to later implementation, but empirical results are mixed. Thus, the current study examined the temporal dynamics of these emotion regulation strategies at attenuating the late positive potential (LPP) while participants were shown unpleasant pictures. Results revealed that all strategies successfully reduced the LPP and self-reported negative affect. We confirmed that distraction attenuated the LPP earlier than cognitive reappraisal. Surprisingly, expressive suppression affected emotional responding as early as distraction. This suggests that suppression was used preventively and disrupted the emotion-generative process from the very beginning instead of targeting the emotional response itself. Thus, the obtained results point to the importance of considering the point in time when response-focused emotion regulation strategies are being implemented. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Beta-blockers in septic shock: a review].

PubMed

Vela-Vásquez, R S; Grigorov-Tzenkov, I; Aguilar, J L

2015-02-01

In septic shock, high adrenergic stress is associated with cardiovascular and systemic adverse effects, which can negatively affect the results. Beta-adrenergic receptor block has been shown to be effective in controlling the disproportionate increase in heart rate, maintaining a favorable hemodynamic profile and apparently improving the efficiency of the cardiovascular system in order to maintain tissue perfusion. They have also been shown to modulate favorably catecholamine-induced immunosuppression and to decrease insulin resistance, protein catabolism, and proinflammatory cytokine expression associated with cardiovascular dysfunction. Selective beta-1 blockers appear to provide better results than non-selective blockers, even suggesting a positive impact on mortality. Future clinical trials are still needed to confirm these findings and define the scope of their benefits. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Diffusion and transport in locally disordered driven lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wulf, Thomas; Okupnik, Alexander; Schmelcher, Peter

2016-09-01

We study the effect of disorder on the particle density evolution in a classical Hamiltonian driven lattice setup. If the disorder is localized within a finite sub-domain of the lattice, the emergence of strong tails in the density distribution which even increases towards larger positions is shown, thus yielding a highly non-Gaussian particle density evolution. As the key underlying mechanism, we identify the conversion between different components of the unperturbed systems mixed phase space which is induced by the disorder. Based on the introduction of individual conversion rates between chaotic and regular components, a theoretical model is developed which correctly predicts the scaling of the particle density. The effect of disorder on the transport properties is studied where a significant enhancement of the transport for cases of localized disorder is shown, thereby contrasting strongly the merely weak modification of the transport for global disorder.

Maintaining professional resilience through group restorative supervision.

PubMed

Wallbank, Sonya

2013-08-01

Restorative clinical supervision has been delivered to over 2,500 professionals and has shown to be highly effective in reducing burnout, stress and increasing compassion satisfaction. Demand for the programme has shown that a sustainable model of implementation is needed for organisations who may not be able to invest in continued individual sessions. Following the initial six sessions, group restorative supervision has been developed and this paper reports on the programme's success in maintaining and continuing to improve compassion satisfaction, stress and burnout through the process of restorative group supervision. This means that organisations can continue to maintain the programme once the initial training has been completed and have confidence within the restorative group supervision to support professionals in managing the emotional demands of their role. The restorative groups have also had inadvertent positive benefits in workplace functioning. The paper outlines how professionals have been able to use this learning to support them in being more effective.

Effects of Type of Agreement Violation and Utterance Position on the Auditory Processing of Subject-Verb Agreement: An ERP Study

PubMed Central

Dube, Sithembinkosi; Kung, Carmen; Peter, Varghese; Brock, Jon; Demuth, Katherine

2016-01-01

Previous ERP studies have often reported two ERP components—LAN and P600—in response to subject-verb (S-V) agreement violations (e.g., the boys *runs). However, the latency, amplitude and scalp distribution of these components have been shown to vary depending on various experiment-related factors. One factor that has not received attention is the extent to which the relative perceptual salience related to either the utterance position (verbal inflection in utterance-medial vs. utterance-final contexts) or the type of agreement violation (errors of omission vs. errors of commission) may influence the auditory processing of S-V agreement. The lack of reports on these effects in ERP studies may be due to the fact that most studies have used the visual modality, which does not reveal acoustic information. To address this gap, we used ERPs to measure the brain activity of Australian English-speaking adults while they listened to sentences in which the S-V agreement differed by type of agreement violation and utterance position. We observed early negative and positive clusters (AN/P600 effects) for the overall grammaticality effect. Further analysis revealed that the mean amplitude and distribution of the P600 effect was only significant in contexts where the S-V agreement violation occurred utterance-finally, regardless of type of agreement violation. The mean amplitude and distribution of the negativity did not differ significantly across types of agreement violation and utterance position. These findings suggest that the increased perceptual salience of the violation in utterance final position (due to phrase-final lengthening) influenced how S-V agreement violations were processed during sentence comprehension. Implications for the functional interpretation of language-related ERPs and experimental design are discussed. PMID:27625617

Effects of Type of Agreement Violation and Utterance Position on the Auditory Processing of Subject-Verb Agreement: An ERP Study.

PubMed

Dube, Sithembinkosi; Kung, Carmen; Peter, Varghese; Brock, Jon; Demuth, Katherine

2016-01-01

Previous ERP studies have often reported two ERP components-LAN and P600-in response to subject-verb (S-V) agreement violations (e.g., the boys (*) runs). However, the latency, amplitude and scalp distribution of these components have been shown to vary depending on various experiment-related factors. One factor that has not received attention is the extent to which the relative perceptual salience related to either the utterance position (verbal inflection in utterance-medial vs. utterance-final contexts) or the type of agreement violation (errors of omission vs. errors of commission) may influence the auditory processing of S-V agreement. The lack of reports on these effects in ERP studies may be due to the fact that most studies have used the visual modality, which does not reveal acoustic information. To address this gap, we used ERPs to measure the brain activity of Australian English-speaking adults while they listened to sentences in which the S-V agreement differed by type of agreement violation and utterance position. We observed early negative and positive clusters (AN/P600 effects) for the overall grammaticality effect. Further analysis revealed that the mean amplitude and distribution of the P600 effect was only significant in contexts where the S-V agreement violation occurred utterance-finally, regardless of type of agreement violation. The mean amplitude and distribution of the negativity did not differ significantly across types of agreement violation and utterance position. These findings suggest that the increased perceptual salience of the violation in utterance final position (due to phrase-final lengthening) influenced how S-V agreement violations were processed during sentence comprehension. Implications for the functional interpretation of language-related ERPs and experimental design are discussed.

Where's the Orange? Geometric and Extra-Geometric Influences on English Children's Descriptions of Spatial Locations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Lynn V.; Coventry, Kenny R.; Clibbens, John

2004-01-01

The effect of both geometric and extra-geometric factors on children's production of "in" is reported (free-response paradigm). Eighty children across four age groups (means 4;1, 5;5, 6;1, and 7;1) were shown video scenes of puppets placing real objects in various positions with reference to a bowl and a plate. Located objects were placed at three…

Omega 3/6 Fatty Acids for Reading in Children: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial in 9-Year-Old Mainstream Schoolchildren in Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Mats; Fransson, Gunnar; Östlund, Sven; Areskoug, Björn; Gillberg, Christopher

2017-01-01

Background: Previous research has shown positive effects of Omega 3/6 fatty acids in children with inattention and reading difficulties. We aimed to investigate if Omega 3/6 improved reading ability in mainstream schoolchildren. Methods: We performed a 3-month parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial followed by 3-month active…

The Effects of Bisphenol A (BPA) on ErbB2 Positive Breast Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

development and progression. We have previously shown that either prenatal ( gestational days 10-21) only exposure to BPA or prepubertal (postpartum days...receptor (PR) in the mammary gland, and increased lateral branching (30). With gestational exposure alone, BPA has been reported to increase the...ductal hyperplasia and carcinoma in situ (32). Gestational exposure to BPA has been reported to result in reproductive and endocrine disruption in

Velocity Noise in Space Shuttle and ISS GPS from the Ionosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kramer, Leonard

2004-01-01

A viewgraph presentation on the noise velocity effects on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) Global Positioning System (GPS) from the ionosphere is shown. The topics include: Scintillation in MAGR/S GPS used for Shuttle; 2) Geographic Distribution of Scintillation; 3) Diurnal Variability; 4) Feynman's interpretation of interference; 5) Angle between line of sight and S/C velocity; and 6) Space Station GPS

Producing More Persuasive Antiviolence Messages for College Students: Testing the Effects of Framing, Information Sources, and Positive/Negative Fact Appeal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Hyunjae

2012-01-01

College students, between the ages of about 18 and 24, are the group of people who are most often exposed to situations involving diverse types of violence. They have greater access to alcohol and drugs and are under far less parental supervision than younger age groups; reports have shown that frequent involvement in several types of violent…

[The action of bemitil on the self-regulation systems during short-term immobilization].

PubMed

Kirichek, L T; Bobkov, Iu G

1991-01-01

In the immobilized rats bemithyl (50 mg/kg in a single dose) was shown to normalize the state of the musculomotor and cardiovascular systems exerting the positive influence on the key links of the process of autoregulation in the form of the sedative (the central nervous system), stress-protective (hormonal regulation) and antihypoxic (metabolism) effects that characterizes it as the drug with the distinct antistress activity.

Processing deficits and the mediation of positive affect in persuasion.

PubMed

Mackie, D M; Worth, L T

1989-07-01

Motivational and cognitive mediators of the reduced processing of persuasive messages shown by recipients in a positive mood were tested. Ss in positive or neutral moods read strong or weak counterattitudinal advocadies for either a limited time or for as long as they wanted. Under limited exposure conditions, neutral mood Ss showed attitude change indicative of systemic processing, whereas positive mood Ss showed no differentiation of strong and weak versions of the message. When message exposure was unlimited, positive mood Ss viewed the message longer than did neutral mood Ss and systematically processed it rather than relying on persuasion heuristics. These findings replicated with 2 manipulations of mood and 2 different attitude issues. We interpret the results as providing evidence that reduced cognitive capacity to process the message contributes to the decrements shown by positive mood Ss.

Unsteady Newton-Busemann flow theory. I - Airfoils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hui, W. H.; Tobak, M.

