Caltech Conte Center, a multimodal data resource for exploring social cognition and decision-making.

This data release of 117 healthy community-dwelling adults provides multimodal high-quality neuroimaging and behavioral data for the investigation of brain-behavior relationships. We provide structural MRI, resting-state functional MRI, movie functional MRI, together with questionnaire-based and task-based psychological variables; many of the participants have multiple datasets from retesting over the course of several years. Our dataset is distinguished by utilizing open-source data formats and processing tools (BIDS, FreeSurfer, fMRIPrep, MRIQC), providing data that is thoroughly quality checked, preprocessed to various extents and available in multiple anatomical spaces. A customizable denoising pipeline is provided as open-source code that includes tools for the generation of functional connectivity matrices and initialization of individual difference analyses. Behavioral data include a comprehensive set of psychological assessments on gold-standard instruments encompassing cognitive function, mood and personality, together with exploratory factor analyses. The dataset provides an in-depth, multimodal resource for investigating associations between individual differences, brain structure and function, with a focus on the domains of social cognition and decision-making.

Trends in physical activity participation and the impact of integrated campaigns among Australian adults, 1997-99.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether awareness of the moderate physical activity message and prevalence of participation changed among Australian adults between 1997 and 1999, and if changes differed across Australia. METHODS: Data were compared on awareness of the moderate physical activity message and on physical activity participation from identical national physical activity surveys in 1997 and 1999. RESULTS: In 1999, following integrated public health efforts, recognition of the Active Australia campaign was substantially higher in NSW/ACT (61.7%) than elsewhere (29.3%). Knowledge about benefits of moderate activity increased between 1997 and 1999, more so in States with public health campaigns. National participation in 'sufficient physical activity' declined between 1997 and 1999, from 63% to 57%, but the decline was smaller in NSW/ACT (4.4%) than in the other States (6.0%). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Declining trends in physical activity in Australia require increased public health investments, including strategic planning and public education, such as occurred in NSW (1997/98).

Coexistence of ecologically similar colonising species III. Drosophila aldrichi and D. buzzatii: larval performance on, and adult preference for, three Opuntia cactus species.

Two Drosophila species, D. buzzatti and D. aldrichi, coexist on several species of Opuntia cacti in Australia, primarily on O. tomentosa and O. streptacantha in the northern part of the cactus distribution, and on O. stricta in the south. Thorax length of field-collected adults was less, and the variance in length greater, than that for flies reared on simulated rots in the laboratory, indicating that these species are affected by crowding in nature. A larval performance index, measured on simulated cactus rots at low, moderate and high densities in single-species cultures, and at moderate and high densities in mixed-species cultures, was used to compare the relative intensity of intra- and interspecific competition at the same total larval density per 5 g necrotic cactus. Larval performance of both fly species was greatest on O. streptacantha, intermediate on O. tomentosa, and least on O. stricta in both single-species and mixed-species cultures. On O. stricta, the performances of D. aldrichi and D. buzzatii were not different when in single-species cultures, but that of D. aldrichi decreased significantly in mixed-species cultures. On the other two cactus species, the performances of D. aldrichi and D. buzzattii were not different in mixed-species cultures. The order of preferences by adult females for the cacti differed from that for larval performance, with females of both species prefering O. stricta. Analysis of microbial numbers growing on the cacti showed little difference among cacti at the rot age used for testing adult preference, but later growth was greater on O. tomentosa and O. streptacantha, the cacti that best supported larvae. Differential larval performance on O. stricta may contribute to the rare presence of D. aldrichi in the southern part of the cactus distribution, while the superior quality of O. tomentosa and O. streptacantha (larger rot size and higher microbial concentration) may reduce competition and facilitate cocxistence of the fly species in the north.