Study Title-Based Framing Effects on Reports of Sexual Violence Factors in College Students

Objective: There are many methodological issues in studying sexual violence, including potential framing effects. Framing effects refer to how researchers communicate the purpose of a study to participants, such as, how the study is advertised or explained. The aim of the current study was to investigate if framing effects were associated with differences in participants’ self-reported experiences of sexual violence and related correlates. Methods: College students (N = 782) were recruited to participate in one of four identical studies that differed in the title: “Questionnaires about Alcohol,” “Questionnaires about Crime,” “Questionnaires about Health,” or “Questionnaires about Sexual Assault.” Participants chose one of the four studies and completed measures of sexual violence as well as attitudinal and behavioral measures in randomized order. Results: We found significantly more reports of childhood sexual abuse (33.6% vs. 18.5%), rape (33.9% vs. 21.1%), higher frequency of victimization (M = 11.35 vs. 5.44), and greater acknowledged rape for bisexual people (46.2% vs. 0.0%) in the Sexual Assault condition compared to other conditions. There were no differences in sexual violence perpetration or attitudinal or behavioral measures. Conclusion: These results revealed that framing effects, based on the study title, affect outcomes in sexual victimization research. Rape was reported 1.6x more in the “Sexual Assault” condition than in the “Health” condition. It is unclear whether these framing effects reflect self-selection bias or framing related increased reports in the Sexual Assault condition, suppression of reports in other conditions, or a combination thereof

Increased resistance to biotrophic pathogens in the Arabidopsis constitutive induced resistance 1 mutant is EDS1 and PAD4-dependent and modulated by environmental temperature

The Arabidopsis constitutive induced resistance 1 ( cir1 ) mutant displays salicylic acid (SA)-dependent constitutive expression of defence genes and enhanced resistance to biotrophic pathogens. To further characterise the role of CIR1 in plant immunity we conducted epistasis analyses with two key components of the SA-signalling branch of the defence network, ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1 (EDS1) and PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4 (PAD4). We demonstrate that the constitutive defence phenotypes of cir1 require both EDS1 and PAD4, indicating that CIR1 lies upstream of the EDS1-PAD4 regulatory node in the immune signalling network. In light of this finding we examined EDS1 expression in cir1 and observed increased protein, but not mRNA levels in this mutant, suggesting that CIR1 might act as a negative regulator of EDS1 via a post-transcriptional mechanism. Finally, as environmental temperature is known to influence the outcome of plant-pathogen interactions, we analysed cir1 plants grown at 18, 22 or 25°C. We found that susceptibility to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato ( Pst ) DC3000 is modulated by temperature in cir1 . Greatest resistance to this pathogen (relative to PR-1:LUC control plants) was observed at 18°C, while at 25°C no difference in susceptibility between cir1 and control plants was apparent. The increase in resistance to Pst DC3000 at 18°C correlated with a stunted growth phenotype, suggesting that activation of defence responses may be enhanced at lower temperatures in the cir1 mutant

Associations between residual feed intake and apparent nutrient digestibility, in vitro methane-producing activity, and volatile fatty acid concentrations in growing beef cattle

