Development, psychometric validation, and cross-cultural comparison of the “Instagram Motives Questionnaire” (IMQ) and the “Instagram Uses and Patterns Questionnaire” (IUPQ)

Background and aims Social network use is widespread, and the study of Instagram seems to have captured more attention in recent years. However, scale development and validation in the field has fallen short of providing sound scales of Instagram motives and usage patterns that consider the uniqueness of Instagram-related behavior. This paper describes the development, psychometric and cross-cultural validation of two new measurement instruments: the “Instagram Motives Questionnaire” (IMQ) and the “Instagram Uses and Patterns Questionnaire” (IUPQ). Methods and results A preliminary set of items was developed for each questionnaire based on a previous qualitative interview study on Instagram motives, uses, and consequences. In the first study, the questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 312 participants aged 18–35 years (M = 23.81; SD = 4.49), and an exploratory factor analysis was performed. A parsimonious and interpretable 6-factor solution that displayed adequate factor loadings and adequate Omega coefficients for both instruments were found. In a second study, the two instruments and other measures of known social network usage correlates and mental health consequences were administered online to 1,418 English-speaking participants aged 18–34 years (M = 21.35; SD = 3.89). Both scales showed good psychometric properties and the factor structure identified in study 1 was reproduced through confirmatory factor analysis. Omega reliability coefficients were adequate. Finally, when performing multi-group CFA along with a French (n = 1,826) and a Spanish (n = 3,040) sample, language and gender invariance were supported. Correlations with other relevant measures indicate good convergent validity of both scales. Conclusions The present research provides psychometrically sound instruments for further investigations on Instagram use behaviors

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Mental health and personal values of deployed soldiers compared to non- deployed soldiers

Einleitung: In mehreren vorangegangenen Studien konnte für an Auslandseinsätzen beteiligte Soldaten ein erhöhtes Risiko für die Entwicklung einer psychischen Erkrankung, insbesondere einer posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung, gezeigt werden. Gegenstand dieser Studie soll die Beantwortung der Frage sein, in welchem Ausmaß die Variablen Zeitpunkt des Einsatzes, Resilienz, Alter, Geschlecht und Wertorientierungen einen Einfluss auf die psychische Gesundheit von Einsatzsoldaten besitzen. Methode: Zunächst wurden mehrere Fragebögen (PVQ, PDS, RS-11, PHQ-D) an das Studienkollektiv verteilt. Dieses bestand aus insgesamt 328 Soldaten, bestehend aus drei verschiedenen Untergruppen (1. Soldaten während eines Auslandseinsatzes der Bundeswehr in Afghanistan 2. Soldaten nach Rückkehr aus einem Auslandseinsatz 3. Bislang nicht in psychiatrischer Behandlung befindliche Soldaten ohne Einsatzerfahrung). Im Anschluss erfolgte die statistische Auswertung der Fragebögen unter der Maßgabe der eingangs formulierten Hypothesen. Ergebnisse: Die Auswertung des PHQ-D konnte in der noch im Einsatz befindlichen Gruppe signifikant höhere Quoten von Depressionen zeigen. Dagegen wies die Gruppe der Soldaten nach Rückkehr aus dem Einsatz einen signifikant höheren Anteil an Alkoholproblematiken sowie eine signifikant höhere Resilienz auf. Im PHQ-D und in der PDS konnte dargestellt werden, dass sowohl der Schweregrad der somatischen Reaktionen als auch die Stressausprägung in der aus dem Einsatz zurückgekehrten und der noch nie im Einsatz befindlichen Gruppe signifikant höher war als in der Einsatzgruppe. Resilienz hatte signifikante Einflüsse auf die Häufigkeit sowie auf den Schweregrad von Depressionen, somatoformer Reaktionen, Stress und Traumaverarbeitung. Das Alter hatte in den getesteten Probandengruppen keinen Einfluss auf die psychischen Syndrome. Das Geschlecht war nicht mit der Häufigkeit psychischer Syndrome assoziiert, jedoch mit dem Schweregrad der Depressionen, somatischer Reaktionen, Stress und Traumaverarbeitung. Das untersuchte Probandenkollektiv wies zudem kurz nach dem Auslandseinsatz in allen Wertekategorien ein signifikant verringertes Ausprägungsniveau auf. Diskussion: Im Zusammenhang mit einem Auslandseinsatz kann es bei den beteiligten Soldaten zu einer Dynamik in Bezug auf psychische Symptombilder kommen. Die erforderlichen Umstellungsreaktionen im Kontext der Rückkehr aus dem Auslandseinsatz tragen hierzu offenbar nicht unerheblich bei. Auch persönliche Wertorientierungen sowie die Resilienz und das Geschlecht scheinen in diesem Zusammenhang eine gewichtige Rolle zu spielen.Background: In several previous studies it has been shown that there is a higher risk that military personnel deployed abroad are more susceptible to developing mental health problems, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of this study is to respond to the question as to the extent to which the variable factors such as the point in time of the deployment, resilience, sex (m/f) and personal values exert an influence upon the mental health of deployed soldiers. Method: First of all several questionnaires (PVQ, PDS, RS-11, PHQ-D) were distributed amongst the study group. This consisted of a total of 328 soldiers, consisting of three different sub-groups (1. Soldiers serving on deployment with the German army in Afghanistan. 2. Soldiers following their return from a deployment abroad 3. Soldiers who have never been treated for mental health problems and who have not been deployed abroad). Following on from that, the responses in the questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis in accordance with the hypotheses drafted at the beginning of the study. Results: the analysis of the PHQ-D demonstrated a significantly higher incidence of depression in the group still away on deployment. On the other hand, the results showed a significantly higher incidence of alcohol-related problems as well as significantly higher resilience amongst the group of soldiers who had returned from being away on deployment. The PHQ-D and the PDS showed that not only the seriousness of the somatic reactions, but also the severity of the manifestations of stress were significantly higher in the group which had returned from deployment and the group which had never been on deployment than in the group away on deployment. Resilience has a significant impact upon the frequency as well as upon the severity of depression, somatic reactions, stress and dealing with trauma. The age of those in the test groups did not have an impact upon mental health. There was no association between sex (m/f) and the frequency of mental health problems, but it there was however with the severity of depression, somatic reactions and dealing with trauma. In addition to this, the test group investigated showed that shortly after returning from deployment abroad, there was a significant reduction in the levels of figures in all categories. Conclusion: In connection with deployment abroad the soldiers involved may experience more mental health issues. It is clear that the response required for dealing with a change in circumstances following a return to Germany from deployment abroad make a contribution to this which is not insignificant. Personal values as well as resilience and sex (m/f) also appear to play an important role in these circumstances

Depressivität und Wert­orientierungen im Verlauf von militärischen Auslands­einsätzen

Zusammenfassung : Depressivität und andere psychische Erkrankungen sind eine häufige Begleiterscheinung militärischer Auslandseinsätze. Ein neueres Forschungsfeld befasst sich mit persönlichen Wert­orientierungen und moralischen Verletzungen und deren Rolle bei der Entstehung psychischer Einsatzfolgen. In der vorliegenden Studie wurden Bundeswehrsoldaten vor und unmittelbar nach einem Auslandseinsatz in Afghanistan im Hinblick auf Wertorientierungen, moralische Verletzungen, posttraumatische Symptomatik sowie Depressivität psychometrisch getestet und mit einer Kontrollgruppe ohne Auslandseinsatz verglichen. In der Einsatzgruppe veränderte sich das umfassende Wertebewusstsein (Wert­e­index) signifikant weniger als in der Kontroll­gruppe. Dieser Werteindex sowie auch die Werte Konformität und Tradition waren signifikant mit der Entwicklung von Depressivität in der Einsatzgruppe ­assoziiert. Wertorientierungen sollten zukünftig in der Einsatzvorbereitung von Soldaten, aber auch in der Therapie einsatzbezogener psychischer Erkrankungen vermehrt berücksichtigt werden. = Abstract : Depression and Value ­Orientation in the Course of Military ­Operations Abroad Depression and other psychic disorders are a common side effect of military missions abroad. A relatively new field of research investigates personal value orientations and moral injuries and inquires into the role they play in the onset of psycholo­gical problems following involvement in military operations. In the present study, German Bundeswehr soldiers were tested psychometrically before and immediately after a mission in Afghanistan for value orientations, moral injuries, posttraumatic symptoms and depression. They were compared with a control group that had not undergone a military assignment abroad. Value awareness (value index) changed significantly less in the task force than in the control group. Both this value index and the values «conformity« and «tradition« were significantly associated with the onset of depression in the task force. In future, value orientations should be given closer attention both in the preparation of soldiers for deployment and in therapy for psychic disorders associated with deployment

Communicating to and engaging with the public in regulatory science

This paper presents selected highlights from the ‘Engaging with society’ session of EFSA's third Scientific Conference ‘Science, Food and Society’ (Parma, Italy, 18–21 September 2018). The social dimension for scientific advisory bodies largely concerns science communication and public engagement. The political, economic and technological transformation of contemporary societies is challenging conventional structures and approaches in these areas. The disintermediation of communication and the proliferation of misinformation, it is argued, herald the onset of the post‐truth society. A better understanding of the way individuals consume information today has led to the development of tools to guide mediators such as journalists and communication specialists in countering these trends. Public engagement can reinforce confidence in regulatory bodies and potentially contribute to the quality of the scientific process. Scientific advisory bodies in Europe have created strategies and mechanisms to engage the public that are designed to increase transparency and representativeness. To be effective, several engagement mechanisms are needed, although factors such as resource constraints, institutional culture and public/stakeholder attitudes may limit their development. In conclusion, a more vigorous role for social research is needed to place scientific risk assessment within broader socio‐economic and political contexts. Social science expertise can help to define more impactful public information strategies and to explore the potential opportunities that engaged stakeholders and citizens can make to sustain and strengthen regulatory science

Development, psychometric validation, and cross-cultural comparison of the “Instagram Motives Questionnaire” (IMQ) and the “Instagram Uses and Patterns Questionnaire” (IUPQ)

Background and aims: Social network use is widespread, and the study of Instagram seems to have captured more attention in recent years. However, scale development and validation in the field has fallen short of providing sound scales of Instagram motives and usage patterns that consider the uniqueness of Instagram-related behavior. This paper describes the development, psychometric and cross-cultural validation of two new measurement instruments: the “Instagram Motives Questionnaire” (IMQ) and the “Instagram Uses and Patterns Questionnaire” (IUPQ). Methods and results: A preliminary set of items was developed for each questionnaire based on a previous qualitative interview study on Instagram motives, uses, and consequences. In the first study, the questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 312 participants aged 18–35 years (M 5 23.81; SD 5 4.49), and an exploratory factor analysis was performed. A parsimonious and interpretable 6-factor solution that displayed adequate factor loadings and adequate Omega coefficients for both instruments were found. In a second study, the two instruments and other measures of known social network usage correlates and mental health consequences were administered online to 1,418 English-speaking participants aged 18–34 years (M 5 21.35; SD 5 3.89). Both scales showed good psychometric properties and the factor structure identified in study 1 was reproduced through confirmatory factor analysis. Omega reliability coefficients were adequate. Finally, when performing multi-group CFA along with a French (n 5 1,826) and a Spanish (n 5 3,040) sample, language and gender invariance were supported. Correlations with other relevant measures indicate good convergent validity of both scales. Conclusions: The present research provides psychometrically sound instruments for further investigations on Instagram use behaviors

On Cartan matrices with two parameters (Cohomology theory of finite groups and related topics)

A major cause of the paucity of new starting points for drug discovery is the lack of interaction between academia and industry. Much of the global resource in biology is present in universities, whereas the focus of medicinal chemistry is still largely within industry. Open source drug discovery, with sharing of information, is clearly a first step towards overcoming this gap. But the interface could especially be bridged through a scale-up of open sharing of physical compounds, which would accelerate the finding of new starting points for drug discovery. The Medicines for Malaria Venture Malaria Box is a collection of over 400 compounds representing families of structures identified in phenotypic screens of pharmaceutical and academic libraries against the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite. The set has now been distributed to almost 200 research groups globally in the last two years, with the only stipulation that information from the screens is deposited in the public domain. This paper reports for the first time on 236 screens that have been carried out against the Malaria Box and compares these results with 55 assays that were previously published, in a format that allows a meta-analysis of the combined dataset. The combined biochemical and cellular assays presented here suggest mechanisms of action for 135 (34%) of the compounds active in killing multiple life-cycle stages of the malaria parasite, including asexual blood, liver, gametocyte, gametes and insect ookinete stages. In addition, many compounds demonstrated activity against other pathogens, showing hits in assays with 16 protozoa, 7 helminths, 9 bacterial and mycobacterial species, the dengue fever mosquito vector, and the NCI60 human cancer cell line panel of 60 human tumor cell lines. Toxicological, pharmacokinetic and metabolic properties were collected on all the compounds, assisting in the selection of the most promising candidates for murine proof-of-concept experiments and medicinal chemistry programs. The data for all of these assays are presented and analyzed to show how outstanding leads for many indications can be selected. These results reveal the immense potential for translating the dispersed expertise in biological assays involving human pathogens into drug discovery starting points, by providing open access to new families of molecules, and emphasize how a small additional investment made to help acquire and distribute compounds, and sharing the data, can catalyze drug discovery for dozens of different indications. Another lesson is that when multiple screens from different groups are run on the same library, results can be integrated quickly to select the most valuable starting points for subsequent medicinal chemistry efforts

Antiprotozoal Malaria Box compounds with activity in biological assays and lacking toxicity at therapeutic levels.

<p>Selectivity Index, SI, is toxicity level/activity level; p, probe-like; d, drug-like.</p

Malaria Box Heatmap.

<p>Shown are selected data from the HeatMap (<a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005763#ppat.1005763.s002" target="_blank">S1 Table</a>) for the 400 Malaria Box compounds. Each column represents an assay (grouped by category), compounds are represented in rows. The red-green gradient represents higher to lower activity. Favorable PK activities are scored green. <i>Pf</i>: <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>, <i>Pb</i>: <i>Plasmodium berghei</i>, PK: pharmacokinetics, sol.: solubility, hERG: human ether-a-go-go channel inhibition, DDI: drug-drug interactions (predicted).</p