Why did COVID-19 hit some countries harder than others? While this question is usually answered based on demographics (e. g., population age), health policy (e.g., quarantine), or economic factors, ...we argue that cultural variance across countries is just as crucial in understanding how susceptible a society is to the COVID-19 outbreak. To test this hypothesis, we first analyzed data collected across 69 countries and examined the relationship between culture and the impact of COVID. Next, we conducted two studies to validate our findings further and explore the mechanism at hand. As expected, we found that the more individualistic (vs. collectivistic) a country was, the more COVID-19 cases and mortalities it had. We also found that the more individualistic participants were, the higher the chances they would not adhere to epidemic prevention measures. These findings are important in understanding the spread of the pandemic, devising optimal exit strategies from lockdowns, and persuading the population to get the new vaccine against the virus.
There is unmet need for effective stroke therapies. Numerous neuroprotection attempts for acute cerebral ischemia have failed and as a result there is growing interest in developing therapies to ...promote functional recovery through increasing synaptic plasticity. For this research study, we hypothesized that in addition to its previously reported role in mediating cell death during the acute phase, the alpha isoform of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, p38α, may also contribute to interleukin-1β-mediated impairment of functional recovery during the subacute phase after acute ischemic stroke. Accordingly, an oral, brain-penetrant, small molecule p38α inhibitor, neflamapimod, was evaluated as a subacute phase stroke treatment to promote functional recovery. Neflamapimod administration to rats after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion at two dose levels was initiated outside of the previously characterized therapeutic window for neuroprotection of less than 24 hours for p38α inhibitors. Six-week administration of neflamapimod, starting at 48 hours after reperfusion, significantly improved behavioral outcomes assessed by the modified neurological severity score at Week 4 and at Week 6 post stroke in a dose-dependent manner. Neflamapimod demonstrated beneficial effects on additional measures of sensory and motor function. It also resulted in a dose-related increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein levels, a previously reported potential marker of synaptic plasticity that was measured in brain homogenates at sacrifice. Taken together with literature evidence on the role of p38α-dependent suppression by interleukin-1β of BDNF-mediated synaptic plasticity and BDNF production, our findings support a mechanistic model in which inhibition of p38α promotes functional recovery after ischemic stroke by blocking the deleterious effects of interleukin-1β on synaptic plasticity. The dose-related in vivo efficacy of neflamapimod offers the possibility of having a therapy for stroke that could be initiated outside the short time window for neuroprotection and for improving recovery after a completed stroke.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Decades of research in social identity have shown that people instinctively hold positive attitudes towards ingroup members and negative attitudes towards outgroup members. However, it remains ...unclear how people respond to individuals explicitly identified with both one’s ingroup and outgroup. We propose that when people are exposed to dual-identified individuals and groups (e.g., Muslim-Americans explicitly identifying with both their Muslim and American identities), intergroup attitudes will improve, driven more by the ingroup component (American), despite the presence of the outgroup component (Muslim). Moreover, we suggest exposure to dual-identification can also improve attitudes toward the broader outgroup (Muslims more generally), a phenomenon called the gateway-group effect. To test these hypotheses, we created a new measure of dual-identification and conducted three studies involving both Muslim-Americans and Mexican-Americans. Results confirmed that exposure to explicitly dual-identified groups improved attitudes towards the dual-identified group (e.g., Mexican-Americans) as well as toward the respective outgroup (e.g., Mexicans).
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
CLICdp, the CLIC detector and physics study, is an international collaboration presently composed of 23 institutions. The collaboration is addressing detector and physics issues for the future ...Compact Linear Collider (CLIC), a high-energy electron-positron accelerator which is one of the options for the next collider to be built at CERN. Precision physics under challenging beam and background conditions is the key theme for the CLIC detector studies. This leads to a number of cutting-edge R&D activities within CLICdp. The talk includes a brief introduction to CLIC, accelerator and detectors, hardware R&D as well as physics studies at CLIC.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The literature on behavioral decision-making and negotiations to date usually advocates first-mover advantage in distributive negotiations, and bases this preference on the anchoring heuristic. In ...the following paper, we suggest that the preference for moving first vs. moving second in negotiations may not be as clear-cut as presumed, especially in situations characterized by information asymmetry between negotiating counterparts. In Study 1, we examined people's initiation preferences and found that unless taught otherwise, people intuitively often prefer to move second. In Studies 2-4, we experimentally tested the suggested advantage of moving second, and demonstrated that in information-asymmetry scenarios - when one party has perfect background information and the other has none - it is actually preferable for both counterparts not to give the first offer while negotiating. We discuss the implications of our findings on the field of negotiation and decision-making, and lay the groundwork for future studies examining this issue.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We introduce a novel visual-stimuli four-arm maze (ViS4M) equipped with spectrally- and intensity-controlled LED emitters and dynamic grayscale objects that relies on innate exploratory behavior to ...assess color and contrast vision in mice. Its application to detect visual impairments during normal aging and over the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is evaluated in wild-type (WT) and transgenic APP
/PS1
murine models of AD (AD
) across an array of irradiance, chromaticity, and contrast conditions. Substantial color and contrast-mode alternation deficits appear in AD
mice at an age when hippocampal-based memory and learning is still intact. Profiling of timespan, entries and transition patterns between the different arms uncovers variable AD-associated impairments in contrast sensitivity and color discrimination, reminiscent of tritanomalous defects documented in AD patients. Transition deficits are found in aged WT mice in the absence of alternation decline. Overall, ViS4M is a versatile, controlled device to measure color and contrast-related vision in aged and diseased mice.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Research has found that teaching people about psychological biases can help counteract biased behavior. On the other hand, due to the innate need for preservation of a positive self-image, it is ...likely that teaching people about biases they hold, may cause a boomerang effect in cases where being associated with a specific bias implies negative social connotations. In the three studies below we examine situations in which psychological bias implies negatively associated behavior, and show that teaching people about bias in those contexts can be counterproductive.
The modern era of globalization has been accompanied by a massive growth in interconnections between groups, and has led to the sharing of multiple identities by individuals and groups. Following ...these developments, research has focused on the issue of multiple identities, and has shed important light on how
who hold these complex forms of identity feel and behave, and on the reactions they elicit from members of other groups. However, the potential of
with such multiple identities (e.g., biracials, immigrants, etc.) to affect the intergroup relations between the groups that represent the respective sources of the different identities (e.g., Blacks and Whites, country of origin and country of residence, etc.) has not been examined to date. Accordingly, in this paper, we first systematically explore the potential of groups in which people identify with multiple social categories, or groups that are perceived as such by others, to play a role in intergroup dynamics. Next, we offer a theoretical framework outlining what functions groups of people with shared multiple identities may serve (as
or
) by proposing how their presence may facilitate or deteriorate intergroup relations. Finally, we present recent empirical research examining how groups of people with shared multiple identities can act as
and bridge the cleft between two separate groups that represent the respective sources of their different identities, and discuss the theoretical and practical implications for the field of intergroup relations.
One of the most recent developments in the realm of intergroup relations is that of the gateway group notion. This conceptual framework addresses the potential of groups with multiple social ...backgrounds to play a role in the facilitation of positive intergroup relations between their distinct social counterparts (e.g., immigrants as a gateway between home and host countries). Given their shared identity with different social groups, people with multiple identities can potentially bridge the cleft between the two otherwise separate groups with which they are affiliated. In this article, we first provide a theoretical introduction to the gateway group notion and review preliminary experimental and social network‐based research on gateway groups' potential to improve intergroup relations. We then integrate this novel concept with the existing literature on intergroup contact and social categorization and discuss the potential social implications of gateway groups.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Visual impairments, notably loss of contrast sensitivity and color vision, were documented in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients yet are critically understudied. This protocol describes a novel ...visual-stimuli four-arm maze (ViS4M; also called visual x-maze), which is a versatile x-shaped maze equipped with spectrum- and intensity-controlled light-emitting diode (LED) sources and dynamic grayscale objects. The ViS4M is designed to allow the assessment of color and contrast vision along with locomotor and cognitive functions in mice. In the color testing mode, the spectral distributions of the LED lights create four homogenous spaces that differ in chromaticity and luminance, corresponding to the mouse visual system. In the contrast sensitivity test, the four grayscale objects are placed in the middle of each arm, contrasting against the black walls and the white floors of the maze. Upon entering the maze, healthy wild-type (WT) mice tend to spontaneously alternate between arms, even under equiluminant conditions of illumination, suggesting that cognitively and visually intact mice use both color and brightness as cues to navigate the maze. Evaluation of the double-transgenic APP
/PS1
mouse model of AD (AD
mice) reveals substantial deficits to alternate in both color and contrast modes at an early age, when hippocampal-based memory and learning is still intact. Profiling of timespan, entries, and transition patterns between the different arms uncovers variable aging and AD-associated impairments in color discrimination and contrast sensitivity. The analysis of arm sequences of alternation reveals different pathways of exploration in young WT, old WT, and AD
mice, which can be used as color and contrast imprints of functionally intact versus impaired mice. Overall, we describe the utility of a novel visual x-maze test to identify behavioral changes in mice related to cognition, as well as color and contrast vision, with high precision and reproducibility. Graphic abstract: Exploratory behavior of AD
mice versus age- and sex-matched WT mice is tracked (top left: trajectory from a 5-min video file) in a novel visual-stimuli four-arm maze (ViS4M; also named visual x-maze) equipped with spectrum- and intensity-controlled LED sources or grayscale objects. Consecutive arm entries reveal that APP
/PS1
(AD
) mice alternate less between arms, as opposed to WT mice. Sequence analysis, according to the three alternation pathways (depicted by white, yellow, and brown arrows) under different conditions of illumination, uncovers specific deficits linked to color vision in AD
mice, evidenced by a color imprint chart.
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