Letter from President-Elect

The JSMAHS is proud to present Volume 5 Issue 1 of the journal. This issue comes in conjunction with the OATA Annual Symposium and Meeting Poster Presentations. Please enjoy this innovative research and letter from your President-Elect, Brian Huck

Combining physiological, environmental and locational sensors for citizen-oriented health applications

This work investigates the potential of combining the outputs of multiple low-cost sensor technologies for the direct measurement of spatio-temporal variations in phenomena that exist at the interface between our bodies and the environment. The example used herein is the measurement of personal exposure to traffic pollution, which may be considered as a function of the concentration of pollutants in the air and the frequency and volume of that air which enters our lungs. The sensor-based approach described in this paper removes the ‘traditional’ requirements either to model or interpolate pollution levels or to make assumptions about the physiology of an individual. Rather, a wholly empirical analysis into pollution exposure is possible, based upon high-resolution spatio-temporal data drawn from sensors for NO2, nasal airflow and location (GPS). Data are collected via a custom smartphone application and mapped to give an unprecedented insight into exposure to traffic pollution at the individual level. Whilst the quality of data from low-cost miniaturised sensors is not suitable for all applications, there certainly are many applications for which these data would be well suited, particularly those in the field of citizen science. This paper demonstrates both the potential and limitations of sensor-based approaches and discusses the wider relevance of these technologies for the advancement of citizen science

Vestiges of a DNA methylation system in Drosophila melanogaster?

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MBD2 is a transcriptional repressor belonging to the MeCP1 histone deacetylase complex

Mammalian DNA is methylated at many CpG dinucleotides. The biological consequences of methylation are mediated by a family of methyl-CpG binding proteins (1–4). The best characterized family member is MeCP2, a transcriptional repressor that recruits histone deacetylases (5–7). Our report concerns MBD2, which can bind methylated DNA in vivo and in vitro4 and has been reported to actively demethylate DNA (ref. 8). As DNA methylation causes gene silencing, the MBD2 demethylase is a candidate transcriptional activator. Using specific antibodies, however, we find here that MBD2 in HeLa cells is associated with histone deacetylase (HDAC) in the MeCP1 repressor complex (1,9). An affinity-purified HDAC1 corepressor complex (10,11) also contains MBD2, suggesting that MeCP1 corresponds to a fraction of this complex. Exogenous MBD2 represses transcription in a transient assay, and repression can be relieved by the deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA; ref. 12). In our hands, MBD2 does not demethylate DNA. Our data suggest that HeLa cells, which lack the known methylationdependent repressor MeCP2, use an alternative pathway involving MBD2 to silence methylated genes

Big Data: Managing the Future\u27s Agriculture and Natural Resource Systems

Big Data: Managing the Future\u27s Agriculture and Natural Resource Systems Big data is the incredible flow of information that surrounds each of us, every day. Big data tools identify patterns and habits, not only in research, but in manufacturing, logistics–even ordering items online

Psychometric proprieties of the Test of Gross Motor Development–Third Edition in a large sample of Italian children

Objectives: The Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3) evaluates fundamental gross motor skills across two domains: locomotor and ball skills. This study aimed to perform a full psychometric assessment of this test in a large sample of Italian pre- and primary school children. Design: Cross-sectional and test-retest study design. Method: Children (N = 5,210; Mean age (years) = 8.38, SD = 1.97; % females = 48) completed three trials, including one practice a. Only the scores of the two latter ‘formal’ trials were recorded for the evaluation. Factorial validity and measurement invariance of TGMD-3 across age and gender groups and test-retest reliability for the overtime measure consistency were tested. Item response theory analysis further tested single items’ performances. Results: Explorative and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the two-factor structure of the TGMD-3. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses indicated that there were no significant reductions in model adjustments between the configural, metric and structural invariance solutions for gender and age groups. Test-retest results ranged between 0.967 and 0.990 for both skill sets across age groups. Item response theory analysis using a graded response model showed low standard error and high-test information levels covering a wide spectrum range of both locomotor and ball skills. Conclusions: These results highlight the strong construct validity and reliability of the TGMD-3 to measure gross motor skills in children across gender and age groups. Item response theory analysis evidenced how the performance criteria included in this test cover a wide range of gross the motor skills spectrum. The use of TGMD-3 may inform motor development programs and support curricular decisions in schools

Confessions of the Church: The political lessons of the Third Reich for the Bruderrat of the Protestant Church in Germany, 1945–1948

The Protestant Church in Germany had been a conservative influence on politics from the Reformation through the Weimar Republic. Leading theologians joined together in the Confessing Church in 1933–34 to oppose National Socialist influence within the Church during the Third Reich. After the end of the Second World War, some of them continued to meet in a body known as the “Bruderrat.” Here, they reflected on German guilt and repentance, on the nature of church order, and the relations of the Church to socialism. The statements they issued on these topics did not always meet with widespread approval at the time, but they did mark a decisive turning point for the political stance of the Protestant Church. Through its willingness to criticize the State, the Church came to be home to a plurality of political viewpoints. In particular, some theologians recognized the previously reflexive anti-socialist stance of the Church as bearing responsibility for the susceptibility of Protestants to National Socialism. In previous historiography, Lutheran theology is often held to be responsible for Protestant subservience to the State. By examining the minutes and correspondence of the Bruderrat as well as of contemporary Lutheran organizations, this dissertation documents not only the beginnings of politically critical Protestant theology, but also shows that the Lutheran opposition to this political criticism had more to do with the organizational forms of Lutheran regional churches than with Lutheran theology itself. It also provides a more differentiated depiction of the Bruderrat itself by documenting the viewpoints of members of its more conservative minority, and discussing the differences that arose between its members on each side of the Iron Curtain

Confessions of the Church: The political lessons of the Third Reich for the Bruderrat of the Protestant Church in Germany, 1945–1948

The Protestant Church in Germany had been a conservative influence on politics from the Reformation through the Weimar Republic. Leading theologians joined together in the Confessing Church in 1933–34 to oppose National Socialist influence within the Church during the Third Reich. After the end of the Second World War, some of them continued to meet in a body known as the “Bruderrat.” Here, they reflected on German guilt and repentance, on the nature of church order, and the relations of the Church to socialism. The statements they issued on these topics did not always meet with widespread approval at the time, but they did mark a decisive turning point for the political stance of the Protestant Church. Through its willingness to criticize the State, the Church came to be home to a plurality of political viewpoints. In particular, some theologians recognized the previously reflexive anti-socialist stance of the Church as bearing responsibility for the susceptibility of Protestants to National Socialism. In previous historiography, Lutheran theology is often held to be responsible for Protestant subservience to the State. By examining the minutes and correspondence of the Bruderrat as well as of contemporary Lutheran organizations, this dissertation documents not only the beginnings of politically critical Protestant theology, but also shows that the Lutheran opposition to this political criticism had more to do with the organizational forms of Lutheran regional churches than with Lutheran theology itself. It also provides a more differentiated depiction of the Bruderrat itself by documenting the viewpoints of members of its more conservative minority, and discussing the differences that arose between its members on each side of the Iron Curtain

Price framing

We present a laboratory experiment on the impact of price framing on consumer decision making. Consumer subjects face a search market where two sellers offer a homogenous good. We examine six different price frames with linear per-unit pricing (that is displayed as such) serving as a benchmark. We find that all frames deviating from the benchmark have some negative impact on consumer decision making. The most striking result concerns drip pricing (where prices are decomposed into three elements and dripped in during the purchasing process). While leaving the actual decision problem unchanged, drip pricing wipes out 25% of consumer surplus. (author's abstract)Anhand eines Laborexperiments überprüfen wir den Einfluss verschiedener "price frames" auf das Entscheidungsverhalten von Konsumenten. Die Konsumenten entscheiden über den Kauf von gleichartigen Gütern, die von zwei Verkäufern auf einem Suchmarkt angeboten werden. Es werden sechs verschiedene Arten, die Preise der Güter zu präsentieren, untersucht, wobei der lineare Stückpreis als Benchmark dient. Es zeigt sich, dass alle Preisrahmungen, die von dem Benchmark abweichen, einen negativen Einfluss auf das Entscheidungsverhalten haben. Das augenfälligste Resultat ist der Effekt des sogenannten drip pricing. Hier ist der Endpreis in drei Bestandteile geteilt, die während des Kaufprozesses nach und nach offenbart werden. Obwohl das eigentliche Entscheidungsproblem unverändert bleibt, sinkt die Konsumentenrente unter "drip pricing" um 25%. (Autorenreferat