What can be achieved with online intergroup contact interventions? Assessing long-term attitude, knowledge, and behaviour change

Previous studies demonstrated that when individuals interact with outgroup members on social media, in online games, or through (a)synchronous chats, prejudice is reduced. Evaluations of real-world interventions, however, did not consistently confirm the positive impact of online intergroup contact. We advance the literature and investigate whether participation in a global online intergroup contact program predicts lower prejudice as well as increased outgroup knowledge, confidence, and tendencies to take collective action on behalf of outgroup members. We also assess if the quantity of online intergroup contact moderates developments of the outcome measures over time. Applying a pre-post design, participants (N = 547) completed surveys before and after the intervention. One follow-up survey was, depending on the program cohort, administered with a delay of six, 12, and 18 months. Throughout the intervention, prejudice decreased, and collective action tendencies, outgroup knowledge, as well as confidence in one's ability to communicate in intercultural environments increased. These trends were maintained for up to 18 months after program completion. Changes in attitude, knowledge, confidence, or collective action tendencies did not differ systematically between a four-weeks and an eight-weeks module. We conclude that online intergroup contact is a powerful tool to promote harmonious intergroup relations at scale

A description of the diversity of kinship and marriage practices in South Asia with a focus on India.

Whilst not an exhaustive examination, this paper will explore some of the key areas of the diversity of kinship and marriage practices within India. To do so it will look firstly at the formal kinship rules of two well documented communities which are, broadly speaking, representative of practices within their extended regions. From there it will look at the different social functions each of these systems can be argued to serve. From there it will investigate how demographic changes across India are fostering new models of marriage and challenging the formal rules of traditional kinship systems. Next it will look at how the introduction of civil marriage rights is responsible, albeit to a limited extent, for the emergence of yet another model of marriage.  Finally, it will observe that, despite these key differences, there exist some characteristics which remain in place across India

The effectiveness of faecal removal methods of pasture management to control the cyathostomin burden of donkeys

Background: The level of anthelmintic resistance within some cyathostomin parasite populations has increased to the level where sole reliance on anthelmintic-based control protocols is not possible. Management-based nematode control methods, including removal of faeces from pasture, are widely recommended for use in association with a reduction in anthelmintic use to reduce selection pressure for drug resistance; however, very little work has been performed to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of such methods.<p></p> Methods: We analysed data obtained from 345 donkeys at The Donkey Sanctuary (Devon, UK), managed under three different pasture management techniques, to investigate the effectiveness of faeces removal in strongyle control in equids. The management groups were as follows: no removal of faeces from pasture, manual, twice-weekly removal of faeces from pasture and automatic, twice-weekly removal of faeces from pasture (using a mechanical pasture sweeper). From turn-out onto pasture in May, monthly faecal egg counts were obtained for each donkey and the dataset subjected to an auto regressive moving average model.<p></p> Results: There was little to no difference in faecal egg counts between the two methods of faecal removal; both resulted in significantly improved cyathostomin control compared to the results obtained from the donkeys that grazed pasture from which there was no faecal removal.<p></p> Conclusions: This study represents a valuable and unique assessment of the effectiveness of the removal of equine faeces from pasture, and provides an evidence base from which to advocate twice-weekly removal of faeces from pasture as an adjunct for equid nematode control. Widespread adoption of this practice could substantially reduce anthelmintic usage, and hence reduce selection pressure for nematode resistance to the currently effective anthelmintic products.<p></p&gt

Lux et Lex: Volume 5, Number 1

This issue of Lux et Lex, a publication of the Chester Fritz Library at the University of North Dakota, was published in May 1998

KDM4B is a master regulator of the estrogen receptor signalling cascade

The importance of the estrogen receptor (ER) in breast cancer (BCa) development makes it a prominent target for therapy. Current treatments, however, have limited effectiveness, and hence the definition of new therapeutic targets is vital. The ER is a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily of transcription factors that requires co-regulator proteins for complete regulation. Emerging evidence has implicated a small number of histone methyltransferase (HMT) and histone demethylase (HDM) enzymes as regulators of ER signalling, including the histone H3 lysine 9 tri-/di-methyl HDM enzyme KDM4B. Two recent independent reports have demonstrated that KDM4B is required for ER-mediated transcription and depletion of the enzyme attenuates BCa growth in vitro and in vivo. Here we show that KDM4B has an overarching regulatory role in the ER signalling cascade by controlling expression of the ER and FOXA1 genes, two critical components for maintenance of the estrogen-dependent phenotype. KDM4B interacts with the transcription factor GATA-3 in BCa cell lines and directly co-activates GATA-3 activity in reporter-based experiments. Moreover, we reveal that KDM4B recruitment and demethylation of repressive H3K9me3 marks within upstream regulatory regions of the ER gene permits binding of GATA-3 to drive receptor expression. Ultimately, our findings confirm the importance of KDM4B within the ER signalling cascade and as a potential therapeutic target for BCa treatment

Lower Limb Biomechanics Before and After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: a Systematic Review

This review aimed to synthesise the findings of literature that have assessed the changes in lower limb biomechanics following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructive surgery. Systematic searches of CINHAL, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and SPORTDiscus databases were run. All included studies had presented biomechanical variables pre- and post-surgery for the same participants. Articles were categorised by the analysed movement, and effect sizes were calculated. Fifty-four studies met the inclusion criteria, providing data on gait (n = 31), balance (n = 12), joint position sense (n = 5), stair ambulation (n = 4), pivoting (n = 6), and landing (n = 5). Measures of balance performance and joint position sense showed improvements from pre- to post-surgery. Changes in joint kinematics were inconsistent between studies, however increased knee flexion excursion, and reduced tibial anterior translation and internal rotation post reconstruction were identified. Joint kinetics reduced in magnitude in the early stages after surgery (≤5 weeks), then increased later in recovery (≥24 weeks). Risk of bias assessment identified most articles had a moderate or high risk (low = 5; moderate = 21; high = 11) resulting from participant retention and surgical intervention differences. The results of the review identified that although lower limb biomechanics did alter following reconstruction, few variables provided consistent results across studies and tasks. The low methodological quality of some articles may have contributed to these inconsistent findings. Alternatively, differences across studies may have resulted from individual coping strategies of participants that have previously been suggested to be present before reconstructive surgery, and future research should look to explore individual coping strategies to ACL reconstruction

Vertical Takeoff and Landing Vehicle with Increased Cruise Efficiency

Systems, methods, and devices are provided that combine an advance vehicle configuration, such as an advanced aircraft configuration, with the infusion of electric propulsion, thereby enabling a four times increase in range and endurance while maintaining a full vertical takeoff and landing ("VTOL") and hover capability for the vehicle. Embodiments may provide vehicles with both VTOL and cruise efficient capabilities without the use of ground infrastructure. An embodiment vehicle may comprise a wing configured to tilt through a range of motion, a first series of electric motors coupled to the wing and each configured to drive an associated wing propeller, a tail configured to tilt through the range of motion, a second series of electric motors coupled to the tail and each configured to drive an associated tail propeller, and an electric propulsion system connected to the first series of electric motors and the second series of electric motors