scholarly journals Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1944) ◽  
pp. 20202770
Author(s):  
M. L. Bond ◽  
D. E. Lee ◽  
D. R. Farine ◽  
A. Ozgul ◽  
B. König
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Natural Food ◽  
Social Traits ◽  
The Individual

Studies increasingly show that social connectedness plays a key role in determining survival, in addition to natural and anthropogenic environmental factors. Few studies, however, integrated social, non-social and demographic data to elucidate what components of an animal's socio-ecological environment are most important to their survival. Female giraffes ( Giraffa camelopardalis ) form structured societies with highly dynamic group membership but stable long-term associations. We examined the relative contributions of sociability (relationship strength, gregariousness and betweenness), together with those of the natural (food sources and vegetation types) and anthropogenic environment (distance from human settlements), to adult female giraffe survival. We tested predictions about the influence of sociability and natural and human factors at two social levels: the individual and the social community. Survival was primarily driven by individual- rather than community-level social factors. Gregariousness (the number of other females each individual was observed with on average) was most important in explaining variation in female adult survival, more than other social traits and any natural or anthropogenic environmental factors. For adult female giraffes, grouping with more other females, even as group membership frequently changes, is correlated with better survival, and this sociability appears to be more important than several attributes of their non-social environment.

Evidence-based Practice regarding knowledge, attitude and perceived barriers of Mangalore Physical Therapists: A Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 7056-7063
Author(s):  
Vineel P ◽  
Gopala Krishna Alaparthi ◽  
Kalyana Chakravarthy Bairapareddy ◽  
Sampath Kumar Amaravadi
Keyword(s):  
Response Rate ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Physical Therapists ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Hard Copy ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Research Committee ◽  
The Individual

  Evidence-based Practice is defined as usage of current best evidence which is conscientious, explicit and judicious in deciding on the care of the individual. It is one of the vital decision-making processes in the medical profession. Though India is renowned as a center for medical education, there is scarcity regarding the literature on evidence-based practice. The survey aims to identify the prevalence of evidence-based practice among the physical therapists of Mangalore. The study protocol submitted to scientific research committee and Ethical institutional committee, K.M.C. Mangalore Manipal University. On approval, the questionnaire had been distributed among the physical therapists of Mangalore through mails and in the written form. The questionnaire consists of questions divided into eight sections: 1) consent form 2) current practice status; 3) demographic data; 4) behavior; 5) previous knowledge of E.B.P. resources; 6) skills and available resources; 7) Opinions regarding E.B.P.; 8)Perceived barriers regarding E.B.P. The emails were sent through Google forms to all the physical therapists, and hard copies were distributed among the selected physical therapists. The response rate for the emails was 13.1%. The response collected through hard copies was 178, whereas total hard copies distributed was 320, the participants rejected some due to lack of interest. In total, including emails and hard copy questionnaire 205 was the response rate in which all were practicing physical therapy as their primary profession. The findings of the study will pave the way to identify the status of evidence-based practice as well as help in designing promotional programmers for evidence-based practice.

scholarly journals Research on the Relationship between Shared Leadership and Individual Creativity-Qualitative Comparative Analysis on the Basis of Clear Set

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5445
Author(s):  
Muyun Sun ◽  
Jigan Wang ◽  
Ting Wen
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Sufficient And Necessary Condition

Creativity is the key to obtaining and maintaining competitiveness of modern organizations, and it has attracted much attention from academic circles and management practices. Shared leadership is believed to effectively influence team output. However, research on the impact of individual creativity is still in its infancy. This study adopts the qualitative comparative analysis method, taking 1584 individuals as the research objects, underpinned by a questionnaire-based survey. It investigates the influence of the team’s shared leadership network elements and organizational environmental factors on the individual creativity. We have found that there are six combination of conditions of shared leadership and organizational environmental factors constituting sufficient combination of conditions to increase or decrease individual creativity. Moreover, we have noticed that the low network density of shared leadership is a sufficient and necessary condition of reducing individual creativity. Our results also provide management suggestions for practical activities during the team management.

A Critical Review of Theories and Models of Technology Adoption and Acceptance in Information System Research

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 58-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Tarhini ◽  
Nalin Asanka Gamagedara Arachchilage ◽  
Ra'ed Masa'deh ◽  
Muhammad Sharif Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
System Research ◽  
Information System Research ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

Previous research shows that selecting an appropriate theory or model has always remained a critical task for IS researchers. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there are few papers that review and compare the acceptance theories and models at the individual level. Hence, this article aims to overcome this problem by providing a critical review of eight of the most influential theories that have been used to predict and explain human behaviour towards adoption of various technologies at the individual level. This article also summarizes their evolution; highlight the key constructs, extensions, strengths, and criticisms from a selective list of published articles appeared in the literature related to IS. This review provides a holistic picture for future researchers in selecting appropriate single/multiple theoretical models/constructs based on their strengths and weaknesses and in terms of predictive power and path significance. It is concluded that a well-established theory should consider the personal, social, cultural, technological, organizational and environmental factors

scholarly journals Social affiliation matters: both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships predict survival in wild female baboons

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1793) ◽  
pp. 20141261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Archie ◽  
Jenny Tung ◽  
Michael Clark ◽  
Jeanne Altmann ◽  
Susan C. Alberts
Keyword(s):  
Animal Studies ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Limited Resource ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Wild Female ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Socially Isolated

Social integration and support can have profound effects on human survival. The extent of this phenomenon in non-human animals is largely unknown, but such knowledge is important to understanding the evolution of both lifespan and sociality. Here, we report evidence that levels of affiliative social behaviour (i.e. ‘social connectedness’) with both same-sex and opposite-sex conspecifics predict adult survival in wild female baboons. In the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya, adult female baboons that were socially connected to either adult males or adult females lived longer than females who were socially isolated from both sexes—females with strong connectedness to individuals of both sexes lived the longest. Female social connectedness to males was predicted by high dominance rank, indicating that males are a limited resource for females, and females compete for access to male social partners. To date, only a handful of animal studies have found that social relationships may affect survival. This study extends those findings by examining relationships to both sexes in by far the largest dataset yet examined for any animal. Our results support the idea that social effects on survival are evolutionarily conserved in social mammals.

scholarly journals A Critical Analysis of Risk Factors for Selected Tropical Diseases

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith-Michael Uzoka ◽  
Christie Akwaowo ◽  
Chinyere Nwafor Okoli ◽  
Victory Ekpin ◽  
Chukwudi Nwokoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Typhoid Fever ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Tropical Diseases ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the impacts of different (non-clinical) risk factors on the populations’ predisposition to tropical diseases specifically Malaria, yellow fever, typhoid fever, chicken pox, measles, hepatitis B and UTI.Subject and Methods: Data for this study was obtained through patient diagnosis forms, distributed to physicians in Nigeria. A total of 2199 patient consultation forms were returned by 102 (out of 125) physicians, and considered useful for analysis. Demographic data of patients, physicians, and diagnosis outcomes were analysed descriptively through frequency distributions, aggregate analysis, and graphs, while the influence of risk factors on the disease manifestations (diagnosis outcomes) were determined using regression analysis.Results: Findings from our study demonstrated that the difficulty in diagnosing tropical disease was associated with significant increase in morbidity and mortality especially in patients with malaria, UTI and typhoid fever. Factors such as contact with an infected person and poor personal hygiene posed significant risk, while urbanization and homelessness, posed very low risks across all the diseases. Conclusion: The risk factors identified in our study exert differential and discriminating influences in the causation, predisposition, and transmission of these conditions, understanding the individual risk factors for each condition have significant socio-economic implications for people living in tropical and endemic regions, especially with respect to management and prevention of these conditions.

scholarly journals The THE ECOLOGICAL QUALITY STATUS OF THE ORGANIC SHRIMP FARMING PONDS: USE OF A NEW BIOTIC INDICES

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trần Thành Thái
Keyword(s):  
Farming Systems ◽  
Shrimp Farming ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Biotic Index ◽  
Natural Food ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Ecological Quality Status ◽  
Quality Status

In spite of the development and widespread dissemination of the model organic shrimp farming systems, the biological communities in the organic shrimp farming ponds have still very limited. Therefore, we conducted a field survey for macrobenthic communities (MC) of the Tam Giang‘s organic shrimp farming ponds (TGOSFP) located in Tam Giang commune, Nam Can district, Ca Mau province during three seasons in 2015 (March - dry, July - transfer and November - wet season). The results indicated that the MC have characterized by high density and slightly diversity that is a rich natural food sources for shrimp in the TGOSFP. Further more, the present study is a first attempt to use of new indices (AMBI - AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index) on MC for determining the ecological quality status of sediment (EcoQ) in the TGOSFP. The following results were also recorded with an undisturbed and slightly disturbed  EcoQ in the TGOSFP and the general EcoQ would likely be improved between three seasons. The success of AMBI for detecting EcoQ in Vietnam is specific to this study, but AMBI was likely to improved, in particular tropical regions.

scholarly journals Histopathology of chronic hepatitis C in relation to virus genotype

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 819-825
Author(s):  
Dragan Delic ◽  
Zorica Nesic ◽  
Milica Prostran ◽  
Ivan Boricic ◽  
Nada Tomanovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis C ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Hcv Infection ◽  
Virus Genotype ◽  
Hcv Genotypes ◽  
Geographical Variations ◽  
Necroinflammatory Activity ◽  
Genotype 1B ◽  
Chronic Hcv ◽  
The Individual

Background/aim: The natural history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is variable and the factors determining the course of the illness are unclear. There are geographical variations in the distribution of different HCV genotypes, and some of them are related to the specific infection routes. Regarding our country, the dominant genotype is genotype 1b. It is unclear and still remains a question whether the distinct histopathological manifestations are related to the particular genotypes of HCV. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine whether the distinct histopathological manifestations of HCV infection might be in relation to the individual virus genotype. Methods. In this study we examined 126 patients with chronic HCV infection regarding the histopathological features, demographic data, and virus genotype. The observed groups of patients were predominantly infected with HCV genotypes 1b and 3a. Results. In this study we found that the patients infected with HCV genotype 1b had more frequently moderate or severe necroinflammatory activity of the disease, significantly higher grading score as compared with other genotypes (p < 0.0001). A higher degree of fibrosis was, also, more common in the patients infected with genotype 1b of HCV as compared with other genotypes (p < 0.05). There were no significant correlations between the necroinflammatory activity of the disease and the stage of fibrosis in 1b, 4 and mixed genotypes. Conclusion. The present data support the hypothesis that distinct genotypes of HCV are associated with the particular histopathological manifestation of the disease.

scholarly journals Factors Associated with Perceived Trust of False Abortion Websites: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarina Rebecca Chaiken ◽  
Lisa Han ◽  
Blair G Darney ◽  
Leo Han
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Correlation Matrices ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Perceived Trust ◽  
Neutral Site ◽  
Design Characteristics ◽  
The Individual

BACKGROUND The majority of patients use the internet to search for health information. While there is a vast repository of searchable information online, much of the content is unregulated and therefore potentially incorrect, conflicting, or confusing. Abortion information online is particularly prone to being inaccurate as anti-choice websites publish purposefully misleading information in formats that appear as neutral resources. To understand how anti-choice websites appear neutral, we need to understand the specific website features of anti-choice features that impart trust to viewers. OBJECTIVE We sought to identify characteristics of false or misleading abortion websites that make these websites appear trustworthy to the public. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study using Amazon.com Inc’s Mechanical Turk platform. We used validated questionnaires to ask participants to rate eleven anti-choice sites and one neutral site identified by experts, focusing on site content, creators, and design. We collected socio-demographic data and participant views on abortion. We used a composite measure of “mean overall trust” as our primary outcome. Using correlation matrices, we determined which website characteristics were most associated with overall trust. Finally, we used linear regression to identify participant characteristics associated with overall trust. RESULTS Our analytic sample included 498 participants ranging from ages 22 to 70, 50.1% of whom identified as female. Across eleven anti-choice sites, creator trust (“I believe that the creators of this site are honest and trustworthy”) had the highest correlation coefficient with overall trust (0.70). Professional appearance (0.59), look and feel (0.59), perception that the information is created by experts (0.59), association with a trustworthy organization (0.58), valued features and functionalities (0.54), and interactive capabilities (0.52) all demonstrated strong relationships with overall trust. At the individual level, pro-choice leaning was associated with higher overall trust of the neutral site (B: -0.43, CI: -0.87, 0.01) and lower overall trust of the anti-choice sites (B: 0.52, CI: 0.05, .99). CONCLUSIONS The overall trustworthiness of anti-choice websites is most associated with design characteristics and perceived trustworthiness of the site creator. Those who believe that access to abortion should be limited are more likely to trust anti-choice websites.

scholarly journals Disentangling age-dependent DNA methylation: deterministic, stochastic, and nonlinear

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Vershinina ◽  
M. Ivanchenko ◽  
M.G. Bacalini ◽  
A. Zaikin ◽  
C. Franceschi
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Methylation Level ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Systematic Assessment ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Age Dependent ◽  
The Individual

ABSTRACTDNA methylation variability arises due to concurrent genetic and environmental influences. Each of them is a mixture of regular and noisy sources, whose relative contribution has not been satisfactorily understood yet. We conduct a systematic assessment of the age-dependent methylation by the signal-to-noise ratio and identify a wealth of “deterministic” CpG probes (about 90%), whose methylation variability likely originates due to genetic and general environmental factors. The remaining 10% of “stochastic” CpG probes are arguably governed by the biological noise or incidental environmental factors. Investigating the mathematical functional relationship between methylation levels and variability, we find that in about 90% of the age-associated differentially methylated positions, the variability changes as the square of the methylation level, whereas in the most of the remaining cases the dependence is linear. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the methylation level itself in more than 15% cases varies nonlinearly with age (according to the power law), in contrast to the previously assumed linear changes. Our findings present ample evidence of the ubiquity of strong DNA methylation regulation, resulting in the individual age-dependent and nonlinear methylation trajectories, whose divergence explains the cross-sectional variability. It may also serve a basis for constructing novel nonlinear epigenetic clocks.

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