scholarly journals Heredity of Cognitive Functions and Personality in Twins

Medicina ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Loreta Kalasūnienė ◽  
Antanas Goštautas ◽  
Algimantas Sinkus

Background and Objective. The inheritance of cognitive functions and personality is still a problem under investigation. A classical method, investigation of twins, is often used to find relative contributions from genetics and the environment to quantitative traits. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible influence of heredity on cognitive functions (by applying the Raven test) and personality traits (according to the Eysenck’s theory) in twins. Material and Methods. In total, 139 pairs of same-sex twins were investigated. The zygosity of the twin pairs was confirmed through genotyping with 15 molecular DNA markers. Constructive thinking was assessed using the Raven test. Personality assessment was conducted using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) in Lithuanian. Results. The difference in the total number of incorrect solutions between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs younger than 15 years was not significant; however, in the group older than 15 years, this difference was found to be significant. Based on the total number of incorrect solutions, the concordance in the MZ twins was greater than in the DZ twins. The same tendency was found with cumulative EPQ scores on the extraversion scale. Conclusions. The results imply that the quality of cognitive functions and personality traits (extraversion) can be influenced by heredity. This confirms previous findings on the heritability of cognitive factors and personality traits.

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fereshteh Farzianpour ◽  
Saeadeh Ansari Nosrati ◽  
Abbas Rahimi Foroushani ◽  
Fateme Hasanpour ◽  
Zahra Khakdel Jelodar ◽  
...  

<p><strong>BACKGROUND &amp; OBJECTIVE:</strong> Because of social progress, population growth, industrialization, and the requirements of some jobs, a significant percentage of employees are working in shifts. Shift work is considered a threat to health that could have unfavorable effects on various aspects of human life. This study investigated the relationship between shift work and the personality traits of nurses and their coping strategies in a selection of non-governmental hospitals in Tehran in 2014.<strong></strong></p> <p><strong>METHODS:</strong> This applied cross-sectional descriptive research employed the Standard Shift work Index and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) which, after confirmation of its validity and reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.73), were distributed among 305 nurses from 6 non-governmental hospitals in Tehran selected through cluster random sampling. Data was analyzed in two statistical levels: descriptive and inferential.<strong></strong></p> <p><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Results revealed that 43.6% of the nurses participating in the study were introverted and 56.4% were extroverted. There are significant relationships between age and physical health (P=0.008), sex and physical health (P=0.015), educational level and physical health (P=0.014), sex and cognitive, somatic anxiety (P=0.006), age and social-family status (P=0.001), marital status and social-family status (P=0.001), having a second job and social-family status (P=0.001), educational level and sleep and fatigue (P=0.002), work experience and coping strategies (P=0.044), and sleep and fatigue and personality traits (P=0.032).<strong></strong></p> <p><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> Complying with the standards of working hours for nurses and avoiding overtime when scheduling, especially for nurses with more work experience, can prevent the severe complications of shift work, enhance health, and ultimately enhance the quality of care. By improving the physical, psychological, and social health of nurses, the quality of patient care can be expected to improve, too. <strong></strong></p>


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignazio Roberto Zarbo ◽  
Eleonora Minacapelli ◽  
Monica Falautano ◽  
Silvia Demontis ◽  
Giovanni Carpentras ◽  
...  

Background: Personality traits can affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in different disorders. In multiple sclerosis (MS), personality traits can determine patients’ willingness to take on more risky treatment options, predispose to neuropsychiatric symptoms and affect coping strategies. Objectives: We investigated the role of personality traits as possible predictors of HRQoL in a large cohort of persons with MS (PwMS). Methods: In total, 253 consecutively recruited PwMS were screened for intellectual deficits with Raven Colour Progressive Matrices (RCPM), state anxiety with STAI-X1 and major depression on a clinical basis. PwMS’ self-perceived mental and physical health status was measured with the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the personality profile with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R). The correlation between HRQoL and personality traits was investigated by means of analysis of variance, adjusting for possible confounders. Results: Of the 253 MS patients, 195 (F:M=2.75), aged 41.7±10.2 years were included in the analysis. The variance of SF-36 mental and physical composite score was largely explained by extraversion and neuroticism. Conclusions: Our data confirm that PwMS’ HRQoL is largely influenced by personality traits, which may therefore act as predictors of perceived quality of life and should be included in clinical and experimental settings focusing on HRQoL.


1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 8-10
Author(s):  
Robert L. Knobler ◽  
Charles N. Brooks ◽  
Leon H. Ensalada ◽  
James B. Talmage ◽  
Christopher R. Brigham

Abstract The author of the two-part article about evaluating reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) responds to criticisms that a percentage impairment score may not adequately reflect the disability of an individual with RSD. The author highlights the importance of recognizing the difference between impairment and disability in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides): impairment is the loss, loss of use, or derangement of any body part, system, or function; disability is a decrease in or the loss or absence of the capacity to meet personal, social, or occupational demands or to meet statutory or regulatory requirements because of an impairment. The disparity between impairment and disability can be encountered in diverse clinical scenarios. For example, a person's ability to resume occupational activities following a major cardiac event depends on medical, social, and psychological factors, but nonmedical factors appear to present the greatest impediment and many persons do not resume work despite significant improvements in functional capacity. A key requirement according to the AMA Guides is objective documentation, and the author agrees that when physicians consider the disability evaluation of people, more issues than those relating to the percentage loss of function should be considered. More study of the relationships among impairment, disability, and quality of life in patients with RSD are required.


