Scale Characters Research Articles

청소년 기업영재의 기질 및 성격 특성

Research on entrepreneurial giftedness is in its initial stage and the importance is increasing these days. The purpose of this article was to provide a standard type of entrepreneurial gifted students by measuring their temperament and character separately. In the year of 2010 to 2011 participants of `Future Creative Entrepreneur` projects which was governed by Korean Patent Office and Korean Intellectual Property Association participated the present study. They composed of middle and high school students and the total number of them was 246. For all the 7 temperament and character scales; the novelty seeking, the harm avoidance, the reward dependence, the persistence, the self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence, scores of the entrepreneurial gifted students were significantly different from the norm group (average students at the same age). In a nut shell, entrepreneurial gifted students were optimistic in their temperament and mature in their character. They also manifested high ability of adjustment and control so they can manage their features of temperament which include all the advantages and weaknesses. The Entrepreneurial gifted students were differentiated from gifted science and math students, academically competent group, and high IQ group. Implications and further research directions were discussed.

To attract or to repel? Diversity, evolution and role of the “most peculiar organ” in the Cuscuta flower (dodder, Convolvulaceae)—the infrastaminal scales

Cuscuta (dodders) is the only genus in Convolvulaceae and the Solanales more broadly in which corolla-stamen structures called infrastaminal scales (IFS) have reached a high degree of elaboration and diversification in a great number of species. Historically, morphological diversity of IFS has provided some of the most useful taxonomic characters at the species-level. However, their function has not been determined. We have performed a comparative study of the IFS in 147 Cuscuta taxa using light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and results were analyzed in relation to a Cuscuta phylogeny obtained from a combined analysis of nuclear ITS and plastid trnL-F sequences. The morphology and histochemistry of scales and/or trichomes on the staminal filaments were also examined in several other Convolvulaceae genera to provide a preliminary foundation for homology interpretation. To test the hypothesis that the role of IFS in Cuscuta is connected to sexual reproduction, we analyzed the correlations between scale characters and previously published values for pollen/ovule ratios and the number of stomata found in the nectary at the base of the ovary. While the correlations at the level of the entire genus were very low, subgeneric partitions revealed a strong relationship between scale characters and sexual reproduction indicators in subgenus Monogynella. However, this connection declined drastically in the subgenera Cuscuta and Grammica. Our results strongly suggest that scales in Cuscuta evolved in connection to a modification of their function in the flower: from nectar protection and holding in the first diverged subgenus Monogynella, to ovary/ovule protection against herbivorous insects in the derived subgenera Cuscuta and Grammica. Thus at least in the case of the latter subgenera, the protective/repellent role of the IFS may conflict with the attractant/rewarding function of the nectary found at the base of the ovary. In subgenus Monogynella, IFS fimbriae are similar to uniseriate glandular hairs, with the secretory cells entirely exposed. In the subgenera Grammica and Cuscuta, the fimbriae become more complex, with an internal distal laticifer, and a precise mechanism of latex release. Our study elaborates further on the development and ultrastructure of scales in C. gronovii, and provides details on the anatomy of the IFS in other species. The new morphology and micromorphology data confirm the significance of these structures for species-level systematics.

Assessing the Jarman–Bell Principle: Scaling of intake, digestibility, retention time and gut fill with body mass in mammalian herbivores

