Selecting films for sex research: Gender differences in erotic film preference

The official published version can be obtained from the link below.The aim of this study was to explore gender differences in sexual responsiveness to erotic films that had been selected for their differential appeal for men and women. A secondary objective was to identify variables that influence sexual arousal and explore whether these variables differ for men and women. Fifteen men (M age = 26 yrs) and 17 women (M age = 24 yrs) were presented with 20 film clips depicting heterosexual interactions, half of which were female- and the other half male-selected, and were asked to rate the clips on a number of dimensions. Overall, men found the film clips more sexually arousing than did the women. Gender differences in arousal were negligible for female-selected clips but substantial for male-selected clips. Furthermore, men and women experienced higher levels of sexual arousal to clips selected for individuals of their own gender. Cluster regression analyses, explaining 77% of the variance for male and 65% for female participants, revealed that men's sexual arousal was dependent upon the attractiveness of the female actor, feeling interested, and both imagining oneself as a participant and watching as an observer. For women, with all variables entered, only imagining oneself as a participant contributed to sexual arousal ratings. The findings suggest that how films are selected in sex research is an important variable in predicting levels of sexual arousal reported by men and women

Computing Wilson lines with dielectric branes

Wilson lines in N=4SYM can be computed in terms of branes carrying electric flux, i.e. F-strings dissolved in their worldvolumes. It is then natural to think that those configurations are the effective description of strings expanding due to dielectric effect to D-branes. In this note we explicitly show this for a class of such configurations, namely those dual to Wilson lines either in the symmetric or in the antisymmetric tensor product of fundamentals.Comment: Final version to appear in Nucl.Phys.B. Cites adde

How Will Online Affiliate Marketing Networks Impact Search Engine Rankings?

In online affiliate marketing networks advertising web sites offer their affiliates revenues based on provided web site traffic and associated leads and sales. Advertising web sites can have a network of thousands of affiliates providing them with web site traffic through hyperlinks on their web sites. Search engines such as Google, MSN, and Yahoo, consider hyperlinks as a proof of quality and/or reliability of the linked web sites, and therefore use them to determine the relevance of web sites with regard to search queries. In this research we investigate the potential impact of online affiliate marketing networks on the ranking of advertisers’ web sites in search results. This article empirically explores how seven different affiliate marketing networks affect the rankings of the advertising web sites within web search engines. The field study followed intensively seven online affiliate marketing networks for twelve weeks after their launch. The results indicate that newly started affiliate networks effectively improve the rankings of advertising web sites in search engine results. Also, it was found that the effects of affiliate marketing networks on search engine rankings were smaller for advertising web sites operating in highly competitive markets. Another finding was that a growth in visitors coming from search engines was present as a result of the improvement of search engine rankings. Finally, the results indicate that cost-benefit metrics associated with affiliate marketing programs, such as the average marketing cost will decrease when the positive effects of affiliate marketing on search engine rankings are taken into account.Advertising;Hyperlinks;Online Affiliate Marketing Networks;Search Engine Rankings

Relativistic eikonal approximation in high-energy A(e,e'p) reactions

A fully relativistic model for the description of exclusive (e,e'p) reactions off nuclear targets at high energies and momentum transfers is outlined. It is based on the eikonal approximation for the ejectile scattering wave function and a relativistic mean-field approximation to the Walecka model. Results for ^{12}C(e,e'p) and ^{16}O(e,e'p) differential cross sections and separated structure functions are presented for four-momenta in the range 0.8 \leq Q^{2} \leq 20 (GeV/c)^{2}. The regions of applicability of the eikonal approximation are studied and observed to be confined to proton knockout in a relatively small cone about the momentum transfer. A simple criterium defining the boundaries of this cone is determined. The Q^2 dependence of the effect of off-shell ambiguities on the different (e,e'p) structure functions is addressed. At sufficiently high values of Q^2 their impact on the cross sections is illustrated to become practically negligible. It is pointed out that for the whole range of Q^2 values studied here, the bulk of the relativistic effects arising from the coupling between the lower components in the wave functions, is manifesting itself in the longitudinal-transverse interference term.Comment: 13 pages,11 figure

Bridging Two Ways of Describing Final-State Interactions in A(e,e'p) Reactions

We outline a relativistic and unfactorized framework to treat the final-state interactions in quasi-elastic A(e,e'p) reactions for four-momentum transfers Q$^{2} \gtrsim 0.3$ (GeV/c)$^{2}$. The model, which relies on the eikonal approximation, can be used in combination with optical potentials, as well as with the Glauber multiple-scattering method. We argue that such a model can bridge the gap between a typical ``low'' and ``high-energy'' description of final-state interactions, in a reasonably smooth fashion. This argument is made on the basis of calculated structure functions, polarization observables and nuclear transparencies for the target nuclei $^{12}$C and $^{16}$O.Comment: revised versio

YoeB toxin is activated during thermal stress.

