A Psychological Exploration of Engagement in Geek Culture

Geek culture is a subculture of enthusiasts that is traditionally associated with obscure media (Japanese animation, science fiction, video games, etc.). However, geek culture is becoming increasingly mainstream; for example, in the past year alone, Dragon*Con, a major Geek convention in Atlanta, Georgia, attracted an attendance of over 57,000 members. The present article uses an individual differences approach to examine three theoretical accounts of geek culture. Seven studies (N = 2354) develop the Geek Culture Engagement Scale (GCES) to quantify geek engagement and assess its relationships to theoretically relevant personality and individual differences variables. These studies present evidence that individuals may engage in geek culture in order to maintain narcissistic self-views (the great fantasy migration hypothesis), to fulfill belongingness needs (the belongingness hypothesis), and to satisfy needs for creative expression (the need for engagement hypothesis). Geek engagement is found to be associated with elevated grandiose narcissism, extraversion, openness to experience, depression, and subjective well-being across multiple samples. These data lay the groundwork for further exploration of geek culture as well as provide a foundation for examining other forms of subculture participation.     

Genes newly identified as regulated by glucocorticoids in murine thymocytes

Glucocorticoids induce dramatic biochemical and morphological changes in lymphocytes through an unknown process that requires RNA and protein synthesis. In order to identify genes involved in this response, we previously isolated 11 cDNA clones from the murine WEHI-7TG thymoma cell line that correspond to mRNAs induced by glucocorticoids. We now report the isolation of two new cDNA clones whose gene expression is regulated by glucocorticoids in WEHI-7TG cells. We further characterize the two new cDNA clones, as well as those described previously, by examining the response of each of the corresponding mRNAs to glucocorticoids in murine thymocytes. With the exception of two, all cDNAs correspond to genes that are induced by glucocorticoids in murine thymocytes within 4 h of treatment. We previously identified two of the cDNAs as the mouse VL30 retrovirus-like element and the mouse homolog of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan core protein. We have now identified four additional cDNA clones that correspond to the genes for calmodulin, mitochondrial phosphate carrier protein, immunoglobulin (Ig)-related glycoprotein (GP-70), and the 70 kilodalton autoantigen for Lupus and Graves diseases. Two other cDNA clones represent previously undescribed genes: one shares a high similarity to known sequences for the family of G-protein-coupled receptors and the other to a human placental-specific protein, PP11. Another cDNA appears to contain sequences for an unknown gene and the remnants of a mouse transposon. ETn. The remaining clones represent new, unidentified genes induced by glucocorticoids in murine thymocytes and in the WEHI-7TG cell line.     

Identifying Space Use at Foraging Arena Scale within the Home Ranges of Large Herbivores

An intermediate spatiotemporal scale of food procurement by large herbivores is evident within annual or seasonal home ranges. It takes the form of settlement periods spanning several days or weeks during which foraging activity is confined to spatially discrete foraging arenas, separated by roaming interludes. Extended by areas occupied for other activities, these foraging arenas contribute towards generating the home range structure. We delineated and compared the foraging arenas exploited by two African large herbivores, sable antelope (a ruminant) and plains zebra (a non-ruminant), using GPS-derived movement data. We developed a novel approach to specifically delineate foraging arenas based on local change points in distance relative to adjoining clusters of locations, and compared its output with modifications of two published methods developed for home range estimation and residence time estimation respectively. We compared how these herbivore species responded to seasonal variation in food resources and how they differed in their spatial patterns of resource utilization. Sable antelope herds tended to concentrate their space use locally, while zebra herds moved more opportunistically over a wider set of foraging arenas. The amalgamated extent of the foraging arenas exploited by sable herds amounted to 12-30 km², compared with 22-100 km² for the zebra herds. Half-day displacement distances differed between settlement periods and roaming interludes, and zebra herds generally shifted further over 12h than sable herds. Foraging arenas of sable herds tended to be smaller than those of zebra, and were occupied for period twice as long, and hence exploited more intensively in days spent per unit area than the foraging arenas of zebra. For sable both the intensity of utilization of foraging arenas and proportion of days spent in foraging arenas relative to roaming interludes declined as food resources diminished seasonally, while zebra showed no seasonal variation in these metrics. Identifying patterns of space use at foraging arena scale helps reveal mechanisms generating the home range extent, and in turn the local population density. Thereby it helps forge links between behavioural ecology, movement ecology and population ecology.     

Rapid Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation for Women in an HIV-1 Prevention Clinical Trial Experiencing Primary HIV-1 Infection during Pregnancy or Breastfeeding

During an HIV-1 prevention clinical trial in East Africa, we observed 16 cases of primary HIV-1 infection in women coincident with pregnancy or breastfeeding. Nine of eleven pregnant women initiated rapid combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), despite having CD4 counts exceeding national criteria for ART initiation; breastfeeding women initiated ART or replacement feeding. Rapid ART initiation during primary HIV-1 infection during pregnancy and breastfeeding is feasible in this setting.     

Advanced phenology of intraguild predators shifts herbivore host plant preference and performance

1. The abundance of insect herbivores is mediated by interactions with higher and lower trophic levels. This research asks (i) how phenological change across trophic levels affects host plant quality and selection for aphids, and (ii) what higher trophic level mechanisms drive aphid abundance. 2. Ligusticum porteri is a perennial host for the sap-feeding aphid Aphis asclepiadis and intraguild mirid predators (chiefly Lygus hesperus) in Colorado. We used long-term observational data to discover that aphids and mirids respond differently to phenological cues. These unique responses can impact aphid abundance through changes to host plant selection and quality. 3. We used behavioural choice assays to assess how advanced mirid phenology influences aphid host plant selection. More alates landed and reproduced on mirid-free control plants relative to host plants with prior mirid feeding. However, this preference did not correlate with aphid performance when we compared aphid relative growth rates between treatments. This suggests that advanced mirid phenology would impact aphid populations more through host plant choice, rather than reductions in host quality. The addition of mirids to experimental aphid colonies also demonstrated reduced aphid colony growth via predation. 4. We measured plant cues involved in host selection and found differences in volatile composition between plants with prior mirid feeding compared to control plants, providing the potential for aphids to detect enemy-free space using volatile cues.