Emotional facial processing in younger and older adults

There is evidence that older adults have difficulty processing negative but not positive facial expressions. This positivity effect among older adults is expressed in attention to as well as in memory and recognition of emotional faces. In the present thesis, effects of stimulus properties (i.e., self ratings of valence, arousal, potency), context, and visual exploration were investigated. In Study I, the aim was to investigate a happy face advantage seen in younger adults’ recognition and detection of facial expressions. Two recognition tasks showed that happy faces were better recognized than fearful and neutral faces. In addition, this superior effect was evident in early processing, indicating that happiness is an exceptional expression that is distinguished from other facial expressions. The objective of Study II was to investigate effects of age on subjective emotional impression (in terms of valence, arousal and potency) of angry and happy faces, and to examine whether any age differences were mirrored in measures of emotional behavior (attention, categorical perception, and memory). The results demonstrated that older adults perceived less arousal, potency, and valence than younger adults and that these differences were more pronounced for angry than happy faces. This was mirrored in larger age differences in attention, memory, and categorical perception for angry compared to happy faces. In Study III the aim was to investigate how linguistic context (i.e., written emotional labels) might reduce semantic confusability, and thereby facilitate facial expression recognition. The results showed that older adults were more reliant on linguistic context. Older and younger adults’ visual exploration patterns were investigated in Study IV. Results showed that older adults spent proportionally more time attending to the mouth than to the eyes, which might explain their relatively lower recognition of fear, anger and sadness, but maintained happiness and disgust recognition. In sum, subjective impression (i.e., arousal, potency), context, and visual exploration patterns interact with adult age and should be considered in research on effects of aging on facial expression processing

Age-Related Differences in Sensitivity to Emotional Facial Stimuli but Age-Independent Association between Arousal Ratings and Visual Search Efficiency

The latter part of the lifespan is commonly associated with a decline of cognitive functions, but also with changes in emotional responding. To explore the effect of age on processing of emotional stimuli, we used a two-task design. In a stimulus-rating task, we investigated the emotional responses to 15 different schematic facial emotional stimuli (one neutral, seven positive, seven negative) on Arousal, Valence and Potency measures in 20 younger (21-32 yrs, M=26, SD=3.7) and 20 older (65-81 yrs, M=72, SD=4.9) participants. In a visual attention task, we used the same 15 stimuli in a visual search paradigm to investigate differences between younger and older participants in how the emotional properties of these emotional stimuli influence visual attention.The results from the stimulus-rating task showed significantly reduced range in responses to emotional stimuli in the older compared to the younger group. This difference was found on both emotional Arousal and Potency measures, but not on emotional Valence measures; indicating an age-related flattening of affect on two of the three emotional key dimensions. The results from the visual search task showed – apart from the general extension of response latencies in older – no general emotion-related differences between how emotional stimuli influences attention in the younger and older groups.Analysis of the relationships between attention and emotion measures showed that higher ratings on Arousal and Potency were associated with both shorter reaction times and fewer errors in the attention task. This correlation was age-independent, indicating a similar influence from emotional Arousal on detection of angry faces in younger and older adults

Urheilu- ja liikuntaseurojen kunnalliset avustukset ja tuet case : Raision kaupunki

Tämän opinnäytetyön toimeksiantajana toimi Raision kaupungin liikuntapalvelut. Opinnäytetyössä käsiteltiin liikuntapalveluiden lakisääteisiä tehtäviä, kuntien niiden urheilu- ja liikuntaseuroille tarjoamia avustuksia sekä liikuntapaikkojen maksullisuutta paikallisille urheilu- ja liikuntaseuroille. Tarkemman tutkimuksen kohteena olivat Raision kaupunki sekä sen lähikunnat Kaarina, Lieto, Naantali ja Turku. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli kartoittaa ja vertailla kuntien eri tapoja auttaa paikallisia urheilu- ja liikuntaseuroja niiden toiminnassa sekä erilaisten avustusten että kunnallisten liikuntapaikkojen maksuttomuuden avulla, jotta saataisiin Raision kaupungille ideoita mahdollisiin tulevaisuuden avustus- sekä tukitapoihin. Tämä opinnäytetyö oli case-tutkimus, jossa hyödynnettiin pääosin kvalitatiivista, mutta myös jonkin verran kvantitatiivista tutkimusotetta. Opinnäytetyön aineistoa kerättiin kunkin tarkasteltavan kunnan asiakirjoista ja internetsivuilta. Lisäksi Raision kaupungissa toimiville urheilu- ja liikuntaseuroille toteutettiin sähköinen kysely, jolla selvitettiin heidän kokemuksiaan ja mielipiteitään Raision kaupungin niille nykyään tarjoamista avustuksista. Opinnäytetyön tutkimuksesta selvisi, että vaikka laki ei määritä kunnille vaatimusta urheilu- ja liikuntaseurojen avustamiselle, on se käytännössä kuntien vakiintunut toimintatapa liikunnan kansalaistoiminnan tukemisvelvoitteen täyttämiseksi. Tarkastelluilla kunnilla oli osittain hyvin samankaltaiset avustusmallit ja avustukset. Myös eroja ilmeni avustusten jakokriteereissä ja -kohteissa sekä kokonaissummissa kuntalaista kohden laskettuna. Suuri ero muihin verrokkikuntiin nähden oli Turun kaupungin avustusten huomattavasti suurempi määrä, sillä Turku oli määritellyt avustuksia huomattavasti spesifeimpiin tarkoituksiin, kuin muut kunnat. Kunnallisten liikuntapaikkojen maksuttomuutta tarkasteltaessa huomattiin, että kaikki kunnat tarjosivat liikuntapaikkoja maksutta lapsi- ja juniori-ikäisten ryhmien harjoituskäyttöön, mutta vain Kaarina tarjosi kaikille ikäryhmille maksuttomia harjoitusvuoroja ja sen lisäksi vain Raisio tarjosi eläkeläisryhmille maksuttomia harjoitusvuoroja tiettyyn aikaan sekä tietyssä paikassa. Opinnäytetyössä todettiin, että vaikka kuntien urheilu- ja liikuntaseuroille jakamat avustukset sekä tuki liikuntapaikkojen edullisesti tai maksuttomasti tarjoamisen muodossa ovat tärkeitä asioita, ne ovat kuitenkin vain osa kunnallisten liikuntapalveluiden laajaa tehtäväkokonaisuutta.This thesis was commissioned by the sports services of the city of Raisio. The topics of the thesis were the statutory tasks of municipal sports services, the aids provided by municipalities to their sports and exercise clubs and organisations, and the possible fees for the clubs and organisations using municipal sports facilities. The subject of a more detailed research was the city of Raisio and its neighboring municipalities Kaarina, Lieto, Naantali and Turku. The aim of the thesis was to examine and compare different ways of municipalities helping their local sports and exercise clubs and organisations in their operations, both by means of various aids and offering free municipal sports facilities. The purpose of the thesis was to get information and ideas to be used when possibly developing the aid and assistance system in Raisio. This thesis was a case study in which both qualitative and quantitative research was conducted. The material for the thesis was collected from the documents and websites of each examined municipality. In addition, an electronic survey was carried out for the sports and exercise clubs and organisations operating in Raisio, to find out their experiences and opinions about the aids currently offered to them by the city of Raisio. The study revealed that although the law does not require for municipalities to assist sports and exercise clubs and organisations, it is still an established manner for municipalities to fulfill their obligation of supporting civic activities in sports and exercise. The examined municipalities had partly very similar aid models, but there were also differences in the criteria and targets of the aids, as well as in the total sums of aids when calculated per municipal citizen. A significant difference was the larger number of different aids available in the city of Turku, due to Turku defining the purposes and targets for each aid more specifically than the other examined municipalities. When examining possible fees for municipal sports facilities, it was noted that all examined municipalities offered their sports facilities free of charge for children and junior age groups. Only Kaarina offered free training sessions for all age groups and only Raisio offered free training sessions for senior citizen groups, at a certain timeslot and in a specific sports facility. Also, in conclusion, although the municipal aids to sports and exercise clubs and organisations, as well as assistance in the form of offering them sports facilities cheaply or entirely without a fee are important things, they are only a part of the broad set of tasks of the municipal sports services

Visualiseringsvanor : skillnader hos elitidrottare och motionärer inom kampsport

Syfte och frågeställningar Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka skillnaden i hur elitidrottare och motionärer använder sig av visualisering inför och under träning och tävling. Frågeställningarna: Hur använder sig elitidrottare av visualisering inför och under träning och tävling?Hur använder sig motionärer av visualisering inför och under träning? Hur ser medvetenheten ut för elitidrottare kontra motionärer, angående visualisering?Vilka skillnader finns i hur elitidrottare och motionärer använder sig av visualisering? Metod Fyra kampsportsutövare intervjuades för att få information om deras tränings-, motivations- och visualiseringsvanor. Respondenternas syn på visualisering och dess innebörd kartlades utförligt. Intervjuerna var öppet riktade för att ge relevanta svar men samtidigt ge plats åt respondenternas egna tankar och funderingar. Möjlighet att beskriva respondenternas medvetenhet speglas i frågor där respondentens tankar kring visualisering utforskas. På så sätt ger metoden data till att besvara samtliga frågeställningar. Resultat Resultaten visar hur motionärer och elitidrottare använder sig av visualisering inom sin idrott på ett utförligt sätt. I intervjuerna uppkommer tydligt vad respondenterna har för syn på visualisering och hur stor vikt de lägger på det. Delarna av intervjun där respondenterna får beskriva hur de själva gör, visar på såväl strategier som medvetenhet. Sammantaget ger resultatet vad som krävs för att besvara syftet. Slutsats Eftersom att studiens omfång är begränsat får de flesta resultat tolkas som enskilda tendenser snarare än fakta. Resultaten visar då tydliga tendenser till att elitidrottare är mer medvetna och använder visualisering till fler saker än motionärer. I sina beskrivningar av hur visualisering går till var elitidrottarna betydligt utförligare än motionärerna

Exploring emotional expression recognition in aging adults using the Moving Window Technique.

Adult aging is associated with difficulties in recognizing negative facial expressions such as fear and anger. However, happiness and disgust recognition is generally found to be less affected. Eye-tracking studies indicate that the diagnostic features of fearful and angry faces are situated in the upper regions of the face (the eyes), and for happy and disgusted faces in the lower regions (nose and mouth). These studies also indicate age-differences in visual scanning behavior, suggesting a role for attention in emotion recognition deficits in older adults. However, because facial features can be processed extrafoveally, and expression recognition occurs rapidly, eye-tracking has been questioned as a measure of attention during emotion recognition. In this study, the Moving Window Technique (MWT) was used as an alternative to the conventional eye-tracking technology. By restricting the visual field to a moveable window, this technique provides a more direct measure of attention. We found a strong bias to explore the mouth across both age groups. Relative to young adults, older adults focused less on the left eye, and marginally more on the mouth and nose. Despite these different exploration patterns, older adults were most impaired in recognition accuracy for disgusted expressions. Correlation analysis revealed that among older adults, more mouth exploration was associated with faster recognition of both disgusted and happy expressions. As a whole, these findings suggest that in aging there are both attentional differences and perceptual deficits contributing to less accurate emotion recognition

Åtgärdsvalsstudie Väg 156 inom Västra Götaland : trafiksäkerhet och tillgänglighet

Väg 156 är över 100 km och går från Ryamotet på väg 40 till länsgränsen. Sträckan går genom jordbruksmark och skogsmark och passerar genom flera tätorter. Vägen går genom fyra kommuner (Härryda, Mark, Svenljunga och Tranemo). Studien har tillämpat fyrstegsprincipen och utmynnar i allt från smärre åtgärder (kantsten) till namngivna objekt i regional plan (2+1-väg).   Publikationen ersätter en tidigare variant av åtgärdsvalsstudien, publikation 2020:124</p

