A note on the statistical analysis of point judgment matrices

The Analytic Hierarchy Process is a multicriteria decision making technique developed by Saaty in the 1970s. The core of the approach is the pairwise comparison of objects according to a single criterion using a 9-point ratio scale and the estimation of weights associated with these objects based on the resultant judgment matrix. In the present paper some statistical approaches to extracting the weights of objects from a judgment matrix are reviewed and new ideas which are rooted in the traditional method of paired comparisons are introduced

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence for unaware fear conditioning

Whether fear conditioning can take place without contingency awareness is a topic of continuing debate and conflicting findings have been reported in the literature. This systematic review provides a critical assessment of the available evidence. Specifically, a search was conducted to identify articles reporting fear conditioning studies in which the contingency between conditioned stimuli (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) was masked, and in which CS-US contingency awareness was assessed. A systematic assessment of the methodological quality of the included studies (k = 41) indicated that most studies suffered from methodological limitations (i.e., poor masking procedures, poor awareness measures, researcher degrees of freedom, and trial-order effects), and that higher quality predicted lower odds of studies concluding in favor of contingency unaware fear conditioning. Furthermore, meta-analytic moderation analyses indicated no evidence for a specific set of conditions under which contingency unaware fear conditioning can be observed. Finally, funnel plot asymmetry and p-curve analysis indicated evidence for publication bias. We conclude that there is no convincing evidence for contingency unaware fear conditioning

Remembering An Abolitionist, Ambassador John R. Miller (May 23, 1938-October 4, 2017)

A memorial for Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, John R. Miller (May 23, 1938-October 4, 2017). Ambassador Miller believed modern-day slavery, encompassing sex trafficking and forced labor, requires a principled global offensive that the United States is morally obligated to lead. In the four formative years he led the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2002 to 2006, John Miller set the office’s course as diplomatically aggressive and programmatically creative. He made the annual Trafficking in Persons report more than a bureaucratic submission, putting daring heroes at the center, and insisting on compelling field reporting. He humbly deferred to experts: Survivors, activists, and NGOs living on air, working around the world to confront the trafficking phenomenon in its innumerable guises. He consulted them regularly. Their knowledge became his wisdom

A review on mental imagery in fear conditioning research 100 years since the 'Little Albert' study

Since the seminal 'Little Albert' study by Watson and Rayner (1920), fear conditioning has become one of the most commonly used paradigms for studying the etiology of anxiety-related disorders. In a fear conditioning procedure, a (neutral) conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US), resulting in fear-related conditioned responses (CRs) to the CS. Whereas fear conditioning research initially focused on observable elements in the environment (i.e., CSs, USs, and their contingency) and their effects (i.e., CRs), subsequent research indicated that attention should also be given to unobservable mental events (e.g., intrusive memories of aversive outcomes) to more fully account for the symptomatology of anxiety disorders. In this paper, we review the research relating to four major research questions on the relationship between mental imagery and fear conditioning: (1) Can mental imagery substitute for actual stimulus administration? (2) Can mental imagery inflate CRs? (3) Can fear conditioning result in the installment of mental images as CRs (Le., intrusions)? (4) Can mental imagery-based interventions reduce CRs? For all these research questions, tentative confirmatory evidence has been found and these findings corroborate contemporary conditioning theories. Nonetheless, we point to several open questions and methodological issues that require further research

Induction of conditioned avoidance via mental imagery

There is a growing interest on how mental imagery may be involved in the onset and maintenance of anxietyrelated disorders. Here, we used an experimental design to investigate whether a key symptom across anxietyrelated disorders, namely avoidance, can be induced via mental imagery. Healthy participants first learned that one neutral stimulus (A) was associated with a mild electric shock and two other neutral stimuli (B and C) were not. They then learned to cancel the shock when A was presented, by pressing a button on a keyboard ('behavioral avoidance'). Next, they were asked to imagine that stimulus B was followed by the shock (i.e., without actual B or shock presentations; Experiment 1; N = 66) or they were shown B and asked to imagine the shock (i.e., without actual shock presentations; Experiment 2; N = 60). Finally, in the test phase, they were shown each of the three stimuli (without the shock) and given the opportunity to make the avoidance response. Results showed that participants tended to avoid B in the test phase in Experiment 1, even though it had never been presented with the shock but not in Experiment 2. We discuss how the findings may explain the acquisition of avoidance in the presentation of innocuousstimuli across anxiety-related disorders

The influence of host genetics on erythrocytes and malaria infection: is there therapeutic potential?

As parasites, Plasmodium species depend upon their host for survival. During the blood stage of their life-cycle parasites invade and reside within erythrocytes, commandeering host proteins and resources towards their own ends, and dramatically transforming the host cell. Parasites aptly avoid immune detection by minimizing the exposure of parasite proteins and removing themselves from circulation through cytoadherence. Erythrocytic disorders brought on by host genetic mutations can interfere with one or more of these processes, thereby providing a measure of protection against malaria to the host. This review summarizes recent findings regarding the mechanistic aspects of this protection, as mediated through the parasites interaction with abnormal erythrocytes. These novel findings include the reliance of the parasite on the host enzyme ferrochelatase, and the discovery of basigin and CD55 as obligate erythrocyte receptors for parasite invasion. The elucidation of these naturally occurring malaria resistance mechanisms is increasing the understanding of the host-parasite interaction, and as discussed below, is providing new insights into the development of therapies to prevent this disease.We acknowledge funding support from the National Health and Medical Research Council (Grant APP605524, 490037 and 1047082), the Australian Research Council (Grant DP12010061), the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy of Australia and the Education investment fund from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. PML is a recipient of an Australian Postgraduate award