Evaluation of Public Engagement Activities to Promote Science in a Zoo Environment

Scientists are increasing their efforts to promote public engagement with their science, but the efficacy of the methods used is often not scientifically evaluated. Here, we designed, installed and evaluated the educational impact of interactive games on touchscreens at two primate research centres based in zoo environments. The games were designed to promote interest in and understanding of primates and comparative psychology, as a scaffold towards interest in science more generally and with the intention of targeting younger individuals (under 16''s). We used systematic observational techniques and questionnaires to assess the impact of the games on zoo visitors. The games facilitated increased interest in psychology and science in zoo visitors, and changed the knowledge of visitors, through demonstration of learning about specific scientific findings nested within the games. The impact of such devices was greatest on younger individuals (under 16''s) as they were significantly more likely to engage with the games. On the whole, therefore, this study demonstrates that interactive devices can be successful educational tools, and adds to the growing body of evidence that conducting research on public view in zoos can have a tangible impact on public engagement with science.     

Rett syndrome molecular diagnosis and implications in genetic counseling

Rett syndrome is a rare genetic X-linked dominant disorder. This syndrome is the most frequent cause of mental retardation in girls. In the classical form of the disease, the presenting signs and the course of development are characteristic. However clinical diagnosis can be very difficult when the expression is not in the classical form. Mutations in MeCP2 are responsible for 80% of cases. When MeCP2 mutation is found in an index case, genetic counseling is similar to that in other X-linked dominant genetic diseases. However, mutations in this gene can cause a spectrum of atypical forms. On the other hand, other genetic conditions like translocations, sex chromosome numerical anomalies, and mutations in other genes can complicate genetic counseling in this syndrome. We present the first case of molecular diagnosis of Rett syndrome in Iran and discuss the recent developments in its genetic counseling.     

PHENOTYPIC CONSEQUENCES OF FORCING GERMINATION: A GENERAL PROBLEM OF INTERVENTION IN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Many evolutionary and ecological studies of plants with seed dormancy are plagued by design problems related to seed germination. On the one hand, traits of interest, especially life history traits like early growth rate or time to flowering, may not be independent of dormancy phenotype. On the other hand, germination-inducing treatments are likely to affect these traits of interest. Consequently, researchers often have had to use confounded designs without information about the consequences. To examine this problem, we studied how early growth in California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is affected by treating seeds with giberellic acid (GA) to stimulate germination. The dose used was sufficient to slightly but significantly advance emergence time in treated seeds, but it appeared to cause variable growth responses among treated seeds. Experiments using GA to stimulate germination may thus be misleading, at least for the populations and dose studied. Perhaps more importantly, the experimental and statistical approach we used can be employed to study the effects of this confounded design for other doses and species.     

Influence of field size on the physiological and skill demands of small-sided games in junior and senior rugby league players

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of changes in field size on the physiological and skill demands of small-sided games in elite junior and senior rugby league players. Sixteen elite senior rugby league players ([mean ± SE] age, 23.6 ± 0.5 years) and 16 elite junior rugby league players ([mean ± SE] age, 17.3 ± 0.3 years) participated in this study. On day 1, 2 teams played an 8-minute small-sided game on a small field (10-m width × 40-m length), whereas the remaining 2 teams played the small-sided game on a larger sized field (40-m width × 70-m length). On day 2, the groups were crossed over. Movement was recorded by a global positioning system unit sampling at 5 Hz. Games were filmed to count the number of possessions and the number and quality of disposals. The games played on a larger field resulted in a greater (p < 0.05) total distance covered, and distances covered in moderate, high, and very-high velocity movement intensities. Senior players covered more distance at moderate, high, and very-high intensities, and less distance at low and very-low intensities during small-sided games than junior players. Although increasing field size had no significant influence (p > 0.05) over the duration of recovery periods for junior players, larger field size significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the amount of short-, moderate-, and long-duration recovery periods in senior players. No significant between-group differences (p > 0.05) were detected for games played on a small or large field for the number or quality of skill involvements. These results suggest that increases in field size serve to increase the physiological demands of small-sided games but have minimal influence over the volume or quality of skill executions in elite rugby league players.     

