Do continuum beliefs reduce schizophrenia stigma? Effects of a laboratory intervention on behavioral and self-reported stigma

Background and objectives Correlational research shows that belief in a continuum of psychiatric problems predicts decreased public stigma. However, the correlational findings fail to inform the stigma reduction prospects of manipulating continuum beliefs. All extant experimental work has been executed online. This study examined effects of a laboratory-based continuum intervention on behavioral and self-report measures of psychiatric stigma. Methods Sixty-nine undergraduates believed that they would meet a man with schizophrenia. They then read a bogus scientific article that attested to a categorical view of schizophrenia, a continuum view, or that merely described schizophrenia. Some participants then completed a task that required reflection on their differences from (categorical group) or similarities to (continuum group) the man with schizophrenia. Participants eventually moved to an adjacent room and sat in one of several seats that varied in their proximity to a seat ostensibly occupied by the man with schizophrenia. Results The continuum intervention decreased self-reported social distance and the categorical intervention increased endorsement of damaging stereotypes. Seat selection was unaffected by our manipulation, but we obtained evidence of significant links to validated stigma measures. Limitations Our sample was small, and our behavioral stigma measure could be modified to maximize variability in participants\u27 seat selection. Conclusions The study offers modest support of the stigma reduction effect of continuum belief intervention. It offers new evidence of the pernicious consequences of interventions that inflate perceptions of the “otherness” of individuals with psychiatric problems. Finally, it shines new light on stigma-related behavior measurable in the laboratory

Satellite-Derived Bathymetry Using Multiple Images: The Alaska North Slope Case Study

Currently, charting data in much of the U.S. Arctic North Slope is inadequate or nonexistent and most of its areas have not been updated since the early-1950s. Although the charting infrastructure is out of date, ship transportation (such as, fishing and transit between the towns) has increased. NOAA conducted a preliminary multibeam survey in 2013 that reached Point Barrow, AK. However, all the Arctic North Slope remained untouched. Previous studies have shown that satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) is a useful reconnaissance tool in tropical and sub-tropical waters in clear water conditions, especially over sandy seafloor. However, it is very difficult to extract good information over the Arctic using a single satellite image, especially over the U.S. North Slope. The glacial powder from land reduces the water clarity that limits the light penetration depth. Also, this turbidity is not uniform along the coast line and may affect the calculations. In this paper, a new SDB approach was developed that compiles multiple satellite images to extract only areas that were identified clear by comparison (i.e., minimum water clarity change between two satellite images). Preliminary results using Landsat 7 imagery from 1999-2002 and Landsat 8 imagery from 2013 are presented

A transfer function approach for predicting rare cell capture microdevice performance

Rare cells have the potential to improve our understanding of biological systems and the treatment of a variety of diseases; each of those applications requires a different balance of throughput, capture efficiency, and sample purity. Those challenges, coupled with the limited availability of patient samples and the costs of repeated design iterations, motivate the need for a robust set of engineering tools to optimize application-specific geometries. Here, we present a transfer function approach for predicting rare cell capture in microfluidic obstacle arrays. Existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools are limited to simulating a subset of these arrays, owing to computational costs; a transfer function leverages the deterministic nature of cell transport in these arrays, extending limited CFD simulations into larger, more complicated geometries. We show that the transfer function approximation matches a full CFD simulation within 1.34 %, at a 74-fold reduction in computational cost. Taking advantage of these computational savings, we apply the transfer function simulations to simulate reversing array geometries that generate a “notch filter” effect, reducing the collision frequency of cells outside of a specified diameter range. We adapt the transfer function to study the effect of off-design boundary conditions (such as a clogged inlet in a microdevice) on overall performance. Finally, we have validated the transfer function’s predictions for lateral displacement within the array using particle tracking and polystyrene beads in a microdevice.National Cancer Institute (U.S.). Physical Sciences-Oncology Center (Cornell Center on the Microenvironment and Metastasis. Award U54CA143876

The current state of per oral endoscopic myotomy for achalasia.

Achalasia is an acquired neuromuscular disorder that has been treated using a variety of modalities throughout medical history. Recently, the technique of per oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) was introduced to treat the disease using a truly minimally invasive, natural orifice technique that is rapidly being adopted across the world. This review outlines the development of POEM, the technique itself, and gives a comparison to other procedures, specifically laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM)

“At Home” In Georgia: The Hidden Danger of Registering to do Business in Georgia

Georgia law prohibits any foreign corporation—a corporation with an originating registration initiated in a state other than Georgia—from transacting business in the state until it obtains a certificate of authority from the Georgia Secretary of State. Attorneys advise foreign corporations to register as a matter of course, and business owners readily comply. Georgia is not unique in its registration requirement. Every state in the union has enacted such a statute. But very few states require a foreign corporation to forfeit the guarantees of due process as a condition for transacting business in the state. Georgia is one of them. In this article, the authors discuss the pitfalls of the current state of Georgia law, noting that it likely violates federal law

Measuring gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background using cross correlation with large scale structure

We cross correlate the gravitational lensing map extracted from cosmic microwave background measurements by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) with the radio galaxy distribution from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) by using a quadratic estimator technique. We use the full covariance matrix to filter the data, and calculate the cross-power spectra for the lensing-galaxy correlation. We explore the impact of changing the values of cosmological parameters on the lensing reconstruction, and obtain statistical detection significances at $>3\sigma$. The results of all cross correlations pass the curl null test as well as a complementary diagnostic test using the NVSS data in equatorial coordinates. We forecast the potential for Planck and NVSS to constrain the lensing-galaxy cross correlation as well as the galaxy bias. The lensing-galaxy cross-power spectra are found to be Gaussian distributed.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure

Description of a Website Resource for Turbulence Modeling Verification and Validation

The activities of the Turbulence Model Benchmarking Working Group - which is a subcommittee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee - are described. The group s main purpose is to establish a web-based repository for Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes turbulence model documentation, including verification and validation cases. This turbulence modeling resource has been established based on feedback from a survey on what is needed to achieve consistency and repeatability in turbulence model implementation and usage, and to document and disseminate information on new turbulence models or improvements to existing models. The various components of the website are described in detail: description of turbulence models, turbulence model readiness rating system, verification cases, validation cases, validation databases, and turbulence manufactured solutions. An outline of future plans of the working group is also provided

A blinded determination of H0H_0 from low-redshift Type Ia supernovae, calibrated by Cepheid variables

Presently a ${>}3\sigma$ tension exists between values of the Hubble constant $H_0$ derived from analysis of fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background by Planck, and local measurements of the expansion using calibrators of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). We perform a blinded reanalysis of Riess et al. 2011 to measure $H_0$ from low-redshift SNe Ia, calibrated by Cepheid variables and geometric distances including to NGC 4258. This paper is a demonstration of techniques to be applied to the Riess et at. 2016 data. Our end-to-end analysis starts from available CfA3 and LOSS photometry, providing an independent validation of Riess et al. 2011. We obscure the value of $H_0$ throughout our analysis and the first stage of the referee process, because calibration of SNe Ia requires a series of often subtle choices, and the potential for results to be affected by human bias is significant. Our analysis departs from that of Riess et al. 2011 by incorporating the covariance matrix method adopted in SNLS and JLA to quantify SN Ia systematics, and by including a simultaneous fit of all SN Ia and Cepheid data. We find $H_0 = 72.5 \pm 3.1$ (stat) $\pm 0.77$ (sys) km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ with a three-galaxy (NGC 4258+LMC+MW) anchor. The relative uncertainties are 4.3% statistical, 1.1% systematic, and 4.4% total, larger than in Riess et al. 2011 (3.3% total) and the Efstathiou 2014 reanalysis (3.4% total). Our error budget for $H_0$ is dominated by statistical errors due to the small size of the supernova sample, whilst the systematic contribution is dominated by variation in the Cepheid fits, and for the SNe Ia, uncertainties in the host galaxy mass dependence and Malmquist bias.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures, 13 tables; accepted for publication in MNRA