Androgen Exposure and Sensation-Seeking in Young Males

Testosterone is thought to be associated with short attention spans, increased novelty, and thrill seeking and behavioral disinhibition in men. However, there is little empirical evidence for such associations among normal males. Here we test three separate measures of androgenicity; salivary testosterone (current exposure), facial masculinity (pubertal exposure), and 2D:4D digit ratio (prenatal exposure) as predictors of sensation-seeking in young men. Participants were 98 young men between the ages of 18 and 23. An unstimulated saliva sample was collected for determination of testosterone and participants completed a questionnaire, including Zuckerman’s sensation-seeking scale. Facial photos were obtained and rated for masculinity by anonymous observers. Both right and left hands were scanned to determine 2D:4D digit ratios. In univariate analyses, salivary testosterone (n = 91; r = 0.22; P = 0.04) and facial masculinity (n = 91; r = 0.23; P = 0.04) were significant predictor of boredom susceptibility, but not the disinhibition, thrill-seeking, experience seeking subscales. 2D:4D was not associated with any of measure of sensation-seeking. In multivariate models, facial masculinity was a significant predictor of boredom susceptibility (n = 82; b = 0.35; P = 0.001), controlled for left 2D:4D and salivary testosterone. These results suggest that among men, current and pubertal testosterone exposure are associated with greater need for immediate stimulation, but not other forms of sensation-seeking. This result is consistent with previous findings of a positive relationship between salivary testosterone and delayed discounting, and may reflect the impact of testosterone on dopaminergic reward mechanisms.AnthropologyHuman Evolutionary Biolog

No ‘silver bullet’:Multiple factors control population dynamics of european purple sea urchins in Lough Hyne marine reserve, Ireland

Two-decade-long monitoring studies at Europe\u27s first statutory marine reserve—Lough Hyne in SW Ireland—indicate that benthic communities are rapidly changing. Populations of the ecologically important purple urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) have fluctuated widely, most recently with a population boom in the late 1990s, followed by a mass mortality that persists to the present day. Eight general hypotheses have been proposed to account for the urchin decline including cold temperature limiting reproduction, ephemeral algal exudates disrupting urchin fertilization, low larval availability (due to over-harvesting and/or episodic recruitment), high mortality of settlers and juveniles due to hypoxia, hyperoxia, or predation (a trophic cascade hypothesis), and increased mortality due to pathogens (stress hypothesis). The cold-temperature and the trophic cascade hypotheses appear unlikely. The remaining hypotheses, however, all seem to play a role, to some degree, in driving the urchin decline. Ulvoid exudates, for example, significantly reduced urchin fertilization and few larvae were found in plankton tows (2012–2015), indicating low larval availability in summer. Whilst settling urchins regularly recruited under shallow-subtidal rocks until 2011, no settlers were found in these habitats from 2011 to 2014 or in field experiments (2012–2018) using various settlement substrata. Seawater quality was poor in shallow areas of the lough with extreme oxygen fluctuations (diel-cycling hypoxia), and 1-day experimental exposures to DO values < 1 mg L−1 were lethal to most juvenile urchins. Multiple increases of the predatory spiny starfish (Marthasterias glacialis) population in recent decades may also have contributed to the demise of the coexisting juvenile urchins. Finally, urchins of all sizes were seen suffering from dropped spines, tissue necrosis, or white-coloured infection, suggestive of stress-related pathogen mortality. There was a paucity of broken tests, indicating limited predation by large crustaceans; the large number of adult urchins ‘missing’ and few P. lividus tests on the north shore points to possible urchin removal by poachers and/or starfish predation. While these ecological, environmental, and anthropogenic processes occur on open coast rocky shores, many are exacerbated by the semi-enclosed nature of this fully marine sea lough due to its limited flushing. Multiple factors, including low larval availability and rapidly expanding starfish populations, coupled with degraded habitat quality (ephemeral algal mats and extreme oxygen fluctuations), indicate that the purple urchin populations will not recover without an improvement in the water quality of Lough Hyne Marine Reserve, the restocking of urchins, and protection from poaching