Type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules are thought to mediate stress-responses by temporarily suppressing protein synthesis while cells redirect transcription to adapt to environmental change. Here, we show that YoeB, a ribosome-dependent mRNase toxin, is activated in Escherichia coli cells grown at elevated temperatures. YoeB activation is dependent on Lon protease, suggesting that thermal stress promotes increased degradation of the YefM antitoxin. Though YefM is efficiently degraded in response to Lon overproduction, we find that Lon antigen levels do not increase during heat shock, indicating that another mechanism accounts for temperature-induced YefM proteolysis. These observations suggest that YefM/YoeB functions in adaptation to temperature stress. However, this response is distinct from previously described models of TA function. First, YoeB mRNase activity is maintained over several hours of culture at 42°C, indicating that thermal activation is not transient. Moreover, heat-activated YoeB does not induce growth arrest nor does it suppress global protein synthesis. In fact, E. coli cells proliferate more rapidly at elevated temperatures and instantaneously accelerate their growth rate in response to acute heat shock. We propose that heat-activated YoeB may serve a quality control function, facilitating the recycling of stalled translation complexes through ribosome rescue pathways

Non-Abelian Giant Gravitons

We argue that the giant graviton configurations known from the literature have a complementary, microscopical description in terms of multiple gravitational waves undergoing a dielectric (or magnetic moment) effect. We present a non-Abelian effective action for these gravitational waves with dielectric couplings and show that stable dielectric solutions exist. These solutions agree in the large $N$ limit with the giant graviton configurations in the literature.Comment: 8 pages. Contribution to the proceedings of the RTN workshop in Leuven, Belgium, September 200

Random Resistor-Diode Networks and the Crossover from Isotropic to Directed Percolation

By employing the methods of renormalized field theory we show that the percolation behavior of random resistor-diode networks near the multicritical line belongs to the universality class of isotropic percolation. We construct a mesoscopic model from the general epidemic process by including a relevant isotropy-breaking perturbation. We present a two-loop calculation of the crossover exponent $\phi$. Upon blending the $\epsilon$-expansion result with the exact value $\phi =1$ for one dimension by a rational approximation, we obtain for two dimensions $\phi = 1.29\pm 0.05$. This value is in agreement with the recent simulations of a two-dimensional random diode network by Inui, Kakuno, Tretyakov, Komatsu, and Kameoka, who found an order parameter exponent $\beta$ different from those of isotropic and directed percolation. Furthermore, we reconsider the theory of the full crossover from isotropic to directed percolation by Frey, T\"{a}uber, and Schwabl and clear up some minor shortcomings.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figure

Impacts of Land Ownership and Debt Levels on Farm Survival and Financial Growth

This paper examines the impact of alternative land ownership and debt levels on profitability, growth, and survival of representative cash grain and beef farm, using South Dakota conditions as case examples. Baseline characteristics of three representative farms / ranches in South Dakota are discussed.Land Economics/Use,

Hydraulic conductivity and swelling pressure of GCLs using polymer treated clays to high concentration CaCl(2) solutions

A Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) is a frequently used h ydraulic barrier system designed to impede the flow of contaminated leachate into the environment. The main objective of this barrier system is to maintain a low hydraulic conductivity that is determined by the bentonite fraction. In this study, calcium bentonite, natural sodium bentonites, and sodium activated bentonite were treated with the HYPER clay technique. This involves the adsorption of an anionic polymer, Sodium CarboxyMethylCellulose (Na-CMC) onto the surface of the clay material. The purpose of this research was to show the beneficial effect of the HYPER clay treatment on the swelling and hydraulic performance, while the bentonite is permeated with high concentration CaCl2 solutions. The test results showed that swelling and hydraulic performance increased with Na-CMC treatment, regardless of the type of bentonite that was used. Additionally, a powdered Na CMC configuration provided higher swelling and hydraulic performance compared to a granular configuration