Early play may predict later dominance relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris).

PubMed

Blumstein, Daniel T; Chung, Lawrance K; Smith, Jennifer E

2013-05-22

Play has been defined as apparently functionless behaviour, yet since play is costly, models of adaptive evolution predict that it should have some beneficial function (or functions) that outweigh its costs. We provide strong evidence for a long-standing, but poorly supported hypothesis: that early social play is practice for later dominance relationships. We calculated the relative dominance rank by observing the directional outcome of playful interactions in juvenile and yearling yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) and found that these rank relationships were correlated with later dominance ranks calculated from agonistic interactions, however, the strength of this relationship attenuated over time. While play may have multiple functions, one of them may be to establish later dominance relationships in a minimally costly way.

Species associations overwhelm abiotic conditions to dictate the structure and function of wood-decay fungal communities.

PubMed

Maynard, Daniel S; Covey, Kristofer R; Crowther, Thomas W; Sokol, Noah W; Morrison, Eric W; Frey, Serita D; van Diepen, Linda T A; Bradford, Mark A

2018-04-01

Environmental conditions exert strong controls on the activity of saprotrophic microbes, yet abiotic factors often fail to adequately predict wood decomposition rates across broad spatial scales. Given that species interactions can have significant positive and negative effects on wood-decay fungal activity, one possibility is that biotic processes serve as the primary controls on community function, with abiotic controls emerging only after species associations are accounted for. Here we explore this hypothesis in a factorial field warming- and nitrogen-addition experiment by examining relationships among wood decomposition rates, fungal activity, and fungal community structure. We show that functional outcomes and community structure are largely unrelated to abiotic conditions, with microsite and plot-level abiotic variables explaining at most 19% of the total variability in decomposition and fungal activity, and 2% of the variability in richness and evenness. In contrast, taxonomic richness, evenness, and species associations (i.e., co-occurrence patterns) exhibited strong relationships with community function, accounting for 52% of the variation in decomposition rates and 73% in fungal activity. A greater proportion of positive vs. negative species associations in a community was linked to strong declines in decomposition rates and richness. Evenness emerged as a key mediator between richness and function, with highly even communities exhibiting a positive richness-function relationship and uneven communities exhibiting a negative or null response. These results suggest that community-assembly processes and species interactions are important controls on the function of wood-decay fungal communities, ultimately overwhelming substantial differences in abiotic conditions. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Executive Functions and Motivation as Moderators of the Relationship Between Automatic Associations and Alcohol Use in Problem Drinkers Seeking Online Help.

PubMed

van Deursen, Denise S; Salemink, Elske; Boendermaker, Wouter J; Pronk, Thomas; Hofmann, Wilhelm; Wiers, Reinout W

2015-09-01

Dual process models posit that problem drinking is maintained by an imbalance between relatively strong automatic processes and weak controlled processes, a combination of executive functions and motivation. Few studies have examined how the interplay between automatic processes and executive functions is affected by motivation to change. This study examined this relationship in problem drinkers seeking online help to change their alcohol use. It was expected that executive functions (i.e., working memory, response inhibition) would moderate the relationship between automatic (valence and approach) associations and alcohol use and that this effect would be stronger in individuals with strong motivation to change. A sample of 302 problem drinkers (mean age: 51.7 years) participated in this study as part of the baseline assessment before an Internet intervention. Participants completed an online version of the brief Implicit Association Test (valence and approach associations), the self-ordered pointing task (working memory), the Stroop task (response inhibition), the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (motivation to change), and the Timeline Follow-Back Questionnaire (alcohol use). Hierarchical moderated regression analysis was used to test the 4 hypothesized 3-way interactions. As expected, the interaction between valence associations and working memory only predicted alcohol use among individuals with strong motivation. This pattern was neither found for response inhibition nor for approach associations. Results provide partial support for the moderating role of motivation in the interplay between automatic processes and executive functions. Future studies should investigate this relationship in participants with the full range of motivation and alcohol use. Copyright © 2015 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Early play may predict later dominance relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)

PubMed Central

Blumstein, Daniel T.; Chung, Lawrance K.; Smith, Jennifer E.

2013-01-01

Play has been defined as apparently functionless behaviour, yet since play is costly, models of adaptive evolution predict that it should have some beneficial function (or functions) that outweigh its costs. We provide strong evidence for a long-standing, but poorly supported hypothesis: that early social play is practice for later dominance relationships. We calculated the relative dominance rank by observing the directional outcome of playful interactions in juvenile and yearling yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) and found that these rank relationships were correlated with later dominance ranks calculated from agonistic interactions, however, the strength of this relationship attenuated over time. While play may have multiple functions, one of them may be to establish later dominance relationships in a minimally costly way. PMID:23536602

Functional Communication Profiles in Children with Cerebral Palsy in Relation to Gross Motor Function and Manual and Intellectual Ability.

PubMed

Choi, Ja Young; Park, Jieun; Choi, Yoon Seong; Goh, Yu Ra; Park, Eun Sook

2018-07-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate communication function using classification systems and its association with other functional profiles, including gross motor function, manual ability, intellectual functioning, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics in children with cerebral palsy (CP). This study recruited 117 individuals with CP aged from 4 to 16 years. The Communication Function Classification System (CFCS), Viking Speech Scale (VSS), Speech Language Profile Groups (SLPG), Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and intellectual functioning were assessed in the children along with brain MRI categorization. Very strong relationships were noted among the VSS, CFCS, and SLPG, although these three communication systems provide complementary information, especially for children with mid-range communication impairment. These three communication classification systems were strongly related with the MACS, but moderately related with the GMFCS. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that manual ability and intellectual functioning were significantly related with VSS and CFCS function, whereas only intellectual functioning was significantly related with SLPG functioning in children with CP. Communication function in children with a periventricular white matter lesion (PVWL) varied widely. In the cases with a PVWL, poor functioning was more common on the SLPG, compared to the VSS and CFCS. Very strong relationships were noted among three communication classification systems that are closely related with intellectual ability. Compared to gross motor function, manual ability seemed more closely related with communication function in these children. © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2018.

Minority stress and relationship functioning among young male same-sex couples: An examination of actor-partner interdependence models.

PubMed

Feinstein, Brian A; McConnell, Elizabeth; Dyar, Christina; Mustanski, Brian; Newcomb, Michael E

2018-05-01

In different-sex couples, individual and partner stress can both have a negative impact on relationship functioning (actor and partner effects). Gay and bisexual men experience unique stress (sexual minority stress), but few studies have examined the effects of this stress on relationship functioning among young male couples. The current study examined (a) actor and partner effects of general and minority stress (internalized stigma, microaggressions, victimization, and outness) on relationship functioning (relationship quality and negative relationship interactions), (b) interactions between individual and partner stress as predictors of relationship functioning, and (c) dyadic coping and relationship length as moderators of actor and partner effects. Actor-partner interdependence models were tested using data from 153 young male couples. There was strong support for actor effects. Higher general stress and internalized stigma were associated with lower relationship quality, but only for those in longer relationships. Additionally, higher general stress, internalized stigma, and microaggressions, and lower outness, were associated with more negative relationship interactions. There was limited support for partner effects. Having a partner with higher internalized stigma was associated with more negative relationship interactions, but none of the other partner effects were significant. There was no support for individual and partner stress interacting to predict relationship functioning or for dyadic coping as a stress buffer. Findings highlight the influence of one's own experiences of general and minority stress on relationship functioning, but raise questions about how partner stress influences relationship functioning among young male couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

ADHD Dimensions and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Symptoms in Relation to Self-Report and Laboratory Measures of Neuropsychological Functioning in College Students.

PubMed

Jarrett, Matthew A; Rapport, Hannah F; Rondon, Ana T; Becker, Stephen P

2017-06-01

This study examined ADHD and sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms in relation to self-report and laboratory measures of neuropsychological functioning in college students. College students ( N = 298, aged 17-25, 72% female) completed self-reports of ADHD, SCT, depression, sleep, functional impairment, and executive functioning (EF). Participants also completed a visual working memory task, a Stroop test, and the Conners' Continuous Performance Test-II (CPT-II). ADHD inattentive and SCT symptoms were strong predictors of self-reported EF, with inattention the strongest predictor of Time Management and Motivation and SCT the strongest predictor of Self-Organization/Problem Solving. SCT (but not inattention) was associated with Emotion Regulation. No relationships were found between self-reported symptoms and laboratory task performance. Between-group analyses were largely consistent with regression analyses. Self-reported ADHD and SCT symptoms are strongly associated with college students' self-reported EF, but relationships with laboratory task measures of neuropsychological functioning are limited.

Phylogenetic versus functional signals in the evolution of form-function relationships in terrestrial vision.

PubMed

Motani, Ryosuke; Schmitz, Lars

2011-08-01

Phylogeny is deeply pertinent to evolutionary studies. Traits that perform a body function are expected to be strongly influenced by physical "requirements" of the function. We investigated if such traits exhibit phylogenetic signals, and, if so, how phylogenetic noises bias quantification of form-function relationships. A form-function system that is strongly influenced by physics, namely the relationship between eye morphology and visual optics in amniotes, was used. We quantified the correlation between form (i.e., eye morphology) and function (i.e., ocular optics) while varying the level of phylogenetic bias removal through adjusting Pagel's λ. Ocular soft-tissue dimensions exhibited the highest correlation with ocular optics when 1% of phylogenetic bias expected from Brownian motion was removed (i.e., λ= 0.01); the value for hard-tissue data were 8%. A small degree of phylogenetic bias therefore exists in morphology despite of the stringent functional constraints. We also devised a phylogenetically informed discriminant analysis and recorded the effects of phylogenetic bias on this method using the same data. Use of proper λ values during phylogenetic bias removal improved misidentification rates in resulting classifications when prior probabilities were assumed to be equal. Even a small degree of phylogenetic bias affected the classification resulting from phylogenetically informed discriminant analysis. © 2011 The Author(s). Evolution© 2011 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Enhancing Social Competence in the Music Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gooding, Lori

2009-01-01

Strong social skills are vital for successful functioning in life. Social skills can affect academic success, peer relationships, family relationships, employment, and extracurricular and leisure activities. Children and adolescents who display academic, social, and behavioral deficits are at risk for both short-term and long-term negative social…

Eating disorder severity and functional impairment: moderating effects of illness duration in a clinical sample.

PubMed

Davidsen, Annika Helgadóttir; Hoyt, William T; Poulsen, Stig; Waaddegaard, Mette; Lau, Marianne

2017-09-01

The aim was to examine duration of illness and body mass index as possible moderators of the relationship between eating disorder severity and functional impairment, as well as psychological distress as a possible mediator of this relationship. The study included 159 patients diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder or eating disorder not otherwise specified. Regression analysis was applied to assess the effect of the hypothesized moderators and mediators. Eating disorder severity was measured with the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, functional impairment was measured with the Sheehan Disability Scale, and psychological distress was measured with the Symptom Check List-90-R. Duration of illness and body mass index were assessed clinically. Duration of illness significantly moderated the relationship between eating disorder severity and functional impairment; the relationship was strongest for patients with a shorter duration of illness. Psychological distress partly mediated the relationship between eating disorder severity and functional impairment. Duration of illness significantly moderated the relationship between psychological distress and functional impairment; the strongest relationship was seen for patients with a shorter duration of illness. Body mass index was not a significant moderator of the relationship between ED severity and functional impairment. Overall, this study established a link between ED severity, psychological distress and functional impairment indicating that both eating disorder severity and psychological distress are more strongly related to impaired role functioning for patients with more recent onset of an eating disorder. More research in the complex relationship between ED severity and functional impairment is needed.

Multiscale regression modeling in mouse supraspinatus tendons reveals that dynamic processes act as mediators in structure-function relationships.

PubMed

Connizzo, Brianne K; Adams, Sheila M; Adams, Thomas H; Jawad, Abbas F; Birk, David E; Soslowsky, Louis J

2016-06-14

Recent advances in technology have allowed for the measurement of dynamic processes (re-alignment, crimp, deformation, sliding), but only a limited number of studies have investigated their relationship with mechanical properties. The overall objective of this study was to investigate the role of composition, structure, and the dynamic response to load in predicting tendon mechanical properties in a multi-level fashion mimicking native hierarchical collagen structure. Multiple linear regression models were investigated to determine the relationships between composition/structure, dynamic processes, and mechanical properties. Mediation was then used to determine if dynamic processes mediated structure-function relationships. Dynamic processes were strong predictors of mechanical properties. These predictions were location-dependent, with the insertion site utilizing all four dynamic responses and the midsubstance responding primarily with fibril deformation and sliding. In addition, dynamic processes were moderately predicted by composition and structure in a regionally-dependent manner. Finally, dynamic processes were partial mediators of the relationship between composition/structure and mechanical function, and results suggested that mediation is likely shared between multiple dynamic processes. In conclusion, the mechanical properties at the midsubstance of the tendon are controlled primarily by fibril structure and this region responds to load via fibril deformation and sliding. Conversely, the mechanical function at the insertion site is controlled by many other important parameters and the region responds to load via all four dynamic mechanisms. Overall, this study presents a strong foundation on which to design future experimental and modeling efforts in order to fully understand the complex structure-function relationships present in tendon. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Amotivation and functional outcomes in early schizophrenia.

PubMed

Fervaha, Gagan; Foussias, George; Agid, Ofer; Remington, Gary

2013-12-15

Negative symptoms, particularly amotivation/apathy, are intimately tied to functional outcomes. In the present study, apathy strongly predicted psychosocial functioning in a sample of early course schizophrenia patients. This relationship remained robust even after controlling for other clinical variables. These data suggest amotivation is core to functioning across the disease course. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Personality Disorder Symptoms and Marital Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South, Susan C.; Turkheimer, Eric; Oltmanns, Thomas F.

2008-01-01

Pathological personality is strongly linked with interpersonal impairment, yet no study to date has examined the relationship between concurrent personality pathology and dysfunction in marriage--a relationship that most people find central to their lives. In a cross-sectional study of a community sample of married couples (N = 82), the authors…

The relationship between physical functional limitations, and psychological distress: Considering a possible mediating role of pain, social support and sense of mastery.

PubMed

Backe, Ingeborg Flåten; Patil, Grete Grindal; Nes, Ragnhild Bang; Clench-Aas, Jocelyne

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to examine associations between selected physical functional limitations related to performing daily activities and psychological distress. We also aimed to investigate if these associations vary across age (moderation), and to explore pain, sense of mastery and social support as potential moderators and mediators. The study was based on pooled data from two rounds (2008 and 2012) of a Norwegian nationally representative cross-sectional health survey (N = 8520) including individuals aged ≥ 16 years (Age groups = 16-44 and ≥ 45 years). Physical functional limitations comprised decreased ability to: i) climb stairs, ii) carry objects, or iii) both. Psychological distress was measured as anxiety and depressive symptoms occurring separately or in combination (CAD). Of respondents reporting physical functional limitations, 8-14% reported depressive symptoms, 5-7% anxiety symptoms, and 13-28% reported CAD. Physical functional limitations were significantly associated with all three forms of psychological distress, particularly among individuals 16-44 years, and were more strongly related to CAD than to anxiety or depression occurring separately. The association with CAD was twice as strong when both types of physical functional limitations were present. Pain, sense of mastery and social support were significant modifiers of depression, whereas all three were significant mediators of the relationship between physical functional limitations and anxiety, depression and CAD. Sense of mastery mediated the relationship between physical functional limitations and CAD, but most strongly among those 16-44 years. Social support was only a significant mediator among those [Formula: see text] 45 years. Close associations between physical functional limitations and psychological distress highlight special needs among individuals experiencing daily functional limitations. The results also suggest that pain, low social support, and low sense of mastery may contribute to aggravate psychological distress.

Contrasting biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in phylogenetic and functional diversity.

PubMed

Steudel, Bastian; Hallmann, Christine; Lorenz, Maike; Abrahamczyk, Stefan; Prinz, Kathleen; Herrfurth, Cornelia; Feussner, Ivo; Martini, Johannes W R; Kessler, Michael

2016-10-01

It is well known that ecosystem functioning is positively influenced by biodiversity. Most biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments have measured biodiversity based on species richness or phylogenetic relationships. However, theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that ecosystem functioning should be more closely related to functional diversity than to species richness. We applied different metrics of biodiversity in an artificial biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiment using 64 species of green microalgae in combinations of two to 16 species. We found that phylogenetic and functional diversity were positively correlated with biomass overyield, driven by their strong correlation with species richness. At low species richness, no significant correlation between overyield and functional and phylogenetic diversity was found. However, at high species richness (16 species), we found a positive relationship of overyield with functional diversity and a negative relationship with phylogenetic diversity. We show that negative phylogenetic diversity-ecosystem functioning relationships can result from interspecific growth inhibition. The opposing performances of facilitation (functional diversity) and inhibition (phylogenetic diversity) we observed at the 16 species level suggest that phylogenetic diversity is not always a good proxy for functional diversity and that results from experiments with low species numbers may underestimate negative species interactions. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

[Sibling relations between individuation and attachment: attempt at a conceptualization].

PubMed

Seiffge-Krenke, I

2001-01-01

Although sibling relationships can be considered as one of the most durable and intensive relationships, not much research in developmental psychology and family research has been done on this issue. The strong focus on parents, more specifically on mothers, stood in the way of adequate conceptualization and understanding of the function and contribution of siblings to individual development and family interaction. In this contribution a conceptualization of sibling relationships is presented. Siblings as objects of aggressive and sexual feelings as well as the function of siblings in the family system, for example, as parentification and negative identity is emphasized. In addition, the different qualities of sibling relationships, for example, envy, rivalry, similarity, and difference, are emphasized. The function of siblings as love objects is stressed, and the role of siblings as support as well as teaching object is illustrated. Finally, it is emphasized that, similar to relationships between parents and child, the quality of sibling relationships changed over time and leads, for example, to a detachment between sibling relationships during adolescence.

Conciliatory gestures promote forgiveness and reduce anger in humans.

PubMed

McCullough, Michael E; Pedersen, Eric J; Tabak, Benjamin A; Carter, Evan C

2014-07-29

Conflict is an inevitable component of social life, and natural selection has exerted strong effects on many organisms to facilitate victory in conflict and to deter conspecifics from imposing harms upon them. Like many species, humans likely possess cognitive systems whose function is to motivate revenge as a means of deterring individuals who have harmed them from harming them again in the future. However, many social relationships often retain value even after conflicts have occurred between interactants, so natural selection has very likely also endowed humans with cognitive systems whose function is to motivate reconciliation with transgressors whom they perceive as valuable and nonthreatening, notwithstanding their harmful prior actions. In a longitudinal study with 337 participants who had recently been harmed by a relationship partner, we found that conciliatory gestures (e.g., apologies, offers of compensation) were associated with increases in victims' perceptions of their transgressors' relationship value and reductions in perceptions of their transgressors' exploitation risk. In addition, conciliatory gestures appeared to accelerate forgiveness and reduce reactive anger via their intermediate effects on relationship value and exploitation risk. These results strongly suggest that conciliatory gestures facilitate forgiveness and reduce anger by modifying victims' perceptions of their transgressors' value as relationship partners and likelihood of recidivism.

Examination of Variables That May Affect the Relationship Between Cognition and Functional Status in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Mcalister, Courtney; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen; Lamb, Richard

2016-01-01

The objective of this meta-analysis was to improve understanding of the heterogeneity in the relationship between cognition and functional status in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Demographic, clinical, and methodological moderators were examined. Cognition explained an average of 23% of the variance in functional outcomes. Executive function measures explained the largest amount of variance (37%), whereas global cognitive status and processing speed measures explained the least (20%). Short- and long-delayed memory measures accounted for more variance (35% and 31%) than immediate memory measures (18%), and the relationship between cognition and functional outcomes was stronger when assessed with informant-report (28%) compared with self-report (21%). Demographics, sample characteristics, and type of everyday functioning measures (i.e., questionnaire, performance-based) explained relatively little variance compared with cognition. Executive functioning, particularly measured by Trails B, was a strong predictor of everyday functioning in individuals with MCI. A large proportion of variance remained unexplained by cognition. PMID:26743326

Family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life in mothers and fathers of Polish children with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the perception of the family functioning in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with normal-range intelligence and the relationships between family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life. Dyads of parents of children with ASD without intellectual disability and parents of typically developing children (controls) completed a set of self-report questionnaires. Parents of children with ASD reported lower functioning of the family as a whole and their own functioning as family members; they exhibited higher levels of parenting stress and lower quality of life. Mothers of children with ASD experienced more stress in personal domain than fathers. Relationships between family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life have been established. There were also moderate to strong correlations in mother-father dyads between their assessments of family functioning, parenting stress and QoL in social relationships and environmental domains. PMID:29036188

Family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life in mothers and fathers of Polish children with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome.

PubMed

Pisula, Ewa; Porębowicz-Dörsmann, Anna

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the perception of the family functioning in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with normal-range intelligence and the relationships between family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life. Dyads of parents of children with ASD without intellectual disability and parents of typically developing children (controls) completed a set of self-report questionnaires. Parents of children with ASD reported lower functioning of the family as a whole and their own functioning as family members; they exhibited higher levels of parenting stress and lower quality of life. Mothers of children with ASD experienced more stress in personal domain than fathers. Relationships between family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life have been established. There were also moderate to strong correlations in mother-father dyads between their assessments of family functioning, parenting stress and QoL in social relationships and environmental domains.

Muscle Force-Velocity Relationships Observed in Four Different Functional Tests.

PubMed

Zivkovic, Milena Z; Djuric, Sasa; Cuk, Ivan; Suzovic, Dejan; Jaric, Slobodan

2017-02-01

The aims of the present study were to investigate the shape and strength of the force-velocity relationships observed in different functional movement tests and explore the parameters depicting force, velocity and power producing capacities of the tested muscles. Twelve subjects were tested on maximum performance in vertical jumps, cycling, bench press throws, and bench pulls performed against different loads. Thereafter, both the averaged and maximum force and velocity variables recorded from individual trials were used for force-velocity relationship modeling. The observed individual force-velocity relationships were exceptionally strong (median correlation coefficients ranged from r = 0.930 to r = 0.995) and approximately linear independently of the test and variable type. Most of the relationship parameters observed from the averaged and maximum force and velocity variable types were strongly related in all tests (r = 0.789-0.991), except for those in vertical jumps (r = 0.485-0.930). However, the generalizability of the force-velocity relationship parameters depicting maximum force, velocity and power of the tested muscles across different tests was inconsistent and on average moderate. We concluded that the linear force-velocity relationship model based on either maximum or averaged force-velocity data could provide the outcomes depicting force, velocity and power generating capacity of the tested muscles, although such outcomes can only be partially generalized across different muscles.

Muscle Force-Velocity Relationships Observed in Four Different Functional Tests

PubMed Central

Zivkovic, Milena Z.; Djuric, Sasa; Cuk, Ivan; Suzovic, Dejan; Jaric, Slobodan

2017-01-01

Abstract The aims of the present study were to investigate the shape and strength of the force-velocity relationships observed in different functional movement tests and explore the parameters depicting force, velocity and power producing capacities of the tested muscles. Twelve subjects were tested on maximum performance in vertical jumps, cycling, bench press throws, and bench pulls performed against different loads. Thereafter, both the averaged and maximum force and velocity variables recorded from individual trials were used for force–velocity relationship modeling. The observed individual force-velocity relationships were exceptionally strong (median correlation coefficients ranged from r = 0.930 to r = 0.995) and approximately linear independently of the test and variable type. Most of the relationship parameters observed from the averaged and maximum force and velocity variable types were strongly related in all tests (r = 0.789-0.991), except for those in vertical jumps (r = 0.485-0.930). However, the generalizability of the force-velocity relationship parameters depicting maximum force, velocity and power of the tested muscles across different tests was inconsistent and on average moderate. We concluded that the linear force-velocity relationship model based on either maximum or averaged force-velocity data could provide the outcomes depicting force, velocity and power generating capacity of the tested muscles, although such outcomes can only be partially generalized across different muscles. PMID:28469742

Sensory Discrimination, Working Memory and Intelligence in 9-Year-Old and 11-Year-Old Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Voelke, Annik E.; Troche, Stefan J.; Rammsayer, Thomas H.; Wagner, Felicitas L.; Roebers, Claudia M.

2013-01-01

More than a century ago, Galton and Spearman suggested that there was a functional relationship between sensory discrimination ability and intelligence. Studies have since been able to confirm a close relationship between general discrimination ability (GDA) and IQ. The aim of the present study was to assess whether this strong relationship…

Friendly Home and Inhabitants' Morality: Mutual Relationships.

PubMed

Nartova-Bochaver, Sofya K; Kuznetsova, Valeriya B

2017-01-01

The study is aimed at investigating the connection between the friendliness of the home environment and the moral motives' level. The friendliness of the home environment includes two aspects: the number of functions provided by home (functionality) and the congruence of these functions with inhabitants' needs (relevance). The theoretical framework of the study was formed by research and ideas emphasizing the interplay between people and their environments. We hypothesized that the friendliness of the home environment and inhabitants' moral motives would have a reciprocal relationship: the friendlier the home the higher the inhabitants' moral motives' level, and, vice versa, the higher the person's moral motives' level the more positive home image. The respondents were 550 students (25% male). The Home Environment Functionality Questionnaire, the Home Environment Relevance Questionnaire, and the Moral Motivation Model Scale were used. As expected, it was found that the friendliness of the home environment and the inhabitants' moral motives are in reciprocal synergetic relationships. Relevance formed more nuanced correlation patterns with moral motives than functionality did. Functionality predicted moral motives poorly whereas moral motives predicted functionality strongly. Finally, relevance and moral motives were found to be in mutual relationships whereas the perceived functionality was predicted by moral motives only.

Friendly Home and Inhabitants' Morality: Mutual Relationships

PubMed Central

Nartova-Bochaver, Sofya K.; Kuznetsova, Valeriya B.

2018-01-01

The study is aimed at investigating the connection between the friendliness of the home environment and the moral motives' level. The friendliness of the home environment includes two aspects: the number of functions provided by home (functionality) and the congruence of these functions with inhabitants' needs (relevance). The theoretical framework of the study was formed by research and ideas emphasizing the interplay between people and their environments. We hypothesized that the friendliness of the home environment and inhabitants' moral motives would have a reciprocal relationship: the friendlier the home the higher the inhabitants' moral motives' level, and, vice versa, the higher the person's moral motives' level the more positive home image. The respondents were 550 students (25% male). The Home Environment Functionality Questionnaire, the Home Environment Relevance Questionnaire, and the Moral Motivation Model Scale were used. As expected, it was found that the friendliness of the home environment and the inhabitants' moral motives are in reciprocal synergetic relationships. Relevance formed more nuanced correlation patterns with moral motives than functionality did. Functionality predicted moral motives poorly whereas moral motives predicted functionality strongly. Finally, relevance and moral motives were found to be in mutual relationships whereas the perceived functionality was predicted by moral motives only. PMID:29375450

Functional diversity exhibits a diverse relationship with area, even a decreasing one

PubMed Central

Karadimou, Elpida K.; Kallimanis, Athanasios S.; Tsiripidis, Ioannis; Dimopoulos, Panayotis

2016-01-01

The relationship between species richness and area is one of the few well-established laws in ecology, and one might expect a similar relationship with functional diversity (FD). However, only a few studies investigate the relationship between trait-based FD and area, the Functional Diversity - Area Relationship (FDAR). To examine FDAR, we constructed the species accumulation curve and the corresponding FD curve. We used plant diversity data from nested plots (1–128 m2), recorded on the Volcanic islands of Santorini Archipelagos, Greece. Six multidimensional FD indices were calculated using 26 traits. We identified a typology of FDARs depending on the facet of FD analyzed: (A) strongly positive for indices quantifying the range of functional traits in the community, (B) negative correlation for indices quantifying the evenness in the distribution of abundance in the trait space, (C) no clear pattern for indices reflecting the functional similarity of species and (D) idiosyncratic patterns with area for functional divergence. As area increases, the range of traits observed in the community increases, but the abundance of traits does not increase proportionally and some traits become dominant, implying a reliance on some functions that may be located in either the center or the periphery of the trait space. PMID:27752086

What's love got to do with it: Relationship functioning and mental and physical quality of life among pregnant adolescent couples.

PubMed

Kershaw, Trace; Murphy, Alexandrea; Divney, Anna; Magriples, Urania; Niccolai, Linda; Gordon, Derrick

2013-12-01

The study objective was to describe relationship adjustment and its association with mental and physical quality of life for young couples expecting a baby. 296 young pregnant couples recruited from urban obstetric clinics reported on relationship strengths (e.g., equity, romantic love, and attractiveness), relationship risks (e.g., attachment, intimate partner violence), external family support, relationship adjustment, and mental and physical quality of life. Using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model we assessed both actor and partner effects of relationship variables on relationship adjustment and quality of life. Sixty-one percent of couples had at least one member with moderate or severe relationship distress. Lower attachment avoidance, lower attachment anxiety, higher relationship equity, lack of intimate partner violence, feelings of love, perceived partner attractiveness, and family support of the relationship related to better relationship adjustment. Associations were fairly consistent across gender. Better relationship adjustment related to more positive mental and physical quality of life for both young women and men. Our results highlight the potential importance of strong relationships on the well-being of expecting parents. Our results suggest that secure attachments, equitable relationships, feelings of love, and a lack of violence may be particularly important in having strong relationships and improved mental and physical health during pregnancy.

What’s Love Got to Do with It: Relationship Functioning and Mental and Physical Quality of Life Among Pregnant Adolescent Couples

PubMed Central

Murphy, Alexandrea; Divney, Anna; Magriples, Urania; Niccolai, Linda; Gordon, Derrick

2014-01-01

The study objective was to describe relationship adjustment and its association with mental and physical quality of life for young couples expecting a baby. 296 young pregnant couples recruited from urban obstetric clinics reported on relationship strengths (e.g., equity, romantic love, and attractiveness), relationship risks (e.g., attachment, intimate partner violence), external family support, relationship adjustment, and mental and physical quality of life. Using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model we assessed both actor and partner effects of relationship variables on relationship adjustment and quality of life. Sixty-one percent of couples had at least one member with moderate or severe relationship distress. Lower attachment avoidance, lower attachment anxiety, higher relationship equity, lack of intimate partner violence, feelings of love, perceived partner attractiveness, and family support of the relationship related to better relationship adjustment. Associations were fairly consistent across gender. Better relationship adjustment related to more positive mental and physical quality of life for both young women and men. Our results highlight the potential importance of strong relationships on the well-being of expecting parents. Our results suggest that secure attachments, equitable relationships, feelings of love, and a lack of violence may be particularly important in having strong relationships and improved mental and physical health during pregnancy. PMID:24091562

Bridging the Sciences of Mindfulness and Romantic Relationships.

PubMed

Karremans, Johan C; Schellekens, Melanie P J; Kappen, Gesa

2017-02-01

Research on mindfulness, defined as paying conscious and non-judgmental attention to present-moment experiences, has increased rapidly in the past decade but has focused almost entirely on the benefits of mindfulness for individual well-being. This article considers the role of mindfulness in romantic relationships. Although strong claims have been made about the potentially powerful role of mindfulness in creating better relationships, it is less clear whether, when, and how this may occur. This article integrates the literatures on mindfulness and romantic relationship science, and sketches a theory-driven model and future research agenda to test possible pathways of when and how mindfulness may affect romantic relationship functioning. We review some initial direct and indirect evidence relevant to the proposed model. Finally, we discuss the implications of how studying mindfulness may further our understanding of romantic relationship (dys)functioning, and how mindfulness may be a promising and effective tool in couple interventions.

Leaf economics spectrum-productivity relationships in intensively grazed pastures depend on dominant species identity.

PubMed

Mason, Norman W H; Orwin, Kate; Lambie, Suzanne; Woodward, Sharon L; McCready, Tiffany; Mudge, Paul

2016-05-01

Plant functional traits are thought to drive variation in primary productivity. However, there is a lack of work examining how dominant species identity affects trait-productivity relationships. The productivity of 12 pasture mixtures was determined in a 3-year field experiment. The mixtures were based on either the winter-active ryegrass (Lolium perenne) or winter-dormant tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea). Different mixtures were obtained by adding forb, legume, and grass species that differ in key leaf economics spectrum (LES) traits to the basic two-species dominant grass-white clover (Trifolium repens) mixtures. We tested for correlations between community-weighted mean (CWM) trait values, functional diversity, and productivity across all plots and within those based on either ryegrass or tall fescue. The winter-dormant forb species (chicory and plantain) had leaf traits consistent with high relative growth rates both per unit leaf area (high leaf thickness) and per unit leaf dry weight (low leaf dry matter content). Together, the two forb species achieved reasonable abundance when grown with either base grass (means of 36% and 53% of total biomass, respectively, with ryegrass tall fescue), but they competed much more strongly with tall fescue than with ryegrass. Consequently, they had a net negative impact on productivity when grown with tall fescue, and a net positive effect when grown with ryegrass. Strongly significant relationships between productivity and CWM values for LES traits were observed across ryegrass-based mixtures, but not across tall fescue-based mixtures. Functional diversity did not have a significant positive effect on productivity for any of the traits. The results show dominant species identity can strongly modify trait-productivity relationships in intensively grazed pastures. This was due to differences in the intensity of competition between dominant species and additional species, suggesting that resource-use complementarity is a necessary prerequisite for trait-productivity relationships.

Relationships of Muscle Function and Subjective Knee Function in Patients After ACL Reconstruction.

PubMed

Bodkin, Stephan; Goetschius, John; Hertel, Jay; Hart, Joe

2017-07-01

After anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), relationships between objective measures of muscle function and patient-reported outcomes may change over time. Examining these measures at different time frames after surgery may help develop individualized approaches to improve post-ALCR analysis. To examine the associations between subjective knee function and lower-extremity muscle function in individual patients at various time points after ACLR. Descriptive laboratory study. Fifty-one participants who underwent primary, unilateral ACLR (15 males, 36 females; mean age, 22.9 ± 4.5 years; mean height, 172.4 ± 10.1 cm; mean weight, 68.7 ± 13.1 kg) were separated into 3 groups depending on time since surgery (early, <2 years; middle, 2-5 years; late, >5 years). Subjective knee function was quantified using the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee form and the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Isometric knee extension and flexion strength were collected at 90 deg/s. Single-leg hop performance was measured using the single hop, triple hop, cross-over hop, and 6-m timed hop. Coefficient correlations were calculated between subjective knee function and objective measures of muscle function for each group. The early group demonstrated moderate correlations between the KOOS and unilateral measures of flexion peak torque ( r = 0.514, P = .035) and flexion power ( r = 0.54, P = .027). The middle group demonstrated the strongest correlations between the KOOS and symmetry measures of the single hop ( r = 0.69, P = .002) and extension work ( r = 0.71, P = .002) as well as unilateral measures of the triple hop ( r = 0.52, P = .034) and extension work ( r = 0.66, P = .004). The late group demonstrated strong correlations between the 6-m timed hop symmetry and the IKDC ( r = 0.716, P = .001) and KOOS ( r = 0.71, P = .001). Patients with a post-ACLR status of less than 2 years exhibited stronger relationships with unilateral strength measures to subjective function; graft type was found to change these relationships. Patients at 2 to 5 years postsurgery demonstrated relationships with both unilateral and symmetry measures of muscle function to subjective function. Patients who were more than 5 years after ACLR exhibited strong associations between hopping symmetry and subjective function. Future clinical guidelines for patients after ACLR may need to consider time since surgery as a potential factor.

Skeletal muscle magnetic resonance biomarkers correlate with function and sentinel events in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

PubMed

Barnard, Alison M; Willcocks, Rebecca J; Finanger, Erika L; Daniels, Michael J; Triplett, William T; Rooney, William D; Lott, Donovan J; Forbes, Sean C; Wang, Dah-Jyuu; Senesac, Claudia R; Harrington, Ann T; Finkel, Richard S; Russman, Barry S; Byrne, Barry J; Tennekoon, Gihan I; Walter, Glenn A; Sweeney, H Lee; Vandenborne, Krista

2018-01-01

To provide evidence for quantitative magnetic resonance (qMR) biomarkers in Duchenne muscular dystrophy by investigating the relationship between qMR measures of lower extremity muscle pathology and functional endpoints in a large ambulatory cohort using a multicenter study design. MR spectroscopy and quantitative imaging were implemented to measure intramuscular fat fraction and the transverse magnetization relaxation time constant (T2) in lower extremity muscles of 136 participants with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Measures were collected at 554 visits over 48 months at one of three imaging sites. Fat fraction was measured in the soleus and vastus lateralis using MR spectroscopy, while T2 was assessed using MRI in eight lower extremity muscles. Ambulatory function was measured using the 10m walk/run, climb four stairs, supine to stand, and six minute walk tests. Significant correlations were found between all qMR and functional measures. Vastus lateralis qMR measures correlated most strongly to functional endpoints (|ρ| = 0.68-0.78), although measures in other rapidly progressing muscles including the biceps femoris (|ρ| = 0.63-0.73) and peroneals (|ρ| = 0.59-0.72) also showed strong correlations. Quantitative MR biomarkers were excellent indicators of loss of functional ability and correlated with qualitative measures of function. A VL FF of 0.40 was an approximate lower threshold of muscle pathology associated with loss of ambulation. Lower extremity qMR biomarkers have a robust relationship to clinically meaningful measures of ambulatory function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. These results provide strong supporting evidence for qMR biomarkers and set the stage for their potential use as surrogate outcomes in clinical trials.

Examination of Variables That May Affect the Relationship Between Cognition and Functional Status in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Mcalister, Courtney; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen; Lamb, Richard

2016-03-01

The objective of this meta-analysis was to improve understanding of the heterogeneity in the relationship between cognition and functional status in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Demographic, clinical, and methodological moderators were examined. Cognition explained an average of 23% of the variance in functional outcomes. Executive function measures explained the largest amount of variance (37%), whereas global cognitive status and processing speed measures explained the least (20%). Short- and long-delayed memory measures accounted for more variance (35% and 31%) than immediate memory measures (18%), and the relationship between cognition and functional outcomes was stronger when assessed with informant-report (28%) compared with self-report (21%). Demographics, sample characteristics, and type of everyday functioning measures (i.e., questionnaire, performance-based) explained relatively little variance compared with cognition. Executive functioning, particularly measured by Trails B, was a strong predictor of everyday functioning in individuals with MCI. A large proportion of variance remained unexplained by cognition. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Individual Differences in Executive Function and Central Coherence Predict Developmental Changes in Theory of Mind in Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pellicano, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

There is strong evidence to suggest that individuals with autism show atypicalities in multiple cognitive domains, including theory of mind (ToM), executive function (EF), and central coherence (CC). In this study, the longitudinal relationships among these 3 aspects of cognition in autism were investigated. Thirty-seven cognitively able children…

How brain asymmetry relates to performance – a large-scale dichotic listening study

PubMed Central

Hirnstein, Marco; Hugdahl, Kenneth; Hausmann, Markus

2014-01-01

All major mental functions including language, spatial and emotional processing are lateralized but how strongly and to which hemisphere is subject to inter- and intraindividual variation. Relatively little, however, is known about how the degree and direction of lateralization affect how well the functions are carried out, i.e., how lateralization and task performance are related. The present study therefore examined the relationship between lateralization and performance in a dichotic listening task for which we had data available from 1839 participants. In this task, consonant-vowel syllables are presented simultaneously to the left and right ear, such that each ear receives a different syllable. When asked which of the two they heard best, participants typically report more syllables from the right ear, which is a marker of left-hemispheric speech dominance. We calculated the degree of lateralization (based on the difference between correct left and right ear reports) and correlated it with overall response accuracy (left plus right ear reports). In addition, we used reference models to control for statistical interdependency between left and right ear reports. The results revealed a u-shaped relationship between degree of lateralization and overall accuracy: the stronger the left or right ear advantage, the better the overall accuracy. This u-shaped asymmetry-performance relationship consistently emerged in males, females, right-/non-right-handers, and different age groups. Taken together, the present study demonstrates that performance on lateralized language functions depends on how strongly these functions are lateralized. The present study further stresses the importance of controlling for statistical interdependency when examining asymmetry-performance relationships in general. PMID:24427151

Social bonds affect anti-predator behaviour in a tolerant species of macaque, Macaca nigra.

PubMed

Micheletta, Jérôme; Waller, Bridget M; Panggur, Maria R; Neumann, Christof; Duboscq, Julie; Agil, Muhammad; Engelhardt, Antje

2012-10-07

Enduring positive social bonds between individuals are crucial for humans' health and well being. Similar bonds can be found in a wide range of taxa, revealing the evolutionary origins of humans' social bonds. Evidence suggests that these strong social bonds can function to buffer the negative effects of living in groups, but it is not known whether they also function to minimize predation risk. Here, we show that crested macaques (Macaca nigra) react more strongly to playbacks of recruitment alarm calls (i.e. calls signalling the presence of a predator and eliciting cooperative mobbing behaviour) if they were produced by an individual with whom they share a strong social bond. Dominance relationships between caller and listener had no effect on the reaction of the listener. Thus, strong social bonds may improve the coordination and efficiency of cooperative defence against predators, and therefore increase chances of survival. This result broadens our understanding of the evolution and function of social bonds by highlighting their importance in the anti-predator context.

How well do parental and peer relationships in adolescence predict health in adulthood?

PubMed

Landstedt, Evelina; Hammarström, Anne; Winefield, Helen

2015-07-01

Although health effects of social relationships are well-researched, long-term health consequences of adolescent family as well as peer relationships are poorly understood. The aim of the study was to explore the prospective importance of parental and peer social relationships in adolescence on internalising and functional somatic symptoms in adulthood. Data were drawn from four waves of the Northern Swedish Cohort Study, response rate 94.3%, N=1001. Outcome variables were internalising and functional somatic symptoms at the ages of 21, 30 and 42. Relationship variables at age 16 were poor parental contact and three indicators of poor peer relationships. Associations were assessed in multivariate ordinal logistic regressions with adjustment for confounders and baseline health. Results show that the main relationships-related predictors of adult internalising symptoms were self-rated poor peer relationships in terms of spending time alone during after-school hours and poor parental relationship. Functional somatic symptoms on the other hand were most strongly associated with poor parental contact and not being happy with classmates at age 16. The quality of parental and peer relationships in adolescence predicts adult mental and functional somatic health as much as 26 years later, even when accounting for confounders and adolescent symptomatology. This study extends past research by exploring how both adolescent parental and peer relationships (self-reported as well as teacher reported) predict adult self-reported health. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

A unified model of avian species richness on islands and continents.

PubMed

Kalmar, Attila; Currie, David J

2007-05-01

How many species in a given taxon should be found in a delimited area in a specified place in the world? Some recent literature suggests that the answer to this question depends strongly on the geographical, evolutionary, and ecological context. For example, current theory suggests that species accumulate as a function of area differently on continents and islands. Species richness-climate relationships have been examined separately on continents and on islands. This study tests the hypotheses that (1) the functional relationship between richness and climate is the same on continents and islands; (2) the species-area slope depends on distance-based isolation; (3) species-area relationships differ among land bridge islands, oceanic islands, and continents; (4) richness differs among biogeographic regions independently of climate and isolation. We related bird species numbers in a worldwide sample of 240 continental parcels and 346 islands to several environmental variables. We found that breeding bird richness varies similarly on islands and on continents as a function of mean annual temperature, an area x precipitation interaction, and the distance separating insular samples from the nearest continent (R2 = 0.86). Most studies to date have postulated that the slope of the species-area relationship depends upon isolation. In contrast, we found no such interaction. A richness-environment relationship derived using Old World sites accurately predicts patterns of richness in the New World and vice versa (R2 = 0.85). Our results suggest that most of the global variation in richness is not strongly context-specific; rather, it reflects a small number of general environmental constraints operating on both continents and islands.

A simple method for assessment of muscle force, velocity, and power producing capacities from functional movement tasks.

PubMed

Zivkovic, Milena Z; Djuric, Sasa; Cuk, Ivan; Suzovic, Dejan; Jaric, Slobodan

2017-07-01

A range of force (F) and velocity (V) data obtained from functional movement tasks (e.g., running, jumping, throwing, lifting, cycling) performed under variety of external loads have typically revealed strong and approximately linear F-V relationships. The regression model parameters reveal the maximum F (F-intercept), V (V-intercept), and power (P) producing capacities of the tested muscles. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the level of agreement between the routinely used "multiple-load model" and a simple "two-load model" based on direct assessment of the F-V relationship from only 2 external loads applied. Twelve participants were tested on the maximum performance vertical jumps, cycling, bench press throws, and bench pull performed against a variety of different loads. All 4 tested tasks revealed both exceptionally strong relationships between the parameters of the 2 models (median R = 0.98) and a lack of meaningful differences between their magnitudes (fixed bias below 3.4%). Therefore, addition of another load to the standard tests of various functional tasks typically conducted under a single set of mechanical conditions could allow for the assessment of the muscle mechanical properties such as the muscle F, V, and P producing capacities.

Ecosystem Functions across Trophic Levels Are Linked to Functional and Phylogenetic Diversity

PubMed Central

Thompson, Patrick L.; Davies, T. Jonathan; Gonzalez, Andrew

2015-01-01

In experimental systems, it has been shown that biodiversity indices based on traits or phylogeny can outperform species richness as predictors of plant ecosystem function. However, it is unclear whether this pattern extends to the function of food webs in natural ecosystems. Here we tested whether zooplankton functional and phylogenetic diversity explains the functioning of 23 natural pond communities. We used two measures of ecosystem function: (1) zooplankton community biomass and (2) phytoplankton abundance (Chl a). We tested for diversity-ecosystem function relationships within and across trophic levels. We found a strong correlation between zooplankton diversity and ecosystem function, whereas local environmental conditions were less important. Further, the positive diversity-ecosystem function relationships were more pronounced for measures of functional and phylogenetic diversity than for species richness. Zooplankton and phytoplankton biomass were best predicted by different indices, suggesting that the two functions are dependent upon different aspects of diversity. Zooplankton community biomass was best predicted by zooplankton trait-based functional richness, while phytoplankton abundance was best predicted by zooplankton phylogenetic diversity. Our results suggest that the positive relationship between diversity and ecosystem function can extend across trophic levels in natural environments, and that greater insight into variation in ecosystem function can be gained by combining functional and phylogenetic diversity measures. PMID:25693188

Ecosystem functions across trophic levels are linked to functional and phylogenetic diversity.

PubMed

Thompson, Patrick L; Davies, T Jonathan; Gonzalez, Andrew

2015-01-01

In experimental systems, it has been shown that biodiversity indices based on traits or phylogeny can outperform species richness as predictors of plant ecosystem function. However, it is unclear whether this pattern extends to the function of food webs in natural ecosystems. Here we tested whether zooplankton functional and phylogenetic diversity explains the functioning of 23 natural pond communities. We used two measures of ecosystem function: (1) zooplankton community biomass and (2) phytoplankton abundance (Chl a). We tested for diversity-ecosystem function relationships within and across trophic levels. We found a strong correlation between zooplankton diversity and ecosystem function, whereas local environmental conditions were less important. Further, the positive diversity-ecosystem function relationships were more pronounced for measures of functional and phylogenetic diversity than for species richness. Zooplankton and phytoplankton biomass were best predicted by different indices, suggesting that the two functions are dependent upon different aspects of diversity. Zooplankton community biomass was best predicted by zooplankton trait-based functional richness, while phytoplankton abundance was best predicted by zooplankton phylogenetic diversity. Our results suggest that the positive relationship between diversity and ecosystem function can extend across trophic levels in natural environments, and that greater insight into variation in ecosystem function can be gained by combining functional and phylogenetic diversity measures.

Assessing the relationships among stress, god-mediated control, and psychological distress/well-being: Does the level of education matter?

PubMed

Krause, Neal

2018-01-24

One of the primary functions of religion is to help people cope with stressful life events. The purpose of the current study is to see if God-mediated control beliefs perform this stress-buffering function. God-mediated control refers to the belief that people work together with God to reduce the effects of unwanted stressors in their lives. An effort is made to probe this relationship more deeply by seeing whether the stress moderating function of God-mediated control beliefs varies across levels of educational attainment. Findings from a recent nationwide survey suggest that strong God-mediated control beliefs reduce the magnitude of the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms, anxiety, happiness, and hope, but only among more highly educated study participants. In contrast, God-mediated control beliefs do not appear to influence the relationship between stress and distress/well-being among study participants with lower levels of educational attainment.

[A cross-level analysis of the links between service quality and disconfirmation of expectations and customer satisfaction].

PubMed

Sánchez-Hernández, Rosa M; Martínez-Tur, Vicente; González-Morales, M Gloria; Ramos, José; Peiró, José M

2009-08-01

This article examines links between disconfirmation of expectations and functional and relational service quality perceived by employees and customer satisfaction. A total of 156 employees, who were working in 52 work units, participated in the research study. In addition, 517 customers who were assisted by these work units were surveyed. Using a cross-level approach, we used a random coefficient model to test the aforementioned relationships. A strong relationship between disconfirmation of expectations and customer satisfaction was observed. Also, the results confirmed that functional service quality maintains an additional and significant association with customer satisfaction. In contrast, there were no significant relationships between relational service quality and customer satisfaction. The article concludes with a discussion of these results.

Multivariate assessment of subjective and objective measures of social and family satisfaction in Veterans with history of traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Orff, Henry J; Hays, Chelsea C; Twamley, Elizabeth W

2016-01-01

Approximately 20% of current-era Veterans have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which can result in persistent postconcussive symptoms. These symptoms may disrupt family and social functioning. We explored psychiatric, postconcussive, and cognitive factors as correlates of objective functioning and subjective satisfaction in family and social relationships. At entry into a supported employment study, 50 unemployed Veterans with a history of mild to moderate TBI and current cognitive impairment were administered baseline assessments. Multivariate stepwise regressions determined that higher levels of depressive symptomatology were strongly associated with less frequent social contact, as well as lower subjective satisfaction with family and social relationships. Worse verbal fluency predicted less frequent social contact, whereas worse processing speed and switching predicted higher levels of subjective satisfaction with family relationships. The pattern of results remained similar when examining those Veterans with only mild TBI. Depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning may impact Veterans' social contact and satisfaction with family and social relationships. Evidence-based interventions addressing depression and cognition may therefore aid in improving community reintegration and satisfaction with social and family relationships.

Gaussian Mixture Modeling of Hemispheric Lateralization for Language in a Large Sample of Healthy Individuals Balanced for Handedness

PubMed Central

Mazoyer, Bernard; Zago, Laure; Jobard, Gaël; Crivello, Fabrice; Joliot, Marc; Perchey, Guy; Mellet, Emmanuel; Petit, Laurent; Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie

2014-01-01

Hemispheric lateralization for language production and its relationships with manual preference and manual preference strength were studied in a sample of 297 subjects, including 153 left-handers (LH). A hemispheric functional lateralization index (HFLI) for language was derived from fMRI acquired during a covert sentence generation task as compared with a covert word list recitation. The multimodal HFLI distribution was optimally modeled using a mixture of 3 and 4 Gaussian functions in right-handers (RH) and LH, respectively. Gaussian function parameters helped to define 3 types of language hemispheric lateralization, namely “Typical” (left hemisphere dominance with clear positive HFLI values, 88% of RH, 78% of LH), “Ambilateral” (no dominant hemisphere with HFLI values close to 0, 12% of RH, 15% of LH) and “Strongly-atypical” (right-hemisphere dominance with clear negative HFLI values, 7% of LH). Concordance between dominant hemispheres for hand and for language did not exceed chance level, and most of the association between handedness and language lateralization was explained by the fact that all Strongly-atypical individuals were left-handed. Similarly, most of the relationship between language lateralization and manual preference strength was explained by the fact that Strongly-atypical individuals exhibited a strong preference for their left hand. These results indicate that concordance of hemispheric dominance for hand and for language occurs barely above the chance level, except in a group of rare individuals (less than 1% in the general population) who exhibit strong right hemisphere dominance for both language and their preferred hand. They call for a revisit of models hypothesizing common determinants for handedness and for language dominance. PMID:24977417

Gaussian mixture modeling of hemispheric lateralization for language in a large sample of healthy individuals balanced for handedness.

PubMed

Mazoyer, Bernard; Zago, Laure; Jobard, Gaël; Crivello, Fabrice; Joliot, Marc; Perchey, Guy; Mellet, Emmanuel; Petit, Laurent; Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie

2014-01-01

Hemispheric lateralization for language production and its relationships with manual preference and manual preference strength were studied in a sample of 297 subjects, including 153 left-handers (LH). A hemispheric functional lateralization index (HFLI) for language was derived from fMRI acquired during a covert sentence generation task as compared with a covert word list recitation. The multimodal HFLI distribution was optimally modeled using a mixture of 3 and 4 Gaussian functions in right-handers (RH) and LH, respectively. Gaussian function parameters helped to define 3 types of language hemispheric lateralization, namely "Typical" (left hemisphere dominance with clear positive HFLI values, 88% of RH, 78% of LH), "Ambilateral" (no dominant hemisphere with HFLI values close to 0, 12% of RH, 15% of LH) and "Strongly-atypical" (right-hemisphere dominance with clear negative HFLI values, 7% of LH). Concordance between dominant hemispheres for hand and for language did not exceed chance level, and most of the association between handedness and language lateralization was explained by the fact that all Strongly-atypical individuals were left-handed. Similarly, most of the relationship between language lateralization and manual preference strength was explained by the fact that Strongly-atypical individuals exhibited a strong preference for their left hand. These results indicate that concordance of hemispheric dominance for hand and for language occurs barely above the chance level, except in a group of rare individuals (less than 1% in the general population) who exhibit strong right hemisphere dominance for both language and their preferred hand. They call for a revisit of models hypothesizing common determinants for handedness and for language dominance.

Not All Ideals are Equal: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Ideals in Relationships.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Lindsey M; Hadden, Benjamin W; Knee, C Raymond

2015-03-01

The ideal standards model suggests that greater consistency between ideal standards and actual perceptions of one's relationship predicts positive relationship evaluations; however, no research has evaluated whether this differs across types of ideals. A self-determination theory perspective was derived to test whether satisfaction of intrinsic ideals buffers the importance of extrinsic ideals. Participants (N=195) in committed relationships directly and indirectly reported the extent to which their partner met their ideal on two dimensions: intrinsic (e.g., warm, intimate) and extrinsic (e.g., attractive, successful). Relationship need fulfillment and relationship quality were also assessed. Hypotheses were largely supported, such that satisfaction of intrinsic ideals more strongly predicted relationship functioning, and satisfaction of intrinsic ideals buffered the relevance of extrinsic ideals for outcomes.

Choice of resolution by functional trait or taxonomy affects allometric scaling in soil food webs.

PubMed

Sechi, Valentina; Brussaard, Lijbert; De Goede, Ron G M; Rutgers, Michiel; Mulder, Christian

2015-01-01

Belowground organisms often display a shift in their mass-abundance scaling relationships due to environmental factors such as soil chemistry and atmospheric deposition. Here we present new empirical data that show strong differences in allometric scaling according to whether the resolution at the local scale is based on a taxonomic or a functional classification, while only slight differences arise according to soil environmental conditions. For the first time, isometry (an inverse 1:1 proportion) is recognized in mass-abundance relationships, providing a functional signal for constant biomass distribution in soil biota regardless of discrete trophic levels. Our findings are in contrast to those from aquatic ecosystems, in that higher trophic levels in soil biota are not a direct function of increasing body mass.

Intraspecific Relationships among Wood Density, Leaf Structural Traits and Environment in Four Co-Occurring Species of Nothofagus in New Zealand

PubMed Central

Richardson, Sarah J.; Allen, Robert B.; Buxton, Rowan P.; Easdale, Tomás A.; Hurst, Jennifer M.; Morse, Christopher W.; Smissen, Rob D.; Peltzer, Duane A.

2013-01-01

Plant functional traits capture important variation in plant strategy and function. Recent literature has revealed that within-species variation in traits is greater than previously supposed. However, we still have a poor understanding of how intraspecific variation is coordinated among different traits, and how it is driven by environment. We quantified intraspecific variation in wood density and five leaf traits underpinning the leaf economics spectrum (leaf dry matter content, leaf mass per unit area, size, thickness and density) within and among four widespread Nothofagus tree species in southern New Zealand. We tested whether intraspecific relationships between wood density and leaf traits followed widely reported interspecific relationships, and whether variation in these traits was coordinated through shared responses to environmental factors. Sample sites varied widely in environmental variables, including soil fertility (25–900 mg kg–1 total P), precipitation (668–4875 mm yr–1), temperature (5.2–12.4 °C mean annual temperature) and latitude (41–46 °S). Leaf traits were strongly correlated with one another within species, but not with wood density. There was some evidence for a positive relationship between wood density and leaf tissue density and dry matter content, but no evidence that leaf mass or leaf size were correlated with wood density; this highlights that leaf mass per unit area cannot be used as a surrogate for component leaf traits such as tissue density. Trait variation was predicted by environmental factors, but not consistently among different traits; e.g., only leaf thickness and leaf density responded to the same environmental cues as wood density. We conclude that although intraspecific variation in wood density and leaf traits is strongly driven by environmental factors, these responses are not strongly coordinated among functional traits even across co-occurring, closely-related plant species. PMID:23527041

Leaf bacterial diversity mediates plant diversity and ecosystem function relationships.

PubMed

Laforest-Lapointe, Isabelle; Paquette, Alain; Messier, Christian; Kembel, Steven W

2017-06-01

Research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has demonstrated links between plant diversity and ecosystem functions such as productivity. At other trophic levels, the plant microbiome has been shown to influence host plant fitness and function, and host-associated microbes have been proposed to influence ecosystem function through their role in defining the extended phenotype of host organisms However, the importance of the plant microbiome for ecosystem function has not been quantified in the context of the known importance of plant diversity and traits. Here, using a tree biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiment, we provide strong support for the hypothesis that leaf bacterial diversity is positively linked to ecosystem productivity, even after accounting for the role of plant diversity. Our results also show that host species identity, functional identity and functional diversity are the main determinants of leaf bacterial community structure and diversity. Our study provides evidence of a positive correlation between plant-associated microbial diversity and terrestrial ecosystem productivity, and a new mechanism by which models of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships can be improved.

Does reflective functioning mediate the relationship between attachment and personality?

PubMed

Nazzaro, Maria Paola; Boldrini, Tommaso; Tanzilli, Annalisa; Muzi, Laura; Giovanardi, Guido; Lingiardi, Vittorio

2017-10-01

Mentalization, operationalized as reflective functioning (RF), can play a crucial role in the psychological mechanisms underlying personality functioning. This study aimed to: (a) study the association between RF, personality disorders (cluster level) and functioning; (b) investigate whether RF and personality functioning are influenced by (secure vs. insecure) attachment; and (c) explore the potential mediating effect of RF on the relationship between attachment and personality functioning. The Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200) was used to assess personality disorders and levels of psychological functioning in a clinical sample (N = 88). Attachment and RF were evaluated with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and Reflective Functioning Scale (RFS). Findings showed that RF had significant negative associations with cluster A and B personality disorders, and a significant positive association with psychological functioning. Moreover, levels of RF and personality functioning were influenced by attachment patterns. Finally, RF completely mediated the relationship between (secure/insecure) attachment and adaptive psychological features, and thus accounted for differences in overall personality functioning. Lack of mentalization seemed strongly associated with vulnerabilities in personality functioning, especially in patients with cluster A and B personality disorders. These findings provide support for the development of therapeutic interventions to improve patients' RF. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive Precursors of Receptive vs. Expressive Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smolak, Linda

1982-01-01

The relationship of object permanence and classification skills to receptive and expressive language development was investigated in infants. Object permanence, classification, and parent-child verbal interaction ratings were about equally related to language comprehension functioning, while permanence was more strongly related to language…

Analysis of Metallized Teflon(trademark) Film Materials Performance on Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pippin, H. Gary; Normand, Eugene; Wolf, Suzanne L. B.; Kamenetzky, Rachel; Kauffman, William J., Jr. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Laboratory and on-orbit performance data for two common thermal control materials, silver- and aluminum-backed (metallized) fluorinated ethyl-propylene (TER) was collected from a variety of sources and analyzed. This paper demonstrates that the change in solar absorptance, alpha, is a strong function of particulate radiation for these materials. Examination of additional data shows that the atomic oxygen recession rate is a strong function of solar exposure with an induction period of between 25 to 50 equivalent solar hours. The relationships determined in this analysis were incorporated into an electronic knowledge base, the 'Spacecraft Materials Selector,' under NASA contract NAS8-98213.

The development of executive function and language skills in the early school years.

PubMed

Gooch, Debbie; Thompson, Paul; Nash, Hannah M; Snowling, Margaret J; Hulme, Charles

2016-02-01

The developmental relationships between executive functions (EF) and early language skills are unclear. This study explores the longitudinal relationships between children's early EF and language skills in a sample of children with a wide range of language abilities including children at risk of dyslexia. In addition, we investigated whether these skills independently predict children's attention/behaviour skills. Data are presented from 243 children at four time points. Children were selected for being at risk of reading difficulties either because of a family history of dyslexia (FR; N = 90) or because of concerns regarding their language development (LI; N = 79) or as typically developing controls (TD; N = 74). The children completed tasks to assess their executive function and language skills at ages 4, 5 and 6 years. At 6 (T4) and 7 years (T5) parents and teachers rated the children's attention/behaviour skills. There was a strong concurrent relationship between language and EF at each assessment. Longitudinal analyses indicated a considerable degree of stability in children's language and EF skills: the influence of language on later EF skills (and vice versa) was weak and not significant in the current sample. Children's EF, but not language, skills at T3 predicted attention/behaviour ratings at T4/T5. There is a strong concurrent association between language and EF skills during the preschool and early school years, when children with language impairment show persistent EF deficits. Latent variables measuring language and EF show high longitudinal stability with little evidence of significant or strong reciprocal influences between these constructs. EF, but not language, skills predict later ratings of children's attention and behaviour. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

The reliability and validity of the Maryland Assessment of Recovery in Serious Mental Illness Scale.

PubMed

Drapalski, Amy L; Medoff, Deborah; Dixon, Lisa; Bellack, Alan

2016-05-30

The current study aims to further evaluate the psychometric properties of the Maryland Assessment of Recovery in Serious Mental Illness (MARS), a relatively new instrument designed to assess personal recovery status in individuals with serious mental illness. Two hundred and fifty individuals with serious mental illness receiving outpatient mental health treatment completed a baseline assessment which included the MARS and measures to assess recovery-related constructs, clinical outcomes, and social and community functioning. The MARS demonstrated excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Good construct validity was evidenced by strong positive relationships between the MARS and recovery-related constructs (e.g. hope, empowerment, self-efficacy, and personal agency) and a strong negative relationship with self-stigma. Divergent validity was demonstrated by weaker relationships with cognitive and social functioning. The confirmatory factor analysis did not confirm the unitary factor structure found in previous research. Given the equivocal result of the CFA, additional exploratory work is needed to determine if a more complex factor structure is present. This study provides addition support for the psychometric soundness of the MARS and subsequently, its potential use as a measure of personal recovery status in people with serious mental illness. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Assessing Hubbard-corrected AM05+ U and PBEsol+ U density functionals for strongly correlated oxides CeO 2 and Ce 2O 3

DOE PAGES

Weck, Philippe F.; Kim, Eunja

2016-09-12

The structure–property relationships of bulk CeO 2 and Ce 2O 3 have been investigated using AM05 and PBEsol exchange–correlation functionals within the frameworks of Hubbard-corrected density functional theory (DFT+ U) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT+ U). Compared with conventional PBE+ U, RPBE+ U, PW91+ U and LDA+ U functionals, AM05+ U and PBEsol+ U describe experimental crystalline parameters and properties of CeO 2 and Ce 2O 3 with superior accuracy, especially when + U is chosen close to its value derived by the linear-response approach. Lastly, the present findings call for a reexamination of some of the problematic oxidemore » materials featuring strong f- and d-electron correlation using AM05+ U and PBEsol+ U.« less

Assessing Hubbard-corrected AM05+ U and PBEsol+ U density functionals for strongly correlated oxides CeO 2 and Ce 2O 3

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

Weck, Philippe F.; Kim, Eunja

The structure–property relationships of bulk CeO 2 and Ce 2O 3 have been investigated using AM05 and PBEsol exchange–correlation functionals within the frameworks of Hubbard-corrected density functional theory (DFT+ U) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT+ U). Compared with conventional PBE+ U, RPBE+ U, PW91+ U and LDA+ U functionals, AM05+ U and PBEsol+ U describe experimental crystalline parameters and properties of CeO 2 and Ce 2O 3 with superior accuracy, especially when + U is chosen close to its value derived by the linear-response approach. Lastly, the present findings call for a reexamination of some of the problematic oxidemore » materials featuring strong f- and d-electron correlation using AM05+ U and PBEsol+ U.« less

Social bonds affect anti-predator behaviour in a tolerant species of macaque, Macaca nigra

PubMed Central

Micheletta, Jérôme; Waller, Bridget M.; Panggur, Maria R.; Neumann, Christof; Duboscq, Julie; Agil, Muhammad; Engelhardt, Antje

2012-01-01

Enduring positive social bonds between individuals are crucial for humans' health and well being. Similar bonds can be found in a wide range of taxa, revealing the evolutionary origins of humans' social bonds. Evidence suggests that these strong social bonds can function to buffer the negative effects of living in groups, but it is not known whether they also function to minimize predation risk. Here, we show that crested macaques (Macaca nigra) react more strongly to playbacks of recruitment alarm calls (i.e. calls signalling the presence of a predator and eliciting cooperative mobbing behaviour) if they were produced by an individual with whom they share a strong social bond. Dominance relationships between caller and listener had no effect on the reaction of the listener. Thus, strong social bonds may improve the coordination and efficiency of cooperative defence against predators, and therefore increase chances of survival. This result broadens our understanding of the evolution and function of social bonds by highlighting their importance in the anti-predator context. PMID:22859593

Grain Boundary Plane Orientation Fundamental Zones and Structure-Property Relationships

PubMed Central

Homer, Eric R.; Patala, Srikanth; Priedeman, Jonathan L.

2015-01-01

Grain boundary plane orientation is a profoundly important determinant of character in polycrystalline materials that is not well understood. This work demonstrates how boundary plane orientation fundamental zones, which capture the natural crystallographic symmetries of a grain boundary, can be used to establish structure-property relationships. Using the fundamental zone representation, trends in computed energy, excess volume at the grain boundary, and temperature-dependent mobility naturally emerge and show a strong dependence on the boundary plane orientation. Analysis of common misorientation axes even suggests broader trends of grain boundary energy as a function of misorientation angle and plane orientation. Due to the strong structure-property relationships that naturally emerge from this work, boundary plane fundamental zones are expected to simplify analysis of both computational and experimental data. This standardized representation has the potential to significantly accelerate research in the topologically complex and vast five-dimensional phase space of grain boundaries. PMID:26498715

Grain boundary plane orientation fundamental zones and structure-property relationships

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

Homer, Eric R.; Patala, Srikanth; Priedeman, Jonathan L.

2015-10-26

Grain boundary plane orientation is a profoundly important determinant of character in polycrystalline materials that is not well understood. This work demonstrates how boundary plane orientation fundamental zones, which capture the natural crystallographic symmetries of a grain boundary, can be used to establish structure-property relationships. Using the fundamental zone representation, trends in computed energy, excess volume at the grain boundary, and temperature-dependent mobility naturally emerge and show a strong dependence on the boundary plane orientation. Analysis of common misorientation axes even suggests broader trends of grain boundary energy as a function of misorientation angle and plane orientation. Due to themore » strong structure-property relationships that naturally emerge from this work, boundary plane fundamental zones are expected to simplify analysis of both computational and experimental data. This standardized representation has the potential to significantly accelerate research in the topologically complex and vast five-dimensional phase space of grain boundaries.« less

Handedness and hemispheric language dominance in healthy humans.

PubMed

Knecht, S; Dräger, B; Deppe, M; Bobe, L; Lohmann, H; Flöel, A; Ringelstein, E B; Henningsen, H

2000-12-01

In most people the left hemisphere of the brain is dominant for language. Because of the increased incidence of atypical right-hemispheric language in left-handed neurological patients, a systematic association between handedness and dominance has long been suspected. To clarify the relationship between handedness and language dominance in healthy subjects, we measured lateralization directly by functional transcranial Doppler sonography in 326 healthy individuals using a word-generation task. The incidence of right-hemisphere language dominance was found to increase linearly with the degree of left-handedness, from 4% in strong right-handers (handedness = 100) to 15% in ambidextrous individuals and 27% in strong left-handers (handedness = -100). The relationship could be approximated by the formula: f1.gif" BORDER="0">. These results clearly demonstrate that the relationship between handedness and language dominance is not an artefact of cerebral pathology but a natural phenomenon.

Computer memory management system

DOEpatents

Kirk, III, Whitson John

2002-01-01

A computer memory management system utilizing a memory structure system of "intelligent" pointers in which information related to the use status of the memory structure is designed into the pointer. Through this pointer system, The present invention provides essentially automatic memory management (often referred to as garbage collection) by allowing relationships between objects to have definite memory management behavior by use of coding protocol which describes when relationships should be maintained and when the relationships should be broken. In one aspect, the present invention system allows automatic breaking of strong links to facilitate object garbage collection, coupled with relationship adjectives which define deletion of associated objects. In another aspect, The present invention includes simple-to-use infinite undo/redo functionality in that it has the capability, through a simple function call, to undo all of the changes made to a data model since the previous `valid state` was noted.

Theory of Mind and Executive Functions in Young Bilingual Children.

PubMed

Dahlgren, SvenOlof; Almén, Helena; Dahlgren Sandberg, Annika

2017-01-01

Few studies have explored the relationship between theory of mind (ToM), executive function (EF), and bilingualism at the same time. In this study 14 young bilingual children were compared with monolingual children on a test battery composed of 5 ToM tests, 5 EF tests, and 1 test of general language ability. The result showed that despite significantly lower verbal ability, the bilingual children outperformed the monolingual ones on tests of EF. There were no differences in ToM performance. The authors argue that there is a strong relationship between bilingualism and EF, but, contrary to results from earlier studies, they could not find any relationship between bilingualism and ToM. EF did not predict ToM performance. Lack of a significant relationship could be due to the children's young age and consequently their low scores on the ToM tasks.

Neuropsychological Correlates of Hazard Perception in Older Adults.

PubMed

McInerney, Katalina; Suhr, Julie

2016-03-01

Hazard perception, the ability to identify and react to hazards while driving, is of growing importance in driving research, given its strong relationship to real word driving variables. Furthermore, although poor hazard perception is associated with novice drivers, recent research suggests that it declines with advanced age. In the present study, we examined the neuropsychological correlates of hazard perception in a healthy older adult sample. A total of 68 adults age 60 and older who showed no signs of dementia and were active drivers completed a battery of neuropsychological tests as well as a hazard perception task. Tests included the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, Wechsler Test of Adult Reading, Trail Making Test, Block Design, Useful Field of View, and the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Color Word Interference Test. Hazard perception errors were related to visuospatial/constructional skills, processing speed, memory, and executive functioning skills, with a battery of tests across these domains accounting for 36.7% of the variance in hazard perception errors. Executive functioning, particularly Trail Making Test part B, emerged as a strong predictor of hazard perception ability. Consistent with prior work showing the relationship of neuropsychological performance to other measures of driving ability, neuropsychological performance was associated with hazard perception skill. Future studies should examine the relationship of neuropsychological changes in adults who are showing driving impairment and/or cognitive changes associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia.

Romantic relationships and mental health.

PubMed

Braithwaite, Scott; Holt-Lunstad, Julianne

2017-02-01

This paper reviews the research on relationships and mental health. Individuals who are more mentally healthy are more likely to select into relationships, but relationships are also demonstrably associated with mental health. The type of relationship matters - evidence suggests that more established, committed relationships, such as marriage, are associated with greater benefits than less committed unions such as cohabitation. The association between relationships and mental health is clearly bidirectional, however, stronger effects are observed when mental health is the outcome and relationships are the predictor, suggesting that the causal arrow flows more strongly from relationships to mental health than vice versa. Moreover, improving relationships improves mental health, but improving mental health does not reliably improve relationships. Our review of research corroborates the view that relationships are a keystone component of human functioning that have the potential to influence a broad array of mental health outcomes. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The siren song of vocal fundamental frequency for romantic relationships.

PubMed

Weusthoff, Sarah; Baucom, Brian R; Hahlweg, Kurt

2013-01-01

A multitude of factors contribute to why and how romantic relationships are formed as well as whether they ultimately succeed or fail. Drawing on evolutionary models of attraction and speech production as well as integrative models of relationship functioning, this review argues that paralinguistic cues (more specifically the fundamental frequency of the voice) that are initially a strong source of attraction also increase couples' risk for relationship failure. Conceptual similarities and differences between the multiple operationalizations and interpretations of vocal fundamental frequency are discussed and guidelines are presented for understanding both convergent and non-convergent findings. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Relationships between parental attitudes, family functioning and Internet gaming disorder in adolescents attending school.

PubMed

Bonnaire, Céline; Phan, Olivier

2017-09-01

While recent data suggest a high prevalence of adolescent with Internet gaming disorder, little is known about interpersonal factors that contributes or protect to this disorder. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the relationships between parental attitudes, adolescent perception of family functioning and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and explore gender differences. From a sample of 434 adolescents attending school (n =434; age 13.2 years), 383 non-problematic gamers (NPG, 196 males; 187 females) were compared with 37 problematic gamers (PG, 29 males; 8 females). Family functioning was assessed with the Family Relationship Index and parental attitudes with a questionnaire measuring rules, access to video games, monitoring and banning of video games. NPG have a better family cohesion while PG have more family conflict and a poorer family relationship. While rules about gaming use are important in males, for females, banning is associated with IGD. For both sex, parental monitoring, conflicts and family relationship are associated with IGD. These findings highlight the strong influence of parental attitudes and family functioning on the occurrence of IGD in adolescents and their gender specificities. Thus, prevention programs need to take into account the importance of parents, parenting and gender specificities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Not All Ideals are Equal: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Ideals in Relationships

PubMed Central

Rodriguez, Lindsey M.; Hadden, Benjamin W.; Knee, C. Raymond

2015-01-01

The ideal standards model suggests that greater consistency between ideal standards and actual perceptions of one’s relationship predicts positive relationship evaluations; however, no research has evaluated whether this differs across types of ideals. A self-determination theory perspective was derived to test whether satisfaction of intrinsic ideals buffers the importance of extrinsic ideals. Participants (N=195) in committed relationships directly and indirectly reported the extent to which their partner met their ideal on two dimensions: intrinsic (e.g., warm, intimate) and extrinsic (e.g., attractive, successful). Relationship need fulfillment and relationship quality were also assessed. Hypotheses were largely supported, such that satisfaction of intrinsic ideals more strongly predicted relationship functioning, and satisfaction of intrinsic ideals buffered the relevance of extrinsic ideals for outcomes. PMID:25821396

Species traits outweigh nested structure in driving the effects of realistic biodiversity loss on productivity.

