Secure Levels Research Articles

Oxytocin and state attachment responses to secure base support after stress in middle childhood

ABSTRACT We tried to replicate the finding that receiving care increases children’s oxytocin and secure state attachment levels, and tested whether secure trait attachment moderates the oxytocin and state attachment response to care. 109 children (9-11 years old; M = 9.59; SD = 0.63; 34.9% boys) participated in a within-subject experiment. After stress induction (Trier Social Stress Test), children first remained alone and then received maternal secure base support. Salivary oxytocin was measured eight times. Secure trait and state attachment were measured with questionnaires, and Secure Base Script knowledge was assessed. Oxytocin levels increased after receiving secure base support from mother after having been alone. Secure state attachment changed less. Trait attachment and Secure Base Script knowledge did not moderate oxytocin or state attachment responses to support. This might mean that, regardless of the attachment history, in-the-moment positive attachment experiences might have a beneficial effect on trait attachment development in middle childhood.

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTACHMENT STYLES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE OF ADOLESCENTS FROM INTACT AND NON-INTACT FAMILIES

This research aims to examine whether the attachment styles and psychological resilience levels of adolescents from intact and non-intact families differed by gender, age, parents’ survival status, parents’ togetherness status, parents’ separate living arrangements, reasons for family breakdown, age during family breakdown, and cohabitants. The study sample consists of 1355 high school students studying in the Mamak district of Ankara Province. The data were collected through the Three-Dimensional Attachment Styles Scale, the Child and Youth Psychological Resilience Scale, and the Personal Information Form prepared by the researchers. According to the analysis conducted, adolescents from non-intact families exhibited a higher level of anxious-ambivalent attachment compared to those from intact families. The psychological resilience levels of adolescents from non-intact families were lower than those from intact families. While secure and avoidant attachment levels showed no gender difference in both family structures, anxious-ambivalent attachment levels differed. The psychological resilience levels of adolescents from intact families indicated a significant gender difference, whereas there was no significant difference in adolescents from non-intact families. The attachment styles and psychological resilience levels of adolescents from non-intact families did not differ by parents’ separate living arrangements and the reason for family breakdown. There was no difference in attachment styles by cohabitants, parents’ survival status, and age during family breakdown. However, there was a statistically significant difference between their psychological resilience levels, except for their age during family breakdown.

Too different to be equal: Lack of public respect is associated with reduced self-respect for stigmatized individuals.

Individuals with physical and mental disabilities can be stigmatized and perceived in terms of their disabilities in the public domain. This is less pervasive in the private domain, because of the presence of individuating information. We argue that disabilities decrease individuals' everyday opportunities to receive basic equality-based respect experiences in the public domain and thus makes it difficult for them to develop a high and secure level of self-respect (i.e., seeing the self as someone who possesses the same rights as others). These hypotheses were tested in a cross-sectional study in Norway with 173 participants (51 males, 117 females, two trans men, and three non-binary persons; Mage = 28.00; SD = 10.33, age range: 19-77 years), of which 60 participants reported having mental or physical disabilities. In line with our hypotheses, we found higher levels of self-respect for individuals without mental or physical disabilities compared to individuals with mental or physical disabilities. In addition, results showed that respect experiences differed depending on the domain. Whereas individuals with and without disabilities did not significantly differ in the respect experiences they reported in the private domain, they did significantly differ in the respect experiences they reported in the public domain. In addition, respect experiences in the public domain mediated the relationship between disability and self-respect. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of the importance of developing high and secure levels of self-respect and in terms of how respect experiences in the public domain can be ensured for everyone.

Assessment of trace element content throughout the white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farming cycle

Environmental context Intensive aquaculture is the main source of fisheries products. Thus, investigating the food safety of these products and the environmental impacts of the farms on mangroves is necessary. A shrimp productive cycle was evaluated with a focus on trace element accumulation in shrimps and effluent. The results revealed secure levels of elements in the final product; however, the effluent produced in farms is an important source of contamination to mangrove environment. Rationale Aquaculture systems have increased in the last years due to the high demand for seafood consumption, this could impact the environment and subject fisheries to accumulation of toxic elements. To understand some parameters of food safety and environmental impact, the present study evaluated the concentration of trace elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Pb, Se, V and Zn) throughout the production cycle of shrimp. Methodology About 50 shrimps per cycle were collected in a shrimp farm in Brazil and their trace element contents were determined by inductively coupled plasma–tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) and microwave-induced plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (MIP-OES). Results At their final lifecycle stage, shrimp samples present a content (mg g−1) of elements following the trend: Cu (102 ± 12) > Al (20.06 ± 4.24) > Zn (14.82 ± 2.46) > Mn (6.24 ± 0.94) > As (2.65 ± 0.42) > Se (0.932 ± 0.140) > Co (0.380 ± 0.05) > Mo (0.254 ± 0.03) > V (0.204 ± 0.02). Discussion The content of Cd and Pb are in allowance with Brazil and USA legislation for crustaceans, however, the content of As is 3–4-fold higher than that allowed by guidelines in all stages of the growth of the shrimp. The final effluent of the shrimp’s pond into the mangroves shows a high mass fraction of Zn and Mn that could be a source of contamination. Some correlations between some elements in the shrimp samples were found, such as As–Se, Se–Co and Se–V. This study was a scoping experiment to study the content of trace elements throughout the farming cycle of shrimps, encouraging the researcher to undergo a wide survey to evaluate the environmental impact of aquaculture shrimp farming.

Security of power supply in hydrothermal systems: Assessing minimum storage requisites for hydroelectric plants

Unfavorable hydrological conditions experienced from 2014 to 2019 led to the depletion of main reservoir systems in Brazil, causing an increase of thermal energy dispatch. However, an important share of the observed thermal generation was out of economic merit, commanded by government entities which risk perception relies mainly on experts’ tacit knowledge. Despite the common sense that storage in reservoirs is intrinsically linked to system security, the metrics employed so far failed to compute the system’s real needs in terms of required stored energy in hydroelectric plants. This work proposes a new method to evaluate the security of power supply in systems with predominance of hydroelectricity, by the development of an optimization model that assesses the minimum secure levels for hydroelectric plants operation in each month, from a nonlinear-backward simulation of 88 historical streamflow series (1931–2018). In addition, based on the simulation results, two reference curves were suggested for the continuous monitoring of the reservoirs operation, with the purpose of subsidizing Brazilian government entities decisions on unorthodox thermal generation dispatch. The monitoring of the proposed reference curves is expected to represent a more robust criterion for decisions on out-of-merit thermal generation in Brazilian power system.

Plant Fetish: A Creative Challenge to Mental Health Stigma

People of BAMME (Black, Asian, Minority, and Migrant ethnic) heritage in the UK experience various anomalies when engaging with mental health services. Typically concentrated at secondary and secure levels of care, these discrepant experiences interact with a reticence to uptake mental health support at the primary care level. Official, national anti-stigma campaigns often reproduce messages that do not connect with BAMME communities, raising questions about how best to challenge stigma in this context. This research paper describes a case study of an alternative means to address stigma, drawing from a dramatic comedy performance, Plant Fetish, written and performed by an artist who carries a diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (Complex PTSD). The study comprised of an individual interview with the artist, audience feedback, and a group discussion conducted after the show. Data were subject to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings are discussed in relation to the importance of using creativity to increase public awareness of mental health and inform efforts to reduce stigma. We conclude that such approaches show promise and merit further exploration in a context of growing discursive interest in mental health amidst acknowledged deficiencies of contemporary anti-stigma efforts, especially as they apply to BAMME people, their families, and their communities.

