Intergroup bias in third-party punishment stems from both ingroup favoritism and outgroup discrimination

Social norms pervade almost every aspect of social interaction. If they are violated, not only legal institutions, but other members of society as well, punish, i.e., inflict costs on the wrongdoer. Sanctioning occurs even when the punishers themselves were not harmed directly and even when it is costly for them. There is evidence for intergroup bias in this third-party punishment: third-parties, who share group membership with victims, punish outgroup perpetrators more harshly than ingroup perpetrators. However, it is unknown whether a discriminatory treatment of outgroup perpetrators (outgroup discrimination) or a preferential treatment of ingroup perpetrators (ingroup favoritism) drives this bias. To answer this question, the punishment of outgroup and ingroup perpetrators must be compared to a baseline, i.e., unaffiliated perpetrators. By applying a costly punishment game, we found stronger punishment of outgroup versus unaffiliated perpetrators and weaker punishment of ingroup versus unaffiliated perpetrators. This demonstrates that both ingroup favoritism and outgroup discrimination drive intergroup bias in third-party punishment of perpetrators that belong to distinct social groups.

Patient information leaflets: informing or frightening? A focus group study exploring patients' emotional reactions and subsequent behavior towards package leaflets of commonly prescribed medications in family practices.

BACKGROUND The purpose of patient information leaflets (PILs) is to inform patients about the administration, precautions and potential side effects of their prescribed medication. Despite European Commission guidelines aiming at increasing readability and comprehension of PILs little is known about the potential risk information has on patients. This article explores patients' reactions and subsequent behavior towards risk information conveyed in PILs of commonly prescribed drugs by general practitioners (GPs) for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, hypertension or hypercholesterolemia; the most frequent cause for consultations in family practices in Germany. METHODS We conducted six focus groups comprising 35 patients which were recruited in GP practices. Transcripts were read and coded for themes; categories were created by abstracting data and further refined into a coding framework. RESULTS Three interrelated categories are presented: (i) The vast amount of side effects and drug interactions commonly described in PILs provoke various emotional reactions in patients which (ii) lead to specific patient behavior of which (iii) consulting the GP for assistance is among the most common. Findings show that current description of potential risk information caused feelings of fear and anxiety in the reader resulting in undesirable behavioral reactions. CONCLUSIONS Future PILs need to convey potential risk information in a language that is less frightening while retaining the information content required to make informed decisions about the prescribed medication. Thus, during the production process greater emphasis needs to be placed on testing the degree of emotional arousal provoked in patients when reading risk information to allow them to undertake a benefit-risk-assessment of their medication that is based on rational rather than emotional (fearful) reactions.

Frederiksenia canicola gen. nov., sp. nov. isolated from dogs and human dog-bite wounds.

Polyphasic analysis was done on 24 strains of Bisgaard taxon 16 from five European countries and mainly isolated from dogs and human dog-bite wounds. The isolates represented a phenotypically and genetically homogenous group within the family Pasteurellaceae. Their phenotypic profile was similar to members of the genus Pasteurella. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry clearly identified taxon 16 and separated it from all other genera of Pasteurellaceae showing a characteristic peak combination. Taxon 16 can be further separated and identified by a RecN protein signature sequence detectable by a specific PCR. In all phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA, rpoB, infB and recN genes, taxon 16 formed a monophyletic branch with intraspecies sequence similarity of at least 99.1, 90.8, 96.8 and 97.2 %, respectively. Taxon 16 showed closest genetic relationship with Bibersteinia trehalosi as to the 16S rRNA gene (95.9 %), the rpoB (89.8 %) and the recN (74.4 %), and with Actinobacillus lignieresii for infB (84.9 %). Predicted genome similarity values based on the recN gene sequences between taxon 16 isolates and the type strains of known genera of Pasteurellaceae were below the genus level. Major whole cell fatty acids for the strain HPA 21(T) are C14:0, C16:0, C18:0 and C16:1 ω7c/C15:0 iso 2OH. Major respiratory quinones are menaquinone-8, ubiquinone-8 and demethylmenaquinone-8. We propose to classify these organisms as a novel genus and species within the family of Pasteurellaceae named Frederiksenia canicola gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is HPA 21(T) (= CCUG 62410(T) = DSM 25797(T)).

Comparative methodology to investigate the presence of Escherichia coli K-12 strains in environmental and human stool samples

This study was undertaken to evaluate the specificity and efficiency of different methods to detect Escherichia coli K-12 strains. Another aim was to determine the frequency of E. coli K-12 strains among wild-type E. coli isolates from different sources. The detection of K-12 strains was performed both genotypically by K-12 specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and on the basis of phenotypical tests. In addition, the genome structures of E. coli strains were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The most specific results could be obtained by the genotypical tests PCR and PFGE as well as by the K-12 specific phage assay. In total, 131 stool and 95 water isolates as well as 14 K-12 derivatives were examined by the different methods. No E. coli K-12 strains were detected among the wild-type isolates.

Brain damage and addictive behavior: a neuropsychological and electroencephalogram investigation with pathologic gamblers.

BACKGROUND Gambling is a form of nonsubstance addiction classified as an impulse control disorder. Pathologic gamblers are considered healthy with respect to their cognitive status. Lesions of the frontolimbic systems, mostly of the right hemisphere, are associated with addictive behavior. Because gamblers are not regarded as "brain-lesioned" and gambling is nontoxic, gambling is a model to test whether addicted "healthy" people are relatively impaired in frontolimbic neuropsychological functions. METHODS Twenty-one nonsubstance dependent gamblers and nineteen healthy subjects underwent a behavioral neurologic interview centered on incidence, origin, and symptoms of possible brain damage, a neuropsychological examination, and an electroencephalogram. RESULTS Seventeen gamblers (81%) had a positive medical history for brain damage (mainly traumatic head injury, pre- or perinatal complications). The gamblers, compared with the controls, were significantly more impaired in concentration, memory, and executive functions, and evidenced a higher prevalence of non-right-handedness (43%) and, non-left-hemisphere language dominance (52%). Electroencephalogram (EEG) revealed dysfunctional activity in 65% of the gamblers, compared with 26% of controls. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that the "healthy" gamblers are indeed brain-damaged. Compared with a matched control population, pathologic gamblers evidenced more brain injuries, more fronto-temporo-limbic neuropsychological dysfunctions and more EEG abnormalities. The authors thus conjecture that addictive gambling may be a consequence of brain damage, especially of the frontolimbic systems, a finding that may well have medicolegal consequences.

The association between implicit alcohol attitudes and drinking behavior is moderated by baseline activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex

OBJECTIVE Intense alcohol consumption is a risk factor for a number of health problems. Dual-process models assume that self-regulatory behavior such as drinking alcohol is guided by both reflective and impulsive processes. Evidence suggests that (a) impulsive processes such as implicit attitudes are more strongly associated with behavior when executive functioning abilities are low, and (b) higher neural baseline activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is associated with better inhibitory control. The present study integrates these 2 strands of research to investigate how individual differences in neural baseline activation in the lateral PFC moderate the association between implicit alcohol attitudes and drinking behavior. METHOD Baseline cortical activation was measured with resting electroencephalography (EEG) in 89 moderate drinkers. In a subsequent behavioral testing session they completed measures of implicit alcohol attitudes and self-reported drinking behavior. RESULTS Implicit alcohol attitudes were related to self-reported alcohol consumption. Most centrally, implicit alcohol attitudes were more strongly associated with drinking behavior in individuals with low as compared with high baseline activation in the right lateral PFC. CONCLUSIONS These findings are in line with predictions made on the basis of dual-process models. They provide further evidence that individual differences in neural baseline activation in the right lateral PFC may contribute to executive functioning abilities such as inhibitory control. Moreover, individuals with strongly positive implicit alcohol attitudes coupled with a low baseline activation in the right lateral PFC may be at greater risk of developing unhealthy drinking patterns than others.

Relationship between the objectively-assessed neighborhood area and activity behavior in Swiss youth

Background Neighborhood attributes are modifiable determinants of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB). We tested whether the objectively-assessed built and social environment was associated with PA and SB in Swiss youth and whether sex, age and the socioeconomic position (Swiss-SEP) modified such associations. Methods We combined data of 1742 youth (ages 4 to 17) from seven studies conducted within Switzerland between 2005–2010. All youth provided accelerometer data and a home address, which was linked to objective environmental data and the Swiss-SEP-index. Associations between neighborhood attributes and PA were analyzed by multivariable multilevel regression analyses. Results The extent of green areas and building density was positively associated with PA in the total sample (p < 0.05). Factors representing centrally located areas, and more schoolchildren living nearby tended to increase PA in secondary schoolchildren, boys and those from lower-ranked socioeconomic areas. In primary schoolchildren, the extent of green areas was positively associated with PA (p = 0.05). Associations between neighborhood attributes and PA were more pronounced in youth from low socioeconomic areas. Conclusions The results indicate that some associations between neighborhood attributes and PA differ by age, sex and socioeconomic area. This should be taken into account when planning interventions to increase childhood PA.

The Jew and human sacrifice : (Human blood and Jewish ritual) ; an historical and sociological inquiry

by Hermann L. Strack. The English transl. by Henry Blanchamp

High-Spin Molecules: Synthesis, X-ray Characterization, and Magnetic Behavior of Two New Cyano-Bridged Ni II 9 Mo V 6 and Ni II 9 W V 6 Clusters with a S = 12 Ground State

The preparations, X-ray structures, and magnetic characterizations are presented for two new pentadecanuclear cluster compounds:  [NiII{NiII(MeOH)3}8(μ-CN)30{MV(CN)3}6]·xMeOH·yH2O (MV = MoV (1) with x = 17, y = 1; MV = WV (2) with x = 15, y = 0). Both compounds crystallize in the monoclinic space group C2/c, with cell dimensions of a = 28.4957(18) Å, b = 19.2583(10) Å, c = 32.4279(17) Å, β = 113.155(6)°, and Z = 4 for 1 and a = 28.5278(16) Å, b = 19.2008(18) Å, c = 32.4072(17) Å, β = 113.727(6)°, and Z = 4 for 2. The structures of 1 and 2 consist of neutral cluster complexes comprising 15 metal ions, 9 NiII and 6 MV, all linked by μ-cyano ligands. Magnetic susceptibilities and magnetization measurements of compounds 1 and 2 in the crystalline and dissolved state indicate that these clusters have a S = 12 ground state, originating from intracluster ferromagnetic exchange interactions between the μ-cyano-bridged metal ions of the type NiII−NC−MV. Indeed, these data show clearly that the cluster molecules stay intact in solution. Ac magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that the cluster compounds exhibit magnetic susceptibility relaxation phenomena at low temperatures since, with nonzero dc fields, χ‘ ‘M has a nonzero value that is frequency dependent. However, there appears no out-of-phase (χ‘ ‘M) signal in zero dc field down to 1.8 K, which excludes the expected signature for a single molecule magnet. This finding is confirmed with the small uniaxial magnetic anisotropy value for D of 0.015 cm-1, deduced from the high-field, high-frequency EPR measurement, which distinctly reveals a positive sign in D. Obviously, the overall magnetic anisotropy of the compounds is too low, and this may be a consequence of a small single ion magnetic anisotropy combined with the highly symmetric arrangement of the metal ions in the cluster molecule.

Soils, agriculture and food security: The interplay between ecosystem functioning and human well-being

Healthy soils are critical to agriculture, and both are essential to enabling food security. Soil-related challenges include using soils and other natural resources sustainably, combating land and soil degradation, avoiding further reduction of soil-related ecosystem services, and ensuring that all agricultural land is managed sustainably. Agricultural challenges include improving the quantity and quality of agricultural outputs to satisfy rising human needs, also in a 2 degrees world; maintaining diversity in agricultural systems while supporting those farms with the highest potential for closing existing yield gaps; and providing a livelihood for about 2.6 billion mostly poor land users. The greatest needs and potentials lie in small-scale farming, although there as elsewhere, trade-offs must be negotiated within the nexus of water, energy, land and food, including the role of soil therein.

Specificities of Caenorhabditis elegans and human hairpin binding proteins for the first nucleotide in the histone mRNA hairpin loop.

The 3' ends of animal replication-dependent histone mRNAs are formed by endonucleolytic cleavage of the primary transcripts downstream of a highly conserved RNA hairpin. The hairpin-binding protein (HBP) binds to this RNA element and is involved in histone RNA 3' processing. A minimal RNA-binding domain (RBD) of approximately 73 amino acids that has no similarity with other known RNA-binding motifs was identified in human HBP [Wang Z-F et al., Genes & Dev, 1996, 10:3028-3040]. The primary sequence identity between human and Caenorhabditis elegans RBDs is 55% compared to 38% for the full-length proteins. We analyzed whether differences between C. elegans and human HBP and hairpins are reflected in the specificity of RNA binding. The C. elegans HBP and its RBD recognize only their cognate RNA hairpins, whereas the human HBP or RBD can bind both the mammalian and the C. elegans hairpins. This selectivity of C. elegans HBP is mostly mediated by the first nucleotide in the loop, which is C in C. elegans and U in all other metazoans. By converting amino acids in the human RBD to the corresponding C. elegans residues at places where the latter deviates from the consensus, we could identify two amino acid segments that contribute to selectivity for the first nucleotide of the hairpin loop.

Dry grasslands of Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe shaped by environmental heterogeneity and human land use – Editorial to the 10th Dry Grassland Special Feature

Der diesjährige 10. Trockenrasen-Sonderteil von Tuexenia beginnt mit einem Bericht über die aktuellen Aktivitäten der European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG). Zunächst geben wir einen Überblick über die Entwicklung der Mitgliederzahl. Dann berichten wir vom letzten European Dry Grassland Meeting in Tula (Russland, 2014) und vom letzten European Dry Grassland Field Workshop in Navarra (Spanien, 2014) und informieren über künftige Veranstaltungen der EDGG. Anschließend erläutern wir die Publikationsaktivitäten der EDGG. Im zweiten Teil des Editorials geben wir eine Einführung zu den fünf Artikeln des diesjährigen Trockenrasen-Sonderteils. Zwei Artikel beschäftigen sich mit der Syntaxonomie von Trockenrasen in Ost- bzw. Südosteuropa: der eine präsentiert erstmalig eine Gesamtklassifikation der Trockenrasengesellschaften Serbiens und des Kosovo während der andere Originalaufnahmen sub-montaner Graslandgesellschaften aus den bislang kaum untersuchten ukrainischen Ostkarpaten analysiert. Zwei weitere Artikel behandeln Trockenrasen-Feuchtwiesen-Komplexe im ungarischen Tiefland: Der eine behandelt den Einfluss der Landnutzung auf die Phytodiversität von Steppen und Feuchtwiesen, der andere den Einfluss von Niederschlagsschwankungen in einem Zeitraum von drei Jahren auf die Ausbildung salzbeeinflusster Steppen-Feuchtwiesen-Komplexe. Der fünfte Artikel analysiert landnutzungsbedingte Veränderungen des Graslands des Tsentralen-Balkan-Nationalparks in Bulgarien über einen Zeitraum von 65 Jahren

Synthesis and Structural Elucidation of Triazolylmolybdenum(VI) Oxide Hybrids and Their Behavior as Oxidation Catalysts

A large family of bifunctional 1,2,4-triazole molecular tectons (tr) has been explored for engineering molybdenum(VI) oxide hybrid solids. Specifically, tr ligands bearing auxiliary basic or acidic groups were of the type amine, pyrazole, 1H-tetrazole, and 1,2,4-triazole. The organically templated molybdenum(VI) oxide solids with the general compositions [MoO3(tr)], [Mo2O6(tr)], and [Mo2O6(tr)(H2O)2] were prepared under mild hydrothermal conditions or by refluxing in water. Their crystal structures consist of zigzag chains, ribbons, or helixes of alternating cis-{MoO4N2} or {MoO5N} polyhedra stapled by short [N–N]-tr bridges that for bitriazole ligands convert the motifs into 2D or 3D frameworks. The high thermal (235–350 °C) and chemical stability observed for the materials makes them promising for catalytic applications. The molybdenum(VI) oxide hybrids were successfully explored as versatile oxidation catalysts with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) or aqueous H2O2 as an oxygen source, at 70 °C. Catalytic performances were influenced by the different acidic–basic properties and steric hindrances of coordinating organic ligands as well as the structural dimensionality of the hybrid.