1981-01-01

Newtonian flow theory for unsteady flow at very high Mach numbers is completed by the addition of a centrifugal force correction to the impact pressures. The correction term is the unsteady counterpart of Busemann's centrifugal force correction to impact pressures in steady flow. For airfoils of arbitary shape, exact formulas for the unsteady pressure and stiffness and damping-in-pitch derivatives are obtained in closed form, which require only numerical quadratures of terms involving the airfoil shape. They are applicable to airfoils of arbitrary thickness having sharp or blunt leading edges. For wedges and thin airfoils these formulas are greatly simplified, and it is proved that the pitching motions of thin airfoils of convex shape and of wedges of arbitrary thickness are always dynamically stable according to Newton-Busemann theory. Leading-edge bluntness is shown to have a favorable effect on the dynamic stability; on the other hand, airfoils of concave shape tend toward dynamic instability over a range of axis positions if the surface curvature exceeds a certain limit. As a byproduct, it is also shown that a pressure formula recently given by Barron and Mandl for unsteady Newtonian flow over a pitching power-law shaped airfoil is erroneous and that their conclusion regarding the effect of pivot position on the dynamic stability is misleading.

Psychological Benefits of Nonpharmacological Methods Aimed for Improving Balance in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Šumec, Rastislav; Filip, Pavel; Sheardová, Kateřina; Bareš, Martin

2015-01-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a serious condition with a major negative impact on patient's physical and mental health. Postural instability is one of the cardinal difficulties reported by patients to deal with. Neuroanatomical, animal, and clinical studies on nonparkinsonian and parkinsonian subjects suggest an important correlation between the presence of balance dysfunction and multiple mood disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and apathy. Considering that balance dysfunction is a very common symptom in PD, we can presume that by its management we could positively influence patient's state of mind too. This review is an analysis of nonpharmacological methods shown to be effective and successful for improving balance in patients suffering from PD. Strategies such as general exercise, robotic assisted training, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga, dance (such as tango or ballet), box, virtual reality-based, or neurofeedback-based techniques and so forth can significantly improve the stability in these patients. Beside this physical outcome, many methods have also shown effect on quality of life, depression level, enjoyment, and motivation to continue in practicing the method independently. The purpose of this review is to provide information about practical and creative methods designed to improve balance in PD and highlight their positive impact on patient's psychology.

Psychological Benefits of Nonpharmacological Methods Aimed for Improving Balance in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a serious condition with a major negative impact on patient's physical and mental health. Postural instability is one of the cardinal difficulties reported by patients to deal with. Neuroanatomical, animal, and clinical studies on nonparkinsonian and parkinsonian subjects suggest an important correlation between the presence of balance dysfunction and multiple mood disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and apathy. Considering that balance dysfunction is a very common symptom in PD, we can presume that by its management we could positively influence patient's state of mind too. This review is an analysis of nonpharmacological methods shown to be effective and successful for improving balance in patients suffering from PD. Strategies such as general exercise, robotic assisted training, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga, dance (such as tango or ballet), box, virtual reality-based, or neurofeedback-based techniques and so forth can significantly improve the stability in these patients. Beside this physical outcome, many methods have also shown effect on quality of life, depression level, enjoyment, and motivation to continue in practicing the method independently. The purpose of this review is to provide information about practical and creative methods designed to improve balance in PD and highlight their positive impact on patient's psychology. PMID:26236107

[The effectiveness of endonasal electrophoresis of neuroprotective agents used in the rehabilitative treatment of the patients presenting with primary open angle glaucoma].

PubMed

Nazarova, G A; Konchugova, T V; Iurova, O V; Sichinava, N V; Turova, E A; Rassulova, M A; Morozova, N E

2013-01-01

The objective of the present study was to estimate the effectiveness of the peptide drug cortexin used to treat primary open angle glaucoma. It was shown that endonasal electrophoresis of cortexin resulted in more pronounced positive changes in the dynamics of clinical, functional, perimetric, and electrophysiological characteristics compared with intramuscular administration of the same drug to the patients of the control group. This difference was apparent both immediately after the termination of the treatment and during the long-term follow-up.

Trichuris suis ova in inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

Schölmerich, Jürgen

2013-01-01

Some but not all epidemiological studies suggest that helminth infection in childhood protects against development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in later years. In animal models of IBD, helminths have shown protective effects and changed bacterial flora in the gut. Based on these concepts, small trials and series have been published showing some positive effects of Trichuris suis ova in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Currently, large randomized placebo-controlled trials are under way. Results remain to be awaited in order to clarify a possible role of T. suis ova in the treatment of IBD.

Effects of underwater turbulence on laser beam propagation and coupling into single-mode optical fiber.

PubMed

Hanson, Frank; Lasher, Mark

2010-06-01

We characterize and compare the effects of turbulence on underwater laser propagation with theory. Measurements of the coupling efficiency of the focused beam into a single-mode fiber are reported. A simple tip-tilt control system, based on the position of the image centroid in the focal plane, was shown to maintain good coupling efficiency for a beam radius equal to the transverse coherence length, r(0). These results are relevant to high bandwidth communication technology that requires good spatial mode quality.

Continuous topical oxygen for the treatment of chronic wounds: a pilot study.

PubMed

Woo, Kevin Y; Coutts, Patricia M; Sibbald, R Gary

2012-12-01

Oxygen is essential for all stages of wound healing. Previous research has shown topical administration of oxygen to have positive effects on wound healing. In this study, the application of transdermal continuous topical oxygen therapy (TCOT) was evaluated for its effect on chronic wound healing in 9 patients. After 4 weeks of treatment, mean wound surface area and wound infection checklist scores were significantly reduced. Signs of bacterial damage were also reduced. Findings from this study suggest TCOT may be beneficial in promoting chronic wound healing.

Resonant radiation from oscillating higher order solitons

DOE PAGES

Driben, R.; Yulin, A. V.; Efimov, A.

2015-07-15

We present radiation mechanism exhibited by a higher order soliton. In a course of its evolution the higher-order soliton emits polychromatic radiation resulting in formation of multipeak frequency comb-like spectral band. Moreover, the shape and spectral position of this band can be effectively controlled by the relative strength of the third order dispersion. An analytical description is corroborated by numerical simulations. It is also shown that for longer pulses the described effect persists also under the action of higher order perturbations such as Raman and self-steepening.

Photodynamic effect of radiation with the wavelength 405 nm on the cells of microorganisms sensitised by metalloporphyrin compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korchenova, M. V.; Tuchina, E. S.; Shvayko, V. Y.; Gulkhandanyan, A. G.; Zakoyan, A. A.; Kazaryan, R. K.; Gulkhandanyan, G. V.; Dzhagarov, B. M.; Tuchin, V. V.

2016-06-01

We have studied the photodynamic activity of photosensitisers based on metalloporphyrins. New metalloporphyrin compounds are synthesised and characterised, the quantum yields of the singlet oxygen formation are analysed. It is shown that when the photodynamic effect is implemented using the metalloporphyrins with Zn ions and butyl radical in the 3rd and 4th positions of the pyridine ring, the number of opportunistic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus (antibiotic-sensitives and antibiotic-resistant strains), Staphylococcus simulans and Escherichia coli is efficiently reduced by 90% - 99%.

Vertical Impact Tests of a Modified F/FB-111 Crew Seat to Evaluate Headrest Position and Restraint Configuration Effects

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-08-01

Deceleration Tower (VDT), shown in Figure 9, was used for this impact test series. This facility consists of a 60 ft vertical steel tower, which supports a...to void prior to entering the test area. A disposable dental bite block (made of Optosil placed over a stainless steel frame) was molded for the...shoulder strap - lap belt configuration (Sections 4D, 5C). 6. Subtolerance human impact tests can be an effective tool in the investi- gation of impact

Vertical incidence of slow Ne 10+ ions on an LiF surface: Suppression of the trampoline effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wirtz, Ludger; Lemell, Christoph; Reinhold, Carlos O.; Hägg, Lotten; Burgdörfer, Joachim

2001-08-01

We present a Monte Carlo simulation of the neutralization of a slow Ne 10+ ion in vertical incidence on an LiF(1 0 0) surface. The rates for resonant electron transfer between surface F - ions and the projectile are calculated using a classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulation. We investigate the influence of the hole mobility on the neutralization sequence. It is shown that backscattering above the surface due to the local positive charge up of the surface ("trampoline effect") does not take place.

Translational Entanglement and Teleportation of Matter Wavepackets by Collisions and Half-Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisch, L.; Tal, A.; Kurizki, G.

To date, the translationally-entangled state originally proposed by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) in 1935 has not been experimentally realized for massive particles. Opatrný and Kurizki [Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3180 (2000)] have suggested the creation of a position- and momentum-correlated, i.e., translationally-entangled, pair of particles approximating the EPR state by dissociation of cold diatomic molecules, and further manipulation of the EPR pair effecting matter-wave teleportation. Here we aim at setting the principles of and quantifying translational entanglement by collisions and half-collisions. In collisions, the resonance width s and the initial phase-space distributions are shown to determine the degree of post-collisional momentum entanglement. Half-collisions (dissociation) are shown to yield different types of approximate EPR states. We analyse a feasible realization of translational EPR entanglement and teleportation via cold-molecule Raman dissociation and subsequent collisions, resolving both practical and conceptual difficulties it has faced so far: How to avoid entanglement loss due to the wavepacket spreading of the dissociation fragments? How to measure both position and momentum correlations of the dissociation fragments with sufficient accuracy to verify their EPR correlations? How to reliably perform two-particle (Bell) position and momentum measurements on one of the fragments and the wavepacket to be teleported?

Does displayed enthusiasm favour recall, intrinsic motivation and time estimation?

PubMed

Moè, Angelica

2016-11-01

Displayed enthusiasm has been shown to relate to intrinsic motivation, vitality, and positive affect, but its effects on recall performance and time estimation have not yet been explored. This research aimed at studying the effects of a delivery style characterised by High Enthusiasm (HE) on recall, time estimation, and intrinsic motivation. In line with previous studies, effects on intrinsic motivation were expected. In addition, higher recall and lower time estimations were hypothesised. In two experiments, participants assigned to a HE condition or to a normal reading control condition listened to a narrative and to a descriptive passage. Then, they were asked to rate perceived time, enthusiasm, pleasure, interest, enjoyment and curiosity, before writing a free recall. Experiment 1 showed that in the HE condition, participants recalled more, were more intrinsically motivated, and expressed lower time estimations compared to the control condition. Experiment 2 confirmed the positive effects of HE reading compared to normal reading, using different passages and a larger sample.

Experimental examination of frequency locking effect in acousto-optic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mantsevich, S. N.; Balakshy, V. I.

