Black Hole Entropy, Topological Entropy and the Baum-Connes Conjecture in K-Theory

We shall try to exhibit a relation between black hole entropy and topological entropy using the famous Baum-Connes conjecture for foliated manifolds which are particular examples of noncommutative spaces. Our argument is qualitative and it is based on the microscopic origin of the Beckenstein-Hawking area-entropy formula for black holes, provided by superstring theory, in the more general noncommutative geometric context of M-Theory following the Connes- Douglas-Schwarz article.Comment: 17 pages, Latex, contains an important paragraph in section 2 which gives a better understandin

Emotional Dysregulation and Borderline Personality Disorder: Explaining the Link between Secondary Psychopathy and Alexithymia

Research explaining the overlap between psychopathy and alexithymia is in its infancy. A study by Lander, Lutz-Zois, Rye, and Goodnight (2012) revealed a significant positive correlation between secondary, but not primary, psychopathy and alexithymia. However, little is known about what accounts for this differential association. Because both alexithymia (Webb & McMurran, 2008) and secondary psychopathy (Blackburn, 1996) have been linked to Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), the current study sought to determine if emotional processing deficits characteristic of BPD could explain the link between secondary psychopathy and alexithymia. The results supported the hypothesis that BPD would mediate the association between secondary psychopathy and alexithymia. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed

Rotation Numbers, Boundary Forces and Gap labelling

We review the Johnson-Moser rotation number and the $K_0$-theoretical gap labelling of Bellissard for one-dimensional Schr\"odinger operators. We compare them with two further gap-labels, one being related to the motion of Dirichlet eigenvalues, the other being a $K_1$-theoretical gap label. We argue that the latter provides a natural generalisation of the Johnson-Moser rotation number to higher dimensions.Comment: 10 pages, version accepted for publicatio

Warming up and stretching for athletes : A meta-analysis of the research literature from 2000 to 2006 in light of current athletic practice

This review presents the methods used to investigate the effects of various stretching protocols on muscular force and performance, in light of current individual and elite athlete stretching practices in their warm-up routines. A meta-analysis of peer-reviewed articles between the years of 2000 and 2007 revealed the majority of studies support the notion that static stretching is detrimental to muscular force and performance. However, the meta-analysis also revealed that the protocols used do not necessarily match current practice with many elite athletes. This article proposes, based on the mismatch between research and practice, that further studies must address this issue in further exploring the role of stretching in pre-training and competition warm-up routines. <br /

Mechanisms for the Association between Traditional Masculine Ideologies and Rape Myth Acceptance among College Men

We explored mechanisms for the relationship between traditional masculine ideologies and rape myth acceptance. We hypothesized that locus of control would serve as a mediator for victim precipitation rape myths, while negative attitudes toward women would serve as a mediator for victim masochism and victim fabrication rape myths. Using a sample of 100 male college students, the results indicated that negative attitudes toward women mediated the relationship between traditional masculine ideologies and all three types of rape myths, but locus of control did not serve as a mediator for any. Implications and directions for future research are discussed

Female Sexual-offenders: Personality Pathology as a Mediator of the Relationship between Childhood Sexual Abuse History and Sexual Abuse Perpetration against Others

Objective: The goal was to examine, in an all-female sample, possible mechanisms for the relationship between a history of childhood sexual abuse and the likelihood of perpetrating sexual abuse as an adult. It was hypothesized that Borderline and Antisocial Personality Disorder tendencies would mediate the relationship between these two forms of abuse. Method: One hundred forty two female participants (61 sex-offenders and 81 non-sex offenders) were recruited from a women’s prison in the Midwest. The participants completed measures that included a childhood history of sexual abuse, socially desirable responding, primary and secondary psychopathy, and Borderline Personality Disorder tendencies. Results: Participants in the sexual-offender group reported more frequent instances of childhood sexual abuse (p \u3c .05, M = 16.4, SD = 7.2) than participants in the non-sex offender group (M = 12.2, SD = 7.7). Consistent with past research, childhood sexual abuse was related to Borderline Personality Disorder tendencies (r = .36, p \u3c .01). However, discriminant function analyses did not reveal support for our mediational hypotheses. Finally, the results indicated that participants in the sexual-offender group experienced childhood sexual abuse for a greater duration of time (p \u3c .05, M = 27.8, SD = 20.5 months) than participants in the non-sex offender group (M = 16.6, SD = 10.4). Conclusions: This study replicated previous research conducted on all-male samples, suggesting that the nature of the sexual abuse suffered in childhood is an important variable in predicting future sexual abuse perpetration

The Differential Association between Alexithymia and Primary versus Secondary Psychopathy

Using a sample of 104 college students, this study tested the hypothesis that alexithymia is positively related to secondary (also known as “neurotic psychopathy”), but not primary psychopathy (i.e., inability to form emotional bonds with others and a fear insensitivity). Participants completed the TAS-20 (alexithymia), the LSRP (primary and secondary psychopathy), the PPI-R (psychopathy), and the trait version of the STAI (trait anxiety). The interaction between the latter two measures was used as a second index of primary and secondary psychopathy. Support was found for the study hypothesis with both methods of assessing psychopathy (i.e., the LSRP subscales or the combination of the PPI-R and the STAI). These results further our understanding of both alexithymia and psychopathy. Highlights: * We hypothesized that alexithymia would be related to secondary psychopathy. * We hypothesized that alexithymia would not be related to primary psychopathy. * Support for these hypotheses was used with two different ways of operationalizing psychopathy. * Primary psychopathy was correlated with “externally oriented thinking