The Role of Personality on Persuasion to Exercise: Does Conscientiousness and Extraversion Moderate the Constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior?

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a leading theoretical model used to explain the intention-behavior relationship as it relates to exercise. Even though TPB consistently explains some of the variance between intention and behavior, the rest of the variance has yet to be explained. This study investigates whether individual differences in terms of the Big Five personality dimensions, specifically, Conscientiousness and Extraversion, can account for any of the additional variance. The present research extends on past research by examining how personality relates to intention in terms of its relation to the constructs of TPB. 122 students at Union college participated in the experiment in which they were asked to complete personality inventories and read a persuasive message to exercise targeted at one of the constructs of the TPB: attitude towards the act, perceived behavioral control (PBC), or subjective norm (SN). It was hypothesized that for individuals high in conscientiousness the message targeted at PBC would produce greater intention to exercise whereas for individuals high in the extraversion dimension, messages targeted at both attitude towards the act and SN would predict greater intentions. Results support the first hypothesis, that individuals high in conscientiousness had a greater intention to exercise after the PBC message. In the second hypothesis, only SN was related to greater intentions. Implications concerning public health implementations to increase exercise are discussed

Evaporation of a packet of quantized vorticity

A recent experiment has confirmed the existence of quantized turbulence in superfluid He3-B and suggested that turbulence is inhomogenous and spreads away from the region around the vibrating wire where it is created. To interpret the experiment we study numerically the diffusion of a packet of quantized vortex lines which is initially confined inside a small region of space. We find that reconnections fragment the packet into a gas of small vortex loops which fly away. We determine the time scale of the process and find that it is in order of magnitude agreement with the experiment.Comment: figure 1a,b,c and d, figure2, figure

Valuing the Expertise of Mobile Herders in Arid South Africa--A Photographic Essay

Pastoralism has been practiced for millennia in numerous ecosystems across the world. Throughout history, pastoral systems and in particular herding have been replaced by the commercialization of livestock production, which essentially made herders redundant in many sub-Sahara countries resulting in job losses. Herding is however still practiced in many countries, but the essential role of the herder is in many instances snubbed upon and disregarded as trivial work, hence their low social standing within the community. Literature however indicates that herding does offer many benefits over commercial paddock systems e.g. improving rural livelihoods, reviving customary practice, reducing stock theft, reducing predation and improving biodiversity management. The contribution of herders is often underestimated, even within livestock-keeping communities, but is in fact much more complicated and they do far more than meets the eye. This paper (in the form of a photo essay) is an attempt not only to give a human face to herders through a series of photographic images, but to highlight particular activities of herders in the semi-arid Namaqualand region of South Africa. The images show the complexity of herding, which is in fact an artisanal task. It depicts herders in their daily activities as botanists with an in depth botanical knowledge including, taxonomy, phytochemistry, nutritional value, toxicity, cultural, and ritual value. It also depicts herders as midwives during lambing season, practicing nursing, and shows the interaction with their guarding dogs. Furthermore, the images illustrate the gender identity with shepherdesses functioning in an extremely harsh semi-arid landscape. It also shows the interaction between herders at the water point which acts as the gathering point for the exchange of knowledge between these artisans. These results show that the value of herders in dryland farming systems deserve more recognition and they should be key players in policy development

Imp/IGF2BP levels modulate individual neural stem cell growth and division through myc mRNA stability

The numerous neurons and glia that form the brain originate from tightly controlled growth and division of neural stem cells, regulated systemically by known extrinsic signals. However, the intrinsic mechanisms that control the characteristic proliferation rates of individual neural stem cells are unknown. Here, we show that the size and division rates of Drosophila neural stem cells (neuroblasts) are controlled by the highly conserved RNA binding protein Imp (IGF2BP), via one of its top binding targets in the brain, myc mRNA. We show that Imp stabilises myc mRNA leading to increased Myc protein levels, larger neuroblasts, and faster division rates. Declining Imp levels throughout development limit myc mRNA stability to restrain neuroblast growth and division, while heterogeneous Imp expression correlates with myc mRNA stability between individual neuroblasts in the brain. We propose that Imp-dependent regulation of myc mRNA stability fine-tunes individual neural stem cell proliferation rates

Infection of the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera : Scolytidae) by brazilian isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae (Deuteromycotina : Hyphomycetes).

The virulence of four fungal isolates (three Beauveria bassiana and one Metarhizium anisopliae) against adultfemale coffee berry borers (CBB) was investigated. The most virulent isolate from initial bioassays, B. bassiana LPPI, with a LT50 of 3.4 days, was further investigated by application to berries prior to infestation and to berries already infested with CBB. At the highest concentration applied to berries (J x ]07 conidia mL -I), CBB mortality was 83% (berries inoculated prior to infestation ) and 62% (berries inoculated after infestation)

Evaluation of the CNS and cardiovascular effects of prolonged exposure to bromotrifluromethane (CBrF3)

The proposed use of bromotrifluoromethane (CBrF3) as a fire extinguishant in aircraft, spacecraft and submarines has stimulated increasing interest and research in the toxicological properties of this compound. In a spacecraft, because of its unique recirculating life support system, the introduction of CBrF3 by leakage or intentional discharge, will result in continuous exposure of crewman to low concentrations of this compound for periods of up to 7 days, or possibly even longer. The effects of low concentrations of CBrF3, under continuous exposure conditions, on the CNS and cardiovascular systems of animals to enable an assessment of these risks were investigated

Imp/IGF2BP levels modulate individual neural stem cell growth and division through myc mRNA stability.

The numerous neurons and glia that form the brain originate from tightly controlled growth and division of neural stem cells, regulated systemically by important known stem cell-extrinsic signals. However, the cell-intrinsic mechanisms that control the distinctive proliferation rates of individual neural stem cells are unknown. Here, we show that the size and division rates of Drosophila neural stem cells (neuroblasts) are controlled by the highly conserved RNA binding protein Imp (IGF2BP), via one of its top binding targets in the brain, myc mRNA. We show that Imp stabilises myc mRNA leading to increased Myc protein levels, larger neuroblasts, and faster division rates. Declining Imp levels throughout development limit myc mRNA stability to restrain neuroblast growth and division, and heterogeneous Imp expression correlates with myc mRNA stability between individual neuroblasts in the brain. We propose that Imp-dependent regulation of myc mRNA stability fine-tunes individual neural stem cell proliferation rates