2018-04-01

The optoelectronic system containing collinear acousto-optic cell fabricated on the base of calcium molybdate crystal and positive electronic feedback circuit was examined. The feedback signal is formed due to the optical heterodyning effect that occurs on the cell output and takes place in the special regime of collinear acousto-optic diffraction. It was discovered that three operation modes that may exist in this system. The boundaries between the modes were determined. The positions of the boundaries depend on the main parameters of the system—the incident light intensity and the feedback gain value. The new for acousto-optics phenomenon of acousto-optic system self-oscillations frequency locking by the RF generator signal was discovered and examined experimentally. Such an effect has never been observed before in the acousto-optic systems. It was experimentally shown that frequency locking effect may be used to select one of the multimode semiconductor laser longitudinal modes to improve laser radiation spectral composition.

Chemometric investigation of light-shade effects on essential oil yield and morphology of Moroccan Myrtus communis L.

PubMed

Fadil, Mouhcine; Farah, Abdellah; Ihssane, Bouchaib; Haloui, Taoufik; Lebrazi, Sara; Zghari, Badreddine; Rachiq, Saâd

2016-01-01

To investigate the effect of environmental factors such as light and shade on essential oil yield and morphological traits of Moroccan Myrtus communis, a chemometric study was conducted on 20 individuals growing under two contrasting light environments. The study of individual's parameters by principal component analysis has shown that essential oil yield, altitude, and leaves thickness were positively correlated between them and negatively correlated with plants height, leaves length and leaves width. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis have also shown that the individuals of each sampling site were grouped separately. The one-way ANOVA test has confirmed the effect of light and shade on essential oil yield and morphological parameters by showing a statistically significant difference between them from the shaded side to the sunny one. Finally, the multiple linear model containing main, interaction and quadratic terms was chosen for the modeling of essential oil yield in terms of morphological parameters. Sun plants have a small height, small leaves length and width, but they are thicker and richer in essential oil than shade plants which have shown almost the opposite. The highlighted multiple linear model can be used to predict essential oil yield in the studied area.

The Role of Leaders’ Working Alliance in Premarital Education

PubMed Central

Owen, Jesse J.; Rhoades, Galena K.; Stanley, Scott M.; Markman, Howard J.

2011-01-01

Premarital (and general relationship) education programs, as a prevention method, have been shown to have a positive effect on marital quality and can prevent divorce. However, it is unclear whether these positive effects are consistent across leaders who conduct premarital education programs. Examining the variability in relationship outcomes attributed to the leaders of premarital education programs, and the role of general therapeutic factors such as working alliance in explaining relationship outcomes, may help increase the effectiveness of these programs. Accordingly, this study examined 31 leaders who trained 118 couples (236 attendees) in a randomized clinical trial of PREP, a research-based and empirically supported premarital education program being compared to a treatment as usual track. The results demonstrated that couples’ relationship outcomes from pre to post training varied based on the leader who provided the premarital education training. Both training in PREP and aggregated leader working alliance quality (as rated by attendees) explained variability between leaders in change in attendees’ observed negative and positive communication. Leaders’ aggregated working alliance quality also explained change in relationship satisfaction. Additionally, attendees’ ratings of their leaders’ working alliance predicted change in their relationship satisfaction and confidence, and attendees had higher positive communication when they reported better working alliance with their leader. PMID:21355646

Sequential dynamics in visual short-term memory.

PubMed

Kool, Wouter; Conway, Andrew R A; Turk-Browne, Nicholas B

2014-10-01

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is thought to help bridge across changes in visual input, and yet many studies of VSTM employ static displays. Here we investigate how VSTM copes with sequential input. In particular, we characterize the temporal dynamics of several different components of VSTM performance, including: storage probability, precision, variability in precision, guessing, and swapping. We used a variant of the continuous-report VSTM task developed for static displays, quantifying the contribution of each component with statistical likelihood estimation, as a function of serial position and set size. In Experiments 1 and 2, storage probability did not vary by serial position for small set sizes, but showed a small primacy effect and a robust recency effect for larger set sizes; precision did not vary by serial position or set size. In Experiment 3, the recency effect was shown to reflect an increased likelihood of swapping out items from earlier serial positions and swapping in later items, rather than an increased rate of guessing for earlier items. Indeed, a model that incorporated responding to non-targets provided a better fit to these data than alternative models that did not allow for swapping or that tried to account for variable precision. These findings suggest that VSTM is updated in a first-in-first-out manner, and they bring VSTM research into closer alignment with classical working memory research that focuses on sequential behavior and interference effects.

Producing more persuasive antiviolence messages for college students: testing the effects of framing, information sources, and positive/negative fact appeal.

PubMed

Yu, Hyunjae Jay

2012-06-01

College students, between the ages of about 18 and 24, are the group of people who are most often exposed to situations involving diverse types of violence. They have greater access to alcohol and drugs and are under far less parental supervision than younger age groups; reports have shown that frequent involvement in several types of violent behaviors can seriously damage college students physically and psychologically. However, despite the high rate of violence among college students, there has not been enough discussion about how we can produce more effective antiviolence messages targeting college students. This research provides some useful insights into this issue by testing the possible effects of three antiviolence message conditions: gain/loss framing, different information sources, and negative/positive fact appeal. The results reveal that college students in this study find more appeal in antiviolence messages conveyed by a traditional public service announcement (PSA) than in a TV news report. The results also reveal that people pay more attention to messages that use negative fact appeal (e.g., "There are many people losing a lot of precious things because of their violent behaviors") than to those that use positive fact appeal (e.g., "There are many people gaining a lot of precious things by avoiding violent behaviors"). An interaction effect between information sources and positive/negative fact appeal was also detected.

Sequential dynamics in visual short-term memory

PubMed Central

Conway, Andrew R. A.; Turk-Browne, Nicholas B.

2014-01-01

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is thought to help bridge across changes in visual input, and yet many studies of VSTM employ static displays. Here we investigate how VSTM copes with sequential input. In particular, we characterize the temporal dynamics of several different components of VSTM performance, including: storage probability, precision, variability in precision, guessing, and swapping. We used a variant of the continuous-report VSTM task developed for static displays, quantifying the contribution of each component with statistical likelihood estimation, as a function of serial position and set size. In Experiments 1 and 2, storage probability did not vary by serial position for small set sizes, but showed a small primacy effect and a robust recency effect for larger set sizes; precision did not vary by serial position or set size. In Experiment 3, the recency effect was shown to reflect an increased likelihood of swapping out items from earlier serial positions and swapping in later items, rather than an increased rate of guessing for earlier items. Indeed, a model that incorporated responding to non-targets provided a better fit to these data than alternative models that did not allow for swapping or that tried to account for variable precision. These findings suggest that VSTM is updated in a first-in-first-out manner, and they bring VSTM research into closer alignment with classical working memory research that focuses on sequential behavior and interference effects. PMID:25228092

Silicon solar cell process development, fabrication and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iles, P. A.; Leung, D. C.

1982-01-01

For UCP Si, randomly selected wafers and wafers cut from two specific ingots were studied. For the randomly selected wafers, a moderate gettering diffusion had little effect. Moreover, an efficiency up to 14% AMI was achieved with advanced processes. For the two specific UCP ingots, ingot #5848-13C displayed severe impurity effects as shown by lower 3sc in the middle of the ingot and low CFF in the top of the ingot. Also the middle portions of this ingot responded to a series of progressively more severe gettering diffusion. Unexplained was the fact that severely gettered samples of this ingot displayed a negative light biased effect on the minority carrier diffusion length while the nongettered or moderately gettered ones had the more conventional positive light biased effect on diffusion length. On the other hand, ingot C-4-21A did not have the problem of ingot 5848-13C and behaved like to the randomly selected wafers. The top half of the ingot was shown to be slightly superior to the bottom half, but moderate gettering helped to narrow the gap.

Time Pressure Increases Cooperation in Competitively Framed Social Dilemmas

PubMed Central

Cone, Jeremy; Rand, David G.

2014-01-01

What makes people willing to pay costs to benefit others? Does such cooperation require effortful self-control, or do automatic, intuitive processes favor cooperation? Time pressure has been shown to increase cooperative behavior in Public Goods Games, implying a predisposition towards cooperation. Consistent with the hypothesis that this predisposition results from the fact that cooperation is typically advantageous outside the lab, it has further been shown that the time pressure effect is undermined by prior experience playing lab games (where selfishness is the more advantageous strategy). Furthermore, a recent study found that time pressure increases cooperation even in a game framed as a competition, suggesting that the time pressure effect is not the result of social norm compliance. Here, we successfully replicate these findings, again observing a positive effect of time pressure on cooperation in a competitively framed game, but not when using the standard cooperative framing. These results suggest that participants' intuitions favor cooperation rather than norm compliance, and also that simply changing the framing of the Public Goods Game is enough to make it appear novel to participants and thus to restore the time pressure effect. PMID:25551386

Time pressure increases cooperation in competitively framed social dilemmas.

PubMed

Cone, Jeremy; Rand, David G

2014-01-01

What makes people willing to pay costs to benefit others? Does such cooperation require effortful self-control, or do automatic, intuitive processes favor cooperation? Time pressure has been shown to increase cooperative behavior in Public Goods Games, implying a predisposition towards cooperation. Consistent with the hypothesis that this predisposition results from the fact that cooperation is typically advantageous outside the lab, it has further been shown that the time pressure effect is undermined by prior experience playing lab games (where selfishness is the more advantageous strategy). Furthermore, a recent study found that time pressure increases cooperation even in a game framed as a competition, suggesting that the time pressure effect is not the result of social norm compliance. Here, we successfully replicate these findings, again observing a positive effect of time pressure on cooperation in a competitively framed game, but not when using the standard cooperative framing. These results suggest that participants' intuitions favor cooperation rather than norm compliance, and also that simply changing the framing of the Public Goods Game is enough to make it appear novel to participants and thus to restore the time pressure effect.

Oral low dose and topical tamoxifen for breast cancer prevention: modern approaches for an old drug

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Tamoxifen is a drug that has been in worldwide use for the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer for over 30 years; it has been used in both the metastatic and adjuvant settings. Tamoxifen's approval for breast cancer risk reduction dates back to 1998, after results from the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial, co-sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, showed a 49% reduction in the incidence of invasive, ER-positive breast cancer in high-risk women. Despite these positive findings, however, the public's attitude toward breast cancer chemoprevention remains ambivalent, and the toxicities associated with tamoxifen, particularly endometrial cancer and thromboembolic events, have hampered the drug's uptake by high-risk women who should benefit from its preventive effects. Among the strategies to overcome such obstacles to preventive tamoxifen, two novel and potentially safer modes of delivery of this agent are discussed in this paper. Low-dose tamoxifen, expected to confer fewer adverse events, is being investigated in both clinical biomarker-based trials and observational studies. A series of systemic biomarkers (including lipid and insulin-like growth factor levels) and tissue biomarkers (including Ki-67) are known to be favorably affected by conventional tamoxifen dosing and have been shown to be modulated in a direction consistent with a putative anti-cancer effect. These findings suggest possible beneficial clinical preventive effects by low-dose tamoxifen regimens and they are supported by observational studies. An alternative approach is topical administration of active tamoxifen metabolites directly onto the breast, the site where the cancer is to be prevented. Avoidance of systemic administration is expected to reduce the distribution of drug to tissues susceptible to tamoxifen-induced toxicity. Clinical trials of topical tamoxifen with biological endpoints are still ongoing whereas pharmacokinetic studies have already shown that appropriate formulations of drug successfully penetrate the skin to reach breast tissue, where a preventive effect is sought. PMID:23106852

A new method to detect and correct sample tilt in scanning transmission electron microscopy bright-field imaging.

PubMed

Brown, H G; Ishikawa, R; Sánchez-Santolino, G; Lugg, N R; Ikuhara, Y; Allen, L J; Shibata, N

2017-02-01

Important properties of functional materials, such as ferroelectric shifts and octahedral distortions, are associated with displacements of the positions of lighter atoms in the unit cell. Annular bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy is a good experimental method for investigating such phenomena due to its ability to image light and heavy atoms simultaneously. To map atomic positions at the required accuracy precise angular alignment of the sample with the microscope optical axis is necessary, since misalignment (tilt) of the specimen contributes to errors in position measurements of lighter elements in annular bright-field imaging. In this paper it is shown that it is possible to detect tilt with the aid of images recorded using a central bright-field detector placed within the inner radius of the annular bright-field detector. For a probe focus near the middle of the specimen the central bright-field image becomes especially sensitive to tilt and we demonstrate experimentally that misalignment can be detected with a precision of less than a milliradian, as we also confirm in simulation. Coma in the probe, an aberration that can be misidentified as tilt of the specimen, is also investigated and it is shown how the effects of coma and tilt can be differentiated. The effects of tilt may be offset to a large extent by shifting the diffraction plane detector an amount equivalent to the specimen tilt and we provide an experimental proof of principle of this using a segmented detector system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pineal gland function is required for colon antipreneoplastic effects of physical exercise in rats.

PubMed

Frajacomo, F T T; de Paula Garcia, W; Fernandes, C R; Garcia, S B; Kannen, V

2015-10-01

Light-at-night exposure enhances the risk of cancer. Colon cancer is among the most dangerous tumors affecting humankind. Physical exercise has shown positive effects against colon cancer. Here, we investigated whether pineal gland modulates antipreneoplastic effects of physical exercise in the colon. Surgical and non-surgical pineal impairments were performed to clarify the relationship between the pineal gland activity and manifestation of colonic preneoplastic lesions. Next, a progressive swimming training was applied in rats exposed or not to either non-surgical pineal impairment or carcinogen treatment for 10 weeks. Both surgical and non-surgical pineal impairments increased the development of colon preneoplasia. It was further found that impairing the pineal gland function, higher rates of DNA damage were induced in colonic epithelial and enteric glial cells. Physical exercise acted positively against preneoplasia, whereas impairing the pineal function with constant light exposure disrupts its positive effects on the development of preneoplastic lesions in the colon. This was yet related to increased DNA damage in glial cells and enteric neuronal activation aside from serum melatonin levels. Our findings suggest that protective effects of physical exercise against colon cancer are dependent on the pineal gland activity. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Influence of an electric field on the buoyancy-driven instabilities.

PubMed

Zadrazil, Ales; Sevcíková, Hana

2005-11-01

The influence of dc electric fields (EFs) on the development of buoyancy-driven instabilities of reaction fronts is investigated experimentally in a modified Hele-Shaw cell for the arsenous acid-iodate system. Assessment of effects of external EFs is made both visually and through dispersion curves. It is shown that density fingering, observed on ascending fronts, is suppressed by the EF if the front propagates towards the positive electrode and is enhanced when the front propagates towards the negative electrode. The stabilizing (destabilizing) effects include slower (faster) development of fingers and the decrease (increase) in their numbers. The descending front, stable under no EF conditions, remains stable when an EF is applied with the positive electrode facing the approaching front. When the descending front faces the negative electrode, the tiny fingerlike structure develops after quite a long time.

POx/Al2O3 stacks: Highly effective surface passivation of crystalline silicon with a large positive fixed charge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Black, Lachlan E.; Kessels, W. M. M. Erwin

2018-05-01

Thin-film stacks of phosphorus oxide (POx) and aluminium oxide (Al2O3) are shown to provide highly effective passivation of crystalline silicon (c-Si) surfaces. Surface recombination velocities as low as 1.7 cm s-1 and saturation current densities J0s as low as 3.3 fA cm-2 are obtained on n-type (100) c-Si surfaces passivated by 6 nm/14 nm thick POx/Al2O3 stacks deposited in an atomic layer deposition system and annealed at 450 °C. This excellent passivation can be attributed in part to an unusually large positive fixed charge density of up to 4.7 × 1012 cm-2, which makes such stacks especially suitable for passivation of n-type Si surfaces.

Weight-Bearing MR Imaging as an Option in the Study of Gravitational Effects on the Vocal Tract of Untrained Subjects in Singing Phonation

PubMed Central

Traser, Louisa; Burdumy, Michael; Richter, Bernhard; Vicari, Marco; Echternach, Matthias

2014-01-01

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of subjects in a supine position can be used to evaluate the configuration of the vocal tract during phonation. However, studies of speech phonation have shown that gravity can affect vocal tract shape and bias measurements. This is one of the reasons that MRI studies of singing phonation have used professionally trained singers as subjects, because they are generally considered to be less affected by the supine body position and environmental distractions. A study of untrained singers might not only contribute to the understanding of intuitive singing function and aid the evaluation of potential hazards for vocal health, but also provide insights into the effect of the supine position on singers in general. In the present study, an open configuration 0.25 T MRI system with a rotatable examination bed was used to study the effect of body position in 20 vocally untrained subjects. The subjects were asked to sing sustained tones in both supine and upright body positions on different pitches and in different register conditions. Morphometric measurements were taken from the acquired images of a sagittal slice depicting the vocal tract. The analysis concerning the vocal tract configuration in the two body positions revealed differences in 5 out of 10 measured articulatory parameters. In the upright position the jaw was less protruded, the uvula was elongated, the larynx more tilted and the tongue was positioned more to the front of the mouth than in the supine position. The findings presented are in agreement with several studies on gravitational effects in speech phonation, but contrast with the results of a previous study on professional singers of our group where only minor differences between upright and supine body posture were observed. The present study demonstrates that imaging of the vocal tract using weight-bearing MR imaging is a feasible tool for the study of sustained phonation in singing for vocally untrained subjects. PMID:25379885

SU-C-12A-07: Effect of Vertical Position On Dose Reduction Using X-Care

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

Silosky, M; Marsh, R

Purpose: Reduction of absorbed dose to radiosensitive tissues is an important goal in diagnostic radiology. Siemens Medical has introduced a technique (X-CARE) to lower CT dose to anterior anatomy by reducing the tube current during 80° of rotation over radiosensitive tissues. Phantom studies have shown 30-40% dose reduction when phantoms are positioned at isocenter. However, for CT face and sinus exams, the center of the head is commonly positioned below isocenter. This work investigated the effects of vertical patient positioning on dose reduction using X-CARE. Methods: A 16cm Computed Tomography Dose Index phantom was scanned on a Siemens Definition Flashmore » CT scanner using a routine head protocol, with the phantom positioned at scanner isocenter. Optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters were placed on the anterior and posterior sides of the phantom. The phantom was lowered in increments of 2cm and rescanned, up to 8cm below isocenter. The experiment was then repeated using the same scan parameters but adding the X-CARE technique. The mean dosimeter counts were determined for each phantom position, and the difference between XCARE and routine scans was plotted as a function of distance from isocenter. Results: With the phantom positioned at isocenter, using XCARE reduced dose to the anterior side of the phantom by 40%, compared to dose when X-CARE was not used. Positioned below isocenter, anterior dose was reduced by only 20-27%. Additionally, using X-CARE at isocenter reduced dose to the anterior portion of the phantom by 45.6% compared to scans performed without X-CARE 8cm below isocenter. Conclusion: While using X-CARE substantially reduced dose to the anterior side of the phantom, this effect was diminished when the phantom was positioned below isocenter, simulating common practice for face and sinus scans. This indicates that centering the head in the gantry will maximize the effect of X-CARE.« less

Weight-bearing MR imaging as an option in the study of gravitational effects on the vocal tract of untrained subjects in singing phonation.

PubMed

Traser, Louisa; Burdumy, Michael; Richter, Bernhard; Vicari, Marco; Echternach, Matthias

2014-01-01

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of subjects in a supine position can be used to evaluate the configuration of the vocal tract during phonation. However, studies of speech phonation have shown that gravity can affect vocal tract shape and bias measurements. This is one of the reasons that MRI studies of singing phonation have used professionally trained singers as subjects, because they are generally considered to be less affected by the supine body position and environmental distractions. A study of untrained singers might not only contribute to the understanding of intuitive singing function and aid the evaluation of potential hazards for vocal health, but also provide insights into the effect of the supine position on singers in general. In the present study, an open configuration 0.25 T MRI system with a rotatable examination bed was used to study the effect of body position in 20 vocally untrained subjects. The subjects were asked to sing sustained tones in both supine and upright body positions on different pitches and in different register conditions. Morphometric measurements were taken from the acquired images of a sagittal slice depicting the vocal tract. The analysis concerning the vocal tract configuration in the two body positions revealed differences in 5 out of 10 measured articulatory parameters. In the upright position the jaw was less protruded, the uvula was elongated, the larynx more tilted and the tongue was positioned more to the front of the mouth than in the supine position. The findings presented are in agreement with several studies on gravitational effects in speech phonation, but contrast with the results of a previous study on professional singers of our group where only minor differences between upright and supine body posture were observed. The present study demonstrates that imaging of the vocal tract using weight-bearing MR imaging is a feasible tool for the study of sustained phonation in singing for vocally untrained subjects.

Effects of nisin on the antimicrobial activity of d-limonene and its nanoemulsion.

PubMed

Zhang, Zijie; Vriesekoop, Frank; Yuan, Qipeng; Liang, Hao

2014-05-01

d-Limonene has been considered to be a safer alternative compared to synthetic antimicrobial food additives. However, its hydrophobic and oxidative nature has limited its application in foods. The purpose of this research was to study effects of nisin on the antimicrobial activity of d-limonene and its nanoemulsion and develop a novel antimicrobial delivery system by combining the positive effect of these two antibacterial agents at the same time. By the checkerboard method, both the synergistic and additive effects of d-limonene and nisin were found against four selected food-related microorganisms. Then, d-limonene nanoemulsion with or without nisin was prepared by catastrophic phase inversion method, which has shown good droplet size and stability. The positive effects and outstanding antimicrobial activity of d-limonene nanoemulsion with nisin were confirmed by MICs comparison, scanning electron microscopy and determination of cell constituents released. Overall, the research described in the current article would be helpful in developing a more effective antimicrobial system for the production and preservation of foods. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Filling the glass: Effects of a positive psychology intervention on executive task performance in chronic pain patients.

PubMed

Boselie, J J L M; Vancleef, L M G; Peters, M L

2018-03-24

Chronic pain is associated with emotional problems as well as difficulties in cognitive functioning. Prior experimental studies have shown that optimism, the tendency to expect that good things happen in the future, and positive emotions can counteract pain-induced task performance deficits in healthy participants. More specifically, induced optimism was found to buffer against the negative effects of experimental pain on executive functioning. This clinical experiment examined whether this beneficial effect can be extended to a chronic pain population. Patients (N = 122) were randomized to a positive psychology Internet-based intervention (PPI; n = 74) or a waiting list control condition (WLC; n = 48). The PPI consisted of positive psychology exercises that particularly target optimism, positive emotions and self-compassion. Results demonstrated that patients in the PPI condition scored higher on happiness, optimism, positive future expectancies, positive affect, self-compassion and ability to live a desired life despite pain, and scored lower on pain catastrophizing, depression and anxiety compared to patients in the WLC condition. However, executive task performance did not improve following completion of the PPI, compared to the WLC condition. Despite the lack of evidence that positive emotions and optimism can improve executive task performance in chronic pain patients, this study did convincingly demonstrate that it is possible to increase positive emotions and optimism in chronic pain patients with an online positive psychology intervention. It is imperative to further explore amendable psychological factors that may reduce the negative impact of pain on executive functioning. We demonstrated that an Internet-based positive psychology intervention strengthens optimism and positive emotions in chronic pain patients. These emotional improvements are not associated with improved executive task performance. As pain itself often cannot be relieved, it is imperative to have techniques to reduce the burden of living with chronic pain. © 2018 The Authors. European Journal of Pain published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Pain Federation -EFIC®.

Could Pomegranate Juice Help in the Control of Inflammatory Diseases?

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Fruits rich in polyphenols, such as pomegranates, have been shown to have health benefits relating to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Using data obtained from PubMed and Scopus, this article provides a brief overview of the therapeutic effects of pomegranate on chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, and other inflammatory-associated conditions, with an emphasis on fruit-derived juices. Most studies regarding the effects of pomegranate juice have focused on its ability to treat prostate cancer, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. However, pomegranate juice has shown therapeutic potential for many other illnesses. For instance, a small number of human clinical trials have highlighted the positive effects of pomegranate juice and extract consumption on cardiovascular health. The beneficial effects of pomegranate components have also been observed in animal models for respiratory diseases, RA, neurodegenerative disease, and hyperlipidaemia. Furthermore, there exists strong evidence from rodent models suggesting that pomegranate juice can be used to effectively treat IBD, and as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat CID. The effects of pomegranate intake should be further investigated by conducting larger and more well-defined human trials. PMID:28867799

Could Pomegranate Juice Help in the Control of Inflammatory Diseases?

PubMed

Danesi, Francesca; Ferguson, Lynnette R

2017-08-30

Fruits rich in polyphenols, such as pomegranates, have been shown to have health benefits relating to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Using data obtained from PubMed and Scopus, this article provides a brief overview of the therapeutic effects of pomegranate on chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, and other inflammatory-associated conditions, with an emphasis on fruit-derived juices. Most studies regarding the effects of pomegranate juice have focused on its ability to treat prostate cancer, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. However, pomegranate juice has shown therapeutic potential for many other illnesses. For instance, a small number of human clinical trials have highlighted the positive effects of pomegranate juice and extract consumption on cardiovascular health. The beneficial effects of pomegranate components have also been observed in animal models for respiratory diseases, RA, neurodegenerative disease, and hyperlipidaemia. Furthermore, there exists strong evidence from rodent models suggesting that pomegranate juice can be used to effectively treat IBD, and as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat CID. The effects of pomegranate intake should be further investigated by conducting larger and more well-defined human trials.

Resource Availability Alters Biodiversity Effects in Experimental Grass-Forb Mixtures.

PubMed

Siebenkäs, Alrun; Schumacher, Jens; Roscher, Christiane

2016-01-01

Numerous experiments, mostly performed in particular environments, have shown positive diversity-productivity relationships. Although the complementary use of resources is discussed as an important mechanism explaining diversity effects, less is known about how resource availability controls the strength of diversity effects and how this response depends on the functional composition of plant communities. We studied aboveground biomass production in experimental monocultures, two- and four-species mixtures assembled from two independent pools of four perennial grassland species, each representing two functional groups (grasses, forbs) and two growth statures (small, tall), and exposed to different combinations of light and nutrient availability. On average, shade led to a decrease in aboveground biomass production of 24% while fertilization increased biomass production by 36%. Mixtures were on average more productive than expected from their monocultures (relative yield total, RYT>1) and showed positive net diversity effects (NE: +34% biomass increase; mixture minus mean monoculture biomass). Both trait-independent complementarity effects (TICE: +21%) and dominance effects (DE: +12%) positively contributed to net diversity effects, while trait-dependent complementarity effects were minor (TDCE: +1%). Shading did not alter diversity effects and overyielding. Fertilization decreased RYT and the proportion of biomass gain through TICE and TDCE, while DE increased. Diversity effects did not increase with species richness and were independent of functional group or growth stature composition. Trait-based analyses showed that the dominance of species with root and leaf traits related to resource conservation increased TICE. Traits indicating the tolerance of shade showed positive relationships with TDCE. Large DE were associated with the dominance of species with tall growth and low diversity in leaf nitrogen concentrations. Our field experiment shows that positive diversity effects are possible in grass-forb mixtures irrespective of differences in light availability, but that the chance for the complementary use of resources increases when nutrients are not available at excess.

Resource Availability Alters Biodiversity Effects in Experimental Grass-Forb Mixtures

PubMed Central

Siebenkäs, Alrun; Schumacher, Jens; Roscher, Christiane

2016-01-01

Numerous experiments, mostly performed in particular environments, have shown positive diversity-productivity relationships. Although the complementary use of resources is discussed as an important mechanism explaining diversity effects, less is known about how resource availability controls the strength of diversity effects and how this response depends on the functional composition of plant communities. We studied aboveground biomass production in experimental monocultures, two- and four-species mixtures assembled from two independent pools of four perennial grassland species, each representing two functional groups (grasses, forbs) and two growth statures (small, tall), and exposed to different combinations of light and nutrient availability. On average, shade led to a decrease in aboveground biomass production of 24% while fertilization increased biomass production by 36%. Mixtures were on average more productive than expected from their monocultures (relative yield total, RYT>1) and showed positive net diversity effects (NE: +34% biomass increase; mixture minus mean monoculture biomass). Both trait-independent complementarity effects (TICE: +21%) and dominance effects (DE: +12%) positively contributed to net diversity effects, while trait-dependent complementarity effects were minor (TDCE: +1%). Shading did not alter diversity effects and overyielding. Fertilization decreased RYT and the proportion of biomass gain through TICE and TDCE, while DE increased. Diversity effects did not increase with species richness and were independent of functional group or growth stature composition. Trait-based analyses showed that the dominance of species with root and leaf traits related to resource conservation increased TICE. Traits indicating the tolerance of shade showed positive relationships with TDCE. Large DE were associated with the dominance of species with tall growth and low diversity in leaf nitrogen concentrations. Our field experiment shows that positive diversity effects are possible in grass-forb mixtures irrespective of differences in light availability, but that the chance for the complementary use of resources increases when nutrients are not available at excess. PMID:27341495

Prevalence of genetically modified rice, maize, and soy in Saudi food products.

PubMed

Elsanhoty, Rafaat M; Al-Turki, A I; Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy

2013-10-01

Qualitative and quantitative DNA-based methods were applied to detect genetically modified foods in samples from markets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Two hundred samples were collected from Al-Qassim, Riyadh, and Mahdina in 2009 and 2010. GMOScreen 35S and NOS test kits for the detection of genetically modified organism varieties in samples were used. The positive results obtained from GMOScreen 35S and NOS were identified using specific primer pairs. The results indicated that all rice samples gave negative results for the presence of 35S and NOS terminator. About 26 % of samples containing soybean were positive for 35S and NOS terminator and 44 % of samples containing maize were positive for the presence of 35S and/or NOS terminator. The results showed that 20.4 % of samples was positive for maize line Bt176, 8.8 % was positive for maize line Bt11, 8.8 % was positive for maize line T25, 5.9 % was positive for maize line MON 810, and 5.9 % was positive for StarLink maize. Twelve samples were shown to contain <3 % of genetically modified (GM) soy and 6 samples >10 % of GM soy. Four samples containing GM maize were shown to contain >5 % of GM maize MON 810. Four samples containing GM maize were shown to contain >1 % of StarLink maize. Establishing strong regulations and certified laboratories to monitor GM foods or crops in Saudi market is recommended.

Positive and negative mood in men with advanced prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy: considering the role of social support and stress.

PubMed

Benedict, Catherine; Dahn, Jason R; Antoni, Michael H; Traeger, Lara; Kava, Bruce; Bustillo, Natalie; Zhou, Eric S; Penedo, Frank J

2015-08-01

Advanced prostate cancer patients often undergo androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Advanced disease and adverse ADT side effects are often debilitating and negatively impact mood. Social support has been shown to mitigate detrimental effects of stress on mood. This study sought to characterize positive and negative mood in this select patient population and determine whether social support moderated relations between stress and mood. Participants (N = 80) completed the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, Perceived Stress Scale, and Derogatis Affect Balance Scale at a single time point. Hierarchical regression models evaluated relations among social support, stress, and mood controlling for relevant covariates. Standard moderation analyses were performed. Participants reported higher levels of negative and positive mood compared with published means of localized prostate cancer patients. Overall, mood was more positive than negative. Stress levels were comparable to cancer populations with recurrent disease. Moderated regression analyses showed that social support partially buffered the effects of stress on positive mood; men with high stress and low support reported the lowest levels of positive mood. The model with negative mood as the dependent measure did not support moderation; that is, the relationship between stress and negative mood did not differ by level of social support. Among individuals living with advanced prostate cancer, social support may be an important factor that sustains positive mood in the presence of stress. Future work should examine the extent to which social support prospectively impacts health-related quality of life by promoting positive mood. Limitations include cross-sectional design, which precludes causal inferences. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The power of emotion versus the power of suggestion: memory for emotional events in the misinformation paradigm.

PubMed

Van Damme, Ilse; Smets, Karolien

2014-04-01

Research has shown that emotional events are remembered better than neutral events, but might also elicit an increase in false memories. The present study was designed to disentangle the influences of valence and arousal on event memory in the misinformation paradigm. Participants were shown six types of photographs (positive with high/low arousal, negative with high/low arousal, ambiguous, neutral), after which half of them were exposed to misleading information. A recognition test assessed memory for both correct and false central and peripheral details. Negative and ambiguous events elicited fewer correct and more false memories for peripheral details than positive and neutral events, regardless of previous exposure to misinformation. Arousal improved memory for correct central details, and both negative valence and arousal inhibited control participants' tendency to endorse false central details. The power of emotion was overruled by the power of suggestion, however, as the latter effect disappeared with previous exposure to misinformation. Results are discussed in the light of earlier research on emotion and cognition, recent motivational theories, and implications for forensic practice.

Modulation of the Polar Vortex by Energetic Particle Precipitation and Quasi-Biennial Oscillation via Ozone Loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asikainen, T.; Salminen, A.; Maliniemi, V.; Mursula, K.

2017-12-01

Energetic particle precipitation (EPP) has been shown to cause ozone loss in the stratosphere during polar winter. This has been suggested to enhance polar vortex with the effect propagating even to ground level, where it is observed as a more positive phase of the Northern Annular Mode (NAM), the dominant ground circulation pattern in the winter time at high latitudes. Recent research has also shown that the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) modulates the relationship between the ground NAM and EPP so that the positive correlation between the two is more clearly seen in the easterly phase of QBO measured at 30 hPa height especially during the late winter season. Here we elaborate the QBO modulated connection between EPP and NAM by studying how the EPP affects the stratospheric polar vortex in the two phases of the QBO. Since the EPP presumably affects the polar stratosphere via indirect ozone loss we will study how the EPP modulates the amount of ozone, the stratospheric temperatures and zonal winds in the two QBO phases.

Molecular targeted therapy for advanced gastric cancer.

PubMed

Kim, Jong Gwang

2013-03-01

Although medical treatment has been shown to improve quality of life and prolong survival, no significant progress has been made in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) within the last two decades. Thus, the optimum standard first-line chemotherapy regimen for AGC remains debatable, and most responses to chemotherapy are partial and of short duration; the median survival is approximately 7 to 11 months, and survival at 2 years is exceptionally > 10%. Recently, remarkable progress in tumor biology has led to the development of new agents that target critical aspects of oncogenic pathways. For AGC, many molecular targeting agents have been evaluated in international randomized studies, and trastuzumab, an anti-HER-2 monoclonal antibody, has shown antitumor activity against HER-2-positive AGC. However, this benefit is limited to only ~20% of patients with AGC (patients with HER-2-positive AGC). Therefore, there remains a critical need for both the development of more effective agents and the identification of molecular predictive and prognostic markers to select those patients who will benefit most from specific chemotherapeutic regimens and targeted therapies.

Gramicidin A Mutants with Antibiotic Activity against Both Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria.

PubMed

Zerfas, Breanna L; Joo, Yechaan; Gao, Jianmin

2016-03-17

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have shown potential as alternatives to traditional antibiotics for fighting infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. One promising example of this is gramicidin A (gA). In its wild-type sequence, gA is active by permeating the plasma membrane of Gram-positive bacteria. However, gA is toxic to human red blood cells at similar concentrations to those required for it to exert its antimicrobial effects. Installing cationic side chains into gA has been shown to lower its hemolytic activity while maintaining the antimicrobial potency. In this study, we present the synthesis and the antibiotic activity of a new series of gA mutants that display cationic side chains. Specifically, by synthesizing alkylated lysine derivatives through reductive amination, we were able to create a broad selection of structures with varied activities towards Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Importantly, some of the new mutants were observed to have an unprecedented activity towards important Gram-negative pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Psuedomonas aeruginosa. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Modulation of the polar vortex by energetic particle precipitation and Quasi-Biennial Oscillation via ozone loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salminen, Antti; Asikainen, Timo; Maliniemi, Ville; Mursula, Kalevi

2017-04-01

Energetic particle precipitation (EPP) has been shown to cause ozone loss in the stratosphere during polar winter. This has been suggested to enhance polar vortex with the effect propagating even to ground level, where it is observed as a more positive phase of the Northern Annular Mode (NAM), the dominant ground circulation pattern in the winter time at high latitudes. Recent research has also shown that the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) modulates the relationship between the ground NAM and EPP so that the positive correlation between the two is more clearly seen in the easterly phase of QBO measured at 30 hPa height especially during the late winter season. Here we elaborate the QBO modulated connection between EPP and NAM by studying how the EPP affects the stratospheric polar vortex in the two phases of the QBO. Since the EPP presumably affects the polar stratosphere via indirect ozone loss we will study how the EPP modulates the amount of ozone, the stratospheric temperatures and zonal winds in the two QBO phases.

GPS aiding of ocean current determination. [Global Positioning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mohan, S. N.

1981-01-01

The navigational accuracy of an oceangoing vessel using conventional GPS p-code data is examined. The GPS signal is transmitted over two carrier frequencies in the L-band at 1575.42 and 1227.6 MHz. Achievable navigational uncertainties of differenced positional estimates are presented as a function of the parameters of the problem, with particular attention given to the effect of sea-state, user equivalent range error, uncompensated antenna motion, varying delay intervals, and reduced data rate examined in the unaided mode. The unmodeled errors resulting from satellite ephemeris uncertainties are shown to be negligible for the GPS-NDS (Navigation Development) satellites. Requirements are met in relatively calm seas, but accuracy degradation by a factor of at least 2 must be anticipated in heavier sea states. The aided mode of operation is examined, and it is shown that requirements can be met by using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to aid the GPS receiver operation. Since the use of an IMU would mean higher costs, direct Doppler from the GPS satellites is presented as a viable alternative.

Molecular Mechanism Underlying the Action of Substituted Pro-Gly Dipeptide Noopept.

PubMed

Vakhitova, Y V; Sadovnikov, S V; Borisevich, S S; Ostrovskaya, R U; A Gudasheva, T; Seredenin, S B

2016-01-01

This study was performed in order to reveal the effect of Noopept (ethyl ester of N-phenylacetyl-Lprolylglycine, GVS-111) on the DNA-binding activity of transcriptional factors (TF) in HEK293 cells transiently transfected with luciferase reporter constructs containing sequences for CREB, NFAT, NF-κB, p53, STAT1, GAS, VDR, HSF1, and HIF-1. Noopept (10 μM) was shown to increase the DNA-binding activity of HIF-1 only, while lacking the ability to affect that of CREB, NFAT, NF-κB, p53, STAT1, GAS, VDR, and HSF1. Noopept provoked an additional increase in the DNA-binding activity of HIF-1 when applied in conditions of CoCl2-induced HIF- 1 stabilization. The degree of this HIF-positive effect of Noopept was shown to be concentration-dependent. Piracetam (1 mM) failed to affect significantly any of the TF under study. The results of molecular docking showed that Noopept (L-isomer), as well as its metabolite, L-isomer of N-phenyl-acetylprolyl, unlike its pharmacologically ineffective D-isomer, is able to bind to the active site of prolyl hydroxylase 2. Taking into account the important role of the genes activated by HIF-1 in the formation of an adaptive response to hypoxia, data on the ability of Noopept to provoke a selective increase in the DNA-binding activity of HIF-1 explain the wide spectrum of neurochemical and pharmacological effects of Noopept revealed before. The obtained data allow one to propose the HIF-positive effect as the primary mechanism of the activity of this Pro-Gly-containing dipeptide.

Cytologic Effects of Air Force Chemicals

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-08-01

mitomycin C (MMC, Sigma), a well known bifunctional DNA alkylating agent . Figure 3 shows typical metaphase spreads of a rat lymphocyte and a rat bone...monofunctional DNA alkylating agents and well known mutagens, are shown in Figures 7 and 8, respectively. Fig- ure 9 shows the induction of micronuclei by MMC...a bifunctional alkyl - ating agent . These three chemicals serve as positive controls for the in vitro exposures. In all three figures, the general

Let-7b inhibits cancer-promoting effects of breast cancer-associated fibroblasts through IL-8 repression

PubMed Central

Al-Harbi, Bothina; Hendrayani, Siti-Fauziah; Silva, Gabriela; Aboussekhra, Abdelilah

2018-01-01

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are major players in the development and spread of breast carcinomas through non-cell-autonomous signaling. These paracrine effects are under the control of several genes and microRNAs. We present here clear evidence that let-7b, a tumor suppressor microRNA, plays key roles in the persistent activation of breast stromal fibroblasts and their functional interplay with cancer cells. We have first shown that let-7b is down-regulated in CAFs as compared to their corresponding normal adjacent fibroblasts, and transient specific let-7b inhibition permanently activated breast fibroblasts through induction of the IL-6-related positive feedback loop. More importantly, let-7b-deficient cells promoted the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition process in breast cancer cells in an IL-8-dependent manner, and also enhanced orthotopic tumor growth in vivo. On the other hand, overexpression of let-7b by mimic permanently suppressed breast myofibroblasts through blocking the positive feedback loop, which inhibited their paracrine pro-carcinogenic effects. Furthermore, we have shown that let-7b negatively controls IL-8, which showed higher expression in the majority of CAF cells as compared to their adjacent normal counterparts, indicating that IL-8 plays a major role in the carcinoma/stroma cross-talk. These findings support targeting active stromal fibroblasts through restoration of let-7b/IL-8 expression as a therapeutic option for breast carcinomas. PMID:29707149

Using deviance regulation theory to target marijuana use intentions among college students.

PubMed

Dvorak, Robert D; Raeder, Cody A; Kramer, Matthew P; Sargent, Emily; Stevenson, Brittany L; Helmy, Mai

2018-02-01

Several large epidemiological studies have shown increasing trends on a number of indices of marijuana use among college age samples. This may be due to changing attitudes about marijuana use linked to legalization efforts. Interventions that can target problematic use on a broad scale are lacking. Recent research has shown that deviance regulation theory (DRT) can be used to design effective web-based substance use interventions. DRT relies on the interplay between perceived norms and an appropriately framed message about the given behavior. The current study examines the use of DRT to change marijuana use intentions. Participants (n = 694 college students) completed measures of marijuana use and marijuana use norms. They were then assigned to receive a positively framed message about marijuana abstainers or a negatively framed message about marijuana users. Following the manipulation, participants rated intentions to use marijuana over the next three months. Consistent with DRT, there was an interaction between message frame and marijuana use norms. The positive frame attenuated the association between marijuana use norms and use intentions. A negative frame resulted in the lowest levels of use intentions among those with low use norms. Results suggest that DRT may be used to modify use intentions in college students, a population that has shown increasing rates of use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

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

PubMed

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

2017-08-01

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

Modeling time-lagged reciprocal psychological empowerment-performance relationships.

PubMed

Maynard, M Travis; Luciano, Margaret M; D'Innocenzo, Lauren; Mathieu, John E; Dean, Matthew D

2014-11-01

Employee psychological empowerment is widely accepted as a means for organizations to compete in increasingly dynamic environments. Previous empirical research and meta-analyses have demonstrated that employee psychological empowerment is positively related to several attitudinal and behavioral outcomes including job performance. While this research positions psychological empowerment as an antecedent influencing such outcomes, a close examination of the literature reveals that this relationship is primarily based on cross-sectional research. Notably, evidence supporting the presumed benefits of empowerment has failed to account for potential reciprocal relationships and endogeneity effects. Accordingly, using a multiwave, time-lagged design, we model reciprocal relationships between psychological empowerment and job performance using a sample of 441 nurses from 5 hospitals. Incorporating temporal effects in a staggered research design and using structural equation modeling techniques, our findings provide support for the conventional positive correlation between empowerment and subsequent performance. Moreover, accounting for the temporal stability of variables over time, we found support for empowerment levels as positive influences on subsequent changes in performance. Finally, we also found support for the reciprocal relationship, as performance levels were shown to relate positively to changes in empowerment over time. Theoretical and practical implications of the reciprocal psychological empowerment-performance relationships are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Mapping and load response of overload strain fields: Synchrotron X-ray measurements

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

Shukla, V; Jisrawi, N M; Sadangi, R K

High energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed to provide quantitative microscopic guidance for modeling of fatigue crack growth. Specifically we report local strain mapping, along with in situ loading strain response, results on 4140 steel fatigue specimens exhibiting the crack growth retardation 'overload effect'. Detailed, 2D, {epsilon}{gamma}{gamma}-strain field mapping shows that a single overload (OL) cycle creates a compressive strain field extending millimeters above and below the crack plane. The OL strain field structures are shown to persist after the crack tip has grown well beyond the OL position. The specimen exhibiting the maximal crack growth rate retardationmore » following overload exhibits a tensile residual strain region at the crack tip. Strain field results, on in situ tensile loaded specimens, show a striking critical threshold load, F{sub c}, phenomenon in their strain response. At loads below F{sub c} the strain response is dominated by a rapid suppression of the compressive OL feature with modest response at the crack tip. At loads above F{sub c} the strain response at the OL position terminates and the response at the crack tip becomes large. This threshold load response behavior is shown to exhibit lower F{sub c} values, and dramatically enhanced rates of strain change with load as the crack tip propagates farther beyond the OL position. The OL strain feature behind the crack tip also is shown to be suppressed by removing the opposing crack faces via an electron discharge cut passing through the crack tip. Finally unique 2D strain field mapping (imaging) results, through the depth of the specimen, of the fatigue crack front and the OL feature in the wake are also presented.« less

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea/Hypopnoea Syndrome and Hypertension

PubMed Central

Al-Abri, Mohammed A; Al-Hashmi, Khamis M

2008-01-01

The obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS) is a common disorder, affecting around 2–4% of the middle-aged population. There is a strong association between OSAHS and hypertension, based on animal, large epidemiological and interventional studies. The epidemiological studies have shown a dose-response relationship between apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) and the risk of developing hypertension. Different mechanisms may have a role in the process of elevated blood pressure in OSAHS. Sympathetic activity is increased in OSAHS patients during sleep and wakefulness. This increase in sympathetic activity is probably due to activation of baroreflexes and chemoreflexes by frequent arousals and hypoxaemia a result of apnoea or hypopnoea events. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been shown to reduce sympathetic stimulation and blood pressure in OSAHS patients. Altered endothelial function may also have a role in the pathogenesis of hypertension in OSAHS subjects. Reduction of nitric oxide (NO) production and increase in the formation of free radicals may be responsible for the impairment of the vasodilatation of micro-vasculature in these subjects as a result of hypoxaemia. It has been shown that effective CPAP therapy has a reversible effect on endothelial dysfunction. PMID:21748071

[Rehabilitation potential of disabled persons with consequences of cerebral stroke and effects of factors of the organization of rehabilitation assistance].

PubMed

Voskresenskaia, O N; Klemesheva, Iu N; Akimova, T N

2012-01-01

The authors demonstrated the possibility for the practical use of the index "Rehabilitation Potential" in the evaluation of the degree of restoration of neurological deficit developed due to cerebral stroke. The most significant factors characterizing the organization and implementation of rehabilitation measures in different periods of stroke and the effect of these factors on the level of rehabilitation potential of disabled persons with consequences of stroke are specified. It has been shown that the perfect organization of restorative treatment has a positive effect on the level of rehabilitation potential of disabled persons.

Facial Redness Increases Men's Perceived Healthiness and Attractiveness.

PubMed

Thorstenson, Christopher A; Pazda, Adam D; Elliot, Andrew J; Perrett, David I

2017-06-01

Past research has shown that peripheral and facial redness influences perceptions of attractiveness for men viewing women. The current research investigated whether a parallel effect is present when women rate men with varying facial redness. In four experiments, women judged the attractiveness of men's faces, which were presented with varying degrees of redness. We also examined perceived healthiness and other candidate variables as mediators of the red-attractiveness effect. The results show that facial redness positively influences ratings of men's attractiveness. Additionally, perceived healthiness was documented as a mediator of this effect, independent of other potential mediator variables. The current research emphasizes facial coloration as an important feature of social judgments.

Plant-soil feedback in East-African savanna trees.

PubMed

Rutten, Gemma; Prati, Daniel; Hemp, Andreas; Fischer, Markus

2016-02-01

Research in savannas has focused on tree-grass interactions, whereas tree species coexistence received little attention. A leading hypothesis to explain tree coexistence is the Janzen-Connell model, which proposes an accumulation of host-specific enemies, e.g., soil organisms. While it has been shown in several non-savanna case studies that seedlings dispersed away from the mother perform better than seedlings that stay close (home-away effect), few studies tested whether foreign seedling species can replace own seedlings under conspecific adults (replacement effect). Some studies additionally tested for negative effects of conspecific biota (conspecific effect) to demonstrate the accumulation of enemies. We tested these effects by reciprocally growing seedlings of four tree species on soil collected beneath adults of all species, with and without applying a soil sterilization treatment. We found negative home-away effects suggesting that dispersal is advantageous and negative replacement effects suggesting species replacement under adults. While negative conspecific effects indicate accumulated enemies, positive heterospecific effects indicate an accumulation of mutualists rather than enemies for some species. We suggest that plant-soil feedbacks may well contribute to tree coexistence in savannas due to both negative conspecific and positive heterospecific feedbacks.

The Temporal Dynamics of Two Response-Focused Forms of Emotion Regulation: Experiential, Expressive, and Autonomic Consequences

PubMed Central

Dan-Glauser, Elise S.; Gross, James J.

2011-01-01

This study examines the early affective consequences of two close forms of suppression. Participants (N=37) were shown negative, positive, and neutral pictures and cued either to attend to the pictures, or to perform expressive or physiological suppression (i.e. reduce body reactions). Continuous measures of experience, expressivity, and autonomic responses showed that both suppression strategies produced rapid response modulation. Common effects of the two strategies included a transient increase in negative feeling, a durable decrease in positive feeling, and a decrease in expressivity, cardiovascular activity, and oxygenation. The two strategies were significantly different only in response to positive stimuli, with physiological suppression showing a larger decrease in experience intensity and blood pressure. These results suggest a strong overlap between the two suppression strategies in terms of their early impact on emotional responses. PMID:21361967

Approximation-Based Discrete-Time Adaptive Position Tracking Control for Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors.

PubMed

Yu, Jinpeng; Shi, Peng; Yu, Haisheng; Chen, Bing; Lin, Chong

2015-07-01

This paper considers the problem of discrete-time adaptive position tracking control for a interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) based on fuzzy-approximation. Fuzzy logic systems are used to approximate the nonlinearities of the discrete-time IPMSM drive system which is derived by direct discretization using Euler method, and a discrete-time fuzzy position tracking controller is designed via backstepping approach. In contrast to existing results, the advantage of the scheme is that the number of the adjustable parameters is reduced to two only and the problem of coupling nonlinearity can be overcome. It is shown that the proposed discrete-time fuzzy controller can guarantee the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of the origin and all the signals are bounded. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness and the potentials of the theoretic results obtained.

Time domain passivity controller for 4-channel time-delay bilateral teleoperation.

PubMed

Rebelo, Joao; Schiele, Andre

2015-01-01

This paper presents an extension of the time-domain passivity control approach to a four-channel bilateral controller under the effects of time delays. Time-domain passivity control has been used successfully to stabilize teleoperation systems with position-force and position-position controllers; however, the performance with such control architectures is sub-optimal both with and without time delays. This work extends the network representation of the time-domain passivity controller to the four-channel architecture, which provides perfect transparency to the user without time delay. The proposed architecture is based on modelling the controllers as dependent voltage sources and using only series passivity controllers. The obtained results are shown on a one degree-of-freedom setup and illustrate the stabilization behaviour of the proposed controller when time delay is present in the communication channel.

Role of atrial receptors in the control of sodium excretion. [pressure breathing and antinatiuretic effects in dogs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meehan, J. R.; Henry, J. P.

1973-01-01

Responses of an innervated and a contralateral chronically denervated kidney to mild positive pressure breathing are compared for saline volume expansions in chloralose anesthetized dogs. It is shown that mild pressure breathing significantly reduces sodium excretion, urine flow, free water clearance, and PAH clearance. After 20 minutes of positive pressure breathing, both kidney responses are identical suggesting the release of natriuretic hormone which reduces renal function in addition to the demonstrated change in renal nerve activity. Increase of the left atrial pressure through balloon obstruction of the mitral orifice increases urine flow, sodium excretion and PAH clearance; inflation of the balloon and positive pressure breathing again depresses renal function. Preliminary evidence indicates that receptors in the right atrium are more severely affected by pressure breathing than those in the left atrium.

New computational tools for H/D determination in macromolecular structures from neutron data.

PubMed

Siliqi, Dritan; Caliandro, Rocco; Carrozzini, Benedetta; Cascarano, Giovanni Luca; Mazzone, Annamaria

2010-11-01

Two new computational methods dedicated to neutron crystallography, called n-FreeLunch and DNDM-NDM, have been developed and successfully tested. The aim in developing these methods is to determine hydrogen and deuterium positions in macromolecular structures by using information from neutron density maps. Of particular interest is resolving cases in which the geometrically predicted hydrogen or deuterium positions are ambiguous. The methods are an evolution of approaches that are already applied in X-ray crystallography: extrapolation beyond the observed resolution (known as the FreeLunch procedure) and a difference electron-density modification (DEDM) technique combined with the electron-density modification (EDM) tool (known as DEDM-EDM). It is shown that the two methods are complementary to each other and are effective in finding the positions of H and D atoms in neutron density maps.

When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections

PubMed Central

Van Assche, Jasper; Van Hiel, Alain; Stadeus, Jonas; Bushman, Brad J.; De Cremer, David; Roets, Arne

2017-01-01

Hot temperatures lead to heightened arousal. According to excitation transfer theory, arousal can increase both antisocial and prosocial behavior, depending on the context. Although many studies have shown that hot temperatures can increase antisocial behavior, very few studies have investigated the relationship between temperature and prosocial behavior. One important prosocial behavior is voting. We analyzed state-level data from the United States presidential elections (N = 761). Consistent with excitation transfer theory, which proposes that heat-induced arousal can transfer to other activities and strengthen those activities, changes in temperature and voter turnout were positively related. Moreover, a positive change in temperature was related to a positive change in votes for the incumbent party. These findings add to the literature on the importance of non-ideological and non-rational factors that influence voting behavior. PMID:28642723

Effect of the amyloid β hairpin's structure on the handedness of helices formed by its aggregates

DOE PAGES

GhattyVenkataKrishna, Pavan K.; Uberbacher, Edward C.; Cheng, Xiaolin

2013-07-08

Various structural models for amyloid β fibrils have been derived from a variety of experimental techniques. However, these models cannot differentiate between the relative position of the two arms of the β hairpin called the stagger. Amyloid fibrils of various hierarchical levels form left-handed helices composed of β sheets. However it is unclear if positive, negative and zero staggers all form the macroscopic left-handed helices. To address this issue we have conducted extensive molecular dynamics simulations of amyloid β sheets of various staggers and shown that only negative staggers lead to the experimentally observed left-handed helices while positive staggers generatemore » the incorrect right-handed helices. In conclusion, this result suggests that the negative staggers are physiologically relevant structure of the amyloid β fibrils.« less

When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections.

PubMed

Van Assche, Jasper; Van Hiel, Alain; Stadeus, Jonas; Bushman, Brad J; De Cremer, David; Roets, Arne

2017-01-01

Hot temperatures lead to heightened arousal. According to excitation transfer theory, arousal can increase both antisocial and prosocial behavior, depending on the context. Although many studies have shown that hot temperatures can increase antisocial behavior, very few studies have investigated the relationship between temperature and prosocial behavior. One important prosocial behavior is voting. We analyzed state-level data from the United States presidential elections ( N = 761). Consistent with excitation transfer theory, which proposes that heat-induced arousal can transfer to other activities and strengthen those activities, changes in temperature and voter turnout were positively related. Moreover, a positive change in temperature was related to a positive change in votes for the incumbent party. These findings add to the literature on the importance of non-ideological and non-rational factors that influence voting behavior.

Effects of Word Position on the Acoustic Realization of Vietnamese Final Consonants.

PubMed

Tran, Thi Thuy Hien; Vallée, Nathalie; Granjon, Lionel

2018-05-28

A variety of studies have shown differences between phonetic features of consonants according to their prosodic and/or syllable (onset vs. coda) positions. However, differences are not always found, and interactions between the various factors involved are complex and not well understood. Our study compares acoustical characteristics of coda consonants in Vietnamese taking into account their position within words. Traditionally described as monosyllabic, Vietnamese is partially polysyllabic at the lexical level. In this language, tautosyllabic consonant sequences are prohibited, and adjacent consonants are only found at syllable boundaries either within polysyllabic words (CVC.CVC) or across monosyllabic words (CVC#CVC). This study is designed to examine whether or not syllable boundary types (interword vs. intraword) have an effect on the acoustic realization of codas. The results show significant acoustic differences in consonant realizations according to syllable boundary type, suggesting different coarticulation patterns between nuclei and codas. In addition, as Vietnamese voiceless stops are generally unreleased in coda position, with no burst to carry consonantal information, our results show that a vowel's second half contains acoustic cues which are available to aid in the discrimination of place of articulation of the vowel's following consonant. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Profertility and antidiabetic properties of Gynura procumbens on streptozotocin induced male rats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khaidatul Akmar, K.; Mahanem, M. N.

2016-11-01

Gynura procumbens (GP) is an herbal plant that is used for treating diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular and also fertility. The objective of this study was to determine the anti-diabetic and pro-fertility effect of GP on streptozotocin induced male rats within 14 days. A total of 42 male rats were randomly assigned into six groups; normal, negative, and positive control, and three treated groups of different dosages of GP; 150 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and 450 mg/kg. The treated groups were given aqueous extract GP via oral gavage for 14 consecutive days. The fasting blood glucose (FBG) level in all treated groups showed significant decreased compared to negative and positive group after 14 days treatment. Sperm quality parameters in GP treated group (450 mg/kg) showed significant increase when compared to negative and positive group. It was observed that the histology of testes in the treated group (450 mg/kg) produced a significant result whereby the germinal cell layer shown an arranged order of cells compared to the negative and positive control groups. It appeared that aqueous extract of GP have a pro-fertility effect and possess anti-hyperglycemic activity within 14 days of treatment.

Physical activity, menopause, and quality of life: the role of affect and self-worth across time.

PubMed

Elavsky, Steriani

2009-01-01

Physical activity has been shown to enhance quality of life (QOL); however, few investigations of these effects exist in women undergoing the menopausal transition. The present study examined the long-term effects of physical activity on menopause-related QOL and tested the mediating effects of physical self-worth and positive affect in this relationship. Middle-aged women previously enrolled in a 4-month randomized controlled trial involving walking and yoga, and a control group completed a follow-up mail-in survey 2 years after the end of the trial. The survey included a battery of psychological and physical activity measures, including measures of menopausal symptoms and menopause-related QOL. Longitudinal linear panel analysis was conducted within a covariance modeling framework to test whether physical self-worth and positive affect mediated the physical activity-QOL relationship over time. At the end of the trial, physical activity and menopausal symptoms were related to physical self-worth and positive affect, and in turn, greater levels of physical self-worth and positive affect were associated with higher levels of menopause-related QOL. Analyses indicated that increases in physical activity and decreases in menopausal symptoms over the 2-year period were related to increases in physical self-worth (betas = 0.23 and -0.52, physical activity and menopausal symptoms, respectively) and, for symptoms, also to decreased positive affect (beta = -0.47), and both physical self-worth (beta = 0.34) and affect (beta = 0.43) directly influenced enhancements in QOL (R = 0.775). The findings support the position that the effects of physical activity on QOL are mediated, in part, by intermediate psychological outcomes and that physical activity can have long-term benefits for women undergoing the menopausal transition.

The Meaning of Social Participation for Daily Mobility in Later Life: an Ethnographic Case Study of a Senior Project in a Swedish Urban Neighbourhood.

PubMed

Stjernborg, Vanessa

2017-01-01

This paper presents an ethnographic case study that aims to understand the meaning of social participation in a neighbourhood for daily mobility in later life. In the study, the mobility of the participants of a senior-citizen project was monitored over 18 months. The project was founded as a result of a municipal district's targeting of social sustainability. The results show that social participation had positive effects on the daily mobility of the participants. The implementation of broad-minded thinking from the municipality and the cooperation of various municipal actors were shown to be essential for the positive outcome of this project.

Production, Delivery and Application of Vibration Energy in Healthcare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abundo, Paolo; Trombetta, Chiara; Foti, Calogero; Rosato, Nicola

2011-02-01

In Rehabilitation Medicine therapeutic application of vibration energy in specific clinical treatments and in sport rehabilitation is being affirmed more and more.Vibration exposure can have positive or negative effects on the human body depending on the features and time of the characterizing wave. The human body is constantly subjected to different kinds of vibrations, inducing bones and muscles to actively modify their structure and metabolism in order to fulfill the required functions. Like every other machine, the body supports only certain vibration energy levels over which long term impairments can be recognized. As shown in literature anyway, short periods of vibration exposure and specific frequency values can determine positive adjustments.