Optimal asymmetry and other motion parameters that characterise high-quality female dance

Dance is a universal human behaviour that is observed particularly in courtship contexts, and that provides information that could be useful to potential partners. Here, we use a data-driven approach to pinpoint the movements that discriminate female dance quality. Using 3D motion-capture we recorded women whilst they danced to a basic rhythm. Video clips of 39 resultant avatars were rated for dance quality, and those ratings were compared to quantitative measurements of the movement patterns using multi-level models. Three types of movement contributed independently to high-quality female dance: greater hip swing, more asymmetric movements of the thighs, and intermediate levels of asymmetric movements of the arms. Hip swing is a trait that identifies female movement, and the ability to move limbs asymmetrically (i.e. independently of the other) may attest to well-developed motor control, so long as this limb independence does not verge into uncontrolled pathological movement. We also found that the same level of dance quality could be predicted by different combinations of dance features. Our work opens avenues to exploring the functional significance, informational content, and temporal sequencing of the different types of movement in dance

Screening tools for Autism Spectrum Disorder, used with people with an Intellectual Disability: A systematic review

Background A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be beneficial in ensuring the person receives appropriate support. People with intellectual disability often have undiagnosed co-occurring ASD, due to the specific diagnostic challenges that having intellectual disability can present. Screening tools can be useful to indicate those who are likely to require full diagnostic assessment of ASD. Method We conducted a systematic review of the literature. The databases ProQuest, PsycArticles, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched for articles published before July 2019. When duplicates were removed 3068 articles were retained. Articles were removed in stages and were retained if there was a possibility that the content was relevant. In total, 14 articles were reviewed fully. Results The articles covered eight ASD screening instruments and were reviewed in respect of the quality of the available reliability and validity data when used with people with intellectual disability. Conclusion A few tools have psychometric properties that indicate they have potential to screen for ASD in people with intellectual disability, but overall research with this group is limited, particularly in terms of reliability. The implications for screening and diagnosis of ASD in people with intellectual disability are discussed

Clinically elevated depression scores do not produce negative attentional biases in caregivers of autistic children

ObjectiveDepression scores in caregivers of autistic children often fall in the clinical range. The attention of clinically depressed individuals tends to be biased toward negatively toned information. Whether caring for an autistic child might also be characterized by a negative attentional bias was explored here.MethodsA sample of N = 98 (57 caregivers and 41 controls) completed questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms. Orienting attention to (i.e., vigilance), and shifting attention away from (i.e., disengagement), negative information was assessed via an online version of the emotional face dot probe task.ResultsMean depression scores in caregivers, falling in the borderline clinical range, were significantly higher compared with controls. Groups, however, were indistinguishable with respect to vigilance and disengagement, and these attentional indices were unrelated to depression scores.ConclusionCaring for an autistic child, while associated with borderline clinical depression scores, was not characterized by a negative attentional bias. Findings are discussed in the context of methodological shortcomings and recommendations for future research

Hypogravity reduces trunk admittance and lumbar muscle activation in response to external perturbations

Reduced paraspinal muscle size and flattening of spinal curvatures have been documented after spaceflight. Assessment of trunk adaptations to hypogravity can contribute to develop specific countermeasures. In this study, parabolic flights were used to investigate spinal curvature and muscle responses to hypogravity. Data from five trials at 0.25g, 0.50g and 0.75g were recorded from six participants, positioned in a kneeling-seated position. During the first two trials, participants maintained a normal, upright posture. In the last three trials, small-amplitude perturbations were delivered in the anterior direction at the T10 level. Spinal curvature was estimated using motion capture cameras. Trunk displacement and contact force between the actuator and participant were recorded. Muscle activity responses were collected using intramuscular electromyography (iEMG) of the deep and superficial lumbar multifidus, iliocostalis lumborum, longissimus thoracis, quadratus lumborum, transversus abdominis, obliquus internus and obliquus externus muscles. The root mean square iEMG and the average spinal angles were calculated. Trunk admittance and muscle responses to perturbations were calculated as closed-loop frequency response functions. Compared with 0.75g, 0.25g resulted in: lower activation of the longissimus thoracis (P=0.002); lower responses of the superficial multifidus at low frequencies (P=0.043); lower responses of the superficial multifidus (P=0.029) and iliocostalis lumborum (P=0.043); lower trunk admittance (P=0.037) at intermediate frequencies; and stronger responses of the transversus abdominis at higher frequencies (p=0.032). These findings indicate that exposure to hypogravity reduces trunk admittance, partially compensated by weaker stabilizing contributions of the paraspinal muscles and coinciding with an apparent increase of the deep abdominal muscle activity

Evaluating an evidence-based online screening tool to identify learning disability

Background Many people with a learning disability are unable to benefit from health improvement measures because their learning disability is unrecognised. Screening tools such as the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire (CAIDS-Q) can assist with the identification of learning disability. Aim To explore whether the use of a new online version of the CAIDS-Q to identify whether or not an individual was likely to have a learning disability was consistent with reported learning disability as identified previously by a healthcare or education professional. Methods Anonymous data from people who used the online CAIDS-Q in the first weeks of the launch were collated and analysed. Results Of the 159 people who used the online CAIDS-Q, 126 (79%) were family members and/or carers of the person being screened and 31 (19%) were professionals (predominantly healthcare and education professionals). Of the 52 people who had been identified previously as having a learning disability, 47 (90%) were correctly identified as such by the CAIDS-Q score. Conclusion The CAIDS-Q online screening tool for learning disability can be used by professionals and parents. It correctly identified 90% of people who had previously been identified as having a learning disability. The accuracy of the online version of the CAIDS-Q is similar to hard copy versions, which suggests that it may be an accurate tool that can assist with the identification of people with a learning disability

Themes, communities and influencers of online probiotics chatter: A retrospective analysis from 2009-2017

We build on recent examinations questioning the quality of online information about probiotic products by studying the themes of content, detecting virtual communities and identifying key influencers in social media using data science techniques. We conducted topic modelling (n = 36,715 tweets) and longitudinal social network analysis (n = 17,834 tweets) of probiotic chatter on Twitter from 2009–17. We used Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to build the topic models and network analysis tool Gephi for building yearly graphs. We identified the top 10 topics of probiotics-related communication on Twitter and a constant rise in communication activity. However the number of communities grew consistently to peak in 2014 before dipping and levelling off by 2017. While several probiotics industry actors appeared and disappeared during this period, the influence of one specific actor rose from a hub initially to an authority in the latter years. With multi-brand advertising and probiotics promotions mostly occupying the Twitter chatter, scientists, journalists, or policymakers exerted minimal influence in these communities. Consistent with previous research, we find that probiotics-related content on social media veers towards promotions and benefits. Probiotic industry actors maintain consistent presence on Twitter while transitioning from hubs to authorities over time; scientific entities assume an authoritative role without much engagement. The involvement of scientific, journalistic or regulatory stakeholders will help create a balanced informational environment surrounding probiotic products

Are we measuring loneliness in the same way in men and women in the general population and in the older population? Two studies of measurement equivalence.

Background: High levels of loneliness are associated with negative health outcomes and there are several different types of interventions targeted at reducing feelings of loneliness. It is therefore important to accurately measure loneliness. A key unresolved debate in the conceptualisation and measurement of loneliness is whether it has a unidimensional or multidimensional structure. The aim of this study was to examine the dimensional structure of the widely used UCLA Loneliness Scale and establish whether this factorial structure is equivalent in men and women. Methods and Sample: Two online UK-based samples were recruited using Prolific. The participants in Study 1 were 492 adults, selected to be nationally representative by age and gender, whilst the participants in Study 2 were 290 older adults aged over 64. In both studies, participants completed the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) as part of a larger project. Results: In both studies, the best fitting model was one with three factors corresponding to ‘Isolation,’ ‘Relational Connectedness,’ and ‘Collective Connectedness.’ A unidimensional single factor model was a substantially worse fit in both studies. In both studies, there were no meaningful differences between men and women in any of the three factors, suggesting measurement invariance across genders. Conclusion: These results are consistent with previous research in supporting a multidimensional, three factor structure to the UCLA scale, rather than a unidimensional structure. Further, the measurement invariance across genders suggests that the UCLA scale can be used to compare levels of loneliness across men and women. Overall the results suggest that loneliness has different facets and thus future research should consider treating the UCLA loneliness scale as a multidimensional scale, or using other scales which are designed to measure the different aspects of loneliness

The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness

We used attractiveness judgements as a proxy to visualize the ideal female and male body for male and female participants and investigated how individual differences in the internalization of cultural ideals influence these representations. In the first of two studies, male and female participants judged the attractiveness of 242 male and female computer-generated bodies which varied independently in muscle and adipose. This allowed us to map changes in attractiveness across the complete body composition space, revealing single peaks for the attractiveness of both men and women. In the second study, we asked our participants to choose the most attractive male and female bodies in a method of adjustment task in which they could independently vary muscle and adipose to create the most attractive body. We asked whether individual differences in internalization of cultural ideals, drive for muscularity, eating disorder symptomatology and depressive symptoms could systematically shift the location of peak attractiveness in body composition space. We found a clear preference by both genders for a male body with high muscle and low adipose, and a toned, low adipose female body. The degree of internalization of cultural ideals predicted large individual differences in the composition of the most attractive bodies

The Effect of Own Body Concerns on Judgments of Other Women’s Body Size

We investigated the relationships between healthy women’s estimates of their own body size, their body dissatisfaction, and how they subjectively judge the transition from normal to overweight in other women’s bodies (the “normal/overweight” boundary). We propose two complementary hypotheses. In the first, participants compare other women to an internalized Western “thin ideal,” whose size reflects the observer’s own body dissatisfaction. As dissatisfaction increases, so the size of their “thin ideal” reduces, predicting an inverse relationship between the “normal/overweight” boundary and participants’ body dissatisfaction. Alternatively, participants judge the size of other women relative to the body size they believe they have. For this implicit or explicit social comparison, the participant selects a “normal/overweight” boundary that minimizes the chance of her making an upward social comparison. So, the “normal/overweight” boundary matches or is larger than her own body size. In an online study of 129 healthy women, we found that both opposing factors explain where women place the “normal/overweight” boundary. Increasing body dissatisfaction leads to slimmer judgments for the position of the “normal/overweight” boundary in the body mass index (BMI) spectrum. Whereas, increasing overestimation by the observer of their own body size shifts the “normal/overweight” boundary toward higher BMIs