Building Online Platforms for Peer Support Groups as a Persuasive Behavioural Change Technique

Online peer group approach is inherently a persuasive technique as it is centered on peer pressure and surveillance. They are persuasive social net- works equipped with tools and facilities that enable behaviour change. This paper presents the case for domain-specific persuasive social networks and provides insights on problematic and addictive behaviour change. A 4-month study was conducted in an addiction rehab centre in the UK, followed by 2-month study in an online peer group system. The study adopted qualitative methods to under- stand the broad parameters of peer groups including the sessions' environment, norms, interaction styles occurring between groups' members and how such in- teractions are governed. The qualitative techniques used were (1) observations, (2) form and document analysis, and (3) semi-structured interviews. The findings concern governing such groups in addition to the roles to be enabled and tasks to be performed. The Honeycomb framework was revisited to comment on its build- ing blocks with the purpose of highlighting points to consider when building do- main-specific social networks for such domain, i.e. online peer groups to combat addictive behaviour

An Ethical Façade? Medical Students' Miscomprehensions of Substituted Judgment

Background: We studied how well first-year medical students understand and apply the concept of substituted judgment, following a course on clinical ethics. Method: Students submitted essays on one of three ethically controversial scenarios presented in class. One scenario involved a patient who had lost decisional capacity. Through an iterative process of textual analysis, the essays were studied and coded for patterns in the ways students misunderstood or misapplied the principle of substituted judgment. Results: Students correctly articulated course principles regarding patient autonomy, substituted judgment, and nonimposition of physician values. However, students showed misunderstanding by giving doctors the responsibility of balancing the interests of the patient against the interests of the family, by stating doctors and surrogates should be guided primarily by a best-interest standard, and by suggesting that patient autonomy becomes the guiding principle only when patients can no longer express their wishes. Conclusion: Students did not appear to internalize or correctly apply the substituted judgment standard, even though they could describe it accurately. This suggests the substituted judgment standard may run counter to students ’ moral intuitions

A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Affecting Group Cohesion and Team Play in Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs)

Previous research examining the social psychology of video-gaming has tended to focus on Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) environments, such as World of Warcraft. Although many online group processes have been examined using this game, this genre does not enforce cooperative play and studies tend to be based on very large groups. Newer genres are being developed and played which have so far not been studied. The genre known as Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs) are attracting large numbers of players and success depends on effective team playing within smaller groups. The study reported here explores team play within MOBAs. Due to the lack of literature examining this genre, Corbin and Strauss’ (2008) Grounded Theory was used to analyse participants’ subjective experiences of playing MOBAs to create a conceptual model. A focus group pilot study informed the development of questions and then semi-structured interviews took place with twelve participants; 1 female and 11 male students aged between 18-21 years. Participants were required to have recent and frequent MOBA exposure, but with different preferences regarding roles and experience. Data was analysed using open, axial and selective coding and the resulting model depicts a scale, as optimal team performance was linked to a balance between factors. The core category “Communication” was heavily influenced by the relationship between teammates (friends or strangers). The balance of “Communication” affected the balance of the final three categories: “Team Composition”, “Psychological State” and “Level of Play”. The conceptual model is critically linked with traditional group processes, such as Belbin’s (1993) team roles, Tuckman’s (1965) model of group development and the perceptions and behaviour during the state of deindividuation (Taylor & MacDonald, 2002). The model has real-world application in both social and professional virtual environments, whilst contributing more broadly to research in Cyberpsychology and Social Psychology. Further research is suggested which will test predictions based on a predictive model

Evolutionary Mirages: Selection on Binding Site Composition Creates the Illusion of Conserved Grammars in Drosophila Enhancers

The clustering of transcription factor binding sites in developmental enhancers and the apparent preferential conservation of clustered sites have been widely interpreted as proof that spatially constrained physical interactions between transcription factors are required for regulatory function. However, we show here that selection on the composition of enhancers alone, and not their internal structure, leads to the accumulation of clustered sites with evolutionary dynamics that suggest they are preferentially conserved. We simulated the evolution of idealized enhancers from Drosophila melanogaster constrained to contain only a minimum number of binding sites for one or more factors. Under this constraint, mutations that destroy an existing binding site are tolerated only if a compensating site has emerged elsewhere in the enhancer. Overlapping sites, such as those frequently observed for the activator Bicoid and repressor Krüppel, had significantly longer evolutionary half-lives than isolated sites for the same factors. This leads to a substantially higher density of overlapping sites than expected by chance and the appearance that such sites are preferentially conserved. Because D. melanogaster (like many other species) has a bias for deletions over insertions, sites tended to become closer together over time, leading to an overall clustering of sites in the absence of any selection for clustered sites. Since this effect is strongest for the oldest sites, clustered sites also incorrectly appear to be preferentially conserved. Following speciation, sites tend to be closer together in all descendent species than in their common ancestors, violating the common assumption that shared features of species' genomes reflect their ancestral state. Finally, we show that selection on binding site composition alone recapitulates the observed number of overlapping and closely neighboring sites in real D. melanogaster enhancers. Thus, this study calls into question the common practice of inferring “cis-regulatory grammars” from the organization and evolutionary dynamics of developmental enhancers

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium analysis of a motor speech phenotype within families ascertained for autism risk loci

Using behavioral and genetic information from the Autism Genetics Resource Exchange (AGRE) data set we developed phenotypes and investigated linkage and association for individuals with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) who exhibit expressive language behaviors consistent with a motor speech disorder. Speech and language variables from Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) were used to develop a motor speech phenotype associated with non-verbal or unintelligible verbal behaviors (NVMSD:ALL) and a related phenotype restricted to individuals without significant comprehension difficulties (NVMSD:C). Using Affymetrix 5.0 data, the PPL framework was employed to assess the strength of evidence for or against trait-marker linkage and linkage disequilibrium (LD) across the genome. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was then utilized to identify potential genes for further investigation. We identified several linkage peaks based on two related language-speech phenotypes consistent with a potential motor speech disorder: chromosomes 1q24.2, 3q25.31, 4q22.3, 5p12, 5q33.1, 17p12, 17q11.2, and 17q22 for NVMSD:ALL and 4p15.2 and 21q22.2 for NVMSD:C. While no compelling evidence of association was obtained under those peaks, we identified several potential genes of interest using IPA. Conclusion: Several linkage peaks were identified based on two motor speech phenotypes. In the absence of evidence of association under these peaks, we suggest genes for further investigation based on their biological functions. Given that autism spectrum disorders are complex with a wide range of behaviors and a large number of underlying genes, these speech phenotypes may belong to a group of several that should be considered when developing narrow, well-defined, phenotypes in the attempt to reduce genetic heterogeneity

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

Long-Term Conditioning to Elevated pCO2 and Warming Influences the Fatty and Amino Acid Composition of the Diatom Cylindrotheca fusiformis

The unabated rise in anthropogenic CO2 emissions is predicted to strongly influence the ocean's environment, increasing the mean sea-surface temperature by 4°C and causing a pH decline of 0.3 units by the year 2100. These changes are likely to affect the nutritional value of marine food sources since temperature and CO2 can influence the fatty (FA) and amino acid (AA) composition of marine primary producers. Here, essential amino (EA) and polyunsaturated fatty (PUFA) acids are of particular importance due to their nutritional value to higher trophic levels. In order to determine the interactive effects of CO2 and temperature on the nutritional quality of a primary producer, we analyzed the relative PUFA and EA composition of the diatom Cylindrotheca fusiformis cultured under a factorial matrix of 2 temperatures (14 and 19°C) and 3 partial pressures of CO2 (180, 380, 750 μatm) for >250 generations. Our results show a decay of ∼3% and ∼6% in PUFA and EA content in algae kept at a pCO2 of 750 μatm (high) compared to the 380 μatm (intermediate) CO2 treatments at 14°C. Cultures kept at 19°C displayed a ∼3% lower PUFA content under high compared to intermediate pCO2, while EA did not show differences between treatments. Algae grown at a pCO2 of 180 μatm (low) had a lower PUFA and AA content in relation to those at intermediate and high CO2 levels at 14°C, but there were no differences in EA at 19°C for any CO2 treatment. This study is the first to report adverse effects of warming and acidification on the EA of a primary producer, and corroborates previous observations of negative effects of these stressors on PUFA. Considering that only ∼20% of essential biomolecules such as PUFA (and possibly EA) are incorporated into new biomass at the next trophic level, thepotential impacts of adverse effects of ocean warming and acidification at the base of the food web may be amplified towards higher trophic levels, which rely on them as source of essential biomolecules

Adolescent Brain Development and the Risk for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems

Dynamic changes in neurochemistry, fiber architecture, and tissue composition occur in the adolescent brain. The course of these maturational processes is being charted with greater specificity, owing to advances in neuroimaging and indicate grey matter volume reductions and protracted development of white matter in regions known to support complex cognition and behavior. Though fronto-subcortical circuitry development is notable during adolescence, asynchronous maturation of prefrontal and limbic systems may render youth more vulnerable to risky behaviors such as substance use. Indeed, binge-pattern alcohol consumption and comorbid marijuana use are common among adolescents, and are associated with neural consequences. This review summarizes the unique characteristics of adolescent brain development, particularly aspects that predispose individuals to reward seeking and risky choices during this phase of life, and discusses the influence of substance use on neuromaturation. Together, findings in this arena underscore the importance of refined research and programming efforts in adolescent health and interventional needs