BACKGROUND Gene-set enrichment analysis is a useful technique to help functionally characterize large gene lists, such as the results of gene expression experiments. This technique finds functionally coherent gene-sets, such as pathways, that are statistically over-represented in a given gene list. Ideally, the number of resulting sets is smaller than the number of genes in the list, thus simpl...

An increasing number of zoos keep their animals in natural-looking enclosures, but it is often unclear whether or not the species’ behavioural and ecological needs are being adequately met. For species that suffer predation in the wild, structural enrichment in captivity can play a crucial role in connection with enclosure use. Firstly, we examined the effectiveness of structural enrichment in ...

OBJECTIVE The present study was intended to assess the effect of environmental enrichment on the diabetes as well as combined actions of diabetes and stress on the neurons of the motor cortex of rat brain. BACKGROUND Untreated diabetes mellitus causes severe insults to the neurons of the central nervous system. Treatment with environmental enrichment is known for producing significant and rel...

Prenatal stress can result in various behavior deficits in offspring. Here we tested the effects of environmental enrichment during gestation used as a preventive strategy on the behavior deficits of prenatal-stressed offspring rats as well as the underlying structure basis. We compared the effect size of environmental enrichment during gestation on prenatal-stressed offspring to that of enviro...

Nutrient enrichment in coastal marine systems can have profound impacts on trophic networks. In the Baltic Sea, the population of Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) has increased nearly exponentially since the mid-1990 s, and colonies of these seabirds can be important sources of nitrogen enrichment for nearby benthic communities due to guano runoff. In this study we used stable iso...

This paper critically reviews the literature concerning environmental enrichment for weaner, grower and finisher pigs housed in intensive (indoor) production systems. The thesis of our review is that successful enrichment should meet four criteria of success: (1) it should increase species-specific behaviour, (2) it should maintain or improve levels of health, (3) it should improve the economic...

At present, it is largely unclear how the human brain optimally learns foreign languages. We investigated teaching strategies that utilize complementary information ("enrichment"), such as pictures or gestures, to optimize vocabulary learning outcome. We found that learning while performing gestures was more efficient than the common practice of learning with pictures and that both enrichment s...

ion, Refinement, Enrichment

We propose a simple model of an ecological foodchain of arbitrary length. The model is very general in nature and describes a whole class of foodchains. Using the methods of qualitative analysis the model’s stability can be analyzed without restricting the predator-prey interaction to any specific functional form. The model can therefore be used to study the effect of different functional forms...