Consistencies And Inconsistencies In Personality Ratings Among Knowledgeable Other Reporters

Most personality assessments rely on self-report, but the Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM) proposes that personality may be accurately perceived by others. The strongest reporters of a target's personality besides the target themselves are knowledgeable others. Research supports that spouses exhibit the strongest correspondence between self-reports and other-reports, followed by family members, then friends. This study uses a sample of 197 targets, 197 friends, and 151 family members to examine the consistencies and inconsistencies of personality ratings across nine traits. Based on the literature, I hypothesized that self-family reports and self-friend reports would be positively correlated, and that there would be stronger correlations between self-family reports than between self-friend reports. I also hypothesized that there would be a positivity bias for family reports of the target’s personality, and no significant bias among friend reports the target’s personality, relative to the self-reports. Both sets of knowledgeable others (friend-reporters and family-reporters) were consistent with their personality judgments of the target, with similar average correlations. Parents tended to be positively biased, relative to self-reports, for the traits Extraversion, Agreeableness, Self-Esteem, and Integrity. Friends tended to be negatively biased, relative to self-reports, for the traits Openness to Experience and Intellect

The study of "Loop" Markov Chains

The purpose of my research is the study of ”Loop” Markov Chains. This model contains several loops, which could be connected at several different points. The focal point of this thesis will be when these loops are connected at one single point. Inside each loop are finitely many points. If the process is currently at the position where all the loops are connected, it will stay at its current position or move to the first position in any loop with a positive probability. Once within the loop, the movement can be deterministic or random. We’ll consider the Optimal Stopping Problem for finding the optimal stopping set and the Spectral Analysis for our ”Loop” system. As a basis, we’ll start with the Elimination Algorithm and a modified version of the Elimination Algorithm. None of these algorithms are efficient enough for finding the optimal stopping set of our ”Loop” Markov Chain; therefore, I propose a second modification of the Elimination Algorithm, the Lift Algorithm. The ”Loop” Markov Chain will dictate which algorithm or combination of algorithms, would be appropriate to find the optimal set. The second part of this thesis will examine the Analysis of the Covariance Operator for our ”Loop” Markov Chain system

Is the leadership in the black church complicit in the perpetuation of dominance and oppression?

This dissertation investigates the relationship between church leadership and parishioners and hypothesizes that the leadership in the black church is complicit in the perpetuation of dominating and oppressive behaviors within the communities that are directly and indirectly served by the church. Chapter I chronicles socio-economic patterns in black church leadership from the time of slavery to the 21st Century and documents probable reasons and purposes for the behaviors of leaders. Issues concerning power and dominance, denominationalism, racism, classism, and sexism are integral to the investigation. Two central questions arise: (1) "Does the religious leadership of the black church unknowingly train congregations to internalize negative feelings, connotations, and behaviors regarding critical reflection, critical thinking, and critical questioning." (2) "Is this lack of critical questioning detrimental to a forward movement of liberation and social justice for African American people?" Chapter II reviews the concepts of authority, power, and commodification as they relate to the silencing and injustice encountered when followers fail to voice their criticisms or other opinions. The concepts of authoritarianism and free-market fundamentalism as described by Cornel West in Democracy Matters (2004) are used to interrogate the relationship between leadership and parishioner and to determine the degree to which parishioners are encouraged to reflect upon and to question practices and behaviors of the leadership. Chapter III reports the results of the interviews with five black church leaders who reflected on their own practices. They were questioned about who influenced them, their accepted philosophy of leadership, their relationships with "others", and their efforts to bring about social justice in their communities. Female and male black church leaders were interviewed in an effort to illuminate typical trends and patterns regarding leadership styles, attitudes toward critical questioning, and social justice practices. They were also asked to reflect upon their methods for promoting interaction among the congregation. It was determined that mentorship, self-identification, interaction and relationship have the ability to affect how leaders view, interact, and work for others. The general conclusions addressed personal, economic, and spiritual concepts that create complex situations when determining the needs of the people versus the needs of the self. The concluding chapter reviews each chapter's themes and issues a call to action that involves a paradigm shift from asking for change from the leaders to asking for change from the followers. The church body will renew their ability to imagine that which seems impossible (Caputo, 2001), will use the voice to speak out for alternative ways of worship (Cox, 1973), will question and examine practices of the leaders, and will accept new beginnings (Brueggemann, 2001) that engage the prophetic and transformational rather than maintain the stagnant and conventional ways of worshiping

Co-occurrence of ecologically similar species of Hawaiian spiders reveals critical early phase of adaptive radiation

Background: The processes through which populations originate and diversify ecologically in the initial stages of adaptive radiation are little understood because we lack information on critical steps of early divergence. A key question is, at what point do closely related species interact, setting the stage for competition and ecological specialization? The Hawaiian Islands provide an ideal system to explore the early stages of adaptive radiation because the islands span ages from 0.5–5 Mya. Hawaiian spiders in the genus Tetragnatha have undergone adaptive radiation, with one lineage (“spiny legs�) showing four different ecomorphs (green, maroon, large brown, small brown); one representative of each ecomorph is generally found at any site on the older islands. Given that the early stages of adaptive radiation are characterized by allopatric divergence between populations of the same ecomorph, the question is, what are the steps towards subsequent co-occurrence of different ecomorphs? Using a transcriptome-based exon capture approach, we focus on early divergence among close relatives of the green ecomorph to understand processes associated with co-occurrence within the same ecomorph at the early stages of adaptive radiation. Results: The major outcomes from the current study are first that closely related species within the same green ecomorph of spiny leg Tetragnatha co-occur on the same single volcano on East Maui, and second that there is no evidence of genetic admixture between these ecologically equivalent species. Further, that multiple genetic lineages exist on a single volcano on Maui suggests that there are no inherent dispersal barriers and that the observed limited distribution of taxa reflects competitive exclusion. Conclusions: The observation of co-occurrence of ecologically equivalent species on the young volcano of Maui provides a missing link in the process of adaptive radiation between the point when recently divergent species of the same ecomorph occur in allopatry, to the point where different ecomorphs co-occur at a site, as found throughout the older islands. More importantly, the ability of close relatives of the same ecomorph to interact, without admixture, may provide the conditions necessary for ecological divergence and independent evolution of ecomorphs associated with adaptive radiation

HIV control in low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa: are the right things done?

HIV control efforts in sub-Saharan Africa meet with difficulties. Incidence and prevalence remains high, and little behaviour change seems to have taken place. The focus on HIV control has shifted to anti-retroviral therapy (ART), although this is unlikely either to be cost-effective or the reduce the incidence of HIV. There is reason to change the current approach. Three questions arise: Is there a need to adjust the view on the determinants of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa? Are the right things being done to control HIV? Are the things that are being done, done in the right way? We try to answer these questions. The determinants of the epidemic are reviewed and summarized in Figure 2. The need to adjust the view on the determinants and get rid of myths is stressed. A possible, locally adaptable intervention mix is outlined. Male circumcision is a key intervention where socially acceptable. Operationalisation and organisational changes are briefly discussed. Conclusively, the need for a “social revolution” through the opening up of a discussion on sexuality in the community, as well as a focus on cost-effective interventions and a slimmed down, more effective organisation is underlined. Such steps might make it possible to considerably reduce HIV-incidence, even in low-income countries

Dense Breasts: Different Than the Rest: Evaluating the Timeliness and Feasibility of Application of a Breast Cancer Screening Tool in a Primary Care Pilot Project

Background: The best outcomes for cancer are directly related to early detection. Accounting for factors, including breast density, is highly important for decreasing mortality. Purpose: The purpose of the pilot project is to discern if there is an appropriate breast cancer screening for patients with dense breasts that can be utilized in primary care. Methods: A literature search performed to determine options for a screening tool. Once saturation was met the literature was used to choose one tool to be implemented into clinical practice. The Tyrer Cuzick was determined to fit the criteria of breast density as a screening factor. The tool was utilized by a Nurse Practitioner in a rural primary care practice. Results: The Tyrer Cuzick screening tool is effective in guiding clinical practice for women with dense breasts and in guiding adjunct imaging care. There were not enough patients who met inclusion criteria during the time frame to meet standards for clinical significance.  Recommendations and Conclusion: The Tyrer Cuzick is a valuable tool for screening for lifetime breast cancer risk and can assist in guidance of necessity in adjunct screening and genetic testing recommendations. It would be beneficial if the screening could be streamlined for time management purposes. For replication, a larger sample size as well as a longer time frame would be beneficial for evaluating usefulness in clinical practice

Critical Issues in the Development of Health Information Systems in Supporting Environmental Health: A Case Study of Ciguatera

Emerging environmental pressures resulting from climate change and globalization challenge the capacity of health information systems (HIS) in the Pacific to inform future policy and public health interventions. Ciguatera, a globally common marine food-borne illness, is used here to illustrate specific HIS challenges in the Pacific and how these might be overcome proactively to meet the changing surveillance needs resulting from environmental change.We review and highlight inefficiencies in the reactive nature of existing HIS in the Pacific to collect, collate, and communicate ciguatera fish poisoning data currently used to inform public health intervention. Further, we review the capacity of existing HIS to respond to new data needs associated with shifts in ciguatera disease burden likely to result from coral reef habitat disruption.Improved knowledge on the ecological drivers of ciguatera prevalence at local and regional levels is needed, combined with enhanced surveillance techniques and data management systems, to capture environmental drivers as well as health outcomes data.The capacity of public HIS to detect and prevent future outbreaks is largely dependent on the future development of governance strategies that promote proactive surveillance and health action. Accordingly, we present an innovative framework from which to stimulate scientific debate on how this might be achieved by using existing larger scale data sets and multidisciplinary collaborations

Species Differentiation on a Dynamic Landscape: Shifts in Metapopulation Genetic Structure Using the Chronology of the Hawaiian Archipelago

Species formation during adaptive radiation often occurs in the context of a changing environment. The establishment and arrangement of populations, in space and time, sets up ecological and genetic processes that dictate the rate and pattern of differentiation. Here, we focus on how a dynamic habitat can affect genetic structure, and ultimately, differentiation among populations. We make use of the chronology and geographical history provided by the Hawaiian archipelago to examine the initial stages of population establishment and genetic divergence. We use data from a set of 6 spider lineages that differ in habitat affinities, some preferring low elevation habitats with a longer history of connection, others being more specialized for high elevation and/or wet forest, some with more general habitat affinities. We show that habitat preferences associated with lineages are important in ecological and genetic structuring. Lineages that have more restricted habitat preferences are subject to repeated episodes of isolation and fragmentation as a result of lava flows and vegetation succession. The initial dynamic set up by the landscape translates over time into discrete lineages. Further work is needed to understand how genetic changes interact with a changing set of ecological interactions amongst a shifting mosaic of landscapes to achieve species formation

Narrative-based computational modelling of the Gp130/JAK/STAT signalling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Appropriately formulated quantitative computational models can support researchers in understanding the dynamic behaviour of biological pathways and support hypothesis formulation and selection by "in silico" experimentation. An obstacle to widespread adoption of this approach is the requirement to formulate a biological pathway as machine executable computer code. We have recently proposed a novel, biologically intuitive, narrative-style modelling language for biologists to formulate the pathway which is then automatically translated into an executable format and is, thus, usable for analysis via existing simulation techniques. RESULTS: Here we use a high-level narrative language in designing a computational model of the gp130/JAK/STAT signalling pathway and show that the model reproduces the dynamic behaviour of the pathway derived by biological observation. We then "experiment" on the model by simulation and sensitivity analysis to define those parameters which dominate the dynamic behaviour of the pathway. The model predicts that nuclear compartmentalisation and phosphorylation status of STAT are key determinants of the pathway and that alternative mechanisms of signal attenuation exert their influence on different timescales. CONCLUSION: The described narrative model of the gp130/JAK/STAT pathway represents an interesting case study showing how, by using this approach, researchers can model biological systems without explicitly dealing with formal notations and mathematical expressions (typically used for biochemical modelling), nevertheless being able to obtain simulation and analysis results. We present the model and the sensitivity analysis results we have obtained, that allow us to identify the parameters which are most sensitive to perturbations. The results, which are shown to be in agreement with existing mathematical models of the gp130/JAK/STAT pathway, serve us as a form of validation of the model and of the approach itself

Expression of an Epitope-Tagged Virulence Protein in Rickettsia parkeri Using Transposon Insertion

Despite recent advances in our ability to genetically manipulate Rickettsia, little has been done to employ genetic tools to study the expression and localization of Rickettsia virulence proteins. Using a mariner-based Himar1 transposition system, we expressed an epitope-tagged variant of the actin polymerizing protein RickA under the control of its native promoter in Rickettsia parkeri, allowing the detection of RickA using commercially-available antibodies. Native RickA and epitope-tagged RickA exhibited similar levels of expression and were specifically localized to bacteria. To further facilitate protein expression in Rickettsia, we also developed a plasmid for Rickettsia insertion and expression (pRIE), containing a variant Himar1 transposon with enhanced flexibility for gene insertion, and used it to generate R. parkeri strains expressing diverse fluorescent proteins. Expression of epitope-tagged proteins in Rickettsia will expand our ability to assess the regulation and function of important virulence factors