Passive Facebook use, Facebook addiction, and associations with escapism: an experimental vignette study

There is relatively little research considering motivations of passive Facebook use. However, research regarding motivations of general Facebook use indicates that people use Facebook to escape – and that escapism may motivate passive Facebook use. Research also suggests that using Facebook to escape is associated with Facebook addiction. Using an experimental vignette design, the present research investigated whether passive Facebook use is motivated by escapism and whether this escape motivation is associated with passive Facebook addiction. A within-participant experimental design using vignettes was used to explore the effect of positivity and, in addition, socialness on passive Facebook use. Addiction to passive Facebook use and perceived effect of passive Facebook use on mood were also assessed. Participants (n=69) responded to 16 vignettes describing daily life events, as well as responding to a question about passive Facebook use on mood and completing the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. Results suggested that individuals did not use Facebook to escape. There was no association between escapism in passive Facebook use and passive Facebook addiction. Social contact had a positive effect on passive Facebook use, and participants perceived passive Facebook use to have no effect on mood. Findings suggest that passive Facebook use is a less effective method of escape than general Facebook use, and reducing individuals’ likelihood of experiencing Facebook addiction symptoms

Bisphenol A exposure in Mexico City and risk of prematurity: a pilot nested case control study

Abstract Background Presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) has been documented worldwide in a variety of human biological samples. There is growing evidence that low level BPA exposure may impact placental tissue development and thyroid function in humans. The aim of this present pilot study was to determine urinary concentrations of BPA during the last trimester of pregnancy among a small subset of women in Mexico City, Mexico and relate these concentrations to risk of delivering prematurely. Methods A nested case-control subset of 60 participants in the Early Life Exposure in Mexico to ENvironmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) study in Mexico City, Mexico were selected based on delivering less than or equal to 37 weeks of gestation and greater than 37 weeks of gestation. Third trimester archived spot urine samples were analyzed by online solid phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Results BPA was detected in 80.0% (N = 48) of the urine samples; total concentrations ranged from < 0.4 μg/L to 6.7 μg/L; uncorrected geometric mean was 1.52 μg/L. The adjusted odds ratio of delivering less than or equal to 37 weeks in relation to specific gravity adjusted third trimester BPA concentration was 1.91 (95%CI 0.93, 3.91, p-value = 0.08). When cases were further restricted to births occurring prior to the 37th week (n = 12), the odds ratio for specific-gravity adjusted BPA was larger and statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions This is the first study to document measurable levels of BPA in the urine of a population of Mexican women. This study also provides preliminary evidence, based on a single spot urine sample collected during the third trimester, that pregnant women who delivered less than or equal to 37 weeks of gestation and prematurely (< 37 weeks) had higher urinary concentrations of BPA compared to women delivering after 37 weeks.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78251/1/1476-069X-9-62.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78251/2/1476-069X-9-62.pdfPeer Reviewe

Genetic risk factors for body mass index and obesity in an ethnically diverse population: results from the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study

Several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have demonstrated that common genetic variants contribute to obesity. However, studies of this complex trait have focused on ancestrally European populations, despite the high prevalence of obesity in some minority groups. As part of the ‘Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE)’ Consortium, we investigated the association between thirteen GWAS-identified SNPs and BMI and obesity in 69,775 subjects, including 6,149 American Indians, 15,415 African-Americans, 2,438 East Asians, 7,346 Hispanics, 604 Pacific Islanders, and 37,823 European Americans. For the BMI-increasing allele of each SNP, we calculated beta coefficients using linear regression (for BMI) and risk estimates using logistic regression (for obesity defined as BMI ≥ 30) followed by fixed-effects meta-analysis to combine results across PAGE sites. Analyses stratified by racial/ethnic group assumed an additive genetic model and adjusted for age, sex, and current smoking. We defined “replicating SNPs” (in European Americans) and “generalizing SNPs” (in other racial/ethnic groups) as those associated with an allele frequency-specific increase in BMI. By this definition, we replicated 9/13 SNP associations (5 out of 8 loci) in European Americans. We also generalized 8/13 SNP associations (5/8 loci) in East Asians, 7/13 (5/8 loci) in African Americans, 6/13 (4/8 loci) in Hispanics, 5/8 in Pacific Islanders (5/8 loci), and 5/9 (4/8 loci) in American Indians. Linkage disequilibrium patterns suggest that tagSNPs selected for European Americans may not adequately tag causal variants in other ancestry groups. Accordingly, fine-mapping in large samples is needed to comprehensively explore these loci in diverse populations

Turbulent ‘stopping plumes’ and plume pinch-off in uniform surroundings

Observations of turbulent convection in the environment are of variously sus- tained plume-like flows or intermittent thermal-like flows. At different times of the day the prevailing conditions may change and consequently the observed flow regimes may change. Understanding the link between these flows is of practical importance meteorologically, and here we focus our interest upon plume-like regimes that break up to form thermal-like regimes. It has been shown that when a plume rises from a boundary with low conductivity, such as arable land, the inability to maintain a rapid enough supply of buoyancy to the plume source can result in the turbulent base of the plume separating and rising away from the source. This plume ‘pinch-off’ marks the onset of the intermittent thermal-like behavior. The dynamics of turbulent plumes in a uniform environment are explored in order to investigate the phenomenon of plume pinch-off. The special case of a turbulent plume having its source completely removed, a ‘stopping plume’, is considered in particular. The effects of forcing a plume to pinch-off, by rapidly reducing the source buoyancy flux to zero, are shown experi- mentally. We release saline solution into a tank filled with fresh water generating downward propagating steady turbulent plumes. By rapidly closing the plume nozzle, the plumes are forced to pinch-off. The plumes are then observed to detach from the source and descend into the ambient. The unsteady buoyant region produced after pinch-off, cannot be described by the power-law behavior of either classical plumes or thermals, and so the terminology ‘stopping plume’ (analogous to a ‘starting plume’) is adopted for this type of flow. The propagation of the stopping plume is shown to be approximately linearly dependent on time, and we speculate therefore that the closure of the nozzle introduces some vorticity into the ambient, that may roll up to form a vortex ring dominating the dynamics of the base of a stopping plume

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

The Microenvironment Determines the Breast Cancer Cells' Phenotype: Organization of MCF7 Cells in 3D Cultures

Background: Stromal-epithelial interactions mediate breast development, and the initiation and progression of breast cancer. In the present study, we developed 3-dimensional (3D) in vitro models to study breast cancer tissue organization and the role of the microenvironment in phenotypic determination. Methods: The human breast cancer MCF7 cells were grown alone or co-cultured with primary human breast fibroblasts. Cells were embedded in matrices containing either type I collagen or a combination of reconstituted basement membrane proteins and type I collagen. The cultures were carried out for up to 6 weeks. For every time point (1-6 weeks), the gels were fixed and processed for histology, and whole-mounted for confocal microscopy evaluation. The epithelial structures were characterized utilizing immunohistochemical techniques; their area and proliferation index were measured using computerized morphometric analysis. Statistical differences between groups were analyzed by ANOVA, Dunnett's T3 post-hoc test and chi-square. Results: Most of the MCF7 cells grown alone within a collagen matrix died during the first two weeks; those that survived organized into large, round and solid clusters. The presence of fibroblasts in collagen gels reduced MCF7 cell death, induced cell polarity, and the formation of round and elongated epithelial structures containing a lumen. The addition of reconstituted basement membrane to collagen gels by itself had also survival and organizational effects on the MCF7 cells. Regardless of the presence of fibroblasts, the MCF7 cells both polarized and formed a lumen. The addition of fibroblasts to the gel containing reconstituted basement membrane and collagen induced the formation of elongated structures. Conclusions: Our results indicate that a matrix containing both type I collagen and reconstituted basement membrane, and the presence of normal breast fibroblasts constitute the minimal permissive microenvironment to induce near-complete tumor phenotype reversion. These human breast 3D tissue morphogenesis models promise to become reliable tools for studying tissue interactions, therapeutic screening and drug target validation

Search for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons in sqrt(s) =7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for new phenomena in final states with four or more leptons (electrons or muons) is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of $\sqrt{s}=7\;\mathrm{TeV}$ proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in two signal regions: one that requires moderate values of missing transverse momentum and another that requires large effective mass. The results are interpreted in a simplified model of R-parity-violating supersymmetry in which a 95% CL exclusion region is set for charged wino masses up to 540 GeV. In an R-parity-violating MSUGRA/CMSSM model, values of m 1/2 up to 820 GeV are excluded for 10 < tan β < 40

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Search for supersymmetry at √s = 13 TeV in final states with jets and two same-sign leptons or three leptons with the ATLAS detector

A search for strongly produced supersymmetric particles is conducted using signatures involving multiple energetic jets and either two isolated leptons (e or μμ ) with the same electric charge or at least three isolated leptons. The search also utilises b-tagged jets, missing transverse momentum and other observables to extend its sensitivity. The analysis uses a data sample of proton–proton collisions at s√=13s=13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015 corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb −1−1. No significant excess over the Standard Model expectation is observed. The results are interpreted in several simplified supersymmetric models and extend the exclusion limits from previous searches. In the context of exclusive production and simplified decay modes, gluino masses are excluded at 95%95% confidence level up to 1.1–1.3 TeV for light neutralinos (depending on the decay channel), and bottom squark masses are also excluded up to 540 GeV. In the former scenarios, neutralino masses are also excluded up to 550–850 GeV for gluino masses around 1 TeV