Differences in allometric scaling of physiological characters have the appeal to explain species diversification and niche differentiation along a body mass (BM) gradient — because they lead to different combinations of physiological properties, and thus may facilitate different adaptive strategies. An important argument in physiological ecology is built on the allometries of gut fill (assumed to scale to BM1.0) and energy requirements/intake (assumed to scale to BM0.75) in mammalian herbivores. From the difference in exponents, it has been postulated that the mean retention time (MRT) of digesta should scale to BM1.0–0.75=BM0.25. This has been used to argue that larger animals have an advantage in digestive efficiency and hence can tolerate lower-quality diets. However, empirical data does not support the BM0.25 scaling of MRT, and the deduction of MRT scaling implies, according to physical principles, no scaling of digestibility; basing assumptions on digestive efficiency on the thus-derived MRT scaling amounts to circular reasoning. An alternative explanation considers a higher scaling exponent for food intake than for metabolism, allowing larger animals to eat more of a lower quality food without having to increase digestive efficiency; to date, this concept has only been explored in ruminants. Here, using data for 77 species in which intake, digestibility and MRT were measured (allowing the calculation of the dry matter gut contents (DMC)), we show that the unexpected shallow scaling of MRT is common in herbivores and may result from deviations of other scaling exponents from expectations. Notably, DMC have a lower scaling exponent than 1.0, and the 95% confidence intervals of the scaling exponents for intake and DMC generally overlap. Differences in the scaling of wet gut contents and dry matter gut contents confirm a previous finding that the dry matter concentration of gut contents decreases with body mass, possibly compensating for the less favorable volume–surface ratio in the guts of larger organisms. These findings suggest that traditional explanations for herbivore niche differentiation along a BM gradient should not be based on allometries of digestive physiology. In contrast, they support the recent interpretation that larger species can tolerate lower-quality diets because their intake has a higher allometric scaling than their basal metabolism, allowing them to eat relatively more of a lower quality food without having to increase digestive efficiency.

Estudio de la imagen de marca empleando la escala del carácter corporativo de Davies: un caso en la Argentina

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to achieve an empirical measurement of Yagmour’s brand image, an Argentine firm, using the Corporate Character Scale (or corporate personality scale) developed by Davies et al. (2004). Among respondents, it’s planned to identify consumer segments based on the Corporative Character Scale dimensions. Design/methodology/approach: Data were obtained from an on-line customer survey to 657 women who reside in the city of Buenos Aires and the suburbs (“Great Buenos Aires”). For the data analysis and personality scale redefinition, Structural Equation Modeling or SEM was used. By means of cluster and discriminant analysis the women surveyed (active customer of the brand) were segmented according to their personality perceptions of the brand. Findings: In order to achieve good measurement properties, only three of the seven proposed scale dimensions remained and these had to be refined so as to achieve reliability and convergent/discriminant validity. Among respondents, three female segments were clearly identified: the distant, the enthusiasts and the apathetic. Originality/value: While the study of corporate brand personality using factorial scales —such the ones developed by Aaker (1997) or Davies et al. (2004)— covered a wide range of products and services in different countries, the main value of the current investigation is to become a leading consumer research for the corporate brand personality field in Argentina.

Recruits’ Corporate Brand Co-creation Experiences of the Finnish Military Forces

Co-creation has become one of the recent interests in branding. The purpose of this study is to reveal how the co-creators experience the brand they are co-creating. For measuring the brand co-creators experience, we chose to use the corporate character scale developed by Davies et al. For the empirical context, we chose a transportation arm of the Finnish military forces, a military driving school. The data were gathered via a questionnaire from 264 recruits in Spring 2008. The questions consisted of 49 personality scale statements measured on a Likert 7 scale. The analyses were made with second order confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive graphics and analysis of variance. The study revealed that the corporate character scale is usable in a public, non-profit organisation. The experiences of the recruits on the military driving school are more positive than negative; they consider that it is Agreeable and Competent rather than Ruthless. The study contributes to the existing literature on brand co-creating by revealing how the actively engaging co-creators experience the brand they are co-creating. This might be the first time co-creators’ experiences of the brand have been studied, at least in this kind of context.

Character as a predictor of life satisfaction in Czech adolescent sample: 3-Year follow-up study

The study examined personality predictors (based on Cloninger’s psychobiological model of temperament and character – TCI) of life satisfaction in a sample of 15-year-old Czech adolescents (N=173) and subsequently 3years after. The focus of the study was to determine the personality dimensions that predict life satisfaction and how those change over 3years of adolescence. Of all dimensions, significant differences between the two age groups were found only in the character dimensions Self-Directedness and Self-Transcendence. Using stepwise regression analysis, the character scale Self-Directedness alone accounted for 15% of the variance in life satisfaction among 15-year-old adolescents, whereas in the 18-year-old group, 30% of the variance in life satisfaction was explained by the character dimension Self-Directedness and the temperament dimensions Harm Avoidance and Reward Dependence. In both age groups, only Self-Directedness seems to make a unique contribution towards explaining life satisfaction. The results demonstrate that character changes might also account for a great amount of variance in life satisfaction.

