Digital Commons Network^™

Can Unconscious Brain Processes Indicate Sentience?, Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel, Piercesare Grimaldi, Hakwan Lau

Animal Sentience

We disagree with Woodruff that we have good neurobiological reasons to think fishes are sentient, because mechanisms for consciousness are controversial even in humans. To the extent that there are consensuses in that literature, they do not support Woodruff's claims.

Gray Zones Russia, Center On Irregular Warfare & Armed Groups

CIWAG Reading Lists

No abstract provided.

การวิเคราะห์รูปแบบการแสดงออกของโปรตีโอมและอินเทอแรกโตมเพื่อค้นหาสารบ่งชี้สำหรับโรคออทิซึมสเปกตรัม, ฉัตรระวี พิชิตพันธ์พงศ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ในปัจจุบัน ออทิซึมสเปกตรัม (Autism spectrum disorder, ASD) ยังคงเป็นโรคที่ยังคงไม่ทราบกลไกระดับโมเลกุล แน่ชัด ยีนและโปรตีนที่เคยมีการรายงานการแสดงออกผิดปกติไปในผู้ป่วยออทิซึมสเปกตรัมมีความสามารถในการทำซ้ำ (Reproducibility) ต่ำหรืออาจไม่มีเลย ซึ่งน่าจะมาจากความหลากหลายของอาการแสดงของผู้ป่วย จากการศึกษาล่าสุด แสดงให้เห็นว่าการจัดกลุ่มออทิซึมสเปกตรัมออกเป็นกลุ่มย่อยตามความรุนแรงของลักษณะทางคลินิกสามารถช่วยในการระบุยีนและกลไกที่ผิดปกติไปในกลุ่มย่อยของผู้ป่วย อย่างไรก็ตาม การแบ่งกลุ่มผู้ป่วยเป็นกลุ่มย่อยตามความรุนแรงของลักษณะทางคลินิกใน ออทิซึมสเปกตรัมยังไม่มีการใช้กันอย่างแพร่หลายในการค้นหาโปรตีน Biomarker ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับออทิซึมสเปกตรัม ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้ ผู้วิจัยทำการวิเคราะห์โดยการแบ่งกลุ่มผู้ป่วยจำนวน 85 รายออกเป็นกลุ่มย่อยทางคลินิกตามคะแนน ADI-R และทำการวิเคราะห์รูปแบบการแสดงออกของยีนในออทิซึมสเปกตรัมในแต่ละกลุ่มย่อยเปรียบเทียบกับกลุ่มควบคุมคนปกติที่อายุใกล้เคียงกันและเพศเดียวกันกับผู้ป่วย (Sex/age-matched control) ซึ่งสามารถระบุยีนที่มีการแสดงออกผิดปกติ (Differentially expressed genes, DEGs) ในออทิซึมสเปกตรัม นอกจากนี้ ผู้วิจัยได้ทำการวิเคราะห์รูปแบบการแสดงออกของโปรตีโอมจากเซลล์ไลน์เม็ดเลือดขาว (Lymphoblastoid cell lines,LCLs) ด้วยเทคนิค Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) ร่วมกับ Nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (Nano-LC-MS/MS) รายชื่อของโปรตีนที่มีการแสดงออกผิดปกติไปอย่างมีนัยสำคัญที่ได้จากการวิเคราะห์ถูกนำมาเปรียบเทียบกับ DEGs และผลการวิเคราะห์ Meta-analysis ของโปรตีนและโปรตีโอมในการศึกษาก่อนหน้า หน้าที่ทางพยาธิสภาพที่มีความเกี่ยวข้องกับโปรตีนถูกวิเคราะห์โดยโปรแกรม Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) และได้ทำการคัดเลือกโปรตีนที่น่าสนใจมาทำการตรวจสอบโดยใช้ Western blot analysis จากการศึกษาครั้งนี้พบว่าผลการวิเคราะห์การแบ่งกลุ่มผู้ป่วยออกเป็นกลุ่มย่อยทางคลินิกตามคะแนน ADI-R สามารถแบ่งผู้ป่วยออกเป็น 4 กลุ่มย่อย ซึ่งพบว่าหนึ่งในกลุ่มนั้น เป็นกลุ่มออทิซึมสเปกตรัมที่มีความบกพร่องทางภาษารุนแรง จากผลวิเคราะห์รูปแบบ ทรานสคริปโตมของเซลล์ไลน์เม็ดเลือดขาว พบว่ามีจุดโปรตีนจำนวน 82 จุดที่มีการแสดงออกผิดปกติไปอย่างมีนัยสำคัญในกลุ่มออทิซึมสเปกตรัมที่มีความบกพร่องทางภาษารุนแรง และได้ทำการคัดเลือก 18 จุดโปรตีนจากทั้งหมดมาวิเคราะห์ชนิดของโปรตีนโดยเทคนิค Nano-LC-MS/MS ซึ่งพบว่ามีความเกี่ยวข้องกับการทำงานของระบบประสาทและกระบวนการอักเสบ จากการศึกษานี้พบว่าจากโปรตีนทั้งหมด การแสดงออกของ Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH2) และ Diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) ลดลงในออทิซึมสเปกตรัม ซึ่งโปรตีนเหล่านี้ยังพบการแสดงออกผิดปกติในการวิเคราะห์ Meta-analysis ของทรานสคริปโตมและโปรตีโอมร่วมด้วย การแบ่งกลุ่มออทิซึมสเปกตรัมออกเป็นกลุ่มย่อยทางคลินิกตามด้วยการวิเคราะห์ทรานสคริปโตมและโปรตีโอมแบบบูรณาการร่วมกัน ทำให้การศึกษานี้สามารถระบุโปรตีนที่มีการแสดงออกผิดปกติไปอย่างมีนัยสำคัญในกลุ่มย่อยของออทิซึมสเปกตรัมที่มีความบกพร่องทางภาษาอย่างรุนแรง ซึ่งโปรตีนเหล่านี้อาจทำหน้าที่เป็นตัวแทนในการช่วยระบุกลไกทางโมเลกุลของออทิซึมสเปกตรัมในอนาคต ตลอดจน อาจพัฒนาไปเป็น …

Gender And Sexuality (First Edition), Carol C. Mukhopadhyay, Tami Blumenfield, Susan Harper, Abby Gondak

Anthropology Publications

Learning Objectives:

• Identify ways in which culture shapes sex/gender and sexuality.
• Describe ways in which gender and sexuality organize and structure the societies in which we live.
• Assess the range of possible ways of constructing gender and sexuality by sharing examples from different cultures, including small-scale societies.
• Analyze how anthropology as a discipline is affected by gender ideology and gender norms.
• Evaluate cultural “origin” stories that are not supported by anthropological data.

Fish Are Flexible Learners Who Can Discriminate Human Faces, Ulrike E. Siebeck

Animal Sentience

In his book “What a fish knows” Jonathan Balcombe (2016a, b) has created a comprehensive profile of a group of animals still often thought to have a 3-second memory, no ability to feel pain, and a generally limited ability to learn. Chapter by chapter, Balcombe dismantles these and other such assumptions and makes a convincing case that fish have many abilities that are not that different from our own. Here, I focus on one example which supports the notion that fish are flexible learners and able to perform tasks which are generally thought to require the advanced processing power of …

To Identify All The Relevant Factors Is To Explain Feeling, Arthur S. Reber

Animal Sentience

Several additional comments on Reber (2016a) have appeared. Like those addressed in Reber (2016b), they reflect points of agreement and disagreement on various elements of my Cellular Basis of Consciousness (CBC) model. Some, however, seem to have missed key points. I'm willing to take some responsibility for this. Perhaps I was not clear about some of the more radical points of the model. Hopefully the case-by-case review here will help.

Consciousness Is Not Inherent In But Emergent From Life, Jon Mallatt, Todd E. Feinberg

Animal Sentience

Reber’s theory of the cellular basis of consciousness (CBC) is right to emphasize that we should study consciousness (sentience) in its simplest form, taking its evolution into account. However, not enough evidence is presented to support CBC’s unorthodox claim that even simple, one-celled organisms are conscious. As pointed out by other commentators, the CBC seems to be based on outdated ideas about evolution and does not acknowledge that consciousness could be an evolutionary novel feature. Such emergent features are abundant in living organisms. We review our own emergentist solution, in which consciousness evolved in the elaborating nervous systems of the …

What Can Research On Nonhumans Tell Us About Human Dissonance?, Jennifer Vonk

Animal Sentience

Zentall’s thoughtful review of the literature on cognitive dissonance in nonhumans helps to highlight the common finding that similar outcomes in humans and nonhumans can be attributed to different underlying mechanisms. I advocate a more fully comparative approach to the underlying mechanisms, avoiding the assumption of shared processes in humans and nonhumans.

Establishing That Contrast Is Cognitive Dissonance, Travis R. Smith

Animal Sentience

Zentall suggests that the same mechanism underlies cognitive dissonance in humans and the within-trial contrast effect in pigeons (and humans). The contrast effect has face validity in explaining cognitive dissonance, but more research is needed to establish construct validity. To determine whether both phenomena share the same mechanism, future research should test (1) whether both share physiological processes, (2) whether individuals who show sensitivity to one are also sensitive to the other, and (3) whether both phenomena are affected by the same changes in an independent variable.

Raising The Moral Consciousness Of Science, Bernard Rollin

Animal Sentience

Precaution on behalf of sentient animals should not be tempered by the questionable principle of the amorality of science.

Support For The Precautionary Principle, Jennifer Mather

Animal Sentience

The precautionary principle gives the animal the benefit of the doubt when its sentient status is not known. This is necessary for advanced invertebrates such as cephalopods because research and evidence concerning the criteria for sentience are scattered and often insufficient to give us the background for the decision.

The Precautionary Principle: A Cautionary Note, Robert C. Jones

Animal Sentience

The precautionary principle regarding animal sentience is often used in decision-making about human actions that may cause harm to nonhuman animals. Birch (2017) develops an account of the precautionary principle requiring two pragmatic rules for its implementation. I support Birch's proposal but offer a cautionary note about relying on precautionary principles if one's ultimate goal is to emancipate animals from human domination.

Will The Precautionary Principle Broaden Acceptance Of Animal Sentience?, Simon Leadbeater

Animal Sentience

Birch uses existing practice to develop a formal Animal Sentience Precautionary Principle (ASPP), which he hopes will become more widely adopted and improve animal welfare outcomes. Birch considers the assumption that all animals are sentient to be extreme. Despite its merits, Birch’s ASPP remains human-centred.

A Preliminary Investigation Into The Welfare Of Lobsters In The Uk, Gemma Carder

Animal Sentience

The welfare of invertebrates is overlooked and their needs are not understood. It is assumed that they do not experience pain and suffering. Studies on decapod crustaceans challenge this assumption. Research has focused on distinguishing between nociception (the ability to detect a harmful stimulus and to react to it reflexively) and pain (an aversive feeling or emotional experience). Findings indicate that decapod crustaceans can experience pain, which supports a case for protecting their welfare. I have investigated the current husbandry conditions of a globally consumed decapod crustacean, the lobster, as housed in tanks inside food outlets in the UK. Housing …

Assessing Negative And Positive Evidence For Animal Pain, Robert W. Elwood

Animal Sentience

Jonathan Birch suggests that we should take one well-conducted study that produces results consistent with the idea of pain as being sufficient to invoke the animal sentience precautionary principle. Here, I consider how to balance negative and positive results from such studies using examples from my own work. I also consider which criteria of pain might provide strong inference about pain and which may prove to be weaker.

Operationalizing Fear Through Understanding Vigilance, Ralph Adolphs

Animal Sentience

Beauchamp’s target article raises important questions about the features that often accompany fear. How reliable an indicator of fear is vigilance? Is it constitutive, cause, or consequence of fear? These questions force us towards a clearer definition of “fear.”

Methodological Suggestions For Inferring Fear From Vigilance, Julie A. Teichroeb

Animal Sentience

I suggest some methods for data-collection and analysis that may help researchers infer fear from vigilance.

A Chronicle Of Economic Botany, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Attracting A New Generation Of Participants To The Elderly Nutrition Program, Christa Ann Stangl

Health Nutrition and Exercise Science

The purpose of this study was to explore the types of services, programs, and activities needed and/or desired by older adults. The secondary purpose of this study is to explore what prompts and/or influences older adults, to participate in programs related to their health and wellbeing. This study is needed, because the population of older adults has increased, due to the baby boomer generation. Even though there is a large population increase there is a decrease in the use of senior centers. The study used qualitative methods by the means of eight focus group locations in the state of North …

Stories Of Hope And Ethnic Identification: A Look At Organ Donation Communication, Justin Kavlie

Communication

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ethnic identification and ethnic portrayals in organ donation stories on the attitudes towards organ donation, the intent to register to become an organ donor, and the intent to discuss organ donation with friends and family. An online experiment was conducted where 202 undergraduate participants viewed one of three randomly selected ethnic portrayal conditions: African-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic. Following data collection, the participants were split along the median into high and low ethnic identification for the analysis. There were no significant interaction effects found between ethnic identification and the different …

Strategic Communication In Public Schools: A Communication Audit Of A Midwestern School District, Jacqueline Dawn Pleggenkuhle

Communication

School districts are complex organizations which require the use of strategic communication. Measuring the communication from school leaders to their various audiences for message content and alignment has the potential to illuminate the current reality of school communication practices as well as point to areas of needed improvement. The current study measures strategic communication by conducting a communication audit of the fastest growing school district in Iowa, by interviewing 10 school leaders and analyzing essential communication products including 26 web pages and 10 district newsletters. Guided by current research on school communication and branding by universities, the communication audit measures …

“I’M Not Just Crazy.”: Exploring The Impostor Phenomenon In An Educational And Communicative Context, Kelli Jean Chromey

Communication

The purpose of the current study is to gain a better understanding of the impostor phenomenon (IP) and see which communication channels and instructional types are best to use when educating others on IP. Impostor phenomenon is the feeling of faking it in terms of professional, academic, career, or other life-area successes. The study also looked at correlations between impostor feelings and positive and negative workplace emotions and impression management techniques. Experimental conditions in the form of a survey were used to provide participants either an article or video, each with either a testimonial or research-based education. Findings suggest that …

Reflections On Assessment, Diagnosis And Formulation, Rudi Dallos

More Faculty of Health Research

This editorial introduces the first of two special sections devoted to the exploration of different types of assessment and their applications in a variety of clinical contexts. Assessment has a long history in clinical child psychology and psychiatry and continues to be at the basis of clinical practice. It makes obvious sense to assume that our practice should be based on thorough assessment but a question that follows is – assessment of what? Traditionally assessment has focussed on the ‘presenting ‘ problem of the child that has come to be referred to a service. This of course occurs through a …

Urban Activation, Ashley Crow

Architecture Theses

There are many elements within a city that provide a significant impact on your quality of life. Quality of life is a subjective measure of the overall happiness of a person or a community usually measured within the categories of economic, environmental, and social. This thesis addresses the question, how can an urban campus improve the quality of life a city has to offer? I explore this question by taking an emancipatory approach involving multiple tactics such as personal interviews, literature, and case studies. This urban campus strives to help improve the quality of life Duluth, MN has to offer. …

Wayfinding In Virtual Reality: Wayfinding Through The Lens Of Virtual Reality In Videogame Design, Alyssa Zachman

Architecture Theses

This thesis, Virtual Architecture: application of architectural design within the realm of video games and virtual realities, examines and challenges how architecture is viewed in a simulated setting by its users as well as how its creation can be an aid or detriment. These virtual environments are just as important to people within the realm of video games as their tangible counterparts, and are expected to have similar interactions with each. In the future, it may also be the case that humans find themselves in a constant virtual reality in which they live their lives. It is important for architects …

Bully Free, David Fyre

Architecture Theses

A school is not just an educational institution; it’s a place where students build their identity. While attending school, students grow in many ways. Throughout the school experience, students will grow emotionally, socially, and mentally if in the proper environment. Negative impacts on the learning environment, such as bullying, restrict the growth of students. Protecting the learning environment is critical to the growth of students. I project that designing schools that deter bullying will result in an inspired and positive learning environment. Hillsboro, North Dakota needs a new high school due to urban sprawl, which is causing over population of …

Charitable Donations, Danindu Ariyathilake Udalamaththa Gamage

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

Attracting donors to a charity and retaining continuous donations is one of the major concerns of a charity, because this largely affect the capacity of the charity to continue on their cause or to expand their cause. As the market for charitable donations have a large number of donors and charities, the way charities brand themselves is very crucial to receive donations. This work looks to question whether a charity can increase its donations by branding itself close to the ideal perception of a charity in the donor. The question was approached using a two-staged lease square regression model that …

Awakening The Social Self: Nostalgia Regulates Loneliness By Energizing Approach-Related Social Motivation, Andrew Allen Abeyta

Psychology

Chronic loneliness is predictive of poor health. Therefore, it is vital to identify psychological resources that combat loneliness and encourage social connection. However, loneliness is difficult to overcome, in part because it is associated with a maladaptive high avoidance and low approach motivation orientation that limits a person’s ability to connect with others. I hypothesized that nostalgia, a positive emotional experience that involves reflecting on cherished memories that are typically social in nature, is a psychological resource that regulates the tendency for lonely people to be less oriented toward social approach goals and motivation. I tested this hypothesis across 3 …

Applying The Situational Judgment Test Method To Assess Individual Differences In Health Competence, Michelle Ruth Persich

Psychology

People regularly make decisions about their health, yet they clearly differ in their ability to successfully make healthy decisions. We sought to understand this important individual difference by developing a scenario-based measure of health competence (HC) modeled from the Situation Judgment Test (SJT) method. People were required to judge certain responses to health-related scenarios in terms of how healthy the response was and the likelihood that they would enact the response. In study 1, we showed that those with high HC scores tended to participate in less risky health behaviors and more protective health behaviors. In study 2, we used …

Surfing The Semester: A Study Of The Flow Of Active Learning Implementation, Rebecca Sue Davidson Reichenbach

Biological Sciences

Instructional reforms have been called for on a national level. Little data exists as to how changes take place. This study explored the implementation of active learning practices by non-tenure and tenure track faculty over the course of a semester. Faculty were introduced to evidence based pedagogy through workshops and faculty learning communities. Their instructional practices within a semester were tracked through observations conducted using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS). Interviews were conducted to gain insight into reasons for instructional trends. A general trend downward was observed through the semester but was not found to be statistically …