How vegans, vegetarians and carnists differ in personality traits and attitudes towards animals

Background Food decisions and dietary preferences are affected by a complex set of different cultural or regional factors, but personality traits seem to play an important role too. Previous research suggested that the food preferences related to veganism, vegetarianism, or carnism can be predicted by the Big Five model of personality and reflected in the attitudes towards animals. Participants and procedure The present study examined personality traits and attitudes towards animals of 190 (M = 24.90, SD = 7.18) Slovak participants, of whom 57 were vegans, 56 vegetarians, and 77 carnists. To measure Big Five personality traits, the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) was used. Attitudes towards animals were measured by the short 10-item version of the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS-10). Results Vegans and vegetarians scored significantly higher than carnists in open-mindedness and attitude towards animals; there was no difference between scores of vegans and vegetarians. No relationship between the diet groups and demographic variables (gender, education, and age) was identified. From personality traits and sociodemographic variables, only open-mindedness was a significant predictor of attitudes towards animals. Conclusions Vegans and vegetarians differ from carnists primarily in one trait: open-mindedness. Vegans and vegetarians also differ from carnists by holding more positive attitudes towards animals.Background Food decisions and dietary preferences are affected by a complex set of different cultural or regional factors, but personality traits seem to play an important role too. Previous research suggested that the food preferences related to veganism, vegetarianism, or carnism can be predicted by the Big Five model of personality and reflected in the attitudes towards animals. Participants and procedure The present study examined personality traits and attitudes towards animals of 190 (M = 24.90, SD = 7.18) Slovak participants, of whom 57 were vegans, 56 vegetarians, and 77 carnists. To measure Big Five personality traits, the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) was used. Attitudes towards animals were measured by the short 10-item version of the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS-10). Results Vegans and vegetarians scored significantly higher than carnists in open-mindedness and attitude towards animals; there was no difference between scores of vegans and vegetarians. No relationship between the diet groups and demographic variables (gender, education, and age) was identified. From personality traits and sociodemographic variables, only open-mindedness was a significant predictor of attitudes towards animals. Conclusions Vegans and vegetarians differ from carnists primarily in one trait: open-mindedness. Vegans and vegetarians also differ from carnists by holding more positive attitudes towards animals

Self-regulation capacity and decision making of Slovak managers in routine situations and in situations with possible negative outcomes

The study focuses on the relationship between self-regulation and decision making of Slovak managers in work-related situations involving routine circumstances and circumstances where inappropriate decision may lead to possible serious negative consequences. 143 Slovak managers were asked to choose some work-related situation of decision making and to assess it on the scales provided (routine or not routine, with or without possible negative consequences). They were administered a Self-Regulation Scale (Schwarzer et al., 1999) and Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) (Mann et al., 1997), adapted for the assessment of current decision making behavior. The results showed that self-regulation correlated positively with vigilant decision making and negatively with maladaptive decision making, such as buck-passing, hypervigilance, and procrastination. Moderation analysis revealed that situations with possible negative consequences weaken the relationship between self-regulation and both vigilance as well as maladaptive decision making

Personality Traits and COVID-19 Vaccination Status in Slovakia: The Role of Trust in Health Institutions, and COVID-19 Pseudo-Science and Conspiracy Beliefs

The present study focuses on the Big Five personality traits as predictors of COVID-19 vaccination status in the population of Slovakia. The sample consisted of 1838 inhabitants of Slovakia (47% men, 53% women, mean age 45.41 years) recruited through an online panel of a research agency. Participants were administered the Big Five personality test BFI-2-S, and items regarding vaccine pseudo-science, conspiracy beliefs, and trust in medical institutions. They also reported their COVID-19 vaccination status. The results showed that after controlling for gender, age, education, and social status, agreeableness and negative emotionality predicted the vaccination status; in both cases, lower levels of the trait predicted not being vaccinated. The effect of agreeableness on vaccination status was mediated by low levels of COVID-19 pseudo-science and conspiracy beliefs and higher trust in medical institutions

Ulcerating Ileocolitis in Severe Amatoxin Poisoning

Amatoxin poisoning is still associated with a great potential for complications and a high mortality. While the occurrence of acute gastroenteritis within the first 24 hours after amatoxin ingestion is well described, only very few descriptions of late gastrointestinal complications of amatoxin poisoning exist worldwide. We present the case of a 57-year-old female patient with severe amatoxin poisoning causing fulminant but reversible hepatic failure that on day 8 after mushroom ingestion developed severe abdominal pain and watery diarrhea. Ulcerating ileocolitis was identified by computed tomography identifying a thickening of the bowel wall of the entire ileum and biopsies taken from the ileum and large bowel revealing distinct ileitis and proximally accentuated colitis. The absence of discernible alternative etiologies such as infectious agents makes a causal relationship between the ulcerating ileocolitis and the amatoxin poisoning likely. Diarrhea and varying abdominal pain persisted over several weeks and clinical follow-up after six months showed a completely symptom-free patient. The case presented highlights the importance to consider the possibility of rare complications of Amanita intoxication in order to be able to respond to them early and adequately

