691 research outputs found
LGBTI variations in crime reporting: how sexual identity influences decisions to call the cops
No full textResearch shows that people vary in their willingness to report crime to police depending on the type of crime experienced, their gender, age, and their race or ethnicity. Whether or not lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) and heterosexual people vary in their willingness to report crime to the police is not well understood in the extant literature. In this article, I examine variations in LGBTI respondents' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on their intentions to report crimes to the police. Drawing on a survey of LGBTI individuals sampled from a Gay Pride community event and online LGBTI community forums (N = 329), I use quantitative statistical methods to examine whether LGBTI people's beliefs in police homophobia are also directly associated with the behavioral intention to report crime. Overall, the results indicate that LGBTI and heterosexual people differ significantly in their intention to report crime to the police, and that a belief in police homophobia strongly influences LGBTI people's intention to underreport crime to the police
Are Early Warning Scores Useful Predictors for Mortality and Morbidity in Hospitalised Acutely Unwell Older Patients? : A Systematic Review
No full textFunding: No funding was gained to directly support the conduct of this study. Toby Smith is supported by funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR. Acknowledgments: We thank Samuel Ronald Neal who proofread the manuscript.Peer reviewe
ROMP-Facilitated Methodologies and Automated Library Development of Thiadiazepin-1,1-dioxide-4-ones
No full textThe use of ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) for polymer-assisted solution phase (PASP) synthesis is described herein. Multiple ROMP-based strategies will be discussed in the scope of this dissertation. These include the development and application of a multifaceted oligomeric phosphate as a facilitated leaving group in both SN2 and SN2´ processes, as well as an in-situ generated sequestration reagent. We also investigate the use of ROMP in an atom-economical approach to generate a diverse collection of cyclic sulfonamides (sultams) whereby a vanishing support protocol imparts a traceless, chromatography-free synthesis of these motifs. Also highlighted within is the ability to use ROMP technology to aid in the development of higher-loading magnetic nanoparticles for the purpose of supported catalysis. These cobalt-based ROMPgel nanoparticles were subsequently doped with Pd and demonstrated for use in several Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions. The nanoparticles were conveniently reclaimed via external magnetic field and recycled for later use. Lastly, we present the design, validation, and completion of a 225-member library of thiadiazepin-1,1-dioxide-4-ones using both solution- and polymer-assisted solution phase protocols. The library was validated and conducted on an automated parallel synthesis platform in which a facile, two-step diversity-rendering sequence was performed
Investigating Labrador Sea's persistent surface O2 anomaly using observations and biogeochemical model results
No full textDeviations of surface ocean dissolved oxygen (O2) from equilibrium with the atmosphere should be rectified about twenty times more quickly than deviations of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2). Therefore, persistent O2 disequilibria in the Labrador Sea, while CO2 is close to equilibrium, has been a matter of interest to many previous works. Here we investigate this phenomenon by using a novel analytical technique, the ‘CORS (Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen Relative to Saturation) method’, and also by using more data than was available previously. We compare observations to results from a model we developed for the Labrador Sea which combines plankton ecology with biogeochemical cycling of oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. In contrast to earlier works which mostly considered individual factors in isolation, here we used the model, together with data, to distinguish between the varying influences of several processes potentially contributing to the long-lasting O2 undersaturation: mixed layer depth, duration of mixed layer deepening, convection, entrainment and bottom water O2 content. Our model experiments confirm that, for the same gas exchange rate, the effects on surface O2 concentration differ significantly among the identified drivers. Our results suggest that prolonged surface O2 undersaturation is not always dependent on the extreme winter mixed layer depths, but rather that even moderately deep mixed layers (e.g. 300m), when prolonged and in conjunction with continuous entrainment of oxygen-depleted deep water, can also drive persistent surface O2 anomalies. An implication of our results is that regions in the North Atlantic with maximum winter mixed layer depths of only a few hundred metres should also show persistent surface O2 undersaturation. We further reveal that convection in deep water formation regions produces trendlines that do not pass through the origin of a plot of CO2 vs. O2 deviations which have previously been thought to indicate erroneous data
Beginning teachers’ mathematical knowledge: What is needed?
