Young drivers’ responses to anti-speeding advertisements: Comparison of self-report and objective measures of persuasive processing and outcomes

Objective Self-report measures are typically used to assess the effectiveness of road safety advertisements. However, psychophysiological measures of persuasive processing (i.e., skin conductance response [SCR]) and objective driving measures of persuasive outcomes (i.e., in-vehicle GPS devices) may provide further insights into the effectiveness of these advertisements. This study aimed to explore the persuasive processing and outcomes of two anti-speeding advertisements by incorporating both self-report and objective measures of speeding behaviour. In addition, this study aimed to compare the findings derived from these different measurement approaches. Methods Young drivers (N = 20, Mage = 21.01 years) viewed either a positive or negative emotion-based anti-speeding television advertisement. Whilst viewing the advertisement, SCR activity was measured to assess ad-evoked arousal responses. The RoadScout® GPS device was then installed into participants’ vehicles for one week to measure on-road speed-related driving behaviour. Self-report measures assessed persuasive processing (emotional and arousal responses) and actual driving behaviour. Results There was general correspondence between the self-report measures of arousal and the SCR and between the self-report measure of actual driving behaviour and the objective driving data (as assessed via the GPS devices). Conclusions This study provides insights into how psychophysiological and GPS devices could be used as objective measures in conjunction with self-report measures to further understand the persuasive processes and outcomes of emotion-based anti-speeding advertisements.

Comparison of stool microbiota compositions, stool alpha1-antitrypsin and calprotectin concentrations, and diarrhoeal morbidity of Indonesian infants fed breast milk or probiotic/prebiotic-supplemented formula

Aim The composition of faecal microbiota of babies is known to be influenced by diet. Faecal calprotectin and α1-antitrypsin concentrations may be associated with mucosal permeability and inflammation. We aimed to assess whether there was any difference after consumption of a probiotic/prebiotic formula on faecal microbiota composition, calprotectin and α1-antitrypsin levels, and diarrhoea in comparison with breast milk-fed Indonesian infants. Methods One hundred sixty infants, 2 to 6 weeks old, were recruited to the study. They were either breastfed or formula fed (80 per group). Faecal samples were collected at recruitment and 3 months later. Bacterial groups characteristic of the human faecal microbiota were quantified in faeces by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Calprotectin and α1-antitrypsin concentrations were measured using commercial kits. Details of diarrhoeal morbidity were documented and rated for severity. Results The compositions of the faecal microbiota of formula-fed compared with breast milk-fed children were similar except that the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactisâ€...DR10 was more abundant after 3 months consumption of the formula. Alpha1-antitrypsin levels were higher in breastfed compared with formula-fed infants. The occurrence of diarrhoea did not differ between the groups of babies. Conclusion Feeding Indonesian babies with a probiotic/prebiotic formula did not produce marked differences in the composition of the faecal microbiota in comparison with breast milk. Detrimental effects of formula feeding on biomarkers of mucosal health were not observed.

Use of Skin-Fold Thickness in Sri Lankan Children: Comparison of Several Prediction Equations

Objective There are many prediction equations available in the literature for the assessment of body composition from skinfold thickness (SFT). This study aims to cross validate some of those prediction equations to determine the suitability of their use on Sri Lankan children. Methods Height, weight and SFT of 5 different sites were measured. Total body water was assessed using the isotope dilution method (D2O). Percentage Fat mass (%FM) was estimated from SFT using prediction equations described by five authors in the literature. Results Five to 15 year old healthy, 282 Sri Lankan children were studied. The equation of Brook gave Ihe lowest bias but limits of agreement were high. Equations described by Deurenberg et al gave slightly higher bias but limits of agreement were narrowest and bias was not influence by extremes of body fat. Although prediction equations did not estimate %FM adequately, the association between %FM and SFT measures, were quite satisfactory. Conclusion We conclude that SFT can be used effectively in the assessment of body composition in children. However, for the assessment of body composition using SFT, either prediction equations should be derived to suit the local populations or existing equations should be cross-validated to determine the suitability before its application.

