Search results for "Field"

When Investment in Basic Skills Gives Negative Returns

2017

In recent years, the Norwegian government has invested heavily in improving basic skills in the adult population. Initiatives have included legislation, the introduction of work-based adult education programs, and reforms in schooling. In light of this investment, we explore trends in adult literacy and numeracy, by comparing data from two international surveys of adult skills, conducted in 2003 and 2012. Paradoxically, the proportion of low-performing adults appears to have increased, most significantly in the 16- to 24-year age group and in the foreign-born population. The profile of the lowest performing group has changed in the intervening years. These findings suggest that adult educa…

Metabolic Changes in Tumor Microenvironment: How Could They Affect γδ T Cells Functions?

2021

The metabolic changes that occur in tumor microenvironment (TME) can influence not only the biological activity of tumor cells, which become more aggressive and auto sustained, but also the immune response against tumor cells, either producing ineffective responses or polarizing the response toward protumor activity. γδ T cells are a subset of T cells characterized by a plasticity that confers them the ability to differentiate towards different cell subsets according to the microenvironment conditions. On this basis, we here review the more recent studies focused on altered tumor metabolism and γδ T cells, considering their already known antitumor role and the possibility of manipulating th…

IMI Prevention of Myopia and Its Progression

2021

The prevalence of myopia has markedly increased in East and Southeast Asia, and pathologic consequences of myopia, including myopic maculopathy and high myopia-associated optic neuropathy, are now some of the most common causes of irreversible blindness. Hence, strategies are warranted to reduce the prevalence of myopia and the progression to high myopia because this is the main modifiable risk factor for pathologic myopia. On the basis of published population-based and interventional studies, an important strategy to reduce the development of myopia is encouraging schoolchildren to spend more time outdoors. As compared with other measures, spending more time outdoors is the safest strategy…

Il ri-ciclo socialmente innovativo come attivatore di sviluppo urbano e regionale. I brownfield come contesto di analisi e azione.

The research topic is the re-cycling of brownfields with social innovative practices, and how it can activate the urban and regional development. The research analyses critically and interprets the re-cycle theory (Marini and Bocchi 2014; Carta 2014) developed by the Italian Research “Re-cycle Italy” (PRIN) focusing on its social innovative aspects (Moulaert et al., 2005; Phills et al., 2008, Tekin and Tekdogan, 2015). Nowadays, the community-based planning is essential for the spatial regeneration processes. These realities generate a new sense of consciousness and a huge network of local activists, social enterprises able to develop the place in an incremental way. Therefore, it is import…

Pathways for the amplification of agroecology in African sustainable urban agriculture

2020

A growing awareness that highly intensified agricultural systems have made a substantial worldwide contribution to the worsening of the resilience capacity of natural ecosystems has, over the last twenty years, brought general attention to agroecological management models. This aspect is even more evident in industrial agriculture, which is based on the use of multiple chemical products derived from non-natural synthesis. In more developed countries, a new idea of ecology linked to agricultural production has been increasingly developed and, for this reason, there has been a greater diffusion of differentiated agricultural models taking into consideration the environmental impact of product…

Female reproductive factors are associated with objectively measured physical activity in middle-aged women

2017

Physical activity improves health and may delay the onset of several chronic diseases. For women in particular, the rate of these diseases accelerates at middle age; therefore it is important to identify the determinants of health-enhancing physical activity during midlife in this population. In this study, we focused on determinants that are unique to the female sex, such as childbearing and menopause. The main objective was to characterize the level of physical activity and differences between active and inactive middle-aged Finnish women. In addition, we examined the association of physical activity with female reproductive factors at midlife. The study population consisted of 647 women …

Spanish Validation of the Flourishing Scale in the General Population

2017

Well-being research and its measurement have grown in the last two decades. The objective of this study was to adapt and validate the Flourishing Scale in a sample of Spanish adults. This was a cross-sectional study using a non-probabilistic sample of 999 Spanish general adult population participants. The psychometric properties of the scale were analysed from an exploratory and confirmatory perspective. Exploratory factor analysis showed a one-factor solution explaining 42.3% of the variance; an internal consistency of .846; temporal reliability correlation of .749; convergent validity with the Satisfaction with Life Scale of .521 and criterion validity with positive and negative affect (P…

Gratitude Questionnaire–20 Items (G20): A Cross-Cultural, Psychometric and Crowdsourcing Analysis

2020

The use in psychology of crowdsourcing platforms as a method of data collection has been increasing in popularity because of its relative ease and versatility. Our goal is to adapt the Gratitude Questionnaire–20 Items (G20) to the English language by using data collected through a crowdsourcing platform. The G20 is a comprehensive instrument that takes in consideration the different basic processes of gratitude and assesses the construct’s cognitive, evaluative, emotional, and behavioral processes. We test the psychometric properties of the English version of the G20 with a Prolific (ProA) user sample. We assess the adequacy of the G20 for the crowdsourcing population in its English version…

Escala de Percepción de Promoción del Bienestar para Entrenadores (EPPBE): Análisis inicial de sus propiedades psicométricas y validez. (Perception o…

2011

Este estudio analizo las propiedades psicometricas de la Escala de Percepcion de Promocion del Bienestar para Entrenadores (EPPBE), compuesta por 6 dimensiones: Autocontrol, castigo, apoyo social, apoyo a la autonomia, apoyo a la competencia y apoyo a la afiliacion. Se administro la escala a 506 entrenadores y se realizo un analisis factorial confirmatorio. La validez nomologica se analizo a traves de las relaciones de las variables con la satisfaccion de necesidades basicas y la motivacion autodeterminada. El modelo mostro un ajuste adecuado a los datos. El castigo percibido no correlaciono con el resto de variables de la escala, que si mostraron correlaciones positivas entre ellas, hasta …

Multiple modalities in insect warning displays have additive effects against wild avian predators

2019

Allocation to different components of defence has been suggested as an explanation for the existence of multiple aposematic morphs in a single population. We tested whether there are trade-offs between warning colouration and chemical defence or whether these have an additive effect when combined, using blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) as predators and the polymorphic wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) as prey. We used artificial edible models (with and without the moths’ defensive fluids) with paper wings whose colour and pattern properties matched those of real moths. When the models were presented sans defensive fluids or when the fluids were presented without colour cues, we detected n…