Notes on Harpesaurus borneensis (Mertens 1924), a Live Bearing Agamid Lizard from the Lowlands of Borneo

The agamid genus Harpesaurus is poorly understood, partially due to their scarcity in collections. Two taxa have been described from Borneo, originally assigned to two different genera: Harpesaurus [ Hylagama ] borneensi s and Harpesaurus thescelorhinos . Today thescelorhinos is generally considered a junior synonym to borneensis . We here report on three additional specimens collected in Sarawak in 2005. While the two new females had some scale characters distinctly different from the two females previously known, we consider all known specimens from Borneo conspecific. Most notably, the two new females were soon to give live birth. This constitutes the first known example of live birth in agamid lizards from a tropical lowland area.We discuss why this unusual reproductive mode may have evolved in this particular taxon.

Text-Line Extraction in Handwritten Chinese Documents Based on an Energy Minimization Framework

Text-line extraction in unconstrained handwritten documents remains a challenging problem due to nonuniform character scale, spatially varying text orientation, and the interference between text lines. In order to address these problems, we propose a new cost function that considers the interactions between text lines and the curvilinearity of each text line. Precisely, we achieve this goal by introducing normalized measures for them, which are based on an estimated line spacing. We also present an optimization method that exploits the properties of our cost function. Experimental results on a database consisting of 853 handwritten Chinese document images have shown that our method achieves a detection rate of 99.52% and an error rate of 0.32%, which outperforms conventional methods.

Systematics and molecular phylogenetics of Asian snail-eating snakes (Pareatidae)

The taxonomy of the Asian snail-eating snakes (Pareatidae) is an ongoing controversy, partly because morphological characters do not yield consistent results across studies. We infer phylogenetic relationships within Pareatidae using ~ 2 kilobases of DNA sequences including two mitochondrial (cyt b and ND4) and one nuclear gene (c-mos). Results reveal four major lineages: Aplopeltura, Asthenodipsas, a clade formed by Pareas carinatus and P. nuchalis, and a clade comprising all other species of Pareas sampled in this study. Our data do not have enough signal to either support or reject a monophyletic Pareas. However, large molecular divergence (16.5%) is observed between the two major clades of Pareas, a level that is comparable to that between Pareas and Aplopeltura. Scale characters also suggest that P. carinatus and P. nuchalis are distinct from congeners, and future morphological and/or molecular studies might assess whether a distinct genus should be recognized. The molecular phylogeny further suggests a distant relationship between P. chinensis and P. formosensis and supports the validity of the former species.

Rediscovery of the Grenada Bank Endemic Typhlops tasymicris (Squamata: Typhlopidae)

Abstract Typhlops tasymicris was known previously from only two specimens, both immature females collected on Grenada in 1968. In June 2010, we rediscovered the species on Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where we encountered five individuals (and captured four) on the forested slopes above Chatham Bay. The new specimens agree closely with the two previously reported individuals for all scale characters and coloration, but they differ in sizes and proportions. At least two of the new specimens are adults, but all seem to be females. This first record of a typhlopid snake in the Grenadines suggests a greater range than indicated by the earlier specimens. Although suitable habitat occurs nowhere else on Union Island, the species could occur elsewhere in the Grenadines where relatively mature forests persist. DNA sequence data clearly show a closer affinity with South American species than with any West Indian congeners.

Psychometric properties of the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R) in Czech adolescent sample

The psychometric properties of the TCI-R method were investigated in a cohort of 15-year-old adolescents (n = 787). This is the lowest recommended age for using the adult version of the method. A factor analysis of the temperament and character scales was carried out on the basis of Principal Component Analysis with Varimax rotation. We compared our results with a previous TCI version which was used in the pilot study of 15-year-olds (n = 171), with established norms for the Czech adolescents and adults, and in regard to gender differences. The principal component analyses for all scales with eigenvalues ≥ 1 resulted in only a 6 factor structure, in contrast to the 7 factor structure postulated by Cloninger. But the factor solution, computed separately for temperament (4F) and character (3F), approximately reflected the Cloninger's model except for the temperament subscales NS1 (Exploration Excitability), RD1 (Sentimentality) and RD4 (Dependence), which load multiple factors, and the character subscale SD 4 (Self-acceptance), which loads the Cooperativeness factor. The internal consistency of the main TCI-R scales was excellent; the Cronbach's alpha varied from .83 (NS) to .89 (HA). However, for some subscales (NS4, RD4, and CO5) the consistency was rather weak. In our research, the previous version of TCI showed less satisfying psychometric properties than TCI-R did. In terms of gender differences, girls scored higher in NS, RD, HA, CO and ST, whereas boys scored higher in PS; no statistically significant differences for SD were found. In general, our results support the Cloninger's postulated 7 factor personality structure and the appropriateness of the TCI-R usage for 15-year-old adolescents.