Comparison of the effects of litigation and ADR in South-East Queensland

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, such as arbitration, are often used instead of litigation to resolve construction disputes, as industry folklore considers litigation overly expensive and time-consuming. But is this actually the case? Do the people most involved in construction dispute resolution agree? What are the real advantages and disadvantages of using litigation or ADR? When, if ever, is litigation the most appropriate way of resolving construction disputes? To answer these questions, this paper first provides a review of the literature on the use of litigation and ADR for construction dispute resolution. This is followed by the results of a survey of construction and legal personnel with moderate to extensive experience of dispute resolution in the Australian South-East Queensland construction industry. The main results of this are that, in addition to litigation being more expensive in money and time than ADR methods, the nature of the existing relationship between the parties has an important effect on the resolution process, what happens after an unsuccessful ADR and, if adversarial, is more likely to lead to litigation. The results are then validated and verified by one of the most experienced practitioners in claims and disputes in the whole of Australia.

Comparison of sustainable community rating tools in Australia

The community is the basic unit of urban development, and appropriate assessment tools are needed for communities to evaluate and facilitate decision making concerning sustainable community development and reduce the detrimental effects of urban community actions on the environment. Existing research into sustainable community rating tools focuses primarily on those that are internationally recognized to describe their advantages and future challenges. However, the differences between rating tools due to different regional conditions, situations and characteristics have yet to be addressed. In doing this, this paper examines three sustainable community rating tools in Australia, namely Green Star-Communities PILOT, EnviroDevelopment and VicUrban Sustainability Charter (Master Planned Community Assessment Tool). In order to identify their similarities, differences and advantages these are compared in terms of sustainability coverage, prerequisites, adaptation to locality, scoring and weighting, participation, presentation of results, and application process. These results provide the stakeholders of sustainable community development projects with a better understanding of the available rating tools in Australia and assist with evaluation and decision making.

Application of simulated annealing to data distribution for all-to-all comparison problems in homogeneous systems

Distributed systems are widely used for solving large-scale and data-intensive computing problems, including all-to-all comparison (ATAC) problems. However, when used for ATAC problems, existing computational frameworks such as Hadoop focus on load balancing for allocating comparison tasks, without careful consideration of data distribution and storage usage. While Hadoop-based solutions provide users with simplicity of implementation, their inherent MapReduce computing pattern does not match the ATAC pattern. This leads to load imbalances and poor data locality when Hadoop's data distribution strategy is used for ATAC problems. Here we present a data distribution strategy which considers data locality, load balancing and storage savings for ATAC computing problems in homogeneous distributed systems. A simulated annealing algorithm is developed for data distribution and task scheduling. Experimental results show a significant performance improvement for our approach over Hadoop-based solutions.

Distributed computing of all-to-all comparison problems in heterogeneous systems

The requirement of distributed computing of all-to-all comparison (ATAC) problems in heterogeneous systems is increasingly important in various domains. Though Hadoop-based solutions are widely used, they are inefficient for the ATAC pattern, which is fundamentally different from the MapReduce pattern for which Hadoop is designed. They exhibit poor data locality and unbalanced allocation of comparison tasks, particularly in heterogeneous systems. The results in massive data movement at runtime and ineffective utilization of computing resources, affecting the overall computing performance significantly. To address these problems, a scalable and efficient data and task distribution strategy is presented in this paper for processing large-scale ATAC problems in heterogeneous systems. It not only saves storage space but also achieves load balancing and good data locality for all comparison tasks. Experiments of bioinformatics examples show that about 89\% of the ideal performance capacity of the multiple machines have be achieved through using the approach presented in this paper.

A comparison of motivation to learn English between English major and non-English major students in a Vietnamese university

Despite the plethora of literature examining higher education students’ motivation to learn a second language, it is not known if students who choose to study English as their major differ from those who are required to study English as the minor component of their wider degree. Drawing on self-determination theory, this paper reports on the findings of a quantitative study designed to investigate the types of motivation demonstrated by English major (n=180) and non-English major students (n=242), and their levels of effort expended in learning English in a Vietnamese university. The findings revealed that both groups demonstrated high levels of motivation to learn English to prepare for their future profession. English major students felt more intrinsically motivated and less obligated to learn English. In addition, for both groups, intrinsically motivated students invested the highest levels of effort in learning English. This paper argues that it is imperative for lecturers to foster students’ intrinsic aspirations to learn English to improve the quality of the teaching and learning of English in Vietnamese higher education.

