Cultural Values and Important Possessions: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

The logic behind globalized advertising appeals is based on the premise that cultural value systems are converging. Yet, there is no clear agreement regarding the superiority of standardized campaigns vs. localized ones. One reason for this lack of agreement deals with the extent to which various cultures share similar values. The goal of this study is to apply a relatively new framework dealing with value differences developed by Schwartz [Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 25 (1992) 1.] to New Zealand and the USA by looking at the connection between these values and possessions. The hypotheses received mix support. The results confirm that New Zealanders are higher in Harmony and Affective Autonomy, and these values did, in part, affect possessions and reasons for owning them. New Zealanders’ most valued possessions were for environmental reasons, but they were no more likely to mention enjoyment reasons than Americans. New Zealanders also did not mention recreational possessions as more important, contrary to one of the hypotheses. Nonetheless, the similarities between NZ and the USA were much greater than the differences. The study provides valuable insight into how the meanings of important possessions differ across cultures and illustrates the need to understand these differences when designing marketing communications and positioning products in foreign markets

Orientation dependence of the orientation-contingent face aftereffect

AbstractProlonged exposure to upright and inverted female and male faces produces opposite effects on subsequent judgments of the sex of faces depending on their orientation. We show that the magnitude of this orientation-contingent gender aftereffect can be predicted from simple aftereffects induced separately at the same orientations. The contingent aftereffect can also be induced in faces tilted 90° to the right and left, eliminating any difference in face-processing strategy that may be in operation with upright and inverted faces. This suggests that neurons employing a single face encoding strategy can be activated in an orientation-specific manner

Factors Associated with Binge Drinking during the Transition into Adulthood: Exploring Associations Within Two Distinct Young Adult Age Ranges

Background: Binge drinking among young adults aged 18-21 years has declined over the past decade, but binge drinking rates among people 22-25 years old have remained largely the same. This steady trend in later years represents a departure from the traditional course of maturing out of risky alcohol use, perhaps because young adults are delaying the transition into adulthood. Aims: This paper explores the relationship between binge drinking and aspects of the transition into adulthood that could inform interventions targeting these two distinct groups of young adults. Methods: We use survey data on 1,081 young adults aged 18-25 living in 10 Indiana counties. Our dataset is unique because it contains both college-attending and non-college attending young adults. We ran weighted logistic regressions to determine the association between college enrollment, living situation, roles common in adulthood, and stressors common during the transition to adulthood (e.g., relationships, economic conditions, job stability) and binge drinking. Results: Our data indicate that different factors are associated with binge drinking based on whether subjects are in the earlier (18-21 years old) or later (22-25 years old) years of young adulthood. For example, within the 18-21 years old group, college enrollment is associated with higher rates of binge drinking, but it is not associated with increased binge drinking in the older age group. The type of stress related to binge drinking also varies by age group. Conclusion: Our results emphasize the need to disaggregate “young adulthood” into two separate periods when defining target populations and settings for binge drinking interventions

Fixation related shifts of perceptual localization counter to saccade direction

Perisaccadic compression of the perceived location of flashed visual stimuli toward a saccade target occurs from about 50 ms before a saccade. Here we show that between 150 and 80 ms before a saccade, perceived locations are shifted toward the fixation point. To establish the cause of the ‘‘reverse’’ presaccadic perceptual distortion, participants completed several versions of a saccade task. After a cue to saccade, a probe bar stimulus was briefly presented within the saccade trajectory. In Experiment 1 participants made (a) overlap saccades with immediate return saccades, (b) overlap saccades, and (c) step saccades. In Experiment 2 participants made gap saccades in complete darkness. In Experiment 3 participants maintained fixation with the probe stimuli masked at various interstimulus intervals. Participants indicated the bar’s location using a mouse cursor. In all conditions in Experiment 1 presaccadic compression was preceded by compression toward the initial fixation. In Experiment 2, saccadic compression was maintained but the preceding countercompression was not observed. Stimuli masked at fixation were not compressed. This suggests the two opposing compression effects are related to the act of executing an eye movement. They are also not caused by the requirement to make two sequential saccades ending at the initial fixation location and are not caused by continuous presence of the fixation markers. We propose that countercompression is related to fixation activity and is part of the sequence of motor preparations to execute a cued saccade

Embryo collection induces transient activation of XBP1 arm of the ER stress response while embryo vitrification does not.

Embryo cryopreservation has become a standard procedure in the practice of assisted reproduction. While routinely performed in IVF labs, the effects of embryo vitrification on the molecular mechanisms governing preimplantation development remain largely unknown. The endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) response is an evolutionary conserved mechanism that cells employ to manage ER stress. ER stress can be defined as an imbalance between protein synthesis and secretion within the ER. The primary focus of this study was to investigate whether standard embryo manipulations, including embryo collection, culture and vitrification, result in activation of the ER stress pathway in vitro and to determine whether the embryo utilizes the unfolded protein response as an adaptive response. Our results indicate that the major ER stress pathway constituents are present at all stages of preimplantation development and that the activation of ER stress pathways can be induced at the 8-cell, morula and blastocyst stages. Additionally, we have demonstrated that the IRE1α arm of the ER Stress pathway is activated in freshly collected embryos but contrastingly, this ER Stress arm is not activated following embryo vitrification. It is important to understand the possible stresses that Assisted Reproductive Technologies place on the embryo and the mechanisms the embryo employs to adapt to these stresses. This study indicates that among the adaptive pathways available, cultured mammalian embryos can employ the ER stress pathway. Assisted reproduction techniques should be aware that their activities may induce the ER stress pathway in their patients\u27 early embryos

“Rules of Engagement”; 5 GOLDEN Rules for Increasing and Maintaining Family Engagement

“Too busy!” “Hectic work schedule!” Have you heard these before? Administrators, teachers, stakeholders, YOU hold the key that unlocks parent and community engagement! But how?! From school events and resources to parent support and community partnerships, let’s explore five golden rules that create high levels of parent and community engagement; ultimately investing into the success of our at risk youth

Virtual reality (VR) as a testing bench for consumer optical solutions: A machine learning approach (GBR) to visual comfort under simulated progressive addition lenses (PALS) distortions

For decades, manufacturers have attempted to reduce or eliminate the optical aberrations that appear on the progressive addition lens' surfaces during manufacturing. Besides every effort made, some of these distortions are inevitable given how lenses are fabricated, where in fact, astigmatism appears on the surface and cannot be entirely removed or where non-uniform magnification becomes inherent to the power change across the lens. Some presbyopes may refer to certain discomfort when wearing these lenses for the first time, and a subset of them might never adapt. Developing, prototyping, testing and purveying those lenses into the market come at a cost, which is usually reflected in the retail price. This study aims to test the feasibility of virtual reality for testing customers' satisfaction with these lenses, even before getting them onto production. VR offers a controlled environment where different parameters affecting progressive lens comforts, such as distortions, image displacement or optical blurring, can be analysed separately. In this study, the focus was set on the distortions and image displacement, not taking blur into account. Behavioural changes (head and eye movements) were recorded using the built-in eye tracker. Participants were significantly more displeased in the presence of highly distorted lens simulations. In addition, a gradient boosting regressor was fitted to the data, so predictors of discomfort could be unveiled, and ratings could be predicted without performing additional measurements

Adaptation to geometrically skewed moving images : an asymmetrical effect on the double-drift illusion

Progressive addition lenses introduce distortions in the peripheral visual field that alter both form and motion perception. Here we seek to understand how our peripheral visual field adapts to complex distortions. The adaptation was induced across the visual field by geometrically skewed image sequences, and aftereffects were measured via changes in perception of the double-drift illusion. The double-drift or curveball stimulus contains both local and object motion. Therefore, the aftereffects induced by geometrical distortions might be indicative of how this adaptation interacts with the local and object motion signals. In the absence of the local motion components, the adaptation to skewness modified the perceived trajectory of object motion in the opposite direction of the adaptation stimulus skew. This effect demonstrates that the environment can also tune perceived object trajectories. Testing with the full double-drift stimulus, adaptation to a skew in the opposite direction to the local motion component induced a change in perception, reducing the illusion magnitude (when the stimulus was presented on the right side of the screen. A non-statistically significant shift, when stimuli were on the left side). However, adaptation to the other orientation resulted in no change in the strength of the double-drift illusion (for both stimuli locations). Thus, it seems that the adaptor's orientation and the motion statistics of the stimulus jointly define the perception of the measured aftereffect. In conclusion, not only size, contrast or drifting speed affects the double-drift illusion, but also adaptation to image distortions

Heterogeneity in the Association Between the Presence of Coronary Artery Calcium and Cardiovascular Events: A Machine Learning Approach in the MESA Study

Background: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) has been widely recognized as an important predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Given the finite resources, it is important to identify individuals who would receive the most benefit from detecting positive CAC by screening. However, the evidence is limited as to whether the burden of positive CAC on CVD differs by multi-dimensional individual characteristics. We sought to investigate the heterogeneity in the association between positive coronary artery calcium (CAC) and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods: This cohort study included adults aged ≥45 years free of cardiovascular disease from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. After propensity score matching in a 1:1 ratio, we applied a machine-learning causal forest model to (i) evaluate the heterogeneity in the association between positive CAC and incident CVD and (ii) predict the increase in CVD risk at 10-year when CAC>0 (vs. CAC=0) at the individual level. We then compared the estimated increase in CVD risk when CAC>0 to the absolute 10-year atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) risk calculated by the 2013 ACC/AHA pooled cohort equations. Results: Across 3, 328 adults in our propensity score-matched analysis, our causal forest model showed the heterogeneity in the association between CAC>0 and incident CVD. We found a dose-response relationship of the estimated increase in CVD risk when CAC>0 with higher 10-year ASCVD risk. Almost all individuals (2293/2428 [94.4%]) with borderline or higher ASCVD risk showed ≥2.5% increase in CVD risk when CAC>0. Even among 900 adults with low ASCVD risk, 689 (69.2%) showed ≥2.5% increase in CVD risk when CAC>0; these individuals were more likely to be male, Hispanic, and have unfavorable CVD risk factors than others. Conclusions: The expected increases in CVD risk when CAC>0 were heterogeneous across individuals. Moreover, nearly 70% of people with low ASCVD risk showed a large increase in CVD risk when CAC>0, highlighting the need for CAC screening among such low-risk individuals. Future studies are needed to assess whether targeting individuals for CAC measurements based on not only the absolute ASCVD risk but also the expected increase in CVD risk when CAC>0 improves cardiovascular outcomes

Morning Blood Pressure is Associated with Sleep Quality in Obese Adolescents

Objective To examine relationships between blood pressure (BP), adiposity, and sleep quality using overnight polysomnography (PSG) in obese adolescents. Study design Overnight PSG and morning BP measurements were performed in obese (BMI >97th %ile) non-diabetic adolescents (eligible age range 12-18 years, n=49). Subjects were stratified into two groups, one with normal BP, and one with elevated BP, and demographic and clinical characteristics compared between the groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the BP effects of sleep quality measures. Results Participants (n=27) had normal morning BP, and 22 (44.9%) had elevated morning BP. There were no differences in age (p=0.53), sex (p=0.44), race (p=0.58) or BMI (p=0.56) between the two BP groups. The group with elevated BP spent shorter percentages of time in rapid eye movement (REM; p=0.006) and slow-wave sleep (SWS; p=0.024). Multiple linear regression analysis showed a lower percent of both REM and SWS were associated with increased morning BP, after adjusting for pubertal stage, sex, race, and BMI. Conclusion Lack of deeper stages of sleep, REM sleep and SWS, is associated with higher morning BP in obese adolescents, independent of BMI. Poor sleep quality should be considered in the work-up of obese youth with hypertension. Intervention studies are needed to evaluate whether improving the quality of sleep will reduce blood pressure elevation