Experiences of Users with an Online Self-Guided Mental Health Training Program Using Gamification.

Young adulthood is a period of high risk for the development of mental health concerns. Increasing well-being among young adults is important to prevent mental health concerns and their consequences. Self-compassion has been identified as a modifiable trait with the potential to protect against mental health concerns. An online self-guided mental health training program using gamification was developed and the user experience was evaluated in a 6-week experimental design. During this period, 294 participants were allocated to use the online training program via a website. User experience was assessed via self-report questionnaires, and interaction data for the training program were also collected. Results showed that those who completed the intervention (n= 47) visited the website on average 3.2 days a week, with a mean of 45.8 interactions during the 6 weeks. Participants report positive user experiences of the online training, on average a System Usability Scale Brooke (1) score of 79.1 (out of 100) at the end-point. Participants showed positive engagement with story elements of the training, based on an average score of 4.1 (out of 5) in the evaluation of the story at the end-point. This study found the online self-compassion intervention for youth to be acceptable, although some features seem preferred by users as compared to others. Gamification in the form of a guiding story and a reward structure seemed to be a promising element for successfully motivating participants and serving as a guiding metaphor for self-compassion.

Evaluation of classifiers that score linear type traits and body condition score using common sires.

Subjective visual assessment of animals by classifiers is undertaken for several different traits in farm livestock, e.g., linear type traits, body condition score, or carcass conformation. One of the difficulties in assessment is the effect of an individual classifier. To ensure that classifiers rank animals consistently, i.e., the repeatability between classifiers and within classifier, genetic links across routinely scored observations may be used to validate scoring of individual classifiers. Eighteen classifiers of NRS scored 18 traits, and body condition for 91,589 first-lactation heifers, daughters of 601 sires. Genetic parameters were estimated in a series of bivariate analyses. In turn, observations of each individual classifier were trait 1 and all observations of all other classifiers were grouped as trait 2. Likelihoods were used to test whether additive genetic or residual variances for each classifier (trait 1) differed significantly from the grouped records (trait 2), and to test whether the genetic correlation between trait 1 and trait 2 was significantly smaller than unity. Arbitrary criteria were set to mark traits for individual classifiers when a significant deviation was found: genetic correlations of < or = 0.40, and more than 15% deviation for the standard deviation. One classifier had relatively low heritabilities, but high genetic correlations with the others. This might indicate that the repeatability within classifier should be improved. Another classifier had high genetic correlations with the others, but his sire variances were significantly higher than average for most traits. For the genetic correlations, each classifier averaged 3.3 traits marked, ranging from 0 to 9. Overall feet and legs, rump width, central ligament, and foot angle received most marks (12 to 6 classifiers), but no disagreement existed on the definition (i.e., no mark) for body condition score, stature, rump angle, teat length, overall udder, and teat placement. These simple and cheap marks can be used in training sessions to improve the quality of the scoring system.

Selection for growth rate or against back fat thickness in pigs is associated with changes in growth hormone axis plasma protein concentration and mRNA level.

Selection for increased growth rate or decreased back fat thickness results in concomitant changes in endocrine and metabolic status. Growth hormone (GH) changes in blood plasma concentration related to selection for growth rate and fat deposition were reported in pigs. The molecular mechanisms regulating selection-induced changes in GH plasma concentration remain largely unknown. We investigated selection-associated changes in GH axis parameters in 2 pig lines selected for increased growth rate (F-line), or decreased back fat thickness (L-line), respectively. First, we investigated selection-associated changes in GH pulse parameters. In both selection lines we found each generation a declining GH peak maximum concentration and area under the GH curve. GH pulse width was not associated with generation number. In both lines generation number was associated with a declined pulse interval, indicating that the number of pulses per day increased on average with 1 pulse per 24 h per generation. Second, plasma concentration of GH axis related Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and insulin were investigated. Plasma IGF-I concentration was not associated with generation number in the F-line. Mean plasma insulin concentration declined each generation in both lines. Third, we investigated changes in GH and Pit-1 mRNA levels. In both selection lines GH and Pit-1 mRNA levels increased approximately 50% each generation. The high SD of the GH mRNA levels in both lines may suggest that the GH mRNA levels are pulsatile in vivo. We postulate a molecular mechanism that may explain how selection is associated with increased GH mRNA levels and GH pulse numbers, while lowering GH release per pulse.

Disease-induced variability of genetic correlations: ascites in broilers as a case study.

Breeding against a production disease is complicated by multiple relationships between productivity, disease, and environment. Ascites in broilers is such a disease. The combination of the reasonably well understood etiology (a physiological/pathological cascade due to inadequate oxygen supply) and the practical relevance makes ascites a relevant case for demonstrating and partly revealing these complex relationships. Chickens (n = 2,788) were tested in an ascites-challenging (cold) environment. Genetic analysis of mortality and pathology in combination with performance and physiological traits (especially blood gas traits) revealed ample opportunities for selection against ascites expression. The genetic correlation structure indicated that different mortality traits and pathology traits roughly represent one common characteristic. Direct selection against pathology is more effective than selection on the basis of growth or blood gas traits. The observed negative correlation (-0.26) between productivity and ascites was unexpected. From the etiology of ascites (inadequate supply of oxygen relative to the demand), a positive (unfavorable) correlation was expected. To demonstrate that the actual disease occurrence caused this apparent contradiction, the data from the undiseased subpopulation were reanalyzed. In the undiseased subpopulation, the genetic correlation between productivity and ascites was positive (0.29). This discrepancy was confirmed by comparing regression of ascites expression on actual performance with regression of ascites on independently assessed performance breeding values. The lability of the genetic correlation was explained from complex interactions between productivity, disease susceptibility, and actual occurrence of the disease. The revealed mechanism can be generalized to other production-related diseases and results in systematically lower genetic correlations between disease and productivity. It was inferred that genetic correlations between productivity and such diseases will always be prone to the demonstrated environmental sensitivity, which complicates index selection against production-related diseases.

Evaluation of between-line variation for within-line selection against ascites in broilers.

Within-line opportunities for selection against ascites were studied in a data set comprising a 10-line comparison. The study attempted to reveal whether contrasts between lines provide reliable candidate traits for within-line selection. Mortality was chosen as the reference trait. As no pedigree information was available, a trait was required that related mortality to the nonmortality data. By principal component analysis, such a trait (ASC_INDIC = ascites indicator) was developed from pathology data. The composite trait ASC_INDIC ranked lines well for their mortality figures (r = 0.96), from which it was concluded that ASC_INDIC represents an underlying continuous ascites trait. Between lines, blood gas traits seemed to be the most promising traits. Within lines, performance traits appeared to be highly correlated to ascites. Comparison of within-line variation to between-line contrasts revealed considerable differences. The high correlation of the blood gas traits with mortality was not present within lines. However, although the magnitude was considerably reduced, the nature of the blood gas traits in their relationship to ascites was similar within and between lines. The study primarily demonstrates that contrasts between lines carry systematic but limited information for within-line coherence. Therefore, line contrasts must be interpreted with care when aiming to study genetic variation and coherence within lines.

Messenger ribonucleic acid expression of the MyoD gene family in muscle tissue at slaughter in relation to selection for porcine growth rate.

Livestock meat production capacity is related to muscle fiber numbers and growth. Muscle fibers develop during early embryonic development from proliferating and differentiating myoblasts. Post-natal muscle growth requires satellite cell proliferation and differentiation. Myoblast and satellite cell proliferation and differentiation is regulated by the genes of the MyoD gene family (myogenin, myf-5, myf-6, and MyoD1). Our aim was to study the mRNA expression of these genes in postnatal muscle tissue in relation to porcine selection for growth rate or leanness. Five boars from a line selected for fast growth (F-line) and five boars from a line selected against backfat thickness (L-line) were slaughtered, and biopsies were taken from 12 muscles. Between-line effects, within-line effects in relation to the performance of the pigs, and muscle-specific effects were studied. Comparing the F-line with the L-line revealed significantly greater myogenin, myf-5, and MyoD1 mRNA expression in some muscles of the F-line. The expression of myf-6 showed a tendency for the opposite effect in some muscles. Muscles were ordered by their muscle-specific growth rate (b-value). Within-line evaluation of the data revealed a systematic muscle effect for the myf-6 expression level in the F-line because higher b-values correlated with increased myf-6 expression level. Backfat thickness was negatively related to myogenin expression in the F-line. A relationship was found between myogenin:MyoD1 mRNA expression ratio and meat color/muscle fiber type composition in the L-line. Furthermore, the myogenin:MyoD1 ratio was greater in muscles from F-line boars than in muscles from L-line boars, which relates to the difference between the lines in muscle fiber type. We conclude that the mRNA levels of the MyoD genes in porcine muscle tissue at slaughter showed different relationships to selection for growth rate when evaluated between selection lines and within selection lines.

Fibre area and capillary supply in broiler breast muscle in relation to productivity and ascites.

The objective in this study was to examine the capillary supply in the broiler breast muscle in relation to productivity and the incidence of ascites. Muscle samples (pectoralis superficialis) were collected from 24 pairs of broilers of a commercial paternal strain. The pairs consisted of full sib broilers (brothers and sisters). Of each pair one broiler had a high arterial pressure index, as an indication of ascites, and the other was a healthy chick of the same sex. Data collected were, among others, body weight, arterial pressure index, haematocrit and weight of breast muscle and lungs. Pectoral muscle samples were histologically analysed with respect to capillary density, fibre area and number of capillaries per fibre. Ascitic chickens (measured as high values for heart hypertrophy) had a lower number of capillaries per fibre and tended to have reduced fibre area, although they had a similar capillary density in the pectoral muscle in comparison with healthy chickens. The expected increase in capillary density was not observed. Normally capillary densities decrease in proportion to the increase in fibre size. So ascites has unfavourable relations with capillary traits. Fast growth was not significantly associated with capillary density. However, chickens with a higher percentage breast muscle had a lower capillary density. This implies that high muscularity might be a risk for a diminished oxygen supply to the breast muscle.

Interference of Wegener's granulomatosis autoantibodies with neutrophil Proteinase 3 activity.

Classic anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (C-ANCA) are disease-specific markers of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). The possible pathogenetic role of these autoantibodies, which are directed against Proteinase 3 (PR3), is not yet clear. We studied the effect of C-ANCA on PR3 proteolytic activity and on the complexation of PR3 with alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1AT). C-ANCA IgG from eight patients with active WG significantly inhibited PR3 proteolytic activity, particularly towards elastin (median 84.2% inhibition). C-ANCA IgG significantly inhibited the complexation of PR3 with alpha 1AT (median 58.8% inhibition). Moreover, addition of purified PR3 to C-ANCA-positive sera from WG patients yielded less complexes with alpha 1AT (median 44.8%) compared with sera containing perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (P-ANCA) or ANCA-negative sera. These findings indicate the existence of a hitherto unknown property of C-ANCA, which may be of importance in the pathogenesis of WG.