Mirror me : the effect of the voting advice application smartvote on voting preferences and behavior of Swiss voters

Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) have become a central component of election campaigns worldwide. Through matching political preferences of voters to parties and candidates, the web application grants voters a look into their political mirror and reveals the most suitable political choices to them in terms of policy congruence. Both the dense and concise information on the electoral offer and the comparative nature of the application make VAAs an unprecedented information source for electoral decision making. In times where electoral choices are found to be highly individualized and driven by political issue positions, an ever increasing number of voters turn to VAAs before casting their ballots. With VAAs in high demand, the question of their effects on voters has become a pressing research topic. In various countries, survey research has been used to proclaim an impact of VAAs on electoral behavior, yet practically all studies fail to provide the scientific evidence that would allow for making such claims. In this thesis, I set out to systematically establish the causal link between VAA use and electoral behavior, using various data sources and appropriate statistical techniques in doing so. The focus lies on the Swiss VAA smartvote, introduced in the forefront of the 2003 Swiss federal elections and meanwhile an integral part of the national election campaign, smartvote has produced over a million voting recommendations in the last Swiss federal elections to an active electorate of two million, potentially guiding a vast amount of voters in their choices on the ballot. In order to determine the effect of the VAA on electoral behavior, I analyze both voting preferences and choice among Swiss voters during two consecutive election periods. First, I introduce statistical techniques to adequately examine VAA effects in observational studies and use them to demonstrate that voters who used smartvote prior to the 2007 Swiss federal elections were significantly more likely to swing vote in the elections than non- users. Second, I analyze preference voting during the same election and show that the smartvote voting recommendation inclines politically knowledgeable voters to modify their ballots and cast candidate specific preference votes. Third, to further tackle the indication that smartvote use affects the preference structure of voters, I employ an experimental research design to demonstrate that voters who use the application tend to strengthen their vote propensities for their most preferred party and adapt their overall party preferences in a way that they consider more than one party as eligible vote options after engaging with the application. Finally, vote choice is examined for the 2011 Swiss federal election, showing once more that the VAA initiated a change of party choice among voters. In sum, this thesis presents empirical evidence for the transformative effect of the Swiss VAA smartvote on the electoral behavior.

Mirror extreme BMI phenotypes associated with gene dosage at the chromosome 16p11.2 locus.

Both obesity and being underweight have been associated with increased mortality. Underweight, defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≤ 18.5 kg per m(2) in adults and ≤ -2 standard deviations from the mean in children, is the main sign of a series of heterogeneous clinical conditions including failure to thrive, feeding and eating disorder and/or anorexia nervosa. In contrast to obesity, few genetic variants underlying these clinical conditions have been reported. We previously showed that hemizygosity of a ∼600-kilobase (kb) region on the short arm of chromosome 16 causes a highly penetrant form of obesity that is often associated with hyperphagia and intellectual disabilities. Here we show that the corresponding reciprocal duplication is associated with being underweight. We identified 138 duplication carriers (including 132 novel cases and 108 unrelated carriers) from individuals clinically referred for developmental or intellectual disabilities (DD/ID) or psychiatric disorders, or recruited from population-based cohorts. These carriers show significantly reduced postnatal weight and BMI. Half of the boys younger than five years are underweight with a probable diagnosis of failure to thrive, whereas adult duplication carriers have an 8.3-fold increased risk of being clinically underweight. We observe a trend towards increased severity in males, as well as a depletion of male carriers among non-medically ascertained cases. These features are associated with an unusually high frequency of selective and restrictive eating behaviours and a significant reduction in head circumference. Each of the observed phenotypes is the converse of one reported in carriers of deletions at this locus. The phenotypes correlate with changes in transcript levels for genes mapping within the duplication but not in flanking regions. The reciprocal impact of these 16p11.2 copy-number variants indicates that severe obesity and being underweight could have mirror aetiologies, possibly through contrasting effects on energy balance.

Diffusion tensor imaging shows structural remodeling of stroke mirror region: results from a pilot study.

Background: The role of the non-injured hemisphere in stroke recovery is poorly understood. In this pilot study, we sought to explore the presence of structural changes detectable by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in the contralesional hemispheres of patients who recovered well from ischemic stroke. Methods: We analyzed serial DTI data from 16 stroke patients who had moderate initial neurological deficits (NIHSS scores 3-12) and good functional outcome at 3-6 months (NIHSS score 0 or modified Rankin Score ≤1). We segmented the brain tissue in gray and white matter (GM and WM) and measured the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy in the infarct, in the contralesional infarct mirror region as well as in concentrically expanding regions around them. Results: We found that GM and WM ADC significantly increased in the infarct region (p < 0.01) from acute to chronic time points, whereas in the infarct mirror region, GM and WM ADC increased (p < 0.01) and WM fractional anisotropy decreased (p < 0.05). No significant changes were detected in other regions. Conclusion: DTI-based metrics are sensitive to regional structural changes in the contralesional hemisphere during stroke recovery. Prospective studies in larger cohorts with varying levels of recovery are needed to confirm our findings.

Dynamic, auxin-responsive plasma membrane-to-nucleus movement of Arabidopsis BRX.

In Arabidopsis, interplay between nuclear auxin perception and trans-cellular polar auxin transport determines the transcriptional auxin response. In brevis radix (brx) mutants, this response is impaired, probably indirectly because of disturbed crosstalk between the auxin and brassinosteroid pathways. Here we provide evidence that BRX protein is plasma membrane-associated, but translocates to the nucleus upon auxin treatment to modulate cellular growth, possibly in conjunction with NGATHA class B3 domain-type transcription factors. Application of the polar auxin transport inhibitor naphthalene phthalamic acid (NPA) resulted in increased BRX abundance at the plasma membrane. Thus, nuclear translocation of BRX could depend on cellular auxin concentration or on auxin flux. Supporting this idea, NPA treatment of wild-type roots phenocopied the brx root meristem phenotype. Moreover, BRX is constitutively turned over by the proteasome pathway in the nucleus. However, a stabilized C-terminal BRX fragment significantly rescued the brx root growth phenotype and triggered a hypocotyl gain-of-function phenotype, similar to strong overexpressors of full length BRX. Therefore, although BRX activity is required in the nucleus, excess activity interferes with normal development. Finally, similar to the PIN-FORMED 1 (PIN1) auxin efflux carrier, BRX is polarly localized in vascular cells and subject to endocytic recycling. Expression of BRX under control of the PIN1 promoter fully rescued the brx short root phenotype, suggesting that the two genes act in the same tissues. Collectively, our results suggest that BRX might provide a contextual readout to synchronize cellular growth with the auxin concentration gradient across the root tip.

NPAS2 as a transcriptional regulator of non-rapid eye movement sleep: genotype and sex interactions.

Because the transcription factor neuronal Per-Arnt-Sim-type signal-sensor protein-domain protein 2 (NPAS2) acts both as a sensor and an effector of intracellular energy balance, and because sleep is thought to correct an energy imbalance incurred during waking, we examined NPAS2's role in sleep homeostasis using npas2 knockout (npas2-/-) mice. We found that, under conditions of increased sleep need, i.e., at the end of the active period or after sleep deprivation (SD), NPAS2 allows for sleep to occur at times when mice are normally awake. Lack of npas2 affected electroencephalogram activity of thalamocortical origin; during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS), activity in the spindle range (10-15 Hz) was reduced, and within the delta range (1-4 Hz), activity shifted toward faster frequencies. In addition, the increase in the cortical expression of the NPAS2 target gene period2 (per2) after SD was attenuated in npas2-/- mice. This implies that NPAS2 importantly contributes to the previously documented wake-dependent increase in cortical per2 expression. The data also revealed numerous sex differences in sleep; in females, sleep need accumulated at a slower rate, and REMS loss was not recovered after SD. In contrast, the rebound in NREMS time after SD was compromised only in npas2-/- males. We conclude that NPAS2 plays a role in sleep homeostasis, most likely at the level of the thalamus and cortex, where NPAS2 is abundantly expressed.

Mass movement characterization using a reflexion and refraction seismic survey with the sloping local base level concept

This study proposes a new concept for upscaling local information on failure surfaces derived from geophysical data, in order to develop the spatial information and quickly estimate the magnitude and intensity of a landslide. A new vision of seismic interpretation on landslides is also demonstrated by taking into account basic geomorphic information with a numeric method based on the Sloping Local Base Level (SLBL). The SLBL is a generalization of the base level defined in geomorphology applied to landslides, and allows the calculation of the potential geometry of the landslide failure surface. This approach was applied to a large scale landslide formed mainly in gypsum and situated in a former glacial valley along the Rhone within the Western European Alps. Previous studies identified the existence of two sliding surfaces that may continue below the level of the valley. In this study. seismic refraction-reflexion surveys were carried out to verify the existence of these failure surfaces. The analysis of the seismic data provides a four-layer model where three velocity layers (<1000 ms(-1), 1500 ms(-1) and 3000 ms(-1)) are interpreted as the mobilized mass at different weathering levels and compaction. The highest velocity layer (>4000 ms(-1)) with a maximum depth of similar to 58 m is interpreted as the stable anhydrite bedrock. Two failure surfaces were interpreted from the seismic surveys: an upper failure and a much deeper one (respectively 25 and 50 m deep). The upper failure surface depth deduced from geophysics is slightly different from the results obtained using the SLBL, and the deeper failure surface depth calculated with the SLBL method is underestimated in comparison with the geophysical interpretations. Optimal results were therefore obtained by including the seismic data in the SLBL calculations according to the geomorphic limits of the landslide (maximal volume of mobilized mass = 7.5 x 10(6) m(3)).

The value of adding mirror therapy for upper limb motor recovery of subacute stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Upper limb paresis remains a relevant challenge in stroke rehabilitation. AIM: To evaluate if adding mirror therapy (MT) to conventional therapy (CT) can improve motor recovery of the upper limb in subacute stroke patients. DESIGN: Prospective, single-center, single-blind, randomised, controlled trial. SETTING: Subacute stroke patients referred to a Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Unit between October 2009 and August 2011. POPULATION: Twenty-six subacute stroke patients (time from stroke <4 weeks) with upper limb paresis (Motricity Index â0/00¤ 77). METHODS: Patients were randomly allocated to the MT (N.=13) or to the CT group (N.=13). Both followed a comprehensive rehabilitative treatment. In addition, MT Group had 30 minutes of MT while the CT group had 30 minutes of sham therapy. Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) was the primary outcome measures. Motricity Index (MI) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were the secondary outcome measures. RESULTS: After one month of treatment patients of both groups showed statistically significant improvements in all the variables measured (P<0.05). Moreover patients of the MT group had greater improvements in the ARAT, MI and FIM values compared to CT group (P<0.01, Glass's Î" Effect Size: 1.18). No relevant adverse event was recorded during the study. CONCLUSION: MT is a promising and easy method to improve motor recovery of the upper limb in subacute stroke patients. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: While MT use has been advocated for acute patients with no or negligible motor function, it can be usefully extended to patients who show partial motor recovery. The easiness of implementation, the low cost and the acceptability makes this therapy an useful tool in stroke rehabilitation.

Conduites spéculaires dans les démences: les multiples signes du miroir [Mirror behaviors in dementia: the many mirror signs].

Mirror behaviors in advanced dementia are: the mirror sign of Abely and Delmas, where the patient stares at his face (environment-driven behavior of Lhermitte); non recognition of the self in the mirror (autoprosopagnosia and/or delirious auto-Capgras); mirror agnosia of Ramachandran and Binkofski where the patient do not understand the concept of mirror and its use; the psychovisual reflex, or reflex pursuit of the eyes when passively moving a minrror in front of a patient (intact vision); mirror writing (procedural learning). We describe four demented patients with mirror behaviors assessing brain mechanisms of self recognition, social brain and mental and visuo-spatial manipulation of images and objects.