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Opposite Pattern (opposite + pattern)
Selected AbstractsSize-related deterioration of semi-natural grassland fragments in SwedenDIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 1 2002Katariina Kiviniemi Abstract. One of the most dramatic landscape changes during the 20th century in Sweden, like in most of Europe, has been the reduction and fragmentation of semi-natural grasslands. Using a set of remnant semi-natural grasslands, chosen to be as similar as possible, but differing in size, we have examined whether size of remnant fragments of traditionally managed semi-natural grasslands in Sweden is related to patterns of species richness and composition. We focused on edge-to-interior relationships, since we expected that a possible impact from invasive habitat generalists would be manifested in a gradient from the edge of fragments to their interior. We found no relationship between size of grassland fragments and (a) overall species richness, (b) species richness at different spatial scales, and (c) abundance of some typical invader species or species characteristic of semi-natural grasslands. However, the results indicated that larger grasslands have a comparatively larger number of species in the edges, whereas the opposite pattern was found in smaller grasslands. The similarity in species composition between the edge and the interior of the pastures also increased with grassland size. Thus, even though the overall species richness is still unaffected by reduction in grassland fragment size, the edges of smaller grasslands show signs of degradation, i.e. reduction in species richness and a decreased similarity to the grassland interior. We suggest that these kinds of effects may be early signs of fragmentation effects that in the future will result in species loss even if the present distribution of semi-natural grasslands is maintained. [source] IMAGING STUDY: Prefrontal cortex morphometry in abstinent adolescent marijuana users: subtle gender effectsADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Krista Lisdahl Medina ABSTRACT Adult human studies suggest frontal dysfunction associated with chronic marijuana (MJ) use, but due to continued neuromaturation, adult studies may not generalize to adolescents. This study characterized prefrontal cortex (PFC) morphometry in chronic MJ-using adolescents following 1 month of monitored abstinence. Data were collected from MJ users (n = 16) and controls (n = 16) aged 16,18. Extensive exclusionary criteria included co-morbid psychiatric and neurologic disorders. Substance use and anatomical measures were collected after 28 days of monitored abstinence. PFC volumes were ascertained from manual tracing by reliable raters on high-resolution magnetic resonance images. After controlling for lifetime alcohol use, gender and intracranial volume, MJ users did not differ from controls in PFC volume. However, marginal group-by-gender interactions were observed (P < 0.09): female MJ users demonstrated comparatively larger PFC volumes while male MJ users had smaller volumes compared with same-gender controls. Further, group status and total PFC volume interacted in predicting executive functioning (P < 0.05). Among MJ users, smaller PFC total volume was associated with better executive functioning while the opposite pattern was seen among the controls. These preliminary results indicate that gender may moderate the relationship between MJ use and PFC morphometry. Given the relationship between larger PFC total volumes and poorer executive functioning among MJ users, female MJ users may be at increased risk for neurocognitive consequences. Future research will measure PFC gray and white matter separately and follow boys and girls over adolescence to examine the influence of MJ use on neurodevelopment. [source] A neuroanatomically grounded Hebbian-learning model of attention,language interactions in the human brainEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 2 2008Max Garagnani Abstract Meaningful familiar stimuli and senseless unknown materials lead to different patterns of brain activation. A late major neurophysiological response indexing ,sense' is the negative component of event-related potential peaking at around 400 ms (N400), an event-related potential that emerges in attention-demanding tasks and is larger for senseless materials (e.g. meaningless pseudowords) than for matched meaningful stimuli (words). However, the mismatch negativity (latency 100,250 ms), an early automatic brain response elicited under distraction, is larger to words than to pseudowords, thus exhibiting the opposite pattern to that seen for the N400. So far, no theoretical account has been able to reconcile and explain these findings by means of a single, mechanistic neural model. We implemented a neuroanatomically grounded neural network model of the left perisylvian language cortex and simulated: (i) brain processes of early language acquisition and (ii) cortical responses to familiar word and senseless pseudoword stimuli. We found that variation of the area-specific inhibition (the model correlate of attention) modulated the simulated brain response to words and pseudowords, producing either an N400- or a mismatch negativity-like response depending on the amount of inhibition (i.e. available attentional resources). Our model: (i) provides a unifying explanatory account, at cortical level, of experimental observations that, so far, had not been given a coherent interpretation within a single framework; (ii) demonstrates the viability of purely Hebbian, associative learning in a multilayered neural network architecture; and (iii) makes clear predictions on the effects of attention on latency and magnitude of event-related potentials to lexical items. Such predictions have been confirmed by recent experimental evidence. [source] Overcoming ego depletion: the influence of exemplar priming on self-control performanceEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Carolien Martijn Self-regulation research suggested that active self-control depends on a limited resource. Therefore the capacity for self-control is lower among people who already exercised control, a phenomenon labelled as ego depletion. This experiment examines whether priming of a persistent person exemplar may help to overcome ego depletion. Half of the participants engaged in a demanding self-control task (solving extremely difficult labyrinths) whereas the other half took part in a task that demanded little self-control (solving easy labyrinths). Then, half of the participants received a person exemplar prime related to persistence; the other half received a neutral prime. Finally, participants' persistence on a subsequent self-control task (squeezing a handgrip) was measured. The effect of a person exemplar prime on a subsequent self-control task depended on initial self-control demands. Participants who exercised high initial self-control and were then presented with a persistent exemplar prime showed assimilation. Their handgrip persistence was higher than the persistence of participants who received a neutral prime. Under conditions of low initial self-control the opposite pattern was found. A persistent person prime resulted in contrast and resulted in lower handgrip performance as compared to those who received a neutral prime. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] REMATING IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER: ARE INDIRECT BENEFITS CONDITION DEPENDENT?EVOLUTION, Issue 9 2010Tristan A. F. Long By measuring the direct and indirect fitness costs and benefits of sexual interactions, the feasibility of alternate explanations for polyandry can be experimentally assessed. This approach becomes more complicated when the relative magnitude of the costs and/or benefits associated with multiple mating (i.e., remating with different males) vary with female condition, as this may influence the strength and direction of sexual selection. Here, using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, we test whether the indirect benefits that a nonvirgin female gains by remating ("trading-up") are influenced by her condition (body size). We found that remating by small-bodied, low-fecundity females resulted in the production of daughters of relatively higher fecundity, whereas the opposite pattern was observed for large-bodied females. In contrast, remating had no measurable effect on the relative reproductive success of sons from dams of either body size. These results are consistent with a hypothesis based on sexually antagonistic genetic variation. The implications of these results to our understanding of the evolution and consequences of polyandry are discussed. [source] Avian seasonal metabolic variation in a subtropical desert: basal metabolic rates are lower in winter than in summerFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Ben Smit Summary 1Most small birds inhabiting temperate latitudes in the Holarctic increase basal metabolic rate (BMR) in winter, a pattern thought to reflect the up-regulation of metabolic machinery required for enhanced winter cold tolerance. In contrast, patterns of seasonal BMR variation in birds inhabiting subtropical latitudes are largely unknown. In this study, we investigate seasonal BMR changes in species from subtropical latitudes, and analyse global variation in the direction and magnitude of these responses. 2We estimated winter and summer BMR in five species resident in the Kalahari Desert, using flow-through respirometry to measure O2 consumption and CO2 production in birds held overnight in a field laboratory. 3In all five species, mass-specific BMR was significantly lower in winter than in summer, with mean reductions of 23% in African scops-owls (Otus senegalensis), 30% in pearl-spotted owlets (Glaucidium perlatum), 35% in fork-tailed drongos (Dicrurus adsimilis), 29% in crimson-breasted shrikes (Laniarius atrococcinneus), and 17% in white-browed sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser mahali). 4An analysis of global variation in seasonal BMR changes reveals that their magnitude and direction vary with latitude, ranging from pronounced winter increases at high latitudes where winters are extremely cold, to the opposite pattern in warmer, subtropical environments. 5Our empirical results for five species, taken together with the analysis of global variation, are consistent with the hypothesis that winter metabolism in subtropical environments is driven primarily by the need for energy and/or water conservation rather than cold tolerance. [source] Differential regulation of SOCS-1 signalling in B and T lymphocytes by hepatitis C virus core proteinIMMUNOLOGY, Issue 2 2008Zhi Qiang Yao Summary Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is characterized by a strong propensity toward chronicity, autoimmune phenomena and lymphomagenesis, supporting a role for lymphocyte dysregulation during persistent viral infection. We have shown that HCV core protein inhibits T-cell functions through interaction with a complement receptor, gC1qR. Here, we further report that B cells also express gC1qR that can be bound by HCV core protein. Importantly, using flow cytometry, we demonstrated differential regulation of B and T lymphocytes by the HCV core,gC1qR interaction, with down-regulation of CD69 activation in T cells but up-regulation of CD69 activation and cell proliferation in B cells. HCV core treatment led to decreased interferon-, production in CD8+ T cells but to increased immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G production as well as cell surface expression of costimulatory and chemokine receptors, including CD86 (B7-2), CD154 (CD40L) and CD195 (CCR5), in CD20+ B cells. Finally, we showed down-regulation of suppressor of cytokine signalling-1 (SOCS-1) using real-time reverse transcription,polymerase chain reaction, accompanied by up-regulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1) phosphorylation in B cells in response to HCV core protein, with the opposite pattern observed in HCV core-treated T cells. This study demonstrates differential regulation of B and T lymphocytes by HCV core and supports a mechanism by which lymphocyte dysregulation occurs in the course of persistent HCV infection. [source] Changes in externalizing and internalizing behaviours over a school-year: differences between 6-year-old boys and girlsINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2006Annie Hammarberg Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in externalizing and internalizing problem behaviours in 6-year-olds with a focus on sex differences. Teachers rated problem behaviours at the beginning and at the end of the school year, 8 months apart, in 370 children (197 boys and 173 girls) attending 22 school preparatory classrooms. Although the majority of the children were quite stable, considerable negative and positive changes for both boys and girls in problem behaviours were found. The results showed that girls were more likely to change their externalizing behaviours in a positive direction than boys, whereas a tendency to the opposite pattern was found for internalizing behaviours. Boys were also found to be more prone to a negative change in problem behaviours of both types than girls were. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Does Foreign Direct Investment Replace Home Country Investment?JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 2 2000The Effect of European Integration on the Location of Swedish Investment The purpose of this article is to examine the effects of European integration on the location of investments by Swedish multinational corporations (MNCs). Evidence is presented about the extent to which European integration has attracted investment by Swedish MNCs, and whether foreign direct investment (FDI) is being undertaken at the expense of home country investment. In the empirical analysis, involving both OLS and iterative SUR techniques, a significant difference across industries has been confirmed. A substitutionary relationship between foreign and home country investment is found for more R&D-intensive production, whereas the opposite pattern seems to prevail for production based on traditional comparative advantage. The results of this study emphasize the importance of using disaggregated industry-level data when analysing the effects of foreign direct investment on home country investment. [source] How beliefs influence the relative magnitude of pleasure and painJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 4 2010Barbara A. Mellers Abstract Loss aversion is an economic assumption about utility,people value giving up a good more than they value getting it. It also has hedonic meaning,the pain of a loss is greater in magnitude than the pleasure of a comparable gain. But value and pleasure are not necessarily identical. We test the hedonic interpretation of loss aversion in experimental markets. With hedonic forecasts, sellers imagine the pain of losing their endowment, and buyers imagine the pleasure of being endowed. With hedonic experiences, sellers rate the pleasure of having the endowment, and buyers rate the pain of being without it. Contrary to loss aversion, predicted pleasure is greater in magnitude than predicted pain, and experienced pleasure surpasses experienced pain. We show that the relative magnitude of pleasure and pain depends on beliefs about the likelihood of outcomes, as well as utilities. Surprise makes gains more pleasurable and losses more painful. With surprising gains and expected losses, pleasure can surpass pain. But when gains and losses are equally likely (or losses are surprising and gains are expected), the opposite pattern can occur. Finally, within-group and between-group prices are significantly correlated with hedonic experiences. Sellers who feel better with their endowments assign higher selling prices, and buyers who feel worse about the absence of endowment assign higher buying prices. Despite the fact that hedonic experiences deviate from loss aversion, these emotions predict the endowment effect. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Temporal variation in glucocorticoid levels during the resting phase is associated in opposite way with maternal and paternal melanic colorationJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 10 2010A. ROULIN Abstract Sex-dependent selection can help maintain sexual dimorphism. When the magnitude of selection exerted on a heritable sex trait differs between the sexes, it may prevent each sex to reach its phenotypic optimum. As a consequence, the benefit of expressing a sex trait to a given value may differ between males and females favouring sex-specific adaptations associated with different values of a sex trait. The level of metabolites regulated by genes that are under sex-dependent selection may therefore covary with the degree of ornamentation differently in the two sexes. We investigated this prediction in the barn owl, a species in which females display on average larger black spots on the plumage than males, a heritable ornament. This melanin-based colour trait is strongly selected in females and weakly counter-selected in males indicating sex-dependent selection. In nestling barn owls, we found that daily variation in baseline corticosterone levels, a key hormone that mediates life history trade-offs, covaries with spot diameter displayed by their biological parents. When their mother displayed larger spots, nestlings had lower corticosterone levels in the morning and higher levels in the evening, whereas the opposite pattern was found with the size of paternal spots. Our study suggests a link between daily regulation of glucocorticoids and sex-dependent selection exerted on sexually dimorphic melanin-based ornaments. [source] Energy allocation in juvenile sablefish: effects of temperature, ration and body sizeJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2004S. M. Sogard The lipid deposition of juvenile sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria was examined, in particular, the changes in allocation over time. Growth rates of early juveniles (initial size 36,50 mm total length, LT) were manipulated using two temperatures (10 and 20° C) and two rations (ad libitum and 3,4% body mass day,1). Fish LT, mass and lipid content were measured every 3 weeks for 15 weeks. Irrespective of treatment, the relationship of total lipid content with body size was clearly hyperallometric; small juveniles allocated relatively more energy to growth and less to lipid storage than large juveniles. After adjusting for the influence of body size, temperature and ration significantly influenced body composition but these effects varied over the course of the experiment. In the first 3 week time period, fish on the high ration, high temperature treatment had reduced lipid storage relative to other treatments, but in all subsequent time periods their lipid concentrations were similar to or higher than those of fish on other treatments. In contrast, fish held at low rations and low temperatures initially had average levels of lipid concentration, but after 6 weeks their levels were lower than other treatments. Estimation of allocation to lipid storage over time (proportion of dry mass increase comprised of lipid) suggested that fish in all of the treatments were approaching an asymptotic level of lipid concentration (c. 50,60% of dry mass) but with different rates of lipid increase. Within a treatment, it was predicted that individual differences in allocation would result in trade-offs between somatic growth and storage. This trade-off was evident only for fish held on low rations at low temperatures. In contrast, fish held on high rations at high temperatures exhibited the opposite pattern of a positive correlation between somatic growth and storage. These results suggest that lipostatic regulation of appetite is unlikely in juvenile sablefish. When resources are unlimited, this species appears to adopt a maximizing strategy for both somatic growth and lipid accumulation. [source] Reproductive investment in relation to survival risk in a livebearing fishJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2003K. Lindström Animals are expected to change their allocation of resources into offspring depending on their future survival probabilities. Under environmental conditions where survival probabilities are low, we expect to see an increased investment in current reproduction. Fish show an exceptionally wide range of reproductive modes, including systems where parents can be expected to have extensive control of investment in their offspring. In the least killifish, Heterandria formosa, a small livebearing fish, fertilization is internal and females extensively provision developing embryos. Hence females are likely to have control over parturition time and size of their offspring. Our expectation was that under predator threat females should produce offspring at a higher rate than in control situations. Females were given visual and chemical exposure to mosquito fish and sunfish predators. The time until the birth of the first brood was longer in the presence of predators than in the control. However, subsequent birth intervals showed the opposite pattern. In the presence of predators ensuing brood intervals were shorter than in the control treatment. The effect of mosquito fish and sunfish was similar. Despite the decrease in pregnancy interval, newborn offspring were still larger in the presence of sunfish. Our results suggest that the initial response of refraining from reproduction later changes to an increased reproductive output. This increase, however, did not manifest itself as a quality vs. number trade-off as offspring were also bigger in the sunfish treatment. This suggests that reproductive investment increases in the presence of predators and this may represent terminal investment. [source] 55 Ice age kelp forests: climate-driven changes in kelp forest distribution since the last glacial maximumJOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2003M. H. Graham Kelp forest distributions are constrained by the availability of rocky substrate within the depth range tolerable for growth and reproduction, which can vary over relatively short geological timescales (millennia) due to interactions between coastal bathymetry and climate-driven changes in eustatic sea level. Using GIS, a digital bathymetric map, sea level curves, and published kelp depth tolerances, I reconstructed changes in the size and distribution of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forests in the Southern California Bight since the last glacial maximum. Reconstructions predicted that the total area of available kelp forest habitat for the California Channel Islands during the last glacial maximum (18.5 kyr BP; 628 square km) was greater than at present (382 square km) but less than at 16.5 kyr BP (1130 square km). Available kelp forest habitat along the southern California mainland also increased rapidly from 18.5 to 16.5 kyr BP but continued to increase with sea level rise. Differences in the effects of sea level rise on coastal geomorphology between the islands and mainland further constrained the extent of rocky substrate available to kelps. Given biomass and productivity estimates from present-day kelp forests, these reconstructions suggest more productive and spatially extensive island kelp forests near the last glacial maximum than at present, but the opposite pattern for the mainland. These climate-driven changes in kelp forest distribution and productivity likely had important historical impacts on the ecology and evolution of the present-day kelp ecosystem including kelp forest exploitation by early human inhabitants of southern California. [source] Effects of Drink-Stress Sequence and Gender on Alcohol Stress Response Dampening in High and Low Anxiety Sensitive DrinkersALCOHOLISM, Issue 3 2007Martin Zack Background: This study tested the appraisal disruption hypothesis of alcohol stress response dampening (SRD) in male and female high or low anxiety sensitive (AS) undergraduates. The hypothesis predicts that alcohol SRD will be greater when drinking occurs before versus after stress exposure. High AS males' predominant social-evaluative concerns further implied that alcohol SRD to a social stressor (i.e., a speech) would be relatively stronger in high AS males than in high AS females. Methods: Male and female (n=90/gender) high and low AS participants (,70th; ,30th percentile on Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised) were matched on drinking habits and randomly assigned to 1 of 9 experimental cells. Drink type,alcohol (0.7 g/kg males; 0.63 g/kg females), placebo, soda,was fully crossed with stress condition,drink before stress (DBS), drink after stress (DAS), and no stress control (NSC). Stress was induced by telling participants they would be required to make a self-revealing speech. Stress response dampening was assessed for state anxiety on the Spielberger scale and Stroop interference to threat-related words. Subjective desire for alcohol was also assessed. Results: Relative to placebo, alcohol (peak blood alcohol concentration, 0.064%) reliably reduced state anxiety in high AS but not in low AS participants. Alcohol decreased STAI scores and Stroop interference to social threat words significantly more in the DBS than the DAS condition in high AS males; high AS females displayed the exact opposite pattern of effects. In contrast to other participants, high AS males also reported relatively strong desire scores under alcohol. Conclusions: Overall, the results do not support the appraisal disruption hypothesis as a general mechanism of alcohol SRD in undergraduate drinkers. The findings for high AS males do support the hypothesis, while the opposing profile for high AS females implies that the nature of the stressor (i.e., social challenge) may contribute to gender differences in alcohol SRD in high AS individuals. [source] Habitat associations of Sterculiaceae trees in a Bornean rain forest plotJOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 5 2006Toshihiro Yamada Ashton (1980) Abstract. Questions: 1. Are trees in a Bornean tropical rain forest associated with a particular habitat? 