The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between residual feed intake (RFI) and DM and nutrient digestibility, in vitro methane production, and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations in growing beef cattle. Residual feed intake was measured in growing Santa Gertrudis steers (Study 1; n = 57; initial BW = 291.1 ± 33.8 kg) and Brangus heifers (Study 2; n = 468; initial BW = 271.4 ± 26.1 kg) fed a high-roughage-based diet (ME = 2.1 Mcal/kg DM) for 70 d in a Calan-gate feeding barn. Animals were ranked by RFI based on performance and feed intake measured from day 0 to 70 (Study 1) or day 56 (Study 2) of the trial, and 20 animals with the lowest and highest RFI were identified for subsequent collections of fecal and feed refusal samples for DM and nutrient digestibility analysis. In Study 2, rumen fluid and feces were collected for in vitro methane-producing activity (MPA) and VFA analysis in trials 2, 3, and 4. Residual feed intake classification did not affect BW or BW gain (P \u3e 0.05), but low-RFI steers and heifers both consumed 19% less (P \u3c 0.01) DMI compared with high-RFI animals. Steers with low RFI tended (P \u3c 0.1) to have higher DM digestibility (DMD) compared with high-RFI steers (70.3 vs. 66.5 ± 1.6% DM). Heifers with low RFI had 4% higher DMD (76.3 vs. 73.3 ± 1.0% DM) and 4 to 5% higher (P \u3c 0.01) CP, NDF, and ADF digestibility compared with heifers with high RFI. Low-RFI heifers emitted 14% less (P \u3c 0.01) methane (% GE intake; GEI) calculated according to Blaxter and Clapperton (1965) as modified by Wilkerson et al. (1995), and tended (P = 0.09) to have a higher rumen acetate:propionate ratio than heifers with high RFI (GEI = 5.58 vs. 6.51 ± 0.08%; A:P ratio = 5.02 vs. 4.82 ± 0.14%). Stepwise regression analysis revealed that apparent nutrient digestibilities (DMD and NDF digestibility) for Study 1 and Study 2 accounted for an additional 8 and 6%, respectively, of the variation in intake unaccounted for by ADG and mid-test BW0.75. When DMD, NDF digestibility, and total ruminal VFA were added to the base model for Study 2, trials 2, 3, and 4, the R2 increased from 0.33 to 0.47, explaining an additional 15% of the variation in DMI unrelated to growth and body size. On the basis of the results of these studies, differences in observed phenotypic RFI in growing beef animals may be a result of inter-animal variation in apparent nutrient digestibility and ruminal VFA concentrations

Transmitters and Pathways Mediating Inhibition of Spinal Itch-Signaling Neurons by Scratching and Other Counterstimuli

Scratching relieves itch, but the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. We presently investigated a role for the inhibitory neurotransmitters GABA and glycine in scratch-evoked inhibition of spinal itch-signaling neurons in a mouse model of chronic dry skin itch. Superficial dorsal horn neurons ipsilateral to hindpaw dry skin treatment exhibited a high level of spontaneous firing that was significantly attenuated by cutaneous scratching, pinch and noxious heat. Scratch-evoked inhibition was nearly abolished by spinal delivery of the glycine antagonist, strychnine, and was markedly attenuated by respective GABAA and GABAB antagonists bicuculline and saclofen. Scratch-evoked inhibition was also significantly attenuated (but not abolished) by interruption of the upper cervical spinal cord, indicating the involvement of both segmental and suprasegmental circuits that engage glycine- and GABA-mediated inhibition of spinal itch-signaling neurons by noxious counterstimuli

The Fundamental Diagram of Pedestrian Movement Revisited

The empirical relation between density and velocity of pedestrian movement is not completely analyzed, particularly with regard to the `microscopic' causes which determine the relation at medium and high densities. The simplest system for the investigation of this dependency is the normal movement of pedestrians along a line (single-file movement). This article presents experimental results for this system under laboratory conditions and discusses the following observations: The data show a linear relation between the velocity and the inverse of the density, which can be regarded as the required length of one pedestrian to move. Furthermore we compare the results for the single-file movement with literature data for the movement in a plane. This comparison shows an unexpected conformance between the fundamental diagrams, indicating that lateral interference has negligible influence on the velocity-density relation at the density domain $1 m^{-2}<\rho<5 m^{-2}$. In addition we test a procedure for automatic recording of pedestrian flow characteristics. We present preliminary results on measurement range and accuracy of this method.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

