The Effect of Mood on Wishful Thinking and NFL Outcome Predictions

People make judgments and decisions on an everyday basis. From picking an NCAA Tournament bracket to judging the likelihood of rain, people often have a preference for one outcome over another. Wishful thinking is the idea that people’s desires exhibit a causal influence on their expectations—specifically, a desire for an outcome increases people’s optimism about that outcome. Past research has found wishful thinking (or “the desirability bias”) in a variety of contexts, including sports and political decisions. Separate research has shown that differing mood states can affect interpretation of information, judgments, and decisions. Because people rarely make decisions when in a neutral mood, our study investigated the influence of mood on wishful thinking. We hypothesized that putting participants into a happy mood would increase the amount of wishful thinking they exhibited relative to putting participants into a sad mood. To test this, we manipulated participants’ moods by having them watch either a happy or a sad video clip. Afterwards, they made predictions for each of the 16 games played in the first week of the 2014-15 NFL season. Overall, we found that people exhibited wishful thinking in that they were far more likely to predict their favorite team winning as compared to the other teams. However, mood did not appear to affect people’s predictions. In other words, both happy and sad participants exhibited similar levels of wishful thinking

The Media, Public Perception, And Policy Decisions: An Analysis Of Two Racially Different Newsrooms’ Coverage Of BLM And DACA

In this study, I looked into the cycle between the media, the public, and policy decisions. The media influences the public’s perception, which then influences their support for policies. I studied how racial and ethnic diversity in newsrooms affects the coverage of blacks in rhetoric about the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and Hispanic/Latino immigrants in rhetoric about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). I utilized an online survey with established social science scales to measure perceived racism. I employed this survey with the Tampa Bay Times (Times), a predominately White newsroom, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), a more ethnically and racially diverse newsroom. I also conducted a textual analysis on a sample of articles from each publication written nine months before Donald Trump was elected president to three months after his first State of the Union (SOTU) address. The purpose of the textual analysis was to identify any differences in word choice, frames, and other factors present in the journalists’ coverage of BLM and DACA. Using these methods, I found that the ethnicity of journalists does influence coverage of blacks and Hispanic/Latino immigrants, that journalists cover DACA more sympathetically and ethically than BLM, and that specialized reporting leads to better media representation of these two groups

Bullying Victimization As A Predictor Of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Abuse In A Nationally Representative Sample Of Adolescent Males

Due to their potential for negative physical, psychological, and social effects, both anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) misuse and bullying victimization are significant public health concerns confronting U.S. adolescent males. Previous research examining the link between bullying victimization and AAS abuse has been limited and most studies have had insufficient sample sizes to detect low base rate risks such as AAS abuse. The current study examined whether 1) bullying victimization on school property or 2) electronic bullying victimization were associated with increased risk of AAS misuse in adolescent males. Our study utilized a nationally representative sample drawn from the CDC's 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS). Participants included 7,749 adolescent males in 9th-12th grade in U.S. public and private schools. Participants who reported victimization were found to be at higher risk of misusing steroids. This is the first study with a nationally representative sample large enough to establish a link between a history of having been bullied and misuse of AAS. These results suggest the need for the development and evaluation of interventions to prevent bullying and to prevent steroid abuse. Future research should further investigate the link between bullying or teasing victimization, specifically about physical appearance, and AAS abuse

Reinforcement of Polymeric Nanoassemblies for Ultra-High Drug Loadings, Modulation of Stiffness and Release Kinetics, and Sustained Therapeutic Efficacy

The optimization of current polymeric nanoparticle therapies is restricted by low drug loadings and limited tunability of core properties. To overcome these shortcomings, a novel self-association approach is utilized to fabricate a dual-loaded poly(1,2-glycerol carbonate)-graft-succinic acid-paclitaxel (PGC-PTX) conjugate nanoparticle (NP) in which the physical entrapment of free paclitaxel (PTX) affords unprecedented ultra-high drug loadings >100 wt%, modulation of mechanical stiffness, and tunable release kinetics. Despite high incorporation of free PTX (up to 50 wt%), the dual-loaded PGC-PTX nanocarriers (i.e., PGC-PTX + PTX NPs) exhibit controlled and sustained drug release over 15 days, without burst release effects. Importantly, optimization of drug/material efficiency concomitantly affords improved in vitro efficacy. In vivo, PGC-PTX + PTX NPs are safely administered at doses exceeding the median lethal dose of standard PTX, while a single high dose significantly extends survival relative to weekly PTX administrations in a murine model of peritoneal carcinomatosis

Increasing first-generation students' access to high-impact practices

The lack of first-generation student (FGS) involvement in high-impact practices (HIPs) is critical in addressing college students' social mobility and economic equity in the 21st century. Participation in HIPs can lead to academic, personal, and professional gains resulting in more competitive applications for future employment and graduate schools. At Western Carolina University, HIPs are disorganized and scattered, leading to confusion for students and faculty members about the process. Compounding this issue is deficit thinking and unconscious bias about FGS that advisors hold, which can affect the rates at which advisors refer FGS to be involved in HIPs. To address this issue, I implemented a video and marketing intervention for faculty and staff advisors to address their role in supporting FGS in HIPs and how bias remediation strategies address unconscious bias and deficit thinking. In addition, I created targeted marketing for FGS to demystify the HIP process. The success of this initiative was measured through HIP involvement rates, click/engagement/website traffic rates, video engagement rates, and a faculty pre-and post-test survey. Overall findings indicated that the marketing for students increased first-generation and continuing-generation participation in HIPs. The video marketing for advisors resulted in a statistically significant increase in the knowledge about HIPs and their likelihood of referring students to HIPS. However, the findings were insignificant in lowering FGS bias or increasing bias awareness amongst faculty members. The project aimed to increase FGS involvement in HIPs by 10% with the long-term goal of having a proportional representation of FGS in HIPs at Western Carolina University. This goal was not met. However, there was growth in the participation of FGS for all HIPs indicating that the change initiatives were having a positive effect. The findings from this project are helpful to other universities seeking to increase access to HIPs for FGS