Multi-stage subduction-related metasomatism recorded in whiteschists from the Dora-Maira Massif, Western Alps

Whiteschists from the Dora-Maira massif (Western Alps, Italy) are Mg and K-rich metasomatised granites which experienced ultra-high-pressure metamorphism and fluid–rock interaction during Alpine continental subduction. The sources and timing of fluid infiltration are a source of significant debate. In this study, we present boron (B) isotopes and other fluid-mobile trace-element (FME) concentrations in various generations of phengite from whiteschists and their country rock protoliths to investigate the sources and timing of metasomatic fluid influx. Reconstructed bulk rock concentrations based on modal data and mineral compositions indicate that significant amounts B and other FME were added to the rock during prograde metamorphism, but that this fluid influx postdates the main Mg metasomatic event. High B concentrations (150–350 μg/g) and light values (− 16 to −4 ‰) recorded in phengite point to a B-rich sediment-derived fluid as the main source of B in the whiteschists. Further redistribution of FME during metamorphism was associated with breakdown of hydrous minerals, such as talc, phlogopite, and ellenbergerite. The source of the Mg-rich fluids cannot be constrained based on the B data in phengite, since its signature was overprinted by the later main B metasomatic event. Rare tourmaline-bearing whiteschists record additional information about B processes. Tourmaline values (− 6 to +1 ‰) are in isotopic equilibrium with similar fluids to those recorded in most phengite, but phengites in tourmaline-bearing samples record anomalous B isotope compositions that reflect later redistribution of B. This study demonstrates the utility of in situ analyses in unravelling complex fluid–rock interaction histories, where whole-rock analyses make it difficult to distinguish between different stages of fluid–rock interaction. Polymetasomatism may result in decoupling of different isotopic systems, thus complicating their interpretation. The Dora-Maira whiteschists interacted with multiple generations of fluids during subduction and therefore may represent a long-lived fluid pathway

Estimation of Immune Cell Densities in Immune Cell Conglomerates: An Approach for High-Throughput Quantification

Determining the correct number of positive immune cells in immunohistological sections of colorectal cancer and other tumor entities is emerging as an important clinical predictor and therapy selector for an individual patient. This task is usually obstructed by cell conglomerates of various sizes. We here show that at least in colorectal cancer the inclusion of immune cell conglomerates is indispensable for estimating reliable patient cell counts. Integrating virtual microscopy and image processing principally allows the high-throughput evaluation of complete tissue slides.For such large-scale systems we demonstrate a robust quantitative image processing algorithm for the reproducible quantification of cell conglomerates on CD3 positive T cells in colorectal cancer. While isolated cells (28 to 80 microm(2)) are counted directly, the number of cells contained in a conglomerate is estimated by dividing the area of the conglomerate in thin tissues sections (< or =6 microm) by the median area covered by an isolated T cell which we determined as 58 microm(2). We applied our algorithm to large numbers of CD3 positive T cell conglomerates and compared the results to cell counts obtained manually by two independent observers. While especially for high cell counts, the manual counting showed a deviation of up to 400 cells/mm(2) (41% variation), algorithm-determined T cell numbers generally lay in between the manually observed cell numbers but with perfect reproducibility.In summary, we recommend our approach as an objective and robust strategy for quantifying immune cell densities in immunohistological sections which can be directly implemented into automated full slide image processing systems

Who agrees more? The role of age, education, and the ability to solve verbal analogies in acquiescence

Background:Acquiescence as one of the response styles is the participant’s tendency to shift answers to agreement rather than to disa-greement regardless of the items’ content. Acquiescence together with other response styles could be a serious threat to the results of research. It can be affected by several individual characteristics including cognitive abilities. We explored the rela-tionship between the ability to solve verbal analogies, age, education, and acquiescence.Participants and procedure:The sample contained 210 participants, 109 men and 101 women with age ranging from 17 to 70 (M = 45.11, SD = 13.66). The data were collected through an online panel of a research agency. We used Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) for estimating acquiescence and 10 tasks for measuring the ability to solve verbal analogies.Results:We found a significant relationship between acquiescence and age with a medium effect and non-significant relationships between acquiescence, the ability to solve verbal analogies, and education.Conclusions:Education seems not to be an adequate variable as a proxy for cognitive variables, and the ability to solve verbal analogies probably does not affect acquiescence in general. However, the existence of a negative relationship between age and acquies-cence is quite surprising, and it could be caused by better developed self-identity of older participants.Background:Acquiescence as one of the response styles is the participant’s tendency to shift answers to agreement rather than to disa-greement regardless of the items’ content. Acquiescence together with other response styles could be a serious threat to the results of research. It can be affected by several individual characteristics including cognitive abilities. We explored the rela-tionship between the ability to solve verbal analogies, age, education, and acquiescence.Participants and procedure:The sample contained 210 participants, 109 men and 101 women with age ranging from 17 to 70 (M = 45.11, SD = 13.66). The data were collected through an online panel of a research agency. We used Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) for estimating acquiescence and 10 tasks for measuring the ability to solve verbal analogies.Results:We found a significant relationship between acquiescence and age with a medium effect and non-significant relationships between acquiescence, the ability to solve verbal analogies, and education.Conclusions:Education seems not to be an adequate variable as a proxy for cognitive variables, and the ability to solve verbal analogies probably does not affect acquiescence in general. However, the existence of a negative relationship between age and acquies-cence is quite surprising, and it could be caused by better developed self-identity of older participants

Ulcerating Ileocolitis in Severe Amatoxin Poisoning

Amatoxin poisoning is still associated with a great potential for complications and a high mortality. While the occurrence of acute gastroenteritis within the first 24 hours after amatoxin ingestion is well described, only very few descriptions of late gastrointestinal complications of amatoxin poisoning exist worldwide. We present the case of a 57-year-old female patient with severe amatoxin poisoning causing fulminant but reversible hepatic failure that on day 8 after mushroom ingestion developed severe abdominal pain and watery diarrhea. Ulcerating ileocolitis was identified by computed tomography identifying a thickening of the bowel wall of the entire ileum and biopsies taken from the ileum and large bowel revealing distinct ileitis and proximally accentuated colitis. The absence of discernible alternative etiologies such as infectious agents makes a causal relationship between the ulcerating ileocolitis and the amatoxin poisoning likely. Diarrhea and varying abdominal pain persisted over several weeks and clinical follow-up after six months showed a completely symptom-free patient. The case presented highlights the importance to consider the possibility of rare complications of Amanita intoxication in order to be able to respond to them early and adequately

Multi-stage subduction-related metasomatism recorded in whiteschists from the Dora-Maira Massif, Western Alps

Whiteschists from the Dora-Maira massif (Western Alps, Italy) are Mg and K-rich metasomatised granites which experienced ultra-high pressure metamorphism and fluid-rock interaction during Alpine continental subduction. The sources and timing of fluid infiltration are a source of significant debate. In this study we present boron (B) isotopes and other fluid-mobile trace element (FME) concentrations in various generations of phengite from whiteschists and their country rock protoliths to investigate the sources and timing of metasomatic fluid influx. Reconstructed bulk rock concentrations based on modal data and mineral compositions indicate that significant amounts B and other FME were added to the rock during prograde metamorphism, but that this fluid influx postdates the main Mg metasomatic event. High B concentrations (150–350 µg/g) and light δ11B values (-16 to -4 ‰) recorded in phengite point to a B-rich sediment-derived fluid as the main source of B in the whiteschists. Further redistribution of FME during metamorphism was associated with breakdown of hydrous minerals such as talc, phlogopite and ellenbergerite. The source of the Mg-rich fluids cannot be constrained based on the B data in phengite, since its signature was overprinted by the later main B metasomatic event. Rare tourmaline-bearing whiteschists record additional information about B processes. Tourmaline δ11B values (-6 to +1 ‰) are in isotopic equilibrium with similar fluids to those recorded in most phengite, but phengites in tourmaline-bearing samples records anomalous B isotope compositions that reflect later redistribution of B. This study demonstrates the utility of in situ analyses in unravelling complex fluid-rock interaction histories, where whole rock analyses make it difficult to distinguish between different stages of fluid-rock interaction. Polymetasomatism may result in decoupling of different isotopic systems, thus complicating their interpretation. The Dora-Maira whiteschists interacted with multiple generations of fluids during subduction and therefore may represent a long-lived fluid pathway

Electrochemical estimations of the gold nanoparticle size effect on cysteine-gold oxidation

Gold nanoparticles are interesting for nanobiomedical applications, such as for drug delivery and as diagnostic imaging contrast agents. However, their stability and reactivity in-vivo are influenced by their surface properties and size. Here, we investigate the electrochemical oxidation of differently sized citrate-coated gold nanoparticles in the presence and absence of L-cysteine, a thiol-containing amino acid with high binding affinity to gold. We found that smaller sized (5, 10 nm) gold nanoparticles were significantly more susceptible to electrochemical L-cysteine interactions and/or L-cysteine-facilitated gold oxidation than larger (20, 50 nm) sized gold nanoparticles, both for the same mass and nominal surface area, under the conditions investigated (pH 7.4, room temperature, stagnant solutions, and scan rates of 0.5 to 450 mV s−1). The electrochemical measurements of drop-casted gold nanoparticle suspensions on paraffin-impregnated graphite electrodes were susceptible to the quality of the electrode. Increased cycling resulted in irreversible oxidation and detachment/oxidation of gold into solution. Our results suggest that L-cysteine-gold interactions are stronger for smaller nanoparticles