The ToxCast pipeline: updates to curve-fitting approaches and database structure

Introduction: The US Environmental Protection Agency Toxicity Forecaster (ToxCast) program makes in vitro medium- and high-throughput screening assay data publicly available for prioritization and hazard characterization of thousands of chemicals. The assays employ a variety of technologies to evaluate the effects of chemical exposure on diverse biological targets, from distinct proteins to more complex cellular processes like mitochondrial toxicity, nuclear receptor signaling, immune responses, and developmental toxicity. The ToxCast data pipeline (tcpl) is an open-source R package that stores, manages, curve-fits, and visualizes ToxCast data and populates the linked MySQL Database, invitrodb.Methods: Herein we describe major updates to tcpl and invitrodb to accommodate a new curve-fitting approach. The original tcpl curve-fitting models (constant, Hill, and gain-loss models) have been expanded to include Polynomial 1 (Linear), Polynomial 2 (Quadratic), Power, Exponential 2, Exponential 3, Exponential 4, and Exponential 5 based on BMDExpress and encoded by the R package dependency, tcplfit2. Inclusion of these models impacted invitrodb (beta version v4.0) and tcpl v3 in several ways: (1) long-format storage of generic modeling parameters to permit additional curve-fitting models; (2) updated logic for winning model selection; (3) continuous hit calling logic; and (4) removal of redundant endpoints as a result of bidirectional fitting.Results and discussion: Overall, the hit call and potency estimates were largely consistent between invitrodb v3.5 and 4.0. Tcpl and invitrodb provide a standard for consistent and reproducible curve-fitting and data management for diverse, targeted in vitro assay data with readily available documentation, thus enabling sharing and use of these data in myriad toxicology applications. The software and database updates described herein promote comparability across multiple tiers of data within the US Environmental Protection Agency CompTox Blueprint

Relationship Between Net Feed Intake, Performance Traits and Ultrasound Measures of Composition in Beef Steers

Last updated: 6/12/200

Photocytotoxicity of mTHPC (Temoporfin) Loaded Polymeric Micelles Mediated by Lipase Catalyzed Degradation

Purpose. To study the in vitro photocytotoxicity and cellular uptake of biodegradable polymeric micelles loaded with the photosensitizer mTHPC, including the effect of lipase-catalyzed micelle degradation. Methods. Micelles of mPEG750-b-oligo(ɛ-caprolactone)5 (mPEG750-b-OCL5) with a hydroxyl (OH), benzoyl (Bz) or naphthoyl (Np) end group were formed and loaded with mTHPC by the film hydration method. The cellular uptake of the loaded micelles, and their photocytotoxicity on human neck squamous carcinoma cells in the absence and presence of lipase were compared with free and liposomal mTHPC (Fospeg ®). Results. Micelles composed of mPEG750-b-OCL5 with benzoyl and naphtoyl end groups had the highest loading capacity up to 30 % (w/w), likely due to π–π interactions between the aromatic end group and the photosensitizer. MTHPC-loaded benzoylated micelles (0.5 mg/mL polymer) did not display photocytotoxicity or any mTHPC-uptake by the cells, in contrast to free and liposomal mTHPC. After dilution of the micelles below the critical aggregation concentration (CAC), or after micelle degradation by lipase, photocytotoxicity and cellular uptake of mTHPC were restored. Conclusion. The high loading capacity of the micelles, the high stability of mTHPC-loaded micelles above the CAC, and the lipase-induced release of the photosensitizer makes these micelles very promising carriers for photodynamic therapy in vivo. KEY WORDS: drug release; enzymatic degradation; meta-tetra(hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (mTHPC); photodynamic therapy (PDT); polymeric micelles

Eureka and beyond: mining's impact on African urbanisation

This collection brings separate literatures on mining and urbanisation together at a time when both artisanal and large-scale mining are expanding in many African economies. While much has been written about contestation over land and mineral rights, the impact of mining on settlement, notably its catalytic and fluctuating effects on migration and urban growth, has been largely ignored. African nation-states’ urbanisation trends have shown considerable variation over the past half century. The current surge in ‘new’ mining countries and the slow-down in ‘old’ mining countries are generating some remarkable settlement patterns and welfare outcomes. Presently, the African continent is a laboratory of national mining experiences. This special issue on African mining and urbanisation encompasses a wide cross-section of country case studies: beginning with the historical experiences of mining in Southern Africa (South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe), followed by more recent mineralizing trends in comparatively new mineral-producing countries (Tanzania) and an established West African gold producer (Ghana), before turning to the influence of conflict minerals (Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone)