Agentivity drives real-time pronoun resolution : Evidence from German er and der

We report two experiments on the referential resolution of the German subject pronoun er and the demonstrative der (‘he’). Using the visual world eye-tracking paradigm, we examined the effects of grammatical role, thematic role and the information status of potential referents in the antecedent clause operationalized by word-order (canonical/non-canonical), in the context of active--accusative verbs (Exp. 1) and dative-experiencer verbs (Exp. 2). In information-structurally neutral contexts, er prefers the proto-agent and der the protopatient. This suggests that agentivity is a better predictor for pronoun resolution than subjecthood or sentence topic as previously proposed. It further supports the claim that agentivity is a core property of language processing and it more generally substantiates the proposal from cognitive sciences that agentivity represents core knowledge of the human attentional system. With non-canonical antecedent clauses, because they lack alignment of prominence features, interpretive preferences become less stable, indicating that multiple cues are involved in pronoun resolution. The data further suggest that the demonstrative pronoun elicits more reliable interpretive biases than the personal pronou

Ecological Momentary Assessment of Responses to Dietary Lapses among Participants in a Weight Loss Program and Their Relation to Subsequent Outcomes

Behavioral weight loss programs are effective in producing moderate weight loss, but weight regain is common. Weight regain is believed to be due largely to poor adherence to the behaviors necessary for weight control, especially caloric restriction. Although most individuals attempting to lose weight and maintain weight loss experience occasional lapses in adherence, it is unclear what factors promote adherence to weight control goals after a dietary lapse. The present study thus examined individuals' attitudes toward themselves (e.g., self-critical, self-forgiving) after lapses and the relationships between these attitudes and subsequent lapse behavior using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to determine if examination of lapses from this framework enhances understanding of lapse-relapse progression. Overweight and obese adults (n = 91) enrolled in a behavioral weight loss program completed EMA for 14 days at the beginning of treatment. Participants responded to 6 semi-random daily EMA prompts, and initiated an EMA survey whenever a dietary lapse occurred. Participants reported on their self-criticism, self-forgiveness, self-regard, and self-efficacy whenever a lapse occurred; they also reported their attribution for each lapse. Weight was measured at the beginning and end of the EMA period. Results revealed that 89% of participants experienced at least one lapse (M=6.88). Greater lapse frequency was associated with less weight loss. Participants tended to have positive self-attitudes after lapses, and variability in responses across lapses was somewhat limited. Although having a positive (e.g., greater self-efficacy, more positive self-regard) typical response to lapses was associated with better outcomes (i.e., fewer lapses, longer time until next lapse), having a more negative (i.e., less forgiving, more critical, more negative self-regard) in-the-moment response to lapses predicted longer time until next lapse, when examined among lapses that occurred on the same day. These results suggest that, contrary to tenets of traditional relapse prevention interventions, a harsher response to lapses may be beneficial for delaying future lapses at times. However, as having a more positive typical response was also associated with better outcomes, additional research is needed to clarify why and to what extent having a more "negative" response may confer benefit. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.M.S., Psychology -- Drexel University, 201

Comparison of solitary and collective foraging strategies of Caenorhabditis elegans in patchy food distributions

Collective foraging has been shown to benefit organisms in environments where food is patchily distributed, but whether this is true in the case where organisms do not rely on long range communications to coordinate their collective behaviour has been understudied. To address this question, we use the tractable laboratory model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, where a social strain (npr-1 mutant) and a solitary strain (N2) are available for direct comparison of foraging strategies. We first developed an on-lattice minimal model for comparing collective and solitary foraging strategies, finding that social agents benefit from feeding faster and more efficiently simply due to group formation. Our laboratory foraging experiments with npr-1 and N2 worm populations, however, show an advantage for solitary N2 in all food distribution environments that we tested. We incorporated additional strain43 specific behavioural parameters of npr-1 and N2 worms into our model and computationally identified N2’s higher feeding rate to be the key factor underlying its advantage, without which it is possible to recapitulate the advantage of collective foraging in patchy environments. Our work highlights the theoretical advantage of collective foraging due to group formation alone without long-range interactions, and the valuable role of modelling to guide experiments

Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Two Low-Intensity Weight Loss Maintenance Interventions Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or Self-Regulation

Background: Weight regain is common following behavioral obesity treatment and attenuates many of the benefits of initial weight loss. This paper describes a randomized controlled trial that will evaluate the efficacy of two low-contact weight loss maintenance interventions based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and self-regulation (SR). Potential mechanisms of action and moderators of treatment effects will also be evaluated. Methods: Adults (anticipated N=480)with overweight or obesity will complete an initial 3-monthonline weight loss program (Phase 1). Participants who achieve ≥4 kg weight loss (anticipated N=288) will then be randomized to an ACT or SR weight loss maintenance intervention. Both interventions will entail four2.5 hour, face-to-face, group-based workshop sessions and 6 months of email contact. Assessments will be conducted at phase 1 baseline, phase 1 completion/pre-randomization, and 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 months post-randomization. The primary outcome will be weight change for the period from randomization to 30 months. Potential process measures including ACT-based constructs (e.g., psychological acceptance, values-consistent behavior), self-weighing frequency, and motivation will be also be assessed, as will potential moderators (e.g., initial weight loss). Conclusions: This study will compare the efficacy of two intervention approaches (ACT and SR) delivered in a scalable workshop format for long-term weight loss maintenance. Future research could examine efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these approaches in real world settings

Are all noisy quantum states obtained from pure ones?

We ask what type of mixed quantum states can arise when a number of separated parties start by sharing a pure quantum state and then this pure state becomes contaminated by noise. We show that not all mixed states arise in this way. This is even the case if the separated parties actively try to degrade their initial pure state by arbitrary local actions and classical communication.Comment: 3 pages, no figure

Antigen Identification for Orphan T Cell Receptors Expressed on Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes

The immune system can mount T cell responses against tumors; however, the antigen specificities of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are not well understood. We used yeast-display libraries of peptide-human leukocyte antigen (pHLA) to screen for antigens of “orphan” T cell receptors (TCRs) expressed on TILs from human colorectal adenocarcinoma. Four TIL-derived TCRs exhibited strong selection for peptides presented in a highly diverse pHLA-A∗02:01 library. Three of the TIL TCRs were specific for non-mutated self-antigens, two of which were present in separate patient tumors, and shared specificity for a non-mutated self-antigen derived from U2AF2. These results show that the exposed recognition surface of MHC-bound peptides accessible to the TCR contains sufficient structural information to enable the reconstruction of sequences of peptide targets for pathogenic TCRs of unknown specificity. This finding underscores the surprising specificity of TCRs for their cognate antigens and enables the facile identification of tumor antigens through unbiased screening

Antigen Identification for Orphan T Cell Receptors Expressed on Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes

The immune system can mount T cell responses against tumors; however, the antigen specificities of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are not well understood. We used yeast-display libraries of peptide-human leukocyte antigen (pHLA) to screen for antigens of “orphan” T cell receptors (TCRs) expressed on TILs from human colorectal adenocarcinoma. Four TIL-derived TCRs exhibited strong selection for peptides presented in a highly diverse pHLA-A∗02:01 library. Three of the TIL TCRs were specific for non-mutated self-antigens, two of which were present in separate patient tumors, and shared specificity for a non-mutated self-antigen derived from U2AF2. These results show that the exposed recognition surface of MHC-bound peptides accessible to the TCR contains sufficient structural information to enable the reconstruction of sequences of peptide targets for pathogenic TCRs of unknown specificity. This finding underscores the surprising specificity of TCRs for their cognate antigens and enables the facile identification of tumor antigens through unbiased screening

Effect of remote ischaemic conditioning on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI): a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischaemic conditioning with transient ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). We investigated whether remote ischaemic conditioning could reduce the incidence of cardiac death and hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months. METHODS: We did an international investigator-initiated, prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI) at 33 centres across the UK, Denmark, Spain, and Serbia. Patients (age >18 years) with suspected STEMI and who were eligible for PPCI were randomly allocated (1:1, stratified by centre with a permuted block method) to receive standard treatment (including a sham simulated remote ischaemic conditioning intervention at UK sites only) or remote ischaemic conditioning treatment (intermittent ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of an automated cuff device) before PPCI. Investigators responsible for data collection and outcome assessment were masked to treatment allocation. The primary combined endpoint was cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02342522) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Nov 6, 2013, and March 31, 2018, 5401 patients were randomly allocated to either the control group (n=2701) or the remote ischaemic conditioning group (n=2700). After exclusion of patients upon hospital arrival or loss to follow-up, 2569 patients in the control group and 2546 in the intervention group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months post-PPCI, the Kaplan-Meier-estimated frequencies of cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure (the primary endpoint) were 220 (8·6%) patients in the control group and 239 (9·4%) in the remote ischaemic conditioning group (hazard ratio 1·10 [95% CI 0·91-1·32], p=0·32 for intervention versus control). No important unexpected adverse events or side effects of remote ischaemic conditioning were observed. INTERPRETATION: Remote ischaemic conditioning does not improve clinical outcomes (cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure) at 12 months in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, University College London Hospitals/University College London Biomedical Research Centre, Danish Innovation Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden

Understanding the Impact of Exercise Images on Psychosocial Predictors of Physical Activity among Women

Visual images of individuals engaged in physical activity (PA; “PA images”) are widely used in public health campaigns and other media, yet little is known about how different aspects of these images, such as the weight status of the person depicted exercising, affect variables associated with PA (e.g., motivation, liking, self-efficacy, intention) and weight-related attitudes among viewers. This study examined the effect of viewing an online PA promotion brochure featuring PA images of women with overweight/obesity (OW/O images) versus without overweight/obesity (lean images) on variables previously associated with PA and anti-fat attitudes. The moderating effect of viewer weight status (BMI < vs. ≥ 25.0 kg/m2), weight loss desire, social comparison tendencies, internalized weight bias, and baseline anti-fat attitudes on outcomes was also examined. Following pilot testing, 561 women who reported performing <150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA/week were recruited online (Mage= 30.8 years; 80% White; 49% with a BMI < 25.0 kg/m2 and 51% with a BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2). Participants completed questionnaires assessing sociodemographic characteristics and potential moderators, were randomized (blocked by BMI < or ≥ 25.0 kg/m2) to view a brochure containing ten lean or OW/O PA images for approximately 3.5 minutes, and then completed post-exposure measures of variables previously associated with PA, anti-fat attitudes, social comparisons with the images, mood, body image, and perceived image characteristics. Results revealed that the interaction between viewer weight status and PA image condition on variables previously associated with PA and on anti-fat attitudes was not significant. The main effect of image condition was also not significant for most outcomes. Viewer weight status, on the other hand, significantly predicted several outcomes: participants with a BMI ≥25.0 kg/m2 reported higher rates of interest in additional contact from the researchers, lower PA liking and self-efficacy, more negative mood and body image, and greater post-exposure anti-fat attitudes. Additionally, a greater tendency to respond positively to upward social comparisons (i.e., to those “better off”) and greater endorsement of pre-exposure anti-fat attitudes generally predicted higher levels of variables previously associated with PA; internalized weight bias predicted lower PA liking and self-efficacy (although the strength of the negative relationship between internalized bias and self-efficacy was attenuated in the OW/O image condition); and weight loss desire predicted higher levels of some variables previously associated with PA, particularly among participants not desiring weight loss in the OW/O image condition. Taken together, findings suggest that, while brief exposure to OW/O PA images may not increase levels of variables previously associated with PA, viewing OW/O images also does not negatively impact these variables. Thus, greater use of OW/O images in PA-related media appears warranted. Person-level characteristics, especially one’s own weight status, also appear to influence variables previously associated with PA. Additionally, while ostensibly positive OW/O PA images may be perceived more positively than lean PA images on some dimensions, viewers with overweight/obesity may report increased anti-fat attitudes after viewing any PA image.Ph.D., Psychology -- Drexel University, 201