Historical Trauma and its Impact on Minority Populations

Historical trauma is a type of trauma that leaves lasting impacts throughout generations of people. In this literature review, the definition of historical trauma will be expanded upon and compared to the definition of post traumatic stress disorder in regards their impact. While historical trauma affects many populations, this review will only focus on three: Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic/Latinx. With each population, the cultural and health impacts of historical trauma will be discussed. The cultural impacts will explore the initial or most prominent source of historical trauma and how it affects present day. The health impacts will expand on how having these traumas even before an individual is born can impact their longevity and quality if life. Based on these findings, recommendations for future research to better understand historical trauma and its impact on groups will be made

Identification of commensal bacteria autoinducing peptides with ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography - high resolution mass spectrometry

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen that has become an increasing issue over the years due to its acquired resistance to different antibiotics such as methicillin. The development of resistance has sparked interest in finding new ways to combat S. aureus, and other pathogens. Recent hypotheses suggest that different types of commensal bacteria in the skin are able to cross-inhibit virulence in S. aureus, by suppressing the production of its virulence factors responsible for disease. Cross-inhibition is believed to involve autoinducing signaling molecules that are unique to different bacterial species. These signaling molecules are responsible for self-regulating functions in a bacterium that produces them and for potentially disrupting similar processes in other species. More knowledge is needed about how these signaling molecules from commensal bacteria can affect quorum sensing in the bacterial pathogen S. aureus, however, in order to further study these interactions, the properties of the signaling molecules must be known, starting with their molecular structure. The goal of this project is to detect and elucidate the structures of unknown signaling molecules from different commensal staphylococcal species that have previously displayed cross-inhibition activity against quorum sensing in S. aureus

Focusing and Compression of Ultrashort Pulses through Scattering Media

Light scattering in inhomogeneous media induces wavefront distortions which pose an inherent limitation in many optical applications. Examples range from microscopy and nanosurgery to astronomy. In recent years, ongoing efforts have made the correction of spatial distortions possible by wavefront shaping techniques. However, when ultrashort pulses are employed scattering induces temporal distortions which hinder their use in nonlinear processes such as in multiphoton microscopy and quantum control experiments. Here we show that correction of both spatial and temporal distortions can be attained by manipulating only the spatial degrees of freedom of the incident wavefront. Moreover, by optimizing a nonlinear signal the refocused pulse can be shorter than the input pulse. We demonstrate focusing of 100fs pulses through a 1mm thick brain tissue, and 1000-fold enhancement of a localized two-photon fluorescence signal. Our results open up new possibilities for optical manipulation and nonlinear imaging in scattering media

Dynamics, aboveground biomass and composition on permanent plots, Tambopata National Reserve. Madre de Dios, Peru

In this study we evaluated the floristic composition and changes in stored biomass and dynamics over time in 9 permanent plots monitored by RAINFOR (Amazon Forest Inventory Network) and located in the lowland Amazon rainforest of the Tambopata National Reserve. Data were acquired in the field using the standardized methodology of RAINFOR. The biomass was estimated using the equation for tropical moist forests of Chave et al. (2005). Biomass dynamics were analyzed, in three separated periods from 2003 to 2011. 64 families, 219 genera and 531 species were recorded. The tree floristic composition is very similar in all plots except for one swamp plot, although but it is also evident that two slightly different forest communities exist in the rest of landscape, apparently related to the age of the ancient river terraces in the area. Mortality and recruitment of individuals averaged 2.12 ± 0.52% and 1.92 ± 0.49%, respectively. The turnover rate is 2.02% per year. Aboveground biomass stored in these forests averages 296.2 ± 33.9 t ha-1. The biomass dynamics show a total net gain of 1.96, 1.69 and -1.23 t ha-1 for period respectively. Prior to the drought of 2010 a change in biomass was found 1.88 t ha-1 yr-1 and post drought was -0.18 t ha-1 yr-1 on average, though the difference is not significant. Demographic analysis suggests a dynamic equilibrium in the plots. The negative balance of biomass observed for the period 2008 - 2011 may be due to the drought of 2010, in which half of the monitored plots experienced negative net biomass change due to mortality of individuals selectively affecting the floristic composition

Genetic diversity of Brazilian isolates of feline immunodeficiency virus

We isolated Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) from three adult domestic cats, originating from two open shelters in Brazil. Viruses were isolated from PBMC following co-cultivation with the feline T-lymphoblastoid cell line MYA-1. All amplified env gene products were cloned directly into pGL8MYA. The nucleic acid sequences of seven clones were determined and then compared with those of previously described isolates. The sequences of all of the Brazilian virus clones were distinct and phylogenetic analysis revealed that all belong to subtype B. Three variants isolated from one cat and two variants were isolated from each of the two other cats, indicating that intrahost diversity has the potential to pose problems for the treatment and diagnosis of FIV infection