3,224 research outputs found
In the beginning: Role of autonomy support on the motivation, mental health and intentions of participants entering an exercise referral scheme
Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000, Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. New York: Plenum Publishing) highlights the impact autonomy supportive environments can have on exercise motivation and positive health outcomes. Yet little is known about whether differential effects occur as a function of which significant other is providing this support. Further, no research has examined the relationship between motivation and the social environment with participants’ mental health and intentions to be physically active before entering an exercise intervention. Study participants were 347 British adults who were about to start an exercise referral scheme. Regression analyses revealed that the effects of autonomy support on mental health and physical activity intentions differed as a function of who provided the support (offspring, partner or physician), with the offspring having the weakest effects. A structural model was supported, indicating that autonomy support and more autonomous regulations led to more positive mental health outcomes and stronger intentions to be physically active. Knowledge of the social environmental and personal motivation of those about to commence an exercise programme can provide important insights for professionals supporting such efforts
Numerical studies of the Lagrangian approach for reconstruction of the conductivity in a waveguide
We consider an inverse problem of reconstructing the conductivity function in
a hyperbolic equation using single space-time domain noisy observations of the
solution on the backscattering boundary of the computational domain. We
formulate our inverse problem as an optimization problem and use Lagrangian
approach to minimize the corresponding Tikhonov functional. We present a
theorem of a local strong convexity of our functional and derive error
estimates between computed and regularized as well as exact solutions of this
functional, correspondingly. In numerical simulations we apply domain
decomposition finite element-finite difference method for minimization of the
Lagrangian. Our computational study shows efficiency of the proposed method in
the reconstruction of the conductivity function in three dimensions
The Blind Watchmaker Network: Scale-freeness and Evolution
It is suggested that the degree distribution for networks of the
cell-metabolism for simple organisms reflects an ubiquitous randomness. This
implies that natural selection has exerted no or very little pressure on the
network degree distribution during evolution. The corresponding random network,
here termed the blind watchmaker network has a power-law degree distribution
with an exponent gamma >= 2. It is random with respect to a complete set of
network states characterized by a description of which links are attached to a
node as well as a time-ordering of these links. No a priory assumption of any
growth mechanism or evolution process is made. It is found that the degree
distribution of the blind watchmaker network agrees very precisely with that of
the metabolic networks. This implies that the evolutionary pathway of the
cell-metabolism, when projected onto a metabolic network representation, has
remained statistically random with respect to a complete set of network states.
This suggests that even a biological system, which due to natural selection has
developed an enormous specificity like the cellular metabolism, nevertheless
can, at the same time, display well defined characteristics emanating from the
ubiquitous inherent random element of Darwinian evolution. The fact that also
completely random networks may have scale-free node distributions gives a new
perspective on the origin of scale-free networks in general.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
The extreme vulnerability of interdependent spatially embedded networks
Recent studies show that in interdependent networks a very small failure in
one network may lead to catastrophic consequences. Above a critical fraction of
interdependent nodes, even a single node failure can invoke cascading failures
that may abruptly fragment the system, while below this "critical dependency"
(CD) a failure of few nodes leads only to small damage to the system. So far,
the research has been focused on interdependent random networks without space
limitations. However, many real systems, such as power grids and the Internet,
are not random but are spatially embedded. Here we analytically and numerically
analyze the stability of systems consisting of interdependent spatially
embedded networks modeled as lattice networks. Surprisingly, we find that in
lattice systems, in contrast to non-embedded systems, there is no CD and
\textit{any} small fraction of interdependent nodes leads to an abrupt
collapse. We show that this extreme vulnerability of very weakly coupled
lattices is a consequence of the critical exponent describing the percolation
transition of a single lattice. Our results are important for understanding the
vulnerabilities and for designing robust interdependent spatial embedded
networks.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Ising model for distribution networks
An elementary Ising spin model is proposed for demonstrating cascading
failures (break-downs, blackouts, collapses, avalanches, ...) that can occur in
realistic networks for distribution and delivery by suppliers to consumers. A
ferromagnetic Hamiltonian with quenched random fields results from policies
that maximize the gap between demand and delivery. Such policies can arise in a
competitive market where firms artificially create new demand, or in a solidary
environment where too high a demand cannot reasonably be met. Network failure
in the context of a policy of solidarity is possible when an initially active
state becomes metastable and decays to a stable inactive state. We explore the
characteristics of the demand and delivery, as well as the topological
properties, which make the distribution network susceptible of failure. An
effective temperature is defined, which governs the strength of the activity
fluctuations which can induce a collapse. Numerical results, obtained by Monte
Carlo simulations of the model on (mainly) scale-free networks, are
supplemented with analytic mean-field approximations to the geometrical random
field fluctuations and the thermal spin fluctuations. The role of hubs versus
poorly connected nodes in initiating the breakdown of network activity is
illustrated and related to model parameters
Cloning and Expression of Major Surface Antigen 1 Gene of Toxoplasma gondii RH Strain Using the Expression Vector pVAX1 in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells
Background: Toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic protozoan infection with a high prevalence in a broad range of hosts infecting up to onethird
of the world human population. Toxoplasmosis leads to serious medical problems in immunocompromised individuals and fetuses
and also induces abortion and mortality in domestic animals. Therefore, there is a huge demand for the development of an effective
vaccine. Surface Antigen 1 (SAG1) is one of the important immunodominant surface antigens of Toxoplasma gondii, which interacts with
host cells and primarily involved in adhesion, invasion and stimulation of host immune response. Surface antigen 1 is considered as the
leading candidate for development of an effective vaccine against toxoplasmosis.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to clone the major surface antigen1 gene (SAG1) from the genotype 1 of T. gondii, RH strain into
the eukaryotic expression vector pVAX1 in order to use for a DNA vaccine.
Materials and Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from tachyzoite of the parasite using the QIAamp DNA mini kit. After designing the
specific primers, SAG1 gene was amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The purified PCR products were then cloned into a pPrime
plasmid vector. The aforementioned product was subcloned into the pVAX1 eukaryotic expression vector. The recombinant pVAX1-SAG1
was then transfected into Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and expression of SAG1 antigen was evaluated using Reverse Transcriptase
Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA) and Western Blotting (WB).
Results: The cloning and subcloning products (pPrime-SAG1 and pVAX1-SAG1 plasmid vectors) of SAG1 gene were verified and confirmed by
enzyme digestion and sequencing. A 30 kDa recombinant protein was expressed in CHO cells as shown by IFA and WB methods.
Conclusions: The pVAX1 expression vector and CHO cells are a suitable system for high-level recombinant protein production for SAG1
gene from T. gondii parasites and are promising approaches for antigen preparation in vaccine development
Patient access to complex chronic disease records on the internet
Background: Access to medical records on the Internet has been reported to be acceptable and popular with patients, although most published evaluations have been of primary care or office-based practice. We tested the feasibility and acceptability of making unscreened results and data from a complex chronic disease pathway (renal medicine) available to patients over the Internet in a project involving more than half of renal units in the UK.
Methods: Content and presentation of the Renal PatientView (RPV) system was developed with patient groups. It was designed to receive information from multiple local information systems and to require minimal extra work in units. After piloting in 4 centres in 2005 it was made available more widely. Opinions were sought from both patients who enrolled and from those who did not in a paper survey, and from staff in an electronic survey. Anonymous data on enrolments and usage were extracted from the webserver.
Results: By mid 2011 over 17,000 patients from 47 of the 75 renal units in the UK had registered. Users had a wide age range (<10 to >90 yrs) but were younger and had more years of education than non-users. They were enthusiastic about the concept, found it easy to use, and 80% felt it gave them a better understanding of their disease. The most common reason for not enrolling was being unaware of the system. A minority of patients had security concerns, and these were reduced after enrolling.
Staff responses were also strongly positive. They reported that it aided patient concordance and disease management, and increased the quality of consultations with a neutral effect on consultation length. Neither patient nor staff responses suggested that RPV led to an overall increase in patient anxiety or to an increased burden on renal units beyond the time required to enrol each patient.
Conclusions: Patient Internet access to secondary care records concerning a complex chronic disease is feasible and popular, providing an increased sense of empowerment and understanding, with no serious identified negative consequences. Security concerns were present but rarely prevented participation. These are powerful reasons to make this type of access more widely available
- …