Relational provisions from pets in the context of the family : implications for perceived social support and human health

This thesis examines how the psychology of human relationships can be applied to the phenomenon of pet ownership. Current views on the origins of pet ownership and reasons for its popularity, and the application of concepts from the psychology of human-human relationships to human-pet relationships are reviewed. The most popular model, attachment theory, is critically evaluated and examined empirically in a preliminary study. Attachment seems not to provide a satisfactory model. A functional approach, investigating what human-pet relationships do rather than what relationships they resemble, was pursued in the remainder of the thesis. Individuals in a pet-owning family may all interact with the pet in quite different ways, yet are often all labelled equally as pet owners. Investigation of human-pet relationships in the family context facilitated an analysis of characteristics of owning a pet, such as exclusivity. Differences among human-pet relationships were examined according to family role of the owner, and pet species. Pets are frequently regarded as members of their owners' social network, and as a source of relational provisions at levels which are in some cases comparable to those from human relationships. For some pet owners, support from pets may have a buffering effect against stressful life events, and protect owners against adverse psychological symptoms. Important differences were found between species. Dogs provide higher levels of provisions than cats, and cats are rated more highly than other pet species. There is therefore a need for caution against generalising from one species to pets in general. The social provisions approach is shown to be productive, but it is not the only model from human social relationships that might be used, and alternative or complementary models should also be explored

Effect of strategies to reduce exposure of infants to environmental tobacco smoke in the home : cross sectional survey

Objective To examine parents' reported knowledge and use of harm reduction strategies to protect their infants from exposure to tobacco smoke in the home, and the relation between reported use of strategies and urinary cotinine to creatinine ratios in the infants. Design Cross sectional survey. Settings Coventry and Birmingham. Main outcome measures Parents’ reported knowledge and use of harm reduction strategies and urinary cotinine to creatinine ratios in their infants. Participants 314 smoking households with infants. Results 86% of parents (264/307) believed that environmental tobacco smoke is harmful, 90% (281/314) believed that infants can be protected from it in the home, and 10% (32/314) were either unaware of measures or reported using none. 65% of parents (205/314) reported using two or more measures, but only 18% (58/314) reported not allowing smoking in the home. No difference was found in mean log e transformed urinary cotinine to creatinine ratio in infants from households that used no measures compared with households that used less strict measures. Mean log cotinine to creatinine ratios were significantly different in households banning smoking in the home compared with those using less strict or no measures. Banning smoking in the home was independently associated with a significant reduction in urinary cotinine to creatinine ratio by a factor of 2.6 (1.6 to 4.2) after adjustment for average household cigarette consumption, tenure, and overcrowding. Conclusions Less than a fifth of parents in smoking households ban smoking in the home. Banning smoking was associated with a small but significant reduction in urinary cotinine to creatinine ratio in infants, whereas less strict measures compared with no measures had no effect on the infants’ exposure to environmental tobacco smoke

Optic flow and scene structure do not always contribute to the control of human walking

AbstractUsing displacing prisms to dissociate the influence of optic flow and egocentric direction, previous research (Current Biology 8 (1998) 1191) showed that people primarily use egocentric direction to control their locomotion on foot, rather than optic flow. When wearing displacing prisms, participants followed the curved path predicted by the use of simple egocentric direction, rather than a straight path, as predicted by the use of optic flow. It has previously been suggested that, in rich visual environments, other visual information including optic flow and static scene structure may influence locomotion in addition to direction. Here we report a study where neither scene structure nor optic flow have any influence on the control of walking. Participants wearing displacing prisms walked along a well-lit corridor (containing rich scene structure and flow) and along the same corridor in darkness (no scene structure or flow). Heading errors were not significantly different between the dark and light conditions. Thus, even under conditions of rich scene structure and high flow when walking in a well-lit corridor, participants follow the same curved paths as when these cues are not available. These results demonstrate that there are conditions under which visual direction is the only useful source of visual information for the control of locomotion

Variations in yield and gluten proteins in durum wheat varieties under late-season foliar versus soil application of nitrogen fertilizer in a northern Mediterranean environment

BACKGROUND: With the increasing demand for high-quality foodstuffs and concern for environmental sustainability, late-season nitrogen (N) foliar fertilization of common wheat is now an important and widespread practice. This study investigated the effects of late-season foliar versus soil N fertilization on yield and protein content of four varieties of durum wheat, Aureo, Ariosto, Biensur and Liberdur, in a three-year field trial in northern Italy. RESULTS: Variations in low-molecular-weight glutenins (LMW-GS), high-molecular-weight glutenins (HMW-GS) and gliadins were assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). It was found that N applied to the canopy did not improve protein rate compared with N application to the soil (general mean 138mg g 121), but moderately increased productivity in the high-yielding varieties Liberdur and Biensur (three-year means 7.23 vs 7.13 and 7.53 vs 7.09 t ha 121 respectively). Technological quality was mainly related to variety choice, Aureo and Ariosto having higher protein rates and glutenin/gliadin ratios. Also found was a strong \u2018variety 7 N application method\u2019 interaction in the proportions of protein subunits within each class, particularly LMW-GS and gliadins. A promising result was the higher N uptake efficiency, although as apparent balance, combined with higher HMW/LMW-GS ratio in var. Biensur. CONCLUSION: Late-season foliar N fertilization allows N fertilizer saving, potentially providing environmental benefits in the rainy climate of the northern Mediterranean area, and also leads to variety-dependent up-regulation of essential LMW-GS and gliadins. Variety choice is a key factor in obtaining high technological quality, although it is currently associated with modest grain yield. This study provides evidence of high quality in the specific high-yielding variety Biensur, suggesting its potential as a mono-varietal semolina for pasta production

A Physics-Informed, Deep Double Reservoir Network for Forecasting Boundary Layer Velocity

When a fluid flows over a solid surface, it creates a thin boundary layer where the flow velocity is influenced by the surface through viscosity, and can transition from laminar to turbulent at sufficiently high speeds. Understanding and forecasting the wind dynamics under these conditions is one of the most challenging scientific problems in fluid dynamics. It is therefore of high interest to formulate models able to capture the nonlinear spatio-temporal velocity structure as well as produce forecasts in a computationally efficient manner. Traditional statistical approaches are limited in their ability to produce timely forecasts of complex, nonlinear spatio-temporal structures which are at the same time able to incorporate the underlying flow physics. In this work, we propose a model to accurately forecast boundary layer velocities with a deep double reservoir computing network which is capable of capturing the complex, nonlinear dynamics of the boundary layer while at the same time incorporating physical constraints via a penalty obtained by a Partial Differential Equation (PDE). Simulation studies on a one-dimensional viscous fluid demonstrate how the proposed model is able to produce accurate forecasts while simultaneously accounting for energy loss. The application focuses on boundary layer data on a wind tunnel with a PDE penalty derived from an appropriate simplification of the Navier-Stokes equations, showing forecasts more compliant with mass conservation

ANALISIS HUBUNGAN PENGETAHUAN DAN PERSEPSI PASIEN DENGAN PARTISIPASI PASIEN DI INSTALASI PAVILIUN AMBUN PAGI RSUP DR. M. DJAMIL PADANG DITINJAU DARI ASPEK HUKUM KESELAMATAN PASIEN

Pasien bisa memainkan peranan penting dalam peningkatan keselamatan pasien dengan terlibat aktif dalam proses perawatan mereka. Partisipasi pasien dipandang sebagai hak hukum pasien serta standar emas sistem pelayanan kesehatan internasional. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengetahui hubungan pengetahuan dan persepsi pasien tentang aspek hukum keselamatan pasien dengan partisipasi pasien dalam keselamatan pasien di Instalasi Paviliun Ambun Pagi RSUP DR. M. Djamil Padang. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian kuantitatif dengan pendekatan Cross Sectional Study. Sampel ditentukan dengan cara systematic random sampling. Data dikumpulkan selama bulan Maret tahun 2016. Hasil penelitian terhadap 75 orang responden menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar memiliki pengetahuan kurang (42 [56.00%]) dan persepsi negatif (49 [65.33%]), serta sebagian besar memiliki partisipasi yang rendah (46 [61,33%]). Ada hubungan antara pengetahuan (p=0,024) dan persepsi pasien (p=0,007) tentang aspek hukum keselamatan pasien dengan partisipasi pasien dalam keselamatan pasien. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa pengetahuan dan persepsi pasien tentang aspek hukum dalam keselamatan pasien memiliki hubungan dengan partisipasi pasien dalam keselamatan pasien. Oleh karena itu perlu ditingkatkan dukungan edukasi dan informasi tentang hak-hak pasien dalam keselamatan pasien bagi pasien dan keluarga, guna mendorong peningkatan partisipasi pasien. Daftar Pustaka : 92 (1948-2015). Kata kunci: keselamatan pasien, aspek hukum keselamatan pasien, pengetahuan, persepsi, partisipasi pasie

A Survey of the History of the Concertmaster Through the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic Eras

During the evolution of the orchestra from 1600-1900, the concertmaster remained a key leadership figure who held great influence over the ensemble. This paper examines the concertmaster’s changing role in the orchestra throughout the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras and studies the examples of exceptional concertmasters from each era, giving further historical insight into the lives and duties in of these orchestral leaders and musicians. During the Baroque era, when ensembles lacked conductors, the concertmaster shared control of the orchestra with the keyboard-player or time-beater. During the Classical Era, the concertmaster gained a larger role in the orchestra and often acted simultaneously as conductor, manager, and director. The specific duties of a concertmaster outlined in numerous treatises included unifying articulation, bowings, and ornamentation in the orchestra. In the Romantic era, significant changes in musical compositions and the structure of the orchestra led to the need for an autonomous conductor. As a result, the concertmaster was reduced from his previous role to become an assistant to the conductor and interpreter for the orchestra. His focus turned to the uniformity of the string section and the increasing number of concertmaster solos. In light of the changing orchestral environment, the concertmasters of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras proved to be experienced musicians, effective teachers, and respected leaders

Re-usability of plastics

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-43).A research project was designed in order to learn more about the quality of recycled plastics when compared to new material. The study was carried out by researching and learning about how the recycling process operates. Further research was then conducted on the seven different types of resins that exist in the recycling world today. After collecting the data, an experiment was devised in order to learn more about the capabilities of using recycled plastics for regular household applications. The results of the experiment showed that most of the seven recyclable plastics could actually be used again as along as special care was taken to ensure that the quality of the recycled product was equivalent to that of the virgin material. However, it was determined that a more rigorous recycling program for plastic would be feasible but it is not a practical endeavor for economic purposes. As a result, many of the manufacturers within the plastics realm prefer to use new plastic as opposed to recycling their products.by Calvin Bonas.S.B