5,276 research outputs found
Special Article: Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Childhood
In adults, physical activity and exercise training are associated with reduced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, a reduced likelihood of developing adverse cardiovascular risk factors, and improved insulin sensitivity. In childhood, participation in appropriate physical activity may prevent the development of cardiovascular risk factors in the future and complement treatment of existing cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, and overweight. Exercise in children can also significantly improve insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss. These e fects are mediated in overweight children by increases in lean body mass relative to fat mass and associated improvements in inflammatory mediators, endothelial function, and the associated adverse hormonal milieu
Environmental Quenching of Low-Mass Field Galaxies
In the local Universe, there is a strong division in the star-forming
properties of low-mass galaxies, with star formation largely ubiquitous amongst
the field population while satellite systems are predominantly quenched. This
dichotomy implies that environmental processes play the dominant role in
suppressing star formation within this low-mass regime (). As shown by observations of the Local Volume,
however, there is a non-negligible population of passive systems in the field,
which challenges our understanding of quenching at low masses. By applying the
satellite quenching models of Fillingham et al. (2015) to subhalo populations
in the Exploring the Local Volume In Simulations (ELVIS) suite, we investigate
the role of environmental processes in quenching star formation within the
nearby field. Using model parameters that reproduce the satellite quenched
fraction in the Local Group, we predict a quenched fraction -- due solely to
environmental effects -- of within
of the Milky Way and M31. This is in good agreement with current observations
of the Local Volume and suggests that the majority of the passive field systems
observed at these distances are quenched via environmental mechanisms. Beyond
, however, dwarf galaxy quenching becomes difficult to explain
through an interaction with either the Milky Way or M31, such that more
isolated, field dwarfs may be self-quenched as a result of star-formation
feedback.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, MNRAS accepted version, comments welcome - RIP
Ducky...gone but never forgotte
Noradrenergic induction of odor-specific neural habituation and olfactory memories
For many mammals, individual recognition of conspecifics relies on olfactory cues. Certain individual recognition memories are thought to be stored when conspecific odor cues coincide with surges of noradrenaline (NA) triggered by intensely arousing social events. Such familiar stimuli elicit reduced behavioral responses, a change likely related to NA-dependent plasticity in the olfactory bulb (OB). In addition to its role in these ethological memories, NA signaling in the OB appears to be relevant for the discrimination of more arbitrary odorants as well. Nonetheless, no NA-gated mechanism of long-term plasticity in the OB has ever been directly observed in vivo. Here, we report that NA release from locus ceruleus (LC), when coupled to odor presentation, acts locally in the main OB to cause a specific long-lasting suppression of responses to paired odors. These effects were observed for both food odors and urine, an important social recognition cue. Moreover, in subsequent behavioral tests, mice exhibited habituation to paired urine stimuli, suggesting that this LC-mediated olfactory neural plasticity, induced under anesthesia, can store an individual recognition memory that is observable after recovery
Taking Care of Business in a Flash: Constraining the Timescale for Low-Mass Satellite Quenching with ELVIS
The vast majority of dwarf satellites orbiting the Milky Way and M31 are
quenched, while comparable galaxies in the field are gas-rich and star-forming.
Assuming that this dichotomy is driven by environmental quenching, we use the
ELVIS suite of N-body simulations to constrain the characteristic timescale
upon which satellites must quench following infall into the virial volumes of
their hosts. The high satellite quenched fraction observed in the Local Group
demands an extremely short quenching timescale (~ 2 Gyr) for dwarf satellites
in the mass range Mstar ~ 10^6-10^8 Msun. This quenching timescale is
significantly shorter than that required to explain the quenched fraction of
more massive satellites (~ 8 Gyr), both in the Local Group and in more massive
host halos, suggesting a dramatic change in the dominant satellite quenching
mechanism at Mstar < 10^8 Msun. Combining our work with the results of
complementary analyses in the literature, we conclude that the suppression of
star formation in massive satellites (Mstar ~ 10^8 - 10^11 Msun) is broadly
consistent with being driven by starvation, such that the satellite quenching
timescale corresponds to the cold gas depletion time. Below a critical stellar
mass scale of ~ 10^8 Msun, however, the required quenching times are much
shorter than the expected cold gas depletion times. Instead, quenching must act
on a timescale comparable to the dynamical time of the host halo. We posit that
ram-pressure stripping can naturally explain this behavior, with the critical
mass (of Mstar ~ 10^8 Msun) corresponding to halos with gravitational restoring
forces that are too weak to overcome the drag force encountered when moving
through an extended, hot circumgalactic medium.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures; resubmitted to MNRAS after referee report
(August 25, 2015
The Portfolio Pension Plan: An Alternative Model for Retirement Security
This chapter describes a proposed new defined benefit (DB) pension design known as a portfolio pension plan. This design falls within a larger category of so-called ‘shared risk’ pension plans. In the United States, shared risk pension plans address a need created by the limitations of existing retirement plan designs. An alternative to existing designs is needed because DB plans to date have concentrated risk on plan sponsors in a way that makes them financially unsustainable in many, if not most, circumstances. Moreover, existing defined contribution (DC) retirement plans impose risk on employees in a way that is challenging for most individuals to manage. In the past, many employers shared risk with employees by providing both a DB and a DC plan. Nevertheless, this chapter argues that a new model can provide an alternative that better serves employers and employees in the United States
Diversification and hybridization in firm knowledge bases in nanotechnologies
The paper investigates the linkages between the characteristics of
technologies and the structure of a firms' knowledge base. Nanotechnologies
have been defined as converging technologies that operate at the nanoscale, and
which require integration to fulfill their economic promises. Based on a
worldwide database of nanofirms, the paper analyses the degree of convergence
and the convergence mechanisms within firms. It argues that the degree of
convergence in a firm's nano-knowledge base is relatively independent from the
size of the firm's nano-knowledge base. However, while firms with small
nano-knowledge bases tend to exploit convergence in each of their
patents/publications, firms with large nano-knowledge bases tend to separate
their nano-R&D activities in the different established fields and achieve
diversity through the juxtaposition of the output of these independent
activitie
Under Pressure: Quenching Star Formation in Low-Mass Satellite Galaxies via Stripping
Recent studies of galaxies in the local Universe, including those in the
Local Group, find that the efficiency of environmental (or satellite) quenching
increases dramatically at satellite stellar masses below ~ . This suggests a physical scale where quenching transitions from a
slow "starvation" mode to a rapid "stripping" mode at low masses. We
investigate the plausibility of this scenario using observed HI surface density
profiles for a sample of 66 nearby galaxies as inputs to analytic calculations
of ram-pressure and viscous stripping. Across a broad range of host properties,
we find that stripping becomes increasingly effective at $M_{*} < 10^{8-9}\
{\rm M}_{\odot}n_{\rm halo} <
10^{-3.5}{\rm cm}^{-3}$), we find that stripping is not fully effective;
infalling satellites are, on average, stripped of < 40 - 70% of their cold gas
reservoir, which is insufficient to match observations. By including a host
halo gas distribution that is clumpy and therefore contains regions of higher
density, we are able to reproduce the observed HI gas fractions (and thus the
high quenched fraction and short quenching timescale) of Local Group
satellites, suggesting that a host halo with clumpy gas may be crucial for
quenching low-mass systems in Local Group-like (and more massive) host halos.Comment: updated version after review, now accepted to MNRAS; Accepted 2016
August 22. Received 2016 August 18; in original form 2016 June 2
Exploring the cultural aspects of compassion in nursing care: a comparative study of Greece and Cyprus
Introduction: It is important to consider the concept of compassionate care within a cultural context in terms of how it might be perceived and demonstrated in practice. People may vary in what constitutes suffering due to variations in their values, culture, needs and understanding. In this paper we report on the findings from data collected from Greek and Greek-Cypriot Nurses during a study which sought to explore similarities and differences between the two countries with regard to perceptions of compassion.
