Comparison between Eysenck's and Gray's models of personality in the prediction of motivational work criteria

Impulsivity based on Gray's [Gray, J. A. (1982) The neuropsychology of anxiety: an enquiry into the function of the septo-hippocampal system. New York: Oxford University Press: (1991). The neurophysiology of temperament. In J. Strelau & A. Angleitner. Explorations in temperament: international perspectives on theory and measurement. London. Plenum Press]. physiological model of personality was hypothesised to be more predictive of goal oriented criteria within the workplace than scales derived From Eysenck's [Eysenck. H.J. (1967). The biological basis of personality. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thompson.] physiological model of personality. Results confirmed the hypothesis and also showed that Gray's scale of Impulsivity was generally a better predictor than attributional style and interest in money. Results were interpreted as providing support for Gray's Behavioural Activation System which moderates response to reward. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost of malaria control in China: Henan's consolidation programme from community and government perspectives

Objective To assist with strategic planning for the eradication,of malaria in Henan Province, China, which reached the consolidation phase of malaria control in 1992, when only 318 malaria cases were reported, Methods We conducted a prospective two-year study of the costs for Henan's malaria control programme. We used a cost model that could also be applied to other malaria programmes in-mainland China, and analysed the cost of the three components of Henan's malaria programme. suspected malaria case management,, vector surveillance,,and population blood surveys. Primary cost data were collected from the government, and data on suspected malaria patient's were collected in two malaria counties (population 2 093 100). We enlisted the help of 260 village doctors. in six-townships or former communities (population 247 762), and studied all 12 315 reported cases of suspected malaria in catchment areas in 1994 and 1995. Findings The average-annual government investment in malaria control was estimated to be US$ 111 516 (case-management 59%; active blood surveys 25%;vector surveillance 12%; and contingencies and special projects 4%). The average cost (direct and indirect) for-patients seeking-treatment for suspected malaria was US$ 3.48, equivalent,to 10 days' income for rural residents. Each suspected malaria case cost the government an, average of US$ 0.78. Conclusion Further cuts in government funding will increase future costs, when epidemic malaria returns; investment in malaria control should therefore continue at least at current levels,of US$ 0.03 per person a risk.

Opening windows into the mind: mothers' preferences for mental state explanations and children's theory of mind

A new questionnaire, the Maternal Mental State Input Inventory (MMSII) was created to measure mothers' preferences for introducing and elaborating on mental states in conversation with their young children. In two studies, the questionnaire was given to mothers of young children, and the children's theory of mind (ToM) development was assessed with standard tasks. In both studies, the questionnaire exhibited good internal reliability, and significant correlations emerged between mothers' self-reported preferences for elaborated, explanatory talk about the mental states and children's theory of mind performance. Further, mothers' conversational preferences, as measured by the MMSII, were the best predictors of children's theory of mind development when relevant control variables were included in the analyses. These results converge with naturalistic observational research that has demonstrated links between mothers' conversational styles and their children's theory of mind. They go further in suggesting that mothers' tendencies toward elaborated, explanatory talk about a range of mental states is particularly beneficial to children's theory of mind development. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Age-Related Cognitive Deficits on EEG Phase Coherence

Body and brain undergo several changes with aging. One of these changes is the loss of neuroplasticity, which leads to the decrease of cognitive abilities. Hence the necessity of stopping or reversing these changes is of utmost importance to contemporary society. In the present work, electroencephalogram (EEG) markers of cognitive decline are sought whilst the subjects perform the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Considering the expected age-related cognitive deficits, WCST was applied to young and elder participants. The results suggest that coherence on theta and alpha EEG rhythms decrease with aging and increase with performance. Additionally, theta phase coherence seems more sensitive to performance, while alpha synchronization appears as a potential ageing marker.

Residents��� perspectives on tourism impacts of portuguese world heritage historic centers: Angra do Hero��smo and ��vora

The aim of this study is twofold. First, the study analyzes local community perspectives of the importance of the World Heritage Site (WHS) classification of the historic centers of Angra do Hero��smo and ��vora. Second, the study analyzes local residents��� perceived tourism impacts on the municipalities of Angra do Hero��smo and ��vora. The methodology comprises quantitative research based on a self-administered survey applied to convenience samples of local residents of the two Portuguese municipalities in 2014. The main results reveal that local residents have a strongly positive perception of the WHS designation in both municipalities. With regard to the perceived tourism impacts, residents from Angra do Hero��smo have a stronger agreement about the impacts of tourism on their city than the residents of ��vora, except for the negative social and cultural impacts. The comparison of the mean scores of these impacts across residents that live near and far from the historic centers reveals that the most valued and least valued impacts in the three categories of impacts (economic, social and cultural, and environmental) are common to all groups of residents. Nevertheless, residents living in or near the historic center of Angra do Hero��smo have higher means in the majority of tourism impacts (in all categories), with only one negative impact to concern the majority of respondents. Among the residents from ��vora, residents living in or near the historic center have higher means in the majority of economic impacts but lower means in almost social and cultural impacts. With regard to the environmental impacts, residents living in or near the historic center have higher means scores in the positive impacts and lower means scores in the negative environmental impacts.

