Finding the Invisible At-Risk Player - Using technology to help identify customers spending beyond affordable limits

Abstract: This session will highlight the value of a new EGM Affordability Model specifically adapted for changes in play due to COVID-19. Affordability of play has become a critical regulatory priority that is gaining greater traction worldwide as a gaming provider responsibility. The research presented here can inform a more sophisticated approach that is easy to operationalize, does not require a burden of proof on operators, and simultaneously yields greater results in identifying players spending beyond their abilities. The authors conducted research from 2014-2020, interviewing 10,500 regular electronic machine gamblers in land-based casinos in three countries administering the PGSI and FLAGs: a risk instrument that can be used to identify those spending beyond affordable limits including gambling with money that does not belong to them. The research shows that these players typically spend and play less than other regular gamblers. As a result, arbitrary affordability thresholds and current methods identifying high-risk gamblers that rely on the length of session and amount wagered are unlikely to find and assist these vulnerable over-spenders, even though they are more likely to be experiencing negative consequences due to their gambling. Implications: This session describes the survey results, construct creation, testing, and behavioral cues using machine data that can be used to identify at-risk players and the resulting profiles of ‘Over-spenders’ in terms of beliefs, motives, risky practices, obsession with gambling, and experience of negative consequences. Managerial and regulatory implications are presented

Envisioning mechanisms for success: Evaluation of EBCD at CHEO

To advance patient engagement (PE) and more comprehensively involve patients, families, and staff in quality improvement (QI) at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), the Experience Based Co-Design (EBCD) approach was piloted. Set against the backdrop of envisioning factors that would facilitate success, an evaluation was designed to assess five domains: strengthening of mutual understanding, collaboration, and partnerships between patients/families and staff; a greater involvement of patients, families, and staff in QI; satisfaction with the process; the ability of EBCD to generate clear and useful data to ascertain the patient/family and staff experience; and the ability of EBCD to generate clear and useful data to improve patient/family and staff experience. The King’s Fund EBCD toolkit was followed to implement the approach. This involved observations and interviews to capture experiences; and feedback events to understand experiences and identify improvement areas. The resulting data was used to evaluate the process relative to the five domains of interest. The evaluation data supported the conclusion that the EBCD process usefully addressed each of the domains of interest, and facilitated PE in QI. In addition, the evaluation revealed important considerations to the success of such an initiative. Using EBCD allows for a more nuanced and comprehensive consultation than traditional methods employed. The research presented here informs the future spread and/or adaptation of EBCD by offering a case for using the approach, but also suggests modifications or considerations to integrate PE methods with existing structures for greater efficiency, success, and value

Cognitive impairments in the STOP null mouse model of schizophrenia.

International audienceCognitive dysfunction is a primary and persisting core deficit of schizophrenia that is marginally improved by antipsychotic treatment. Adult mice that lack the stable tubule-only polypeptide (STOP) have neurochemical and behavioral abnormalities that model some features of schizophrenia. Recognition and long-term memory in the STOP null mouse were tested with the novel object recognition task and an olfactory discrimination task, respectively. Researchers examined the brains from STOP null mice to determine whether differences in task performance were associated with alterations in brain morphology. STOP null mice displayed deficits in both recognition and long-term memory. These behavioral deficits were accompanied by a massive enlargement of the cerebral ventricular system as well as by reductions in volume of cortical and diencephalic structures. In addition to deficits in recognition and long-term memory, STOP null mice displayed exaggerated neuroanatomical deficits somewhat reminiscent of those observed among individuals with schizophrenia

Novel electrochemiluminescent assay for the aptamer-based detection of testosterone

This work presents a proof-of-concept assay for the detection and quantification of small molecules based on aptamer recognition and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) readout. The testosterone-binding (TESS.1) aptamer was used to demonstrate the novel methodology. Upon binding of the target, the TESS.1 aptamer is released from its complementary capture probe – previously immobilized at the surface of the electrode – producing a decrease in the ECL signal after a washing step removing the released (labeled) TESS.1 aptamer. The analytical capability of the ECL assay towards testosterone detection was investigated displaying a linear range from 0.39 to 1.56 μM with a limit of detection of 0.29 μM. The selectivity of the proposed assay was assessed by performing two different negative control experiments; i) detection of testosterone with a randomized ssDNA sequence and ii) detection of two other steroids, i.e. deoxycholic acid and hydrocortisone with the TESS.1 aptamer. In parallel, complementary analytical techniques were employed to confirm the suggested mechanism: i) native nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (native nESI-MS) was used to determine the stoichiometry of the binding, and to characterize aptamer-target interactions; and, ii) isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was carried out to elucidate the dissociation constant (Kd) of the complex of testosterone and the TESS.1 aptamer. The combination of these techniques provided a complete understanding of the aptamer performance, the binding mechanism, affinity and selectivity. Furthermore, this important characterization carried out in parallel validates the real functionality of the aptamer (TESS.1) ensuring its use towards selective testosterone binding in further biosensors. This research will pave the way for the development of new aptamer-based assays coupled with ECL sensing for the detection of relevant small molecules

Identifying risk and mitigating gambling-related harm in online poker

The present paper conducts a critical analysis of the potential for gambling-related harm in relation to online poker participation, and a theoretical evaluation of current responsible gambling strategies employed to mitigate harm in online gambling and applies the evaluation of these strategies specifically to online poker gambling. Theoretically, the primary risk for harm in online poker is the rapid and continuous nature of poker provisions online, and has been demonstrated to be associated with disordered gambling behaviour, including the chasing of monetary losses. The following responsible gambling features were deemed relevant for consideration: informed player choice, voluntary self-exclusion, employee intervention, pre-commitment, in-game feedback, behavioural tracking tools, and age restriction and verification. Although current responsible gambling features are evaluated as theoretically robust, there remains a fundamental need for experimental validation of their effectiveness. Furthermore, despite online poker gamblers perceiving the responsible gambling features as valuable tools, in reality very few players regularly use available responsible gambling features. Ultimately, for the online poker gambling industry to retain market credibility and avoid substantial top-down regulation, it is imperative to demonstrate effectiveness of responsible gambling approaches, and increase customer utilisation of available harm-mitigation features

Quantifying the interplay between environmental and social effects on aggregated-fish dynamics

Demonstrating and quantifying the respective roles of social interactions and external stimuli governing fish dynamics is key to understanding fish spatial distribution. If seminal studies have contributed to our understanding of fish spatial organization in schools, little experimental information is available on fish in their natural environment, where aggregations often occur in the presence of spatial heterogeneities. Here, we applied novel modeling approaches coupled to accurate acoustic tracking for studying the dynamics of a group of gregarious fish in a heterogeneous environment. To this purpose, we acoustically tracked with submeter resolution the positions of twelve small pelagic fish (Selar crumenophthalmus) in the presence of an anchored floating object, constituting a point of attraction for several fish species. We constructed a field-based model for aggregated-fish dynamics, deriving effective interactions for both social and external stimuli from experiments. We tuned the model parameters that best fit the experimental data and quantified the importance of social interactions in the aggregation, providing an explanation for the spatial structure of fish aggregations found around floating objects. Our results can be generalized to other gregarious species and contexts as long as it is possible to observe the fine-scale movements of a subset of individuals.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures and 4 supplementary figure

How can the MHC mediate social odor via the microbiota community? A deep dive into mechanisms

Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) have long been linked to odor signaling and recently researchers’ attention has focused on MHC structuring of microbial communities and how this may in turn impact odor. However, understanding of the mechanisms through which the MHC could affect the microbiota to produce a chemical signal that is both reliable and strong enough to ensure unambiguous transmission of behaviorally important information remains poor. This is largely because empirical studies are rare, predictions are unclear, and the underlying immunological mechanisms governing MHC-microbiota interactions are often neglected. Here we review the immunological processes involving MHC class II (MHC-II) that could affect the commensal community. Focusing on immunological and medical research, we provide background knowledge for non-immunologists by describing key players within the vertebrate immune system relating to MHC-II molecules (which present extracellular-derived peptides, and thus interact with extracellular commensal microbes). We then systematically review the literature investigating MHC-odor-microbiota interactions in animals and identify areas for future research. These insights will help to design studies that are able to explore the role of MHC-II and the microbiota in the behavior of wild populations in their natural environment and consequently propel this research area forward

Genetically-Based Olfactory Signatures Persist Despite Dietary Variation

Individual mice have a unique odor, or odortype, that facilitates individual recognition. Odortypes, like other phenotypes, can be influenced by genetic and environmental variation. The genetic influence derives in part from genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). A major environmental influence is diet, which could obscure the genetic contribution to odortype. Because odortype stability is a prerequisite for individual recognition under normal behavioral conditions, we investigated whether MHC-determined urinary odortypes of inbred mice can be identified in the face of large diet-induced variation. Mice trained to discriminate urines from panels of mice that differed both in diet and MHC type found the diet odor more salient in generalization trials. Nevertheless, when mice were trained to discriminate mice with only MHC differences (but on the same diet), they recognized the MHC difference when tested with urines from mice on a different diet. This indicates that MHC odor profiles remain despite large dietary variation. Chemical analyses of urinary volatile organic compounds (VOCs) extracted by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) are consistent with this inference. Although diet influenced VOC variation more than MHC, with algorithmic training (supervised classification) MHC types could be accurately discriminated across different diets. Thus, although there are clear diet effects on urinary volatile profiles, they do not obscure MHC effects

Paced-Mating Increases the Number of Adult New Born Cells in the Internal Cellular (Granular) Layer of the Accessory Olfactory Bulb

The continuous production and addition of new neurons during life in the olfactory bulb is well accepted and has been extensively studied in rodents. This process could allow the animals to adapt to a changing environment. Olfactory neurogenesis begins in the subventricular zone where stem cells proliferate and give rise to young undifferentiated neuroblasts that migrate along the rostral migratory stream to the olfactory bulb (OB). Olfaction is crucial for the expression of sexual behavior in rodents. In female rats, the ability to control the rate of sexual interactions (pacing) has important physiological and behavioral consequences. In the present experiment we evaluated if pacing behavior modifies the rate of new cells that reach the main and accessory olfactory bulb. The BrdU marker was injected before and after different behavioral tests which included: females placed in a mating cage (control), females allowed to pace the sexual interaction, females that mated but were not able to control the rate of the sexual interaction and females exposed to a sexually active male. Subjects were sacrificed fifteen days after the behavioral test. We observed a significant increase in the density of BrdU positive cells in the internal cellular layer of the accessory olfactory bulb when females paced the sexual interaction in comparison to the other 3 groups. No differences in the cell density in the main olfactory bulb were found. These results suggest that pacing behavior promotes an increase in density of the new cells in the accessory olfactory bulb