scholarly journals Effects of Stroking on Salivary Oxytocin and Cortisol in Guide Dogs: Preliminary Results

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asahi Ogi ◽  
Chiara Mariti ◽  
Paolo Baragli ◽  
Valeria Sergi ◽  
Angelo Gazzano
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Assessment ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Wilcoxon Test ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Guide Dogs ◽  
Isolation Condition ◽  
Negative Condition

This pilot study aimed at investigating how salivary oxytocin levels are affected by human interaction and isolation in eight guide dogs (six Labrador retrievers and two golden retrievers; four males and four females, 21.87 ± 1.36 months old) just before assignment to the blind person. Each dog engaged, at one-week intervals, in a positive (5 min of affiliative interaction with their trainer) and a negative (5 min of isolation) condition. Saliva samples used for Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) quantification of salivary oxytocin were collected before and immediately after both experimental conditions. In order to assess potential hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activation that could have affected oxytocin levels, saliva samples were collected 15 min after both experimental conditions for EIA quantification of salivary cortisol and a behavioral assessment was performed during the negative condition. The results were compared using the Wilcoxon test (p < 0.05). Oxytocin concentrations showed a statistically significant increase after the positive interaction (p = 0.036) and no difference after the negative one (p = 0.779). Moreover, no difference (p = 0.263) was found between the cortisol concentrations after each experimental condition and no signs of distress were observed during the isolation phase. These preliminary findings support the hypothesis that stroking dogs has positive effects on their emotional state independently of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis activation.

scholarly journals Quanti-Qualitative Response of Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris L. var. cycla) to Soil Amendment with Biochar-Compost Mixtures

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 307
Author(s):  
Angela Libutti ◽  
Anna Rita Rivelli
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Beta Vulgaris ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Total N ◽  
Qualitative Response ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Swiss Chard ◽  
Two Factors

In recent years, soil addition with organic amendments, such as biochar and compost, has gained attention as an effective agronomic practice to sustain soil fertility, enhance plant growth and crop yield. Well known are the positive effects of compost on yield of a wide crop varieties, while both positive and negative responses are reported for biochar Therefore, the aim of the study was to verify the effect of biochar mixed with three types of compost on quanti-qualitative response of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. cycla), a leafy green vegetable rich in dietary antioxidants, largely consumed worldwide. A factorial experiment in pots with two factors, including biochar (without biochar and with biochar from vine pruning residues) and compost (without compost, with compost from olive pomace, with vermicompost from cattle manure, and with compost from cattle anaerobic digestate), was setup. Two growth cycles were considered, and a set of quantitative (height of plants, number, area and fresh weight of leaves) and qualitative parameters (carotenoids, chlorophyll, total N, and NO3−content of leaves) were analyzed. Biochar decreased plant growth and NO3− leaf content; on the contrary, it increased total N leaf content, while compost improved all the considered parameters. The interactive effect of biochar and compost was evident only on total N and NO3− leaf content. In our experimental conditions, the compost showed to be the best option to improve Swiss chard growth and increase the content of phytopigments, while the biochar-compost mixtures did not produce the expected effect.

scholarly journals Competition-free gaps are essential for the germination and recruitment of alpine species along an elevation gradient in the European Alps

Alpine Botany ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Margreiter ◽  
Janette Walde ◽  
Brigitta Erschbamer
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Seed Sowing ◽  
Plant Plant

AbstractSeed germination and seedling recruitment are key processes in the life cycle of plants. They enable populations to grow, migrate, or persist. Both processes are under environmental control and influenced by site conditions and plant–plant interactions. Here, we present the results of a seed-sowing experiment performed along an elevation gradient (2000–2900 m a.s.l.) in the European eastern Alps. We monitored the germination of seeds and seedling recruitment for 2 years. Three effects were investigated: effects of sites and home sites (seed origin), effects of gaps, and plant–plant interactions. Seeds of eight species originating from two home sites were transplanted to four sites (home site and ± in elevation). Seed sowing was performed in experimentally created gaps. These gap types (‘gap + roots’, ‘neighbor + roots’, and ‘no-comp’) provided different plant–plant interactions and competition intensities. We observed decreasing germination with increasing elevation, independent of the species home sites. Competition-released gaps favored recruitment, pointing out the important role of belowground competition and soil components in recruitment. In gaps with one neighboring species, neutral plant–plant interactions occurred (with one exception). However, considering the relative vegetation cover of each experimental site, high vegetation cover resulted in positive effects on recruitment at higher sites and neutral effects at lower sites. All tested species showed intraspecific variability when responding to the experimental conditions. We discuss our findings considering novel site and climatic conditions.

scholarly journals A Dialogue-Based System with Photo and Storytelling for Older Adults: Toward Daily Cognitive Training

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiki Tokunaga ◽  
Kazuhiro Tamura ◽  
Mihoko Otake-Matsuura
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Question Answering ◽  
Design Method ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
At Home

As the elderly population grows worldwide, living a healthy and full life as an older adult is becoming a topic of great interest. One key factor and severe challenge to maintaining quality of life in older adults is cognitive decline. Assistive robots for helping older adults have been proposed to solve issues such as social isolation and dependent living. Only a few studies have reported the positive effects of dialogue robots on cognitive function but conversation is being discussed as a promising intervention that includes various cognitive tasks. Existing dialogue robot-related studies have reported on placing dialogue robots in elderly homes and allowing them to interact with residents. However, it is difficult to reproduce these experiments since the participants’ characteristics influence experimental conditions, especially at home. Besides, most dialogue systems are not designed to set experimental conditions without on-site support. This study proposes a novel design method that uses a dialogue-based robot system for cognitive training at home. We define challenges and requirements to meet them to realize cognitive function training through daily communication. Those requirements are designed to satisfy detailed conditions such as duration of dialogue, frequency, and starting time without on-site support. Our system displays photos and gives original stories to provide contexts for dialogue that help the robot maintain a conversation for each story. Then the system schedules dialogue sessions along with the participant’s plan. The robot moderates the user to ask a question and then responds to the question by changing its facial expression. This question-answering procedure continued for a specific duration (4 min). To verify our design method’s effectiveness and implementation, we conducted three user studies by recruiting 35 elderly participants. We performed prototype-, laboratory-, and home-based experiments. Through these experiments, we evaluated current datasets, user experience, and feasibility for home use. We report on and discuss the older adults’ attitudes toward the robot and the number of turns during dialogues. We also classify the types of utterances and identify user needs. Herein, we outline the findings of this study, outlining the system’s essential characteristics to experiment toward daily cognitive training and explain further feature requests.

scholarly journals Positive interaction between work and home, and psychological availability on women’s work engagement: A “shortitudinal” study

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Łaba ◽  
Madelyn Geldenhuys
Keyword(s):  
Work Engagement ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Women's Work ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Women’S Work ◽  
Home Work ◽  
Work Interaction ◽  
Positive Work

Orientation: Women’s work engagement is affected by how well they balance their work and personal life, and their level of confidence in their capability at work.Research purpose: Determine whether women’s daily psychological availability mediates daily positive work-home interaction and daily positive home-work interaction on daily work engagement.Motivation for the study: Research into negative work–home and home–work interaction is in abundance. Limited studies focus on the positive effects on women’s experiences at work (i.e. work engagement). Little is known about women’s psychological availability and how it affects their work. Furthermore, little research provides us insights into the day-level experiences of women at work.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative, shortitudinal design was used. Data analyses accounted for multilevel structure in the data (within-person vs. between-person differences). Female employees (n = 60) from various industries in Gauteng, completed electronic diaries in the form of a survey for 10 consecutive working days.Main findings: Daily psychological availability mediates between daily positive work-home interaction and daily work engagement. Daily positive home-work interaction did not predict daily work engagement, but had a significant effect on daily psychological availability.Practical/managerial implications: Examining systems and structures that promote opportunities for women to become more psychologically available at work impacts their sustainable retention.Contribution/value-add: This study found significant relationships between day-level uses of personal resources and spillover effects of home-work and work-home on day-level work engagement. The study further contributes to the literature on positive work–home and home–work interaction.

Nonlinear and complementary effects of responsive and proactive market orientation on firms’ competitive advantage

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 841-859
Author(s):  
Fabian F. Osorio Tinoco ◽  
Miguel Hernández-Espallardo ◽  
Augusto Rodriguez-Orejuela
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Proactive Market Orientation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to clarify how responsive market orientation (RMO) and proactive market orientation (PMO) create competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach Nonlinear and interaction effects are tested by applying hierarchical regression analysis to a sample of 272 Colombian manufacturing companies. Findings The results show that although market orientation promotes the competitive advantage of a business, both approaches – responsive and proactive – exhibit saturation effects and a positive interaction. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study is the cross-sectional design and the use of a single source for data collection. It is suggested that future research includes different orientations combined with these two market orientations – responsive and proactive – for achieving competitive advantage. In addition, further studies could replicate this analysis for different environmental conditions. Originality/value This paper simultaneously evaluates the nonlinear and complementary effects of RMO and PMO. From a strategic standpoint, it presents an empirical confirmation of the familiarity trap, the failure trap and the positive effects of combining RMO and PMO.

Survey of Social Touch Interaction Between Humans and Robots

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-135
Author(s):  
Masahiro Shiomi ◽  
Hidenobu Sumioka ◽  
Hiroshi Ishiguro ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Research Topic ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
Touch Interaction

In human-human interaction, social touch provides several merits, from both physical and mental perspectives. The physical existence of robots helps them reproduce human-like social touch, during their interaction with people. Such social touch shows positive effects, similar to those observed in human-human interaction. Therefore, social touch is a growing research topic in the field of human-robot interaction. This survey provides an overview of the work conducted so far on this topic.

The effects of aluminum on Picearubens:factorial experiments using sand culture

1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. McCanny ◽  
Martin J. Lechowicz ◽  
Bill Shipley ◽  
William H. Hendershot
Keyword(s):  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Solution Concentration ◽  
Sand Culture ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Plant Weight ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Shoot Ratio ◽  
Root Shoot Ratio ◽  
Low Concentrations

We used sand culture to examine the effects of aluminum (Al3+) on gas exchange and growth in 1+0 Picearubens Sarg. seedlings. Growth solutions were prepared to match the elemental concentrations of the soil solutions in a declining Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.–P. rubens stand. In our first experiment, we used a four-way factorial design to examine the interactions between Al, pH, nutrients, and CO2. All plants were nitrogen deficient. Photosynthetic rate and instantaneous water-use efficiency both declined at 250 μmol•L−1 Al, as did the root/shoot ratio of the seedlings. Plant weight, however, was not significantly affected by the 10-fold increase in Al solution concentration. These results were robust across a range of experimental conditions, suggesting that other aspects of soil acidification, such as NO3 fertilization in N deficient soils, could counteract the toxic effects of Al. In a second experiment, we examined the effects of subtoxic concentrations of Al at two levels of nutrient cation availability. Unlike in a previous study, cation fertilization affected neither gas exchange nor growth. While the decreases in root/shoot ratio and growth were expected at 250 μmol•L−1 Al, the peak in growth rates for intermediate concentrations of Al (25–100 μmol•L−1) was not. The latter result was interpreted in light of the positive effects that low concentrations of Al are known to have on other species.

scholarly journals On the Validity of Adipogenic Cell Lines as Model Systems for Browning Processes: In Authentic Brown, Brite/Beige, and White Preadipocytes, There is No Cell-Autonomous Thermogenic Recruitment by Green Tea Compounds

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemari Otton ◽  
Natasa Petrovic ◽  
Barbara Cannon ◽  
Jan Nedergaard
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Green Tea ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Adrenergic Stimulation ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
White Adipocytes ◽  
Beige Adipocytes

The potential ability of nutritional compounds to induce or enhance the browning of adipocytes has attracted large interest as a workable means of combatting the obesity epidemic. Green tea compounds are discussed as such inducers of an enhanced thermogenic capacity and activity. However, the cell-autonomous effects of green tea compounds on adipocytes have until now only been demonstrated in adipogenic cell lines (3T3-L1 and 3T3-F442A), i.e., cells of undefined tissue lineage. In this study, we examine the ability of green tea compounds to cell-autonomously induce thermogenic recruitment in authentic brown and brite/beige adipocytes in vitro. In primary brown adipocytes, the green tea compounds suppressed basal UCP1 gene expression, and there was no positive interaction between the compounds and adrenergic stimulation. In white adipocytes, green tea compounds decreased both basal and norepinephrine-induced UCP1 mRNA levels, and this was associated with the suppression of cell differentiation, indicated by reduced lipogenic gene expression and lipid accumulation. A lack of interaction between rosiglitazone and green tea compounds suggests that the green tea compounds do not directly interact with the PPARγ pathway. We conclude that there is a negative effect of the green tea compounds on basal UCP1 gene expression, in both brown and white primary adipocytes, in contrast to the positive effects earlier reported from studies in adipogenic cell lines. We posit that the epigenetic status of the adipogenic cell lines is fundamentally different from that of genuine brown and white adipocytes, reflected, e.g., in several-thousand-fold differences in UCP1 gene expression levels. Thus, results obtained with adipogenic cell lines cannot unreservedly be extrapolated as being relevant for authentic effects in brown and white adipocytes. We suggest that this conclusion can be of general concern for studies attempting to establish physiologically relevant cell-autonomous effects.

“We now fly”: Perspectives of adults who are blind with guide dogs trained for running

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren J Lieberman ◽  
Pamela S Haibach-Beach ◽  
Jenna Sherwood ◽  
Alyssa Trad
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Guide Dogs ◽  
Reduced Physical Activity ◽  
Active Lifestyles ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Individuals with visual impairments lead less active lifestyles than their sighted counterparts. Reduced physical activity in this population can be attributed to a lack of opportunities combined with fewer intervention opportunities, less experience in sport and recreational activities, and decreased perceived motor competence. Furthermore, individuals with visual impairments report lower values in all domains of quality of life when compared with their sighted counterparts. Therefore, it is imperative that opportunities are developed to increase self-determination leading to higher levels of physical activity for individuals with visual impairments. Running is a popular physical activity for active individuals; however, there are many barriers to running for individuals with visual impairments. To increase these opportunities, a school for guide dogs has recently started training guide dogs to run. The purpose of this study was to determine the perspectives of adults with visual impairments on their experiences running with trained running guide dogs. Ten adults who are blind were interviewed on phone by two researchers. Qualitative research questions were validated by two adults who are blind, three specialists in adapted physical education, and one guide dog trainer. Interviews were transcribed, and themes were extracted by three of the authors. The four major themes that emerged from this research study were (1) running guide dogs’ contribution to mental and physical health, (2) independence as a result of running with a guide dog, (3) The dog is key to increased/improved running, and (4) barriers and supporters to running. Our results indicate that there are numerous positive effects that a running guide dog has on the health, independence, and quality of life of individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The results indicated that making running guide dogs available could provide increased self-determination for adults who choose to take advantage of this program leading to a healthier lifestyle.

The challenges of gamifying CSR communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kateryna Maltseva ◽  
Christian Fieseler ◽  
Hannah Trittin-Ulbrich
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Report ◽  
Environmental Attitude ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
And Behavior

PurposeA growing number of research report positive effects of gamification, that is the introduction of game elements to non-game contexts, on stakeholder intentions and behaviors. Hence, gamification is proposed as an effective tool for organizations to educate their stakeholders about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability-related topics. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors ask whether gamification can communicate matters of social and environmental concern. Based on three consecutive experimental studies, the authors show that there are boundary conditions to the effectiveness of gamified communication on stakeholder attitude, intention and behavior.FindingsThe authors find positive, negative and insignificant effects of gamification on pro-environmental attitude, intention and behavior. Based on these ambiguous results, the authors conclude with a call for more rigorous forms of designing gamified experiences to foster stakeholder learning and highlight and develop several such future research and engagement opportunities.Originality/valueThe study is the first to apply gamification to the context of corporate and in particular CSR communication. It is furthermore one of the first studies that actually research the effects of gamification empirically, and in controlled experimental conditions.

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