Narrative transparency and credibility: First–person process statements in video news

Journalism critics have argued that transparency about the reporting process is an ethical imperative. Convergence offers news organizations opportunities for changed writing styles that may foster more transparency, especially as they embrace video storytelling. This project used two experiments to investigate the impact of transparent language on the way online news consumers perceive the credibility of video news reports. The study operationalized transparency in narrative as the use of first-person statements and references to the newsgathering process. Subjects noticed transparency statements but this had no significant effect on their assessment of the credibility of a story or reporter. The results suggest that transparency is a distinct variable with a complicated relationship to other audience effects.

Limited Formal Education and its Impact of Disease Profile of Older Persons of Rawalpindi

Increased life expectancy and low mortality rates are the major reason for the increasing number of the older population. Developed countries are not only facing this problem, but the number of developing countries are also increasing. Pakistan is also among those countries having a greater portion of the older population. Objective: The present study was focused on exploring the relationship between the educational achievement of older persons and their disease profile. Methods: A structured tool was developed to interview 384 older persons. Data were coded and analyzed in SPSS. Male and female participation was with ratio 70:30 while 53.9% sample was age 60-65 years. Results: Most of the respondents were illiterate, followed by primary, secondary, and matriculation degree holder elders. Hypertension, Heart problem, Diabetes, Arthritis, and Asthma issue are observed among older persons. Diabetes is the only disease reported by OPs with a qualification from illiterate to a Master degree with varied percentiles. Regression model [ y=5.0749+.0646x] with R Square = .0013. Conclusion: We conclude that a relationship exists among study variables but non-significantly while the value of R^2tells us how assertive you can be that each distinct variable has some correlation with the dependent variable, which is the important indicator.

An Exploration of Classroom-related Sources of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety of Pakistani University Students

Foreign language anxiety is a distinct variable particular to language learning and it has debilitative effects on the learning and production of language. The current study aims to explore the perspectives of Pakistani postgraduate non-major English language students specifically regarding classroom-related factors that may contribute to their speaking anxiety (SA). A questionnaire was administered to 170 students and aiming to find a more comprehensive explanation of their SA, 20 students were interviewed. Quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS while exploratory content analysis was followed to analyze the qualitative data. Findings highlight several classroom-related sources of SA namely; a formal classroom environment, oral tests, fear of negative evaluation, large classrooms, fear of being put on the spot, short time granted to formulate answers, and unfamiliarity among classmates. The last four sources of SA have not been mentioned earlier in the field of SA. Implications and recommendations are offered for language teachers and material designers. Finally, recommendations for future studies are given.

Interaction between Borrelia miyamotoi variable major proteins Vlp15/16 and Vlp18 with plasminogen and complement

Borrelia miyamotoi, a relapsing fever spirochete transmitted by Ixodid ticks causes B. miyamotoi disease (BMD). To evade the human host´s immune response, relapsing fever borreliae, including B. miyamotoi, produce distinct variable major proteins. Here, we investigated Vsp1, Vlp15/16, and Vlp18 all of which are currently being evaluated as antigens for the serodiagnosis of BMD. Comparative analyses identified Vlp15/16 but not Vsp1 and Vlp18 as a plasminogen-interacting protein of B. miyamotoi. Furthermore, Vlp15/16 bound plasminogen in a dose-dependent fashion with high affinity. Binding of plasminogen to Vlp15/16 was significantly inhibited by the lysine analog tranexamic acid suggesting that the protein–protein interaction is mediated by lysine residues. By contrast, ionic strength did not have an effect on binding of plasminogen to Vlp15/16. Of relevance, plasminogen bound to the borrelial protein cleaved the chromogenic substrate S-2251 upon conversion by urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPa), demonstrating it retained its physiological activity. Interestingly, further analyses revealed a complement inhibitory activity of Vlp15/16 and Vlp18 on the alternative pathway by a Factor H-independent mechanism. More importantly, both borrelial proteins protect serum sensitive Borrelia garinii cells from complement-mediated lysis suggesting multiple roles of these two variable major proteins in immune evasion of B. miyamotoi.

Determinants of Time to Care for Children and Adolescents With Disabilities

Time use studies uncover the organization of daily routine of families of children with disabilities. The objective of this study is to identify determinants of time spent caring for children/adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and typical development (TD). Participants were caregivers of children/adolescents with/without disability. Structural equation modeling tested a proposed model of time spent in child care. The variables in the model were as follows: questionnaire (families’ socioeconomic status [SES]), children’s functioning (The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory–Computer Adaptive Test [PEDI-CAT]); hours of care (daily diaries), number of adaptations used, and help with child care (parents’ report). Distinct variable combinations explained 78% of the variation in the time to care (TD model), followed by 42% (ASD) and 29% (CP). Adaptations indirectly affected time to care through its effect on functioning (CP); family’s SES affected functioning through its effect on adaptation use (ASD). In conclusion, knowledge of factors affecting caregivers’ time spent on children’s care help occupational therapists implement family-centered strategies.

Lexical connectivity effects in immediate serial recall of words

In four experiments, we tested whether immediate serial recall is influenced by a word’s degree centrality, an index of lexical connectivity. Words of high degree centrality are associated with more words in free association norms than those of low degree centrality. Experiment 1 reanalysed four existing datasets (collected for other purposes) to explore the effect of degree centrality in scrambled wordlists. Results indicated that high-degree (vs. low-degree) words are advantaged across all serial positions, independently of other variables including word frequency. Experiment 2 replicated this finding using an expanded stimulus set. Experiment 3 used pure lists with each list containing high- or low-degree words only. Once again, high-degree words were better recalled across all serial positions, and this could not be explained by other psycholinguistic variables. Experiment 4 used alternating lists, within which high- and low-degree words alternated. High-degree words were no longer advantaged overall. Instead, recall of low-degree words was facilitated when neighboured by high-degree words. We conclude that degree centrality is a distinct variable that affects serial recall and consider its influence both as an item-level characteristic that reflects how accessible a word is and as an inter-item property that captures how well associative links can be formed between words.

Lexical connectivity effects in immediate serial recall of words

In four experiments, we tested whether immediate serial recall is influenced by a word’s degree centrality, an index of lexical connectivity. Words of high degree centrality are associated with more words in free association norms than those of low degree centrality. Experiment 1 reanalysed four existing datasets (collected for other purposes) to explore the effect of degree centrality in scrambled wordlists. Results indicated that high-degree (vs. low-degree) words are advantaged across all serial positions, independently of other variables including word frequency. Experiment 2 replicated this finding using an expanded stimulus set. Experiment 3 used pure lists with each list containing high- or low-degree words only. Once again, high-degree words were better recalled across all serial positions, and this could not be explained by other psycholinguistic variables. Experiment 4 used alternating lists, within which high- and low-degree words alternated. High-degree words were no longer advantaged overall. Instead, recall of low-degree words was facilitated when neighboured by high-degree words. We conclude that degree centrality is a distinct variable that affects serial recall and consider its influence both as an item-level characteristic that reflects how accessible a word is and as an inter-item property that captures how well associative links can be formed between words.

An updated genetic marker for detection of Lake Sinai Virus and metagenetic applications

Background Lake Sinai Viruses (LSV) are common RNA viruses of honey bees (Apis mellifera) that frequently reach high abundance but are not linked to overt disease. LSVs are genetically heterogeneous and collectively widespread, but despite frequent detection in surveys, the ecological and geographic factors structuring their distribution in A. mellifera are not understood. Even less is known about their distribution in other species. Better understanding of LSV prevalence and ecology have been hampered by high sequence diversity within the LSV clade. Methods Here we report a new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that is compatible with currently known lineages with minimal primer degeneracy, producing an expected 365 bp amplicon suitable for end-point PCR and metagenetic sequencing. Using the Illumina MiSeq platform, we performed pilot metagenetic assessments of three sample sets, each representing a distinct variable that might structure LSV diversity (geography, tissue, and species). Results The first sample set in our pilot assessment compared cDNA pools from managed A. mellifera hives in California (n = 8) and Maryland (n = 6) that had previously been evaluated for LSV2, confirming that the primers co-amplify divergent lineages in real-world samples. The second sample set included cDNA pools derived from different tissues (thorax vs. abdomen, n = 24 paired samples), collected from managed A. mellifera hives in North Dakota. End-point detection of LSV frequently differed between the two tissue types; LSV metagenetic composition was similar in one pair of sequenced samples but divergent in a second pair. Overall, LSV1 and intermediate lineages were common in these samples whereas variants clustering with LSV2 were rare. The third sample set included cDNA from individual pollinator specimens collected from diverse landscapes in the vicinity of Lincoln, Nebraska. We detected LSV in the bee Halictus ligatus (four of 63 specimens tested, 6.3%) at a similar rate as A. mellifera (nine of 115 specimens, 7.8%), but only one H. ligatus sequencing library yielded sufficient data for compositional analysis. Sequenced samples often contained multiple divergent LSV lineages, including individual specimens. While these studies were exploratory rather than statistically powerful tests of hypotheses, they illustrate the utility of high-throughput sequencing for understanding LSV transmission within and among species.

Structural Diversity and Phylogenetic Distribution of Valyl tRNA-like Structures in Viruses

ABSTRACTViruses commonly use specifically folded RNA elements that interact with both host and viral proteins to perform functions important for diverse viral processes. Examples are found at the 3′ termini of certain positive-sense ssRNA virus genomes where they partially mimic tRNAs, including being aminoacylated by host cell enzymes. Valine-accepting tRNA-like structures (TLSVal) are an example that share some clear homology to canonical tRNAs but have several important structural differences. Although many examples of TLSVal have been identified, we lacked a full understanding of their structural diversity and phylogenetic distribution. To address this, we undertook an in-depth bioinformatic and biochemical investigation of these RNAs, guided by recent high-resolution structures of a TLSVal. We cataloged many new examples in plant-infecting viruses but also in unrelated insect-specific viruses. Using biochemical and structural approaches, we verified the secondary structure of representative TLSVal substrates and tested their ability to be valylated, finding structural heterogeneity within this class. In a few cases, large stem-loop structures are inserted within distinct variable regions located in an area of the TLS distal to known host cell factor binding sites. In addition, we identified one virus whose TLS has switched its anticodon away from valine; the implications of this remain unclear. These results refine our understanding of the structural and functional mechanistic details of tRNA mimicry and how this may be used in viral infection.