• Energy Research
• psychology and cognitive sciences close

Previous findings implicate opioid receptors in the expression of the conditioned rewarding and aversive properties of ethanol. We have recently reported that the conditioned rewarding effect of ethanol is mediated by opioid receptors in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). We attempted to determine whether VTA opioid receptors also mediate the expression of the conditioned aversive properties of ethanol. However, the magnitude of conditioned place aversion (CPA) was not consistent with our previous findings and prevented us from making definitive conclusions. We hypothesized that the handling required to make intracranial infusions in mice alters the expression of CPA, but not conditioned place preference (CPP). Therefore, non-operated animals underwent a Pavlovian conditioning procedure for either ethanol CPA or CPP. Just before testing, half of the animals were held by the scruff of the neck to mimic intracranial infusion handling. Animals conditioned for CPA did not express CPA if they were handled. However, animals conditioned for CPP exhibited robust CPP, regardless of handling. These findings provide additional evidence that the conditioned rewarding and aversive effects of ethanol are mediated by different neural mechanisms.

Ocho de cada diez españoles creen que el agujero en la capa de ozono, provocado por la acción humana, es la clave física causal que explica el cambio climático. Esta creencia, construida con mimbres científicos (conceptos, imágenes, íconos, discursos), es producto de la cultura común. Nunca la ciencia ha establecido tal conexión. Es la capacidad de la cultura común para integrar, según su propia epistemología, los «objetos» científicos quien la ha establecido y difundido hasta convertirla en una creencia cultural a escala global. La divergencia entre representación social y científica invita a reflexionar sobre cómo las sociedades contemporáneas interiorizan y remodelan la cultura científica para construir representaciones que permitan interpretar la realidad y guiar la acción (o inhibición) ante aquellas amenazas que la misma ciencia es capaz de identificar.

Introduction: Today, with the advancement of technology and the expansion of the use of computers and mobile phones, mobility and health care through gamification has reached a special place. Despite increasing people health, gamification can create a small step towards a green city and create new job opportunities. Materials and Methods: In this study, a motor was attached to the pedal or rotary axis of a stationary bicycle as a generator to convert the produced mechanical energy into the electrical form. Some buttons were also mounted on the bicycle handlebar so that the user could control the game character in the Android application. All required hardware and circuits were also initially selected and designed to provide the power needed to charge the mobile and send the sensor information to the software via a Bluetooth module. Results: Referring to the latest achievements in health care, the complete design and manufacturing process of the control hardware required to read the information of the sensors connected to the bicycle and send them by a microcontroller to a mobile application as well as the design of a related android game with its software challenges, were provided. Two IoT-based Android developing tools, Flutter and Flame, were also briefly introduced. Conclusion: The output of this study was a full version of a small-scale stationary bicycle attached to the sensor, which was a comprehensive example of a set of interconnected bicycles. It can be widely used at sports clubs, parks, and gardens to enhance sport culture through gamification.

Careful attention to choice architecture promises to open up new possibilities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions – possibilities that go well beyond, and that may supplement or complement, the standard tools of economic incentives, mandates, and bans. How, for example, do consumers choose between climate-friendly products or services and alternatives that are potentially damaging to the climate but less expensive? The answer may well depend on the default rule. Indeed, climate-friendly default rules may well be a more effective tool for altering outcomes than large economic incentives. The underlying reasons include the power of suggestion; inertia and procrastination; and loss aversion. If well-chosen, climate-friendly defaults are likely to have large effects in reducing the economic and environmental harms associated with various products and activities. In deciding whether to establish climate-friendly defaults, choice architects (subject to legal constraints) should consider both consumer welfare and a wide range of other costs and benefits. Sometimes that assessment will argue strongly in favor of climate-friendly defaults, particularly when both economic and environmental considerations point in their direction. Notably, surveys in the United States and Europe show that majorities in many nations are in favor of climate-friendly defaults.

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related potential component that signifies neurophysiological processing of fine acoustic differences. The MMN indicates attention-independent change detection, reflects auditory sensory memory and provides a physiological measure of difference sensitivity. This paper will provide an overview of current research where results gained by MMN testing in different patient groups were central to the interpretation of an assumed abnormality of processing or storing acoustic features.

The impact of climate change and the demand of people for water resources are dramatically increasing. In order to protect water supply in the world, it is essential to develop individuals’ sustainable water consumption behaviors. Teachers play a key role in fostering students’ beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors about sustainable water consumption. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore pre-service teachers’ sustainable water consumption behaviors using the Value-Belief-Norm theory. 481 pre-service teachers completed a questionnaire measuring sustainable water consumption behavior, universal values, personal norms and beliefs that were categorized as awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility. The results revealed that the Value-Belief-Norm theory could successfully explain sustainable water consumption behaviors of pre-service teachers. The study revealed that personal norm was a strong predictor to explain sustainable water consumption behavior. Mediation analysis confirmed the causal order of the variables in the model. In other words, personal norms mediated the relationship between ascription of responsibility and sustainable water consumption behavior; ascription of responsibility mediated the relationship between awareness of consequences and personal norms; awareness of consequences mediated the relationship between biospheric-altruistic values and ascription of responsibility; and lastly, personal norms mediated the relationship between biospheric-altruistic values and sustainable water consumption behavior. The results have important implications for education programs and environmental program designers. Through designing water conservation education programs, teachers and students’ sustainable water consumption behaviors can be fostered by strengthening their biospheric-altruistic values, environmental beliefs and personal norm to act for the environment.

Smart homes are seen as an enabling technology and integrated part of future energy efficient system. However, actual level of uptake of Smart home energy solutions is still low. New energy solutions must be shown to be attractive and valuable before they will be accepted. To this end, the values and expectations of prospective user must be understood better. Inspired by Design Science research, this paper presents a novel method, found in synergy of scenario-based research, content analysing methods and user experience mapping, which helps to assess if the vision for Smart home energy technology is widely coherent between prospective users and industry.