Secure limitation analysis of public-key cryptography for smart card settings

Smart cards are widely used in high security applications due to their self-contained nature. At the same time, the security of smart card has become an urgent problem in the field of intelligent environment. Public-key Cryptography is the main means to solve the security problems based on smart card password authentication and identity authentication protocol. This paper reviews the security issues of public key cryptography used in smart cards from the perspective of information theory. By constructing a attackers channel, we model the Public-key Cryptography process in the way of an adversary to capture the attack ability in the Public-key Cryptography setting. Then, we convert the secure problems of Public-key Cryptography into the attack channels capacity of adversaries that the maximum value of the average mutual information is the secure limitations of a Public-key Cryptography scheme, which is a reachable theoretic limitation of secure communication parties. Finally, we give the bounds of insecure for public-key encryption and signature in different secure levels, and analyze and discuss the secure limitation.

Why isn’t my professor Pasifika? A snapshot of the academic workforce in New Zealand universities

This paper examines the ethnicity of academic scholars employed by New Zealand's eight universities, with a particular focus on Pasifika academics. The paper discusses how, despite national and university policies to see education serve Pasifika peoples better, there has been no change in the numbers of Pasifika academics employed by the universities between 2012 and 2017, and notes that Pasifika who are in the academy are continually employed in the lower, less secure levels of the academy. Examining international discourses of exclusion from universities, this paper builds on current Pasifika understandings and experiences of universities and highlights the urgent need for universities to reconsider their current recruitment, retention and promotion practices, and overarching structures and habits that operate to exclude Pasifika peoples.

Stability Analysis of a Multi Area System with Renewable Energy and Multi-Terminal DC Tie Lines

Security constrained multi area multi objective dynamic economic dispatch (SCMAMODED) with renewable energy (RE) and all the possible MTDC stability constraints is formulated for the first time. The stability merits of multi terminal DC (MTDC) tie lines as compared to the traditional HVAC forms the main objective of this paper. Probabilistic load flow (PLF) is applied to determine the system parameters while the uncertainties are modelled using Scenario Based Method (SBM). The simulation results reveal that with the use of MTDC tie lines, the frequency and voltage stability in the MAMODED with renewable energy sources (RES) are enhanced while keeping the MTDC power exchange interface nodes at secure levels.

Effect of bisphenol A exposure on the expressions of five ovary development related genes in the oriental river prawn, Macrobrachium nipponense (Decapoda, Palaemonidae)

The oriental river prawn,Macrobrachium nipponense, is one of the important commercial shrimp species. Recently a severe problem of precocious maturation has greatly hampered this shrimp aquaculture industry. Bisphenol A (BPA), a high-production-volume chemical substance used in the plastic manufacturing industry, has been thought of as an endocrine disruptor on the developmental processes of animals. In this study, we investigated the effect of BPA exposure on the expressions of five ovary development related genes such as Mago nashi, Tsunagi, Gustavus, Ubc9, and Von Willebrand factor D-Kazal inM. nipponense. Five concentration gradients (5.01, 7.76, 12.06, 18.62 and 28.84 mg/l) of BPA were set and the ovaries of exposed prawns were collected at different time points for expression analysis. Compared with the control group at day 19, BPA had a two-phase effect: a stimulating effect under low concentrations from 5.01 to 12.06 mg/l, whereas a negative effect was noted at high concentrations from 12.06 to 28.84 mg/l. The expression profiles under different BPA concentrations significantly changed along with the extension of exposure time. The medium concentration of BPA (12.06 mg/l) had a persistent influence on the expressions of the transcripts, while the effect was transient under the lowest concentration (5.01 mg/l). It is suggested that the concentration under 5.01 mg/l might be safe for the development ofM. nipponense, but exceeding 12.06 mg/l may be harmful. When exposed to clean fresh water without BPA, the gene expressions rebounded a little. This may indicate that the biological damage of BPA was partly reversible after the prawns had been placed in the fresh water without BPA. So the BPA pollutant concentration should be controlled at secure levels in order to ensure safety in aquaculture, in this respect. This study provides fundamental data for the relationship between BPA and precocious maturation of the prawn, and will most probably contribute to the understanding of the sexual maturation process in crustaceans.

Disorganized attachment and personality functioning in adults: A latent class analysis.

Though researchers have attended to disorganized attachment in infants and children, they have infrequently focused on the character of disorganized attachment in adults. In this study, we aimed to identify clusters of participants based on attachment levels and styles, seeking to better delineate severity and stylistic differences in disorganized attachment than has been previously articulated. We used a new assessment approach focused on a hierarchy of attachment organization, including secure, insecure (dismissive and preoccupied), rigid-controlling (hostile control and compulsive caregiving), and disorganized (contradictory, impoverished, and unresolved) levels of attachment. Clinical evaluators used information from diagnostic and attachment-based interviews to rate participants on each of these aspects of attachment. Latent class analysis (LCA) revealed a 4-class solution, including a secure (n = 33), insecure (n = 110), and 2 disorganized classes. One disorganized class (disorganized-oscillating) was characterized by elevations on contradictory and preoccupied styles (n = 77) and another (disorganized-impoverished) showed elevations on impoverished and dismissive styles (n = 53). The disorganized-oscillating class exhibited elevated personality disorder (PD) severity and general symptom severity, borderline personality disorder (BPD), histrionic, and antisocial dimensional scores, and the most severe identity disturbance compared with the other classes. The impoverished-dismissive class exhibited the highest avoidant and schizoid PD dimensional scores of the classes, and higher PD severity compared with the insecure and secure classes. These results highlight the possibility of identifying distinct classes of attachment organization, differentiated both by aspects of severity and interpersonal style. They also shed light on the manifestation of attachment disorganization in adults. (PsycINFO Database Record

Comparative Analysis between Conventional PI and Fuzzy LogicPI Controllers for Indoor Benzene Concentrations

Exposure to hazardous concentrations of volatile organic compounds indoors in small workshops could affect the health of workers, resulting in respirative diseases, severe intoxication or even cancer. Controlling the concentration of volatile organic compounds is required to prevent harmful conditions for workers in indoor environments. In this document, PI and fuzzy PI controllers were used to reduce hazardous indoor air benzene concentrations in small workplaces. The workshop is represented by means of a well-mixed room model. From the knowledge obtained from the model, PI and fuzzy PI controllers were designed and their performances were compared. Both controllers were able to maintain the benzene concentration within secure levels for the workers. The fuzzy PI controller performed more efficiently than the PI controller. Both approaches could be expanded to control multiple extractor fans in order to reduce the air pollution in a shorter time. The results from the comparative analysis showed that implementing a fuzzy logic PI controller is promising for assuring indoor air quality in this kind of hazardous work environment.

Effects of eliminating psychiatric rehabilitation from the secure levels of a mental-health service system.

Psychiatric rehabilitation (PR) is widely recognized as a treatment approach and an array of evidence-based practices effective for promoting the recovery of people with serious mental illness (SMI). However, its use in institutional settings is not widespread for unclear reasons. Policymakers may sometimes believe the superiority of PR in controlled research does not apply in the real world, for various reasons. This study exploits an unusual set of real-world circumstances surrounding the closure of a well-developed PR program in a state hospital. The program was closed after a period of mental-health services reform that significantly augmented the surrounding community-service system. The PR program was converted to conventional medical-institutional model-treatment units with no reduction in beds or funding within the state hospital. A database composed of public documents was used to analyze the consequences of the closing. Within the institution, the consequences included a persistent presence of long-term difficult-to-discharge patients, a slowed discharge rate, a net increase in the hospital's per capita treatment costs, and higher use of restraint/seclusion. Effects were also detectable in the surrounding mental-health service system, including degraded outcome of community-based step-down services and increased pressure on emergency/crisis services. The consequences of closing the program are consistent with expectations based on research, and demonstrate danger in assuming that real world exigencies obviate research findings.

