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The responses of 56 cotton-top tamarin monkeys (Saguinus oedipus) to the faecal scent of predators and non-predators were recorded to determine if there was a differential response. Methylene chloride extracts were prepared from the faeces of suspected predators (margay and tayra) and non-predators (capybara and paca) known to co-exist with the tamarins in the wild The faecal extracts were presented to the tamarins on wooden dowels in their enclosures. Untreated dowel and dowel treated with methylene chloride served as controls. The tamarins exhibited high anxiety responses to predator scent compared to non-predator scent which produced low anxiety responses. No sex differences were found but an age difference was apparent: younger individuals were more curious than their elders. The response pattern was observed in captive-born individuals and was not affected by whether or not their parents were wild-caught or captive-born. This indicates that the discrimination of predator and non-predator scents is innate. However, this should not be taken to mean that captive cotton-top tamarins should be re-introduced to the wild without prior predator avoidance training. The implication of this study for animal welfare is that in captive environments where both predator and prey species are kept, it is important that predators, and their faeces, are not situated where prey species can detect their presence through olfaction, because prey species may suffer continual levels of heightened anxiety with possible detrimental effects.
A number of studies have investigated anticipatory behaviour in animals as a measure of sensitivity to reward or as an expression of emotional state. A common feature of many studies is that they base inferences on seemingly arbitrary measures, for example, the frequency of behavioural transitions (ie number of times an animal switches between different behaviours). This paper critically reviews the literature and discusses various hypotheses for why specific behavioural responses occur in the anticipatory period between the signal and reward in conditioned animals. We argue that the specific behaviours shown may be the result of superstitious learning and thus highly variable, leaving behavioural transitions as the only response that can be scored consistently, and that sometimes these responses may relate more to frustration than to a positive emotional state. Finally, we propose new research approaches to avoid potential confounds and improve future studies on this topic.
People often assess the reasonableness of another person’s judgments. When doing so, the evaluator should set aside knowledge that would not have been available to the evaluatee to assess whether the evaluatee made a reasonable decision, given the available information. But under what circumstances does the evaluator set aside information? On the one hand, if the evaluator fails to set aside prior information, not available to the evaluatee, they exhibit belief bias. But on the other hand, when Bayesian inference is called for, the evaluator should generally incorporate prior knowledge about relevant probabilities in decision making. The present research integrated these two perspectives in two experiments. Participants were asked to take the perspective of a fictitious evaluatee and to evaluate the reasonableness of the evaluatee’s decision. The participant was privy to information that the fictitious evaluatee did not have. Specifically, the participant knew whether the evaluatee’s decision judgment was factually correct. Participants’ judgments were biased (Experiments 1 and 2) by the factuality of the conclusion as they assessed the evaluatee’s reasonableness. We also found that the format of information presentation (Experiment 2) influenced the degree to which participants’ reasonableness ratings were responsive to the evaluatee’s Bayesian rationality. Specifically, responsivity was greater when the information was presented in an icon-based, graphical, natural-frequency format than when presented in either a numerical natural-frequency format or a probability format. We interpreted the effects of format to suggest that graphical presentation can help organize information into nested sets, which in turn enhances Bayesian rationality.
We compared the effectiveness of 4 sampling methods to recover Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Clostridioides difficile from contaminated environmental surfaces: cotton swabs, RODAC culture plates, sponge sticks with manual agitation, and sponge sticks with a stomacher. Organism type was the most important factor in bacterial recovery.
We present WALLABY pilot data release 1, the first public release of H i pilot survey data from the Wide-field ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind Survey (WALLABY) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Phase 1 of the WALLABY pilot survey targeted three
$60\,\mathrm{deg}^{2}$
regions on the sky in the direction of the Hydra and Norma galaxy clusters and the NGC 4636 galaxy group, covering the redshift range of
$z \lesssim 0.08$
. The source catalogue, images and spectra of nearly 600 extragalactic H i detections and kinematic models for 109 spatially resolved galaxies are available. As the pilot survey targeted regions containing nearby group and cluster environments, the median redshift of the sample of
$z \approx 0.014$
is relatively low compared to the full WALLABY survey. The median galaxy H i mass is
$2.3 \times 10^{9}\,{\rm M}_{{\odot}}$
. The target noise level of
$1.6\,\mathrm{mJy}$
per 30′′ beam and
$18.5\,\mathrm{kHz}$
channel translates into a
$5 \sigma$
H i mass sensitivity for point sources of about
$5.2 \times 10^{8} \, (D_{\rm L} / \mathrm{100\,Mpc})^{2} \, {\rm M}_{{\odot}}$
across 50 spectral channels (
${\approx} 200\,\mathrm{km \, s}^{-1}$
) and a
$5 \sigma$
H i column density sensitivity of about
$8.6 \times 10^{19} \, (1 + z)^{4}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$
across 5 channels (
${\approx} 20\,\mathrm{km \, s}^{-1}$
) for emission filling the 30′′ beam. As expected for a pilot survey, several technical issues and artefacts are still affecting the data quality. Most notably, there are systematic flux errors of up to several 10% caused by uncertainties about the exact size and shape of each of the primary beams as well as the presence of sidelobes due to the finite deconvolution threshold. In addition, artefacts such as residual continuum emission and bandpass ripples have affected some of the data. The pilot survey has been highly successful in uncovering such technical problems, most of which are expected to be addressed and rectified before the start of the full WALLABY survey.
‘Sea salt is made by boiling and evaporating sea water over the fire. Bay salt, by evaporating sea water, in pits clayed on the inside, by the heat of the sun. Basket salt is made by boiling away the water of salt springs over the fire. Rock salt is dug out of the ground’, wrote Charlotte Mason in The Lady's Assistant (1775), one of the most comprehensive eighteenth-century cookbooks. Although there were at least four variations of salt before the pre-industrial era, several historical recipes specified the use of bay salt (solar salt) for meat preservation, elevating its cultural status and implying that early modern actors had a refined understanding of salts, their tastes and their applications. This study uses scientific analysis to determine whether there is a biological or chemical basis for the superior reputation of bay salt for curing. Laboratory data suggest that bay salt contains microbes that produce nitrate and nitrite, which give the meat a more favourable taste and pleasant aesthetic. The authors thus demonstrate that combining insights from experimental archaeology with textual analysis of historical sources gives us a deeper understanding of historical uses of taste as an epistemic tool.
Gene x environment (G×E) interactions, i.e. genetic modulation of the sensitivity to environmental factors and/or environmental control of the gene expression, have not been reliably established regarding aetiology of psychotic disorders. Moreover, recent studies have shown associations between the polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia (PRS-SZ) and some risk factors of psychotic disorders, challenging the traditional gene v. environment dichotomy. In the present article, we studied the role of GxE interaction between psychosocial stressors (childhood trauma, stressful life-events, self-reported discrimination experiences and low social capital) and the PRS-SZ on subclinical psychosis in a population-based sample.
Methods
Data were drawn from the EUropean network of national schizophrenia networks studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI) study, in which subjects without psychotic disorders were included in six countries. The sample was restricted to European descendant subjects (n = 706). Subclinical dimensions of psychosis (positive, negative, and depressive) were measured by the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) scale. Associations between the PRS-SZ and the psychosocial stressors were tested. For each dimension, the interactions between genes and environment were assessed using linear models and comparing explained variances of ‘Genetic’ models (solely fitted with PRS-SZ), ‘Environmental’ models (solely fitted with each environmental stressor), ‘Independent’ models (with PRS-SZ and each environmental factor), and ‘Interaction’ models (Independent models plus an interaction term between the PRS-SZ and each environmental factor). Likelihood ration tests (LRT) compared the fit of the different models.
Results
There were no genes-environment associations. PRS-SZ was associated with positive dimensions (β = 0.092, R2 = 7.50%), and most psychosocial stressors were associated with all three subclinical psychotic dimensions (except social capital and positive dimension). Concerning the positive dimension, Independent models fitted better than Environmental and Genetic models. No significant GxE interaction was observed for any dimension.
Conclusions
This study in subjects without psychotic disorders suggests that (i) the aetiological continuum hypothesis could concern particularly the positive dimension of subclinical psychosis, (ii) genetic and environmental factors have independent effects on the level of this positive dimension, (iii) and that interactions between genetic and individual environmental factors could not be identified in this sample.
We describe a new low-frequency wideband radio survey of the southern sky. Observations covering 72–231 MHz and Declinations south of
$+30^\circ$
have been performed with the Murchison Widefield Array “extended” Phase II configuration over 2018–2020 and will be processed to form data products including continuum and polarisation images and mosaics, multi-frequency catalogues, transient search data, and ionospheric measurements. From a pilot field described in this work, we publish an initial data release covering 1,447
$\mathrm{deg}^2$
over
$4\,\mathrm{h}\leq \mathrm{RA}\leq 13\,\mathrm{h}$
,
$-32.7^\circ \leq \mathrm{Dec} \leq -20.7^\circ$
. We process twenty frequency bands sampling 72–231 MHz, with a resolution of 2′–45′′, and produce a wideband source-finding image across 170–231 MHz with a root mean square noise of
$1.27\pm0.15\,\mathrm{mJy\,beam}^{-1}$
. Source-finding yields 78,967 components, of which 71,320 are fitted spectrally. The catalogue has a completeness of 98% at
${{\sim}}50\,\mathrm{mJy}$
, and a reliability of 98.2% at
$5\sigma$
rising to 99.7% at
$7\sigma$
. A catalogue is available from Vizier; images are made available via the PASA datastore, AAO Data Central, and SkyView. This is the first in a series of data releases from the GLEAM-X survey.
Many male prisoners have significant mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. High proportions struggle with homelessness and substance misuse.
Aims
This study aims to evaluate whether the Engager intervention improves mental health outcomes following release.
Method
The design is a parallel randomised superiority trial that was conducted in the North West and South West of England (ISRCTN11707331). Men serving a prison sentence of 2 years or less were individually allocated 1:1 to either the intervention (Engager plus usual care) or usual care alone. Engager included psychological and practical support in prison, on release and for 3–5 months in the community. The primary outcome was the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure (CORE-OM), 6 months after release. Primary analysis compared groups based on intention-to-treat (ITT).
Results
In total, 280 men were randomised out of the 396 who were potentially eligible and agreed to participate; 105 did not meet the mental health inclusion criteria. There was no mean difference in the ITT complete case analysis between groups (92 in each arm) for change in the CORE-OM score (1.1, 95% CI –1.1 to 3.2, P = 0.325) or secondary analyses. There were no consistent clinically significant between-group differences for secondary outcomes. Full delivery was not achieved, with 77% (108/140) receiving community-based contact.
Conclusions
Engager is the first trial of a collaborative care intervention adapted for prison leavers. The intervention was not shown to be effective using standard outcome measures. Further testing of different support strategies for prison with mental health problems is needed.
For infants born in the contemporary era of neonatal care, little is known about adult mental health outcomes of extremely preterm birth (EP; <28 weeks' gestation) or extremely low birthweight (ELBW; <1000 g). This study aimed to compare attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, mood, and substance use disorder prevalence in young adults born EP/ELBW and normal birthweight (NBW; >2499 g) controls, and to compare change in prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders from 18 to 25 years.
Methods
Participants were a prospective geographical cohort of 297 consecutive survivors born EP/ELBW during 1991–1992 and 260 NBW controls. At age 25 years, 174 EP/ELBW and 139 NBW participants completed the Adult ADHD Rating Scale, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised. Data from follow-up at 18 years were also utilized. Multiple imputation was used to account for attrition.
Results
Mental health outcomes at 25 years were similar between groups: prevalence rates were ADHD 7% v. 5%; anxiety 32% v. 27%; mood 38% v. 35%; substance use 12% v. 14% in the EP/ELBW and NBW groups, respectively. In both groups, ADHD declined between 18 and 25 years [odds ratio (OR) per year = 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.79–0.95], and generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive episode became more common (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.10–1.35 per year; OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.10–1.30 respectively).
Conclusions
This contemporary EP/ELBW cohort has comparable young adult mental health outcomes to controls, and similar patterns of change in mental health from late adolescence.
Evolutionary sexual psychology posits that sexual preferences evolved in response to recurring adaptive problems faced by men and women in regard to reproduction and mating. Accordingly, asymmetries in the mating-related problems faced by the sexes should result in sex-differentiated preferences. Some asymmetries which could be expected to result in sex-differentiated preferences include: 1) the length of time during which one is able to produce offspring (much longer for men as compared to women, which is posited to result in men showing a preference for partners who display cues to fertility and reproductive viability); 2) minimum investment needed to produce offspring (much greater for women as compared to men, which is posited to result in men showing a greater preference for short-term mating relative to women); and 3) certainty of maternity/paternity of offspring (much greater for women as compared to men, which is posited to result in men showing preferences which mitigate partner infidelity and sperm competition). Consistent with the predictions of evolutionary sexual psychology, many of the physical characteristics which men find to be attractive in women are associated with fecundity (e.g., a low waist-to-hip ratio, youthfulness). Men do appear to display a greater interest in engaging in short-term mating relative to women. Men self-report more permissive attitudes toward casual sex, desire a greater number of sexual partners across various time periods, and report being more motivated by casual sex when dating or using dating apps. Large representative surveys frequently find a sizable sex difference in the number of sexual partners reported over the lifespan, although the degree to which this may reflect factors like differences in the way that men and women respond to such questions (e.g., estimating versus counting) is debated. Field experiments indicate that men are more inclined to accept offers of casual sex from opposite-sex strangers, and men appear to be more likely to pay for sex. The content of sexual fantasies and pornography also offer insights into the nature of men’s sexual preferences. Men’s sexual fantasies more frequently involve elements of sexual variety and nonmonogamy (e.g., casual sex with multiple partners). Men also appear to consume pornography more frequently than women, which may reflect pornography providing vicarious access to excellent short-term mating opportunities in the form of a myriad of virtual partners who are youthful, attractive, and display unusually high levels of sexual accessibility. The contents of pornography, and themes common to men’s sexual fantasies, also demonstrate a preoccupation with partner infidelity.
Adjacent dyadic systems are pivotal in analysis and related fields to study continuous objects via collections of dyadic ones. In our prior work (joint with Jiang, Olson, and Wei), we describe precise necessary and sufficient conditions for two dyadic systems on the real line to be adjacent. Here, we extend this work to all dimensions, which turns out to have many surprising difficulties due to the fact that
$d+1$
, not
$2^d$
, grids is the optimal number in an adjacent dyadic system in
$\mathbb {R}^d$
. As a byproduct, we show that a collection of
$d+1$
dyadic systems in
$\mathbb {R}^d$
is adjacent if and only if the projection of any two of them onto any coordinate axis are adjacent on
$\mathbb {R}$
. The underlying geometric structures that arise in this higher-dimensional generalization are interesting objects themselves, ripe for future study; these lead us to a compact, geometric description of our main result. We describe these structures, along with what adjacent dyadic (and n-adic, for any n) systems look like, from a variety of contexts, relating them to previous work, as well as illustrating a specific exa.
A retrospective cohort of children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with cerebral palsy was matched 1:3 by age and admission year to determine odds of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal colonization. Adjusted odds of MRSA nasal colonization at PICU admission were 2.6-fold higher among children with cerebral palsy.
We honour a great man and a true giant. Lodewyk H.S. van Mierop (March 31, 1927 – October 17, 2021), known as Bob, was not only a Paediatric Cardiologist but also a dedicated Scientist. He made many significant and ground-breaking contributions to the fields of cardiac anatomy and embryology. He was devoted as a teacher, spending many hours with medical students, Residents, and Fellows, all of whom appreciated his regularly scheduled educational sessions. Those of us who were fortunate to know and spend time with him will always remember his great mind, his willingness to share his knowledge, and his ability to encourage spirited and fruitful discussions. His life was most productive, and he will long be remembered by many through his awesome and exemplary scientific contributions.
His legacy continues to influence the current and future generations of surgeons and all providers of paediatric and congenital cardiac care through the invaluable archive he established at University of Florida in Gainesville: The University of Florida van Mierop Heart Archive. Undoubtedly, with these extraordinary contributions to the fields of cardiac anatomy and embryology, which were way ahead of his time, Professor van Mierop was a true giant in Paediatric Cardiology. The invaluable archive he established at University of Florida in Gainesville, The University of Florida van Mierop Heart Archive, has been instrumental in teaching medical students, Residents, Medical Fellows, and Surgical Fellows. Only a handful of similar archives exist across the globe, and these archives are the true legacy of giants such as Dr. van Mierop. We have an important obligation to leave no stone unturned to continue to preserve these archives for the future generations of surgeons, physicians, all providers of paediatric and congenital cardiac care, and, most importantly, our patients.
Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are a frequent cause of morbidity in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), due in part to the presence of central venous access devices (CVADs) required to deliver therapy.
Objective:
To determine the differential risk of bacterial BSI during neutropenia by CVAD type in pediatric patients with AML.
Methods:
We performed a secondary analysis in a cohort of 560 pediatric patients (1,828 chemotherapy courses) receiving frontline AML chemotherapy at 17 US centers. The exposure was CVAD type at course start: tunneled externalized catheter (TEC), peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), or totally implanted catheter (TIC). The primary outcome was course-specific incident bacterial BSI; secondary outcomes included mucosal barrier injury (MBI)-BSI and non-MBI BSI. Poisson regression was used to compute adjusted rate ratios comparing BSI occurrence during neutropenia by line type, controlling for demographic, clinical, and hospital-level characteristics.
Results:
The rate of BSI did not differ by CVAD type: 11 BSIs per 1,000 neutropenic days for TECs, 13.7 for PICCs, and 10.7 for TICs. After adjustment, there was no statistically significant association between CVAD type and BSI: PICC incident rate ratio [IRR] = 1.00 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75–1.32) and TIC IRR = 0.83 (95% CI, 0.49–1.41) compared to TEC. When MBI and non-MBI were examined separately, results were similar.
Conclusions:
In this large, multicenter cohort of pediatric AML patients, we found no difference in the rate of BSI during neutropenia by CVAD type. This may be due to a risk-profile for BSI that is unique to AML patients.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Large-panel genomic tumor testing (GTT) is a new technology that promises to make cancer treatment more precise. However, patients may have unrealistic expectations of its benefits. The goal of this project is to assess expectations for GTT among cancer patients in community oncology practices. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: A survey assessing expectations of the benefits of GTT was administered to cancer patients participating in a statewide study of GTT implementation, prior to receiving test results. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to assess expectations and the factors associated with these expectations. The study sample (N = 1,139) consisted of patients with a range of cancer types (22% gynecologic, 14% lung, 10% colon, 10% breast,and 46% other malignancies). Mean age was 64 years (standard deviation = 11); 668 (59%) were women; 71% had no college degree; 57% came from households with less than $50,000 US dollars household income; and 73% lived in a rural area. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Generally, patients had high expectations that they would benefit from GTT (M = 2.81 on 0-4 scale) and positive attitudes toward it (M = 2.98 on 0-4 scale). Patients also had relatively poor knowledge about GTT (48% correct answers on an objective test of GTT knowledge). Greater expectations for GTT were associated with lower knowledge (b = –0.46; p < .001), more positive attitudes (b = 0.40; < .001), and lower education (b = –0.53; < .001). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This research suggests patients have high expectations that they will benefit from GTT, which is associated with low knowledge, positive attitudes, and low education. Interventions may be needed to boost understanding and moderate expectations, particularly for disadvantaged patients.