Genome-wide linkage analysis of inguinal hernia in pigs using affected sib pairs

BACKGROUND: Inguinal and scrotal hernias are of great concern to pig producers, and lead to poor animal welfare and severe economic loss. Selection against these conditions is highly preferable, but at this time no gene, Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL), or mode of inheritance has been identified in pigs or in any other species. Therefore, a complete genome scan was performed in order to identify genomic regions affecting inguinal and scrotal hernias in pigs. Records from seedstock breeding farms were collected. No clinical examinations were executed on the pigs and there was therefore no distinction between inguinal and scrotal hernias. The genome scan utilised affected sib pairs (ASP), and the data was analysed using both an ASP test based on Non-parametric Linkage (NPL) analysis, and a Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT). RESULTS: Significant QTLs (p < 0.01) were detected on 8 out of 19 porcine chromosomes. The most promising QTLs, however, were detected in SSC1, SSC2, SSC5, SSC6, SSC15, SSC17 and SSCX; all of these regions showed either statistical significance with both statistical methods, or convincing significance with one of the methods. Haplotypes from these suggestive QTL regions were constructed and analysed with TDT. Of these, six different haplotypes were found to be differently transmitted (p < 0.01) to healthy and affected pigs. The most interesting result was one haplotype on SSC5 that was found to be transmitted to hernia pigs with four times higher frequency than to healthy pigs (p < 0.00005). CONCLUSION: For the first time in any species, a genome scan has revealed suggestive QTLs for inguinal and scrotal hernias. While this study permitted the detection of chromosomal regions only, it is interesting to note that several promising candidate genes, including INSL3, MIS, and CGRP, are located within the highly significant QTL regions. Further studies are required in order to narrow down the suggestive QTL regions, investigate the candidate genes, and to confirm the suggestive QTLs in other populations. The haplotype associated with inguinal and scrotal hernias may help in achieving selection against the disorder

Adolescents' involvement in cyber bullying and perceptions of school: the importance of perceived peer acceptance for female adolescents

Young people are spending increasing amounts of time using digital technology and, as such, are at great risk of being involved in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim. Despite cyber bullying typically occurring outside the school environment, the impact of being involved in cyber bullying is likely to spill over to school. Fully 285 11- to 15-year-olds (125 male and 160 female, M age = 12.19 years, SD = 1.03) completed measures of cyber bullying involvement, self-esteem, trust, perceived peer acceptance, and perceptions of the value of learning and the importance of school. For young women, involvement in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school, and perceived peer acceptance mediated this relationship. The results indicated that involvement in cyber bullying negatively predicted perceived peer acceptance which, in turn, positively predicted perceptions of learning and school. For young men, fulfilling the bully/victim role negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school. Consequently, for young women in particular, involvement in cyber bullying spills over to impact perceptions of learning. The findings of the current study highlight how stressors external to the school environment can adversely impact young women's perceptions of school and also have implications for the development of interventions designed to ameliorate the effects of cyber bullying

The Infamous Relationship Between Violent Video Game Use and Aggression: Uncharted Moderators and Small Effects Make It a Far Cry from Certain

There is ongoing scientific and public interest in whether playing violent video games (VVGs) increases aggression. Here, we review the extant evidence for the effects of VVGs on aggression across three different types of research – (1) experimental, lab-based studies, (2) cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, and (3) epidemiological studies of societal violence (e.g. violent crime rates). Although the idea that playing VVGs causes aggression is intuitively appealing, empirical evidence suggests that strong claims about a positive relationship are unjustified. In the laboratory, playing VVGs leads to only small increases in aggression, and, when issues such as publication bias are accounted for, these estimates decline further in size (Hilgard et al. Psychological Bulletin 143:757, 2017). In terms of societal violence, the evidence consistently shows no relationship between VVG use and violence, sometimes even showing decreases in violence associated with increased VVG use (e.g. Markey, Markey & French, 2015). Evidence further suggests that the relationship between VVGs and aggression is not well understood, with factors such as narrative context, game difficulty, and competitiveness potentially influencing or accounting for any relationship between gameplay and aggression. Some studies suggest that, under some circumstances, VVGs may even reduce hostility (e.g. when used for mood management; Ferguson & Rueda (European Psychologist 15:99, 2010). At present, we feel the evidence weighs against the notion that VVGs cause aggression, though more sophisticated theoretical and methodological approaches are necessary to more fully understand the boundary conditions of the relationship