1,199 research outputs found
The analysis of eye-movements in the judgment of enjoyment and non-enjoyment smiles in people with schizophrenia
Research has consistently shown that people with schizophrenia have impairments in emotional facial recognition. This deficit has been associated with irregular visual scanning patterns of the face. Since people have the ability to control the expression of emotion that they display, the communication process becomes more complex. In fact, in addition to processing the emotion expressed, decoders must pay attention to the subtle details about the sincerity of the expression. The goal of the current study was to conduct a systematic examination of the ability and perceptual-attentional mechanisms used in distinguishing enjoyment and non-enjoyment smiles in individuals with schizophrenia. More specifically, the activation of the orbicularis oculi muscle and symmetry was examined. Sixteen individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and sixteen control (no diagnosis of schizophrenia) were asked to judge the sincerity of smiles while their eye movements were recorded. Individuals with schizophrenia were less accurate than controls in judging the no-cheek smile as a non-enjoyment smile. This difficulty could be explained by their bias towards the mouth. Furthermore, like their healthy counterparts, individuals with schizophrenia showed difficulty with the judgement of asymmetric smiles. However, while perceptual processing can be ruled out as an explanation for the difficulty suggesting interpretation problems in control individuals, the former explanation cannot be discredited for individuals with schizophrenia.Master's These
The effects of an experimental programme to support students’ autonomy on the overt behaviours of physical education teachers
Although the benefits of autonomy supportive behaviours are now well established in the literature, very few studies have attempted to train teachers to offer a greater autonomy support to their students. In fact, none of these studies has been carried out in physical education (PE). The purpose of this study is to test the effects of an autonomy-supportive training on overt behaviours of teaching among PE teachers. The experimental group included two PE teachers who were first educated on the benefits of an autonomy supportive style and then followed an individualised guidance programme during the 8 lessons of a teaching cycle. Their behaviours were observed and rated along 3 categories (i.e., autonomy supportive, neutral and controlling) and were subsequently compared to those of three teachers who formed the control condition. The results showed that teachers in the experimental group used more autonomy supportive and neutral behaviours than those in the control group, but no difference emerged in relation to controlling behaviours. We discuss the implications for schools of our findings
The angiotensin II type I receptor contributes to impaired cerebral blood flow autoregulation caused by placental ischemia in pregnant rats
BACKGROUND: Placental ischemia and hypertension, characteristic features of preeclampsia, are associated with impaired cerebral blood flow (CBF) autoregulation and cerebral edema. However, the factors that contribute to these cerebral abnormalities are not clear. Several lines of evidence suggest that angiotensin II can impact cerebrovascular function; however, the role of the renin angiotensin system in cerebrovascular function during placental ischemia has not been examined. We tested whether the angiotensin type 1 (AT1) receptor contributes to impaired CBF autoregulation in pregnant rats with placental ischemia caused by surgically reducing uterine perfusion pressure. METHODS: Placental ischemic or sham operated rats were treated with vehicle or losartan from gestational day (GD) 14 to 19 in the drinking water. On GD 19, we assessed CBF autoregulation in anesthetized rats using laser Doppler flowmetry. RESULTS: Placental ischemic rats had impaired CBF autoregulation that was attenuated by treatment with losartan. In addition, we examined whether an agonistic autoantibody to the AT1 receptor (AT1-AA), reported to be present in preeclamptic women, contributes to impaired CBF autoregulation. Purified rat AT1-AA or vehicle was infused into pregnant rats from GD 12 to 19 via mini-osmotic pumps after which CBF autoregulation was assessed. AT1-AA infusion impaired CBF autoregulation but did not affect brain water content. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the impaired CBF autoregulation associated with placental ischemia is due, at least in part, to activation of the AT1 receptor and that the RAS may interact with other placental factors to promote cerebrovascular changes common to preeclampsia
Scalar field in the Bianchi I: Non commutative classical and Quantum Cosmology
Using the ADM formalism in the minisuperspace, we obtain the commutative and
noncommutative exact classical solutions and exact wave function to the
Wheeler-DeWitt equation with an arbitrary factor ordering, for the anisotropic
Bianchi type I cosmological model, coupled to a scalar field, cosmological term
and barotropic perfect fluid. We introduce noncommutative scale factors,
considering that all minisuperspace variables do not commute, so the
symplectic structure was modified. In the classical regime, it is shown that
the anisotropic parameter and the field , for some
value in the cosmological term and noncommutative
parameter, present a dynamical isotropization up to a critical cosmic time
