Daily parental knowledge of youth activities is linked to youth physical symptoms and HPA functioning.

Considerable evidence documents linkages between parental knowledge of youth activities and youth risky behavior. We extended this research to determine whether parental knowledge was associated with youth physical health, including reports of physical symptoms (e.g., headaches, stomachaches) and a biomarker of hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical (HPA) axis functioning (i.e., salivary cortisol levels). Participants were children of employees in the Information Technology division of a Fortune 500 company (N = 132, Mean Age Youth = 13.39 years, 55% female) who participated in a daily diary study. Data were collected via telephone calls on eight consecutive evenings. On four study days, cortisol samples were collected at 4 time points (waking, 30 min after waking, before dinner, bedtime). Multi-level models revealed that, at the between-person level, youth whose parents had higher average knowledge about their activities, exhibited lower bedtime cortisol levels. Furthermore, at the within-person level, on days when parents displayed more knowledge than usual (relative to their own eight-day average), youth had lower before-dinner cortisol than usual. Linkages between average parental knowledge and physical health symptoms were moderated by youth age: Younger but not older adolescents whose parents were more knowledgeable had fewer physical health symptoms, on average. A next step is to identify the processes that underlie these associations

Experiences With Parents and Youth Physical Health Symptoms and Cortisol: A Daily Diary Investigation

Using daily diary data, this study examined the associations between positive and negative parent-youth experiences and youth cortisol and physical health symptoms among a sample of adolescents (N=132, Mean Age = 13.39). On days when girls reported more negative experiences than usual, they exhibited more physical health symptoms and flatter evening cortisol slopes than usual. Negative experiences with mothers were associated with higher dinner and bedtime youth cortisol levels (between-person). Daily positive experiences with fathers were linked with lower dinner cortisol levels. Youth with high levels of negative experiences, on average, were less sensitive to daily variation in negative experiences than youth who experienced lower parental negativity. We discuss the benefits of a daily diary approach

Daily stressor reactivity during adolescence: The buffering role of parental warmth.

This study examined youth stressor reactivity in the form of links between daily stressors and adolescents’ negative affect, physical health symptoms, and cortisol patterns. We also tested whether youth gender and parental warmth moderated these linkages

Elemental Abundance Ratios in Stars of the Outer Galactic Disk. II. Field Red Giants

We summarize a selection process to identify red giants in the direction of the southern warp of the Galactic disk, employing VI_C photometry and multi-object spectroscopy. We also present results from follow-up high-resolution, high-S/N echelle spectroscopy of three field red giants, finding [Fe/H] values of about -0.5. The field stars, with Galactocentric distances estimated at 10 to 15 kpc, support the conclusion of Yong, Carney, & de Almeida (2005) that the Galactic metallicity gradient disappears beyond R_GC values of 10 to 12 kpc for the older stars and clusters of the outer disk. The field and cluster stars at such large distances show very similar abundance patterns, and, in particular, all show enhancements of the "alpha" elements O, Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti and the r-process element Eu. These results suggest that Type II supernovae have been significant contributors to star formation in the outer disk relative to Type Ia supernovae within the past few Gyrs. We also compare our results with those available for much younger objects. The limited results for the H II regions and B stars in the outer disk also suggest that the radial metallicity gradient in the outer disk is shallow or absent. The much more extensive results for Cepheids confirm these trends, and that the change in slope of the metallicity gradient may occur at a larger Galactocentric distance than for the older stars and clusters. However, the younger stars also show rising alpha element enhancements with increasing R_GC, at least beyond 12 kpc. These trends are consistent with the idea of a progressive growth in the size of the Galactic disk with time, and episodic enrichment by Type II supernovae as part of the disk's growth. [Abridged]Comment: Accepted for publication in A

Contribuição da usabilidade web e dos dispositivos móveis para a inclusão digital nos países em desenvolvimento

A questão da interacção humano-computador é um tema de relevância nos tempos atuais. O desenvolvimento de aplicações e serviços digitais requerem perceber como utilizar os dispositivos electrónicos e fazer uma gestão adequada da Web. Neste contexto, a importância da usabilidade dos serviços e aplicações digitais é da maior importância. É notório o rápido crescimento de engenharia e desenvolvimento de variedades de interfaces focados na preocupação de tornar cada vez mais fácil a interacção entre os utilizadores e os sistemas digitais.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Desenvolvimento do e-government: uma revisão da literatura para implementação em contextos heterogéneos.