2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Greasley

It has been estimated that graphology is used by over 80% of European companies as part of their personnel recruitment process. And yet, after over three decades of research into the validity of graphology as a means of assessing personality, we are left with a legacy of equivocal results. For every experiment that has provided evidence to show that graphologists are able to identify personality traits from features of handwriting, there are just as many to show that, under rigorously controlled conditions, graphologists perform no better than chance expectations. In light of this confusion, this paper takes a different approach to the subject by focusing on the rationale and modus operandi of graphology. When we take a closer look at the academic literature, we note that there is no discussion of the actual rules by which graphologists make their assessments of personality from handwriting samples. Examination of these rules reveals a practice founded upon analogy, symbolism, and metaphor in the absence of empirical studies that have established the associations between particular features of handwriting and personality traits proposed by graphologists. These rules guide both popular graphology and that practiced by professional graphologists in personnel selection.


Crisis ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Sarfati ◽  
Blandine Bouchaud ◽  
Marie-Christine Hardy-Baylé

Summary: The cathartic effect of suicide is traditionally defined as the existence of a rapid, significant, and spontaneous decrease in the depressive symptoms of suicide attempters after the act. This study was designed to investigate short-term variations, following a suicide attempt by self-poisoning, of a number of other variables identified as suicidal risk factors: hopelessness, impulsivity, personality traits, and quality of life. Patients hospitalized less than 24 hours after a deliberate (moderate) overdose were presented with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression and Impulsivity Rating Scales, Hopelessness scale, MMPI and World Health Organization's Quality of Life questionnaire (abbreviated versions). They were also asked to complete the same scales and questionnaires 8 days after discharge. The study involved 39 patients, the average interval between initial and follow-up assessment being 13.5 days. All the scores improved significantly, with the exception of quality of life and three out of the eight personality traits. This finding emphasizes the fact that improvement is not limited to depressive symptoms and enables us to identify the relative importance of each studied variable as a risk factor for attempted suicide. The limitations of the study are discussed as well as in particular the nongeneralizability of the sample and setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
VLADIMIR NIKONOV ◽  
◽  
ANTON ZOBOV ◽  

The construction and selection of a suitable bijective function, that is, substitution, is now becoming an important applied task, particularly for building block encryption systems. Many articles have suggested using different approaches to determining the quality of substitution, but most of them are highly computationally complex. The solution of this problem will significantly expand the range of methods for constructing and analyzing scheme in information protection systems. The purpose of research is to find easily measurable characteristics of substitutions, allowing to evaluate their quality, and also measures of the proximity of a particular substitutions to a random one, or its distance from it. For this purpose, several characteristics were proposed in this work: difference and polynomial, and their mathematical expectation was found, as well as variance for the difference characteristic. This allows us to make a conclusion about its quality by comparing the result of calculating the characteristic for a particular substitution with the calculated mathematical expectation. From a computational point of view, the thesises of the article are of exceptional interest due to the simplicity of the algorithm for quantifying the quality of bijective function substitutions. By its nature, the operation of calculating the difference characteristic carries out a simple summation of integer terms in a fixed and small range. Such an operation, both in the modern and in the prospective element base, is embedded in the logic of a wide range of functional elements, especially when implementing computational actions in the optical range, or on other carriers related to the field of nanotechnology.


Author(s):  
V. Dumych ◽  

The purpose of research: to improve the technology of growing flax in the Western region of Ukraine on the basis of the introduction of systems for minimizing tillage, which will increase the yield of trusts and seeds. Research methods: field, laboratory, visual and comparative calculation method. Research results: Field experiments included the study of three tillage systems (traditional, canning and mulching) and determining their impact on growth and development and yields of trusts and flax seeds. The traditional tillage system included the following operations: plowing with a reversible plow to a depth of 27 cm, cultivation with simultaneous harrowing and pre-sowing tillage. The conservation system is based on deep shelfless loosening of the soil and provided for chiseling to a depth of 40 cm, disking to a depth of 15 cm, cultivation with simultaneous harrowing, pre-sowing tillage. During the implementation of the mulching system, disking to a depth of 15 cm, cultivation with simultaneous harrowing and pre-sowing tillage with a combined unit was carried out. Tillage implements and machines were used to perform tillage operations: disc harrow BDVP-3,6, reversible plow PON-5/4, chisel PCh-3, cultivator KPSP-4, pre-sowing tillage unit LK-4. The SZ-3,6 ASTPA grain seeder was used for sowing long flax of the Kamenyar variety. Simultaneously with the sowing of flax seeds, local application of mineral fertilizers (nitroammophoska 2 c/ha) was carried out. The application of conservation tillage allows to obtain the yield of flax trust at the level of 3,5 t/ha, which is 0,4 t/ha (12.9 %) more than from the area of traditional tillage and 0,7 t/ha (25 %) in comparison with mulching. In the area with canning treatment, the seed yield was the highest and amounted to 0,64 t/ha. The difference between this option and traditional and mulching tillage reaches 0,06 t/ha (10,3 %) and 0.10 t/ha (18.5 %), respectively. Conclusions. Preservation tillage, which is based on shelf-free tillage to a depth of 40 cm and disking to a depth of 15 cm has a positive effect on plant growth and development, yield and quality of flax.


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