No full textOver the past decade there has been growing interest in describing and measuring the kinds of mathematical knowledge needed by teachers. Such efforts are in parallel with the development of national standards for teachers, indicating levels of expectation across the years of teachers’ careers. This presentation provides an opportunity for teacher educators and teachers to consider the nature of mathematical knowledge needed by beginning teachers at all levels of schooling. Discussion will be informed by data from an ALTC funded national project that aims to improve the quality of pre-service teachers’ outcomes in mathematics and by the AAMT Standards framework
Eating behavior in college-students: TFEQ R-18 and qualitative perceptions of cell-phone use for recording diet
No full textSession presented on Thursday, July 21, 2016:
Purpose: Worldwide, an estimated 600 million adults are obese and 1.9 billion are overweight (World Health Organization, 2014). The etiology of obesity and overweight is complex, reflecting a combination of bio-behavioral, environmental, and social factors. Individual variations in cognition regarding diet may be partially explained by personal tendencies toward visual food cues and the propensity to act on food cues when food is available. While advances in neuroscience are laying the foundation for a cognitive phenotype of obesity and overweight, a small body of evidence suggests a relationship between how individuals think and feel about food, personal characteristics, and the review of personal food images (Carnell, Benson, Ochner, Geliebeter, 2011; Long, et al., 2013; Doumit, et al, 2015). The purpose of this project is to report phase one of a study designed to examine the relationship of cognitive restraint, emotional eating, and uncontrolled eating behavior with personal characteristics and perceptions of personal dietary images taken using cell phones to record diet in a college-age population.
Methods: This phase of the study used a hierarchical multiple regression, correlational, mixed-methods design. The research question for this study is What is the relationship of eating domains in the TFEQ R-18 with personal characteristics and the perception of diet after review of personalized images using cell phones? Twenty-eight college students were recruited from a single, large public university in the southwestern U.S. After study attrition, 27 subjects completed phase one of the study. Following informed consent, subjects self-reported height, weight, and demographic data, and completed the TFEQ R-18 instrument and 30 minutes of training for three days of dietary recording using an online tracking website and personal cell phones to record digital images of diet. Phase two (neuroimaging) was completed within two to three-weeks after the three days of diet recording. A private, 15-minute debriefing session was held with each participant after his/her neuroimaging session in which narrative responses were collected exploring their perception of use of the cell phone to record and review of food images. Data were cleaned after entry into SPSS version 22 for descriptive analysis. Hierarchal multiple regression analyses were conducted investigating the relationships between the cognitive restraint (CR), emotional eating (EE), and uncontrolled eating (UE) subscales from the TFEQ R-18 with gender, age, ethnicity, BMI, and weight category. Associations between age, BMI and TFEQ R-18 subscales also were explored. Narrative responses from individual debriefing sessions were combined by question and entered into a Word Cloud to examine word frequencies and patterns and to determine recurring themes.
Results: Sample demographics indicated fifteen (55.6%) were male and 12 (44.4%) were female. Seventeen (63%) were Caucasian, 3(1.1%) were African American, 5 (22.2%) were American Indian/Alaskan and one did not specify ethnicity. Age ranged from 19-28 with a mean age of 22.3 years. One (3.7%) was underweight, 16 (59.3%) were healthy weight, 6 (22.2%) were overweight, and 4 (14.8%) were classified as obese. The linear mixed-effects model found that personal attributes (weight status, gender, and BMI) and ethnicity explained a significant amount of the variance in the Cognitive Restraint subscale (F(4, 20)=3.75, p=.020, R2=.314, R2 Adjusted =.315). Statistically significant correlations were found with age and specific questions the EE subscale: items 4 - Sometimes when I start eating, I just can\u27t seem to stop and item 14 - How often do you feel hungry? (r=.395, p=0.046; r=-.389, p=0.050). No statistically significant associations were found with age or BMI and individual items in CR or UE domains or in CR, EE, or UE subscale totals. Recurring themes from the narrative analysis include \u27increased awareness\u27 of food intake and \u27ease/easy\u27 functionality of digital images from cell phones to record diet.
Conclusion: Narrative data obtained during the debriefing suggest visualization of personal diet heightened awareness of foods consumed. Review of digital pictures from cell phone cameras was considered an easy and functional adjunct to dietary memory. The TFEQ R-18 findings from phase one of this preliminary study are similar to those reported prior suggesting the limited relationships between subject characteristics and TFEQ R-18 domains to be sample-dependent. In this study the hierarchical multiple regression analysis suggests that the significant combined effects of demographic factors and ethnicity explain the variability in the CR subscale, thus adding to the body of evidence investigating eating behavior in this population. Prior work on the TFQE R-18 and the findings of phase one of this study suggest that the personal physiological mechanisms linked to how individuals view and feel about food remain enigmatic, emphasizing the need for continued inquiry at the biological level (phase two of this project). Limitations in phase one of this preliminary study include the small sample size and exploratory nature of the associations being explored
Can Machines Think? Interaction and Perspective Taking with Robots Investigated via fMRI
No full textKrach S, Hegel F, Wrede B, Sagerer G, Binkofski F, Kircher T. Can Machines Think? Interaction and Perspective Taking with Robots Investigated via fMRI. PLoS ONE. 2008;3(7): e2597.Background
When our PC goes on strike again we tend to curse it as if it were a human being. Why and under which circumstances do we attribute human-like properties to machines? Although humans increasingly interact directly with machines it remains unclear whether humans implicitly attribute intentions to them and, if so, whether such interactions resemble human-human interactions on a neural level. In social cognitive neuroscience the ability to attribute intentions and desires to others is being referred to as having a Theory of Mind (ToM). With the present study we investigated whether an increase of human-likeness of interaction partners modulates the participants' ToM associated cortical activity.
Methodology/Principal Findings
By means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (subjects n = 20) we investigated cortical activity modulation during highly interactive human-robot game. Increasing degrees of human-likeness for the game partner were introduced by means of a computer partner, a functional robot, an anthropomorphic robot and a human partner. The classical iterated prisoner's dilemma game was applied as experimental task which allowed for an implicit detection of ToM associated cortical activity. During the experiment participants always played against a random sequence unknowingly to them. Irrespective of the surmised interaction partners' responses participants indicated having experienced more fun and competition in the interaction with increasing human-like features of their partners. Parametric modulation of the functional imaging data revealed a highly significant linear increase of cortical activity in the medial frontal cortex as well as in the right temporo-parietal junction in correspondence with the increase of human-likeness of the interaction partner (computer<functional robot<anthropomorphic robot<human).
Conclusions/Significance
Both regions correlating with the degree of human-likeness, the medial frontal cortex and the right temporo-parietal junction, have been associated with Theory-of-Mind. The results demonstrate that the tendency to build a model of another's mind linearly increases with its perceived human-likeness. Moreover, the present data provides first evidence of a contribution of higher human cognitive functions such as ToM in direct interactions with artificial robots. Our results shed light on the long-lasting psychological and philosophical debate regarding human-machine interaction and the question of what makes humans being perceived as human
An Investigation of the Electrochemical, Spectroscopic, and Electrochemiluminescent Properties of Platinum Ii Octaethylporphyrin Including a New, Experimental System For Testing Hydrophobic, Light-Emitting Molecules
No full textThe electrochemical, spectroscopic, and the electrogenerated chemiluminescent (ECL) properties of platinum (II) octaethylporphyrin (PtOEP) were investigated under non-aqueous solvent conditions. Coreactant methods were used to produce ECL from PtOEP using tri-n-propylamine as the coreactant. The ECL efficiency (øECL) of the PtOEP was = 0.18 in a 50:50 v/v mixture of acetonitrile: methylene chloride at a concentration of 100 uM as compared to 10uM Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂ øECL = 1.0. The ECL efficiency of the 100 uM PtOEP in 100% methylene chloride was found to be much more efficent øECL = 3.90 as compared to [Ru(bpy)₃(PF₆)₂]. This is most likely due to the quenching of the excited, Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ triplet state in these solvent conditions. Due to the need for increased hydrophobic molecules was designed, built, and tested. The new, flow-type ECL cell was compared to previous methods used by the Richter research group. Testing of the new system has shown promising results including increased sensitivity and a decrease in analysis times
Open Source Software Adds to Collaboration, Transparency and Reproducibility in Archaeology
No full textAuthor: Pablo Markin Published Online: 2017-11-30 URL: http://openscience.com/open-source-software-contributes-to-project-collaboration-research-transparency-and-reproducibility-in-archeology/ A recent empirical study by Néhémie Strupler and Toby C. Wilkinson demonstrates that openly accessible digital tools, such as open-source Git and R platforms, can increase the transparency of archaeological fieldwork, while adding methodological rigor to its procedures. Excerpt While archaeology as a s..
Long-term effects of physical activity level on changes in healthy body mass index over 12 years in young adult women
No full textObjectives\ud
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- To examine the effects of overall level and timing of physical activity (PA) on changes from a healthy body mass index (BMI) category over 12 years in young adult women.\ud
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Patients and Methods\ud
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- Participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (younger cohort, born 1973-1978) completed surveys between 2000 (age 22-27 years) and 2012 (age 34-39 years). Physical activity was measured in 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009 and was categorized as very low, low, active, or very active at each survey, and a cumulative PA score for this 9-year period was created. Logistic regression was used to examine relationships between PA accumulated across all surveys (cumulative PA model) and PA at each survey (critical periods PA model), with change in BMI category (from healthy to overweight or healthy to obese) from 2000 to 2012.\ud
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Results\ud
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- In women with a healthy BMI in 2000, there were clear dose-response relationships between accumulated PA and transition to overweight (P=.03) and obesity (P<.01) between 2000 and 2012. The critical periods analysis indicated that very active levels of PA at the 2006 survey (when the women were 28-33 years old) and active or very active PA at the 2009 survey (age 31-36 years) were most protective against transitioning to overweight and obesity.\ud
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Conclusion\ud
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- These findings confirm that maintenance of very high PA levels throughout young adulthood will significantly reduce the risk of becoming overweight or obese. There seems to be a critical period for maintaining high levels of activity at the life stage when many women face competing demands of caring for infants and young children
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