O debate sobre o aprofundamento e implementação da governação e governança electrónicas tem-se vindo a intensificar. A utilização de meios electrónicos de governação e governança constitui factor de incentivo para a participação dos cidadãos em processos de decisão, realização e acompanhamento de políticas públicas, bem como para a modernização de serviços do sector publico nos Países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento (Dada, 2006). A governação e governança electrónicas são vistas, neste contexto, como um necessidades essenciais na resposta aos objectivos de desenvolvimento do Millennium, visando proporcionar aos cidadãos igualdade, democratização e bem-estar. Necessidades e tendências que se salientam na área de administração pública, onde se deseja um futuro mais alinhado entre as tecnologias de informação, a participação da sociedade civil e a comunicação ao serviço do cidadão. Não obstante, o desenho e implementação de serviços bem como a sua gestão requerem um conhecimento aprofundado da componente social, infra-estrutural, tecnológica e cultural da população alvo, em especial no caso de Países em desenvolvimento. Países quase sempre caracterizados por escassez de infra-estrutura, falta de recursos tecnológicos, divisão digital, a que não é alheia a reduzida literacia digital, muitas vezes associada a um reduzido poder de compra. Com efeito, tais circunstâncias representam um obstáculo ao desenvolvimento e implantação de serviços de governo electrónico nestes países, levanto mesmo, em alguns casos, ao falhanço de alguns projectos pioneiros neste domínio (Dada, 2006). O propósito do nosso trabalho é o de analisar o percurso do e-government desde que foi introduzido, do seu estado de arte e do modus operandi do mesmo implementado em ambientes heterogéneos (desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento), no sentido de melhor compreendemos os cenários para o seu desenvolvimento e implantaçao no contexto particular de Moçambique, destacando a importância que estas tacnologias desempenham na gestão de serviços e aproximação do cidadão às organizações governamentais e privadas. Pretendemos, em particular, contribuir para a investigação de aspectos metodológicos no desenvolvimento de serviços de governação electrónica adequados para Moçambique, destacando, em paralelo, aspectos cruciais de usabilidade (vide Rhongo et al, 2016). O trabalho em curso aposta, presentemente, em duas vertentes: Por um lado uma revisão bibliográfica, que se pretende motivar no presente resumo, na qual se procura identificar modelos, estudos de caso e aspectos metodológicos que mais têm contribuído para o desenvolvimento de serviços de governação e governança electrónica em países em desenvolvimento. Por outro lado, um estudo qualitativo realizado através de inquéritos sobre usabilidade de serviços e aplicações digitais em Moçambique, que motivamos em Rhongo et al. (2016). No âmbito de revisão bibliográfica, impõe-se realizar uma viajem pelas perspectivas que posicionam a sociedade de informação como o novo modus vivendi, na era da massificação das TICs e do advento da internet. Julgamos que esta abordagem inicial é contributiva para uma interpretação contextualizada das condições iniciais e de sucesso da proposta de implementação de serviços electrónicos no ambiente socioeconómico em causa, onde as teses de Manuel Castells nos parecem relevantes (Castells, 2002; Jamil, Tadeu, & Neves, 2000; Vide, 1999). Seguidamente analisamos o e-government propriamente dito e a sua viragem na década 90, com o surgimento e massificação da internet e das suas manifestações. Abordaremos em sequência o mobile-Government, actualmente a via mais utilizada e adequada à conjuntura da vida actual, adaptando os serviços ordinários para as mãos do cidadão através dos telemóvel e smartphone. Finalmente, abordamos as questões da administração electrónica ubíqua, que pretende conferir a possibilidade de presença de serviços electrónicos em qualquer lugar 24 horas por dia e 7 dias por semana. Com este estudo esperamos trazer em breve um documento integrador sobre as principais tendências no desenvolvimento e implementação da governação e governança electrónicas especialmente orientadas para países em desenvolvimento, respondendo a algumas das ideias e desafios lançados pelos ICT4D e ICT Horizonte 2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Multispin Ising spin glasses with ferromagnetic interactions

We consider the thermodynamics of an infinite-range Ising p-spin glass model with an additional r-spin ferromagnetic interaction. For r=2 there is a continuous transition to a ferromagnetic phase, while for r>2 the transition is first order. We find both glassy and non-glassy ferromagnetic phases, with replica symmetry breaking of both the one step and full varieties. We obtain new results for the case where r=p>2, demonstrating the existence of a non-glassy ferromagnetic phase, of significance to error-correcting codes.Comment: 16 pages, AMS LaTeX, 14 EPS figures; one minor correction to (42

Elevated left and reduced right orbitomedial prefrontal fractional anisotropy in adults with bipolar disorder revealed by tract-based spatial statistics

Context - Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in adults with bipolar disorder (BD) indicate altered white matter (WM) in the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex (OMPFC), potentially underlying abnormal prefrontal corticolimbic connectivity and mood dysregulation in BD. Objective - To use tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to examine WM skeleton (ie, the most compact whole-brain WM) in subjects with BD vs healthy control subjects. Design - Cross-sectional, case-control, whole-brain DTI using TBSS. Setting - University research institute. Participants - Fifty-six individuals, 31 having a DSM-IV diagnosis of BD type I (mean age, 35.9 years [age range, 24-52 years]) and 25 controls (mean age, 29.5 years [age range, 19-52 years]). Main Outcome Measures - Fractional anisotropy (FA) longitudinal and radial diffusivities in subjects with BD vs controls (covarying for age) and their relationships with clinical and demographic variables. Results - Subjects with BD vs controls had significantly greater FA (t > 3.0, P = .05 corrected) in the left uncinate fasciculus (reduced radial diffusivity distally and increased longitudinal diffusivity centrally), left optic radiation (increased longitudinal diffusivity), and right anterothalamic radiation (no significant diffusivity change). Subjects with BD vs controls had significantly reduced FA (t > 3.0, P = .05 corrected) in the right uncinate fasciculus (greater radial diffusivity). Among subjects with BD, significant negative correlations (P < .01) were found between age and FA in bilateral uncinate fasciculi and in the right anterothalamic radiation, as well as between medication load and FA in the left optic radiation. Decreased FA (P < .01) was observed in the left optic radiation and in the right anterothalamic radiation among subjects with BD taking vs those not taking mood stabilizers, as well as in the left optic radiation among depressed vs remitted subjects with BD. Subjects having BD with vs without lifetime alcohol or other drug abuse had significantly decreased FA in the left uncinate fasciculus. Conclusions - To our knowledge, this is the first study to use TBSS to examine WM in subjects with BD. Subjects with BD vs controls showed greater WM FA in the left OMPFC that diminished with age and with alcohol or other drug abuse, as well as reduced WM FA in the right OMPFC. Mood stabilizers and depressed episode reduced WM FA in left-sided sensory visual processing regions among subjects with BD. Abnormal right vs left asymmetry in FA in OMPFC WM among subjects with BD, likely reflecting increased proportions of left-sided longitudinally aligned and right-sided obliquely aligned myelinated fibers, may represent a biologic mechanism for mood dysregulation in BD

Influence of dietary Spirulin inclusion and lysozyme supplementation on the longissimus lumborum muscle proteome of newly weaned piglets

Research Areas: Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyArthrospira platensis (Spirulina) is a microalga with a high content of crude protein. It has a recalcitrant cell wall that limits the accessibility of the animal endogenous enzymes to its intracellular nutrients. Enzymatic supplementation aiming to degrade cell walls could benefit microalgae digestibility. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of dietary Spirulina and lysozyme supplementation over the muscle proteome of piglets during the post-weaning stage. Thirty piglets were randomly distributed among three diets: control (no microalga), SP (10% Spirulina) and SP + L (10% Spirulina +0.01% lysozyme). After 4 weeks, they were sacrificed and samples of the longissimus lumborum muscle were taken. The muscle proteome was analysed using a Tandem Mass Tag (TMT)-based quantitative approach. A total of 832 proteins were identified. Three comparisons were computed: SP vs Ctrl, SP + L vs Ctrl and SP + L vs SP. They had ten, four and twelve differentially abundant proteins. Glycogen metabolism and nutrient reserves utilization are increased in the SP piglets. Structural muscle protein synthesis increased, causing higher energy requirements in SP + L piglets. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of proteomics to disclose the effect of dietary microalgae, whilst unveiling putative mechanisms derived from lysozyme supplementation. Data available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD024083. Significance: Spirulina, a microalga, is an alternative to conventional crops which could enhance the environmental sustainability of animal production. Due to its recalcitrant cell wall, its use requires additional measures to prevent anti-nutritional effects on the feeding of piglets in the post-weaning period, during which they endure post-weaning stress. One of such measures could be CAZyme supplementation to help degrade the cell wall during digestion. Muscle proteomics provides insightful data on the effect of dietary microalgae and enzyme activity on piglet metabolism.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio