Going along versus getting it right: The role of self-integrity in political conformity

People often conform to the opinions of ingroup members, even when available evidence suggests that the group is misinformed. Following insights from the social identity approach and self-affirmation theory, it was hypothesized that people conform to salient opinions in an effort to maintain global self-integrity. In a series of experiments examining Americans' approval of President Obama and his policies, approval was consistently swayed by normative information (national polling data) but not by evidentiary information (indicators of national economic health), except under theory-predicted conditions. When participants had satisfied their sense of self-integrity with a self-affirmation exercise (Democrats in Study 1, Republicans in Study 2), or when they had low levels of American identification and thus were less concerned with national norms (Democrats and Republicans in Study 3), they showed the opposite pattern and were swayed by evidence in spite of contradicting normative information. The extent to which people are influenced by norms versus evidence in political judgment is shaped by social identity, one aspect of self-integrity. The results highlight a social psychological means to attenuate and potentially reverse conformity in the face of contradicting evidence, a finding with both practical and theoretical implications

A DFT study of dodecahedral beryllium silicide cage clusters

Density functional theory calculations have been conducted on 20- and 32-atom dodecahedral and facecapped dodecahedral cage clusters of beryllium and silicon. Stable Be24Si8, Be12Si8 and Be12Si20 cages are described, as is a stuffed cluster consisting of dodecahedral Si20 with an endohedral icosahedral Be12. Especial stability is associated with clusters in which faces are capped by silicon atoms, acting as electron donors to beryllium atoms.Fil: Fioressi, Silvina Ethel. Universidad de Belgrano. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bacelo, Daniel Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; ArgentinaFil: Binning, R. C.. Universidad Metropolitana; Estados Unido

Sickness Behaviors Across Vertebrate Taxa: Proximate and Ultimate Mechanisms

There is nothing like a pandemic to get the world thinking about how infectious diseases affect individual behavior. In this respect, sick animals can behave in ways that are dramatically different from healthy animals: altered social interactions and changes to patterns of eating and drinking are all hallmarks of sickness. As a result, behavioral changes associated with inflammatory responses (i.e. sickness behaviors) have important implications for disease spread by affecting contacts with others and with common resources, including water and/or sleeping sites. In this Review, we summarize the behavioral modifications, including changes to thermoregulatory behaviors, known to occur in vertebrates during infection, with an emphasis on non-mammalian taxa, which have historically received less attention. We then outline and discuss our current understanding of the changes in physiology associated with the production of these behaviors and highlight areas where more research is needed, including an exploration of individual and sex differences in the acute phase response and a greater understanding of the ecophysiological implications of sickness behaviors for disease at the population level

Distance dependence of the phase signal in eddy current microscopy

Atomic force microscopy using a magnetic tip is a promising tool for investigating conductivity on the nano-scale. By the oscillating magnetic tip eddy currents are induced in the conducting parts of the sample which can be detected in the phase signal of the cantilever. However, the origin of the phase signal is still controversial because theoretical calculations using a monopole appoximation for taking the electromagnetic forces acting on the tip into account yield an effect which is too small by more than two orders of magnitude. In order to determine the origin of the signal we used especially prepared gold nano patterns embedded in a non-conducting polycarbonate matrix and measured the distance dependence of the phase signal. Our data clearly shows that the interacting forces are long ranged and therefore, are likely due to the electromagnetic interaction between the magnetic tip and the conducting parts of the surface. Due to the long range character of the interaction a change in conductivity of $\Delta\sigma=4,5\cdot10^{7} (\Omega$m$)^{-1}$ can be detected far away from the surface without any interference from the topography

Sulfide-binding hemoglobins: Effects of mutations on active-site flexibility

The dynamics of Hemoglobin I (HbI) from the clam Lucina pectinata, from wild-type sperm whale (SW) myoglobin, and from the L29F/H64Q/V68F triple mutant of SW, both unligated and bound to hydrogen sulfide (H2S), have been studied in molecular dynamics simulations. Features that account for differences in H2S affinity among the three have been examined. Our results verify the existence of an unusual heme rocking motion in unligated HbI that can promote the entrance of large ligands such as H2S. The FQF-mutant partially reproduces the amplitude and relative orientation of the motion of HbI's heme group. Therefore, besides introducing favorable electrostatic interactions with H2S, the three mutations in the distal pocket change the dynamic properties of the heme group. The active-site residues Gln-64(E7), Phe-43(CD1), and His-93(F8) are also shown to be more flexible in unligated HbI than in FQF-mutant and SW. Further contributions to H2S affinity come from differences in hydrogen bonding between the heme propionate groups and nearby amino acid residues.Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicada

Sulfide-binding hemoglobins: Effects of mutations on active-site flexibility

The dynamics of Hemoglobin I (HbI) from the clam Lucina pectinata, from wild-type sperm whale (SW) myoglobin, and from the L29F/H64Q/V68F triple mutant of SW, both unligated and bound to hydrogen sulfide (H2S), have been studied in molecular dynamics simulations. Features that account for differences in H2S affinity among the three have been examined. Our results verify the existence of an unusual heme rocking motion in unligated HbI that can promote the entrance of large ligands such as H2S. The FQF-mutant partially reproduces the amplitude and relative orientation of the motion of HbI's heme group. Therefore, besides introducing favorable electrostatic interactions with H2S, the three mutations in the distal pocket change the dynamic properties of the heme group. The active-site residues Gln-64(E7), Phe-43(CD1), and His-93(F8) are also shown to be more flexible in unligated HbI than in FQF-mutant and SW. Further contributions to H2S affinity come from differences in hydrogen bonding between the heme propionate groups and nearby amino acid residues.Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicada

Clinical components and associated behavioural aspects of a complex healthcare intervention : Multi-methods study of selective decontamination of the digestive tract in critical care

Copyright © 2013 Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPostprin