Social influences on risky driving behaviours among young drivers in Oman

Young drivers represent approximately 20% of the Omani population, yet account for over one third of crash injuries and fatalities on Oman's roads. Internationally, research has demonstrated that social influences play an important role within young driver safety, however, there is little research examining this within Arab gulf countries. This study sought to explore young driver behaviour using Akers' social learning theory. A self-report survey was conducted by 1319 (72.9% male and 27.1% female) young drivers aged 17-25 years. A hierarchical regression model was used to investigate the contribution of social learning variables (norms and behaviour of significant others, personal attitudes towards risky behaviour, imitation of significant others, beliefs about the rewards and punishments offered by risky behaviour), socio-demographic characteristics (age and gender), driving experience (initial training, time driving and previous driving without supervision) and sensitivity to rewards and punishments upon the self-reported risky driving behaviours of young drivers. It was found that 39.6% of the young drivers reported that they have been involved in at least one crash since the issuance of their driving licence and they were considered ‘at fault’ in 60.7% of these crashes. The hierarchical multiple regression models revealed that socio-demographic characteristics and driving experience alone explained 14.2% of the variance in risky driving behaviour. By introducing social learning factors into the model a further 37.0% of variance was explained. Finally, 7.9% of the variance in risky behaviour could be explained by including individual sensitivity to rewards and punishments. These findings and the implications are discussed.

Socio-cultural influences on vehicle defects in the Omani heavy vehicle industry

With recent economic growth in Oman there is increased use of heavy vehicles, presenting an increase in heavy vehicle crashes, associated fatalities and injuries. Vehicle defects cause a significant number of heavy vehicle crashes in Oman and increase the likelihood of fatalities. The aim of this study is to explore factors contributing to driving with vehicle defects in the Omani heavy vehicle industry. A series of qualitative participants observations were conducted in Oman with 49 drivers. These observations also involved discussion and interviews with drivers. The observations occurred at two road-side locations where heavy vehicle drivers gather for eating, resting, vehicle check-up, etc. Data collection was conducted over a three week period. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. A broad number of factors were identified as contributing to the driving of vehicles with defects. Participants indicated that tyres and vehicle mechanical faults were a common issue in the heavy vehicle industry. Participants regularly reported that their companies use cheap, poor quality standards parts and conducted minimal maintenance. Drivers also indicated that they felt powerless to resist company pressure to drive vehicles with known faults. In addition, drivers reported that traffic police were generally in effective and lacked skill to appropriately conduct roadside inspection on trucks. Further, participants stated that it was possible for companies to avoid being fined during annual or roadside vehicle inspections if members of the company knew the traffic police officer conducting the inspection. Moreover, fines issued by police are generally directed to the individual driver rather than being applied to the company, thus providing no incentive for companies to address vehicle faults. The implications of the findings are discussed.

'How much love are you going to give this brand?' Lifestyle journalists on commercial influences in their work

The news increasingly provides help, advice, guidance, and information about the management of self and everyday life, in addition to its traditional role in political communication. Yet such forms of journalism are still regularly denigrated in scholarly discussions, as they often deviate from normative ideals. This is particularly true in lifestyle journalism, where few studies have examined the impact of commercial influences. Through in-depth interviews with 89 Australian and German lifestyle journalists, this paper explores the ways in which journalists experience how the lifestyle industries try to shape their daily work, and how these journalists deal with these influences. We find that lifestyle journalists are in a constant struggle over the control of editorial content, and their responses to increasing commercial pressures vary between resistance and resignation. This has implications for our understanding of journalism as a whole in that it broadens it beyond traditional conceptualizations associated with political journalism.

A genetic variant of MDM4 influences regulation by multiple microRNAs in prostate cancer

The oncogene MDM4, also known as MDMX or HDMX, contributes to cancer susceptibility and progression through its capacity to negatively regulate a range of genes with tumour-suppressive functions. As part of a recent genome-wide association study it was determined that the A-allele of the rs4245739 SNP (A>C), located in the 3'-UTR of MDM4, is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Computational predictions revealed that the rs4245739 SNP is located within a predicted binding site for three microRNAs (miRNAs): miR-191-5p, miR-887 and miR-3669. Herein, we show using reporter gene assays and endogenous MDM4 expression analyses that miR-191-5p and miR-887 have a specific affinity for the rs4245739 SNP C-allele in prostate cancer. These miRNAs do not affect MDM4 mRNA levels, rather they inhibit its translation in C-allele-containing PC3 cells but not in LNCaP cells homozygous for the A-allele. By analysing gene expression datasets from patient cohorts, we found that MDM4 is associated with metastasis and prostate cancer progression and that targeting this gene with miR-191-5p or miR-887 decreases in PC3 cell viability. This study is the first, to our knowledge, to demonstrate regulation of the MDM4 rs4245739 SNP C-allele by two miRNAs in prostate cancer, and thereby to identify a mechanism by which the MDM4 rs4245739 SNP A-allele may be associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer.

Miniscleral lens wear influences corneal curvature and optics

Purpose Transient changes in corneal topography associated with soft and conventional or reverse geometry rigid contact lens wear have been well documented; however, only a few studies have examined the influence of scleral contact lens wear upon the cornea. Therefore, in this study, we examined the influence of modern miniscleral contact lenses, which land entirely on the sclera and overlying tissues, upon anterior corneal curvature and optics. Methods Anterior corneal topography and elevation data were acquired using Scheimpflug imaging (Pentacam HR, Oculus) immediately prior to and following 8 hours of miniscleral contact lens wear in 15 young healthy adults (mean age 22 ± 3 years, 8 East Asian, 7 Caucasian) with normal corneae. Corneal diurnal variations were accounted for using data collected on a dedicated measurement day without contact lens wear. Corneal clearance was quantified using an optical coherence tomographer (RS-3000, Nidek) following lens insertion and after 8 hours of lens wear. Results Although corneal clearance was maintained throughout the 8 hour lens wear period, significant corneal flattening (up to 0.08 ± 0.04 mm) was observed, primarily in the superior mid-peripheral cornea, which resulted in a slight increase in against-the-rule corneal astigmatism (mean +0.02/-0.15 x 94 for an 8 mm diameter). Higher order aberration terms of horizontal coma, vertical coma and spherical aberration all underwent significant changes for an 8 mm corneal diameter (p ≤ 0.01), which typically resulted in a decrease in RMS error values (mean change in total higher order RMS -0.035 ± 0.046 µm for an 8 mm diameter). There was no association between the magnitude of change in central or mid-peripheral corneal clearance during lens wear and the observed changes in corneal curvature (p > 0.05). However, Asian participants displayed a significantly greater reduction in corneal clearance (p = 0.04) and greater superior-nasal corneal flattening compared to Caucasians (p = 0.048). Conclusions Miniscleral contact lenses that vault the cornea induce significant changes in anterior corneal surface topography and higher order aberrations following 8 hours of lens wear. The region of greatest corneal flattening was observed in the superior-nasal mid-periphery, more so in Asian participants. Practitioners should be aware that corneal measurements obtained following miniscleral lens removal may mask underlying corneal steepening.

Common genetic influences underlie comorbidity of migraine and endometriosis

We examined the co-occurrence of migraine and endometriosis within the largest known collection of families containing multiple women with surgically confirmed endometriosis and in an independent sample of 815 monozygotic and 457 dizygotic female twin pairs. Within the endometriosis families, a significantly increased risk of migrainous headache was observed in women with endometriosis compared to women without endometriosis (odds ratio [OR] 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12-2.21, P=0.009). Bivariate heritability analyses indicated no evidence for common environmental factors influencing either migraine or endometriosis but significant genetic components for both traits, with heritability estimates of 69 and 49%, respectively. Importantly, a significant additive genetic correlation (r(G) = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.06-0.47) and bivariate heritability (h(2)=0.17, 95% CI: 0.08-0.27) was observed between migraine and endometriosis. Controlling for the personality trait neuroticism made little impact on this association. These results confirm the previously reported comorbidity between migraine and endometriosis and indicate common genetic influences completely explain their co-occurrence within individuals. Given pharmacological treatments for endometriosis typically target hormonal pathways and a number of findings provide support for a relationship between hormonal variations and migraine, hormone-related genes and pathways are highly plausible candidates for both migraine and endometriosis. Therefore, taking into account the status of both migraine and endometriosis may provide a novel opportunity to identify the genes underlying them. Finally, we propose that the analysis of such genetically correlated comorbid traits can increase power to detect genetic risk loci through the use of more specific, homogenous and heritable phenotypes.

Genetic influences on handedness: data from 25,732 Australian and Dutch twin families

Handedness refers to a consistent asymmetry in skill or preferential use between the hands and is related to lateralization within the brain of other functions such as language. Previous twin studies of handedness have yielded inconsistent results resulting from a general lack of statistical power to find significant effects. Here we present analyses from a large international collaborative study of handedness (assessed by writing/drawing or self report) in Australian and Dutch twins and their siblings (54,270 individuals from 25,732 families). Maximum likelihood analyses incorporating the effects of known covariates (sex, year of birth and birth weight) revealed no evidence of hormonal transfer, mirror imaging or twin specific effects. There were also no differences in prevalence between zygosity groups or between twins and their singleton siblings. Consistent with previous meta-analyses, additive genetic effects accounted for about a quarter (23.64%) of the variance (95%CI 20.17, 27.09%) with the remainder accounted for by non-shared environmental influences. The implications of these findings for handedness both as a primary phenotype and as a covariate in linkage and association analyses are discussed.

Genetic and environmental influences on migraine: a twin study across six countries

Migraine is a common neurovascular brain disorder that is manifested in recurrent episodes of disabling headache. The aim of the present study was to compare the prevalence and heritability of migraine across six of the countries that participate in GenomEUtwin project including a total number of 29,717 twin pairs. Migraine was assessed by questionnaires that differed between most countries. It was most prevalent in Danish and Dutch females (32% and 34%, respectively), whereas the lowest prevalence was found in the younger and older Finnish cohorts (13% and 10%, respectively). The estimated genetic variance (heritability) was significant and the same between sexes in all countries. Heritability ranged from 34% to 57%, with lowest estimates in Australia, and highest estimates in the older cohort of Finland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. There was some indication that part of the genetic variance was non-additive, but this was significant in Sweden only. In addition to genetic factors, environmental effects that are non-shared between members of a twin pair contributed to the liability of migraine. After migraine definitions are homogenized among the participating countries, the GenomEUtwin project will provide a powerful resource to identify the genes involved in migraine.

Influences on novice drivers' speed selection - a systematic review: Application and limitations of theory and methodology

Background Excessive speed is a primary contributing factor to young novice road trauma, including intentional and unintentional speeds above posted limits or too fast for conditions. The objective of this research was to conduct a systematic review of recent investigations into novice drivers’ speed selection, with particular attention to applications and limitations of theory and methodology. Method Systematic searches of peer-reviewed and grey literature were conducted during September 2014. Abstract reviews identified 71 references potentially meeting selection criteria of investigations since the year 2000 into factors that influence (directly or indirectly) actual speed (i.e., behaviour or performance) of young (age <25 years) and/or novice (recently-licensed) drivers. Results Full paper reviews resulted in 30 final references: 15 focused on intentional speeding and 15 on broader speed selection investigations. Both sets identified a range of individual (e.g., beliefs, personality) and social (e.g., peer, adult) influences, were predominantly theory-driven and applied cross-sectional designs. Intentional speed investigations largely utilised self-reports while other investigations more often included actual driving (simulated or ‘real world’). The latter also identified cognitive workload and external environment influences, as well as targeted interventions. Discussion and implications Applications of theory have shifted the novice speed-related literature beyond a simplistic focus on intentional speeding as human error. The potential to develop a ‘grand theory’ of intentional speeding emerged and to fill gaps to understand broader speed selection influences. This includes need for future investigations of vehicle-related and physical environment-related influences and methodologies that move beyond cross-sectional designs and rely less on self-reports.

Influences of Allee effects in the spreading of malignant tumours

A recent study by Korolev et al. [Nat. Rev. Cancer, 14:371–379, 2014] evidences that the Allee effect—in its strong form, the requirement of a minimum density for cell growth—is important in the spreading of cancerous tumours. We present one of the first mathematical models of tumour invasion that incorporates the Allee effect. Based on analysis of the existence of travelling wave solutions to this model, we argue that it is an improvement on previous models of its kind. We show that, with the strong Allee effect, the model admits biologically relevant travelling wave solutions, with well-defined edges. Furthermore, we uncover an experimentally observed biphasic relationship between the invasion speed of the tumour and the background extracellular matrix density.

Head motion and Inattention/Hyperactivity share common genetic influences: Implications for fMRI studies of ADHD

Head motion (HM) is a well known confound in analyses of functional MRI (fMRI) data. Neuroimaging researchers therefore typically treat HM as a nuisance covariate in their analyses. Even so, it is possible that HM shares a common genetic influence with the trait of interest. Here we investigate the extent to which this relationship is due to shared genetic factors, using HM extracted from resting-state fMRI and maternal and self report measures of Inattention and Hyperactivity-Impulsivity from the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behaviour (SWAN) scales. Our sample consisted of healthy young adult twins (N = 627 (63% females) including 95 MZ and 144 DZ twin pairs, mean age 22, who had mother-reported SWAN; N = 725 (58% females) including 101 MZ and 156 DZ pairs, mean age 25, with self reported SWAN). This design enabled us to distinguish genetic from environmental factors in the association between head movement and ADHD scales. HM was moderately correlated with maternal reports of Inattention (r = 0.17, p-value = 7.4E-5) and Hyperactivity-Impulsivity (r = 0.16, p-value = 2.9E-4), and these associations were mainly due to pleiotropic genetic factors with genetic correlations [95% CIs] of rg = 0.24 [0.02, 0.43] and rg = 0.23 [0.07, 0.39]. Correlations between self-reports and HM were not significant, due largely to increased measurement error. These results indicate that treating HM as a nuisance covariate in neuroimaging studies of ADHD will likely reduce power to detect between-group effects, as the implicit assumption of independence between HM and Inattention or Hyperactivity-Impulsivity is not warranted. The implications of this finding are problematic for fMRI studies of ADHD, as failing to apply HM correction is known to increase the likelihood of false positives. We discuss two ways to circumvent this problem: censoring the motion contaminated frames of the RS-fMRI scan or explicitly modeling the relationship between HM and Inattention or Hyperactivity-Impulsivity

Are diverse factors proxies for architectural influences? A case for architecture in the aetiology of schizophrenia

Introduction The last half-century of epidemiological enquiry into schizophrenia can be characterized by the search for neurological imbalances and lesions for genetic factors. The growing consensus is that these directions have failed, and there is now a growing interest in psychosocial and developmental models. Another area of recent interest is in epigenetics – the multiplication of genetic influences by environmental factors. Methods This integrative review comparatively maps current psychosocial, developmental and epigenetic models for schizophrenia epidemiology to identify crossover and theoretical gaps. Results In the flood of data that is being produced around the schizophrenia epidemiology, one of the most consistent findings is that schizophrenia is an urban syndrome. Once demographic factors have been discounted, between one-quarter and one-third of all incidence is repeatedly traced back to urbanicity – potentially threatening more established models, such as the psychosocial, genetic and developmental hypotheses. Conclusions Close analysis demonstrates how current models for schizophrenia epidemiology appear to miss the mark. Furthermore, the built environment appears to be an inextricable factor in all current models and indeed may be a valid epidemiological factor on its own. The reason the built environment hasn’t already become a de rigueur area of epidemiological research is possibly trivial – it just doesn’t attract enough science, and lacks a hero to promote it alongside other hypotheses.

What influences a patients decision to use custom-made orthopaedic shoes?

Background Despite potential benefits, some patients decide not to use their custom-made orthopaedic shoes (OS). Factors are known in the domains ‘usability’, ‘communication and service’, and ‘opinion of others’ that influence a patient’s decision to use OS. However, the interplay between these factors has never been investigated. The aim of this study was to explore the interplay between factors concerning OS, and the influences thereof on a patient’s decision to use OS. Methods A mixed-methods design was used, combining qualitative and quantitative data by means of sequential data analysis and triangulation. Priority was given to the qualitative part. Qualitative data was gathered with a semi-structured interview covering the three domains. Data was analysed using the framework approach. Quantitative data concerned the interplay between factors and determining a rank-order for the importance of factors of ‘usability’. Results A patient’s decision to use OS was influenced by various factors indicated as being important and by acceptance of their OS. Factors of ‘usability’ were more important than factors of ‘communication’; the ‘opinion of others’ was of limited importance. An improvement of walking was indicated as the most important factor of ‘usability’. The importance of other factors (cosmetic appearance and ease of use) was determined by reaching a compromise between these factors and an improvement of walking. Conclusions A patient’s decision to use OS is influenced by various factors indicated as being important and by acceptance of their OS. An improvement of walking is the most important factor of ‘usability’, the importance of other factors (cosmetic appearance and ease of use) is determined by reaching compromises between these factors and an improvement of walking. Communication is essential to gain insight in a patient’s acceptance and in the compromises they are willing to reach. This makes communication the key for clinicians to influence a patient’s decision to use OS.

Ambient light exposure influences childhood eye growth

• Although there is evidence that outdoor activity is an important factor involved in the development of childhood refractive error,1,2 the mechanism underlying the association between more outdoor activity and less myopia in childhood is not clear. • In this prospective longitudinal study, the relationship between objectively measured ambient light exposure and eye growth in childhood was examined.

My System of Career Influences

My System of Career Influences (MSCI) is a qualitative guided reflection process for adolescents and for adults that is based on the Systems Theory Framework (STF; McMahon & Patton, 1995; Patton & McMahon, 1999, 2006, 2014) of career development. Reflective of the trend towards more holistic theories and models of career counselling, the MSCI enables users to identify, prioritise and story their career influences, thus enabling them to contextualise career decisions and career transitions.