Implicit Attitudes and Terror Management: Pilot of Implicit Association Test as a Means of Measuring Death-Thought Accessibility

Terror management theory (TMT; Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) has been extensively tested and applied in a variety of contexts. One of the major criticisms of TMT is that there are methodological issues with assessing some of the proposed processes within the theory, such as activation of death thought accessibility. The present study provides an initial test of a proposed alternative for measuring death thought accessibility using an image-based implicit association test instead of the traditional word fragment completion task used in a majority of TMT research. An experiment was carried out with 200 undergraduate students using a 2 (mortality salience: Yes or no) x 2 (social/fiscal conservatism: Low or high) between-subjects design. Results provided partial empirical support for the use of an IAT-based measure for death thought accessibility relying on color images. The IAT-based measure outperformed the traditional word fragment completion task at discriminating between mortality and non-mortality salient participants in terms of death thought accessibility.Moreover, this study also tested the mortality salience hypothesis to determine whether mortality salience activates cultural worldview defenses following a brief delay. Specifically, participants with differing political ideologies were asked to evaluate an editorial in support of the Muslim ban. Results found that after being reminded of their death, participants with strong levels of conservatism reported more positive attitudes toward the Muslim ban, relative to those in the control condition (i.e., non-mortality salient). Implications of the findings for this study as well as directions for future research are discussed

Impaired osteoblast differentiation in annexin A2- and -A5-deficient cells.

Annexins are a class of calcium-binding proteins with diverse functions in the regulation of lipid rafts, inflammation, fibrinolysis, transcriptional programming and ion transport. Within bone, they are well-characterized as components of mineralizing matrix vesicles, although little else is known as to their function during osteogenesis. We employed shRNA to generate annexin A2 (AnxA2)- or annexin A5 (AnxA5)-knockdown pre-osteoblasts, and determined whether proliferation or osteogenic differentiation was altered in knockdown cells, compared to pSiren (Si) controls. We report that DNA content, a marker of proliferation, was significantly reduced in both AnxA2 and AnxA5 knockdown cells. Alkaline phosphatase expression and activity were also suppressed in AnxA2- or AnxA5-knockdown after 14 days of culture. The pattern of osteogenic gene expression was altered in knockdown cells, with Col1a1 expressed more rapidly in knock-down cells, compared to pSiren. In contrast, Runx2, Ibsp, and Bglap all revealed decreased expression after 14 days of culture. In both AnxA2- and AnxA5-knockdown, interleukin-induced STAT6 signaling was markedly attenuated compared to pSiren controls. These data suggest that AnxA2 and AnxA5 can influence bone formation via regulation of osteoprogenitor proliferation, differentiation, and responsiveness to cytokines in addition to their well-studied function in matrix vesicles

Searching for a Silver Lining: Mediated Intergroup Contact and Mental Health Perceptions

This study investigated viewer responses to characters from Silver Linings Playbook, a movie about characters dealing with mental illness, from the perspective of mediated intergroup contact hypothesis. Researchers tested if identification with fictional characters with mental illness reduced viewers’ negative stereotypes about mental illness and increased their willingness to support people with the same illnesses as the characters. Additionally, empathy was tested as a mediator between identification and stereotype reduction. One hundred forty-five participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 character conditions. The hypotheses associated with identification and stereotypes and intentions were partially supported. For two characters, empathy mediated the relationship between identification and negative stereotypes. Implications for mediated portrayals of health issues and behaviors are discussed

Binge Drinking and TMT: Evaluating Responses to Anti-Binge Drinking PSAs from a Terror Management Theory Perspective

An experiment was conducted with 264 college students whose self-esteem were highly linked or not to their binge drinking behaviors (i.e., high binge drinking-based self esteem or low binge drinking-based self-esteem). Participants were exposed to a mortality-salient/non-mortality-salient anti-binge drinking public service announcement (PSA), or a control ad.  Cognitive and emotional responses to the ads were assessed. Results found an interaction between binge drinking-based self-esteem and mortality-saliency of the ad. Those with high binge drinking-based self-esteem reported significantly lower intentions to not binge drink, more negative evaluation of the ads, greater message avoidance, and more positive binge drinking attitudes in response to the mortality-salient PSAs compared to those exposed to non-mortality-salient PSAs, and those with low binge drinking-based self-esteem. Additionally, response costs associated with not binge drinking was tested within the EPPM framework and found to have an impact. Implications of the results for anti-binge drinking campaigns are discussed along with future research directions

