Social Marketing Strategies for Stigmatized Target Populations: A Case Example for Problem Gamblers and Family Members of Problem Gamblers

Advertising theory and accompanying research literature are in their infancy when it comes to advertising services to stigmatized populations. We know very little about what messages will impact potential clients of services and what messages could even be harmful to potential clients and to society’s shaping of social issues. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the views of problem gamblers and family members of problem gamblers in developing 10 foot by 20 foot billboards to promote a local problem gambling service. Participants identified issues such as photographs of money being a trigger to gamble, guilt and shame being emotions that would turn them off of the advertisement, and a fear of the advertisement leading to a scam or hoax. More research and theory development on stigmatized populations is necessary to better promote services to stigmatized populations and to avoid contributing negatively to social issues

How Teaching Online Impacts Safety and Comfort: Experiences of Students and Instructors in the Context of Learning Counseling Skills Online

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the necessity for many services to transition from in-person to online, including teaching in higher education and continuing education venues. This shift raised important pedagogical questions that have not yet been explored in the scholarship of teaching and learning literature. This study explored the experiences of students and instructors participating in a synchronous online four-day training workshop on counseling skills relating to supporting individuals who experience life stress and trauma. While many of the findings were consistent with what is already in the e-learning literature, new insights about safety and comfort emerged that have important implications for online delivery when teaching counseling skills and other topics involving potentially complex and emotional content. Recommendations for online teaching and future research are made

The Talin Head Domain Reinforces Integrin-Mediated Adhesion by Promoting Adhesion Complex Stability and Clustering

Talin serves an essential function during integrin-mediated adhesion in linking integrins to actin via the intracellular adhesion complex. In addition, the N-terminal head domain of talin regulates the affinity of integrins for their ECM-ligands, a process known as inside-out activation. We previously showed that in Drosophila, mutating the integrin binding site in the talin head domain resulted in weakened adhesion to the ECM. Intriguingly, subsequent studies showed that canonical inside-out activation of integrin might not take place in flies. Consistent with this, a mutation in talin that specifically blocks its ability to activate mammalian integrins does not significantly impinge on talin function during fly development. Here, we describe results suggesting that the talin head domain reinforces and stabilizes the integrin adhesion complex by promoting integrin clustering distinct from its ability to support inside-out activation. Specifically, we show that an allele of talin containing a mutation that disrupts intramolecular interactions within the talin head attenuates the assembly and reinforcement of the integrin adhesion complex. Importantly, we provide evidence that this mutation blocks integrin clustering in vivo. We propose that the talin head domain is essential for regulating integrin avidity in Drosophila and that this is crucial for integrin-mediated adhesion during animal development

Survey of northeastern hop arthropod pests and their natural enemies

The commercial production of hops (Humulus lupulus L.) in the northeastern United States is on the rise due to demand from local breweries. Several arthropod pests are economically damaging to hop yield and quality. Due to climate and landscape differences between traditional and resurging hop-growing regions, there is a need for region-specific integrated pest management (IPM). We first review hop pest and natural enemy biology and management strategies. Then the phenology, abundance, and peak date of arthropod pests scouted in seven Vermont hop yards is reported. Documentation of natural enemy abundance is also reported. Our 3-yr survey indicated that hop aphid (Phorodon humuli (Schrank)) populations were highest in the continually cool, wet season. Potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae (Harris)) was a pest with an unpredictable arrival date and of special concern for first-year hop plants. Twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) was a pest of concern in hot, dry conditions and after some broad-spectrum pesticide applications aimed at leafhoppers. This survey was the first step toward developing appropriate IPM tactics for modern day northeastern hop production. Further research should be focused on adjusting arthropod pest thresholds, disease management, and developing alternative control options for both arthropod and disease management

The Jolt-Pack Fabrication of Special Ceramic Ware

The jolt-pack method for fabrication of refractory crucibles and other shapes is described. The particle size distribution of the material to be packed has been found to be an important consideration in this method. Data are presented on packing densities of various graded fractions of beryllia and the development of a dense-packing mixture is described

Collecting multiple data linkage consents in a mixed mode survey: evidence and lessons learnt from next steps

Linking survey responses with administrative data is a promising practice to increase the range of research questions to be explored, at a limited interview burden, both for respondents and interviewers. This paper describes the protocol for asking consent to data linkage on nine different sources in a large-scale nationally representative survey of young adults in England: the Next Steps Age 25 Survey. Evidence from preparatory qualitative research, piloting and from the main stage of the study is presented. This research constitutes a novel contribution to the literature, discussing the practicalities of implementing a data linkage protocol asking consent both retrospectively and prospectively, on multiple domains, and in the context of a mixed-mode survey

Measurement Equivalence in Sequential Mixed-Mode Surveys

Many surveys collect data using a mixture of modes administered in sequential order. Although the impacts of mixed-mode designs on measurement quality have been extensively studied, their impacts on the measurement quality of unobservable (or latent) constructs is still an understudied area of research. In particular, it is unclear whether latent constructs derived from multi-item scales are measured equivalently across different sequentially-administered modes—an assumption that is often made by analysts, but rarely tested in practice. In this study, we assess the measurement equivalence of several commonly-used multi-item scales collected in a sequential mixed-mode (Web-telephone-face-to-face) survey: the Age 25 wave of the Next Steps cohort study. After controlling for selection via an extensive data-driven weighting procedure, a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess measurement equivalence across the three modes. We show that cross-mode measurement equivalence is achieved for nearly all scales, with partial equivalence established for the remaining. Although measurement equivalence was achieved, some differences in the latent means were observed between the modes, particularly between the interviewer-administered and selfadministered modes. We conclude with a discussion of these findings, their potential causes, and implications for survey practice

A conserved lipid-binding loop in the kindlin FERM F1 domain is required for kindlin-mediated aIIbB3 integrin coactivation

The activation of heterodimeric integrin adhesion receptors from low to high affinity states occurs in response to intracellular signals that act on the short cytoplasmic tails of integrin beta subunits. Binding of the talin FERM (four-point-one, ezrin, radixin, moesin) domain to the integrin beta-tail provides one key activation signal, but recent data indicate that the kindlin family of FERM domain proteins also play a central role. Kindlins directly bind integrin beta subunit cytoplasmic domains at a site distinct from the talin-binding site, and target to focal adhesions in adherent cells. However, the mechanisms by which kindlins impact integrin activation remain largely unknown. A notable feature of kindlins is their similarity to the integrin-binding and activating talin FERM domain. Drawing on this similarity, here we report the identification of an unstructured insert in the kindlin F1 FERM domain, and provide evidence that a highly conserved polylysine motif in this loop supports binding to negatively charged phospholipid head groups. We further show that the F1 loop and its membrane-binding motif are required for kindlin-1 targeting to focal adhesions, and for the cooperation between kindlin-1 and -2 and the talin head in aIIbB3 integrin activation, but not for kindlin binding to integrin beta tails. These studies highlight the structural and functional similarities between kindlins and the talin head and indicate that as for talin, FERM domain interactions with acidic membrane phospholipids as well beta-integrin tails contribute to the ability of kindlins to activate integrins

A causal inference and Bayesian optimisation framework for modelling multi-trait relationships—Proof-of-concept using Brassica napus seed yield under controlled conditions

The improvement of crop yield is a major breeding target and there is a long history of research that has focussed on unravelling the mechanisms and processes that contribute to yield. Quantitative prediction of the interplay between morphological traits, and the effects of these trait-trait relationships on seed production remains, however, a challenge. Consequently, the extent to which crop varieties optimise their morphology for a given environment is largely unknown. This work presents a new combination of existing methodologies by framing crop breeding as an optimisation problem and evaluates the extent to which existing varieties exhibit optimal morphologies under the test conditions. In this proof-of-concept study using spring and winter oilseed rape plants grown under greenhouse conditions, we employ causal inference to model the hierarchically structured effects of 27 morphological yield traits on each other. We perform Bayesian optimisation of seed yield, to identify and quantify the morphologies of ideotype plants, which are expected to be higher yielding than the varieties in the studied panels. Under the tested growth conditions, we find that existing spring varieties occupy the optimal regions of trait-space, but that potentially high yielding strategies are unexplored in extant winter varieties. The same approach can be used to evaluate trait (morphology) space for any environment