Methods: This is an exploratory, cross-sectional descriptive study. The data discussed within this paper have been extracted from a large scale on-line survey involving 15 countries. Greek-Cypriot participants were recruited through local professional organizations and university/college student associations. In Greece, participants were recruited through university associations and social networks. Participants were emailed a link to the survey which was completed on-line. The research tool consisted of 10 open and closed questions.
Results: Many similarities were identified between the two groups following their response to the survey, although some small differences were also identified. From the findings of the qualitative data, 3 main themes emerged for both groups of nurses: compassionate communication; awareness of needs; and kindness, whilst a fourth theme was also identified applying mostly to the Greek nurses with regard to factors which might hinder compassion and referring mainly to the effects of economic crisis.
Discussion: A number of similarities were identified between the two countries and both countries reported feeling that compassion in nursing is very important, and also stating that they themselves received little compassion from management. However, despite similarities in the perceptions of Greek and Greek-Cypriot nurses, some differences were also identified. Furthermore, our study revealed a greater number of Greek nurses reporting effects of austerity.
Conclusion: Greek and Greek Cypriot nurses may differ on how they define compassion but their practical expressions on compassion are very similar. Both countries felt that their own experiences of compassion were most likely to come from colleagues or patients, and most unlikely to come from their managers. There is an urgent need for compassionate leaders within their public health care systems, who will develop organizational cultures which nurture and sustain compassion. This is particularly evident in the case of Greece where we identified a larger number of nurses reporting restraints due to financial crisis
Effect of religiosity/spirituality and sense of coherence on depression within a rural population in Greece: the Spili III project
Background: Recent research has addressed the hypothesis that religiosity/spirituality and sense of coherence buffer the negative effects of stress on numerous health issues. The aim of the current study was to further this work by exploring potential links between psycho-social factors such as religiosity/ spirituality and sense of coherence with depression.
Methods: A total of 220 subjects of the SPILI III cohort (1988-2012) attending a primary care setting in the town of Spili on rural Crete represented the target group. All participants underwent a standardized procedure. Validated questionnaires were used to evaluate sense of coherence, depression levels and religious and spiritual beliefs. A multiple linear regression analysis of the Beck Depression Inventory Scale (BDI) in relation to demographic characteristics, scores on the Royal Free Interview for Spiritual and Religious Beliefs scale (RFI-SRB) and Sense of Coherence scale (SOC) was used.
Results: A significant inverse association was found between BDI and RFI-SRB scale (B-coef=-0.6999, p<0.001), as well as among BDI and SOC scale (B-coef=-0.556, p<0.001).
Conclusions: The findings of the current observational study indicate that highly religious participants are less likely to score high in the depression scale. Furthermore, participants with high SOC scored significantly low in the BDI scale. Further research is required in order to explore the potential effect of SOC and religiosity/spirituality in mental health
Fractal-like Distributions over the Rational Numbers in High-throughput Biological and Clinical Data
Recent developments in extracting and processing biological and clinical data are allowing quantitative approaches to studying living systems. High-throughput sequencing, expression profiles, proteomics, and electronic health records are some examples of such technologies. Extracting meaningful information from those technologies requires careful analysis of the large volumes of data they produce. In this note, we present a set of distributions that commonly appear in the analysis of such data. These distributions present some interesting features: they are discontinuous in the rational numbers, but continuous in the irrational numbers, and possess a certain self-similar (fractal-like) structure. The first set of examples which we present here are drawn from a high-throughput sequencing experiment. Here, the self-similar distributions appear as part of the evaluation of the error rate of the sequencing technology and the identification of tumorogenic genomic alterations. The other examples are obtained from risk factor evaluation and analysis of relative disease prevalence and co-mordbidity as these appear in electronic clinical data. The distributions are also relevant to identification of subclonal populations in tumors and the study of the evolution of infectious diseases, and more precisely the study of quasi-species and intrahost diversity of viral populations
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