Living long and ageing well: is epigenomics the missing link between nature and nurture?

Human longevity is a complex trait and increasingly we understand that both genes and lifestyle interact in the longevity phenotype. Non-genetic factors, including diet, physical activity, health habits, and psychosocial factors contribute approximately 50 % of the variability in human lifespan with another 25 % explained by genetic differences. Family clusters of nonagenarian and centenarian siblings, who show both exceptional age-span and health-span, are likely to have inherited facilitatory gene groups, but also have nine decades of life experiences and behaviours which have interacted with their genetic profiles. Identification of their shared genes is just one small step in the link from genes to their physical and psychological profiles. Behavioural genomics is beginning to demonstrate links to biological mechanisms through regulation of gene expression, which directs the proteome and influences the personal phenotype. Epigenetics has been considered the missing link between nature and nurture. Although there is much that remains to be discovered, this article will discuss some of genetic and environmental factors which appear important in good quality longevity and link known epigenetic mechanisms to themes identified by nonagenarians themselves related to their longevity. Here we suggest that exceptional 90-year old siblings have adopted a range of behaviours and life-styles which have contributed to their ageing-well-phenotype and which link with important public health messages.

An invasive-native mammalian species replacement process captured by camera trap survey random encounter models

Camera traps are used to estimate densities or abundances using capture-recapture and, more recently, random encounter models (REMs). We deploy REMs to describe an invasive-native species replacement process, and to demonstrate their wider application beyond abundance estimation. The Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus is a high priority endemic of conservation concern. It is threatened by an expanding population of non-native, European hares L. europaeus, an invasive species of global importance. Camera traps were deployed in thirteen 1 km squares, wherein the ratio of invader to native densities were corroborated by night-driven line transect distance sampling throughout the study area of 1652 km2. Spatial patterns of invasive and native densities between the invader’s core and peripheral ranges, and native allopatry, were comparable between methods. Native densities in the peripheral range were comparable to those in native allopatry using REM, or marginally depressed using Distance Sampling. Numbers of the invader were substantially higher than the native in the core range, irrespective of method, with a 5:1 invader-to-native ratio indicating species replacement. We also describe a post hoc optimization protocol for REM which will inform subsequent (re-)surveys, allowing survey effort (camera hours) to be reduced by up to 57% without compromising the width of confidence intervals associated with density estimates. This approach will form the basis of a more cost-effective means of surveillance and monitoring for both the endemic and invasive species. The European hare undoubtedly represents a significant threat to the endemic Irish hare.

A frontal view gait recognition based on 3D imaging using a time of flight camera

Studies have been carried out to recognize individuals from a frontal view using their gait patterns. In previous work, gait sequences were captured using either single or stereo RGB camera systems or the Kinect 1.0 camera system. In this research, we used a new frontal view gait recognition method using a laser based Time of Flight (ToF) camera. In addition to the new gait data set, other contributions include enhancement of the silhouette segmentation, gait cycle estimation and gait image representations. We propose four new gait image representations namely Gait Depth Energy Image (GDE), Partial GDE (PGDE), Discrete Cosine Transform GDE (DGDE) and Partial DGDE (PDGDE). The experimental results show that all the proposed gait image representations produce better accuracy than the previous methods. In addition, we have also developed Fusion GDEs (FGDEs) which achieve better overall accuracy and outperform the previous methods.

Strategic Human Resource Management of Volunteers and the Link to Hospital Patient Satisfaction

This article uses strategic human resource management theory to consider the ways in which volunteers can potentially enhance hospital patient satisfaction. Results of a structural equation modeling analysis of multi-source data on 107 U.S. hospitals show positive associations between hospital strategy, volunteer management practices, volunteer workforce attributes, and patient satisfaction. Although no causality can be assumed, the results shed light on the volunteer–patient satisfaction relationship and have important implications for hospital leaders, volunteer administrators, and future research.

The functional link between HFE and hepcidin- its contribution to iron metabolism regulation

Tese de doutoramento, Biologia (Biologia Molecular), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2013

Unpacking the Link Between Entrepreneurialism and Employability: an Assessment of the Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Likelihood of Graduate Employment in a Professional Field

Purpose This research investigates the relationship between students’ entrepreneurial attitudes and traits and their classification of employment six months after university graduation. It aims to identify what specific attitudes and traits of entrepreneurial graduates are linked to employability in a professional or managerial field. Design/Methodology The research adopts a quantitative approach to measure the entrepreneurial drive of final-year undergraduate business school students and regresses this measurement against the employment level of the same students six months after their graduation. The employment classification of each respondent was classified as ‘professional/managerial’ or ‘non-professional/non-managerial’, in line with the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010. Findings The research found that both proactive disposition and achievement motivation were statistically linked to the likelihood of graduates being employed in a professional or managerial position six months after graduation. Originality/Value This research goes beyond existing literature linking entrepreneurship to employability to quantitatively examine what specific attitudes and traits can be linked to employability in recent graduates. By identifying the aspects of entrepreneurialism that have a relationship with employability, more information is available for educators who are designing entrepreneurial education programs and allows for greater focus on aspects that may be of greatest benefit to all students.

Identification of image attributes that are most affected with changes in displayed image size

This paper describes an investigation of changes in image appearance when images are viewed at different image sizes on a high-end LCD device. Two digital image capturing devices of different overall image quality were used for recording identical natural scenes with a variety of pictorial contents. From each capturing device, a total of sixty four captured scenes, including architecture, nature, portraits, still and moving objects and artworks under various illumination conditions and recorded noise level were selected. The test set included some images where camera shake was purposefully introduced. An achromatic version of the image set that contained only lightness information was obtained by processing the captured images in CIELAB space. Rank order experiments were carried out to determine which image attribute(s) were most affected when the displayed image size was altered. These evaluations were carried out for both chromatic and achromatic versions of the stimuli. For the achromatic stimuli, attributes such as contrast, brightness, sharpness and noisiness were rank-ordered by the observers in terms of the degree of change. The same attributes, as well as hue and colourfulness, were investigated for the chromatic versions of the stimuli. Results showed that sharpness and contrast were the two most affected attributes with changes in displayed image size. The ranking of the remaining attributes varied with image content and illumination conditions. Further, experiments were carried out to link original scene content to the attributes that changed mostly with changes in image size.

Argonauta Video Database: General simulated scenes. Scene 1 (Right camera)

General simulated scenes These scenes followed a pre-defined script (see the Thesis for details), with common movements corresponding to general experiments. People go to or stand still in front of "J9", and/or go to the side of Argonauta reactor and come back again. The first type of movement is common during Irradiation experiments, where a material sample is put within the "J9" channel; and also during neutrongraphy or gammagraphy experiments, where a sample is placed in front of "J9". Here, the detailed movements of putting samples on these places were not reproduced in details, but only the whole bodies' movements were simulated (as crouching or being still in front of "J9"). The second type of movement may occur when operators go to the side of Argonauta to verify some operational condition. - Scene 1 (Obs.: Scene 1 of the "General simulated scenes" class): Comprises one of the scenes with two persons. Both of them use clothes of light colors. Both persons remain still in front of "J9"; one goes to the computer and then come back, and both go out. Video file labels: "20140326145315_IPCAM": recorded by the right camera,

Argonauta Video Database: General Simulated. Scene 1 (Left Camera)

General simulated scenes These scenes followed a pre-defined script (see the Thesis for details), with common movements corresponding to general experiments. People go to or stand still in front of "J9", and/or go to the side of Argonauta reactor and come back again. The first type of movement is common during Irradiation experiments, where a material sample is put within the "J9" channel; and also during neutrongraphy or gammagraphy experiments, where a sample is placed in front of "J9". Here, the detailed movements of putting samples on these places were not reproduced in details, but only the whole bodies' movements were simulated (as crouching or being still in front of "J9"). The second type of movement may occur when operators go to the side of Argonauta to verify some operational condition. - Scene 1 (Obs.: Scene 1 of the "General simulated scenes" class): Comprises one of the scenes with two persons. Both of them use clothes of light colors. Both persons remain still in front of "J9"; one goes to the computer and then come back, and both go out. Video file labels: "20140326145316_IPCAM": recorded by the left camera.

Argonauta Video Database: General simulated. Scene 2 (Right camera)

General simulated scenes These scenes followed a pre-defined script (see the Thesis for details), with common movements corresponding to general experiments. People go to or stand still in front of "J9", and/or go to the side of Argonauta reactor and come back again. The first type of movement is common during Irradiation experiments, where a material sample is put within the "J9" channel; and also during neutrongraphy or gammagraphy experiments, where a sample is placed in front of "J9". Here, the detailed movements of putting samples on these places were not reproduced in details, but only the whole bodies' movements were simulated (as crouching or being still in front of "J9"). The second type of movement may occur when operators go to the side of Argonauta to verify some operational condition. - Scene 2: Comprises one of the scenes with two persons. Both of them use clothes of dark colors. Both persons go to the side of Argonauta reactor and then come back and go out. Video file labels: "20140326154754_IPCAM": recorded by the right camera.