Double side interior permanent magnet linear synchronous motor and drive system

Linear motor has been applied in various fields such as factory and office automation. A linear motor differs from a rotational motor, in which it has a simpler structure. Linear Synchronous Motor is one of the types of linear motor and its application is very wide which is from the small application (i.e. industrials automation) to large application (i.e. maglev transportation) [1]. The thrust which is generated by linear motor is high, even with the size of the motor is small [2]. This is the feature of the linear motor compared to rotational motor where a gear is needed to change the rotational movement to the linear movement. Therefore the linear motor can reduce the mechanical losses. This paper discuss on the proposal of Double Side Interior Permanent Magnet of Linear Synchronous Motor (DIPM-LSM). The structure and three dimensions of magnetic circuit of DIPM-LSM are discussed. This type of DIPM-LSM can be driven by sinusoidal and pulse voltage input. The three phase two coils excitation-driving mode of open loop drive systems are also been discussed

Benefit of Apabetalone on Plasma Proteins in Renal Disease.

Introduction:Apabetalone, a small molecule inhibitor, targets epigenetic readers termed BET proteins that contribute to gene dysregulation in human disorders. Apabetalone has in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory and antiatherosclerotic properties. In phase 2 clinical trials, this drug reduced the incidence of major adverse cardiac events in patients with cardiovascular disease. Chronic kidney disease is associated with a progressive loss of renal function and a high risk of cardiovascular disease. We studied the impact of apabetalone on the plasma proteome in patients with impaired kidney function. Methods:Subjects with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease and matched controls received a single dose of apabetalone. Plasma was collected for pharmacokinetic analysis and for proteomics profiling using the SOMAscan 1.3k platform. Proteomics data were analyzed with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis to identify dysregulated pathways in diseased patients, which were targeted by apabetalone. Results:At baseline, 169 plasma proteins (adjusted P value <0.05) were differentially enriched in renally impaired patients versus control subjects, including cystatin C and β2 microglobulin, which correlate with renal function. Bioinformatics analysis of the plasma proteome revealed a significant activation of 42 pathways that control immunity and inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, vascular calcification, and coagulation. At 12 hours postdose, apabetalone countered the activation of pathways associated with renal disease and reduced the abundance of disease markers, including interleukin-6, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and osteopontin. Conclusion:These data demonstrated plasma proteome dysregulation in renally impaired patients and the beneficial impact of apabetalone on pathways linked to chronic kidney disease and its cardiovascular complications

#WhyITold: A Pilot Test of Twitter Messages Aimed at Promoting Bystander Intervention against Domestic Violence

This study examined the effectiveness of various messaging via Twitter in persuading bystanders of domestic violence (DV) to intervene on behalf of DV victims. Using Fishbein’s (2000) integrative model of behavioral prediction as a guiding framework, an experiment was conducted with 196 undergraduates from a large Southwestern university. Participants were randomly assigned to read either a: (1) tweet describing warning signs associated with DV motivating bystander intervention, (2) gain or loss framed tweet emphasizing why a bystander chose to intervene, or (3) control tweet that simply provided statistics on the prevalence of DV in the U.S. Results indicate injunctive norms were the best predictor of participants’ intent to intervene in a DV situation, and that the most effective approach to promoting bystander intervention is to highlight warning signs of DV. Implications for practice are also discussed

Induction of Proinflammatory Cytokines and C-Reactive Protein in Human Macrophage Cell Line U937 Exposed to Air Pollution Particulates

Exposure to particulate matter air pollution causes inflammatory responses and is associated with the progression of atherosclerosis and increased cardiovascular mortality. Macrophages play a key role in atherogenesis by releasing proinflammatory cytokines and forming foam cells in subendothelial lesions. The present study quantified the inflammatory response in a human macrophage cell line (U937) after exposure to an ambient particulate sample from urban dust (UDP) and a diesel exhaust particulate (DEP). The effect of native UDP and DEP was compared with their corresponding organic extracts (OE-UDP/OE-DEP) and stripped particles (sUDP/sDEP) to clarify their respective roles. Exposure to OE-UDP, OE-DEP, UDP, DEP, and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin led to a greater increase of interleukin (IL)-8, tumor necrosis factor-α, and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA expression than did the stripped particles, whereas sUDP, sDEP, UDP, and DEP led to a greater production of C-reactive protein and IL-6 mRNA. The particles and the organic extract-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and cytochrome P450 (CYP)1a1 was significantly suppressed by co-treatment with an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) antagonist, indicating that these effects are mainly mediated by the organic components, which can activate the AhR and CYP1a1. In contrast, the induction of C-reactive protein and IL-6 seems to be a particle-related effect that is AhR independent. The inflammatory response induced by particulate matter was associated with a subsequent increase of cholesterol accumulation, a hallmark of foam cells. Together, these data illustrate the interaction between particulate matter and the inflammatory response as well as the formation of cholesterol-accumulating foam cells, which are early markers of cardiovascular disease