An R Framework for the Partitioning of Linkage Disequilibrium between and Within Populations

Patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) across the genome result from a myriad of contributing factors including selection and genetic drift. Natural selection can increase LD near individually selected loci, or it can influence LD between epistatically selected groups of loci. Statistics have previously been derived which compare levels of linkage disequilibrium in subpopulations relative to the total population. These statistics may be leveraged to identify loci that may be under selection or epistatic selection. This is a powerful approach, but to date no framework exists to support its use on a genome-wide scale. We present ohtadstats, an R package designed to facilitate the implementation of Ohta’s D statistics in a variety of use cases. Statistics calculated by this package can be used to determine whether a locus is under selection or not, and can provide insight into the nature of the selection that is taking place (hard sweep or epistatic selection). This package is available on the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).   Funding statement: This research was supported by funding from the USDA Agricultural Research Service. PFP is funded by the University of Missouri Life Sciences Fellowship and a training grant from the National Institute of Health (T32GM008396)

English version of the food disgust scale: Optimization and other considerations

© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. The disgust elicited by food plays an important role in food choice and consumption. Recently, Hartmann and Siegrist (Food Quality and Preference, 2018, 63, 38–50) developed and validated in German the food disgust scale (FDS), a 32-item instrument designed to measure visceral disgust elicited by food. In Study 1, we tested the English language translation of the FDS and its shortened version (FDS-SHORT) in England (n = 85) and Canada (n = 70). The internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha and mean interitem correlation [MCI]) was acceptable for both the FDS (α =.90, MIC =.22) and the FDS-SHORT (α =.73, MIC =.25). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the English and German versions of the FDS had similar underlying structure and good discriminant validity. In Study 2, female participants (n = 159) who completed the FDS where the anchor term disgusted was used had higher FDS-SHORT scores than either their male counterparts or females for whom the anchor term grossed out was used (F[2, 266] = 11.1, p less than  .001). As grossed out captures only visceral rather than moral disgust, we recommend its adoption in English versions of these scales. These studies confirm that, as modified, the English FDS and FDS-SHORT are reliable and can be used with confidence in future research

The Dipole Moments, Molar Refractions and Ultraviolet Spectra of Several Substituted, β-Alkyl-β-Nitrostyrenes

The dipole moments, molar refractions, and some ultraviolet absorption data ( λmax and εmax) are reported for β -methyl- β -nitrostyrene (4.25 D, 51.8 ml, 307 mμ., 12,200), the p-methoxy (5.04 D, 59.2 ml), p-methyl (4.66 D, 54.8 ml), p-fluoro (2.82 D, 49.5 ml, 308 mμ, 11,000), p-chloro (2.68 D, 54.5 ml, 310 mμ, 14,200), p-bromo (2.71 D, 55.8 ml, 308 mμ, 17,000), p-iodo (2.91 D, 62.8 ml, 318 mμ, 15,500), p-nitro (1.12 D, 55.1 ml, 302 mμ, 16,600), & p-cyano (1.15 D, 54.5 ml, 294 mμ, 16,500) derivatives of β -methyl- β -nitrostyrene. The same data are reported for β-ethyl-β-nitrostyrene (4.15 D, 52.1 ml, 306 mμ, 9,800), the p-methoxy (5.07 D, 63.3 ml, 346 mμ, 15,600), p-methyl (4.73 D, 63.0 ml, 325 mμ, 8,500), p-fluoro (2.77 D, 52.7 ml, 309 mμ, 10,300), p-chloro (2.71 D, 60.6 ml, 312 mμ, 12,300), p-bromo (2.77 D, 60.7 ml, 313 mμ, 13,000), p-iodo (2.99 D, 69.1 ml, 320 mμ, 15,100), p-nitro (1.12 D, 64.4 ml, 300 mμ, 16,500) & p-cyano (1.31 D, 56.2 ml, 292 mμ, 15,000) derivatives of β-ethyl-β-nitrostyrene. The ultraviolet absorptions are also reported for the P-fluoro (313 mμ, 16,100), p-bromo (314 mμ, 21,900), p-iodo (323 mμ, 17,400), and the p-cyano (299 mμ, 21,100) derivatives of trans-β-nitrostyrene

Standard values and relationship-specific validity of the Bielefeld Relationship Expectations Questionnaire (BFPE)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire (BFPE) is a tool to assess attachment in the romantic relationships of adults. The attachment styles are operationalized as configuration patterns of scale scores. While convergent validity has already been investigated, discriminant validity is still lacking confirmation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The present sample (n = 1509) is representative for the German population aged 18 to 50. The mean age was 34.6 years. Most of the participants lived in a relationship (77.3 %). Discriminant validity was analyzed using a marital quality questionnaire (PFB), a social support questionnaire (F-Soz-U K-14), and a life satisfaction questionnaire (FLZ).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All the BFPE scales have a satisfying internal consistency between r = .79 and .86. Those individuals who showed a secure pattern, i.e. increased "Readiness for Self-Disclosure" and "Conscious Need for Care" as well as reduced "Fear of Rejection" experienced their partner as socially supportive, reported higher marital quality in all of its facets, and were more satisfied within the life-domains "family/children" and "relationship/sexuality". Standard values for each scale are presented.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The BFPE has repeatedly been verified as a short, reliable, and valid instrument applicable to research practice with healthy individuals as well as within clinical contexts.</p

The specificity and the development of social-emotional competence in a multi-ethnic-classroom

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ethnic diversity in schools increases due to globalization. Thus, the children's social-emotional competence development must be considered in the context of a multi-ethnic classroom.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, the social-emotional competence of 65 Asian-American and Latin-American children was observed at the beginning and the end of their kindergarten year.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Initially, significant differences existed among these ethnic groups in respect to moral reasoning. Furthermore, the male children showed more dysregulated aggression but the female children implemented more moral reasoning than their male counterparts. These ethnic specificities did not disappear over the course of the year. In addition, a significant change in avoidance strategies as well as expressed emotions in the narrative took place over the course of one year.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ethnic specificity in social-emotional competence does exist independent of gender at the beginning as well as at the end of the kindergarten year in a multi-ethnic kindergarten classroom.</p

Age and the Neural Network of Personal Familiarity

BACKGROUND: Accessing information that defines personally familiar context in real-world situations is essential for the social interactions and the independent functioning of an individual. Personal familiarity is associated with the availability of semantic and episodic information as well as the emotional meaningfulness surrounding a stimulus. These features are known to be associated with neural activity in distinct brain regions across different stimulus conditions (e.g., when perceiving faces, voices, places, objects), which may reflect a shared neural basis. Although perceiving context-rich personal familiarity may appear unchanged in aging on the behavioral level, it has not yet been studied whether this can be supported by neuroimaging data. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural network associated with personal familiarity during the perception of personally familiar faces and places. Twelve young and twelve elderly cognitively healthy subjects participated in the study. Both age groups showed a similar activation pattern underlying personal familiarity, predominantly in anterior cingulate and posterior cingulate cortices, irrespective of the stimulus type. The young subjects, but not the elderly subjects demonstrated an additional anterior cingulate deactivation when perceiving unfamiliar stimuli. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Although we found evidence for an age-dependent reduction in frontal cortical deactivation, our data show that there is a stimulus-independent neural network associated with personal familiarity of faces and places, which is less susceptible to aging-related changes

A Daily Diary Approach to the Examination of Chronic Stress, Daily Hassles and Safety Perceptions in Hospital Nursing

Purpose: Stress is a significant concern for individuals and organisations. Few studies have explored stress, burnout and patient safety in hospital nursing on a daily basis at the individual level. This study aimed to examine the effects of chronic stress and daily hassles on safety perceptions, the effect of chronic stress on daily hassles experienced and chronic stress as a potential moderator. Method: Utilising a daily diary design, 83 UK hospital nurses completed three end-of-shift diaries, yielding 324 person days. Hassles, safety perceptions and workplace cognitive failure were measured daily, and a baseline questionnaire included a measure of chronic stress. Hierarchical multivariate linear modelling was used to analyse the data. Results: Higher chronic stress was associated with more daily hassles, poorer perceptions of safety and being less able to practise safely, but not more workplace cognitive failure. Reporting more daily hassles was associated with poorer perceptions of safety, being less able to practise safely and more workplace cognitive failure. Chronic stress did not moderate daily associations. The hassles reported illustrate the wide-ranging hassles nurses experienced. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate, in addition to chronic stress, the importance of daily hassles for nurses’ perceptions of safety and the hassles experienced by hospital nurses on a daily basis. Nurses perceive chronic stress and daily hassles to contribute to their perceptions of safety. Measuring the number of daily hassles experienced could proactively highlight when patient safety threats may arise, and as a result, interventions could usefully focus on the management of daily hassles

Living on Cold Substrata: New Insights and Approaches in the Study of Microphytobenthos Ecophysiology and Ecology in Kongsfjorden

Organisms in shallow waters at high latitudes are under pressure due to climate change. These areas are typically inhabited by microphytobenthos (MPB) communities, composed mainly of diatoms. Only sparse information is available on the ecophysiology and acclimation processes within MPBs from Arctic regions. The physico-chemical environment and the ecology and ecophysiology of benthic diatoms in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard, Norway) are addressed in this review. MPB biofilms cover extensive areas of sediment. They show high rates of primary production, stabilise sediment surfaces against erosion under hydrodynamic forces,and affect the exchange of oxygen and nutrients across the sediment-water interface. Additionally, this phototrophic community represents a key component in the functioning of the Kongsfjorden trophic web, particularly as a major food source for benthic suspension- or deposit-feeders. MPB in Kongsfjorden is confronted with pronounced seasonal variations in solar radiation, low temperatures, and hyposaline (meltwater) conditions in summer, as well as long periods of ice and snow cover in winter. From the few data available, it seems that these organisms can easily cope with these environmental extremes. The underlying physiological mechanisms that allow growth and photosynthesis to continue under widely varying abiotic parameters, along with vertical migration and heterotrophy, and biochemical features such as a pronounced fatty-acid metabolism and silicate incorporation are discussed. Existing gaps in our knowledge of benthic diatoms in Kongsfjorden, such as the chemical ecology of biotic interactions, need to be filled. In addition, since many of the underlying molecular acclimation mechanisms are poorly understood, modern approaches based on transcriptomics, proteomics, and/or metabolomics, in conjunction with cell biological and biochemical techniques, are urgently needed. Climate change models for the Arctic predict other multifactorial stressors, such as an increase in precipitation and permafrost thawing, with consequences for the shallow-water regions. Both precipitation and permafrost thawing are likely to increase nutrient-enriched, turbid freshwater runoff and may locally counteract the expected increase in coastal radiation availability. So far, complex interactions among factors, as well as the full genetic diversity and physiological plasticity of Arctic benthic diatoms, have only rarely been considered. The limited existing information is described and discussed in this review