Individual Growth Processes Research Articles

Disentangling the impact of nested sources of variability on species growth processes: A mixture of multilevel mixed model approach.

SummaryThe understanding of tree growth processes is crucial for promoting sustainable forest management strategies. This is a challenging task in highly biodiverse ecosystems where many tree species are observed on very few individuals and the small sample sizes hinder a good fit of species‐specific models. We propose the use of finite mixture of random coefficient regression models with multilevel nested random effects to infer guild specific fixed and random effects while evaluating the relative importance of the nested sources of variability on goodness‐of‐fit. This approach extends finite mixture of linear mixed model used for longitudinal or single group structured data contexts. A dedicated expectation–maximisation algorithm is introduced for parameter estimation. Simulations are performed for the evaluation of the misspecification of nested‐grouping structures. This work has been motivated by data collected biennially in Central African rainforests from 1986 to 2010. We show the accuracy of the proposed approach in successfully reproducing individual growth processes and classifying tree species into well‐differentiated clusters with clear ecological interpretations. Moreover, results confirm that interindividual variability appears as the most important factor to explain tropical tree species growth process variability from Central Africa forests.

Психосоциални задачи на развитието в предочилишна възраст и специфика на игровия механизъм в детската градина

The theoretical formulations, analyzed in the study, and the proposed applied model for game technology in the implementation of the educational process in kindergarten, are presupposed by the concept of lifelong learning as a platform of modern educational environment and as a factor promoting the professional development of children’s teachers. Classical theories on the specifics of the psychosocial development of the child’s personality in preschool age are analytically discussed in view of the process of individual growth, and of the influence of emotional and behavioural manifestations in 3–7-year-old children.Special emphasis is placed on the topic of the game mechanism as a form and means of educational policy in building key competencies in preschool children. The causal relationships between the child’s natural needs for self-realization, self- expression, and self-determination, as well as the game and cognitive educational space in the kindergarten stand out, caused by the ten psychological components characteristic of the game mechanism.

Analysis on Contemporary College Students' Mental Health Education

With the diversification of social life and the diversity of values, contemporary college students face the complicated social life, in the individual growth process also appeared some psychological problems. In the process of many university education, some teachers focus on knowledge training, ignoring the psychological counseling and emotional communication of college students, which is not conducive to the improvement of the adaptability of contemporary college students and the cultivation of comprehensive quality. Based on this, this paper studies and analyzes the common problems in the mental health education of contemporary college students in China, and puts forward corresponding Suggestions.

A synergetic grain growth mechanism uniting nanograin rotation and grain boundary migration in nanocrystalline materials

A theoretical model has been developed to analyze the energetic characteristic of a cooperative grain growth process in nanocrystalline materials. We proposed that the process can be realized by rotating the adjoining grains first and then migrating the boundary that separates the grains, or vise versa, or by enabling both rotation and migration simultaneously. It is revealed that the synergetic process is energetically more favorable than the pure individual growth processes, i.e., nano-grain rotation or shear-coupled migration of grain boundaries. The critical stress that is required to initiate the growth process is also considerably reduced. The findings suggest a new general mode of grain growth in nanocrystalline metals.

Through the Dąbrowski Lens: Empathy and the Syntonic Continuum

Kazimierz Dąbrowski’s five-level theory of personality development, the Theory of Positive Disintegration, is one in which the experience of all emotions is essential for the process of individual growth toward the personality ideal. In this article, we synthesize Dąbrowski’s conception of syntony and the development of empathy. We discuss the genesis of empathy within the lower levels of human personality development and visually demonstrate the multilevelness of the development of empathy through a diagrammatic representation of syntonic and empathic responses with examples of these traits mapped to the varying levels of development within Dąbrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration.

Dynamics of individual growth processes of winter wheat under the use of chemicals and biologicals preparations

Dynamics of individual growth processes of winter wheat under the use of chemicals and biologicals preparations

“IT’S OVER 9000.” APEIRON NARRATIVE CONFIGURATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY MEDIASCAPE

Recently, a peculiar narrative configuration has developed and is spreading through the internet culture and new media. Characterised by a specific representation of the individual growth process, Apeiron narratives find their origin in pen & paper role-playing games, but it is only after the development of digital games and the diffusion of the Japanese cultural codex through the contemporary mediascape that they have become a coherent, autonomous and viral phenomenon.
 In the following pages, this narrative configuration will be described through a series of paradigmatic examples; its roots will be traced back to the peculiar traits of role-playing games, and the importance of recent digital adaptation will be highlighted. Finally, I will describe its diffusion beyond the domain of fictional text, hinting at possible environments for its diffusion.

