Self-determination theory and exercise performance for individuals with autism.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to demonstrate low levels of physical activity and exercise when compared to their developing peers. Low physical activity levels are associated with multiple factors, including lack of understanding of how to perform exercise movements and low intrinsic motivation. Token economy reward systems have shown to be practical in behavior analysis for changing behaviors however, there is limited research on the effects of token economy reward systems in an exercise setting. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a token economy board combined with self-determination theory (SDT) on the exercise performance of two individuals with ASD. Methods: Two participants with ASD between the ages of 13 and 17 were enrolled in a 6-week weight-lifting exercise program. Participants’ muscular endurance was measured using the DXP Deluxe Chest Press Machine and the Leg Extension Machine, following the pre-established Holten Curve formula, and cardiovascular endurance was monitored using the IHT Spirit Classroom Reader heart monitors. A token-economy board was used to indicate the number of repetitions completed. A single case changing-criterion design was used to guide data collection by obtaining initial baseline observations on target behaviors and implementing stepwise changes in target behaviors during each treatment phase. Both participants successfully completed each established exercise goal during each criterion phase and showed a marked improvement in muscular endurance when compared to baseline. Results suggest a positive association between participants’ completion of established exercise goals and the implementation of SDT

Reproductive Biology of the Violet-Chested Hummingbird in Venezuela and Comparisons with Other Tropical and Temperate Hummingbirds

We provide details on the breeding biology of the Violet-chested Hummingbird (Sternoclyta cyanopectus) based on 67 nests studied in Yacambu National Park, Venezuela, from 2002 through 2006. Clutch size was two white eggs, usually laid every other day. Fresh egg mass (0.95 +/- 0.14 g) was 15% of female mass. Incubation and nestling periods were 20.4 +/- 0.3 and 26.0 +/- 0.4 days, respectively. Nest attentiveness increased from 60% in early incubation to 68% in late incubation. The female spent 50% of her time brooding young nestlings, but ceased brooding by 13 days of age. Only the female fed the young, with a low rate of nest visitation (3.3 trips per hour) that did not increase with age of the young. Growth rate based on nestling mass (K = 0.28) was slow. Daily predation rates decreased across stages and were 0.064 +/- 0.044, 0.033 +/- 0.008, and 0.020 +/- 0.006 during the egg-laying, incubation, and nestling periods, respectively. Most, but not all, life history traits of the Violet-chested Hummingbird were similar to those reported for other tropical and temperate hummingbirds, providing further evidence that this family shows a relatively narrow range of life history variation

Aspectos modificatorios de la Ley N° 31110 Ley del Régimen Laboral Agrario y la Ley 27360 y su efecto en los resultados económicos de las empresas Inca Verde del Perú SAC y Frutos del Norte SAC, La Libertad 2021-2022

Con la promulgación de la Nueva Ley 31110 se buscó generar una mayor estabilidad social con la cual se buscaba generar una mejora en las condiciones de vida de aquellos trabajadores que pertenecen a este tan amplio sector económico y también buscamos diferenciar los diversos beneficios por empresas y así que ésta grave en mayor proporción a las grandes compañías. Por lo cual se buscó mediante el desarrollo del presente trabajo de investigación encontrar mayores diferencias entre la deroga Ley 27360 y la actual, así como realizar una descripción del sector MYPE Agroindustrial y un análisis cuantitativo de los beneficios laborales y tributarios para de esa manera poder determinar el efecto en los resultados económicos en las empresas en estudio. Donde se logró determinar que a la fecha se tiene un mayor impacto de los beneficios laborales resaltando entre ellos el Bono BETA, el cual a ocasionado un incremento en gastos administrativos por la aplicación de éstos y que por el lado tributario a la fecha no se tiene mayores impactos sobre el cual se realizaron proyecciones verificando que a largo plazo el impacto generará un mayor crédito el cual compensaría en mayor medida las ganancias esperadas a futuro

Influence of ruminal degradable intake protein restriction on characteristics of digestion and growth performance of feedlot cattle during the late finishing phase.

