Group Behavior Research Articles

Analytical investigations on thermomechanical behavior of energy pile groups resting on stiff soil strata

Energy piles are increasingly being exploited worldwide because of their dual role of exchanging heat with the ground and providing structural support for buildings. Despite the existing studies, simplified but reasonable methods for estimating the vertical displacement of end-bearing energy pile groups subjected to thermal loads are lacking. To address this challenge, an analytical approach was proposed to analyze the thermomechanical behavior of energy pile groups bearing stiff soil strata. To consider the reduction in soil displacement caused by the presence of a bearing layer, an approximate method where the energy piles comprising solid and mirror-image elements was introduced. The proposed approach was implemented using a self-developed program and validated against the results of existing numerical studies. The results indicated that the thermally induced displacement interaction between the predominant end-bearing piles was more pronounced than that between the floating piles. The displacement interaction decreases with decreasing shaft and base soil stiffness, increasing pile spacing, and decreasing pile slenderness ratio. In addition, a simplified method for estimating the displacement of energy pile groups resting on stiff soil strata was established by superimposing the interaction factor.

HIV PrEP Coverage Among Black Adults: A Concept Analysis of the Inequities, Disparities, and Implications.

Significant racial disparities exist in HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) coverage in the United States (U.S), with Black individuals experiencing seven times higher new HIV infection rates compared to their White counterparts. Despite being the highest priority population at risk for HIV, Black adults have the lowest PrEP coverage, impacting the overall progress toward meeting the ending the HIV epidemic (EHE) goals in the U.S. Utilizing the Walker and Avant method, this concept analysis examined existing literature and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resources to explore HIV PrEP coverage. Findings highlighted a lack of clarity in the concept, resulting in four operational definitions. To address this ambiguity, a conceptual definition of HIV PrEP coverage was proposed, focusing on equitable access to PrEP medication among sexually active individuals aged 18-64 years, particularly those traditionally underserved and would benefit from PrEP. This inclusive definition aims to align with the dynamics of sexual behavior in racial minority groups. Key attributes of this conceptual definition include estimates of PrEP use, access, need, cost, side effects, frequency of HIV testing, and self-efficacy. Antecedents entail HIV status, testing behaviors, transmission risks, and communication with health care providers. Consequences involve perceptions of risk, screening routines, provider biases, stigma, and potential HIV transmission reduction. Analyzing HIV PrEP coverage offers useful insights into social and structural factors exacerbating health inequities in the field of HIV prevention and control. This concept analysis underscores the importance of unified sexual health communication, diverse approaches to PrEP access for racial minorities, and improved sexual health policies for Black adults. Moreover, understanding and advocating for equity in HIV PrEP coverage is crucial for addressing the existing racial disparities and achieving the EHE objectives in the U.S.

Group Control of Photo-Responsive Colloidal Motors with a Structured Light Field

Using structured light to drive colloidal motors, due to its advantages of remote manipulation, energy tunability, programmability, and the controllability of spatiotemporal distribution, has been attracting much attention in the fields of targeted drug delivery, environmental control, chemical agent detection, and smart device design. Here, we focus on studying the group control of colloidal motors made from a photo-responsive organic polymer molecule NO-COP (N,O-Covalent organic polymer). These colloidal motors mainly respond to light intensity patterns. Considering its merits of fast refreshing speed, good programmability, and high-power threshold, we chose a digital micromirror device (DMD) to modulate the structured light field shining on the sample. It was found that under ultraviolet or green light modulation, such colloidal motors exhibit various group behaviors including group spreading, group patterning, and group migration. A qualitative interpretation is also provided for these observations.

Non-invasive pulse arrival time as a surrogate for oscillometric systolic blood pressure changes during non-pharmacological intervention

Background. Non-invasive continuous blood pressure (BP) monitoring is of longstanding interest in various cardiovascular scenarios. In this context, pulse arrival time (PAT), i.e., a surrogate parameter for systolic BP (change), became very popular recently, especially in the context of cuffless BP measurement and dedicated lifestyle interventions. Nevertheless, there is also understandable doubt on its reliability in uncontrolled and mobile settings. Objective. The aim of this work is therefore the investigation whether PAT follows oscillometric systolic BP readings during moderate interventions by physical or mental activity using a medical grade handheld device for non-invasive PAT assessment. Approach. A study was conducted featuring an experimental group performing a physical and a mental task, and a control group. Oscillometric BP and PAT were assessed at baseline and after each intervention. Interventions were selected randomly but then performed sequentially in a counterbalanced order. Multivariate analyses of variance were used to test within-subject and between-subject effects for the dependent variables, followed by univariate analyses for post-hoc testing. Furthermore, correlation analysis was performed to assess the association of intervention effects between BP and PAT. Main results. The study included 51 subjects (31 females). Multivariate analysis of variances showed that effects in BP, heart rate, PAT and pulse wave parameters were consistent and significantly different between experimental and control groups. After physical activity, heart rate and systolic BP increased significantly whereas PAT decreased significantly. Mental activity leads to a decrease in systolic BP at stable heart rate. Pulse wave parameters follow accordingly by an increase of PAT and mainly unchanged pulse wave analysis features due to constant heart rate. Finally, also the control group behaviour was accurately registered by the PAT method compared to oscillometric cuff. Correlation analyses revealed significant negative associations between changes of systolic BP and changes of PAT from baseline to the physical task (−0.33 [−0.63, 0.01], p < 0.048), and from physical to mental task (−0.51 [−0.77, −0.14], p = 0.001), but not for baseline to mental task (−0.12 [−0,43,0,20], p = 0.50) in the experimental group. Significance. PAT and the used digital, handheld device proved to register changes in BP and heart rate reliably compared to oscillometric measurements during intervention. Therefore, it might add benefit to future mobile health solutions to support BP management by tracking relative, not absolute, BP changes during non-pharmacological interventions.

Numerical Evaluation of Pile Group Behavior Subject to Earthquake Loads

The seismic design of pile foundations mainly relies on analyzing the seismic response of layered, liquefiable locations. Two design scenarios are taken into consideration from the case histories; the first is how pile foundations react to the stresses and lateral displacements brought on by the lateral dispersion of liquefied soil. The second is how to piles reaction to seismic activity that occurs with the development of high pore water pressures. The PLAXIS 3D software is utilized in this research with a non-linear soil constitutive model (hypoplastic model) for both dry and saturated loose sandy soils under the impact of two earthquakes and the motion of different features to give a complete understanding of the dynamic piled foundation response. The findings from this study show that the site profile, pile diameter, pile length, and excitation of ground motion significantly affect the dynamic response of the layered liquefied site. So, in the saturated case, the increase in the piles length to (L/D = 55) in comparison to the original length (L/D = 35) decreased the peak acceleration at the raft foundation by about (24.4 and 41.9) % under the effect of Kobe and Upland earthquake motion, respectively, while in the dry case, the reduction in peak acceleration was about (22.8 and 40.9) % under the effect of Kobe and Upland earthquake motion, respectively.

Correction to: Dietary tryptophan affects group behavior in a social bird

Correction to: Dietary tryptophan affects group behavior in a social bird

Graph‐based control framework for motion propagation and pattern preservation in swarm flight simulations

AbstractSimulation of swarm motion is a crucial research area in computer graphics and animation, and is widely used in a variety of applications such as biological behavior research, robotic swarm control, and the entertainment industry. In this paper, we address the challenges of preserving structural relations between the individuals in swarm flight simulations by proposing an innovative motion control framework that utilizes a graph‐based hierarchy to illustrate patterns within a swarm and allows the swarm to perform flight motions along externally specified paths. In addition, this study designs motion propagation strategies with different focuses for varied application scenarios, analyzes the effects of information transfer latencies on pattern preservation under these strategies, and optimizes the control algorithms at the mathematical level. This study not only establishes a complete set of control methods for group flight simulations, but also has excellent scalability, which can be combined with other techniques in this field to provide new solutions for group behavior simulations.

Daily-life stress reactivity and recovery following virtual-reality-based cognitive behavioral therapy in patients with a psychotic disorder.

Studies have consistently demonstrated increased stress sensitivity in individuals with psychosis. Since stress sensitivity may play a role in the onset and maintenance of psychosis, this could potentially be a promising target for treatment. The current study was the first to investigate whether reactivity to and recovery from daily-life stressors in psychosis change in response to treatment, namely virtual-reality-based cognitive behavioral therapy (VR-CBT). 116 patients were randomized to either VR-CBT or the waiting list control group (WL). Pre-treatment and post-treatment participants completed a diary ten times a day during six to ten days. Multilevel analyses were used to model the time-lagged effects of daily stressful events on negative affect (NA) and paranoia symptoms to examine reactivity and recovery. There was a significant difference in NA reactivity. VR-CBT showed higher NA at post-treatment compared to pre-treatment than WL (bpre=0.14; bpost=0.19 vs bpre=0.18; bpost=0.14). There was a significant difference in NA recovery and paranoia recovery between the groups at lag 1: VR-CBT showed relatively lower negative affect (bpre=0.07; bpost=-0.06) and paranoia (bpre= 0.08; bpost=-0.10) at post-treatment compared to pre-treatment than WL (bpre=0.08; bpost=0.08; bpre=0.04; bpost=0.03). Negative affect and paranoia recovery improved in response to treatment. Increased NA reactivity may be explained by a decrease in safety behavior in the VR-CBT group. The discrepancy between reactivity and recovery findings may be explained by the inhibitory learning theory that suggests that an original threat reaction may not erase but can be inhibited as a consequence of exposure therapy.

Resident water conservation behaviors among different age groups in rural areas of the Weibei arid belt, China

Understanding water conservation behaviors across various age groups is crucial for developing effective water resource management strategies particularly in arid and semiarid zones. Based on a semi-structural questionnaire survey of 445 households in China's Weibei arid belt and extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model, a Structural Equation Model (SEM) was constructed to elucidate the age-related impact of water conservation knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control on water-saving behaviors. The results show that (1) youth group prioritizes personal hygiene and laundry activities whereas the elderly exhibit lower such requirements. (2) Water consumption varies significantly by age, with the elderly group consumes the least, averaging 62.26 L per capita per day (Lpcd), followed by the middle-aged group at 73.95 Lpcd, and the youth at the highest consumption rate of 84.60 Lpcd. (3) Influential factors on water conservation behavior differ substantially by age: Among the youth, water conservation behavior is strongly influenced by attitude in this domain (standardized path coefficient [SPC] = 0.32). The middle-aged group is influenced by subjective norms (SPC = 0.27) and attitudes toward water conservation (SPC = 0.27). Conversely, the elder group's behavior is dominated by knowledge (SPC = 0.35) and perceived control (SPC = 0.32). Given such distinct perceptions and behaviors of household water consumption, tailored water conservation strategies are essential of water conservation education through social media for youth, tiered pricing for the middle-aged, and water-saving subsidies to the elderly in the case areas.

Analysis of Network Public Opinion from the Perspective of Social Psychology

Online public opinion refers to the behavior of individuals or groups of people discussing, commenting, and expressing their views on a particular topic or event on the Internet through various forms of social media. With the popularity of the Internet and the rise of social media, online public opinion plays an important role in today’s society. It is not only an important channel for information dissemination but also an influence on social trends, public opinions, and values. Therefore, the analysis of network public opinion has important theoretical and practical significance.

Application Effect of Staged Health Education in the Nursing Care of Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Objective: To investigate the application effect of staged health education in the care of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: This study takes health education in the care of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding as the main direction. 160 patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding who received treatment in our hospital were selected as samples, and the grouping software was used to divide them into the reference group and the study group, with 80 patients each. The reference group and the study group used routine health education and staged health education respectively. Relevant research data were recorded during the nursing process, analyzed, and used as research indicators. Results: The compliance behavior of the study group was higher than that of the reference group after the staged nursing care, and at the same time, the nursing care satisfaction of the study group was higher than that of the reference group (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: The use of staged health education for the care of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding not only enhances the degree of patient awareness and compliance but also improves nursing satisfaction, which is worthy of promotion and application.

Predicting uplift capacity of group anchors in sand using 3D FELA and MARS

Similar to pile group, the process of designing an anchor group requires the determination of an efficiency factor that describes the overlapping effects of neighboring anchors. This research article introduces an efficiency factor denoted as ξ, which represents the ratio of the ultimate uplift pressure of a single anchor within a group to the ultimate uplift pressure of an isolated anchor. The primary approach employed involves advanced 3D finite element limit analysis with an adaptive meshing technique, which can be utilized to examine the uplift stability problem of 3D anchor groups. Numerical findings are compared with those obtained from previous research, incorporating both experimental and analytical results. This would ensure that our results are validated and provide valuable information into the performance of anchor groups. In addition to these findings, we introduce a MARS machine learning model, which has been trained using a dataset of 875 data points. This model is designed to establish an empirical equation that can be practically used for design purposes. To further enhance our understanding, we present the relative importance index (RII). This index allows us to identify which factors have the most significant impact on the behavior of anchor groups. In conclusion, the results presented in this article are of practical significance for the geotechnical engineering community.

Does the Patterned View Avoid the Ideal Worlds Objection?

AbstractCan we formulate a moral theory that captures the moral significance of patterns of group behaviour we cannot affect through our own action while at the same time avoiding the so-called ‘Ideal Worlds’ objection? In a recent article, Caleb Perl has argued that we can. Specifically, Perl claims that one view that does so is his Patterned View: roughly, you ought to act only in accordance with that set of sufficiently general rules that has optimal moral value (Perl 2021: 98). The Patterned View undoubtedly constitutes a welcome contribution to our existing set of moral theories. However, does it avoid the Ideal Worlds objection? In this article, I argue ‘no’.

How Universities Communicate with the Public via Social Media: A Content Analysis

In recent years, social media have developed the strong potential to effectively communicate and to create a value proposition about university educational services, research activities and their third role. The social media content should be designed in a way which creates value for social media users to build a stronger level of engagement and facilitate brand communication. The conducted research not only investigates how selected universities use their profiles on Facebook and Instagram and communicate with the public, but the analysis also focuses on a deeper understanding of the characteristics that influence the interactivity and the relationship between a selected university and its page visitors. The findings reveal that different types of post sources generate different engagement per post (by follower) and behaviour of target groups. Furthermore, content analysis was performed to assess differences among universities in their communication. The findings document how selected categories according to uses and gratifications theory influence target groups’ engagement. The results offer scholars and practitioners new knowledge for communication in the higher education field using social media.

Evolving Altruistic Attitudes towards Vaccination Post COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Analysis across Age Groups.

Altruism plays an essential role in promoting vaccine uptake, an issue that came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic through discussions of herd immunity and altruistic motivations. In response, the primary objective of this cross-sectional survey was to explore how altruistic attitudes have evolved in the post-pandemic era and to assess their effectiveness in motivating vaccination behavior in different age groups. The study aimed to elucidate changes in altruistic motivations for vaccination and their implications for public health strategies. Using a representative sample of the adult population of South Tyrol, Italy, including 1388 participants, altruism was assessed in 2023 with the scales of the Elderly Care Research Center (ECRC) and the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) subscale of the version 5F30F-R1. Its association with demographic variables, vaccination attitudes and personal beliefs in two age groups (18-69 years, 70+ years) was analyzed. The results reveal distinct predictors of altruism across these scales and age groups, suggesting a shift in altruistic attitudes towards vaccination when comparing data from a similar survey conducted in 2021 with the 2023 results. Consequently, the use of altruism scales for different age groups is warranted. This study highlights the need for further research in this field. It concludes that while promoting altruistic behavior to increase vaccine uptake appears to be effective primarily among the younger population, emphasizing personal safety is more appropriate for encouraging vaccination among older individuals.

Family living and cooperative breeding in birds are associated with the number of avian predators.

Cooperative breeding occurs when individuals contribute parental care to offspring that are not their own. Numerous intra- and interspecific studies have aimed to explain the evolution of this behavior. Recent comparative work suggests that family living (i.e., when offspring remain with their parents beyond independence) is a critical stepping stone in the evolution of cooperative breeding. Thus, it is key to understand the factors that facilitate the evolution of family living. Within-species studies suggest that protection from predators is a critical function of group living, through both passive benefits such as dilution effects and active benefits such as prosocial antipredator behaviors in family groups. However, the association between predation risk and the formation and prevalence of family groups and cooperative breeding remains untested globally. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative analyses including 2,984 bird species to show that family living and cooperative breeding are associated with increased occurrence of avian predators. These cross-species findings lend support to previous suggestions based on intraspecific studies that social benefits of family living, such as protection against predation, could favor the evolution of delayed dispersal and cooperative breeding.

The anxiety response of patients with severe psychiatric disorders to the recent public health crisis

BackgroundThe devastating health, economic, and social consequences of COVID-19 may harm the already vulnerable groups, particularly people with severe psychiatric disorders (SPDs). The present study was conducted to investigate the anxiety response of patients with SPDs during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA total of 351 patients with SPDs [Schizophrenia Spectrum (SSD), Bipolar (BD), Major Depressive (MDD), and Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD) Disorders] and healthy controls in Guilan province, Iran, throughout 2021–2022 were included in this cross-sectional analytical study. The anxiety response consisted of four concepts: COVID-19-related anxiety, general health anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and safety behaviors. We conducted an unstructured interview and provided sociodemographic and clinical information. Also, the participants were asked to complete four self-report measures of the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index–Revised, the Short Health Anxiety Inventory, and the Checklist of Safety Behaviors.ResultsAnalysis of variance showed a significant difference between the groups of patients with SPDs and the control group in COVID-19-related anxiety (F = 6.92, p = 0.0001), health anxiety (F = 6.21, p = 0.0001), and safety behaviors (F = 2.52, p = 0.41). No significant difference was observed between them in anxiety sensitivity (F = 1.77, p = 0.134). The Games-Howell test showed that the control group obtained a higher mean than the groups of people with BD (p < 0.0001), SSD (p = 0.033), and OCD (p = 0.003) disorders in COVID-19-related anxiety. The patients with MDD (p = 0.014) and OCD (p = 0.01) had a higher mean score than the control group in health anxiety. Tukey’s test showed that the mean of safety behaviors of the control group was significantly higher than the OCD group (p = 0.21). No significant difference was found between the groups of patients with MDD, BD, SSD, and OCD in terms of COVID-19-related anxiety, health anxiety, and safety behaviors.ConclusionAnxiety response to health crisis is different in groups with SPDs and control group. The findings of this study suggest that although health anxiety is present in many of these patients during the pandemic, their anxiety response to the health crisis may be less than expected. There can be various explanations, such as pre-existing symptoms, low health literacy, and possible co-occurring cognitive impairment. The results of this study have many practical and policy implications in meeting the treatment needs of this group of patients during public health crises and indicate that their needs may not be compatible with the expectations and estimates that health professionals and policymakers already have.

Detecting Overlapping Communities Based on Influence-Spreading Matrix and Local Maxima of a Quality Function

Community detection is a widely studied topic in network structure analysis. We propose a community detection method based on the search for the local maxima of an objective function. This objective function reflects the quality of candidate communities in the network structure. The objective function can be constructed from a probability matrix that describes interactions in a network. Different models, such as network structure models and network flow models, can be used to build the probability matrix, and it acts as a link between network models and community detection models. In our influence-spreading model, the probability matrix is called an influence-spreading matrix, which describes the directed influence between all pairs of nodes in the network. By using the local maxima of an objective function, our method can standardise and help in comparing different definitions and approaches of community detection. Our proposed approach can detect overlapping and hierarchical communities and their building blocks within a network. To compare different structures in the network, we define a cohesion measure. The objective function can be expressed as a sum of these cohesion measures. We also discuss the probability of community formation to analyse a different aspect of group behaviour in a network. It is essential to recognise that this concept is separate from the notion of community cohesion, which emphasises the need for varying objective functions in different applications. Furthermore, we demonstrate that normalising objective functions by the size of detected communities can alter their rankings.

МЕРЫ ПО ПРЕДОТВРАЩЕНИЮ И ЛИКВИДАЦИИ ПАНИКИ В ЧРЕЗВЫЧАЙНЫХ СИТУАЦИЯХ НА ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯХ

The paper examines the group behavior of people in an emergency situation, defines the concept of "panic", lists the main measures to prevent and eliminate panic in emergency situations

Complexity of trophic relationships between Gammarus aequicauda (Amphipoda) and Eucypris mareotica (Ostracoda) in a hypersaline lake.

In the hypersaline lakes of Crimea, only 5-7 species of animals are common including Gammarus aequicauda (Amphipoda) and Eucypris mareotica (Ostracoda). Two experiments were carried out to characterize the trophic interactions between these species. In one, G. aequicauda were used freshly caught from the lake, and in the other, after they were starved for 2.5 days in the laboratory. The experimental options were one male or female G. aequicauda and either 10, 20, or 30 ostracods. The gammarids actively fed on the ostracods, and significant differences were between females and males. The feeding intensity of males was higher than that of females. However, ostracods are not passive prey, they can actively attack their predator and are capable of causing them harm. Ostracods attacked a Gammarus only if it had captured one of the ostracods. Sex differences in G. aequicauda were also evident in the reaction to the group's aggressive behavior of ostracods. Interactions between Ostracoda and Gammarids cannot be considered unidirectional; they both may be prey or predators depending on the situation.