Dental pulp cell bank as a possible future source of individual hepatocytes.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a source for regenerative medicine are now the subject of much clinical attention. There are high expectations due to their safety, low tumorigenic risk, and low ethical concerns. MSC therapy has been approved for acute graft-versus host diseases since 2015. Tooth-derived MSCs are known to have a great potential in their proliferation and differentiation capacities, even when compared with bone-marrow-derived MSCs. In particular, stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) are the best candidates for personal cell banking (dental pulp cell bank), because they can be obtained less invasively in the natural process of individual growth. SHEDs are known to differentiate into hepatocytes. There have been several studies showing the effectiveness of SHEDs on the treatment of liver failure in animal models. They may exert their effects either by repopulation of cells in injured liver or by paracrine mechanisms due to their immune-regulatory functions. Moreover, it may be possible to use each individuals’ dental pulp cells as a future source of tailor-made differentiated hepatocytes in the context of a bioartificial liver or liver-on-a-chip to screen for drug toxicity.

Based on mixed-effects model and Empirical Best Linear Unbiased Predictor predicting growth profile of height for Chinese fir.

Based on the data of 30 sample trees from 15 permanent plots of Chinese fir in the national forest farm of Jiangle, at first we study the best function as the base model with the least square method among five growth profile equations. The nonlinear mixed model was constructed based on the base model and modeling data. We use the R for model fitting. Select the mixed model with the minimum value of AIC, BIC and the maximum value of Loglik as the best model by changing the number of mixed parameters in fitting progress. Using mixed model to predict growth profile of height and studying the characteristics of Empirical Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (EBLUP). Fitting results showed the simulation's precision of Weibull's including three random effect parameters(β1, β2 and β3) was maximal. In the analysis of prediction, prediction accuracy decreased as age interval of observations extended with the same number of previous observations. MSE decreased as the number of previous observations increased. EBLUP prediction could fully predict individual growth process, given that there were multiple previous observations with long-enough age intervals.

Through the Dąbrowski Lens: Philosophy, Faith, and the Personality Ideal

Kazimierz Dąbrowski’s (1902–1980) five-level theory of personality development, the Theory of Positive Disintegration, is one in which the experience of all emotions is essential for the process of individual growth toward the personality ideal. In this article, we introduce the phenomenological and existential influences on Dąbrowski, including the influence of Søren Kierkegaard. We also examine Dąbrowski’s reflections on faith, Christianity, God, and human purpose, with particular reference to his unpublished manuscript, Confessions of Faith in Thoughts and Aphorisms.

The importance of conspecific facilitation during recruitment and regeneration: A case study in degraded mangroves

Facilitation can affect positively the survival, growth and fitness of neighboring plants and is able to promote the establishment of plant species under harsh environmental conditions. This study is one of the few to focus on conspecific nurse plants enabling the establishment of tree followers and the generally unknown interplay between facilitation and competition during recruitment and establishment.Field studies were conducted in an hypersaline area in north Brazil where the hydrological regime was disturbed by road construction in 1974. Avicennia germinans shrubs were able to recolonize subareas.Three different stages of re-colonization were identified by satellite imagery based on the vegetation coverage and were defined as the early, middle, and late stages. Different plant parameters, including height and crown radius of individual trees, were measured, and all plants separating mangrove seedlings and larger plants were stem-mapped.The Hegyi index was adapted to measure local interaction intensity, considering both positive (facilitation) and negative (competition) interactions among neighboring plants. Spatial point pattern analyses were combined with the interaction index to obtain a better overview of the strength and importance of the plant interactions within the different recolonizing stages.The spatial patterns displayed aggregation for all plants in all developmental stages. This is supported by the interaction index calculated for seedlings. The index, however, provides an early signal for the switching of plant interactions from facilitation to competition as the developmental stage increased. This feature remains undetected in the spatial patterns because self-thinning processes are linked to individual growth processes and require more time to take place.This study broadens the ecological concept of nurse plants from hetero- to conspecific, including the importance and strength of plant interactions. The studied degraded areas are recolonizing naturally, and conclusions can be drawn for restoration projects, which usually do not take facilitation effects into account.

