Action contribution to competence judgments: the use of the journey schema

The current research considered the question of how performing an action, or merely preparing the body for action, can have an impact on social judgments related to person perception. Participants were asked to ascribe competence and warmth characteristics to a target person by reading a metaphoric text while their body was manipulated to be prepared for the processing of action-congruent information. In Experiment 1, participants whose forward body action matched the metaphoric action described in the text ascribed more competence characteristics to a politician than did control participants. In Experiment 2, participants whose body was merely prepared for forward movement also ascribed more competence characteristics to a politician than did control participants. In addition, the data from Experiment 2 ruled out an alternative non-embodied explanation (i.e., that effect is due to basic associative processes) grounded in the existing literatures on attitudes by demonstrating that body manipulation had no effect on competence when a non-metaphoric text was used. Finally, no evidence was found that body manipulation affects warmth judgments. These studies converge in demonstrating that forward body movements enhance the favorability of competence judgments when these match the metaphoric forward movements described by text.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Policy instruments and welfare state reform

A core, but so far untested, proposition of the new politics perspective, originally introduced by Paul Pierson, is that welfare state cutbacks will be implemented using so-called ‘invisible’ policy instruments, for example, a change in indexation rules. Expansion should, by implication, mainly happen using ‘visible’ policy instruments, for example, a change in nominal benefits. We have coded 1030 legislative reforms of old-age pensions and unemployment protection in Britain, Denmark, Finland and Germany from 1974 to 2014. With this unique data at hand, we find substantial support for this crucial new politics proposition

Stress field sensitivity analysis in a sedimentary sequence of the Alpine foreland, Northern Switzerland

The stress field at depth is a relevant parameter for the design of subsurface constructions and reservoir management. Yet the distortion of the regional stress field due to local-scale features such as sedimentary and tectonic structures or topography is often poorly constrained. We conduct a stress sensitivity analysis using 3-D numerical geomechanical modelling with an elasto-plastic material law to explore the impact of such site specific features on the stress field in a sedimentary sequence of the Swiss Alpine foreland. The model\u27s dimensions are 14 km × 14 km × 3 km and it contains ten units with different mechanical properties, intersected by two regional fault zones. An initial stress state is established involving a semi-empirical relationship between the ratio of horizontal to vertical stress and the overconsolidation ratio of argillaceous sediments. The model results indicate that local topography can affect the stress field significantly to depths greater than the relief contrasts at the surface, especially in conjunction with horizontal tectonic loading. The complexity and frictional properties of faults are also relevant. The greatest variability of the stress field arises across the different sedimentary units. Stress magnitudes and stress anisotropy are much larger in stiffer formations such as massive limestones than in softer argillaceous formations. The stiffer formations essentially carry the load of the far-field forces and are therefore more sensitive to changes of the boundary conditions. This general characteristic of stress distribution in the stiff and soft formations is broadly maintained also with progressive loading towards the plastic limit. The stress field in argillaceous sediments within a stack of formations with strongly contrasting mechanical properties like in the Alpine foreland appears to be relatively insensitive to changes in the tectonic boundary conditions and is largely controlled by the maximum stiffness contrast with respect to the load-bearing formations

Rapid disease progression in a patient with mismatch repair-deficient and cortisol secreting adrenocortical carcinoma treated with pembrolizumab

Context: Metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. A subset of ACC is due to Lynch syndrome, an inherited tumour syndrome resulting from germline mutations in mismatch repair (MMR) genes. It has been demonstrated that several cancers characterised by MMR-deficiency are sensitive to immune checkpoint inhibitors that target PD-1. Here, we provide the first report of PD-1 blockade by pembrolizumab in a patient with Lynch syndrome and progressive cortisol-secreting metastatic ACC. Case report: A 58-year old female with known Lynch syndrome who presented with severe Cushing’s syndrome was diagnosed with a cortisol-secreting ACC. Three months following surgical resection and adjuvant mitotane therapy the patient developed metastatic disease and persistent hypercortisolaemia. She commenced pembrolizumab, but her second cycle was delayed due to a transient transaminitis. Computed tomography performed after twelve weeks and 2 cycles of pembrolizumab administration revealed significant disease progression and treatment was discontinued. Seven weeks later, the patient became jaundiced and died rapidly with fulminant liver failure. Conclusion: Treatment of MMR-deficient cortisol-secreting ACC with pembrolizumab may be ineffective due to supra-physiological levels of circulating corticosteroids, which may in turn mask severe drug-induced organ damage

Artificial intelligence in cancer imaging: Clinical challenges and applications

Judgement, as one of the core tenets of medicine, relies upon the integration of multilayered data with nuanced decision making. Cancer offers a unique context for medical decisions given not only its variegated forms with evolution of disease but also the need to take into account the individual condition of patients, their ability to receive treatment, and their responses to treatment. Challenges remain in the accurate detection, characterization, and monitoring of cancers despite improved technologies. Radiographic assessment of disease most commonly relies upon visual evaluations, the interpretations of which may be augmented by advanced computational analyses. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) promises to make great strides in the qualitative interpretation of cancer imaging by expert clinicians, including volumetric delineation of tumors over time, extrapolation of the tumor genotype and biological course from its radiographic phenotype, prediction of clinical outcome, and assessment of the impact of disease and treatment on adjacent organs. AI may automate processes in the initial interpretation of images and shift the clinical workflow of radiographic detection, management decisions on whether or not to administer an intervention, and subsequent observation to a yet to be envisioned paradigm. Here, the authors review the current state of AI as applied to medical imaging of cancer and describe advances in 4 tumor types (lung, brain, breast, and prostate) to illustrate how common clinical problems are being addressed. Although most studies evaluating AI applications in oncology to date have not been vigorously validated for reproducibility and generalizability, the results do highlight increasingly concerted efforts in pushing AI technology to clinical use and to impact future directions in cancer care

Influence of operating parameters on the biodegradation of steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds during biological wastewater treatment processes

This document is the unedited author's version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Environmental Science & Technology, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es901612v.This study investigated operational factors influencing the removal of steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds in two sewage treatment works, one a nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge plant and the other a nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge plant with phosphorus removal. Removal efficiencies of >90% for steroid estrogens and for longer chain nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP4−12EO) were observed at both works, which had equal sludge ages of 13 days. However, the biological activity in terms of milligrams of estrogen removed per day per tonne of biomass was found to be 50−60% more efficient in the nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge works compared to the works which additionally incorporated phosphorus removal. A temperature reduction of 6 °C had no impact on the removal of free estrogens, but removal of the conjugated estrone-3-sulfate was reduced by 20%. The apparent biomass sorption (LogKp) values were greater in the nitrifying/denitrifying works than those in the nitrifying/denitrifying works with phosphorus removal for both steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds possibly indicating a different cell surface structure and therefore microbial population. The difference in biological activity (mg tonne−1 d−1) identified in this study, of up to seven times, suggests that there is the potential for enhancing the removal of estrogens and nonylphenols if more detailed knowledge of the factors responsible for these differences can be identified and maximized, thus potentially improving the quality of receiving waters.Public Utilities Board (Singapore), Anglian Water Ltd, Severn Trent Water Ltd, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, United Utilities 393 Plc and Yorkshire Water Services

Humanization of robots: is it really such a good idea?

The aim of this review was to examine the pros and cons of humanizing social robots following a psychological perspective. As such, we had six goals. First, we defined what social robots are. Second, we clarified the meaning of humanizing social robots. Third, we presented the theoretical backgrounds for promoting humanization. Fourth, we conducted a review of empirical results of the positive effects and the negative effects of humanization on human–robot interaction (HRI). Fifth, we presented some of the political and ethical problems raised by the humanization of social robots. Lastly, we discussed the overall effects of the humanization of robots in HRI and suggested new avenues of research and development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Initial Sequence and Comparative Analysis of the Cat Genome

The genome sequence (1.9-fold coverage) of an inbred Abyssinian domestic cat was assembled, mapped, and annotated with a comparative approach that involved cross-reference to annotated genome assemblies of six mammals (human, chimpanzee, mouse, rat, dog, and cow). The results resolved chromosomal positions for 663,480 contigs, 20,285 putative feline gene orthologs, and 133,499 conserved sequence blocks (CSBs). Additional annotated features include repetitive elements, endogenous retroviral sequences, nuclear mitochondrial (numt) sequences, micro-RNAs, and evolutionary breakpoints that suggest historic balancing of translocation and inversion incidences in distinct mammalian lineages. Large numbers of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), deletion insertion polymorphisms (DIPs), and short tandem repeats (STRs), suitable for linkage or association studies were characterized in the context of long stretches of chromosome homozygosity. In spite of the light coverage capturing ∼65% of euchromatin sequence from the cat genome, these comparative insights shed new light on the tempo and mode of gene/genome evolution in mammals, promise several research applications for the cat, and also illustrate that a comparative approach using more deeply covered mammals provides an informative, preliminary annotation of a light (1.9-fold) coverage mammal genome sequence