Processing bio-Argo chlorophyll-A concentration at the DAC level

This document does NOT address the issue of chlorophyll-a quality control (either real-time or delayed mode). As a preliminary step towards that goal, this document seeks to ensure that all countries deploying floats equipped with chlorophyll-a sensors document the data and metadata related to these floats properly. We produced this document in response to action item 3 from the first Bio-Argo Data Management meeting in Hyderabad (November 12-13, 2012). If the recommendations contained herein are followed, we will end up with a more uniform set of chlorophyll-a data within the Bio-Argo data system, allowing users to begin analyzing not only their own chlorophyll-a data, but also those of others, in the true spirit of Argo data sharing.

Processing Argo oxygen data at the DAC level cookbook

This document does NOT address the issue of oxygen data quality control (either real-time or delayed mode). As a preliminary step towards that goal, this document seeks to ensure that all countries deploying floats equipped with oxygen sensors document the data and metadata related to these floats properly. We produced this document in response to action item 14 from the AST-10 meeting in Hangzhou (March 22-23, 2009). Action item 14: Denis Gilbert to work with Taiyo Kobayashi and Virginie Thierry to ensure DACs are processing oxygen data according to recommendations. If the recommendations contained herein are followed, we will end up with a more uniform set of oxygen data within the Argo data system, allowing users to begin analysing not only their own oxygen data, but also those of others, in the true spirit of Argo data sharing. Indications provided in this document are valid as of the date of writing this document. It is very likely that changes in sensors, calibrations and conversions equations will occur in the future. Please contact V. Thierry (vthierry@ifremer.fr) for any inconsistencies or missing information. A dedicated webpage on the Argo Data Management website (www) contains all information regarding Argo oxygen data management : current and previous version of this cookbook, oxygen sensor manuals, calibration sheet examples, examples of matlab code to process oxygen data, test data, etc..

Action-Emotion Style, Learning Approach and Coping Strategies, in Undergraduate University Students

Action-Emotion Style (AES) is an affective-motivational construct that describes the achievement motivation that is characteristic of students in their interaction with stressful situations. Using elements from the Type-A Behavior Pattern (TABP), characteristics of competitiveness and overwork occur in different combinations with emotions of impatience and hostility, leading to a classification containing five categories of action-emotion style (Type B, Impatient-hostile type, Medium type, Competitive-Overworking type and Type A). The objective of the present research is to establish how characteristics of action-emotion style relate to learning approach (deep and surface approaches) and to coping strategies (emotion-focused and problem-focused). The sample was composed of 225 students from the Psychology degree program. Pearson correlation analyses, ANOVAs and MANOVAs were used. Results showed that competitiveness-overwork characteristics have a significant positive association with the deep approach and with problem-focused strategies, while impatience-hostility is thus related to surface approach and emotion-focused strategies. The level of action-emotion style had a significant main effect. The results verified our hypotheses with reference to the relationships between action-emotion style, learning approaches and coping strategies.

Analysing intention and action in mobile banking services

Technological advances at the level of mobile devices are transforming the world. Banking users are able to conduct banking services at any place, and at any time, with m-banking. The purpose of this research is to analyse intention and action in m-banking services. A research model was developed and PLS was used to test the causalities in the proposed model. Our proposal extends the existing models with an assessment of the actual usage of m-banking and of how behavioural intention translates into action. This study found that the main determinants of behavioural intention for m-banking are social influence and relative advantage. Furthermore, perceived risk, lack of information and usage barriers have a negative effect on m- banking behavioural intention. Perceived risks, e-banking use, and behaviour intention are found to be significant antecedents of m-banking use. Gender has a positive and significant influence on m-banking usage, but not on the construction of behavioural intention.

Developing a marine conservation program in temperate Australia: determining priorities for action

The temperate seascapes of southern Australia have, until recently, received less conservation attention than the country's tropical waters. Here, we describe the results of an expert elicitation aimed at identifying gaps and opportunities in marine conservation for temperate waters. The process highlighted the need for focusing conservation attention on temperate bays, estuaries and inlets. The subsequent development of the Great Southern Seascapes program by The Nature Conservancy is aimed at beginning to address this need. The program focuses on the following actions for temperate Australian bays, estuaries and inlets: (a) increased protection, (b) ‘in the water’ restoration, (c) initiatives to address sea-level rise, (d) improved management and increased stakeholder involvement, (e) science and monitoring, and (f) community, government, and corporate engagement and funding. Actions taken to date, including commencing Australia's first ever oyster reef restoration project, and future directions, are outlined.

Modelling the maturation of grip selection planning and action representation: insights from typical and atypical motor development

We investigated the purported association between developmental changes in grip selection planning and improvements in an individual’s capacity to represent action at an internal level (i.e., motor imagery). Participants were groups of healthy children aged 6-7 years and 8-12 years respectively, while a group of adolescents (13-17 years) and adults (18-34 years) allowed for consideration of childhood development in the broader context of motor maturation. A group of children aged 8-12 years with probable DCD (pDCD) was included as a reference group for atypical motor development. Participants’ proficiency to generate and/or engage internal action representations was inferred from performance on the hand rotation task, a well-validated measure of motor imagery. A grip selection task designed to elicit the end-state comfort (ESC) effect provided a window into the integrity of grip selection planning. Consistent with earlier accounts, the efficiency of grip selection planning followed a non-linear developmental progression in neurotypical individuals. As expected, analysis confirmed that these developmental improvements were predicted by an increased capacity to generate and/or engage internal action representations. The profile of this association remained stable throughout the (typical) developmental spectrum. These findings are consistent with computational accounts of action planning that argue that internal action representations are associated with the expression and development of grip selection planning across typical development. However, no such association was found for our sample of children with pDCD, suggesting that individuals with atypical motor skill may adopt an alternative, sub-optimal strategy to plan their grip selection compared to their same-age control peers.

Site and mechanism of the colokinetic action of the ghrelin receptor agonist, HM01

Background It has been recently demonstrated that the ghrelin receptor agonist, HM01, caused defecation in rats that were treated to provide a model for the constipation of Parkinson's disease. HM01 significantly increased fecal output and increased Fos activity in neurons of the hypothalamus and hindbrain, but not in the spinal defecation center. Other ghrelin agonists act on the defecation center. Methods Receptor pharmacology was examined in ghrelin receptor (GHSR1a) transfected cells. Anesthetized rats were used to investigate sites and mechanisms of action. Key Results HM01 activated rat GHSR1a at nanomolar concentrations and was antagonized by the GHSR1a antagonist, YIL781. HM01, intravenous, was potent to activate propulsive colorectal contractions. This was prevented by pelvic nerve section and by intravenous YIL781, but not by spinal cord section rostral to the defecation centers. Direct intrathecal application of HM01 to the defecation center at spinal level L6-S1 initiated propulsive contractions of the colorectum. Conclusions & Inferences HM01 stimulates GHSR1a receptors on neurons in the lumbosacral defecation centers to cause propulsive contractions and emptying of the colorectum. It has greater potency when given systemically, compared with other GHSR1a agonists.

Can online participation on issues of asylum seeking lead to action? Understanding the intent to act

Objective Issues of refuge and asylum are often controversial in Australia, with misinformation, fear, and emotion often used to sway public opinion. The objective of this study was to understand individuals’ willingness to advocate on asylum seeker issues. Method Using an online survey, this study investigated the attitudes, opinions, and activities of those who had signed up to a Facebook page or newsletter of an asylum seeker support organisation. Results In total, 3,978 surveys were completed; 1,688 from people who were signed up to a regular newsletter, and 2,416 people who ‘liked’ the Facebook site. Most respondents were women, from Victoria, and were educated to at least the university level. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that the engagement of those who had ‘liked’ the Facebook page were more Internet based, suggesting that when the cost of engaging action is low, people do little more than engage in token support, a number of interpretations for this finding are presented. Organisations need to consider how to engage this group in more ‘meaningful support’.

Rapamycin reverses age-related increases in mitochondrial ROS production at complex I, oxidative stress, accumulation of mtDNA fragments inside nuclear DNA, and lipofuscin level, and increases autophagy, in the liver of middle-aged mice

Rapamycin consistently increases longevity in mice although the mechanism of action of this drug is unknown. In the present investigation we studied the effect of rapamycin on mitochondrial oxidative stress at the same dose that is known to increase longevity in mice (14 mg of rapamycin/kg of diet). Middle aged mice (16 months old) showed significant age-related increases in mitochondrial ROS production at complex I, accumulation of mtDNA fragments inside nuclear DNA, mitochondrial protein lipoxidation, and lipofuscin accumulation compared to young animals (4 months old) in the liver. After 7 weeks of dietary treatment all those increases were totally or partially (lipofuscin) abolished by rapamycin, middle aged rapamycin-treated animals showing similar levels in those parameters to young animals. The decrease in mitochondrial ROS production was due to qualitative instead of quantitative changes in complex I. The decrease in mitochondrial protein lipoxidation was not due to decreases in the amount of highly oxidizable unsaturated fatty acids. Rapamycin also decreased the amount of RAPTOR (of mTOR complex) and increased the amounts of the PGC1-α and ATG13 proteins. The results are consistent with the possibility that rapamycin increases longevity in mice at least in part by lowering mitochondrial ROS production and increasing autophagy, decreasing the derived final forms of damage accumulated with age which are responsible for increased longevity. The decrease in lipofuscin accumulation induced by rapamycin adds to previous information suggesting that the increase in longevity induced by this drug can be due to a decrease in the rate of aging. © 2016 Elsevier Inc.

Diderot’s body and cognitive science: sensation, impulse and action in performer training

This essay places Diderot's materialist philosophy articulated in Paradox of the Actor in the late Nineteenth century, alongside emerging thinking from neurobiology. Taking Diderot’s pursuit for the recognition acting as an art as a point of departure, it reflects on the labour of the actor as awareness within multiple cognitions: impulse, sensation, and action. The discussion maps various examples including Stanislavsky in the early 1900s through to contemporary more regulated techniques like Susana Bloch’s Alba Emoting method and Phillip Zarrilli’s psychophysical approach. It considers the language of neuroscience in explicating the nuances of technique in acting and proposes that good acting requires a mastery of self at a neural level. ​

An investigation of the possible health-promoting modes of action of regular- and super- doses of phytase in the broiler chicken

The overall objective of this thesis was to study the effects of regular and high (super-) doses of phytase in the gut of broilers, with the aim of documenting the mechanism of their action leading to improvements in animal health. Phytase is often supplemented to commercial broiler diets to facilitate the hydrolysis of plant phytate and release of phosphorus for utilisation. Although not the original intention of its addition, phytase supplementation leads to improvements in growth performance parameters and enhanced nutrient utilisation. Further benefits have also been observed following the addition of super-doses of phytase which are not explained by an increase in phosphorus release, and thus have been termed ‘extra-phosphoric effects’. Using diets formulated to be adequate or marginally deficient in available phosphorus (aP; forming the negative control, NC), phytase was supplemented at 1,500 and 3,000 FTU/kg phytase in the first study (both super-doses) and the partitioning of nutrients within the body was investigated. It appeared that there were some metabolic changes between 1,500 and 3,000 FTU/kg, switching between protein and fat accretion, potentially as a consequence of nutrient availability, although these changes were not reflected by changes in growth performance parameters. However, the loss of the NC treatment without phytase on day 12 limits the comparison of the phytase within the NC treatment, but does allow for comparison of each dose at adequate or low dietary aP levels. As expected, a greater degree of phytate hydrolysis was achieved with 3,000 than with 1,500 FTU/kg phytase, but changes in carcass accretion characteristics were greater with 1,500 than 3,000 FTU/kg. Using these findings and the observation that there were no further changes in the parameters measured by increasing phytase from 1,500 to 3,000 FTU/kg (aside from phytate hydrolysis), 1,500 FTU/kg phytase was selected as the super-dose to be used in subsequent studies. The next study considered the influence of regular (500 FTU/kg) and super doses (1,500 FTU/kg) of phytase from within the gut. Overall, it was observed that changes were occurring to the gut environment, which ultimately would influence the absorptive capacity and conditions for further phytate hydrolysis. Dietary treatment influenced gut conditions such as pH, intestinal morphology and bacterial populations which can subsequently influence nutrient utilisation and potential for growth. The subsequent study was designed to investigate the effects within the gut in more detail. The release of nutrients from phytate hydrolysis and their bioavailability within the digesta can influence conditions within intestine, facilitating enhanced absorption. One of the parameters investigated was the expression of genes involved in the transport of nutrients in the intestine. Overall, there were few significant dietary treatment influences on gene expression in the intestine, however there was a dose-dependent response of phytase on the expression of the jejunual divalent mineral transporter. This indicates a change in divalent mineral bioavailability in the intestine, with correlations with inositol phosphate esters (IPs) being identified. This is likely explained by the IPs produced by phytase hydrolysis and accumulating in the digesta, differing between regular and high doses of phytase. It became apparent that interactions between the products of phytate hydrolysis (IP3, IP4) and minerals in the digesta had the potential to influence the gut environment and subsequent nutrient bioavailability and overall phytase action. The final study was designed to increase the content of the IPs, and investigate the influence of phytase under these conditions. As the complete hydrolysis of phytate to myo-inositol has been reported to be beneficial due to its proposed insulin mimetic effects, myo-inositol was also supplemented to one of the diets to see if any further benefits would be observed when supplemented alongside super-doses of phytase. Neither increased concentrations of the higher IP esters (IP6, IP5 and IP4) nor myo-inositol (myo-) had any effect on broiler growth performance, however there were still apparent beneficial influences of phytase supplementation. The results suggest considerable and important interactions between minerals and IP esters within the digesta, which ultimately have the potential to influence gut conditions and thus nutrient utilisation and growth performance. Reduced concentrations of blood glucose in the high IP ester diet with additional phytase supplementation suggest some insulin-like effects of myo- production. Additionally, the lack of effect of myo- supplementation on blood glucose and insulin concentrations suggests a difference between the structure of phytase-produced myo- and supplemented myo-. Although there were no improvements in growth performance by increasing phytase from 500 to 1,500 FTU/kg, there were changes occurring at the level of the gut and expression of genes in the intestine, influencing nutrient utilisation and the partitioning of nutrients within the body. There are many factors to be considered when supplementing phytase, with dietary nutrient content and nutrient release and IP production during phytate hydrolysis having an influence on phytase action, nutrient absorption and conditions within the gut. Super-doses of phytase may be beneficial for maintaining optimal gut conditions, clearing IP esters from the digesta, reducing their potential to form complexes with minerals and other nutrients, ultimately influencing the efficiency of production.

How can the land managers and his multi-stakeholder network at the farm level influence the multifunctional transitions pathways?

The changing role of agriculture is at the core of transition pathways in many rural areas. Productivism, post-productivism and multifunctionality have been targeted towards a possible conceptualization of the transition happening in rural areas. The factors of change, including productivist and post-productivist trends, are combined in various ways and have gone in quite diverse directions and intensities, in individual regions and localities. Even, in the same holding, productivist and post-productivist strategies can co-exist spatially, temporally, structurally, leading to a higher complexity in changing patterns. In south Portugal extensive landscapes, dominated by traditionally managed agro-forestry systems under a fuzzy land use pattern, multifunctionality at the farm level is indeed conducted by different stakeholders whose interests may or not converge: a multifunctional land management may indeed incorporate post-productivist and productivist agents. These stakeholders act under different levels of ownership, management and use, reflecting a particular land management dynamic, in which different interests may exist, from commercial production to a variety of other functions (hunting, bee-keeping, subsistence farming, etc.), influencing management at the farm level and its supposed transition trajectory. This multistakeholder dynamic is composed by the main land-manager (the one who takes the main decisions), sub land-managers (land-managers under the rules of the main land-manager), workers and users (locals or outsiders), whose interest and action within the holding may vary differently according to future (policy, market, etc.) trends, and therefore reflect more or less resilient systems. The goal of the proposed presentation is to describe the multi-stakeholder relations at the farm level, its spatial expression and the factors influencing the land management system resilience in face of the transition trends in place.

Reducing the global burden of depression : population level analysis of intervention cost-effectiveness in 14 world regions

International evidence on the cost and effects of interventions for reducing the global burden of depression remain scarce. Aims: To estimate the population-level cost-effectiveness of evidence-based depression interventions and their contribution towards reducing current burden. Method: Primary-care-based depression interventions were modelled at the level of whole populations in 14 epidemiological subregions of the world. Total population-level costs (in international dollars or I$) and effectiveness (disability adjusted life years (DALYs) averted) were combined to form average and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Results: Evaluated interventions have the potential to reduce the current burden of depression by 10–30%. Pharmacotherapy with older antidepressant drugs, with or without proactive collaborative care, are currently more cost-effective strategies than those using newer antidepressants, particularly in lower-income subregions. Conclusions: Even in resource-poor regions, each DALYaverted by efficient depression treatments in primary care costs less than 1 year of average per capita income, making such interventions a cost-effective use of health resources. However, current levels of burden can only be reduced significantlyif there is a substantialincrease substantial increase intreatment coverage.