Self-organisation in dynamical systems: a limiting result

There is presently considerable interest in the phenomenon of “self-organisation” in dynamical systems. The rough idea of self-organisation is that a structure appears “by itself” in a dynamical system, with reasonably high probability, in a reasonably short time, with no help from a special initial state, or interaction with an external system. What is often missed, however, is that the standard evolutionary account of the origin of multi-cellular life fits this definition, so that higher living organisms are also products of self-organisation. Very few kinds of object can self-organise, and the question of what such objects are like is a suitable mathematical problem. Extending the familiar notion of algorithmic complexity into the context of dynamical systems, we obtain a notion of “dynamical complexity”. A simple theorem then shows that only objects of very low dynamical complexity can self organise, so that living organisms must be of low dynamical complexity. On the other hand, symmetry considerations suggest that living organisms are highly complex, relative to the dynamical laws, due to their large size and high degree of irregularity. In particular, it is shown that since dynamical laws operate locally, and do not vary across space and time, they cannot produce any specific large and irregular structure with high probability in a short time. These arguments suggest that standard evolutionary theories of the origin of higher organisms are incomplete.     

False recognition in Lewy-body disease and frontotemporal dementia

The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the false recognition phenomenon in persons with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and those with Lewy-body disease (LBD). Patients with LBD (n=10) or FTD (n=15) and their corresponding controls (n=30) were subjected to the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm to induce false recognition. Patients were first presented with items semantically related to a nonpresented critical target. The critical target was later included in a word list shown to patients to assess level of recognition. Both groups of patients showed a reduced level of false recognition of the critical target when controlling for their overall level of false alarms. This reduction was greater in persons with LBD than in those with FTD. Correlational analyses of performance on neuropsychological tests and the DRM variables indicated that the reduced DRM effect was associated with inhibition deficits in patients with LBD and with inhibition deficits and verbal memory in those with FTD. Our results support current models suggesting that these cognitive components contribute to the false recognition effect.     

Combating stereotype threat: The effect of self-affirmation on women’s intellectual performance

The present studies were designed to investigate the effects of self-affirmation on the performance of women under stereotype threat. In Study 1, women performed worse on a difficult math test when it was described as diagnostic of math intelligence (stereotype threat condition) than in a non-diagnostic control condition. However, when women under stereotype threat affirmed a valued attribute, they performed at levels comparable to men and to women in the no-threat control condition. In Study 2, men and women worked on a spatial rotation test and were told that women were stereotyped as inferior on such tasks. Approximately half the women and men self-affirmed before beginning the test. Self-affirmation improved the performance of women under threat, but did not affect men’s performance.     

ALDH2 status and conduct disorder mediate the relationship between ethnicity and alcohol dependence in Chinese, Korean, and White American college students

This study examined aldehyde dehydrogense (ALDH2) gene status, alcohol dehydrogense (ADH2) gene status, conduct disorder, and alcohol dependence in Chinese, Korean, and White American college students. Chinese had a lower rate of alcohol dependence (5%) than Koreans (13%) and Whites (17%). Koreans had a higher rate of conduct disorder (15%) than Whites (9%) and Chinese (6%). The relationship of ethnicity to alcohol dependence was mediated by ALDH2 status and conduct disorder, although Chinese ethnicity remained significant. ADH2 status was not related to alcohol dependence with ALDH2 included, and no interactions were significant. Results suggest that different rates of risk (e.g., conduct disorder) and protective (e.g., ALDH2 status) factors partially account for ethnic differences in rates of alcohol dependence.     

Development and Evaluation of a Telephone Communication Protocol for the Delivery of Personalized Melanoma Genomic Risk to the General Population

Communicating personalized genomic risk results for common diseases to the general population as a form of tailored prevention is novel and may require alternative genetic counseling service delivery models. We describe the development and evaluation of a communication protocol for disclosing melanoma genomic risk information to the asymptomatic general population and assess participants’ satisfaction and acceptability. Participants (n?=?117) were aged 22–69 years, living in New South Wales, Australia and unselected for family history. They provided a saliva sample and had genomic testing for melanoma for low to moderate penetrant melanoma susceptibility variants in 21 genes. Participants could choose to receive their results from a genetic counselor via telephone, followed by a mailed booklet or to receive their risk result via mailed booklet only with a follow-up call for those at high risk. A follow-up questionnaire was completed by 85% of participants 3-months later. Most participants (80%) elected to receive their result via telephone. Participants were highly satisfied with the delivery of results (mean 3.4 out of 4, standard deviation 0.5), and this did not differ by delivery mode, risk category, age or sex. On follow-up, 75% accurately recalled their risk category, 6% indicated a preference for a different delivery mode, either electronic or face-to-face. The process of disclosing genomic risk results to the general population over the telephone with accompanying written material was feasible and acceptable, and may be useful for communicating polygenic risk for common diseases in the context of increasing demands for genomic testing.     

digital career portfolios: expanding institutional opportunities

Faculty at a small university discussed digital portfolios for technology support students who were entering the senior year without a portfolio that illustrated their knowledge and skills for potential employers. Business leaders expressed the need for graduates to demonstrate technological skills and other critical competency areas. Recent trends replace the traditional résumés and portfolios with digital portfolios, which capture student accomplishments by electronic methods. The authors note that smaller institutions may not have the funding, administrative support, or technical support necessary for such large‐scale projects. They discuss how smaller institutions can provide students with opportunities to develop digital portfolios despite these constraints.     

Interstimulus interval and delivery cues influence timed conditioned responding in rats

Appetitive contextual excitation supported by intertrial unconditioned stimuli was more easily overcome by timed conditioned responding in rats using quiet (Experiment 1) rather than noisy (Experiment 2) food pellet deliveries. Head-entry responding in acquisition peaked above the contextual baseline when pellet delivery occurred 10, 30, 60, or 90 s after the onset of the 120-s white-noise conditioned stimulus (CS). Special tests in extinction revealed CS onset and offset were conditioned by pellet delivery at 0 and 120 s, respectively. Responding was not undermined in Experiment 3 when noisy pellet deliveries replaced quiet pellet deliveries. Our results suggest that micro-stimuli occasioned at different times during the CS are vulnerable to overshadowing, but do not lose strength if they are already predictive.     

Domestic violence and sexual assault services: Inside the black box

Research examining the efficacy of community-based domestic violence and sexual assault services is yielding promising findings; however, little is known about the structure, components, and content of these services. Although service guidelines exist, a critical gap persists because review, comparison, and synthesis of these recommendations have not been undertaken. This research addresses this knowledge gap through a review of the domestic violence and sexual assault services literature. We gathered relevant literature by conducting systematic searches of databases, and by soliciting the service guidelines and training manuals from all the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions in the United States. These efforts yielded 43 articles, books, or manuals for review. The findings show strong consensus on core services for survivors, including crisis services, legal and medical advocacy, support groups, individual counseling, and shelter. This article presents the review results in tables comparing the service goals, intervention strategies, and recommendations for service delivery. We also found areas of contention (e.g., whether to continuously staff domestic violence shelters, and whether combined agencies can effectively offer both domestic violence and sexual assault services). Building upon the review findings, we discuss the implications for domestic violence and sexual assault services and intervention research.