Controlling Indoor Benzene Concentrations using a Fuzzy System

Indoor occupational exposure to hazardous concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) at small workshops could have impact in the health of the workers, resulting in severe intoxication, respiratory diseases or even cancer. Therefore, controlling the concentration of (VOCs) in indoors is necessary to avoid injuries of the workers. In this manuscript it is presented a strategy to reduce hazardous indoor air benzene concentrations in small workshops through the use of a fuzzy logic controller. The closed room is separated in two defined zones using the Near Field-Far Field (NF-FF) model. From the knowledge of the (NF-FF) model a Mamdani fuzzy model controller was designed to maintain the benzene concentration within secure levels for the workers. Fuzzy systems can be analyzed as a mapping between an input data vector (error) and a control output. The input-output behavior is defined by fuzzy rules which infer an output value from an input value. A fuzzy control system is used to characterize the duty cycle required by a pulse width modulator (PWM), which controls the speed of direct current (DC) motors of exhaust fans; thus keeping the indoor air benzene concentration within the regulations established by the EPA (0.03 mg/m3). The simulation results show that the proposed fuzzy control is promissory to assure indoor air quality in this kind of work environments.

The Spinning Globe Inside a Crystal Ball: A Dual Perspective on the Changing Leadership Demands of Oil and Gas

Talent & Technology The stakes in the leadership-development game are increasing. Current trends in the oil and gas industry demand an expanded set of leadership competencies to handle the complexities of the immediate. And, at the same time, industry leaders are called on to prepare for broader macroeconomic trends that will reshape the landscape over the next century. Think of it as a split perspective on the future—one eye on the spinning globe of today and the other on a crystal ball within which it is spinning. This dual perspective suggests that the future demands of industry leadership will bear little resemblance to those of today. The newest trends in management development help firms prepare for the demands of the long term as well as the immediate. Oil and gas executives well know the evolving challenges of the industry and their leadership implications. Significant among these are: Intensifying globalization—strategy must be crafted and implemented in a global context that accounts for new players and new markets in developing nations, national oil companies and multinational corporations, multiple world hubs, and a complex web of customer and supplier relationships. Business complexity—sourcing capital, valuing complex projects, maximizing the value of alliances, creating operational efficiencies by applying information technology and adapting lean manufacturing, clean energy. Multicultural and multigenerational workforce—aligning business goals with a broad spectrum of cultural norms that may clash with organizational norms while maintaining one’s own cultural authenticity, transferring knowledge from one generation to the next. Expanded risk—assessing financial and operational risk, using new energy risk-management tools, dealing with regulatory and social risks, everything from safety to accounting standards imposed by a wide variety of governments at local, national, international levels, and maintaining energy security. These complex industry challenges require success-oriented firms to develop leaders who can lead innovation and change, make critical decisions quickly that align with overall strategy, achieve operational efficiency and economy, and inspire and motivate others. As one chief executive officer put it, his biggest challenge is developing leaders who can lead people, make money, and grow strategically. Today’s leader layers strategic thinking on top of business acumen on top of organizational and interpersonal savvy. This is the human capital equivalent of using multiple—even redundant—tools to maintain safe and secure levels of financial liquidity.

OS EFEITOS AGUDOS DE DIFERENTES PROTOCOLOS DE CICLISMO <em>INDOOR</em> NAS RESPOSTAS FISIOLÓGICAS E NA PERCEPÇÃO SUBJETIVA DE ESFORÇO

The physiological responses control during group activities at gym can be used as marker of prescription and adjustment of load in training. Being so, the aim of this study was to compare the acute effects of continuous and interval training, when applied in indoor cycling protocols, on physiological responses of heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (LAC) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Ten men [(mean ± SD): age: 27.44 ± 4.62 years; % fat: 13.11 ± 4.41 %; max: 55.37 ± 3.29 ml.kg-1.min-1] volunteered for this study. All subjects were practicing indoor cycling 3-5 times a week, for at least six months. Data for the study was collected during the Continuous and Interval protocols, performed on stationary ergometer bicycle. ANOVA test presented significant lower HR and LAC during exercise Interval protocol (p < 0.05), but no differences in the RPE (Borg’s scale) was found between Continuous and Interval training protocols by Wilcoxon test. The study suggests that the two protocols studied can be applied to different programs of indoor cycling, but only by using physiological and perceptual responses to control exercise intensity and to establish secure levels for its practice.