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Copyright of Študijné Zvesti AU SAV is the property of Institute of Archaeology SAS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Študijné Zvesti AU SAV is the property of Institute of Archaeology SAS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The word “religion” refers to a wide range of phenomena ranging from Tibetan Buddhism to the Prosperity Gospel. As a result, religion has accrued a “bewildering variety of definitions”. This essay, rather than asking the ontological question – “What kind of thing is religion?” – looks at religion epistemologically, asking what religion enables people to know. The resulting exploration suggests that religion is part of the process by which human groups come to know and adapt to the powerful, often-mysterious forces that produce awe and terror. By looking at how societies at different levels of social complexity have responded to the crises produced by these forces, the author suggests that the habits of mind that would become science and philosophy, as well as religion, evolved as the way those societies have adapted to existential crises, especially in times of rapid, widespread change.

Collective intelligence (CI) is critical to solving many scientific, business, and other problems, but groups often fail to achieve it. Here, we analyze data on group performance from 22 studies, including 5,279 individuals in 1,356 groups. Our results support the conclusion that a robust CI factor characterizes a group's ability to work together across a diverse set of tasks. We further show that CI is predicted by the proportion of women in the group, mediated by average social perceptiveness of group members, and that it predicts performance on various out-of-sample criterion tasks. We also find that, overall, group collaboration process is more important in predicting CI than the skill of individual members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most prevalent exposure of bisphenol A (BPA) to biological systems has directed health organizations to reduce its safe dosage and the stringent regulation by developed countries that led to ban of BPA-based (Bisphenol analogues) baby bottles. This in turn has opened a new window for ongoing entry of bisphenol analogues into consumer market. Recently, there has been tremendous growth in both production and application of bisphenol analogues to achieve the "BPA-free" claim. Nevertheless, due to growing epidemiological evidence concerning the toxicological effects of these bisphenol analogues in both in vivo and in vitro systems, the debate regarding the safety concerns over bisphenols is back. Structural analogues of bisphenol A had been identified in food products, human and environment matrices. Present review is an attempt to recapitulate the presence of bisphenols in food and environment matrices as well as their concerning physiological effects in animal models and human groups. But, due to structural analogy of these substitutes, their endpoints on biological functions are comparable to original compound or in certain situations, more harmful than original compound. Unfortunately, other potentially harmful alternatives are emerging and it is therefore advised that the replacement of bisphenol A with other structural analogues must be executed with great care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of College of The Great Imam University is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The emergence of legal rules governing criminal liability for genocide represents the natural response of society in the face of criminal phenomena that can not be categorized otherwise than atrocities. Punishing those responsible for committing these abominations is the result of strong consecration of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. Regulations concerning the methods and means of wearing the war, limiting or prohibiting the use of certain types of weapons and ammunition and protection of victims of armed conflict is precisely the meaning of prevention of genocide. Starting from the basic principles of international humanitarian law, the international community has expressed a desire to define the concept of genocide rigorously and clearly as possible, thus being created the prerequisites for the criminalization of actions and deeds circumcised to the genocide phenomenon with which humanity faced throughout history. Studying genocide, a serious violation of human rights, can help us understand where that offense and other acts of mass violence are likely to occur and may lead to warning signs of impending violence and can suggest ways such acts can be prevented.