Serious Games for Home Based Rehabilitation: Inertial Sensor Energy Consumption

Background

Serious games have recently immerged as a good tool for physical rehabilitation. This new technology can be used at home, to complement a traditional, clinic based, rehabilitation program. To implement a serious game at home, we need to use multiple sensors to record patients' data. Many serious games use visual motion capture techniques, like the Kinect camera, due to their low price and high portability. On the other hand, some other systems use inertial sensors to collect data at a higher degree of accuracy. In previous works, we showed that a serious gaming system could benefit from combining data from different sensors. However, the use of inertial sensors, in a home-based setting, remains a challenge since they need to be supplied by an independent battery source, which could influence the acceptability of such systems.

Influence of wrestling on the physiological and skill demands of small-sided games

This study investigated the influence of wrestling on the physiological and skill demands of small-sided games. Twenty-eight elite rugby league players ([mean ± SE] age, 21.6 ± 0.5 years) participated in this within-subject crossover study. On day 1, 14 players played 2, 8-minute small-sided games, whereas the remaining 14 players played identical games with intermittent wrestling throughout. Each game was separated by 90 seconds. On day 2, the groups were crossed over. Movement was recorded by a global positioning system unit (miniMaxX, Catapult Innovations, Melbourne, Australia), sampling at 5 Hz. Each small-sided game was filmed to track the number of possessions and the number and quality of disposals. The games without wrestling resulted in a greater (p < 0.05) total distance covered (2,475 ± 31 vs. 1,964 ± 27 m) and greater distance covered in low (930 ± 19 vs. 842 ± 19 m), moderate (1,120 ± 28 vs. 752 ± 26 m), high (332 ± 16 vs. 240 ± 12 m), and very-high (24 ± 4 vs. 15 ± 3 m) velocity movement intensities. Conversely, the games with wrestling resulted in a significantly greater (p < 0.05) distance covered in mild, moderate, and maximal accelerations and a greater number of repeated high-intensity effort bouts (2.1 ± 0.2 bouts vs. 0.2 ± 0.1 bouts). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were detected between games with and without wrestling for the total number of involvements, receives, passes, effective passes, ineffective passes, and disposal efficiency. The results of this study demonstrate that intermittent wrestling reduces the running demands but increases the repeated high-intensity effort demands of small-side games. Furthermore, these physiological changes occur without compromising the volume of skill executions, the number of errors, or disposal efficiency. From a practical perspective, these results suggest that intermittent wrestling may be a useful supplement to small-sided games to concurrently train repeated-effort ability and skills under game-specific fatigue.     

Power over reproduction in social hymenoptera

Inclusive fitness theory has been very successful in predicting and explaining much of the observed variation in the reproductive characteristics of insect societies. For example, the theory correctly predicts sex-ratio biasing by workers in relation to the queen''s mating frequency. However, within an insect society there are typically multiple reproductive optima, each corresponding to the interest of different individual(s) or parties of interest. When multiple optima occur, which party''s interests prevail? Presumably, the interests of the party with the greatest ''power''; the ability to do or act. This article focuses on factors that influence power over colony reproduction. In particular, we seek to identify the principles that may cause different parties of interest to have greater or lesser power. In doing this, we discuss power from two different angles. On the one hand, we discuss general factors based upon non-idiosyncratic biological features (e.g. information, access to and ability to process food) that are likely to be important to all social Hymenoptera. On the other hand, we discuss idiosyncratic factors that depend upon the biology of a taxon at any hierarchical level. We propose that a better understanding of the diversity of reproductive characteristics of insect societies will come from combining inclusive fitness theory with a wide range of other factors that affect relative power in a conflict situation.     

Failure to Demonstrate That Playing Violent Video Games Diminishes Prosocial Behavior

Background

Past research has found that playing a classic prosocial video game resulted in heightened prosocial behavior when compared to a control group, whereas playing a classic violent video game had no effect. Given purported links between violent video games and poor social behavior, this result is surprising. Here our aim was to assess whether this finding may be due to the specific games used. That is, modern games are experienced differently from classic games (more immersion in virtual environments, more connection with characters, etc.) and it may be that playing violent video games impacts prosocial behavior only when contemporary versions are used.

Methods and Findings

Experiments 1 and 2 explored the effects of playing contemporary violent, non-violent, and prosocial video games on prosocial behavior, as measured by the pen-drop task. We found that slight contextual changes in the delivery of the pen-drop task led to different rates of helping but that the type of game played had little effect. Experiment 3 explored this further by using classic games. Again, we found no effect.

Conclusions

We failed to find evidence that playing video games affects prosocial behavior. Research on the effects of video game play is of significant public interest. It is therefore important that speculation be rigorously tested and findings replicated. Here we fail to substantiate conjecture that playing contemporary violent video games will lead to diminished prosocial behavior.     

TOMOBFLOW: feature-preserving noise filtering for electron tomography

Background  

Noise filtering techniques are needed in electron tomography to allow proper interpretation of datasets. The standard linear filtering techniques are characterized by a tradeoff between the amount of reduced noise and the blurring of the features of interest. On the other hand, sophisticated anisotropic nonlinear filtering techniques allow noise reduction with good preservation of structures. However, these techniques are computationally intensive and are difficult to be tuned to the problem at hand.     

Genetic counseling for beta-thalassemia trait following health screening in a health maintenance organization: comparison of programmed and conventional counseling.

Providing adequate counseling of patients identified in genetic screening programs is a major responsibility and expense. Adults in a health maintenance organization, unselected for interest, were screened for beta-thalassemia trait as part of preventive health care. Counseling was provided by either a trained physician (conventional counseling) or by a videotape containing the same information followed by an opportunity to question a trained physician (programmed counseling). Immediately before and after counseling, knowledge of thalassemia, knowledge of genetics, and mood change were assessed by questionnaire. Comparable mood changes and similar learning about thalassemia and genetics occurred with both counseling methods. Thus, as judged by immediate effects on knowledge and mood, videotaped instruction can greatly reduce professional time required for genetic counseling and facilitate the incorporation of genetic screening into primary health care.     

Conflicts of interest in e-cigarette research: A public good and public interest perspective

The tobacco industry’s involvement in the electronic cigarette research that informs public health policy is controversial. On the one hand, some are concerned that their involvement presents conflicts of interest that bias research outputs and invalidate the policies that use them. On the other hand, some have argued that the tobacco industry may support valid research and contribute to the goals of public health, for instance, if the interests of the e-cigarette industry could be part of a tobacco smoking cessation policy. We approach this debate from the ethical perspective of the public interest and the public good, considering how legitimate researchers can square their expert opinion with validating tobacco industry-funded research, given the perfidy of the tobacco industry and paucity of robust, conclusive evidence on the public health impacts of liberalizing e-cigarette use.     

Glucosinolate research in the Arabidopsis era

The wide range of biological activities of products derived from the glucosinolate-myrosinase system is biologically and economically important. On the one hand, the degradation products of glucosinolates play an important role in the defence of plants against herbivores. On the other hand, these compounds have toxic (e.g. goitrogenic) as well as protective (e.g. cancer-preventing) effects in higher animals and humans. There is a strong interest in the ability to regulate and optimize the levels of individual glucosinolates tissue-specifically to improve the nutritional value and pest resistance of crops. Recent advances in our understanding of glucosinolate biosynthesis have brought us closer to this goal.     

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger: Transposons as Dual Players in Chromatin Regulation and Genomic Variation

Transposable elements (TEs) are sequences currently or historically mobile, and are present across all eukaryotic genomes. A growing interest in understanding the regulation and function of TEs has revealed seemingly dichotomous roles for these elements in evolution, development, and disease. On the one hand, many gene regulatory networks owe their organization to the spread of cis-elements and DNA binding sites through TE mobilization during evolution. On the other hand, the uncontrolled activity of transposons can generate mutations and contribute to disease, including cancer, while their increased expression may also trigger immune pathways that result in inflammation or senescence. Interestingly, TEs have recently been found to have novel essential functions during mammalian development. Here, the function and regulation of TEs are discussed, with a focus on LINE1 in mammals. It is proposed that LINE1 is a beneficial endogenous dual regulator of gene expression and genomic diversity during mammalian development, and that both of these functions may be detrimental if deregulated in disease contexts.     

ASHG/NSGC activities related to education. The doctoral degree in genetic counseling: attitudes of genetic counselors.

All 565 full members of the National Society of Genetic Counselors were surveyed in September 1989 to assess their attitudes toward a potential doctoral degree in genetic counseling. The usable return rate was 59.6% (337/565) of the full membership. One hundred eighty (54.4%) respondents indicated a need for a doctoral degree in genetic counseling, 101 (30.5%) were undecided as to the need, and 50 (15.1%) did not see a need for such a degree. One hundred forty-seven (44.3%) respondents indicated their individual interest in pursuing a doctorate in genetic counseling, 109 (32.8%) would not pursue such a degree, and 76 (22.9%) were undecided. Beyond the generally accepted feeling that genetic counseling should expand as a professional field, the reasons cited most often for seeking the Ph.D. in genetic counseling were professional recognition, a desire to specialize in a particular area, and greater depth of knowledge. The study revealed a strongly positive attitude, among full members of the NSGC, toward establishment of a doctoral degree in genetic counseling.     

Phylogenetic aspects of the sulfate assimilation genes from Thalassiosira pseudonana

Diatoms are unicellular algae responsible for approximately 20 % of global carbon fixation. Their evolution by secondary endocytobiosis resulted in a complex cellular structure and metabolism compared to algae with primary plastids. In the last years the interest on unicellular algae increased. On the one hand assessments suggest that diatom-mediated export production can influence climate change through uptake and sequestration of atmospheric CO₂. On the other hand diatoms are in focus because they are discussed as potential producer of biofuels. To follow the one or other idea it is necessary to investigate the diatoms biochemistry in order to understand the cellular regulatory mechanisms. The sulfur assimilation and methionine synthesis pathways provide S-containing amino acids for the synthesis of proteins and a range of metabolites such as dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) in order to provide basic metabolic precursors needed for the diatoms metabolism. To obtain an insight into the localization and organization of the sulfur metabolism pathways, the genome of Thalassiosira pseudonana—a model organism for diatom research—might help to understand the fundamental questions on adaptive responses of diatoms to dynamic environmental conditions such as nutrient availability in a broader context.     

Impact of patient-doctor race concordance on rates of weight-related counseling in visits by black and white obese individuals

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of patient-provider race concordance on weight-related counseling among visits by obese patients. We hypothesized that race concordance would be positively associated with weight-related counseling. We used clinical encounter data obtained from the 2005-2007 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys (NAMCS). The sample size included 2,231 visits of black and white obese individuals (ages 20 and older) to their black and white physicians from the specialties of general/family practice and general internal medicine. Three outcome measures of weight-related counseling were explored: weight reduction, diet/nutrition, and exercise. Logistic regression was used to model the outcome variables of interest. Wald tests were used to statistically compare whether physicians of each race provided counseling at different rates for obese patients of different races. We did not observe a positive association between patient-physician race concordance and weight-related counseling. We found that visits by black obese patients to white doctors had a lower odds of exercise counseling as compared to visits by white obese patients to white doctors (odds ratio (OR) = 0.54; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31, 0.95), and visits by black obese patients to black physicians had lower odds of receiving weight-reduction counseling than visits among white obese patients seeing black physicians (OR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.90). Black obese patients receive less exercise counseling than white obese patients in visits to white physicians and may be less likely than white obese patients to receive weight-reduction counseling in visits to black physicians.     

Reciprocity phase in various 2×2 games by agents equipped with two-memory length strategy encouraged by grouping for interaction and adaptation

This paper numerically investigates 2 × 2 games involving the Prisoner's Dilemma, Chicken, Hero, Leader, Stag Hunt, and Trivial Games in which agents have a strategy expressed by five-bit, two-memory length. Our motivation is to explore how grouping for game interaction and strategy adaptation influence ST reciprocity and R reciprocity (Tanimoto and Sagara, 2007a [Tanimoto, J., Sagara, H., 2007a. A study on emergence of coordinated alternating reciprocity in a 2 × 2 game with 2-memory length strategy. Biosystems 90(3), 728-737]. Enhanced R reciprocity is observed with the stronger grouping for game interaction when a relatively stronger grouping for strategy adaptation is assumed. On the other hand, enhanced ST reciprocity emerged with the stronger grouping for strategy adaptation when the relatively weaker grouping for game interaction is imposed. Our numerical experiment deals with those two groupings independently and dependently.     

Parental attitudes toward genetic testing for pediatric deafness

Recent molecular genetic advances have resulted in genetic testing becoming an option for deaf individuals and their families. However, there is little information about the interest in such testing. To investigate this issue, parents with normal hearing who have one or more deaf children were surveyed about their attitudes toward diagnostic, carrier, and prenatal genetic testing for deafness. This population was chosen because it represents the majority of individuals who are encountered in clinical practice, given that 90%-95% of deaf individuals are born to persons with normal hearing. Of 328 surveys distributed, 96 were completed and returned. Of the respondents, 96% recorded a positive attitude toward genetic testing for deafness, including prenatal testing, although none would use this information to terminate an affected pregnancy. All respondents had a poor understanding of genetics, with 98% both incorrectly estimating the recurrence risk of deafness and misunderstanding the concept of inheritance. Notably, these findings were similar in the group who had had genetic testing for their children and in the group who had not, suggesting either that the parents who received genetic testing did not receive genetic counseling or that the counseling was not effective. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that this population is interested in the use of genetic testing and that testing should not be done without first providing formal genetic counseling. Appropriate counseling can help parents to understand the risks, benefits, and limitations of genetic testing.     

What behaviour in economic games tells us about the evolution of non-human species' economic decision-making behaviour

In the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in using games derived from experimental economics to test decision-making behaviour across species. In most cases, researchers are using the games as a tool, for instance, to understand what factors influence decision-making, how decision-making differs across species or contexts, or to ask broader questions about species’ propensities to cooperate or compete. These games have been quite successful in this regard. To what degree, however, do these games tap into species'' economic decision-making? For the purpose of understanding the evolution of economic systems in humans, this is the key question. To study this, we can break economic decision-making down into smaller components, each of which is a potential step in the evolution of human economic behaviour. We can then use data from economic games, which are simplified, highly structured models of decision-making and therefore ideal for the comparative approach, to directly compare these components across species and contexts, as well as in relation to more naturalistic behaviours, to better understand the evolution of economic behaviour and the social and ecological contexts that influenced it. The comparative approach has successfully informed us about the evolution of other complex traits, such as language and morality, and should help us more deeply understand why and how human economic systems evolved.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates’.     

Dynamics to Equilibrium in Network Games: Individual Behavior and Global Response

Various social contexts can be depicted as games of strategic interactions on networks, where an individual’s welfare depends on both her and her partners’ actions. Whereas much attention has been devoted to Bayes-Nash equilibria in such games, here we look at strategic interactions from an evolutionary perspective. To this end, we present the results of a numerical simulations program for these games, which allows us to find out whether Nash equilibria are accessible by adaptation of player strategies, and in general to identify the attractors of the evolution. Simulations allow us to go beyond a global characterization of the cooperativeness at equilibrium and probe into individual behavior. We find that when players imitate each other, evolution does not reach Nash equilibria and, worse, leads to very unfavorable states in terms of welfare. On the contrary, when players update their behavior rationally, they self-organize into a rich variety of Nash equilibria, where individual behavior and payoffs are shaped by the nature of the game, the social network’s structure and the players’ position within the network. Our results allow to assess the validity of mean-field approaches we use to describe the dynamics of these games. Interestingly, our dynamically-found equilibria generally do not coincide with (but show qualitatively the same features of) those resulting from theoretical predictions in the context of one-shot games under incomplete information.