Hydrous upwelling across the mantle transition zone beneath the Afar Triple Junction

The mechanisms that drive the upwelling of chemical heterogeneity from the lower to upper mantle (e.g., thermal versus compositional buoyancy) are key to our understanding of whole mantle con- vective processes. We address these issues through a receiver function study on new seismic data from recent deployments located on the Afar Triple Junction, a location associated with deep mantle upwelling. The detailed images of upper mantle and mantle transition zone structure illuminate features that give insights into the nature of upwelling from the deep Earth. A seismic low-velocity layer directly above the mantle transition zone, interpreted as a stable melt layer, along with a prominent 520 km discontinuity sug- gest the presence of a hydrous upwelling. A relatively uniform transition zone thickness across the region suggests a weak thermal anomaly (<100 K) may be present and that upwelling must be at least partly driven by compositional buoyancy. The results suggest that the lower mantle is a source of volatile rich, chemically distinct upwellings that influence the structure of the upper mantle, and potentially the chemis- try of surface lavas

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

EXPRESS: Experiencing misinformation: The effect of pre-exposure warnings and debunking on psychic beliefs

International audienceMisinformation can have a detrimental impact on our beliefs, and it is therefore necessary to understand the cognitive mechanism by which false information is integrated or can be changed. In two experiments, we worked with fake psychic demonstrations, because observers easily adopt the experience as reflecting a “true” psychic event. We manipulated the availability of alternative explanations by providing a general warning that the performer is a magician with no psychic abilities (Experiment 1) or disclosing afterwards how the fake demonstration had been staged (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, witnessing the psychic demonstration significantly increased participants’ psychic beliefs, even though they had been warned. However, providing the alternative explanation about the deceptive method mitigated this effect. In Experiment 2, the realisation of deception significantly reduced participants’ psychic beliefs directly after the performance and remained reduced 1 week later

Temporal changes in contact lens comfort over a day of wear

Purpose: Contact lens discomfort continues to be reported as the primary reason for soft lens discontinuation, regardless of new modalities and materials. The purpose of this analysis of comfort related data from a series of clinical studies was to review whether there was a difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic habitual lens wearers&rsquo; comfort responses over the course of the day. Methods: Data from five independent non-dispensing clinical studies were pooled and analysed. Participants in these studies were assigned to one of two groups depending on whether they were classified as symptomatic or asymptomatic contact lens wearers according to a modified Subjective Evaluation of Symptoms of Dryness (SESOD) questionnaire. Masked participants were randomised to wear either a hydrogel or a silicone hydrogel contact lens and their ocular comfort was rated using a visual analogue scale on insertion and 2-hourly during an 8-hour period of a single lens wearing day. Results: Data from 103 participants were used, 58 in the symptomatic group and 45 in the asymptomatic group as determined by the SESOD questionnaire. There was no effect of lens material on comfort (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.43). However, there was a significant interaction between symptoms and time. The difference in mean comfort between the symptomatic and asymptomatic group was significant at each time point (p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.05). However, comfort did not vary significantly over the day for the asymptomatic group (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.87), whereas, there was a significant decline in mean comfort ratings for the symptomatic group from 84.6&nbsp;&plusmn;&nbsp;13.2 (S.D.) at insertion to 73.0&nbsp;&plusmn;&nbsp;18.5 at 8&nbsp;hours (p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.001). Conclusions: In our study, changes in contact lens comfort over a day were independent of lens material but not symptoms. Symptomatic lens wearers reported a progressive decrease in comfort, whereas asymptomatic wearers did not. Therefore, asymptomatic wearers should not be used when measuring contact lens comfort in clinical studies. The exclusion of asymptomatic lens wearers would likely increase the sensitivity of comfort ratings as a measure in contact lens research