PubMed

Wolfi, Amelia A; Zavaleta, Erika S

2015-01-01

While most studies of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning have examined randomized diversity losses, several recent experiments have employed nested, realistic designs and found that realistic species losses had larger consequences than random losses for ecosystem functioning. Progressive, realistic, biodiversity losses are generally strongly nested, but this nestedness is a potentially confounding effect. Here, we address whether nonrandom trait loss or degree of nestedness drives the relationship between diversity and productivity in a realistic biodiversity-loss experiment. We isolated the effect of nestedness through post hoc analyses of data from an experimental biodiversity manipulation in a California serpentine grassland. We found that the order in which plant traits are lost as diversity declines influences the diversity-productivity relationship more than the degree of nestedness does. Understanding the relationship between the expected order of species loss and functional traits is becoming increasingly important in the face of ongoing biodiversity loss worldwide. Our findings illustrate the importance of species composition and the order of species loss, rather than nestedness per se, for understanding the mechanisms underlying the effects of realistic species losses on ecosystem functioning.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ISOMETRIC THIGH MUSCLE STRENGTH AND MINIMAL CLINICALLY IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES (MCIDS) IN KNEE FUNCTION IN OSTEOARTHRITIS – DATA FROM THE OSTEOARTHRITIS INITIATIVE

PubMed Central

Ruhdorfer, Anja; Wirth, Wolfgang; Eckstein, Felix

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the relationship between thigh muscle strength and clinically relevant differences in self-assessed lower limb function. Methods Isometric knee extensor and flexor strength of 4553 Osteoarthritis Initiative participants (2651 women/1902 men) was related to Western Ontario McMasters Universities (WOMAC) physical function scores by linear regression. Further, groups of Male and female participant strata with minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) in WOMAC function scores (6/68) were compared across the full range of observed values, and to participants without functional deficits (WOMAC=0). The effect of WOMAC knee pain and body mass index on the above relationships was explored using stepwise regression. Results Per regression equations, a 3.7% reduction in extensor and a 4.0% reduction in flexor strength were associated with an MCID in WOMAC function in women, and a 3.6%/4.8% reduction in men. For strength divided by body weight, reductions were 5.2%/6.7% in women and 5.8%/6.7% in men. Comparing MCID strata across the full observed range of WOMAC function confirmed the above estimates and did not suggest non-linear relationships across the spectrum of observed values. WOMAC pain correlated strongly with WOMAC function, but extensor (and flexor) muscle strength contributed significant independent information. Conclusion Reductions of approximately 4% in isometric muscle strength and of 6% in strength/weight were related to a clinically relevant difference in WOMAC functional disability. Longitudinal studies will need to confirm these relationships within persons. Muscle extensor (and flexor) strength (per body weight) provided significant independent information in addition to pain in explaining variability in lower limb function. PMID:25303012

The couple that smokes together: Dyadic marijuana use and relationship functioning during conflict.

PubMed

Crane, Cory A; Testa, Maria; Schlauch, Robert C; Leonard, Kenneth E

2016-09-01

Self-reported marijuana use has been associated with poor relationship functioning and decreased stability over time. The present study examined the behavioral interactions of couples with concordant and discordant patterns of marijuana use during conflict, using individual self-reports and observation by independent coders. Heavy drinking community couples (N = 149) participated in a conflict resolution paradigm. Interactions were recorded and coded by naïve coders. Approximately 30% of the sample reported past year marijuana use. Actor-Partner Interdependence Models and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of dyadic marijuana use on maladaptive relationship functioning. A Robust Actor × Partner Marijuana Use interaction was detected for a range of behavioral outcomes, assessed by both self-report and direct observation, including relationship satisfaction, anger experience, patterns of demand and withdrawal during conflict, constructive behaviors, and overall relationship quality. Specifically, couples in which both partners used or abstained from marijuana displayed more adaptive relationship functioning across indicators relative to couples in which only 1 partner identified as a marijuana user. This pattern was particularly strong for couples in which the female partner used marijuana and the male partner did not. Couples with discordant, rather than concordant, marijuana use displayed distinct conflict resolution behaviors that were consistent with the long-term negative relationship outcomes that have been observed in previous studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationship of Piaget's sensorimotor period to language acquisition of profoundly retarded children.

PubMed

Kahn, J V

1975-05-01

The relationship of Stage 6 of Piaget's sensorimotor period and the acquisition of meaningful expressive language was investigated. The sample consisted of eight profoundly retarded children who exhibited some meaningful expressive language and eight profoundly retarded children who exhibited none. Chronological ages of the children ranged from 47 to 98 months. A strong relationship was found between meaningful expressive language and Stage 6 functioning as tested by the Uzgiris and Hunt (Note 1) instrument. The findings were discussed in terms of supporting Piaget's theory that cognitive structures exist which are prerequisites for the development of language.

Uniting functional network topology and oscillations in the fronto-parietal single unit network of behaving primates.

PubMed

Dann, Benjamin; Michaels, Jonathan A; Schaffelhofer, Stefan; Scherberger, Hansjörg

2016-08-15

The functional communication of neurons in cortical networks underlies higher cognitive processes. Yet, little is known about the organization of the single neuron network or its relationship to the synchronization processes that are essential for its formation. Here, we show that the functional single neuron network of three fronto-parietal areas during active behavior of macaque monkeys is highly complex. The network was closely connected (small-world) and consisted of functional modules spanning these areas. Surprisingly, the importance of different neurons to the network was highly heterogeneous with a small number of neurons contributing strongly to the network function (hubs), which were in turn strongly inter-connected (rich-club). Examination of the network synchronization revealed that the identified rich-club consisted of neurons that were synchronized in the beta or low frequency range, whereas other neurons were mostly non-oscillatory synchronized. Therefore, oscillatory synchrony may be a central communication mechanism for highly organized functional spiking networks.

Examining the impact of child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) on family functioning.

PubMed

Cornett, Nick; Bratton, Sue C

2014-07-01

Research supports that child parent relationship therapy (CPRT), a filial therapy approach, has strong effects on participating parents and children. Some speculate that filial therapy improves the family system; however, minimal research exists to support this claim. Using a single-case design, researchers examined CPRT's impact on the functioning of 8 families. Results revealed that 6 families experienced statistically significant improvements in targeted areas of family functioning. Results from self-reported measures indicated that 7 families improved in family satisfaction, 4 in cohesion, 3 in communication, and 1 in flexibility. Observational measures also revealed improvements: 5 families in flexibility, 4 families in cohesion, and 4 families in communication. The results support that the benefits of CPRT may extend to the family system. © 2013 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Structure–function relationships in single molecule rectification by N-phenylbenzamide derivatives

DOE PAGES

Koenigsmann, Christopher; Ding, Wendu; Koepf, Matthieu; ...

2016-06-30

Here, we examine structure–function relationships in a series of N-phenylbenzamide (NPBA) derivatives by using computational modeling to identify molecular structures that exhibit both rectification and good conductance together with experimental studies of bias-dependent single molecule conductance and rectification behavior using the scanning tunneling microscopy break-junction technique. From a large number of computationally screened molecular diode structures, we have identified NPBA as a promising candidate, relative to the other structures that were screened. We demonstrate experimentally that conductance and rectification are both enhanced by functionalization of the NPBA 4-carboxamido-aniline moiety with electron donating methoxy groups, and are strongly correlated with themore » energy of the conducting frontier orbital relative to the Fermi level of the gold leads used in break-junction experiments.« less

Structure–function relationships in single molecule rectification by N-phenylbenzamide derivatives

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

Koenigsmann, Christopher; Ding, Wendu; Koepf, Matthieu

Here, we examine structure–function relationships in a series of N-phenylbenzamide (NPBA) derivatives by using computational modeling to identify molecular structures that exhibit both rectification and good conductance together with experimental studies of bias-dependent single molecule conductance and rectification behavior using the scanning tunneling microscopy break-junction technique. From a large number of computationally screened molecular diode structures, we have identified NPBA as a promising candidate, relative to the other structures that were screened. We demonstrate experimentally that conductance and rectification are both enhanced by functionalization of the NPBA 4-carboxamido-aniline moiety with electron donating methoxy groups, and are strongly correlated with themore » energy of the conducting frontier orbital relative to the Fermi level of the gold leads used in break-junction experiments.« less

Rasch Analysis of the Routines-Based Interview Implementation Checklist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boavida, Tânia; Akers, Kate; McWilliam, R. A.; Jung, Lee Ann

2015-01-01

The Routines-­Based Interview (RBI) is useful for developing functional outcomes/goals, for establishing strong relationships with families, and for assessing the family's true needs. In this study, the authors investigated the psychometric properties of the RBI Implementation Checklist, conducted by 120 early intervention professionals,…

Racial Identity and Academic Achievement in the Neighborhood Context: A Multilevel Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrd, Christy M.; Chavous, Tabbye M.

2009-01-01

Increasingly, researchers have found relationships between a strong, positive sense of racial identity and academic achievement among African American youth. Less attention, however, has been given to the roles and functions of racial identity among youth experiencing different social and economic contexts. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the…

Personality Disorder among Male Prisoner in Erbil/ Iraq

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aziz, Saman SH.; Ali, Sirwan K.

2015-01-01

Background and objectives: Personality disorders are enduring, persistent and pervasive disorders of inner experience and behavior that cause distress or significant impairment in social functioning. They have strong relationship to offending and violence; our aim in the study was to determine the prevalence rate of each specific types of…

Three critical questions for future research on lesbian relationships.

PubMed

Diamond, Lisa M

2017-01-02

In this article I discuss three questions that should be priorities for future research on lesbian love and relationships. The first question concerns the very definition of "lesbian relationship," given how many women may be engaged in same-sex relationships without identifying as lesbian. The second question concerns the potential influence of childhood neglect and abuse on adult women's same-sex relationships, a topic that has important implications for both psychological well-being and relationship functioning. The third question concerns the potential downsides of legal marriage for women's same-sex relationships, a topic that is particularly important in light of the newfound legal recognition of same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Although there are many understudied questions in the domain of women's same-sex relationships, research on these three questions has particularly strong potential to advance our understanding of lesbian love and relationships in important ways.

Genetic randomization reveals functional relationships among morphologic and tissue-quality traits that contribute to bone strength and fragility

PubMed Central

Hu, Bin; Tommasini, Steven M.; Courtland, Hayden-William; Price, Christopher; Terranova, Carl J.; Nadeau, Joseph H.

2007-01-01

We examined femora from adult AXB/BXA recombinant inbred (RI) mouse strains to identify skeletal traits that are functionally related and to determine how functional interactions among these traits contribute to genetic variability in whole-bone stiffness, strength, and toughness. Randomization of A/J and C57BL/6J genomic regions resulted in each adult male and female RI strain building mechanically functional femora by assembling unique sets of morphologic and tissue-quality traits. A correlation analysis was conducted using the mean trait values for each RI strain. A third of the 66 correlations examined were significant, indicating that many bone traits covaried or were functionally related. Path analysis revealed important functional interactions among bone slenderness, cortical thickness, and tissue mineral density. The path coefficients describing these functional relations were similar for both sexes. The causal relationship among these three traits suggested that cellular processes during growth simultaneously regulate bone slenderness, cortical thickness, and tissue mineral density so that the combination of traits is sufficiently stiff and strong to satisfy daily loading demands. A disadvantage of these functional interactions was that increases in tissue mineral density also deleteriously affected tissue ductility. Consequently, slender bones with high mineral density may be stiff and strong but they are also brittle. Thus, genetically randomized mouse strains revealed a basic biological paradigm that allows for flexibility in building bones that are functional for daily activities but that creates preferred sets of traits under extreme loading conditions. Genetic or environmental perturbations that alter these functional interactions during growth would be expected to lead to loss of function and suboptimal adult bone quality. PMID:17557179

Longitudinal relationships between resources, motivation, and functioning.

PubMed

Hess, Thomas M; Emery, Lisa; Neupert, Shevaun D

2012-05-01

We investigated how fluctuations and linear changes in health and cognitive resources influence the motivation to engage in complex cognitive activity and the extent to which motivation mediated the relationship between changing resources and cognitively demanding activities. Longitudinal data from 332 adults aged 20-85 years were examined. Motivation was assessed using a composite of Need for Cognition and Personal Need for Structure and additional measures of health, sensory functioning, cognitive ability, and self-reported activity engagement. Multilevel modeling revealed that age-typical changes in health, sensory functions, and ability were associated with changes in motivation, with the impact of declining health on motivation being particularly strong in older adulthood. Changes in motivation, in turn, predicted involvement in cognitive and social activities as well as changes in cognitive ability. Finally, motivation was observed to partially mediate the relationship between changes in resources and cognitively demanding activities. Our results suggest that motivation may play an important role in determining the course of cognitive change and involvement in cognitively demanding everyday activities in adulthood.

Psychological functioning and predictors of father-infant relationship in IVF fathers and controls.

PubMed

Hjelmstedt, Anna; Collins, Aila

2008-03-01

The psychological functioning of fathers with children born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) has received little attention. Among men in general, little is known about predictors of early father-infant relationship (here also defined as attachment). The first aim was to compare IVF fathers and control fathers regarding personality traits, state anxiety, depressive symptoms and early father-infant attachment. The second aim was to assess whether early father-infant relationship is explained by the father's prenatal relationship with the unborn infant, his personality traits, state anxiety and symptoms of depression. Fifty-three IVF fathers and 36 controls filled in self-rating scales measuring father-infant attachment, personality, anxiety and symptoms of depression at 2 months postpartum. At gestational week 26 their prenatal relationship to the unborn infant was assessed. It was found that IVF fathers rated more somatic and psychic anxiety, indirect aggression and less assertiveness. They were as strongly attached to their infant as the controls. Fathers, who had rated higher attachment to their unborn infant during pregnancy, who were less anxious, more assertive and less irritable, were more attached to their infants than men who had been less attached to their unborn infants and who were more anxious, less assertive and more irritable. In conclusion, although IVF fathers are as strongly attached to their infants as other fathers, they may benefit from emotional support as they have elevated levels of anxiety proneness and indirect aggression. It is important to pay attention during pregnancy to fathers who have a less optimal attachment to their unborn infant and who have high levels of anxiety and irritability, as those three factors are related to a weak emotional father-infant relationship.

Relationship between optical and X-ray properties of O-type stars surveyed with the Einstein Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sciortino, S.; Vaiana, G. S.; Harnden, F. R., Jr.; Ramella, M.; Morossi, C.

1990-01-01

An X-ray luminosity function is derived for a representative volume-limited sample of O-type stars selected from the catalog of Galactic O stars surveyed with the Einstein Observatory. It was found that, for the stars of this sample which is ten times larger than any previously analyzed, the level of X-ray emission is strongly correlated with bolometric luminosity, confirming previous findings of an Lx-L(bol) relationship (e.g., Harnden et al., 1979; Pallavicini et al., 1981). Correlations between the Lx and the mass loss rate with the wind terminal velocity or with the rotation rate were weak. However, there was a strong correlation with wind momentum flux as well as with the wind kinetic energy flux.

Studies of the Intrinsic Complexities of Magnetotail Ion Distributions: Theory and Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ashour-Abdalla, Maha

1998-01-01

This year we have studied the relationship between the structure seen in measured distribution functions and the detailed magnetospheric configuration. Results from our recent studies using time-dependent large-scale kinetic (LSK) calculations are used to infer the sources of the ions in the velocity distribution functions measured by a single spacecraft (Geotail). Our results strongly indicate that the different ion sources and acceleration mechanisms producing a measured distribution function can explain this structure. Moreover, individual structures within distribution functions were traced back to single sources. We also confirmed the fractal nature of ion distributions.

Individual species affect plant traits structure in their surroundings: evidence of functional mechanisms of assembly.

PubMed

Chacón-Labella, Julia; de la Cruz, Marcelino; Pescador, David S; Escudero, Adrián

2016-04-01

Evaluating community assembly through the use of functional traits is a promising tool for testing predictions arising from Niche and Coexistence theories. Although interactions among neighboring species and their inter-specific differences are known drivers of coexistence with a strong spatial signal, assessing the role of individual species on the functional structure of the community at different spatial scales remains a challenge. Here, we ask whether individual species exert a measurable effect on the spatial organization of different functional traits in local assemblages. We first propose and compute two functions that describe different aspects of functional trait organization around individual species at multiple scales: individual weighted mean area relationship and individual functional diversity area relationship. Secondly, we develop a conceptual model on the relationship and simultaneous variation of these two metrics, providing five alternative scenarios in response to the ability of some target species to modify its neighbor environment and the possible assembly mechanisms involved. Our results show that some species influence the spatial structure of specific functional traits, but their effects were always restricted to the finest spatial scales. In the basis of our conceptual model, the observed patterns point to two main mechanisms driving the functional structure of the community at the fine scale, "biotic" filtering meditated by individual species and resource partitioning driven by indirect facilitation rather than by competitive mechanisms.

Examining the Disability Model From the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health Using a Large Data Set of Community-Dwelling Malaysian Older Adults

PubMed Central

Loke, Seng Cheong; Lim, Wee Shiong; Someya, Yoshiko; Hamid, Tengku A.; Nudin, Siti S. H.

2015-01-01

Objective: This study examines the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health model (ICF) using a data set of 2,563 community-dwelling elderly with disease-independent measures of mobility, physical activity, and social networking, to represent ICF constructs. Method: The relationship between chronic disease and disability (independent and dependent variables) was examined using logistic regression. To demonstrate variability in activity performance with functional impairment, graphing was used. The relationship between functional impairment, activity performance, and social participation was examined graphically and using ANOVA. The impact of cognitive deficits was quantified through stratifying by dementia. Results: Disability is strongly related to chronic disease (Wald 25.5, p < .001), functional impairment with activity performance (F = 34.2, p < .001), and social participation (F= 43.6, p < .001). With good function, there is considerable variability in activity performance (inter-quartile range [IQR] = 2.00), but diminishes with high impairment (IQR = 0.00) especially with cognitive deficits. Discussion: Environment modification benefits those with moderate functional impairment, but not with higher grades of functional loss. PMID:26472747

Ethnic Identity, Gender, and Adolescent Attitude toward School: Adaptive Perspectives in Diverse Settings

PubMed Central

Booth, Margaret Zoller; Curran, Erin M.; Frey, Christopher J.; Gerard, Jean M.; Collet, Bruce; Bartimole, Jennifer

2015-01-01

The relationships between adolescent ethnic identity and attitudes toward school and school climate are investigated in a small, multiracial/multiethnic city in the Great Lakes region with ethnically diverse adolescents taught by primarily White teachers. The mixed methods investigation of 986 eighth through eleventh grade students during the 2010–2011 academic year suggests that the relationship between ethnic identity and attitude toward school is a complex interaction among individual characteristics of ethnicity/race, ethnic identity, gender, and ecological context. Quantitative results reveal that White female and Hispanic and African American male students exhibit strong ethnic identity that correlates positively with school attitude; however, qualitative results indicate very different paths in getting to those outcomes. Hispanic students appear to benefit from a strong ethnic identity that assists with positive relationships at school, while African American male students utilize parental cultural socialization as a protective function in school. The results emphasize the implications of positive school climates for all students. PMID:25866457

Relationship of left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic function with cardiovascular and renal outcomes in African Americans with hypertensive chronic kidney disease.

PubMed

Peterson, Gail E; de Backer, Tine; Contreras, Gabriel; Wang, Xuelei; Kendrick, Cynthia; Greene, Tom; Appel, Lawrence J; Randall, Otelio S; Lea, Janice; Smogorzewski, Miroslaw; Vagaonescu, Tudor; Phillips, Robert A

2013-09-01

African Americans with hypertension are at high risk for adverse outcomes from cardiovascular and renal disease. Patients with stage 3 or greater chronic kidney disease have a high prevalence of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction. Our goal was to study prospectively the relationships of LV mass and diastolic function with subsequent cardiovascular and renal outcomes in the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension cohort study. Of 691 patients enrolled in the cohort, 578 had interpretable echocardiograms and complete relevant clinical data. Exposures were LV hypertrophy and diastolic parameters. Outcomes were cardiovascular events requiring hospitalization or causing death; a renal composite outcome of doubling of serum creatinine or end-stage renal disease (censoring death); and heart failure. We found strong independent relationships between LV hypertrophy and subsequent cardiovascular (hazard ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.27) events, but not renal outcomes. After adjustment for LV mass and clinical variables, lower systolic tissue Doppler velocities and diastolic parameters reflecting a less compliant LV (shorter deceleration time and abnormal E/A ratio) were significantly (P<0.05) associated with future heart failure events. This is the first study to show a strong relationship among LV hypertrophy, diastolic parameters, and adverse cardiac outcomes in African Americans with hypertension and chronic kidney disease. These echocardiographic risk factors may help identify high-risk patients with chronic kidney disease for aggressive therapeutic intervention.

Soft Skills in Higher Education: Importance and Improvement Ratings as a Function of Individual Differences and Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas; Arteche, Adriane; Bremner, Andrew J.; Greven, Corina; Furnham, Adrian

2010-01-01

Three UK studies on the relationship between a purpose-built instrument to assess the importance and development of 15 "soft skills" are reported. "Study 1" (N = 444) identified strong latent components underlying these soft skills, such that differences "between-skills" were over-shadowed by differences…

Teachers of Students with Visual Disability: Their Perceptions and Knowledge of Assistive Technology in Saudi Arabia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alsolmi, Abdulaziz

2017-01-01

Assistive technology devices are defined as any "product, device, or equipment, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that is used maintain, increase, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities" (P.L 100-407, 1997). There is a strong relationship since ancient civilizations between…

The Effectiveness of Graphic Organizers to Support Executive Function for Ninth Grade Struggling Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barry, Elaine

2016-01-01

Struggling readers, or students who read below grade level but have strong phonological awareness, may benefit from using instructional tools like graphic organizers (GOs) while reading. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension and teacher-generated graphic organizers (GOs) as they support…

Sharing Knowledge, Power, and Respect: Keys in Bringing Communities Together to Improve Science, Practice, and Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conway, Flaxen D. L.

2006-01-01

Are communities better off because of the efforts of higher education? Extension educators have extended university-based research and technologies that have helped create strong, natural resource-based communities. However, the political and socioeconomic environments in which these communities function are changing even faster than the natural…

Complex network analysis of brain functional connectivity under a multi-step cognitive task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Shi-Min; Chen, Wei; Liu, Dong-Bai; Tang, Ming; Chen, Xun

2017-01-01

Functional brain network has been widely studied to understand the relationship between brain organization and behavior. In this paper, we aim to explore the functional connectivity of brain network under a multi-step cognitive task involving consecutive behaviors, and further understand the effect of behaviors on the brain organization. The functional brain networks are constructed based on a high spatial and temporal resolution fMRI dataset and analyzed via complex network based approach. We find that at voxel level the functional brain network shows robust small-worldness and scale-free characteristics, while its assortativity and rich-club organization are slightly restricted to the order of behaviors performed. More interestingly, the functional connectivity of brain network in activated ROIs strongly correlates with behaviors and is obviously restricted to the order of behaviors performed. These empirical results suggest that the brain organization has the generic properties of small-worldness and scale-free characteristics, and its diverse functional connectivity emerging from activated ROIs is strongly driven by these behavioral activities via the plasticity of brain.

Examining the effect of affective commitment to the supervisor on nurses' psychological health as a function of internal locus of control.

PubMed

Huyghebaert, Tiphaine; Gillet, Nicolas; Becker, Caroline; Kerhardy, Solene; Fouquereau, Evelyne

2017-05-01

This research aimed to examine how affective commitment to the supervisor related to nurses' well- and ill-being, and to explore the moderating function of internal locus of control in these relationships. Little is known about the effects of affective commitment to the supervisor on well- and ill-being, even less so in the nursing profession. Moreover, previous studies suggested that nurses' psychological reactions to their work environment might vary as a function of their individual characteristics. This cross-sectional research used a questionnaire survey to explore the hypothesised relationships in a sample of 100 female certified nursing assistants. The results revealed that affective commitment to the supervisor was most strongly related to job satisfaction and well-being, and associated with lower levels of emotional exhaustion, when the internal locus of control was high. The present study emphasises the importance of a high quality relationship between nurses and their supervisors in order to promote their psychological health, and underscores the importance of individual characteristics. This research indicates how nurses' psychological health could be promoted by fostering their affective commitment to the supervisor. It also emphasises that managers' relationships with their subordinates should be adjusted as a function of nurses' individual characteristics. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The putative visual word form area is functionally connected to the dorsal attention network.

PubMed

Vogel, Alecia C; Miezin, Fran M; Petersen, Steven E; Schlaggar, Bradley L

2012-03-01

The putative visual word form area (pVWFA) is the most consistently activated region in single word reading studies (i.e., Vigneau et al. 2006), yet its function remains a matter of debate. The pVWFA may be predominantly used in reading or it could be a more general visual processor used in reading but also in other visual tasks. Here, resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fcMRI) is used to characterize the functional relationships of the pVWFA to help adjudicate between these possibilities. rs-fcMRI defines relationships based on correlations in slow fluctuations of blood oxygen level-dependent activity occurring at rest. In this study, rs-fcMRI correlations show little relationship between the pVWFA and reading-related regions but a strong relationship between the pVWFA and dorsal attention regions thought to be related to spatial and feature attention. The rs-fcMRI correlations between the pVWFA and regions of the dorsal attention network increase with age and reading skill, while the correlations between the pVWFA and reading-related regions do not. These results argue the pVWFA is not used predominantly in reading but is a more general visual processor used in other visual tasks, as well as reading.

The Putative Visual Word Form Area Is Functionally Connected to the Dorsal Attention Network

PubMed Central

Miezin, Fran M.; Petersen, Steven E.; Schlaggar, Bradley L.

2012-01-01

The putative visual word form area (pVWFA) is the most consistently activated region in single word reading studies (i.e., Vigneau et al. 2006), yet its function remains a matter of debate. The pVWFA may be predominantly used in reading or it could be a more general visual processor used in reading but also in other visual tasks. Here, resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fcMRI) is used to characterize the functional relationships of the pVWFA to help adjudicate between these possibilities. rs-fcMRI defines relationships based on correlations in slow fluctuations of blood oxygen level–dependent activity occurring at rest. In this study, rs-fcMRI correlations show little relationship between the pVWFA and reading-related regions but a strong relationship between the pVWFA and dorsal attention regions thought to be related to spatial and feature attention. The rs-fcMRI correlations between the pVWFA and regions of the dorsal attention network increase with age and reading skill, while the correlations between the pVWFA and reading-related regions do not. These results argue the pVWFA is not used predominantly in reading but is a more general visual processor used in other visual tasks, as well as reading. PMID:21690259

Metabolic and Demographic Feedbacks Shape the Emergent Spatial Structure and Function of Microbial Communities

PubMed Central

Estrela, Sylvie; Brown, Sam P.

2013-01-01

Microbes are predominantly found in surface-attached and spatially structured polymicrobial communities. Within these communities, microbial cells excrete a wide range of metabolites, setting the stage for interspecific metabolic interactions. The links, however, between metabolic and ecological interactions (functional relationships), and species spatial organization (structural relationships) are still poorly understood. Here, we use an individual-based modelling framework to simulate the growth of a two-species surface-attached community where food (resource) is traded for detoxification (service) and investigate how metabolic constraints of individual species shape the emergent structural and functional relationships of the community. We show that strong metabolic interdependence drives the emergence of mutualism, robust interspecific mixing, and increased community productivity. Specifically, we observed a striking and highly stable emergent lineage branching pattern, generating a persistent lineage mixing that was absent when the metabolic exchange was removed. These emergent community properties are driven by demographic feedbacks, such that aid from neighbouring cells directly enhances focal cell growth, which in turn feeds back to neighbour fecundity. In contrast, weak metabolic interdependence drives conflict (exploitation or competition), and in turn greater interspecific segregation. Together, these results support the idea that species structural and functional relationships represent the net balance of metabolic interdependencies. PMID:24385891

Examining Correlates of Problematic Internet Pornography Use Among University Students.

PubMed

Harper, Cody; Hodgins, David C

2016-06-01

Background and aims The phenomenon of Internet pornography (IP) addiction is gainingincreasing attention in the popular media and psychological research.What has not been tested empirically is how frequency and amount ofIP use, along with other individual characteristics, are related tosymptoms of IP addiction. Methods 105 female and 86 male university students (mean age 21) from Calgary,Canada, were administered measures of IP use, psychosocial functioning(anxiety and depression, life and relationship satisfaction), addictivepropensities, and addictive IP use. Results Men reported earlier age of exposure and more frequent currentIP use than women. Individuals not in relationships reported morefrequent use than those in relationships. Frequency of IP use wasnot generally correlated with psychosocial functioning but was significantlypositively correlated with level of IP addiction. Higher level ofIP addiction was associated with poorer psychosocial functioning andproblematic alcohol, cannabis, gambling and, in particular, videogame use. A curvilinear association was found between frequency ofIP use and level of addiction such that daily or greater IP use wasassociated with a sharp rise in addictive IP scores. Discussion The failure to find a strong significant relationship between IPuse and general psychosocial functioning suggests that the overalleffect of IP use is not necessarily harmful in and of itself. Addictiveuse of IP, which is associated with poorer psychosocial functioning,emerges when people begin to use IP daily.

Examining Correlates of Problematic Internet Pornography Use Among University Students

PubMed Central

Harper, Cody; Hodgins, David C.

2016-01-01

Background and aims The phenomenon of Internet pornography (IP) addiction is gainingincreasing attention in the popular media and psychological research. What has not been tested empirically is how frequency and amount ofIP use, along with other individual characteristics, are related tosymptoms of IP addiction. Methods 105 female and 86 male university students (mean age 21) from Calgary,Canada, were administered measures of IP use, psychosocial functioning (anxiety and depression, life and relationship satisfaction), addictivepropensities, and addictive IP use. Results Men reported earlier age of exposure and more frequent current IP use than women. Individuals not in relationships reported more frequent use than those in relationships. Frequency of IP use wasnot generally correlated with psychosocial functioning but was significantly positively correlated with level of IP addiction. Higher level of IP addiction was associated with poorer psychosocial functioning and problematic alcohol, cannabis, gambling and, in particular, video game use. A curvilinear association was found between frequency of IP use and level of addiction such that daily or greater IP use was associated with a sharp rise in addictive IP scores. Discussion The failure to find a strong significant relationship between IP use and general psychosocial functioning suggests that the overall effect of IP use is not necessarily harmful in and of itself. Addictiveuse of IP, which is associated with poorer psychosocial functioning, emerges when people begin to use IP daily. PMID:27156383

Tree species diversity promotes aboveground carbon storage through functional diversity and functional dominance.

PubMed

Mensah, Sylvanus; Veldtman, Ruan; Assogbadjo, Achille E; Glèlè Kakaï, Romain; Seifert, Thomas

2016-10-01

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function has increasingly been debated as the cornerstone of the processes behind ecosystem services delivery. Experimental and natural field-based studies have come up with nonconsistent patterns of biodiversity-ecosystem function, supporting either niche complementarity or selection effects hypothesis. Here, we used aboveground carbon (AGC) storage as proxy for ecosystem function in a South African mistbelt forest, and analyzed its relationship with species diversity, through functional diversity and functional dominance. We hypothesized that (1) diversity influences AGC through functional diversity and functional dominance effects; and (2) effects of diversity on AGC would be greater for functional dominance than for functional diversity. Community weight mean (CWM) of functional traits (wood density, specific leaf area, and maximum plant height) were calculated to assess functional dominance (selection effects). As for functional diversity (complementarity effects), multitrait functional diversity indices were computed. The first hypothesis was tested using structural equation modeling. For the second hypothesis, effects of environmental variables such as slope and altitude were tested first, and separate linear mixed-effects models were fitted afterward for functional diversity, functional dominance, and both. Results showed that AGC varied significantly along the slope gradient, with lower values at steeper sites. Species diversity (richness) had positive relationship with AGC, even when slope effects were considered. As predicted, diversity effects on AGC were mediated through functional diversity and functional dominance, suggesting that both the niche complementarity and the selection effects are not exclusively affecting carbon storage. However, the effects were greater for functional diversity than for functional dominance. Furthermore, functional dominance effects were strongly transmitted by CWM of maximum plant height, reflecting the importance of forest vertical stratification for diversity-carbon relationship. We therefore argue for stronger complementary effects that would be induced also by complementary light-use efficiency of tree and species growing in the understory layer.

Sexual Signaling and Immune Function in the Black Field Cricket Teleogryllus commodus

PubMed Central

Drayton, Jean M.; Hall, Matthew D.; Hunt, John; Jennions, Michael D.

2012-01-01

The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis predicts that male sexual trait expression should be positively correlated with immunocompetence. Here we investigate if immune function in the cricket, Teleogryllus commodus, is related to specific individual components of male sexual signals, as well as to certain multivariate combinations of these components that females most strongly prefer. Male T. commodus produce both advertisement and courtship calls prior to mating. We measured fine-scale structural parameters of both call types and also recorded nightly advertisement calling effort. We then measured two standard indices of immune function: lysozyme-like activity of the haemolymph and haemocyte counts. We found a weak, positive relationship between advertisement calling effort and lysozyme-like activity. There was, however, little evidence that individual structural call components or the net multivariate attractiveness of either call type signalled immune function. The relationships between immunity and sexual signaling did not differ between inbred and outbred males. Our data suggest that it is unlikely that females assess overall male immune function using male calls. PMID:22808047

Functional diversity, succession, and human-mediated disturbances in raised bog vegetation.

PubMed

Dyderski, Marcin K; Czapiewska, Natalia; Zajdler, Mateusz; Tyborski, Jarosław; Jagodziński, Andrzej M

2016-08-15

Raised and transitional bogs are one of the most threatened types of ecosystem, due to high specialisation of biota, associated with adaptations to severe environmental conditions. The aim of the study was to characterize the relationships between functional diversity (reflecting ecosystem-shaping processes) of raised bog plant communities and successional gradients (expressed as tree dimensions) and to show how impacts of former clear cuts may alter these relationships in two raised bogs in 'Bory Tucholskie' National Park (N Poland). Herbaceous layers of the plant communities were examined by floristic relevés (25m(2)) on systematically established transects. We also assessed patterns of tree ring widths. There were no relationships between vegetation functional diversity components and successional progress: only functional dispersion was negatively, but weakly, correlated with median DBH. Lack of these relationships may be connected with lack of prevalence of habitat filtering and low level of competition over all the successional phases. Former clear cuts, indicated by peaks of tree ring width, influenced the growth of trees in the bogs studied. In the bog with more intensive clear cuts we found more species with higher trophic requirements, which may indicate nutrient influx. However, we did not observe differences in vegetation patterns, functional traits or functional diversity indices between the two bogs studied. We also did not find an influence of clear cut intensity on relationships between functional diversity indices and successional progress. Thus, we found that alteration of the ecosystems studied by neighbourhood clear cuts did not affect the bogs strongly, as the vegetation was resilient to these impacts. Knowledge of vegetation resilience after clear cuts may be crucial for conservation planning in raised bog ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microvascular function in pre-eclampsia is influenced by insulin resistance and an imbalance of angiogenic mediators.

PubMed

Ghosh, Anshuman; Freestone, Nicholas S; Anim-Nyame, Nicholas; Arrigoni, Francesca I F

2017-04-01

In preeclampsia, maternal microvascular function is disrupted and angiogenesis is dysfunctional. Insulin resistance that occurs in some pregnancies also pathologically affects microvascular function. We wished to examine the relationship of angiogenic mediators and insulin resistance on microvascular health in pregnancy. We performed a nested, case-control study of 16 women who developed preeclampsia with 17 normal pregnant controls. We hypothesized that the impaired microvascular blood flow in preeclamptic women associated with an increased ratio of the antiangiogenic factors; (s-endoglin [sEng] and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 [sFlt-1]) and proangiogenic molecule (placental growth factor [PlGF]) could be influenced by insulin resistance. Serum samples taken after 28 weeks of gestation were measured for the angiogenic factors, insulin, and glucose alongside the inflammatory marker; tumor necrosis factor-α and endothelial activation, namely; soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and e-selectin. Maternal microvascular blood flow, measured by strain gauge plethysmography, correlated with ratios of pro- and antiangiogenic mediators independently of preeclampsia. Decreased microvascular function measured in preeclampsia strongly correlated with both the antiangiogenic factor (sFlt-1 + sEng): PlGF ratio and high levels of insulin resistance, and combining insulin resistance with antiangiogenic factor ratios further strengthened this relationship. In pregnancy, microvascular blood flow is strongly associated with perturbations in pro- and antiangiogenic mediators. In preeclampsia, the relationship of maternal microvascular dysfunction with antiangiogenic mediators is strengthened when combined with insulin resistance. © 2017 Kingston University. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence is strongly correlated with terrestrial photosynthesis for a wide variety of biomes: First global analysis based on OCO-2 and flux tower observations.

PubMed

Li, Xing; Xiao, Jingfeng; He, Binbin; Arain, M Altaf; Beringer, Jason; Desai, Ankur R; Emmel, Carmen; Hollinger, David Y; Krasnova, Alisa; Mammarella, Ivan; Noe, Steffen M; Serrano Ortiz, Penélope; Rey-Sanchez, Camilo; Rocha, Adrian V; Varlagin, Andrej

2018-05-07

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) has been increasingly used as a proxy for terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP). Previous work mainly evaluated the relationship between satellite-observed SIF and gridded GPP products both based on coarse spatial resolutions. Finer-resolution SIF (1.3 km × 2.25 km) measured from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) provides the first opportunity to examine the SIF-GPP relationship at the ecosystem scale using flux tower GPP data. However, it remains unclear how strong the relationship is for each biome and whether a robust, universal relationship exists across a variety of biomes. Here we conducted the first global analysis of the relationship between OCO-2 SIF and tower GPP for a total of 64 flux sites across the globe encompassing eight major biomes. OCO-2 SIF showed strong correlations with tower GPP at both mid-day and daily timescales, with the strongest relationship observed for daily SIF at the 757 nm (R 2 =0.72, p<0.0001). Strong linear relationships between SIF and GPP were consistently found for all biomes (R 2 =0.57-0.79, p<0.0001) except for evergreen broadleaf forests (R 2 =0.16, p<0.05) at the daily timescale. A higher slope was found for C 4 grasslands and croplands than for C 3 ecosystems. The generally consistent slope of the relationship among biomes suggests a nearly universal rather than biome-specific SIF-GPP relationship, and this finding is an important distinction and simplification compared to previous results. OCO-2 SIF generally had a better performance for predicting GPP than satellite-derived vegetation indices and a light use efficiency model. The universal SIF-GPP relationship can potentially lead to more accurate GPP estimates regionally or globally. Our findings revealed the remarkable ability of finer-resolution SIF observations from OCO-2 and other new or future missions (e.g., TROPOMI, FLEX) for estimating terrestrial photosynthesis across a wide variety of biomes and identified their potential and limitations for ecosystem functioning and carbon cycle studies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

A correlative comparison of the ring current and auroral electrojects usig geomagnetic indices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cade, W. B., III; Sojka, J. J.; Zhu, L.

1995-01-01

From a study of the 21 largest geomagnetic storms during solar cycle 21, a strong correlation is established between the ring current index Dst and the time-weighted accumulation of the 1-hour auroral electrojets indices, AE and AL. The time-weighted accumulation corresponds to convolution of the auroral electrojet indices with an exponential weighting function with an e-folding time of 9.4 hours. The weighted indices AE(sub w) and AL(sub w) have correltation coefficients against Dst ranging between 0.8 and 0.95 for 20 of the 21 storms. Correlation over the entire solar cycle 21 database is also strong but not as strong as for an individual storm. A set of simple Dst prediction functions provide a first approximation of the inferred dependence, but the specific functional relationship of Dst (AL(sub w)) or Dst (AL(sub w)) varies from one storm to the next in a systematic way. This variation reveals a missing parametric dependence in the transfer function. However, our results indicate that auroral electroject indices are potentially useful for predicting storm time enhancements of ring current intensity with a few hours lead time.

Loss of functional diversity of ant assemblages in secondary tropical forests.

PubMed

Bihn, Jochen H; Gebauer, Gerhard; Brandl, Roland

2010-03-01

Secondary forests and plantations increasingly dominate the tropical wooded landscape in place of primary forests. The expected reduction of biodiversity and its impact on ecological functions provided by these secondary forests are of major concern to society and ecologists. The potential effect of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning depends largely on the associated loss in the functional diversity of animal and plant assemblages, i.e., the degree of functional redundancy among species. However, the relationship between species and functional diversity is still poorly documented for most ecosystems. Here, we analyze how changes in the species diversity of ground-foraging ant assemblages translate into changes of functional diversity along a successional gradient of secondary forests in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Our analysis uses continuous measures of functional diversity and is based on four functional traits related to resource use of ants: body size, relative eye size, relative leg length, and trophic position. We find a strong relationship between species and functional diversity, independent of the functional traits used, with no evidence for saturation in this relationship. Recovery of species richness and diversity of ant assemblages in tropical secondary forests was accompanied by a proportional increase of functional richness and diversity of assemblages. Moreover, our results indicate that the increase in functional diversity along the successional gradient of secondary forests is primarily driven by rare species, which are functionally unique. The observed loss of both species and functional diversity in secondary forests offers no reason to believe that the ecological functions provided by secondary forests are buffered against species loss through functional redundancy.

Environmental drivers of the distribution of nitrogen functional genes at a watershed scale.

PubMed

Tsiknia, Myrto; Paranychianakis, Nikolaos V; Varouchakis, Emmanouil A; Nikolaidis, Nikolaos P

2015-06-01

To date only few studies have dealt with the biogeography of microbial communities at large spatial scales, despite the importance of such information to understand and simulate ecosystem functioning. Herein, we describe the biogeographic patterns of microorganisms involved in nitrogen (N)-cycling (diazotrophs, ammonia oxidizers, denitrifiers) as well as the environmental factors shaping these patterns across the Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory, a typical Mediterranean watershed. Our findings revealed that a proportion of variance ranging from 40 to 80% of functional genes abundance could be explained by the environmental variables monitored, with pH, soil texture, total organic carbon and potential nitrification rate being identified as the most important drivers. The spatial autocorrelation of N-functional genes ranged from 0.2 to 6.2 km and prediction maps, generated by cokriging, revealed distinct patterns of functional genes. The inclusion of functional genes in statistical modeling substantially improved the proportion of variance explained by the models, a result possibly due to the strong relationships that were identified among microbial groups. Significant relationships were set between functional groups, which were further mediated by land use (natural versus agricultural lands). These relationships, in combination with the environmental variables, allow us to provide insights regarding the ecological preferences of N-functional groups and among them the recently identified clade II of nitrous oxide reducers. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Negative childhood experiences and adult love relationships: the role of internal working models of attachment.

PubMed

McCarthy, Gerard; Maughan, Barbara

2010-09-01

This study investigated links between internal working models of attachment and the quality of adult love relationships in a high risk sample of women (n = 34), all of whom reported negative parenting in childhood. Half of the sample was identified as having a history of satisfying adult love relationships, while the remainder had experienced ongoing adult relationship problems. Measures of internal working models of attachment were made using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). A strong association was found between attachment classifications and the quality of adult love relationships. In addition, women with satisfying love relationships demonstrated significantly higher coherence of mind ratings than those with poor relationship histories. Insecure working models of attachment were associated with problems in adult love relationships. Although secure/autonomous attachment status was linked to optimal adult relationship outcomes, some women with a history of satisfying love relationships had insecure working models of attachment. These results suggest that the ways that adults process early experiences may influence later psychosocial functioning.

The Relationship Between Family Functioning and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Emotional Clarity.

PubMed

Freed, Rachel D; Rubenstein, Liza M; Daryanani, Issar; Olino, Thomas M; Alloy, Lauren B

2016-03-01

Emotion regulation has been implicated in the etiology of depression. A first step in adaptive emotion regulation involves emotional clarity, the ability to recognize and differentiate one's emotional experience. As family members are critical in facilitating emotional understanding and communication, we examined the impact of family functioning on adolescent emotional clarity and depressive symptoms. We followed 364 adolescents (ages 14-17; 52.5% female; 51.4 % Caucasian, 48.6% African American) and their mothers over 2 years (3 time points) and assessed emotional clarity, depressive symptoms, and adolescents' and mothers' reports of family functioning. Emotional clarity mediated the relationship between adolescents' reports of family functioning and depressive symptoms at all time points cross-sectionally, and according to mothers' reports of family functioning at Time 1 only. There was no evidence of longitudinal mediation for adolescents' or mothers' reports of family functioning. Thus, family functioning, emotional clarity, and depressive symptoms are strongly related constructs during various time points in adolescence, which has important implications for intervention, especially within the family unit.

The Relationship between Family Functioning and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Emotional Clarity

PubMed Central

Freed, Rachel D.; Rubenstein, Liza M.; Daryanani, Issar; Olino, Thomas M.; Alloy, Lauren B.

2016-01-01

Emotion regulation has been implicated in the etiology of depression. A first step in adaptive emotion regulation involves emotional clarity, the ability to recognize and differentiate one’s emotional experience. As family members are critical in facilitating emotional understanding and communication, we examined the impact of family functioning on adolescent emotional clarity and depressive symptoms. We followed 364 adolescents (ages 12–17; 52.5% female; 51.4 % Caucasian, 48.6% African American) and their mothers over 2 years (3 time points) and assessed emotional clarity, depressive symptoms, and adolescent-reported and mother-reported family functioning. Emotional clarity mediated the relationship between adolescent-reported family functioning and depressive symptoms at all time points cross-sectionally, and according to mother-reported family functioning at Time 1 only. There was no evidence of longitudinal mediation for adolescent- or mother-reported family functioning. Thus, family functioning, emotional clarity, and depressive symptoms are strongly related constructs during various time points in adolescence, which has important implications for intervention, especially within the family unit. PMID:26832726

Bridging the Gap between the Human and Macaque Connectome: A Quantitative Comparison of Global Interspecies Structure-Function Relationships and Network Topology

PubMed Central

Miranda-Dominguez, Oscar; Mills, Brian D.; Grayson, David; Woodall, Andrew; Grant, Kathleen A.; Kroenke, Christopher D.

2014-01-01

Resting state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) may provide a powerful and noninvasive “bridge” for comparing brain function between patients and experimental animal models; however, the relationship between human and macaque rs-fcMRI remains poorly understood. Here, using a novel surface deformation process for species comparisons in the same anatomical space (Van Essen, 2004, 2005), we found high correspondence, but also unique hub topology, between human and macaque functional connectomes. The global functional connectivity match between species was moderate to strong (r = 0.41) and increased when considering the top 15% strongest connections (r = 0.54). Analysis of the match between functional connectivity and the underlying anatomical connectivity, derived from a previous retrograde tracer study done in macaques (Markov et al., 2012), showed impressive structure–function correspondence in both the macaque and human. When examining the strongest structural connections, we found a 70–80% match between structural and functional connectivity matrices in both species. Finally, we compare species on two widely used metrics for studying hub topology: degree and betweenness centrality. The data showed topological agreement across the species, with nodes of the posterior cingulate showing high degree and betweenness centrality. In contrast, nodes in medial frontal and parietal cortices were identified as having high degree and betweenness in the human as opposed to the macaque. Our results provide: (1) a thorough examination and validation for a surface-based interspecies deformation process, (2) a strong theoretical foundation for making interspecies comparisons of rs-fcMRI, and (3) a unique look at topological distinctions between the species. PMID:24741045

Relationship between isometric thigh muscle strength and minimum clinically important differences in knee function in osteoarthritis: data from the osteoarthritis initiative.

PubMed

Ruhdorfer, Anja; Wirth, Wolfgang; Eckstein, Felix

2015-04-01

To determine the relationship between thigh muscle strength and clinically relevant differences in self-assessed lower leg function. Isometric knee extensor and flexor strength of 4,553 Osteoarthritis Initiative participants (2,651 women and 1,902 men) was related to the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) physical function scores by linear regression. Further, groups of male and female participant strata with minimum clinically important differences (MCIDs) in WOMAC function scores (6 of 68 units) were compared across the full range of observed values and to participants without functional deficits (WOMAC score 0). The effect of WOMAC knee pain and body mass index on the above relationships was explored using stepwise regression. Per regression equations, a 3.7% reduction in extensor strength and a 4.0% reduction in flexor strength were associated with an MCID in WOMAC function in women, and, respectively, a 3.6% and 4.8% reduction in men. For strength divided by body weight, reductions were 5.2% and 6.7%, respectively, in women and 5.8% and 6.7%, respectively, in men. Comparing MCID strata across the full observed range of WOMAC function confirmed the above estimates and did not suggest nonlinear relationships across the spectrum of observed values. WOMAC pain correlated strongly with WOMAC function, but extensor (and flexor) muscle strength contributed significant independent information. Reductions of approximately 4% in isometric muscle strength and of 6% in strength per body weight were related to a clinically relevant difference in WOMAC functional disability. Longitudinal studies will need to confirm these relationships within persons. Muscle extensor (and flexor) strength (per body weight) provided significant independent information in addition to pain in explaining variability in lower leg function. Copyright © 2015 by the American College of Rheumatology.

Uniting functional network topology and oscillations in the fronto-parietal single unit network of behaving primates

PubMed Central

Dann, Benjamin; Michaels, Jonathan A; Schaffelhofer, Stefan; Scherberger, Hansjörg

2016-01-01

The functional communication of neurons in cortical networks underlies higher cognitive processes. Yet, little is known about the organization of the single neuron network or its relationship to the synchronization processes that are essential for its formation. Here, we show that the functional single neuron network of three fronto-parietal areas during active behavior of macaque monkeys is highly complex. The network was closely connected (small-world) and consisted of functional modules spanning these areas. Surprisingly, the importance of different neurons to the network was highly heterogeneous with a small number of neurons contributing strongly to the network function (hubs), which were in turn strongly inter-connected (rich-club). Examination of the network synchronization revealed that the identified rich-club consisted of neurons that were synchronized in the beta or low frequency range, whereas other neurons were mostly non-oscillatory synchronized. Therefore, oscillatory synchrony may be a central communication mechanism for highly organized functional spiking networks. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.15719.001 PMID:27525488

Understanding the physiology of mindfulness: aortic hemodynamics and heart rate variability.

PubMed

May, Ross W; Bamber, Mandy; Seibert, Gregory S; Sanchez-Gonzalez, Marcos A; Leonard, Joseph T; Salsbury, Rebecca A; Fincham, Frank D

2016-01-01

Data were collected to examine autonomic and hemodynamic cardiovascular modulation underlying mindfulness from two independent samples. An initial sample (N = 185) underwent laboratory assessments of central aortic blood pressure and myocardial functioning to investigated the association between mindfulness and cardiac functioning. Controlling for religiosity, mindfulness demonstrated a strong negative relationship with myocardial oxygen consumption and left ventricular work but not heart rate or blood pressure. A second sample (N = 124) underwent a brief (15 min) mindfulness inducing intervention to examine the influence of mindfulness on cardiovascular autonomic modulation via blood pressure variability and heart rate variability. The intervention had a strong positive effect on cardiovascular modulation by decreasing cardiac sympathovagal tone, vasomotor tone, vascular resistance and ventricular workload. This research establishes a link between mindfulness and cardiovascular functioning via correlational and experimental methodologies in samples of mostly female undergraduates. Future directions for research are outlined.

Examining the Roles of Work Autonomous and Controlled Motivations on Satisfaction and Anxiety as a Function of Role Ambiguity.

PubMed

Gillet, Nicolas; Fouquereau, Evelyne; Lafrenière, Marc-André K; Huyghebaert, Tiphaine

2016-07-03

Past research in the self-determination theory has shown that autonomous motivation is associated with positive outcomes (e.g., work satisfaction), whereas controlled motivation is related to negative outcomes (e.g., anxiety). The purpose of the present research was to examine the moderating function of role ambiguity on the relationships between work autonomous and controlled motivations on the one hand, and work satisfaction and anxiety on the other. Six hundred and ninety-eight workers (449 men and 249 women) participated in this study. Results revealed that autonomous motivation was most strongly related to satisfaction when ambiguity was low. In addition, controlled motivation was most strongly related to anxiety when ambiguity was high. In other words, the present findings suggest that the outcomes associated with each form of motivation may vary as a function of role ambiguity. The present study thus offers meaningful insights for organizations, managers, and employees.

Une formulation variationnelle du problème de contact avec frottement de Coulomb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le van, Anh; Nguyen, Tai H. T.

2008-07-01

A variational relationship is proposed as the weak form of the large deformation contact problem with Coulomb friction. It is a mixed relationship involving both the displacements and the multipliers; the weighting functions are the virtual displacements and the virtual multipliers. It is shown that the proposed weak form is equivalent to the strong form of the initial/boundary value contact problem and the multipliers are equal to the contact tractions. To cite this article: A. Le van, T.H.T. Nguyen, C. R. Mecanique 336 (2008).

Quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis of substituted arylazo pyridone dyes in photocatalytic system: Experimental and theoretical study.

PubMed

Dostanić, J; Lončarević, D; Zlatar, M; Vlahović, F; Jovanović, D M

2016-10-05

A series of arylazo pyridone dyes was synthesized by changing the type of the substituent group in the diazo moiety, ranging from strong electron-donating to strong electron-withdrawing groups. The structural and electronic properties of the investigated dyes was calculated at the M062X/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory. The observed good linear correlations between atomic charges and Hammett σp constants provided a basis to discuss the transmission of electronic substituent effects through a dye framework. The reactivity of synthesized dyes was tested through their decolorization efficiency in TiO2 photocatalytic system (Degussa P-25). Quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis revealed a strong correlation between reactivity of investigated dyes and Hammett substituent constants. The reaction was facilitated by electron-withdrawing groups, and retarded by electron-donating ones. Quantum mechanical calculations was used in order to describe the mechanism of the photocatalytic oxidation reactions of investigated dyes and interpret their reactivities within the framework of the Density Functional Theory (DFT). According to DFT based reactivity descriptors, i.e. Fukui functions and local softness, the active site moves from azo nitrogen atom linked to benzene ring to pyridone carbon atom linked to azo bond, going from dyes with electron-donating groups to dyes with electron-withdrawing groups. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Estimating Scale Economies and the Optimal Size of School Districts: A Flexible Form Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schiltz, Fritz; De Witte, Kristof

2017-01-01

This paper investigates estimation methods to model the relationship between school district size, costs per student and the organisation of school districts. We show that the assumptions on the functional form strongly affect the estimated scale economies and offer two possible solutions to allow for more flexibility in the estimation method.…

Global associations between terrestrial producer and vertebrate consumer diversity

PubMed Central

Jetz, Walter; Kreft, Holger; Ceballos, Gerardo; Mutke, Jens

2008-01-01

In both ecology and conservation, often a strong positive association is assumed between the diversity of plants as primary producers and that of animals, specifically primary consumers. Such a relationship has been observed at small spatial scales, and a begetting of diversity by diversity is expected under various scenarios of co-evolution and co-adaptation. But positive producer–consumer richness relationships may also arise from similar associations with past opportunities for diversification or contemporary environmental conditions, or from emerging properties of plant diversity such as vegetation complexity or productivity. Here we assess whether the producer–consumer richness relationship generalizes from plot to regional scale and provide a first global test of its strength for vascular plants and endothermic vertebrates. We find strong positive richness associations, but only limited congruence of the most diverse regions. The richness of both primary and higher-level consumers increases with plant richness at similar strength and rate. Environmental conditions emerge as much stronger predictors of consumer richness, and after accounting for environmental differences little variation is explained by plant diversity. We conclude that biotic interactions and strong local associations between plants and consumers only relatively weakly scale up to broad geographical scales and to functionally diverse taxa, for which environmental constraints on richness dominate. PMID:18832059

Regional climate change predictions from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies high resolution GCM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crane, Robert G.; Hewitson, B. C.

1991-01-01

A new diagnostic tool is developed for examining relationships between the synoptic scale circulation and regional temperature distributions in GCMs. The 4 x 5 deg GISS GCM is shown to produce accurate simulations of the variance in the synoptic scale sea level pressure distribution over the U.S. An analysis of the observational data set from the National Meteorological Center (NMC) also shows a strong relationship between the synoptic circulation and grid point temperatures. This relationship is demonstrated by deriving transfer functions between a time-series of circulation parameters and temperatures at individual grid points. The circulation parameters are derived using rotated principal components analysis, and the temperature transfer functions are based on multivariate polynomial regression models. The application of these transfer functions to the GCM circulation indicates that there is considerable spatial bias present in the GCM temperature distributions. The transfer functions are also used to indicate the possible changes in U.S. regional temperatures that could result from differences in synoptic scale circulation between a 1XCO2 and a 2xCO2 climate, using a doubled CO2 version of the same GISS GCM.

Relationships and the social brain: integrating psychological and evolutionary perspectives.

PubMed

Sutcliffe, Alistair; Dunbar, Robin; Binder, Jens; Arrow, Holly

2012-05-01

Psychological studies of relationships tend to focus on specific types of close personal relationships (romantic, parent-offspring, friendship) and examine characteristics of both the individuals and the dyad. This paper looks more broadly at the wider range of relationships that constitute an individual's personal social world. Recent work on the composition of personal social networks suggests that they consist of a series of layers that differ in the quality and quantity of relationships involved. Each layer increases relationship numbers by an approximate multiple of 3 (5-15-50-150) but decreasing levels of intimacy (strong, medium, and weak ties) and frequency of interaction. To account for these regularities, we draw on both social and evolutionary psychology to argue that relationships at different layers serve different functions and have different cost-benefit profiles. At each layer, the benefits are asymptotic but the costs of maintaining a relationship at that level (most obviously, the time that has to be invested in servicing it) are roughly linear with the number of relationships. The trade-off between costs and benefits at a given level, and across the different types of demands and resources typical of different levels, gives rise to a distribution of social effort that generates and maintains a hierarchy of layered sets of relationships within social networks. We suggest that, psychologically, these trade-offs are related to the level of trust in a relationship, and that this is itself a function of the time invested in the relationship. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

“I’ll Be There for You”: Coparenting Relationships among Teen Parents*

PubMed Central

Mollborn, Stefanie; Jacobs, Janet

2017-01-01

Marriage promotion policy agendas have focused research attention on coparenting relationships, but little is known about coparenting among teen parents. Qualitative interviews with 76 teen mothers and fathers, supplemented with site observations at a school and clinic, investigated coparenting relationships and those relationships’ embeddedness in extended families and social institutions. We identified prevalent coparenting trajectories and analyzed individual-, interaction-, and institutional-level influences on coparenting. Coparenting trajectories diverged depending on whether the couple stayed together and assumed traditionally gendered parenting roles. Participants perceived that coparenting relationships strongly shaped their current and future socioeconomic, emotional, and practical circumstances and their success at “being there” for their child. Extended families, institutions, and social programs often pushed teen parents apart, although many participants felt they needed a functional relationship with the other parent. Coparenting relationships, considered jointly with extended families and social institutions, are fundamental for understanding teen parenthood and shaping effective social policies. PMID:28620246

Macrofaunal production and biological traits: Spatial relationships along the UK continental shelf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolam, S. G.; Eggleton, J. D.

2014-04-01

Biological trait analysis (BTA) is increasingly being employed to improve our understanding of the ecological functioning of marine benthic invertebrate communities. However, changes in trait composition are seldomly compared with concomitant changes in metrics of ecological function. Consequently, inferences regarding the functional implications of any changes are often anecdotal; we currently have a limited understanding of the functional significance of the traits commonly used. In this study, we quantify the relationship between benthic invertebrate trait composition and secondary production estimates using data spanning almost the breadth of the UK continental shelf. Communities described by their composition of 10 traits representing life history, morphology and behaviour showed strong relationships with variations in total secondary production. A much weaker relationship was observed for community productivity (or P:B), a measure of rate of energy turnover. Furthermore, the relationship between total production and multivariate taxonomic community composition was far weaker than that for trait composition. Indeed, the similarities between communities as defined by taxonomy were very different from those depicted by their trait composition. That is, as many studies have demonstrated, taxonomically different communities may display similar trait compositions, and vice versa. Finally, we found that descriptions of community trait composition vary greatly depending on whether abundance or biomass is used as the enumeration weighting method during BTA, and trait assessments based on biomass produced better relations with secondary production than those based on abundance. We discuss the significance of these findings with respect to BTA using marine benthic invertebrates.

Association between CSF biomarkers, hippocampal volume and cognitive function in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

PubMed

Nathan, Pradeep J; Lim, Yen Ying; Abbott, Rosemary; Galluzzi, Samantha; Marizzoni, Moira; Babiloni, Claudio; Albani, Diego; Bartres-Faz, David; Didic, Mira; Farotti, Lucia; Parnetti, Lucilla; Salvadori, Nicola; Müller, Bernhard W; Forloni, Gianluigi; Girtler, Nicola; Hensch, Tilman; Jovicich, Jorge; Leeuwis, Annebet; Marra, Camillo; Molinuevo, José Luis; Nobili, Flavio; Pariente, Jeremie; Payoux, Pierre; Ranjeva, Jean-Philippe; Rolandi, Elena; Rossini, Paolo Maria; Schönknecht, Peter; Soricelli, Andrea; Tsolaki, Magda; Visser, Pieter Jelle; Wiltfang, Jens; Richardson, Jill C; Bordet, Régis; Blin, Olivier; Frisoni, Giovanni B

2017-05-01

Few studies have examined the relationship between CSF and structural biomarkers, and cognitive function in MCI. We examined the relationship between cognitive function, hippocampal volume and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ 42 and tau in 145 patients with MCI. Patients were assessed on cognitive tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Functional Activities Questionnaire. Hippocampal volume was measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and CSF markers of Aβ 42 , tau and p-tau 181 were also measured. Worse performance on a wide range of memory and sustained attention tasks were associated with reduced hippocampal volume, higher CSF tau and p-tau 181 and increased tau/Aβ 42 ratio. Memory tasks were also associated with lower ability to conduct functional activities of daily living, providing a link between AD biomarkers, memory performance and functional outcome. These results suggest that biomarkers of Aβ and tau are strongly related to cognitive performance as assessed by the CANTAB, and have implications for the early detection and characterization of incipient AD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal Relationships Between Resources, Motivation, and Functioning

PubMed Central

Emery, Lisa; Neupert, Shevaun D.

2012-01-01

Objectives. We investigated how fluctuations and linear changes in health and cognitive resources influence the motivation to engage in complex cognitive activity and the extent to which motivation mediated the relationship between changing resources and cognitively demanding activities. Method. Longitudinal data from 332 adults aged 20–85 years were examined. Motivation was assessed using a composite of Need for Cognition and Personal Need for Structure and additional measures of health, sensory functioning, cognitive ability, and self-reported activity engagement. Results. Multilevel modeling revealed that age-typical changes in health, sensory functions, and ability were associated with changes in motivation, with the impact of declining health on motivation being particularly strong in older adulthood. Changes in motivation, in turn, predicted involvement in cognitive and social activities as well as changes in cognitive ability. Finally, motivation was observed to partially mediate the relationship between changes in resources and cognitively demanding activities. Discussion. Our results suggest that motivation may play an important role in determining the course of cognitive change and involvement in cognitively demanding everyday activities in adulthood. PMID:21926400

The Relationship Between Trait Procrastination, Internet Use, and Psychological Functioning: Results From a Community Sample of German Adolescents.

PubMed

Reinecke, Leonard; Meier, Adrian; Beutel, Manfred E; Schemer, Christian; Stark, Birgit; Wölfling, Klaus; Müller, Kai W

2018-01-01

Adolescents with a strong tendency for irrational task delay (i.e., high trait procrastination) may be particularly prone to use Internet applications simultaneously to other tasks (e.g., during homework) and in an insufficiently controlled fashion. Both Internet multitasking and insufficiently controlled Internet usage may thus amplify the negative mental health implications that have frequently been associated with trait procrastination. The present study explored this role of Internet multitasking and insufficiently controlled Internet use for the relationship between trait procrastination and impaired psychological functioning in a community sample of N = 818 early and middle adolescents. Results from multiple regression analyses indicate that trait procrastination was positively related to Internet multitasking and insufficiently controlled Internet use. Insufficiently controlled Internet use, but not Internet multitasking, was found to partially statistically mediate the association between trait procrastination and adolescents' psychological functioning (i.e., stress, sleep quality, and relationship satisfaction with parents). The study underlines that adolescents with high levels of trait procrastination may have an increased risk for negative outcomes of insufficiently controlled Internet use.

The Relationship Between Trait Procrastination, Internet Use, and Psychological Functioning: Results From a Community Sample of German Adolescents

PubMed Central

Reinecke, Leonard; Meier, Adrian; Beutel, Manfred E.; Schemer, Christian; Stark, Birgit; Wölfling, Klaus; Müller, Kai W.

2018-01-01

Adolescents with a strong tendency for irrational task delay (i.e., high trait procrastination) may be particularly prone to use Internet applications simultaneously to other tasks (e.g., during homework) and in an insufficiently controlled fashion. Both Internet multitasking and insufficiently controlled Internet usage may thus amplify the negative mental health implications that have frequently been associated with trait procrastination. The present study explored this role of Internet multitasking and insufficiently controlled Internet use for the relationship between trait procrastination and impaired psychological functioning in a community sample of N = 818 early and middle adolescents. Results from multiple regression analyses indicate that trait procrastination was positively related to Internet multitasking and insufficiently controlled Internet use. Insufficiently controlled Internet use, but not Internet multitasking, was found to partially statistically mediate the association between trait procrastination and adolescents’ psychological functioning (i.e., stress, sleep quality, and relationship satisfaction with parents). The study underlines that adolescents with high levels of trait procrastination may have an increased risk for negative outcomes of insufficiently controlled Internet use. PMID:29942268

Online Friendship, Romance, and Sex: Properties and Associations of the Online Relationship Initiation Scale.

PubMed

Harris, Keith M; Aboujaoude, Elias

2016-08-01

Online relationships are increasingly central to many people's lives. As a result, there is a growing need to scientifically examine their psychosocial implications. This study developed and tested the Online Relationship Initiation Scale (ORIS) through classical and item response theory analyses to address this need. An anonymous online survey included 713 adults, aged 18-71 years. The ORIS was tested on psychometric properties and examined for associations with gender and several standardized psychosocial measures. Results demonstrated unidimensionality of nine items, strong factor loadings, and high internal consistency (α = 0.90, ωt = 0.94). All items captured significant information on the latent trait and none showed differential item functioning by sex, age group, or ethnicity. General linear modeling confirmed hypotheses that men were more likely than women to initiate online relationships. Online relationship initiation was not strongly associated with perceived social support, but was positively related to financial distress, and willingness to engage in infidelity or unprotected sex. The ORIS was negatively associated with age and satisfaction with life and showed modest interactions with ethnicity and hours online. This study provided empirical evidence for an interpersonal relationship initiation construct. The ORIS was shown to be a psychometrically sound instrument for evaluating online interpersonal behaviors and their associations with psychosocial and demographic factors. Such psychometrically sound instruments can be useful in exploring online interpersonal behaviors and their significance.

The Prospective Relationships Among Intrinsic Motivation, Neurocognition, and Psychosocial Functioning in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Nakagami, Eri; Hoe, Maanse; Brekke, John S.

2010-01-01

To address significant gaps in our understanding about how neurocognition, intrinsic motivation (IM), and psychosocial functioning are interrelated in schizophrenia, this study investigated the following questions: Is IM stable or dynamic over time? Does neurocognition predict change in IM over time? What is the association between change in neurocognition, change in IM, and change in psychosocial functioning? Finally, what is the causal structure of the relationships among neurocognition, IM, and psychosocial functioning over time? One hundred and thirty individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were recruited from 4 community-based psychosocial rehabilitation programs in urban Los Angeles. Measures of neurocognition were taken at baseline and 12 months. Measures of IM, psychosocial functioning, and symptoms were taken at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Results of latent growth curve modeling analyses demonstrated that IM is dynamic over time. Baseline neurocognition was associated with the initial level of IM but did not predict the rate of change in motivation. However, baseline levels of IM predicted rates of subsequent improvement in neurocognition. Change in IM was strongly associated with change in psychosocial functioning, and change in neurocognition was associated with change in psychosocial functioning, but change in IM was not associated with change in neurocognition. Latent difference score analyses revealed that neurocognition caused changes in psychosocial functioning, and psychosocial functioning caused changes in IM. These findings improve our fundamental understanding of the relationships among these variables and contribute to intervention development for improving outcomes in schizophrenia. PMID:20462998

The association of social functioning, social relationships and the receipt of compensation with time to return to work following unintentional injuries to Victorian workers.

PubMed

Clay, Fiona J; Fitzharris, Michael; Kerr, Emily; McClure, Roderick J; Watson, Wendy L

2012-09-01

Understanding individual factors associated with return to work (RTW) post-injury is an important goal of compensation systems research. The aim of the present study was to determine factors associated with time to return to work following acute unintentional injuries. A prospective cohort study was conducted in Victoria, Australia. The cohort comprised 133 persons who were employed at the time they were admitted to one of three study hospitals. Baseline health status data was obtained retrospectively at one-week post-injury and participants were further surveyed at 1, 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks post-injury to measure recovery. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to examine the association between potential prognostic factors and time to RTW during the 12 month study. At the end of 12 months follow-up, 81.2% of the study cohort had returned to work. Older age, increased injury severity, self reported symptomatic pain and poor mental health at 1 week post-injury were associated with extended time to RTW. A significant statistical interaction between the receipt of compensation and high social functioning as measured by the SF-36 or strong social relationships as measured by the Assessment of Quality of Life was associated with earlier RTW. Participants reporting strong social relationships and high social functioning at 1 week post-injury and entitled to injury compensation returned to work 2.05 and 3.66 times earlier respectively, than similar participants with no entitlement to compensation. Both injury-related and psychosocial factors were associated with the duration of time to RTW following acute unintentional injuries. This study replicated previously reported findings on social functioning and compensation from an independent acute trauma sample. Programs or policies to improve social functioning early post-injury may provide opportunities to improve the duration of time to RTW following injury.

Relationship between the Amplitude and Phase of a Signal Scattered by a Point-Like Acoustic Inhomogeneity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burov, V. A.; Morozov, S. A.

2001-11-01

Wave scattering by a point-like inhomogeneity, i.e., a strong inhomogeneity with infinitesimal dimensions, is described. This type of inhomogeneity model is used in investigating the point-spread functions of different algorithms and systems. Two approaches are used to derive the rigorous relationship between the amplitude and phase of a signal scattered by a point-like acoustic inhomogeneity. The first approach is based on a Marchenko-type equation. The second approach uses the scattering by a scatterer whose size decreases simultaneously with an increase in its contrast. It is shown that the retarded and advanced waves are scattered differently despite the relationship between the phases of the corresponding scattered waves.

IS GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER AN ANXIETY OR MOOD DISORDER? CONSIDERING MULTIPLE FACTORS AS WE PONDER THE FATE OF GAD

PubMed Central

Mennin, Douglas S.; Heimberg, Richard G.; Fresco, David M.; Ritter, Michael R.

2016-01-01

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) demonstrate a strong relationship to each other at both genotypic and phenotypic levels, and both demonstrate substantial loadings on a higher-order negative affectivity factor. On the basis of these findings, there have been a number of calls to reclassify GAD in the same category as MDD (the “distress disorders”). However, any consideration of the reclassification of GAD should also take into account a number of other factors not only related to GAD and MDD but also to the overlap of these disorders with other anxiety and mood disorders. First, GAD has established reliability and validity in its own right, and specific features (e.g., worry) may become obscured by attempts at reclassification. Second, examination of the nature of the overlap of GAD and MDD with each other and with other disorders suggests a more complex pattern of differences between these conditions than has been suggested (e.g., MDD has strong relationships with other anxiety disorders, and GAD may be more strongly related to fear than it may first appear). Third, although findings suggest that GAD and MDD may have overlapping heritable characteristics, other evidence suggests that the two disorders may be distinguished by both environmental factors and temporal presentations. Finally, although overlap between GAD and MDD is reflected in their relationships to negative affectivity, temporal relationships between these disorders may be demonstrated by functional changes in emotional responsivity. PMID:18412056

Reducing uncertainty in sustainable interpersonal service relationships: the role of aesthetics.

PubMed

Xenakis, Ioannis

2018-05-01

Sustainable interpersonal service relationships (SISRs) are the outcome of a design process that supports situated meaningful interactions between those being served and those in service. Service design is not just directed to simply satisfy the ability to perceive the psychological state of others, but more importantly, it should aim at preserving these relationships in relation to the contextual requirements that they functionally need, in order to be or remain sustainable. However, SISRs are uncertain since they have many possibilities to be in error in the sense that the constructed, situated meanings may finally be proven unsuccessful for the anticipations and the goals of those people engaged in a SISR. The endeavor of this paper is to show that aesthetic behavior plays a crucial role in the reduction of the uncertainty that characterizes such relationships. Aesthetic behavior, as an organized network of affective and cognitive processes, has an anticipatory evaluative function with a strong influence on perception by providing significance and value for those aspects in SISRs that exhibit many possibilities to serve goals that correspond to sustainable challenges. Thus, aesthetic behavior plays an important role in the construction of meanings that are related to both empathic and contextual aspects that constitute the entire situation in which a SISR takes place. Aesthetic behavior has a strong influence in meaning-making, motivating the selection of actions that contribute to our initial goal of interacting with uncertainty, to make the world a bit less puzzling and, thus, to improve our lives, or in other words, to design.

Structure-Function Modeling of Optical Coherence Tomography and Standard Automated Perimetry in the Retina of Patients with Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa

PubMed Central

Smith, Travis B.; Parker, Maria; Steinkamp, Peter N.; Weleber, Richard G.; Smith, Ning; Wilson, David J.

2016-01-01

Purpose To assess relationships between structural and functional biomarkers, including new topographic measures of visual field sensitivity, in patients with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Methods Spectral domain optical coherence tomography line scans and hill of vision (HOV) sensitivity surfaces from full-field standard automated perimetry were semi-automatically aligned for 60 eyes of 35 patients. Structural biomarkers were extracted from outer retina b-scans along horizontal and vertical midlines. Functional biomarkers were extracted from local sensitivity profiles along the b-scans and from the full visual field. These included topographic measures of functional transition such as the contour of most rapid sensitivity decline around the HOV, herein called HOV slope for convenience. Biomarker relationships were assessed pairwise by coefficients of determination (R2) from mixed-effects analysis with automatic model selection. Results Structure-function relationships were accurately modeled (conditional R2>0.8 in most cases). The best-fit relationship models and correlation patterns for horizontally oriented biomarkers were different than vertically oriented ones. The structural biomarker with the largest number of significant functional correlates was the ellipsoid zone (EZ) width, followed by the total photoreceptor layer thickness. The strongest correlation observed was between EZ width and HOV slope distance (marginal R2 = 0.85, p<10−10). The mean sensitivity defect at the EZ edge was 7.6 dB. Among all functional biomarkers, the HOV slope mean value, HOV slope mean distance, and maximum sensitivity along the b-scan had the largest number of significant structural correlates. Conclusions Topographic slope metrics show promise as functional biomarkers relevant to the transition zone. EZ width is strongly associated with the location of most rapid HOV decline. PMID:26845445

Structure-Function Modeling of Optical Coherence Tomography and Standard Automated Perimetry in the Retina of Patients with Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa.

PubMed

Smith, Travis B; Parker, Maria; Steinkamp, Peter N; Weleber, Richard G; Smith, Ning; Wilson, David J

2016-01-01

To assess relationships between structural and functional biomarkers, including new topographic measures of visual field sensitivity, in patients with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography line scans and hill of vision (HOV) sensitivity surfaces from full-field standard automated perimetry were semi-automatically aligned for 60 eyes of 35 patients. Structural biomarkers were extracted from outer retina b-scans along horizontal and vertical midlines. Functional biomarkers were extracted from local sensitivity profiles along the b-scans and from the full visual field. These included topographic measures of functional transition such as the contour of most rapid sensitivity decline around the HOV, herein called HOV slope for convenience. Biomarker relationships were assessed pairwise by coefficients of determination (R2) from mixed-effects analysis with automatic model selection. Structure-function relationships were accurately modeled (conditional R(2)>0.8 in most cases). The best-fit relationship models and correlation patterns for horizontally oriented biomarkers were different than vertically oriented ones. The structural biomarker with the largest number of significant functional correlates was the ellipsoid zone (EZ) width, followed by the total photoreceptor layer thickness. The strongest correlation observed was between EZ width and HOV slope distance (marginal R(2) = 0.85, p<10(-10)). The mean sensitivity defect at the EZ edge was 7.6 dB. Among all functional biomarkers, the HOV slope mean value, HOV slope mean distance, and maximum sensitivity along the b-scan had the largest number of significant structural correlates. Topographic slope metrics show promise as functional biomarkers relevant to the transition zone. EZ width is strongly associated with the location of most rapid HOV decline.

Psychophysiological Associations with Gastrointestinal Symptomatology in Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Ferguson, Bradley J.; Marler, Sarah; Altstein, Lily L.; Lee, Evon Batey; Akers, Jill; Sohl, Kristin; McLaughlin, Aaron; Hartnett, Kaitlyn; Kille, Briana; Mazurek, Micah; Macklin, Eric A.; McDonnell, Erin; Barstow, Mariah; Bauman, Margaret L.; Margolis, Kara Gross; Veenstra-VanderWeele, Jeremy; Beversdorf, David Q.

2017-01-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often accompanied by gastrointestinal disturbances, which also may impact behavior. Alterations in autonomic nervous system functioning are also frequently observed in ASD. The relationship between these findings in ASD is not known. We examined the relationship between gastrointestinal symptomatology, examining upper and lower gastrointestinal tract symptomatology separately, and autonomic nervous system functioning, as assessed by heart rate variability and skin conductance level, in a sample of 120 individuals with ASD. Relationships with co-occurring medical and psychiatric symptoms were also examined. While the number of participants with significant upper gastrointestinal tract problems was small in this sample, 42.5% of participants met criteria for functional constipation, a disorder of the lower gastrointestinal tract. Heart rate variability, a measure of parasympathetic modulation of cardiac activity, was found to be positively associated with lower gastrointestinal tract symptomatology at baseline. This relationship was particularly strong for participants with co-occurring diagnoses of anxiety disorder and for those with a history of regressive ASD or loss of previously acquired skills. These findings suggest that autonomic function and gastrointestinal problems are intertwined in children with ASD; although it is not possible to assess causality in this data set. Future work should examine the impact of treatment of gastrointestinal problems on autonomic function and anxiety, as well as the impact of anxiety treatment on gastrointestinal problems. Clinicians should be aware that gastrointestinal problems, anxiety, and autonomic dysfunction may cluster in children with ASD and should be addressed in a multidisciplinary treatment plan. PMID:27321113

Predicting species' range limits from functional traits for the tree flora of North America.

PubMed

Stahl, Ulrike; Reu, Björn; Wirth, Christian

2014-09-23

Using functional traits to explain species' range limits is a promising approach in functional biogeography. It replaces the idiosyncrasy of species-specific climate ranges with a generic trait-based predictive framework. In addition, it has the potential to shed light on specific filter mechanisms creating large-scale vegetation patterns. However, its application to a continental flora, spanning large climate gradients, has been hampered by a lack of trait data. Here, we explore whether five key plant functional traits (seed mass, wood density, specific leaf area (SLA), maximum height, and longevity of a tree)--indicative of life history, mechanical, and physiological adaptations--explain the climate ranges of 250 North American tree species distributed from the boreal to the subtropics. Although the relationship between traits and the median climate across a species range is weak, quantile regressions revealed strong effects on range limits. Wood density and seed mass were strongly related to the lower but not upper temperature range limits of species. Maximum height affects the species range limits in both dry and humid climates, whereas SLA and longevity do not show clear relationships. These results allow the definition and delineation of climatic "no-go areas" for North American tree species based on key traits. As some of these key traits serve as important parameters in recent vegetation models, the implementation of trait-based climatic constraints has the potential to predict both range shifts and ecosystem consequences on a more functional basis. Moreover, for future trait-based vegetation models our results provide a benchmark for model evaluation.

Conflict or coordination? Assessing land use multi-functionalization using production-living-ecology analysis.

PubMed

Zhou, De; Xu, Jianchun; Lin, Zhulu

2017-01-15

Land use multi-functionalization (LUMF) promotes efficient and sustainable land use, reduces land pressures from limited land resources, and elevates urbanization quality in the midst of the increasingly tense relationship between humans and nature. In this study, we propose a new conceptual index system using system science, entropy weight method, triangle model, and coupling coordination degree model for LUMF assessment as well as an analysis of the relationship among land use sub-functions. This framework was applied to six cities in the urban agglomeration around Hangzhou Bay (UAHB) in eastern China's Zhejiang Province using twenty-two indicators in terms of production-living-ecology analysis during 2004-2013. The UAHB LUMF level increased over the past ten years, being affected by the designated functions and the "planning effect" for the six cities in the UAHB. The relationships among land use sub-functions in the six cities displayed strong variabilities at the spatial and temporal scales. The overall patterns of the relative importance of these sub-functions also differed from each other. Our research also shows that urban development in the UAHB had focused more on economic growth than on ecological protection and the regional development in the UAHB's six cities was unbalanced. Therefore, we suggest urban and land use management need to embrace more integrated planning and design in order to maintain efficient and sustainable land use. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Species Pool Functional Diversity Plays a Hidden Role in Generating β-Diversity.

PubMed

Patrick, Christopher J; Brown, Bryan L

2018-05-01

Functional trait diversity is used as a way to infer mechanistic processes that drive community assembly. While functional diversity within communities is often viewed as a response variable, here we present and test a framework for how functional diversity among taxa in the regional species pool drives the assembly of communities among habitats. We predicted that species pool functional diversity should work with environmental heterogeneity to drive β-diversity. We tested these predictions by modeling empirical patterns in invertebrate communities from 570 streams in 52 watersheds. Our analysis of the field data provided strong support for the inclusion of both functional diversity and environmental heterogeneity in the models, and our predictions were supported when the community was analyzed all together. However, analyses within individual functional feeding guilds revealed strong context dependency in the relative importance of functional diversity, γ-richness, and environmental heterogeneity to β-diversity. We interpret the results to mean that functional diversity can play an important role in driving β-diversity; however, within guilds the nature of interspecific interactions and species pool size complicate the relationship. Future research should test this conceptual model across different ecosystems and in experimental settings using metacommunity mesocosms to enhance our understanding of the role that functional variation plays in generating spatial biodiversity patterns.

Men without a sense of smell exhibit a strongly reduced number of sexual relationships, women exhibit reduced partnership security - a reanalysis of previously published data.

PubMed

Croy, Ilona; Bojanowski, Viola; Hummel, Thomas

2013-02-01

Olfactory function influences social behavior. For instance, olfaction seems to play a key role in mate choice and helps detecting emotions in other people. In a previous study, we showed that people who were born without a sense of smell exhibit enhanced social insecurity. Based on the comments to this article we decided to have a closer look to whether the absence of the sense of smell affects men and women differently. Under this focus questionnaire data of 32 patients, diagnosed with isolated congenital anosmia (10 men, 22 women) and 36 age-matched healthy controls (15 men, 21 women) was reanalyzed. In result, men and women without a sense of smell reported enhanced social insecurity, but with different consequences: Men who were born without a sense of smell exhibit a strongly reduced number of sexual relationships and women are affected such that they feel less secure about their partner. This emphasizes the importance of the sense of smell for intimate relationships. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Age of First Words Predicts Cognitive Ability and Adaptive Skills in Children with ASD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, Jessica; Chlebowski, Colby; Fein, Deborah A.; Eigsti, Inge-Marie

2013-01-01

Acquiring useful language by age 5 has been identified as a strong predictor of positive outcomes in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study examined the relationship between age of language acquisition and later functioning in children with ASD (n = 119). First word acquisition at a range of ages was probed for its…

States Chart New Directions for Education with a Little Help from Their Friends. Solutions. Issue Number 8

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Layland, Allison; Redding, Sam

2016-01-01

For decades, the regulations attached to federal education funds have shaped the forms and functions of state education agencies (SEAs), especially as state funding for these agencies has stagnated or diminished. In fact, the relationship between the SEA and the state's districts and schools has been colored by the strong tint of federal…

Relationships among climate, forests, and insects in North America: Examples of the importance of long-term and broad-scale perspectives

Treesearch

Talbot Trotter

2013-01-01

Forest structure is strongly influenced by disturbance, agents of which can include fire, weather, mammals, annelids, fungi, insects, and increasingly with the advent of the Anthropocene, climate. Currently, climate change represents one of the broadest threats to natural systems, including forests, with the potential to directly alter forest structure and function...

Friendship Interactions in Children with and without Depressive Symptoms: Observation of Emotion during Game-Playing Interactions and Post-Game Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rockhill, Carol M.; Fan, Ming-Yu; Katon, Wayne J.; McCauley, Elizabeth; Crick, Nicki R.; Pleck, Joseph H.

2007-01-01

This observational study supplements the strong and consistent link found between childhood depression and deficits in interpersonal functioning by examining the relationship between a high versus low score on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and children's emotions when interacting with their best friends. High-CDI and low-CDI target…

Relative relationships of general shame and body shame with body dysmorphic phenomenology and psychosocial outcomes.

PubMed

Weingarden, Hilary; Renshaw, Keith D; Davidson, Eliza; Wilhelm, Sabine

2017-07-01

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is characterized by a preoccupation with a perceived flaw in appearance and repetitive avoidance behaviors. BDD involves severe psychosocial outcomes (e.g., depression, suicidality, functional impairment). Identifying correlates of BDD symptoms and outcomes can inform treatment. Shame, a painful emotion felt in response to critical self-judgment, may be one key correlate. However, research on shame in BDD is scarce and previous studies have not distinguished general shame from body shame. This study examines the relative relationships between body shame and general shame with body dysmorphic phenomenology and psychosocial outcomes. Participants ( N = 184) were recruited online via BDD organizations and completed a survey. Path analysis was used to examine associations between body and general shame with 1) body dysmorphic phenomenology and 2) depression severity, suicide risk, and functional impairment. Both types of shame were differentially related to outcomes. Body shame was more strongly related to phenomenology, whereas general shame was more strongly related to psychosocial outcomes. Thus, it may be important for BDD treatment to focus on reducing both general and body shame. Further research should evaluate whether current treatments adequately address and reduce general and body shame, and whether addressing shame promotes better treatment outcomes.

New, strategic outsourcing models to meet changing clinical development needs.

PubMed

Jones, Janet; Minor, Michael

2010-04-01

The impact of increasing clinical costs and the need for more data to support higher efficacy demands and overcome regulatory hurdles for market entry means that every Company is faced with the challenge of how to do more with a smaller budget. As budgets get squeezed the pharmaceutical Industry has been looking at how to contain or reduce cost and support an increased number of projects. With the growing sophistication of outsourcing, this is an increasingly important area of focus. Some Pharmaceutical Companies have moved from tactical, case by case, outsourcing to new, more strategic relationships, which involve outsourcing functions that were historically held as core pharmaceutical functions. An increasing number of Sponsors are looking at strategic relationships which are based on more creative outsourcing approaches. As the need and sophistication of these outsourcing models and the sponsors / CROs involved in them, these approaches are becoming more transformational and need to be based on a strong partnership. Lessons learned from working with sponsors in a partnership model have been examined and two key challenges addressed in detail: the need for bilateral central control though a strong governance model and the importance of early planning and commitment.

New, Strategic Outsourcing Models to Meet Changing Clinical Development Needs

PubMed Central

Jones, Janet; Minor, Michael

2010-01-01

The impact of increasing clinical costs and the need for more data to support higher efficacy demands and overcome regulatory hurdles for market entry means that every Company is faced with the challenge of how to do more with a smaller budget. As budgets get squeezed the pharmaceutical Industry has been looking at how to contain or reduce cost and support an increased number of projects. With the growing sophistication of outsourcing, this is an increasingly important area of focus. Some Pharmaceutical Companies have moved from tactical, case by case, outsourcing to new, more strategic relationships, which involve outsourcing functions that were historically held as core pharmaceutical functions. An increasing number of Sponsors are looking at strategic relationships which are based on more creative outsourcing approaches. As the need and sophistication of these outsourcing models and the sponsors / CROs involved in them, these approaches are becoming more transformational and need to be based on a strong partnership. Lessons learned from working with sponsors in a partnership model have been examined and two key challenges addressed in detail: the need for bilateral central control though a strong governance model and the importance of early planning and commitment. PMID:21829788

The role of the dark matter haloes on the cosmic star formation rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Eduardo S.; Miranda, Oswaldo D.

2015-11-01

The cosmic star formation rate (CSFR) represents the fraction of gas that is converted into stars within a certain comoving volume and at a given time t. However the evolution of the dark matter haloes and its relationship with the CSFR is not yet clear. In this context, we have investigated the role of the dark halo mass function - DHMF - in the process of gas conversion into stars. We observed a strong dependence between the fraction of baryons in structures, fb, and the specific mass function used for describing the dark matter haloes. In some cases, we have obtained fb greater than one at redshift z = 0 . This result indicates that the evolution of dark matter, described by the specific DHMF, could not trace the baryonic matter without a bias parameter. We also observed that the characteristic time-scale for star formation, τ, is strongly dependent on the considered DHMF, when the model is confronted against the observational data. Also, as part of this work it was released, under GNU general public license, a Python package called 'pycosmicstar' to study the CSFR and its relationship with the DHMF.

An anatomically comprehensive atlas of the adult human brain transcriptome

PubMed Central

Guillozet-Bongaarts, Angela L.; Shen, Elaine H.; Ng, Lydia; Miller, Jeremy A.; van de Lagemaat, Louie N.; Smith, Kimberly A.; Ebbert, Amanda; Riley, Zackery L.; Abajian, Chris; Beckmann, Christian F.; Bernard, Amy; Bertagnolli, Darren; Boe, Andrew F.; Cartagena, Preston M.; Chakravarty, M. Mallar; Chapin, Mike; Chong, Jimmy; Dalley, Rachel A.; David Daly, Barry; Dang, Chinh; Datta, Suvro; Dee, Nick; Dolbeare, Tim A.; Faber, Vance; Feng, David; Fowler, David R.; Goldy, Jeff; Gregor, Benjamin W.; Haradon, Zeb; Haynor, David R.; Hohmann, John G.; Horvath, Steve; Howard, Robert E.; Jeromin, Andreas; Jochim, Jayson M.; Kinnunen, Marty; Lau, Christopher; Lazarz, Evan T.; Lee, Changkyu; Lemon, Tracy A.; Li, Ling; Li, Yang; Morris, John A.; Overly, Caroline C.; Parker, Patrick D.; Parry, Sheana E.; Reding, Melissa; Royall, Joshua J.; Schulkin, Jay; Sequeira, Pedro Adolfo; Slaughterbeck, Clifford R.; Smith, Simon C.; Sodt, Andy J.; Sunkin, Susan M.; Swanson, Beryl E.; Vawter, Marquis P.; Williams, Derric; Wohnoutka, Paul; Zielke, H. Ronald; Geschwind, Daniel H.; Hof, Patrick R.; Smith, Stephen M.; Koch, Christof; Grant, Seth G. N.; Jones, Allan R.

2014-01-01

Neuroanatomically precise, genome-wide maps of transcript distributions are critical resources to complement genomic sequence data and to correlate functional and genetic brain architecture. Here we describe the generation and analysis of a transcriptional atlas of the adult human brain, comprising extensive histological analysis and comprehensive microarray profiling of ~900 neuroanatomically precise subdivisions in two individuals. Transcriptional regulation varies enormously by anatomical location, with different regions and their constituent cell types displaying robust molecular signatures that are highly conserved between individuals. Analysis of differential gene expression and gene co-expression relationships demonstrates that brain-wide variation strongly reflects the distributions of major cell classes such as neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia. Local neighbourhood relationships between fine anatomical subdivisions are associated with discrete neuronal subtypes and genes involved with synaptic transmission. The neocortex displays a relatively homogeneous transcriptional pattern, but with distinct features associated selectively with primary sensorimotor cortices and with enriched frontal lobe expression. Notably, the spatial topography of the neocortex is strongly reflected in its molecular topography— the closer two cortical regions, the more similar their transcriptomes. This freely accessible online data resource forms a high-resolution transcriptional baseline for neurogenetic studies of normal and abnormal human brain function. PMID:22996553

Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI): Validity as a co-primary measure of cognition across phases of schizophrenia.

PubMed

Ventura, Joseph; Subotnik, Kenneth L; Ered, Arielle; Hellemann, Gerhard S; Nuechterlein, Keith H

2016-04-01

Progress has been made in developing interview-based measures for the assessment of cognitive functioning, such as the Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI), as co-primary measures that compliment objective neurocognitive assessments and daily functioning. However, a few questions remain, including whether the relationships with objective cognitive measures and daily functioning are high enough to justify the CAI as an co-primary measure and whether patient-only assessments are valid. Participants were first-episode schizophrenia patients (n=60) and demographically-similar healthy controls (n=35), chronic schizophrenia patients (n=38) and demographically similar healthy controls (n=19). Participants were assessed at baseline with an interview-based measure of cognitive functioning (CAI), a test of objective cognitive functioning, functional capacity, and role functioning at baseline, and in the first episode patients again 6 months later (n=28). CAI ratings were correlated with objective cognitive functioning, functional capacity, and functional outcomes in first-episode schizophrenia patients at similar magnitudes as in chronic patients. Comparisons of first-episode and chronic patients with healthy controls indicated that the CAI sensitively detected deficits in schizophrenia. The relationship of CAI Patient-Only ratings with objective cognitive functioning, functional capacity, and daily functioning were comparable to CAI Rater scores that included informant information. These results confirm in an independent sample the relationship of the CAI ratings with objectively measured cognition, functional capacity, and role functioning. Comparison of schizophrenia patients with healthy controls further validates the CAI as an co-primary measure of cognitive deficits. Also, CAI change scores were strongly related to objective cognitive change indicating sensitivity to change. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nervous temperament in infant monkeys is associated with reduced sensitivity of leukocytes to cortisol's influence on trafficking.

PubMed

Capitanio, John P; Mendoza, Sally P; Cole, Steve W

2011-01-01

There is growing evidence that temperament/personality factors are associated with immune function and health-related outcomes. Neuroticism, in particular, is a risk-factor for several diseases, many with a strong inflammatory component. We propose that neuroticism (or nervous temperament in monkeys) is related to dysregulation of immune function by glucocorticoids. The present study tested the hypothesis that animals with a nervous temperament would show no relationship between cortisol concentrations and leukocyte numbers in peripheral blood (an easily obtainable measure of glucocorticoid-mediated immune function), while animals low on this factor would show expected relationships. Infant rhesus monkeys (n=1507) experienced a standardized testing procedure involving blood sampling, behavioral tests, and temperament ratings. Results confirmed the hypothesis: low-nervous animals showed the expected positive relationship between cortisol levels and neutrophil numbers, while high-nervous animals showed no relationship. High-nervous animals also showed elevated cortisol concentrations at most sample points, and responded to a human challenge with more negative emotional behavior. These data suggest that individuals with a nervous temperament show evidence of glucocorticoid desensitization of immune cells. Differences with other studies, including the specific types of leukocytes that are affected, are discussed, and implications for disease processes are suggested. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Does Parent Report Gross Motor Function Level of Cerebral Palsy Children Impact on the Quality of Life in these Children?

PubMed

Pashmdarfard, Marzieh; Amini, Malek; Badv, Reza Shervin; Ghaffarzade Namazi, Narges; Rassafiani, Mehdi

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of parent report gross motor function level of cerebral palsy (CP) children on the parent report quality of life of CP children. Sampling of this cross-sectional study was done in occupational therapy clinics and CP children's schools in 2016 in Zanjan, Iran. Samples size was 60 CP children aged 6-12 yr and for sampling method, a non-probability convenience was used. For assessing the quality of life of CP children the cerebral palsy quality of life (CP QOL) questionnaire and for assessing the level of gross motor function of CP children the Gross Motor Function Classification System Family Report Questionnaire (GMFCSFRQ) were used. The average age of children (22 males and 30 females) was 8.92 yr old (minimum 6 yr and maximum 12 yr). The relationship between the level of gross motor function and participation and physical health was direct and significant (r=0.65). The relationship between functioning, access to services and family health with the level of gross motor function was direct but was not significant ( P >0.05) and the relationship between pain and impact of disability and emotional well-being with the level of gross motor function was significant ( P <0.05). There was no strong correlation between the level of gross motor function and quality of life of children with cerebral palsy. It means that the level of gross motor function cannot be used as a predictor of quality of life for children with cerebral palsy alone.

Calibrated imaging reveals altered grey matter metabolism related to white matter microstructure and symptom severity in multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Hubbard, Nicholas A; Turner, Monroe P; Ouyang, Minhui; Himes, Lyndahl; Thomas, Binu P; Hutchison, Joanna L; Faghihahmadabadi, Shawheen; Davis, Scott L; Strain, Jeremy F; Spence, Jeffrey; Krawczyk, Daniel C; Huang, Hao; Lu, Hanzhang; Hart, John; Frohman, Teresa C; Frohman, Elliot M; Okuda, Darin T; Rypma, Bart

2017-11-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves damage to white matter microstructures. This damage has been related to grey matter function as measured by standard, physiologically-nonspecific neuroimaging indices (i.e., blood-oxygen-level dependent signal [BOLD]). Here, we used calibrated functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to examine the extent to which specific, evoked grey matter physiological processes were associated with white matter diffusion in MS. Evoked changes in BOLD, cerebral blood flow (CBF), and oxygen metabolism (CMRO 2 ) were measured in visual cortex. Individual differences in the diffusion tensor measure, radial diffusivity, within occipital tracts were strongly associated with MS patients' BOLD and CMRO 2 . However, these relationships were in opposite directions, complicating the interpretation of the relationship between BOLD and white matter microstructural damage in MS. CMRO 2 was strongly associated with individual differences in patients' fatigue and neurological disability, suggesting that alterations to evoked oxygen metabolic processes may be taken as a marker for primary symptoms of MS. This work demonstrates the first application of calibrated and diffusion imaging together and details the first application of calibrated functional MRI in a neurological population. Results lend support for neuroenergetic hypotheses of MS pathophysiology and provide an initial demonstration of the utility of evoked oxygen metabolism signals for neurology research. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5375-5390, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mating System Evolution under Strong Pollen Limitation: Evidence of Disruptive Selection through Male and Female Fitness in Clarkia xantiana.

PubMed

Briscoe Runquist, Ryan D; Geber, Monica A; Pickett-Leonard, Michael; Moeller, David A

2017-05-01

Selection on floral traits in hermaphroditic plants is determined by both male and female reproductive success. However, predictions regarding floral trait and mating system evolution are often based solely on female fitness. Selection via male fitness has the potential to affect the outcomes of floral evolution. In this study, we used paternity analysis to assess individual selfing rates and selection on floral traits via male and female fitness in an experimental population of Clarkia xantiana where pollen limitation of seed set was strong. We detected selection through both female and male fitness with reinforcing or noninterfering patterns of selection through the two sex functions. For female fitness, selection favored reduced herkogamy and protandry, traits that promote increased autonomous selfing. For male fitness, selection on petal area was disruptive, with higher trait values conferring greater pollinator attraction and outcross siring success and smaller trait values leading to higher selfed siring success. Combining both female and male fitness, selection on petal area and protandry was disruptive because intermediate phenotypes were less successful as both males and females. Finally, functional relationships among male and female fertility components indicated that selfing resulted in seed discounting and pollen discounting. Under these functional relationships, the evolutionarily stable selfing rate can be intermediate or predominantly selfing or outcrossing, depending on the segregating load of deleterious mutations.

Posttraumatic Stress and Physical Health Functioning: Moderating Effects of Deployment and Postdeployment Social Support in OEF/OIF/OND Veterans

PubMed Central

Luciano, Matthew T.; McDevitt-Murphy, Meghan E.

2016-01-01

Research indicates that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is strongly associated with physical health difficulties, and that social support may be protective for both problems. Social support, however, is often broadly conceptualized. The present analysis explores how Veteran-specific social support (during military deployment and postdeployment) may moderate the relationship between PTSD and physical health functioning. Participants were recruited from a VA Medical Center. Self-report data was analyzed from 63 Veterans (17.46% female; 42.86% White) who had been deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND). Data indicate that military deployment social support moderated the relationship between PTSD and pain (β = .02, p = .02) while postdeployment social support moderated the relationship between PTSD and general health perceptions (β = .03, p = .01). These findings may be used to better understand the role of support in influencing psychological and physiological processes. PMID:27660993

Amylopectin molecular structure in relation to physicochemical properties of quinoa starch.

PubMed

Li, Guantian; Zhu, Fan

2017-05-15

Structure-function relationships of starch components remain a subject of research interest. Quinoa starch has very small granules (∼2μm) with unique properties. In this study, nine quinoa starches varied greatly in composition, structure, and physicochemical properties were selected for the analysis of structure-function relationships. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the properties related to gelatinization such as swelling power, water solubility index, crystallinity, pasting, and thermal properties are much affected by the amylopectin chain profile and amylose content. The parameters of gel texture and amylose leaching are much related to amylopectin internal structure. Other properties such as enzyme susceptibility and particle size distribution are also strongly correlated with starch composition and amylopectin structure. Interesting findings indicate the importance of amylopectin internal structure and individual unit chain profile in determining the physicochemical properties of starch. This work highlights some relationships among composition, amylopectin structure and physicochemical properties of quinoa starch. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carotid artery wall shear stress is independently correlated with renal function in the elderly.

PubMed

Guo, Yuqi; Wei, Fang; Wang, Juan; Zhao, Yingxin; Sun, Shangwen; Zhang, Hua; Liu, Zhendong

2018-01-12

Hemodynamic has increasingly been regarded as an important factor of renal function. However, the relationship between carotid artery wall shear stress (WSS) and renal function is not clarified. To investigate the relationship between carotid WSS and renal function, we recruited 761 older subjects aged 60 years and over from community-dwelling in the Shandong area, China. Carotid WSS, endothelial function, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were assessed in all subjects. Subjects were grouped by the interquartile of the carotid artery mean WSS. We found that the eGFRs derived from serum creatinine and/or cystatin C using three CKD-EPI equations were significantly higher and albumin/creatinine ratio was lower in the higher interquartile groups than in the lower interquartile groups ( P <0.05). The mean WSS was independently correlated with eGFRs even after adjustment for confounders. Similar findings were found between carotid artery peak WSS and eGFRs and albumin/creatinine ratio. In addition, we found that endothelial function was strongly related to carotid WSS and renal function after adjustment for confounders. In conclusion, there is an independent correlation of carotid WSS with renal function in the elderly. The local rheologic forces may play an important role in renal function changing. The correlation may be mediated by regulation of endothelial function.

Quantity vs. quality: an exploration of the predictors of posttreatment sexual adjustment for women affected by early stage cervical and endometrial cancer.

PubMed

Juraskova, Ilona; Bonner, Carissa; Bell, Melanie L; Sharpe, Louise; Robertson, Rosalind; Butow, Phyllis

2012-11-01

Women with early stage cervical and endometrial cancer may experience complex posttreatment changes to their sexual function, but clinical practice and past research have focused more on the quantity than the perceived quality of sexual life. The aims of this prospective study were to explore the following: (i) the relative importance of quantity vs. quality of sexual life over the first year posttreatment; (ii) the psychological and sexual predictors of overall sexual function; and (iii) the relationship between sexual function and quality of life (QoL). Fifty-three cancer patients completed standardized measures at baseline, with follow-up at 6 and 12 months posttreatment. Analyses were based on prespecified linear mixed models with overall sexual function and QoL as outcomes, and quality and quantity of sexual life, anxiety, and depression as the main predictors of interest. Radiotherapy, age, and relationship satisfaction were controlled for as potential confounders. Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory subscales to assess quantity (Drive) and quality (Satisfaction) of sexual life, and overall sexual function (Global Sexual Satisfaction Index); Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy--General to assess QoL; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to assess psychological distress; and Relationship Satisfaction Interaction Scale to assess relationship satisfaction. The models demonstrated that: (i) overall sexual function was predicted more strongly by the perceived quality than the quantity of sexual interactions, (ii) a small change in perceived quality had a large impact on overall sexual function, and (iii) overall sexual function was a predictor of QoL. This study found that quality rather than quantity of sexual life is the best predictor of overall sexual function among women treated for early stage cervical and endometrial cancer, indicating the importance of including quality indices in posttreatment sexual assessment in clinical practice and research studies. © 2012 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Logistics, electronic commerce, and the environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkis, Joseph; Meade, Laura; Talluri, Srinivas

2002-02-01

Organizations realize that a strong supporting logistics or electronic logistics (e-logistics) function is important from both commercial and consumer perspectives. The implications of e-logistics models and practices cover the forward and reverse logistics functions of organizations. They also have direct and profound impact on the natural environment. This paper will focus on a discussion of forward and reverse e-logistics and their relationship to the natural environment. After discussion of the many pertinent issues in these areas, directions of practice and implications for study and research are then described.

Autistic traits and cognitive performance in young people with mild intellectual impairment.

PubMed

Harris, Jonathan M; Best, Catherine S; Moffat, Vivien J; Spencer, Michael D; Philip, Ruth C M; Power, Michael J; Johnstone, Eve C

2008-08-01

Cognitive performance and the relationship between theory of mind (TOM), weak central coherence and executive function were investigated in a cohort of young people with additional learning needs. Participants were categorized by social communication questionnaire score into groups of 10 individuals within the autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) range, 14 within the pervasive developmental disorder range and 18 with few autistic traits. The ASD group were significantly poorer than the other groups on a test of cognitive flexibility. In the ASD group only, there was a strong relationship between executive performance and TOM which remained after controlling for IQ. Our findings suggest that the relationship between cognitive traits may more reliably distinguish autism than the presence of individual deficits alone.

Further discussions on the relationship between cumulated intercepted solar radiation and crop growth

USGS Publications Warehouse

Demetriades-Shah, T.H.; Fuchs, M.; Kanemasu, E.T.; Flitcroft, I.D.

1994-01-01

A strong correlation exists between intercepted solar radiation and crop growth. We cautioned that many derivations of the functional relationship between solar energy and biomass use cumulated data, and therefore have logical and arithmetic weaknesses. We examined the growth response of plants to solar energy by using rates of change, of both interception and growth. Our analysis revealed that measurements of light interception can only establish the relationship a posteriori. Replacing interception data with normalized random numbers did not change the quality of the relations. Several scientists have contested our views. This article reconfirms the general validity of our analysis and of our conclusions, that it is not possible to determine plant growth on the sole basis of intercepted solar energy.

Joint two-dimensional inversion of magnetotelluric and gravity data using correspondence maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrillo, Jonathan; Gallardo, Luis A.

2018-05-01

An accurate characterization of subsurface targets relies on the interpretation of multiple geophysical properties and their relationships. There are mainly two links to jointly invert different geophysical parameters: structural and petrophysical relationships. Structural approaches aim at minimizing topological differences and are widely popular since they need only a few assumptions about models. Conversely, methods based on petrophysical links rely mostly on the property values themselves and can provide a strong coupling between models, but they need to be treated carefully because specific direct relationship must be known or assumed. While some petrophysical relationships are widely accepted, it remains the question whether we may be able to detect them directly from the geophysical data. Currently, there is no reported development that takes full advantage of the flexibility of jointly estimating in-situ empirical relationships and geophysical models for a given geological scenario. We thus developed an algorithm for the two dimensional joint inversion of gravity and magnetotelluric data that seeks simultaneously for a density-resistivity relationship optimal for each studied site described trough a polynomial function. The iterative two-dimensional scheme is tested using synthetic and field data from Cerro Prieto, Mexico. The resulting models show an enhanced resolution with an increased structural and petrophysical correlation. We show that by fitting a functional relationship we increased significantly the coupled geological sense of the models at a little cost in terms of data misfit.

Post-traumatic stress symptom development as a function of changing witnessing in-home violence and changing peer relationship quality: Evaluating protective effects of peer relationship quality.

PubMed

Mishra, Aura A; Christ, Sharon L; Schwab-Reese, Laura M; Nair, Nayantara

2018-07-01

In the present study, witnessing in-home violence and peer relationship quality are evaluated as to their relative impact on Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) symptoms among children aged 8 to 17 investigated by child protective services (CPS) for maltreatment exposure. The sample included 2151 children from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II (NSCAW II). Linear growth models were estimated to assess associations between changes in PTS symptoms, witnessing in-home violence, and peer relationship quality over time. Greater frequency of witnessing in-home violence at baseline (i.e. wave 1) was associated with higher baseline PTS symptoms (β = 0.44). Increases in witnessing in-home violence frequency over time (average annual change across three years) had a strong association with increases in PTS symptoms over time (β = 0.88). Baseline peer relationship quality was associated with fewer PTS symptoms at baseline (β = -0.45). Increases in peer relationship quality over time were strongly associated with declines in PTS symptoms over time (β = -0.68). Peer relationship quality at baseline did not moderate baseline or over time associations between witnessing in-home violence and PTS symptoms. The average decline in PTS symptoms due to decreases in witnessing in-home violence and increases in peer relationship quality was 0.51 and 0.65 standard deviations respectively, over the three-year study period. Reducing chronic witnessing in-home violence and promoting the development of healthy social relationships with peers are critical for PTS symptom recovery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring the relationship between non suicidal self-injury and borderline personality traits in young adults.

PubMed

Vega, Daniel; Torrubia, Rafael; Soto, Àngel; Ribas, Joan; Soler, Joaquim; Pascual, Juan Carlos; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Marco-Pallarés, Josep

2017-10-01

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent during late adolescence and young adulthood. There is some evidence of a link between NSSI and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), but little is known about the association between BPD traits and the various functions that maintain NSSI. The main purpose of this study was to explore the association between borderline personality traits and NSSI functions in a sample of college students. We also compared NSSI functions in college students who engaged in NSSI to those in an age-matched sample of BPD patients. This study included a total of 238 college students and 36 BPD patients. Participants were asked to complete a number of clinical measures. In the non-clinical sample, BPD features were more pronounced in the presence of NSSI, and we observed a differential relationship between NSSI functions and psychopathological BPD-traits. The NSSI clinical variables most strongly associated with BPD were frequency, variety of methods and severity, but not age of onset. Our results provide new information on the relationship between BPD and NSSI in young adults, and could be used to improve the early detection of vulnerable BPD-individuals and in planning NSSI treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Maintenance of Genetic Variability under Strong Stabilizing Selection: A Two-Locus Model

PubMed Central

Gavrilets, S.; Hastings, A.

1993-01-01

We study a two locus model with additive contributions to the phenotype to explore the relationship between stabilizing selection and recombination. We show that if the double heterozygote has the optimum phenotype and the contributions of the loci to the trait are different, then any symmetric stabilizing selection fitness function can maintain genetic variability provided selection is sufficiently strong relative to linkage. We present results of a detailed analysis of the quadratic fitness function which show that selection need not be extremely strong relative to recombination for the polymorphic equilibria to be stable. At these polymorphic equilibria the mean value of the trait, in general, is not equal to the optimum phenotype, there exists a large level of negative linkage disequilibrium which ``hides'' additive genetic variance, and different equilibria can be stable simultaneously. We analyze dependence of different characteristics of these equilibria on the location of optimum phenotype, on the difference in allelic effect, and on the strength of selection relative to recombination. Our overall result that stabilizing selection does not necessarily eliminate genetic variability is compatible with some experimental results where the lines subject to strong stabilizing selection did not have significant reductions in genetic variability. PMID:8514145

Estimation of Phytoplankton Accessory Pigments From Hyperspectral Reflectance Spectra: Toward a Global Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chase, A. P.; Boss, E.; Cetinić, I.; Slade, W.

2017-12-01

Phytoplankton community composition in the ocean is complex and highly variable over a wide range of space and time scales. Able to cover these scales, remote-sensing reflectance spectra can be measured both by satellite and by in situ radiometers. The spectral shape of reflectance in the open ocean is influenced by the particles in the water, mainly phytoplankton and covarying nonalgal particles. We investigate the utility of in situ hyperspectral remote-sensing reflectance measurements to detect phytoplankton pigments by using an inversion algorithm that defines phytoplankton pigment absorption as a sum of Gaussian functions. The inverted amplitudes of the Gaussian functions representing pigment absorption are compared to coincident High Performance Liquid Chromatography measurements of pigment concentration. We determined strong predictive capability for chlorophylls a, b, c1+c2, and the photoprotective carotenoids. We also tested the estimation of pigment concentrations from reflectance-derived chlorophyll a using global relationships of covariation between chlorophyll a and the accessory pigments. We found similar errors in pigment estimation based on the relationships of covariation versus the inversion algorithm. An investigation of spectral residuals in reflectance data after removal of chlorophyll-based average absorption spectra showed no strong relationship between spectral residuals and pigments. Ultimately, we are able to estimate concentrations of three chlorophylls and the photoprotective carotenoid pigments, noting that further work is necessary to address the challenge of extracting information from hyperspectral reflectance beyond the information that can be determined from chlorophyll a and its covariation with other pigments.

Circadian-dependent effect of melatonin on dopaminergic D2 antagonist-induced hypokinesia and agonist-induced stereotypies in rats.

PubMed

Sumaya, I C; Byers, D M; Irwin, L N; Del Val, S; Moss, D E

2004-08-01

Although a melatonin/dopamine relationship has been well established in nonmotor systems wherein dopamine and melatonin share an antagonist relationship, less clear is the role melatonin may play in extrapyramidal dopaminergic function. Therefore, the purpose of the present experiments was to examine the relationship between melatonin and the dopaminergic D2 receptor system and behavior. Hypokinesia was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats with fluphenazine (D2 antagonist, 0.4 mg/kg ip) and stereotypies with apomorphine (D2 agonist, 0.6 mg/kg sc) during the light (1200 h) and dark (2200 h) phases. As expected, fluphenazine induced severe hypokinesia during the light phase (482 +/- 176 s); however, unexpectedly, fluphenazine-induced hypokinesia during the dark was almost nonexistent (25 +/- 6 s). Furthermore, melatonin treatment (30 mg/kg ip) produced a strong interaction with fluphenazine in that it reduced fluphenazine-induced hypokinesia by nearly 80% in the light (112 +/- 45 s) but paradoxically increased the minimal fluphenazine-induced hypokinesia in the dark by more than 60% (70 +/- 17 s). Melatonin also reduced apomorphine-induced stereotypies by nearly 40% in the light but had no effect in the dark. Taken together, these data show (1) a strong and unexpected nocturnal effect of fluphenazine on hypokinesia and (2) provide support for an antagonistic melatonin/dopaminergic interaction in the context of motor behavior and D2 receptor function which appears to be critically dependent on the light/dark status of the dopaminergic system. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Inc.

Rare ecomorphological convergence on a complex adaptive landscape: Body size and diet mediate evolution of jaw shape in squirrels (Sciuridae).

PubMed

Zelditch, Miriam Leah; Ye, Ji; Mitchell, Jonathan S; Swiderski, Donald L

2017-03-01

Convergence is widely regarded as compelling evidence for adaptation, often being portrayed as evidence that phenotypic outcomes are predictable from ecology, overriding contingencies of history. However, repeated outcomes may be very rare unless adaptive landscapes are simple, structured by strong ecological and functional constraints. One such constraint may be a limitation on body size because performance often scales with size, allowing species to adapt to challenging functions by modifying only size. When size is constrained, species might adapt by changing shape; convergent shapes may therefore be common when size is limiting and functions are challenging. We examine the roles of size and diet as determinants of jaw shape in Sciuridae. As expected, size and diet have significant interdependent effects on jaw shape and ecomorphological convergence is rare, typically involving demanding diets and limiting sizes. More surprising is morphological without ecological convergence, which is equally common between and within dietary classes. Those cases, like rare ecomorphological convergence, may be consequences of evolving on an adaptive landscape shaped by many-to-many relationships between ecology and function, many-to-one relationships between form and performance, and one-to-many relationships between functionally versatile morphologies and ecology. On complex adaptive landscapes, ecological selection can yield different outcomes. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Problematic Internet Usage and Immune Function.

PubMed

Reed, Phil; Vile, Rebecca; Osborne, Lisa A; Romano, Michela; Truzoli, Roberto

2015-01-01

Problematic internet use has been associated with a variety of psychological comorbidities, but it relationship with physical illness has not received the same degree of investigation. The current study surveyed 505 participants online, and asked about their levels of problematic internet usage (Internet Addiction Test), depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales), social isolation (UCLA Loneliness Questionnaire), sleep problems (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and their current health - General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the Immune Function Questionnaire. The results demonstrated that around 30% of the sample displayed mild or worse levels of internet addiction, as measured by the IAT. Although there were differences in the purposes for which males and females used the internet, there were no differences in terms of levels of problematic usage between genders. The internet problems were strongly related to all of the other psychological variables such as depression, anxiety, social-isolation, and sleep problems. Internet addiction was also associated with reduced self-reported immune function, but not with the measure of general health (GHQ-28). This relationship between problematic internet use and reduced immune function was found to be independent of the impact of the co-morbidities. It is suggested that the negative relationship between level of problematic internet use and immune function may be mediated by levels of stress produced by such internet use, and subsequent sympathetic nervous activity, which related to immune-supressants, such as cortisol.

Problematic Internet Usage and Immune Function

PubMed Central

Reed, Phil; Vile, Rebecca; Osborne, Lisa A.; Romano, Michela; Truzoli, Roberto

2015-01-01

Problematic internet use has been associated with a variety of psychological comorbidities, but it relationship with physical illness has not received the same degree of investigation. The current study surveyed 505 participants online, and asked about their levels of problematic internet usage (Internet Addiction Test), depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales), social isolation (UCLA Loneliness Questionnaire), sleep problems (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and their current health – General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the Immune Function Questionnaire. The results demonstrated that around 30% of the sample displayed mild or worse levels of internet addiction, as measured by the IAT. Although there were differences in the purposes for which males and females used the internet, there were no differences in terms of levels of problematic usage between genders. The internet problems were strongly related to all of the other psychological variables such as depression, anxiety, social-isolation, and sleep problems. Internet addiction was also associated with reduced self-reported immune function, but not with the measure of general health (GHQ-28). This relationship between problematic internet use and reduced immune function was found to be independent of the impact of the co-morbidities. It is suggested that the negative relationship between level of problematic internet use and immune function may be mediated by levels of stress produced by such internet use, and subsequent sympathetic nervous activity, which related to immune-supressants, such as cortisol. PMID:26244339

Cognitive insight in psychosis: the relationship between self-certainty and self-reflection dimensions and neuropsychological measures.

PubMed

Cooke, Michael A; Peters, Emmanuelle R; Fannon, Dominic; Aasen, Ingrid; Kuipers, Elizabeth; Kumari, Veena

2010-07-30

Cognitive insight in schizophrenia encompasses the evaluation and reinterpretation of distorted beliefs and appraisals. We investigated the neuropsychological basis of cognitive insight in psychosis. It was predicted that, like clinical insight, cognitive insight would be associated with a wide range of neuropsychological functions, but would be most strongly associated with measures of executive function. Sixty-five outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were assessed on tests of intelligence quotient (IQ), executive function, verbal fluency, attention and memory, and completed the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale, which includes two subscales, self-certainty and self-reflection. Higher self-certainty scores reflect greater certainty about being right and more resistant to correction (poor insight), while higher self-reflection scores indicate the expression of introspection and the willingness to acknowledge fallibility (good insight). The self-certainty dimension of poor cognitive insight was significantly associated with lower scores on the Behavioural Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome; this relationship was not mediated by IQ. There were no relationships between self-reflection and any neuropsychological measures. We conclude that greater self-certainty (poor cognitive insight) is modestly associated with poorer executive function in psychotic individuals; self-reflection has no association with executive function. The self-certainty and self-reflection dimensions of cognitive insight have differential correlates, and probably different mechanisms, in psychosis. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prefrontal N-acetylaspartate is strongly associated with memory performance in (abstinent) ecstasy users: preliminary report.

PubMed

Reneman, L; Majoie, C B; Schmand, B; van den Brink, W; den Heeten, G J

2001-10-01

3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or "Ecstasy") is known to damage brain serotonin neurons in animals and possibly humans. Because serotonergic damage may adversely affect memory, we compared verbal memory function between MDMA users and MDMA-naïve control subjects and evaluated the relationship between verbal memory function and neuronal dysfunction in the MDMA users. An auditory verbal memory task (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) was used to study eight abstinent MDMA users and seven control subjects. In addition 1H-MRS was used in different brain regions of all MDMA users to measure N-acetylaspartate/creatine (NAA/Cr) ratios, a marker for neuronal viability. The MDMA users recalled significantly fewer words than control subjects on delayed (p =.03) but not immediate recall (p =.08). In MDMA users, delayed memory function was strongly associated with NAA/Cr only in the prefrontal cortex (R(2) =.76, p =.01). Greater decrements in memory function predicted lower NAA/Cr levels-and by inference greater neuronal dysfunction-in the prefrontal cortex of MDMA users.

Clustering and visualizing similarity networks of membrane proteins.

PubMed

Hu, Geng-Ming; Mai, Te-Lun; Chen, Chi-Ming

2015-08-01

We proposed a fast and unsupervised clustering method, minimum span clustering (MSC), for analyzing the sequence-structure-function relationship of biological networks, and demonstrated its validity in clustering the sequence/structure similarity networks (SSN) of 682 membrane protein (MP) chains. The MSC clustering of MPs based on their sequence information was found to be consistent with their tertiary structures and functions. For the largest seven clusters predicted by MSC, the consistency in chain function within the same cluster is found to be 100%. From analyzing the edge distribution of SSN for MPs, we found a characteristic threshold distance for the boundary between clusters, over which SSN of MPs could be properly clustered by an unsupervised sparsification of the network distance matrix. The clustering results of MPs from both MSC and the unsupervised sparsification methods are consistent with each other, and have high intracluster similarity and low intercluster similarity in sequence, structure, and function. Our study showed a strong sequence-structure-function relationship of MPs. We discussed evidence of convergent evolution of MPs and suggested applications in finding structural similarities and predicting biological functions of MP chains based on their sequence information. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Volumetric Nephrogram Represents Renal Function and Complements Aortic Anatomic Severity Grade in Predicting EVAR Outcomes.

PubMed

Balceniuk, Mark D; Trakimas, Lauren; Aghaie, Claudia; Mix, Doran; Rasheed, Khurram; Seaman, Matthew; Ellis, Jennifer; Glocker, Roan; Doyle, Adam; Stoner, Michael C

2018-07-01

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a predictor of poor outcomes for patients undergoing endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). Anatomic severity grade (ASG) represents a quantitative mechanism for assessing anatomical suitability for endovascular aortic repair. Anatomic severity grade has been correlated with repair outcomes and resource utilization. The purpose of this study was to identify a novel renal perfusion metric as a way to assist ASG with predicting EVAR outcomes. Retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database identified elective infrarenal aortic aneurysm repair cases. Anatomic grading was undertaken by independent reviewers. Using volumetric software, kidney volume, and a novel measure of kidney functional volume, the volumetric nephrogram (VN) was recorded. Systematic evaluation of the relationship of kidney volume and VN to CKD and ASG was undertaken using linear regression and receiver-operator statistical tools. A total of 386 cases with patient and anatomic data were identified and graded. Mean age was 72.9 ± 0.4 years. Renal volume <281 mL correlated with CKD (area under the curve [AUC] = .708; P ≤ .0001). Volumetric nephrogram <22.5 HU·L correlated with CKD (AUC = 0.764; P ≤ .0001). High (≥15) ASG scores correlated with both renal volume (AUC = .628; P ≤ .0001) and VN (AUC = .628; P ≤ .0001). Regression analysis demonstrated a strong, inverse relationship between ASG and VN ( R 2 = .95). These data demonstrate that VN is a strong predictor of CKD in a large database of patients undergoing elective aneurysm repair. We demonstrate an inverse relationship between renal function and ASG that has not been previously described in the literature. Additionally, we have shown that VN complements ASG as a model of overall cardiovascular health and atherosclerotic burden. Outcomes in patients with poor renal function may be related to anatomical issues in addition to well-described systemic ramifications.

Vegetation-induced turbulence influencing evapotranspiration-soil moisture coupling: Implications for semiarid regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haghighi, E.; Kirchner, J. W.; Entekhabi, D.

2016-12-01

The relationship between soil moisture and evapotranspiration (ET) fluxes is an important component of land-atmosphere interactions controlling hydrology-climate feedback processes. Important as this relationship is, it remains empirical and physical mechanisms governing its dynamics are insufficiently studied. This is particularly of importance for semiarid regions (currently comprising about half of the Earth's land surface) where the shallow surface soil layer is the primary source of ET and direct evaporation from bare soil is likely a large component of the total flux. Hence, ET-soil moisture coupling in these regions is hypothesized to be strongly influenced by soil evaporation and associated mechanisms. Motivated by recent progress in mechanistic modeling of localized heat and mass exchange rates from bare soil surfaces covered by cylindrical bluff-body elements, we developed a physically based ET model explicitly incorporating coupled impacts of soil moisture and vegetation-induced turbulence in the near-surface region. Model predictions of ET and its partitioning were in good agreement with measured data and suggest that the strength and nature of ET-soil moisture interactions in sparsely vegetated areas are strongly influenced by aerodynamic (rather than radiative) forcing namely wind speed and near-surface turbulence generation as a function of vegetation type and cover fraction. The results demonstrated that the relationship between ET and soil moisture varies from a nonlinear function (the dual regime behavior) to a single moisture-limited regime (linear relationship) by increasing wind velocity and enhancing turbulence generation in the near-surface region (small-scale woody vegetation species of low cover fraction). Potential benefits of this study for improving accuracy and predictive capabilities of remote sensing techniques when applied to semiarid environments will also be discussed.

Strategies/Behaviors That Successful Superintendents Use to Build Strong Relationships and Trust during Their Entry Period

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, C. K.

2012-01-01

The purpose of the study was to identify strategies/behaviors that successful superintendents used to build strong relationships and trust with their school boards within their entry period. The following research questions guided the study: (1) What strategies/behaviors are successful superintendents using to build strong relationships and trust…

Anti-correlated cortical networks of intrinsic connectivity in the rat brain.

PubMed

Schwarz, Adam J; Gass, Natalia; Sartorius, Alexander; Risterucci, Celine; Spedding, Michael; Schenker, Esther; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Weber-Fahr, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

In humans, resting-state blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals in the default mode network (DMN) are temporally anti-correlated with those from a lateral cortical network involving the frontal eye fields, secondary somatosensory and posterior insular cortices. Here, we demonstrate the existence of an analogous lateral cortical network in the rat brain, extending laterally from anterior secondary sensorimotor regions to the insular cortex and exhibiting low-frequency BOLD fluctuations that are temporally anti-correlated with a midline "DMN-like" network comprising posterior/anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices. The primary nexus for this anti-correlation relationship was the anterior secondary motor cortex, close to regions that have been identified with frontal eye fields in the rat brain. The anti-correlation relationship was corroborated after global signal removal, underscoring this finding as a robust property of the functional connectivity signature in the rat brain. These anti-correlated networks demonstrate strong anatomical homology to networks identified in human and monkey connectivity studies, extend the known preserved functional connectivity relationships between rodent and primates, and support the use of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging as a translational imaging method between rat models and humans.

Anti-Correlated Cortical Networks of Intrinsic Connectivity in the Rat Brain

PubMed Central

Gass, Natalia; Sartorius, Alexander; Risterucci, Celine; Spedding, Michael; Schenker, Esther; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Weber-Fahr, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Abstract In humans, resting-state blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals in the default mode network (DMN) are temporally anti-correlated with those from a lateral cortical network involving the frontal eye fields, secondary somatosensory and posterior insular cortices. Here, we demonstrate the existence of an analogous lateral cortical network in the rat brain, extending laterally from anterior secondary sensorimotor regions to the insular cortex and exhibiting low-frequency BOLD fluctuations that are temporally anti-correlated with a midline “DMN-like” network comprising posterior/anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices. The primary nexus for this anti-correlation relationship was the anterior secondary motor cortex, close to regions that have been identified with frontal eye fields in the rat brain. The anti-correlation relationship was corroborated after global signal removal, underscoring this finding as a robust property of the functional connectivity signature in the rat brain. These anti-correlated networks demonstrate strong anatomical homology to networks identified in human and monkey connectivity studies, extend the known preserved functional connectivity relationships between rodent and primates, and support the use of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging as a translational imaging method between rat models and humans. PMID:23919836

Population density of North American elk: effects on plant diversity.

PubMed

Stewart, Kelley M; Bowyer, R Terry; Kie, John G; Dick, Brian L; Ruess, Roger W

2009-08-01

Large, herbivorous mammals have profound effects on ecosystem structure and function and often act as keystone species in ecosystems they inhabit. Density-dependent processes associated with population structure of large mammals may interact with ecosystem functioning to increase or decrease biodiversity, depending on the relationship of herbivore populations relative to the carrying capacity (K) of the ecosystem. We tested for indirect effects of population density of large herbivores on plant species richness and diversity in a montane ecosystem, where increased net aboveground primary productivity (NAPP) in response to low levels of herbivory has been reported. We documented a positive, linear relationship between plant-species diversity and richness with NAPP. Structural equation modeling revealed significant indirect relationships between population density of herbivores, NAPP, and species diversity. We observed an indirect effect of density-dependent processes in large, herbivorous mammals and species diversity of plants through changes in NAPP in this montane ecosystem. Changes in species diversity of plants in response to herbivory may be more indirect in ecosystems with long histories of herbivory. Those subtle or indirect effects of herbivory may have strong effects on ecosystem functioning, but may be overlooked in plant communities that are relatively resilient to herbivory.

Ecosystem-scale fluxes in seminatural Pyrenean grasslands: role of annual dynamics of plant functional types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altimir, Nuria; Ibañez, Mercedes; Elbers, Jan; Rota, Cristina; Arias, Claudia; Carrara, Arnaud; Nogues, Salvador; Sebastia, Maria-Teresa

2013-04-01

The net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and the annual C balance of a site are in general modulated by light, temperature and availability of water and other resources to the plants. In grasslands, NEE is expected to depend strongly on the vegetation with a relationship that can be summarized by the above-ground biomass, its amount and dynamics. Any factor controlling the amount of green biomass is expected to have a strong impact on the short-term NEE, such as amount of solar radiation, water availability and grazing pressure. These controls are modulated differently depending on the plant functional type enduring them. Furthermore, as different guilds follow different functional strategies for optimization of the resources, they also present different patterns of change in their capacities such as photosynthetic fixation, belowground C allocation, and C loss via respiration. We examined these relationships at several semi-natural pastures to determine how the seasonal distribution of plant functional types is detected in the short-term ecosystem exchange and what role it plays. We have looked into these patterns to determine the general variation of key processes and whether different temporal patterns arise between different guilds. The study sites are in the Pyrenees, on the mountain pastures of La Bertolina, Alinyà, and Castellar at 1300, 1700, 1900 m a.s.l. respectively. We performed ecosystem-scale flux measurements by means of micrometeorologial stations combined with a thorough description of the vegetation including below- and above-ground biomass and leaf area as well as monitoring of natural abundance of C isotopes, discriminated by plant functional types. We present here the results of the study.

Using ventricular modeling to robustly probe significant deep gray matter pathologies: Application to cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Pagnozzi, Alex M; Shen, Kaikai; Doecke, James D; Boyd, Roslyn N; Bradley, Andrew P; Rose, Stephen; Dowson, Nicholas

2016-11-01

Understanding the relationships between the structure and function of the brain largely relies on the qualitative assessment of Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) by expert clinicians. Automated analysis systems can support these assessments by providing quantitative measures of brain injury. However, the assessment of deep gray matter structures, which are critical to motor and executive function, remains difficult as a result of large anatomical injuries commonly observed in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Hence, this article proposes a robust surrogate marker of the extent of deep gray matter injury based on impingement due to local ventricular enlargement on surrounding anatomy. Local enlargement was computed using a statistical shape model of the lateral ventricles constructed from 44 healthy subjects. Measures of injury on 95 age-matched CP patients were used to train a regression model to predict six clinical measures of function. The robustness of identifying ventricular enlargement was demonstrated by an area under the curve of 0.91 when tested against a dichotomised expert clinical assessment. The measures also showed strong and significant relationships for multiple clinical scores, including: motor function (r 2  = 0.62, P < 0.005), executive function (r 2  = 0.55, P < 0.005), and communication (r 2  = 0.50, P < 0.005), especially compared to using volumes obtained from standard anatomical segmentation approaches. The lack of reliance on accurate anatomical segmentations and its resulting robustness to large anatomical variations is a key feature of the proposed automated approach. This coupled with its strong correlation with clinically meaningful scores, signifies the potential utility to repeatedly assess MRIs for clinicians diagnosing children with CP. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3795-3809, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The relationship between intelligence and cognitive function in schizophrenic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catherine; Amin, M. M.; Effendy, E.

2018-03-01

The most common of psychotic disorders is schizophrenia. While evaluating the cognitive function with a standardized test, the intelligence test is by using the IQ test. For schizophrenic patients, intelligence is usually reported to be lower than average. This research is an analytical study that commenced in January and ended in March 2014. Primary criteria are schizophrenics who are in-patients in Prof. dr. M. Ildrem Mental Hospital, aged between 15 to 55 years old, with the highest qualification of secondary high school. The secondary criteria are those patients with other psychotic disorders, head injuries and other neurological disorders, endocrine disorders. The total sample is 100 subjects. From this study, the correlation value is 0.876 shows a very strong correlation. And the p-value 0.001.The results of this study show that there is a direct correlation (p=0.001) and a correlation (r=0.876) between intelligence and cognitive function on schizophrenic. And it is also necessary to do more researches by using other rating scales and examination to measure the relationship between intelligence and cognitive function, and other factors that may affect results.

Sharpening Our Focus on "Family Life Education": Evidence-Based Curricula for Strengthening Close Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randall, G. Kevin

2012-01-01

In the past 40 years, individuals' close relationships, marriages, and families have undergone dramatic changes. The development and maintenance of strong interpersonal relationships, particularly close romantic relationships, are known to associate strongly and positively with physiological and psychological measures of well-being across the…

irGPU.proton.Net: Irregular strong charge interaction networks of protonatable groups in protein molecules--a GPU solver using the fast multipole method and statistical thermodynamics.

PubMed

Kantardjiev, Alexander A

2015-04-05

A cluster of strongly interacting ionization groups in protein molecules with irregular ionization behavior is suggestive for specific structure-function relationship. However, their computational treatment is unconventional (e.g., lack of convergence in naive self-consistent iterative algorithm). The stringent evaluation requires evaluation of Boltzmann averaged statistical mechanics sums and electrostatic energy estimation for each microstate. irGPU: Irregular strong interactions in proteins--a GPU solver is novel solution to a versatile problem in protein biophysics--atypical protonation behavior of coupled groups. The computational severity of the problem is alleviated by parallelization (via GPU kernels) which is applied for the electrostatic interaction evaluation (including explicit electrostatics via the fast multipole method) as well as statistical mechanics sums (partition function) estimation. Special attention is given to the ease of the service and encapsulation of theoretical details without sacrificing rigor of computational procedures. irGPU is not just a solution-in-principle but a promising practical application with potential to entice community into deeper understanding of principles governing biomolecule mechanisms. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Strong underwater adhesives made by self-assembling multi-protein nanofibres.

PubMed

Zhong, Chao; Gurry, Thomas; Cheng, Allen A; Downey, Jordan; Deng, Zhengtao; Stultz, Collin M; Lu, Timothy K

2014-10-01

Many natural underwater adhesives harness hierarchically assembled amyloid nanostructures to achieve strong and robust interfacial adhesion under dynamic and turbulent environments. Despite recent advances, our understanding of the molecular design, self-assembly and structure-function relationships of these natural amyloid fibres remains limited. Thus, designing biomimetic amyloid-based adhesives remains challenging. Here, we report strong and multi-functional underwater adhesives obtained from fusing mussel foot proteins (Mfps) of Mytilus galloprovincialis with CsgA proteins, the major subunit of Escherichia coli amyloid curli fibres. These hybrid molecular materials hierarchically self-assemble into higher-order structures, in which, according to molecular dynamics simulations, disordered adhesive Mfp domains are exposed on the exterior of amyloid cores formed by CsgA. Our fibres have an underwater adhesion energy approaching 20.9 mJ m(-2), which is 1.5 times greater than the maximum of bio-inspired and bio-derived protein-based underwater adhesives reported thus far. Moreover, they outperform Mfps or curli fibres taken on their own and exhibit better tolerance to auto-oxidation than Mfps at pH ≥ 7.0.

Sexual dysfunction and relationship stress: how does this association vary for men and women?

PubMed

McCabe, Marita P; Connaughton, Catherine

2017-02-01

This paper examines the association between relationship stress and sexual dysfunction. The results demonstrated a strong association between female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and relationship stress, and between male sexual dysfunction (MSD) and relationship stress among their female partners. No studies examined the association between FSD and relationship stress of male partners. Treatment for MSD was associated with improved relationship stress for female partners, but no studies were located that examined this association for treatment of FSD. These findings suggest that FSD and relationship stress are strongly related, but the association does not seem to be so strong for men. The review highlights the need for further research in this field to inform therapy for both sexual dysfunction and relationship problems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Source Model of Huge Subduction Earthquakes for Strong Ground Motion Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwata, T.; Asano, K.

2012-12-01

It is a quite important issue for strong ground motion prediction to construct the source model of huge subduction earthquakes. Irikura and Miyake (2001, 2011) proposed the characterized source model for strong ground motion prediction, which consists of plural strong ground motion generation area (SMGA, Miyake et al., 2003) patches on the source fault. We obtained the SMGA source models for many events using the empirical Green's function method and found the SMGA size has an empirical scaling relationship with seismic moment. Therefore, the SMGA size can be assumed from that empirical relation under giving the seismic moment for anticipated earthquakes. Concerning to the setting of the SMGAs position, the information of the fault segment is useful for inland crustal earthquakes. For the 1995 Kobe earthquake, three SMGA patches are obtained and each Nojima, Suma, and Suwayama segment respectively has one SMGA from the SMGA modeling (e.g. Kamae and Irikura, 1998). For the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, Asano and Iwata (2012) estimated the SMGA source model and obtained four SMGA patches on the source fault. Total SMGA area follows the extension of the empirical scaling relationship between the seismic moment and the SMGA area for subduction plate-boundary earthquakes, and it shows the applicability of the empirical scaling relationship for the SMGA. The positions of two SMGAs are in Miyagi-Oki segment and those other two SMGAs are in Fukushima-Oki and Ibaraki-Oki segments, respectively. Asano and Iwata (2012) also pointed out that all SMGAs are corresponding to the historical source areas of 1930's. Those SMGAs do not overlap the huge slip area in the shallower part of the source fault which estimated by teleseismic data, long-period strong motion data, and/or geodetic data during the 2011 mainshock. This fact shows the huge slip area does not contribute to strong ground motion generation (10-0.1s). The information of the fault segment in the subduction zone, or historical earthquake source area is also applicable for the construction of SMGA settings for strong ground motion prediction for future earthquakes.

Sexual communication, sexual satisfaction, and relationship quality in people with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Valvano, Abbey K; Rollock, Michael J D; Hudson, William H; Goodworth, Marie-Christine Rutter; Lopez, Eliot; Stepleman, Lara

2018-05-01

This study sought to explore relationships between sexual satisfaction, sexual communication and relationship satisfaction in people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, sexual satisfaction was evaluated as a moderator between sexual communication and relationship satisfaction. Individuals diagnosed with MS and being treated in a hospital-based MS clinic in the southeastern United States (n = 58) completed measures of sexual satisfaction, sexual communication, sexual dysfunction, relationship quality, depression, level of disability, and frequency of sex-related communication and behaviors in a cross-sectional survey design. Sexual satisfaction moderated the relationship between quality of sexual communication and relationship quality, controlling for depression and frequency of sexual behavior and sexual communication. Directionality was examined in a 2nd regression analysis, in which the predictor and outcome variables were switched, which was also significant. Additionally, depression most strongly predicted relationship dissatisfaction. Findings help to establish sexual satisfaction as a moderator between sexual communication and relationship satisfaction, although directionality cannot be supported. Results also highlight the role of depression in overall relationship functioning and support the biopsychosocial model of care for treatment of sexual dysfunction in people living with MS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Approaching a universal scaling relationship between fracture stiffness and fluid flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pyrak-Nolte, Laura J.; Nolte, David D.

2016-02-01

A goal of subsurface geophysical monitoring is the detection and characterization of fracture alterations that affect the hydraulic integrity of a site. Achievement of this goal requires a link between the mechanical and hydraulic properties of a fracture. Here we present a scaling relationship between fluid flow and fracture-specific stiffness that approaches universality. Fracture-specific stiffness is a mechanical property dependent on fracture geometry that can be monitored remotely using seismic techniques. A Monte Carlo numerical approach demonstrates that a scaling relationship exists between flow and stiffness for fractures with strongly correlated aperture distributions, and continues to hold for fractures deformed by applied stress and by chemical erosion as well. This new scaling relationship provides a foundation for simulating changes in fracture behaviour as a function of stress or depth in the Earth and will aid risk assessment of the hydraulic integrity of subsurface sites.

The Political Self: How Identity Aligns Preferences With Epistemic Needs.

PubMed

Federico, Christopher M; Ekstrom, Pierce D

2018-06-01

Numerous studies have indicated that the need for closure predicts political preferences. We examined a potential moderator of this relationship: political-identity centrality, or the extent to which individuals' political preferences are central to their self-concept. We tested three hypotheses. First, we predicted that need for closure would be more strongly related to political identity (symbolic ideology and party identification; Hypothesis 1) and issue positions (operational ideology; Hypothesis 2) among individuals who see their political preferences as more self-central. Then we predicted that the stronger relationship between need for closure and issue positions among individuals high in centrality would be accounted for by stronger relationships between need for closure and political identity and between political identity and issue positions (Hypothesis 3). Data from a nationally representative survey provide evidence for these hypotheses, suggesting that the relationship between epistemic needs and political preferences differs as a function of how self-relevant politics is.

Examining the sex difference in lateralisation for processing facial emotion: does biological sex or psychological gender identity matter?

PubMed

Bourne, Victoria J; Maxwell, Adele M

2010-04-01

The research examining sex differences in functional lateralisation has shown varying results. While some provide evidence for males being more strongly lateralised than females, a number have shown either no relationship or the opposite pattern of findings. In this study we consider whether psychological gender identity might clarify some of the conflicting results in this area of research. Eight five participants (39 males) aged from 18 to 49 years old were tested. We found that psychological masculinity was associated with stronger patterns of lateralisation for the processing of a range of emotional expressions. We also found an interaction between biological sex and psychological gender identity, with a positive relationship between psychological masculinity and lateralisation found for males, but a negative relationship found for females. The possible role of hormonal exposure in this relationship is discussed. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scaling and functional morphology in strigiform hind limbs

PubMed Central

Madan, Meena A.; Rayfield, Emily J.; Bright, Jen A.

2017-01-01

Strigiformes are an order of raptorial birds consisting exclusively of owls: the Tytonidae (barn owls) and the Strigidae (true owls), united by a suite of adaptations aiding a keen predatory lifestyle, including robust hind limb elements modified for grip strength. To assess variation in hind limb morphology, we analysed how the dimensions of the major hind limb elements in subfossil and modern species scaled with body mass. Comparing hind limb element length, midshaft width, and robusticity index (RI: ratio of midshaft width to maximum length) to body mass revealed that femoral and tibiotarsal width scale with isometry, whilst length scales with negative allometry, and close to elastic similarity in the tibiotarsus. In contrast, tarsometatarsus width shows strong positive allometry with body mass, whilst length shows strong negative allometry. Furthermore, the tarsometatarsi RI scales allometrically to mass0.028, whilst a weak relationship exists in femora (mass0.004) and tibiotarsi (mass0.004). Our results suggest that tarsometatarsi play a more substantial functional role than tibiotarsi and femora. Given the scaling relationship between tarsometatarsal width and robusticity to body mass, it may be possible to infer the body mass of prehistoric owls by analysing tarsometatarsi, an element that is frequently preserved in the fossil record of owls. PMID:28327549

Superintendents' Entry Periods: Strategies and Behaviors That Successful Superintendents Use to Build Strong Relationships and Trust with Their School Boards during Their Entry Period

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howland, Sean J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of the study was to identify strategies/behaviors that successful superintendents used to build strong relationships and trust with their school boards during their entry periods. Three research questions guided the study: (1) What strategies/behaviors are successful superintendents using to build strong relationships and trust with…

Investigation of the Relationship Between Sensory Processing and Motor Development in Preterm Infants.

PubMed

Celik, Halil Ibrahim; Elbasan, Bulent; Gucuyener, Kivilcim; Kayihan, Hulya; Huri, Meral

The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation between sensory processing and motor development in preterm infants. We included 30 preterm and 30 term infants with corrected and chronological ages between 10 and 12 mo. We used the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants to evaluate sensory processing and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale to evaluate motor development. The Spearman correlation test indicated a strong positive relationship between sensory processing and motor development in preterm infants (r = .63, p < .001). Given the relationship between sensory processing and motor development in the preterm group, the evaluation of sensory processing and motor development in preterm infants was considered necessary for the effective implementation of physiotherapy assessment and interventions. Copyright © 2018 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Neural reactivations during sleep determine network credit assignment

PubMed Central

Gulati, Tanuj; Guo, Ling; Ramanathan, Dhakshin S.; Bodepudi, Anitha; Ganguly, Karunesh

2018-01-01

A fundamental goal of motor learning is to establish neural patterns that produce a desired behavioral outcome. It remains unclear how and when the nervous system solves this “credit–assignment” problem. Using neuroprosthetic learning where we could control the causal relationship between neurons and behavior, here we show that sleep–dependent processing is required for credit-assignment and the establishment of task-related functional connectivity reflecting the casual neuron-behavior relationship. Importantly, we found a strong link between the microstructure of sleep reactivations and credit assignment, with downscaling of non–causal activity. Strikingly, decoupling of spiking to slow–oscillations using optogenetic methods eliminated rescaling. Thus, our results suggest that coordinated firing during sleep plays an essential role in establishing sparse activation patterns that reflect the causal neuron–behavior relationship. PMID:28692062

Wrongness in different relationships: Relational context effects on moral judgment.

PubMed

Simpson, Ain; Laham, Simon M; Fiske, Alan Page

2016-01-01

Morality primarily serves social-relational functions. However, little research in moral psychology investigates how relational factors impact moral judgment, and a theoretically grounded approach to such investigations is lacking. We used Relational Models Theory and Moral Foundations Theory to explore how varying actor-victim relationships impacts judgment of different types of moral violations. Across three studies, using a diverse range of moral violations and varying the experimental design, relational context substantially influenced third-party judgment of moral violations, and typically independent of several factors strongly associated with moral judgment. Results lend novel but mixed support to Relationship Regulation Theory and provide some novel implications for Moral Foundations Theory. These studies highlight the importance of relational factors in moral psychology and provide guidelines for exploring how relational factors might shape moral judgment.

Phylogeny determines flower size-dependent sex allocation at flowering in a hermaphroditic family.

PubMed

Teixido, A L; Guzmán, B; Staggemeier, V G; Valladares, F

2017-11-01

In animal-pollinated hermaphroditic plants, optimal floral allocation determines relative investment into sexes, which is ultimately dependent on flower size. Larger flowers disproportionally increase maleness whereas smaller and less rewarding flowers favour female function. Although floral traits are considered strongly conserved, phylogenetic relationships in the interspecific patterns of resource allocation to floral sex remain overlooked. We investigated these patterns in Cistaceae, a hermaphroditic family. We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among Cistaceae species and quantified phylogenetic signal for flower size, dry mass and nutrient allocation to floral structures in 23 Mediterranean species using Blomberg's K-statistic. Lastly, phylogenetically-controlled correlational and regression analyses were applied to examine flower size-based allometry in resource allocation to floral structures. Sepals received the highest dry mass allocation, followed by petals, whereas sexual structures increased nutrient allocation. Flower size and resource allocation to floral structures, except for carpels, showed a strong phylogenetic signal. Larger-flowered species allometrically allocated more resources to maleness, by increasing allocation to corollas and stamens. Our results suggest a major role of phylogeny in determining interspecific changes in flower size and subsequent floral sex allocation. This implies that flower size balances the male-female function over the evolutionary history of Cistaceae. While allometric resource investment in maleness is inherited across species diversification, allocation to the female function seems a labile trait that varies among closely related species that have diversified into different ecological niches. © 2017 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Correlates of adverse childhood events among adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Rosenberg, Stanley D; Lu, Weili; Mueser, Kim T; Jankowski, Mary Kay; Cournos, Francine

2007-02-01

Multiple studies have found that childhood adversity is related to a range of poor mental health, substance abuse, poor physical health, and poor social functioning outcomes in the general population of adults. However, despite the high rates of childhood adversity in schizophrenia, the clinical correlates of these events have not been systematically evaluated. This study evaluated the relationship between adverse experiences in childhood and functional, clinical, and health outcomes among adults with schizophrenia. The authors surveyed 569 adults with schizophrenia regarding adverse childhood events (including physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental mental illnesses, loss of a parent, parental separation or divorce, witnessing domestic violence, and foster or kinship care). The relationships between cumulative exposure to these events and psychiatric, physical, and functional outcomes were evaluated. Increased exposure to adverse childhood events was strongly related to psychiatric problems (suicidal thinking, hospitalizations, distress, and posttraumatic stress disorder), substance abuse, physical health problems (HIV infection), medical service utilization (physician visits), and poor social functioning (homelessness or criminal justice involvement). The findings extend the results of research in the general population by suggesting that childhood adversity contributes to worse mental health, substance abuse, worse physical health, and poor functional outcomes in schizophrenia.

Hierarchy of Dysfunction Related to Dressing Performance in Stroke Patients: A Path Analysis Study.

PubMed

Fujita, Takaaki; Nagayama, Hirofumi; Sato, Atsushi; Yamamoto, Yuichi; Yamane, Kazuhiro; Otsuki, Koji; Tsuchiya, Kenji; Tozato, Fusae

2016-01-01

Previous reports indicated that various dysfunctions caused by stroke affect the level of independence in dressing. These dysfunctions can be hierarchical, and these effects on dressing performance can be complicated in stroke patients. However, there are no published reports focusing on the hierarchical structure of the relationships between the activities of daily living and balance function, motor and sensory functions of the affected lower limb, strength of the abdominal muscles and knee extension on the unaffected side, and visuospatial deficits. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the hierarchical and causal relationships between dressing performance and these dysfunctions in stroke patients. This retrospective study included 104 first-time stroke patients. The causal relationship between the dressing performance and age, time post stroke, balance function, motor and sensory functions of the affected lower limb, strength of the abdominal muscles and knee extension on the unaffected side, and visuospatial deficits were examined using path analysis. A hypothetical path model was created based on previous studies, and the goodness of fit between the data and model were verified. A modified path model was created that achieved an almost perfect fit to the data. Balance function and abdominal muscle strength have direct effects on dressing performance, with standardized direct effect estimates of 0.78 and 0.15, respectively. Age, motor and sensory functions of the affected lower limb, and strength of abdominal muscle and knee extension on the unaffected side have indirect effects on dressing by influencing balance function. Our results suggest that dressing performance depends strongly on balance function, and it is mainly influenced by the motor function of the affected lower limb.

Grain size analysis and depositional environment of shallow marine to basin floor, Kelantan River Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afifah, M. R. Nurul; Aziz, A. Che; Roslan, M. Kamal

2015-09-01

Sediment samples were collected from the shallow marine from Kuala Besar, Kelantan outwards to the basin floor of South China Sea which consisted of quaternary bottom sediments. Sixty five samples were analysed for their grain size distribution and statistical relationships. Basic statistical analysis like mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis were calculated and used to differentiate the depositional environment of the sediments and to derive the uniformity of depositional environment either from the beach or river environment. The sediments of all areas were varied in their sorting ranging from very well sorted to poorly sorted, strongly negative skewed to strongly positive skewed, and extremely leptokurtic to very platykurtic in nature. Bivariate plots between the grain-size parameters were then interpreted and the Coarsest-Median (CM) pattern showed the trend suggesting relationships between sediments influenced by three ongoing hydrodynamic factors namely turbidity current, littoral drift and waves dynamic, which functioned to control the sediments distribution pattern in various ways.

Development of mother-infant interaction in tickling play: The relationship between infants' ticklishness and social behaviors.

PubMed

Ishijima, Konomi; Negayama, Koichi

2017-11-01

This study examined the development of mother-infant tickling interaction and the relationship between infants' ticklishness and social behaviors including infants' looking at mothers' face, mothers' narrative tickling, and mothers' laughter. Twenty-two Japanese infants aged 5 months (n=10, five girls) and 7 months (n=12, four girls) and their mothers were videotaped. Results revealed that the mothers' narrative tickling was more frequent at 7 than at 5 months and the infants' strong ticklishness showed the same tendency. The infants' strong ticklishness was linked with the occurrence of other social behaviors. In conclusion, infants' ticklishness was heavily connected with social behaviors. The mode of the tickling interaction at 7 months was different from that at 5 months especially in the increase of mother's narrative tickling. A possible function of such mother's narrative tickling to facilitate infant active communication at a higher cognitive level including anticipation, was discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pain intensity influences the relationship between anger management style and depression.

PubMed

Estlander, Ann-Mari; Knaster, Peter; Karlsson, Hasse; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kalso, Eija

2008-11-30

There is an abundance of studies concerning depression and pain, while the mechanisms and the relationships of anger expression and pain are less well known. The validity of commonly used depression questionnaires as measures of depression in pain patients has been questioned, as they include items which can be related to the pain problem as well as to signs of depression. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between pain severity, various signs of depression, and anger management style. Subjects were 100 consecutive patients referred to the Helsinki University Pain Clinic. Demographic data and pain intensity (VAS) were collected by a questionnaire. Two subscales (negative view and physical function) from the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Anger Expression Scales (Anger-in and Anger-out) from the Spielberg State Trait Anger Expression Inventory 2 were used to assess depression and anger expression, respectively. The results showed that pain severity modulates the relationship between anger expression and physical signs of depression. In patients with more severe pain, the relationships between anger management style, specifically, inhibition of anger and depression were strong, while no such relationships were found in the group of patients with less severe pain. No correlations were found between pain intensity and depression as measured by the sum score of the BDI. However, analysing separately the two subscales of the BDI, negative view and physical function, significant positive relationships between pain intensity and both subscales appeared.

The paced auditory serial addition test for working memory assessment: Psychometric properties

PubMed Central

Nikravesh, Maryam; Jafari, Zahra; Mehrpour, Masoud; Kazemi, Roozbeh; Amiri Shavaki, Younes; Hossienifar, Shamim; Azizi, Mohamad Parsa

2017-01-01

Background: The paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT) was primarily developed to assess the effects of traumatic brain injury on cognitive functioning. Working memory (WM) is one of the most important aspects of cognitive function, and WM impairment is one of the clinically remarkable signs of aphasia. To develop the Persian version of PASAT, an initial version was used in individuals with aphasia (IWA). Methods: In this study, 25 individuals with aphasia (29-60 years) and 85 controls (18-60 years) were included. PASAT was presented in the form of recorded 61 single-digit numbers (1 to 9). The participants repeatedly added the 2 recent digits. The psychometric properties of PASAT including convergent validity (using the digit memory span tasks), divergent validity (using results in the control group and IWA group), and face validity were investigated. Test-retest reliability was considered as well. Results: The relationship between the PASAT and digit memory span tests was moderate to strong in the control group (forward digit memory span test: r= 0.52, p< 0.0001; backward digit memory span test: r = 0.48, p< 0.0001). A strong relationship was found in IWA (forward digit memory span test: r= 0.72, p< 0.0001; backward digit memory span test: r= 0.53, p= 0.006). Also, strong testretest reliability (intraclass correlation= 0.95, p< 0.0001) was observed. Conclusion: According to our results, the PASAT is a valid and reliable test to assess working memory, particularly in IWA. It could be used as a feasible tool for clinical and research applications. PMID:29445690

The Dynamic Relationship Between Physical Function and Cognition in Longitudinal Aging Cohorts

PubMed Central

Clouston, Sean A. P.; Brewster, Paul; Kuh, Diana; Richards, Marcus; Cooper, Rachel; Hardy, Rebecca; Rubin, Marcie S.; Hofer, Scott M.

2013-01-01

On average, older people remember less and walk more slowly than do younger persons. Some researchers argue that this is due in part to a common biologic process underlying age-related declines in both physical and cognitive functioning. Only recently have longitudinal data become available for analyzing this claim. We conducted a systematic review of English-language research published between 2000 and 2011 to evaluate the relations between rates of change in physical and cognitive functioning in older cohorts. Physical functioning was assessed using objective measures: walking speed, grip strength, chair rise time, flamingo stand time, and summary measures of physical functioning. Cognition was measured using mental state examinations, fluid cognition, and diagnosis of impairment. Results depended on measurement type: Change in grip strength was more strongly correlated with mental state, while change in walking speed was more strongly correlated with change in fluid cognition. Examining physical and cognitive functioning can help clinicians and researchers to better identify individuals and groups that are aging differently and at different rates. In future research, investigators should consider the importance of identifying different patterns and rates of decline, examine relations between more diverse types of measures, and analyze the order in which age-related declines occur. PMID:23349427

The neural correlates of reciprocity are sensitive to prior experience of reciprocity.

PubMed

Cáceda, Ricardo; Prendes-Alvarez, Stefania; Hsu, Jung-Jiin; Tripathi, Shanti P; Kilts, Clint D; James, G Andrew

2017-08-14

Reciprocity is central to human relationships and is strongly influenced by multiple factors including the nature of social exchanges and their attendant emotional reactions. Despite recent advances in the field, the neural processes involved in this modulation of reciprocal behavior by ongoing social interaction are poorly understood. We hypothesized that activity within a discrete set of neural networks including a putative moral cognitive neural network is associated with reciprocity behavior. Nineteen healthy adults underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning while playing the trustee role in the Trust Game. Personality traits and moral development were assessed. Independent component analysis was used to identify task-related functional brain networks and assess their relationship to behavior. The saliency network (insula and anterior cingulate) was positively correlated with reciprocity behavior. A consistent array of brain regions supports the engagement of emotional, self-referential and planning processes during social reciprocity behavior. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Structure property relationships in gallium oxide thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition [Structure property relationships in Ga 2O 3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

DOE PAGES

Garten, Lauren M.; Zakutayev, Andriy; Perkins, John D.; ...

2016-11-21

Beta-gallium oxide (β-Ga 2O 3) is of increasing interest to the optoelectronic community for transparent conductor and power electronic applications. Considerable variability exists in the literature on the growth and doping of Ga 2O 3 films, especially as a function of growth approach, temperature, and oxygen partial pressure. Here pulsed laser deposition (PLD) was used to grow high-quality β-Ga 2O 3 films on (0001) sapphire and (–201) Ga 2O 3 single crystals and to explore the growth, stability, and dopability of these films as function of temperature and oxygen partial pressure. As a result, there is a strong temperature dependencemore » to the phase formation, morphology, and electronic properties of β-Ga 2O 3 from 350 to 550 °C.« less

Children in Foster Care and the Development of Favorable Outcomes

PubMed Central

Fisher, Philip A.

2011-01-01

Young foster children have invariably faced a variety of risks that are strongly linked to long-term deficits in functioning across multiple developmental domains. Despite these risks, however, some children demonstrate more favorable outcomes and exhibit adaptation and the development of assets. In the present study, the relationship of early childhood factors (e.g., maltreatment history, placement history, parenting practices, environmental stress, developmental status, and attachment behavior) to the development of favorable outcomes in middle childhood were examined in a sample of foster children who had been in foster care in preschool (N = 35). Favorable outcomes were defined as demonstrations of emotion regulation and school adjustment in during middle childhood. Developmental status (particularly attention and executive functioning) and a lack of environmental stress during early childhood foster care experiences had a significant positive relationship with the development of emotion regulation and school adjustment in middle childhood. PMID:21987598

Spatio-temporal dynamics of ocean conditions and forage taxa reveal regional structuring of seabird–prey relationships.

PubMed

Santora, Jarrod A; Schroeder, Isaac D; Field, John C; Wells, Brian K; Sydeman, William J

Studies of predator–prey demographic responses and the physical drivers of such relationships are rare, yet essential for predicting future changes in the structure and dynamics of marine ecosystems. Here, we hypothesize that predator–prey relationships vary spatially in association with underlying physical ocean conditions, leading to observable changes in demographic rates, such as reproduction. To test this hypothesis, we quantified spatio-temporal variability in hydrographic conditions, krill, and forage fish to model predator (seabird) demographic responses over 18 years (1990–2007). We used principal component analysis and spatial correlation maps to assess coherence among ocean conditions, krill, and forage fish, and generalized additive models to quantify interannual variability in seabird breeding success relative to prey abundance. The first principal component of four hydrographic measurements yielded an index that partitioned “warm/weak upwelling” and “cool/strong upwelling” years. Partitioning of krill and forage fish time series among shelf and oceanic regions yielded spatially explicit indicators of prey availability. Krill abundance within the oceanic region was remarkably consistent between years, whereas krill over the shelf showed marked interannual fluctuations in relation to ocean conditions. Anchovy abundance varied on the shelf, and was greater in years of strong stratification, weak upwelling and warmer temperatures. Spatio-temporal variability of juvenile forage fish co-varied strongly with each other and with krill, but was weakly correlated with hydrographic conditions. Demographic responses between seabirds and prey availability revealed spatially variable associations indicative of the dynamic nature of “predator–habitat” relationships. Quantification of spatially explicit demographic responses, and their variability through time, demonstrate the possibility of delineating specific critical areas where the implementation of protective measures could maintain functions and productivity of central place foraging predators.

Are trait-growth models transferable? Predicting multi-species growth trajectories between ecosystems using plant functional traits

PubMed Central

Vesk, Peter A.

2017-01-01

Plant functional traits are increasingly used to generalize across species, however few examples exist of predictions from trait-based models being evaluated in new species or new places. Can we use functional traits to predict growth of unknown species in different areas? We used three independently collected datasets, each containing data on heights of individuals from non-resprouting species over a chronosquence of time-since-fire sites from three ecosystems in south-eastern Australia. We examined the influence of specific leaf area, woody density, seed size and leaf nitrogen content on three aspects of plant growth; maximum relative growth rate, age at maximum growth and asymptotic height. We tested our capacity to perform out-of-sample prediction of growth trajectories between ecosystems using species functional traits. We found strong trait-growth relationships in one of the datasets; whereby species with low SLA achieved the greatest asymptotic heights, species with high leaf-nitrogen content achieved relatively fast growth rates, and species with low seed mass reached their time of maximum growth early. However these same growth-trait relationships did not hold across the two other datasets, making accurate prediction from one dataset to another unachievable. We believe there is evidence to suggest that growth trajectories themselves may be fundamentally different between ecosystems and that trait-height-growth relationships may change over environmental gradients. PMID:28486535

Universal features of dendrites through centripetal branch ordering

PubMed Central

Effenberger, Felix; Muellerleile, Julia

2017-01-01

Dendrites form predominantly binary trees that are exquisitely embedded in the networks of the brain. While neuronal computation is known to depend on the morphology of dendrites, their underlying topological blueprint remains unknown. Here, we used a centripetal branch ordering scheme originally developed to describe river networks—the Horton-Strahler order (SO)–to examine hierarchical relationships of branching statistics in reconstructed and model dendritic trees. We report on a number of universal topological relationships with SO that are true for all binary trees and distinguish those from SO-sorted metric measures that appear to be cell type-specific. The latter are therefore potential new candidates for categorising dendritic tree structures. Interestingly, we find a faithful correlation of branch diameters with centripetal branch orders, indicating a possible functional importance of SO for dendritic morphology and growth. Also, simulated local voltage responses to synaptic inputs are strongly correlated with SO. In summary, our study identifies important SO-dependent measures in dendritic morphology that are relevant for neural function while at the same time it describes other relationships that are universal for all dendrites. PMID:28671947

Personality, Coping, and Well-Being for People Living with Chronic Hepatitis C.

PubMed

Cellar, Douglas F; Voster, Devon; Fetters, Rachel; Twitchell, Emily; Harper, Gary W; Scott, Cotler

2016-04-01

The present study examined the relationships between personality, coping strategies, and health ratings to extend past research to people living with chronic hepatitis C (HCV). Participants were 35 people (11 men, 24 women; M age = 49.6 yr., SD = 10.6) living with chronic hepatitis C for an average of 9.0 yr. (SD = 6.0) since diagnosis. Participants provided descriptions of stressful situations and responded to a personality inventory, Ways of Coping Questionnaire scales (planful problem solving and escape-avoidance) and SF36 Health Survey scales measuring physical functioning and mental health. The stressful situations were judgmentally clustered into seven dimensions (diagnosis/mortality, disclosure, stigma, social and work role functioning, compounding problems, and no stress). Correlational analyses indicated strong negative relationships between escape-avoidance coping and health measures. Emotional Stability and Extraversion were positively related to both health variables, and Extraversion was negatively related to escape-avoidance coping. The results suggest that research from other contexts that has examined these relationships tended to generalize to people living with HCV. © The Author(s) 2016.

Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.

PubMed

Gibb, Heloise; Johansson, Therese; Stenbacka, Fredrik; Hjältén, Joakim

2013-01-01

Species diversity commonly increases with succession and this relationship is an important justification for conserving large areas of old-growth habitats. However, species with different ecological roles respond differently to succession. We examined the relationship between a range of diversity measures and time since disturbance for boreal forest beetles collected over a 285 year forest chronosequence. We compared responses of "functional" groups related to threat status, dependence on dead wood habitats, diet and the type of trap in which they were collected (indicative of the breadth of ecologies of species). We examined fits of commonly used rank-abundance models for each age class and traditional and derived diversity indices. Rank abundance distributions were closest to the Zipf-Mandelbrot distribution, suggesting little role for competition in structuring most assemblages. Diversity measures for most functional groups increased with succession, but differences in slopes were common. Evenness declined with succession; more so for red-listed species than common species. Saproxylic species increased in diversity with succession while non-saproxylic species did not. Slopes for fungivores were steeper than other diet groups, while detritivores were not strongly affected by succession. Species trapped using emergence traps (log specialists) responded more weakly to succession than those trapped using flight intercept traps (representing a broader set of ecologies). Species associated with microhabitats that accumulate with succession (fungi and dead wood) thus showed the strongest diversity responses to succession. These clear differences between functional group responses to forest succession should be considered in planning landscapes for optimum conservation value, particularly functional resilience.

Relationship of moderate and low isometric lumbar extension through architectural and muscular activity variables: a cross sectional study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background No study relating the changes obtained in the architecture of erector spinae (ES) muscle were registered with ultrasound and different intensities of muscle contraction recorded by surface EMG (electromyography) on the ES muscle was found. The aim of this study was analyse the relationship in the response of the ES muscle during isometric moderate and light lumbar isometric extension considering architecture and functional muscle variables. Methods Cross-sectional study. 46 subjects (52% men) with a group mean age of 30.4 (±7.78). The participants developed isometric lumbar extension while performing moderate and low isometric trunk and hip extension in a sitting position with hips flexed 90 degrees and the lumbar spine in neutral position. During these measurements, electromyography recordings and ultrasound images were taken bilaterally. Bilaterally pennation angle, muscle thickness, torque and muscle activation were measured. This study was developed at the human movement analysis laboratory of the Health Science Faculty of the University of Malaga (Spain). Results Strong and moderate correlations were found at moderate and low intensities contraction between the variable of the same intensity, with correlation values ranging from 0.726 (Torque Moderate – EMG Left Moderate) to 0.923 (Angle Left Light – Angle Right Light) (p < 0.001). This correlation is observed between the variables that describe the same intensity of contraction, showing a poor correlation between variables of different intensities. Conclusion There is a strong relationship between architecture and function variables of ES muscle when describe an isometric lumbar extension at light or moderate intensity. PMID:24252273

Visceral adiposity predicts subclinical white matter hyperintensities in middle-aged adults.

PubMed

Pasha, Evan P; Birdsill, Alex; Parker, Paige; Elmenshawy, Ahmed; Tanaka, Hirofumi; Haley, Andreana P

Growing prevalence of neuropathology and cognitive impairment are emerging consequences of the obesity epidemic. Adiposity indices used in examining the relationships between obesity, neuropathology, and cognition vary substantially in the literature leading to incongruent findings. Our aim was to determine the anthropometric measures most strongly associated with early white matter disease and cognitive function at midlife. Multiple adiposity indices were measured in 126 adults aged 40-62 who also completed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to quantify white matter disease and a cognitive test battery. Anthropometric indices of obesity were compared to image-based estimates of visceral adipose tissue with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) as predictors of current white matter disease and cognitive function. We also explored sex as a potential moderator of these relationships. Waist circumference (WC) was most strongly correlated with DEXA estimates of visceral adipose tissue (r=0.871, p<0.001). Increasing WC (β=0.231, p=0.034), percent body fat (β=0.230, p=0.045), and VAT (β=0.247, p=0.027) significantly predicted subclinical white matter hyperintensities in the absence of cognitive impairment after accounting for age, sex, years of education, and cardiovascular risk factors. Sex was not a significant moderator of any of the observed relationships. Of the anthropometric indices used in this study, WC, BF, and VAT successfully predicted subclinical white matter disease in cognitively normal adults at midlife. Increasing VAT may independently insidiously affect cerebral white matter prior to detectable cognitive changes, necessitating early intervention. Copyright © 2016 Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hierarchical Partitioning of Metazoan Protein Conservation Profiles Provides New Functional Insights

PubMed Central

Witztum, Jonathan; Persi, Erez; Horn, David; Pasmanik-Chor, Metsada; Chor, Benny

2014-01-01

The availability of many complete, annotated proteomes enables the systematic study of the relationships between protein conservation and functionality. We explore this question based solely on the presence or absence of protein homologues (a.k.a. conservation profiles). We study 18 metazoans, from two distinct points of view: the human's and the fly's. Using the GOrilla gene ontology (GO) analysis tool, we explore functional enrichment of the “universal proteins”, those with homologues in all 17 other species, and of the “non-universal proteins”. A large number of GO terms are strongly enriched in both human and fly universal proteins. Most of these functions are known to be essential. A smaller number of GO terms, exhibiting markedly different properties, are enriched in both human and fly non-universal proteins. We further explore the non-universal proteins, whose conservation profiles are consistent with the “tree of life” (TOL consistent), as well as the TOL inconsistent proteins. Finally, we applied Quantum Clustering to the conservation profiles of the TOL consistent proteins. Each cluster is strongly associated with one or a small number of specific monophyletic clades in the tree of life. The proteins in many of these clusters exhibit strong functional enrichment associated with the “life style” of the related clades. Most previous approaches for studying function and conservation are “bottom up”, studying protein families one by one, and separately assessing the conservation of each. By way of contrast, our approach is “top down”. We globally partition the set of all proteins hierarchically, as described above, and then identify protein families enriched within different subdivisions. While supporting previous findings, our approach also provides a tool for discovering novel relations between protein conservation profiles, functionality, and evolutionary history as represented by the tree of life. PMID:24594619

Depression and resilience mediates the effect of family function on quality of life of the elderly.

PubMed

Lu, Canjie; Yuan, Lexin; Lin, Weiquan; Zhou, Ying; Pan, Shengmao

2017-07-01

Family function, which improves individual resilience and strongly link to quality of life (QOL) among the elderly, increases the risk of depression. Because of these demonstrated relationships, it can be hypothesized that both depression and resilience are mediators of the association between family function and QOL. To test this hypothesis, the structural equation model (SEM) constructed by Amos 21.0 was employed to assess the indirect effect of depression (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS) and resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC) on the relationship between family function (Family APGAR Score, APGAR) and QOL (12-item Short Form health survey, SF-12) in 474 elderly adults from three communities in Guangzhou, China. Correlation matrix showed that depression is significantly negatively correlated with family functioning (r=-0.54, P<0.01), resilience (r=-0.46, P<0.01) and QOL (r=-0.63, P<0.01), while resilience is significantly positively correlated with family functioning (r=0.35, P<0.01) and QOL (r=0.40, P<0.01). SEM indicated that Family functioning appeared to have significant indirect effects through resilience (β=0.089) and depression (β=0.307; combined β=0.056) on QOL (R 2 =0.55). The model fit indices showed a good fit of the model of the data (χ 2 /df=1.362, P>0.05, SRMR=0.023, RMSEA=0.028, GFI=0.985, NFI=0.987, TLI=0.993, CFI=0.996). The finding supports the assumption that depression and resilience are consistent intermediary factors of the relationship between family function and QOL among the elderly. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

REVERSAL LEARNING SET AND FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENCE IN CHILDREN WITH AND WITHOUT AUTISM

PubMed Central

Lionello-DeNolf, Karen M.; McIlvane, William J.; Canovas, Daniela S.; de Souza, Deisy G.; Barros, Romariz S.

2009-01-01

To evaluate whether children with and without autism could exhibit (a) functional equivalence in the course of yoked repeated-reversal training and (b) reversal learning set, 6 children, in each of two experiments, were exposed to simple discrimination contingencies with three sets of stimuli. The discriminative functions of the set members were yoked and repeatedly reversed. In Experiment 1, all the children (of preschool age) showed gains in the efficiency of reversal learning across reversal problems and behavior that suggested formation of functional equivalence. In Experiment 2, 3 nonverbal children with autism exhibited strong evidence of reversal learning set and 2 showed evidence of functional equivalence. The data suggest a possible relationship between efficiency of reversal learning and functional equivalence test outcomes. Procedural variables may prove important in assessing the potential of young or nonverbal children to classify stimuli on the basis of shared discriminative functions. PMID:20186287

Guild-specific responses of avian species richness to LiDAR-derived habitat heterogeneity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Weisberg, Peter J.; Dilts, Thomas E.; Becker, Miles E.; Young, Jock S.; Wong-Kone, Diane C.; Newton, Wesley E.; Ammon, Elisabeth M.

2014-01-01

Ecological niche theory implies that more heterogeneous habitats have the potential to support greater biodiversity. Positive heterogeneity-diversity relationships have been found for most studies investigating animal taxa, although negative relationships also occur and the scale dependence of heterogeneity-diversity relationships is little known. We investigated multi-scale, heterogeneity-diversity relationships for bird communities in a semi-arid riparian landscape, using airborne LiDAR data to derive key measures of structural habitat complexity. Habitat heterogeneity-diversity relationships were generally positive, although the overall strength of relationships varied across avian life history guilds (R2 range: 0.03–0.41). Best predicted were the species richness indices of cavity nesters, habitat generalists, woodland specialists, and foliage foragers. Heterogeneity-diversity relationships were also strongly scale-dependent, with strongest associations at the 200-m scale (4 ha) and weakest associations at the 50-m scale (0.25 ha). Our results underscore the value of LiDAR data for fine-grained quantification of habitat structure, as well as the need for biodiversity studies to incorporate variation among life-history guilds and to simultaneously consider multiple guild functional types (e.g. nesting, foraging, habitat). Results suggest that certain life-history guilds (foliage foragers, cavity nesters, woodland specialists) are more susceptible than others (ground foragers, ground nesters, low nesters) to experiencing declines in local species richness if functional elements of habitat heterogeneity are lost. Positive heterogeneity-diversity relationships imply that riparian conservation efforts need to not only provide high-quality riparian habitat locally, but also to provide habitat heterogeneity across multiple scales.

Guild-specific responses of avian species richness to LiDAR-derived habitat heterogeneity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weisberg, Peter J.; Dilts, Thomas E.; Becker, Miles E.; Young, Jock S.; Wong-Kone, Diane C.; Newton, Wesley E.; Ammon, Elisabeth M.

2014-08-01

Ecological niche theory implies that more heterogeneous habitats have the potential to support greater biodiversity. Positive heterogeneity-diversity relationships have been found for most studies investigating animal taxa, although negative relationships also occur and the scale dependence of heterogeneity-diversity relationships is little known. We investigated multi-scale, heterogeneity-diversity relationships for bird communities in a semi-arid riparian landscape, using airborne LiDAR data to derive key measures of structural habitat complexity. Habitat heterogeneity-diversity relationships were generally positive, although the overall strength of relationships varied across avian life history guilds (R2 range: 0.03-0.41). Best predicted were the species richness indices of cavity nesters, habitat generalists, woodland specialists, and foliage foragers. Heterogeneity-diversity relationships were also strongly scale-dependent, with strongest associations at the 200-m scale (4 ha) and weakest associations at the 50-m scale (0.25 ha). Our results underscore the value of LiDAR data for fine-grained quantification of habitat structure, as well as the need for biodiversity studies to incorporate variation among life-history guilds and to simultaneously consider multiple guild functional types (e.g. nesting, foraging, habitat). Results suggest that certain life-history guilds (foliage foragers, cavity nesters, woodland specialists) are more susceptible than others (ground foragers, ground nesters, low nesters) to experiencing declines in local species richness if functional elements of habitat heterogeneity are lost. Positive heterogeneity-diversity relationships imply that riparian conservation efforts need to not only provide high-quality riparian habitat locally, but also to provide habitat heterogeneity across multiple scales.

PedsQL relates to function and behavior in very low and normal birth weight 2- and 3-year-olds from a regional cohort.

PubMed

Palta, Mari; Sadek-Badawi, Mona

2008-06-01

To compare PedsQL scores in young children who were very low (< or =1,500 g) or normal birth weight (>2,500 g) and to examine the relationship of the PedsQL score to behavioral and functional scores. The PedsQL, Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist and the PEDI functional scales were telephone administered to parents of a regional cohort of 672 very low birth weight and 455 normal birth weight children, 2- and 3-years old. PedsQL scales were regressed on behavior, function and health conditions. Mean (SD) overall PedsQL score was 91 (8.4) for normal birth weight and 87 (12) for very low birth weight children, and changed little when standardized to the race/ethnicity and maternal education of corresponding Wisconsin births. Mobility function and the CBCL explained 58% of the variance in PedsQL, but the relationship was curvilinear. The PedsQL is sensitive to health problems of very low birth weight in young children. The PedsQL is quite strongly related to mobility and behavior problems, but scales these differently than do standard instruments. Parents either do not think of subtle issues with child function and behavior without specific prompting or do not perceive them as problems affecting quality of life.

Combining protein sequence, structure, and dynamics: A novel approach for functional evolution analysis of PAS domain superfamily.

PubMed

Dong, Zheng; Zhou, Hongyu; Tao, Peng

2018-02-01

PAS domains are widespread in archaea, bacteria, and eukaryota, and play important roles in various functions. In this study, we aim to explore functional evolutionary relationship among proteins in the PAS domain superfamily in view of the sequence-structure-dynamics-function relationship. We collected protein sequences and crystal structure data from RCSB Protein Data Bank of the PAS domain superfamily belonging to three biological functions (nucleotide binding, photoreceptor activity, and transferase activity). Protein sequences were aligned and then used to select sequence-conserved residues and build phylogenetic tree. Three-dimensional structure alignment was also applied to obtain structure-conserved residues. The protein dynamics were analyzed using elastic network model (ENM) and validated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The result showed that the proteins with same function could be grouped by sequence similarity, and proteins in different functional groups displayed statistically significant difference in their vibrational patterns. Interestingly, in all three functional groups, conserved amino acid residues identified by sequence and structure conservation analysis generally have a lower fluctuation than other residues. In addition, the fluctuation of conserved residues in each biological function group was strongly correlated with the corresponding biological function. This research suggested a direct connection in which the protein sequences were related to various functions through structural dynamics. This is a new attempt to delineate functional evolution of proteins using the integrated information of sequence, structure, and dynamics. © 2017 The Protein Society.

Cross-sectional study of the association of cognitive function and hippocampal volume among healthy elderly adults

PubMed Central

Jiang, Lijuan; CHENG, Yan; LI, Qingwei; TANG, Yingying; SHEN, Yuan; LI, Ting; FENG, Wei; CAO, Xinyi; WU, Wenyuan; WANG, Jijun; LI, Chunbo

2014-01-01

Background Cognitive impairment and dementia among elderly adults is a pressing public health issue in China but research on biomarkers of cognitive decline has been limited. Aim Explore the relationship between multiple domains of cognitive functioning and the volume of the left and right hippocampus in healthy elderly adults. Methods Structural MRI scanning was performed on 65 community-dwelling healthy participants 65 to 75 years of age using the Siemens 3.0 T Trio Tim with the MPRAGE sequence. The volumes of the left and right hippocampus were determined using Freesurfer software. Cognitive functioning was evaluated using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Both unadjusted and adjusted associations between the hippocampal volumes and cognitive functioning were estimated. Results Within this relatively narrow age range, age was significantly associated with most of the cognitive measures assessed in women but was not significantly associated with any of the cognitive measures in men. In both men and women right hippocampal volume was positively associated with delayed memory and left hippocampal volume was positively associated with both immediate memory and delayed memory (though the relationship with delayed memory in women was only at a trend level). After adjustment for age, gender, and years of formal education (the variable that was most strongly associated with all of the cognitive measures), both left hippocampal volume and right hippocampal volume were positively associated with delayed memory, but not with immediate memory. Interestingly, the difference in the volumes of the left and right hippocampi was negatively associated with the score of the RBANS attention subscale, a relationship that was stronger in women than in men. Conclusions This study confirms previous work about the relationship of hippocampal volume and memory, identifies a possible relationship between attention and the difference in size of the two hippocampi, and suggests that there may be some differences in these relationships by gender. PMID:25477721

Attentional performance is correlated with the local regional efficiency of intrinsic brain networks.

PubMed

Xu, Junhai; Yin, Xuntao; Ge, Haitao; Han, Yan; Pang, Zengchang; Tang, Yuchun; Liu, Baolin; Liu, Shuwei

2015-01-01

Attention is a crucial brain function for human beings. Using neuropsychological paradigms and task-based functional brain imaging, previous studies have indicated that widely distributed brain regions are engaged in three distinct attention subsystems: alerting, orienting and executive control (EC). Here, we explored the potential contribution of spontaneous brain activity to attention by examining whether resting-state activity could account for individual differences of the attentional performance in normal individuals. The resting-state functional images and behavioral data from attention network test (ANT) task were collected in 59 healthy subjects. Graph analysis was conducted to obtain the characteristics of functional brain networks and linear regression analyses were used to explore their relationships with behavioral performances of the three attentional components. We found that there was no significant relationship between the attentional performance and the global measures, while the attentional performance was associated with specific local regional efficiency. These regions related to the scores of alerting, orienting and EC largely overlapped with the regions activated in previous task-related functional imaging studies, and were consistent with the intrinsic dorsal and ventral attention networks (DAN/VAN). In addition, the strong associations between the attentional performance and specific regional efficiency suggested that there was a possible relationship between the DAN/VAN and task performances in the ANT. We concluded that the intrinsic activity of the human brain could reflect the processing efficiency of the attention system. Our findings revealed a robust evidence for the functional significance of the efficiently organized intrinsic brain network for highly productive cognitions and the hypothesized role of the DAN/VAN at rest.

Victims' psychosocial well-being after reporting sexual harassment in the military.

PubMed

Bell, Margret E; Street, Amy E; Stafford, Jane

2014-01-01

Given the importance of reporting to sexual harassment prevention and intervention efforts, it is not surprising that an extensive scientific literature has developed on predictors of victims' decisions about making a formal report to authorities about their experiences. In contrast, little empirical work has focused on how reporting affects victims, particularly their psychosocial well-being. This study used a national sample of 1,562 former military Reservists who had experienced sexual harassment during their service to examine the relationship between reporting; experiences reporting; and psychosocial well-being, as indicated by post-harassment functioning, worst symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the harassment, and current symptoms of depression. Making a formal report was not associated with well-being, but among those who did report, perceiving that the report had resulted in the harassment being addressed by authorities was associated with better post-harassment functioning and fewer symptoms of PTSD. Satisfaction with the reporting process showed the strongest association with well-being, demonstrating small but meaningful associations with depression and medium-to-large and medium associations with post-harassment functioning and PTSD, respectively. Although findings did not vary by gender, predictors accounted for more variance in well-being for men than women. In the whole sample, satisfaction with the reporting process mediated the relationship between victims' perceptions of system responsiveness to the report and post-harassment functioning and PTSD. Findings suggest that a victim's perceptions of and satisfaction with the reporting process may impact well-being more strongly than whether the victim made a report to authorities. Men may be even more strongly impacted by their experiences with the reporting process than women.

The Role of Executive Functions in the Control of Aggressive Behavior

PubMed Central

Krämer, Ulrike M.; Kopyciok, Robert P. J.; Richter, Sylvia; Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni; Münte, Thomas F.

2011-01-01

An extensive literature suggests a link between executive functions and aggressive behavior in humans, pointing mostly to an inverse relationship, i.e., increased tendencies toward aggression in individuals scoring low on executive function tests. This literature is limited, though, in terms of the groups studied and the measures of executive functions. In this paper, we present data from two studies addressing these issues. In a first behavioral study, we asked whether high trait aggressiveness is related to reduced executive functions. A sample of over 600 students performed in an extensive behavioral test battery including paradigms addressing executive functions such as the Eriksen Flanker task, Stroop task, n-back task, and Tower of London (TOL). High trait aggressive participants were found to have a significantly reduced latency score in the TOL, indicating more impulsive behavior compared to low trait aggressive participants. No other differences were detected. In an EEG-study, we assessed neural and behavioral correlates of error monitoring and response inhibition in participants who were characterized based on their laboratory-induced aggressive behavior in a competitive reaction time task. Participants who retaliated more in the aggression paradigm and had reduced frontal activity when being provoked did not, however, show any reduction in behavioral or neural correlates of executive control compared to the less aggressive participants. Our results question a strong relationship between aggression and executive functions at least for healthy, high-functioning people. PMID:21747775

Predicting sexual coercion in early adulthood: The transaction among maltreatment, gang affiliation, and adolescent socialization of coercive relationship norms.

PubMed

Ha, Thao; Kim, Hanjoe; Christopher, Caroline; Caruthers, Allison; Dishion, Thomas J

2016-08-01

This study tested a transactional hypothesis predicting early adult sexual coercion from family maltreatment, early adolescent gang affiliation, and socialization of adolescent friendships that support coercive relationship norms. The longitudinal study of a community sample of 998 11-year-olds was intensively assessed in early and middle adolescence and followed to 23-24 years of age. At age 16-17 youth were videotaped with a friend, and their interactions were coded for coercive relationship talk. Structural equation modeling revealed that maltreatment predicted gang affiliation during early adolescence. Both maltreatment and gang affiliation strongly predicted adolescent sexual promiscuity and coercive relationship norms with friends at age 16-17 years. Adolescent sexual promiscuity, however, did not predict sexual coercion in early adulthood. In contrast, higher levels of observed coercive relationship talk with a friend predicted sexual coercion in early adulthood for both males and females. These findings suggest that peers have a socialization function in the development of norms prognostic of sexual coercion, and the need to consider peers in the promotion of healthy relationships.

Lovesick: How Couples’ Relationships Influence Health

PubMed Central

Kiecolt-Glaser, Janice K.; Wilson, Stephanie J.

2017-01-01

This review highlights recent advances in research addressing intimate partner relationships and health. Consideration of the strong mutual influences that the members of a couple have on each other's mental and physical health trajectories provides a new way to view the health implications of couples’ convergence or interdependence; marital closeness can have a clear downside when one partner has mental or physical health problems. Couples’ interconnectedness can also be leveraged to promote better treatment outcomes. Major themes addressed include the pivotal role of depression, as well as the importance of gender differences in the pathways from the marital relationship to physiological functioning and health. The health risks and benefits of support are weighed. Additionally, two prominent emerging paths from marital distress to poor health are emphasized: sleep problems, and metabolic alterations that promote obesity and its comorbidities. PMID:28301763

The impact of customer-contractor interactions on spacecraft innovation: Insights from communication satellite history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szajnfarber, Zoe; Stringfellow, Margaret V.; Weigel, Annalisa L.

2010-11-01

This paper captures a first detailed attempt to quantitatively analyze the innovation history of the space sector. Building on a communication satellite innovation metric and a spacecraft innovation framework developed as part of an ongoing project, this paper presents a preliminary model of global communication satellite innovation. In addition to innovation being a function of the rate of performance normalized by price, innovation was found to be strongly influenced by characteristics of the customer-contractor contractual relationship. Specifically, Department of Defense contracts tend to result in a lower level of innovation on average as compared to other customers. Also, particular customer-contractor pairs perform differently and exhibit a second order relationship in time.

Strong but diverging clonality - climate relationships of different plant clades explain weak overall pattern across China.

PubMed

Ye, Duo; Liu, Guofang; Song, Yao-Bin; Cornwell, William K; Dong, Ming; Cornelissen, Johannes H C

2016-06-01

The clonal strategy should be relatively important in stressful environments (i.e. of low resource availability or harsh climate), e.g. in cold habitats. However, our understanding of the distribution pattern of clonality along environmental gradients is still far from universal. The weakness and inconsistency of overall clonality-climate relationships across taxa, as reported in previous studies, may be due to different phylogenetic lineages having fundamental differences in functional traits other than clonality determining their climate response. Thus, in this study we compared the clonality-climate relationships along a latitudinal gradient within and between different lineages at several taxonomic levels, including four major angiosperm lineages (Magnoliidae, Monocotyledoneae, Superrosidae and Superasteridae), orders and families. To this aim we used a species clonality dataset for 4015 vascular plant species in 545 terrestrial communities across China. Our results revealed clear predictive patterns of clonality proportion in relation to environmental gradients for the predominant representatives of each of the taxonomic levels above, but the relationships differed in shape and strength between the 4 major angiosperm lineages, between the 12 orders and between the 12 families. These different relationships canceled out one another when all lineages at a certain taxonomic level were pooled. Our findings highlight the importance of explicitly accounting for the functional or taxonomic scale for studying variation in plant ecological strategy across environmental gradients.

Modality-Spanning Deficits in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Functional Networks, Gray Matter, and White Matter

PubMed Central

Kessler, Daniel; Angstadt, Michael; Welsh, Robert C.

2014-01-01

Previous neuroimaging investigations in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have separately identified distributed structural and functional deficits, but interconnections between these deficits have not been explored. To unite these modalities in a common model, we used joint independent component analysis, a multivariate, multimodal method that identifies cohesive components that span modalities. Based on recent network models of ADHD, we hypothesized that altered relationships between large-scale networks, in particular, default mode network (DMN) and task-positive networks (TPNs), would co-occur with structural abnormalities in cognitive regulation regions. For 756 human participants in the ADHD-200 sample, we produced gray and white matter volume maps with voxel-based morphometry, as well as whole-brain functional connectomes. Joint independent component analysis was performed, and the resulting transmodal components were tested for differential expression in ADHD versus healthy controls. Four components showed greater expression in ADHD. Consistent with our a priori hypothesis, we observed reduced DMN-TPN segregation co-occurring with structural abnormalities in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, two important cognitive control regions. We also observed altered intranetwork connectivity in DMN, dorsal attention network, and visual network, with co-occurring distributed structural deficits. There was strong evidence of spatial correspondence across modalities: For all four components, the impact of the respective component on gray matter at a region strongly predicted the impact on functional connectivity at that region. Overall, our results demonstrate that ADHD involves multiple, cohesive modality spanning deficits, each one of which exhibits strong spatial overlap in the pattern of structural and functional alterations. PMID:25505309

Cortisol Covariation Within Parents of Young Children: Moderation by Relationship Aggression

PubMed Central

Saxbe, Darby E.; Adam, Emma K.; Dunkel Schetter, Christine; Guardino, Christine M.; Simon, Clarissa; McKinney, Chelsea O.; Shalowitz, Madeleine U.; Shriver, Eunice Kennedy

2015-01-01

Covariation in diurnal cortisol has been observed in several studies of cohabiting couples. In two such studies (Liu et al, 2013, Saxbe & Repetti, 2010), relationship distress was associated with stronger within-couple correlations, suggesting that couples’ physiological linkage with each other may indicate problematic dyadic functioning. Although intimate partner aggression has been associated with dysregulation in women’s diurnal cortisol, it has not yet been tested as a moderator of within-couple covariation. This study reports on a diverse sample of 122 parents who sampled salivary cortisol on matched days for two years following the birth of an infant. Partners showed strong positive cortisol covariation. In couples with higher levels of partner-perpetrated aggression reported by women at one year postpartum, both women and men had a flatter diurnal decrease in cortisol and stronger correlations with partners’ cortisol sampled at the same timepoints. In other words, relationship aggression was linked both with indices of suboptimal cortisol rhythms in both members of the couples and with stronger within-couple covariation coefficients. These results persisted when relationship satisfaction and demographic covariates were included in the model. During some of the sampling days, some women were pregnant with a subsequent child, but pregnancy did not significantly moderate cortisol levels or within-couple covariation. The findings suggest that couples experiencing relationship aggression have both suboptimal neuroendocrine profiles and stronger covariation. Cortisol covariation is an understudied phenomenon with potential implications for couples’ relationship functioning and physical health. PMID:26298691

Cortisol covariation within parents of young children: Moderation by relationship aggression.

PubMed

Saxbe, Darby E; Adam, Emma K; Schetter, Christine Dunkel; Guardino, Christine M; Simon, Clarissa; McKinney, Chelsea O; Shalowitz, Madeleine U

2015-12-01

Covariation in diurnal cortisol has been observed in several studies of cohabiting couples. In two such studies (Liu et al., 2013; Saxbe and Repetti, 2010), relationship distress was associated with stronger within-couple correlations, suggesting that couples' physiological linkage with each other may indicate problematic dyadic functioning. Although intimate partner aggression has been associated with dysregulation in women's diurnal cortisol, it has not yet been tested as a moderator of within-couple covariation. This study reports on a diverse sample of 122 parents who sampled salivary cortisol on matched days for two years following the birth of an infant. Partners showed strong positive cortisol covariation. In couples with higher levels of partner-perpetrated aggression reported by women at one year postpartum, both women and men had a flatter diurnal decrease in cortisol and stronger correlations with partners' cortisol sampled at the same timepoints. In other words, relationship aggression was linked both with indices of suboptimal cortisol rhythms in both members of the couples and with stronger within-couple covariation coefficients. These results persisted when relationship satisfaction and demographic covariates were included in the model. During some of the sampling days, some women were pregnant with a subsequent child, but pregnancy did not significantly moderate cortisol levels or within-couple covariation. The findings suggest that couples experiencing relationship aggression have both suboptimal neuroendocrine profiles and stronger covariation. Cortisol covariation is an understudied phenomenon with potential implications for couples' relationship functioning and physical health. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrogen and phosphorus availabilities interact to modulate leaf trait scaling relationships across six plant functional types in a controlled-environment study.

PubMed

Crous, Kristine Y; O'Sullivan, Odhran S; Zaragoza-Castells, Joana; Bloomfield, Keith J; Negrini, A Clarissa A; Meir, Patrick; Turnbull, Matthew H; Griffin, Kevin L; Atkin, Owen K

2017-08-01

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have key roles in leaf metabolism, resulting in a strong coupling of chemical composition traits to metabolic rates in field-based studies. However, in such studies, it is difficult to disentangle the effects of nutrient supply per se on trait-trait relationships. Our study assessed how high and low N (5 mM and 0.4 mM, respectively) and P (1 mM and 2 μM, respectively) supply in 37 species from six plant functional types (PTFs) affected photosynthesis (A) and respiration (R) (in darkness and light) in a controlled environment. Low P supply increased scaling exponents (slopes) of area-based log-log A-N or R-N relationships when N supply was not limiting, whereas there was no P effect under low N supply. By contrast, scaling exponents of A-P and R-P relationships were altered by P and N supply. Neither R : A nor light inhibition of leaf R was affected by nutrient supply. Light inhibition was 26% across nutrient treatments; herbaceous species exhibited a lower degree of light inhibition than woody species. Because N and P supply modulates leaf trait-trait relationships, the next generation of terrestrial biosphere models may need to consider how limitations in N and P availability affect trait-trait relationships when predicting carbon exchange. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Species richness and traits predict overyielding in stem growth in an early-successional tree diversity experiment.

PubMed

Grossman, Jake J; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Hobbie, Sarah E; Reich, Peter B; Montgomery, Rebecca A

2017-10-01

Over the last two decades, empirical work has established that higher biodiversity can lead to greater primary productivity; however, the importance of different aspects of biodiversity in contributing to such relationships is rarely elucidated. We assessed the relative importance of species richness, phylogenetic diversity, functional diversity, and identity of neighbors for stem growth 3 yr after seedling establishment in a tree diversity experiment in eastern Minnesota. Generally, we found that community-weighted means of key functional traits (including mycorrhizal association, leaf nitrogen and calcium, and waterlogging tolerance) as well as species richness were strong, independent predictors of stem biomass growth. More phylogenetically diverse communities did not consistently produce more biomass than expected, and the trait values or diversity of individual functional traits better predicted biomass production than did a multidimensional functional diversity metric. Furthermore, functional traits and species richness best predicted growth at the whole-plot level (12 m 2 ), whereas neighborhood composition best predicted growth at the focal tree level (0.25 m 2 ). The observed effects of biodiversity on growth appear strongly driven by positive complementary effects rather than by species-specific selection effects, suggesting that synergistic species' interactions rather than the influence of a few important species may drive overyielding. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Paranoia Symptoms Moderate the Impact of Emotional Context Processing on Community Functioning of Individuals with Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Park, Kiho; Choi, Kee-Hong

2018-04-26

This study examined whether better emotional context processing is associated with better community functioning among persons with schizophrenia, and whether the relationship between the two variables is moderated by level of paranoid symptoms. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-Expanded Version, Emotional Context Processing Scale, and Multnomah Community Ability Scale were administered to 39 community-dwelling participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Emotional context processing had a small-to-moderate association with community functioning. However, the association between emotional context processing and community functioning was moderated by level of paranoid symptoms. Emotional context processing in participants with mild paranoid symptoms was strongly associated with better community functioning, whereas emotional context processing in those with severe paranoid symptoms was not. Emotional context processing and the degree of paranoia should be considered in treatment plans designed to enhance the community functioning of individuals with schizophrenia to help them improve their understanding of social situations.

The Relationships between the Differences in the Central Blood Pressure and Brachial Blood Pressure and Other Factors in Patients with Essential Hypertension

PubMed Central

Ryuzaki, Masaki; Morimoto, Satoshi; Niiyama, Michita; Seki, Yasufumi; Yoshida, Naohiro; Oshima, Yoichi; Mizuguchi, Yuki; Watanabe, Daisuke; Ando, Takashi; Ichihara, Atsuhiro

2017-01-01

Objective The management of blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive patients is the key to preventing a progression of organ damage. The brachial BP (bBP) has been used as the representative method for measuring the BP. The central BP (cBP), which is, different from the bBP due to the propagation and the reflection of the pulse wave in the arterial system, has recently received attention because it can now be estimated non-invasively. We examined the relationships between the difference in the central systolic BP (csBP) and the brachial systolic BP (bsBP) (Δ) and other factors in hypertensive patients. Methods The bsBP and csBP were measured in patients with essential hypertension and the relationships between the bsBP, csBP, or Δ and background factors including age, the brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), flow-mediated vasodilation (an index of vascular endothelial function), the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI, an index of arteriosclerosis), and the carotid intima-media thickness (an index of atherosis) were investigated. Results The data of 191 patients were analyzed. Although there was no significant correlation between the CAVI and the bsBP; positive correlations were observed between the CAVI and the csBP (r=0.249, p=0.001). The Δ value showed significant positive correlations with age, and the BNP, eGFR, and CAVI values. Conclusion The csBP is more strongly associated with arteriosclerosis than the bsBP. Moreover, the Δ value is more strongly associated with cardiac function, renal function, and arteriosclerosis than the bsBP or csBP. These data suggested that the Δ value may have a greater prognostic value than the bsBP or csBP and may be worth calculating in the clinical setting. PMID:28321055

[Influence of perceived social support and functioning on the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia and their caregivers].

PubMed

Gutiérrez-Maldonado, José; Caqueo-Urízar, Alejandra; Ferrer-García, Marta; Fernández-Dávila, Paula

2012-05-01

Perception of social support and functioning of patients with schizophrenia and their primary caregivers and its relationship to quality of life are described. Forty-five patients and their 45 relatives, treated at the Mental Health Services in Arica, Chile, participated. Both patients and caregivers in the study have a poor perception of social support with regard to extra-family people, as well as a low social integration. However, patients showed adequate capacity to function within their immediate family. Unlike what was found in developed countries, these patients showed moderate levels of quality of life, with a strong relationship with perceptions of the social support they receive from family and significant others and the ability to establish and maintain social contacts. Quality of life of primary caregivers is linked to patients' ability to establish and maintain social contacts within the family group, as in other social instances, such as keeping a job. The results of the study suggest the need to consider the design and application of programs of support for these patients and their caregivers, with the central aim of the social functioning of the above-mentioned patients and their familiar and community integration.

Preliminary data from a randomized pilot study of web-based functional analytic psychotherapy therapist training.

PubMed

Kanter, Jonathan W; Tsai, Mavis; Holman, Gareth; Koerner, Kelly

2013-06-01

Therapists of many persuasions emphasize the therapy relationship in their work, a priority backed by strong empirical evidence. Training in how to maximize the power and potential of the therapy relationship, however, has lagged behind. A novel approach to using the therapy relationship and to training therapists in its use is provided by Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP). FAP training involves eight 2-hr weekly training sessions conducted online using web-conferencing technology. The training integrates behavioral principles with a focus on trainee-trainer and trainee-trainee relationships in a highly structured course that evokes the desirable FAP therapist-trainee behaviors and collectively shapes the behaviors through reinforcement by the trainer and other trainees. In a preliminary study, 16 therapist-trainees were randomly assigned to receive either immediate FAP training or training after a waitlist period. Significant and large effects of training were found on both self-reported and observer-assessed measures for the first training group, and the waitlist training group replicated the first training group with significant within-subject change over the course of training. Finally, qualitative feedback from therapists indicated high satisfaction with the primary elements of the training protocol. Several important limitations to this preliminary study are discussed.

The impacts of Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass) invasion on wetland plant richness in the Oregon Coast Range, USA, depend on beavers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Perkins, T.; Wilson, M.

2005-01-01

Invasive plants can threaten diversity and ecosystem function. We examined the relationship between the invasive Phalaris arundinacea (reed canarygrass) and species richness in beaver wetlands in Oregon, USA. Four basins (drainages) were chosen and three sites each of beaver impoundments, unimpounded areas and areas upstream of debris jams were randomly chosen in each basin for further study (n = 36). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that the relationship between Phalaris and species richness differed significantly (p = 0.01) by site type. Dam sites (beaver impoundments) exhibited a strong inverse relationship between Phalaris and species richness (bD = a??0.15), with one species lost for each 7% increase in Phalaris cover. In contrast, there was essentially no relationship between Phalaris cover and species richness in jam sites (debris jam impoundments formed by flooding; bJ = +0.01) and unimpounded sites (bU = a??0.03). The cycle of beaver impoundment and abandonment both disrupts the native community and provides an ideal environment for Phalaris, which once established tends to exclude development of herbaceous communities and limits species richness. Because beaver wetlands are a dominant wetland type in the Coast Range, Phalaris invasion presents a real threat to landscape heterogeneity and ecosystem function in the region.

The Microbiome in Mental Health: Potential Contribution of Gut Microbiota in Disease and Pharmacotherapy Management.

PubMed

Flowers, Stephanie A; Ellingrod, Vicki L

2015-10-01

The gut microbiome is composed of ~10(13) -10(14) microbial cells and viruses that exist in a symbiotic bidirectional communicative relationship with the host. Bacterial functions in the gut have an important role in healthy host metabolic function, and dysbiosis can contribute to the pathology of many medical conditions. Alterations in the relationship between gut microbiota and host have gained some attention in mental health because new evidence supports the association of gut bacteria to cognitive and emotional processes. Of interest, illnesses such as major depressive disorder are disproportionately prevalent in patients with gastrointestinal illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease, which pathologically has been strongly linked to microbiome function. Not only is the microbiome associated with the disease itself, but it may also influence the effectiveness or adverse effects associated with pharmacologic agents used to treat these disorders. This field of study may also provide new insights on how dietary agents may help manage mental illness both directly as well as though their influence on the therapeutic and adverse effects of psychotropic agents. © 2015 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.

The Influence of Fluid Intelligence, Executive Functions and Premorbid Intelligence on Memory in Frontal Patients.

PubMed

Chan, Edgar; MacPherson, Sarah E; Bozzali, Marco; Shallice, Tim; Cipolotti, Lisa

2018-01-01

Objective: It is commonly thought that memory deficits in frontal patients are a result of impairments in executive functions which impact upon storage and retrieval processes. Yet, few studies have specifically examined the relationship between memory performance and executive functions in frontal patients. Furthermore, the contribution of more general cognitive processes such as fluid intelligence and demographic factors such as age, education, and premorbid intelligence has not been considered. Method: Our study examined the relationship between recall and recognition memory and performance on measures of fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence in 39 frontal patients and 46 healthy controls. Results: Recall memory impairments in frontal patients were strongly correlated with fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence. These factors were all found to be independent predictors of recall performance, with fluid intelligence being the strongest predictor. In contrast, recognition memory impairments were not related to any of these factors. Furthermore, age and education were not significantly correlated with either recall or recognition memory measures. Conclusion: Our findings show that recall memory in frontal patients was related to fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence. In contrast, recognition memory was not. These findings suggest that recall and recognition memory deficits following frontal injury arise from separable cognitive factors. Recognition memory tests may be more useful when assessing memory functions in frontal patients.

The Anatomical Distance of Functional Connections Predicts Brain Network Topology in Health and Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Vértes, Petra E.; Stidd, Reva; Lalonde, François; Clasen, Liv; Rapoport, Judith; Giedd, Jay; Bullmore, Edward T.; Gogtay, Nitin

2013-01-01

The human brain is a topologically complex network embedded in anatomical space. Here, we systematically explored relationships between functional connectivity, complex network topology, and anatomical (Euclidean) distance between connected brain regions, in the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging brain networks of 20 healthy volunteers and 19 patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS). Normal between-subject differences in average distance of connected edges in brain graphs were strongly associated with variation in topological properties of functional networks. In addition, a club or subset of connector hubs was identified, in lateral temporal, parietal, dorsal prefrontal, and medial prefrontal/cingulate cortical regions. In COS, there was reduced strength of functional connectivity over short distances especially, and therefore, global mean connection distance of thresholded graphs was significantly greater than normal. As predicted from relationships between spatial and topological properties of normal networks, this disorder-related proportional increase in connection distance was associated with reduced clustering and modularity and increased global efficiency of COS networks. Between-group differences in connection distance were localized specifically to connector hubs of multimodal association cortex. In relation to the neurodevelopmental pathogenesis of schizophrenia, we argue that the data are consistent with the interpretation that spatial and topological disturbances of functional network organization could arise from excessive “pruning” of short-distance functional connections in schizophrenia. PMID:22275481

The Influence of Fluid Intelligence, Executive Functions and Premorbid Intelligence on Memory in Frontal Patients

PubMed Central

Chan, Edgar; MacPherson, Sarah E.; Bozzali, Marco; Shallice, Tim; Cipolotti, Lisa

2018-01-01

Objective: It is commonly thought that memory deficits in frontal patients are a result of impairments in executive functions which impact upon storage and retrieval processes. Yet, few studies have specifically examined the relationship between memory performance and executive functions in frontal patients. Furthermore, the contribution of more general cognitive processes such as fluid intelligence and demographic factors such as age, education, and premorbid intelligence has not been considered. Method: Our study examined the relationship between recall and recognition memory and performance on measures of fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence in 39 frontal patients and 46 healthy controls. Results: Recall memory impairments in frontal patients were strongly correlated with fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence. These factors were all found to be independent predictors of recall performance, with fluid intelligence being the strongest predictor. In contrast, recognition memory impairments were not related to any of these factors. Furthermore, age and education were not significantly correlated with either recall or recognition memory measures. Conclusion: Our findings show that recall memory in frontal patients was related to fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence. In contrast, recognition memory was not. These findings suggest that recall and recognition memory deficits following frontal injury arise from separable cognitive factors. Recognition memory tests may be more useful when assessing memory functions in frontal patients. PMID:29937746

The relationship between demand and need for orthodontic treatment in high school students in Bangkok.

PubMed

Atisook, Pitraporn; Chuacharoen, Rattiya

2014-07-01

Orthodontic service is limited in Thailand and cannot meet the demand of the population. (1) To assess the need for orthodontic treatment (OT) using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) to analyze the relationship between demand and need for OT and (2) to compare the demand and need for OT between genders. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 450 students aged 12- to 14-years-old in three government high schools in Bangkok. A constructed questionnaire was used to assess demand for OT Clinical examination was done by two orthodontists to determine the needfor OT using the IOTN RESULTS: Most of the students (74.0%) wished to have OT while only one-third (37.5%) had severe need, and one-third (34.4%) had moderate need for OT as judge by the DHC of the IOTN. The AC of the IOTN indicated that most students (55.8%) had mild or no need for OT Females (79%) demanded OT more than males (66% p-value = 0.033) but the need was similar in both sexes. Most functional factors had strong relationships with the demand for OTexcept lower teeth bite on palate, but none was found to be associated with need for OT All of the aesthetic factors had strong relationships with demand for OT There were significant relationships with needs in five categories, 1) crooked, crowded, or spacing teeth, 2) worried when speaking or smiling, 3) had suggestedfor OT 4) breath smell and halitosis, and 5) wanted to put on braces to be like other people or for fashionable reasons. Most of the students requested OT but females had significantly higher demand for OT than males. Most of the samples needed to have OT The aesthetic factors that had strong relationships with the need for OT were 1) crooked, crowded, or spacing teeth, 2) worried when speaking or smiling, 3) had suggested for T07 4) breath smell and halitosis, and 5) wanted to put on braces to be like otherpeople orfor fashionable reasons.

Female chacma baboons form strong, equitable, and enduring social bonds

PubMed Central

Beehner, Jacinta C.; Bergman, Thore J.; Crockford, Catherine; Engh, Anne L.; Moscovice, Liza R.; Wittig, Roman M.; Seyfarth, Robert M.; Cheney, Dorothy L.

2010-01-01

Analyses of the pattern of associations, social interactions, coalitions, and aggression among chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) in the Okavango Delta of Botswana over a 16-year period indicate that adult females form close, equitable, supportive, and enduring social relationships. They show strong and stable preferences for close kin, particularly their own mothers and daughters. Females also form strong attachments to unrelated females who are close to their own age and who are likely to be paternal half-sisters. Although absolute rates of aggression among kin are as high as rates of aggression among nonkin, females are more tolerant of close relatives than they are of others with whom they have comparable amounts of contact. These findings complement previous work which indicates that the strength of social bonds enhances the fitness of females in this population and support findings about the structure and function of social bonds in other primate groups. PMID:20976293

Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury in Professional American Football Players: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Vos, Bodil C; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Sluiter, Judith K

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature for the consequences Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has on cognitive, psychological, physical, and sports-related functioning in professional American Football players. We performed a systematic search in 2 databases, PubMed and SPORTDiscus, to obtain literature from January 1990 to January 2015. To be eligible for inclusion, a study had to examine the relationship between TBI and the consequences for several aspects of functioning in professional American football players older than 18 years. Methodological quality was assessed using a 5-item checklist which assessed selection bias, information bias, and correct reporting of the population and exposure characteristics. The search yielded 21 studies that met our inclusion criteria. An evidence synthesis was performed on the extracted data and resulted in 5 levels of evidence. The evidence synthesis revealed that there is strong evidence that concussions are associated with late-life depression and short-term physical dysfunctions. Evidence for the relationship between concussion and impaired sports-related function, prolonged reaction time, memory impairment, and visual-motor speed was inconclusive. Moderate evidence was found for the association between TBI and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and limited evidence was found for the association between TBI and executive dysfunction. There is strong evidence that a history of concussion in American football players is associated with depression later in life and short-term physical dysfunctions. Also cognitive dysfunctions such as MCI are seen in older players with a history of TBI. These results provide input for actions to prevent TBI and their consequences in (retired) American football players.

Reactive attachment disorder following early maltreatment: systematic evidence beyond the institution.

PubMed

Kay, Catherine; Green, Jonathan

2013-05-01

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) remains one of the least evidence-based areas of DSM and ICD nosology. Recent evidence from severely deprived institutional samples has informed review of RAD criteria for DSM-V; however, this data is not necessarily generalizable to expectable child environments in the developed world. We provide the first systematic study of this important syndrome in maltreated non-institutionalized adolescents from a high-income country. 153 high-risk adolescents in English out-of-home Looked After Care (LAC: mean age 174 months, SD 23, 52 % male) and 42 low-risk (LR) community controls (mean age 168 months, SD 18, 38 % male) were assessed for RAD behaviors. Data on maltreatment and care history were collected from social work reports and concurrent psychopathology from caregiver report. Triangulated data sources informed independent researcher ratings of adaptive functioning. LAC adolescents showed high prevalence of RAD behaviors. Factor analysis showed four symptom groups; Disinhibited Indiscriminate, Attention Seeking, Superficial Relationships and Unpredictability. RAD was associated with multiple maltreatment experience, earlier entry to care and increased rates of psychopathology. Superficial Relationships and Attention Seeking factors showed strong independent association with particularly pervasive functional impairment. Disinhibited RAD behaviors are identifiable with high prevalence in non-institutionalized high-risk adolescents. They are strongly associated with psychopathology and functional impairment. Retention of this subtype in DSM-V is supported. Findings on the inhibited subtype in adolescence are less persuasive. RAD behavior is a relevant marker of developmental impairment, has significant clinical implications and is deserving of further study within non-institutionalized risk populations.

Self-Assembling Multi-Component Nanofibers for Strong Bioinspired Underwater Adhesives

PubMed Central

Zhong, Chao; Gurry, Thomas; Cheng, Allen A; Downey, Jordan; Deng, Zhengtao; Stultz, Collin M.; Lu, Timothy K

2014-01-01

Many natural underwater adhesives harness hierarchically assembled amyloid nanostructures to achieve strong and robust interfacial adhesion under dynamic and turbulent environments. Despite recent advances, our understanding of the molecular design, self-assembly, and structure-function relationship of those natural amyloid fibers remains limited. Thus, designing biomimetic amyloid-based adhesives remains challenging. Here, we report strong and multi-functional underwater adhesives obtained from fusing mussel foot proteins (Mfps) of Mytilus galloprovincialis with CsgA proteins, the major subunit of Escherichia coli amyloid curli fibers. These hybrid molecular materials hierarchically self-assemble into higher-order structures, in which, according to molecular dynamics simulations, disordered adhesive Mfp domains are exposed on the exterior of amyloid cores formed by CsgA. Our fibers have an underwater adhesion energy approaching 20.9 mJ/m2, which is 1.5 times greater than the maximum of bio-inspired and bio-derived protein-based underwater adhesives reported thus far. Moreover, they outperform Mfps or curli fibers taken on their own at all pHs and exhibit better tolerance to auto-oxidation than Mfps at pH ≥7.0. This work establishes a platform for engineering multi-component self-assembling materials inspired by nature. PMID:25240674

Factorization breaking of A d T for polarized deuteron targets in a relativistic framework

DOE PAGES

Jeschonnek, Sabine; Van Orden, J. W.

2017-04-17

We discuss the possible factorization of the tensor asymmetrymore » $$A^T_d$$ measured for polarized deuteron targets within a relativistic framework. We define a reduced asymmetry and find that factorization holds only in plane wave impulse approximation and if $p$-waves are neglected. Our numerical results show a strong factorization breaking once final state interactions are included. We also compare the $d$-wave content of the wave functions with the size of the factored, reduced asymmetry and find that there is no systematic relationship of this quantity to the d-wave probability of the various wave functions.« less

Frontoparietal Structural Connectivity in Childhood Predicts Development of Functional Connectivity and Reasoning Ability: A Large-Scale Longitudinal Investigation.

PubMed

Wendelken, Carter; Ferrer, Emilio; Ghetti, Simona; Bailey, Stephen K; Cutting, Laurie; Bunge, Silvia A

2017-08-30

Prior research points to a positive concurrent relationship between reasoning ability and both frontoparietal structural connectivity (SC) as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (Tamnes et al., 2010) and frontoparietal functional connectivity (FC) as measured by fMRI (Cocchi et al., 2014). Further, recent research demonstrates a link between reasoning ability and FC of two brain regions in particular: rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) and the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) (Wendelken et al., 2016). Here, we sought to investigate the concurrent and dynamic, lead-lag relationships among frontoparietal SC, FC, and reasoning ability in humans. To this end, we combined three longitudinal developmental datasets with behavioral and neuroimaging data from 523 male and female participants between 6 and 22 years of age. Cross-sectionally, reasoning ability was most strongly related to FC between RLPFC and IPL in adolescents and adults, but to frontoparietal SC in children. Longitudinal analysis revealed that RLPFC-IPL SC, but not FC, was a positive predictor of future changes in reasoning ability. Moreover, we found that RLPFC-IPL SC at one time point positively predicted future changes in RLPFC-IPL FC, whereas, in contrast, FC did not predict future changes in SC. Our results demonstrate the importance of strong white matter connectivity between RLPFC and IPL during middle childhood for the subsequent development of both robust FC and good reasoning ability. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The human capacity for reasoning develops substantially during childhood and has a profound impact on achievement in school and in cognitively challenging careers. Reasoning ability depends on communication between lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices. Therefore, to understand how this capacity develops, we examined the dynamic relationships over time among white matter tracts connecting frontoparietal cortices (i.e., structural connectivity, SC), coordinated frontoparietal activation (functional connectivity, FC), and reasoning ability in a large longitudinal sample of subjects 6-22 years of age. We found that greater frontoparietal SC in childhood predicts future increases in both FC and reasoning ability, demonstrating the importance of white matter development during childhood for subsequent brain and cognitive functioning. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/378549-10$15.00/0.

Frontoparietal Structural Connectivity in Childhood Predicts Development of Functional Connectivity and Reasoning Ability: A Large-Scale Longitudinal Investigation

PubMed Central

Ferrer, Emilio; Cutting, Laurie

2017-01-01

Prior research points to a positive concurrent relationship between reasoning ability and both frontoparietal structural connectivity (SC) as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (Tamnes et al., 2010) and frontoparietal functional connectivity (FC) as measured by fMRI (Cocchi et al., 2014). Further, recent research demonstrates a link between reasoning ability and FC of two brain regions in particular: rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) and the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) (Wendelken et al., 2016). Here, we sought to investigate the concurrent and dynamic, lead–lag relationships among frontoparietal SC, FC, and reasoning ability in humans. To this end, we combined three longitudinal developmental datasets with behavioral and neuroimaging data from 523 male and female participants between 6 and 22 years of age. Cross-sectionally, reasoning ability was most strongly related to FC between RLPFC and IPL in adolescents and adults, but to frontoparietal SC in children. Longitudinal analysis revealed that RLPFC–IPL SC, but not FC, was a positive predictor of future changes in reasoning ability. Moreover, we found that RLPFC–IPL SC at one time point positively predicted future changes in RLPFC–IPL FC, whereas, in contrast, FC did not predict future changes in SC. Our results demonstrate the importance of strong white matter connectivity between RLPFC and IPL during middle childhood for the subsequent development of both robust FC and good reasoning ability. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The human capacity for reasoning develops substantially during childhood and has a profound impact on achievement in school and in cognitively challenging careers. Reasoning ability depends on communication between lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices. Therefore, to understand how this capacity develops, we examined the dynamic relationships over time among white matter tracts connecting frontoparietal cortices (i.e., structural connectivity, SC), coordinated frontoparietal activation (functional connectivity, FC), and reasoning ability in a large longitudinal sample of subjects 6–22 years of age. We found that greater frontoparietal SC in childhood predicts future increases in both FC and reasoning ability, demonstrating the importance of white matter development during childhood for subsequent brain and cognitive functioning. PMID:28821657

Coherent optical determination of the leaf angle distribution of corn

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ulaby, F. T. (Principal Investigator); Pihlman, M.

1981-01-01

A coherent optical technique for the diffraction analysis of an image is presented. Developments in radar remote sensing shows a need to understand plant geometry and its relationship to plant moisture, soil moisture, and the radar backscattering coefficient. A corn plant changes its leaf angle distribution, as a function of time, from a uniform distribution to one that is strongly vertical. It is shown that plant and soil moisture may have an effect on plant geometry.

The effect of resource quantity and resource stoichiometry on microbial carbon-use-efficiency

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kleiblinger, K.M.; Hall, E.K.; Wanek, W.; Szukics, U.; Hämmerle, I.; Ellersdorfer, G.; Böck, S.; Strauss, J.; Sterflinger, K.; Richter, A.; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S.

2010-01-01

The carbon-use-efficiency (CUE) of microorganisms is an important parameter in determining ecosystem-level carbon (C) cycling; however, little is known about how variance in resources affects microbial CUE. To elucidate how resource quantity and resource stoichiometry affect microbial CUE, we cultured four microorganisms - two fungi (Aspergillus nidulans and Trichoderma harzianum) and two bacteria (Pectobacterium carotovorum and Verrucomicrobium spinosum) - under 12 unique C, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) ratios. Whereas the CUE of A. nidulans was strongly affected by C, bacterial CUE was more strongly affected by mineral nutrients (N and P). Specifically, CUE in P. carotovorum was positively correlated with P, while CUE of V. spinosum primarily depended on N. This resulted in a positive relationship between fungal CUE and resource C : nutrient stoichiometry and a negative relationship between bacterial CUE and resource C : nutrient stoichiometry. The difference in the direction of the relationship between CUE and C : nutrient for fungi vs. bacteria was consistent with differences in biomass stoichiometry and suggested that fungi have a higher C demand than bacteria. These results suggest that the links between biomass stoichiometry, resource demand and CUE may provide a mechanism for commonly observed temporal and spatial patterns in microbial community structure and function in natural habitats.

Social cognition and prefrontal hemodynamic responses during a working memory task in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Pu, Shenghong; Nakagome, Kazuyuki; Yamada, Takeshi; Itakura, Masashi; Yamanashi, Takehiko; Yamada, Sayaka; Masai, Mieko; Miura, Akihiko; Yamauchi, Takahira; Satake, Takahiro; Iwata, Masaaki; Nagata, Izumi; Roberts, David L; Kaneko, Koichi

2016-03-01

Social cognition is an important determinant of functional impairment in schizophrenia, but its relationship with the prefrontal functional abnormalities associated with the condition is still unclear. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between social cognition and prefrontal function in patients with schizophrenia using 52-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Twenty-six patients with schizophrenia and 26 age-, gender-, and intelligence quotient-matched healthy controls (HCs) participated in the study. Hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal and superior temporal cortical regions were assessed during a working memory task using NIRS. Social cognition was assessed using the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire (SCSQ). The observed hemodynamic responses were significantly reduced in the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), the frontopolar cortex, and temporal regions in subjects with schizophrenia compared to HCs. Additionally, lateral PFC hemodynamic responses assessed during the working memory task demonstrated a strong positive correlation with the SCSQ theory of mind (ToM) subscale score even after controlling for working memory performance. These results suggest that ToM integrity is closely related to lateral PFC functional abnormalities found in patients with schizophrenia. In addition, this study provides evidence to suggest that NIRS could be used to identify biomarkers of social cognition function in subjects with schizophrenia.

Strain coupling of oxygen non-stoichiometry in perovskite thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herklotz, Andreas; Lee, Dongkyu; Guo, Er-Jia; Meyer, Tricia L.; Petrie, Jonathan R.; Lee, Ho Nyung

2017-12-01

The effects of strain and oxygen vacancies on perovskite thin films have been studied in great detail over the past decades and have been treated separately from each other. While epitaxial strain has been realized as a tuning knob to tailor the functional properties of correlated oxides, oxygen vacancies are usually regarded as undesirable and detrimental. In transition metal oxides, oxygen defects strongly modify the properties and functionalities via changes in oxidation states of the transition metals. However, such coupling is not well understood in epitaxial films, but rather deemed as cumbersome or experimental artifact. Only recently it has been recognized that lattice strain and oxygen non-stoichiometry are strongly correlated in a vast number of perovskite systems and that this coupling can be beneficial for information and energy technologies. Recent experimental and theoretical studies have focused on understanding the correlated phenomena between strain and oxygen vacancies for a wide range of perovskite systems. These correlations not only include the direct relationship between elastic strain and the formation energy of oxygen vacancies, but also comprise highly complex interactions such as strain-induced phase transitions due to oxygen vacancy ordering. Therefore, we aim in this review to give a comprehensive overview on the coupling between strain and oxygen vacancies in perovskite oxides and point out the potential applications of the emergent functionalities strongly coupled to oxygen vacancies.

Field-Scale Soil Moisture Observations in Irrigated Agriculture Fields Using the Cosmic-ray Neutron Rover

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franz, T. E.; Avery, W. A.; Finkenbiner, C. E.; Wang, T.; Brocca, L.

2014-12-01

Approximately 40% of global food production comes from irrigated agriculture. With the increasing demand for food even greater pressures will be placed on water resources within these systems. In this work we aimed to characterize the spatial and temporal patterns of soil moisture at the field-scale (~500 m) using the newly developed cosmic-ray neutron rover near Waco, NE. Here we mapped soil moisture of 144 quarter section fields (a mix of maize, soybean, and natural areas) each week during the 2014 growing season (May to September). The 11 x11 km study domain also contained 3 stationary cosmic-ray neutron probes for independent validation of the rover surveys. Basic statistical analysis of the domain indicated a strong inverted parabolic relationship between the mean and variance of soil moisture. The relationship between the mean and higher order moments were not as strong. Geostatistical analysis indicated the range of the soil moisture semi-variogram was significantly shorter during periods of heavy irrigation as compared to non-irrigated periods. Scaling analysis indicated strong power law behavior between the variance of soil moisture and averaging area with minimal dependence of mean soil moisture on the slope of the power law function. Statistical relationships derived from the rover dataset offer a novel set of observations that will be useful in: 1) calibrating and validating land surface models, 2) calibrating and validating crop models, 3) soil moisture covariance estimates for statistical downscaling of remote sensing products such as SMOS and SMAP, and 4) provide center-pivot scale mean soil moisture data for optimal irrigation timing and volume amounts.

Electronic Structures of Anti-Ferromagnetic Tetraradicals: Ab Initio and Semi-Empirical Studies.

PubMed

Zhang, Dawei; Liu, Chungen

2016-04-12

The energy relationships and electronic structures of the lowest-lying spin states in several anti-ferromagnetic tetraradical model systems are studied with high-level ab initio and semi-empirical methods. The Full-CI method (FCI), the complete active space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2), and the n-electron valence state perturbation theory (NEVPT2) are employed to obtain reference results. By comparing the energy relationships predicted from the Heisenberg and Hubbard models with ab initio benchmarks, the accuracy of the widely used Heisenberg model for anti-ferromagnetic spin-coupling in low-spin polyradicals is cautiously tested in this work. It is found that the strength of electron correlation (|U/t|) concerning anti-ferromagnetically coupled radical centers could range widely from strong to moderate correlation regimes and could become another degree of freedom besides the spin multiplicity. Accordingly, the Heisenberg-type model works well in the regime of strong correlation, which reproduces well the energy relationships along with the wave functions of all the spin states. In moderately spin-correlated tetraradicals, the results of the prototype Heisenberg model deviate severely from those of multi-reference electron correlation ab initio methods, while the extended Heisenberg model, containing four-body terms, can introduce reasonable corrections and maintains its accuracy in this condition. In the weak correlation regime, both the prototype Heisenberg model and its extended forms containing higher-order correction terms will encounter difficulties. Meanwhile, the Hubbard model shows balanced accuracy from strong to weak correlation cases and can reproduce qualitatively correct electronic structures, which makes it more suitable for the study of anti-ferromagnetic coupling in polyradical systems.

The Moderating Effects of Occupation, Age, and Urbanization on the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Life Satsifaction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bamundo, Paul J.; Kopelman, Richard E.

