A Discrimination Based on Punishment

1952 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Dinsmoor

Twelve white rats learned to press a bar or lever when this act was intermittently followed by pellets of food. Once a stable rate of pressing had been established, the animals were subjected to electric shock as a punishment for each response during alternate five minute periods within the experimental session. A difference in rates during the safe and punished phases was manifested both by the experimental group (8 rats), who were provided with a light as a signal when it was safe to respond, and also, contrary to expectation, by the control group (4 rats), who continued in darkness throughout the session. The differential responding by the control group was greatly reduced, however, when the duration of each phase was reduced from five minutes to one. The investigation was then continued to determine the role of some of the other factors in the situation. Increasing the severity of the shock increased the difference between the light and the dark rates. Withholding the pellets of food reduced the overall rates but did not affect the light-dark discrimination. Withholding the shock, on the other hand, permitted an increase in rate and caused the animals to lose their discrimination; when food had previously been withheld, however, so that the rate of response was relatively low, this deterioration in the discrimination was not as rapid as before. Restoration of the discrimination training under a lower hunger drive confirmed the finding that the formation of the discrimination was quite rapid and showed that the level of drive did not affect the proportionality between the rates in the light and in the darkness. These findings were interpreted by comparing the current procedure with those previously used in studies of avoidance reactions and conflict.

1958 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. T. M. Yeates

The coat changes of an experimental group of four undernourished Shorthorn heifers have been compared with those of a control group of four well-fed heifers.Low nutrition impeded seasonal shedding in three of the four experimental animals, and the hair which was retained into the summer months appeared lifeless and bleached. One animal's hair and shedding were normal, despite low nutrition.Two animals of the control group also partially retained their hair in the summer, but it was of normal colour, good lustre, and vital appearance.It is concluded that plane of nutrition influences shedding, though some individuals within a breed are less affected than others. Two distinct varieties of coat retention were observed: one was of nutritional origin, the other inherent. Possible explanations of the differences are suggested.


2016 ◽  
Vol 689 ◽  
pp. 63-67
Author(s):  
Yan Ming Li ◽  
Zhen Zhen Liang ◽  
Yan Song

To evaluate the effectiveness of the elastic neck fixed band in improving patient’s satisfaction, increasing the level of comfort, as well as reducing hemorrhage amount, etc... . Have 100 patients with subtotal thyroidectomy in our hospital randomly divided into two groups: experimental group and control group. The 50 patients in experimental group are treated with new nursing method, i.e. the elastic neck fixed band. The other 50 patients in control group are treated with traditional nursing method, i.e. the ice pack or sandbag. Observe the effectiveness on patients of the two methods in terms of comfort, bleeding volume, satisfaction. In contrast with the control group, the satisfaction degree of the patients in the experimental group is significantly higher. The difference between the two groups is statistically significant (P<0.01).The bleeding volume of the experimental group is significantly less than that of the control group, the difference is statistically significant between the two groups (P<0.01). The result shows that it is worthy of clinical popularization and application.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Xiaoyu Sun ◽  
Bing Xia ◽  
Cuiyun Le ◽  
Zhu Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Coronary heart disease is related to sudden death caused by multi-factors and a major threat to human health.This study explores the role of OX40L and ICAM-1 in the stability of coronary plaques and their relationship with sudden coronary death. Methods A total of 118 human coronary arteries with different degrees of atherosclerosis and/or sudden coronary death comprised the experimental group and 28 healthy subjects constituted the control group were isolated from patients. The experimental group was subdivided based on whether the cause of death was sudden coronary death and whether it was accompanied by thrombosis, plaque rupture, plaque outflow and other secondary changes: group I: patients with coronary atherosclerosis but not sudden coronary death, group II: sudden coronary death without any of the secondary changes mentioned above, group III: sudden coronary death with coronary artery atherosclerotic lesions accompanied by either of the above secondary changes. The histological structure of the coronary artery was observed under a light microscope after routine HE staining, and the related indexes of atherosclerotic plaque lesions were assessed by image analysis software. The expressions of OX40L and ICAM-1 were detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blotting, and the correlations between the expressions and the stability of coronary atherosclerotic plaque and sudden coronary death were analyzed. Results (1) The expression of OX40L protein in the control group and the three experimental groups showed an increasing trend, and the difference between groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). (2) The expression of the ICAM-1 protein in the control group and the three experimental groups showed a statistically significant (P < 0.05) increasing trend. (3) The expression of OX40L and ICAM-1 mRNAs increased in the control and the three experimental groups and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion The expression of OX40L and ICAM-1 proteins and mRNAs is positively correlated with the stability of coronary atherosclerotic plaque and sudden coronary death.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2081-2088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alin Alexandru Odor ◽  
Edwin Sever Bechir ◽  
Deborah Violant ◽  
Victoria Badea

Moderate and severe periodontitis represents a challenge in the non-surgical periodontal therapy. Due to the lack of evidence regarding the antimicrobial effectiveness of 940 nm diode laser in periodontal treatment, this study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) photolysis performed with 940 nm diode laser in the treatment of moderate and severe periodontitis. Twenty-five patients with 100 teeth were selected for this pilot study. The test teeth were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups: Group 1: scaling and root planning (SRP) (control group); and the following experimental groups: Group 2: H2O2; Group 3: 940 nm diode laser therapy; Group 4: 940 nm diode laser therapy and H2O2. Clinical examinations, like probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were performed before and after the treatment. The microbiological evaluation, effectuated before and after the treatment, included nine periodontal bacteria species and investigated by means of real-time PCR assay. The clinical and bacterial differences in the tested groups, was assessed between control group and the other three experimental groups, as well as between the experimental groups. The total bacteria load was reduced for all four studied groups. Group 4 (diode laser + H2O2) showed significant bacterial reduction of the major periodontal bacteria like Pg., Tf., Td., Pi., Pm., Fn (p[0.001) than the other 3 groups (p]0.001). Also the periodontal clinical parameters, like PD, CAL and BOP showed a significant reduction after the photolysis of H2O2 with the 940 nm diode laser (p[0.001). Differences between tested groups showed a significant beneficial results in regard to Group 4.It is suggested that the photoactivation of H2O2 with the 940 nm diode laser can be used successfully in adjunctive to the non-surgical periodontal treatment as a bactericidal tool.


2020 ◽  
Vol 06 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngan Nguyen Hoang ◽  
Thang Duong Minh ◽  
Tuan Anh Hoang ◽  
Son Le Ngoc Bich ◽  
Duong Nguyen Huu ◽  
...  

Objectives: Evaluate the effects of "XGTQ" in the treatment of cirrhosis induced by Carbon tetrachloride (CCL4) in combination with alcohol and high-fat diet on Wistar rats. Materials and methods: Cirrhosis on white rats was induced by subcutaneously injecting CC14 at an initial dose of 5,0ml/kg, followed by 1,2ml/kg once a week in 10 weeks. Then, fed with synthetic food, added 20% fat, and 0.05% cholesterol and iron oxalate. Rats were administered every day with plain water and 1 day with water mixed with 30% ethanol. The rats were randomly divided into 5 groups and given distilled water (group 1 and 2 or control group), silymarin (group 3 or reference group) or the "XGTQ" drug extract (group 4, 5) for 4 weeks. Collected blood for biochemical test and liver were dissected to evaluate weight, morphology and quantified 4-hydroxyproline to evaluate fibrosis and collagen accumulation. Results: In cirrhotic wistar rats, "XGTQ" drug at 19.6 g/kg/24h and 58.8 g/kg/24h showed the ability of reducing the activity of enzymes AST, ALT in the blood (p<0.01), increasing plasma albumin and decreasing prothrobin time (p<.05); improving physical condition, macroscopic and microscopic images of H&E-stained liver; decreasing the concentration of hydroxyproline in the liver and reducing the level of cirrhosis on the masson-stained templates. The effects of "XGTQ" increased with the dose, and was equivalent to silymarin at the dose of 70 mg/kg/24h. Conclusion: The extract of "XGTQ" drug is effective in treating cirrhosis in Wistar rats.


2021 ◽  
pp. 037957212110254
Author(s):  
Harleen Kaur ◽  
Neerja Singla ◽  
Rohini Jain

Objective: India is the second country after China having the highest population prevalence of diabetes. Several research studies investigating diabetes have been done, but not much work has been done on prediabetes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nutrition and lifestyle modification on prediabetic females. Methods: A total of 120 prediabetic females from Ludhiana city were divided into 2 matched groups: control group (n = 60) and experimental group (n = 60). Impact of nutrition intervention for dietary and lifestyle modification (for 3 months) was assessed on the anthropometric, dietary, biochemical parameters, and diabetes risk score of the experimental group and control group (no intervention). Results: All the selected 120 subjects completed the study (experimental group = 60; control group = 60). There was significant difference in the changes between the 2 groups throughout the study. The fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin A1c levels of the experimental group subjects reduced significantly ( P ≤ .01). However, no change was observed among the control group subjects. The lipid profile of the experimental group showed a significant improvement ( P ≤ .01). Conclusion: Nutrition counselling of the prediabetics regarding dietary and lifestyle modification is recommended so as to improve their metabolic control, thus preventing them from being diabetics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii178-ii178
Author(s):  
Xing Zhang ◽  
Fuqiang Zhang ◽  
Mingyao Lai ◽  
Juan Li ◽  
Yangqiong Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of group medical games on the hospitalization adaptability of pediatric patients with neuro tumor. METHODS pediatric patients with neuro tumor (age:6 to 13 years) who were treated in hospital from June to December 2019 and were hospitalized for 1 month to 2 months. 29 pediatric patients(mean age:9y) were selected as the control group and treated as usual; 26 pediatric patients(meanage:8y) were selected as the experimental group for group therapeutic play intervention. Interventions last Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week, with an average duration of one hour. Group medical play include: medical picture book education, medical preview game, emotional games, social table games. Two groups completed self-made questionnaires at the time of admission and two weeks after admission, including: diet, sleep, compliance, and social status, hospital adaptation and other related issues, two groups completed a satisfaction questionnaire after two weeks of admission, recorded analysis and compared the difference of questionnaire data and satisfaction of the two groups of pediatric patients. RESULTS There was no statistical difference in age and sex between the two groups, and there was no significant difference in baseline RESULTS: The re-test results showed that the experimental group was significantly better than the control group in terms of social status, hospital adaptation, compliance and family satisfaction(p<0.05). CONCLUSION Group medical games can effectively improve the adaptability, compliance and family satisfaction of pediatric with neuro tumor.


