Searching for Prosociality in Qualitative Data: Comparing Manual, Closed-Vocabulary, and Open-Vocabulary Methods

Although most people present themselves as possessing prosocial traits, people differ in the extent to which they actually act prosocially in everyday life. Qualitative data that were not ostensibly collected to measure prosociality might contain information about prosocial dispositions that is not distorted by self–presentation concerns. This paper seeks to characterise charitable donors from qualitative data. We compared a manual approach of extracting predictors from participants’ self–described personal strivings to two automated approaches: A summation of words predefined as prosocial and a support vector machine classifier. Although variables extracted by the support vector machine predicted donation behaviour well in the training sample ( N = 984), virtually, no variables from any method significantly predicted donations in a holdout sample ( N = 496). Raters’ attempts to predict donations to charity based on reading participants’ personal strivings were also unsuccessful. However, raters’ predictions were associated with past charitable involvement. In sum, predictors derived from personal strivings did not robustly explain variation in charitable behaviour, but personal strivings may nevertheless contain some information about trait prosociality. The sparseness of personal strivings data, rather than the irrelevance of open–ended text or individual differences in goal pursuit, likely explains their limited value in predicting prosocial behaviour. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psycholog

Design and Manufacturing of the Carbon Fiber Roll Table

Backpacking and exploration of the great outdoors has surged in popularity in the 21st century, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic called for many to change their hobbies and interests. Additionally, many people explore new, remote locations as a way of breaking free from the chains of addiction to media and reliance on technology. Our team experienced this shift firsthand as our interest in backpacking and exploration has grown in recent years. Upon our reflection of this newfound hobby, we realized that the camping equipment market was missing one thing: a “do it all” backpacking table. Our team wanted to address this need in the backpacking community by creating a versatile, lightweight, and durable camping table that will help people experience the beauty found in nature. The product design, cost, and manufacturing process were all developed and chosen with these criteria in mind. In spring of 2022, we conducted market research through public polls and think tanks. From this research, we established a target market of individuals between the ages of 18-30 years old that are active backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts. This target market is a niche sub-category of the camping equipment and accessory market. Additionally, market research identified four consumer considerations: durability, versatility, weight, and affordability, all of which were considered during each phase of the design and production process. After establishing a market for our product concept, an outline of future work and procedures was established to manufacture our product. To begin, we would need to convert our drawings and ideas into an initial prototype. This phase of the manufacturing process was critical for success because it served as the foundation of what our product would be down the road. Additionally, this initial prototype was a proof of concept to prove that our design drawing was feasible. Next, our timeline called for product design and material changes based on our review of the initial prototype. These changes factored in physical limitations and manufacturing process restrictions that would be problematic in the future. For example, the primary design change was related to the coupler that holds all three table legs together at a single point. The initial design was bulky and expensive, so creating a more efficient coupler was necessary. All three previous stages of our process lead to a final product that resembled the product we set out to create. The final product was lightweight, versatile, and strong. The product itself was nearly flawless. In review of our final product, the next stage was completing a holistic profitability analysis of the end product since the primary mission of all businesses is to create income for stakeholders. We were able to complete this holistic analysis by combining data from processing time studies, material purchase orders, industry research, and target market surveys. Although we utilized this same data when making design and material decisions, the result of this end-stage financial study proved that our final product and design would be profitable

When and why do third parties punish outside of the lab? A cross-cultural recall study

Punishment can reform uncooperative behavior and hence could have contributed to humans&rsquo; ability to live in large-scale societies. Punishment by unaffected third parties has received extensive scientific scrutiny because third parties punish transgressors in laboratory experiments on behalf of strangers that they will never interact with again. Often overlooked in this research are interactions involving people who are not strangers, which constitute many interactions beyond the laboratory. Across three samples in two countries (United States and Japan; N = 1,294), we found that third parties&rsquo; anger at transgressors, and their intervention and punishment on behalf of victims, varied in real-life conflicts as a function of how much third parties valued the welfare of the disputants. Punishment was rare (1&ndash;2%) when third parties did not value the welfare of the victim, suggesting that previous economic game results have overestimated third parties&rsquo; willingness to punish transgressors on behalf of strangers.</p

Mitochondria-Containing Extracellular Vesicles (EV) Reduce Mouse Brain Infarct Sizes and EV/HSP27 Protect Ischemic Brain Endothelial Cultures

Ischemic stroke causes brain endothelial cell (BEC) death and damages tight junction integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). We harnessed the innate mitochondrial load of BEC-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) and utilized mixtures of EV/exogenous 27 kDa heat shock protein (HSP27) as a one-two punch strategy to increase BEC survival (via EV mitochondria) and preserve their tight junction integrity (via HSP27 effects). We demonstrated that the medium-to-large (m/lEV) but not small EVs (sEV) transferred their mitochondrial load, that subsequently colocalized with the mitochondrial network of the recipient primary human BECs. Recipient BECs treated with m/lEVs showed increased relative ATP levels and mitochondrial function. To determine if the m/lEV-meditated increase in recipient BEC ATP levels was associated with m/lEV mitochondria, we isolated m/lEVs from donor BECs pre-treated with oligomycin A (OGM, mitochondria electron transport complex V inhibitor), referred to as OGM-m/lEVs. BECs treated with naïve m/lEVs showed a significant increase in ATP levels compared to untreated OGD cells, OGM-m/lEVs treated BECs showed a loss of ATP levels suggesting that the m/lEV-mediated increase in ATP levels is likely a function of their innate mitochondrial load. In contrast, sEV-mediated ATP increases were not affected by inhibition of mitochondrial function in the donor BECs. Intravenously administered m/lEVs showed a reduction in brain infarct sizes compared to vehicle-injected mice in a mouse middle cerebral artery occlusion model of ischemic stroke. We formulated binary mixtures of human recombinant HSP27 protein with EVs: EV/HSP27 and ternary mixtures of HSP27 and EVs with a cationic polymer, poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly (diethyltriamine): (PEG-DET/HSP27)/EV. (PEG-DET/HSP27)/EV and EV/HSP27 mixtures decreased the paracellular permeability of small and large molecular mass fluorescent tracers in oxygen glucose-deprived primary human BECs. This one-two punch approach to increase BEC metabolic function and tight junction integrity may be a promising strategy for BBB protection and prevention of long-term neurological dysfunction post-ischemic stroke

An Innovative Option for Venous Reconstruction After Pancreaticoduodenectomy: the Left Renal Vein

INTRODUCTION: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has a high mortality rate with limited treatment options. One option is pancreaticoduodenectomy, although complete resection may require venous resection. Pancreaticoduodenectomy with venous resection and reconstruction is becoming a more common practice with many choices for venous reconstruction. We describe the technique of using the left renal vein as a conduit for venous reconstruction during pancreaticoduodenectomy. METHODS: The technique for use of the left renal vein as an interposition graft for venous reconstruction during pancreaticoduodenectomy is described as well as outcomes for nine patients that have undergone the procedure. RESULTS: Nine patients, seven men, with a mean age of 57 years, have undergone the operation. There were eight interposition grafts and one patch graft. Mean operating time was 7.8 hours, and mean tumor size was 3.4 cm. Eight patients had node-positive disease, and six had involvement of the vein. Mean hospital stay was 14 days and perioperative morbidity included a superficial wound infection, delayed gastric emptying, ascites, and gastrointestinal bleeding in one patient each. Creatinine ranged from 0.8–1.1 mg/dl preoperatively and from 0.7–1.3 mg/dl at discharge. Mean follow-up was 6.8 months with normal creatinine values noted through the follow-up period. Two patients had died during follow-up from recurrent disease at 8.3 and 18.2 months after the operation. CONCLUSIONS: The left renal vein provides an additional choice for an autologous graft during pancreaticoduodenectomy with venous resection. The ease of harvesting the graft and maintenance of renal function distinguish its use

A comparison of nefazodone, the cognitive behavioral-analysis system of psychotherapy, and their combination for the treatment of chronic depression

Background Patients with chronic forms of major depression are difficult to treat, and the relative efficacy of medications and psychotherapy is uncertain. Methods We randomly assigned 681 adults with a chronic nonpsychotic major depressive disorder to 12 weeks of outpatient treatment with nefazodone (maximal dose, 600 mg per day), the cognitive behavioral-analysis system of psychotherapy (16 to 20 sessions), or both. At base line, all patients had scores of at least 20 on the 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (indicating clinically significant depression). Remission was defined as a score of 8 or less at weeks 10 and 12. For patients who did not have remission, a satisfactory response was defined as a reduction in the score by at least 50 percent from base line and a score of 15 or less. Raters were unaware of the patients’ treatment assignments. Results Of the 681 patients, 662 attended at least one treatment session and were included in the analysis of response. The overall rate of response (both remission and satisfactory response) was 48 percent in both the nefazodone group and the psychotherapy group, as compared with 73 percent in the combined-treatment group (P Conclusions Although about half of patients with chronic forms of major depression have a response to short-term treatment with either nefazodone or a cognitive behavioral-analysis system of psychotherapy, the combination of the two is significantly more efficacious than either treatment alone

Optimized immunosuppression to prevent graft failure in renal transplant recipients with HLA antibodies (OuTSMART): a randomised controlled trial

Background: 3% of kidney transplant recipients return to dialysis annually upon allograft failure. Development of antibodies (Ab) against human leukocyte antigens (HLA) is a validated prognostic biomarker of allograft failure. We tested whether screening for HLA Ab, combined with an intervention to improve adherence and optimization of immunosuppression could prevent allograft failure. Methods: Prospective, open-labelled randomised biomarker-based strategy (hybrid) trial in 13 UK transplant centres [EudraCT (2012-004308-36) and ISRCTN (46157828)]. Patients were randomly allocated (1:1) to unblinded or double-blinded arms and screened every 8 months. Unblinded HLA Ab+ patients were interviewed to encourage medication adherence and had tailored optimisation of Tacrolimus, Mycophenolate mofetil and Prednisolone. The primary outcome was time to graft failure in an intention to treat analysis. The trial had 80% power to detect a hazard ratio of 0.49 in donor specific antibody (DSA)+ patients. Findings: From 11/9/13 to 27/10/16, 5519 were screened for eligibility and 2037 randomised (1028 to unblinded care and 1009 to double blinded care). We identified 198 with DSA and 818 with non-DSA. Development of DSA, but not non-DSA was predictive of graft failure. HRs for graft failure in unblinded DSA+ and non-DSA+ groups were 1.54 (95% CI: 0.72 to 3.30) and 0.97 (0.54–1.74) respectively, providing no evidence of an intervention effect. Non-inferiority for the overall unblinded versus blinded comparison was not demonstrated as the upper confidence limit of the HR for graft failure exceeded 1.4 (1.02, 95% CI: 0.72 to 1.44). The only secondary endpoint reduced in the unblinded arm was biopsy-proven rejection. Interpretation: Intervention to improve adherence and optimize immunosuppression does not delay failure of renal transplants after development of DSA. Whilst DSA predicts increased risk of allograft failure, novel interventions are needed before screening can be used to direct therapy

Positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging methods and datasets within the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN)

The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) is an international collaboration studying autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD). ADAD arises from mutations occurring in three genes. Offspring from ADAD families have a 50% chance of inheriting their familial mutation, so non-carrier siblings can be recruited for comparisons in case-control studies. The age of onset in ADAD is highly predictable within families, allowing researchers to estimate an individual\u27s point in the disease trajectory. These characteristics allow candidate AD biomarker measurements to be reliably mapped during the preclinical phase. Although ADAD represents a small proportion of AD cases, understanding neuroimaging-based changes that occur during the preclinical period may provide insight into early disease stages of \u27sporadic\u27 AD also. Additionally, this study provides rich data for research in healthy aging through inclusion of the non-carrier controls. Here we introduce the neuroimaging dataset collected and describe how this resource can be used by a range of researchers

Is bisphosphonate therapy for benign bone disease associated with impaired dental healing? A case-controlled study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bisphosphonates are common first line medications used for the management of benign bone disease. One of the most devastating complications associated with bisphosphonate use is osteonecrosis of the jaws which may be related to duration of exposure and hence cumulative dose, dental interventions, medical co-morbidities or in some circumstances with no identifiable aggravating factor. While jaw osteonecrosis is a devastating outcome which is currently difficult to manage, various forms of delayed dental healing may be a less dramatic and, therefore, poorly-recognised complications of bisphosphonate use for the treatment of osteoporosis. It is hypothesised that long-term (more than 1 year's duration) bisphosphonate use for the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis or other benign bone disease is associated with impaired dental healing.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A case-control study has been chosen to test the hypothesis as the outcome event rate is likely to be very low. A total of 54 cases will be recruited into the study following review of all dental files from oral and maxillofacial surgeons and special needs dentists in Victoria where potential cases of delayed dental healing will be identified. Potential cases will be presented to an independent case adjudication panel to determine if they are definitive delayed dental healing cases. Two hundred and fifteen controls (1:4 cases:controls), matched for age and visit window period, will be selected from those who have attended local community based referring dental practices. The primary outcome will be the incidence of delayed dental healing that occurs either spontaneously or following dental treatment such as extractions, implant placement, or denture use.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study is the largest case-controlled study assessing the link between bisphosphonate use and delayed dental healing in Australia. It will provide invaluable data on the potential link between bisphosphonate use and osteonecrosis of the jaws.</p