1980-01-01

Education and income had a strong impact on the job satisfaction-life satisfaction relationship. Occupation had a modest effect; self-employment had a stronger one. Age and job longevity had a strong curvilinear effect. These relationships become more relevant over time. (Author/JAC)

Mothers’ Reports of Play Dates and Observation of School Playground Behavior of Children Having High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

PubMed Central

Frankel, Frederick D.; Gorospe, Clarissa M.; Chang, Ya-Chih; Sugar, Catherine A.

2010-01-01

Background Children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are generally included with typically developing peers at school. They have difficulties interacting with peers on the school play ground. Previous literature suggests that having play dates in the home may be related to better peer acceptance at school. Methods This study examines the relationship between mother-reported play date frequency and amount of conflict, and peer interaction observed on the school playground for a sample of 27 boys and 4 girls meeting structured interview and observation criteria for ASD. Measures of intellectual functioning, adaptive behavior, and social skills were included in a stepwise regression analysis to account for their impact on relationships between maternal play date reports, general peer acceptance at school (as rated by the child’s teacher) and observations of school playground behavior. Results Results revealed that children with autism spectrum disorders who had more play dates in their home tended to spend a greater amount of time engaged in behaviors such as mutual offering of objects, conversing and other turn taking activities with peers on the school playground. They also received more positive responses to their overtures from peers. These relationships remained highly significant even after accounting for other demographic, general social, and cognitive variables. Conclusions The present results suggest that play date frequency is strongly related to school playground behavior. Due to the design of this study, future research must assess whether play dates in the home promote better peer relationships on the playground or the reverse. In either case, the assessment of play dates, as well as observation of spontaneous unsupervised social interactions are important outcome measures to consider in social skills interventions for children with high functioning ASD. PMID:20860756

The Intimate and Controversial Relationship between Voltage Gated Proton Channels and the Phagocyte NADPH Oxidase

PubMed Central

DeCoursey, Thomas E.

2016-01-01

Summary One of the most fascinating and exciting periods in my scientific career entailed dissecting the symbiotic relationship between two membrane transporters, the NADPH oxidase complex and voltage gated proton channels (HV1). By the time I entered this field, there had already been substantial progress toward understanding NADPH oxidase, but HV1 were known only to a tiny handful of cognoscenti around the world. Having identified the first proton currents in mammalian cells in 1991, I needed to find a clear function for these molecules if the work was to become fundable. The then-recent discoveries of Henderson, Chappell, and colleagues in 1987–1988 that led them to hypothesize interactions of both molecules during the respiratory burst of phagocytes provided an excellent opportunity. In a nutshell, both transporters function by moving electrical charge across the membrane: NADPH oxidase moves electrons and HV1 moves protons. The consequences of electrogenic NADPH oxidase activity on both membrane potential and pH strongly self-limit this enzyme. Fortunately, both consequences specifically activate HV1, and HV1 activity counteracts both consequences, a kind of yin-yang relationship. Notwithstanding a decade starting in 1995 when many believed the opposite, these are two separate molecules that function independently despite their being functionally interdependent in phagocytes. The relationship between NADPH oxidase and HV1 has become a paradigm that somewhat surprisingly has now extended well beyond the phagocyte NADPH oxidase -- an industrial strength producer of reactive oxygen species (ROS) -- to myriad other cells that produce orders of magnitude less ROS for signaling purposes. These cells with their seven NADPH oxidase (NOX) isoforms provide a vast realm of mechanistic obscurity that will occupy future studies for years to come. PMID:27558336

Corticostriatal Connectivity in Antisocial Personality Disorder by MAO-A Genotype and Its Relationship to Aggressive Behavior.

PubMed

Kolla, Nathan J; Dunlop, Katharine; Meyer, Jeffrey H; Downar, Jonathan

2018-05-09

The influence of genetic variation on resting-state neural networks represents a burgeoning line of inquiry in psychiatric research. Monoamine oxidase A, an X-linked gene, is one example of a molecular target linked to brain activity in psychiatric illness. Monoamine oxidase A genetic variants, including the high and low variable nucleotide tandem repeat polymorphisms, have been shown to differentially affect brain functional connectivity in healthy humans. However, it is currently unknown whether these same polymorphisms influence resting-state brain activity in clinical conditions. Given its high burden on society and strong connection to violent behavior, antisocial personality disorder is a logical condition to study, since in vivo markers of monoamine oxidase A brain enzyme are reduced in key affect-modulating regions, and striatal levels of monoamine oxidase A show a relation with the functional connectivity of this same region. We utilized monoamine oxidase A genotyping and seed-to-voxel-based functional connectivity to investigate the relationship between genotype and corticostriatal connectivity in 21 male participants with severe antisocial personality disorder and 19 male healthy controls. Dorsal striatal connectivity to the frontal pole and anterior cingulate gyrus differentiated antisocial personality disorder subjects and healthy controls by monoamine oxidase A genotype. Furthermore, the linear relationship of proactive aggression to superior ventral striatal-angular gyrus functional connectivity differed by monoamine oxidase A genotype in the antisocial personality disorder groups. These results suggest that monoamine oxidase A genotype may affect corticostriatal connectivity in antisocial personality disorder and that these functional connections may also underlie use of proactive aggression in a genotype-specific manner.

Gently restless: association of ADHD-like traits with response inhibition and interference control.

PubMed

Polner, Bertalan; Aichert, Désirée; Macare, Christine; Costa, Anna; Ettinger, Ulrich

2015-12-01

Impairment of inhibition-related functions is one of the most pronounced cognitive deficits found in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Compelling evidence from studies of unaffected relatives of patients with ADHD and of ADHD-like traits in healthy subjects suggest the continuous distribution of ADHD symptoms in the population. A more subtle inhibitory deficit can also be found in healthy relatives of patients and in subjects with high ADHD-like traits. Here, we examined the relationship between inhibitory performance and ADHD-like traits, for the first time, in a large sample of healthy adults by applying multiple, widely used tests of inhibition-related functions. ADHD-like traits, in general, were independently predicted by Stroop interference score and, at trend level, by go/no-go commission error rate while controlling for socio-demographic factors, verbal intelligence and neuroticism. Additionally, higher inattentive traits were related to worse Stroop performance at trend level, and higher hyperactive/impulsive traits were significantly associated with more go/no-go commission errors. ADHD-like traits were strongly related to neuroticism. The study shows that individual differences in ADHD-like traits are related to variance in fundamental inhibition-related functions over and above effects of negative affect regulation, but the relationships tend to be small. The results suggest the quasi-dimensionality of ADHD and raise further questions about the relationship between genetic factors and the deficit of inhibition-related functions in the ADHD spectrum.

Experimental analysis of the relationship between depressed mood and compulsive buying.

PubMed

Kyrios, Michael; McQueen, Paul; Moulding, Richard

2013-06-01

Compulsive buying is a serious but understudied problem, where individuals are unable to resist or control their buying behaviour, leading to substantial social and financial problems. To date there has been a lack of experimental research into the disorder. The relationship between mood and compulsive buying was examined in compulsive buyers (N = 18) and non-clinical controls (N = 17), using experimental information-processing paradigms. In study 1, it was expected that, if buying behaviours function as a coping strategy for depressed mood, then an induction of depressed mood would lead to an enhanced memory for appealing consumer-objects in compulsive buyers, but not controls. In study 2, we examined the association between emotional and functional constructs and consumer items. It was expected that compulsive buyers would show stronger semantic relationships and thus better episodic memory for object-emotion pairs, relative to object-function pairs, for appealing items. Unexpectedly, in study 1 the memory-facilitating effect of depressed mood was evident among control participants and absent among compulsive buyers. In study 2, compulsive buyers showed a lesser association of undesirable objects with positive emotional concepts than did non-clinical controls, and compulsive buyers were found to more strongly associate all consumer items with emotional concepts than with concepts of function. Key limitations were low power and possible floor effects due to error frequency data. These findings provide insights into the processes underlying CB phenomena, in particular supporting the role of mood in compulsive buying. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship between isoseismal area and magnitude of historical earthquakes in Greece by a hybrid fuzzy neural network method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tselentis, G.-A.; Sokos, E.

2012-01-01

In this paper we suggest the use of diffusion-neural-networks, (neural networks with intrinsic fuzzy logic abilities) to assess the relationship between isoseismal area and earthquake magnitude for the region of Greece. It is of particular importance to study historical earthquakes for which we often have macroseismic information in the form of isoseisms but it is statistically incomplete to assess magnitudes from an isoseismal area or to train conventional artificial neural networks for magnitude estimation. Fuzzy relationships are developed and used to train a feed forward neural network with a back propagation algorithm to obtain the final relationships. Seismic intensity data from 24 earthquakes in Greece have been used. Special attention is being paid to the incompleteness and contradictory patterns in scanty historical earthquake records. The results show that the proposed processing model is very effective, better than applying classical artificial neural networks since the magnitude macroseismic intensity target function has a strong nonlinearity and in most cases the macroseismic datasets are very small.

Distraction during Deployment: Marital Relationship Associations with Spillover for Deployed Army Soldiers

PubMed Central

Carter, S. P.; Loew, B.; Allen, E. S.; Osborne, L.; Stanley, S. M.; Markman, H. J.

2015-01-01

Military spouses often have concerns regarding the impact of their communication on soldiers during deployment. However, literature is mixed regarding how communication between soldiers and spouses may impact soldiers’ self-reported work functioning during deployment, suggesting the need to evaluate moderating factors. In the current study, three relationship factors (marital satisfaction, conflictual communication, and proportion of conversation focused on problems) were tested as moderators of communication frequency and negative marriage-to-work spillover for soldiers. Whereas the three relationship factors were independently related to negative spillover, none significantly moderated the relationship between communication frequency and spillover. The overall pattern of results suggests that (a) lower marital satisfaction, a focus on problems during communication, and conflictual communication are each strongly linked to spillover for deployed soldiers, and (b) military couples may be self-restricting deployment communication frequency when experiencing less marital satisfaction and higher rates of negative communication. Implications for communication during deployment are discussed. PMID:26236093

Biogeographic affinity helps explain productivity-richness relationships at regional and local scales

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harrison, S.; Grace, J.B.

2007-01-01

The unresolved question of what causes the observed positive relationship between large-scale productivity and species richness has long interested ecologists and evolutionists. Here we examine a potential explanation that we call the biogeographic affinity hypothesis, which proposes that the productivity-richness relationship is a function of species' climatic tolerances that in turn are shaped by the earth's climatic history combined with evolutionary niche conservatism. Using botanical data from regions and sites across California, we find support for a key prediction of this hypothesis, namely, that the productivity-species richness relationship differs strongly and predictably among groups of higher taxa on the basis of their biogeographic affinities (i.e., between families or genera primarily associated with north-temperate, semiarid, or desert zones). We also show that a consideration of biogeographic affinity can yield new insights on how productivity-richness patterns at large geographic scales filter down to affect patterns of species richness and composition within local communities. ?? 2007 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Does CTCF mediate between nuclear organization and gene expression?

PubMed

Ohlsson, Rolf; Lobanenkov, Victor; Klenova, Elena

2010-01-01

The multifunctional zinc-finger protein CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is a very strong candidate for the role of coordinating the expression level of coding sequences with their three-dimensional position in the nucleus, apparently responding to a "code" in the DNA itself. Dynamic interactions between chromatin fibers in the context of nuclear architecture have been implicated in various aspects of genome functions. However, the molecular basis of these interactions still remains elusive and is a subject of intense debate. Here we discuss the nature of CTCF-DNA interactions, the CTCF-binding specificity to its binding sites and the relationship between CTCF and chromatin, and we examine data linking CTCF with gene regulation in the three-dimensional nuclear space. We discuss why these features render CTCF a very strong candidate for the role and propose a unifying model, the "CTCF code," explaining the mechanistic basis of how the information encrypted in DNA may be interpreted by CTCF into diverse nuclear functions.

The functions of immediate echolalia in autistic children: a developmental perspective.

PubMed

McEvoy, R E; Loveland, K A; Landry, S H

1988-12-01

This study examined differences in the use of immediate echolalia by autistic children at different stages of language development. Eighteen autistic children, aged 4 to 12 years, were videotaped in play sessions with a parent and with an examiner. Data were collected on frequency of echolalia, percentage of language that was echolalic, functions of echolalia (Prizant & Duchan, 1981), chronological age, nonverbal mental age, and language level. Frequency of immediate echolalia varied with expressive language level but not with nonverbal mental age or chronological age. The percentage of language that was echolalic was high at early stages of language development but decreased as language skills improved. No significant relationships were found between number of functions and language level, chronological age, or nonverbal mental age. Although coding of functions was reliable, the validity of functional categories for echolalia was not strongly supported. Implications for autistic language development and for methodology in this area are discussed.

Effects of gestational age on brain volume and cognitive functions in generally healthy very preterm born children during school-age: A voxel-based morphometry study.

PubMed

Lemola, Sakari; Oser, Nadine; Urfer-Maurer, Natalie; Brand, Serge; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Bechtel, Nina; Grob, Alexander; Weber, Peter; Datta, Alexandre N

2017-01-01

To determine whether the relationship of gestational age (GA) with brain volumes and cognitive functions is linear or whether it follows a threshold model in preterm and term born children during school-age. We studied 106 children (M = 10 years 1 month, SD = 16 months; 40 females) enrolled in primary school: 57 were healthy very preterm children (10 children born 24-27 completed weeks' gestation (extremely preterm), 14 children born 28-29 completed weeks' gestation, 19 children born 30-31 completed weeks' gestation (very preterm), and 14 born 32 completed weeks' gestation (moderately preterm)) all born appropriate for GA (AGA) and 49 term-born children. Neuroimaging involved voxel-based morphometry with the statistical parametric mapping software. Cognitive functions were assessed with the WISC-IV. General Linear Models and multiple regressions were conducted controlling age, sex, and maternal education. Compared to groups of children born 30 completed weeks' gestation and later, children born <28 completed weeks' gestation had less gray matter volume (GMV) and white matter volume (WMV) and poorer cognitive functions including decreased full scale IQ, and processing speed. Differences in GMV partially mediated the relationship between GA and full scale IQ in preterm born children. In preterm children who are born AGA and without major complications GA is associated with brain volume and cognitive functions. In particular, decreased brain volume becomes evident in the extremely preterm group (born <28 completed weeks' gestation). In preterm children born 30 completed weeks' gestation and later the relationship of GA with brain volume and cognitive functions may be less strong as previously thought.

The relationship between the spatial scaling of biodiversity and ecosystem stability

PubMed Central

Delsol, Robin; Loreau, Michel; Haegeman, Bart

2018-01-01

Aim Ecosystem stability and its link with biodiversity have mainly been studied at the local scale. Here we present a simple theoretical model to address the joint dependence of diversity and stability on spatial scale, from local to continental. Methods The notion of stability we use is based on the temporal variability of an ecosystem-level property, such as primary productivity. In this way, our model integrates the well-known species–area relationship (SAR) with a recent proposal to quantify the spatial scaling of stability, called the invariability–area relationship (IAR). Results We show that the link between the two relationships strongly depends on whether the temporal fluctuations of the ecosystem property of interest are more correlated within than between species. If fluctuations are correlated within species but not between them, then the IAR is strongly constrained by the SAR. If instead individual fluctuations are only correlated by spatial proximity, then the IAR is unrelated to the SAR. We apply these two correlation assumptions to explore the effects of species loss and habitat destruction on stability, and find a rich variety of multi-scale spatial dependencies, with marked differences between the two assumptions. Main conclusions The dependence of ecosystem stability on biodiversity across spatial scales is governed by the spatial decay of correlations within and between species. Our work provides a point of reference for mechanistic models and data analyses. More generally, it illustrates the relevance of macroecology for ecosystem functioning and stability. PMID:29651225

DefenseLink.mil - Special Report - Travels With Mullen

Science.gov Websites

U.S.-Turkish Relationship 'Very Strong' ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 16, 2008 - Wrapping up his first visit Turkish leaders reaffirmed "a very strong military-to-military relationship." Story» Mullen

Racial identity and academic achievement in the neighborhood context: a multilevel analysis.

PubMed

Byrd, Christy M; Chavous, Tabbye M

2009-04-01

Increasingly, researchers have found relationships between a strong, positive sense of racial identity and academic achievement among African American youth. Less attention, however, has been given to the roles and functions of racial identity among youth experiencing different social and economic contexts. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors examined the relationship of racial identity to academic outcomes, taking into account neighborhood-level factors. The sample consisted of 564 African American eighth-graders (56% male). The authors found that neighborhood characteristics and racial identity related positively to academic outcomes, but that some relationships were different across neighborhood types. For instance, in neighborhoods low in economic opportunity, high pride was associated with a higher GPA, but in more advantaged neighborhoods, high pride was associated with a lower GPA. The authors discuss the need to take youth's contexts into account in order to understand how racial identity is active in the lives of African American youth.

Analysis of Alaskan burn severity patterns using remotely sensed data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Duffy, P.A.; Epting, J.; Graham, J.M.; Rupp, T.S.; McGuire, A.D.

2007-01-01

Wildland fire is the dominant large-scale disturbance mechanism in the Alaskan boreal forest, and it strongly influences forest structure and function. In this research, patterns of burn severity in the Alaskan boreal forest are characterised using 24 fires. First, the relationship between burn severity and area burned is quantified using a linear regression. Second, the spatial correlation of burn severity as a function of topography is modelled using a variogram analysis. Finally, the relationship between vegetation type and spatial patterns of burn severity is quantified using linear models where variograms account for spatial correlation. These results show that: 1) average burn severity increases with the natural logarithm of the area of the wildfire, 2) burn severity is more variable in topographically complex landscapes than in flat landscapes, and 3) there is a significant relationship between burn severity and vegetation type in flat landscapes but not in topographically complex landscapes. These results strengthen the argument that differential flammability of vegetation exists in some boreal landscapes of Alaska. Additionally, these results suggest that through feedbacks between vegetation and burn severity, the distribution of forest vegetation through time is likely more stable in flat terrain than it is in areas with more complex topography. ?? IAWF 2007.

Expression level, cellular compartment and metabolic network position all influence the average selective constraint on mammalian enzymes

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background A gene's position in regulatory, protein interaction or metabolic networks can be predictive of the strength of purifying selection acting on it, but these relationships are neither universal nor invariably strong. Following work in bacteria, fungi and invertebrate animals, we explore the relationship between selective constraint and metabolic function in mammals. Results We measure the association between selective constraint, estimated by the ratio of nonsynonymous (Ka) to synonymous (Ks) substitutions, and several, primarily metabolic, measures of gene function. We find significant differences between the selective constraints acting on enzyme-coding genes from different cellular compartments, with the nucleus showing higher constraint than genes from either the cytoplasm or the mitochondria. Among metabolic genes, the centrality of an enzyme in the metabolic network is significantly correlated with Ka/Ks. In contrast to yeasts, gene expression magnitude does not appear to be the primary predictor of selective constraint in these organisms. Conclusions Our results imply that the relationship between selective constraint and enzyme centrality is complex: the strength of selective constraint acting on mammalian genes is quite variable and does not appear to exclusively follow patterns seen in other organisms. PMID:21470417

Understanding the Cognitive and Genetic Underpinnings of Procrastination: Evidence for Shared Genetic Influences with Goal Management and Executive Function Abilities

PubMed Central

Gustavson, Daniel E.; Miyake, Akira; Hewitt, John K.; Friedman, Naomi P.

2015-01-01

Previous research has suggested that individual differences in procrastination are tied to everyday goal-management abilities, but little research has been conducted on specific cognitive abilities that may underlie tendencies for procrastination, such as executive functions (EFs). In this study, we used behavioral genetics methodology to investigate two hypotheses about the relationships between procrastination and EF ability: (a) that procrastination is negatively correlated with general EF ability, and (b) that this relationship is due to the genetic components of procrastination that are most related to other everyday goal-management abilities. The results confirmed both of these hypotheses. Procrastination was related to worse general EF ability at both the phenotypic and genetic levels, and this relationship was due to the component of procrastination shared with self-report measures of everyday goal-management failures. These results were observed even after controlling for potential self-report biases stemming from the urge to respond in a socially desirable manner. Together, these findings provide strong evidence for growing theories of procrastination emphasizing the importance of goal-related cognitive abilities and further highlight important genetic influences that underlie procrastination. PMID:26389573

Understanding the cognitive and genetic underpinnings of procrastination: Evidence for shared genetic influences with goal management and executive function abilities.

PubMed

Gustavson, Daniel E; Miyake, Akira; Hewitt, John K; Friedman, Naomi P

2015-12-01

Previous research has suggested that individual differences in procrastination are tied to everyday goal-management abilities, but little research has been conducted on specific cognitive abilities that may underlie tendencies for procrastination, such as executive functions (EFs). In this study, we used behavioral genetics methodology to investigate 2 hypotheses about the relationships between procrastination and EF ability: (a) that procrastination is negatively correlated with general EF ability, and (b) that this relationship is due to the genetic components of procrastination that are most related to other everyday goal-management abilities. The results confirmed both of these hypotheses. Procrastination was related to worse general EF ability at both the phenotypic and genetic levels, and this relationship was due to the component of procrastination shared with self-report measures of everyday goal-management failures. These results were observed even after controlling for potential self-report biases stemming from the urge to respond in a socially desirable manner. Together, these findings provide strong evidence for growing theories of procrastination emphasizing the importance of goal-related cognitive abilities and further highlight important genetic influences that underlie procrastination. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Fitness, but not physical activity, is related to functional integrity of brain networks associated with aging.

PubMed

Voss, Michelle W; Weng, Timothy B; Burzynska, Agnieszka Z; Wong, Chelsea N; Cooke, Gillian E; Clark, Rachel; Fanning, Jason; Awick, Elizabeth; Gothe, Neha P; Olson, Erin A; McAuley, Edward; Kramer, Arthur F

2016-05-01

Greater physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with reduced age-related cognitive decline and lower risk for dementia. However, significant gaps remain in the understanding of how physical activity and fitness protect the brain from adverse effects of brain aging. The primary goal of the current study was to empirically evaluate the independent relationships between physical activity and fitness with functional brain health among healthy older adults, as measured by the functional connectivity of cognitively and clinically relevant resting state networks. To build context for fitness and physical activity associations in older adults, we first demonstrate that young adults have greater within-network functional connectivity across a broad range of cortical association networks. Based on these results and previous research, we predicted that individual differences in fitness and physical activity would be most strongly associated with functional integrity of the networks most sensitive to aging. Consistent with this prediction, and extending on previous research, we showed that cardiorespiratory fitness has a positive relationship with functional connectivity of several cortical networks associated with age-related decline, and effects were strongest in the default mode network (DMN). Furthermore, our results suggest that the positive association of fitness with brain function can occur independent of habitual physical activity. Overall, our findings provide further support that cardiorespiratory fitness is an important factor in moderating the adverse effects of aging on cognitively and clinically relevant functional brain networks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fitness, but not physical activity, is related to functional integrity of brain networks associated with aging

PubMed Central

Voss, Michelle W.; Weng, Timothy B.; Burzynska, Agnieszka Z.; Wong, Chelsea N.; Cooke, Gillian E.; Clark, Rachel; Fanning, Jason; Awick, Elizabeth; Gothe, Neha P.; Olson, Erin A.; McAuley, Edward; Kramer, Arthur F.

2015-01-01

Greater physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with reduced age-related cognitive decline and lower risk for dementia. However, significant gaps remain in the understanding of how physical activity and fitness protect the brain from adverse effects of brain aging. The primary goal of the current study was to empirically evaluate the independent relationships between physical activity and fitness with functional brain health among healthy older adults, as measured by the functional connectivity of cognitively and clinically relevant resting state networks. To build context for fitness and physical activity associations in older adults, we first demonstrate that young adults have greater within-network functional connectivity across a broad range of cortical association networks. Based on these results and previous research, we predicted that individual differences in fitness and physical activity would be most strongly associated with functional integrity of the networks most sensitive to aging. Consistent with this prediction, and extending on previous research, we showed that cardiorespiratory fitness has a positive relationship with functional connectivity of several cortical networks associated with age-related decline, and effects were strongest in the Default Mode Network (DMN). Furthermore, our results suggest that the positive association of fitness with brain function can occur independent of habitual physical activity. Overall, our findings provide further support that cardiorespiratory fitness is an important factor in moderating the adverse effects of aging on cognitively and clinically relevant functional brain networks. PMID:26493108

Premium variation in the individual health insurance market.

PubMed

Herring, B; Pauly, M V

2001-03-01

Recent proposals to decrease the number of uninsured in the U.S. indicate that the individual health insurance market's role may increase. Amid fears of possible risk-segmentation in individual insurance, there exists limited information of the functioning of such markets. This paper examines the relationship between expected medical expense and actual paid premiums for households with individual insurance in the 1996-1997 Community Tracking Study's Household Survey. We find that premiums vary less than proportionately with expected expense and vary only with certain risk characteristics. We also explore how the relationship between risk and premiums is affected by local regulations and market characteristics. We find that premiums vary significantly less strongly with risk for persons insured by HMOs and in markets dominated by managed care insurers.

Dopaminergic influence on rat tongue function and limb movement initiation.

PubMed

Ciucci, Michelle Renee; Connor, Nadine P

2009-04-01

Altering dopamine synaptic transmission can affect both cranial and limb sensorimotor function, but often to a different degree of severity. We hypothesized that haloperidol has dose-dependent but differential effects on lingual forces, lingual movement rates, and limb movement initiation. We measured average and maximal lingual force, tongue press rate and cataleptic descent time in nine Fischer 344/Brown Norway rats in varied doses of haloperidol. Decreases in lingual force and temporal parameters and increases in cataleptic descent time were related to haloperidol dose. However, they were related to a different degree as the relationships were strong between average force and tongue press rate, moderate between maximal force and tongue press rate, moderate between average force and cataleptic descent time, and weak between maximal force and cataleptic descent time. Elucidating the relationships between the cranial and limb sensorimotor systems in the context of altered dopamine synaptic transmission may assist in developing therapies for conditions such as Parkinson's disease.

Usability: a critical success factor for managing change in the clinical info-structure.

PubMed

Kay, S

2005-06-01

There can be no doubt that the clinical info-structure is being significantly enriched with the deployment of new systems throughout the health sector. From a technological perspective, the initial emphasis has been mainly on functionality and only latterly on the usability of these clinical information systems. However, the large scale and rapid pace of the changes being wrought in the health sector will have a major impact on clinicians and patients, not least in how they interact with the technology. Therefore, it is not only hardware and software but people-ware, too, that needs to be actively managed; not simply a one-off functional specification but an ongoing, complex relationship. Usability is the human factor that encompasses the ethical, educational, and evaluative aspects of design. There is also a strong case for regarding usability of clinical information systems as a key critical success factor for the management of change within the health-care domain. In particular, the relationship between usability, and education and training is examined.

Interrelations between siblings and parents in families living with children with cancer.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Kyoko; Hayakawa, Akira; Hohashi, Naohiro

2015-02-01

Having a child diagnosed with cancer is a stressful event for the family. This exploratory multimethod study utilized both quantitative and qualitative multiinformant methodologies to investigate the relationships between parental family functioning and siblings' health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and to describe interrelations between the experiences of parents and siblings of children with childhood cancer. A total of 14 Japanese families participated in the quantitative study, and 4 families of the 14 participated in the qualitative study. In-depth, semistructured interviews revealed three family-unit stages during the time course of the ill child's treatment that included particular parent-sibling interrelations. We also found strong correlation between parental family functioning and siblings' HRQOL in the quantitative study. The results suggest the importance of family nursing interventions directed to individual family members and the family unit that focus on strengthening the parent-sibling relationship and supporting families who are experiencing childhood cancer. © The Author(s) 2014.

Cancer-specific self-efficacy and psychosocial and functional adaptation to early stage breast cancer.

PubMed

Manne, Sharon L; Ostroff, Jamie S; Norton, Tina R; Fox, Kevin; Grana, Generosa; Goldstein, Lori

2006-04-01

Although self-efficacy is considered a key psychological resource in adapting to chronic physical illness, this construct has received less attention among individuals coping with cancer. To examine changes in cancer self-efficacy over time among women with early stage breast cancer and associations between task-specific domains of self-efficacy and specific psychological, relationship, and functional outcomes. Ninety-five women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer completed surveys postsurgery and 1 year later. Cancer-related self-efficacy was relatively stable over 1 year, with only 2 domains of efficacy-(a) Activity Management and (b) Self-Satisfaction-evidencing significant increases over the 1-year time period. Cross-sectional findings were relatively consistent with predictions and suggested that specific domains of self-efficacy were more strongly related to relevant domains of adaptation. Longitudinal findings were not as consistent with the domain-specificity hypothesis but did suggest several predictive associations between self-efficacy and outcomes. Personal Management self-efficacy was associated with higher relationship satisfaction, higher Communication Self-Efficacy was associated with less functional impairment, and higher Affective Management self-efficacy was associated with higher self-esteem 1 year later. Specific domains of cancer-related self-efficacy are most closely related to relevant areas of adaptation when considered cross-sectionally, but further study is needed to clarify the nature of these relationships over time.

Phylogenomic analysis of Emiliania huxleyi provides evidence for haptophyte-stramenopile association and a chimeric haptophyte nuclear genome.

PubMed

Miller, John J; Delwiche, Charles F

2015-06-01

Emiliania huxleyi is a haptophyte alga of uncertain phylogenetic affinity containing a secondarily derived, chlorophyll c containing plastid. We sought to characterize its relationships with other taxa by quantifying the bipartitions in which it was included from a group of single protein phylogenetic trees in a way that allowed for variation in taxonomic content and accounted for paralogous sequences. The largest number of sequences supported a phylogenetic relationship of E. huxleyi with the stramenopiles, in particular Aureococcus anophagefferens. Far fewer nuclear sequences gave strong support to the placement of this coccolithophorid with the cryptophyte, Guillardia theta. The majority of the sequences that did support this relationship did not have plastid related functions. These results suggest that the haptophytes may be more closely allied with the heterokonts than with the cryptophytes. Another small set of genes associated E. huxleyi with the Viridiplantae with high support. While these genes could have been acquired with a plastid, the lack of plastid related functions among the proteins for which they code and the lack of other organisms with chlorophyll c containing plastids within these bipartitions suggests other explanations may be possible. This study also identified several genes that may have been transferred from the haptophyte lineage to the dinoflagellates Karenia brevis and Karlodinium veneficum as a result of their haptophyte derived plastid, including some with non-photosynthetic functions. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Soldier’s Manuals: A Field Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-02-01

This result reinforces our suspicion that the problems reported here (primarily the binding) are not a function of having to bind together the...and SOT sc-re data. Figu- e V.1 shows quite clearly that there is a strong and postive relationship between the Usage Index and the SOT Written Score...with them on field exercises (or were told to 113 II do so). The intent was to enable them to practice tasks in the SM during breaks and other down

["As white as snow, as red as blood..."].

PubMed

Petrilli, Alessandro

2005-01-01

The paper deals with the tale of Biancaneve and the seven dwarfs, by Grimm, used by the Author as a background to discuss the metaphorical function performed by blood images into the psychological relationship between parents and children. This allows a description of a feminine character which, already present in Greek mythology, at the origins of the Western civilization, has been apparently lost in the forthcoming Western cultural history, nonetheless strongly surviving in the construction of the consciousness and soul of women.

A structural equation model of patient-healthcare provider relationships and HIV-infected patient outcomes in Chinese populations.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Ti; Shiu, Chengshi; Yang, Joyce P; Chuang, Peing; Zhang, Lin; Bao, Meijuan; Lu, Hongzhou

2018-03-01

Obtaining maximum antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence is critical for maintaining a high CD4 count and strong immune function in PLWHA. Key factors for achieving optimum adherence include good medication self-efficacy, decreased medication-taking difficulties, and positive patient-healthcare provider (HCP) relationships. Limited studies have analyzed the correlation of these factors and ART adherence in Chinese population. In this paper, structural equation modeling was performed to assess the proposed model of relations between patient-HCP relationships and adherence. Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI) software was used to collect data on ART adherence and patient variables among 227 PLWHA in Shanghai and Taipei. Participants completed a one-time 60-minute ACASI survey that consisted of standardized measures to assess demographics, recent CD4 counts, self-efficacy, patient-HCP relationship, adherence, and medication-taking difficulties. The data shown the relationship between patient-HCP relationships and adherence was significantly consistent with mediation by medication self-efficacy. However, patient-HCP interaction did not directly influence medication-taking difficulties, and medication-taking difficulties did not significantly affect CD4 counts. Furthermore, patient-HCP interactions did not directly impact CD4 counts; rather, the relation was consistent with mediation (by either better medication self-efficacy or better adherence) or by improved adherence alone. Future interventions should be designed to enhance self-management and provide better patient-HCP communication. This improved communication will enhance medication self-efficacy and decrease medication-taking difficulties. This in turn will improve medication adherence and immune function among PLWHA.

Health-related quality of life and psychosocial functioning in children with Tourette syndrome: parent-child agreement and comparison to healthy norms.

PubMed

Gutierrez-Colina, Ana M; Eaton, Cyd K; Lee, Jennifer L; LaMotte, Julia; Blount, Ronald L

2015-03-01

This study aimed to evaluate the degree of agreement between parent proxy- and child self-report on measures of child psychosocial functioning and health-related quality of life in children with Tourette syndrome. Participants included 28 children with Tourette syndrome and their parents. All participants provided ratings of children's level of quality of life and psychosocial functioning. Results revealed strong, positive relationships between child self- and parent proxy-reports on all quality of life and psychosocial functioning domains. Parents perceived significantly higher levels of depression compared to their children, whereas children reported significantly lower Physical quality of life compared to their parents. Results suggest that assessment of quality of life and psychosocial functioning should include multiple reporters whenever feasible. Caution should be used when exclusively relying on parent proxy-reports of quality of life and psychosocial functioning, as these reports may not accurately reflect children's difficulties or perceptions of their functioning. © The Author(s) 2014.

Self-perceived attractiveness, romantic desirability and self-esteem: a mating sociometer perspective.

PubMed

Bale, Christopher; Archer, John

2013-01-26

Sociometer theory proposes that self-esteem is an adaptation which evolved to monitor and regulate interpersonal relationships. It is therefore sensitive to self-assessments in domains relevant to relational desirability. Positive relationships between self-perceived physical attractiveness and self-esteem found in previous studies may reflect the functioning of a mating sociometer, designed to monitor individuals' desirability as romantic or sexual partners. We thus predicted that these relationships should be mediated by self-perceptions of romantic desirability, or more specifically, individuals' confidence in their abilities to successfully establish and maintain romantic relationships. Two hundred and eighty seven young adults (98 male) completed an online measure of self-perceived attractiveness, together with measures of self-confidence in appearance and romantic relationships, body-esteem and global self-esteem. Linear regression analyses indicated that self-perceived attractiveness, self-confidence in appearance and body-esteem all significantly predicted self-esteem, and that in each case, the relationship was mediated by romantic self-confidence. Self-perceived attractiveness predicted self-esteem significantly more strongly in females than in males. We discuss these results in relation to sociometer and parental investment theories, and explore limitations and future directions.

Annual grass invasion in sagebrush-steppe: The relative importance of climate, soil properties and biotic interactions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bansal, Sheel; Sheley, Roger L.

2016-01-01

The invasion by winter-annual grasses (AGs) such as Bromus tectorum into sagebrush steppe throughout the western USA is a classic example of a biological invasion with multiple, interacting climate, soil and biotic factors driving the invasion, although few studies have examined all components together. Across a 6000-km2 area of the northern Great Basin, we conducted a field assessment of 100 climate, soil, and biotic (functional group abundances, diversity) factors at each of 90 sites that spanned an invasion gradient ranging from 0 to 100 % AG cover. We first determined which biotic and abiotic factors had the strongest correlative relationships with AGs and each resident functional group. We then used regression and structural equation modeling to explore how multiple ecological factors interact to influence AG abundance. Among biotic interactions, we observed negative relationships between AGs and biodiversity, perennial grass cover, resident species richness, biological soil crust cover and shrub density, whereas perennial and annual forb cover, tree cover and soil microbial biomass had no direct linkage to AG. Among abiotic factors, AG cover was strongly related to climate (increasing cover with increasing temperature and aridity), but had weak relationships with soil factors. Our structural equation model showed negative effects of perennial grasses and biodiversity on AG cover while integrating the negative effects of warmer climate and positive influence of belowground processes on resident functional groups. Our findings illustrate the relative importance of biotic interactions and climate on invasive abundance, while soil properties appear to have stronger relationships with resident biota than with invasives.

Study on probability distribution of prices in electricity market: A case study of zhejiang province, china

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, H.; Chen, B.; Han, Z. X.; Zhang, F. Q.

2009-05-01

The study on probability density function and distribution function of electricity prices contributes to the power suppliers and purchasers to estimate their own management accurately, and helps the regulator monitor the periods deviating from normal distribution. Based on the assumption of normal distribution load and non-linear characteristic of the aggregate supply curve, this paper has derived the distribution of electricity prices as the function of random variable of load. The conclusion has been validated with the electricity price data of Zhejiang market. The results show that electricity prices obey normal distribution approximately only when supply-demand relationship is loose, whereas the prices deviate from normal distribution and present strong right-skewness characteristic. Finally, the real electricity markets also display the narrow-peak characteristic when undersupply occurs.

Last Millennium ENSO-Mean State Interactions in the Tropical Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyman, D. A.; Conroy, J. L.; Karamperidou, C.

2017-12-01

The nature and degree of interaction between the mean state of the tropical Pacific and ENSO remains an open question. Here we use high temporal resolution, tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) records from the last millennium to investigate the relationship between ENSO and the tropical Pacific zonal sea surface temperature gradient (hereafter dSST). A dSST time series was created by standardizing, interpolating, and compositing 7 SST records from the western and 3 SST records from the eastern tropical Pacific. Propagating the age uncertainty of each of these records was accomplished through a Monte Carlo Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis. We find last millennium dSST is strong from 700 to 1300 CE, begins to weaken at approximately 1300 CE, and decreases more rapidly at 1700 CE. dSST was compared to 14 different ENSO reconstructions, independent of the records used to create dSST, to assess the nature of the ENSO-mean state relationship. dSST correlations with 50-year standard deviations of ENSO reconstructions are consistently negative, suggesting that more frequent, strong El Niño events on this timescale reduces dSST. To further assess the strength and direction of the ENSO-dSST relationship, moving 100-year standard deviations of ENSO reconstructions were compared to moving 100-year averages of dSST using Cohen's Kappa statistic, which measures categorical agreement. The Li et al. (2011) and Li et al. (2013) Nino 3.4 ENSO reconstructions had the highest agreement with dSST (k=0.80 and 0.70, respectively), with greater ENSO standard deviation coincident with periods of weak dSST. Other ENSO reconstructions showed weaker agreement with dSST, which may be partly due to low sample size. The consistent directional agreement of dSST with ENSO, coupled with the inability of strong ENSO events to develop under a weak SST gradient, suggests periods of more frequent strong El Niño events reduced tropical Pacific dSST on centennial timescales over the last millennium.

Accounting for epistatic interactions improves the functional analysis of protein structures.

PubMed

Wilkins, Angela D; Venner, Eric; Marciano, David C; Erdin, Serkan; Atri, Benu; Lua, Rhonald C; Lichtarge, Olivier

2013-11-01

The constraints under which sequence, structure and function coevolve are not fully understood. Bringing this mutual relationship to light can reveal the molecular basis of binding, catalysis and allostery, thereby identifying function and rationally guiding protein redesign. Underlying these relationships are the epistatic interactions that occur when the consequences of a mutation to a protein are determined by the genetic background in which it occurs. Based on prior data, we hypothesize that epistatic forces operate most strongly between residues nearby in the structure, resulting in smooth evolutionary importance across the structure. We find that when residue scores of evolutionary importance are distributed smoothly between nearby residues, functional site prediction accuracy improves. Accordingly, we designed a novel measure of evolutionary importance that focuses on the interaction between pairs of structurally neighboring residues. This measure that we term pair-interaction Evolutionary Trace yields greater functional site overlap and better structure-based proteome-wide functional predictions. Our data show that the structural smoothness of evolutionary importance is a fundamental feature of the coevolution of sequence, structure and function. Mutations operate on individual residues, but selective pressure depends in part on the extent to which a mutation perturbs interactions with neighboring residues. In practice, this principle led us to redefine the importance of a residue in terms of the importance of its epistatic interactions with neighbors, yielding better annotation of functional residues, motivating experimental validation of a novel functional site in LexA and refining protein function prediction. lichtarge@bcm.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

The influence of illness-related variables, personal resources and context-related factors on real-life functioning of people with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Galderisi, Silvana; Rossi, Alessandro; Rocca, Paola; Bertolino, Alessandro; Mucci, Armida; Bucci, Paola; Rucci, Paola; Gibertoni, Dino; Aguglia, Eugenio; Amore, Mario; Bellomo, Antonello; Biondi, Massimo; Brugnoli, Roberto; Dell'Osso, Liliana; De Ronchi, Diana; Di Emidio, Gabriella; Di Giannantonio, Massimo; Fagiolini, Andrea; Marchesi, Carlo; Monteleone, Palmiero; Oldani, Lucio; Pinna, Federica; Roncone, Rita; Sacchetti, Emilio; Santonastaso, Paolo; Siracusano, Alberto; Vita, Antonio; Zeppegno, Patrizia; Maj, Mario

2014-10-01

In people suffering from schizophrenia, major areas of everyday life are impaired, including independent living, productive activities and social relationships. Enhanced understanding of factors that hinder real-life functioning is vital for treatments to translate into more positive outcomes. The goal of the present study was to identify predictors of real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia, and to assess their relative contribution. Based on previous literature and clinical experience, several factors were selected and grouped into three categories: illness-related variables, personal resources and context-related factors. Some of these variables were never investigated before in relationship with real-life functioning. In 921 patients with schizophrenia living in the community, we found that variables relevant to the disease, personal resources and social context explain 53.8% of real-life functioning variance in a structural equation model. Neurocognition exhibited the strongest, though indirect, association with real-life functioning. Positive symptoms and disorganization, as well as avolition, proved to have significant direct and indirect effects, while depression had no significant association and poor emotional expression was only indirectly and weakly related to real-life functioning. Availability of a disability pension and access to social and family incentives also showed a significant direct association with functioning. Social cognition, functional capacity, resilience, internalized stigma and engagement with mental health services served as mediators. The observed complex associations among investigated predictors, mediators and real-life functioning strongly suggest that integrated and personalized programs should be provided as standard treatment to people with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2014 World Psychiatric Association.

Accounting for epistatic interactions improves the functional analysis of protein structures

PubMed Central

Wilkins, Angela D.; Venner, Eric; Marciano, David C.; Erdin, Serkan; Atri, Benu; Lua, Rhonald C.; Lichtarge, Olivier

2013-01-01

Motivation: The constraints under which sequence, structure and function coevolve are not fully understood. Bringing this mutual relationship to light can reveal the molecular basis of binding, catalysis and allostery, thereby identifying function and rationally guiding protein redesign. Underlying these relationships are the epistatic interactions that occur when the consequences of a mutation to a protein are determined by the genetic background in which it occurs. Based on prior data, we hypothesize that epistatic forces operate most strongly between residues nearby in the structure, resulting in smooth evolutionary importance across the structure. Methods and Results: We find that when residue scores of evolutionary importance are distributed smoothly between nearby residues, functional site prediction accuracy improves. Accordingly, we designed a novel measure of evolutionary importance that focuses on the interaction between pairs of structurally neighboring residues. This measure that we term pair-interaction Evolutionary Trace yields greater functional site overlap and better structure-based proteome-wide functional predictions. Conclusions: Our data show that the structural smoothness of evolutionary importance is a fundamental feature of the coevolution of sequence, structure and function. Mutations operate on individual residues, but selective pressure depends in part on the extent to which a mutation perturbs interactions with neighboring residues. In practice, this principle led us to redefine the importance of a residue in terms of the importance of its epistatic interactions with neighbors, yielding better annotation of functional residues, motivating experimental validation of a novel functional site in LexA and refining protein function prediction. Contact: lichtarge@bcm.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:24021383

Measurement of exclusive π(0) electroproduction structure functions and their relationship to transverse generalized parton distributions.

PubMed

Bedlinskiy, I; Kubarovsky, V; Niccolai, S; Stoler, P; Adhikari, K P; Aghasyan, M; Amaryan, M J; Anghinolfi, M; Avakian, H; Baghdasaryan, H; Ball, J; Baltzell, N A; Battaglieri, M; Bennett, R P; Biselli, A S; Bookwalter, C; Boiarinov, S; Briscoe, W J; Brooks, W K; Burkert, V D; Carman, D S; Celentano, A; Chandavar, S; Charles, G; Contalbrigo, M; Crede, V; D'Angelo, A; Daniel, A; Dashyan, N; De Vita, R; De Sanctis, E; Deur, A; Djalali, C; Doughty, D; Dupre, R; Egiyan, H; El Alaoui, A; El Fassi, L; Elouadrhiri, L; Eugenio, P; Fedotov, G; Fegan, S; Fleming, J A; Forest, T A; Fradi, A; Garçon, M; Gevorgyan, N; Giovanetti, K L; Girod, F X; Gohn, W; Gothe, R W; Graham, L; Griffioen, K A; Guegan, B; Guidal, M; Guo, L; Hafidi, K; Hakobyan, H; Hanretty, C; Heddle, D; Hicks, K; Holtrop, M; Ilieva, Y; Ireland, D G; Ishkhanov, B S; Isupov, E L; Jo, H S; Joo, K; Keller, D; Khandaker, M; Khetarpal, P; Kim, A; Kim, W; Klein, F J; Koirala, S; Kubarovsky, A; Kuhn, S E; Kuleshov, S V; Kvaltine, N D; Livingston, K; Lu, H Y; MacGregor, I J D; Mao, Y; Markov, N; Martinez, D; Mayer, M; McKinnon, B; Meyer, C A; Mineeva, T; Mirazita, M; Mokeev, V; Moutarde, H; Munevar, E; Munoz Camacho, C; Nadel-Turonski, P; Niculescu, G; Niculescu, I; Osipenko, M; Ostrovidov, A I; Pappalardo, L L; Paremuzyan, R; Park, K; Park, S; Pasyuk, E; Anefalos Pereira, S; Phelps, E; Pisano, S; Pogorelko, O; Pozdniakov, S; Price, J W; Procureur, S; Prok, Y; Protopopescu, D; Puckett, A J R; Raue, B A; Ricco, G; Rimal, D; Ripani, M; Rosner, G; Rossi, P; Sabatié, F; Saini, M S; Salgado, C; Saylor, N; Schott, D; Schumacher, R A; Seder, E; Seraydaryan, H; Sharabian, Y G; Smith, G D; Sober, D I; Sokhan, D; Stepanyan, S S; Stepanyan, S; Strauch, S; Taiuti, M; Tang, W; Taylor, C E; Tian, Ye; Tkachenko, S; Ungaro, M; Vineyard, M F; Vlassov, A; Voskanyan, H; Voutier, E; Walford, N K; Watts, D P; Weinstein, L B; Weygand, D P; Wood, M H; Zachariou, N; Zhang, J; Zhao, Z W; Zonta, I

2012-09-14

Exclusive π(0) electroproduction at a beam energy of 5.75 GeV has been measured with the Jefferson Lab CLAS spectrometer. Differential cross sections were measured at more than 1800 kinematic values in Q(2), x(B), t, and ϕ(π), in the Q(2) range from 1.0 to 4.6  GeV(2), -t up to 2  GeV(2), and x(B) from 0.1 to 0.58. Structure functions σ(T)+ϵσ(L), σ(TT), and σ(LT) were extracted as functions of t for each of 17 combinations of Q(2) and x(B). The data were compared directly with two handbag-based calculations including both longitudinal and transversity generalized parton distributions (GPDs). Inclusion of only longitudinal GPDs very strongly underestimates σ(T)+ϵσ(L) and fails to account for σ(TT) and σ(LT), while inclusion of transversity GPDs brings the calculations into substantially better agreement with the data. There is very strong sensitivity to the relative contributions of nucleon helicity-flip and helicity nonflip processes. The results confirm that exclusive π(0) electroproduction offers direct experimental access to the transversity GPDs.

Measurement of Exclusive π0 Electroproduction Structure Functions and their Relationship to Transverse Generalized Parton Distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedlinskiy, I.; Kubarovsky, V.; Niccolai, S.; Stoler, P.; Adhikari, K. P.; Aghasyan, M.; Amaryan, M. J.; Anghinolfi, M.; Avakian, H.; Baghdasaryan, H.; Ball, J.; Baltzell, N. A.; Battaglieri, M.; Bennett, R. P.; Biselli, A. S.; Bookwalter, C.; Boiarinov, S.; Briscoe, W. J.; Brooks, W. K.; Burkert, V. D.; Carman, D. S.; Celentano, A.; Chandavar, S.; Charles, G.; Contalbrigo, M.; Crede, V.; D'Angelo, A.; Daniel, A.; Dashyan, N.; De Vita, R.; De Sanctis, E.; Deur, A.; Djalali, C.; Doughty, D.; Dupre, R.; Egiyan, H.; El Alaoui, A.; El Fassi, L.; Elouadrhiri, L.; Eugenio, P.; Fedotov, G.; Fegan, S.; Fleming, J. A.; Forest, T. A.; Fradi, A.; Garçon, M.; Gevorgyan, N.; Giovanetti, K. L.; Girod, F. X.; Gohn, W.; Gothe, R. W.; Graham, L.; Griffioen, K. A.; Guegan, B.; Guidal, M.; Guo, L.; Hafidi, K.; Hakobyan, H.; Hanretty, C.; Heddle, D.; Hicks, K.; Holtrop, M.; Ilieva, Y.; Ireland, D. G.; Ishkhanov, B. S.; Isupov, E. L.; Jo, H. S.; Joo, K.; Keller, D.; Khandaker, M.; Khetarpal, P.; Kim, A.; Kim, W.; Klein, F. J.; Koirala, S.; Kubarovsky, A.; Kuhn, S. E.; Kuleshov, S. V.; Kvaltine, N. D.; Livingston, K.; Lu, H. Y.; MacGregor, I. J. D.; Mao, Y.; Markov, N.; Martinez, D.; Mayer, M.; McKinnon, B.; Meyer, C. A.; Mineeva, T.; Mirazita, M.; Mokeev, V.; Moutarde, H.; Munevar, E.; Munoz Camacho, C.; Nadel-Turonski, P.; Niculescu, G.; Niculescu, I.; Osipenko, M.; Ostrovidov, A. I.; Pappalardo, L. L.; Paremuzyan, R.; Park, K.; Park, S.; Pasyuk, E.; Anefalos Pereira, S.; Phelps, E.; Pisano, S.; Pogorelko, O.; Pozdniakov, S.; Price, J. W.; Procureur, S.; Prok, Y.; Protopopescu, D.; Puckett, A. J. R.; Raue, B. A.; Ricco, G.; Rimal, D.; Ripani, M.; Rosner, G.; Rossi, P.; Sabatié, F.; Saini, M. S.; Salgado, C.; Saylor, N.; Schott, D.; Schumacher, R. A.; Seder, E.; Seraydaryan, H.; Sharabian, Y. G.; Smith, G. D.; Sober, D. I.; Sokhan, D.; Stepanyan, S. S.; Stepanyan, S.; Strauch, S.; Taiuti, M.; Tang, W.; Taylor, C. E.; Tian, Ye; Tkachenko, S.; Ungaro, M.; Vineyard, M. F.; Vlassov, A.; Voskanyan, H.; Voutier, E.; Walford, N. K.; Watts, D. P.; Weinstein, L. B.; Weygand, D. P.; Wood, M. H.; Zachariou, N.; Zhang, J.; Zhao, Z. W.; Zonta, I.

2012-09-01

Exclusive π0 electroproduction at a beam energy of 5.75 GeV has been measured with the Jefferson Lab CLAS spectrometer. Differential cross sections were measured at more than 1800 kinematic values in Q2, xB, t, and ϕπ, in the Q2 range from 1.0 to 4.6GeV2, -t up to 2GeV2, and xB from 0.1 to 0.58. Structure functions σT+ɛσL, σTT, and σLT were extracted as functions of t for each of 17 combinations of Q2 and xB. The data were compared directly with two handbag-based calculations including both longitudinal and transversity generalized parton distributions (GPDs). Inclusion of only longitudinal GPDs very strongly underestimates σT+ɛσL and fails to account for σTT and σLT, while inclusion of transversity GPDs brings the calculations into substantially better agreement with the data. There is very strong sensitivity to the relative contributions of nucleon helicity-flip and helicity nonflip processes. The results confirm that exclusive π0 electroproduction offers direct experimental access to the transversity GPDs.

Validity of the lower extremity functional movement screen in patients with chronic ankle instability.

PubMed

Choi, Ho-Suk; Shin, Won-Seob

2015-06-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of construct validity for the lower extremity functional movement screen (LE-FMS) based on hypothesis testing in patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI). [Subjects] The subjects were 20 healthy subjects and 20 patients with CAI who had a history of ankle sprain with pain for more than 1 day. [Methods] All participants were measured using the Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) and evaluated with the LE-FMS. The screen included the deep squat, the hurdle step (HS) and the in-line lunge (ILL). The symmetry ratios (RS) were accurately measured during the deep squat trial. [Results] Between the two groups, there were significant differences in scores on the LE-FMS, HS, ILL, RS, FADI, and FADI-sport. The FADI was strongly correlated with both LE-FMS score (r=0.807) and ILL score (r=0.896). There was a strong relationship (r=0.818) between LE-FMS score and FADI-sport. [Conclusion] These results suggest that the LE-FMS may be used to detect deficits related to CAI. Additionally, this instrument is reliable in detecting functional limitations in patients with CAI.

Selective Tree-ring Models: A Novel Method for Reconstructing Streamflow Using Tree Rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foard, M. B.; Nelson, A. S.; Harley, G. L.

2017-12-01

Surface water is among the most instrumental and vulnerable resources in the Northwest United States (NW). Recent observations show that overall water quantity is declining in streams across the region, while extreme flooding events occur more frequently. Historical streamflow models inform probabilities of extreme flow events (flood or drought) by describing frequency and duration of past events. There are numerous examples of tree-rings being utilized to reconstruct streamflow in the NW. These models confirm that tree-rings are highly accurate at predicting streamflow, however there are many nuances that limit their applicability through time and space. For example, most models predict streamflow from hydrologically altered rivers (e.g. dammed, channelized) which may hinder our ability to predict natural prehistoric flow. They also have a tendency to over/under-predict extreme flow events. Moreover, they often neglect to capture the changing relationships between tree-growth and streamflow over time and space. To address these limitations, we utilized national tree-ring and streamflow archives to investigate the relationships between the growth of multiple coniferous species and free-flowing streams across the NW using novel species-and site-specific streamflow models - a term we coined"selective tree-ring models." Correlation function analysis and regression modeling were used to evaluate the strengths and directions of the flow-growth relationships. Species with significant relationships in the same direction were identified as strong candidates for selective models. Temporal and spatial patterns of these relationships were examined using running correlations and inverse distance weighting interpolation, respectively. Our early results indicate that (1) species adapted to extreme climates (e.g. hot-dry, cold-wet) exhibit the most consistent relationships across space, (2) these relationships weaken in locations with mild climatic variability, and (3) some species appear to be strong candidates for predicting high flow events, while others may be better at pridicting drought. These findings indicate that selective models may outperform traditional models when reconstructing distinctive aspects of streamflow.

Beneath the veil: Plant growth form influences the strength of species richness-productivity relationships in forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oberle, B.; Grace, J.B.; Chase, J.M.

2009-01-01

Aim: Species richness has been observed to increase with productivity at large spatial scales, though the strength of this relationship varies among functional groups. In forests, canopy trees shade understorey plants, and for this reason we hypothesize that species richness of canopy trees will depend on macroclimate, while species richness of shorter growth forms will additionally be affected by shading from the canopy. In this study we test for differences in species richness-productivity relationships (SRPRs) among growth forms (canopy trees, shrubs, herbaceous species) in small forest plots. Location: We analysed 231 plots ranging from 34.0?? to 48.3?? N latitude and from 75.0?? to 124.2?? W longitude in the United States. Methods: We analysed data collected by the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis program for plant species richness partitioned into different growth forms, in small plots. We used actual evapotranspiration as a macroclimatic estimate of regional productivity and calculated the area of light-blocking tissue in the immediate area surrounding plots for an estimate of the intensity of local shading. We estimated and compared SRPRs for different partitions of the species richness dataset using generalized linear models and we incorporated the possible indirect effects of shading using a structural equation model. Results: Canopy tree species richness increased strongly with regional productivity, while local shading primarily explained the variation in herbaceous plant richness. Shrub species richness was related to both regional productivity and local shading. Main conclusions: The relationship between total forest plant species richness and productivity at large scales belies strong effects of local interactions. Counter to the pattern for overall richness, we found that understorey herbaceous plant species richness does not respond to regional productivity gradients, and instead is strongly influenced by canopy density, while shrub species richness is under multivariate control. ?? 2009 Blackwell Publishing.

Synthetic lipids and their role in defining macromolecular assemblies.

PubMed

Parrill, Abby L

2015-10-01

Lipids have a variety of physiological roles, ranging from structural and biophysical contributions to membrane functions to signaling contributions in normal and abnormal physiology. This review highlights some of the contributions made by Robert Bittman to our understanding of lipid assemblies through the production of synthetic lipid analogs in the sterol, sphingolipid, and glycolipid classes. His contributions have included the development of a fluorescent cholesterol analog that shows strong functional analogies to cholesterol that has allowed live imaging of cholesterol distribution in living systems, to stereospecific synthetic approaches to both sphingolipid and glycolipid analogs crucial in defining the structure-activity relationships of lipid biological targets. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nonlocality and Short-Range Wetting Phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parry, A. O.; Romero-Enrique, J. M.; Lazarides, A.

2004-08-01

We propose a nonlocal interfacial model for 3D short-range wetting at planar and nonplanar walls. The model is characterized by a binding-potential functional depending only on the bulk Ornstein-Zernike correlation function, which arises from different classes of tubelike fluctuations that connect the interface and the substrate. The theory provides a physical explanation for the origin of the effective position-dependent stiffness and binding potential in approximate local theories and also obeys the necessary classical wedge covariance relationship between wetting and wedge filling. Renormalization group and computer simulation studies reveal the strong nonperturbative influence of nonlocality at critical wetting, throwing light on long-standing theoretical problems regarding the order of the phase transition.

Nonlocality and short-range wetting phenomena.

PubMed

Parry, A O; Romero-Enrique, J M; Lazarides, A

2004-08-20

We propose a nonlocal interfacial model for 3D short-range wetting at planar and nonplanar walls. The model is characterized by a binding-potential functional depending only on the bulk Ornstein-Zernike correlation function, which arises from different classes of tubelike fluctuations that connect the interface and the substrate. The theory provides a physical explanation for the origin of the effective position-dependent stiffness and binding potential in approximate local theories and also obeys the necessary classical wedge covariance relationship between wetting and wedge filling. Renormalization group and computer simulation studies reveal the strong nonperturbative influence of nonlocality at critical wetting, throwing light on long-standing theoretical problems regarding the order of the phase transition.

A method for functional network connectivity among spatially independent resting-state components in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Jafri, Madiha J; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Stevens, Michael; Calhoun, Vince D

2008-02-15

Functional connectivity of the brain has been studied by analyzing correlation differences in time courses among seed voxels or regions with other voxels of the brain in healthy individuals as well as in patients with brain disorders. The spatial extent of strongly temporally coherent brain regions co-activated during rest has also been examined using independent component analysis (ICA). However, the weaker temporal relationships among ICA component time courses, which we operationally define as a measure of functional network connectivity (FNC), have not yet been studied. In this study, we propose an approach for evaluating FNC and apply it to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected from persons with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We examined the connectivity and latency among ICA component time courses to test the hypothesis that patients with schizophrenia would show increased functional connectivity and increased lag among resting state networks compared to controls. Resting state fMRI data were collected and the inter-relationships among seven selected resting state networks (identified using group ICA) were evaluated by correlating each subject's ICA time courses with one another. Patients showed higher correlation than controls among most of the dominant resting state networks. Patients also had slightly more variability in functional connectivity than controls. We present a novel approach for quantifying functional connectivity among brain networks identified with spatial ICA. Significant differences between patient and control connectivity in different networks were revealed possibly reflecting deficiencies in cortical processing in patients.

A Method for Functional Network Connectivity Among Spatially Independent Resting-State Components in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Jafri, Madiha J; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Stevens, Michael; Calhoun, Vince D

2011-01-01

Functional connectivity of the brain has been studied by analyzing correlation differences in time courses among seed voxels or regions with other voxels of the brain in patients versus controls. The spatial extent of strongly temporally coherent brain regions co-activated during rest has also been examined using independent component analysis (ICA). However, the weaker temporal relationships among ICA component time courses, which we operationally define as a measure of functional network connectivity (FNC), have not yet been studied. In this study, we propose an approach for evaluating FNC and apply it to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected from persons with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We examined the connectivity and latency among ICA component time courses to test the hypothesis that patients with schizophrenia would show increased functional connectivity and increased lag among resting state networks compared to controls. Resting state fMRI data were collected and the inter-relationships among seven selected resting state networks (identified using group ICA) were evaluated by correlating each subject’s ICA time courses with one another. Patients showed higher correlation than controls among most of the dominant resting state networks. Patients also had slightly more variability in functional connectivity than controls. We present a novel approach for quantifying functional connectivity among brain networks identified with spatial ICA. Significant differences between patient and control connectivity in different networks were revealed possibly reflecting deficiencies in cortical processing in patients. PMID:18082428

Evaluation of visual and computer-based CT analysis for the identification of functional patterns of obstruction and restriction in hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

PubMed

Jacob, Joseph; Bartholmai, Brian J; Brun, Anne Laure; Egashira, Ryoko; Rajagopalan, Srinivasan; Karwoski, Ronald; Kouranos, Vasileios; Kokosi, Maria; Hansell, David M; Wells, Athol U

2017-11-01

To determine whether computer-based quantification (CALIPER software) is superior to visual computed tomography (CT) scoring in the identification of CT patterns indicative of restrictive and obstructive functional indices in hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP). A total of 135 consecutive HP patients had CT parenchymal patterns evaluated quantitatively by both visual scoring and CALIPER. Results were evaluated against: forced vital capacity (FVC), total lung capacity (TLC), diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DL CO ) and a composite physiological index (CPI) to identify which CT scoring method better correlated with functional indices. CALIPER-derived scores of total interstitial lung disease extent correlated more strongly than visual scores: FVC (CALIPER R = 0.73, visual R = 0.51); DL CO (CALIPER R = 0.61, visual R = 0.48); and CPI (CALIPER R = 0·70, visual R = 0·55). The CT variable that correlated most strongly with restrictive functional indices was CALIPER pulmonary vessel volume (PVV): FVC R = 0.75, DL CO R = 0.68 and CPI R = 0.76. Ground-glass opacity quantified by CALIPER alone demonstrated strong associations with restrictive functional indices: CALIPER FVC R = 0.65; DL CO R = 0.59; CPI R = 0.64; and visual = not significant. Decreased attenuation lung quantified by CALIPER was a better morphological measure of obstructive lung disease than equivalent visual scores as judged by relationships with TLC (CALIPER R = 0.63 and visual R = 0.12). All results were maintained on multivariate analysis. CALIPER improved on visual scoring in HP as judged by restrictive and obstructive functional correlations. Decreased attenuation regions of the lung quantified by CALIPER demonstrated better linkages to obstructive lung physiology than visually quantified CT scores. A novel CALIPER variable, the PVV, demonstrated the strongest linkages with restrictive functional indices and could represent a new automated index of disease severity in HP. © 2017 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

Insulin resistance-associated decreases in left ventricular diastolic function are strongly modified by the extent of concentric remodeling in a community sample.

PubMed

Peterson, Vernice; Norton, Gavin R; Raymond, Andrew; Libhaber, Carlos D; Millen, Aletta M E; Majane, Olebogeng H I; Maseko, Muzi J; Woodiwiss, Angela J

2016-10-01

Whether excess adiposity, associated metabolic abnormalities or alternative risk factors for left ventricular (LV) diastolic function are modified rather than mediated by geometric LV remodeling, is uncertain. Echocardiographic LV mass index (LVMI), relative wall thickness (RWT) and diastolic function (lateral and septal wall myocardial tissue lengthening at the level of the mitral annulus [e'] [n=430], ratio of early-to-late transmitral blood flow velocity (E/A), and E/e' [n=430]) were determined in 737 randomly recruited participants of a community-based study (43% obese). Independent of LVMI and confounders, indexes of adiposity and the homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were independently associated with LV diastolic function (p<0.05). In addition, RWT was independently associated with LV diastolic function (p<0.002). Importantly, an independent interaction between HOMA-IR and RWT, but not between blood pressure or age and RWT, was related to LV diastolic function (p<0.05). This translated into an independent relationship between HOMA-IR and lateral e' (partial r=-0.17, p<0.02), septal e' (partial r=-0.14, p=0.05), E/A (partial r=-0.17, p<0.005) and E/e' (partial r=0.19, p<0.01) in those with RWT above, but a lack of relationship between HOMA-IR and LV diastolic function (p>0.59) in those with RWT below the median for the sample. Similarly, HOMA-IR was independently associated with LV diastolic dysfunction in those with RWT above (p<0.05) but not below (p>0.19) the median for the sample. The relationship between insulin resistance, but not alternative risk factors and LV diastolic function is markedly modified by the presence of a more concentrically remodeled LV. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organellar phylogenomics of an emerging model system: Sphagnum (peatmoss).

PubMed

Jonathan Shaw, A; Devos, Nicolas; Liu, Yang; Cox, Cymon J; Goffinet, Bernard; Flatberg, Kjell Ivar; Shaw, Blanka

2016-08-01

Sphagnum-dominated peatlands contain approx. 30 % of the terrestrial carbon pool in the form of partially decomposed plant material (peat), and, as a consequence, Sphagnum is currently a focus of studies on biogeochemistry and control of global climate. Sphagnum species differ in ecologically important traits that scale up to impact ecosystem function, and sequencing of the genome from selected Sphagnum species is currently underway. As an emerging model system, these resources for Sphagnum will facilitate linking nucleotide variation to plant functional traits, and through those traits to ecosystem processes. A solid phylogenetic framework for Sphagnum is crucial to comparative analyses of species-specific traits, but relationships among major clades within Sphagnum have been recalcitrant to resolution because the genus underwent a rapid radiation. Herein a well-supported hypothesis for phylogenetic relationships among major clades within Sphagnum based on organellar genome sequences (plastid, mitochondrial) is provided. We obtained nucleotide sequences (273 753 nucleotides in total) from the two organellar genomes from 38 species (including three outgroups). Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using a variety of methods applied to nucleotide and amino acid sequences. The Sphagnum phylogeny was rooted with sequences from the related Sphagnopsida genera, Eosphagnum and Flatbergium Phylogenetic analyses of the data converge on the following subgeneric relationships: (Rigida (((Subsecunda) (Cuspidata)) ((Sphagnum) (Acutifolia))). All relationships were strongly supported. Species in the two major clades (i.e. Subsecunda + Cuspidata and Sphagnum + Acutifolia), which include >90 % of all Sphagnum species, differ in ecological niches and these differences correlate with other functional traits that impact biogeochemical cycling. Mitochondrial intron presence/absence are variable among species and genera of the Sphagnopsida. Two new nomenclatural combinations are made, in the genera Eosphagnum and Flatbergium Newly resolved relationships now permit phylogenetic analyses of morphological, biochemical and ecological traits among Sphagnum species. The results clarify long-standing disagreements about subgeneric relationships and intrageneric classification. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Organellar phylogenomics of an emerging model system: Sphagnum (peatmoss)

PubMed Central

Jonathan Shaw, A.; Devos, Nicolas; Liu, Yang; Cox, Cymon J.; Goffinet, Bernard; Flatberg, Kjell Ivar; Shaw, Blanka

2016-01-01

Background and Aims Sphagnum-dominated peatlands contain approx. 30 % of the terrestrial carbon pool in the form of partially decomposed plant material (peat), and, as a consequence, Sphagnum is currently a focus of studies on biogeochemistry and control of global climate. Sphagnum species differ in ecologically important traits that scale up to impact ecosystem function, and sequencing of the genome from selected Sphagnum species is currently underway. As an emerging model system, these resources for Sphagnum will facilitate linking nucleotide variation to plant functional traits, and through those traits to ecosystem processes. A solid phylogenetic framework for Sphagnum is crucial to comparative analyses of species-specific traits, but relationships among major clades within Sphagnum have been recalcitrant to resolution because the genus underwent a rapid radiation. Herein a well-supported hypothesis for phylogenetic relationships among major clades within Sphagnum based on organellar genome sequences (plastid, mitochondrial) is provided. Methods We obtained nucleotide sequences (273 753 nucleotides in total) from the two organellar genomes from 38 species (including three outgroups). Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using a variety of methods applied to nucleotide and amino acid sequences. The Sphagnum phylogeny was rooted with sequences from the related Sphagnopsida genera, Eosphagnum and Flatbergium. Key Results Phylogenetic analyses of the data converge on the following subgeneric relationships: (Rigida (((Subsecunda) (Cuspidata)) ((Sphagnum) (Acutifolia))). All relationships were strongly supported. Species in the two major clades (i.e. Subsecunda + Cuspidata and Sphagnum + Acutifolia), which include >90 % of all Sphagnum species, differ in ecological niches and these differences correlate with other functional traits that impact biogeochemical cycling. Mitochondrial intron presence/absence are variable among species and genera of the Sphagnopsida. Two new nomenclatural combinations are made, in the genera Eosphagnum and Flatbergium. Conclusions Newly resolved relationships now permit phylogenetic analyses of morphological, biochemical and ecological traits among Sphagnum species. The results clarify long-standing disagreements about subgeneric relationships and intrageneric classification. PMID:27268484

Dopamine and executive function: Increased spontaneous eye blink rates correlate with better set-shifting and inhibition, but poorer updating.

PubMed

Zhang, Ting; Mou, Di; Wang, Cuicui; Tan, Fengping; Jiang, Yan; Lijun, Zheng; Li, Hong

2015-06-01

The central dopamine system (DA) has a significant role in the executive function (EF). The spontaneous eye blink rate (EBR) is an effective clinical and non-invasive measure, which is strongly related to the activity of the central dopaminergic system. Previous studies show significant relationships between the two main dimensions of EF (i.e., shifting and inhibition) and the central DA system as measured by EBR. However, most of these studies involve only one EF task for shifting or inhibition; whether or not these relationships are replicated by other EF tasks remains unclear. Besides, the relationship between EBR and another important EF dimension-updating-also remains unknown. The present study examined the correlation between EBR and several EF tasks that captured all the three EF dimensions: shifting, inhibition, and updating. A total of 61 healthy participants were subjected to EBR testing and EF tasks. Results showed that EBR had a different relationship with each of the three tested EF dimensions. An increase in EBR levels was related to an increase in accuracy in shifting and inhibition tasks, a decrease in shifting and inhibition cost, and a decrease in accuracy in updating tasks. These results imply that the role of the central DA system in shifting and inhibition differs from its role in updating. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The functions of music and their relationship to music preference in India and Germany.

PubMed

Schäfer, Thomas; Tipandjan, Arun; Sedlmeier, Peter

2012-01-01

Is the use of music in everyday life a culturally universal phenomenon? And do the functions served by music contribute to the development of music preferences regardless of the listener's cultural background? The present study explored similarities and dissimilarities in the functions of music listening and their relationship to music preferences in two countries with different cultural backgrounds: India as an example of a collectivistic society and Germany as an example of an individualistic society. Respondents were asked to what degree their favorite music serves several functions in their life. The functions were summarized in seven main groups: background entertainment, prompt for memories, diversion, emotion regulation, self-regulation, self-reflection, and social bonding. Results indicate a strong similarity of the functions of people's favorite music for Indian and German listeners. Among the Indians, all of the seven functions were rated as meaningful; among the Germans, this was the case for all functions except emotion regulation. However, a pronounced dissimilarity was found in the predictive power of the functions of music for the strength of music preference, which was much stronger for Germans than for Indians. In India, the functions of music most predictive for music preference were diversion, self-reflection, and social bonding. In Germany, the most predictive functions were emotion regulation, diversion, self-reflection, prompt for memories, and social bonding. It is concluded that potential cultural differences hardly apply to the functional use of music in everyday life, but they do so with respect to the impact of the functions on the development of music preference. The present results are consistent with the assumption that members of a collectivistic society tend to set a higher value on their social and societal integration and their connectedness to each other than do members of individualistic societies.

Triple loop heat exchanger for an absorption refrigeration system

DOEpatents

Reimann, Robert C.

1984-01-01

A triple loop heat exchanger for an absorption refrigeration system is disclosed. The triple loop heat exchanger comprises portions of a strong solution line for conducting relatively hot, strong solution from a generator to a solution heat exchanger of the absorption refrigeration system, conduit means for conducting relatively cool, weak solution from the solution heat exchanger to the generator, and a bypass system for conducting strong solution from the generator around the strong solution line and around the solution heat exchanger to an absorber of the refrigeration system when strong solution builds up in the generator to an undesirable level. The strong solution line and the conduit means are in heat exchange relationship with each other in the triple loop heat exchanger so that, during normal operation of the refrigeration system, heat is exchanged between the relatively hot, strong solution flowing through the strong solution line and the relatively cool, weak solution flowing through the conduit means. Also, the strong solution line and the bypass system are in heat exchange relationship in the triple loop heat exchanger so that if the normal flow path of relatively hot, strong solution flowing from the generator to an absorber is blocked, then this relatively, hot strong solution which will then be flowing through the bypass system in the triple loop heat exchanger, is brought into heat exchange relationship with any strong solution which may have solidified in the strong solution line in the triple loop heat exchanger to thereby aid in desolidifying any such solidified strong solution.

Functional Outcome Trajectories after Out-of Hospital Pediatric Cardiac Arrest

PubMed Central

Silverstein, Faye S; Slomine, Beth; Christensen, James; Holubkov, Richard; Page, Kent; Dean, J. Michael; Moler, Frank

2016-01-01

Objective To analyze functional performance measures collected prospectively during the conduct of a clinical trial that enrolled children (up to age 18 years), resuscitated after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, who were at high risk for poor outcomes. Design Children with Glasgow Motor Scales <5, within 6 hours of resuscitation, were enrolled in a clinical trial that compared two targeted temperature management interventions (THAPCA-OH, NCT00878644). The primary outcome, 12-month survival with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, second edition (VABS-II) score ≥70, did not differ between groups. Setting 38 North American pediatric ICU’s. Participants 295 children were enrolled; 270/295 had baseline VABS-II scores ≥70; 87/270 survived one year. Interventions Targeted temperatures were 33.0°C and 36.8°C for hypothermia and normothermia groups. Measurements and Main Results Baseline measures included VABS-II, Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category(PCPC), and Pediatric Overall Performance Category (POPC). PCPC and POPC were rescored at hospital discharges; all three were scored at 3 and 12 months. In survivors with baseline VABS-II scores ≥70, we evaluated relationships of hospital discharge PCPC with 3 and 12 month scores, and between 3 and 12 month VABS-II scores. Hospital discharge PCPC scores strongly predicted 3 and 12 month PCPC (r=0.82,0.79; p<0.0001) and VABS-II scores (r=−0.81,−0.77; p<0.0001) Three month VABS-II scores strongly predicted 12 month performance (r=0.95, p<0.0001). Hypothermia treatment did not alter these relationships. Conclusions In comatose children, with Glasgow Motor Scales <5 in the initial hours after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation, function scores at hospital discharge and at 3 months predicted 12-month performance well in the majority of survivors. PMID:27509385

Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

De Dreu, Carsten K W; Weingart, Laurie R

2003-08-01

This study provides a meta-analysis of research on the associations between relationship conflict, task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. Consistent with past theorizing, results revealed strong and negative correlations between relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. In contrast to what has been suggested in both academic research and introductory textbooks, however, results also revealed strong and negative (instead of the predicted positive) correlations between task conflict team performance, and team member satisfaction. As predicted, conflict had stronger negative relations with team performance in highly complex (decision making, project, mixed) than in less complex (production) tasks. Finally, task conflict was less negatively related to team performance when task conflict and relationship conflict were weakly, rather than strongly, correlated.

Effect of changing from first- to second-line antiretroviral therapy on renal function: a retrospective study based on data from a single health facility in Namibia.

PubMed

Kalemeera, Francis; Mbango, Christofina; Mubita, Mwangana; Naikaku, Esther; Gaida, Razia; Godman, Brian

2016-08-01

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) can cause renal impairment with this combination co-administered during second-line combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) potentially associated with greater risk of nephrotoxicity. As a result, the aim of this study is to assess effects of second-line cART on renal function. Retrospective longitudinal study in patients receiving cART. 71 patients received TDF, zidovudine or stavudine, each combined with 3TC/NVP or 3TC/EFV. Before second-line cART, 46.5% had abnormal kidney function. First-line cART had no relationship with calculated creatinine clearance (CrCl). During second-line cART, more males than females had abnormal renal function and more females experienced increases in CrCl. Calculated CrCl during second-line cART related strongly with CrCl during first-line cART. Time spent on cART had a weak relationship with CrCl. Patients on first-line cART for several years without renal impairment may experience new onset impairment during second line cART. Patients with pre-existing renal impairment just before switching to second-line cART may experience a further decline.

Predictors of functional dependency after stroke in Nigeria.

PubMed

Ojagbemi, Akin; Owolabi, Mayowa

2013-11-01

The factors impacting poststroke functional dependency have not been adequately explored in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the risk factors for functional dependency in a group of Nigerian African stroke survivors. One hundred twenty-eight stroke survivors attending a tertiary general hospital in southwestern Nigeria were consecutively recruited and assessed for functional dependency using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Stroke was diagnosed according to the World Health Organization criteria. Candidate independent variables assessed included the demographic and clinical characteristics of survivors, cognitive dysfunction, and a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Variables with significant relationship to functional dependency were entered into a logistic regression model to identify factors that were predictive of functional dependency among the stroke survivors. In all, 60.9% of the stroke survivors were functionally dependent (mRS scores≥3), with mean±SD mRS scores of 2.71±1.01. Female sex (P=.003; odds ratio [OR] 3.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.47-6.44), global cognitive dysfunction (P=.002; OR 5.04; 95% CI 1.79-14.16), and major depressive disorder (P<.0001; OR 3.06; 95% CI 1.92-4.87) were strongly associated with functional dependency in univariate analysis. Major depressive disorder was an independent predictor of functional dependency in multivariate analysis (P<.0001; OR 6.89; 95% CI 2.55-18.6; R2=0.19). Depression, female sex, and cognitive dysfunction were strongly associated with poorer functioning after stroke. Interventions aimed at depression and cognitive dysfunction after stroke may improve functional independence in stroke survivors. Copyright © 2013 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Grip Strength Is Associated With Cognitive Performance in Schizophrenia and the General Population: A UK Biobank Study of 476559 Participants.

PubMed

Firth, Joseph; Stubbs, Brendon; Vancampfort, Davy; Firth, Josh A; Large, Matthew; Rosenbaum, Simon; Hallgren, Mats; Ward, Philip B; Sarris, Jerome; Yung, Alison R

2018-06-06

Handgrip strength may provide an easily-administered marker of cognitive functional status. However, further population-scale research examining relationships between grip strength and cognitive performance across multiple domains is needed. Additionally, relationships between grip strength and cognitive functioning in people with schizophrenia, who frequently experience cognitive deficits, has yet to be explored. Baseline data from the UK Biobank (2007-2010) was analyzed; including 475397 individuals from the general population, and 1162 individuals with schizophrenia. Linear mixed models and generalized linear mixed models were used to assess the relationship between grip strength and 5 cognitive domains (visual memory, reaction time, reasoning, prospective memory, and number memory), controlling for age, gender, bodyweight, education, and geographical region. In the general population, maximal grip strength was positively and significantly related to visual memory (coefficient [coeff] = -0.1601, standard error [SE] = 0.003), reaction time (coeff = -0.0346, SE = 0.0004), reasoning (coeff = 0.2304, SE = 0.0079), number memory (coeff = 0.1616, SE = 0.0092), and prospective memory (coeff = 0.3486, SE = 0.0092: all P < .001). In the schizophrenia sample, grip strength was strongly related to visual memory (coeff = -0.155, SE = 0.042, P < .001) and reaction time (coeff = -0.049, SE = 0.009, P < .001), while prospective memory approached statistical significance (coeff = 0.233, SE = 0.132, P = .078), and no statistically significant association was found with number memory and reasoning (P > .1). Grip strength is significantly associated with cognitive functioning in the general population and individuals with schizophrenia, particularly for working memory and processing speed. Future research should establish directionality, examine if grip strength also predicts functional and physical health outcomes in schizophrenia, and determine whether interventions which improve muscular strength impact on cognitive and real-world functioning.

Intrinsic and task-evoked network architectures of the human brain

PubMed Central

Cole, Michael W.; Bassett, Danielle S.; Power, Jonathan D.; Braver, Todd S.; Petersen, Steven E.

2014-01-01

Summary Many functional network properties of the human brain have been identified during rest and task states, yet it remains unclear how the two relate. We identified a whole-brain network architecture present across dozens of task states that was highly similar to the resting-state network architecture. The most frequent functional connectivity strengths across tasks closely matched the strengths observed at rest, suggesting this is an “intrinsic”, standard architecture of functional brain organization. Further, a set of small but consistent changes common across tasks suggests the existence of a task-general network architecture distinguishing task states from rest. These results indicate the brain’s functional network architecture during task performance is shaped primarily by an intrinsic network architecture that is also present during rest, and secondarily by evoked task-general and task-specific network changes. This establishes a strong relationship between resting-state functional connectivity and task-evoked functional connectivity – areas of neuroscientific inquiry typically considered separately. PMID:24991964

The MMSE orientation for time domain is a strong predictor of subsequent cognitive decline in the elderly.

PubMed

Guerrero-Berroa, Elizabeth; Luo, Xiaodong; Schmeidler, James; Rapp, Michael A; Dahlman, Karen; Grossman, Hillel T; Haroutunian, Vahram; Beeri, Michal Schnaider

2009-12-01

The mini-mental state exam (MMSE) has been used to address questions such as determination of appropriate cutoff scores for differentiation of individuals with intact cognitive function from patients with dementia and rate of cognitive decline. However, little is known about the relationship of performance in specific cognitive domains to subsequent overall decline. To examine the specific and/or combined contribution of four MMSE domains (orientation for time, orientation for place, delayed recall, and attention) to prediction of overall cognitive decline on the MMSE. Linear mixed models were applied to 505 elderly nursing home residents (mean age = 85, > 12 years education = 27%; 79% F, mean follow-up = 3.20 years) to examine the relationship between baseline scores of these domains and total MMSE scores over time. Orientation for time was the only domain significantly associated with MMSE decline over time. Combination of poor delayed recall with either attention or orientation for place was associated with significantly increased decline on the MMSE. The MMSE orientation for time predicts overall decline on MMSE scores over time. A good functioning domain added to good functioning delayed recall was associated with slower rate of decline. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Executive Function, Self-Regulated Learning, and Reading Comprehension: A Training Study.

PubMed

Cirino, Paul T; Miciak, Jeremy; Gerst, Elyssa; Barnes, Marcia A; Vaughn, Sharon; Child, Amanda; Huston-Warren, Emily

The goal of this study was to evaluate the extent to which training that emphasizes the process of executive function (EF) and self-regulated learning (SRL) would result in increased reading comprehension; we also evaluated interrelationships of EF, SRL, and reading. We report an experiment ( N = 75 fourth graders) that contrasted two researcher-implemented conditions (text-based reading [TB] and text-based reading plus executive function [TB+EF]) to a control. We also evaluated relationships among measures of SRL, EF, and reading. Both the TB and TB+EF groups outperformed the control group for proximal text comprehension (where the topic was similar to that covered in training) and background knowledge related to it, but the two researcher-led groups performed similarly. There were no significant differences for less proximal text, and again similar performance for both TB and TB+EF. Correlations among measures were weak in general, although the pattern was similar to that found in the extant literature. The findings speak to the difficulty in separating these components from those of strong instruction more generally. The relationships of these constructs to reading comprehension will likely be enhanced by more sensitive measurement of EF and reading comprehension, particularly where tied to active treatment components.

Plant diversity effects on grassland productivity are robust to both nutrient enrichment and drought

PubMed Central

Isbell, Forest; Manning, Pete; Connolly, John; Bruelheide, Helge; Ebeling, Anne; Roscher, Christiane; van Ruijven, Jasper; Weigelt, Alexandra; Wilsey, Brian; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; de Luca, Enrica; Griffin, John N.; Hautier, Yann; Hector, Andy; Jentsch, Anke; Kreyling, Jürgen; Lanta, Vojtech; Loreau, Michel; Meyer, Sebastian T.; Mori, Akira S.; Naeem, Shahid; Palmborg, Cecilia; Polley, H. Wayne; Reich, Peter B.; Schmid, Bernhard; Siebenkäs, Alrun; Seabloom, Eric; Thakur, Madhav P.; Tilman, David; Vogel, Anja; Eisenhauer, Nico

2016-01-01

Global change drivers are rapidly altering resource availability and biodiversity. While there is consensus that greater biodiversity increases the functioning of ecosystems, the extent to which biodiversity buffers ecosystem productivity in response to changes in resource availability remains unclear. We use data from 16 grassland experiments across North America and Europe that manipulated plant species richness and one of two essential resources—soil nutrients or water—to assess the direction and strength of the interaction between plant diversity and resource alteration on above-ground productivity and net biodiversity, complementarity, and selection effects. Despite strong increases in productivity with nutrient addition and decreases in productivity with drought, we found that resource alterations did not alter biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships. Our results suggest that these relationships are largely determined by increases in complementarity effects along plant species richness gradients. Although nutrient addition reduced complementarity effects at high diversity, this appears to be due to high biomass in monocultures under nutrient enrichment. Our results indicate that diversity and the complementarity of species are important regulators of grassland ecosystem productivity, regardless of changes in other drivers of ecosystem function. PMID:27114579

Stress and Depression in Relation to Functional Health Behaviors in African American Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

PubMed

Williams, Edith M; Bruner, Larisa; Penfield, Megan; Kamen, Diane; Oates, James C

While increased psychological distress in SLE has been clinically and empirically reported, the relationship between emotional distress, treatment adherence, and disease activity are complex and even more unclear in African American lupus patients. In an effort to elucidate this phenomenon in these patients, this exploratory study aimed to investigate relationships between stress, depression, and various health behaviors in this group. Thirty patients invited to participate in this study were African American systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients attending rheumatology clinics at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). This study was part of a larger interventional pilot study, the Balancing Lupus Experiences with Stress Strategies (BLESS) study, that included a comprehensive battery of psychosocial, quality of life, and behavior change measures. When looking at the association between anxiety/stress and functionality, levels of reported stress had strong effects upon functionality, especially between health distress and functionality. When looking at the association between depressive symptoms and functionality, depressive symptoms had moderate effects upon social/role limitations and nights spent in the hospital. Not only did the larger pilot project demonstrate significant reductions in stress and depression as a result of workshop participation; this nested study also showed that those improvements were positively associated with improved health behaviors. These results could have implications for developing interventions to improve disease experience and quality of life in SLE patients with stress and depression.

Global distribution of malaria-resistant MHC-HLA alleles: the number and frequencies of alleles and malaria risk.

PubMed

Garamszegi, László Zsolt

2014-09-03

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the most polymorphic genetic region in vertebrates, but the origin of such genetic diversity remains unresolved. Several studies have demonstrated at the within-population level that individuals harbouring particular alleles can be less or more susceptible to malaria, but these do not allow strong generalization. Here worldwide data on the frequencies of several hundred MHC alleles of the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system in relation to malaria risk at the between-population level were analysed in a phylogenetic framework, and results for different alleles were quantitatively summarized in a meta-analysis. There was an overall positive relationship between malaria pressure and the frequency of several HLA alleles indicating that allele frequencies increase in countries with strong malaria pressure. Nevertheless, considerable heterogeneity was observed across alleles, and some alleles showed a remarkable negative relationship with malaria risk. When heterogeneities were partitioned into different organization groups of the MHC, the strongest positive relationships were detected for alleles of the HLA-A and HLA-B loci, but there were also differences between MHC supertypes that constitute functionally distinct nucleotide sequences. Finally, the number of MHC alleles that are maintained within countries was also related to malaria risk. Therefore, malaria represents a key selection pressure for the human MHC and has left clear evolutionary footprints on both the frequencies and the number of alleles observed in different countries.

Fusion of MODIS and Landsat-8 Surface Temperature Images: A New Approach

PubMed Central

Hazaymeh, Khaled; Hassan, Quazi K.

2015-01-01

Here, our objective was to develop a spatio-temporal image fusion model (STI-FM) for enhancing temporal resolution of Landsat-8 land surface temperature (LST) images by fusing LST images acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS); and implement the developed algorithm over a heterogeneous semi-arid study area in Jordan, Middle East. The STI-FM technique consisted of two major components: (i) establishing a linear relationship between two consecutive MODIS 8-day composite LST images acquired at time 1 and time 2; and (ii) utilizing the above mentioned relationship as a function of a Landsat-8 LST image acquired at time 1 in order to predict a synthetic Landsat-8 LST image at time 2. It revealed that strong linear relationships (i.e., r2, slopes, and intercepts were in the range 0.93–0.94, 0.94–0.99; and 2.97–20.07) existed between the two consecutive MODIS LST images. We evaluated the synthetic LST images qualitatively and found high visual agreements with the actual Landsat-8 LST images. In addition, we conducted quantitative evaluations of these synthetic images; and found strong agreements with the actual Landsat-8 LST images. For example, r2, root mean square error (RMSE), and absolute average difference (AAD)-values were in the ranges 084–0.90, 0.061–0.080, and 0.003–0.004, respectively. PMID:25730279

Fusion of MODIS and landsat-8 surface temperature images: a new approach.

PubMed

Hazaymeh, Khaled; Hassan, Quazi K

2015-01-01

Here, our objective was to develop a spatio-temporal image fusion model (STI-FM) for enhancing temporal resolution of Landsat-8 land surface temperature (LST) images by fusing LST images acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS); and implement the developed algorithm over a heterogeneous semi-arid study area in Jordan, Middle East. The STI-FM technique consisted of two major components: (i) establishing a linear relationship between two consecutive MODIS 8-day composite LST images acquired at time 1 and time 2; and (ii) utilizing the above mentioned relationship as a function of a Landsat-8 LST image acquired at time 1 in order to predict a synthetic Landsat-8 LST image at time 2. It revealed that strong linear relationships (i.e., r2, slopes, and intercepts were in the range 0.93-0.94, 0.94-0.99; and 2.97-20.07) existed between the two consecutive MODIS LST images. We evaluated the synthetic LST images qualitatively and found high visual agreements with the actual Landsat-8 LST images. In addition, we conducted quantitative evaluations of these synthetic images; and found strong agreements with the actual Landsat-8 LST images. For example, r2, root mean square error (RMSE), and absolute average difference (AAD)-values were in the ranges 084-0.90, 0.061-0.080, and 0.003-0.004, respectively.

Evaluation of the Start Strong initiative: preventing teen dating violence and promoting healthy relationships among middle school students.

PubMed

Miller, Shari; Williams, Jason; Cutbush, Stacey; Gibbs, Deborah; Clinton-Sherrod, Monique; Jones, Sarah

2015-02-01

This study reports on an independent evaluation of Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships, a multicomponent initiative targeting 11- to 14-year-olds. "Start Strong" was designed to focus on the developmental needs of middle school students and to enhance skills and attitudes consistent with promotion of healthy relationships and reduction of teen dating violence (TDV). The quasi-experimental evaluation design included data collection from four Start Strong schools and four comparison schools. Student surveys were collected at four waves of data at the beginning and the end of grades 7 and 8. Multilevel models used repeated observations nested within students who were, in turn, nested within schools to determine whether participation in Start Strong enhanced healthy skills and relationships and decreased TDV-related attitudes and behaviors. Short-term effects from waves 1 to 2 were statistically significant for increased parent-child communication and boy/girlfriend relationship satisfaction and support and decreased gender stereotypes and attitudes supporting TDV. Findings for acceptance of TDV and gender stereotypes persisted longitudinally. Results are promising and illustrate that a multicomponent, community-based initiative reduced risk factors predictive of TDV. Start Strong is innovative in its focus on early adolescence, which is a critical period in the transition to dating. The results inform future intervention efforts and underscore the need for further study of middle school students. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Towards an informative mutant phenotype for every bacterial gene

DOE PAGES

Deutschbauer, Adam; Price, Morgan N.; Wetmore, Kelly M.; ...

2014-08-11

Mutant phenotypes provide strong clues to the functions of the underlying genes and could allow annotation of the millions of sequenced yet uncharacterized bacterial genes. However, it is not known how many genes have a phenotype under laboratory conditions, how many phenotypes are biologically interpretable for predicting gene function, and what experimental conditions are optimal to maximize the number of genes with a phenotype. To address these issues, we measured the mutant fitness of 1,586 genes of the ethanol-producing bacterium Zymomonas mobilis ZM4 across 492 diverse experiments and found statistically significant phenotypes for 89% of all assayed genes. Thus, inmore » Z. mobilis, most genes have a functional consequence under laboratory conditions. We demonstrate that 41% of Z. mobilis genes have both a strong phenotype and a similar fitness pattern (cofitness) to another gene, and are therefore good candidates for functional annotation using mutant fitness. Among 502 poorly characterized Z. mobilis genes, we identified a significant cofitness relationship for 174. For 57 of these genes without a specific functional annotation, we found additional evidence to support the biological significance of these gene-gene associations, and in 33 instances, we were able to predict specific physiological or biochemical roles for the poorly characterized genes. Last, we identified a set of 79 diverse mutant fitness experiments in Z. mobilis that are nearly as biologically informative as the entire set of 492 experiments. Therefore, our work provides a blueprint for the functional annotation of diverse bacteria using mutant fitness.« less

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

Deutschbauer, Adam; Price, Morgan N.; Wetmore, Kelly M.

Mutant phenotypes provide strong clues to the functions of the underlying genes and could allow annotation of the millions of sequenced yet uncharacterized bacterial genes. However, it is not known how many genes have a phenotype under laboratory conditions, how many phenotypes are biologically interpretable for predicting gene function, and what experimental conditions are optimal to maximize the number of genes with a phenotype. To address these issues, we measured the mutant fitness of 1,586 genes of the ethanol-producing bacterium Zymomonas mobilis ZM4 across 492 diverse experiments and found statistically significant phenotypes for 89% of all assayed genes. Thus, inmore » Z. mobilis, most genes have a functional consequence under laboratory conditions. We demonstrate that 41% of Z. mobilis genes have both a strong phenotype and a similar fitness pattern (cofitness) to another gene, and are therefore good candidates for functional annotation using mutant fitness. Among 502 poorly characterized Z. mobilis genes, we identified a significant cofitness relationship for 174. For 57 of these genes without a specific functional annotation, we found additional evidence to support the biological significance of these gene-gene associations, and in 33 instances, we were able to predict specific physiological or biochemical roles for the poorly characterized genes. Last, we identified a set of 79 diverse mutant fitness experiments in Z. mobilis that are nearly as biologically informative as the entire set of 492 experiments. Therefore, our work provides a blueprint for the functional annotation of diverse bacteria using mutant fitness.« less

Species richness and trophic diversity increase decomposition in a co-evolved food web.

PubMed

Baiser, Benjamin; Ardeshiri, Roxanne S; Ellison, Aaron M

2011-01-01

Ecological communities show great variation in species richness, composition and food web structure across similar and diverse ecosystems. Knowledge of how this biodiversity relates to ecosystem functioning is important for understanding the maintenance of diversity and the potential effects of species losses and gains on ecosystems. While research often focuses on how variation in species richness influences ecosystem processes, assessing species richness in a food web context can provide further insight into the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functioning and elucidate potential mechanisms underpinning this relationship. Here, we assessed how species richness and trophic diversity affect decomposition rates in a complete aquatic food web: the five trophic level web that occurs within water-filled leaves of the northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. We identified a trophic cascade in which top-predators--larvae of the pitcher-plant mosquito--indirectly increased bacterial decomposition by preying on bactivorous protozoa. Our data also revealed a facultative relationship in which larvae of the pitcher-plant midge increased bacterial decomposition by shredding detritus. These important interactions occur only in food webs with high trophic diversity, which in turn only occur in food webs with high species richness. We show that species richness and trophic diversity underlie strong linkages between food web structure and dynamics that influence ecosystem functioning. The importance of trophic diversity and species interactions in determining how biodiversity relates to ecosystem functioning suggests that simply focusing on species richness does not give a complete picture as to how ecosystems may change with the loss or gain of species.

Species Richness and Trophic Diversity Increase Decomposition in a Co-Evolved Food Web

PubMed Central

Baiser, Benjamin; Ardeshiri, Roxanne S.; Ellison, Aaron M.

2011-01-01

Ecological communities show great variation in species richness, composition and food web structure across similar and diverse ecosystems. Knowledge of how this biodiversity relates to ecosystem functioning is important for understanding the maintenance of diversity and the potential effects of species losses and gains on ecosystems. While research often focuses on how variation in species richness influences ecosystem processes, assessing species richness in a food web context can provide further insight into the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functioning and elucidate potential mechanisms underpinning this relationship. Here, we assessed how species richness and trophic diversity affect decomposition rates in a complete aquatic food web: the five trophic level web that occurs within water-filled leaves of the northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. We identified a trophic cascade in which top-predators — larvae of the pitcher-plant mosquito — indirectly increased bacterial decomposition by preying on bactivorous protozoa. Our data also revealed a facultative relationship in which larvae of the pitcher-plant midge increased bacterial decomposition by shredding detritus. These important interactions occur only in food webs with high trophic diversity, which in turn only occur in food webs with high species richness. We show that species richness and trophic diversity underlie strong linkages between food web structure and dynamics that influence ecosystem functioning. The importance of trophic diversity and species interactions in determining how biodiversity relates to ecosystem functioning suggests that simply focusing on species richness does not give a complete picture as to how ecosystems may change with the loss or gain of species. PMID:21673992

Bright-light effects on cognitive performance in elderly persons working simulated night shifts: psychological well-being as a mediator?

PubMed

Kretschmer, Veronika; Schmidt, Klaus-Helmut; Griefahn, Barbara

2013-11-01

The present study examined whether the relationship between light exposure and cognitive functioning is mediated by psychological well-being in elderly persons working night shifts. The role of psychological well-being has been neglected so far in the relationship between bright light and cognitive performance. Sleepiness and mood were applied as indicators of psychological well-being. Cognitive functioning was examined in terms of concentration, working memory, and divided attention. A total of thirty-two test persons worked in three consecutive simulated night shifts, 16 under bright light (3,000 lux) and 16 under room light (300 lux). Concentration, working memory, and divided attention were measured by computerised tasks. The hypothesised mediators were recorded by questionnaires. Mediation analyses were conducted for estimating direct, total, and indirect effects in simple mediation models. Results indicate that sleepiness and mood did not function as mediators in the prediction of concentration, working memory, and/or divided attention by light exposure. Sleepiness led to an underestimation of the positive bright-light effect on concentration performance. Mood showed only a random effect due to the positive bright-light effect on working memory. Sleepiness and mood could completely be excluded as mediators in the relationship between light exposure and cognitive functioning. This study underlines that psychological well-being of elderly persons is not a critical component in the treatment of bright light on cognitive performance in the night shift workplace. In summary, it becomes evident that bright light has a strong direct and independent effect on cognitive performance, particularly on working memory and concentration.

Antioxidants and reduced functional capacity in the elderly: findings from the Nun Study.

PubMed

Snowdon, D A; Gross, M D; Butler, S M

1996-01-01

This study investigated the relationship of plasma antioxidants to reduced functional capacity in the elderly. A hallmark of reduced functional capacity in the elderly is dependence in self-care (i.e., requiring assistance with bathing, walking, dressing, standing, toileting, and feeding). This relationship was assessed in a cross-sectional study of 88 Catholic sisters (nuns). These 77- to 98-year-old women lived in the same building, ate food prepared in the same kitchen, and had all nursing services provided by the same staff. In 1993, ability to perform self-care was assessed, and blood was drawn to determine plasma carotenoids (lycopene, beta carotene, alpha carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein combined, and beta cryptoxanthin) and alpha tocopherol. Dependence in self-care had a strong negative association with lycopene, but was not clearly related to other carotenoids or alpha tocopherol. Results from age-adjusted least squares regression indicated that a 30 micrograms/dl decrease in lycopene was associated with 2.4 additional dependencies in self-care (95% confidence interval = 1.5, 3.3; p < .001). Lycopene's relationship to dependence was modified by plasma LDL-cholesterol, the predominant carrier of lycopene in the blood. Women with low lycopene and low LDL-cholesterol had 3.6 dependencies (95% confidence interval = 3.1, 4.2; p < .001), compared to 1.0 dependency (95% confidence interval = 0.3, 1.8) in those with high lycopene and low LDL-cholesterol. This is the first study to report an association between lycopene and functional status. This finding needs to be replicated in other human and animal studies before the association is accepted as real.

Functional anthology of intrinsic disorder. 3. Ligands, post-translational modifications, and diseases associated with intrinsically disordered proteins.

PubMed

Xie, Hongbo; Vucetic, Slobodan; Iakoucheva, Lilia M; Oldfield, Christopher J; Dunker, A Keith; Obradovic, Zoran; Uversky, Vladimir N

2007-05-01

Currently, the understanding of the relationships between function, amino acid sequence, and protein structure continues to represent one of the major challenges of the modern protein science. As many as 50% of eukaryotic proteins are likely to contain functionally important long disordered regions. Many proteins are wholly disordered but still possess numerous biologically important functions. However, the number of experimentally confirmed disordered proteins with known biological functions is substantially smaller than their actual number in nature. Therefore, there is a crucial need for novel bionformatics approaches that allow projection of the current knowledge from a few experimentally verified examples to much larger groups of known and potential proteins. The elaboration of a bioinformatics tool for the analysis of functional diversity of intrinsically disordered proteins and application of this data mining tool to >200 000 proteins from the Swiss-Prot database, each annotated with at least one of the 875 functional keywords, was described in the first paper of this series (Xie, H.; Vucetic, S.; Iakoucheva, L. M.; Oldfield, C. J.; Dunker, A. K.; Obradovic, Z.; Uversky, V.N. Functional anthology of intrinsic disorder. 1. Biological processes and functions of proteins with long disordered regions. J. Proteome Res. 2007, 5, 1882-1898). Using this tool, we have found that out of the 710 Swiss-Prot functional keywords associated with at least 20 proteins, 262 were strongly positively correlated with long intrinsically disordered regions, and 302 were strongly negatively correlated. Illustrative examples of functional disorder or order were found for the vast majority of keywords showing strongest positive or negative correlation with intrinsic disorder, respectively. Some 80 Swiss-Prot keywords associated with disorder- and order-driven biological processes and protein functions were described in the first paper (see above). The second paper of the series was devoted to the presentation of 87 Swiss-Prot keywords attributed to the cellular components, domains, technical terms, developmental processes, and coding sequence diversities possessing strong positive and negative correlation with long disordered regions (Vucetic, S.; Xie, H.; Iakoucheva, L. M.; Oldfield, C. J.; Dunker, A. K.; Obradovic, Z.; Uversky, V. N. Functional anthology of intrinsic disorder. 2. Cellular components, domains, technical terms, developmental processes, and coding sequence diversities correlated with long disordered regions. J. Proteome Res. 2007, 5, 1899-1916). Protein structure and functionality can be modulated by various post-translational modifications or/and as a result of binding of specific ligands. Numerous human diseases are associated with protein misfolding/misassembly/misfunctioning. This work concludes the series of papers dedicated to the functional anthology of intrinsic disorder and describes approximately 80 Swiss-Prot functional keywords that are related to ligands, post-translational modifications, and diseases possessing strong positive or negative correlation with the predicted long disordered regions in proteins.

Magnetic-Field Density-Functional Theory (BDFT): Lessons from the Adiabatic Connection.

PubMed

Reimann, Sarah; Borgoo, Alex; Tellgren, Erik I; Teale, Andrew M; Helgaker, Trygve

2017-09-12

We study the effects of magnetic fields in the context of magnetic field density-functional theory (BDFT), where the energy is a functional of the electron density ρ and the magnetic field B. We show that this approach is a worthwhile alternative to current-density functional theory (CDFT) and may provide a viable route to the study of many magnetic phenomena using density-functional theory (DFT). The relationship between BDFT and CDFT is developed and clarified within the framework of the four-way correspondence of saddle functions and their convex and concave parents in convex analysis. By decomposing the energy into its Kohn-Sham components, we demonstrate that the magnetizability is mainly determined by those energy components that are related to the density. For existing density functional approximations, this implies that, for the magnetizability, improvements of the density will be more beneficial than introducing a magnetic-field dependence in the correlation functional. However, once a good charge density is achieved, we show that high accuracy is likely only obtainable by including magnetic-field dependence. We demonstrate that adiabatic-connection (AC) curves at different field strengths resemble one another closely provided each curve is calculated at the equilibrium geometry of that field strength. In contrast, if all AC curves are calculated at the equilibrium geometry of the field-free system, then the curves change strongly with increasing field strength due to the increasing importance of static correlation. This holds also for density functional approximations, for which we demonstrate that the main error encountered in the presence of a field is already present at zero field strength, indicating that density-functional approximations may be applied to systems in strong fields, without the need to treat additional static correlation.

Strong Collaborative Relationships for Strong Community Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniel, Julia

2017-01-01

Community schools have gained attention as mechanisms to bring about equitable access to high-quality educational resources, extended learning time and opportunities, integrated student supports, and collaborative engaging relationships with parents and communities. In order to effectively create conditions that provide equitable access to such…

Combination of 24-Hour and 7-Day Relative Neurological Improvement Strongly Predicts 90-Day Functional Outcome of Endovascular Stroke Therapy.

PubMed

Pu, Jie; Wang, Huaiming; Tu, Mingyi; Zi, Wenjie; Hao, Yonggang; Yang, Dong; Liu, Wenhua; Wan, Yue; Geng, Yu; Lin, Min; Jin, Ping; Xiong, Yunyun; Xu, Gelin; Yin, Qin; Liu, Xinfeng

2018-05-01

Early judgment of long-term prognosis is the key to making medical decisions in acute anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion stroke (LVOS) after endovascular treatment (EVT). We aimed to investigate the relationship between the combination of 24-hour and 7-day relative neurological improvement (RNI) and 90-day functional outcome. We selected the target population from a multicenter ischemic stroke registry. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at baseline, 24 hours, and 7 days were collected. RNI was calculated by the following equation: (baseline NIHSS - 24-hour/7-day NIHSS)/baseline NIHSS × 100%. A modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2 at 90 days was defined as a favorable outcome. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between RNI and 90-day outcome. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis was performed to identify the predictive power and cutoff point of RNI for functional outcome. A total of 568 patients were enrolled. Both 24-hour and 7-day RNI were independent predictors of 90-day outcome. The best cutoff points of 24-hour and 7-day RNI were 28% and 42%, respectively. Compared with those with 24-hour RNI of less than 28% and 7-day RNI of less than 42%, patients with 24-hour RNI of 28% or greater and 7-day RNI of 42% or greater had a 39.595-fold (95% confidence interval 22.388-70.026) increased probability of achieving 90-day favorable outcome. The combination of 24-hour and 7-day RNI very strongly predicts 90-day functional outcome in patients with acute anterior circulation LVOS who received EVT, and it can be used as an early accurate surrogate of long-term outcome. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Total and Lower Extremity Lean Mass Percentage Positively Correlates With Jump Performance.

PubMed

Stephenson, Mitchell L; Smith, Derek T; Heinbaugh, Erika M; Moynes, Rebecca C; Rockey, Shawn S; Thomas, Joi J; Dai, Boyi

2015-08-01

Strength and power have been identified as valuable components in both athletic performance and daily function. A major component of strength and power is the muscle mass, which can be assessed with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The primary purpose of this study was to quantify the relationship between total body lean mass percentage (TBLM%) and lower extremity lean mass percentage (LELM%) and lower extremity force/power production during a countermovement jump (CMJ) in a general population. Researchers performed a DXA analysis on 40 younger participants aged 18-35 years, 28 middle-aged participants aged 36-55 years, and 34 older participants aged 56-75 years. Participants performed 3 CMJ on force platforms. Correlations revealed significant and strong relationships between TBLM% and LELM% compared with CMJ normalized peak vertical ground reaction force (p < 0.001, r = 0.59), normalized peak vertical power (p < 0.001, r = 0.73), and jump height (p < 0.001, r = 0.74) for the combined age groups. Most relationships were also strong within each age group, with some relationships being relatively weaker in the middle-aged and older groups. Minimal difference was found between correlation coefficients of TBLM% and LELM%. Coefficients of determination were all below 0.6 for the combined group, indicating that between-participant variability in CMJ measures cannot be completely explained by lean mass percentages. The findings have implications in including DXA-assessed lean mass percentage as a component for evaluating lower extremity strength and power. A paired DXA analysis and CMJ jump test may be useful for identifying neuromuscular deficits that limit performance.

Applicability of source scaling relations for crustal earthquakes to estimation of the ground motions of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irikura, Kojiro; Miyakoshi, Ken; Kamae, Katsuhiro; Yoshida, Kunikazu; Somei, Kazuhiro; Kurahashi, Susumu; Miyake, Hiroe

2017-01-01

A two-stage scaling relationship of the source parameters for crustal earthquakes in Japan has previously been constructed, in which source parameters obtained from the results of waveform inversion of strong motion data are combined with parameters estimated based on geological and geomorphological surveys. A three-stage scaling relationship was subsequently developed to extend scaling to crustal earthquakes with magnitudes greater than M w 7.4. The effectiveness of these scaling relationships was then examined based on the results of waveform inversion of 18 recent crustal earthquakes ( M w 5.4-6.9) that occurred in Japan since the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. The 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, with M w 7.0, was one of the largest earthquakes to occur since dense and accurate strong motion observation networks, such as K-NET and KiK-net, were deployed after the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. We examined the applicability of the scaling relationships of the source parameters of crustal earthquakes in Japan to the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. The rupture area and asperity area were determined based on slip distributions obtained from waveform inversion of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake observations. We found that the relationship between the rupture area and the seismic moment for the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake follows the second-stage scaling within one standard deviation ( σ = 0.14). The ratio of the asperity area to the rupture area for the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake is nearly the same as ratios previously obtained for crustal earthquakes. Furthermore, we simulated the ground motions of this earthquake using a characterized source model consisting of strong motion generation areas (SMGAs) based on the empirical Green's function (EGF) method. The locations and areas of the SMGAs were determined through comparison between the synthetic ground motions and observed motions. The sizes of the SMGAs were nearly coincident with the asperities with large slip. The synthetic ground motions obtained using the EGF method agree well with the observed motions in terms of acceleration, velocity, and displacement within the frequency range of 0.3-10 Hz. These findings indicate that the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake is a standard event that follows the scaling relationship of crustal earthquakes in Japan.

DoD Task Force to Improve Industrial Responsiveness.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-03-01

more elements of the Improvement Triad. The directives and other documents revised or developed, and their relationship to the Improvement Triad, is...2010.6, reference (e)) 8. Although a proper arms-length business relationship with industry must be maintained in order to protect the public interest...and to foster competi- tion, a strong industrial base is necessary for a strong defense. The proper arms-length buyer-seller relationship should not

Routine Work Environment Stress and PTSD Symptoms in Police Officers

PubMed Central

Maguen, Shira; Metzler, Thomas J.; McCaslin, Shannon E.; Inslicht, Sabra S.; Henn-Haase, Clare; Neylan, Thomas C.; Marmar, Charles R.

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationship between routine work environment stress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a sample of police officers (N = 180) who were first assessed during academy training and reassessed 1-year later. In a model that included gender, ethnicity, traumatic exposure prior to entering the academy, current negative life events, and critical incident exposure over the last year, routine work environment stress was most strongly associated with PTSD symptoms. We also found that routine work environment stress mediated the relationship between critical incident exposure and PTSD symptoms and between current negative life events and PTSD symptoms. Ensuring that the work environment is functioning optimally protects against the effects of duty-related critical incidents and negative life events outside police service. PMID:19829204

Body image and psychological well-being in adolescents: the relationship between gender and school type.

PubMed

Delfabbro, Paul H; Winefield, Anthony H; Anderson, Sarah; Hammarström, Anne; Winefield, Helen

2011-01-01

Adolescents (N=1281; M age = 15.2 years, SD = 0.51 years) from a state-wide sample of schools provided information about their psychological well-being, family functioning, extraversion, and perceived physical attractiveness and weight, using a questionnaire completed at school. Consistent with previous research, girls were significantly more likely than boys to be dissatisfied with their weight and physical appearance, and these factors explained significantly more variation in self-esteem than in life satisfaction or other measures of psychological well-being. The strong relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem for adolescent girls was not moderated by school type (single sex or educational). However, girls who were dissatisfied but psychologically well adjusted tended to be more extraverted, have more close friends and receive greater family support.

An examination of organizational and team commitment in a self-directed team environment.

PubMed

Bishop, James W; Scott, K Dow

2000-06-01

A model hypothesizing differential relationships among predictor variables and individual commitment to the organization and work team was tested. Data from 485 members of sewing teams supported the existence of differential relationships between predictors and organizational and team commitment. In particular, intersender conflict and satisfaction with coworkers were more strongly related to team commitment than to organizational commitment. Resource-related conflict and satisfaction with supervision were more strongly related to organizational commitment than to team commitment. Perceived task interdependence was strongly related to both commitment foci. Contrary to prediction, the relationships between perceived task interdependence and the 2 commitment foci were not significantly different. Relationships with antecedent variables help explain how differential levels of commitment to the 2 foci may be formed. Indirect effects of exogenous variables are reported.

The functional and structural asymmetries of the superior temporal sulcus.

PubMed

Specht, Karsten; Wigglesworth, Philip

2018-02-01

The superior temporal sulcus (STS) is an anatomical structure that increasingly interests researchers. This structure appears to receive multisensory input and is involved in several perceptual and cognitive core functions, such as speech perception, audiovisual integration, (biological) motion processing and theory of mind capacities. In addition, the superior temporal sulcus is not only one of the longest sulci of the brain, but it also shows marked functional and structural asymmetries, some of which have only been found in humans. To explore the functional-structural relationships of these asymmetries in more detail, this study combines functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging. Using a speech perception task, an audiovisual integration task, and a theory of mind task, this study again demonstrated an involvement of the STS in these processes, with an expected strong leftward asymmetry for the speech perception task. Furthermore, this study confirmed the earlier described, human-specific asymmetries, namely that the left STS is longer than the right STS and that the right STS is deeper than the left STS. However, this study did not find any relationship between these structural asymmetries and the detected brain activations or their functional asymmetries. This can, on the other hand, give further support to the notion that the structural asymmetry of the STS is not directly related to the functional asymmetry of the speech perception and the language system as a whole, but that it may have other causes and functions. © 2018 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology published by Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Homologous structure-function relationships between native fibrocartilage and tissue engineered from MSC-seeded nanofibrous scaffolds.

PubMed

Nerurkar, Nandan L; Han, Woojin; Mauck, Robert L; Elliott, Dawn M

2011-01-01

Understanding the interplay of composition, organization and mechanical function in load-bearing tissues is a prerequisite in the successful engineering of tissues to replace diseased ones. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seeded on electrospun scaffolds have been successfully used to generate organized tissues that mimic fibrocartilages such as the knee meniscus and the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc. While matrix deposition has been observed in parallel with improved mechanical properties, how composition, organization, and mechanical function are related is not known. Moreover, how this relationship compares to that of native fibrocartilage is unclear. Therefore, in the present work, functional fibrocartilage constructs were formed from MSC-seeded nanofibrous scaffolds, and the roles of collagen and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in compressive and tensile properties were determined. MSCs deposited abundant collagen and GAG over 120 days of culture, and these extracellular molecules were organized in such a way that they performed similar mechanical functions to their native roles: collagen dominated the tensile response while GAG was important for compressive properties. GAG removal resulted in significant stiffening in tension. A similar stiffening response was observed when GAG was removed from native inner annulus fibrosus, suggesting an interaction between collagen fibers and their surrounding extrafibrillar matrix that is shared by both engineered and native fibrocartilages. These findings strongly support the use of electrospun scaffolds and MSCs for fibrocartilage tissue engineering, and provide insight on the structure-function relations of both engineered and native biomaterials. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Worsening renal function defined as an absolute increase in serum creatinine is a biased metric for the study of cardio-renal interactions.

PubMed

Testani, Jeffrey M; McCauley, Brian D; Chen, Jennifer; Shumski, Michael; Shannon, Richard P

2010-01-01

Worsening renal function (WRF) during the treatment of decompensated heart failure, frequently defined as an absolute increase in serum creatinine >or=0.3 mg/dl, has been reported as a strong adverse prognostic factor in several studies. We hypothesized that this definition of WRF is biased by baseline renal function secondary to the exponential relationship between creatinine and renal function. We reviewed consecutive admissions with a discharge diagnosis of heart failure. An increase in creatinine >or=0.3 mg/dl (WRF(CREAT)) was compared to a decrease in GFR >or=20% (WRF(GFR)). Overall, 993 admissions met eligibility. WRF(CREAT) occurred in 31.5% and WRF(GFR) in 32.7%. WRF(CREAT) and WRF(GFR) had opposing relationships with baseline renal function (OR = 1.9 vs. OR = 0.51, respectively, p < 0.001). Both definitions had similar unadjusted associations with death at 30 days [WRF(GFR) OR = 2.3 (95% CI 1.1-4.8), p = 0.026; WRF(CREAT) OR = 2.1 (95% CI 1.0-4.4), p = 0.047]. Controlling for baseline renal insufficiency, WRF(GFR) added incrementally in the prediction of mortality (p = 0.009); however, WRF(CREAT) did not (p = 0.11). WRF, defined as an absolute change in serum creatinine, is heavily biased by baseline renal function. An alternative definition of WRF should be considered for future studies of cardio-renal interactions. Copyright 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

HOMOLOGOUS STRUCTURE-FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN NATIVE FIBROCARTILAGE AND TISSUE ENGINEERED FROM MSC-SEEDED NANOFIBROUS SCAFFOLDS

PubMed Central

Nerurkar, Nandan L.; Han, Woojin; Mauck, Robert L.; Elliott, Dawn M.

2010-01-01

Understanding the interplay of composition, organization and mechanical function in load-bearing tissues is a prerequisite in the successful engineering of replacement tissues for diseased ones. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seeded on electrospun scaffolds have been successfully used to generate organized tissues that mimic fibrocartilages such as the knee meniscus and the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc. While matrix deposition has been observed in parallel with improved mechanical properties, how composition, organization, and mechanical function are related is not known. Moreover, how this relationship compares to that of native fibrocartilage is unclear. Therefore, in the present work, functional fibrocartilage constructs were formed from MSC-seeded nanofibrous scaffolds, and the roles of collagen and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in compressive and tensile properties were determined. MSCs deposited abundant collagen and GAG over 120 days of culture, and these extracellular molecules were organized in such a way that they performed similar mechanical functions to their native roles: collagen dominated the tensile response while GAG was important for compressive properties. GAG removal resulted in significant stiffening in tension. A similar stiffening response was observed when GAG was removed from native inner annulus fibrosus, suggesting an interaction between collagen fibers and their surrounding extrafibrillar matrix that is shared by both engineered and native fibrocartilages. These findings strongly support the use of electrospun scaffolds and MSCs for fibrocartilage tissue engineering, and provide insight on the structure-function relations of both engineered and native biomaterials. PMID:20880577

ATM function and its relationship with ATM gene mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia with the recurrent deletion (11q22.3-23.2).

PubMed

Jiang, Y; Chen, H-C; Su, X; Thompson, P A; Liu, X; Do, K-A; Wierda, W; Keating, M J; Plunkett, W

2016-09-02

Approximately 10-20% of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients exhibit del(11q22-23) before treatment, this cohort increases to over 40% upon progression following chemoimmunotherapy. The coding sequence of the DNA damage response gene, ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated (ATM), is contained in this deletion. The residual ATM allele is frequently mutated, suggesting a relationship between gene function and clinical response. To investigate this possibility, we sought to develop and validate an assay for the function of ATM protein in these patients. SMC1 (structural maintenance of chromosomes 1) and KAP1 (KRAB-associated protein 1) were found to be unique substrates of ATM kinase by immunoblot detection following ionizing radiation. Using a pool of eight fluorescence in situ hybridization-negative CLL samples as a standard, the phosphorylation of SMC1 and KAP1 from 46 del (11q22-23) samples was analyzed using normal mixture model-based clustering. This identified 13 samples (28%) that were deficient in ATM function. Targeted sequencing of the ATM gene of these samples, with reference to genomic DNA, revealed 12 somatic mutations and 15 germline mutations in these samples. No strong correlation was observed between ATM mutation and function. Therefore, mutation status may not be taken as an indicator of ATM function. Rather, a direct assay of the kinase activity should be used in the development of therapies.

An Analysis of energy consumption and economic growth of Cobb-Douglas production function based on ECM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Wei-wei

2018-02-01

Energy is one of the important factors affecting economic growth, the motive force of the economic development of countries in the world, essential for the world economic development and people’s living material resources, an important resource of the relationship between the national economies. The paper sums up the evaluation and literatures on energy consumption and economic growth at home and abroad, thinks “southern talk” as the energy consumption and economic growth in the time division, makes a series of empirical tests on the relationship between total energy consumption and economic growth in China from 1978 to 1991 and from 1992 to 2016.The results show that total energy consumption is a one-way causal relationship between economic growths in china, Economic growth has a strong dependence on energy, there is a co-integration relationship between energy consumption and economic growth. However, economic growth depends on the energy consumption decreased year by year in China, The way of economic growth is changing from the extensive economic growth mode to intensive mode of economic growth.

Owners' view of their pets' emotions, intellect, and mutual relationship: Cats and dogs compared.

PubMed

Arahori, Minori; Kuroshima, Hika; Hori, Yusuke; Takagi, Saho; Chijiiwa, Hitomi; Fujita, Kazuo

2017-08-01

Companion animals have established special relationships with humans, as demonstrated by many studies describing their abilities and bonds to communicate with humans. In this questionnaire-based study, we explored owners' views of pets in terms of their emotional and intellectual functions and their relationship with owners, and compared the results between cat owners and dog owners. We found that although both types of owners most often regarded their pets as "family members," this tendency was weaker in cat owners. Cat owners also scored significantly lower than dog owners for some emotions and intellect they thought their pets might have. Additionally, cat owners who regard their cats as family members tend to attribute "compassion" to their cats more strongly than cat owners who regard their pets as non-family. This study revealed that some aspects of cat owners' views of their pets differ from those of dog owners. These finding may help us to better understand our heterospecific companions and establish good relationships with them. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Frequent associations between CTL and T-Helper epitopes in HIV-1 genomes and implications for multi-epitope vaccine designs

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Epitope vaccines have been suggested as a strategy to counteract viral escape and development of drug resistance. Multiple studies have shown that Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte (CTL) and T-Helper (Th) epitopes can generate strong immune responses in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1). However, not much is known about the relationship among different types of HIV epitopes, particularly those epitopes that can be considered potential candidates for inclusion in the multi-epitope vaccines. Results In this study we used association rule mining to examine relationship between different types of epitopes (CTL, Th and antibody epitopes) from nine protein-coding HIV-1 genes to identify strong associations as potent multi-epitope vaccine candidates. Our results revealed 137 association rules that were consistently present in the majority of reference and non-reference HIV-1 genomes and included epitopes of two different types (CTL and Th) from three different genes (Gag, Pol and Nef). These rules involved 14 non-overlapping epitope regions that frequently co-occurred despite high mutation and recombination rates, including in genomes of circulating recombinant forms. These epitope regions were also highly conserved at both the amino acid and nucleotide levels indicating strong purifying selection driven by functional and/or structural constraints and hence, the diminished likelihood of successful escape mutations. Conclusions Our results provide a comprehensive systematic survey of CTL, Th and Ab epitopes that are both highly conserved and co-occur together among all subtypes of HIV-1, including circulating recombinant forms. Several co-occurring epitope combinations were identified as potent candidates for inclusion in multi-epitope vaccines, including epitopes that are immuno-responsive to different arms of the host immune machinery and can enable stronger and more efficient immune responses, similar to responses achieved with adjuvant therapies. Signature of strong purifying selection acting at the nucleotide level of the associated epitopes indicates that these regions are functionally critical, although the exact reasons behind such sequence conservation remain to be elucidated. PMID:20696039

Polymer surface functionalities that control human embryoid body cell adhesion revealed by high throughput surface characterization of combinatorial material microarrays

PubMed Central

Yang, Jing; Mei, Ying; Hook, Andrew L.; Taylor, Michael; Urquhart, Andrew J.; Bogatyrev, Said R.; Langer, Robert; Anderson, Daniel G.; Davies, Martyn C.; Alexander, Morgan R.

2010-01-01

High throughput materials discovery using combinatorial polymer microarrays to screen for new biomaterials with new and improved function is established as a powerful strategy. Here we combine this screening approach with high throughput surface characterisation (HT-SC) to identify surface structure-function relationships. We explore how this combination can help to identify surface chemical moieties that control protein adsorption and subsequent cellular response. The adhesion of human embryoid body (hEB) cells to a large number (496) of different acrylate polymers synthesized in a microarray format is screened using a high throughput procedure. To determine the role of the polymer surface properties on hEB cell adhesion, detailed HT-SC of these acrylate polymers is carried out using time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF SIMS), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), pico litre drop sessile water contact angle (WCA) measurement and atomic force microscopy (AFM). A structure-function relationship is identified between the ToF SIMS analysis of the surface chemistry after a fibronectin (Fn) pre-conditioning step and the cell adhesion to each spot using the multivariate analysis technique partial least squares (PLS) regression. Secondary ions indicative of the adsorbed Fn correlate with increased cell adhesion whereas glycol and other functionalities from the polymers are identified that reduce cell adhesion. Furthermore, a strong relationship between the ToF SIMS spectra of bare polymers and the cell adhesion to each spot is identified using PLS regression. This identifies a role for both the surface chemistry of the bare polymer and the pre-adsorbed Fn, as-represented in the ToF SIMS spectra, in controlling cellular adhesion. In contrast, no relationship is found between cell adhesion and wettability, surface roughness, elemental or functional surface composition. The correlation between ToF SIMS data of the surfaces and the cell adhesion demonstrates the ability of identifying surface moieties that control protein adsorption and subsequent cell adhesion using ToF SIMS and multivariate analysis. PMID:20832108

Variations in cerebral organization as a function of handedness, hand posture in writing, and sex.

PubMed

Levy, J; Reid, M

1978-06-01

During the past century, it has become increasingly apparent that there is a great deal of variation in the direction and degree of cerebral lateralization, a plurality of people having language and related functions strongly specialized to the left hemisphere and visuospatial functions strongly specialized to the right, with substantial minorities manifesting various deviations from this pattern. In particular, in 35%-50% of sinistrals and 1%-10% of dextrals, the right hemisphere is specialized for linguistic skills, and in some unknown fraction of the two handedness groups, verbal and/or spatial abilities are, to varying extents, bilateralized. Levy (1973) suggested that the hand posture adopted during writing might be an index of the lateral relationship between the dominant writing hand and the language hemisphere, a normal posture indicating contralateral language specialization, and an inverted posture indicating ipsilateral language specialization. In the present investigation, two tachistoscopic tests of cerebral lateralization, one measuring spatial functions and one measuring verbal function, were administered to 73 subjects classified by handedness, hand posture during writing, and sex. Among both dextral and sinistral subjects with a normal writing posture, language and spatial functions were specialized to the contralateral and ipsilateral hemispheres, respectively, and lateral differentiation of the brain was strong. The reverse was seen in subjects having an inverted writing posture. In all groups, females were less laterally differentiated than males. In 70 out of 73 subjects, the direction of cerebral laterization was accurately predicted by handedness and hand posture. The 3 subjects (2 females and 1 male) who failed to manifest the predicted relations were all left-handers having an inverted hand posture . In this group, lateral differentiation was so weak that the reliability of the tachistoscopic tests was reduced, and we attribute these three predictive failures to this cause. Thus, almost all of the variation in the lateral organization of the brain was accounted for by handedness, hand posture, and sex.

Emotional stimulation alters olfactory sensitivity and odor judgment.

PubMed

Pollatos, Olga; Kopietz, Rainer; Linn, Jennifer; Albrecht, Jessica; Sakar, Vehbi; Anzinger, Andrea; Schandry, Rainer; Wiesmann, Martin

2007-07-01

Emotions have a strong influence on the perception of visual and auditory stimuli. Only little is known about the relation between emotional stimulation and olfactory functions. The present study investigated the relationship between the presentation of affective pictures, olfactory functions, and sex. Olfactory performance was assessed in 32 subjects (16 male). Olfactory sensitivity was significantly reduced following unpleasant picture presentation for all subjects and following pleasant picture presentation for male subjects only. Pleasantness and intensity ratings of a neutral suprathreshold odor were related to the valence of the pictures: After unpleasant picture presentation, the odor was rated as less pleasant and more intense, whereas viewing positive pictures induced a significant increase in reported odor pleasantness. We conclude that inducing a negative emotional state reduces olfactory sensitivity. A relation to functional deviations within the primary olfactory cortices is discussed.

Cocoa, blood pressure, and vascular function.

PubMed

Sudano, Isabella; Flammer, Andreas J; Roas, Susanne; Enseleit, Frank; Ruschitzka, Frank; Corti, Roberto; Noll, Georg

2012-08-01

The consumption of a high amount of fruits and vegetables was found to be associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Epidemiologically, a similar relationship has been found with cocoa, a naturally polyphenol-rich food. Obviously, double blind randomized studies are difficult to perform with cocoa and chocolate, respectively. However, intervention studies strongly suggest that cocoa has several beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, including the lowering of blood pressure, the improvement of vascular function and glucose metabolism, and the reduction of platelet aggregation and adhesion. Several potential mechanisms through which cocoa might exert its positive effects have been proposed, among them activation of nitric oxide synthase, increased bioavailability of nitric oxide as well as antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. It is the aim of this review to summarize the findings of cocoa and chocolate on blood pressure and vascular function.

Dissecting Impulsivity and its Relationships to Drug Addictions

PubMed Central

Ashenhurst, James R.; Cervantes, M. Catalina; James, Alexander S.; Groman, Stephanie M.; Pennington, Zachary T.

2015-01-01

Addictions are often characterized as forms of impulsive behavior. That said, it is often noted that impulsivity is a multidimensional construct, spanning several psychological domains. This review describes the relationship between varieties of impulsivity and addiction-related behaviors, the nature of the causal relationship between the two and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that promote impulsive behaviors. We conclude that the available data strongly supports the notion that impulsivity is both a risk factor for, and a consequence of, drug and alcohol consumption. While the evidence indicating that subtypes of impulsive behavior are uniquely informative – either biologically or with respect to their relationships to addictions – is convincing, multiple lines of study link “distinct” subtypes of impulsivity to low dopamine D2 receptor function and perturbed serotonergic transmission, revealing shared mechanisms between the subtypes. Therefore, a common biological framework involving monoaminergic transmitters in key frontostriatal circuits may link multiple forms of impulsivity to drug self-administration and addiction-related behaviors. Further dissection of these relationships is needed before the next phase of genetic and genomic discovery will be able to reveal the biological sources of the vulnerability for addiction indexed by impulsivity. PMID:24654857

The attachment system in fledgling relationships: an activating role for attachment anxiety.

PubMed

Eastwick, Paul W; Finkel, Eli J

2008-09-01

Is it sensible to study attachment dynamics between potential romantic partners before they share a full-fledged attachment bond? The present data indicate that such an approach may reveal novel insights about initial attraction processes. Four studies suggest that the state-like experience of attachment anxiety has functional implications within fledgling (i.e., desired or undeveloped) romantic relationships, well before the formation of an attachment bond. Studies 1 and 3 reveal that attachment anxiety directed toward a particular romantic interest is elevated before (in comparison with after) participants report being in an established relationship. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrate that such partner-specific attachment anxiety predicts attachment-relevant outcomes in fledgling relationships, including proximity seeking, safe haven, secure base, passionate love, and other approach behaviors. These associations were reliable above and beyond (and were typically as strong as or stronger than) the effect of sexual desire. Finally, Study 4 presents evidence that partner-specific attachment anxiety may cause several of these attachment-relevant outcomes. Attachment anxiety seems to be a normative experience and may signal the activation of the attachment system during the earliest stages of romantic relationships.

Von Bertalanffy's dynamics under a polynomial correction: Allee effect and big bang bifurcation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leonel Rocha, J.; Taha, A. K.; Fournier-Prunaret, D.

2016-02-01

In this work we consider new one-dimensional populational discrete dynamical systems in which the growth of the population is described by a family of von Bertalanffy's functions, as a dynamical approach to von Bertalanffy's growth equation. The purpose of introducing Allee effect in those models is satisfied under a correction factor of polynomial type. We study classes of von Bertalanffy's functions with different types of Allee effect: strong and weak Allee's functions. Dependent on the variation of four parameters, von Bertalanffy's functions also includes another class of important functions: functions with no Allee effect. The complex bifurcation structures of these von Bertalanffy's functions is investigated in detail. We verified that this family of functions has particular bifurcation structures: the big bang bifurcation of the so-called “box-within-a-box” type. The big bang bifurcation is associated to the asymptotic weight or carrying capacity. This work is a contribution to the study of the big bang bifurcation analysis for continuous maps and their relationship with explosion birth and extinction phenomena.

The Moderating Role of Trauma Type on the Relationship Between Event Centrality of the Traumatic Experience and Mental Health Outcomes.

PubMed

Wamser-Nanney, Rachel; Howell, Kathryn H; Schwartz, Laura E; Hasselle, Amanda J

2017-11-20

Event centrality, or the extent to which traumatic events are perceived to be integral to one's life, has been found to be predictive of trauma-related symptoms, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Less research has been devoted to whether event centrality is related to adaptive outcomes, such as posttraumatic growth (PTG) and resiliency, and psychological well-being (PWB) has not been investigated. Given the unique circumstances of different types of traumas, the relationship between event centrality and posttrauma functioning may differ by the type of trauma experienced. The present study investigated the direct relationships between event centrality and PTSD, depression, PTG, resiliency, and PWB, and then examined whether type of trauma (i.e., sexual victimization, death of a loved one, serious illness/injury, violence exposure) moderated the relationship between event centrality and mental health outcomes among 429 trauma-exposed college students (Mage = 19.66, SD = 1.65; 78.6% female; 49.9% White). Event centrality was positively related to PTSD, depression, and PTG, inversely linked with multiple indices of PWB, and unrelated to resiliency. Type of traumatic event moderated the relationship between event centrality and PTSD, as well as 4 subscales of PWB. When sexual trauma was the index event, event centrality was more strongly associated with PTSD and aspects of PWB compared to death of a loved one. Findings indicate the importance of trauma type when disentangling the relationships between event centrality and negative and positive outcomes and demonstrate the relevance of event centrality in understanding posttrauma functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Spatial and Temporal Relationships of Stomatal Development and Function in a Temperate Forest Canopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dow, G.; Richardson, A. D.

2017-12-01

Mechanisms that control stomatal development ultimately constrain leaf physiology by determining the anatomical maximum rate for gas-exchange (gsmax). However, we know comparatively less about how these regulatory processes define stomatal conductance (gs) and photosynthesis or how this information translates between model systems and important crop or native plant species. Here, we test relationships between stomatal development and leaf physiology that have been established in model systems by sampling trees in a mature forest ecosystem. We found that plasticity in gsmax was limited throughout the canopy, despite other changes in leaf structure and function that are driven by environmental gradients in the canopy. However, the ratio between gs and gsmax was predictive of gas flux in the canopy and species-independent. Variation in the gs : gsmax ratio appeared to minimize the energy required to control aperture size via guard cell turgor pressure, thus compensating for the initial over-investment in stomatal production. gsmax also remained a strong predictor of photosynthetic potential and intrinsic water-use efficiency. The temporal relationship between gsmax and these functional leaf traits might depend on long-term adjustments in stomatal development, which was sensitive to increases in atmospheric CO2 in our study. The absence of a spatial response and the presence of a temporal response in stomatal development infers that multiple mechanisms may integrate environmental signaling in the developmental pathway. Collectively, this research helps to define the larger significance of the stomatal mechanisms being identified in model systems.

Client-centred assessment and the identification of meaningful treatment goals for individuals with a spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Donnelly, Catherine; Eng, Janice J; Hall, Jill; Alford, Lindsay; Giachino, Rob; Norton, Kathy; Kerr, Debbie Scott

2011-01-01

Study Design Retrospective analysis. Objectives 1) describe the self-care, productivity and leisure problems identified by individuals with a spinal cord injury during rehabilitation, 2) describe the perceived level of satisfaction and performance with self-care, productivity and leisure activities following a spinal cord injury, 3) quantify the relationship between the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), a client-centred, individualized measure of function, and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Setting Tertiary rehabilitation centre, spinal cord injury unit, GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Vancouver, Canada. Methods Health records from 41 individuals with a SCI admitted between 2000 and 2002 were reviewed. Information was obtained from assessments performed on admission and discharge. Self-care, productivity and leisure problems identified by individuals with a SCI were described and their perceived level of performance and satisfaction was calculated. The relationship between the COPM and the FIM was measured by the Pearson product correlation. Results Self-care goals were identified most frequently (79%) followed by productivity (12%) and leisure (9%) goals. The top three problems identified by individuals with a SCI were functional mobility (including transfers and wheelchair use), dressing and grooming. A fair relationship was found between the COPM and the FIM (r between .351 to .514, p<.05) Conclusions The results highlight the importance of including a client-centred outcome measure in the assessment of individual’s with a SCI. Initial support is provided for use of the COPM in individuals with a SCI. PMID:14993893

From elemental tellurium to Ge2Sb2Te5 melts: High temperature dynamic and relaxation properties in relationship with the possible fragile to strong transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores-Ruiz, H.; Micoulaut, M.

2018-01-01

We investigate the dynamic properties of Ge-Sb-Te phase change melts using first principles molecular dynamics with a special emphasis on the effect of tellurium composition on melt dynamics. From structural models and trajectories established previously [H. Flores-Ruiz et al., Phys. Rev. B 92, 134205 (2015)], we calculate the diffusion coefficients for the different species, the activation energies for diffusion, the Van Hove correlation, and the intermediate scattering functions able to substantiate the dynamics and relaxation behavior of the liquids as a function of temperature and composition that is also compared to experiment whenever possible. We find that the diffusion is mostly Arrhenius-like and that the addition of Ge/Sb atoms leads to a global decrease of the jump probability and to an increase in activated dynamics for diffusion. Relaxation behavior is analyzed and used in order to evaluate the possibility of a fragile to strong transition that is evidenced from the calculated high fragility (M = 129) of Ge2Sb2Te5 at high temperatures.

Pulmonary function tests correlated with thoracic volumes in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

PubMed

Ledonio, Charles Gerald T; Rosenstein, Benjamin E; Johnston, Charles E; Regelmann, Warren E; Nuckley, David J; Polly, David W

2017-01-01

Scoliosis deformity has been linked with deleterious changes in the thoracic cavity that affect pulmonary function. The causal relationship between spinal deformity and pulmonary function has yet to be fully defined. It has been hypothesized that deformity correction improves pulmonary function by restoring both respiratory muscle efficiency and increasing the space available to the lungs. This research aims to correlate pulmonary function and thoracic volume before and after scoliosis correction. Retrospective correlational analysis between thoracic volume modeling from plain x-rays and pulmonary function tests was conducted. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients enrolled in a multicenter database were sorted by pre-operative Total Lung Capacities (TLC) % predicted values from their Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT). Ten patients with the best and ten patients with the worst TLC values were included. Modeled thoracic volume and TLC values were compared before and 2 years after surgery. Scoliosis correction resulted in an increase in the thoracic volume for patients with the worst initial TLCs (11.7%) and those with the best initial TLCs (12.5%). The adolescents with the most severe pulmonary restriction prior to surgery strongly correlated with post-operative change in total lung capacity and thoracic volume (r 2  = 0.839; p < 0.001). The mean increase in thoracic volume in this group was 373.1 cm 3 (11.7%) which correlated with a 21.2% improvement in TLC. Scoliosis correction in adolescents was found to increase thoracic volume and is strongly correlated with improved TLC in cases with severe restrictive pulmonary function, but no correlation was found in cases with normal pulmonary function. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:175-182, 2017. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relationship between cognition and gait performance in older adults receiving physical therapy interventions in the home.

PubMed

Whitney, Susan L; Marchetti, Gregory F; Ellis, Jennifer; Otis, Laurie; Asiri, Faisal; Alghadir, Ahmad

2013-01-01

Persons undergoing physical therapy home services often have difficulty with mobility and gait. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between gait and a rating of cognitive functioning in persons undergoing home-care physical therapy services. Patients over the age of 65 (n = 11,601) seen by a home-care agency between 2007 and 2008 were included in the retrospective analysis, and 10,953 (mean +/- standard deviation age 83.2 +/- 7.1; 31%) met the criteria of being able to ambulate independently or with an assistive device. All patients attempted to perform the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance plus either the Performance Oriented Measurement Assessment (POMA) or the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI). Mental function was scored as part of the Outcome and Assessment Information Set. A multivariate model with adjustment for age and sex identified gait performance as measured by the DGI to be independently associated with the likelihood that a patient required cognitive prompting (p = 0.03). Both the DGI and POMA scores were independently associated with requiring assistance/dependence with cognitive tasks. There was a strong relationship between cognition and gait performance in persons undergoing physical therapy interventions in the home. Changes in gait may be related to cognitive decline.

Correlation between k-space sampling pattern and MTF in compressed sensing MRSI.

PubMed

Heikal, A A; Wachowicz, K; Fallone, B G

2016-10-01

To investigate the relationship between the k-space sampling patterns used for compressed sensing MR spectroscopic imaging (CS-MRSI) and the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the metabolite maps. This relationship may allow the desired frequency content of the metabolite maps to be quantitatively tailored when designing an undersampling pattern. Simulations of a phantom were used to calculate the MTF of Nyquist sampled (NS) 32 × 32 MRSI, and four-times undersampled CS-MRSI reconstructions. The dependence of the CS-MTF on the k-space sampling pattern was evaluated for three sets of k-space sampling patterns generated using different probability distribution functions (PDFs). CS-MTFs were also evaluated for three more sets of patterns generated using a modified algorithm where the sampling ratios are constrained to adhere to PDFs. Strong visual correlation as well as high R 2 was found between the MTF of CS-MRSI and the product of the frequency-dependant sampling ratio and the NS 32 × 32 MTF. Also, PDF-constrained sampling patterns led to higher reproducibility of the CS-MTF, and stronger correlations to the above-mentioned product. The relationship established in this work provides the user with a theoretical solution for the MTF of CS MRSI that is both predictable and customizable to the user's needs.

Correlation between Cognition and Function across the Spectrum of Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Liu-Seifert, H; Siemers, E; Selzler, K; Sundell, K; Aisen, P; Cummings, J; Raskin, J; Mohs, R

2016-01-01

Both cognitive and functional deterioration are characteristic of the clinical progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To systematically assess correlations between widely used measures of cognition and function across the spectrum of AD. Spearman rank correlations were calculated for cognitive and functional measures across datasets from various AD patient populations. Post-hoc analysis from existing databases. Pooled data from placebo-treated patients with mild (MMSE score ≥20 and ≤26) and moderate (MMSE score ≥16 and ≤19) AD dementia from two Phase 3 solanezumab (EXPEDITION/2) and two semagecesatat (IDENTITY/2) studies and normal, late mild cognitive impairment (LMCI) and mild AD patients from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 2-Grand Opportunity (ADNI-2/GO). Intervention (if any): Placebo (EXPEDITION/2 and IDENTITY/2 subjects). Cognitive and functional abilities were measured in all datasets. Data were collected at baseline and every three months for 18 months in EXPEDITION and IDENTITY studies; and at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months in the ADNI dataset. The relationship of cognition and function became stronger over time as AD patients progressed from preclinical to moderate dementia disease stages, with the magnitude of correlations dependent on disease stage and the complexity of functional task. The correlations were minimal in the normal control population, but became stronger with disease progression. This analysis found that measures of cognition and function become more strongly correlated with disease progression from preclinical to moderate dementia across multiple datasets. These findings improve the understanding of the relationship between cognitive and functional clinical measures during the course of AD progression and how cognition and function measures relate to each other in AD clinical trials.

The role of the therapeutic relationship in the association between interpersonal behaviors and outcome: Comparison of two competing models.

PubMed

Dolev, Tohar; Zilcha-Mano, Sigal

2018-01-08

The patient-therapist relationship may be the mechanism behind the effect of pretreatment interpersonal patient behaviors on the outcome of psychotherapy for depression, or the factor determining for whom interpersonal behaviors affect outcome. We seek to establish which of these two alternatives receives empirical support. We conducted a secondary analysis of the findings from the Treatment for Depression Collaborative Research Program to examine two alternative models. First, a deterministic model, in which clients' ability to create satisfactory interpersonal relationships affects their ability to build a strong therapeutic relationship, which in turn affects outcome; and second, a compensation model, in which patients in a treatment focusing on interpersonal mechanisms of change and not in placebo, who compensate for their maladaptive pretreatment interpersonal behaviors by building a strong therapeutic relationship, benefit from treatment more than do patients who cannot build such relationship. The compensation, rather than the deterministic model, was supported, suggesting that the interpersonal behavior-outcome association is significantly moderated by the therapeutic relationship in interpersonal psychotherapy and not in placebo. Findings support an optimistic view whereby patients seeking treatment for maladaptive interpersonal behaviors can achieve good outcomes if work on interpersonal relationships is conducted in the presence of a strong therapeutic relationship.

Understanding the link between feelings of mental defeat, self-efficacy and the experience of chronic pain.

PubMed

Hazeldine-Baker, Charlotte E; Salkovskis, Paul M; Osborn, Mike; Gauntlett-Gilbert, Jeremy

2018-05-01

'Mental defeat' (MD) has been identified among people with chronic pain as a type of self-processing related to social role and rank. Research has linked it to anxiety, pain interference and functional disability. The relationship between MD and other cognitive constructs, such as hopelessness and depression, remains poorly understood. This study considers the association between MD, pain symptomatology and self-efficacy in the context of other cognitive factors. In total, 59 participants completed a questionnaire pack assessing anxiety, depression, hopelessness, pain catastrophising and MD in order to examine the relationship with pain symptomatology and self-efficacy. Linear multiple regression analyses showed that anxiety was most strongly associated with pain symptomatology, accounting for 26% of the variance, while catastrophising showed the strongest association with sensory pain and MD the strongest association with affective pain. Finally, MD was found to be strongly associated with pain-related self-efficacy, accounting for 47% of the variance. This research has demonstrated the potential importance of assessing MD in chronic pain patients, suggesting that targeting these cognitions during interventions and therapy could be valuable. Furthermore, the study indicates that MD differs from related cognitive constructs involved in pain, such as depression, hopelessness and catastrophising.

Adiposity signals predict vocal effort in Alston's singing mice.

PubMed

Burkhard, Tracy T; Westwick, Rebecca R; Phelps, Steven M

2018-04-25

Advertisement displays often seem extravagant and expensive, and are thought to depend on the body condition of a signaller. Nevertheless, we know little about how signallers adjust effort based on condition, and few studies find a strong relationship between natural variation in condition and display. To examine the relationship between body condition and signal elaboration more fully, we characterized physiological condition and acoustic displays in a wild rodent with elaborate vocalizations, Alston's singing mouse, Scotinomys teguina We found two major axes of variation in condition-one defined by short-term fluctuations in caloric nutrients, and a second by longer-term variation in adiposity. Among acoustic parameters, song effort was characterized by high rates of display and longer songs. Song effort was highly correlated with measures of adiposity. We found that leptin was a particularly strong predictor of display effort. Leptin is known to influence investment in other costly traits, such as immune function and reproduction. Plasma hormone levels convey somatic state to a variety of tissues, and may govern trait investment across vertebrates. Such measures offer new insights into how animals translate body condition into behavioural and life-history decisions. © 2018 The Author(s).

Eye-blink behaviors in 71 species of primates.

PubMed

Tada, Hideoki; Omori, Yasuko; Hirokawa, Kumi; Ohira, Hideki; Tomonaga, Masaki

2013-01-01

The present study was performed to investigate the associations between eye-blink behaviors and various other factors in primates. We video-recorded 141 individuals across 71 primate species and analyzed the blink rate, blink duration, and "isolated" blink ratio (i.e., blinks without eye or head movement) in relation to activity rhythms, habitat types, group size, and body size factors. The results showed close relationships between three types of eye-blink measures and body size factors. All of these measures increased as a function of body weight. In addition, diurnal primates showed more blinks than nocturnal species even after controlling for body size factors. The most important findings were the relationships between eye-blink behaviors and social factors, e.g., group size. Among diurnal primates, only the blink rate was significantly correlated even after controlling for body size factors. The blink rate increased as the group size increased. Enlargement of the neocortex is strongly correlated with group size in primate species and considered strong evidence for the social brain hypothesis. Our results suggest that spontaneous eye-blinks have acquired a role in social communication, similar to grooming, to adapt to complex social living during primate evolution.

Eye-Blink Behaviors in 71 Species of Primates

PubMed Central

Tada, Hideoki; Omori, Yasuko; Hirokawa, Kumi; Ohira, Hideki; Tomonaga, Masaki

2013-01-01

The present study was performed to investigate the associations between eye-blink behaviors and various other factors in primates. We video-recorded 141 individuals across 71 primate species and analyzed the blink rate, blink duration, and “isolated” blink ratio (i.e., blinks without eye or head movement) in relation to activity rhythms, habitat types, group size, and body size factors. The results showed close relationships between three types of eye-blink measures and body size factors. All of these measures increased as a function of body weight. In addition, diurnal primates showed more blinks than nocturnal species even after controlling for body size factors. The most important findings were the relationships between eye-blink behaviors and social factors, e.g., group size. Among diurnal primates, only the blink rate was significantly correlated even after controlling for body size factors. The blink rate increased as the group size increased. Enlargement of the neocortex is strongly correlated with group size in primate species and considered strong evidence for the social brain hypothesis. Our results suggest that spontaneous eye-blinks have acquired a role in social communication, similar to grooming, to adapt to complex social living during primate evolution. PMID:23741522

Technical Note: Statistical dependences between channels in radiochromic film readings. Implications in multichannel dosimetry.

PubMed

González-López, Antonio; Vera-Sánchez, Juan Antonio; Ruiz-Morales, Carmen

2016-05-01

This note studies the statistical relationships between color channels in radiochromic film readings with flatbed scanners. The same relationships are studied for noise. Finally, their implications for multichannel film dosimetry are discussed. Radiochromic films exposed to wedged fields of 6 MV energy were read in a flatbed scanner. The joint histograms of pairs of color channels were used to obtain the joint and conditional probability density functions between channels. Then, the conditional expectations and variances of one channel given another channel were obtained. Noise was extracted from film readings by means of a multiresolution analysis. Two different dose ranges were analyzed, the first one ranging from 112 to 473 cGy and the second one from 52 to 1290 cGy. For the smallest dose range, the conditional expectations of one channel given another channel can be approximated by linear functions, while the conditional variances are fairly constant. The slopes of the linear relationships between channels can be used to simplify the expression that estimates the dose by means of the multichannel method. The slopes of the linear relationships between each channel and the red one can also be interpreted as weights in the final contribution to dose estimation. However, for the largest dose range, the conditional expectations of one channel given another channel are no longer linear functions. Finally, noises in different channels were found to correlate weakly. Signals present in different channels of radiochromic film readings show a strong statistical dependence. By contrast, noise correlates weakly between channels. For the smallest dose range analyzed, the linear behavior between the conditional expectation of one channel given another channel can be used to simplify calculations in multichannel film dosimetry.

On the link between energy equipartition and radial variation in the stellar mass function of star clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, Jeremy J.; Vesperini, Enrico

2017-01-01

We make use of N-body simulations to determine the relationship between two observable parameters that are used to quantify mass segregation and energy equipartition in star clusters. Mass segregation can be quantified by measuring how the slope of a cluster's stellar mass function α changes with clustercentric distance r, and then calculating δ _α = d α (r)/d ln(r/r_m), where rm is the cluster's half-mass radius. The degree of energy equipartition in a cluster is quantified by η, which is a measure of how stellar velocity dispersion σ depends on stellar mass m via σ(m) ∝ m-η. Through a suite of N-body star cluster simulations with a range of initial sizes, binary fractions, orbits, black hole retention fractions, and initial mass functions, we present the co-evolution of δα and η. We find that measurements of the global η are strongly affected by the radial dependence of σ and mean stellar mass and the relationship between η and δα depends mainly on the cluster's initial conditions and the tidal field. Within rm, where these effects are minimized, we find that η and δα initially share a linear relationship. However, once the degree of mass segregation increases such that the radial dependence of σ and mean stellar mass become a factor within rm, or the cluster undergoes core collapse, the relationship breaks down. We propose a method for determining η within rm from an observational measurement of δα. In cases where η and δα can be measured independently, this new method offers a way of measuring the cluster's dynamical state.

Relationship between symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and family functioning: a community-based study.

PubMed

Cussen, Alexandra; Sciberras, Emma; Ukoumunne, Obioha C; Efron, Daryl

2012-02-01

This study examined the relationship between family functioning and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in an Australian community-based sample. Children were screened for ADHD in their second year of formal schooling. Two hundred and two (202) primary caregivers completed validated measures of family quality of life (QoL), parent mental health, parenting styles and parental relationship quality. Compared with controls, parents of children screening positive for ADHD reported poorer family QoL in the domains of emotional impact (mean difference [MD] -20.1; 95% CI -38.2 to -1.9, p = 0.03) and impact on family activities (MD -17.2; 95% CI -27.9 to -6.5, p = 0.002), less parental warmth (MD -3.4; 95% CI -6.0 to -0.9, p = 0.01) and higher parental depression (MD 6.8; 95% CI 1.8 to 11.7, p = 0.009) and anxiety (MD 6.2; 95% CI 1.7 to 10.6, p = 0.008) after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and child conduct symptoms. Parents of children screening positive for ADHD reported higher stress (MD 4.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 7.1, p = 0.007) and more inconsistent (MD 3.0; 95% CI 1.2 to 4.8, p = 0.002) and hostile (MD = 2.2; 95% CI 1.0 to 3.4, p = 0.001) parenting after adjusting for socio-demographic factors only. No difference in parental relationship quality and parental inductive reasoning was identified. These findings suggest a strong association between poor family functioning and ADHD symptoms and carry implications for comprehensive ADHD management and the importance of seeing the child within the family context.

Technical Note: Statistical dependences between channels in radiochromic film readings. Implications in multichannel dosimetry

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

González-López, Antonio, E-mail: antonio.gonzalez7@carm.es; Vera-Sánchez, Juan Antonio; Ruiz-Morales, Carmen

Purpose: This note studies the statistical relationships between color channels in radiochromic film readings with flatbed scanners. The same relationships are studied for noise. Finally, their implications for multichannel film dosimetry are discussed. Methods: Radiochromic films exposed to wedged fields of 6 MV energy were read in a flatbed scanner. The joint histograms of pairs of color channels were used to obtain the joint and conditional probability density functions between channels. Then, the conditional expectations and variances of one channel given another channel were obtained. Noise was extracted from film readings by means of a multiresolution analysis. Two different dosemore » ranges were analyzed, the first one ranging from 112 to 473 cGy and the second one from 52 to 1290 cGy. Results: For the smallest dose range, the conditional expectations of one channel given another channel can be approximated by linear functions, while the conditional variances are fairly constant. The slopes of the linear relationships between channels can be used to simplify the expression that estimates the dose by means of the multichannel method. The slopes of the linear relationships between each channel and the red one can also be interpreted as weights in the final contribution to dose estimation. However, for the largest dose range, the conditional expectations of one channel given another channel are no longer linear functions. Finally, noises in different channels were found to correlate weakly. Conclusions: Signals present in different channels of radiochromic film readings show a strong statistical dependence. By contrast, noise correlates weakly between channels. For the smallest dose range analyzed, the linear behavior between the conditional expectation of one channel given another channel can be used to simplify calculations in multichannel film dosimetry.« less

Brain-behaviour relationships in people at high genetic risk of schizophrenia.

PubMed

Lymer, G Katherine S; Job, Dominic E; William, T; Moorhead, J; McIntosh, Andrew M; Owens, David G C; Johnstone, Eve C; Lawrie, Stephen M

2006-10-15

The brain is known to be structurally abnormal in schizophrenia, with replicated findings between anatomical deficits and some dysfunctions. These structure-function associations have, however, only very rarely been studied in relatives at risk of schizophrenia. We studied the relationships between structure and schizotypal features (assessed using RISC and SIS) and verbal learning and memory (measured using RAVLT) in relatives at high risk of developing schizophrenia and normal controls. Since these behavioural test scores are strong predictors of schizophrenia in the Edinburgh High Risk Study, we hypothesised that these relationships would differ between those high-risk subjects who will develop schizophrenia from those who will not. We performed multiple regressions of the grey matter segments of the subjects and controls, produced using grey matter optimised, voxel-based morphometry, with their RAVLT, SIS and RISC scores in SPM. Where significant relationships were found, we used SPSS to test for subject group by behavioural score interactions. In those high-risk subjects who became ill, grey matter density (GMD) was significantly correlated with RISC in the left superior temporal gyrus. In subjects who remained well, SIS was significantly correlated with GMD in the right pulvinar. Across the whole HR group, GMD in the right medial dorsal thalamic nucleus was significantly correlated with RAVLT. In those subjects who developed symptoms, RAVLT significantly correlated with GMD in right parahippocampal gyrus whereas in those who became ill, significant correlations existed bilaterally in the pulvinar. These results suggest complex and changing patterns of structural-functional relationships in those subjects at high-risk of schizophrenia.

Economic concepts for the analysis of behavior

PubMed Central

Hursh, Steven R.

1980-01-01

A review of the relationship between schedule of reinforcement, response rate, and choice suggests that certain unifying concepts from economics can contribute to a more complete science of behavior. Four points are made: 1) a behavioral experiment is an economic system and its characteristics—open or closed—can strongly determine the results; 2) reinforcers can be distinguished by a functional property called elasticity; 3) reinforcers may interact as complements as well as substitutes; 4) no simple choice rule, such as strict matching, can account for all choice behavior. PMID:16812188

Dissecting enzyme function with microfluidic-based deep mutational scanning.

PubMed

Romero, Philip A; Tran, Tuan M; Abate, Adam R

2015-06-09

Natural enzymes are incredibly proficient catalysts, but engineering them to have new or improved functions is challenging due to the complexity of how an enzyme's sequence relates to its biochemical properties. Here, we present an ultrahigh-throughput method for mapping enzyme sequence-function relationships that combines droplet microfluidic screening with next-generation DNA sequencing. We apply our method to map the activity of millions of glycosidase sequence variants. Microfluidic-based deep mutational scanning provides a comprehensive and unbiased view of the enzyme function landscape. The mapping displays expected patterns of mutational tolerance and a strong correspondence to sequence variation within the enzyme family, but also reveals previously unreported sites that are crucial for glycosidase function. We modified the screening protocol to include a high-temperature incubation step, and the resulting thermotolerance landscape allowed the discovery of mutations that enhance enzyme thermostability. Droplet microfluidics provides a general platform for enzyme screening that, when combined with DNA-sequencing technologies, enables high-throughput mapping of enzyme sequence space.

Psychosocial functioning in the context of diagnosis: assessment and theoretical issues.

PubMed

Ro, Eunyoe; Clark, Lee Anna

2009-09-01

Psychosocial functioning is an important focus of attention in the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Researchers and clinicians are converging upon the opinion that psychometrically strong, comprehensive assessment of individuals' functioning is needed to characterize disorder fully. Also shared is the realization that existing theory and research in this domain have critical shortcomings. The authors urge that the field reexamine the empirical evidence and address theoretical issues to guide future development of the construct and its measurement. The authors first discuss several theoretical issues relevant to the conceptualization and assessment of functioning: (a) definitions of functioning, (b) the role of functioning in defining disorder, and (c) understanding functioning within environmental contexts. The authors then present data regarding empirical domains of psychosocial functioning and their interrelations. Self-reported data on multiple domains of psychosocial functioning were collected from 429 participants. Factor-analytic results (promax rotation) suggest a 4-factor structure of psychosocial functioning: Well-Being, Basic Functioning, Self-Mastery, and Interpersonal and Social Relationships. Finally, the authors propose an integration of theory and empirical findings, which they believe will better incorporate psychosocial functioning into future diagnostic systems. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Long-term improvements in oral communication skills and quality of peer relations in children with cochlear implants: parental testimony.

PubMed

Bat-Chava, Y; Martin, D; Imperatore, L

2014-11-01

Few research studies have examined longitudinal improvements in oral communication skills and quality of peer relationships of children with implants. Moreover, although the emerging literature suggests that improvement in social functioning follows improvement in oral communication, it is still unknown what factors enhance or impede the relations between these constructs. Based on parent interviews, the current study examined the long-term improvements in speech and oral language skills and relationships with hearing peers in 19 implanted children. Results demonstrate that on average, children continue to improve in oral communication skills and quality of peer relationships even years after implantation, especially those with initial poorer skills. While oral communication ability and quality of peer relationships are strongly associated at each time point, gains in these two variables are associated only for some of the children. Other factors, including self-confidence and peer acceptance, seem to moderate this relationship. Qualitative data are presented to illustrate these relations among variables and to assist in theory building. The results highlight the need for more specific examination of various developmental periods in combination with the progress of oral communication and peer relationships among children with implants. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Longitudinal assessment of neuropsychological function in major depression.

PubMed

Douglas, Katie M; Porter, Richard J

2009-12-01

Neuropsychological impairment is a core component of major depression, yet its relationship to clinical state is unclear. The aims of the present review were to determine which neuropsychological domains and tasks were most sensitive to improvement in clinical state in major depression and to highlight the methodological issues in such research. Studies that included a baseline and at least one follow-up neuropsychological testing session in adults with major depression were identified using MEDLINE, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases. Thirty studies were included in the review. Findings in younger adult populations suggested that improvement in mood was most strongly related to improved verbal memory and verbal fluency, while measures of executive functioning and attention tended to remain impaired across treatment. In late-life major depression, improved psychomotor speed was most closely related to treatment response, but there was much inconsistency between study findings, which may be due to methodological issues. In major depression, particular neuropsychological domains are more strongly related to clinical state than others. The findings from the present review suggest that the domains most sensitive to clinical state are verbal learning and memory, verbal fluency and psychomotor speed. In contrast, measures of attention and executive functioning perhaps represent more trait-like markers of major depression. With further methodologically sound research, the changes in neuropsychological function associated with treatment response may provide a means of evaluating different treatment strategies in major depression.

The relationship between irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, chronic fatigue and overactive bladder syndrome: a controlled study 6 years after acute gastrointestinal infection.

PubMed

Persson, Robert; Wensaas, Knut-Arne; Hanevik, Kurt; Eide, Geir Egil; Langeland, Nina; Rortveit, Guri

2015-06-10

To investigate in a cohort with previous gastrointestinal infection and a control group the prevalence of overactive bladder syndrome (OAB), and how it was associated with three other functional disorders; irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional dyspepsia (FD) and chronic fatigue (CF). Controlled historic cohort study including 724 individuals with laboratory confirmed giardiasis six years earlier, and 847 controls matched by gender and age. Prevalence and odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. The prevalence of OAB was 18.7 % (134/716) in the exposed group and 13.6 % (113/833) in the control group (p = 0.007). The association between OAB and IBS was strong in the control group (OR: 2.42; 95 % CI: 1.45 to 4.04), but insignificant in the Giardia exposed (OR: 1.29; 95 % CI: 0.88 to 1.88). The association between OAB and FD was weak in both groups. CF was strongly associated with OAB (OR: 2.73; 95 % CI: 1.85 to 4.02 in the exposed and OR: 2.79; 95 % CI: 1.69 to 4.62 in the controls), and this association remained when comorbid conditions were excluded. Sporadic IBS was associated with increased risk of OAB, whereas post-infectious IBS was not. An apparent association between OAB and previous Giardia infection can be ascribed to comorbid functional disorders.

Galaxy properties and the cosmic web in simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metuki, Ofer; Libeskind, Noam I.; Hoffman, Yehuda; Crain, Robert A.; Theuns, Tom

2015-01-01

We seek to understand the relationship between galaxy properties and their local environment, which calls for a proper formulation of the notion of environment. We analyse the Galaxies-Intergalactic Medium Interaction Calculation suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations within the framework of the cosmic web as formulated by Hoffman et al., focusing on properties of simulated dark matter haloes and luminous galaxies with respect to voids, sheets, filaments, and knots - the four elements of the cosmic web. We find that the mass functions of haloes depend on environment, which drives other environmental dependence of galaxy formation. The web shapes the halo mass function, and through the strong dependence of the galaxy properties on the mass of their host haloes, it also shapes the galaxy-(web) environment dependence.

Displacement effects of heavy human use on coral reef predators within the Molokini Marine Life Conservation District.

PubMed

Filous, Alexander; Friedlander, Alan M; Koike, Haruko; Lammers, Marc; Wong, Adam; Stone, Kristy; Sparks, Russell T

2017-08-15

The impact of marine ecotourism on reef predators is poorly understood and there is growing concern that overcrowding in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) may disturb the species that these areas were established to protect. To improve our understanding of this issue, we used acoustic telemetry to examine the relationship between human activity at the Molokini Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD) and the habitat use of five reef-associated predators (Caranx melampygus, Caranx ignobilis, Triaenodon obesus, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, and Aprion virscens). During peak hours of human use, there was a negative relationship (R 2 =0.77, P<0.001) between the presence of bluefin trevally (Caranx melampygus) and vessels in subzone A. No other species showed strong evidence of this relationship. However, our results suggest that during this time, the natural ecosystem function that the reserve was established to protect may be compromised and overcrowding should be considered when managing MPAs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of social relationships in the link between olfactory dysfunction and mortality.

PubMed

Leschak, Carrianne J; Eisenberger, Naomi I

2018-01-01

Recent work suggests that olfactory dysfunction is a strong predictor of five-year mortality in older adults. Based on past work showing: 1) that olfactory dysfunction impairs social functioning and 2) that social ties are linked with mortality, the current work explored whether impairments in social life mediated the relationship between olfactory dysfunction and mortality. Additionally, based on work showing gender differences in the social consequences of olfactory dysfunction, gender was assessed as a potential moderator of this association. Social network size mediated the olfactory-mortality link for females. To probe what feature of social networks was driving this effect, we investigated two subcomponents of social life: emotional closeness (e.g., perceived social support, loneliness) and physical closeness (e.g., physical contact, in-person socializing with others). Physical closeness significantly mediated the olfactory-mortality link for females, even after controlling for social network size. Emotional closeness did not mediate this link. Possible mechanisms underlying this relationship are discussed.

Density functional theory in materials science.

PubMed

Neugebauer, Jörg; Hickel, Tilmann

2013-09-01

Materials science is a highly interdisciplinary field. It is devoted to the understanding of the relationship between (a) fundamental physical and chemical properties governing processes at the atomistic scale with (b) typically macroscopic properties required of materials in engineering applications. For many materials, this relationship is not only determined by chemical composition, but strongly governed by microstructure. The latter is a consequence of carefully selected process conditions (e.g., mechanical forming and annealing in metallurgy or epitaxial growth in semiconductor technology). A key task of computational materials science is to unravel the often hidden composition-structure-property relationships using computational techniques. The present paper does not aim to give a complete review of all aspects of materials science. Rather, we will present the key concepts underlying the computation of selected material properties and discuss the major classes of materials to which they are applied. Specifically, our focus will be on methods used to describe single or polycrystalline bulk materials of semiconductor, metal or ceramic form.

Intraspecific variability in functional traits matters: case study of Scots pine.

PubMed

Laforest-Lapointe, Isabelle; Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi; Retana, Javier

2014-08-01

Although intraspecific trait variability is an important component of species ecological plasticity and niche breadth, its implications for community and functional ecology have not been thoroughly explored. We characterized the intraspecific functional trait variability of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in Catalonia (NE Spain) in order to (1) compare it to the interspecific trait variability of trees in the same region, (2) explore the relationships among functional traits and the relationships between them and stand and climatic variables, and (3) study the role of functional trait variability as a determinant of radial growth. We considered five traits: wood density (WD), maximum tree height (H max), leaf nitrogen content (Nmass), specific leaf area (SLA), and leaf biomass-to-sapwood area ratio (B L:A S). A unique dataset was obtained from the Ecological and Forest Inventory of Catalonia (IEFC), including data from 406 plots. Intraspecific trait variation was substantial for all traits, with coefficients of variation ranging between 8% for WD and 24% for B L:A S. In some cases, correlations among functional traits differed from those reported across species (e.g., H max and WD were positively related, whereas SLA and Nmass were uncorrelated). Overall, our model accounted for 47% of the spatial variability in Scots pine radial growth. Our study emphasizes the hierarchy of factors that determine intraspecific variations in functional traits in Scots pine and their strong association with spatial variability in radial growth. We claim that intraspecific trait variation is an important determinant of responses of plants to changes in climate and other environmental factors, and should be included in predictive models of vegetation dynamics.

Inclusion of ecologically based trait variation in plant functional types reduces the projected land carbon sink in an earth system model.

PubMed

Verheijen, Lieneke M; Aerts, Rien; Brovkin, Victor; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Cornelissen, Johannes H C; Kattge, Jens; van Bodegom, Peter M

2015-08-01

Earth system models demonstrate large uncertainty in projected changes in terrestrial carbon budgets. The lack of inclusion of adaptive responses of vegetation communities to the environment has been suggested to hamper the ability of modeled vegetation to adequately respond to environmental change. In this study, variation in functional responses of vegetation has been added to an earth system model (ESM) based on ecological principles. The restriction of viable mean trait values of vegetation communities by the environment, called 'habitat filtering', is an important ecological assembly rule and allows for determination of global scale trait-environment relationships. These relationships were applied to model trait variation for different plant functional types (PFTs). For three leaf traits (specific leaf area, maximum carboxylation rate at 25 °C, and maximum electron transport rate at 25 °C), relationships with multiple environmental drivers, such as precipitation, temperature, radiation, and CO2 , were determined for the PFTs within the Max Planck Institute ESM. With these relationships, spatiotemporal variation in these formerly fixed traits in PFTs was modeled in global change projections (IPCC RCP8.5 scenario). Inclusion of this environment-driven trait variation resulted in a strong reduction of the global carbon sink by at least 33% (2.1 Pg C yr(-1) ) from the 2nd quarter of the 21st century onward compared to the default model with fixed traits. In addition, the mid- and high latitudes became a stronger carbon sink and the tropics a stronger carbon source, caused by trait-induced differences in productivity and relative respirational costs. These results point toward a reduction of the global carbon sink when including a more realistic representation of functional vegetation responses, implying more carbon will stay airborne, which could fuel further climate change. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mothers' reports of play dates and observation of school playground behavior of children having high-functioning autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Frankel, Frederick D; Gorospe, Clarissa M; Chang, Ya-Chih; Sugar, Catherine A

2011-05-01

Children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are generally included with typically developing peers at school. They have difficulties interacting with peers on the school playground. Previous literature suggests that having play dates in the home may be related to better peer acceptance at school. This study examines the relationship between mother-reported play date frequency and amount of conflict, and peer interaction observed on the school playground for a sample of 27 boys and 4 girls meeting structured interview and observation criteria for ASD. Measures of intellectual functioning, adaptive behavior, and social skills were included in a stepwise regression analysis to account for their impact on relationships between maternal play date reports, general peer acceptance at school (as rated by the child's teacher) and observations of school playground behavior. Results revealed that children with autism spectrum disorders who had more play dates in their home tended to spend a greater amount of time engaged in behaviors such as mutual offering of objects, conversing and other turn-taking activities with peers on the school playground. They also received more positive responses to their overtures from peers. These relationships remained highly significant even after accounting for other demographic, general social, and cognitive variables. The present results suggest that play date frequency is strongly related to school playground behavior. Owing to the design of this study, future research must assess whether play dates in the home promote better peer relationships on the playground or the reverse. In either case, the assessment of play dates, as well as observation of spontaneous unsupervised social interactions, are important outcome measures to consider in social skills interventions for children with high-functioning ASD. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2010 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

The intimate and controversial relationship between voltage-gated proton channels and the phagocyte NADPH oxidase.

PubMed

DeCoursey, Thomas E

2016-09-01

One of the most fascinating and exciting periods in my scientific career entailed dissecting the symbiotic relationship between two membrane transporters, the Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced form (NADPH) oxidase complex and voltage-gated proton channels (HV 1). By the time I entered this field, there had already been substantial progress toward understanding NADPH oxidase, but HV 1 were known only to a tiny handful of cognoscenti around the world. Having identified the first proton currents in mammalian cells in 1991, I needed to find a clear function for these molecules if the work was to become fundable. The then-recent discoveries of Henderson, Chappell, and colleagues in 1987-1988 that led them to hypothesize interactions of both molecules during the respiratory burst of phagocytes provided an excellent opportunity. In a nutshell, both transporters function by moving electrical charge across the membrane: NADPH oxidase moves electrons and HV 1 moves protons. The consequences of electrogenic NADPH oxidase activity on both membrane potential and pH strongly self-limit this enzyme. Fortunately, both consequences specifically activate HV 1, and HV 1 activity counteracts both consequences, a kind of yin-yang relationship. Notwithstanding a decade starting in 1995 when many believed the opposite, these are two separate molecules that function independently despite their being functionally interdependent in phagocytes. The relationship between NADPH oxidase and HV 1 has become a paradigm that somewhat surprisingly has now extended well beyond the phagocyte NADPH oxidase - an industrial strength producer of reactive oxygen species (ROS) - to myriad other cells that produce orders of magnitude less ROS for signaling purposes. These cells with their seven NADPH oxidase (NOX) isoforms provide a vast realm of mechanistic obscurity that will occupy future studies for years to come. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Close partner as sculptor of the ideal self: behavioral affirmation and the Michelangelo phenomenon.

PubMed

Drigotas, S M; Rusbult, C E; Wieselquist, J; Whitton, S W

1999-08-01

This work incorporates concepts from the behavioral confirmation tradition, self tradition, and interdependence tradition to identify an interpersonal process termed the Michelangelo phenomenon. The Michelangelo phenomenon describes the means by which the self is shaped by a close partner's perceptions and behavior. Specifically, self movement toward the ideal self is described as a product of partner affirmation, or the degree to which a partner's perceptions of the self and behavior toward the self are congruent with the self's ideal. The results of 4 studies revealed strong associations between perceived partner affirmation and self movement toward the ideal self, using a variety of participant populations and measurement methods. In addition, perceived partner affirmation--particularly perceived partner behavioral affirmation--was strongly associated with quality of couple functioning and stability in ongoing relationships.

Relationship between thyroid functions and urinary growth hormone secretion in patients with hyper- and hypothyroidism.

PubMed

Murao, K; Takahara, J; Sato, M; Tamaki, M; Niimi, M; Ishida, T

1994-10-01

Thyroid hormone plays an important role in growth hormone (GH) synthesis and secretion. To study the relationship between thyroid function and urinary GH secretion in the hyperthyroid and hypothyroid states, we measured thyroid hormones, simultaneously with serum and urinary GH levels, in 54 patients with thyroid diseases. GH-releasing hormone (GRH) test was performed in 18 patients in order to evaluate serum and urinary GH responses to GRH in hyper- and hypothyroid states. Serum thyroid hormone levels were strongly correlated with the urinary GH levels in the patients, and the correlation was greater than that between serum thyroid hormone and serum GH levels. Urinary GH levels were significantly higher in the hyperthyroid patients than in the euthyroid and hypothyroid patients, although serum GH levels were not significantly different among these three groups. Serum GH response to GRH was significantly decreased in hyperthyroid patients as compared to euthyroid patients. However, urinary GH levels after GRH administration were not decreased in the hyperthyroid patients. These results suggest that hyperthyroid states increase GH in urine and may accelerate the urinary clearance of GH.

Investigating Correlation between Protein Sequence Similarity and Semantic Similarity Using Gene Ontology Annotations.

PubMed

Ikram, Najmul; Qadir, Muhammad Abdul; Afzal, Muhammad Tanvir

2018-01-01

Sequence similarity is a commonly used measure to compare proteins. With the increasing use of ontologies, semantic (function) similarity is getting importance. The correlation between these measures has been applied in the evaluation of new semantic similarity methods, and in protein function prediction. In this research, we investigate the relationship between the two similarity methods. The results suggest absence of a strong correlation between sequence and semantic similarities. There is a large number of proteins with low sequence similarity and high semantic similarity. We observe that Pearson's correlation coefficient is not sufficient to explain the nature of this relationship. Interestingly, the term semantic similarity values above 0 and below 1 do not seem to play a role in improving the correlation. That is, the correlation coefficient depends only on the number of common GO terms in proteins under comparison, and the semantic similarity measurement method does not influence it. Semantic similarity and sequence similarity have a distinct behavior. These findings are of significant effect for future works on protein comparison, and will help understand the semantic similarity between proteins in a better way.

Unconscious perception: a model-based approach to method and evidence.

PubMed

Snodgrass, Michael; Bernat, Edward; Shevrin, Howard

2004-07-01

Unconscious perceptual effects remain controversial because it is hard to rule out alternative conscious perception explanations for them. We present a novel methodological framework, stressing the centrality of specifying the single-process conscious perception model (i.e., the null hypothesis). Various considerations, including those of SDT (Macmillan & Creelman, 1991), suggest that conscious perception functions hierarchically, in such a way that higher level effects (e.g., semantic priming) should not be possible without lower level discrimination (i.e., detection and identification). Relatedly, alternative conscious perception accounts (as well as the exhaustiveness, null sensitivity, and exclusiveness problems-Reingold & Merikle, 1988, 1990) predict positive relationships between direct and indirect measures. Contrariwise, our review suggests that negative and/or nonmonotonic relationships are found, providing strong evidence for unconscious perception and further suggesting that conscious and unconscious perceptual influences are functionally exclusive (cf. Jones, 1987), in such a way that the former typically override the latter when both are present. Consequently, unconscious perceptual effects manifest reliably only when conscious perception is completely absent, which occurs at the objective detection (but not identification) threshold.

Spectrally-Invariant Approximation Within Atmospheric Radiative Transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshak, A.; Knyazikhin, Y.; Chiu, J. C.; Wiscombe, W. J.

2011-01-01

Certain algebraic combinations of single scattering albedo and solar radiation reflected from, or transmitted through, vegetation canopies do not vary with wavelength. These "spectrally invariant relationships" are the consequence of wavelength independence of the extinction coefficient and scattering phase function in vegetation. In general, this wavelength independence does not hold in the atmosphere, but in clouddominated atmospheres the total extinction and total scattering phase function vary only weakly with wavelength. This paper identifies the atmospheric conditions under which the spectrally invariant approximation can accurately describe the extinction. and scattering properties of cloudy atmospheres. The validity of the assumptions and the accuracy of the approximation are tested with ID radiative transfer calculations using publicly available radiative transfer models: Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (DISORT) and Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART). It is shown for cloudy atmospheres with cloud optical depth above 3, and for spectral intervals that exclude strong water vapor absorption, that the spectrally invariant relationships found in vegetation canopy radiative transfer are valid to better than 5%. The physics behind this phenomenon, its mathematical basis, and possible applications to remote sensing and climate are discussed.

Social class shapes the form and function of relationships and selves.

PubMed

Carey, Rebecca M; Markus, Hazel Rose

2017-12-01

Social class shapes relational realities, which in turn situate and structure different selves and their associated psychological tendencies. We first briefly review how higher class contexts tend to foster independent models of self and lower class contexts tend to foster interdependent models of self. We then consider how these independent and interdependent models of self are situated in and adapted to different social class-driven relational realities. We review research demonstrating that in lower social class contexts, social networks tend to be small, dense, homogenous and strongly connected. Ties in these networks provide the bonding capital that is key for survival and that promotes the interdependence between self and other(s). In higher social class contexts, social networks tend to be large, far-reaching, diverse and loosely connected. Ties in these networks provide the bridging capital that is key for achieving personal goals and that promotes an independence of self from other. We conclude that understanding and addressing issues tied to social class and inequality requires understanding the form and function of relationships across class contexts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Voluntary run training but not estradiol deficiency alters the tibial bone-soleus muscle functional relationship in mice.

PubMed

Warren, Gordon L; Moran, Amy L; Hogan, Harry A; Lin, Angela S; Guldberg, Robert E; Lowe, Dawn A

2007-11-01

The study's objective was to investigate how estrogen deficiency and run training affect the tibial bone-soleus muscle functional relationship in mice. Female mice were assigned into one of two surgical conditions, ovariectomy (OVX) or sham ovariectomy (sham), and one of two activity conditions, voluntary wheel running (Run) or sedentary (Sed). To determine whether differences observed between OVX and sham conditions could be attributed to estradiol (E(2)), additional OVX mice were supplemented with E(2). Tibial bones were analyzed for their functional capacities, ultimate load, and stiffness. Soleus muscles were analyzed for their functional capacities, maximal isometric tetanic force (P(o)), and peak eccentric force. The ratios of bone functional capacities to those of muscle were calculated. The bone functional capacities were affected by both surgical condition and activity but more strongly by surgical condition. Ultimate load and stiffness for the sham group were 7-12% greater than those for OVX animals (P = 0.002), whereas only stiffness was greater for Run than for Sed animals (9%; P = 0.015). The muscle functional capacities were affected by both surgical condition and activity; however, in contrast to the bone, the muscle was more affected by activity. P(o) and peak eccentric force were 10-21% greater for Run than for Sed animals (P < or = 0.016), whereas only P(o) was greater in sham than in OVX animals (9%; P = 0.011). The bone-to-muscle ratios of functional capacities were affected by activity but not by surgical condition or E(2) supplementation. Thus a mismatch of bone-muscle function occurred in mice that voluntarily ran on wheels, irrespective of estrogen status.

Examining the relationship between degree of handedness and degree of cerebral lateralization for processing facial emotion.

PubMed

Bourne, Victoria J

2008-05-01

This paper examines the relationship between degree of handedness and degree of cerebral lateralization on a task of processing positive facial emotion in right-handed individuals. Three hundred and thirteen right-handed participants (157 women) were given two behavioral tests of lateralization: a handedness questionnaire and a chimeric faces test. Two further handedness measures were taken: familial left-handedness and writing posture. Regression analysis showed that both degree of handedness and sex were predictive of degree of lateralization. Individuals who were strongly right-handed were also more strongly lateralized to the right hemisphere for the task. Men were more strongly lateralized than women. Data were reanalyzed for men and women separately. The relationship between handedness and lateralization remained for men only. Neither familial left-handedness nor writing posture were associated with cerebral lateralization for men or women. The results suggest a positive relationship between degree of handedness and degree of cerebral lateralization, and further that there is a sex difference in this relationship.

Structure-function relationships of family GH70 glucansucrase and 4,6-α-glucanotransferase enzymes, and their evolutionary relationships with family GH13 enzymes.

PubMed

Meng, Xiangfeng; Gangoiti, Joana; Bai, Yuxiang; Pijning, Tjaard; Van Leeuwen, Sander S; Dijkhuizen, Lubbert

2016-07-01

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known to produce large amounts of α-glucan exopolysaccharides. Family GH70 glucansucrase (GS) enzymes catalyze the synthesis of these α-glucans from sucrose. The elucidation of the crystal structures of representative GS enzymes has advanced our understanding of their reaction mechanism, especially structural features determining their linkage specificity. In addition, with the increase of genome sequencing, more and more GS enzymes are identified and characterized. Together, such knowledge may promote the synthesis of α-glucans with desired structures and properties from sucrose. In the meantime, two new GH70 subfamilies (GTFB- and GTFC-like) have been identified as 4,6-α-glucanotransferases (4,6-α-GTs) that represent novel evolutionary intermediates between the family GH13 and "classical GH70 enzymes". These enzymes are not active on sucrose; instead, they use (α1 → 4) glucans (i.e. malto-oligosaccharides and starch) as substrates to synthesize novel α-glucans by introducing linear chains of (α1 → 6) linkages. All these GH70 enzymes are very interesting biocatalysts and hold strong potential for applications in the food, medicine and cosmetic industries. In this review, we summarize the microbiological distribution and the structure-function relationships of family GH70 enzymes, introduce the two newly identified GH70 subfamilies, and discuss evolutionary relationships between family GH70 and GH13 enzymes.

Biodiversity effects on resource use efficiency and community turnover of plankton in Lake Nansihu, China.

PubMed

Tian, Wang; Zhang, Huayong; Zhang, Jian; Zhao, Lei; Miao, Mingsheng; Huang, Hai

2017-04-01

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is a central issue in ecology, especially in aquatic ecosystems due to the ecophysiological characteristics of plankton. Recently, ecologists have obtained conflicting conclusions while analyzing the influence of species diversity on plankton resource use efficiency (RUE) and community turnover. In this study, both phytoplankton and zooplankton communities were investigated seasonally from 2011 to 2013 in Lake Nansihu, a meso-eutrophic and recovering lake in China. The effects of phytoplankton diversity on RUE of phytoplankton (RUE PP ), zooplankton (RUE ZP ), and community turnover were analyzed. Results showed that both phytoplankton species richness and evenness were positively correlated with RUE PP . RUE ZP had a negative relationship with phytoplankton species richness, but a weak unimodal relationship with phytoplankton evenness. Cyanobacteria community had the opposite influence on RUE PP and RUE ZP . Thus, cyanobacteria dominance will benefit RUE PP in eutrophic lakes, but the growth and reproduction of zooplankton are greatly limited. The strong negative relationship between total phosphorus and RUE ZP confirmed these results. Phytoplankton community turnover tended to decrease with increasing phytoplankton evenness, which was consistent with most previous studies. The correlation coefficient between phytoplankton species richness and community turnover was negative, but not significant (p > 0.05). Therefore, phytoplankton community turnover was more sensitive to the variation of evenness than species richness. These results will be helpful in understanding the effects of species diversity on ecosystem functioning in aquatic ecosystems.

Parental attitudes and aggression in the Emo subculture.

PubMed

Chęć, Magdalena; Potemkowski, Andrzej; Wąsik, Marta; Samochowiec, Agnieszka

2016-01-01

A better functioning of adolescents involves proper relationships with parents, whereas negative relationships lead to aggressive behaviour. Young members of Emo subculture, characterised by deep emotional sensitivity, are particularly vulnerable to parental influence. The aim was to specify a relationship between parental attitudes and aggression among adolescents from the Emo subculture in comparison with a control group. 3,800 lower secondary school students took part in the introductory research. A target group constituted 41 people from the Emo subculture as well as a control group involving 48 people. A screening survey, the Parental Attitudes Scale, the Aggression Questionnaire and the author's questionnaire including questions concerning the functioning in the Emo subculture were used in the study. The results obtained in the research study suggest that there is a relationship between the indicated improper parental attitudes and aggressive behaviour among adolescents from the Emo subculture in comparison with the control group. In the Emo subculture, teenagers'aggressive behaviour is related to improper parental attitudes. It has been stated that mother's attitudes, irrespective of subculture, are much more strongly associated with the aggression among adolescents than father's attitudes. Moreover, aggressive behaviour in the Emo subculture occurs when father displays an excessively demanding attitude. A reduction of the level of almost all kinds of aggression manifested among teenagers from the Emo subculture is associated with mothers' attitude of acceptance. Mothers' autonomous attitude leads to an increase in the aggression in this group, whereas an inconsistent attitude of mothers fosters an increase in aggression among all teenagers.

The conceptual and empirical relationship between gambling, investing, and speculation

PubMed Central

Arthur, Jennifer N.; Williams, Robert J.; Delfabbro, Paul H.

2016-01-01

Background and aims To review the conceptual and empirical relationship between gambling, investing, and speculation. Methods An analysis of the attributes differentiating these constructs as well as identification of all articles speaking to their empirical relationship. Results Gambling differs from investment on many different attributes and should be seen as conceptually distinct. On the other hand, speculation is conceptually intermediate between gambling and investment, with a few of its attributes being investment-like, some of its attributes being gambling-like, and several of its attributes being neither clearly gambling or investment-like. Empirically, gamblers, investors, and speculators have similar cognitive, motivational, and personality attributes, with this relationship being particularly strong for gambling and speculation. Population levels of gambling activity also tend to be correlated with population level of financial speculation. At an individual level, speculation has a particularly strong empirical relationship to gambling, as speculators appear to be heavily involved in traditional forms of gambling and problematic speculation is strongly correlated with problematic gambling. Discussion and conclusions Investment is distinct from gambling, but speculation and gambling have conceptual overlap and a strong empirical relationship. It is recommended that financial speculation be routinely included when assessing gambling involvement, and there needs to be greater recognition and study of financial speculation as both a contributor to problem gambling as well as an additional form of behavioral addiction in its own right. PMID:27929350

Functional Anthology of Intrinsic Disorder. III. Ligands, Postranslational Modifications and Diseases Associated with Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

PubMed Central

Xie, Hongbo; Vucetic, Slobodan; Iakoucheva, Lilia M.; Oldfield, Christopher J.; Dunker, A. Keith; Obradovic, Zoran; Uversky, Vladimir N.

2008-01-01

Currently, the understanding of the relationships between function, amino acid sequence and protein structure continues to represent one of the major challenges of the modern protein science. As much as 50% of eukaryotic proteins are likely to contain functionally important long disordered regions. Many proteins are wholly disordered but still possess numerous biologically important functions. However, the number of experimentally confirmed disordered proteins with known biological functions is substantially smaller than their actual number in nature. Therefore, there is a crucial need for novel bioinformatics approaches that allow projection of the current knowledge from a few experimentally verified examples to much larger groups of known and potential proteins. The elaboration of a bioinformatics tool for the analysis of functional diversity of intrinsically disordered proteins and application of this data mining tool to >200,000 proteins from Swiss-Prot database, each annotated with at least one of the 875 functional keywords was described in the first paper of this series (Xie H., Vucetic S., Iakoucheva L.M., Oldfield C.J., Dunker A.K., Obradovic Z., Uversky V.N. (2006) Functional anthology of intrinsic disorder. I. Biological processes and functions of proteins with long disordered regions. J. Proteome Res.). Using this tool, we have found that out of the 711 Swiss-Prot functional keywords associated with at least 20 proteins, 262 were strongly positively correlated with long intrinsically disordered regions, and 302 were strongly negatively correlated. Illustrative examples of functional disorder or order were found for the vast majority of keywords showing strongest positive or negative correlation with intrinsic disorder, respectively. Some 80 Swiss-Prot keywords associated with disorder- and order-driven biological processes and protein functions were described in the first paper (Xie H., Vucetic S., Iakoucheva L.M., Oldfield C.J., Dunker A.K., Obradovic Z., Uversky V.N. (2006) Functional anthology of intrinsic disorder. I. Biological processes and functions of proteins with long disordered regions. J. Proteome Res.). The second paper of the series was devoted to the presentation of 87 Swiss-Prot keywords attributed to the cellular components, domains, technical terms, developmental processes and coding sequence diversities possessing strong positive and negative correlation with long disordered regions (Vucetic S., Xie H., Iakoucheva L.M., Oldfield C.J., Dunker A.K., Obradovic Z., Uversky V.N. (2006) Functional anthology of intrinsic disorder. II. Cellular components, domains, technical terms, developmental processes and coding sequence diversities correlated with long disordered regions. J. Proteome Res.). Protein structure and functionality can be modulated by various posttranslational modifications or/and as a result of binding of specific ligands. Numerous human diseases are associated with protein misfolding/misassembly/ misfunctioning. This work concludes the series of papers dedicated to the functional anthology of intrinsic disorder and describes ~80 Swiss-Prot functional keywords that are related to ligands, posttranslational modifications and diseases possessing strong positive or negative correlation with the predicted long disordered regions in proteins. PMID:17391016

Diverse effects of invasive ecosystem engineers on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functions: A global review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Guy-Haim, Tamar; Lyons, Devin A; Kotta, Jonne; Ojaveer, Henn; Queirós, Ana M; Chatzinikolaou, Eva; Arvanitidis, Christos; Como, Serena; Magni, Paolo; Blight, Andrew J; Orav-Kotta, Helen; Somerfield, Paul J; Crowe, Tasman P; Rilov, Gil

2018-03-01

Invasive ecosystem engineers (IEE) are potentially one of the most influential types of biological invaders. They are expected to have extensive ecological impacts by altering the physical-chemical structure of ecosystems, thereby changing the rules of existence for a broad range of resident biota. To test the generality of this expectation, we used a global systematic review and meta-analysis to examine IEE effects on the abundance of individual species and communities, biodiversity (using several indices) and ecosystem functions, focusing on marine and estuarine environments. We found that IEE had a significant effect (positive and negative) in most studies testing impacts on individual species, but the overall (cumulative) effect size was small and negative. Many individual studies showed strong IEE effects on community abundance and diversity, but the direction of effects was variable, leading to statistically non-significant overall effects in most categories. In contrast, there was a strong overall effect on most ecosystem functions we examined. IEE negatively affected metabolic functions and primary production, but positively affected nutrient flux, sedimentation and decomposition. We use the results to develop a conceptual model by highlighting pathways whereby IEE impact communities and ecosystem functions, and identify several sources of research bias in the IEE-related invasion literature. Only a few of the studies simultaneously quantified IEE effects on community/diversity and ecosystem functions. Therefore, understanding how IEE may alter biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships should be a primary focus of future studies of invasion biology. Moreover, the clear effects of IEE on ecosystem functions detected in our study suggest that scientists and environmental managers ought to examine how the effects of IEE might be manifested in the services that marine ecosystems provide to humans. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Combined strong anion-exchange HPLC and PAGE approach for the purification of heparan sulphate oligosaccharides.

PubMed

Vivès, R R; Goodger, S; Pye, D A

2001-02-15

Heparan sulphates are highly sulphated linear polysaccharides involved in many cellular functions. Their biological properties stem from their ability to interact with a wide range of proteins. An increasing number of studies, using heparan sulphate-derived oligosaccharides, suggest that specific structural features within the polysaccharide are responsible for ligand recognition and regulation. In the present study, we show that strong anion-exchange HPLC alone, a commonly used technique for purification of heparan sulphate-derived oligosaccharides, may not permit the isolation of highly pure heparan sulphate oligosaccharide species. This was determined by PAGE analysis of hexa-, octa- and decasaccharide samples deemed to be pure by strong anion-exchange HPLC. In addition, subtle differences in the positioning of sulphate groups within heparan sulphate hexasaccharides were impossible to detect by strong anion-exchange HPLC. PAGE analysis on the other hand afforded excellent resolution of these structural isomers. The precise positioning of specific sulphate groups has been implicated in determining the specificity of heparan sulphate interactions and biological activities; hence, the purification of oligosaccharide species that differ in this way becomes an important issue. In this study, we have used strong anion-exchange HPLC and PAGE techniques to allow production of the homogeneous heparan sulphate oligosaccharide species that will be required for the detailed study of structure/activity relationships.

Retinopathy and chronic kidney disease in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study.

PubMed

Grunwald, Juan E; Alexander, Judith; Ying, Gui-Shuang; Maguire, Maureen; Daniel, Ebenezer; Whittock-Martin, Revell; Parker, Candace; McWilliams, Kathleen; Lo, Joan C; Go, Alan; Townsend, Raymond; Gadegbeku, Crystal A; Lash, James P; Fink, Jeffrey C; Rahman, Mahboob; Feldman, Harold; Kusek, John W; Xie, Dawei; Jaar, Bernard G

2012-09-01

To investigate the association between retinopathy and chronic kidney disease. In this observational, cross-sectional study, 2605 patients of the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study, a multicenter study of chronic kidney disease, were offered participation. Nonmydriatic fundus photographs of the disc and macula in both eyes were obtained in 1936 of these subjects. The photographs were reviewed in a masked fashion at a central photograph reading center using standard protocols. Presence and severity of retinopathy (diabetic, hypertensive, or other) and vessel diameter caliber were assessed by trained graders and a retinal specialist using protocols developed for large epidemiologic studies. Kidney function measurements and information on traditional and nontraditional risk factors for decreased kidney function were obtained from the CRIC study. Greater severity of retinopathy was associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate after adjustment for traditional and nontraditional risk factors. The presence of vascular abnormalities usually associated with hypertension was also associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate. We found no strong direct relationship between estimated glomerular filtration rate and average arteriolar or venular calibers. Our findings show a strong association between severity of retinopathy and its features and level of kidney function after adjustment for traditional and nontraditional risk factors for chronic kidney disease, suggesting that retinovascular pathology reflects renal disease.

Avian Species and Functional Diversity in Agricultural Landscapes: Does Landscape Heterogeneity Matter?

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

While the positive relationship between avian diversity and habitat heterogeneity is widely accepted, it is primarily based on observed species richness without accounting for imperfect detection. Other facets of diversity such as functional diversity are also rarely explored. We investigated the avian diversity-landscape heterogeneity relationship in agricultural landscapes by considering two aspects of diversity: taxonomic diversity (species richness) estimated from a multi-species dynamic occupancy model, and functional diversity (functional evenness [FEve] and divergence [FDiv]) based on traits of occurring species. We also assessed how agricultural lands enrolled in a conservation program managed on behalf of declining early successional bird species (hereafter CP38 fields, an agri-environment scheme) influenced avian diversity. We analyzed breeding bird data collected at CP38 fields in Mississippi, USA, during 2010–2012, and two principal components of environmental variables: a gradient of heterogeneity (Shannon’s landscape diversity index) and of the amount of CP38 fields (percent cover of CP38 fields; CP38). FEve did not show significant responses to environmental variables, whereas FDiv responded positively to heterogeneity and negatively to CP38. However, most FDiv values did not significantly differ from random expectations along an environmental gradient. When there was a significant difference, FDiv was lower than that expected. Unlike functional diversity, species richness showed a clear pattern. Species richness increased with increasing landscape heterogeneity but decreased with increasing amounts of CP38 fields. Only one species responded negatively to heterogeneity and positively to CP38. Our results suggest that the relationships between avian diversity and landscape heterogeneity may vary depending on the aspect of diversity considered: strong positive effects of heterogeneity on taxonomic diversity, but weakly positive or non-significant effects on functional diversity. Our results also indicate that effectiveness of CP38 in conserving avian diversity, particularly, taxonomic diversity, could be limited without the consideration of landscape heterogeneity. PMID:28125653

Respiratory dysfunction in swine production facility workers: dose-response relationships of environmental exposures and pulmonary function.

PubMed

Donham, K J; Reynolds, S J; Whitten, P; Merchant, J A; Burmeister, L; Popendorf, W J

1995-03-01

Human respiratory health hazards for people working in livestock confinement buildings have been recognized since 1974. However, before comprehensive control programs can be implemented, more knowledge is needed of specific hazardous substances present in the air of these buildings, and at what concentrations they are harmful. Therefore, a medical epidemiological and exposure-response study was conducted on 207 swine producers using intensive housing systems (108 farms). Dose-response relationships between pulmonary function and exposures are reported here. Positive correlations were seen between change in pulmonary function over a work period and exposure to total dust, respirable dust, ammonia, respirable endotoxin, and the interactions of age-of-producer and dust exposure and years-of-working-in-the-facility and dust exposure. Relationships between baseline pulmonary function and exposures were not strong and therefore, not pursued in this study. The correlations between exposure and response were stronger after 6 years of exposure. Multiple regression models were used to identify total dust and ammonia as the two primary environmental predictors of pulmonary function decrements over a work period. The regression models were then used to determine exposure concentrations related to pulmonary function decrements suggestive of a health hazard. Total dust concentrations > or = 2.8 mg/m3 were predictive of a work period decrement of > or = 10% in FEV1. Ammonia concentrations of > or = 7.5 ppm were predictive of a > or = 3% work period decrement in FEV1. These predictive concentrations were similar to a previous dose-response study, which suggested 2.5 mg/m3 of total dust and 7 ppm of NH3 were associated with significant work period decrements. Therefore, dust > or = 2.8 mg/m3 and ammonia > or = 7.5 ppm should be considered reasonable evidence for guidelines regarding hazardous exposure concentrations in this work environment.

Avian Species and Functional Diversity in Agricultural Landscapes: Does Landscape Heterogeneity Matter?

PubMed

Lee, Myung-Bok; Martin, James A

2017-01-01

While the positive relationship between avian diversity and habitat heterogeneity is widely accepted, it is primarily based on observed species richness without accounting for imperfect detection. Other facets of diversity such as functional diversity are also rarely explored. We investigated the avian diversity-landscape heterogeneity relationship in agricultural landscapes by considering two aspects of diversity: taxonomic diversity (species richness) estimated from a multi-species dynamic occupancy model, and functional diversity (functional evenness [FEve] and divergence [FDiv]) based on traits of occurring species. We also assessed how agricultural lands enrolled in a conservation program managed on behalf of declining early successional bird species (hereafter CP38 fields, an agri-environment scheme) influenced avian diversity. We analyzed breeding bird data collected at CP38 fields in Mississippi, USA, during 2010-2012, and two principal components of environmental variables: a gradient of heterogeneity (Shannon's landscape diversity index) and of the amount of CP38 fields (percent cover of CP38 fields; CP38). FEve did not show significant responses to environmental variables, whereas FDiv responded positively to heterogeneity and negatively to CP38. However, most FDiv values did not significantly differ from random expectations along an environmental gradient. When there was a significant difference, FDiv was lower than that expected. Unlike functional diversity, species richness showed a clear pattern. Species richness increased with increasing landscape heterogeneity but decreased with increasing amounts of CP38 fields. Only one species responded negatively to heterogeneity and positively to CP38. Our results suggest that the relationships between avian diversity and landscape heterogeneity may vary depending on the aspect of diversity considered: strong positive effects of heterogeneity on taxonomic diversity, but weakly positive or non-significant effects on functional diversity. Our results also indicate that effectiveness of CP38 in conserving avian diversity, particularly, taxonomic diversity, could be limited without the consideration of landscape heterogeneity.

Tau burden and the functional connectome in Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.

PubMed

Cope, Thomas E; Rittman, Timothy; Borchert, Robin J; Jones, P Simon; Vatansever, Deniz; Allinson, Kieren; Passamonti, Luca; Vazquez Rodriguez, Patricia; Bevan-Jones, W Richard; O'Brien, John T; Rowe, James B

2018-02-01

Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) represent neurodegenerative tauopathies with predominantly cortical versus subcortical disease burden. In Alzheimer's disease, neuropathology and atrophy preferentially affect 'hub' brain regions that are densely connected. It was unclear whether hubs are differentially affected by neurodegeneration because they are more likely to receive pathological proteins that propagate trans-neuronally, in a prion-like manner, or whether they are selectively vulnerable due to a lack of local trophic factors, higher metabolic demands, or differential gene expression. We assessed the relationship between tau burden and brain functional connectivity, by combining in vivo PET imaging using the ligand AV-1451, and graph theoretic measures of resting state functional MRI in 17 patients with Alzheimer's disease, 17 patients with PSP, and 12 controls. Strongly connected nodes displayed more tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease, independently of intrinsic connectivity network, validating the predictions of theories of trans-neuronal spread but not supporting a role for metabolic demands or deficient trophic support in tau accumulation. This was not a compensatory phenomenon, as the functional consequence of increasing tau burden in Alzheimer's disease was a progressive weakening of the connectivity of these same nodes, reducing weighted degree and local efficiency and resulting in weaker 'small-world' properties. Conversely, in PSP, unlike in Alzheimer's disease, those nodes that accrued pathological tau were those that displayed graph metric properties associated with increased metabolic demand and a lack of trophic support rather than strong functional connectivity. Together, these findings go some way towards explaining why Alzheimer's disease affects large scale connectivity networks throughout cortex while neuropathology in PSP is concentrated in a small number of subcortical structures. Further, we demonstrate that in PSP increasing tau burden in midbrain and deep nuclei was associated with strengthened cortico-cortical functional connectivity. Disrupted cortico-subcortical and cortico-brainstem interactions meant that information transfer took less direct paths, passing through a larger number of cortical nodes, reducing closeness centrality and eigenvector centrality in PSP, while increasing weighted degree, clustering, betweenness centrality and local efficiency. Our results have wide-ranging implications, from the validation of models of tau trafficking in humans to understanding the relationship between regional tau burden and brain functional reorganization. © The Author(s) (2018). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

The buffering effect of relationship satisfaction on emotional distress in couples

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Marital distress and depression frequently co-occur, and partnership quality is associated with depressive symptoms and mental disorders in both men and women. One aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of a set of risk factors for emotional distress among men and women in couples, with a special focus on satisfaction with partner relationship. The most important aim was to investigate the extent to which high relationship satisfaction in couples acts as a buffer against stressful events. Methods Pregnant women and their husbands (n = 62,956 couples) enrolled in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study completed a questionnaire with questions about emotional distress, relationship satisfaction, and other risk factors. Twelve potential risk factors were included in the analyses, including relationship satisfaction, demographic characteristics, and somatic diseases in men and women. Associations between the predictor variables and emotional distress were estimated by multiple linear regression analysis. Cross-spousal effects, in which data reported by one of the spouses predicted emotional distress in the other, were also investigated. Possible interaction effects between certain risk factors and self-reported and partner's relationship satisfaction were tested and further explored with regression analyses in subsamples stratified by relationship satisfaction scores. Results The unique effects of relationship satisfaction were of similar sizes for both men and women: substantial for self-reported (β = -0.23 and β = -0.28, respectively) and weak for partner-reported satisfaction (β = -0.04 and β = -0.02, respectively). Other relatively strong risk factors were somatic disease, first-time motherhood, and unemployment. Self-reported as well as partner-reported relationship satisfaction appeared to strongly buffer the effects of a number of stressors. Conclusions Partner relationship dissatisfaction is strongly associated with emotional distress in men and women. Good partner relationship, both as perceived by the individual him(her)self and by the spouse, quite strongly moderates adverse effects of various types of emotional strain. PMID:22264243

If someone cares about you, you are more apt to come around: improving HIV care engagement by strengthening the patient–provider relationship

PubMed Central

Wood, Troy J; Koester, Kimberly A; Christopoulos, Katerina A; Sauceda, John A; Neilands, Torsten B; Johnson, Mallory O

2018-01-01

Purpose The patient–provider relationship is a central factor that can promote or hinder long-term engagement in care among people living with chronic illnesses. In this paper, we explore characteristics of the patient–provider relationship that facilitated or hindered engagement in care among patients receiving care at HIV specialty clinics. Patients and methods We conducted 6 focus group discussions with a total of 43 well-retained and less well-retained HIV+ patients in San Francisco, Seattle, and Birmingham, to elicit a wide range of perspectives on engagement in HIV care. Borrowing from the field of psychotherapy, we examined patient–provider relationship characteristics through the lens of the therapeutic alliance, and with regard to their therapeutic efficacy and impact on patient engagement. Results The majority of participants emphasized how a strong patient–provider relationship defined by trust, intimacy, and collaboration promoted engagement, while a weak patient–provider relationship impeded engagement. Conclusion We discuss practical strategies and therapeutic techniques that may be helpful to providers in building strong patient–provider relationship and contend that a strong patient–provider relationship is crucial for patients to feel cared for during clinical encounters, which can promote long-term and sustained engagement in HIV care. PMID:29872277

Functional Relationships for Investigating Cognitive Processes

PubMed Central

Wright, Anthony A.

2013-01-01

Functional relationships (from systematic manipulation of critical variables) are advocated for revealing fundamental processes of (comparative) cognition—through examples from my work in psychophysics, learning, and memory. Functional relationships for pigeon wavelength (hue) discrimination revealed best discrimination at the spectral points of hue transition for pigeons—a correspondence (i.e., functional relationship) similar to that for humans. Functional relationships for learning revealed: Item-specific or relational learning in matching to sample as a function of the pigeons’ sample-response requirement, and same/different abstract-concept learning as a function of the training set size for rhesus monkeys, capuchin monkeys, and pigeons. Functional relationships for visual memory revealed serial position functions (a 1st order functional relationship) that changed systematically with retention delay (a 2nd order relationship) for pigeons, capuchin monkeys, rhesus monkeys, and humans. Functional relationships for rhesus-monkey auditory memory also revealed systematic changes in serial position functions with delay, but these changes were opposite to those for visual memory. Functional relationships for proactive interference revealed interference that varied as a function of a ratio of delay times. Functional relationships for change detection memory revealed (qualitative) similarities and (quantitative) differences in human and monkey visual short term memory as a function of the number of memory items. It is concluded that these findings were made possible by varying critical variables over a substantial portion of the manipulable range to generate functions and derive relationships. PMID:23174335

Intrinsic motivation and metacognition as predictors of learning potential in patients with remitted schizophrenia.

PubMed

Tas, Cumhur; Brown, Elliot C; Esen-Danaci, Aysen; Lysaker, Paul H; Brüne, Martin

2012-08-01

Previous research has suggested that neurocognitive functioning predicts best the potential of patients with schizophrenia to acquire newly learned material, which, in turn may impact patients' social functioning. Recent studies have also shown that intrinsic motivation and metacognitive abilities play a decisive role in social functioning in schizophrenia. Accordingly, the present study sought to examine the relationship between intelligence, motivation, metacognition, and learning during a cognitive remediation experimental training. We hypothesized that metacognition and intrinsic motivation would have a strong relationship and independently predict learning potential. Thirty-two patients with schizophrenia who fulfilled the criteria of functional remission were recruited. In a pre-training-post experimental design, patients' learning potential was assessed using previously defined cognitive remediation training for WCST. Intrinsic motivation was examined using Intrinsic Motivation Inventory for schizophrenia; mastery, a domain of metacognition, was measured using the Metacognitive Assessment Scale. Metacognition significantly correlated with subdomains of intrinsic motivation. Patients with higher intrinsic motivation and preserved metacognition improved more in the learning paradigm compared to poorly motivated patients and patients with reduced metacognitive abilities. In particular, "mastery" was determined as an independent predictor of learning potential. Motivation and metacognition are important predictors of learning in schizophrenia. Psychological interventions in schizophrenia may therefore consider incorporating techniques to stimulate metacognitive and motivational abilities as well as developing individualized training programs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Empathy, and its relationship with cognitive and emotional functions in alcohol dependency.

PubMed

Erol, Almila; Akyalcin Kirdok, Asusinem; Zorlu, Nabi; Polat, Serap; Mete, Levent

2017-04-01

Empathy can be defined as the ability to understand the other's thoughts and feelings. It contains both cognitive and emotional components. The aim of this study was to investigate the empathy ability of patients with alcohol dependency in association with cognitive and emotional functions, after acute detoxification and during long-term abstinence. Thirty-three alcohol dependent inpatients that completed a detoxification process and stayed abstinent throughout the study, and 33 healthy comparison subjects that matched the patients for age, gender, and education level were included in the study. All the participants were administered the Facial Emotion Identification Test (FEIT), Facial Emotion Discrimination Test (FEDT), Trail Making Test (TMT), Digit Span Test (DST), Auditory Consonant Trigram Test (ACT), and Empathy Quotient Scale (EQS). All the tests were repeated after 3 months of abstinence. At the first evaluation conducted after detoxification, patients performed significantly worse than healthy comparisons in almost all tests. At the second evaluation, which was conducted after 3 months of abstinence, the patients improved significantly in all measures, and no significant differences were detected between the patient and comparison groups. There were significant correlations between the test scores and EQS score. Alcohol dependency has deleterious effects on empathy ability, and cognitive and emotional functions. Those impairments can improve with abstinence. Empathy ability has strong relationships with cognitive and emotional functions.

Effect of social networks and well-being on acute care needs.

PubMed

Sintonen, Sanna; Pehkonen, Aini

2014-01-01

The effect of social surroundings has been noted as an important component of the well-being of elderly people. A strong social network and strong and steady relationships are necessary for coping when illness or functional limitations occur in later life. Vulnerability can affect well-being and functioning particularly when sudden life changes occur. The objective of this study was to analyse how the determinants of social well-being affect individual acute care needs when sudden life changes occur. Empirical evidence was collected using a cross-sectional mail survey in Finland in January 2011 among individuals aged 55-79 years. The age-stratified random sample covered 3000 individuals, and the eventual response rate was 56% (1680). Complete responses were received from 1282 respondents (42.7%). The study focuses on the compactness of social networks, social disability, the stability of social relationships and the fear of loneliness as well as how these factors influence acute care needs. The measurement was based on a latent factor structure, and the key concepts were measured using two ordinal items. The results of the structural model suggest that the need for care is directly affected by social disability and the fear of loneliness. In addition, social disability is a determinant of the fear of loneliness and therefore plays an important role if sudden life changes occur. The compactness of social networks decreases social disability and partly diminishes the fear of loneliness and therefore has an indirect effect on the need for care. The stability of social relationships was influenced by the social networks and disability, but was an insignificant predictor of care needs. To conclude, social networks and well-being can decrease care needs, and supportive actions should be targeted to avoid loneliness and social isolation so that the informal network could be applied as an aspect of care-giving when acute life changes occur. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Structure-Property Relationships for Tailoring Phenoxazines as Reducing Photoredox Catalysts.

PubMed

McCarthy, Blaine G; Pearson, Ryan M; Lim, Chern-Hooi; Sartor, Steven M; Damrauer, Niels H; Miyake, Garret M

2018-04-18

Through the study of structure-property relationships using a combination of experimental and computational analyses, a number of phenoxazine derivatives have been developed as visible light absorbing, organic photoredox catalysts (PCs) with excited state reduction potentials rivaling those of highly reducing transition metal PCs. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) computational modeling of the photoexcitation of N-aryl and core modified phenoxazines guided the design of PCs with absorption profiles in the visible regime. In accordance with our previous work with N, N-diaryl dihydrophenazines, characterization of noncore modified N-aryl phenoxazines in the excited state demonstrated that the nature of the N-aryl substituent dictates the ability of the PC to access a charge transfer excited state. However, our current analysis of core modified phenoxazines revealed that these molecules can access a different type of CT excited state which we posit involves a core substituent as the electron acceptor. Modification of the core of phenoxazine derivatives with electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents was used to alter triplet energies, excited state reduction potentials, and oxidation potentials of the phenoxazine derivatives. The catalytic activity of these molecules was explored using organocatalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization (O-ATRP) for the synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) using white light irradiation. All of the derivatives were determined to be suitable PCs for O-ATRP as indicated by a linear growth of polymer molecular weight as a function of monomer conversion and the ability to synthesize PMMA with moderate to low dispersity (dispersity less than or equal to 1.5) and initiator efficiencies typically greater than 70% at high conversions. However, only PCs that exhibit strong absorption of visible light and strong triplet excited state reduction potentials maintain control over the polymerization during the entire course of the reaction. The structure-property relationships established here will enable the application of these organic PCs for O-ATRP and other photoredox-catalyzed small molecule and polymer syntheses.

Lack of Energy: An Important and Distinct Component of HIV-Related Fatigue and Daytime Function

PubMed Central

Aouizerat, Bradley E.; Gay, Caryl L.; Lerdal, Anners; Portillo, Carmen J.; Lee, Kathryn A.

2012-01-01

Context Fatigue is a prevalent symptom among adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There is increasing evidence that fatigue and energy are related, yet distinct constructs. Although HIV-related fatigue has been well studied, little is known about perceived energy and how it relates to fatigue, individual characteristics, and other symptoms. Objectives To describe the experience of perceived energy in adults with HIV and evaluate its relationship to demographic and clinical characteristics as well as symptoms of fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and daytime function. Methods The design was descriptive, comparative, and correlational. The sample of 318 adults with HIV completed a demographic questionnaire, the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale, and measures of fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and daytime function. Medical records were reviewed for disease and treatment data. Participants who reported a lack of energy were compared with those who did not on demographic, clinical, and symptom variables. Regression models of perceived energy and its interference with daytime function also were evaluated. Results Perceived lack of energy was highly prevalent (65%) and more strongly related to interference with daytime function than more general measures of fatigue severity, even when controlling for other characteristics and symptoms. Like other aspects of fatigue, lack of energy was associated with sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Lack of energy was more strongly related to morning fatigue than to evening fatigue. Conclusion Lack of energy interferes with daytime function and is not just the inverse of fatigue but a distinct perception that differs from fatigue. PMID:22917712

A meta-analysis of perceptual and cognitive functions involved in useful-field-of-view test performance.

PubMed

Woutersen, Karlijn; Guadron, Leslie; van den Berg, Albert V; Boonstra, F Nienke; Theelen, Thomas; Goossens, Jeroen

2017-12-01

The useful-field-of-view (UFOV) test measures the amount of information someone can extract from a visual scene in one glance. Its scores show relatively strong relationships with everyday activities. The UFOV test consists of three computer tests, suggested to measure processing speed and central vision, divided attention, and selective attention. However, other functions seem to be involved as well. In order to investigate the contribution of these suggested and other perceptual and cognitive functions, we performed a meta-analysis of 116 Pearson's correlation coefficients between UFOV scores and other test scores reported in 18 peer-reviewed articles. We divided these correlations into nine domains: attention, executive functioning, general cognition, memory, spatial ability, visual closure, contrast sensitivity, visual processing speed, and visual acuity. A multivariate mixed-effects model analysis revealed that each domain correlated significantly with each of the UFOV subtest scores. These correlations were stronger for Subtests 2 and 3 than for Subtest 1. Furthermore, some domains were more strongly correlated to the UFOV than others across subtests. We did not find interaction effects between subtest and domain, indicating that none of the UFOV subtests is more selectively sensitive to a particular domain than the others. Thus, none of the three UFOV subtests seem to measure one clear construct. Instead, a range of visual and cognitive functions is involved. Perhaps this is the reason for the UFOV's high ecological validity, as it involves many functions at once, making it harder to compensate if one of them fails.

Fibroblast growth factor 23 and renal function among young and healthy individuals.

PubMed

Bernasconi, Raffaele; Aeschbacher, Stefanie; Blum, Steffen; Mongiat, Michel; Girod, Marc; Todd, John; Estis, Joel; Nolan, Niamh; Renz, Harald; Risch, Lorenz; Conen, David; Risch, Martin

2018-05-01

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), an osteocyte hormone involved in the regulation of phosphate metabolism, is associated with incident and progressive chronic kidney disease. We aimed to assess the association of FGF-23 with renal parameters, vascular function and phosphate metabolism in a large cohort of young and healthy individuals. Healthy individuals aged 25-41 years were included in a prospective population-based study. Fasting venous blood and morning urinary samples were used to measure plasma creatinine, cystatin C, endothelin-1, phosphate and plasma FGF-23 as well as urinary creatinine and phosphate. Multivariable regression models were constructed to assess the relationship of FGF-23 with parameters of renal function, endothelin-1 and fractional phosphate excretion. The median age of 2077 participants was 37 years, 46% were males. The mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR - CKD-EPI creatinine-cystatin C equation) and fractional phosphate excretion were 110 mL/min/1.73 m2 and 8.7%, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, there was a significant inverse relationship of FGF-23 with eGFR (β per 1 log-unit increase -3.81; 95% CI [-5.42; -2.20]; p<0.0001). Furthermore, we found a linear association between FGF-23 and endothelin-1 (β per 1 log-unit increase 0.06; [0.01, 0.11]; p=0.01). In addition, we established a significant relationship of FGF-23 with fractional phosphate excretion (β per 1 log-unit increase 0.62; [0.08, 1.16]; p=0.03). Increasing plasma FGF-23 levels are strongly associated with decreasing eGFR and increasing urinary phosphate excretion, suggesting an important role of FGF-23 in the regulation of kidney function in young and healthy adults.

Analyzing structure-function relationships of artificial and cancer-associated PARP1 variants by reconstituting TALEN-generated HeLa PARP1 knock-out cells.

PubMed

Rank, Lisa; Veith, Sebastian; Gwosch, Eva C; Demgenski, Janine; Ganz, Magdalena; Jongmans, Marjolijn C; Vogel, Christopher; Fischbach, Arthur; Buerger, Stefanie; Fischer, Jan M F; Zubel, Tabea; Stier, Anna; Renner, Christina; Schmalz, Michael; Beneke, Sascha; Groettrup, Marcus; Kuiper, Roland P; Bürkle, Alexander; Ferrando-May, Elisa; Mangerich, Aswin

2016-12-01

Genotoxic stress activates PARP1, resulting in the post-translational modification of proteins with poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR). We genetically deleted PARP1 in one of the most widely used human cell systems, i.e. HeLa cells, via TALEN-mediated gene targeting. After comprehensive characterization of these cells during genotoxic stress, we analyzed structure-function relationships of PARP1 by reconstituting PARP1 KO cells with a series of PARP1 variants. Firstly, we verified that the PARP1\\E988K mutant exhibits mono-ADP-ribosylation activity and we demonstrate that the PARP1\\L713F mutant is constitutively active in cells. Secondly, both mutants exhibit distinct recruitment kinetics to sites of laser-induced DNA damage, which can potentially be attributed to non-covalent PARP1-PAR interaction via several PAR binding motifs. Thirdly, both mutants had distinct functional consequences in cellular patho-physiology, i.e. PARP1\\L713F expression triggered apoptosis, whereas PARP1\\E988K reconstitution caused a DNA-damage-induced G2 arrest. Importantly, both effects could be rescued by PARP inhibitor treatment, indicating distinct cellular consequences of constitutive PARylation and mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation. Finally, we demonstrate that the cancer-associated PARP1 SNP variant (V762A) as well as a newly identified inherited PARP1 mutation (F304L\\V762A) present in a patient with pediatric colorectal carcinoma exhibit altered biochemical and cellular properties, thereby potentially supporting human carcinogenesis. Together, we establish a novel cellular model for PARylation research, by revealing strong structure-function relationships of natural and artificial PARP1 variants. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Evaluating Changes in Handgrip Strength in Children With Cystic Fibrosis: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Gibson, Hannah T; McDonald, Catherine M; Derrick, Jennifer Willahan; Eggett, Dennis L; Bellini, Sarah Gunnell

2018-04-01

Body mass index (BMI) is used to determine nutrition status in children with cystic fibrosis (CF); however, lean body mass (LBM) is more strongly associated with pulmonary function. Handgrip strength (HGS) measures muscle function and is reflective of LBM. The aims of this study were to assess relationships among HGS, nutrition status, and pulmonary function; changes in HGS posthospitalization; and any relationship between HGS and nutrient intake. Twenty-three children with CF aged 6-18 years participated. BMI z scores, nutrition risk scores, and pulmonary function were assessed about 5 months before, days 5-7 of hospitalization, and about 6 weeks posthospitalization. HGS z scores and arm anthropometrics were measured during and after hospitalization. Nutrient intakes were assessed during hospitalization. Mean HGS z score at hospitalization was -1.95 ± 0.92 and posthospitalization was -1.59 ± 1.06 (P = .007). Mean BMI z score prehospitalization was -0.17 ± 0.63, at hospitalization was -0.09 ± 0.64, and posthospitalization was 0.06 ± 0.54 (P = .065). Mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ) prehospitalization was 93.52 ± 17.35, at hospitalization was 85.65 ± 21.57, and posthospitalization was 95.63 ± 18.18 (P = .001). No significant relationship was found between HGS z scores and BMI z scores (P = .892) or HGS z scores and FEV 1 (P = .340). HGS z scores and FEV 1 significantly increased at follow-up. HGS z scores were lower than the standard even though mean BMI z scores classified participants as normal nutrition status. © 2018 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

Analyzing structure–function relationships of artificial and cancer-associated PARP1 variants by reconstituting TALEN-generated HeLa PARP1 knock-out cells

PubMed Central

Rank, Lisa; Veith, Sebastian; Gwosch, Eva C.; Demgenski, Janine; Ganz, Magdalena; Jongmans, Marjolijn C.; Vogel, Christopher; Fischbach, Arthur; Buerger, Stefanie; Fischer, Jan M.F.; Zubel, Tabea; Stier, Anna; Renner, Christina; Schmalz, Michael; Beneke, Sascha; Groettrup, Marcus; Kuiper, Roland P.; Bürkle, Alexander; Ferrando-May, Elisa; Mangerich, Aswin

2016-01-01

Genotoxic stress activates PARP1, resulting in the post-translational modification of proteins with poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR). We genetically deleted PARP1 in one of the most widely used human cell systems, i.e. HeLa cells, via TALEN-mediated gene targeting. After comprehensive characterization of these cells during genotoxic stress, we analyzed structure–function relationships of PARP1 by reconstituting PARP1 KO cells with a series of PARP1 variants. Firstly, we verified that the PARP1\\E988K mutant exhibits mono-ADP-ribosylation activity and we demonstrate that the PARP1\\L713F mutant is constitutively active in cells. Secondly, both mutants exhibit distinct recruitment kinetics to sites of laser-induced DNA damage, which can potentially be attributed to non-covalent PARP1–PAR interaction via several PAR binding motifs. Thirdly, both mutants had distinct functional consequences in cellular patho-physiology, i.e. PARP1\\L713F expression triggered apoptosis, whereas PARP1\\E988K reconstitution caused a DNA-damage-induced G2 arrest. Importantly, both effects could be rescued by PARP inhibitor treatment, indicating distinct cellular consequences of constitutive PARylation and mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation. Finally, we demonstrate that the cancer-associated PARP1 SNP variant (V762A) as well as a newly identified inherited PARP1 mutation (F304L\\V762A) present in a patient with pediatric colorectal carcinoma exhibit altered biochemical and cellular properties, thereby potentially supporting human carcinogenesis. Together, we establish a novel cellular model for PARylation research, by revealing strong structure–function relationships of natural and artificial PARP1 variants. PMID:27694308

Self-Efficacy Buffers the Relationship between Educational Disadvantage and Executive Functioning.

PubMed

Zahodne, Laura B; Nowinski, Cindy J; Gershon, Richard C; Manly, Jennifer J

2015-04-01

Previous studies showed that control beliefs are more strongly related to global cognition and mortality among adults with low education, providing preliminary evidence that self-efficacy buffers against the negative impact of educational disadvantage on physical and cognitive health. The current study extends these findings to a nationally representative sample of men and women aged 30 to 85 and explores which cognitive domains are most strongly associated with self-efficacy, educational attainment, and their interaction. Data were obtained from 1032 adult (30-85) participants in the United States norming study for the NIH Toolbox. Self-efficacy, executive functioning, working memory, processing speed, episodic memory, and vocabulary were assessed with the NIH Toolbox. Multivariate analysis of covariance and follow-up regressions tested the hypothesis that self-efficacy would be more strongly related to cognitive performance among individuals with lower education, controlling for age, sex, race, ethnicity, education, reading level, testing language, and depressive symptoms. Higher education was associated with higher self-efficacy and better performance on all cognitive tests. Higher self-efficacy was associated with better set-switching and attention/inhibition. Significant self-efficacy by education interactions indicated that associations between self-efficacy and executive abilities were stronger for individuals with lower education. Specifically, individuals with low education but high self-efficacy performed similarly to individuals with high education. This study provides evidence that self-efficacy beliefs buffer against the negative effects of low educational attainment on executive functioning. These results have implications for future policy and/or intervention work aimed at reducing the deleterious effects of educational disadvantage on later cognitive health.

