1,111 research outputs found
Factors Influencing Physical Risk Taking in Rock Climbing
No full textThis study was designed to investigate factors influencing physical risk taking in the sport of rock climbing. Specifically, the relationships between physical risk taking, sensation seeking, spheres of control, and desirability of control were examined. One hundred five rock climbers from the United States completed a series of surveys measuring each of the above-mentioned psychological variables. As predicted, physical risk taking demonstrated significant positive relationships to both total sensation seeking and thrill/adventure seeking (TAS). The expected relationships between physical risk taking, personal control and desirability of control were not supported. As hypothesized, no substantive patterns were revealed between physical risk taking and interpersonal control or sociopolitical control. Finally, comparisons between high and low physical risk taking rock climbers revealed significant group differences for total sensation seeking, TAS, and disinhibition. The identification of predictors of physical risk taking is a key step toward identifying individuals likely to engage in high physical risk behavior, and under what circumstances they are likely to do so
The need for speed: Scores on a new video-based measure of speeding propensity, suitable for use in online research, correlate with drivers’ on-road speeding behaviour
No full textA video-based measure of drivers’ speeding propensity (the UQ Video Speed Test) was developed for use in both laboratory-based and online research studies. In the test, the respondent is presented with a series of 16 video clips of traffic footage, which were shot from the driver's perspective using a camera mounted behind the windscreen of a moving car. For each clip, the respondent's task is to indicate to what extent they would travel faster or slower than the speed of the camera car. Responses to all clips are averaged to determine the respondent's overall score. In the present study, we investigated associations between drivers’ video speed test scores and five measures of real everyday speeding behaviour obtained over a 5-week period using GPS trackers. There was a significant positive correlation for each of the five on-road speeding measures. In addition, age-related differences in test scores were consistent with observed real-world group differences in speeding behaviour. Test scores also correlated with an established self-report questionnaire measure of speeding (i.e., the Speed Scale from the Driving Style Questionnaire). Overall, the data supported the use of the UQ Video Speed Test as a proxy measure of drivers’ real-world speeding behaviour in laboratory-based and online studies (though it would be inadvisable to use such tests in the assessment of drivers for licensing purposes, due to the potential to “fake good”). The test can be deployed using standard online survey platforms (e.g., Qualtrics), and is available at no cost for use in driving research.No Full Tex
Abundance, breeding success and mark recapture dataset accompanying: Horswill et al (2022) Temporal change in the contribution of immigration to population growth in a wild seabird experiencing rapid population decline. Ecography (in press)
No full textQuantitative data in txt. file format.
Abundance and breeding success data from 1989 to 2018 and mark recapture data from 1978 to 2018
Lightweight Procedural Animation with Believable Physical Interactions
No full textI describe a procedural animation system that uses techniques from behavior-based robot control, combined with a minimalist physical simulation, to produce believable character motions in a dynamic world. Although less realistic than motion capture or full biomechanical simulation, the system produces compelling, responsive character behavior. It is also fast, supports believable physical interactions between characters such as hugging, and makes it easy to author new behaviors
Determinants of adults' intention to vaccinate against pandemic swine flu
No full textThis article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: Vaccination is one of the cornerstones of controlling an influenza pandemic. To optimise vaccination rates in the general population, ways of identifying determinants that influence decisions to have or not to have a vaccination need to be understood. Therefore, this study aimed to predict intention to have a swine influenza
vaccination in an adult population in the UK. An extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour provided the theoretical framework for the study.
Methods: Three hundred and sixty two adults from the UK, who were not in vaccination priority groups, completed either an online (n = 306) or pen and paper (n = 56) questionnaire. Data were collected from 30th October 2009, just after swine flu vaccination became available in the UK, and concluded on 31st December 2009. The main outcome of interest was future swine flu vaccination intentions.
