The changing nature of friendships over the lifespan

The current study examined differences in friendships between younger adults and older adults. One hundred and fifty eight participants completed various measures, which examined the importance of specific friendship qualities. Peer nominations were used to examine the number of close friends, with an additional component added to assess proximity of one\u27s closest friends. Results indicated that both demographic variables and proximity of equal importance for both younger adults and older adults. Results also indicated that both cohorts chose friends close to their own ages. The researchers conclude there are few cohort differences in what younger and older adults value in their friends

An investigation of racial biases among rural police officers

The current study examined racial biases in rural police systems. Fifty police officers took part in the study. A likert-type scale was used to measure different aspects of racial bias, and a questionnaire with crime descriptions was used. Each police system received either a Caucasian suspect questionnaire or an African American suspect questionnaire. Results indicated that the rural police officers in this study did not exhibit racial biases. There were additional analyses done which showed that female officers are slightly harsher in their treatment of African American suspects compared to male officers. The findings of the current study are similar to findings of studies done in the past

Own and other race face recognition: the effects of instructions and other-race contact

The cross-race effect occurs when people are more accurate in identifying members of their own race versus those of other races. An emerging theory of the cross-race effect involves social-cognitive processes such as categorization and individuation (Hugenberg, Miller, & Claypool, 2007). Prior research has examined whether instructions to individuate other-race faces, given at encoding, can improve sensitivity thereby reducing the cross-race effect. Results have been inconsistent. Two experiments sought to examine this social-categorization theory with both White and Black participants. In the first study, individuation instructions did not improve White participants’ sensitivity for other-race faces and decreased sensitivity for same-race faces. A second study using the same instructions but different stimuli produced similar results for White participants. Instructions improved both same-race and other-race sensitivity for Black participants. Interracial contact did not appear to relate to the size of the cross-race effect. Overall, results did not support the categorization-individuation model

Lay Perceptions of Treating Mental Illness with Psychedelic Assisted Therapy

With roughly 44.7 million individuals struggling with mental health problems, it is important that new methods of treatment are explored. Currently, the primary method of treatment is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) for disorders such as: anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but they also provide many detrimental side effects and only decrease symptomology for a short period of time. However, the interest and enthusiasm of many researchers has led to uncovering the true benefits of utilizing psychedelic drugs as a leading treatment for mental health problems. Participants (N = 474) were given a questionnaire regarding their knowledge of mental illnesses (anxiety, depression, and PTSD), traditional treatment (SSRIs), perception, potential usage, and recommendations towards psychedelic drugs being used as treatment for mental illnesses. A correlation analysis revealed that participants were not being open to their personal usage of psychedelics, but being more open to recommend to their loved ones. Thus, these results suggest that while society may be open to others engaging in psychedelic-assisted therapy, there is still some hesitation for self-use

Relationship with adult ADHD symptoms: Stimulant medication and caffeine

The purpose of the present study was to investigate how adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) perceive stimulant medication and explore the differences in their relationship with caffeine. Participants with more ADHD-related symptoms were expected to have a greater motivation to consume caffeine, anticipate experiencing more of caffeine’s stimulant effects, and have a more positive regard toward the effectiveness of their stimulant medication than those with fewer symptoms. Additionally, those with more inattentive symptoms were predicted to have more of a positive regard toward the effectiveness of their stimulant medication, have a greater motivation to consume caffeine, and anticipate experiencing more of caffeine’s stimulant effects compared to those with less inattentive symptoms. Results determined that the number of ADHD-related symptoms and dominant symptom presentation increased the expectancy for caffeine to be stimulating. Motivation to consume caffeine and reception of medication was unaffected by symptom quantity or presentation type

Battle of the Sexes: Similarities and Differences in Lay People’s Perceptions about Male and Female Sex Offenders

The aim of this research was to examine public perceptions about male and female sex offenders to help address gender disparities that exist in the justice system and society. Participants (N = 226) completed the revised Community Attitudes Towards Sex Offenders Scale (ATS; Harper & Hogue, 2015) and a questionnaire concerning opinions about female sex offenders. While there were no observed differences in perceptions between gender overall, differences emerged when examining only parents. Parents perceived male sex offenders worse than female sex offenders. This study also brings awareness to gender bias regarding male and female sex offenders. The implication of this study is that it helps inform the justice system perceptions of sex offenders which could bias potential jurors

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation