The Power of EI Competencies Over Intelligence and Individual Performance: A Task-Dependent Model

Prior research on emotional intelligence (EI) has highlighted the use of incremental models that assume EI and general intelligence (or g) make independent contributions to performance. Questioning this assumption, we study EI's moderation power over the relationship between g and individual performance, by designing and testing a task-dependent interaction model. Reconciling divergent findings in previous studies, we propose that whenever social tasks are at stake, g has a greater effect on performance as EI increases. By contrast, in analytic tasks, a compensatory (or negative) interaction is expected, whereby at higher levels of EI, g contributes to performance at a lesser extent. Based on a behavioral approach to EI, using 360-degree assessments of EI competencies, our findings show that EI moderates the effect of g on the classroom performance of 864 MBA business executives. Whilst in analytic tasks g has a stronger effect on performance at lower levels of EI competencies, our data comes short to show a positive interaction of EI and g in affecting performance on social tasks. Contributions and implications to research and practice are discussed

Mattrygghet i Europa: en kartlegging av kritiske matpraksiser og kulturelle forskjeller i Frankrike, Norge, Portugal, Romania og Storbritannia

How is food handled in safe and unsafe ways from retail to fork in European households? This is the overall research question raised in this report. The aim of this report is to contribute to an in-depth, detailed, empirical and nuanced analysis of how food is handled in everyday life in five European countries: France, Norway, Portugal, Romania and the UK. The first chapters (Part 1) describe the food cultural difference and food safety variation between the five countries, theories of practices that underpin the study and the transdisciplinary methods employed for studying shopping, transportation, storage and cooking a meal with chicken and raw vegetables in 75 European households. The first empirical chapters (Part 2) introduce the households in this study (chapter 2.1), discuss the everyday food life the households (chapter 2.2) and describe food anxieties and experiences with foodborne illnesses (chapter 2.3). Part 3 concentrates on food procuring and organising practices in the households and includes three empirical discussions of shopping (chapter 3.1), transportation (chapter 3.2) and storage (chapter 3.3). Part 4 discusses food preparation and comprises five chapters discussing the order of cooking (chapter 4.1), chicken preparation (chapter 4.2), vegetable preparation (chapter 4.3), determining doneness (chapter 4.4) and washing hands (chapter 4.5). Finally, Part 5 discusses the main findings in the report and suggests further research steps.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Children's experiences of food poverty in Portugal: Findings from a mixed‐method case study approach

While observers acknowledge that the 2007–2008 crisis increased food insecurity, few studies considered how being food poor affects children's daily lives. In this paper, I discuss how children from low‐income families in Portugal experience food and deal with food scarcity. I draw on data from a larger European study, which employed a case study approach with a combination of semi‐structured interviews and photo‐elicitation. Children's accounts reveal how food poverty is embedded in their lives, affecting the quality and quantity of food, reducing opportunities to socialize with kin and friends and creating emotional stress. Visual methods added depth to our understanding.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A prospective, controlled clinical trial evaluating the clinical radiological and aesthetic outcome after 5 years of immediately placed implants in sockets exhibiting periapical pathology

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to compare the clinical, aesthetic and radiological outcome of immediately placed implants in sockets with or without periapical pathology 5 years after placement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-seven patients were followed 5 years after immediate implant placement (test-group: 12 patients with periapical pathologies; control-group: 15 patients without periapical pathology). Clinical (FMBS, FMPS, CAL, keratinized mucosa), aesthetical (length of clinical crown, Papilla index), and radiological (vertical distance implant shoulder to first bone to implant contact (IS-BIC)) parameters were assessed. Both 95% confidence intervals, as well as results of statistical tests (one-sample, two-sample, paired t-test) were provided. RESULTS: After 5 years the implant survival rate was 100% for all 27 implants. In the test group the width of the keratinized mucosa increased significantly over the observation period (0.8 ± 1.0 mm). Concerning aesthetic parameters at the 3-month as well as at the 5-year examination no statistically significant difference could be found between the two groups. In the control-group the papilla mesial and distal to the implant increased statistically significant during the observation period by 0.5 ± 0.5 and 0.4 ± 0.6 index score points, respectively. The position of the gingival margin at the implant site and the two neighboring teeth remained stable. At the 5-year visit IS-BIC measured between 1.4 ± 0.5 mm (mesial, control) and 1.7 ± 0.7 mm (distal, test), no significant difference could be found between the two groups. Over the observation period no statistically significant change of IS-BIC could be found in the test- as well as in the control-group. None of the examined radiographs revealed any signs of retrograde peri-implantitis. CONCLUSION: The replacement of teeth exhibiting periapical pathologies by implants placed immediately after tooth extraction can be a successful treatment modality with no disadvantages in clinical, aesthetical and radiological parameters to immediately placed implants into healthy sockets