2. Does the strength of habitat association with the species-specific optimal habitat increase with tree size? Location: A 52-ha plot in a mixed dipterocarp forest in a heterogeneous landscape at the Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, East Malaysia. Methods: Ten species from the Sterculiaceae were chosen as representative of all species in the plot, on the assumption that competition among closely related species is more stringent than that among more distantly related taxa. Their habitat associations were tested using data from a 52-ha plot by a torus-translation test. Results: The torus-translation test showed that eight out of the ten species examined had significant association with at least one habitat. We could not find negative species-habitat associations for rare species, probably due to their small sample sizes. Among four species small trees were less strongly associated with habitat than large trees, implying competitive exclusion of trees in suboptimal habitats. The other four species showed the opposite pattern, possibly owing to the smaller sample size of large trees. A habitat had a maximum of three species with which it was significantly positively associated. Conclusions: For a species to survive in population equilibrium in a landscape, habitats in which ,source' subpopulations can be sustained without subsidy from adjacent habitats are essential. Competition is most severe among related species whose source subpopulations share the same habitat. On the evidence of source subpopulations identified by positive species-habitat association, species-habitat association reduces the number of confamilial competitors. Our results therefore indicate that edaphic niche specialization contributes to coexistence of species of Sterculiaceae in the plot, consistent with the expectations of equilibrium hypotheses. [source] Plasma folate status and dietary folate intake among Chinese women of childbearing ageMATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION, Issue 2 2009Yaling Zhao Abstract Maternal folic acid deficiency is an underlying risk for neural tube defects (NTDs). China has one of the highest prevalences of NTDs, and the prevalence rates of NTDs vary by region. We characterized plasma folate level and dietary folate intake among Chinese women of childbearing age by region (North and South, East and West, urban and rural) to provide evidence for establishing policy to prevent NTDs. A total of 1003 women of childbearing age from five provinces in China were interviewed. Fasting blood samples were collected. Plasma folate concentrations were determined by a microbiological assay. Dietary intake data were collected using a 24-h recall. Both the plasma folate concentrations and dietary folate intake of women in the South (25.9 nmol L,1 and 211.0 µg day,1) were higher than those of women in the North (13.3 nmol L,1 and 189.2 µg day,1). In the North, plasma folate concentrations and dietary folate intake of women in rural areas were lower than those of women in urban areas, whereas, in the South, an opposite pattern was observed. No difference was found between women in the East and West, in either the North or South regions. Plasma folate and dietary folate intake among Chinese women of childbearing age were suboptimal and varied by region. Different folic acid supplementation approaches and dosage should be undertaken to improve folate status of women in different areas. Particular attention should be paid to women in the North, especially in northern rural areas. [source] Terrorists and Democrats: Individual Reactions to International AttacksPOLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Alice F. Healy Three experiments conducted in 1997 and 1998 explored individual responses to reported fictitious international conflict involving the United States and other nations. Participants escalated the conflictual level of their responses to repeated attacks. In Experiment 1, escalation of conflict was greater in response to terrorist attacks than to military ones. In Experiment 2, after the initial attacks, men were more conflictual in responding to terrorist attacks by a democratic nation than by a nondemocratic nation, whereas the opposite pattern was found for women. In Experiment 3, participants responded with a higher level of conflict to terrorist attacks on military targets than to attacks on cultural/educational targets. Participants with greater personality dominance showed steeper escalation of conflict in their responses across successive attacks. These results are interpreted within the framework of an image theory of international relations and an expansion of the democratic peace hypothesis. [source] Moral Reasoning Effects on Political ParticipationPOLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2000Peter Muhlberger In this study, respondents who agreed to participate in a computer-administered interview were presented with information and questions about public interest groups, followed by the Defining Issues Test of moral reasoning (DIT). Respondents with high DIT scores stressed morally central over morally peripheral considerations in deciding whether to participate in public interest groups. Less sophisticated reasoners showed the opposite pattern. Morally central considerations also had a much greater impact on the probability that sophisticated respondents would attempt to participate in public interest groups after completing the interview. The analysis included controls for potential confounding variables such as cognitive ability, education, prior political participation, and gender. The findings imply motivational differences between advantaged and disadvantaged population groups. Such differences may help to account for the differing strategies and successes of political organizations mobilizing these groups. [source] Evaluation of FOXP2 as an autism susceptibility geneAMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS, Issue 5 2002Thomas H. Wassink Abstract A mutation in the gene FOXP2 was recently identified as being responsible for a complicated speech and language phenotype in a single large extended pedigree. This gene is of interest to autism because it lies in one of the most consistently linked autism chromosomal regions of interest. We therefore tested this gene for its involvement in autism in a large sample of autism families. We completely sequenced the exon containing the mutation, screened the remaining coding sequence using SSCP technology, and identified and genotyped two novel intronic tetranucleotide repeat polymorphisms that were then analyzed for evidence of linkage and linkage disequilibrium (LD). We identified two families in which heterozygous deletions of a small number of glutamines in a long poly-glutamine stretch were found in one parent and the autistic probands; no other non-conservative coding sequence changes were identified. Linkage and LD analyses were performed in 75 affected sibling pair families and in two subgroups of this sample defined by the presence/absence of severe language impairment. One allele appeared to have an opposite pattern of transmission in the language based subgroups, but otherwise the linkage and LD analyses were negative. We conclude that FOXP2 is unlikely to contribute significantly to autism susceptibility. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Non-linear EEG synchronization during observation: Effects of instructions and expertisePSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Claire Calmels Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the effects of instructions and expertise upon neuronal changes during observation of sequential finger movements. Professional pianists and musically naïve subjects observed these movements with the aim of either replicating or recognizing them at a later stage. A non-linear measure of functional coupling was used to investigate EEG activity. In the 10,13 Hz frequency band and in musically naïve subjects, functional coupling during observation for replica was greater within central and neighboring areas than during observation for recognition. An opposite pattern was found in the 4,8 Hz frequency band. In the 10,13 Hz band and in areas including the parietal cortex, functional coupling in musically naïve subjects was greater compared to professional pianists under observation for replica. Results are discussed in the light of recent findings from the cognitive and behavioral neuroscience literature. [source] Specificity of regional brain activity in anxiety types during emotion processingPSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Anna S. Engels Abstract The present study tested the hypothesis that anxious apprehension involves more left- than right-hemisphere activity and that anxious arousal is associated with the opposite pattern. Behavioral and fMRI responses to threat stimuli in an emotional Stroop task were examined in nonpatient groups reporting anxious apprehension, anxious arousal, or neither. Reaction times were longer for negative than for neutral words. As predicted, brain activation distinguished anxious groups in a left inferior frontal region associated with speech production and in a right-hemisphere inferior temporal area. Addressing a second hypothesis about left-frontal involvement in emotion, distinct left frontal regions were associated with anxious apprehension versus processing of positive information. Results support the proposed distinction between the two types of anxiety and resolve an inconsistency about the role of left-frontal activation in emotion and psychopathology. [source] Joint orientation and function in great ape and human proximal pedal phalangesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Nicole L. Griffin Abstract Previous studies have referred to the degree of dorsal canting of the base of the proximal phalanx as an indicator of human-like metatarsophalangeal joint function and thus a diagnostic trait of habitual bipedality in the fossil record. Here, we used a simple method to investigate differences in forefoot function on a finer scale. Building on Duncan et al.'s (Am J Phys Anthropol 93 [1994] 67,81) research, we tested whether dorsal canting reflects differences between sexes in locomotor behavior, whether habitual shoe wear influences dorsal canting in humans, and whether proximal joint morphology differs between rays in Pan and humans. Our results corroborate previous research in showing that humans have proximal phalanges with joint orientations that are significantly more dorsal than, but overlap with, those of great apes. We also found that male gorillas have significantly more dorsally canted second proximal phalanges than their female counterparts, while the opposite pattern between the sexes was found in Pan troglodytes. Inter-ray comparisons indicate that Pan have more dorsally canted first proximal phalanges than second proximal phalanges, while the opposite pattern was found in humans. Minimally shod humans have slightly but significantly more dorsally canted second proximal phalanges than those of habitually shod humans, indicating that phalanges of unshod humans provide the most appropriate comparative samples for analyses of early hominins. Overall, our analysis suggests that though the measurement of dorsal canting is limited in its sensitivity to certain intraspecific differences in function, phalangeal joint orientation reflects interspecific differences in joint function, with the caveat that different patterns of forefoot function during gait can involve similar articular sets of metatarsophalangeal joints. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Which comes first? psychogenic dizziness versus otogenic anxiety,THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 10 2003Jeffrey P. Staab MD Abstract Objective: To investigate the hypotheses that physical neurotologic conditions may trigger anxiety disorders (otogenic pattern of illness), that psychiatric disorders may produce dizziness (psychogenic pattern), and that risk factors for these syndromes may be identified. Study Design: Retrospective review of all patients (N = 132) treated at a tertiary care balance center from 1998 to 2002 for psychogenic dizziness with or without physical neurotologic illnesses. Methods: All patients underwent comprehensive neurotologic and psychiatric evaluations with attention to the longitudinal course of symptoms and risk factors for psychopathology. Patients were grouped according to the condition first causing dizziness. Risk factors were compared across groups. Results: Three equally prevalent patterns of illness were found: anxiety disorders as the sole cause of dizziness (33% of cases), neurotologic conditions exacerbating preexisting psychiatric disorders (34%), and neurotologic conditions triggering new anxiety or depressive disorders (33%). Panic disorder and agoraphobia were significantly more prevalent than less severe phobias in the first two groups, whereas the opposite pattern existed in the third group (P < .0001). More patients in the first two groups had risk factors for anxiety disorders (P < .05). Depression was not a primary cause of dizziness in any patient. Vestibular neuronitis, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and migraine were the most common neurotologic conditions. Conclusions: These data support the hypothesis that physical neurotologic conditions may trigger psychopathology as often as primary anxiety disorders cause dizziness. A third pattern appears to be equally common wherein physical neurotologic conditions exacerbate preexisting psychiatric illnesses. Individuals at risk for anxiety disorders may be more likely to have primary psychopathology. [source] Voice, Speech, and Swallowing Outcomes in Laser-Treated Laryngeal Cancer,THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 6 2003Matthew C. Jepsen MD Abstract Objective To describe preliminary voice, speech, and swallowing outcomes in patients treated by endoscopic laser excision of laryngeal cancer with or without adjuvant radiation therapy. Study Design Retrospective review. Methods Seventeen surgically treated patients (five T2 glottic and 12 clinically staged T2 supraglottic squamous cell carcinomas) participated in the study. Self-ratings of voice (Voice Handicap Index) and swallowing (M. D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory) were completed, as well as independent auditory-perceptual ratings of voice and speech recordings. Results Although no significant difference between Voice Handicap Index, M. D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory, and listener ratings was identified based on tumor site and irradiation status, there was a trend toward poorer outcomes in patients who received adjuvant radiation therapy. Whereas the patients having supraglottic cancer tended to report better voice but poorer swallowing outcomes, the glottic cancer group displayed the opposite pattern. Severity on Voice Handicap Index correlated significantly with listener severity ratings of speech, suggesting that the patients' perception of their voice handicap was similar to the listeners' judgments of their speech severity. Conclusions The results suggest the following trends: 1) Adjuvant radiation therapy was associated with poorer outcomes for voice, speech, and swallowing and may be associated with more impairment than surgery alone and 2) poorer outcomes on voice and swallowing were observed for the glottic and supraglottic cancer groups, respectively. To bolster these preliminary findings, additional outcomes studies in patients treated with conservation therapy are needed. [source] When is the Search for Meaning Related to Life Satisfaction?APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, Issue 1 2010Nansook Park Life meaning is important for psychological and physical health and well-being. Researchers have only recently looked at the presence of life meaning and the search for life meaning as separate constructs. In the current study, 731 adult respondents from the United States completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, which separately assesses the presence of meaning and the search for meaning, and measures of well-being. Presence and search for life meaning showed different relationships with well-being. Consistent with past research, the presence of meaning was positively associated with life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect and negatively associated with depression and negative affect, whereas the search for meaning overall had the opposite pattern of correlates. However, the search for meaning was positively associated with well-being,greater life satisfaction, more happiness, and less depression,among those who already had substantial meaning in their life. The search for meaning is not only morally worthy but as it succeeds, eventually satisfying. Implications of these results for interventions to promote mental health and well-being are discussed. [source] Effects of dietary protein levels on the growth performance, digestive capacity and amino acid metabolism of juvenile Jian carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Jian)AQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 9 2009Yong Liu Abstract This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of protein levels on the growth performance, digestive capacity and amino acid metabolism of juvenile Jian carp. Brown fish meal was used as the sole protein source in the present study. Six isoenergetic experimental diets containing 14.4 MJ kg,1 of digestible energy and 220,495 g crude protein kg,1 diets were fed to triplicate groups of 50 fish with a mean initial weight of 16.67 ± 0.01 g for 45 days. Per cent weight gain (PWG) and feed efficiency ratio (FER) improved with an increase in the dietary protein levels up to 330 g kg,1 diet. The condition factor, relative gut length, intestinal folds height, hepatopancreas and intestine protein content improved with an increase in the protein levels up to 330,385 g kg,1 diet. Trypsin, creatinkinase, Na+, K+ -ATPase and alkaline phosphatase activities generally followed the same tendency as that of growth parameters. Amylase and ,-glutamyl transpeptidase (,-GT) activities were negatively correlated with increasing protein levels from 220 to 330 g kg,1 diet, and no differences were found thereafter. Lipase activity was unaffected by protein levels. Lactobacillus amount was increased with protein levels up to 275 g kg,1 diet, while Aeromonas amount followed the opposite pattern. Escherichia coli amount was not influenced by dietary protein levels. Glutamate,oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) activities in the hepatopancreas and plasma ammonia concentration (PAC) were not influenced by protein levels between 220 and 275 g kg,1 diet, but significantly increased with increasing protein levels from 275 to 440 g kg,1 diet, and remained similar thereafter. Glutamate,pyruvate transaminase (GPT) activities significantly increased with protein levels >275 g kg,1 diet. Based on the broken-line model, the dietary protein requirement for PWG of Jian carp (16.7,55.0 g) was estimated to be 341 g kg,1 diet with a digestible energy of 14.4 MJ kg,1 diet. [source] Effects of oyster farming service vehicles on an intertidal sand flatAQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 7 2009Catriona K Macleod Abstract A Tasmanian tidalflat receiving differing amounts of vehicle traffic associated with the servicing of oyster farm leases was sampled for sediment properties and benthic community structure. There was a gradient of vehicle usage in both the littoral zone (LZ) and the intertidal zone (IZ), with the highest usage in the intertidal zone equating to the lowest usage in the littoral zone (IZ2=LZ1). Results indicate that the littoral sediments were less compacted where vehicles were present. Species richness and diversity were reduced in the littoral sites (70%) and one intertidal site (50%) where there was vehicle traffic. Multivariate analyses confirmed the univariate findings. Large bivalves and epibenthic snails were generally less abundant where there was vehicle traffic. However, in the intertidal zone one snail showed the opposite pattern. There was less change in the community structure at sites where vehicles spread out across the foreshore than at sites where all vehicles travelled in a narrow lane, but this reduction in impact was offset by a greater area being affected. This study provides preliminary evidence of a measurable impact on sediment and community composition at 16 vehicle trips per day and suggests that management needs to consider the tradeoff between magnitude of impact and area affected. [source] Cell growth and cholesterol metabolism in human glucose- 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient lymphomononuclear cellsCELL PROLIFERATION, Issue 3 2002Batetta B. Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory-fibroproliferative response of the arterial wall involving a complex set of interconnected events where cell proliferation (lymphomonocytes, and endothelial and smooth-muscle cells) and substantial perturbations of intracellular cholesterol metabolism are considered to be among the main features. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the key enzyme of the hexose-monophosphate shunt pathway, is an essential enzyme involved in both cell growth and cholesterol metabolism, raising the question as to whether G6PD deficiency may have metabolic and growth implications in a deficient population. In the present study, we investigated cell growth and cholesterol metabolism in peripheral blood lymphomononuclear cells (PBMC) from G6PD-normal (n = 5) and -deficient (n = 5) subjects stimulated with lectins (phytohaemoagglutinin and Concanavalin A). G6PD activity, DNA ([3H]-thymidine incorporation) cholesterol synthesis and esterification ([14C]-acetate and [14C]-oleate incorporation), and G6PD, HMGCoA reductase and low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor mRNA levels (RT-PCR) all increased following lectin stimulation in both normal and G6PD-deficient cells. However, these parameters were significantly lower in G6PD-deficient cells (P < 0.05). It is of interest that G6PD-deficient PBMC, which showed lower expression of G6PD and higher expression of the LDL receptor gene than normal PBMC under basal conditions, exhibited an opposite pattern after stimulation: G6PD and HMGCoA reductase being expressed at significantly higher levels in deficient than in normal cells (P < 0.05). We conclude that the reduced capability of G6PD-deficient cells to respond to mitogenic stimuli and to synthesize cholesterol esters may represent favourable conditions for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. [source] Accessibility of causal explanations for future positive and negative events in adolescents with anxiety and depressionCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 3 2004Lisa J. Kagan Anxious and depressed adults' pessimism about future events has been shown to be underpinned by their ability to think of reasons why future events would or would not happen (see, e.g., Byrne and MacLeod, 1997). This study sought to extend this finding to adolescents by investigating the accessibility of explanations given for future events in adolescents with elevated anxiety and depression scores. A school sample of 11,17 year olds (N = 123) participated. Participants completed self-report measures of anxiety, depression and positive and negative affect. In addition they were given a set of potential future positive and negative events and asked to provide reasons as to why the events would (pro reasons) or would not (con reasons) happen. Anxious participants, relative to controls, generated significantly more pro relative to con reasons for negative events happening and showed a non-significant trend towards the opposite pattern for positive events. Depressed participants showed clear differences from controls in their pattern of accessible explanations for both negative events and positive events. Correlational analysis showed that positive and negative affect had differential relationships to positive and negative cognitions concerning future outcomes. The results suggest that the processes that underlie pessimism in depressed and anxious adults also operate in relatively depressed and anxious adolescents.,Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||