12,161 research outputs found
Natural recovery of genetic diversity by gene flow in reforested areas of the endemic Canary Island pine, Pinus canariensis
The endemic pine, Pinus canariensis, forms one of the main forest ecosystems
in the Canary Islands. In this archipelago, pine forest is a mosaic of natural
stands (remnants of past forest overexploitation) and artificial stands planted
from the 1940's. The genetic makeup of the artificially regenerated forest is
of some concern. The use of reproductive material with uncontrolled origin or
from a reduced number of parental trees may produce stands ill adapted to local
conditions or unable to adapt in response to environmental change. The genetic
diversity within a transect of reforested stands connecting two natural forest
fragments has been studied with nuclear and chloroplast microsatellites. Little
genetic differentiation and similar levels of genetic diversity to the
surrounding natural stands were found for nuclear markers. However, chloroplast
microsatellites presented lower haplotype diversity in reforested stands, and
this may be a consequence of the lower effective population size of the
chloroplast genome, meaning chloroplast markers have a higher sensitivity to
bottlenecks. Understory natural regeneration within the reforestation was also
analysed to study gene flow from natural forest into artificial stands.
Estimates of immigration rate into artificially regenerated forest were high
(0.68-0.75), producing a significant increase of genetic diversity (both in
chloroplast and nuclear microsatellites), which indicates the capacity for
genetic recovery for P. canariensis reforestations surrounded by larger natural
stands
Antismoking campaignsâ perception and gender differences: a comparison among EEG Indices
Human factorsâ aim is to understand and evaluate the interactions between people and tasks, technologies, and environment. Among human factors, it is possible then to include the subjective reaction to external stimuli, due to individualâs characteristics and states of mind. These processes are also involved in the perception of antismoking public service announcements (PSAs), the main tool for governments to contrast the first cause of preventable deaths in the world: tobacco addiction. In the light of that, in the present article, it has been investigated through the comparison of different electroencephalographic (EEG) indices a typical item known to be able of influencing PSA perception, that is gender. In order to investigate the neurophysiological underpinnings of such different perception, we tested two PSAs: one with a female character and one with a male character. Furthermore, the experimental sample was divided into men and women, as well as smokers and nonsmokers. The employed EEG indices were the mental engagement (ME: the ratio between beta activity and the sum of alpha and theta activity); the approach/withdrawal (AW: the frontal alpha asymmetry in the alpha band); and the frontal theta activity and the spectral asymmetry index (SASI: the ratio between beta minus theta and beta plus theta). Results suggested that the ME and the AW presented an opposite trend, with smokers showing higher ME and lower AW than nonsmokers. The ME and the frontal theta also evidenced a statistically significant interaction between the kind of the PSA and the gender of the observers; specifically, women showed higher ME and frontal theta activity for the male character PSA. This study then supports the usefulness of the ME and frontal theta for purposes of PSAs targeting on the basis of gender issues and of the ME and the AW and for purposes of PSAs targeting on the basis of smoking habits
Neurophysiological Profile of Antismoking Campaigns
Over the past few decades, antismoking public service announcements (PSAs) have been used by governments to promote healthy
behaviours in citizens, for instance, against drinking before the drive and against smoke. Effectiveness of such PSAs has been
suggested especially for young persons. By now, PSAs efficacy is still mainly assessed through traditional methods (questionnaires
and metrics) and could be performed only after the PSAs broadcasting, leading to waste of economic resources and time in the
case of Ineffective PSAs. One possible countermeasure to such ineffective use of PSAs could be promoted by the evaluation of the
cerebral reaction to the PSA of particular segments of population (e.g., old, young, and heavy smokers). In addition, it is crucial to
gather such cerebral activity in front of PSAs that have been assessed to be effective against smoke (Effective PSAs), comparing
results to the cerebral reactions to PSAs that have been certified to be not effective (Ineffective PSAs). &e eventual differences
between the cerebral responses toward the two PSA groups will provide crucial information about the possible outcome of new
PSAs before to its broadcasting. &is study focused on adult population, by investigating the cerebral reaction to the vision of
different PSA images, which have already been shown to be Effective and Ineffective for the promotion of an antismoking
behaviour. Results showed how variables as gender and smoking habits can influence the perception of PSA images, and how
different communication styles of the antismoking campaigns could facilitate the comprehension of PSAâs message and then
enhance the related impac
Neurophysiological Responses to Different Product Experiences
It is well known that the evaluation of a product from the shelf considers the simultaneous cerebral and emotional evaluation of
the different qualities of the product such as its colour, the eventual images shown, and the envelopeâs texture (hereafter all
included in the term âproduct experienceâ). However, the measurement of cerebral and emotional reactions during the interaction
with food products has not been investigated in depth in specialized literature. (e aim of this paper was to investigate
such reactions by the EEG and the autonomic activities, as elicited by the cross-sensory interaction (sight and touch) across several
different products. In addition, we investigated whether (i) the brand (Major Brand or Private Label), (ii) the familiarity (Foreign
or Local Brand), and (iii) the hedonic value of products (Comfort Food or Daily Food) influenced the reaction of a group of
volunteers during their interaction with the products. Results showed statistically significantly higher tendency of cerebral
approach (as indexed by EEG frontal alpha asymmetry) in response to comfort food during the visual exploration and the visual
and tactile exploration phases. Furthermore, for the same index, a higher tendency of approach has been found toward foreign
food products in comparison with local food products during the visual and tactile exploration phase. Finally, the same
comparison performed on a different index (EEG frontal theta) showed higher mental effort during the interaction with foreign
products during the visual exploration and the visual and tactile exploration phases. Results from the present study could deepen
the knowledge on the neurophysiological response to food products characterized by different nature in terms of hedonic value
familiarity; moreover, they could have implications for food marketers and finally lead to further study on how people make food
choices through the interactions with their commercial envelope
Diversity as Width
It is argued that if the population of options is a finite poset, diversity comparisons may be conveniently based on widths i.e. on the respective maximum numbers of pairwise incomparable options included in the relevant subposets. The width-ranking and the undominated width-ranking are introduced and characterized
Dennettâs Theory of the Folk Theory of Consciousness
It is not uncommon to find assumptions being made about folk psychology in the discussions of phenomenal consciousness in philosophy of mind. In this article I consider one example, focusing on what Dan Dennett says about the âfolk theory of consciousness.â I show that he holds that the folk believe that qualities like colors that we are acquainted with in ordinary perception are phenomenal qualities. Nonetheless, the shape of the folk theory is an empirical matter and in the absence of empirical investigation there is ample room for doubt. Fortunately, experimental evidence on the topic is now being produced by experimental philosophers and psychologists. This article contributes to this growing literature, presenting the results of six new studies on the folk view of colors and pains. I argue that the results indicate against Dennettâs theory of the folk theory of consciousness
A fast solver for linear systems with displacement structure
We describe a fast solver for linear systems with reconstructable Cauchy-like
structure, which requires O(rn^2) floating point operations and O(rn) memory
locations, where n is the size of the matrix and r its displacement rank. The
solver is based on the application of the generalized Schur algorithm to a
suitable augmented matrix, under some assumptions on the knots of the
Cauchy-like matrix. It includes various pivoting strategies, already discussed
in the literature, and a new algorithm, which only requires reconstructability.
We have developed a software package, written in Matlab and C-MEX, which
provides a robust implementation of the above method. Our package also includes
solvers for Toeplitz(+Hankel)-like and Vandermonde-like linear systems, as
these structures can be reduced to Cauchy-like by fast and stable transforms.
Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the software.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figure
El territorio arqueolĂłgico del Lomo de Arico: aproximaciĂłn al modelo de poblamiento permanente del sur de Tenerife (Islas Canarias)
Los resultados de una prospecciĂłn arqueolĂłgica sistemĂĄtica efectuada en el Lomo de Arico
(Arico, Tenerife) han permitido identificar una serie de yacimientos arqueolĂłgicos cuya
distribuciĂłn plantea un nuevo modelo de ocupaciĂłn para esta zona de la isla de Tenerife. A
partir del anĂĄlisis de las evidencias documentadas, se infiere la existencia de un patrĂłn de
racionalidad que explica la presencia de asentamientos permanentes en una zona que, tradicionalmente,
habĂa sido interpretada como un ĂĄrea de trashumancia permanente.The conclusive report was carried out in Lomo de Arico (Arico, Tenerife) by means of a
systematic archaeological prospecting. It has allowed to identify archaeological site suite
which distribution leads to believe about a new occupation model in this area of Tenerifeâs
Island. Working on the archaeology record we have inferred a pattern of rationality which
explains the existence of permanent settlement in an area that, traditionally, had been interpreted
as one of transhumance
Aggressive Kaposi's Sarcoma in a 6-month-old African infant: Case Report and Review of the Literature.
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), known to exist in Africa for a century now, was rare in children and unknown in the newborn. With the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a more aggressive, disseminated type of KS (AKS) was recognized. Recently KS was diagnosed in a 6-month-old infant in Tanzania. Data support the notion that HHSV8 infectivity can be potentiated with HIV infection and thus produce multiple lesions in different anatomical sites early in life. Furthermore, the available evidence would suggest a nonsexual route of HHSV8 infection, possibly from mother to fetus
An unusual case of intertrigo in an adult caused by purely cutaneous Langerhans cell histiocytosis
We report a case of persistent intertrigo in an adult, eventually diagnosed as cutaneous Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). It is known that LCH has a predilection for intertriginous areas, however purely cutaneous disease as in our case, is uncommon and usually other systems are affected. Following the report, literature of similar cases is reviewed to determine possible outcomes and to decide on the best possible treatment options.peer-reviewe
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