Success of 6-mm Implants with Single-Tooth Restorations: A 3-year Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The aim of the study was to test whether implants of 6 mm in length perform equally well as 10-mm implants in terms of survival and marginal bone-level changes when supporting single crowns. Patients with a posterior single-tooth gap were randomly allocated to either the placement of a 6-mm (test) or 10-mm implant (control). The treatment protocol allowed for internal sinus lift but not for lateral bone augmentation. After a healing period of 10 wk, implants were loaded with screw-retained single crowns. Survival rates, number of pockets ≥5 mm, and bleeding-on-probing were assessed clinically. The change of marginal bone level and crown-to-implant ratios were analyzed by 2 examiners. Longitudinal intragroup analyses for marginal bone levels were performed applying the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Intergroup differences at baseline and at 3 y were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. The effect of implant length and crown-to-implant ratio on changes of marginal bone level also was determined. Of 94 implants placed (47 test and 47 control), 78 implants (40 test and 38 control) were available for follow-up examination at 3 y of loading. One test implant was lost during the second year. Hence, implant survival was not significantly different between the 2 groups after 3 y (98% test; 100% control). We found no significant change in the crestal bone level from baseline to 3 y for test and control implants with -0.19 ± 0.62 mm and -0.33 ± 0.71 mm, respectively. The intergroup difference was not significant. Crown-to-implant ratios were not associated with a statistically significant difference in marginal bone loss. However, the number of sites with pockets ≥5 mm was significantly higher in the test group. Based on the 3-y assessment, the use of 6-mm implants can be considered a viable option when reconstructing posterior single tooth gaps (German Clinical Trials Registry: DRKS00006290)

Organic Agriculture

Consumers are increasingly aware of the health- and safety-related implications of the food which they can buy in the market. At the same time, households have become more aware of their environmental responsibilities. Regarding the production of food, a crucial and multifunctional role is played by agriculture. The way vegetables, fruits, and other crops are grown and how livestock is raised has an impact on the environment and landscape. Operations performed by farmers, such as water management, can be dangerous for the soil and the whole ecosystem. Consequently, there is a search for natural ways of sustaining the impact of agriculture on the environment. In this context, one of the most popular ideas is organic agriculture. In the literature on the subject, there are many concepts that some authors consider to be synonymous even as others argue that these terms are not interchangeable. There is, for example, "organic agriculture," "alternative agriculture," "sustainable agriculture," "ecological agriculture," "biological agriculture," "niche farming," "community-supported agriculture," and "integrated pest management." Very often, techniques and products related to organic agriculture are described by marketing experts with the use of abbreviations such as "bio" and "eco." Products with such markings and labels are increasingly popular in stores that often give them separate shelves for their sale. Despite the higher price compared to conventional products, they are increasingly sought by consumers. The entry examines the various impacts of organic agriculture with a view to these trends

Tasting as a social practice: a methodological experiment in making taste public

Based on fieldwork in the UK and Portugal, this paper considers the relationships between cultural analyses of taste and the embodied activity of tasting. As part of a wider project on the multiple ontologies of ‘freshness’, the paper conceptualises taste as an emergent effect of tasting practices. Drawing on evidence from a series of ‘tasting events’ (where research participants were recorded shopping, cooking and eating a meal with friends and family), the paper explores the multiple dimensions of taste concluding that even the most personal and sensory aspects of tasting food involve a social dimension which we interpret through the lens of practice theory. The paper identifies three specific dimensions of tasting as a social practice involving food’s material and visceral qualities; the links between embodiment and emotion; and the contextual significance of family and social relations. Our findings contribute to recent debates about ‘making taste public’, even in the apparently private context of household consumption

Stabilization of mismatch repair gene PMS2 by glycogen synthase kinase 3β is implicated in the treatment of cervical carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>PMS2 expression loss was reported in a variety of human. However, its importance has not been fully understood in cervical carcinoma. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of PMS2 in cervical carcinoma and evaluate the significance of mismatch repair gene PMS2 regulated by glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) in chemosensitivity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined PMS2 and phosphorylated GSK-3β(<it>s</it>9) expression in cervical carcinoma tissues using immunohistochemical staining. Furthermore, we detected PMS2 expression in HeLa cells and evaluate the interaction with GSK-3β after transfection with GSK-3β by small interference RNA (siRNA), co-immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting. We also evaluated the effect of PMS2 transfection on HeLa cells' chemosensitivity to cisplatin treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found significant downregulation of PMS2 in cervical carcinoma, which was negatively associated with phosphorylated GSK-3β (<it>s</it>9). Furthermore, we demonstrated GSK-3β transfection was able to interact with PMS2 and enhance PMS2 production in HeLa cells, and increased PMS2 production was responsible for enhanced chemosensitivity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results provide the evidence that stabilization of PMS2 production by GSK-3β was important to improve chemosensitization, indicating the significance of GSK-3β-related PMS2 downregulation in the development of cervical carcinoma and in developing a potential strategy for chemotherapy.</p

Patients with an unexplained microsatellite instable tumour have a low risk of familial cancer

The cancer risk is unknown for those families in which a microsatellite instable tumour is neither explained by MLH1 promoter methylation nor by a germline mutation in a mismatch repair (MMR) gene. Such information is essential for genetic counselling. Families suspected of Lynch syndrome (n=614) were analysed for microsatellite instability, MLH1 promoter methylation and/or germline mutations in MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2. Characteristics of the 76 families with a germline mutation (24 MLH1, 2 PMS2, 32 MSH2, and 18 MSH6) were compared with those of 18 families with an unexplained microsatellite instable tumour. The mean age at diagnosis of the index patients in both groups was comparable at 44 years. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the loss of an MMR protein. Together this suggests germline inactivation of a known gene. The Amsterdam II criteria were fulfilled in 50/75 families (66%) that carried a germline mutation in an MMR gene and in only 2/18 families (11%) with an unexplained microsatellite instable tumour (P<0.0001). Current diagnostic strategies can detect almost all highly penetrant MMR gene mutations. Patients with an as yet unexplained microsatellite instable tumour likely carry a different type of mutation that confers a lower risk of cancer for relatives