Tightness–looseness across the 50 united states Harrington, Jesse R.; Gelfand, Michele J.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
06/2014, Letnik:
111, Številka:
22
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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This research demonstrates wide variation in tightness–looseness (the strength of punishment and degree of latitude/permissiveness) at the state level in the United States, as well as its association ...with a variety of ecological and historical factors, psychological characteristics, and state-level outcomes. Consistent with theory and past research, ecological and man-made threats—such as a higher incidence of natural disasters, greater disease prevalence, fewer natural resources, and greater degree of external threat—predicted increased tightness at the state level. Tightness is also associated with higher trait conscientiousness and lower trait openness, as well as a wide array of outcomes at the state level. Compared with loose states, tight states have higher levels of social stability, including lowered drug and alcohol use, lower rates of homelessness, and lower social disorganization. However, tight states also have higher incarceration rates, greater discrimination and inequality, lower creativity, and lower happiness relative to loose states. In all, tightness–looseness provides a parsimonious explanation of the wide variation we see across the 50 states of the United States of America.
The consumption of free sugars in the UK is more than double the guideline intake for adults and close to triple for children, with soft drinks representing a significant proportion. The aim of this ...study was to assess how individual soft drink companies and consumers have responded to calls to reduce sugar consumption, including the soft drink industry levy (SDIL), between 2015 and 2018.
This was an annual cross-sectional study using nutrient composition data of 7377 products collected online, paired with volume sales data for 195 brands offered by 57 companies. The main outcome measures were sales volume, sugar content and volume of sugars sold by company and category, expressed in total and per capita per day terms.
Between 2015 and 2018, the volume of sugars sold per capita per day from soft drinks declined by 30%, equivalent to a reduction of 4.6 g per capita per day. The sales-weighted mean sugar content of soft drinks fell from 4.4 g/100 ml in 2015 to 2.9 g/100 ml in 2018. The total volume sales of soft drinks that are subject to the SDIL (i.e. contain more than 5 g/100 ml of sugar) fell by 50%, while volume sales of low- and zero-sugar (< 5 g/100 ml) drinks rose by 40%.
Action by the soft drinks industry to reduce sugar in products and change their product portfolios, coupled with changes in consumer purchasing, has led to a significant reduction in the total volume and per capita sales of sugars sold in soft drinks in the UK. The rate of change accelerated between 2017 and 2018, which also implies that the implementation of the SDIL acted as an extra incentive for companies to reformulate above and beyond what was already being done as part of voluntary commitments to reformulation, or changes in sales driven by consumer preferences.
The Strength of Social Norms Across Human Groups Gelfand, Michele J.; Harrington, Jesse R.; Jackson, Joshua Conrad
Perspectives on psychological science,
09/2017, Letnik:
12, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Social norms are a defining feature of human psychology, yet our understanding of them is still underdeveloped. In this article, we present our own cross-cultural research program on ...tightness-looseness (TL)—which draws on field, experimental, computational, and neuroscience methods—to illustrate how going beyond Western borders is critical for understanding social norms’ functions and their multilevel consequences. Cross-cultural research enables us to account for the universal features of norm psychology but also explains the great cultural diversity we see in social norms around the globe.
Sofosbuvir (Sovaldi, SOF) is a nucleotide analog prodrug that targets the hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 5B (NS5B) polymerase and inhibits viral replication. High sustained virological ...response rates are achieved when SOF is used in combination with ribavirin with or without pegylated interferon in subjects with chronic HCV infection. Potential mechanisms of HCV resistance to SOF and other nucleos(t)ide analog NS5B polymerase inhibitors are not well understood. SOF was the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved antiviral drug for which genotypic resistance analyses were based almost entirely on next‐generation sequencing (NGS), an emerging technology that lacks a standard data analysis pipeline. The FDA Division of Antiviral Products developed an NGS analysis pipeline and performed independent analyses of NGS data from five SOF clinical trials. Additionally, structural bioinformatics approaches were used to characterize potential resistance‐associated substitutions. Using protocols we developed, independent analyses of the NGS data reproduced results that were comparable to those reported by Gilead Sciences, Inc. Low‐frequency, treatment‐emergent substitutions occurring at conserved NS5B amino acid positions in subjects who experienced virological failure were also noted and further evaluated. The NS5B substitutions, L159F (sometimes in combination with L320F or C316N) and V321A, emerged in 2.2%‐4.4% of subjects who failed SOF treatment across clinical trials. Moreover, baseline polymorphisms at position 316 were potentially associated with reduced response rates in HCV genotype 1b subjects. Analyses of these variants modeled in NS5B crystal structures indicated that all four substitutions could feasibly affect SOF anti‐HCV activity. Conclusion: SOF has a high barrier to resistance; however, low‐frequency NS5B substitutions associated with treatment failure were identified that may contribute to resistance of this important drug for chronic HCV infection. (Hepatology 2015;61:56–65)
To estimate the cost-effectiveness of stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation by using novel oral anticoagulants apixaban 5 mg, dabigatran 150 mg, and rivaroxaban 20 mg ...compared with warfarin.
A Markov decision-analysis model was constructed using data from clinical trials to evaluate lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life-years of novel oral anticoagulants compared with warfarin. The modeled population was a hypothetical cohort of 70-year-old patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, increased risk for stroke (CHADS2 ≥ 1), renal creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min, and no previous contraindications to anticoagulation. The willingness-to-pay threshold was $50 000/quality-adjusted life-years gained.
In the base case, warfarin had the lowest cost of $77 813 (SD, $2223), followed by rivaroxaban 20 mg ($78 738 ± $1852), dabigatran 150 mg ($82 719 ± $1959), and apixaban 5 mg ($85 326 ± $1512). Apixaban 5 mg had the highest quality-adjusted life-years estimate at 8.47 (SD, 0.06), followed by dabigatran 150 mg (8.41 ± 0.07), rivaroxaban 20 mg (8.26 ± 0.06), and warfarin (7.97 ± 0.04). In a Monte Carlo probabilistic sensitivity analysis, apixaban 5 mg, dabigatran 150 mg, rivaroxaban 20 mg, and warfarin were cost-effective in 45.1%, 40%, 14.9%, 0% of the simulations, respectively.
In patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and an increased risk of stroke prophylaxis, apixaban 5 mg, dabigatran 150 mg, and rivaroxaban 20 mg were all cost-effective alternatives to warfarin. The cost-effectiveness of novel oral anticoagulantss was dependent on therapy pricing in the United States and neurological events associated with rivaroxaban 20 mg.
Evaluation of the environmental benefits of constructed wetlands (CWs) requires an understanding of their impacts on the groundwater quality under the wetlands. Empirical mass-balance (nitrogen ...in/nitrogen out) approaches for estimating nitrogen (N) removal in CWs do not characterise the final fate of N; where nitrate (NO3−-N) could be reduced to either ammonium (NH4+-N) or N2 with the potential for significant production of N2O. Herein, in situ denitrification and DNRA (dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium) rates were measured in groundwater beneath cells of an earthen lined integrated constructed wetland (ICW, used to remove the nutrients from municipal wastewater) using the 15N-enriched NO3−-N push-pull method. Experiments were conducted utilising replicated (n = 3) shallow (1 m depth) and deep (4 m depth) piezometers installed along two control planes. These control planes allowed for the assessment of groundwater underlying high (Cell 2, septic tank waste) and low (Cell 3) load cells of the ICW. Background piezometers were also installed off-site. Results showed that denitrification (N2O-N + N2-N) and DNRA were major NO3−-N consumption processes accounting together for 54–79% of the total biochemical consumption of the applied NO3−-N. Of which 14–16% and 40–63% were consumed by denitrification and DNRA, respectively. Both processes differed significantly across ICW cells indicating that N transformation depends on nutrient loading rates and were significantly higher in shallow compared to the deep groundwater. In such a reduced environment (low dissolved oxygen and low redox potential), higher DNRA over the denitrification rate can be attributed to the high C concentration and high TC/NO3−-N ratio. Low pH (6.5–7.1) in this system might have limited denitrification to some extent to an incomplete state, evidenced by a high N2O-N/(N2O-N+N2-N) ratio (0.35 ± 0.17, SE). A relatively higher N2O-N/(N2O-N+N2-N) ratio and higher DNRA rate over denitrification, suggest that the end products of N transformations are reactive. This N2O can be consumed to N2 and/or emitted to the atmosphere. The DNRA rate and accumulation of NH4+-N indicated that the ICW created a suitable groundwater biogeochemical environment that enhanced NO3−-N reduction to NH4+-N. This study showed that CWs significantly influence NO3−-N attenuation to reactive forms of N in the groundwater beneath them and that solely focusing on within wetland NO3−-N attenuation can underestimate the environmental benefits of wetlands.
Relative contributions of denitrification, DNRA and other biochemical processes to the total biochemical NO3−-N consumption during the in situ 15NO3−-N push pull test at two different groundwater depths below two constructed wetland cells. Display omitted
•Nitrate consumption by denitrification and DNRA was high in constructed wetland.•Nitrogen transformation rates were dependent on nutrient loading rates.•Nitrogen transformation rates were higher in shallow compared to the deep groundwater.•DNRA rate was the dominant process in constructed wetland.•ICW created suitable groundwater biogeochemistry enhancing NO3−-N reduction to NH4+.
This paper presents an assessment of the suspended sediment rating curve approach for load estimation on the Rivers Bandon and Owenabue in Ireland. The rivers, located in the South of Ireland, are ...underlain by sandstone, limestones and mudstones, and the catchments are primarily agricultural. A comprehensive database of suspended sediment data is not available for rivers in Ireland. For such situations, it is common to estimate suspended sediment concentrations from the flow rate using the suspended sediment rating curve approach. These rating curves are most commonly constructed by applying linear regression to the logarithms of flow and suspended sediment concentration or by applying a power curve to normal data. Both methods are assessed in this paper for the Rivers Bandon and Owenabue.
Turbidity-based suspended sediment loads are presented for each river based on continuous (15min) flow data and the use of turbidity as a surrogate for suspended sediment concentration is investigated. A database of paired flow rate and suspended sediment concentration values, collected between the years 2004 and 2011, is used to generate rating curves for each river. From these, suspended sediment load estimates using the rating curve approach are estimated and compared to the turbidity based loads for each river. Loads are also estimated using stage and seasonally separated rating curves and daily flow data, for comparison purposes.
The most accurate load estimate on the River Bandon is found using a stage separated power curve, while the most accurate load estimate on the River Owenabue is found using a general power curve. Maximum full monthly errors of −76% to +63% are found on the River Bandon with errors of −65% to +359% found on the River Owenabue. The average monthly error on the River Bandon is −12% with an average error of +87% on the River Owenabue. The use of daily flow data in the load estimation process does not result in a significant loss of accuracy on either river. Historic load estimates (with a 95% confidence interval) were hindcast from the flow record and average annual loads of 7253±673tonnes on the River Bandon and 1935±325tonnes on the River Owenabue were estimated to be passing the gauging stations.
► Rating curve based loads are compared to continuous turbidity based loads. ► Rating curves estimate the annual load accurately (mean error of <12%). ► Monthly uncertainties are greater (>30%) especially for months with small loads. ► Rating curve separation did not increase the accuracy of the SS load significantly. ► Mean historic SS yields are 17.1–18.8tkm−2year−1.
Throughout history and within numerous disciplines, there exists a perennial debate about how societies should best be organized. Should they emphasize individual freedom and autonomy or security and ...constraint? Contrary to proponents who tout the benefits of one over the other, we demonstrate across 32 nations that both freedom and constraint exhibit a curvilinear relationship with many indicators of societal well-being. Relative to moderate nations, very permissive and very constrained nations exhibit worse psychosocial outcomes (lower happiness, greater dysthymia, higher suicide rates), worse health outcomes (lower life expectancy, greater mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and diabetes) and poorer economic and political outcomes (lower gross domestic product per capita, greater risk for political instability). This supports the notion that a balance between freedom and constraint results in the best national outcomes. Accordingly, it is time to shift the debate away from either constraint or freedom and focus on both in moderation.
Our aim was to determine changes in free amino acid (FAA) and dipeptide (DP) concentrations in probable Alzheimer's disease (pAD) subjects compared with control (CT) subjects using liquid ...chromatography and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS²). We recruited gender- and age-matched study participants based on neurological and neuropsychological assessments. We measured FAAs and DPs in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), plasma and urine using LCMS² with selected reaction monitoring (SRM). Imidazole-containing FAAs (histidine, methyl-histidine), catecholamines (L-DOPA and dopamine), citrulline, ornithine, glycine and antioxidant DPs (carnosine and anserine) accounted for the major changes between CT and pAD. Carnosine levels were significantly lower in pAD (328.4 ± 91.31 nmol/dl) than in CT plasma (654.23 ± 100.61 nmol/dl). In contrast, L-DOPA levels were higher in pAD (1400.84 ± 253.68) than CT (513.10 ± 121.61 nmol/dl) plasma. These data underscore the importance of FAA and DP metabolism in the pathogenesis of AD. Since our data show changes in antioxidants, neurotransmitters and their precursors, or FAA associated with urea metabolism in pAD compared with CT, we propose that manipulation of these metabolic pathways may be important in preventing AD progression.
A prescription is presented for the interpolation between multi-dimensional distribution templates based on one or multiple model parameters. The technique uses a linear combination of templates, ...each created using fixed values of the model׳s parameters and transformed according to a specific procedure, to model a non-linear dependency on model parameters and the dependency between them. By construction the technique scales well with the number of input templates used, which is a useful feature in modern day particle physics, where a large number of templates are often required to model the impact of systematic uncertainties.
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