CRIRES-POP: A library of high resolution spectra in the near-infrared

New instrumental capabilities and the wealth of astrophysical information extractable from the near-infrared wavelength region have led to a growing interest in the field of high resolution spectroscopy at 1-5 mu. We aim to provide a library of observed high-resolution and high signal-to-noise-ratio near-infrared spectra of stars of various types throughout the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. This is needed for the exploration of spectral features in this wavelength range and for comparison of reference targets with observations and models. High quality spectra were obtained using the CRIRES near-infrared spectrograph at ESO's VLT covering the range from 0.97 to 5.3 mu at high spectral resolution. Accurate wavelength calibration and correction for of telluric lines were performed by fitting synthetic transmission spectra for the Earth's atmosphere to each spectrum individually. We describe the observational strategy and the current status and content of the library which includes 13 objects. The first examples of finally reduced spectra are presented. This publication will serve as a reference paper to introduce the library to the community and explore the extensive amount of material.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A; see also the project webpage http://www.univie.ac.at/crirespo

Comparison of imputation methods for handling missing covariate data when fitting a Cox proportional hazards model: a resampling study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The appropriate handling of missing covariate data in prognostic modelling studies is yet to be conclusively determined. A resampling study was performed to investigate the effects of different missing data methods on the performance of a prognostic model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Observed data for 1000 cases were sampled with replacement from a large complete dataset of 7507 patients to obtain 500 replications. Five levels of missingness (ranging from 5% to 75%) were imposed on three covariates using a missing at random (MAR) mechanism. Five missing data methods were applied; a) complete case analysis (CC) b) single imputation using regression switching with predictive mean matching (SI), c) multiple imputation using regression switching imputation, d) multiple imputation using regression switching with predictive mean matching (MICE-PMM) and e) multiple imputation using flexible additive imputation models. A Cox proportional hazards model was fitted to each dataset and estimates for the regression coefficients and model performance measures obtained.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CC produced biased regression coefficient estimates and inflated standard errors (SEs) with 25% or more missingness. The underestimated SE after SI resulted in poor coverage with 25% or more missingness. Of the MI approaches investigated, MI using MICE-PMM produced the least biased estimates and better model performance measures. However, this MI approach still produced biased regression coefficient estimates with 75% missingness.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Very few differences were seen between the results from all missing data approaches with 5% missingness. However, performing MI using MICE-PMM may be the preferred missing data approach for handling between 10% and 50% MAR missingness.</p

