An SIS model for cultural trait transmission with conformity bias

Epidemiological models have been applied to human health-related behaviors that are affected by social interaction. Typically these models have not considered conformity bias, that is the exaggerated propensity to adopt commonly observed behaviors or opinions, or content biases, where the content of the learned trait affects the probability of adoption. Here we consider an interaction of these two effects, presenting an SIS-type model for the spread and persistence of a behavior which is transmitted via social learning. Uptake is controlled by a nonlinear dependence on the proportion of individuals demonstrating the behavior in a population. Three equilibrium solutions are found, their linear stability analyzed and the results compared with a model for unbiased social learning. Our analysis focuses on the effects of the strength of conformity bias and the effects of content biases which alter a conformity threshold frequency of the behavior, above which there is an exaggerated propensity for adoption. The strength of the conformity bias is found to qualitatively alter the predictions regarding whether the trait becomes endemic within the population, and the proportion of individuals who display the trait when it is endemic. As the conformity strength increases, the number of feasible equilibrium solutions increases from two to three, leading to a situation where the stable equilibrium attained is dependent upon the initial state. Varying the conformity threshold frequency directionally alters the behavior invasion threshold. Finally we discuss the possible application of this model to binge drinking behavior

The 2010 MW 6.8 Yushu (Qinghai, China) earthquake: constraints provided by InSAR and body wave seismology

By combining observations from satellite radar, body wave seismology and optical imagery, we have determined the fault segmentation and sequence of ruptures for the 2010 Mw 6.8 Yushu (China) earthquake. We have mapped the fault trace using displacements from SAR image matching, interferometric phase and coherence, and 2.5 m SPOT-5 satellite images. Modeling the event as an elastic dislocation with three segments fitted to the fault trace suggests that the southeast and northwest segments are near vertical, with the central segment dipping 70° to the southwest; slip occurs mainly in the upper 10 km, with a maximum slip of 1.5 m at a depth of 4 km on the southeastern segment. The maximum slip in the top 1 km (i.e., near surface) is up to 1.2 m, and inferred locations of significant surface rupture are consistent with displacements from SAR image matching and field observations. The radar interferograms show rupture over a distance of almost 80 km, much larger than initial seismological and field estimates of the length of the fault. Part of this difference can be attributed to slip on the northwestern segment of the fault being due to an Mw 6.1 aftershock two hours after the main event. The remaining difference can be explained by a non-uniform slip distribution with much of the moment release occurring at depths of less than 10 km. The rupture on the central and southeastern segments of the fault in the main shock propagated at a speed of 2.5 km/s southeastward toward the town of Yushu located at the end of this segment, accounting for the considerable building damage. Strain accumulation since the last earthquake on the fault segment beyond Yushu is equivalent to an Mw 6.5 earthquake

The ‘caged torch procession’: Celebrities, protesters and the 2008 Olympic torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco

Along with the opening and closing ceremonies, one of the major non-sports events associated with the modern Olympic Games is the torch relay. Although initiated in 1936, the relay has been subject to relatively little academic scrutiny. The events of April 2008 however will have cast a long shadow on the practice. This essay focuses primarily on one week (6–13 April) in the press coverage of the 2008 torch relay as the flame made its way from London to Paris in Europe and then to San Francisco in the USA. It discusses the interpretations offered in the mediated coverage about the relay, the Olympic movement, the host city and the locations where the relay was taking place, and critically analyses the role of agencies, both for and against the Olympics, that framed the ensuing debate

Comprehensive functional profiling of long non-coding RNAs through a novel pan-cancer integration approach and modular analysis of their protein-coding gene association networks

Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as crucial regulators of cellular processes in diseases such as cancer, although the functions of most remain poorly understood. To address this, here we apply a novel strategy to integrate gene expression profiles across 32 cancer types, and cluster human lncRNAs based on their pan-cancer protein-coding gene associations. By doing so, we derive 16 lncRNA modules whose unique properties allow simultaneous inference of function, disease specificity and regulation for over 800 lncRNAs. Results Remarkably, modules could be grouped into just four functional themes: transcription regulation, immunological, extracellular, and neurological, with module generation frequently driven by lncRNA tissue specificity. Notably, three modules associated with the extracellular matrix represented potential networks of lncRNAs regulating key events in tumour progression. These included a tumour-specific signature of 33 lncRNAs that may play a role in inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition through modulation of TGFβ signalling, and two stromal-specific modules comprising 26 lncRNAs linked to a tumour suppressive microenvironment and 12 lncRNAs related to cancer-associated fibroblasts. One member of the 12-lncRNA signature was experimentally supported by siRNA knockdown, which resulted in attenuated differentiation of quiescent fibroblasts to a cancer-associated phenotype. Conclusions Overall, the study provides a unique pan-cancer perspective on the lncRNA functional landscape, acting as a global source of novel hypotheses on lncRNA contribution to tumour progression

The future of sovereignty in multilevel governance Europe: a constructivist reading

Multilevel governance presents a depiction of contemporary structures in EU Europe as consisting of overlapping authorities and competing competencies. By focusing on emerging non-anarchical structures in the international system, hence moving beyond the conventional hierarchy/anarchy dichotomy to distinguish domestic and international arenas, this seems a radical transformation of the familiar Westphalian system and to undermine state sovereignty. Paradoxically, however, the principle of sovereignty proves to be resilient despite its alleged empirical decline. This article argues that social constructivism can explain the paradox, by considering sovereign statehood as a process-dependent institutional fact, and by showing that multilevel governance can feed into this process

Ecosystem-based management for military training, biodiversity, carbon storage and climate resiliency on a complex coastal land/water-scape

The Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP) was a 10-year multi-investigator project funded by the Department of Defense to improve understanding of ecosystem processes and their interactions with natural and anthropogenic stressors at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) located in coastal North Carolina. The project was aimed at facilitating ecosystem-based management (EBM) at the MCBCL and other coastal military installations. Because of its scope, interdisciplinary character, and duration, DCERP embodied many of the opportunities and challenges associated with EBM, including the need for explicit goals, system models, long-term perspectives, systems complexity, change inevitability, consideration of humans as ecosystem components, and program adaptability and accountability. We describe key elements of this program, its contributions to coastal EBM, and its relevance as an exemplar of EBM

Coeliac disease-associated risk variants in TNFAIP3 and REL implicate altered NF-kappaB signalling

Objective: Our previous coeliac disease genome-wide association study (GWAS) implicated risk variants in the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) region and eight novel risk regions. To identify more coeliac disease loci, we selected 458 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that showed more modest association in the GWAS for genotyping and analysis in four independent cohorts. Design: 458 SNPs were assayed in 1682 cases and 3258 controls from three populations (UK, Irish and Dutch). We combined the results with the original GWAS cohort (767 UK cases and 1422 controls); six SNPs showed association with p Results: We identified two novel coeliac disease risk regions: 6q23.3 (OLIG3-TNFAIP3) and 2p16.1 (REL), both of which reached genome-wide significance in the combined analysis of all 2987 cases and 5273 controls (rs2327832 p= 1.3x10(-08), and rs842647 p= 5.26x10(-07)). We investigated the expression of these genes in the RNA isolated from biopsies and from whole blood RNA. We did not observe any changes in gene expression, nor in the correlation of genotype with gene expression. Conclusions: Both TNFAIP3 (A20, at the protein level) and REL are key mediators in the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) inflammatory signalling pathway. For the first time, a role for primary heritable variation in this important biological pathway predisposing to coeliac disease has been identified. Currently, the HLA risk factors and the 10 established non-HLA risk factors explain similar to 40% of the heritability of coeliac disease