Search results for "Effects"
showing 10 items of 2634 documents
Random effects elliptically distributed in unbalanced linear models
2008
In linear mixed effects models, random effects are used for modelling the variance-covariance structure of the response variable. These models are based on the assumption that the random effects are normally distributed, but in literature alternative random effect distributions have been proposed and the consequences of misspecification are investigated. These studies consider only balanced designs. Aim of this paper is to study an unbalanced linear mixed model with random effects elliptically distributed.
Comparing the outcomes of two different approaches to CEFR-based rating of students’ writing performances across two European countries
2018
This study investigated to what extent two teams of experienced raters from different European countries (Finland and Austria), using their own CEFR-based rating scale (one holistic and one analytic), agreed on the CEFR level of students’ writing performances. Both teams rated one hundred performances written by Austrian secondary school students based on two tasks. The Finnish raters (N = 3) applied a holistic CEFR-linked rating scale consisting of verbatim CEFR descriptors developed in Finland, while the Austrian team (N = 6) used an analytic CEFR-linked rating scale consisting of four criteria developed in Austria. The ratings were analysed using the Rasch model. Although there were indi…
Hemispheric differences in specificity effects in talker identification
2010
In the visual domain, Marsolek and colleagues (1999, 2008) have found support for two dissociable and parallel neural subsystems underlying object and shape recognition: an abstract-category subsystem that operates more effectively in the left cerebral hemisphere (LH), and a specific-exemplar subsystem that operates more effectively in the right cerebral hemisphere (RH). Evidence of this asymmetry has been observed in priming specificity for linguistic (words, pseudoword forms) and nonlinguistic (objects) stimuli. In the auditory domain, the authors previously found hemispheric asymmetries in priming effects for linguistic (spoken words) and nonlinguistic (environmental sounds) stimuli. In …
An experimental test of the dose-dependent effect of carotenoids and immune activation on sexual signals and antioxidant activity.
2004
Carotenoid‐based sexual traits are thought to be reliable indicators of male quality because they might be scarce and therefore might indicate the ability of males to gather high‐quality food and because they are involved in important physiological functions (as immune enhancers and antioxidants). We performed an experiment where male and female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were provided with increasing carotenoid doses in the drinking water during 4 weeks (bill color of this species is a carotenoid‐based sexual signal). Simultaneously, birds were split into two groups: one receiving weekly injections of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide in order to activate the immune system, the …
Identification and characterization of a novel Ets-2-related nuclear complex implicated in the activation of the human interleukin-12 p40 gene promot…
1997
Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by antigen-presenting cells in response to many microbial infections. IL-12 plays an important role in the generation of T helper type-1 cells, which favor cell-mediated immune response. IL-12 is composed of two different subunits, p40 and p35, whose expression can be regulated concomitantly or differentially. Monocytic cells, the major producers of IL-12, can be primed by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) to produce optimal amounts of IL-12 in response to LPS stimulation as a consequence of bacterial infection. The priming effect is exerted primarily at the transcriptional level on the p40 promoter in conjunction with the effects of …
Detection of genomic regions underlying milk production traits in Valle del Belice dairy sheep using regional heritability mapping
2021
The aim of this study was to identify genomic regions underlying milk production traits in the Valle del Belice dairy sheep using regional heritability mapping (RHM). Repeated measurements for milk yield (MY), fat percentage and yield (F% and FY) and protein percentage and yield (P% and PY), collected over a period of six years (2006-2012) on 481 Valle del Belice ewes, were used for the analysis. Animals were genotyped with the Illumina 50k SNP chip. Variance components, heritabilities, and repeatability within and across lactations were estimated, fitting parity, litter size, season of lambing, and fortnights in milk, as fixed; and additive genetic, permanent environment within and across …
Effects of a split 48-h doe-litter separation on productivity of free-nursing rabbit does and their litters
2004
To prevent the weight loss of litters, and the distress of both rabbit does and their litters due to doe-litter separation (DLS), without losing its beneficial effects on fertility, the DLS, lasting 48 h before artificial insemination (AI), was split into two periods of 24 h with a short controlled suckling. Initially, 105 does of different parity were divided into three groups. During the post partum, the free-nursing does were treated as follows: regular DLS (R-DLS), the nest-box was closed for 48 h, from days 9 to 11, before AI; split DLS (S-DLS), the nest-box was closed for 24 h and, after suckling, for other 24 h before AI; control, does had free access to the nest-box. Fertility impro…
Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a case-controlled study.
2005
Background & Aims: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) currently is used as a palliative treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its efficacy still is debated. Our aim was to assess the impact of TACE on patient survival and to identify prognostic factors for survival. Methods: Fifty-six cirrhotic patients with unresectable HCC undergoing at least :1 course of TACE were matched 1:1. for sex, age (in 5-year periods), parameters of Child-Pugh score, Okuda stage, and tumor type with a control group who had received only supportive care. Results: The 2 groups were comparable for cause of cirrhosis, alpha-fetoprotein serum levels, and Cancer of th…
Analysis of Brain Functions in Men with Prostate Cancer under Androgen Deprivation Therapy: A One-Year Longitudinal Study.
2021
The relationship between cognitive decline and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) under luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogues is unclear, and there is a scarcity of longitudinal studies considering the interaction between cognition, depressive symptoms and sleep quality in men with prostate cancer (PCa) treated with ADT. This study aimed to determine if there were differences in the scores obtained in cognitive assessment, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality after one year of ADT and determine the interrelations between sleep, mood, and cognitive status. A prospective longitudinal observational study was designed, in which a cohort of men (mean age was 70.8 years) newly …
Evolución histórica de la autonomía de la voluntad en el Derecho matrimonial
2021
The autonomy of the will or power of self-regulation of relationships derived from marriage is a subject that is on the rise and that we can qualify as novel. More and more couples are opting to proceed making use of this power to self-regulate both personal and property effects derived from their union or its future breakdown. In the Spanish legal system there is no precise and complete regulation of the subject, without all these figures being equally legislated, although all are admitted without any doubt by jurisprudence. In recent years there has been an evolution of Family law, traditionally very reluctant to give space to self-regulation. Our Constitution marks a turning point by cha…