1,420 research outputs found
Turning to art as a positive way of living with cancer: A qualitative study of personal motives and contextual influences
Why do some women turn to creative art-making after a diagnosis of cancer? Eleven women provided qualitative accounts that were analyzed following guidelines for interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Some described taking up artistic leisure activities initially in order to manage emotional distress. Others emphasized their need for positive well-being, taking up art to experience achievement and satisfaction, to regain a positive identity, and to normalize family dynamics in the context of living with cancer. Participantsâ turn to art-making was facilitated by biographical and contextual factors, including pre-existing craft skills, long-standing personal values and coping philosophies, family role models for managing adversity, and the supportive encouragement of family and friends. Other research has acknowledged that positive lifestyle change and post-traumatic growth can occur after a cancer diagnosis, and this study reveals a multi-faceted process. The findings suggest a need for further research into the experiences that facilitate positive lifestyle change and subjective well-being among people who are living with cancer
Assessment of regional asymmetry of the face before and after surgical correction of unilateral cleft lip
This study was carried out on 26 unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) cases with mean age 3.6 ± 0.7 months.3D facial images were captured for each infant 2â3 days before the repair of cleft lip and at 4 months following surgery at a mean age of 8.2 ± 1.8 months, using a stereophotogrammetry imaging system. An iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm was used to superimpose the 3D facial model to its mirror image using VRMesh software. After the superimposition, the face model was divided into seven anatomical regions. Asymmetry of the entire face and of the anatomical regions was calculated by measuring the absolute distances between the 3D facial surface model and its mirror image. Colour maps were used to illustrate the patterns and magnitude of the facial asymmetry before and after surgery. There were significant decreases in the asymmetry scores for the nose, upper lip and the cheeks as a result of the surgical repair of cleft lips. Surgery did not change the magnitude of the asymmetry scores for the lower lip and chin.
The main outcome of the findings of this innovative study is to inform the required surgical refinement of primary repair of cleft lip in order to minimise facial asymmetry and to guide secondary corrective surgery. We have presented a sensitive tool that could be used for comparative analysis of lip repair at various cleft centres
The Regulatory Network for Petal Anthocyanin Pigmentation is Shaped by the MYB5a/NEGAN Transcription Factor in Mimulus
Much of the visual diversity of angiosperms is due to the frequent evolution of novel pigmentation patterns in flowers. The gene network responsible for anthocyanin pigmentation, in particular, has become a model for investigating how genetic changes give rise to phenotypic innovation. In the monkeyflower genus Mimulus, an evolutionarily recent gain of petal lobe anthocyanin pigmentation in M. luteus var. variegatus was previously mapped to genomic region pla2. Here, we use sequence and expression analysis, followed by transgenic manipulation of gene expression, to identify MYB5aâorthologous to the NEGAN transcriptional activator from M. lewisiiâas the gene responsible for the transition to anthocyanin-pigmented petals in M. l. variegatus. In other monkeyflower taxa, MYB5a/NEGAN is part of a reaction-diffusion network that produces semi-repeating spotting patterns, such as the array of spots in the nectar guides of both M. lewisii and M. guttatus. Its co-option for the evolution of an apparently non-patterned traitâthe solid petal lobe pigmentation of M. l. variegatusâillustrates how reaction-diffusion can contribute to evolutionary novelty in non-obvious ways. Transcriptome sequencing of a MYB5a RNAi line of M. l. variegatus reveals that this genetically simple change, which we hypothesize to be a regulatory mutation in cis to MYB5a, has cascading effects on gene expression, not only on the enzyme-encoding genes traditionally thought of as the targets of MYB5a but also on all of its known partners in the anthocyanin regulatory network
Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs
The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day dog lineage (Canis familiaris) lived1-8. Here we analysed 72 ancient wolf genomes spanning the last 100,000 years from Europe, Siberia and North America. We found that wolf populations were highly connected throughout the Late Pleistocene, with levels of differentiation an order of magnitude lower than they are today. This population connectivity allowed us to detect natural selection across the time series, including rapid fixation of mutations in the gene IFT88 40,000-30,000 years ago. We show that dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia than to those from western Eurasia, suggesting a domestication process in the east. However, we also found that dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves, reflecting either an independent domestication process or admixture from local wolves. None of the analysed ancient wolf genomes is a direct match for either of these dog ancestries, meaning that the exact progenitor populations remain to be located
Validity and responsiveness to change of the Active Australia Survey according to gender, age, BMI, education, and physical activity level and awareness
© 2019 The Author(s). Background: This study aimed to investigate the validity of the Active Australia Survey across different subgroups and its responsiveness to change, as few previous studies have examined this. Methods: The Active Australia Survey was validated against the ActiGraph as an objective measure of physical activity. Participants (n = 465) wore the ActiGraph for 7 days and subsequently completed the Active Australia Survey. Moderate activity, vigorous activity and total moderate and vigorous physical activity were compared using Spearman rank-order correlations. Changes in physical activity between baseline and 3-month assessments were correlated to examine responsiveness to change. The data were stratified to assess outcomes according to different subgroups (e.g., gender, age, weight, activity levels). Results: With regards to the validity, a significant correlation of Ï = 0.19 was found for moderate physical activity, Ï = 0.33 for vigorous physical activity and Ï = 0.23 for moderate and vigorous physical activity combined. For vigorous physical activity correlations were higher than 0.3 for most subgroups, whereas they were only higher than 0.3 in those with a healthy weight for the other activity outcomes. With regards to responsiveness to change, a correlation of Ï = 0.32 was found for moderate physical activity, Ï = 0.19 for vigorous physical activity and Ï = 0.35 for moderate and vigorous physical activity combined. For moderate and vigorous activity combined correlations were higher than 0.4 for several subgroups, but never for vigorous physical activity. Conclusions: Little evidence for the validity of Active Australia Survey was found, although the responsiveness to change was acceptable for several subgroups. Findings from studies using the Active Australia Survey should be interpreted with caution. Trial registration: World Health Organisation Universal Trial Number: U111-1119-1755. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000157976. Registration date: 8 March 2011
Review of biorthogonal coupled cluster representations for electronic excitation
Single reference coupled-cluster (CC) methods for electronic excitation are
based on a biorthogonal representation (bCC) of the (shifted) Hamiltonian in
terms of excited CC states, also referred to as correlated excited (CE) states,
and an associated set of states biorthogonal to the CE states, the latter being
essentially configuration interaction (CI) configurations. The bCC
representation generates a non-hermitian secular matrix, the eigenvalues
representing excitation energies, while the corresponding spectral intensities
are to be derived from both the left and right eigenvectors. Using the
perspective of the bCC representation, a systematic and comprehensive analysis
of the excited-state CC methods is given, extending and generalizing previous
such studies. Here, the essential topics are the truncation error
characteristics and the separability properties, the latter being crucial for
designing size-consistent approximation schemes. Based on the general order
relations for the bCC secular matrix and the (left and right) eigenvector
matrices, formulas for the perturbation-theoretical (PT) order of the
truncation errors (TEO) are derived for energies, transition moments, and
property matrix elements of arbitrary excitation classes and truncation levels.
In the analysis of the separability properties of the transition moments, the
decisive role of the so-called dual ground state is revealed. Due to the use of
CE states the bCC approach can be compared to so-called intermediate state
representation (ISR) methods based exclusively on suitably orthonormalized CE
states. As the present analysis shows, the bCC approach has decisive advantages
over the conventional CI treatment, but also distinctly weaker TEO and
separability properties in comparison with a full (and hermitian) ISR method
The Bivariate Rogers-Szeg\"{o} Polynomials
We present an operator approach to deriving Mehler's formula and the Rogers
formula for the bivariate Rogers-Szeg\"{o} polynomials . The proof
of Mehler's formula can be considered as a new approach to the nonsymmetric
Poisson kernel formula for the continuous big -Hermite polynomials
due to Askey, Rahman and Suslov. Mehler's formula for
involves a sum and the Rogers formula involves a sum.
The proofs of these results are based on parameter augmentation with respect to
the -exponential operator and the homogeneous -shift operator in two
variables. By extending recent results on the Rogers-Szeg\"{o} polynomials
due to Hou, Lascoux and Mu, we obtain another Rogers-type formula
for . Finally, we give a change of base formula for
which can be used to evaluate some integrals by using the Askey-Wilson
integral.Comment: 16 pages, revised version, to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theo
Sociobehavioural Research Methods for the Introduction of Vaccines in the Diseases of the Most Impoverished Programme
Participation in vaccination campaigns worldwide, particularly the
Expanded Programme on Immunization, has increased significantly in
recent years. However, there remain multiple and integrated
behavioural, sociocultural and political-economic barriers to
vaccination. The Diseases of the Most Impoverished (DOMI) Programme has
undertaken shigellosis disease-burden studies and oral cholera and
typhoid Vi polysaccharide vaccine trials in seven Asian countries. As
part of these projects, sociobehavioural studies have been undertaken
to determine the potential demand for vaccines for these diseases and
the obstacles and enabling factors that may affect acceptance,
delivery, and use of vaccines. A theoretical model of acceptance of
vaccination and a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods
have been used for fully elucidating the range of issues relating to
vaccination for shigellosis, cholera, and typhoid fever. In this paper,
the theoretical and methodological basis of the DOMI projects has been
reviewed in a context of current sociobehavioural research on the
acceptability and desirability of vaccination
Exploring patterns of recurrent melanoma in Northeast Scotland to inform the introduction a digital self-examination intervention
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs
The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day dog lineage (Canis familiaris) lived1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Here we analysed 72 ancient wolf genomes spanning the last 100,000 years from Europe, Siberia and North America. We found that wolf populations were highly connected throughout the Late Pleistocene, with levels of differentiation an order of magnitude lower than they are today. This population connectivity allowed us to detect natural selection across the time series, including rapid fixation of mutations in the gene IFT88 40,000â30,000 years ago. We show that dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia than to those from western Eurasia, suggesting a domestication process in the east. However, we also found that dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves, reflecting either an independent domestication process or admixture from local wolves. None of the analysed ancient wolf genomes is a direct match for either of these dog ancestries, meaning that the exact progenitor populations remain to be located.European Research CouncilWellcome TrustMarie SkĆodowska-Curie grantRoyal Irish Academyet al
- âŠ