Cheating and the effect of promises in Indian and German children

Cheating is harmful to others and society at large. Promises have been shown to increase honesty in children, but their effectiveness has not been compared between different cultural contexts. In a study (2019) with 7- to 12-year-olds (N = 406, 48% female, middle-class), voluntary promises reduced cheating in Indian, but not in German children. Children in both contexts cheated, but cheating rates were lower in Germany than in India. In both contexts, cheating decreased with age in the (no-promise) control condition and was unaffected by age in the promise condition. These findings suggest that there may exist a threshold beyond which cheating cannot be further reduced by promises. This opens new research avenues on how children navigate honesty and promise norms

Amritmahal: Need for Conserving the Living Pastoral Heritage of Karnataka

Karnataka is home to the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats with its range of habitats spanning from scrub forest in the lower elevations to the wet evergreen forests in the higher elevations. In stark visual contrast, the Deccan Plateau is blanketed by arid plains dominated by scrub jungles and dry grasslands. These plains are a melting pot of rich biodiversity, culture and associated traditional knowledge. They have also been important centres for breeding livestock and have supported local livelihoods. In spite of this cultural and ecological importance, these arid plains, especially grasslands with sparse woody vegetation, are increasingly being termed as wastelands. The current scenario is much the same in different regions with vast tracts being diverted for industrial use, unscrupulous developmental activity or for afforestation programmes. These short-sighted measures have adverse effects on biodiversity and the livelihoods of people depending on it. This study looks into the expansive traditional grazing pastures of the Amritmahal breed of cattle in Karnataka which are undergoing a spate of similar changes. This draft breed unique to Karnataka was known for its speed, strength, loyalty and ability to withstand droughts. Due to these qualities, it was used not only for agriculture but also in warfare and thus patronised by the royalty. The cattle were raised in exclusive pastures known as Amritmahal Kaval in local parlance. The Kaval traditionally managed by means of social fencing. Grazing and extraction of resources such as firewood and fodder was regulated (Pai, 2012). These practices seem to have led to conservation of biodiversity as is evident from the fact that these Kavals are inhabited by rare and endangered species such as blackbuck, wolves, Indian fox, leopards and several species of rare birds including Indian Courser (Centre for Ecological Sciences, 2011). Recognising the richness of biodiversity, in 2011 the Karnataka State Government declared one of the Kavals as a ‘conservation reserve’ under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Today, these Kavals are spread over an estimated 65,925 acres in 62 villages of six districts - Tumkur, Hassan, Chitradurga, Chikmagalur, Shimoga and Mandya (Ashisar, 2011). In this paper, we make a case for conserving this unique breed and thus, the grazing pastures they have been traditionally dependent on

Employee Surveillance System Using Face Recognition

Advancement in technology has made face recognition system more prevalent and convenient to identify a person without a manual system which contributes to time consumption. In this system, facial recognition is by the means by which the employees are monitored. Our project addresses the problems present with manual surveillance by automating it in an efficient manner. Machine learning and deep learning have benefited people from all walks of life, and we plan to use machine learning in our surveillance system to build this specific project with the aid of Python and its comprehensive modules. The project involves a real-time detection of faces which are then matched with the corresponding face in the database. An excel sheet stores the time at which the login has taken place when the detection occurs. To achieve the goals, we used a combination of machine learning techniques and various logic-based algorithms

Keeping them honest: Promises reduce cheating in adolescents

People frequently engage in dishonest behavior at a cost to others, and it is therefore beneficial to study interventions promoting honest behavior. We implemented a novel intervention that gave participants a choice to promise to be truthful or not to promise. To measure cheating behavior, we developed a novel variant of the mind game—the dice‐box game—as well as a child‐friendly sender–receiver game. Across three studies with adolescents aged 10 to 14 years (N = 640) from schools in India, we found that promises systematically lowered cheating rates compared with no‐promise control conditions. Adolescents who sent truthful messages in the sender–receiver game cheated less in the dice‐box game and promises reduced cheating in both tasks (Study 1). Promises in the dice‐box game remained effective when negative externalities (Study 2) or incentives for competition (Study 3) were added. A joint analysis of data from all three studies revealed demographic variables that influenced cheating. Our findings confirm that promises have a strong, binding effect on behavior and can be an effective intervention to reduce cheating

Preliminary spatial analysis of Hendra disease outbreaks in South East Queensland

Hendra Virus was first reported in the suburb of Hendra, Brisbane in 1994. It has proven to be fatal to both humans and horses, with the first outbreak resulting in the death of 13 horses and a trainer. Since then, there have been several other outbreaks reported across Queensland, from Cairns to the New South Wales border at Murwillumbah. Due to the frequent incidents of the virus outbreak, the Queensland Government's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) stated that there is a pressing need for current research on the spatial and temporal occurrences of the virus infections (DAFF 2012). This paper presents an overview of the research, and the preliminary results of the relationship between the Hendra disease outbreaks and the roosting sites of flying-foxes in the south-east Queensland. The results show a strong relationship (92% of the incidents) between temporary and seasonal roosting sites (rather than the permanent continuous roosting sites) and the outbreak locations. This finding suggests the need for detailed cluster analysis and regression models to identify the risk factors for the spread of the disease

Impact of preoperative chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) application methods on preoperative CHG skin concentration

Elective surgical patients routinely bathe with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) at home days prior to their procedures. However, the impact of home CHG bathing on surgical site CHG concentration is unclear. We examined 3 different methods of applying CHG and hypothesized that different application methods would impact resulting CHG skin concentration

Alternative Oxidase Attenuates Cigarette Smoke-induced Lung Dysfunction and Tissue Damage

Cigarette smoke (CS) exposure is the predominant risk factor for the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the third leading cause of death worldwide. We aimed to elucidate whether mitochondrial respiratory inhibition and oxidative stress are triggers in its etiology. In different models of CS exposure, we investigated the effect onlung remodeling and cell signaling of restoring mitochondrial respiratory electron flow using alternative oxidase (AOX), which bypasses the cytochrome segment of the respiratory chain. AOX attenuated CS-induced lung tissue destruction and loss of function in mice exposed chronically to CS for 9 months. It preserved the cell viability of isolated mouse embryonic fibroblasts treated with CS condensate, limited the induction of apoptosis, and decreased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In contrast, the earlyphase inflammatory response induced by acute CS exposure of mouse lung, i.e., infiltration by macrophages and neutrophils and adverse signaling, was unaffected. The use of AOX allowed us to obtain novel pathomechanistic insights into CS-induced cell damage,mitochondrial ROS production, and lung remodeling. Our findings implicate mitochondrial respiratory inhibition as a key pathogenicmechanism of CS toxicity in the lung. We propose AOX as a novel tool to study CS-related lung remodeling and potentially to counteract CS-induced ROS production and cell damage

Obeticholic acid for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: interim analysis from a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial

Background Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common type of chronic liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis. Obeticholic acid, a farnesoid X receptor agonist, has been shown to improve the histological features of NASH. Here we report results from a planned interim analysis of an ongoing, phase 3 study of obeticholic acid for NASH. Methods In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, adult patients with definite NASH,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score of at least 4, and fibrosis stages F2–F3, or F1 with at least oneaccompanying comorbidity, were randomly assigned using an interactive web response system in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive oral placebo, obeticholic acid 10 mg, or obeticholic acid 25 mg daily. Patients were excluded if cirrhosis, other chronic liver disease, elevated alcohol consumption, or confounding conditions were present. The primary endpointsfor the month-18 interim analysis were fibrosis improvement (≥1 stage) with no worsening of NASH, or NASH resolution with no worsening of fibrosis, with the study considered successful if either primary endpoint was met. Primary analyses were done by intention to treat, in patients with fibrosis stage F2–F3 who received at least one dose of treatment and reached, or would have reached, the month 18 visit by the prespecified interim analysis cutoff date. The study also evaluated other histological and biochemical markers of NASH and fibrosis, and safety. This study is ongoing, and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02548351, and EudraCT, 20150-025601-6. Findings Between Dec 9, 2015, and Oct 26, 2018, 1968 patients with stage F1–F3 fibrosis were enrolled and received at least one dose of study treatment; 931 patients with stage F2–F3 fibrosis were included in the primary analysis (311 in the placebo group, 312 in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 308 in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). The fibrosis improvement endpoint was achieved by 37 (12%) patients in the placebo group, 55 (18%) in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group (p=0·045), and 71 (23%) in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group (p=0·0002). The NASH resolution endpoint was not met (25 [8%] patients in the placebo group, 35 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group [p=0·18], and 36 [12%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group [p=0·13]). In the safety population (1968 patients with fibrosis stages F1–F3), the most common adverse event was pruritus (123 [19%] in the placebo group, 183 [28%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 336 [51%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group); incidence was generally mild to moderate in severity. The overall safety profile was similar to that in previous studies, and incidence of serious adverse events was similar across treatment groups (75 [11%] patients in the placebo group, 72 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 93 [14%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). Interpretation Obeticholic acid 25 mg significantly improved fibrosis and key components of NASH disease activity among patients with NASH. The results from this planned interim analysis show clinically significant histological improvement that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. This study is ongoing to assess clinical outcomes