Allometric Scaling for Character Design

Geometric scaling transformations do not respect the biological processes which govern the size and shape of living creatures. In this paper, we describe an approach to scaling which can be related to biological function. We use known biological laws of allometry which are expressed as power laws to control the mesh deformation in the frequency domain. This approach is motivated by the relation between fractal biological systems and their underlying power-law spectra. We demonstrate our approach to biology-aware character scaling on triangle meshes representing quadrupedal mammals.

Evolution and phylogenetic signal of growth trajectories: the case of chelid turtles

Morphological and molecular data yield incongruent hypotheses concerning the interrelationships of chelid side-necked turtles, neither of which is widely accepted. Molecular studies recognize monophyletic South American and Australasian clades, whereas morphological characters distinguish a long-necked clade and a short-necked clade. We take a developmental approach to exploring chelid interrelationships. None of the nine species studied have the same growth pattern for all measurements examined, indicating changes in ontogenetic scaling of cranial characters was common during chelid evolution. The variability in scaling relationships precludes overwhelming support for either hypothesis. Scaling patterns are most similar between the geographically separate clades promoted by molecular analyses, and hence our data favor an independent origin of the long neck in South American and Australasian species. A close relationship between Hydromedusa and Chelus, rather than Chelodina, is supported by scaling patterns associated with a relative widening of the cranium. Our study exemplifies the utility of comparative ontogenetic trajectory data to test phylogenetic hypotheses.

Revalidating Two Measures of Reputation in Thailand

Two measures commonly used to assess corporate reputation, the Reputation Quotient and the Corporate Character Scale, were tested and revalidated in Thailand in a survey of 385 customers of Tesco Lotus. The factor structures of both measures, as defined when developed in the West, were confirmed. Some individual measurement items were found to be less appropriate in the Thai context, but generally both scales were found to be valid.

Comparing grain boundary energies in face-centered cubic metals: Al, Au, Cu and Ni

The energy of 388 grain boundaries in Al, Au, Cu and Ni were calculated using atomistic simulations. Grain boundary energies in different elements are strongly correlated. Consistent with a dislocation model for grain boundary structure, the boundary energy scales with the shear modulus. Boundaries with substantial stacking fault character scale with the stacking fault energy. There is more scatter in the data for Al, which has a high stacking fault energy, than for the low stacking fault energy elements.

Classifying Vistula and Pomeranian sea trout populations using discriminant functions based on selected scale characters

We’ve built this digital research platform to provide academics everywhere with fast, stable and secure digital access to our library of over 110,000 scholarly books and 800,000 journal articles. We’ve tested the platform in close cooperation with leading academic institutions. If you have any questions or you notice something doesn’t quite work as it should, please visit our <a href="/publishing/faq?lang=en" class="text-primary">Help/FAQ</a> page and let us know.

A quantitative analysis of two scale characters in snakes

AbstractWe quantified the effectiveness of two scale characters commonly used to identify snakes: smooth versus keeled dorsal scales and straight versus oblique dorsal scale rows. We examined 169 species of African snakes from close-up photographs of the dorsal scales. We calculated the prominence of keels (if present) along the dorsal scales and the degree of straightness or obliqueness of the dorsal scale rows. We compared our measurements to species descriptions from the literature and looked for overlap of the character states with each other. Our results show a distinct difference between keel prominence for species described as having keeled dorsal scales versus species described as having smooth dorsal scales. Our results also show considerable overlap of straightness or obliqueness between species described as having straight dorsal scale rows versus those described as having oblique dorsal scale rows. Revision of this character would be beneficial.

De &lt;em&gt;El cariño perfecto&lt;/em&gt; (1798) a &lt;em&gt;La Serafina (1802 y 1807)&lt;/em&gt;: las tres versiones de una novela de José Mor de Fuentes

The novel entitled La Serafina , as offered to the reading public by Jose Mor de Fuentes in 1807, is the third version of a work which had two previous incarnations: El carino perfecto (1798) and La Serafina (1802). Until now only the 1807 version was known to scholarship and has provided the text on which all studies of the novel have been based. The present article reveals the discovery of copies of the two earlier editions and offers the first comparative analysis of their contents. In a complex creative process the author expanded the 33 letters of the first edition into the 69 of the second version before arriving at a definitive text comprising 145 letters. The present study analyses how, while maintaining the Basic novelistic structure of the love story of Alfonso and Serafina, Mor de Fuentes expanded not only the time scale, spatial dimensions and number of characters in his work, but also amplified the descriptive and discursive elements, in a literary re-configuration which, in addition to the composition of new letters, involved a re-working of both the plot and major narrative and stylistic features in each successive version. The discovery of the 1798 and 1802 texts for the first time allows the creative process which led to the fully elaborated 1807 version of La Serafina to be viewed in a new light, revealing the consummate skill of Mor de Fuentes in transforming a short romantic story into a social portrait of the Spain of his time.

The association of catechol- O-methyltransferase genotype with the phenotype of women with eating disorders

Objective: The modern brain imaging studies in patients with eating disorders have shown that neurotransmitting regulation differs distinctly from control groups. These disturbances have involved serotonin and dopamine system can be inherited and conditioned by genes. The aim of this work has been the analysis of association between eating disorders of anorexia or bulimia type and two polymorphisms of COMT gene. The additional goal has been the analysis of correlation among chosen personality and psychological features of ED women with the research gene variations. Methods: The group taken as research sample consisted of adult 103 women (mean age = 22.45 ± 3.8 years) suffered from serious ED with illness lasting minimum 12 months. According to ICD-10 criteria, 61 women were diagnosed as anorexia nervosa while as 42 bulimia nervosa. The control group consisted of 108 ethnically and age-matched women with excluded major psychiatric disorders. The study groups were filling up the Eating Disorders Inventory and the Temperament and Character Inventory. The genotype of catechol- O-methyltransferase in two polymorphisms rs4633 (his102his) and rs4680 (val158met) was determined. Results: The joined GGCT genotype increased the risk of having ED over fivefold and over sevenfold the risk of having bulimia. Also haplotype CT was found three times more often in ED women than in controls. Besides the homozygous genotypes, AACC and GGCC reduced substantially the relative risk of ED. The patients with the low activity COMT genotype scored higher in EDI scales ineffectiveness, drive for thinness and perfectionism. The high activity genotype was connected with underdeveloped features of character marked in the poor cooperativeness and the poor self-directedness. These connections among genotypes and character scales were more expressed in bulimia group.

Impact of Tryptophan Metabolism on the Vulnerability to Alcohol-Related Blackouts and Violent Impulsive Behaviours

We examined (1) the association of SLC6A4 genotypes and alcohol dependence (AD) in a sample of alcoholics; (2) the validity of lifetime occurrence of blacked-out violent impulsive behaviour (BOVIB) during binge drinking bouts as a criterion for subtyping AD patients and (3) a mechanistic hypothesis for BOVIB involving tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) activity. Three common polymorphisms of the SLC6A4 gene (5-HTTLPR, A/G SNP of LPR region and VNTR in intron 2) were genotyped. An oral tryptophan (Trp) load (OTL) was administered to a sample of patients seeking help for AD. BOVIB history and psychological status were screened by BOVIB-Q, depression (BDI), anxiety (BAI, STAI) and personality (TCI) questionnaires. During the 7 h following Trp load, serum kynurenine (Kyn) and Trp were monitored. BOVIB+ patients showed significantly higher scores on depression, anxiety and character scales but no significant association was found between SLC6A4 polymorphisms and BOVIB. Patients with a history of BOVIB (BOVIB+ subgroup) differed from those exempt from such episodes (BOVIB- subgroup) for TDO activity response to OTL assessed by the Kyn:Trp ratio (P = 0.043) and the slope of concentration increase ratio (SCIR) of serum Kyn (P = 0.043). Put together, these findings support the validity of the BOVIB criterion to differentiate a sub-group of vulnerable AD subjects and suggest that OTL may help to concurrently define a specific endophenotype.