Help-seeking helps: help-seeking and group image

Seeking help from an outgroup can be difficult, especially when the outgroup is known to stereotype the ingroup negatively and the potential recipient cares strongly about its social image. However, we ask if even highly-identified ingroup members may seek help from a judgemental outgroup if doing so allows them to disconfirm the outgroup’s negative stereotype of the ingroup. We presented participants with one of two negative outgroup stereotypes of their ingroup. One could be disconfirmed through seeking help, the other could not. Study 1 (N = 43) showed group members were aware of the strategic implications of seeking help for disconfirming these stereotypes. Study 2 (N = 43) showed high identifiers acted on such strategic knowledge by seeking more help from the outgroup when help-seeking could disconfirm a negative stereotype of their group (than when it could not). Implications for the seeking and acceptance of help are discussed

Modelling the progression of competitive performance of an academy's soccer teams

Progression of a team’s performance is a key issue in competitive sport, but there appears to have been no published research on team progression for periods longer than a season. In this study we report the game-score progression of three teams of a youth talent-development academy over five seasons using a novel analytic approach based on generalised mixed modelling. The teams consisted of players born in 1991, 1992 and 1993; they played totals of 115, 107 and 122 games in Asia and Europe between 2005 and 2010 against teams differing in age by up to 3 years. Game scores predicted by the mixed model were assumed to have an over-dispersed Poisson distribution. The fixed effects in the model estimated an annual linear pro-gression for Aspire and for the other teams (grouped as a single opponent) with adjustment for home-ground advantage and for a linear effect of age difference between competing teams. A random effect allowed for different mean scores for Aspire and opposition teams. All effects were estimated as factors via log-transformation and presented as percent differences in scores. Inferences were based on the span of 90% confidence intervals in relation to thresholds for small factor effects of x/÷1.10 (+10%/-9%). Most effects were clear only when data for the three teams were combined. Older teams showed a small 27% increase in goals scored per year of age difference (90% confidence interval 13 to 42%). Aspire experienced a small home-ground advantage of 16% (-5 to 41%), whereas opposition teams experienced 31% (7 to 60%) on their own ground. After adjustment for these effects, the Aspire teams scored on average 1.5 goals per match, with little change in the five years of their existence, whereas their opponents’ scores fell from 1.4 in their first year to 1.0 in their last. The difference in progression was trivial over one year (7%, -4 to 20%), small over two years (15%, -8 to 44%), but unclear over >2 years. In conclusion, the generalized mixed model has marginal utility for estimating progression of soccer scores, owing to the uncertainty arising from low game scores. The estimates are likely to be more precise and useful in sports with higher game scores

Generationing development

The articles in this special issue present a persuasive case for accounts of development to recognise the integral and fundamental roles played by age and generation. While the past two decades have witnessed a burgeoning of literature demonstrating that children and youth are impacted by development, and that they can and do participate in development, the literature has tended to portray young people as a special group whose perspectives should not be forgotten. By contrast, the articles collected here make the case that age and generation, as relational constructs, cannot be ignored. Appropriating the term ‘generationing’, the editors argue that a variety of types of age relations profoundly structure the ways in which societies are transformed through development – both immanent processes of neoliberal modernisation and the interventions of development agencies that both respond and contribute to these. Drawing on the seven empirical articles, I attempt to draw some of the ideas together into a narrative that further argues the case for ‘generationing’ but also identifies gaps, questions and implications for further research

Signatures of granular microstructure in dense shear flows

Granular materials react to shear stresses differently than do ordinary fluids. Rather than deforming uniformly, materials such as dry sand or cohesionless powders develop shear bands: narrow zones containing large relative particle motion leaving adjacent regions essentially rigid[1,2,3,4,5]. Since shear bands mark areas of flow, material failure and energy dissipation, they play a crucial role for many industrial, civil engineering and geophysical processes[6]. They also appear in related contexts, such as in lubricating fluids confined to ultra-thin molecular layers[7]. Detailed information on motion within a shear band in a three-dimensional geometry, including the degree of particle rotation and inter-particle slip, is lacking. Similarly, only little is known about how properties of the individual grains - their microstructure - affect movement in densely packed material[5]. Combining magnetic resonance imaging, x-ray tomography, and high-speed video particle tracking, we obtain the local steady-state particle velocity, rotation and packing density for shear flow in a three-dimensional Couette geometry. We find that key characteristics of the granular microstructure determine the shape of the velocity profile.Comment: 5 pages, incl. 4 figure

Effects of acute fatigue on the volitional and magnetically-evoked electromechanical delay of the knee flexors in males and females

Neuromuscular performance capabilities, including those measured by evoked responses, may be adversely affected by fatigue; however, the capability of the neuromuscular system to initiate muscle force rapidly under these circumstances is yet to be established. Sex-differences in the acute responses of neuromuscular performance to exercise stress may be linked to evidence that females are much more vulnerable to ACL injury than males. Optimal functioning of the knee flexors is paramount to the dynamic stabilisation of the knee joint, therefore the aim of this investigation was to examine the effects of acute maximal intensity fatiguing exercise on the voluntary and magnetically-evoked electromechanical delay in the knee flexors of males and females. Knee flexor volitional and magnetically-evoked neuromuscular performance was assessed in seven male and nine females prior to and immediately after: (i) an intervention condition comprising a fatigue trial of 30-seconds maximal static exercise of the knee flexors, (ii) a control condition consisting of no exercise. The results showed that the fatigue intervention was associated with a substantive reduction in volitional peak force (PFV) that was greater in males compared to females (15.0%, 10.2%, respectively, p < 0.01) and impairment to volitional electromechanical delay (EMDV) in females exclusively (19.3%, p < 0.05). Similar improvements in magnetically-evoked electromechanical delay in males and females following fatigue (21%, p < 0.001), however, may suggest a vital facilitatory mechanism to overcome the effects of impaired voluntary capabilities, and a faster neuromuscular response that can be deployed during critical times to protect the joint system

Hyperprolactinaemia in first episode psychosis - A longitudinal assessment

Little is known about hyperprolactinaemia (HPL) in first episode psychosis (FEP) patients. We investigated longitudinal changes in serum prolactin in FEP, and the relationship between HPL, and antipsychotic medication and stress. Serum prolactin was recorded in FEP patients at recruitment and again, 3 and 12 months later. HPL was defined as a serum prolactin level > 410 mIU/L (~ 19.3 ng/ml) for males, and a serum prolactin level > 510 mIU/L (~ 24.1 ng/ml) for females. From a total of 174 people with serum prolactin measurements at study recruitment, 43% (n = 74) had HPL, whilst 27% (n = 21/78) and 27% (n = 26/95) had HPL at 3 and 12 months respectively. We observed higher serum prolactin levels in females versus males (p < 0.001), and in antipsychotic treated (n = 68) versus antipsychotic naïve patients (p < 0.0001). Prolactin levels were consistently raised in FEP patients taking risperidone, amisulpride and FGAs compared to other antipsychotics. No significant relationship was observed between perceived stress scores (β = 7.13, t = 0.21, df = 11, p = 0.0.84 95% CI − 72.91–87.16), or objective life stressors (β = − 21.74, t = − 0.31, df = 8, p = 0.77 95% CI − 218.57–175.09) and serum prolactin. Our study found elevated rates of HPL over the course of the first 12 months of illness. We found no evidence to support the notion that stress is related to elevated serum prolactin at the onset of psychosis

Investigating a possible causal relationship between maternal serum urate concentrations and offspring birthweight: a Mendelian randomization study.

This is the final version. Available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this record. Data Availability: The genotype and phenotype data are available on application from UK Biobank (http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/). Individual cohorts participating in the EGG consortium should be contacted directly as each cohort has different data-access policies. GWAS summary statistics of birthweight are available via the EGG website (https://egg-consortium.org/). Genome-wide summary statistics for urate used in this study are publicly available at the CKDGen Consortium via http://ckdgen.imbi.uni-freiburg.de. Summary statistics from EFSOCH are available on request. Researchers interested in accessing the data are expected to send a reasonable request by sending an e-mail to the Exeter Clinical Research Facility at [email protected]: Higher urate levels are associated with higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) in adults, and in pregnancy with lower offspring birthweight. Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses suggest a causal effect of higher urate on higher SBP and of higher maternal SBP on lower offspring birthweight. If urate causally reduces birthweight, it might confound the effect of SBP on birthweight. We therefore tested for a causal effect of maternal urate on offspring birthweight. METHODS: We tested the association between maternal urate levels and offspring birthweight using multivariable linear regression in the Exeter Family Study of Childhood Health (EFSOCH; n = 872) and UK Biobank (UKB; n = 133 187). We conducted two-sample MR to test for a causal effect of maternal urate [114 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); n = 288 649 European ancestry] on offspring birthweight (n = 406 063 European ancestry; maternal SNP effect estimates adjusted for fetal effects). We assessed a causal relationship between urate and SBP using one-sample MR in UKB women (n = 199 768). RESULTS: Higher maternal urate was associated with lower offspring birthweight with similar confounder-adjusted magnitudes in EFSOCH [22 g lower birthweight per 1-SD higher urate (95% CI: -50, 6); P = 0.13] and UKB [-28 g (95% CI: -31, -25); P = 1.8 × 10-75]. The MR causal effect estimate was directionally consistent, but smaller [-11 g (95% CI: -25, 3); PIVW = 0.11]. In women, higher urate was causally associated with higher SBP [1.7 mmHg higher SBP per 1-SD higher urate (95% CI: 1.4, 2.1); P = 7.8 × 10-22], consistent with that previously published in women and men. CONCLUSION: The marked attenuation of the MR result of maternal urate on offspring birthweight compared with the multivariable regression result suggests previous observational associations may be confounded. The 95% CIs of the MR result included the null but suggest a possible small effect on birthweight. Maternal urate levels are unlikely to be an important contributor to offspring birthweight.Wellcome TrustBritish Heart FoundationEuropean Research CouncilUS National Institute of HealthQUEX InstituteWellcome Trus

Effect of β-alanine supplementation on 20 km cycling time trial performance

The effects of β-alanine supplementation on high-intensity cycling performance and capacity have been evaluated, although the effects on longer duration cycling performance are unclear. Nineteen UK category 1 male cyclists completed four 20 km cycling time trials, two before and two after supplementation with either 6.4 g•d -1 β-alanine (n = 10; BA) or a matched placebo (n = 9; P). Performance time for the 20 km time trial and 1 km split times were recorded. There was no significant effect of β-alanine supplementation on 20 km time trial performance (BA-pre 1943 ± 129 s; BA-post 1950 ± 147 s; P-pre 1989 ± 106 s; P-post 1986 ± 115 s) or on the performance of each 1 km split. The effect of β-alanine on 20 km time trial performance was deemed unclear as determined by magnitude based inferences. Supplementation with 6.4 g•d -1 of β-alanine for 4 weeks did not affect 20 km cycling time trial performance in well trained male cyclists

Bayesian Hierarchical Models Combining Different Study Types and Adjusting for Covariate Imbalances: A Simulation Study to Assess Model Performance

BACKGROUND: Bayesian hierarchical models have been proposed to combine evidence from different types of study designs. However, when combining evidence from randomised and non-randomised controlled studies, imbalances in patient characteristics between study arms may bias the results. The objective of this study was to assess the performance of a proposed Bayesian approach to adjust for imbalances in patient level covariates when combining evidence from both types of study designs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Simulation techniques, in which the truth is known, were used to generate sets of data for randomised and non-randomised studies. Covariate imbalances between study arms were introduced in the non-randomised studies. The performance of the Bayesian hierarchical model adjusted for imbalances was assessed in terms of bias. The data were also modelled using three other Bayesian approaches for synthesising evidence from randomised and non-randomised studies. The simulations considered six scenarios aimed at assessing the sensitivity of the results to changes in the impact of the imbalances and the relative number and size of studies of each type. For all six scenarios considered, the Bayesian hierarchical model adjusted for differences within studies gave results that were unbiased and closest to the true value compared to the other models. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Where informed health care decision making requires the synthesis of evidence from randomised and non-randomised study designs, the proposed hierarchical Bayesian method adjusted for differences in patient characteristics between study arms may facilitate the optimal use of all available evidence leading to unbiased results compared to unadjusted analyses

Individual calibration of accelerometers in children and their health-related implications

This study compared children’s physical activity (PA) levels, the prevalence of children meeting current guidelines of ≥60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), and PA-health associations using individually calibrated (IC) and empirical accelerometer cutpoints. Data from 75 (n = 32 boys) 10-12 year old children were included in this study. Clustered cardiometabolic (CM) risk, directly measured cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), anthropometric and 7 day accelerometer data were included within analysis. PA data were classified using Froude anchored IC, Evenson et al., 2008 (Ev) and Mackintosh et al., 2012 (Mack) cutpoints. The proportion of the cohort meeting ≥60mins MVPA/day ranged from 37%-56% depending on the cutpoints used. Reported PA differed significantly across the cutpoint sets. IC LPA and MPA were predictors of CRF (LPA: standardised β = 0.32, p = 0.002, MPA: standardised β = 0.27 p = 0.013). IC MPA also predicted BMI Z-score (standardised β = -0.35, p = 0.004). Ev VPA was a predictor of BMI Z-score (standardised β = -0.33, p = 0.012). Cutpoint choice has a substantial impact on reported PA levels though no significant associations with CM risk were observed. Froude IC cut points represent a promising approach towards classifying children’s PA data