The dual nature of identity fusion : a unifying force or a source of division?

Identity plays a key role in determining what matters to people and what they are willing to fight for. Identity fusion, an extreme form of identification where one's personal self is unified with an abstraction (a group, cause, or other individual), predicts extreme behaviors in defense of the target of fusion. In the face of a perceived threat to one's fused group, fused individuals often react harshly against the source of the threat, such as by endorsing violence against outgroups. However, identity fusion does not necessitate hostility toward outgroups. Indeed, some work suggests that in the absence of threat, fused individuals can be benign towards outgroup members. The demarcation between when fusion might have prosocial outcomes for the larger society as opposed to antisocial outcomes against perceived outgroup members is in need of further exploration, especially in the highly divided modern American political landscape. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to further investigate the nature of identity fusion and when fusion might have a unifying influence as opposed to a divisive one. Across four lines of research, the current work examined (1) whether identity fusion is a more potent predictor of extreme behaviors in the political sphere than rival constructs such as moral convictions or sacred values (Chapter 2), (2) whether fusion with a partisan identity such as a political party positively predicts extreme behaviors that could potentially increase the power of the partisan group, but may be detrimental to the larger society (Chapters 3-5), and (3) whether fusion with a superordinate group such as one's nation or even all of humanity negatively predicts behaviors that may harm the larger society, even if such behaviors might myopically benefit one's political party. Findings from Chapter 2 provide evidence that identity fusion is the strongest predictor of extreme behavior on behalf of a political cause. Findings from Chapters 3-5 show that fusion with a political party or candidate positively predicts support for authoritarian actions against the opposing party, while fusion with the US negatively predicts the same authoritarianism. In Chapter 5, writing about a patriotic memory increased fusion with the US among Republicans, and fusion with the US marginally interacted with the patriotic prime manipulation to predict decreased support for authoritarianism among both Republicans and Democrats. Taken together, these findings shed valuable insight into the dual nature of identity fusion as both a unifying force and a source of division.Psycholog

Effect of Exchange Rate Fluctuation on Rwandan Tea Price and Exports

Abstract: In small and developing economies, exchange rate volatility is important as it creates gains or losses to farmers and exporters. This paper analyses the effect of exchange rate volatility on Rwanda tea price and exports. The analysis used monthly time series data on bilateral exports and real effective exchange rates from January 2001 to December 2016. The analysis is done with the co-integration methods and error correction model using the autoregressive distributed lag procedure and GJR-GARCH model. The findings show that an increase in exchange rate volatility resulted in an increase in Rwandan tea exports price in the long run and decrease in tea exports in the short run. The real income in importing country increases tea price and volume exports in the long run and short run. There should be the review of monetary policy to address the volatility of exchange rate and hedging system introduction to respond and to stabilize the exchange rate

拡張マルチルートフローとマルチリンク攻撃問題への応用

学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : (主査)東京大学准教授 渋谷 哲朗, 東京大学教授 小林 直樹, 東京大学教授 山口 類, 東京大学特任准教授 Francois LeGall, 東京大学教授 定兼 邦彦University of Tokyo(東京大学

Diagnosis and management of temperature abnormality in ICUs: a EUROBACT investigators' survey.

Although fever and hypothermia are common abnormal physical signs observed in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU), little data exist on their optimal management. The objective of this study was to describe contemporary practices and determinants of management of temperature abnormalities among patients admitted to ICUs. Site leaders of the multi-national EUROBACT study were surveyed regarding diagnosis and management of temperature abnormalities among patients admitted to their ICUs. Of the 162 ICUs originally included in EUROBACT, responses were received from 139 (86%) centers in 23 countries in Europe (117), South America (8), Asia (5), North America (4), Australia (3) and Africa (2). A total of 117 (84%) respondents reported use of a specific temperature threshold in their ICU to define fever. A total of 14 different discrete levels were reported with a median of 38.2°C (inter-quartile range, IQR, 38.0°C to 38.5°C). The use of thermometers was protocolized in 91 (65%) ICUs and a wide range of methods were reportedly used, with axillary, tympanic and urinary bladder sites as the most common as primary modalities. Only 31 (22%) of respondents indicated that there was a formal written protocol for temperature control among febrile patients in their ICUs. In most or all cases practice was to control temperature, to use acetaminophen, and to perform a full septic workup in febrile patients and that this was usually directed by physician order. While reported practice was to treat nearly all patients with neurological impairment and most patients with acute coronary syndromes and infections, severe sepsis and septic shock, this was not the case for most patients with liver failure and fever. A wide range of definitions and management practices were reported regarding temperature abnormalities in the critically ill. Documenting temperature abnormality management practices, including variability in clinical care, is important to inform planning of future studies designed to optimize infection and temperature management strategies in the critically ill

Longitudinal study of the immune response and memory following natural bovine respiratory syncytial virus infections in cattle of different age

Human and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV and BRSV) are closely genetically related and cause respiratory disease in their respective host. Whereas HRSV vaccines are still under development, a multitude of BRSV vaccines are used to reduce clinical signs. To enable the design of vaccination protocols to entirely stop virus circulation, we aimed to investigate the duration, character and efficacy of the immune responses induced by natural infections. The systemic humoral immunity was monitored every two months during two years in 33 dairy cattle in different age cohorts following a natural BRSV outbreak, and again in selected individuals before and after a second outbreak, four years later. Local humoral and systemic cellular responses were also monitored, although less extensively. Based on clinical observations and economic losses linked to decreased milk production, the outbreaks were classified as moderate. Following the first outbreak, most but not all animals developed neutralising antibody responses, BRSV-specific IgG1, IgG2 and HRSV F- and HRSV N-reactive responses that lasted at least two years, and in some cases at least four years. In contrast, no systemic T cell responses were detected and only weak IgA responses were detected in some animals. Seronegative sentinels remained negative, inferring that no new infections occurred between the outbreaks. During the second outbreak, reinfections with clinical signs and virus shedding occurred, but the signs were milder, and the virus shedding was significantly lower than in naïve animals. Whereas the primary infection induced similar antibody titres against the prefusion and the post fusion form of the BRSV F protein, memory responses were significantly stronger against prefusion F. In conclusion, even if natural infections induce a long-lasting immunity, it would probably be necessary to boost memory responses between outbreaks, to stop the circulation of the virus and limit the potential role of previously infected adult cattle in the chain of BRSV transmission

Evidence of an oceanic impact and megatsunami sedimentation in Chryse Planitia, Mars

In 1976, NASA's Viking 1 Lander (V1L) was the first spacecraft to operate successfully on the Martian surface. The V1L landed near the terminus of an enormous catastrophic flood channel, Maja Valles. However, instead of the expected megaflood record, its cameras imaged a boulder-strewn surface of elusive origin. We identified a 110-km-diameter impact crater (Pohl) ~ 900 km northeast of the landing site, stratigraphically positioned (a) above catastrophic flood-eroded surfaces formed ~ 3.4 Ga during a period of northern plains oceanic inundation and (b) below the younger of two previously hypothesized megatsunami deposits. These stratigraphic relationships suggest that a marine impact likely formed the crater. Our simulated impact-generated megatsunami run-ups closely match the mapped older megatsunami deposit's margins and predict fronts reaching the V1L site. The site's location along a highland-facing lobe aligned to erosional grooves supports a megatsunami origin. Our mapping also shows that Pohl's knobby rim regionally represents a broader history of megatsunami modification involving circum-oceanic glaciation and sedimentary extrusions extending beyond the recorded megatsunami emplacement in Chryse Planitia. Our findings allow that rocks and soil salts at the landing site are of marine origin, inviting the scientific reconsideration of information gathered from the first in-situ measurements on Mars

HIV prevention in high-risk women in South Africa: condom use and the need for change.

Introduction: Young women are at disproportionate risk of HIV infection in South Africa. Understanding risk behaviors and factors associated with ability to negotiate safe sex and condom use is likely to be key in curbing the spread of HIV. Traditionally prevention efforts have focused on creating behavioral changes by increasing knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis from a prospective observational cohort study of 245 women at a high-risk of HIV infection in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Results: Participants demonstrated a high level of HIV/AIDS knowledge. Overall, 60.3% of participants reported condom use. Reported condom use at last sexual encounter varied slightly by partner type (57.0% with steady versus 64.4% with casual partners), and self-perceived ability to choose to use a condom was significantly lower with steady partners compared to casual partners (p<0.01). In multivariate analysis, women who had high school education were more likely to use condoms at their last sex encounter compared to those with only primary school education (RR of 1.36 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.06–1.75) and 1.46 (95% CI 1.13–1.88) for grades 8–10 and 11–12, respectively). Those who used condoms as a contraceptive method were twice as likely to use condoms compared to women who did not report using them as a contraceptive method. Greater perceived ability to choose to use condoms was associated with higher self-reported condom use at last encounter, irrespective of partner type (RR = 2.65 (95% CI 2.15–32.5). Discussion: Self-perceived ability to use condoms, level of formal education and condom use as a contraceptive were all significantly associated with self-reported condom use at last sexual encounter. These findings suggest that that gender inequality and access to formal education, as opposed to lack of HIV/AIDS knowledge, prevent safer sexual practices in South Africa

Methotrexate Is Highly Potent Against Pyrimethamine-Resistant Plasmodium vivax

Resistance of vivax malaria to treatment with antifolates, such as pyrimethamine (Pyr), is spreading as mutations in the dihydrofolatereductase (dhfr) genes are selected and disseminated. We tested the antitumor drug methotrexate (MTX), a potent competitive inhibitor of dhfr, against 11 Plasmodium vivax isolates ex vivo, 10 of which had multiple dhfr mutations associated with Pyr resistance. Despite high-grade resistance to Pyr (median 50% inhibitory concentration [IC50], 13,345 nM), these parasites were all highly susceptible to MTX (median IC50, 2.6 nM). Given its potency against Pyr-resistant P. vivax, the antimalarial potential of MTX deserves further investigation