Avifauna of a structurally heterogenous forest landscape in the Serra dos Caiabis, Mato Grosso, Brazil: a preliminary assesment.

Apresentamos um levantamento preliminar da avifauna da Serra dos Caiabis do município de Alta Floresta, estado de Mato Grosso, Brasil. A região se localiza no extremo centro-norte do estado, na zona de contato entre duas biomas: as florestas húmidas da Amazônia e o cerrado do Brasil central. É caracterizada por solos arenosos de baixa qualidade e marcada por um grande mosaico vegetational rico e diverso, com campinaranas e campinas abertas e florestas altas nas bordas dos rios da formação geológica. A comunidade das aves na Serra dos Caiabis tem uma menor riqueza (362 espécies) em relação à comunidade bem conhecida das florestas húmidas de Alta Floresta, incluindo aves tanto de cerrados e campinaranas como florestais. Foram registradas extensões na ocorrência de algumas espécies e pelo menos duas adendas para Mato Grosso (Cyanocorax chrysops e Tangara varia). O preço da terra na região é baixo devido á qualidade dos solos, o que até recentemente impediu o desenvolvimento agrícola. Porém a região já está sob ameaça de desmatamento para uso agrícola, pois a maioria da terra em áreas vizinhas de Sinop e Alta Floresta está sendo explorada

The everpresent eta-problem: knowledge of all hidden sectors required

We argue that the eta-problem in supergravity inflation cannot be solved without knowledge of the ground state of hidden sectors that are gravitationally coupled to the inflaton. If the hidden sector breaks supersymmetry independently, its fields cannot be stabilized during cosmological evolution of the inflaton. We show that both the subsequent dynamical mixing between sectors as well as the lightest mass of the hidden sector are set by the scale of supersymmetry breaking in the hidden sector. The true cosmological eta-parameter arises from a linear combination of the lightest mode of the hidden sector with the inflaton. Generically, either the true eta deviates considerably from the na\"ive eta implied by the inflaton sector alone, or one has to consider a multifield model. Only if the lightest mass in the hidden sector is much larger than the inflaton mass and if the inflaton mass is much larger than the scale of hidden sector supersymmetry breaking, is the effect of the hidden sector on the slow-roll dynamics of the inflaton negligible.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures; v2, published version, minor adjustments to the introduction, minor corrections to section 2.2 for improved clarity, references adde

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Significance Communicating in ways that motivate engagement in social distancing remains a critical global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study tested motivational qualities of messages about social distancing (those that promoted choice and agency vs. those that were forceful and shaming) in 25,718 people in 89 countries. The autonomy-supportive message decreased feelings of defying social distancing recommendations relative to the controlling message, and the controlling message increased controlled motivation, a less effective form of motivation, relative to no message. Message type did not impact intentions to socially distance, but people’s existing motivations were related to intentions. Findings were generalizable across a geographically diverse sample and may inform public health communication strategies in this and future global health emergencies. Abstract Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Inducible nitric oxide synthase gene (NOS2A) haplotypes and the outcome of hepatitis C virus infection.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is an important molecule involved in the host defense against infectious agents. iNOS is encoded by the NOS2A gene and well-defined haplotypes exist with respect to this gene. We examined whether these haplotypes were associated with the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in 619 Caucasian patients from seven European liver centres. We observed five major haplotypes: (-277A)+(-1026G)+(-1659C): haplotype 1; (-277G)+(-1026T)+(-1659C): haplotype 2; (-277G)+(-1026G)+(-1659C): haplotype 3; (-277G)+(-1026T)+(-1659T): haplotype 4; and (-277A)+(-1026T)+(-1659C): haplotype 5. Distributions of these haplotypes are comparable with those of previous studies. Homozygotes for haplotype 2 or those with haplotypes 2/4 were more likely than those with the 1/1 (wild type) combination to have self-limiting infections (odds ratios (OR)=3.43; 95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 1.10-8.0; P=0.0206 and OR=5.15; 95% CI: 1.32-14.32; P=0.0018, respectively). Conversely, carriage of haplotype 1 was associated with the lack of self-limiting disease (OR=0.48; 95% CI: 0.27-0.83; P=0.009). The effect was mainly among males (OR=0.41; 95% CI: 0.182-0.942; P=0.031 for males, and OR=0.55; 95% CI: 0.24-1.37; P=0.136 for women). Carriage of haplotype 1 was not associated with initial response (P=0.268) or sustained response (P>0.171). Combinations of haplotypes 1/4 were more likely to respond to interferon monotherapy in comparison of initial responders to nonresponders (OR=2.25; 95% CI: 1.05-5.68; P=0.0275)

In COVID-19 health messaging, loss framing increases anxiety with little-to-no concomitant benefits: experimental evidence from 84 countries

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g., “If you do not practice these steps, you can endanger yourself and others”) or potential gains (e.g., “If you practice these steps, you can protect yourself and others”)? Collecting data in 48 languages from 15,929 participants in 84 countries, we experimentally tested the effects of message framing on COVID-19-related judgments, intentions, and feelings. Loss- (vs. gain-) framed messages increased self-reported anxiety among participants cross-nationally with little-to-no impact on policy attitudes, behavioral intentions, or information seeking relevant to pandemic risks. These results were consistent across 84 countries, three variations of the message framing wording, and 560 data processing and analytic choices. Thus, results provide an empirical answer to a global communication question and highlight the emotional toll of loss-framed messages. Critically, this work demonstrates the importance of considering unintended affective consequences when evaluating nudge-style interventions