Cross-group Differences Research Articles

A phylogenetic scan test on a Dirichlet-tree multinomial model for microbiome data

In this paper, we introduce the phylogenetic scan test (PhyloScan) for investigating cross-group differences in microbiome compositions using the Dirichlet-tree multinomial (DTM) model. DTM models the microbiome data through a cascade of independent local DMs on the internal nodes of the phylogenetic tree. Each of the local DMs captures the count distributions of a certain number of operational taxonomic units at a given resolution. Since distributional differences tend to occur in clusters along evolutionary lineages, we design a scan statistic over the phylogenetic tree to allow nodes to borrow signal strength from their parents and children. We also derive a formula to bound the tail probability of the scan statistic, and verify its accuracy through simulations. The PhyloScan procedure is applied to the American Gut dataset to identify taxa associated with diet habits. Empirical studies performed on this dataset show that PhyloScan achieves higher testing power in most cases.

The Negative Relationship between Reasoning and Religiosity Is Underpinned by a Bias for Intuitive Responses Specifically When Intuition and Logic Are in Conflict.

It is well established that religiosity correlates inversely with intelligence. A prominent hypothesis states that this correlation reflects behavioral biases toward intuitive problem solving, which causes errors when intuition conflicts with reasoning. We tested predictions of this hypothesis by analyzing data from two large-scale Internet-cohort studies (combined N = 63,235). We report that atheists surpass religious individuals in terms of reasoning but not working-memory performance. The religiosity effect is robust across sociodemographic factors including age, education and country of origin. It varies significantly across religions and this co-occurs with substantial cross-group differences in religious dogmatism. Critically, the religiosity effect is strongest for tasks that explicitly manipulate conflict; more specifically, atheists outperform the most dogmatic religious group by a substantial margin (0.6 standard deviations) during a color-word conflict task but not during a challenging matrix-reasoning task. These results support the hypothesis that behavioral biases rather than impaired general intelligence underlie the religiosity effect.

Chronophysiological features of the normal mineral composition of human saliva

BackgroundThe high rate of changes in the composition of saliva can be used for the monitoring of various biorhythms in order to study the physiological characteristics of the human body. Research objectiveThe study of the dynamics of the near-24-h mineral composition of saliva in men and women. MethodsThe study involved 20 men and 20 women, age 23.1±0.9years. Saliva samples were collected every 3h during the day within 10min. The mineral composition of saliva was defined by the capillary electrophoresis technique. The cross-group differences were evaluated using the non-parametric criterion. ResultsIt was shown that the maximum values of the mineralizing capacity fall to 7–8 a.m. and 18–19p.m., which is due to the change in the rate of saliva secretion. The near-24-h dynamics of the saliva pH practically coincides with the dynamics of the Ca/P ratio; there are evident maxima at 9:00 am and 15–18p.m. The values of the Na/K ratio are out of phase with the Ca/P ratio. There is one maximum, corresponding to 3 am in the night, and one minimum at 12–13p.m., which is due to a decreased level of sodium and increased potassium concentration. Statistically valid differences between men and women in pH (p<0.001), concentrations of inorganic phosphorus (p<0.001), as well as Ca/P coefficient (p=0.011) were identified. ConclusionThe dynamics of the studied parameters during 24h is characterized by pronounced intervals.

Spatial filtering, color constancy, and the color-changing dress.

The color-changing dress is a 2015 Internet phenomenon in which the colors in a picture of a dress are reported as blue-black by some observers and white-gold by others. The standard explanation is that observers make different inferences about the lighting (is the dress in shadow or bright yellow light?); based on these inferences, observers make a best guess about the reflectance of the dress. The assumption underlying this explanation is that reflectance is the key to color constancy because reflectance alone remains invariant under changes in lighting conditions. Here, we demonstrate an alternative type of invariance across illumination conditions: An object that appears to vary in color under blue, white, or yellow illumination does not change color in the high spatial frequency region. A first approximation to color constancy can therefore be accomplished by a high-pass filter that retains enough low spatial frequency content so as to not to completely desaturate the object. We demonstrate the implications of this idea on the Rubik's cube illusion; on a shirt placed under white, yellow, and blue illuminants; and on spatially filtered images of the dress. We hypothesize that observer perceptions of the dress's color vary because of individual differences in how the visual system extracts high and low spatial frequency color content from the environment, and we demonstrate cross-group differences in average sensitivity to low spatial frequency patterns.

Clinical Characteristics of Elderly Patients with Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Summary Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common upper gastrointestinal disease, and almost 30% of GERD patients do not respond well to proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical characteristics of elderly GERD patients who either respond to or resist PPI therapy. Methods A total of 198 patients (75.9 ± 6.4 years, 73.7% males) with GERD receiving PPI treatment were enrolled in this study. Enrolled patients were requested to complete a questionnaire and a personal interview concerning their demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, and endoscopic findings. Results Among the 198 enrolled patients, 135 responded to PPI once or twice daily (Group R), while 63 failed to respond to PPI twice daily (Group F). Cross-group differences were detected for body mass index ( p = 0.042), family status ( p = 0.028), depression (0.7% vs. 7.9%, p = 0.03), compliance (77% vs. 60%, p = 0.015), and hiatal hernia (6.7% vs. 17.5%, p = 0.019). Conclusion PPI failure appears to be significantly influenced by body mass index, family status, depression, compliance, and hiatal hernia of GERD patients.

Linkages between Organization Climate and Work Outcomes: Perceptual Differences among Health Service Professionals as a Function of Customer Contact Intensity

The delivery of high-quality service, rendered by health service professionals who interact with customers (patients), increases the likelihood that customers will form positive evaluations of the quality of their service encounters as well as high levels of customer satisfaction. Using linkage theory to develop our conceptual framework, we identify four clusters of variables which contribute to a chain of sequential events that connect organization climate to personal and operational work outcomes. We then examine the perceptual differences of service professionals, grouped by intensity of customer contact, with respect to these variables. National data for this project were obtained from multiple sources made available by the Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA). Cross-group differences were tested using a series of variance analyses. the results indicate that level of customer-contact intensity plays a significant role in explaining variation in perceptions of support staff, clinical practitioners, and nurses at the multivariate and univariate levels of analysis. Contact intensity appears to be a core determinant of the nature of work performed by health service professionals as well as their psychological responses to organizational and customer-related dynamics. Health service professionals are important resources because of their specialized knowledge, labor expense, and scarcity. Based on findings from our research, managers are advised to survey employees’ perceptions of their organizational environment and design practices that respond to the unique viewpoints of each of the professional groups identified in this study. Such tailoring should help executives maximize the value of investments in human resources by underwriting patient satisfaction and financial sustainability.

Impact of Role Models and Policy Exposure on Support for Tobacco Control Policies in Hangzhou, China

To examine how expectations of role models concerning smoking and exposure to tobacco control policies are associated with people's support for smoking bans. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using multistage sampling. Employed structural equation modeling to examine the relationships and multi-group analysis to compare cross-group difference between smokers and non-smokers. Expectations of role models were found to be significantly associated with support for FCTC policies related to smoking. Policy exposure indirectly relates to policy support. Cross-group differences between smokers and non-smokers were not significant. Expectations of role models are strong predictors of support for FCTC tobacco control policy among Chinese urban residents; policy exposure is associated with policy support indirectly through the influence of expectations of role models. Policymakers should utilize social roles to promote tobacco control measures.

When are cross-group differences a product of a human behavioral immune system?

When are cross-group differences a product of a human behavioral immune system?

Association between teriparatide adherence and healthcare utilization and costs among hip fracture patients in the United States

PurposeThis study examined the association between teriparatide (TPTD) adherence, and healthcare utilization and costs among hip fracture (HFx) patients. MethodsIndividuals aged 50years and older with an HFx between 1/1/2002-12/31/2010 were identified from a large US administrative claims database. The first HFx date during this period was designated as the index. Selected patients had at least 6months of pre-index continuous enrollment (baseline) and no baseline TPTD use, cancer, or Paget's disease. Patients initiating TPTD post-index were followed until censoring at switch to bisphosphonates, disenrollment, 36months post-index, or diagnosis of cancer or Paget's disease. Teriparatide adherence was measured as the proportion of days covered (PDC) by TPTD prescriptions, during the follow-up period, to construct three adherence groups: low (PDC≤0.5), medium (0.5<PDC≤0.8), and high (PDC>0.8) adherence. Outcome measures were repeated HFx, number of inpatient admissions, and per-patient-per-month (PPPM) healthcare costs. Multivariable generalized linear models examined the association between the TPTD adherence groups and the outcomes, adjusting for cross-group differences in patient characteristics. ResultsA total of 824 patients (mean age 75years, 90% female) were included: 30% low, 27% medium, and 44% high adherence. In multivariable analyses, high adherence was significantly (all p<0.05) directly associated with increased PPPM pharmacy costs ($621 low, $1093 medium, and $1572 high), but also with the lowest inpatient ($963 low, $960 medium, and $629 high) and outpatient ($1087 low, $1068 medium, and $776 high) costs, leading to the highest total costs in the medium adherence group but similar costs in the high and low adherence groups ($2599 low, $3163 medium, and $2869 high). The high adherence group also had the lowest number of inpatient admissions. ConclusionsSignificantly increased pharmacy costs associated with the high TPTD adherence group were offset by significantly fewer inpatient admissions, fewer repeated HFx, and lower inpatient and outpatient costs.

Obesity a Risk Factor in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in an Asian Population

Purpose: Over the past years, studies have pointed out the connection between the increasing number of people suffering from acid reflux symptoms and the spreading obesity epidemic. More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese (CDC data). In 1998, using the non-adjusted BMI guidelines for Asians, the WHO Global Database on BMI reported overweight and obesity in the Philippines at 23.5%. In 2003, the Philippine National Nutritional Health Evaluation and Survey showed that there are 19.6% overweight and 4.9% obese Filipinos. In the Philippines, the relationship between excessive body weight and GERD is not well established. This study aims to evaluate the relationship of obesity and severity of esophagitis in GERD patients. Methods: Consecutive patients presenting with typical GERD symptoms, i.e., acid regurgitation, heartburn, and/or epigastric pain, were recruited from June 2012 to January 2013. Demographic and clinical data were collected. We used the 2004, WHO new BMI classification intended for Asian population (normal 18.5-22.9 kg/m2, overweight 23-27.4kg/m2, obese I 27.5-32.5 kg/m2, obese II 32.6-37.5 kg/m2). Description of grade of erosive esophagitis (EE) was based on the Los Angeles (LA) Classification, i.e., LA A, LA B and LA C. The prevalence and association of obesity and severity of EE were compared. Results: Of the 445 GERD patients included in this study, patients were classified in Group A, 116 (26%), normal (BMI 22.8+1.3); Group B, 98 (22%), overweight (BMI 24.9+0.2); Group C, 166 (37%) obese I (BMI 27.9 + 1.7); and Group D, 65 (14.6%) obese II (BMI 32.9+0.8). Cross group differences were detected for the severity of EE LA class A, for those with normal BMI is 18%, in overweight is 23%, in obese I is 55% and 59% for obese II (p=0.000). Severity of EE LA class B, normal BMI is 11%, in overweight individuals is 25%, in obese I is 57% and in obese II is 59% (p=0.010). For the severity of EE LA class C, those with normal BMI 1%, in overweight is 28%, in obese I is 55% and for obese II is 54%, p= 0.04). The extents of oesophageal mucosal breaks were more severe in obese patients p=<001. Obesity is a significant risk factor for EE (odds ratio [OR] 2.9, 1.4-2.3; p= <0.001). Conclusion: Obesity is a strong independent risk factor of EE in GERD patients. The severity of EE is much higher in obese patients.

Individual differences in referral for help for severe emotional difficulties in adolescence

Adolescents with emotional distress may find help-seeking an extremely daunting endeavor. However, different adolescent population sectors relate differently to help-seeking for severe emotional difficulties. Gender and ethnic group are among the central factors influencing attitudes towards seeking emotional help. One of the possible mechanisms explaining these cross-group differences is self-esteem. The psychological price of seeking help could be admission of incompetence and feelings of failure, emotions that can be threatening, particularly to adolescents' self-esteem. In the present study, the psychological price of seeking help was manipulated by comparing the ease with which adolescents would self-refer for a severe emotional problem as opposed to referring another for the same problem, and the influence of gender, ethnic group differences and level of self esteem in both situations. The first hypothesis predicting greater ease of referral in the other-referral condition compared to self-referral was confirmed. The second hypothesis predicting general preference of informal help agents than the formal help agents was confirmed. The third hypothesis predicting gender differences such that girls would show higher ease of referral than boys from the different help agents was confirmed. The fourth hypothesis predicting that Jewish-Israeli adolescents would show greater ease of referral than Arab-Israeli adolescents was confirmed. An additional exploratory question examined the interaction between self-esteem and self versus other-referral on ease of referral for help. A significant interaction emerged only for help from the family. Adolescents with low self-esteem showed no differences in self versus other-referral, but adolescents with high self-esteem were more willing to refer others than themselves to seek help. These findings emphasize the importance of a sensitive needs assessment approach in designing mental health service delivery for youth. • Adolescents with emotional distress may find help-seeking a daunting endeavor. • Different sectors relate differently towards referral for help. • Gender and ethnicity influenced individual differences in referral for help. • One of the possible mechanisms explaining these differences is self-esteem. • .

Immigrant Networks and the Take-Up of Disability Programs: Evidence from U.S. Census Data

This paper examines the role of ethnic networks in disability program take-up among working-age immigrants in the United States. We find that even when controlling for country of origin and area of residence fixed effects, immigrants residing amidst a large number of co-ethnics are more likely to receive disability payments when their ethnic groups have higher take-up rates. Although this pattern can be partially explained by cross-group differences in satisfying the work history or income and asset requirements of the disability programs, we also find that social norms and, to a lesser extent, information sharing play important roles.

Conclusions Regarding Cross-Group Differences in Happiness Depend on Difficulty of Reaching Respondents.

A growing literature explores differences in subjective well-being across demographic groups, often relying on surveys with high nonresponse rates. By using the reported number of call attempts made to participants in the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers, we show that comparisons among easy-to-reach respondents differ from comparisons among hard-to-reach ones. Notably, easy-to-reach women are happier than easy-to-reach men, but hard-to-reach men are happier than hard-to-reach women, and conclusions of a survey could reverse with more attempted calls. Better alternatives to comparing group sample averages might include putting greater weight on hard-to-reach respondents or even extrapolating trends in responses.

The hemodynamic response in children with Simplex Autism

Numerous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of the brain-bases of autism have demonstrated altered cortical responses in subjects with autism, relative to typical subjects, during a variety of tasks. These differences may reflect altered neuronal responses or altered hemodynamic response. This study searches for evidence of hemodynamic response differences by using a simple visual stimulus and elementary motor actions, which should elicit similar neuronal responses in patients and controls. We acquired fMRI data from two groups of 16 children, a typical group and a group with Simplex Autism, during a simple visuomotor paradigm previously used to assess this question in other cross-group comparisons. A general linear model estimated the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal time course, and repeated-measures analysis of variance tested for potential cross-group differences in the BOLD signal. The hemodynamic response in Simplex Autism is similar to that found in typical children. Although the sample size was small for a secondary analysis, medication appeared to have no effect on the hemodynamic response within the Simplex Autism group. When fMRI studies show BOLD response differences between autistic and typical subjects, these results likely reflect between-group differences in neural activity and not an altered hemodynamic response.

Conclusions Regarding Cross-Group Differences in Happiness Depend on Difficulty of Reaching Respondents

A growing literature explores differences in subjective well-being across demographic groups, often relying on surveys with high nonresponse rates. By using the reported number of call attempts made to participants in the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, we show that comparisons among easy-to-reach respondents differ from comparisons among hard-to-reach ones. Notably, easy-to-reach women are happier than easy-to-reach men, but hard-to-reach men are happier than hard-to-reach women, and conclusions of a survey could reverse with more attempted calls. Better alternatives to comparing group sample averages might include putting greater weight on hard-to-reach respondents or even extrapolating trends in responses.

Immigrant Networks and the Take-Up of Disability Programs: Evidence from US Census Data

This paper examines the role of ethnic networks in disability program take-up among working-age immigrants in the United States. We find that even when controlling for country of origin and area of residence fixed effects, immigrants residing amidst a large number of co-ethnics are more likely to receive disability payments when their ethnic groups have higher take-up rates. Although this pattern can be partially explained by cross-group differences in satisfying the work history or income and asset requirements of the disability programs, we also find that social norms and, to a lesser extent, information sharing play important roles.

Dual effects of the internet on political activism: Reinforcing and mobilizing

Abstract By analyzing the Citizenship Involvement Democracy survey conducted on American citizens, this paper investigates categorical and demographic disparities between online and offline political participants and examines the two-sided effects (reinforcing and mobilizing) of the internet on political participation. The analysis presents three main findings. First, those who participate in online political activity do not differ categorically from those who conduct their political activity offline. Second, cross-group differences in how actively individuals participate in political activity make little distinction between offline and online modes. There is a trade-off between the generational gap in online political activity and the racial gap in offline political activity, but the gap in political participation between the socioeconomically advantaged and their counterparts appears in both online and offline political activities. Finally, the internet plays a dual role in mobilizing political participation by people not normally politically involved, as well as reinforcing existing offline participation.

Revisiting the Likert scale: can the fast form approach improve survey researchc

Many behavioural studies employ surveys that rely on a Likert scale for construct measurement. However, prior research has shown that using Likert scales can be problematic. One alternative to Likert scale construction is the 'fast form' approach which uses the semantic differential scale and has been shown to alleviate some - but not all - of the Likert scale biases. Our contribution to this methodological discussion is three-fold: First, we confirm the psychometric equivalency of fast form and Likert scales using a complex technology acceptance model in the context of tax software acceptance. Second, we compare the results of two subject groups with distinct expertise and show that cross-method differences are not significant, while cross-group differences are significant. Finally, we evaluate the efficiency of the fast form approach by comparing completion time and missing values for each approach. Our results suggest shorter survey completion times with the fast form approach.

Hunger and negative alliesthesia to aspartame and sucrose in patients treated with antipsychotic drugs and controls

The present study explores sweet stimuli effects on hunger and negative alliesthesia in patients treated with antipsychotic drugs and controls. Those phenomena were examined in relation to previous weight gain, eating and weight-related cognitions and type of sweet stimuli: aspartame or sucrose. Alliesthesia is delayed in participants who gained weight regardless of cross group differences. A similar reduction of hunger was observed after the intake of two kinds of sweet stimuli (aspartame or sucrose) whereas alliesthesia measures were not affected. Whereas atypical antipsychotic drug-induced weight gain is linked to delayed satiety, the phenomenon is similar in magnitude in non-psychiatric controls who gained weight.

Structural, Item, and Test Generalizability of the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised to Offenders With Intellectual Disabilities

The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is the most widely used measure of psychopathy in forensic clinical practice, but the generalizability of the measure to offenders with intellectual disabilities (ID) has not been clearly established. This study examined the structural equivalence and scalar equivalence of the PCL-R in a sample of 185 male offenders with ID in forensic mental health settings, as compared with a sample of 1,212 male prisoners without ID. Three models of the PCL-R's factor structure were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis. The 3-factor hierarchical model of psychopathy was found to be a good fit to the ID PCL-R data, whereas neither the 4-factor model nor the traditional 2-factor model fitted. There were no cross-group differences in the factor structure, providing evidence of structural equivalence. However, item response theory analyses indicated metric differences in the ratings of psychopathy symptoms between the ID group and the comparison prisoner group. This finding has potential implications for the interpretation of PCL-R scores obtained with people with ID in forensic psychiatric settings.