Two trials were conducted to evaluate the influence of supplemental urea withdrawal on characteristics of digestion (Trial 1) and growth performance (Trial 2) of feedlot cattle during the last 40 days on feed. Treatments consisted of a steam-flaked corn-based finishing diet supplemented with urea to provide urea fermentation potential (UFP) of 0, 0.6, and 1.2%. In Trial 1, six Holstein steers (160 ± 10 kg) with cannulas in the rumen and proximal duodenum were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square experiment. Decreasing supplemental urea decreased (linear effect, P ≤ 0.05) ruminal OM digestion. This effect was mediated by decreases (linear effect, P ≤ 0.05) in ruminal digestibility of NDF and N. Passage of non-ammonia and microbial N (MN) to the small intestine decreased (linear effect, P = 0.04) with decreasing dietary urea level. Total tract digestion of OM (linear effect, P = 0.06), NDF (linear effect, P = 0.07), N (linear effect, P = 0.04) and dietary DE (linear effect, P = 0.05) decreased with decreasing urea level. Treatment effects on total tract starch digestion, although numerically small, likewise tended (linear effect, P = 0.11) to decrease with decreasing urea level. Decreased fiber digestion accounted for 51% of the variation in OM digestion. Ruminal pH was not affected by treatments averaging 5.82. Decreasing urea level decreased (linear effect, P ≤ 0.05) ruminal N-NH and blood urea nitrogen. In Trial 2, 90 crossbred steers (468 kg ± 8), were used in a 40 d feeding trial (5 steers/pen, 6 pens/ treatment) to evaluate treatment effects on final-phase growth performance. Decreasing urea level did not affect DMI, but decreased (linear effect, P ≤ 0.03) ADG, gain efficiency, and dietary NE. It is concluded that in addition to effects on metabolizable amino acid flow to the small intestine, depriving cattle of otherwise ruminally degradable N (RDP) during the late finishing phase may negatively impact site and extent of digestion of OM, depressing ADG, gain efficiency, and dietary NE

7. Habitat Use and Home Range of Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) in North Georgia Piedmont

The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is a terrestrial species native to the eastern United States. Eastern Box Turtles are experiencing range-wide population decline and are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Despite this, little research has been conducted regarding home range and habitat use in the Southeastern US. Therefore, since May 2013, we have conducted a radiotelemetry study to investigate factors that influence Box Turtle movement, habitat use, and survival in the Northeastern Piedmont region of Georgia. The study site is composed of mixed hardwood-pine uplands primarily comprised of oaks and maples, mesic and upland areas dominated by Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), beaver-created wetland, and maintained utility line areas. Our research includes 21 radio-transmitted turtles that are tracked on foot by homing 1-2 times a week. From spring 2013 to winter 2017, an average of 74 radiolocations (range: 6 to 166) per turtle were collected. Home ranges (100% minimum convex polygon) varied from less than 1 to over 6 ha. Radiotracked turtles primarily used mixed-upland areas and areas dominated by Chinese privet. The assessment of habitat use and home ranges will continue throughout 2017 with tracking and further data analysis. Keywords: Terrapene carolina carolina, radiotelemetry, home range, habitat use, Ligustrum sinens

The influence of body orientation relative to gravity on egocentric distance estimates in immersive virtual environments

Virtual reality head mounted displays (VR-HMD) are a flexible tool that can immerse individuals into a variety of virtual environments and can account for an individuals head orientation within these environments. Additionally, VR-HMD’s can allow participants to explore environments while maintaining different body positions (e.g sitting, and laying down). How these discrepancies between real world body position and virtual environment impact the perception of virtual space or, additionally, how a visual upright with incongruent changes in head orientation affects space perception within VR has not been fully defined. In this study we hoped to further understand how changes in orientation (laying supine, laying prone, laying on left side and, being upright) while a steady visual virtual upright (presented in the Oculus Rift DK1) is maintained can effect the perception of distance. We used a new psychophysics perceptual matching based approach with two different probe configurations (L- and T shape) in order to extract distance perception thresholds in the four previously mentioned positions at egocentric distances of 4, 5, and,6 meters. Our results indicate that changes in orientation with respect to gravity impact the perception of distances within a virtual environment when it is maintained at a visual upright. Particularly we found significant differences between perceived distances in the upright condition compared to the prone and laying on left side positions. Additionally, we found that distance perception results were impacted by differences in probe configuration. Our results add to a body of work looking at how changes in head and body orientation can affect the perception of distance, however, more research is needed in order to fully understand how these changes with respect to gravity are affecting the perception of space within these virtual environments

Chocolate, Air Pollution and Children's Neuroprotection: What Cognition Tools should be at Hand to Evaluate Interventions?