; after this time, the effects of isotropization in the noncommutative
minisuperspace seems to disappear. In the quantum regimen, the probability
density presents a new structure that corresponds to the value of the
noncommutativity parameter.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, Acepted in IJT
(Non)commutative isotropization in Bianchi I with Barotropic perfect fluid and Cosmological
We present the classical solutions to the Einstein field equations derived
using the WKB-like and Hamilton procedures. The investigation is carried out in
the commutative and noncommutative scenario for the Bianchi type I cosmological
model coupled to barotropic perfect fluid and Cosmological for two
different gauges. Noncommutativity is achieved by modifying the symplectic
structure considering that all minisuperspace variables does not
commute and by a deformation between all the minisuperspace variables. In the
gauge N=1, it is possible to obtain that the anisotropic parameter tend to a constant curvature for large period of time
considering different values in the noncommutative parameters and
cosmological term. However, this behavior give the idea that is necessary
introduce other class of matter in the models, for to have a real
isotropization in the model, such as dark energy or dark matter.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur
Surface and electronic structure of MOCVD-grown Ga(0.92)In(0.08)N investigated by UV and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies
The surface and electronic structure of MOCVD-grown layers of
Ga(0.92)In(0.08)N have been investigated by means of photoemission. An
additional feature at the valence band edge, which can be ascribed to the
presence of In in the layer, has been revealed. A clean (0001)-(1x1) surface
was prepared by argon ion sputtering and annealing. Stability of chemical
composition of the investigated surface subjected to similar ion etching was
proven by means of X-ray photoemission spectroscopy.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
Searching for Gravitational Waves from the Inspiral of Precessing Binary Systems: Astrophysical Expectations and Detection Efficiency of "Spiky'' Templates
Relativistic spin-orbit and spin-spin couplings has been shown to modify the
gravitational waveforms expected from inspiraling binaries with a black hole
and a neutron star. As a result inspiral signals may be missed due to
significant losses in signal-to-noise ratio, if precession effects are ignored
in gravitational-wave searches. We examine the sensitivity of the anticipated
loss of signal-to-noise ratio on two factors: the accuracy of the precessing
waveforms adopted as the true signals and the expected distributions of
spin-orbit tilt angles, given the current understanding of their physical
origin. We find that the results obtained using signals generated by
approximate techniques are in good agreement with the ones obtained by
integrating the 2PN equations. This shows that a complete account of all
high-order post-Newtonian effects is usually not necessary for the
determination of detection efficiencies. Based on our current astrophysical
expectations, large tilt angles are not favored and as a result the decrease in
detection rate varies rather slowly with respect to the black hole spin
magnitude and is within 20--30% of the maximum possible values.Comment: 7 fig., accepted by Phys. Rev. D Minor modification
Expression of the wheat multipathogen resistance hexose transporter Lr67res is associated with anion fluxes
OnlinePublMany disease resistance genes in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) confer strong resistance to specific pathogen races or strains, and only a small number of genes confer multipathogen resistance. The Leaf rust resistance 67 (Lr67) gene fits into the latter category as it confers partial resistance to multiple biotrophic fungal pathogens in wheat and encodes a Sugar Transport Protein 13 (STP13) family hexose-proton symporter variant. Two mutations (G144R, V387L) in the resistant variant, Lr67res, differentiate it from the susceptible Lr67sus variant. The molecular function of the Lr67res protein is not understood, and this study aimed to broaden our knowledge on this topic. Biophysical analysis of the wheat Lr67sus and Lr67res protein variants was performed using Xenopus laevis oocytes as a heterologous expression system. Oocytes injected with Lr67sus displayed properties typically associated with proton-coupled sugar transport proteins—glucose-dependent inward currents, a Km of 110 ± 10 µM glucose, and a substrate selectivity permitting the transport of pentoses and hexoses. By contrast, Lr67res induced much larger sugar-independent inward currents in oocytes, implicating an alternative function. Since Lr67res is a mutated hexose-proton symporter, the possibility of protons underlying these currents was investigated but rejected. Instead, currents in Lr67res oocytes appeared to be dominated by anions. This conclusion was supported by electrophysiology and 36Cl− uptake studies and the similarities with oocytes expressing the known chloride channel from Torpedo marmorata, TmClC-0. This study provides insights into the function of an important disease resistance gene in wheat, which can be used to determine how this gene variant underpins disease resistance in planta.Ricky J. Milne, Katherine E. Dibley, Jayakumar Bose, Anthony R. Ashton, Peter R. Ryan, Stephen D. Tyerman, and Evans S. Laguda
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