Terror Attacks and the Duration of Civil War

Several factors that scholars have thought relate to the duration of civil war including: low per capita income, ethnic divisions, resources/contraband, and terrain were found to have no correlation to the duration of civil war. Another factor that scholars have suggested relates to the duration of civil war is rebel group strength. It has been found that a rebel group with weak military capacity may prolong a civil war. Weak rebel groups use irregular tactics and an irregular tactic that a weak rebel group may use is terrorist attacks. The contribution of this thesis is that it analyzes a variable that few scholars have looked at which is tactics, specifically terrorist attacks, to see whether or not terrorist attacks are related to the duration of civil war. The findings suggest that the number of terror attacks relates to the duration of civil war. A high number of terrorist attacks is a sufficient condition, but not a necessary condition for a prolonged civil war

Contributions Made by Undergraduates to Research Projects: Using the CREDIT Taxonomy to Assess Undergraduate Research Experiences.

The authors developed a novel tool, the CREDIT URE, to define and measure roles performed by undergraduate students working in research placements. Derived from an open-source taxonomy for determining authorship credit, the CREDIT URE defines 14 possible roles, allowing students and their research mentors to rate the degree to which students participate in each role. The tool was administered longitudinally across three cohorts of undergraduate student-mentor pairs involved in a biomedical research training program for students from diverse backgrounds. Students engaged most frequently in roles involving data curation, investigation, and writing. Less frequently, students engaged in roles related to software development, supervision, and funding acquisition. Students\u27 roles changed over time as they gained experience. Agreement between students and mentors about responsibility for roles was high

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

What\u27s New Pussyhat? Men, Feminism, and Social Identity

Current understandings of feminism do not seek to dissuade men from feminism as a movement; moreover, men\u27s inclusion in the feminist movement is seen as paramount to achieving equality and dismantling all forms of hegemonic power. Past research has shown that identification with a social movement is a strong predictor for participation in social change, more so than belonging to a disadvantaged social category. Despite this, there is nascent literature on how men define, identify as, and practice feminism. This study draws from a thematic analysis of three focus groups of self-identified males to investigate their self-identification as feminist. Using social identity theory, the analysis reveals the varied and nuanced ways participants define and understand feminism. The analysis further reveals how men construct their role in feminism and feel they can participate in the feminist movement. Participants expressed feeling excluded from feminism, despite noting that current articulations of feminism aim to include men. Additionally, participants expressed they could enact a feminist practice without identifying as a feminist. Overall, these findings illuminate some of the ways men possibly identify with the feminist movement and negotiate identifying as a feminist. This study illustrates that men\u27s relationship to feminism is influenced not only by their own identities, but also by the perception of others. This study also raises the question of how well social identity theory captures the effect of perceived acceptance by prototypical group members

Advocacy Campaign for Women\u27s Reproductive Health and Access on Social Media

Advocacy organizations increasingly rely on social media (e.g. Twitter hashtags) to foster issue awareness. Social media platforms can be promising communication channels to reach diverse audiences; however, it is unclear how effective these campaigns are at reaching audience members whose views do not align with the campaign. Using diffusion of innovations as a theoretical framework, this study examines the #BirthControlHelpedMe campaign to better understand the response to an advocacy campaign promoted via Twitter. Focus groups were conducted separately for men and women. The moderator led participants in a semi-structured discussion of perceptions of birth control. Participants were then shown example tweets that used the #BirthControlHelpedMe hashtag, and asked about their response to the campaign. The discussion ended with whether the campaign would cause them to talk more openly with their peers about birth control. Female participants felt that they would be more likely to speak openly with friends and acquaintances. The majority of male participants did not feel that the campaign would cause them to change their communication about birth control. Both groups expressed that they would not be comfortable posting online using #BirthControlHelpedMe due to the presence of individuals in their networks that hold negative perspectives on birth control. This study raises the issue of audience diversity, taboo topics and the need to include men in issues surrounding birth control. Future awareness campaigns that employ social media should consider how peer influence can affect behavior and limit the spread of an awareness campaign

Secretes of Alexis Piedmont

Everything from medicine and food, to inks and dyes, and metals and gems, The Secretes of the Reverende Mayster Alexis of Piemount (hereafter referred to as The Book of Secretes) has the answer you seek. This book was written by Girolamo Ruscelli under the pseudonymn of Alexis of Piemount. It was written originally in Italian and published in Venice in 1556. The second edition was translated from Italian to French and published in Paris. The third edition was translated from French into English and published in London. This exact copy of the book was translated by Wyllyam Warde, a physician for Queen Elizabeth I, and published by Henry Sutton in 1559. A book of secrets would have generally been written for the common, middle class person. People inclined to pick up this book would mostly have been scholars, up and coming elites, or the average person who wanted to increase their knowledge. These books had a big appeal for the middle classes because they layed out methods of improving one\u27s life whether through heatlh, wealth, or perception of status. Books of secrets were also an early example of the scientific revolution, as they contained examples of experimentation and a search for knowledge. This specific book of secrets is divided into two parts, with six books (or sections) in the first part. Each section contains differing recipes pertaining to medicine, food, beauty products, inks, dyes, metals, and gems. This exhibit explores the topics portrayed in each section and expounds on how these topics pertain to Renaissance life. The pages are layed out in the same order of the sections within The Book of Secretes

Analysis of genetic and clinical factors associated with buprenorphine response.

BACKGROUND: Buprenorphine, approved for treating opioid use disorder (OUD), is not equally efficacious for all patients. Candidate gene studies have shown limited success in identifying genetic moderators of buprenorphine treatment response. METHODS: We studied 1616 European-ancestry individuals enrolled in the Million Veteran Program, of whom 1609 had an ICD-9/10 code consistent with OUD, a 180-day buprenorphine treatment exposure, and genome-wide genotype data. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of buprenorphine treatment response [defined as having no opioid-positive urine drug screens (UDS) following the first prescription]. We also examined correlates of buprenorphine treatment response in multivariable analyses. RESULTS: Although no variants reached genome-wide significance, 6 loci were nominally significant (p < 1 × 10-5), four of which were located near previously characterized genes: rs756770 (ADAMTSL2), rs11782370 (SLC25A37), rs7205113 (CRISPLD2), and rs13169373 (LINC01947). A higher maximum daily buprenorphine dosage (aOR = 0.98; 95 %CI: 0.97, 0.995), greater number of UDS (aOR = 0.97; 95 %CI: 0.96, 0.99), and history of hepatitis C (HCV) infection (aOR = 0.71; 95 %CI: 0.57, 0.88) were associated with a reduced odds of buprenorphine response. Older age (aOR: 1.01; 95 %CI: 1.000, 1.02) was associated with increased odds of buprenorphine response. CONCLUSIONS: This study had limited statistical power to detect genetic variants associated with a complex human phenotype like buprenorphine treatment response. Meta-analysis of multiple data sets is needed to ensure adequate statistical power for a GWAS of buprenorphine treatment response. The most robust phenotypic predictor of buprenorphine treatment response was intravenous drug use, a proxy for which was HCV infection

Cross-ancestry meta-analysis of opioid use disorder uncovers novel loci with predominant effects in brain regions associated with addiction.

Despite an estimated heritability of ~50%, genome-wide association studies of opioid use disorder (OUD) have revealed few genome-wide significant loci. We conducted a cross-ancestry meta-analysis of OUD in the Million Veteran Program (N = 425,944). In addition to known exonic variants in OPRM1 and FURIN, we identified intronic variants in RABEPK, FBXW4, NCAM1 and KCNN1. A meta-analysis including other datasets identified a locus in TSNARE1. In total, we identified 14 loci for OUD, 12 of which are novel. Significant genetic correlations were identified for 127 traits, including psychiatric disorders and other substance use-related traits. The only significantly enriched cell-type group was CNS, with gene expression enrichment in brain regions previously associated with substance use disorders. These findings increase our understanding of the biological basis of OUD and provide further evidence that it is a brain disease, which may help to reduce stigma and inform efforts to address the opioid epidemic

Cluster randomized controlled trial of a multilevel physical activity intervention for older adults

Background: Older adults are the least active population group. Interventions in residential settings may support a multi-level approach to behavior change. Methods: In a cluster randomized control trial, 11 San Diego retirement communities were assigned to a physical activity (PA) intervention or a healthy aging attention control condition. Participants were 307 adults over 65 years old. The multilevel PA intervention was delivered with the assistance of peer leaders, who were trained older adult from the retirement communities. Intervention components included individual counseling & self-monitoring with pedometers, group education sessions, group walks, community advocacy and pedestrian community change projects. Intervention condition by time interactions were tested using generalized mixed effects regressions. The primary outcomes was accelerometer measured physical activity. Secondary outcomes were blood pressure and objectively measured physical functioning. Results: Over 70% of the sample were 80 years or older. PA significantly increased in the intervention condition (56 min of moderate-vigorous PA per week; 119 min of light PA) compared with the control condition and remained significantly higher across the 12 month study. Men and participants under 84 years old benefited most from the intervention. There was a significant decrease in systolic (p < .007) and diastolic (p < .02) blood pressure at 6 months. Physical functioning improved but the changes were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Intervention fidelity was high demonstrating feasibility. Changes in PA and blood pressure achieved were comparable to other studies with much younger participants. Men, in particular, avoided a year-long decline in PA. Trial registration clincialtrials.gov Identifier: NCT01155011. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12966-018-0658-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Pupil response to social-emotional material is associated with rumination and depressive symptoms in adults with autism spectrum disorder

<div><p>Background</p><p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is marked by repetitive thinking and high rates of depression. Understanding the extent to which repetitive negative thinking in ASD reflects autistic stereotypy versus general depressive thinking patterns (e.g., rumination) could help guide treatment research to improve emotional health in ASD. We compared associations between rumination, depressive symptoms, and pupil response to social-emotional material in adults with ASD and typically developing (TD) adults with and without depression.</p><p>Methods</p><p>N = 53 verbally fluent young adults were recruited to three cohorts: ASD, n = 21; TD-depressed, n = 13; never-depressed TD-controls, n = 19. Participants completed Ruminative Response Scale and Beck Depression Inventory self-reports and a passive-viewing task employing emotionally-expressive faces, during which pupillary motility was assessed to quantify cognitive-affective load. Main and interactive effects of cohort, emotion condition, and time on pupil amplitude were tested via a linear mixed effects analysis of variance using restricted maximum likelihood estimation. Similar procedures were used to test for effects of rumination and depressive symptoms on pupil amplitude over time within ASD.</p><p>Results</p><p>Responsive pupil dilation in the ASD cohort tended to be significantly lower than TD-depressed initially but increased to comparable levels by trial end. When viewing sad faces, individuals with ASD who had higher depression scores resembled TD-depressed participants’ faster, larger, and sustained pupil response. Within ASD, depressive symptoms uniquely predicted early pupil response to sad faces, while rumination and depression scores each independently predicted sustained pupil response.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>People with elevated depressive symptoms appear to have faster and greater increases in pupil-indexed neural activation following sad stimuli, regardless of ASD status, suggesting the utility of conceptualizing rumination as depression-like in treatment. Ruminative processes may increase more slowly in ASD, suggesting the potential utility of interventions that decrease reactions before they are uncontrollable. Findings also reinforce the importance of testing for effects of internalizing variables in broader ASD research.</p></div