Emotional Competences from University to Improve Student Employability

In this paper we start from an analysis of the current state of society and the circumstances that surround the context of employability. In this situation, focus is placed on the University, which is of prime importance in terms of education and training. This assumes what society demands of it and we present the structural changes that have been implemented to address the new challenges looming on the horizon. From here, a more specific analysis has been made in relation to the area of competence as a new way of understanding the process of individual growth, life and professional training. It also highlights emotional competence, which intrinsically conforms to the current situation of labour demand. All this to justify the relevance of program development - from the university - for the acquisition of emotional competence in students to improve the conditions of access to future employment.

Effects of life-history components on population dynamics of the rare endangered plant <i>Davidia involucrata</i>

In order to estimate the most effect stage and process on population growth and effective conserve the rare endangered plant Davidia involucrata, we analyzed the dynamics and the contributions of life-history components on population dynamics based on Lefkovitch matrix model and sensitivity analysis. The life cycle of Davidia involucrata was divided into six stages (seed, seedling, juvenile, immature, early adult and late adult) based on the species characteristics and published literature data, the survival rates in each life-history stage were simulated using a static life table, and the fecundity of each stage was determined according to sample information. The results showed that the structure of the observed population was not ideal, and the numbers of seedlings and coppice shoots was similar. The population growth rate was influenced largely by individual growth process, and asexual reproduction made a larger contribution to population growth than sexual reproduction. However, sexual reproduction was more important than asexual reproduction, because most asexual reproducing individuals (the coppice shoots) were derived mainly from human destruction (e.g. felling trees). The most important stage was stage V (late adult), associated with seed production and germination. Therefore, conservation of Davidia involucrata populations should focus on stage V and sexual reproduction, in order to improve the seed production and germination rate, and to promote population stability and development.

Concentric collaboration: a model of leadership development for healthcare organizations

Drawing on their experience in a Midwest healthcare system, the authors propose a model of leadership development through action learning that embraces ‘concentric collaboration’ at its core. The present study suggests that the process of concentric collaboration can serve to strengthen the skills of the individual leader as well as foster collective leadership. Central to the model is the growth and development of the individual leader which extends outward to create connections with others, ultimately increasing the social capital necessary to effect organizational change. This work contributes to the leadership development literature by offering a comprehensive model that includes the process of individual growth as well as collective capacity, organizational factors that support or inhibit this process as well as implications for practice.

DEPENDENCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL GROWTH PROCESS UPON ALLOMETRIC SCALING EXPONENTS AND OTHER PARAMETERS

In the present study, the individual growth process of an organism has been shown with the help of a mathematical model. The surplus energy production rate, i.e. intake rate minus metabolic cost, plays a crucial role in controlling the growth rate. Considering the existence of an optimum mass, which maximizes the surplus energy, it has been found that the scaling exponent for the metabolic cost has to be greater than the exponent for the intake rate. On the basis of the consideration that the system always generates some surplus energy, a relationship among the empirical constants has been established. The growth is found to continue with an ever decreasing rate. When the system attains its optimum mass, the growth rate is found to be the maximum. The mass variation with time has been graphically shown using the expression obtained by solving a differential equation involving surplus energy. Using figures, the dependence of mass variation upon various scaling parameters, has been thoroughly discussed. As mass increases, the surplus energy production rate per unit mass is found to decrease and this may be the probable reason for the smaller number of organisms with larger mass. As the scaling exponent regarding intake increases, the maximum attainable mass increases along with an increase in the time required for its attainment.

