The relationship of stalking behaviours to autism spectrum disorders and personality

Stalking perpetration represents a challenge in current forensic research practice in terms of identifying perpetrators and formulating their difficulties, and in developing effective treatment. This thesis explores Autism Spectrum Disorders and Pathological Demand Avoidance (a behavioural profile associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders, characterised by extreme methods of avoiding demands, an anxiety-based need for control over the immediate environment, and turbulent interpersonal relationships) and personality trait models in relation to stalking perpetration. A systematic review identifies the most prevalent clinical factors in stalking perpetration – psychotic disorders and personality disorders. A methodology chapter explores the validity and reliability of online surveys, with emphasis on understanding what makes them suitable for forensic research in the general population, and where the pitfalls may lie. An empirical study investigates the relationship of Pathological Demand Avoidance and Autism Spectrum Disorders with stalking perpetration and personality traits. Pathological Demand Avoidance traits predicted stalking perpetration and Autism Spectrum Disorders traits did not; a mediation analysis exploring the hypothesis that Pathological Demand Avoidance predicted stalking perpetration by way of strategic emotional control was non-significant, suggesting this was not related to stalking perpetration. The relationship of the HEXACO personality traits model to Pathological Demand Avoidance and stalking perpetration was examined, finding that higher levels of Emotionality and lower levels of Honesty predicted stalking perpetration independently of Pathological Demand Avoidance A second post-hoc study found that the gender distribution in the sample overall did not impact the relationships found between Pathological Demand Avoidance, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and stalking perpetration. Females in general scored more highly than males on the Emotionality and Extraversion aspects of the HEXACO model, and a Chi-square analysis indicated no significant differences between genders on specific types of stalking behaviours perpetrated

The relationship of stalking behaviours to autism spectrum disorders and personality

Stalking perpetration represents a challenge in current forensic research practice in terms of identifying perpetrators and formulating their difficulties, and in developing effective treatment. This thesis explores Autism Spectrum Disorders and Pathological Demand Avoidance (a behavioural profile associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders, characterised by extreme methods of avoiding demands, an anxiety-based need for control over the immediate environment, and turbulent interpersonal relationships) and personality trait models in relation to stalking perpetration. A systematic review identifies the most prevalent clinical factors in stalking perpetration – psychotic disorders and personality disorders. A methodology chapter explores the validity and reliability of online surveys, with emphasis on understanding what makes them suitable for forensic research in the general population, and where the pitfalls may lie. An empirical study investigates the relationship of Pathological Demand Avoidance and Autism Spectrum Disorders with stalking perpetration and personality traits. Pathological Demand Avoidance traits predicted stalking perpetration and Autism Spectrum Disorders traits did not; a mediation analysis exploring the hypothesis that Pathological Demand Avoidance predicted stalking perpetration by way of strategic emotional control was non-significant, suggesting this was not related to stalking perpetration. The relationship of the HEXACO personality traits model to Pathological Demand Avoidance and stalking perpetration was examined, finding that higher levels of Emotionality and lower levels of Honesty predicted stalking perpetration independently of Pathological Demand Avoidance A second post-hoc study found that the gender distribution in the sample overall did not impact the relationships found between Pathological Demand Avoidance, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and stalking perpetration. Females in general scored more highly than males on the Emotionality and Extraversion aspects of the HEXACO model, and a Chi-square analysis indicated no significant differences between genders on specific types of stalking behaviours perpetrated

Effects of a personalized nutrition program on cardiometabolic health: a randomized controlled trial

Large variability exists in people’s responses to foods. However, the efficacy of personalized dietary advice for health remains understudied. We compared a personalized dietary program (PDP) versus general advice (control) on cardiometabolic health using a randomized clinical trial. The PDP used food characteristics, individual postprandial glucose and triglyceride (TG) responses to foods, microbiomes and health history, to produce personalized food scores in an 18-week app-based program. The control group received standard care dietary advice (US Department of Agriculture Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025) using online resources, check-ins, video lessons and a leaflet. Primary outcomes were serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and TG concentrations at baseline and at 18 weeks. Participants (n = 347), aged 41–70 years and generally representative of the average US population, were randomized to the PDP (n = 177) or control (n = 170). Intention-to-treat analysis (n = 347) between groups showed significant reduction in TGs (mean difference = −0.13 mmol l−1; log-transformed 95% confidence interval = −0.07 to −0.01, P = 0.016). Changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were not significant. There were improvements in secondary outcomes, including body weight, waist circumference, HbA1c, diet quality and microbiome (beta-diversity) (P < 0.05), particularly in highly adherent PDP participants. However, blood pressure, insulin, glucose, C-peptide, apolipoprotein A1 and B, and postprandial TGs did not differ between groups. No serious intervention-related adverse events were reported. Following a personalized diet led to some improvements in cardiometabolic health compared to standard dietary advice

Human postprandial responses to food and potential for precision nutrition

Metabolic responses to food influence risk of cardiometabolic disease, but large-scale high-resolution studies are lacking. We recruited n = 1,002 twins and unrelated healthy adults in the United Kingdom to the PREDICT 1 study and assessed postprandial metabolic responses in a clinical setting and at home. We observed large inter-individual variability (as measured by the population coefficient of variation (s.d./mean, %)) in postprandial responses of blood triglyceride (103%), glucose (68%) and insulin (59%) following identical meals. Person-specific factors, such as gut microbiome, had a greater influence (7.1% of variance) than did meal macronutrients (3.6%) for postprandial lipemia, but not for postprandial glycemia (6.0% and 15.4%, respectively); genetic variants had a modest impact on predictions (9.5% for glucose, 0.8% for triglyceride, 0.2% for C-peptide). Findings were independently validated in a US cohort (n = 100 people). We developed a machine-learning model that predicted both triglyceride (r = 0.47) and glycemic (r = 0.77) responses to food intake. These findings may be informative for developing personalized diet strategies. The ClinicalTrials.gov registration identifier is NCT03479866

Larval diet affects mosquito development and permissiveness to Plasmodium infection

The larval stages of malaria vector mosquitoes develop in water pools, feeding mostly on microorganisms and environmental detritus. Richness in the nutrient supply to larvae influences the development and metabolism of larvae and adults. Here, we investigated the effects of larval diet on the development, microbiota content and permissiveness to Plasmodium of Anopheles coluzzii . We tested three fish diets often used to rear mosquitoes in the laboratory, including two pelleted diets, Dr. Clarke’s Pool Pellets and Nishikoi Fish Pellets , and one flaked diet, Tetramin Fish-Flakes. Larvae grow and develop faster and produce bigger adults when feeding on both types of pellets compared with flakes. This correlates with a higher microbio ta load in pellet-fed larv ae, in agreement with the known positive effect of the microbiota on mosq uito development. Larval diet also significantly influences the prevalence and intensity of Plasmodium berghei infection in adults, whereby Nishikoi Fish Pellets -fed larvae develop into adults that are highly permissive to parasites and survive longer after infection . This correlates with a lower amount of Enterobacteriaceae in the midgut microbiota. Together, our results shed light on the influenc e of larval feeding on mosquito development, microbiota and vector competence ; they also provide useful data for mosquito rearing

Jewish soldiers, Nazi captors: the experience of American and British Jewish POWs in German captivity in the Second World War

The topic of Jewish Prisoners of War (POWs) in German captivity during the Second World War is remarkable because of the contrast between Germany’s genocidal policy towards Jews on one hand and its relatively non-discriminatory treatment of Jewish POWs from western countries on the other. The radicalisation of Germany’s anti-Semitic policies entered its last phase in June 1941 with the invasion of the Soviet Union; during the following four years, nearly six million Jews were murdered. In parallel, Germany’s POW policies had gone through a radicalisation process of their own, resulting in the murder of millions of Soviet POWs, of Allied commando soldiers and of POW escapees, with Adolf Hitler eventually transferring in July 1944 the responsibility for POWs from the Wehrmacht to Heinrich Himmler, in his role as head of the Replacement Army (Ersatzheer). And yet, these policy changes did not filter into POW camps where Jewish POWs from western countries were kept; they were usually not discriminated against and were treated, in most cases, according to the Geneva Convention. Research covering POWs in German captivity and the study of the Holocaust are both extensive; however, the converging point of these two fields – the research on Jewish POWs in German captivity during the Second World War – has not received the same level of attention. Although there are individual stories of POWs, both Jewish and non-Jewish, which focus on different aspects of the Jewish POW experience, they have not been analysed in a systematic manner across all individual accounts and were not combined with information from various primary and secondary sources to provide a comprehensive interpretation of them. In addition, the explanations that appear in the literature as to the reasons behind the German policy towards Jewish POWs from western countries vary and are at times contradictory. A list of some of these explanations includes the German concern over reciprocity; the ‘national conservative value system’ of the Wehrmacht; and, towards the end of the war, the fear of retribution. However, a closer analysis of these arguments points to the conclusion that none of them alone provides a sufficient explanation for this phenomenon; rather, one can be found only by combining a number of explanations that were relevant during different stages of the war and by taking into account the interests of, and the interaction between, various bodies, both inside and outside the Wehrmacht. This dissertation combines existing studies with primary sources from archives in Britain, the United States, Germany, Israel, Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as POWs’ diaries, letters and memoirs, in order to bridge some of the existing gaps in the current research. Specifically, this study addresses the following questions: what was the experience of American and British Jewish POWs in German captivity; how were they treated by their captors; and why were they treated in that way? Its conclusions will help to reshape our understanding of the Holocaust and of Nazi Germany