Effects of early life permethrin exposure on spatial working memory and on monoamine levels in different brain areas of pre-senescent rats

Pesticide exposure during brain development could represent an important risk factor for the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies investigated the effect of permethrin (PERM) administered at 34 mg/kg, a dose close to the no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) from post natal day (PND) 6 to PND 21 in rats. Despite the PERM dose did not elicited overt signs of toxicity (i.e. normal body weight gain curve), it was able to induce striatal neurodegeneration (dopamine and Nurr1 reduction, and lipid peroxidation increase). The present study was designed to characterize the cognitive deficits in the current animal model. When during late adulthood PERM treated rats were tested for spatial working memory performances in a T-maze-rewarded alternation task they took longer to choose for the correct arm in comparison to age matched controls. No differences between groups were found in anxiety-like state, locomotor activity, feeding behavior and spatial orientation task. Our findings showing a selective effect of PERM treatment on the T-maze task point to an involvement of frontal cortico-striatal circuitry rather than to a role for the hippocampus. The predominant disturbances concern the dopamine (DA) depletion in the striatum and, the serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NE) unbalance together with a hypometabolic state in the medial prefrontal cortex area. In the hippocampus, an increase of NE and a decrease of DA were observed in PERM treated rats as compared to controls. The concentration of the most representative marker for pyrethroid exposure (3-phenoxybenzoic acid) measured in the urine of rodents 12 h after the last treatment was 41.50 ��/L and it was completely eliminated after 96 h.

Water treatments in semi-closed cooling circuits and their impact on the quality of effluents discharged by CERN

Disserta����o apresentada �� Faculdade de Ci��ncias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obten����o do grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, Gest��o de Sistemas Ambientais

Water treatments in semi-closed cooling circuits and their impact on the quality of effluents discharged by CERN

Mestrado integrado em Engenharia do Ambiente, perfil: Gest��o de Sistemas Ambientais

Distributed Belief Revision and Environmental Decision Support

This article discusses the development of an Intelligent Distributed Environmental Decision Support System, built upon the association of a Multi-agent Belief Revision System with a Geographical Information System (GIS). The inherent multidisciplinary features of the involved expertises in the field of environmental management, the need to define clear policies that allow the synthesis of divergent perspectives, its systematic application, and the reduction of the costs and time that result from this integration, are the main reasons that motivate the proposal of this project. This paper is organised in two parts: in the first part we present and discuss the developed - Distributed Belief Revision Test-bed - DiBeRT; in the second part we analyse its application to the environmental decision support domain, with special emphasis on the interface with a GIS.

Distributed Belief Revision and Environmental Decision Support

This article discusses the development of an Intelligent Distributed Environmental Decision Support System, built upon the association of a Multi-agent Belief Revision System with a Geographical Information System (GIS). The inherent multidisciplinary features of the involved expertises in the field of environmental management, the need to define clear policies that allow the synthesis of divergent perspectives, its systematic application, and the reduction of the costs and time that result from this integration, are the main reasons that motivate the proposal of this project. This paper is organised in two parts: in the first part we present and discuss the developed ; in the second part we analyse its application to the environmental decision support domain, with special emphasis on the interface with a GIS.

Cognitive assessment of topological movement Patterns and direction turns: An influence of scale

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

New perspectives on the history of brazilian agriculture.

One of the objectives of this book has been to highlight the importance of the history of agriculture in today's food production and consumption patterns, recovering parts of this history which are not easily found or which have been forgotten or neglected, but which have had a large impact on what we are today.

Neurocognitive profile and cognitive intervention in Alzheimer's disease

Tese de Doutoramento em Psicologia (Especialidade de Psicologia Cl��nica)

Current approaches and future perspectives on strategies for the development of personalized tissue engineering therapies

Personalized tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) therapies propose patient-oriented effective solutions, considering individual needs. Cell-based therapies, for example, may benefit from cell sources that enable easier autologous set-ups or from recent developments on IPS cells technologies towards effective personalized therapeutics. Furthermore, the customization of scaffold materials to perfectly fit a patient�� s tissue defect through rapid prototyping technologies, also known as 3D printing, is now a reality. Nevertheless, the timing to expand cells or to obtain functional����in vitrotissue substitutes prior to implantation prevents advancements towards routine use upon patient����s needs. Thus, personalized therapies also anticipate the importance of creating off-the-shelf solutions to enable immediately available tissue engineered products. This paper reviews the main recent developments and future challenges to enable personalized TERM approaches and to bring these technologies closer to clinical applications.

Enfoques sobre la ciudadan��a. Philosophical Perspectives on Citizenship.

La necesidad que da origen al presente proyecto se relaciona con la ausencia de un tratamiento de la cuesti��n de la ciudadan��a que haga interactuar distintos enfoques filos��ficos -el principal indicador de esta carencia es la ausencia de producciones acad��micas que den cuenta de la complejidad que adquiere la tem��tica si se la aborda desde los problemas que nos proporcionan otras perspectivas filos��ficas y pol��ticas-. En este sentido, el problema general del proyecto apunta a hacer discutir diferentes abordajes conceptuales para pensar la ciudadan��a. Espec��ficamente, trabajamos a partir de dos enfoques: 1) la discusi��n entre liberales y comunitaristas y sus actuales derivas y 2) la cuesti��n de la biopol��tica y su relaci��n con la tem��tica de la ciudadan��a. Se procura revisar la discusi��n liberales-comunitaristas propia de las ciencias pol��ticas, interpel��ndola a partir de conceptos como los de dominaci��n, relaciones de poder, control sobre la vida, disciplina, entre otros provenientes de la filosof��a pr��ctica, la teor��a social, las ciencias de la educaci��n, etc. Nuestra investigaci��n parte de la hip��tesis de que hacer discutir las problem��ticas que se disputan liberales-comunitaristas, con la Teor��a Cr��tica de la Escuela de Frankfurt y con los recientes fen��menos biopol��ticos, permite un abordaje que atiende a la efectiva complejidad de las pr��cticas de ciudadan��a en nuestra vida en com��n en las sociedades democr��ticas contempor��neas. Esto permitir�� complejizar los presupuestos con los que tradicionalmente se ha pensado la ciudadan��a, a partir sobre todo de los fen��menos socio-pol��ticos m��s recientes, como los nuevos movimientos sociales, las discusiones acerca de la legislaci��n del aborto y la eutanasia, los esfuerzos de los estados nacionales por incrementar medidas de seguridad que van desde la imposici��n de fuertes barreras a la inmigraci��n hasta la realizaci��n de guerras preventivas. Entendemos que estos, entre otros fen��menos, desaf��an la hermen��utica tradicional sobre la ciudadan��a. Es de esta manera que se buscar�� comprender los l��mites y alcances de las ideas de ciudadan��a, entendi��ndola como un concepto hist��rico formador de subjetividades. La metodolog��a se basa en una perspectiva interdisciplinaria que proporciona las herramientas para un an��lisis conceptual de la tem��tica de la ciudadan��a. Esta metodolog��a est�� orientada al desarrollo de un marco te��rico que resulte productivo para investigaciones de campo en las ciencias sociales, as�� como tambi��n para la elaboraci��n de un material bibliogr��fico destinado a docentes abocados a la ciudadan��a. Otro de los prop��sitos fundamentales es el de formar una red entre diferentes equipos de investigaci��n a nivel nacional a partir de las ���I Jornadas Nacionales sobre Ciudadan��a��� y de la organizaci��n de un seminario especializado con un profesor visitante. As far as the general topic of citizenship concerns philosophy, the theoretical problem of how to reconcile the different perspectives, assuming that this is an enterprise that can be done, remains an open question. Furthermore, the absence of academic material dealing with the problem seems to be a good indicator of this tendency. The main focus of the present Project aims at coping with some of the most notorious theoretical approaches to citizenship. More specifically, we will analyze the next two approaches: 1) the debate libertarians-communitarians and 2) the relationship between biopolitics and citizenship. Our purpose is to revise the discussion libertarians-communitarians incorporating concepts such as domination, power-relationships, life-control, among others that find their roots in practical philosophy, social theory, education and so on. To the extent that theories of citizenship are only provided with the usual conceptual machinery, some of the most remarkable phenomena of our democratic societies will stand for them out of reach: the existence of new social movements, abortion and euthanasia, inmigration, etc. Our hypothesis is that by making the debate libertarians-communitarians interact with the Critical Theory as well as with biopolitical concepts, we will be in a better position to try to understand these diverse phenomena. With the development of some sort of a new hermeneutics, we expect to criticize the old ideas related to citizenship and to re-elaborate them in a way that allows us to understand this concept in a less-fundamental, historical sense. Methodologically, we will adopt a multi-dimensional approach which expects to be fruitful to many other investigations in the area of social sciences. The Project pretends to be useful as a consultation resource for educators in a bibliographical index to design their curricula. At the same time,a seminar with a visiting profesor, the organization of a Congres will be our main objectives.