Search results for " Control"

Poor vision accompanied with other sensory impairments as a predictor of falls in older women

2008

Objectives:we studied visual acuity (VA) and co-existing hearing impairment and poor standing balance as predictors of falls. Design: prospective study with 1-year follow-up. Setting: research laboratory and residential environment. Participants: 428 women aged 63‐76 years from the Finnish Twin Study on Aging. Measurements: participants were followed up for incidence of falls over 1 year. VA, hearing ability and standing balance were assessed at the baseline. The incidence rate ratios (IRR) for falls were computed using the negative binomial regression model. Results: during the follow-up, 47% of participants experienced a fall. After adjusting for age and interdependence of twin sisters, p…

Anthropometric Variables as Mediators of the Association of Changes in Diet and Physical Activity With Inflammatory Profile

2020

AbstractBackgroundMechanisms underlying the associations of high levels of physical activity (PA) and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) with a better inflammatory profile remain unclear. Our objective was to assess the mediating role of changes in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), as markers of body fat in the association of changes in PA and adherence to the MedDiet, with changes in the inflammatory profile.MethodThis study included 489 adults, aged 55–75 years, from the PREDIMED-Plus multicenter lifestyle intervention trial. An inflammatory score was calculated, based on 8 blood biomarkers: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, interleukin 8, in…

CB1 cannabinoid receptor-mediated aggressive behavior

2013

This study examined the role of cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1r) in aggressive behavior. Social encounters took place in grouped and isolated mice lacking CB1r (CB1KO) and in wild-type (WT) littermates. Cognitive impulsivity was evaluated in the delayed reinforcement task (DRT). Gene expression analyses of monoaminooxidase-A (MAO-A), catechol-o-methyl-transferase (COMT), 5-hydroxytriptamine transporter (5-HTT) and 5-HT1B serotonergic receptor (5HT1Br) in the median and dorsal raphe nuclei (MnR and DR, respectively) and in the amygdala (AMY) were performed by real time-PCR. Double immunohistochemistry studies evaluated COMT and CB1r co-localization in the raphe nuclei and in the cortical (AC…

Corrigenda

2015

Context: Foot ulcer is the principal cause of hospitalization for patients with diabetes. Polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN), an adenosine A2A receptor agonist, improves wound healing in diabetic mice. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PDRN on chronic ulcer healing in patients with diabetes. Design and Setting: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, involved two medical centers in Italy. Intervention: Patients with diabetes showing hard-to-heal ulcers (Wagner grade 1 or 2) were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 106) or PDRN (n = 110). The treatments (PDRN and placebo) were performed 3 days a week for 8 weeks by intramuscular and perilesiona…

2021

Gambling may range from being a recreational leisure activity to a behavioral addiction. A rising number of gamblers experience adverse consequences from gambling, termed problem gambling, which may become a challenge for the individual and society. With the present research, we aimed to investigate the correlates of problem gambling. We used a large sample of more than 12,500 individuals (46% male, Mage = 48, SDage = 18) from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and analyzed sociodemographic and personality variables (Big Five, locus of control) as well as the extent of problem gambling. Findings showed that male sex and a lower level of education were rel…

PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS PERSONALITY TRAITS AND MOTIVATION TO CHOOSE STUDIES

2016

The sample consisted of 83 first course academic and professional psychology program students aged 18-43 years. Research instruments: 1) Demographic survey; 2) BFI (Big Five Inventory, Benet – Martinez & John, 1998), adapted version in Latvian (Austers, 2007); 3) The assessment of psychology studies motivation. Key findings: The most important motivating factors for psychology studies in this sample are interest in psychology and the desire to help. Personality traits are related to the choice of profession motives: Agreeableness and Conscientiousness are positively correlated with the desire to help, Extroversion with a sense of capability for the profession, Neuroticism - with a uncer…

Shared midgut binding sites for Cry1A.105, Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac and Cry1Fa proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis in two important corn pests, Ostrin…

2013

First generation of insect-protected transgenic corn (Bt-corn) was based on the expression of Cry1Ab or Cry1Fa proteins. Currently, the trend is the combination of two or more genes expressing proteins that bind to different targets. In addition to broadening the spectrum of action, this strategy helps to delay the evolution of resistance in exposed insect populations. One of such examples is the combination of Cry1A.105 with Cry1Fa and Cry2Ab to control O. nubilalis and S. frugiperda. Cry1A.105 is a chimeric protein with domains I and II and the C-terminal half of the protein from Cry1Ac, and domain III almost identical to Cry1Fa. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the c…

Combined effect of crop rotation and carabid beetles on weed dynamics in arable fields

2020

AbstractWeed management is a resource-intensive practice in arable agriculture, with direct and long-term impacts on both productivity and biodiversity (e.g. plant, pollinators and farmland wildlife). In conventional systems, weed control relies on crop management and herbicide inputs, but for more sustainable production systems, use of herbicides needs to be reduced. This requires a good understanding of the processes that regulate arable weed dynamics in arable fields.We adopted a systems framework to understand and model interacting components that drive the weed dynamics in 168 arable fields. Within this framework, we built a structural equation model (SEM) to quantify the direct and in…

Gestione ecocompatibile delle infestanti nel finocchio da seme (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.)

2009

Nelle coltivazioni officinali, l'adozione di tecniche a basso impatto ambientale (tra cui la produzione in regime di agricoltura biologica) costituisce una scelta quasi obbligata per consentire al prodotto un'adeguata competitività sui mercati nazionali ed esteri. In quest'ambito, gli evidenti effetti che le infestanti esercitano sulla produzione e sui suoi parametri qualitativi pongono la gestione delle infestanti tra i principali nodi dell'agrotecnica delle colture officinali. Nel quadriennio 2004 -2007, il DAAT dell'Università di Palermo ha pertanto svolto una serie di sperimentazioni in campo tendenti a verificare l'efficacia contenitiva e gli effetti sulla coltura di alcune tecniche di…

An Extended Kalman Filter-Based Technique for On-Line Identification of Unmanned Aerial System Parameters

2015

ABSTRACT: The present article deals with the identification, at the same time, of aircraft stability and control parameters taking into account dynamic damping derivatives. Such derivatives, due to the rate of change of the angle of attack, are usually neglected. So the damping characteristics of aircraft dynamics are attributed only on pitch rate derivatives. To cope with the dynamic effects of these derivatives, authors developed devoted procedures to estimate them. In the present paper, a complete model of aerodynamic coefficients has been tuned-up to identify simultaneously the whole set of derivatives. Besides, in spite of the employed reduced order model and/or decoupled dynamics, a s…