Comparison of visual status of Iranian military and commercial drivers

Background There is no legal requirement for Iranian military truck drivers to undergo regular visual checkups as compared to commercial truck drivers. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the impact of drivers’ visual checkups by comparing the visual function of Iranian military and commercial truck drivers. Patients and Methods In this comparative cross-sectional study, two hundred military and 200 commercial truck drivers were recruited and their Visual Acuity (VA), Visual Field (VF), color vision and Contrast Sensitivity (CS) were assessed and compared using the Snellen chart, confrontation screening method, D15 test and Pelli-Robson letter chart, respectively. A questionnaire regarding driving exposure and history of motor-vehicle crashes (MVCs) was also filled by drivers. Results were analyzed using an independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA (assessing difference in number of MVCs across different age groups), chi-square test and Pearson correlation at statistical significance level of P < 0.05. Results Mean age was 41.6 ± 9.2 for the military truck drivers and 43.4 ± 10.9 for commercial truck drivers (P > 0.05). No significant difference between military and commercial drivers was found in terms of driving experience, number of MVCs, binocular VA, frequency of color vision defects and CS scores. In contrast, the last ocular examination was significantly earlier in military drivers than commercial drivers (P < 0.001). In addition, 4% of military drivers did not meet the national standards to drive as opposed to 2% of commercial drivers. There was a significant but weak correlation between binocular VA and age (r = 0.175, P < 0.001). However, CS showed a significantly moderate correlation with age (r = -0.488, P < 0.001). Conclusions The absence of legal requirement for regular eye examination in military drivers caused the incompetent drivers to be missed in contrast to commercial drivers. The need for scientific revision of VA standard for Iranian drivers is also discussed. The CS measurement in visual checkups of older drivers deserves to be investigated more thoroughly.

Comparison of two pressurisers for cementation of the proximal femur

PURPOSE: To compare pressures generated by 2 different cement pressurisers at various locations in the proximal femur. METHODS: Two groups of 5 synthetic femurs were used, and 6 pressure sensors were placed in the femur at 20-mm intervals proximally to distally. Cement was filled into the femoral canal retrogradely using a cement gun with either the half-moon pressuriser or the femoral canal pressuriser. Maximum pressures and pressure time integrals (cumulative pressure over time) of the 2 pressurisers were compared. RESULTS: At all sensors, the half-moon pressuriser produced higher maximum pressures and pressure time integrals than the femoral canal pressuriser, but the difference was significant only at sensor 1 (proximal femur). This may result in reduced cement interdigitation in the proximal femur. CONCLUSION: The half-moon pressuriser produced higher maximum cementation pressures and pressure time integrals than the femoral canal pressuriser in the proximal femur region, which is critical for rotational stability of the implant and prevention of implant fracture. KEYWORDS: arthroplasty, replacement, hip; bone cements; femur

The koala immunological toolkit: Sequence identification and comparison of key markers of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) immune response

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an Australian marsupial that continues to experience significant population declines. Infectious diseases caused by pathogens such as Chlamydia are proposed to have a major role. Very few species-specific immunological reagents are available, severely hindering our ability to respond to the threat of infectious diseases in the koala. In this study, we utilise data from the sequencing of the koala transcriptome to identify key immunological markers of the koala adaptive immune response and cytokines known to be important in the host response to chlamydial infection in other species. This report describes the identification and preliminary sequence analysis of (1) T lymphocyte glycoprotein markers (CD4, CD8); (2) IL-4, a marker for the Th2 response; (3) cytokines such as IL-6, IL-12 and IL-1β, that have been shown to have a role in chlamydial clearance and pathology in other hosts; and (4) the sequences for the koala immunoglobulins, IgA, IgG, IgE and IgM. These sequences will enable the development of a range of immunological reagents for understanding the koala’s innate and adaptive immune responses, while also providing a resource that will enable continued investigations into the origin and evolution of the marsupial immune system.

Comparison of oropharyngeal and oral cavity squamous cell cancer incidence and trends in New Zealand and Queensland, Australia

Background Increases in the incidence of squamous cell oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) have been reported from some countries, but have not been assessed in Australia or New Zealand. This study examines trends for squamous cell OPC and squamous cell oral cavity cancer (OCC) in two similarly sized populations, New Zealand and Queensland, Australia. Methods Incidence data for 1982–2010 were obtained from the respective population-based cancer registries for squamous cell OPC and OCC, by subsite, sex, and age. Time trends and annual percentage changes (APCs) were assessed by joinpoint regression. Results The incidence rates of squamous cell OPC in males in New Zealand since 2005 and Queensland since 2006 have increased rapidly, with APCs of 11.9% and 10.6% respectively. The trends were greatest at ages 50–69 and followed more gradual increases previously. In females, rates increased by 2.1% per year in New Zealand from 1982, but by only 0.9% (not significant) in Queensland. In contrast, incidence rates for OCC decreased by 1.2% per year in males in Queensland since 1982, but remained stable for females in Queensland and for both sexes in New Zealand. Overall, incidence rates for both OCC and OPC were substantially higher in Queensland than in New Zealand. In males in both areas, OPC incidence is now higher than that of OCC. Conclusions Incidence rates of squamous cell OPC have increased rapidly in men, while rates of OCC have been stable or reducing, showing distinct etiologies. This has both clinical and public health importance, including implications for the extension of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination to males.

Bayesian predictive modeling and comparison of oil samples

Statistical comparison of oil samples is an integral part of oil spill identification, which deals with the process of linking an oil spill with its source of origin. In current practice, a frequentist hypothesis test is often used to evaluate evidence in support of a match between a spill and a source sample. As frequentist tests are only able to evaluate evidence against a hypothesis but not in support of it, we argue that this leads to unsound statistical reasoning. Moreover, currently only verbal conclusions on a very coarse scale can be made about the match between two samples, whereas a finer quantitative assessment would often be preferred. To address these issues, we propose a Bayesian predictive approach for evaluating the similarity between the chemical compositions of two oil samples. We derive the underlying statistical model from some basic assumptions on modeling assays in analytical chemistry, and to further facilitate and improve numerical evaluations, we develop analytical expressions for the key elements of Bayesian inference for this model. The approach is illustrated with both simulated and real data and is shown to have appealing properties in comparison with both standard frequentist and Bayesian approaches

Comparison of the performance of two commercial genome-wide association study genotyping platforms in Han Chinese samples

Most genome-wide association studies to date have been performed in populations of European descent, but there is increasing interest in expanding these studies to other populations. The performance of genotyping chips in Asian populations is not well established. Therefore, we sought to test the performance of widely used fixed-marker, genome-wide association studies chips in the Han Chinese population. Non-HapMap Chinese samples (n = 396) were genotyped using the Illumina OmniExpress and Affymetrix 6.0 platforms, whereas a subset also were genotyped using the Immunochip. Genotyped markers from the Affymetrix 6.0 and Illumina OmniExpress were used for full genome imputation based on the HapMap 2 JPT+CHB (Japanese from Tokyo, Japan and Chinese from Beijing, China) reference panel. The concordance between markers genotypes for the three platforms was very high whether directly genotyped or genotyped and imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; .99.8% for directly genotyped and .99.5% for genotyped and imputed SNPs, respectively) were compared. The OmniExpress chip data enabled more SNPs to be imputed, particularly SNPs with minor allele frequency .5%. The OmniExpress chip achieved better coverage of HapMap SNPs than the Affymetrix 6.0 chip (73.6% vs. 65.9%, respectively, for minor allele frequency .5%). The Affymetrix 6.0 and Illumina OmniExpress chip have similar genotyping accuracy and provide similar accuracy of imputed SNPs. The OmniExpress chip however provides better coverage of Asian HapMap SNPs, although its coverage of HapMap SNPs is moderate. © 2013 Jiang et al.