Results: The extended Theory of Planned Behaviour predicted 60% of adults’ intention to have a swine flu vaccination with attitude, subjective norm, perceived control, anticipating feelings of regret (the impact of missing a vaccination opportunity), intention to have a seasonal vaccine this year, one perceived barrier: “I cannot be bothered to get a swine flu vaccination” and two perceived benefits: “vaccination decreases my chance of getting swine flu or its complications” and “if I get vaccinated for swine flu, I will decrease the frequency of having to consult my doctor,” being significant predictors of intention. Black British were less likely to intend to have a vaccination compared to Asian or White respondents.
Conclusions: Theoretical frameworks which identify determinants that influence decisions to have a pandemic influenza vaccination are useful. The implications of this research are discussed with a view to maximising any future pandemic influenza vaccination uptake using theoretically-driven applications.This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund
Influence of dietary modification during weight loss on performance in the wrestler
No full textTwelve highly trained collegiate wrestlers were studied to determine if performance of a six-minute arm crank task can be maintained by feeding a hypocaloric, high percentage carbohydrate diet to athletes during a four day weight loss period. Subjects were placed on a hypocaloric, low percentage (41.9%) carbohydrate diet (LC) and a hypocaloric, high percentage (65.9%) carbohydrate diet (HC) during two separate weight loss periods. The reduction in work performed during six minutes of arm cranking from pre- to post-weight loss was 0.9% and 8.2% for HC and LC treatments, respectively. Post exercise lactate measures were significantly lower and pH values were significantly higher pre- and post-weight loss under the LC treatment as compared to the HC treatment. Pre-exercise glycerol values were significantly higher post weight loss as compared to pre weight loss under both diet treatments. Profile of Mood State (POMS) scores indicate a negative effect of weight loss on psychological well being of the subjects. This negative effect is exacerbated during weight loss under the LC as compared to HC treatment. These data indicate a significant reduction in performance following a four day weight loss of 6.1% under the LC treatment, while performance is maintained following the HC treatment.Thesis (M.S.)Department of Biolog
Postmortem: MKULTRA, An Experimental AI-Based Game
No full textGames are inherently situated within the cultures of their players. Players bring a wide range of knowledge and expectations to a game, and the more the game suggests connections to that culture, the stronger those expectations are and/or the more problematic they can be. MKULTRA is an experimental, AI-heavy game that ran afoul of those issues. It’s interesting to hear a talk about or to see demonstrated by the author, but frustrating for players who do not already understand its internals in some detail. In this paper, I will give a postmortem of the game, in the rough style of industry postmortems from venues such as Gamasutra or GDC. I will discuss the goals and design of the game, what went right, what went wrong, and what I should have done instead. In my discussions of the game’s problems, I’ll focus on the ways in which it frustrated the players’ cultural expectations, and what we can learn from them for the design of future games
Minimising the limitations of using dietary analysis to assess foodweb changes by combining multiple techniques.
No full textDietary studies of marine predators offer an immediate signal of foodweb changes occurring at lower trophic levels, and therefore are often used to assess the ecosystem status of marine systems. Conventionally, these studies are based on morphological analysis of prey remains in stomach contents, involving invasive and destructive techniques to collect samples. More recently, the number of dietary studies based on less invasive biochemical and molecular approaches has dramatically increased. However, all three methods, morphological, biochemical and molecular, have well-documented limitations for resolving taxonomy, temporal variation or biomass composition. In this study, we minimise these limitations by considering multiple techniques in combination. As a case study, we report the target prey species and diet composition of a marine predator that has been used to assess annual change in managed fishing areas for several decades, the macaroni penguin Eudyptes chrysolophus. We use biochemical (stable isotope) and molecular (DNA) analysis of faecal samples collected across the different phases of a single breeding season, and compare the resolved diet to a 26-year dataset of stomach contents collected from a closely located colony (0.25 km apart) that exploits identical foraging grounds. Molecular analysis increased the known target prey species for this highly monitored population by 31%, including a fish species of commercial importance. Biochemical analysis detected subtle changes in the proportion of fish and krill in the diet, demonstrating promising opportunities for using a combined molecular and biochemical method to assess inter-annual foodweb changes at lower trophic levels. The combined approach offers a less invasive sampling methodology, compared to morphological analysis, and provides more information regarding prey species diversity and the overall trophic signature of the diet. Further studies are required to examine the feasibility of using this approach for long-term dietary studies of different marine predator species
Targeting C-terminal binding proteins (CtBPs) using genetic selection
No full textThere are many protein-protein interactions that are vital for cellular processes such as signal transduction, structural organisation and apoptosis. In this study we decipher the role of the protein-protein interaction of C terminal Binding Proteins (CtBPs). CtBPs function as transcriptional co-repressors in the nucleus playing key roles in tumorigenesis and metastasis by regulating cellular processes, critical to cell survival, cell migration and senescence. CtBP proteins also play a role in the cytoplasm in regulating mitotic Golgi membrane fission Studies in which the expression or function of CtBPs has been inhibited have independently identified roles for CtBPs in both suppressing apoptosis and promoting cell cycle progression. Modulation of these interactions with small molecules is a potential therapeutic strategy with benefits over current methods. Our approach in studying protein-protein interactions and uncovering potential inhibitors involves constructing a bacterial Reverse Two Hybrid System (RTHS) linking the dimerisation of the target protein partners to the expression of reporter genes, whose regulation can be monitored via host survival. Subsequent screening of a cyclic peptide library for potential inhibitors was then carried out. The libraries were produced using Split Intein-mediated Circular Ligation Of Peptides and Proteins (SICLOPPS) technology, developed for intracellular synthesis of cyclic peptides. We have used this methodology to identify inhibitors of CtBP dimerisation and better understand the roles of this protein interaction in cell cycle regulation. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the work carried out to study protein-protein interactions and finding potential inhibitors. Since our investigations involved the extensive use of the RTHS and SICLOPPS system, the background and work performed by others has been described in detail. A detailed review of CtBPs has also been carried out. Chapter 2 details our work investigating the homodimeric and heterodimeric protein-protein interaction of CtBPs using the RTHS. This work allowed us to optimise selection conditions and find cyclic peptide inhibitors of the homodimerisation of CtBP1 and CtBP2 using the SICLOPPS process. The synthesis of these inhibitors is described. Chapter 3 details our work carried out to develop ELISAs for in vitro analysis of the selected cyclic peptides. This involved the purification of His- and GST-tagged CtBP1 and CtBP2 proteins. The ELISA conditions were optimised to carry out CtBP homodimeric and hetrodimeric analysis. This work showed that the peptides lead to a reduction in CtBP homdimerisation and heterodimerisation in vitro. Chapter 4 details the in vivo effects of the uncovered CtBP dimerisation inhibitors. Using these cyclic peptide inhibitors we have demonstrated that CtBP dimerisation is essential for the regulation of mitotic fidelity, and that inhibition of CtBP dimerisation by the cyclic peptides leads to aberrant segregation of chromosomes during mitosis. We have also shown that inhibition of CtBP dimerisation leads to a reduction in migration of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Chapter 5 details the experimental procedures used in this work and presents spectroscopic and analytical data for the compounds prepared
Fast, Declarative, Character Simulation Using Bottom-Up Logic Programming
No full textLogic programming and rule-based systems are often chosen for tasks such as social simulation because their use of declarative rules and predicates map well to rules of social engagement. Unfortunately, they are often quite slow, due in part to its heavy use of pointer chasing, dynamic allocation, garbage collection, and runtime type-checking, making it difficult to use for large numbers of characters or high-frequency updates.
For appropriate tasks, bottom-up execution of logic programs can provide the declarativity of logic programming without its performance issues. We argue that large-scale character simulations are a “sweet spot” for bottom-up LP. We present a language, TED, that combines declarativity with excellent performance. TED can be used with any game engine supporting C#. In head-to-head comparisons TED code was 2-3 orders of magnitude faster than Prolog, 2-5 times more compact than C#, and only 25% slower than C#. It is used in both the research game Voix de la Ville and the upcoming commercial game Rise of Industry 2
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