Hierarchical organization of brain functional networks during visual tasks.

PubMed

Zhuo, Zhao; Cai, Shi-Min; Fu, Zhong-Qian; Zhang, Jie

2011-09-01

The functional network of the brain is known to demonstrate modular structure over different hierarchical scales. In this paper, we systematically investigated the hierarchical modular organizations of the brain functional networks that are derived from the extent of phase synchronization among high-resolution EEG time series during a visual task. In particular, we compare the modular structure of the functional network from EEG channels with that of the anatomical parcellation of the brain cortex. Our results show that the modular architectures of brain functional networks correspond well to those from the anatomical structures over different levels of hierarchy. Most importantly, we find that the consistency between the modular structures of the functional network and the anatomical network becomes more pronounced in terms of vision, sensory, vision-temporal, motor cortices during the visual task, which implies that the strong modularity in these areas forms the functional basis for the visual task. The structure-function relationship further reveals that the phase synchronization of EEG time series in the same anatomical group is much stronger than that of EEG time series from different anatomical groups during the task and that the hierarchical organization of functional brain network may be a consequence of functional segmentation of the brain cortex.

Evaluating the relationships between solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence from Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 and gross primary productivity from eddy covariance flux towers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, X.; Xiao, J.; He, B.

2017-12-01

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) opens a new perspective on the monitoring of vegetation photosynthesis from space, and has been recently used to estimate gross primary productivity (GPP). However, previous studies on SIF were mainly based on satellite observations from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2), and the evaluation of these coarse-resolution SIF measurements using GPP derived from eddy covariance (EC) flux towers has been hindered by the scale mismatch between satellite and tower footprints. We use new far-red SIF observations from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite with much finer spatial resolution and GPP data from EC flux towers from 2014 to 2016 to examine the relationship between GPP and SIF for temperate forests. The OCO-2 SIF tracked tower GPP fairly well, and had strong correlation with tower GPP at both retrieval bands (757nm and 771nm) and both instantaneous (mid-day) and daily timescales. Daily SIF at 757nm (SIF757) exhibited much stronger correlation with tower GPP compared to MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from either Terra or Aqua and had a similarly strong relationship as EVI based on the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) corrected reflectance product (Terra+Aqua). Absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) explained 85% of the variance in SIF757, while the product of APAR and two environmental scalars - fTmin and fVPD (representing minimum temperature stress and water stress) explained slightly higher variance (92%) in SIF757. This suggests that SIF mainly depends on APAR and also contains information on light use efficiency (LUE) reflecting environmental stresses and physiological or biochemical variations of vegetation. The hyperbolic model based on SIF757 estimated GPP well (R2=0.81, p<0.0001; RMSE=1.11 gC m-2 d-1), and its performance was comparable to or slightly better than that of a LUE-based GPP model - the MODSI GPP algorithm. Our findings demonstrate the strong predictive ability of OCO-2 SIF in estimating GPP for temperate forests and its potential in future ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling studies.

An exploratory study of the association of acute posttraumatic stress, depression, and pain to cognitive functioning in mild traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Massey, Jessica S; Meares, Susanne; Batchelor, Jennifer; Bryant, Richard A

2015-07-01

Few studies have examined whether psychological distress and pain affect cognitive functioning in the acute to subacute phase (up to 30 days postinjury) following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The current study explored whether acute posttraumatic stress, depression, and pain were associated with performance on a task of selective and sustained attention completed under conditions of increasing cognitive demands (standard, auditory distraction, and dual-task), and on tests of working memory, memory, processing speed, reaction time (RT), and verbal fluency. At a mean of 2.87 days (SD = 2.32) postinjury, 50 adult mTBI participants, consecutive admissions to a Level 1 trauma hospital, completed neuropsychological tests and self-report measures of acute posttraumatic stress, depression, and pain. A series of canonical correlation analyses was used to explore the relationships of a common set of psychological variables to various sets of neuropsychological variables. Significant results were found on the task of selective and sustained attention. Strong relationships were found between psychological variables and speed (r(c) = .56, p = .02) and psychological variables and accuracy (r(c) = .68, p = .002). Pain and acute posttraumatic stress were associated with higher speed scores (reflecting more correctly marked targets) under standard conditions. Acute posttraumatic stress was associated with lower accuracy scores across all task conditions. Moderate but nonsignificant associations were found between psychological variables and most cognitive tasks. Acute posttraumatic stress and pain show strong associations with selective and sustained attention following mTBI. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Brightness of Solar Magnetic Elements As a Function of Magnetic Flux at High Spatial Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kahil, F.; Riethmüller, T. L.; Solanki, S. K.

2017-03-01

We investigate the relationship between the photospheric magnetic field of small-scale magnetic elements in the quiet-Sun (QS) at disk center and the brightness at 214, 300, 313, 388, 397, and 525.02 nm. To this end, we analyzed spectropolarimetric and imaging time series acquired simultaneously by the Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment magnetograph and the SuFI filter imager on board the balloon-borne observatory {{S}}{{UNRISE}} during its first science flight in 2009, with high spatial and temporal resolution. We find a clear dependence of the contrast in the near ultraviolet and the visible on the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field, B LOS, which is best described by a logarithmic model. This function effectively represents the relationship between the Ca II H-line emission and B LOS and works better than the power-law fit adopted by previous studies. This, along with the high contrast reached at these wavelengths, will help with determining the contribution of small-scale elements in the QS to the irradiance changes for wavelengths below 388 nm. At all wavelengths, including the continuum at 525.40 nm, the intensity contrast does not decrease with increasing B LOS. This result also strongly supports the fact that {{S}}{{UNRISE}} has resolved small strong magnetic field elements in the internetwork, resulting in constant contrasts for large magnetic fields in our continuum contrast at 525.40 nm versus the B LOS scatterplot, unlike the turnover obtained in previous observational studies. This turnover is due to the intermixing of the bright magnetic features with the dark intergranular lanes surrounding them.

UV radiation is the primary factor driving the variation in leaf phenolics across Chinese grasslands

PubMed Central

Chen, Litong; Niu, Kechang; Wu, Yi; Geng, Yan; Mi, Zhaorong; Flynn, Dan FB; He, Jin-Sheng

2013-01-01

Due to the role leaf phenolics in defending against ultraviolet B (UVB) under previously controlled conditions, we hypothesize that ultraviolet radiation (UVR) could be a primary factor driving the variation in leaf phenolics in plants over a large geographic scale. We measured leaf total phenolics, ultraviolet-absorbing compounds (UVAC), and corresponding leaf N, P, and specific leaf area (SLA) in 151 common species. These species were from 84 sites across the Tibetan Plateau and Inner Mongolian grasslands of China with contrasting UVR (354 vs. 161 mW/cm2 on average). Overall, leaf phenolics and UVAC were all significantly higher on the Tibetan Plateau than in the Inner Mongolian grasslands, independent of phylogenetic relationships between species. Regression analyses showed that the variation in leaf phenolics was strongly affected by climatic factors, particularly UVR, and soil attributes across all sites. Structural equation modeling (SEM) identified the primary role of UVR in determining leaf phenolic concentrations, after accounting for colinearities with altitude, climatic, and edaphic factors. In addition, phenolics correlated positively with UVAC and SLA, and negatively with leaf N and N: P. These relationships were steeper in the lower-elevation Inner Mongolian than on the Tibetan Plateau grasslands. Our data support that the variation in leaf phenolics is controlled mainly by UV radiation, implying high leaf phenolics facilitates the adaptation of plants to strong irradiation via its UV-screening and/or antioxidation functions, particularly on the Tibetan Plateau. Importantly, our results also suggest that leaf phenolics may influence on vegetation attributes and indirectly affect ecosystem processes by covarying with leaf functional traits. PMID:24363898

Family income, parental education and brain structure in children and adolescents.

PubMed

Noble, Kimberly G; Houston, Suzanne M; Brito, Natalie H; Bartsch, Hauke; Kan, Eric; Kuperman, Joshua M; Akshoomoff, Natacha; Amaral, David G; Bloss, Cinnamon S; Libiger, Ondrej; Schork, Nicholas J; Murray, Sarah S; Casey, B J; Chang, Linda; Ernst, Thomas M; Frazier, Jean A; Gruen, Jeffrey R; Kennedy, David N; Van Zijl, Peter; Mostofsky, Stewart; Kaufmann, Walter E; Kenet, Tal; Dale, Anders M; Jernigan, Terry L; Sowell, Elizabeth R

2015-05-01

Socioeconomic disparities are associated with differences in cognitive development. The extent to which this translates to disparities in brain structure is unclear. We investigated relationships between socioeconomic factors and brain morphometry, independently of genetic ancestry, among a cohort of 1,099 typically developing individuals between 3 and 20 years of age. Income was logarithmically associated with brain surface area. Among children from lower income families, small differences in income were associated with relatively large differences in surface area, whereas, among children from higher income families, similar income increments were associated with smaller differences in surface area. These relationships were most prominent in regions supporting language, reading, executive functions and spatial skills; surface area mediated socioeconomic differences in certain neurocognitive abilities. These data imply that income relates most strongly to brain structure among the most disadvantaged children.

Dynamics of Teacher-Student Relationships: Stability and Change across Elementary School and the Influence on Children’s Academic Success

PubMed Central

Spilt, Jantine L.; Hughes, Jan N.; Wu, Jiun-Yu; Kwok, Oi-Man

2012-01-01

This study modeled teacher-student relationship trajectories throughout elementary school to predict gains in achievement in an ethnic-diverse sample of 657 academically at-risk students. Teacher reports of Warmth and Conflict were collected in grades 1 to 5. Achievement was tested in grade 1 and 6. For Conflict, low-stable (normative), low-increasing, high-declining, and high-stable trajectories were found. For Warmth, high-declining (normative) and low-increasing patterns were found. Children with early behavioral, academic, or social risks were under-represented in the normative trajectory groups. Chronic conflict was most strongly associated with under achievement. Rising Conflict but not declining Conflict coincided with underachievement. The probability of school failure increased as a function of the timing and length of time children were exposed to relational adversity. PMID:22497209

Social networks, social support, and mortality among older people in Japan.

PubMed

Sugisawa, H; Liang, J; Liu, X

1994-01-01

This study examined the effects of social networks and social support on the mortality of a national probability sample of 2,200 elderly Japanese persons during a three-year period. The direct and indirect effects of social relationships were assessed by using hazard rate models in conjunction with ordinary least squares regressions. Among the five measures of social relationships, social participation is shown to have a strong impact on mortality, and this effect remains statistically significant when other factors are considered. Social participation, social support, and feelings of loneliness are found to have indirect effects on the mortality of the Japanese elders through their linkages with chronic diseases, functional status, and self-rated health. On the other hand, marital status and social contacts are not shown to have statistically significant effects on the risk of dying, either directly or indirectly.

Organochlorine-associated immunosuppression in prefledgling Caspian terns and herring gulls from the Great Lakes: an ecoepidemiological study.

PubMed Central

Grasman, K A; Fox, G A; Scanlon, P F; Ludwig, J P

1996-01-01

The objectives of study were to determine whether contaminant-associated immunosuppression occurs in prefledgling herring gulls and Caspian terns from the Great Lakes and to evaluate immunological biomarkers for monitoring health effects in wild birds. During 1992 to 1994, immunological responses and related variables were measured in prefledgling chicks at colonies distributed across a broad gradient of organochlorine contamination (primarily polychlorinated biphenyls), which was measured in eggs. The phytohemagglutinin skin test was used to assess T-lymphocyte function. In both species, there was a strong exposure-response relationship between organochlorines and suppressed T-cell-mediated immunity. Suppression was most severe (30-45%) in colonies in Lake Ontario (1992) and Saginaw Bay (1992-1994) for both species and in western Lake Erie (1992) for herring gulls. Both species exhibited biologically significant differences among sites in anti-sheep red blood cells antibody titers, but consistent exposure-response relationships with organochlorines were not observed. In Caspian terns and, to a lesser degree, in herring gulls, there was an exposure-response relationship between organochlorines and reduced plasma retinol (vitamin A). In 1992, altered White blood cell numbers were associated with elevated organochlorine concentrations in Caspian terns but not herring gulls. The immunological and hematological biomarkers used in this study revealed contaminant-associated health effects in wild birds. An epidemiological analysis strongly supported the hypothesis that suppression of T-cell-mediated immunity was associated with high perinatal exposure to persistent organochlorine contaminants. PMID:8880006

Assemblage patterns of fish functional groups relative to habitat connectivity and conditions in floodplain lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miyazono, S.; Aycock, J.N.; Miranda, L.E.; Tietjen, T.E.

2010-01-01

We evaluated the influences of habitat connectivity and local environmental factors on the distribution and abundance patterns of fish functional groups in 17 floodplain lakes in the Yazoo River Basin, USA. The results of univariate and multivariate analyses showed that species-environmental relationships varied with the functional groups. Species richness and assemblage structure of periodic strategists showed strong and positive correlations with habitat connectivity. Densities of most equilibrium and opportunistic strategists decreased with habitat connectivity. Densities of certain equilibrium and opportunistic strategists increased with turbidity. Forested wetlands around the lakes were positively related to the densities of periodic and equilibrium strategists. These results suggest that decreases in habitat connectivity, forested wetland buffers and water quality resulting from environmental manipulations may cause local extinction of certain fish taxa and accelerate the dominance of tolerant fishes in floodplain lakes. ?? 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Who are the Gatekeepers? Predictors of Maternal Gatekeeping

PubMed Central

Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J.; Altenburger, Lauren E.; Lee, Meghan A.; Bower, Daniel J.; Kamp Dush, Claire M.

2016-01-01

SYNOPSIS Objective The goal of this study was to identify determinants of maternal gatekeeping at the transition to parenthood. Design Participants included 182 different-gender dual-earner couples. During pregnancy, expectant parents completed questionnaires regarding their psychological functioning, attitudes, and expectations, and at 3 months postpartum questionnaires regarding maternal gatekeeping behavior and gate closing attitudes. Results SEM analyses revealed that mothers were more likely to close the gate to fathers when mothers held greater perfectionistic expectations for fathers’ parenting, had poorer psychological functioning, perceived their romantic relationship as less stable, and had higher levels of parenting self-efficacy. In contrast, fathers with lower parenting self-efficacy appeared to elicit greater maternal gate closing behavior. Mothers who engaged in greater gate opening behavior were more religious. Conclusions Maternal gatekeeping may be more strongly associated with maternal expectations and psychological functioning than with maternal traditional gender attitudes. Fathers’ characteristics are less predictive of maternal gatekeeping than mothers’ characteristics. PMID:27366115

Long-term and large-scale perspectives on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Symstad, A.J.; Chapin, F. S.; Wall, D.H.; Gross, K.L.; Huenneke, L.F.; Mittelbach, G.G.; Peters, Debra P.C.; Tilman, D.

2003-01-01

In a growing body of literature from a variety of ecosystems is strong evidence that various components of biodiversity have significant impacts on ecosystem functioning. However, much of this evidence comes from short-term, small-scale experiments in which communities are synthesized from relatively small species pools and conditions are highly controlled. Extrapolation of the results of such experiments to longer time scales and larger spatial scales—those of whole ecosystems—is difficult because the experiments do not incorporate natural processes such as recruitment limitation and colonization of new species. We show how long-term study of planned and accidental changes in species richness and composition suggests that the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning will vary over time and space. More important, we also highlight areas of uncertainty that need to be addressed through coordinated cross-scale and cross-site research.

Morphological analysis of dendrites and spines by hybridization of ridge detection with twin support vector machine.

PubMed

Wang, Shuihua; Chen, Mengmeng; Li, Yang; Shao, Ying; Zhang, Yudong; Du, Sidan; Wu, Jane

2016-01-01

Dendritic spines are described as neuronal protrusions. The morphology of dendritic spines and dendrites has a strong relationship to its function, as well as playing an important role in understanding brain function. Quantitative analysis of dendrites and dendritic spines is essential to an understanding of the formation and function of the nervous system. However, highly efficient tools for the quantitative analysis of dendrites and dendritic spines are currently undeveloped. In this paper we propose a novel three-step cascaded algorithm-RTSVM- which is composed of ridge detection as the curvature structure identifier for backbone extraction, boundary location based on differences in density, the Hu moment as features and Twin Support Vector Machine (TSVM) classifiers for spine classification. Our data demonstrates that this newly developed algorithm has performed better than other available techniques used to detect accuracy and false alarm rates. This algorithm will be used effectively in neuroscience research.

The Hubbard Dimer: A Complete DFT Solution to a Many-Body Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Justin; Carrascal, Diego; Ferrer, Jaime; Burke, Kieron

2015-03-01

In this work we explain the relationship between density functional theory and strongly correlated models using the simplest possible example, the two-site asymmetric Hubbard model. We discuss the connection between the lattice and real-space and how this is a simple model for stretched H2. We can solve this elementary example analytically, and with that we can illuminate the underlying logic and aims of DFT. While the many-body solution is analytic, the density functional is given only implicitly. We overcome this difficulty by creating a highly accurate parameterization of the exact function. We use this parameterization to perform benchmark calculations of correlation kinetic energy, the adiabatic connection, etc. We also test Hartree-Fock and the Bethe Ansatz Local Density Approximation. We also discuss and illustrate the derivative discontinuity in the exchange-correlation energy and the infamous gap problem in DFT. DGE-1321846, DE-FG02-08ER46496.

Nonlinear analysis of a rotor-bearing system using describing functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maraini, Daniel; Nataraj, C.

2018-04-01

This paper presents a technique for modelling the nonlinear behavior of a rotor-bearing system with Hertzian contact, clearance, and rotating unbalance. The rotor-bearing system is separated into linear and nonlinear components, and the nonlinear bearing force is replaced with an equivalent describing function gain. The describing function captures the relationship between the amplitude of the fundamental input to the nonlinearity and the fundamental output. The frequency response is constructed for various values of the clearance parameter, and the results show the presence of a jump resonance in bearings with both clearance and preload. Nonlinear hardening type behavior is observed in the case with clearance and softening behavior is observed for the case with preload. Numerical integration is also carried out on the nonlinear equations of motion showing strong agreement with the approximate solution. This work could easily be extended to include additional nonlinearities that arise from defects, providing a powerful diagnostic tool.

Who are the Gatekeepers? Predictors of Maternal Gatekeeping.

PubMed

Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J; Altenburger, Lauren E; Lee, Meghan A; Bower, Daniel J; Kamp Dush, Claire M

The goal of this study was to identify determinants of maternal gatekeeping at the transition to parenthood. Participants included 182 different-gender dual-earner couples. During pregnancy, expectant parents completed questionnaires regarding their psychological functioning, attitudes, and expectations, and at 3 months postpartum questionnaires regarding maternal gatekeeping behavior and gate closing attitudes. SEM analyses revealed that mothers were more likely to close the gate to fathers when mothers held greater perfectionistic expectations for fathers' parenting, had poorer psychological functioning, perceived their romantic relationship as less stable, and had higher levels of parenting self-efficacy. In contrast, fathers with lower parenting self-efficacy appeared to elicit greater maternal gate closing behavior. Mothers who engaged in greater gate opening behavior were more religious. Maternal gatekeeping may be more strongly associated with maternal expectations and psychological functioning than with maternal traditional gender attitudes. Fathers' characteristics are less predictive of maternal gatekeeping than mothers' characteristics.

Metagenomic sequencing reveals microbiota and its functional potential associated with periodontal disease

PubMed Central

Wang, Jinfeng; Qi, Ji; Zhao, Hui; He, Shu; Zhang, Yifei; Wei, Shicheng; Zhao, Fangqing

2013-01-01

Although attempts have been made to reveal the relationships between bacteria and human health, little is known about the species and function of the microbial community associated with oral diseases. In this study, we report the sequencing of 16 metagenomic samples collected from dental swabs and plaques representing four periodontal states. Insights into the microbial community structure and the metabolic variation associated with periodontal health and disease were obtained. We observed a strong correlation between community structure and disease status, and described a core disease-associated community. A number of functional genes and metabolic pathways including bacterial chemotaxis and glycan biosynthesis were over-represented in the microbiomes of periodontal disease. A significant amount of novel species and genes were identified in the metagenomic assemblies. Our study enriches the understanding of the oral microbiome and sheds light on the contribution of microorganisms to the formation and succession of dental plaques and oral diseases. PMID:23673380

Behavioral measures of implicit theory of mind in adults with high functioning autism.

PubMed

Deschrijver, Eliane; Bardi, Lara; Wiersema, Jan R; Brass, Marcel

2016-01-01

Theory of mind (ToM) research has shown that adults with high functioning autism (HFA) demonstrate typical performance on tasks that require explicit belief reasoning, despite clear social difficulties in everyday life situations. In the current study, we used implicit belief manipulations that are task-irrelevant and therefore less susceptible to strategies. In a ball-detection task, it was shown that neurotypical individuals detect a ball faster if an agent believed the ball was present. We predicted that adults with high functioning autism (HFA) would not show this effect. While we found a numerical difference in the hypothesized direction, we did not find a reliable group effect. Interestingly, the implicit ToM-index showed a strong negative correlation with both self-reported and observational measures of social difficulties in the HFA group. This suggests that the relationship between implicit ToM reasoning and the symptomatology of HFA might be subtler than assumed.

Polyamines and abiotic stress in plants: a complex relationship1

PubMed Central

Minocha, Rakesh; Majumdar, Rajtilak; Minocha, Subhash C.

2014-01-01

The physiological relationship between abiotic stress in plants and polyamines was reported more than 40 years ago. Ever since there has been a debate as to whether increased polyamines protect plants against abiotic stress (e.g., due to their ability to deal with oxidative radicals) or cause damage to them (perhaps due to hydrogen peroxide produced by their catabolism). The observation that cellular polyamines are typically elevated in plants under both short-term as well as long-term abiotic stress conditions is consistent with the possibility of their dual effects, i.e., being protectors from as well as perpetrators of stress damage to the cells. The observed increase in tolerance of plants to abiotic stress when their cellular contents are elevated by either exogenous treatment with polyamines or through genetic engineering with genes encoding polyamine biosynthetic enzymes is indicative of a protective role for them. However, through their catabolic production of hydrogen peroxide and acrolein, both strong oxidizers, they can potentially be the cause of cellular harm during stress. In fact, somewhat enigmatic but strong positive relationship between abiotic stress and foliar polyamines has been proposed as a potential biochemical marker of persistent environmental stress in forest trees in which phenotypic symptoms of stress are not yet visible. Such markers may help forewarn forest managers to undertake amelioration strategies before the appearance of visual symptoms of stress and damage at which stage it is often too late for implementing strategies for stress remediation and reversal of damage. This review provides a comprehensive and critical evaluation of the published literature on interactions between abiotic stress and polyamines in plants, and examines the experimental strategies used to understand the functional significance of this relationship with the aim of improving plant productivity, especially under conditions of abiotic stress. PMID:24847338

Relationship between refractivity turbulence intensity from MST radar observations and synoptic-scale vorticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nastrom, G. D.; Eaton, F. D.

2009-12-01

The relationship between the refractivity turbulence structure constant (Cn2) and the synoptic-scale relative vorticity (ζ) is investigated using observations made with the VHF radar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, over the years 2001-2004. During November-April the frequency distributions of the correlation coefficients for Cn2 and ζ, Cn2 and wind speed, the turbulent kinetic energy (σt2) and ζ, and Cn2 and σt2, show a close relationship between Cn2 and ζ. Large increases of Cn2 occur at about 9-14 km during times of cyclone passages, as expected since Cn2 depends strongly on static stability (in dry air), the static stability increases above the tropopause, and the height of the tropopause falls during cyclone passages. The analysis was repeated using distance from the tropopause as the vertical coordinate in order to remove this simple dependence on static stability, and it is found the strong relationship between Cn2 and ζ persists in the tropopause-relative coordinates. When the values of Cn2 are averaged into bins based on ζ, the changes in ζ explain over 90% of the variance of mean Cn2. A regression model for Cn2 by altitude as a function of ζ is developed. The correlation patterns found at Vandenberg AFB are corroborated with the large sets of 50 MHz radar data from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and the Middle and Upper Atmosphere radar near Shigaraki, Japan. Although the three sites are located at similar latitudes, they are in very different topographic and climatic regions, suggesting the results found here are fairly general for midlatitude conditions.

Relationships between Atomic Level Surface Structure and Stability/Activity of Platinum Surface Atoms in Aqueous Environments

DOE PAGES

Lopes, Pietro P.; Strmcnik, Dusan; Tripkovic, Dusan; ...

2016-03-07

The development of alternative energy systems for clean production, storage and conversion of energy is strongly dependent on our ability to understand, at atomic-molecular-levels, functional links between activity and stability of electrochemical interfaces. Whereas structure-activity relationships are rapidly evolving, the corresponding structure-stability relationships are still missing. Primarily, this is because there is no adequate experimental approach capable of monitoring in situ stability of well-defined single crystals. Here, by blending the power of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) connected to a stationary probe to measure in situ and real time dissolution rates of surface atoms (at above 0.4 pg cm-2s-1 levels)more » and a rotating disk electrode method for monitoring simultaneously the kinetic rates of electrochemical reactions in a single unite, it was possible to establish almost “atom-by-atom” the structure-stability-activity relationships for platinum single crystals in both acidic and alkaline environments. Furthermore, we found that the degree of stability is strongly dependent on the coordination of surface atoms (less coordinated yields less stable), the nature of covalent (adsorption of hydroxyl, oxygen atoms and halides species), and non-covalent interactions (interactions between hydrated Li cations and surface oxide), the thermodynamic driving force for Pt complexation (Pt ion speciation in solution) and the nature of the electrochemical reaction (the oxygen reduction/evolution and CO oxidation reactions). Consequently, these findings are opening new opportunities for elucidating key fundamental descriptors that govern both activity and stability trends, that ultimately, will assist to develop real energy conversion and storage systems.« less

Predicting behavior change from persuasive messages using neural representational similarity and social network analyses.

PubMed

Pegors, Teresa K; Tompson, Steven; O'Donnell, Matthew Brook; Falk, Emily B

2017-08-15

Neural activity in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), identified as engaging in self-related processing, predicts later health behavior change. However, it is unknown to what extent individual differences in neural representation of content and lived experience influence this brain-behavior relationship. We examined whether the strength of content-specific representations during persuasive messaging relates to later behavior change, and whether these relationships change as a function of individuals' social network composition. In our study, smokers viewed anti-smoking messages while undergoing fMRI and we measured changes in their smoking behavior one month later. Using representational similarity analyses, we found that the degree to which message content (i.e. health, social, or valence information) was represented in a self-related processing MPFC region was associated with later smoking behavior, with increased representations of negatively valenced (risk) information corresponding to greater message-consistent behavior change. Furthermore, the relationship between representations and behavior change depended on social network composition: smokers who had proportionally fewer smokers in their network showed increases in smoking behavior when social or health content was strongly represented in MPFC, whereas message-consistent behavior (i.e., less smoking) was more likely for those with proportionally more smokers in their social network who represented social or health consequences more strongly. These results highlight the dynamic relationship between representations in MPFC and key outcomes such as health behavior change; a complete understanding of the role of MPFC in motivation and action should take into account individual differences in neural representation of stimulus attributes and social context variables such as social network composition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Physical frailty and cognitive function among men with cardiovascular disease.

PubMed

Weinstein, Galit; Lutski, Miri; Goldbourt, Uri; Tanne, David

2018-05-29

To assess the relationship between physical frailty and cognitive function among elderly men with a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Three-hundred-twenty-four community-dwelling men with chronic CVD (mean age 77.2 ± 6.4 years) who previously participated in the Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention (BIP) trial (1990-1998) underwent assessment of frailty and cognitive function between 2011 and 2013. Physical frailty was assessed using the Fried phenotypic model, and cognitive performance overall and in memory, executive function, visuospatial and attention domains was evaluated using a validated set of computerized cognitive tests. Linear regression models were used to assess the cross-sectional relationship of frailty status and its components (gait speed, grip strength, weight loss, exhaustion and activity) with cognitive function overall and in specific domains, adjusting for age, education, smoking status, physical activity, history of myocardial infarction, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia, systolic blood pressure, BMI and depression. Of the 324 men, 91 (28%) were frail and 121 (37%) were pre-frail. After controlling for potential confounders, severity of frailty was strongly associated with global cognitive function (β = -8.0, 95%CI = -11.9,-4.1 and β = -3.3, 95%CI = -6.0,-0.5 comparing frail and pre-frail to non-frail, respectively), with the most profound associations observed in executive function and attention. Gait speed was associated with overall cognitive performance and with all cognitive domains assessed in this study, and activity with none. Cognitive function is poor among frail and pre-frail men with CVD, particularly in non-memory domains. Future research is warranted to address mechanisms and to assess the efficacy of interventions to improve physical and cognitive health. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of health information technology in advancing care management and coordination in accountable care organizations.

PubMed

Wu, Frances M; Shortell, Stephen M; Rundall, Thomas G; Bloom, Joan R

To be successful, accountable care organizations (ACOs) must effectively manage patient care. Health information technology (HIT) can support care delivery by providing various degrees of coordination. Few studies have examined the role of HIT functionalities or the role of different levels of coordination enabled by HIT on care management processes. We examine HIT functionalities in ACOs, categorized by the level of coordination they enable in terms of information and work flow, to determine which specific HIT functionalities and levels of coordination are most strongly associated with care management processes. Retrospective cross-sectional analysis was done using 2012 data from the National Survey of Accountable Care Organizations. HIT functionalities are categorized into coordination levels: information capture, the lowest level, which coordinates through standardization; information provision, which supports unidirectional activities; and information exchange, which reflects the highest level of coordination allowing for bidirectional exchange. The Care Management Process index (CMP index) includes 13 questions about the extent to which care is planned, monitored, and supported by providers and patients. Multiple regressions adjusting for organizational and ACO contractual factors are used to assess relationships between HIT functionalities and the CMP index. HIT functionality coordinating the most complex interdependences (information exchange) was associated with a 0.41 standard deviation change in the CMP index (β = .41, p < .001), but the associations for information capture (β = -.01, p = .97) and information provision (β = .15, p = .48) functionalities were not significant. The current study has shed some light on the relationship between HIT and care management processes by specifying the coordination roles that HIT may play and, in particular, the importance of information exchange functionalities. Although these represent early findings, further research can help policy makers and clinical leaders understand how to prioritize HIT development given resource constraints.

Ecosystem engineering affects ecosystem functioning in high-Andean landscapes.

PubMed

Badano, Ernesto I; Marquet, Pablo A

2008-04-01

Ecosystem engineers are organisms that change the distribution of materials and energy in the abiotic environment, usually creating and maintaining new habitat patches in the landscape. Such changes in habitat conditions have been widely documented to affect the distributions and performances of other species but up to now no studies have addressed how such effects can impact the biotically driven physicochemical processes associated with these landscapes, or ecosystem functions. Based on the widely accepted positive relationship between species diversity and ecosystem functions, we propose that the effects of ecosystem engineers on other species could have an impact on ecosystem functions via two mutually inclusive mechanisms: (1) by adding new species into landscapes, hence increasing species diversity; and (2) by improving the performances of species already present in the landscape. To test these hypotheses, we focused on the effects of a high-Andean ecosystem engineer, the cushion plant Azorella monantha, by comparing the accumulation of plant biomass and nitrogen fixed in plant tissues as species richness increases in landscapes with and without the engineer species. Our results show that both ecosystem functions increased with species richness in both landscape types, but landscapes including A. monantha cushions reached higher outcomes of plant biomass and nitrogen fixed in plant tissues than landscapes without cushions. Moreover, our results indicate that such positive effects on ecosystem functions could be mediated by the two mechanisms proposed above. Then, given the conspicuousness of ecosystem engineering in nature and its strong influence on species diversity, and given the well-known relationship between species diversity and ecosystem function, we suggest that the application of the conceptual framework proposed herein to other ecosystems would help to advance our understanding of the forces driving ecosystem functioning.

Inferring Causalities in Landscape Genetics: An Extension of Wright's Causal Modeling to Distance Matrices.

PubMed

Fourtune, Lisa; Prunier, Jérôme G; Paz-Vinas, Ivan; Loot, Géraldine; Veyssière, Charlotte; Blanchet, Simon

2018-04-01

Identifying landscape features that affect functional connectivity among populations is a major challenge in fundamental and applied sciences. Landscape genetics combines landscape and genetic data to address this issue, with the main objective of disentangling direct and indirect relationships among an intricate set of variables. Causal modeling has strong potential to address the complex nature of landscape genetic data sets. However, this statistical approach was not initially developed to address the pairwise distance matrices commonly used in landscape genetics. Here, we aimed to extend the applicability of two causal modeling methods-that is, maximum-likelihood path analysis and the directional separation test-by developing statistical approaches aimed at handling distance matrices and improving functional connectivity inference. Using simulations, we showed that these approaches greatly improved the robustness of the absolute (using a frequentist approach) and relative (using an information-theoretic approach) fits of the tested models. We used an empirical data set combining genetic information on a freshwater fish species (Gobio occitaniae) and detailed landscape descriptors to demonstrate the usefulness of causal modeling to identify functional connectivity in wild populations. Specifically, we demonstrated how direct and indirect relationships involving altitude, temperature, and oxygen concentration influenced within- and between-population genetic diversity of G. occitaniae.

Executive Function, Self-Regulated Learning, and Reading Comprehension: A Training Study

PubMed Central

Cirino, Paul T.; Miciak, Jeremy; Gerst, Elyssa; Barnes, Marcia A.; Vaughn, Sharon; Child, Amanda; Huston-Warren, Emily

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to evaluate the extent to which training that emphasizes the process of executive function (EF) and self-regulated learning (SRL) would result in increased reading comprehension; we also evaluated interrelationships of EF, SRL, and reading. We report an experiment (N = 75 fourth graders) that contrasted two researcher-implemented conditions (text-based reading [TB] and text-based reading plus executive function [TB+EF]) to a control. We also evaluated relationships among measures of SRL, EF, and reading. Both the TB and TB+EF groups outperformed the control group for proximal text comprehension (where the topic was similar to that covered in training) and background knowledge related to it, but the two researcher-led groups performed similarly. There were no significant differences for less proximal text, and again similar performance for both TB and TB+EF. Correlations among measures were weak in general, although the pattern was similar to that found in the extant literature. The findings speak to the difficulty in separating these components from those of strong instruction more generally. The relationships of these constructs to reading comprehension will likely be enhanced by more sensitive measurement of EF and reading comprehension, particularly where tied to active treatment components. PMID:26746314

Sensory impairments of the lower limb after stroke: a pooled analysis of individual patient data.

PubMed

Tyson, Sarah F; Crow, J Lesley; Connell, Louise; Winward, Charlotte; Hillier, Susan

2013-01-01

To obtain more generalizable information on the frequency and factors influencing sensory impairment after stroke and their relationship to mobility and function. A pooled analysis of individual data of stroke survivors (N = 459); mean (SD) age = 67.2 (14.8) years, 54% male, mean (SD) time since stroke = 22.33 (63.1) days, 50% left-sided weakness. Where different measurement tools were used, data were recorded. Descriptive statistics described frequency of sensory impairments, kappa coefficients investigated relationships between sensory modalities, binary logistic regression explored the factors influencing sensory impairments, and linear regression assessed the impact of sensory impairments on activity limitations. Most patients' sensation was intact (55%), and individual sensory modalities were highly associated (κ = 0.60, P < .001). Weakness and neglect influenced sensory impairment (P < .001), but demographics, stroke pathology, and spasticity did not. Sensation influenced independence in activities of daily living, mobility, and balance but less strongly than weakness. Pooled individual data analysis showed sensation of the lower limb is grossly preserved in most stroke survivors but, when present, it affects function. Sensory modalities are highly interrelated; interventions that treat the motor system during functional tasks may be as effective at treating the sensory system as sensory retraining alone.

Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging.

PubMed

Carhart-Harris, Robin L; Muthukumaraswamy, Suresh; Roseman, Leor; Kaelen, Mendel; Droog, Wouter; Murphy, Kevin; Tagliazucchi, Enzo; Schenberg, Eduardo E; Nest, Timothy; Orban, Csaba; Leech, Robert; Williams, Luke T; Williams, Tim M; Bolstridge, Mark; Sessa, Ben; McGonigle, John; Sereno, Martin I; Nichols, David; Hellyer, Peter J; Hobden, Peter; Evans, John; Singh, Krish D; Wise, Richard G; Curran, H Valerie; Feilding, Amanda; Nutt, David J

2016-04-26

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is the prototypical psychedelic drug, but its effects on the human brain have never been studied before with modern neuroimaging. Here, three complementary neuroimaging techniques: arterial spin labeling (ASL), blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) measures, and magnetoencephalography (MEG), implemented during resting state conditions, revealed marked changes in brain activity after LSD that correlated strongly with its characteristic psychological effects. Increased visual cortex cerebral blood flow (CBF), decreased visual cortex alpha power, and a greatly expanded primary visual cortex (V1) functional connectivity profile correlated strongly with ratings of visual hallucinations, implying that intrinsic brain activity exerts greater influence on visual processing in the psychedelic state, thereby defining its hallucinatory quality. LSD's marked effects on the visual cortex did not significantly correlate with the drug's other characteristic effects on consciousness, however. Rather, decreased connectivity between the parahippocampus and retrosplenial cortex (RSC) correlated strongly with ratings of "ego-dissolution" and "altered meaning," implying the importance of this particular circuit for the maintenance of "self" or "ego" and its processing of "meaning." Strong relationships were also found between the different imaging metrics, enabling firmer inferences to be made about their functional significance. This uniquely comprehensive examination of the LSD state represents an important advance in scientific research with psychedelic drugs at a time of growing interest in their scientific and therapeutic value. The present results contribute important new insights into the characteristic hallucinatory and consciousness-altering properties of psychedelics that inform on how they can model certain pathological states and potentially treat others.

Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging

PubMed Central

Carhart-Harris, Robin L.; Muthukumaraswamy, Suresh; Roseman, Leor; Kaelen, Mendel; Droog, Wouter; Murphy, Kevin; Tagliazucchi, Enzo; Schenberg, Eduardo E.; Nest, Timothy; Orban, Csaba; Leech, Robert; Williams, Luke T.; Williams, Tim M.; Bolstridge, Mark; Sessa, Ben; McGonigle, John; Sereno, Martin I.; Nichols, David; Hobden, Peter; Evans, John; Singh, Krish D.; Wise, Richard G.; Curran, H. Valerie; Feilding, Amanda; Nutt, David J.

2016-01-01

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is the prototypical psychedelic drug, but its effects on the human brain have never been studied before with modern neuroimaging. Here, three complementary neuroimaging techniques: arterial spin labeling (ASL), blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) measures, and magnetoencephalography (MEG), implemented during resting state conditions, revealed marked changes in brain activity after LSD that correlated strongly with its characteristic psychological effects. Increased visual cortex cerebral blood flow (CBF), decreased visual cortex alpha power, and a greatly expanded primary visual cortex (V1) functional connectivity profile correlated strongly with ratings of visual hallucinations, implying that intrinsic brain activity exerts greater influence on visual processing in the psychedelic state, thereby defining its hallucinatory quality. LSD’s marked effects on the visual cortex did not significantly correlate with the drug’s other characteristic effects on consciousness, however. Rather, decreased connectivity between the parahippocampus and retrosplenial cortex (RSC) correlated strongly with ratings of “ego-dissolution” and “altered meaning,” implying the importance of this particular circuit for the maintenance of “self” or “ego” and its processing of “meaning.” Strong relationships were also found between the different imaging metrics, enabling firmer inferences to be made about their functional significance. This uniquely comprehensive examination of the LSD state represents an important advance in scientific research with psychedelic drugs at a time of growing interest in their scientific and therapeutic value. The present results contribute important new insights into the characteristic hallucinatory and consciousness-altering properties of psychedelics that inform on how they can model certain pathological states and potentially treat others. PMID:27071089

Negative affect predicts social functioning across schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: Findings from an integrated data analysis

PubMed Central

Grove, Tyler B.; Tso, Ivy F.; Chun, Jinsoo; Mueller, Savanna A.; Taylor, Stephan F.; Ellingrod, Vicki L.; McInnis, Melvin G.; Deldin, Patricia J.

2016-01-01

Most people with a serious mental illness experience significant functional impairment despite ongoing pharmacological treatment. Thus, in order to improve outcomes, a better understanding of functional predictors is needed. This study examined negative affect, a construct comprised of negative emotional experience, as a predictor of social functioning across serious mental illnesses. One hundred twenty-seven participants with schizophrenia, 113 with schizoaffective disorder, 22 with psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, 58 with bipolar disorder, and 84 healthy controls (N=404) completed self-report negative affect measures. Elevated levels of negative affect were observed in clinical participants compared with healthy controls. For both clinical and healthy control participants, negative affect measures were significantly correlated with social functioning, and consistently explained significant amounts of variance in functioning. For clinical participants, this relationship persisted even after accounting for cognition and positive/negative symptoms. The findings suggest that negative affect is a strong predictor of outcome across these populations and treatment of serious mental illnesses should target elevated negative affect in addition to cognition and positive/negative symptoms. PMID:27416540

The relationship between skin function, barrier properties, and body-dependent factors.

PubMed

Dąbrowska, A K; Spano, F; Derler, S; Adlhart, C; Spencer, N D; Rossi, R M

2018-05-01

Skin is a multilayer interface between the body and the environment, responsible for many important functions, such as temperature regulation, water transport, sensation, and protection from external triggers. This paper provides an overview of principal factors that influence human skin and describes the diversity of skin characteristics, its causes and possible consequences. It also discusses limitations in the barrier function of the skin, describing mechanisms of absorption. There are a number of in vivo investigations focusing on the diversity of human skin characteristics with reference to barrier properties and body-dependent factors. Skin properties vary among individuals of different age, gender, ethnicity, and skin types. In addition, skin characteristics differ depending on the body site and can be influenced by the body-mass index and lifestyle. Although one of the main functions of the skin is to act as a barrier, absorption of some substances remains possible. Various factors can alter human skin properties, which can be reflected in skin function and the quality of everyday life. Skin properties and function are strongly interlinked. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Flexible functional regression methods for estimating individualized treatment regimes.

PubMed

Ciarleglio, Adam; Petkova, Eva; Tarpey, Thaddeus; Ogden, R Todd

2016-01-01

A major focus of personalized medicine is on the development of individualized treatment rules. Good decision rules have the potential to significantly advance patient care and reduce the burden of a host of diseases. Statistical methods for developing such rules are progressing rapidly, but few methods have considered the use of pre-treatment functional data to guide in decision-making. Furthermore, those methods that do allow for the incorporation of functional pre-treatment covariates typically make strong assumptions about the relationships between the functional covariates and the response of interest. We propose two approaches for using functional data to select an optimal treatment that address some of the shortcomings of previously developed methods. Specifically, we combine the flexibility of functional additive regression models with Q -learning or A -learning in order to obtain treatment decision rules. Properties of the corresponding estimators are discussed. Our approaches are evaluated in several realistic settings using synthetic data and are applied to real data arising from a clinical trial comparing two treatments for major depressive disorder in which baseline imaging data are available for subjects who are subsequently treated.

Negative affect predicts social functioning across schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: Findings from an integrated data analysis.

PubMed

Grove, Tyler B; Tso, Ivy F; Chun, Jinsoo; Mueller, Savanna A; Taylor, Stephan F; Ellingrod, Vicki L; McInnis, Melvin G; Deldin, Patricia J

2016-09-30

Most people with a serious mental illness experience significant functional impairment despite ongoing pharmacological treatment. Thus, in order to improve outcomes, a better understanding of functional predictors is needed. This study examined negative affect, a construct comprised of negative emotional experience, as a predictor of social functioning across serious mental illnesses. One hundred twenty-seven participants with schizophrenia, 113 with schizoaffective disorder, 22 with psychosis not otherwise specified, 58 with bipolar disorder, and 84 healthy controls (N=404) completed self-report negative affect measures. Elevated levels of negative affect were observed in clinical participants compared with healthy controls. For both clinical and healthy control participants, negative affect measures were significantly correlated with social functioning, and consistently explained significant amounts of variance in functioning. For clinical participants, this relationship persisted even after accounting for cognition and positive/negative symptoms. The findings suggest that negative affect is a strong predictor of outcome across these populations and treatment of serious mental illnesses should target elevated negative affect in addition to cognition and positive/negative symptoms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional ecomorphology: Feedbacks between form and function in fluvial landscape ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisher, Stuart G.; Heffernan, James B.; Sponseller, Ryan A.; Welter, Jill R.

2007-09-01

The relationship between form and function has been a central organizing principle in biology throughout its history as a formal science. This concept has been relevant from molecules to organisms but loses meaning at population and community levels where study targets are abstract collectives and assemblages. Ecosystems include organisms and abiotic factors but ecosystem ecology too has developed until recently without a strong spatially explicit reference. Landscape ecology provides an opportunity to once again anneal form and function and to consider reciprocal causation between them. This ecomorphologic view can be applied at a variety of ecologically relevant scales and consists of an investigation of how geomorphology provides a structural template that shapes, and is shaped by ecological processes. Running water ecosystems illustrate several principles governing the interaction of landscape form and ecological function subsumed by the concept of "Functional Ecomorphology". Particularly lucrative are ecosystem-level interactions between geologic form and biogeochemical processes integrated by hydrologic flowpaths. While the utility of a flowpath-based approach is most apparent in streams, spatially explicit biogeochemical processing pervades all landscapes and may be of general ecological application.

Response to comments on "Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness"

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grace, James B.; Adler, Peter B.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Hillebrand, Helmut; Hautier, Yann; Hector, Andy; Harpole, W. Stanley; O'Halloran, Lydia R.; Anderson, T. Michael; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Brown, Cynthia S.; Buckley, Yvonne M.; Collins, Scott L.; Cottingham, Kathryn L.; Crawley, Michael J.; Damschen, Ellen Ingman; Davies, Kendi F.; DeCrappeo, Nicole M.; Fay, Philip A.; Firn, Jennifer; Gruner, Daniel S.; Hagenah, Nicole; Jin, Virginia L.; Kirkman, Kevin P.; Knops, Johannes M.H.; La Pierre, Kimberly J.; Lambrinos, John G.; Melbourne, Brett A.; Mitchell, Charles E.; Moore, Joslin L.; Morgan, John W.; Orrock, John L.; Prover, Suzanne M.; Stevens, Carly J.; Wragg, Peter D.; Yang, Louie H.

2012-01-01

Pan et al. claim that our results actually support a strong linear positive relationship between productivity and richness, whereas Fridley et al. contend that the data support a strong humped relationship. These responses illustrate how preoccupation with bivariate patterns distracts from a deeper understanding of the multivariate mechanisms that control these important ecosystem properties.

Sexual Health and Positive Subjective Well-Being in Partnered Older Men and Women

PubMed Central

Vanhoutte, Bram; Nazroo, James; Pendleton, Neil

2016-01-01

Objectives: We examine the associations between different patterns of sexual behavior and function and three indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) covering eudemonic, evaluative, and affective well-being in a representative sample of partnered older people. Method: Using data from a Sexual Relationships and Activities Questionnaire (SRA-Q) in Wave 6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, latent class analysis identified groups characterized by distinctive patterns of sexual behavior and function and then examined their link to SWB. Eudemonic SWB was measured using a revised 15-item version of the CASP-19, evaluative SWB using the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and affective SWB using the 8-item version of the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. Results: Sexual behavior and function was best described by six classes among men and five classes among women. These ranged from high sexual desire, frequent partnered sexual activities, and few sexual problems (Class 1) to low sexual desire, infrequent/no sexual activity, and problems with sexual function (Class 5[women]/6[men]). Men and women who reported either infrequent/no sexual activity, or were sexually active but reported sexual problems, generally had lower SWB than those individuals identified in Class 1. Poorer SWB in men was more strongly associated with sexual function difficulties, whereas in women desire and frequency of partnered activities appeared more important in relation to SWB. Discussion: Within the context of a partnered relationship continuing sexual desire, activity and functioning are associated with higher SWB, with distinctive patterns for women and men. PMID:26993519

Doppler Assessment of Diastolic Function Reflect the Severity of Injury in Rats With Chronic Heart Failure.

PubMed

Sanchez, Pablo; Lancaster, Jordan J; Weigand, Kyle; Mohran, Saffie-Alrahman Ezz-Eldin; Goldman, Steven; Juneman, Elizabeth

2017-10-01

For chronic heart failure (CHF), more emphasis has been placed on evaluation of systolic as opposed to diastolic function. Within the study of diastology, measurements of left ventricular (LV) longitudinal myocardial relaxation have the most validation. Anterior wall radial myocardial tissue relaxation velocities along with mitral valve inflow (MVI) patterns are applicable diastolic parameters in the differentiation between moderate and severe disease in the ischemic rat model of CHF. Myocardial tissue relaxation velocities correlate with traditional measurements of diastolic function (ie, hemodynamics, Tau, and diastolic pressure-volume relationships). Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent left coronary artery ligation or sham operation. Echocardiography was performed at 3 and 6 weeks after coronary ligation to evaluate LV ejection fraction (EF) and LV diastolic function through MVI patterns (E, A, and E/A) and Doppler imaging of the anterior wall (e' and a'). The rats were categorized into moderate or severe CHF according to their LV EF at 3 weeks postligation. Invasive hemodynamic measurements with solid-state pressure catheters were obtained at the 6-week endpoint. Moderate (N = 20) and severe CHF (N = 22) rats had significantly (P < .05) different EFs, hemodynamics, and diastolic pressure-volume relationships. Early diastolic anterior wall radial relaxation velocities as well as E/e' ratios separated moderate from severe CHF and both diastolic parameters had strong correlations with invasive hemodynamic measurements of diastolic function. Radial anterior wall e' and E/e' can be used for serial assessment of diastolic function in rats with moderate and severe CHF. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Disorganization and real-world functioning in schizophrenia: Results from the multicenter study of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses.

PubMed

Rocca, P; Galderisi, S; Rossi, A; Bertolino, A; Rucci, P; Gibertoni, D; Montemagni, C; Bellino, S; Aguglia, E; Amore, M; Bellomo, A; Biondi, M; Carpiniello, B; Cuomo, A; D'Ambrosio, E; dell'Osso, L; Girardi, P; Marchesi, C; Monteleone, P; Montemitro, C; Oldani, L; Pacitti, F; Roncone, R; Siracusano, A; Tenconi, E; Vita, A; Zeppegno, P; Steardo, L; Vignapiano, A; Maj, M

2018-06-10

A general consensus has not yet been reached regarding the role of disorganization symptoms in real-world functioning in schizophrenia. We used structural equations modeling (SEM) to analyze the direct and indirect associations between disorganization and real-world functioning assessed through the Specific Levels of Functioning Scale (SLOF) in 880 subjects with schizophrenia. We found that: 1) conceptual disorganization was directly and strongly connected with SLOF daily activities; difficulty in abstract thinking was associated with moderate strength to all SLOF domains, and poor attention was connected with SLOF work skills; 2) grandiosity was only related with poor work skills, and delusions were associated with poor functioning in all SLOF domains; interpersonal relationships were weakly indirectly influenced by hallucinatory behavior, delusions and unusual thought contents through the mediation of social cognition (SC); 3) among the negative symptoms, avolition had only direct links with SLOF work skills and SLOF activities; anhedonia had direct links with SLOF work skills and SLOF interpersonal and indirect link with SLOF work skills through functional capacity (FC); asociality with SLOF interpersonal; blunted affect had direct links with SLOF activities and indirect links with SLOF interpersonal relationships mediated by SC. Lastly, alogia had only indirect links mediated by SC, FC, and neurocognition (NC). Overall conceptual disorganization is the symptom that contributed more (both directly and indirectly) to the activities of community living in real-world. Thus, it should be considered as a treatment target in intervention programs for patients with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Descendant root volume varies as a function of root type: estimation of root biomass lost during uprooting in Pinus pinaster.

PubMed

Danjon, Frédéric; Caplan, Joshua S; Fortin, Mathieu; Meredieu, Céline

2013-01-01

Root systems of woody plants generally display a strong relationship between the cross-sectional area or cross-sectional diameter (CSD) of a root and the dry weight of biomass (DWd) or root volume (Vd) that has grown (i.e., is descendent) from a point. Specification of this relationship allows one to quantify root architectural patterns and estimate the amount of material lost when root systems are extracted from the soil. However, specifications of this relationship generally do not account for the fact that root systems are comprised of multiple types of roots. We assessed whether the relationship between CSD and Vd varies as a function of root type. Additionally, we sought to identify a more accurate and time-efficient method for estimating missing root volume than is currently available. We used a database that described the 3D root architecture of Pinus pinaster root systems (5, 12, or 19 years) from a stand in southwest France. We determined the relationship between CSD and Vd for 10,000 root segments from intact root branches. Models were specified that did and did not account for root type. The relationships were then applied to the diameters of 11,000 broken root ends to estimate the volume of missing roots. CSD was nearly linearly related to the square root of Vd, but the slope of the curve varied greatly as a function of root type. Sinkers and deep roots tapered rapidly, as they were limited by available soil depth. Distal shallow roots tapered gradually, as they were less limited spatially. We estimated that younger trees lost an average of 17% of root volume when excavated, while older trees lost 4%. Missing volumes were smallest in the central parts of root systems and largest in distal shallow roots. The slopes of the curves for each root type are synthetic parameters that account for differentiation due to genetics, soil properties, or mechanical stimuli. Accounting for this differentiation is critical to estimating root loss accurately.

Descendant root volume varies as a function of root type: estimation of root biomass lost during uprooting in Pinus pinaster

PubMed Central

Danjon, Frédéric; Caplan, Joshua S.; Fortin, Mathieu; Meredieu, Céline

2013-01-01

Root systems of woody plants generally display a strong relationship between the cross-sectional area or cross-sectional diameter (CSD) of a root and the dry weight of biomass (DWd) or root volume (Vd) that has grown (i.e., is descendent) from a point. Specification of this relationship allows one to quantify root architectural patterns and estimate the amount of material lost when root systems are extracted from the soil. However, specifications of this relationship generally do not account for the fact that root systems are comprised of multiple types of roots. We assessed whether the relationship between CSD and Vd varies as a function of root type. Additionally, we sought to identify a more accurate and time-efficient method for estimating missing root volume than is currently available. We used a database that described the 3D root architecture of Pinus pinaster root systems (5, 12, or 19 years) from a stand in southwest France. We determined the relationship between CSD and Vd for 10,000 root segments from intact root branches. Models were specified that did and did not account for root type. The relationships were then applied to the diameters of 11,000 broken root ends to estimate the volume of missing roots. CSD was nearly linearly related to the square root of Vd, but the slope of the curve varied greatly as a function of root type. Sinkers and deep roots tapered rapidly, as they were limited by available soil depth. Distal shallow roots tapered gradually, as they were less limited spatially. We estimated that younger trees lost an average of 17% of root volume when excavated, while older trees lost 4%. Missing volumes were smallest in the central parts of root systems and largest in distal shallow roots. The slopes of the curves for each root type are synthetic parameters that account for differentiation due to genetics, soil properties, or mechanical stimuli. Accounting for this differentiation is critical to estimating root loss accurately. PMID:24167506

Carbon availability structures microbial community composition and function in soil aggregate fractions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmockel, K. S.; Bach, E.; Williams, R.; Howe, A.

2014-12-01

Identifying the microbial metabolic pathways that most strongly influence ecosystem carbon (C) cycling requires a deeper understanding of the availability and accessibility of microbial substrates. A first step towards this goal is characterizing the relationships between microbial community function and soil C chemistry in a field context. For this perspective, soil aggregate fractions can be used as model systems that scale between microbe-substrate interactions and ecosystem C cycling and storage. The present study addresses how physicochemical variation among soil aggregate fractions influences the composition and functional potential of C cycling microbial communities. We report variation across soil aggregates using plot scale biological replicates from biofuel agroecosystems (fertilized, reconstructed, tallgrass prairie). Our results suggest that C and nitrogen (N) chemistry significantly differ among aggregate fractions. This leads to variation in microbial community composition, which was better characterized among aggregates than by using the whole soil. In fact by considering soil aggregation, we were able to characterize almost 2000 more taxa than whole soil alone, resulting in 65% greater community richness. Availability of C and N strongly influenced the composition of microbial communities among soil aggregate fractions. The normalized abundance of microbial functional guilds among aggregate fractions correlated with C and N chemistry, as did functional potential, measured by extracellular enzyme activity. Metagenomic results suggest that soil aggregate fractions select for functionally distinct microbial communities, which may significantly influence decomposition and soil C storage. Our study provides support for the premise that integration of soil aggregate chemistry, especially microaggregates that have greater microbial richness and occur at spatial scales relevant to microbial community functioning, may be necessary to understand the role of microbial communities on terrestrial C and N cycling.

The impact of aging, cognition, and symptoms on functional competence in individuals with schizophrenia across the lifespan.

PubMed

Kalache, Sawsan M; Mulsant, Benoit H; Davies, Simon J C; Liu, Angela Y; Voineskos, Aristotle N; Butters, Meryl A; Miranda, Dielle; Menon, Mahesh; Kern, Robert S; Rajji, Tarek K

2015-03-01

Life expectancy in individuals with schizophrenia continues to increase. It is not clear whether cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia remain as strong predictors of function in older and younger individuals. Thus, we assessed the relationship between cognition and functional competence in individuals with schizophrenia across 7 decades of life. We analyzed data obtained in 232 community-dwelling participants with schizophrenia (age range: 19-79 years). Cognition was assessed using the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery. Functional competence was assessed using the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment, which includes measures of Comprehension and Planning of Recreational Activities Skills, Financial Skills, Communication Skills, Transportation Skills, and Household Management Skills. To assess the effects of Global Cognition on functional competence, we performed hierarchical multivariate linear or logistic regression analyses controlling for age, education, gender, and negative symptoms. Participants' mean age was 49.1 (SD = 13.2, range = 19-79 years), 161 (69%) were male, and 55 (24%) were aged ≥60. Global Cognition was a predictor of Comprehension and Planning Skills (Exp(β) = 1.048), Financial Skills (Exp(β) = 1.104), Communication Skills (ΔR (2) = .31) and Transportation Skills (Exp(β) = 1.066), but not Household Management Skills after adjusting for age, education, gender, and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Cognition remains a strong predictor of functional competence across the lifespan. These findings suggest that treating cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia could improve individuals' function independent of their age. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Daily Spouse Responsiveness Predicts Longer-Term Trajectories of Physical Function

PubMed Central

Wilson, Stephanie J.; Martire, Lynn M.; Sliwinski, Martin J.

2017-01-01

Everyday interpersonal experiences may underlie the well-established link between close relationships and physical health, but multitemporal designs necessary for strong conclusions about temporal sequence are rare. The current study of 145 knee osteoarthritis patients and their spouses focused on a novel pattern in everyday interactions, daily spouse responsiveness—the degree to which spouse responses are calibrated to changes in patients’ everyday verbal pain expression. Using couple-level slopes, multilevel latent-variable growth models tested associations between three types of daily spouse responsiveness (empathic, solicitous, and punishing), as measured during a 3-week experience-sampling study, and change in patient physical function across 18 months. As predicted, patients whose spouses were more empathically responsive to their pain expression showed better physical function over time compared to those whose spouses were less empathically responsive. This study points to daily responsiveness, a theoretically rooted operationalization of spouse sensitivity, as important for long-term changes in objective physical function. PMID:28459650

Interface electronic structures of reversible double-docking self-assembled monolayers on an Au(111) surface

PubMed Central

Zhang, Tian; Ma, Zhongyun; Wang, Linjun; Xi, Jinyang; Shuai, Zhigang

2014-01-01

Double-docking self-assembled monolayers (DDSAMs), namely self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed by molecules possessing two docking groups, provide great flexibility to tune the work function of metal electrodes and the tunnelling barrier between metal electrodes and the SAMs, and thus offer promising applications in both organic and molecular electronics. Based on the dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) in comparison with conventional DFT, we carry out a systematic investigation on the dual configurations of a series of DDSAMs on an Au(111) surface. Through analysing the interface electronic structures, we obtain the relationship between single molecular properties and the SAM-induced work-function modification as well as the level alignment between the metal Fermi level and molecular frontier states. The two possible conformations of one type of DDSAM on a metal surface reveal a strong difference in the work-function modification and the electron/hole tunnelling barriers. Fermi-level pinning is found to be a key factor to understand the interface electronic properties. PMID:24615153

Concentration-discharge relationships for variably sized streams in Florida: Patterns and drivers in long-term catchment studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diamond, J.; Cohen, M.

2012-12-01

Catchment-scale analyses can provide important insight into the processes governing solute sources, transport and storage. Understanding solute dynamics is vital for water management both for accurate predictions of chemical fluxes as well as ecosystem responses to them. This project synthesized long-term (>15 years) hydrochemical data from 80 variably sized (101-105 m2) watersheds in Florida. Our goal was to evaluate scaling effects on flow-solute relationships, and determine the factors that control observed inter-catchment variation. We obtained long term records of a variety of chemical parameters include color, nutrients (N and P), and geogenic solutes (Ca, Si, Mg, Na, Cl) from stations where chemistry and flow data were matched. Catchment attributes (land use, terrain, surface geology) were obtained for each stream as potential covariates. Concentration-discharge relationships were modeled as power functions, the exponents (b) of which were categorized into three end-member scenarios: (1) b>0, or chemodynamic conditions, where increased discharge increases concentration, (2) b=0, or chemostatic conditions, where concentration is independent of discharge, and (3) b<0, or dilution conditions, where increased discharge decreases concentrations. Color was strongly chemodynamic, while geogenic solutes tended to be chemostatic;nutrient-flow relationships varied substantially (from dilution to chemodynamic) suggesting important ancillary controls. To assess between-site variability, power function exponents were compared against land use and catchment area. These results indicate that watersheds dominated by urban land use exhibit stronger dilution effects for most solutes while watersheds dominated by agricultural land use were generally chemostatic particularly for nutrients. This synthesis approach to understanding controls on observed concentration-discharge relationships is crucial to understanding the dynamics and early-warning indicators of anthropogenically-induced transition from dilution to chemostatic behavior.

Nuclear and cpDNA sequences combined provide strong inference of higher phylogenetic relationships in the phlox family (Polemoniaceae).

PubMed

Johnson, Leigh A; Chan, Lauren M; Weese, Terri L; Busby, Lisa D; McMurry, Samuel

2008-09-01

Members of the phlox family (Polemoniaceae) serve as useful models for studying various evolutionary and biological processes. Despite its biological importance, no family-wide phylogenetic estimate based on multiple DNA regions with complete generic sampling is available. Here, we analyze one nuclear and five chloroplast DNA sequence regions (nuclear ITS, chloroplast matK, trnL intron plus trnL-trnF intergeneric spacer, and the trnS-trnG, trnD-trnT, and psbM-trnD intergenic spacers) using parsimony and Bayesian methods, as well as assessments of congruence and long branch attraction, to explore phylogenetic relationships among 84 ingroup species representing all currently recognized Polemoniaceae genera. Relationships inferred from the ITS and concatenated chloroplast regions are similar overall. A combined analysis provides strong support for the monophyly of Polemoniaceae and subfamilies Acanthogilioideae, Cobaeoideae, and Polemonioideae. Relationships among subfamilies, and thus for the precise root of Polemoniaceae, remain poorly supported. Within the largest subfamily, Polemonioideae, four clades corresponding to tribes Polemonieae, Phlocideae, Gilieae, and Loeselieae receive strong support. The monogeneric Polemonieae appears sister to Phlocideae. Relationships within Polemonieae, Phlocideae, and Gilieae are mostly consistent between analyses and data permutations. Many relationships within Loeselieae remain uncertain. Overall, inferred phylogenetic relationships support a higher-level classification for Polemoniaceae proposed in 2000.

Do Ravens Show Consolation? Responses to Distressed Others

PubMed Central

Fraser, Orlaith N.; Bugnyar, Thomas

2010-01-01

Background Bystander affiliation (post-conflict affiliation from an uninvolved bystander to the conflict victim) may represent an expression of empathy in which the bystander consoles the victim to alleviate the victim's distress (“consolation”). However, alternative hypotheses for the function of bystander affiliation also exist. Determining whether ravens spontaneously offer consolation to distressed partners may not only help us to understand how animals deal with the costs of aggressive conflict, but may also play an important role in the empathy debate. Methodology/Principal findings This study investigates the post-conflict behavior of ravens, applying the predictive framework for the function of bystander affiliation for the first time in a non-ape species. We found weak evidence for reconciliation (post-conflict affiliation between former opponents), but strong evidence for both bystander affiliation and solicited bystander affiliation (post-conflict affiliation from the victim to a bystander). Bystanders involved in both interactions were likely to share a valuable relationship with the victim. Bystander affiliation offered to the victim was more likely to occur after intense conflicts. Renewed aggression was less likely to occur after the victim solicited affiliation from a bystander. Conclusions/Significance Our findings suggest that in ravens, bystanders may console victims with whom they share a valuable relationship, thus alleviating the victims' post-conflict distress. Conversely victims may affiliate with bystanders after a conflict in order to reduce the likelihood of renewed aggression. These results stress the importance of relationship quality in determining the occurrence and function of post-conflict interactions, and show that ravens may be sensitive to the emotions of others. PMID:20485685

Evidence for a mass-dependent AGN Eddington ratio distribution via the flat relationship between SFR and AGN luminosity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernhard, E.; Mullaney, J. R.; Aird, J.; Hickox, R. C.; Jones, M. L.; Stanley, F.; Grimmett, L. P.; Daddi, E.

2018-05-01

The lack of a strong correlation between AGN X-ray luminosity (LX; a proxy for AGN power) and the star formation rate (SFR) of their host galaxies has recently been attributed to stochastic AGN variability. Studies using population synthesis models have incorporated this by assuming a broad, universal (i.e. does not depend on the host galaxy properties) probability distribution for AGN specific X-ray luminosities (i.e. the ratio of LX to host stellar mass; a common proxy for Eddington ratio). However, recent studies have demonstrated that this universal Eddington ratio distribution fails to reproduce the observed X-ray luminosity functions beyond z ˜ 1.2. Furthermore, empirical studies have recently shown that the Eddington ratio distribution may instead depend upon host galaxy properties, such as SFR and/or stellar mass. To investigate this further, we develop a population synthesis model in which the Eddington ratio distribution is different for star-forming and quiescent host galaxies. We show that, although this model is able to reproduce the observed X-ray luminosity functions out to z ˜ 2, it fails to simultaneously reproduce the observed flat relationship between SFR and X-ray luminosity. We can solve this, however, by incorporating a mass dependency in the AGN Eddington ratio distribution for star-forming host galaxies. Overall, our models indicate that a relative suppression of low Eddington ratios (λEdd ≲ 0.1) in lower mass galaxies (M* ≲ 1010 - 11 M⊙) is required to reproduce both the observed X-ray luminosity functions and the observed flat SFR/X-ray relationship.

Functional connectivity of default mode network components: correlation, anticorrelation, and causality

PubMed Central

Uddin, Lucina Q.; Clare Kelly, A. M.; Biswal, Bharat B.; Castellanos, F. Xavier; Milham, Michael P.

2013-01-01

The default mode network (DMN), based in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), exhibits higher metabolic activity at rest than during performance of externally-oriented cognitive tasks. Recent studies have suggested that competitive relationships between the DMN and various task-positive networks involved in task performance are intrinsically represented in the brain in the form of strong negative correlations (anticorrelations) between spontaneous fluctuations in these networks. Most neuroimaging studies characterize the DMN as a homogenous network, thus few have examined the differential contributions of DMN components to such competitive relationships. Here we examined functional differentiation within the default mode network, with an emphasis on understanding competitive relationships between this and other networks. We used a seed correlation approach on resting-state data to assess differences in functional connectivity between these two regions and their anticorrelated networks. While the positively correlated networks for the vmPFC and PCC seeds largely overlapped, the anticorrelated networks for each showed striking differences. Activity in vmPFC negatively predicted activity in parietal visual spatial and temporal attention networks, whereas activity in PCC negatively predicted activity in prefrontal-based motor control circuits. Granger causality analyses suggest that vmPFC and PCC exert greater influence on their anticorrelated networks than the other way around, suggesting that these two default mode nodes may directly modulate activity in task-positive networks. Thus, the two major nodes comprising the default mode network are differentiated with respect to the specific brain systems with which they interact, suggesting greater heterogeneity within this network than is commonly appreciated. PMID:18219617

Direct observation of strain-induced orbital valence band splitting in HfSe2 by sodium intercalation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eknapakul, T.; Fongkaew, I.; Siriroj, S.; Jindata, W.; Chaiyachad, S.; Mo, S.-K.; Thakur, S.; Petaccia, L.; Takagi, H.; Limpijumnong, S.; Meevasana, W.

2018-05-01

By using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), the variation of the electronic structure of HfSe2 has been studied as a function of sodium intercalation. We observe how this drives a band splitting of the p -orbital valence bands and a simultaneous reduction of the indirect band gap by values of up to 400 and 280 meV, respectively. Our calculations indicate that such behavior is driven by the band deformation potential, which is a result of our observed strain induced by sodium intercalation. The applied uniaxial strain calculations based on density functional theory agree strongly with the experimental ARPES data. These findings should assist in studying the physical relationship between intercalation and strain, as well as for large-scale two-dimensional straintronics.

A quantitative relationship for the shock sensitivities of energetic compounds based on X-NO(2) (X=C, N, O) bond dissociation energy.

PubMed

Li, Jinshan

2010-08-15

The ZPE-corrected X-NO(2) (X=C, N, O) bond dissociation energies (BDEs(ZPE)) of 11 energetic nitrocompounds of different types have been calculated employing density functional theory methods. Computed results show that using the 6-31G** basis set the UB3LYP calculated BDE(ZPE) is less than the UB3P86. For these typical energetic nitrocompounds the shock-initiated pressure (P(98)) is strongly related to the BDE(ZPE) indeed, and a polynomial correlation of ln(P(98)) with the BDE(ZPE) has been established successfully at different density functional theory levels, which provides a method to address the shock sensitivity problem. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DNA topology and transcription

PubMed Central

Kouzine, Fedor; Levens, David; Baranello, Laura

2014-01-01

Chromatin is a complex assembly that compacts DNA inside the nucleus while providing the necessary level of accessibility to regulatory factors conscripted by cellular signaling systems. In this superstructure, DNA is the subject of mechanical forces applied by variety of molecular motors. Rather than being a rigid stick, DNA possesses dynamic structural variability that could be harnessed during critical steps of genome functioning. The strong relationship between DNA structure and key genomic processes necessitates the study of physical constrains acting on the double helix. Here we provide insight into the source, dynamics, and biology of DNA topological domains in the eukaryotic cells and summarize their possible involvement in gene transcription. We emphasize recent studies that might inspire and impact future experiments on the involvement of DNA topology in cellular functions. PMID:24755522

Design of Functional Layered Oxide Materials Through Understanding Structure-Property Relationships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strayer, Megan E.

A fundamental understanding of structure-property relationships is imperative in the rational design of new materials for tailored applications. In this dissertation, structureproperty relationships are exploited in layered oxides and their composite materials. Recent advances in characterization techniques have allowed for more in-depth investigations into both the atomic level structure and properties of these materials. This dissertation focuses on understanding the structure-property relationships in supported catalytic systems and ferroelectric materials to aid in the rational design of functional materials. In Chapter 2, a correlation between the enthalpy of nanoparticle adsorption to oxide supports and the subsequent growth of these nanoparticles as a function of temperature is investigated. When deposited onto layered niobium oxide and tantalum oxide supports, rhodium hydroxide nanoparticles remain small and evenly dispersed upon heating to 750 °C. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, the bonding enthalpy of rhodium hydroxide nanoparticles to oxide supports is quantified for the first time under the wet synthetic conditions of catalyst preparation. Rh(OH)3 is concluded to have a strong, covalent interaction with the early transition metal oxide supports, and the interfacial bonding is hypothesized to occur through Rh - O - Nb bonding. Chapter 3 extends the studies in Chapter 2 to include supported metal, metal oxide, and metal hydroxide nanoparticles in the cobalt, nickel and copper triads. The data confirms a strong correlation between the heats of interaction and stability of the supported nanoparticles. Both experimental data and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the support and nanoparticle compositions impact the heat of interaction and that the qualitative periodic trends of the metal bonding interaction are independent of the metal oxidation state. A strong bond is shown computationally to arise from the formation of mixed d-states between an adsorbed metal atom and a metal atom in the support. A preliminary investigation into the synthesis and stability of catalytically relevant ligand-free metal nanoparticles is presented in Chapter 4. The nanoparticles are synthesized via base hydrolysis and reduction with methanol. When deposited onto a niobium oxide support, the nanoparticles are thermally stable at temperatures up to 900 °C. The mechanism of platinum nanoparticle formation is still largely unknown, and a synthesis of rhodium and iridium ligand-free nanoparticles is reported. In Chapter 5, the n = 2 Dion Jacobson family A'LaB2O 7 (A': Rb, Cs; B: Nb, Ta) is reported as non-centrosymmetric and piezoelectric at room temperature for the first time. This non-centrosymmetry is predicted to arise from two nonpolar oxygen octahedral rotational modes condensing via the hybrid improper ferroelectricity mechanism. Rietveld refinement of synchrotron X-ray diffraction data is unable to confirm an acentric crystal structure as peak splitting is evident, revealing that multiple phases are likely present in these materials. Chapter 6 presents temperature-dependent synchrotron X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction Rietveld refinement analysis of CsLaNb2O 7 to investigate the crystal structure and mechanism of non-centrosymmetry. The crystal structure is found to be in the centrosymmetric P4/mmm phase at 600 K and above. From 550 K to 350 K, the space group is assigned to the non-centrosymmetric Amm2 phase, as SHG signal is steadily increasing over this temperature range. Unfortunately, the 300 K and below crystal structure(s) have yet to be solved. Currently, both single-phase and dual-phase models are being refined in the synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction data.

Intraspecific trait variation and the leaf economics spectrum across resource gradients and levels of organization.

PubMed

Fajardo, Alex; Siefert, Andrew

2018-05-01

Understanding patterns of functional trait variation across environmental gradients offers an opportunity to increase inference in the mechanistic causes of plant community assembly. The leaf economics spectrum (LES) predicts global tradeoffs in leaf traits and trait-environment relationships, but few studies have examined whether these predictions hold across different levels of organization, particularly within species. Here, we asked (1) whether the main assumptions of the LES (expected trait relationships and shifts in trait values across resource gradients) hold at the intraspecific level, and (2) how within-species trait correlations scale up to interspecific or among-community levels. We worked with leaf traits of saplings of woody species growing across light and soil N and P availability gradients in temperate rainforests of southern Chile. We found that ITV accounted for a large proportion of community-level variation in leaf traits (e.g., LMA and leaf P) and played an important role in driving community-level shifts in leaf traits across environmental gradients. Additionally, intraspecific leaf trait relationships were generally consistent with interspecific and community-level trait relationships and with LES predictions-e.g., a strong negative intraspecific LMA-leaf N correlation-although, most trait relationships varied significantly among species, suggesting idiosyncrasies in the LES at the intraspecific level. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

VALIDATION OF BENEFIT-TRANSFER FUNCTIONS

EPA Science Inventory

1. Identification of benefit-transfer functions that are the most credible. 2. Identification of benefit-transfer issues that are related to transfer method and those related to data limitations. 3. Clarification of issues t...