DENSITY DEPENDENCE AND DENSITY INDEPENDENCE IN THE DEMOGRAPHY AND DISPERSAL OF PIKE OVER FOUR DECADES

Quantifying the effects of density-dependent and density-independent factors in demographic and dispersal processes remains a major challenge in population ecology. Based on unique long-term capture–mark–recapture (CMR) data (1949–2000) on pike (Esox lucius) from Windermere, United Kingdom, we provide estimates of density-dependent and density-independent effects, under the influence of individual size and sex, on natural survival, fishing mortality, and dispersal. Because survival is expected to be related to the individual growth process, we also explore the degree of parallelism between the two processes by applying the best-supported survival model structure to individual growth data. The CMR data were analyzed using sex- and age-structured multistate models (two lake basins: north and south) assuming no seasonal variation in survival and dispersal. Total survival and dispersal probabilities were insensitive to this assumption, and capture probability was shown to be robust to assumptions about intra-...

Job rotation in nursing: a study of job rotation among nursing personnel from the literature and via a questionnaire.

To obtain information on job rotation among nursing personnel from the literature and via a questionnaire. A nursing career no longer means a series of steps leading up a hierarchy. It has become more like a process of individual growth, involving improvement of employee expertise and skills. Job rotation in connection with career development in a Finnish hospital is considered essential, and participating in job rotation is one requirement for newly vacant nursing posts. Describing job rotation by means of reference to literature, and studying a survey on attitudes of ophthalmic nurses (n = 84) to job rotation. There has been little theoretical or empirical research on job rotation. In this study, one in three had participated in job rotation that was most often considered a positive experience. Self-development was rated substantially useful, but fewer were interested in participating in various kinds of developmental activities. Employee's motivation is the foundation of successful development activity, e.g. job rotation.

Differential proteomic analysis of Bacillus subtilis nitrate respiration and fermentation in defined medium.

A comparative investigation of protein expression by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was conducted between Bacillus subtilis cultures grown in defined medium under aerobic, anaerobic nitrate respiration, or fermentation conditions. Defined medium specific for either nitrate respiration or fermentation allowed distinction between proteins induced by each individual growth process. Our differential protein profiling analysis between aerobic and anaerobic conditions showed that anaerobic fermentation induced at least 44 proteins and nitrate respiration induced at least 19 proteins compared to aerobic controls. Certain proteins were specifically induced during nitrate respiration or fermentation, while others were induced by both anaerobic processes. Eleven proteins induced by nitrate respiration and/or fermentation were identified by peptide mass matching using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Proteins encoded by feuA, hmp, and ytkD were induced by nitrate respiration. Proteins encoded by pyrR, sucD, trpC, and ywjH were induced by fermentation. Proteins encoded by acuB, pdhC, ydjL, and yvyD were induced by nitrate respiration and fermentation. This proteomic analysis has provided a more complete characterization of B. subtilis anaerobic growth and increased our understanding of its metabolic pathways of nitrate respiration and fermentation.

The French longitudinal study of growth and nutrition: data in adolescent males and females.

To assess nutritional intake, growth parameters, physical activity and television viewing in French adolescents. A longitudinal study of dietary intake and anthropometric data recorded in the same children (n = 94) from 10 to 16 years of age is presented here. Energy intake increased from age 10-16 years in boys, whereas it decreased in girls from the age of 14. Height and weight increased in both males and females over the same period of time. Energy intake was positively associated with age at menarche. Nutritional intake, such as fat and calcium, did not meet recommendations for French adolescents. Height was higher than reference values, but the difference was not significant for girls between 14 and 16 years. Overweight (BMI > 97th percentile of the French reference) was found to be 13-14% between age 10 and 16 years. Time watching TV/computer increased with age from 1.4 to 2.2 h day-1 from 10 to 16 years. Active children had nutritional intake closer to recommendations. In conclusion, this study shows that during adolescence, some nutritional variations can be explained by normal individual growth processes. Low intake of calcium in girls and sedentary lifestyle are of particular concern.

Growth models in microporous materials

Crystallisation pathways in framework materials, such as zeolites, have been monitored using a combination of atomic force microscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy and modelling. The principle conclusions of this study is that many open-framework crystals grow via a layer growth mechanism. The layers have a thickness which is related to the unit cell parameter in the direction of growth. The development of each layer can be sub-divided into a number of individual growth processes including nucleation of a new layer (or terrace), growth at edge sites and kink sites. Modelling of atomic force micrographs yields relative probabilities for these individual growth processes and reveals that growth at kink sites is favoured with nucleation of new terraces the slowest process. The layer mechanisms proposed explain the incorporation of defects in framework structures and further elucidate the role of structure directing agents.