Colonoscopy surveillance following adenoma removal to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Background Colonoscopy surveillance is recommended for some patients post polypectomy. The 2002 UK surveillance guidelines classify post-polypectomy patients into low, intermediate and high risk, and recommend different strategies for each classification. Limited evidence supports these guidelines. Objectives To examine, for each risk group, long-term colorectal cancer incidence by baseline characteristics and the number of surveillance visits; the effects of interval length on detection rates of advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer at first surveillance; and the cost-effectiveness of surveillance compared with no surveillance. Design A retrospective cohort study and economic evaluation. Setting Seventeen NHS hospitals. Participants Patients with a colonoscopy and at least one adenoma at baseline. Main outcome measures Long-term colorectal cancer incidence after baseline and detection rates of advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer at first surveillance. Data sources Hospital databases, NHS Digital, the Office for National Statistics, National Services Scotland and Public Health England. Methods Cox regression was used to compare colorectal cancer incidence in the presence and absence of surveillance and to identify colorectal cancer risk factors. Risk factors were used to stratify risk groups into higher- and lower-risk subgroups. We examined detection rates of advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer at first surveillance by interval length. Cost-effectiveness of surveillance compared with no surveillance was evaluated in terms of incremental costs per colorectal cancer prevented and per quality-adjusted life-year gained. Results Our study included 28,972 patients, of whom 14,401 (50%), 11,852 (41%) and 2719 (9%) were classed as low, intermediate and high risk, respectively. The median follow-up time was 9.3 years. Colorectal cancer incidence was 140, 221 and 366 per 100,000 person-years among low-, intermediate- and high-risk patients, respectively. Attendance at one surveillance visit was associated with reduced colorectal cancer incidence among low-, intermediate- and high-risk patients [hazard ratios were 0.56 (95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.80), 0.59 (95% confidence interval 0.43 to 0.81) and 0.49 (95% confidence interval 0.29 to 0.82), respectively]. Compared with the general population, colorectal cancer incidence without surveillance was similar among low-risk patients and higher among high-risk patients [standardised incidence ratios were 0.86 (95% confidence interval 0.73 to 1.02) and 1.91 (95% confidence interval 1.39 to 2.56), respectively]. For intermediate-risk patients, standardised incidence ratios differed for the lower- (0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.48 to 0.99) and higher-risk (1.46, 95% confidence interval 1.19 to 1.78) subgroups. In each risk group, incremental costs per colorectal cancer prevented and per quality-adjusted life-year gained with surveillance were lower for the higher-risk subgroup than for the lower-risk subgroup. Incremental costs per quality-adjusted life-year gained were lowest for the higher-risk subgroup of high-risk patients at £7821. Limitations The observational design means that we cannot assume that surveillance caused the reductions in cancer incidence. The fact that some cancer staging data were missing places uncertainty on our cost-effectiveness estimates. Conclusions Surveillance was associated with reduced colorectal cancer incidence in all risk groups. However, in low-risk patients and the lower-risk subgroup of intermediate-risk patients, colorectal cancer incidence was no higher than in the general population without surveillance, indicating that surveillance might not be necessary. Surveillance was most cost-effective for the higher-risk subgroup of high-risk patients

Sustainability disclosure and reputation: a comparative study

“This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Corporate Reputation Review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Corporate Reputation Review 14(2), pp.79-96 is available online at: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/crr/index.html”Drawing on legitimacy theory, we discuss that a company’s reputation is a determinant of sustainability disclosure. Specifically, we consider the concept of reputation into three dimensions for analysis: stakeholders’ commitment, financial performance and media exposure. This paper differs from previous social and environmental reporting studies in that it investigates both internal and external contextual factors that influence disclosure practice. We claim that companies with a good financial performance, that are adopting an active strategic position towards stakeholders and that are exposed to significant public pressure are more likely to use sustainability disclosure in order to communicate their legitimacy to operate to stakeholders. Moreover the paper analyses a wide range of corporate reports for their social and environmental content using an international sample that allows for a comparison of disclosure practices among Continental European, UK and USA companies. Our results show that stakeholder commitment and media exposure are positively associated with sustainability disclosure. Moreover, we find evidence that the drivers of disclosure vary by information type

Feeling Bad and Looking Worse: Negative Affect Is Associated with Reduced Perceptions of Face-Healthiness

Some people perceive themselves to look more, or less attractive than they are in reality. We investigated the role of emotions in enhancement and derogation effects; specifically, whether the propensity to experience positive and negative emotions affects how healthy we perceive our own face to look and how we judge ourselves against others. A psychophysical method was used to measure healthiness of self-image and social comparisons of healthiness. Participants who self-reported high positive (N = 20) or negative affectivity (N = 20) judged themselves against healthy (red-tinged) and unhealthy looking (green-tinged) versions of their own and stranger’s faces. An adaptive staircase procedure was used to measure perceptual thresholds. Participants high in positive affectivity were un-biased in their face health judgement. Participants high in negative affectivity on the other hand, judged themselves as equivalent to less healthy looking versions of their own face and a stranger’s face. Affective traits modulated self-image and social comparisons of healthiness. Face health judgement was also related to physical symptom perception and self-esteem; high physical symptom reports were associated a less healthy self-image and high self-reported (but not implicit) self-esteem was associated with more favourable social comparisons of healthiness. Subject to further validation, our novel face health judgement task could have utility as a perceptual measure of well-being. We are currently investigating whether face health judgement is sensitive to laboratory manipulations of mood

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV