Reactions to infidelity: Gender differences and relative mate value.

Two studies examined the influence of gender and mate value on responses to infidelity from an evolutionary perspective. Couples were recruited for Study 1, allowing an examination of participants' self-perceived mate value relative to their partners' mate value (relative mate value). As predicted, males responded more negatively (i.e., they reported greater levels of indignation, a greater likelihood of relationship dissolution, less forgiveness) in response to sexual infidelity compared to emotional. In addition, higher levels of relative mate value were associated with greater levels of indignation in response to infidelity, regardless of the type of affair. In Study 2, participants who had been the victim of infidelity in the past recounted their experiences and reported how they actually responded. Although evidence for gender differences in this study were weak, consistent with Study 1, higher levels of relative mate value were associated with greater levels of indignation in response to infidelity. Taken together, these two studies provide compelling support for the hypothesis that an individual's perceived relative mate value is an important predictor of reactions to infidelity (particularly levels of indignation). Although these results did not support the existence of a fundamental difference between males and females in response to sexual versus emotional infidelity, Study 1 provided compelling evidence that, at least for males, type of affair is an important predictor of reactions to infidelity

Cognitive Dissonance: The Apocalyptic Poetics of Spenser’s \u3cem\u3eFaerie Queene\u3c/em\u3e

While sixteenth-century citizens of England and the Continent read, interpreted, and appropriated The Book of Revelation for a number of purposes, Edmund Spenser’s primary motivation was to find a source of his poetic theory and practice, as well as his poetic themes and imagery. Spenser began his literary career in 1569 with the anonymous publication of his English translation of Jan van der Noot’s Theatre for Worldlings, which concluded with four sonnets based on scenes from Revelation. My project examines the ways in which Revelation, or Apocalypse as it was frequently called in the period, remained a significant creative fountainhead to Spenser throughout his career, well beyond his initial affiliation with Van der Noot’s work. Though I demonstrate evidence of this claim in a number of Spenser’s poems, my primary focus is upon The Faerie Queene, which is not only an interpretation of Apocalypse, but is also itself an apocalyptic work of literature. Although scholars have noted Spenser’s allusions to Apocalypse primarily in Books One and Five of The Faerie Queene, my project cites passages and poetic strategies from each of the poem’s seven books in order to demonstrate a more pervasive apocalyptic presence in the work than has been previously thought. My analysis examines The Faerie Queene in the context of the contemporary readings of Revelation prevalent in the poem’s immediate culture, and explores the hermeneutics by which contemporary Reformed readers would have approached the Bible, Revelation in particular, and Spenser’s poem. In addition, this project examines the ways in which Spenser’s poetics utilizes the apocalyptic strategies of recapitulation, intensification, and augmentation. Like Revelation, Spenser’s work evokes a pious form of cognitive dissonance in its readers, evident in the intensifying complaints of figures in the poem. Ultimately, the dissonance, first experienced by the poet-prophet who sees a transcendent vision yet to be fulfilled, is passed to readers, in whom it fosters the desire for transcendence (otherwise known as faith). Though many exegetes of Revelation in the late sixteenth century promoted absolute mastery of apocalyptic knowledge as a sign of the godly, Spenser, in The Faerie Queene, argues that indeterminacy is the virtue of Apocalypse, and that cognitive dissonance is necessary for the faith of true believers who remain active in the fight, waiting for the End and trusting that their longing for consummate knowledge will one day be fulfilled

An Examination of the Competitive Advantages of the Raisin Industries in California and Turkey

Agribusiness,

Climate change refugia for terrestrial biodiversity

AbstractWe are currently facing the likelihood of severe climate change before the close of the century. In the face of such a global driver of species loss, we urgently need to identify refugia that will shelter species from the worst impacts of climate change. This  will be  a critical component of successful conservation and management of our biodiversity. Despite this, little is known about how best to identify refugia in the landscape, and the practical strategies needed to identify, protect and expand refugia are just beginning to be developed. Identifying refugia that will protect most species, or large numbers of species, remains a complex and daunting endeavour due to the large variations in climatic and biotic requirements of species. A first step to identifying refugia for biodiversity across Australia is to locate the areas which show the least change into the future (i.e. the most environmentally stable), particularly along axes of temperature and precipitation. The second and crucial step is to identify the areas that will retain most of their biodiversity and provide opportunities for additional species to relocate to into the future. Using these approaches in this project, we take the first steps to identify refugial areas across the Australian continent under contemporary climate change scenarios. We find that the southern and eastern parts of the continent contain refugia that many species will retreat to over the next 75 years, but that the current reserve system may be inadequate to allow species to shift to and persist in these areas. Disturbingly, we also find that there is a large portion of the Australian vertebrate community for which adequate natural refugia do not appear to exist. Fine-scaled regional analyses will be required to clarify these broad findings, and we examine a number of case studies demonstrating how these regional analyses might best proceed. Lessons learnt across the multiple techniques employed in this study include:1. High elevation areas are important refugia.2. Tasmania and the east coast of mainland Australia contain most of the key areas for refugia into the future.3. Results are dependent on which objectives, techniques, taxonomic groups and climate scenarios are used.Please cite this report as:Reside, AE, VanDerWal, J, Phillips, B, Shoo, LP, Rosauer, DF, Anderson, BA, Welbergen, J, Moritz, C, Ferrier, S, Harwood, TD, Williams, KJ, Mackey, B, Hugh, S, Williams, SE 2013 Climate change refugia for terrestrial biodiversity: Defining areas that promote species persistence and ecosystem resilience in the face of global climate change, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 216We are currently facing the likelihood of severe climate change before the close of the century. In the face of such a global driver of species loss, we urgently need to identify refugia that will shelter species from the worst impacts of climate change. This  will be  a critical component of successful conservation and management of our biodiversity. Despite this, little is known about how best to identify refugia in the landscape, and the practical strategies needed to identify, protect and expand refugia are just beginning to be developed. Identifying refugia that will protect most species, or large numbers of species, remains a complex and daunting endeavour due to the large variations in climatic and biotic requirements of species. A first step to identifying refugia for biodiversity across Australia is to locate the areas which show the least change into the future (i.e. the most environmentally stable), particularly along axes of temperature and precipitation. The second and crucial step is to identify the areas that will retain most of their biodiversity and provide opportunities for additional species to relocate to into the future. Using these approaches in this project, we take the first steps to identify refugial areas across the Australian continent under contemporary climate change scenarios. We find that the southern and eastern parts of the continent contain refugia that many species will retreat to over the next 75 years, but that the current reserve system may be inadequate to allow species to shift to and persist in these areas. Disturbingly, we also find that there is a large portion of the Australian vertebrate community for which adequate natural refugia do not appear to exist. Fine-scaled regional analyses will be required to clarify these broad findings, and we examine a number of case studies demonstrating how these regional analyses might best proceed. Lessons learnt across the multiple techniques employed in this study include:High elevation areas are important refugia.Tasmania and the east coast of mainland Australia contain most of the key areas for refugia into the future.Results are dependent on which objectives, techniques, taxonomic groups and climate scenarios are used

Consumer Preferences for Cluster Raisins: A Focus Group Investigation

The U.S. raisin industry has experienced a decline in acreage and in number of growers in recent years. One firm is trying a novel approach to marketing raisins, namely, by marketing them still attached to the vine. This product is called cluster raisins. In order to explore consumer preferences related to cluster raisins, and to generate new product ideas and preferred marketing methods, two focus group interviews were implemented. Findings included that a young (i.e., 18 - 25 years) market segment would be a recommended target market. Also included are recommendations regarding price, packaging, and methods of increasing consumer awareness. Recommended marketing channels include specialty markets (e.g., Trader Joe's or Whole Foods) and gift baskets.Marketing,

An Analysis of Utah Media: Women & Politics

As women’s political presence and influence have slowly continued to increase, the way they have been represented in the media has also evolved. Research spanning the past several decades indicates that women politicians continue to be disadvantaged in the way they are covered by the media. From newspapers to primetime television, the way female political candidates are represented is a crucial topic; recent research indicates that women are dissuaded from even entering the political realm due to patterns of gendered media reporting and that “media both produces and reproduces sexism.” Research evaluating media representation of female political candidates spans both the quantity and quality of coverage, including “volume of coverage, candidates’ viability, candidates’ issues, and candidates’ traits.” To date, however, there has been no specific research conducted in Utah on the intersection between media, gender, and politics

Development of high-yield autofluorescent protein microarrays using hybrid cell-free expression with combined Escherichia coli S30 and wheat germ extracts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein-based microarray platforms offer considerable promise as high-throughput technologies in proteomics. Particular advantages are provided by self-assembling protein microarrays and much interest centers around analysis of eukaryotic proteins and their molecular interactions. Efficient cell-free protein synthesis is paramount for the production of self-assembling protein microarrays, requiring optimal transcription, translation, and protein folding. The <it>Escherichia coli </it>S30 extract demonstrates high translation rates but lacks the protein-folding efficiency of its eukaryotic counterparts derived from rabbit reticulocyte and wheat germ extract. In comparison to <it>E. coli</it>, eukaryotic extracts, on the other hand, exhibit slower translation rates and poor overall protein yields. A cell-free expression system that synthesizes folded eukaryotic proteins in considerable yields would optimize <it>in vitro </it>translation for protein microarray assembly.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Self-assembling autofluorescent protein microarrays were produced by <it>in situ </it>transcription and translation of chimeric proteins containing a C-terminal Green Fluorescent Protein tag. Proteins were immobilized as array elements using an anti-GFP monoclonal antibody. The amounts of correctly-folded chimeric proteins were quantified by measuring the fluorescence intensity from each array element. During cell-free expression, very little or no fluorescence was observed from GFP-tagged multidomain eukaryotic plant proteins when <it>in vitro </it>translation was performed with <it>E. coli </it>S30 extract. Improvement was seen using wheat germ extract, but fluorescence intensities were still low because of poor protein yields. A hybrid <it>in vitro </it>translation system, combining S30 and wheat germ extracts, produced high levels of correctly-folded proteins for most of the constructs that were tested.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the wheat germ extract enhances the protein folding capabilities of the <it>in vitro </it>system by providing eukaryotic ribosomes and chaperones and, at the same time, the <it>E. coli </it>S30 extract, which includes an ATP regeneration system, translates the polypeptides at high rates. This hybrid cell-free expression system allows the facile production of high-yield protein arrays suitable for downstream assays.</p

Differences in hospital glycemic control and insulin requirements in patients recovering from critical illness and those without prior critical illness

INTRODUCTION: Hospital patients recovering from critical illness on general floors often receive insulin therapy based on protocols designed for patients admitted directly to general floors. The objective of this study is to compare glycemic control and insulin dosing in patients recovering from critical illness and those without prior critical illness. METHODS: Medical record review of blood glucose measurements and insulin dosing in 25 patients under general ward care while transitioning from the intensive care unit (transition group) and 25 patients admitted directly to the floor (direct floor group). RESULTS: Average blood glucose did not differ significantly between groups (transition group 9.49 mmol/L, direct floor group 9.6 mmol/L; P = 0.83). Significant differences in insulin requirements were observed between groups with average daily doses of 55.9 units in patients transitioning from the intensive care unit (ICU) versus 25.6 units in the direct floor group (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Patients recovering from critical illness required significantly larger doses of insulin than those patients admitted directly to the floor. Managing insulin therapy in patients transitioning from the ICU may require greater insulin doses

Fingerloop activates cargo delivery and unloading during cotranslational protein targeting

During cotranslational protein targeting by the signal recognition particle (SRP), information about signal sequence binding in the SRP's M domain must be effectively communicated to its GTPase domain to turn on its interaction with the SRP receptor (SR) and thus deliver the cargo proteins to the membrane. A universally conserved “fingerloop” lines the signal sequence–binding groove of SRP; the precise role of this fingerloop in protein targeting has remained elusive. In this study, we show that the fingerloop plays important roles in SRP function by helping to induce the SRP into a more active conformation that facilitates multiple steps in the pathway, including efficient recruitment of SR, GTPase activation in the SRP•SR complex, and most significantly, the unloading of cargo onto the target membrane. On the basis of these results and recent structural work, we propose that the fingerloop is the first structural element to detect signal sequence binding; this information is relayed to the linker connecting the SRP's M and G domains and thus activates the SRP and SR for carrying out downstream steps in the pathway

Individual winter movement strategies in two species of Murre (Uria spp.) in the Northwest Atlantic

Individual wintering strategies and patterns of winter site fidelity in successive years are highly variable among seabird species. Yet, an understanding of consistency in timing of movements and the degree of site fidelity is essential for assessing how seabird populations might be influenced by, and respond to, changing conditions on wintering grounds. To explore annual variation in migratory movements and wintering areas, we applied bird-borne geolocators on Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia, n = 19) and Common Murres (U. aalge, n = 20) from 5 colonies in the Northwest Atlantic for 2–4 consecutive years. Thick-billed Murres ranged widely and among-individual wintering strategies were highly variable, whereas most Common Murres wintered relatively near their colonies, with among-individual variation represented more by the relative use of inshore vs. offshore habitat. Within individuals, some aspects of the wintering strategy were more repeatable than others: colony arrival and departure dates were more consistent by individual Common than Thick-billed Murres, while the sizes of home ranges (95% utilization distributions) and distances travelled to wintering area were more repeatable for both species. In consecutive years, individual home ranges overlapped from 0–64% (Thick-billed Murres) and 0–95% (Common Murres); and the winter centroids were just 239 km and 169 km apart (respectively). Over the 3–4 year timescale of our study, individuals employed either fixed or flexible wintering strategies; although most birds showed high winter site fidelity, some shifted core ranges after 2 or 3 years. The capacity among seabird species for a combination of fidelity and flexibility, in which individuals may choose from a range of alternative strategies, deserves further, longer term attention