Memorial University of Newfoundland

About: Memorial University of Newfoundland is a education organization based out in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gadus. The organization has 13818 authors who have published 27785 publications receiving 743594 citations. The organization is also known as: Memorial University & Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The measurement of happiness: development of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH).

Abstract: Items of the Affect Balance Scale, the Life Satisfaction Index-Z and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Scale together with 22 new items were used in the construction of a happiness scale for the elderly. Items were initially administered to 301 subjects from urban, rural, and institutional settings and correlated with ratings of happiness. A new scale consisting of 24 items was cross-validated on an additional 297 subjects. Test-retest reliability scores were obtained on 56 subjects. Results indicated that the new scale was a better predictor of "avowed happiness" in both validation and cross-validation samples than the existing scales used for comparison. Moreover, the new scale's test-rated reliability was within an acceptable range for this type of scale.

The use of instability to train the core musculature

Abstract: Training of the trunk or core muscles for enhanced health, rehabilitation, and athletic performance has received renewed emphasis. Instability resistance exercises have become a popular means of training the core and improving bal- ance. Whether instability resistance training is as, more, or less effective than traditional ground-based resistance training is not fully resolved. The purpose of this review is to address the effectiveness of instability resistance training for athletic, nonathletic, and rehabilitation conditioning. The anatomical core is defined as the axial skeleton and all soft tissues with a proximal attachment on the axial skeleton. Spinal stability is an interaction of passive and active muscle and neural sub- systems. Training programs must prepare athletes for a wide variety of postures and external forces, and should include exercises with a destabilizing component. While unstable devices have been shown to be effective in decreasing the inci- dence of low back pain and increasing the sensory efficiency of soft tissues, they are not recommended as the primary ex- ercises for hypertrophy, absolute strength, or power, especially in trained athletes. For athletes, ground-based free-weight exercises with moderate levels of instability should form the foundation of exercises to train the core musculature. Instabil- ity resistance exercises can play an important role in periodization and rehabilitation, and as alternative exercises for the recreationally active individual with less interest or access to ground-based free-weight exercises. Based on the relatively high proportion of type I fibers, the core musculature might respond well to multiple sets with high repetitions (e.g., >15 per set); however, a particular sport may necessitate fewer repetitions.

Coupling of surface temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the Palaeozoic era.

Abstract: Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations seem to have been several times modern levels during much of the Palaeozoic era (543–248 million years ago), but decreased during the Carboniferous period to concentrations similar to that of today. Given that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, it has been proposed that surface temperatures were significantly higher during the earlier portions of the Palaeozoic era. A reconstruction of tropical sea surface temperatures based on the δ^(18)O of carbonate fossils indicates, however, that the magnitude of temperature variability throughout this period was small, suggesting that global climate may be independent of variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. Here we present estimates of sea surface temperatures that were obtained from fossil brachiopod and mollusc shells using the 'carbonate clumped isotope' method—an approach that, unlike the δ^(18)O method, does not require independent estimates of the isotopic composition of the Palaeozoic ocean. Our results indicate that tropical sea surface temperatures were significantly higher than today during the Early Silurian period (443–423 Myr ago), when carbon dioxide concentrations are thought to have been relatively high, and were broadly similar to today during the Late Carboniferous period (314–300 Myr ago), when carbon dioxide concentrations are thought to have been similar to the present-day value. Our results are consistent with the proposal that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations drive or amplify increased global temperatures.

Enzymes from fish and aquatic invertebrates and their application in the food industry

Abstract: Enzymatic methods have become an important and indispensable part of the processes used by the modern food and feed industry to produce a large and diversified range of products for human and animal consumption. Aquatic environment contains the largest pool of diversified genetic material and, hence represents an enormous potential for different sources of enzymes. In recent years, recovery and characterization of enzymes from fish and aquatic invertebrates has been achieved and some interesting and novel applications related to marine enzymes in food processing have emerged. This review summarizes information related to digestive and muscular enzymes in fish and aquatic invertebrates. In addition, important developments in food applications of marine enzymes are reported.

Global patterns in marine dispersal estimates: the influence of geography, taxonomic category and life history

Abstract: We examine estimates of dispersal in a broad range of marine species through an analysis of published values, and evaluate how well these values represent global patterns through a comparison with correlates of dispersal. Our analysis indicates a historical focus in dispersal studies on low-dispersal/low-latitude species, and we hypothesize that these studies are not generally applicable and representative of global patterns. Large-scale patterns in dispersal were examined using a database of correlates of dispersal such as planktonic larval duration (PLD, 318 species) and genetic differentiation (FST, 246 species). We observed significant differences in FST (p!0.001) and PLD (p!0.001) between taxonomic groups (e.g. fishes, cnidarians, etc.). Within marine fishes (more than 50% of datasets), the prevalence of demersal eggs was negatively associated with PLD (R 2 Z0.80, p!0.001) and positively associated with genetic structure (R 2 Z0.74, p!0.001). Furthermore, dispersal within marine fishes (i.e. PLD and FST) increased with latitude, adult body size and water depth. Of these variables, multiple regression identified latitude and body size as persistent predictors across taxonomic levels. These global patterns of dispersal represent a first step towards understanding and predicting species-level and regional differences in dispersal, and will be improved as more comprehensive data become available.