527 research outputs found
Using differential reinforcement of high rates of behavior to improve work productivity : a replication and extension
Background: Due to deficits in adaptive and cognitive functioning, productivity may pose challenges for individuals with intellectual disability in the workplace.Method: Using a changingâcriterion embedded in a multiple baseline across particiâpants design, we examined the effects of differential reinforcement of high rates of behaviour (DRH) on the rate of data entry (i.e., productivity) in four adults with intelâlectual disability.Results: Although the DRH procedure increased the rate of correct data entry in all four participants, none of the participants achieved the criterion that we set with novice undergraduate students.Conclusions: Our results indicate that DRH is an effective intervention to increase rate of correct responding in individuals with intellectual disability, but that achievâing the same productivity as workers without disability may not always be possible
Pharmacological analysis of transmission activation of two aphid-vectored plant viruses, turnip mosaic virus and cauliflower mosaic virus
Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV, family Potyviridae) and cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV, family Caulimoviridae) are transmitted by aphid vectors. They are the only viruses shown so far to undergo transmission activation (TA) immediately preceding plant-to-plant propagation. TA is a recently described phenomenon where viruses respond to the presence of vectors on the host by rapidly and transiently forming transmissible complexes that are efficiently acquired and transmitted. Very little is known about the mechanisms of TA and on whether such mechanisms are alike or distinct in different viral species. We use here a pharmacological approach to initiate the comparison of TA of TuMV and CaMV. Our results show that both viruses rely on calcium signaling and reactive oxygen species (ROS) for TA. However, whereas application of the thiol-reactive compound N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) inhibited, as previously shown, TuMV transmission it did not alter CaMV transmission. On the other hand, sodium azide, which boosts CaMV transmission, strongly inhibited TuMV transmission. Finally, wounding stress inhibited CaMV transmission and increased TuMV transmission. Taken together, the results suggest that transmission activation of TuMV and CaMV depends on initial calcium and ROS signaling that are generated during the plant's immediate responses to aphid manifestation. Interestingly, downstream events in TA of each virus appear to diverge, as shown by the differential effects of NEM, azide and wounding on TuMV and CaMV transmission, suggesting that these two viruses have evolved analogous TA mechanisms
Innovator resilience potential: A process perspective of individual resilience as influenced by innovation project termination
Innovation projects fail at an astonishing rate. Yet, the negative effects of innovation project failures on the team members of these projects have been largely neglected in research streams that deal with innovation project failures. After such setbacks, it is vital to maintain or even strengthen project membersâ innovative capabilities for subsequent innovation projects. For this, the concept of resilience, i.e. project membersâ potential to positively adjust (or even grow) after a setback such as an innovation project failure, is fundamental. We develop the second-order construct of innovator resilience potential, which consists of six components â self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, optimism, hope, self-esteem, and risk propensity â that are important for project membersâ potential of innovative functioning in innovation projects subsequent to a failure. We illustrate our theoretical findings by means of a qualitative study of a terminated large-scale innovation project, and derive implications for research and management
Rote
Scottish poetry sectio
Decoding information in the human hippocampus: a user's guide
Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA), or 'decoding', of fMRI activity has gained popularity in the neuroimaging community in recent years. MVPA differs from standard fMRI analyses by focusing on whether information relating to specific stimuli is encoded in patterns of activity across multiple voxels. If a stimulus can be predicted, or decoded, solely from the pattern of fMRI activity, it must mean there is information about that stimulus represented in the brain region where the pattern across voxels was identified. This ability to examine the representation of information relating to specific stimuli (e.g., memories) in particular brain areas makes MVPA an especially suitable method for investigating memory representations in brain structures such as the hippocampus. This approach could open up new opportunities to examine hippocampal representations in terms of their content, and how they might change over time, with aging, and pathology. Here we consider published MVPA studies that specifically focused on the hippocampus, and use them to illustrate the kinds of novel questions that can be addressed using MVPA. We then discuss some of the conceptual and methodological challenges that can arise when implementing MVPA in this context. Overall, we hope to highlight the potential utility of MVPA, when appropriately deployed, and provide some initial guidance to those considering MVPA as a means to investigate the hippocampus
A quantum Szilard engine for two-level systems coupled to a qubit
The innate complexity of solid state physics exposes superconducting quantum
circuits to interactions with uncontrolled degrees of freedom degrading their
coherence. By using a simple stabilization sequence we show that a
superconducting fluxonium qubit is coupled to a two-level system (TLS)
environment of unknown origin, with a relatively long energy relaxation time
exceeding . Implementing a quantum Szilard engine with an active
feedback control loop allows us to decide whether the qubit heats or cools its
TLS environment. The TLSs can be cooled down resulting in a four times lower
qubit population, or they can be heated to manifest themselves as a negative
temperature environment corresponding to a qubit population of .
We show that the TLSs and the qubit are each other's dominant loss mechanism
and that the qubit relaxation is independent of the TLS populations.
Understanding and mitigating TLS environments is therefore not only crucial to
improve qubit lifetimes but also to avoid non-Markovian qubit dynamics
City rankings and the citizens: exposing representational and participatory gaps
Acritical reflection on the purposes, role and performance of city rankings through an holistic communicational approach is at the core of this article. Grounded on a conceptual framework that highlights the contemporary idea of the cityâbeyond the smart city and more as a co-intelligent, collaborative and co-creative entity, and on the performance outputs of city rankings as territorial and strategic communication tools that actually represent the state of cities, we address the citizensâ presence or contributeâas main city stakeholdersâto city rankings. In order to make research tangible with a practical component, an exploratory comparative content analysis of three recognized city rankings: the CBI â City Brands Index 2017, the GCR â 2018 Global Cities Report, and the Global Liveability Index 2018âwas carried out. Conclusive notes argue that in order to effectively represent cities, as they are lived, thought and built by their citizens in their everyday, city rankings must rely in more real-time, updated, peopleâs perception centred data, and embed more citizen participation and insights. Moreover, methodology transparency and accountability should be promoted in order to add trust value to city rankings.(undefined
Heavy reliance on plants for Romanian cave bears evidenced by amino acid nitrogen isotope analysis
Heavy reliance on plants is rare in Carnivora and mostly limited to relatively small species in subtropical settings. The feeding behaviors of extinct cave bears living during Pleistocene cold periods at middle latitudes have been intensely studied using various approaches including isotopic analyses of fossil collagen. In contrast to cave bears from all other regions in Europe, some individuals from Romania show exceptionally high ÎŽ15N values that might be indicative of meat consumption. Herbivory on plants with high ÎŽ15N values cannot be ruled out based on this method, however. Here we apply an approach using the ÎŽ15N values of individual amino acids from collagen that offsets the baseline ÎŽ15N variation among environments. The analysis yielded strong signals of reliance on plants for Romanian cave bears based on the ÎŽ15N values of glutamate and phenylalanine. These results could suggest that the high variability in bulk collagen ÎŽ15N values observed among cave bears in Romania reflects niche partitioning but in a general trophic context of herbivory
- âŠ