ELECTROSTATIC BODY-MOTION REGISTRATION AND THE HUMAN ANTENNA-RECEIVER EFFECT: A NEW METHOD FOR INVESTIGATING INTERPERSONAL DYNAMICAL ENERGY SYSTEM INTERACTIONS

This paper documents that it is possible to measure electromagnetic fields created by physical movements of the human body-termed electrostatic body-motion effects-using readily available EEG amplifiers, and that it possible to measure the human body's capability to serve as an antenna and/or receiver for these electrostatic movements-termed the human antenna-receiver effect. Following the observation by Green et al (1991)1 that small body-motions could be detected by electrometers attached to copper walls, three experiments were conducted measuring the effects of hand-motions and foot-motions using DC amplifiers (the Synamps System by Neuroscan). Clear hand-motion and foot-motion effects could be recorded using a standard electrode box as an antenna. The electrostatic motion effect was attenuated as a function of distance of the motions from the electrode box, and by placing a wire mesh shield over the electrode box. The human body was discovered to funcrion as a strong antenna and/or receiver for electrostatic body-motions. The findings indicate that electrostatic body-motions and the human antenna-receiver effect are easily measurable, and may serve as a new method for investigating interpersonal dynamic energy system interactions in psychology, medicine and healing

Plant Science Decadal Vision 2020–2030: Reimagining the Potential of Plants for a Healthy and Sustainable Future

Plants, and the biological systems around them, are key to the future health of the planet and its inhabitants. The Plant Science Decadal Vision 2020–2030 frames our ability to perform vital and far‐reaching research in plant systems sciences, essential to how we value participants and apply emerging technologies. We outline a comprehensive vision for addressing some of our most pressing global problems through discovery, practical applications, and education. The Decadal Vision was developed by the participants at the Plant Summit 2019, a community event organized by the Plant Science Research Network. The Decadal Vision describes a holistic vision for the next decade of plant science that blends recommendations for research, people, and technology. Going beyond discoveries and applications, we, the plant science community, must implement bold, innovative changes to research cultures and training paradigms in this era of automation, virtualization, and the looming shadow of climate change. Our vision and hopes for the next decade are encapsulated in the phrase reimagining the potential of plants for a healthy and sustainable future. The Decadal Vision recognizes the vital intersection of human and scientific elements and demands an integrated implementation of strategies for research (Goals 1–4), people (Goals 5 and 6), and technology (Goals 7 and 8). This report is intended to help inspire and guide the research community, scientific societies, federal funding agencies, private philanthropies, corporations, educators, entrepreneurs, and early career researchers over the next 10 years. The research encompass experimental and computational approaches to understanding and predicting ecosystem behavior; novel production systems for food, feed, and fiber with greater crop diversity, efficiency, productivity, and resilience that improve ecosystem health; approaches to realize the potential for advances in nutrition, discovery and engineering of plant‐based medicines, and green infrastructure. Launching the Transparent Plant will use experimental and computational approaches to break down the phytobiome into a parts store that supports tinkering and supports query, prediction, and rapid‐response problem solving. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are indispensable cornerstones of realizing our vision. We make recommendations around funding and systems that support customized professional development. Plant systems are frequently taken for granted therefore we make recommendations to improve plant awareness and community science programs to increase understanding of scientific research. We prioritize emerging technologies, focusing on non‐invasive imaging, sensors, and plug‐and‐play portable lab technologies, coupled with enabling computational advances. Plant systems science will benefit from data management and future advances in automation, machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence‐assisted data integration, pattern identification, and decision making. Implementation of this vision will transform plant systems science and ripple outwards through society and across the globe. Beyond deepening our biological understanding, we envision entirely new applications. We further anticipate a wave of diversification of plant systems practitioners while stimulating community engagement, underpinning increasing entrepreneurship. This surge of engagement and knowledge will help satisfy and stoke people\u27s natural curiosity about the future, and their desire to prepare for it, as they seek fuller information about food, health, climate and ecological systems

Early sex differences are not autism-specific: A Baby Siblings Research Consortium (BSRC) study

Background: The increased male prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be mirrored by the early emergence of sex differences in ASD symptoms and cognitive functioning. The female protective effect hypothesis posits that ASD recurrence and symptoms will be higher among relatives of female probands. This study examined sex differences and sex of proband differences in ASD outcome and in the development of ASD symptoms and cognitive functioning among the high-risk younger siblings of ASD probands and low-risk children. Methods: Prior to 18 months of age, 1824 infants (1241 high-risk siblings, 583 low-risk) from 15 sites were recruited. Hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM) analyses of younger sibling and proband sex differences in ASD recurrence among high-risk siblings were followed by HGLM analyses of sex differences and group differences (high-risk ASD, high-risk non-ASD, and low-risk) on the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) subscales (Expressive and Receptive Language, Fine Motor, and Visual Reception) at 18, 24, and 36 months and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) domain scores (social affect (SA) and restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB)) at 24 and 36 months. Results: Of 1241 high-risk siblings, 252 had ASD outcomes. Male recurrence was 26.7 % and female recurrence 10.3 %, with a 3.18 odds ratio. The HR-ASD group had lower MSEL subscale scores and higher RRB and SA scores than the HR non-ASD group, which had lower MSEL subscale scores and higher RRB scores than the LR group. Regardless of group, males obtained lower MSEL subscale scores, and higher ADOS RRB scores, than females. There were, however, no significant interactions between sex and group on either the MSEL or ADOS. Proband sex did not affect ASD outcome, MSEL subscale, or ADOS domain scores. Conclusions: A 3.2:1 male:female odds ratio emerged among a large sample of prospectively followed high-risk siblings. Sex differences in cognitive performance and repetitive behaviors were apparent not only in high-risk children with ASD, but also in high-risk children without ASD and in low-risk children. Sex differences in young children with ASD do not appear to be ASD-specific but instead reflect typically occurring sex differences seen in children without ASD. Results did not support a female protective effect hypothesis. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13229-015-0027-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A novel approach of homozygous haplotype sharing identifies candidate genes in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable disorder of complex and heterogeneous aetiology. It is primarily characterized by altered cognitive ability including impaired language and communication skills and fundamental deficits in social reciprocity. Despite some notable successes in neuropsychiatric genetics, overall, the high heritability of ASD (~90%) remains poorly explained by common genetic risk variants. However, recent studies suggest that rare genomic variation, in particular copy number variation, may account for a significant proportion of the genetic basis of ASD. We present a large scale analysis to identify candidate genes which may contain low-frequency recessive variation contributing to ASD while taking into account the potential contribution of population differences to the genetic heterogeneity of ASD. Our strategy, homozygous haplotype (HH) mapping, aims to detect homozygous segments of identical haplotype structure that are shared at a higher frequency amongst ASD patients compared to parental controls. The analysis was performed on 1,402 Autism Genome Project trios genotyped for 1 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We identified 25 known and 1,218 novel ASD candidate genes in the discovery analysis including CADM2, ABHD14A, CHRFAM7A, GRIK2, GRM3, EPHA3, FGF10, KCND2, PDZK1, IMMP2L and FOXP2. Furthermore, 10 of the previously reported ASD genes and 300 of the novel candidates identified in the discovery analysis were replicated in an independent sample of 1,182 trios. Our results demonstrate that regions of HH are significantly enriched for previously reported ASD candidate genes and the observed association is independent of gene size (odds ratio 2.10). Our findings highlight the applicability of HH mapping in complex disorders such as ASD and offer an alternative approach to the analysis of genome-wide association data

ISSN exercise & sport nutrition review: research & recommendations

Sports nutrition is a constantly evolving field with hundreds of research papers published annually. For this reason, keeping up to date with the literature is often difficult. This paper is a five year update of the sports nutrition review article published as the lead paper to launch the JISSN in 2004 and presents a well-referenced overview of the current state of the science related to how to optimize training and athletic performance through nutrition. More specifically, this paper provides an overview of: 1.) The definitional category of ergogenic aids and dietary supplements; 2.) How dietary supplements are legally regulated; 3.) How to evaluate the scientific merit of nutritional supplements; 4.) General nutritional strategies to optimize performance and enhance recovery; and, 5.) An overview of our current understanding of the ergogenic value of nutrition and dietary supplementation in regards to weight gain, weight loss, and performance enhancement. Our hope is that ISSN members and individuals interested in sports nutrition find this review useful in their daily practice and consultation with their clients

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations

Personality and electrocortical correlates of extreme belief regarding ESP

Forty participants from an introductory Psychology course were recruited based upon their self-reported beliefs in ESP (High, Medium, Low). Participants answered a packet of self report questionnaires, then underwent electroencephalographic (EEG) recording during eyes open and eyes closed resting baseline. Participants then completed "traditional" and "novelty enhanced" formats, of a multimodal biofield detection battery and a computerized forced-choice precognition task. Results showed no evidence of precognition for any belief level group, or either task format. Biofield detection accuracy was significantly above chance expectation for 2 of the 6 modalities tested, and correlated with self reported "energy sensitivity". Belief in ESP was found to be psychologically related to higher levels of belief in other "spiritual experiences", lower levels of cynicism and rigidity, and increased sense of coherence. EEG findings indicated that strong belief and strong skepticism of ESP were associated with increased frontal asymmetry scores, and that moderate degrees of belief were associated with negative frontal asymmetry scores during eyes open baseline recording. Suggestions for future research are provided

Prereferral Intervention: A Review of the Research

There is a national trend toward requiring prereferral intervention procedures prior to placing students in special education programs. A review of the research associated with prereferral intervention is presented. Findings suggest that prereferral intervention approaches can have positive impact on special education service delivery practices. The findings also indicate that such interventions can increase the abilities of teachers to educate students who are experiencing difficulty and improve the attitudes of teachers toward such students. Furthermore, the interventions implemented under the prereferral intervention approaches appear to produce the desired student performance, which decreases the overidentification of students as having handicaps. In sum, prereferral intervention may be a viable option to more traditional general and special education service delivery practices. Caveats to such conclusions and future research needs are discussed

HPV Knowledge and Attitudes Among American Indian and Alaska Native Health and STEM Conference Attendees

Background: American Indian and Alaska Native women had approximately twice the incidence of cervical cancer as white women. Preventive measures for cervical cancer rely on screening and HPV vaccination. However, vaccine series completion and catch-up vaccinations for eligible adults are low across all racial/ethnic groups. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify gaps in knowledge and evaluate the attitudes toward HPV and the vaccine among AIANs with various levels of training in the STEM and health-related fields. Methods: Survey data were collected from audience members at two national conferences geared towards American Indian and Alaska Natives in health and STEM fields in September 2017. A vignette study was administered via a live electronic poll to test knowledge (true/false questions), attitudes, and to collect demographic information. Results: Respondents self-identified as primarily American Indian and Alaska Native (74%), pursuing or completed a graduate degree (67%), and female (85%). Most respondents (86%) were aware of HPV-associated cancer in men. However, most (48-90%) answered incorrectly to detailed true/false statements about HPV and available vaccines. After educational information was provided, opinions collected via vignettes highlighted mainly positive attitudes toward vaccination; specifically, that vaccines are safe and all eligible community members should be vaccinated (75% and 84%, respectively). Conclusions: We observed that our respondents with higher educational attainment still lacked accurate knowledge pertaining to HPV and the vaccine. Overall, continued education about HPV and the vaccine is needed across all levels of education including American Indian and Alaska Native community members and health professionals