To evaluate BPA's potential risk to health, it is important to know human daily intake. This study describes a simple but effective method to estimate the levels of human BPA intake among four different populations based on urinary concentration data. Nationally, of the 30 countries examined, the top ten countries for adult intake were Italy, Sweden, Denmark, France, Cyprus, Australia, Israel, Ghana, Jamaica, and Belgium. When the urinary excretion sample size was large enough and over 1000, it was found that the national estimated BPA daily intakes in the child group among countries, showed a good linear relationship with those of their corresponding adult group. Except the infant group with limited data, the global estimated BPA daily intakes for children and pregnant women were 2 and 1.4 times that of the adult group. Although the national and global estimated BPA daily intakes were generally below the temporary tolerable daily intake (tTDI) recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), but some normal individuals' daily intakes exceeded the tTDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciencia e Ingenieria Neogranadina is the property of Ciencia e Ingenieria Neogranadina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses human groupings from the perspective of social geometry, i.e., social numbers and their significance in social life. It offers a generalized and interdisciplinary analysis of one as a social zero, then of social numbers two, three, and four, as well as of larger numbers. Furthermore, this article discusses the basic forms of sociality and special emphasis is put on qualitative changes that occur through quantitative changes in the social number of configurations. This is achieved through the accumulated scientific knowledge of human evolutionary history and its influence on human groupings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In humans, oxytocin promotes cognitive and motivational tendencies that benefit the groups on which humans depend for their survival and prosperity. Here we examined decision making in an incentivized two-player poker game with either an in-group or out-group antagonist. Sixty nine healthy males received 24 IU oxytocin or matching placebo, and played four rounds of a simplified poker game. On each round they received either low or high value cards to create differences in competitive strength, and then responded to a bet placed by their (simulated) (in-group or out-group) antagonist. Under placebo, participants withdrew and competed depending on their own (low vs. high) competitive strength, regardless of their antagonist's group membership. Under oxytocin, however, participants settled more and competed less with an in-group as compared to an out-group antagonist; withdrawal was unaffected by group membership. We conclude that oxytocin sensitizes humans to the group membership of their interaction partner, rendering them relatively more benevolent and less competitive towards those seen as belonging to their own group. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Oxytocin and Social Behav . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review and extend theoretical and empirical studies of how groups make decisions using combinations of private information and preference copying. We give six tested or testable predictions arising from models: (i) group decisions involve both true and false cascades; (ii) a small number of leaders can heavily influence a decision; (iii) individuals in groups make accurate and fast decisions; (iv) irrelevant alternatives change preferences; (v) optimal group size depends on the number of options; and (vi) pairs of higher quality options are more difficult to distinguish than lower quality options. We discuss our approach in the context of human organisations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses results of a study that examines whether communication enhances group performance in humans in social foraging and consensus decision making. The study material and methods are discussed, including data collection using radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and bivariate tests. The study showed that effective foraging was evident among communicating groups compared with non-communicating groups. It concludes with a suggestion that gesticulations played a vital role in the achievement of consensus decisions.

Copyright of Innovacion Educativa is the property of Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Servicio de Publicaciones and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Summary: We have investigated whether the presence, numerical variations and site of origin of the superior thyroid artery (STA) are influenced by the ethnic group and gender, whether the origin and caliber of this vessel are symmetrical, to what extent a non-selective thyroid angiography, either conventional or by digital subtraction, is effective in visualizing it, and whether this information may be useful in selected clinical conditions. A meta-analysis has been performed, including 24 library- and Medline-selected publications on Caucasoids (European and non-European) and East Asians and a set of original data on European Caucasoids. A total of 3453 Caucasoid and 931 East Asian items, including entire bodies, half bodies and arteries, were used. After testing the homogeneity of the available data sources in relation to the anatomical variables under study we calculated a cumulative value for each selected anatomical parameter and evaluated differences by non parametric statistics. Effectiveness of non-selective thyroid angiography was determined using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values. A higher frequency of origin from the external carotid artery was present in Caucasoids than in East Asians. In contrast, a higher frequency of origin from common carotid artery was observed in East Asians versus Caucasoids. No gender differences were found for any of the parameters analyzed in East Asians. In addition, an equal probability of either asymmetrical or symmetrical origin on the two sides of the neck for STA was found in East Asians. In contrast, a symmetry of caliber for STA was found in European Caucasoids. Finally, only a moderate effectiveness of non-selective thyroid angiography, either conventional or by digital subtraction, was determined for visualization of STA in European Caucasoids. Statistically significant variations in some STA anatomical parameters occur between Caucasoids and East Asians. These differences, together with the high frequency of asymmetry for STA origin in East Asians and low effectiveness of STA visualization by non-selective angiography in European Caucasoids, may result in useful information for clinical reasoning in selected conditions of the thyroid region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]