Variation in the Oxytocin Receptor Gene is associated with Face Recognition and its neural correlates

The ability to recognize faces is crucial for daily social interactions. Recent studies suggest that intranasal oxytocin administration improves social recognition in humans. Oxytocin signaling in the amygdala plays an essential role for social recognition in mice, and oxytocin administration has been shown to influence amygdala activity in humans. It is therefore possible that the effects of oxytocin on human social recognition depend on mechanisms that take place in the amygdala – a central region for memory processing also in humans. Variation in the gene encoding the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) has been associated with several aspects of social behavior. The present study examined the potential associations between nine OXTR polymorphisms, distributed across the gene, and the ability to recognize faces, as well as face-elicited amygdala activity measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging during incidental encoding of faces. The OXTR 3’ polymorphism rs7632287, previously related to social bonding behavior and autism risk, was associated with participants’ ability to recognize faces. Carriers of the GA genotype, associated with enhanced memory, displayed higher amygdala activity during face encoding compared to carriers of the GG genotype. In line with work in rodents, these findings suggest that, in humans, naturally occurring endogenous modulation of OXTR function affects social recognition through an amygdala-dependent mechanism. These findings contribute to the understanding of how oxytocin regulates human social behaviors

DTPA-Functionalized Silica Nano- and Microparticles for Adsorption and Chromatographic Separation of Rare Earth Elements

Silica nanoparticles and porous microparticles have been successfully functionalized with a monolayer of DTPA-derived ligands. The ligand grafting is chemically robust and does not appreciably influence the morphology or the structure of the material. The produced particles exhibit quick kinetics and high capacity for REE adsorption. The feasibility of using the DTPA-functionalized microparticles for chromatographic separation of rare earth elements has been investigated for different sample concentrations, elution modes, eluent concentrations, eluent flow rates, and column temperatures. Good separation of the La(III), Ce(III), Pr(III), Nd(III), and Dy(III) ions was achieved using HNO3 as eluent using a linear concentration gradient from 0 to 0.15 M over 55 min. The long-term performance of the functionalized column has been verified, with very little deterioration recorded over more than 50 experiments. The results of this study demonstrate the potential for using DTPA-functionalized silica particles in a chromatographic process for separating these valuable elements from waste sources, as an environmentally preferable alternative to standard solvent-intensive processes.QC 20180509</p

Rheumatoid arthritis patients display B-cell dysregulation already in the naive repertoire consistent with defects in B-cell tolerance

B cells are postulated to be central in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here, we use exploratory mass cytometry (n = 23) and next-generation sequencing (n = 19) to study B-cell repertoire shifts in RA patients. Expression of several B-cell markers were significantly different in ACPA(+) RA compared to healthy controls, including an increase in HLA-DR across subsets, CD22 in clusters of IgM(+) B cells and CD11c in IgA(+) memory. Moreover, both IgA(+) and IgG(+) double negative (IgD(-) CD27(-)) CD11c(+) B cells were increased in ACPA+ RA, and there was a trend for elevation in a CXCR5/CCR6(high) transitional B-cell cluster. In the RA BCR repertoire, there were significant differences in subclass distribution and, notably, the frequency of VH with low somatic hypermutation (SHM) was strikingly higher, especially in IgG1 (p &lt; 0.0001). Furthermore, both ACPA(+) and ACPA(-) RA patients had significantly higher total serum IgA and IgM compared to controls, based on serology of larger cohorts (n = 3494 IgA; n = 397 IgM). The observed elevated Ig-levels, distortion in IgM(+) B cells, increase in double negative B cells, change in B-cell markers, and elevation of unmutated IgG(+) B cells suggests defects in B-cell tolerance in RA. This may represent an underlying cause of increased polyreactivity and autoimmunity in RA