2020 ◽  
pp. 102986492097472
Author(s):  
Katherine O’Neill ◽  
Hauke Egermann

Recent research has explored the role of empathy in the context of music listening. Here, through an empathy priming paradigm, situational empathy was shown to act as a causal mechanism in inducing emotion, although the way empathy was primed had low levels of ecological validity. We therefore conducted an online experiment to explore the extent to which information about a composer’s expressive intentions when writing a piece of music would significantly affect the degree to which participants reportedly empathise with the composer and in turn influence emotional responses to expressive music. A total of 229 participants were randomly assigned to three groups. The experimental group read short texts describing the emotions felt by the composer during the process of composition. To control for the effect of text regardless of its content, one control group read texts describing the characteristics of the music they were to hear, and a second control group was not given any textual information. Participants listened to 30-second excerpts of four pieces of music, selected to express emotions from the four quadrants of the circumplex theory of emotion. Having heard each music excerpt, participants rated the valence and arousal they experienced and completed a measure of situational empathy. Results show that situational empathy in response to music is significantly associated with trait empathy. As opposed to those in the control conditions, participants in the experimental group responded with significantly higher levels of situational empathy. Receiving this text significantly moderated the effect of the expressiveness of stimuli on induced emotion, indicating that it induced empathy. We conclude that empathy can be induced during music listening through the provision of information about the specific emotions of a person relating to the music. These findings contribute to an understanding of the psychological mechanisms that underlie emotional responses to music.


2003 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Fernández ◽  
W. Herrera ◽  
T. Harmony ◽  
L Díaz-Comas ◽  
E. Santiago ◽  
...  

Neurofeedback (NFB) is an operant conditioning procedure, by which the subject learns to control his/her EEG activity. On one hand, Learning Disabled (LD) children have higher values of theta EEG absolute and relative power than normal children, and on the other hand, it has been shown that minimum alpha absolute power is necessary for adequate performance. Ten LD children were selected with higher than normal ratios of theta to alpha absolute power (theta/alpha). The Test Of Variables of Attention (TOVA) was applied. Children were divided into two groups in order to maintain similar IQ values, TOVA values, socioeconomical status, and gender for each group. In the experimental group, NFB was applied in the region with highest ratio, triggering a sound each time the ratio fell below a threshold value. Noncontingent reinforcement was given to the other group. Twenty half-hour sessions were applied, at a rate of 2 per week. At the end of the 20 sessions, TOVA, WISC and EEG were obtained. There was significant improvement in WISC performance in the experimental group that was not observed in the control group. EEG absolute power decreased in delta, theta, alpha and beta bands in the experimental group. Control children only showed a decrease in relative power in the delta band. All changes observed in the experimental group and not observed in the control group indicate better cognitive performance and the presence of greater EEG maturation in the experimental group, which suggests that changes were due not only to development but also to NFB treatment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-428
Author(s):  
Miriam R. Lowi

Studies of identity and belonging in Gulf monarchies tend to privilege tribal or religious affiliation, if not the protective role of the ruler as paterfamilias. I focus instead on the ubiquitous foreigner and explore ways in which s/he contributes to the definition of national community in contemporary gcc states. Building upon and moving beyond the scholarly literature on imported labor in the Gulf, I suggest that the different ‘categories’ of foreigners impact identity and the consolidation of a community of privilege, in keeping with the national project of ruling families. Furthermore, I argue that the ‘European,’ the non-gcc Arab, and the predominantly Asian (and increasingly African) laborer play similar, but also distinct roles in the delineation of national community: while they are differentially incorporated in ways that protect the ‘nation’ and appease the citizen-subject, varying degrees of marginality reflect Gulf society’s perceptions or aspirations of the difference between itself and ‘the other(s).’


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