Indexación: Web of ScienceMillions of children across the world are exposed to multiple sources of indoor and outdoor air pollutants, including high concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O-3). The established link between exposure to PM2.5, brain structural, volumetric and metabolic changes, severe cognitive deficits (1.5-2 SD from average IQ) in APOE 4 heterozygous females with >75 - <94% BMI percentiles, and the presence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) hallmarks in urban children and young adults necessitates exploration of ways to protect these individuals from the deleterious neural effects of pollution exposure. Emerging research suggests that cocoa interventions may be a viable option for neuroprotection, with evidence suggesting that early cocoa interventions could limit the risk of cognitive and developmental concerns including: endothelial dysfunction, cerebral hypoperfusion, neuroinflammation, and metabolic detrimental brain effects. Currently, however, it is not clear how early we should implement consumption of cocoa to optimize its neuroprotective effects. Moreover, we have yet to identify suitable instruments for evaluating cognitive responses to these interventions in clinically healthy children, teens, and young adults. An approach to guide the selection of cognitive tools should take into account neuropsychological markers of cognitive declines in patients with Alzheimer's neuropathology, the distinct patterns of memory impairment between early and late onset AD, and the key literature associating white matter integrity and poor memory binding performance in cases of asymptomatic familial AD. We highlight potential systemic and neural benefits of cocoa consumption. We also highlight Working Memory Capacity (WMC) and attention control tasks as opened avenues for exploration in the air pollution scenario. Exposures to air pollutants during brain development have serious brain consequences in the short and long term and reliable cognition tools should be at hand to evaluate interventions.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphar.2016.00232/ful

Carbon storage and stability of soil organic matter in a coffee agroecosystem in Sierra Sur de Oaxaca, Mexico

We evaluated the ability of the soils in a shade coffee agroecosystem under different handling conditions to accumulate stable forms of carbon in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca, for this we quantify the soil carbon store and performed the isolation and chemical characterization of soil organic matter by chemical fractionation, UVvisible and infrared spectroscopy in the first 40 cm depth. Results showed no significant differences in carbon stores between handling conditions, reaching mean values 150 Mg C ha-1 . Humification patterns are consistent for all soils and indicate that over 50% of soil organic matter found in the insolubilization humins and between 15 and 20% are humic acids. This fraction, presumably the most stable, is made up of molecules whose aromatic and maturation has a positive relationship with increasing altitude and clay content. According to the above confirms the ability of shade-coffee agroecosystems to accumulate high carbon content associated with stable forms of soil mineral fraction.Se evaluó la capacidad de los suelos de un agroecosistema cafetalero de sombra bajo diferentes condiciones de manejo para acumular formas estables de carbono, en la Sierra Sur de Oaxaca; para ello, se cuantificó el almacén de carbono edáfico y se realizó el aislamiento y caracterización química de la materia orgánica del suelo mediante fraccionamiento químico, espectroscopía UV-visible e infrarroja en los primeros 40 cm de profundidad. Los resultaron no mostraron diferencias significativas para los almacenes de carbono entre condiciones de manejo, situándose en valores promedio de 150 Mg C ha-1. Los patrones de humificación son consistentes para todos los suelos e indican que más del 50 % de la materia orgánica del suelo se encuentra en las huminas de insolubilización y entre el 15 y 20 % corresponde a los ácidos húmicos. Esta fracción, presumiblemente la más estable, está conformada por moléculas cuya aromaticidad y maduración tiene una relación positiva con el incremento de altitud y el contenido de arcillas en el suelo. De acuerdo a lo anterior se corrobora la capacidad de los agroecosistemas cafetaleros bajo sombra para acumular elevados contenidos de carbono en formas estables asociadas con la fracción mineral del suelo.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, UNA