The Effect of Trait and State Disgust on Fear of God and Sin

There is a growing literature suggesting disgust plays a major role in religiosity. However, the relationships between specific domains of disgust sensitivity and general religious fundamentalism or religious scrupulosity remains unknown and a lack of experimental data prevents the drawing of causal inferences about the potential effects of disgust on religiosity. Two studies are reported that examined the relationship between specific types of disgust sensitivity (i.e., pathogen, sexual, and moral disgust) and specific religious beliefs (i.e., fear of sin and fear of God). In the first study it was found that sexual disgust and pathogen disgust were significantly correlated with fear of sin and fear of God, respectively. In the second study the experimental induction of disgust led to greater fear of sin but not to the fear of God. These findings suggest that pathogen and sexual disgust sensitivities may serve as effective mechanisms for inflated scrupulosity. Taken together the outcomes from both studies converge on a greater understanding of the 'Human Behavioral Immune System' model that can account for social behavior with the evolution of adaptive benefit and perhaps more importantly highlights the possible drivers of specific religious behavior

Distribution, Abundance and Diversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrates on the Canadian Continental Shelf and Slope of Southern Davis Strait and Ungava Bay

Stations in a survey of benthic invertebrates on the Canadian continental shelf and slope of southeastern Baffin Island, in Ungava Bay, and on the northern Labrador Shelf, fell into definite groups as a result of an objective analysis of similarity in species composition. The groupings were shown to correspond to major water masses in the area. Groups corresponding to cold surface water masses, to the deep Irminger Atlantic water mass, and to mixtures of these with adjacent water masses were observed. The Irminger Atlantic group dominated on the Baffin Island continental shelf. Species diversity, also measured in the study, was high, with large numbers of species present in low abundance.Key words: marine, benthos, invertebrates, distribution, shelf, slope, Davis Strait, Ungava Bay, subarticMots clés: marin, benthos, invertébrés, distribution, plateau, versant, détroit de Davis, baie d'Ungava, subarctiqu

Facing Forward: Policy for Automated Facial Expression Analysis

The human face is a powerful tool for nonverbal communication. Technological advances have enabled widespread and low-cost deployment of video capture and facial recognition systems, opening the door for automated facial expression analysis (AFEA). This paper summarizes current challenges to the reliability of AFEA systems and challenges that could arise as a result of reliable AFEA systems. The potential benefits of AFEA are considerable, but developers, prospective users, and policy makers should proceed with caution

Reconnaissance of Pharmaceutical Chemicals in Urban Streams of the Tualatin River Basin, Oregon, 2002

A reconnaissance of pharmaceutical chemicals in urban streams of the Tualatin River basin was conducted in July 2002 in an effort to better understand the occurrence and distribution of such compounds, and to determine whether they might be useful indicators of human-related stream contamination. Of the 21 pharmaceutical chemicals and metabolites tested, only 6 (acetaminophen, caffeine, carbamazepine, codeine, cotinine, and sulfamethoxazole) were detected in filtered stream samples from 10 sites. The concentrations of most of the detected compounds were relatively low (less than 0.05 microgram per liter). The most frequently detected compounds were cotinine (a nicotine metabolite, 8 of 10 samples) and caffeine (a stimulant, 7 of 10 samples). More compounds were detected in urban stream samples than in samples from forested or agricultural drainages. Filtered water samples also were collected from four locations within an advanced wastewater treatment facility to quantify the relative amounts of these chemicals in a municipal waste stream and to determine the degree to which those chemicals are removed by treatment processes. Fifteen pharmaceutical chemicals or metabolites were detected in wastewater treatment facility influent, with concentrations far exceeding those measured in streams. Only five of those compounds, however, were detected in the treated effluent (carbamazepine, cotinine, ibuprofen, metformin, and sulfamethoxazole) and most of those were at concentrations less than 0.2 microgram per liter. The target pharmaceutical chemicals and metabolites showed limited potential for use as tracers of specific types of human-related contamination in Tualatin River basin streams because of widespread sources (caffeine, for example) or extremely low concentrations. Caffeine and cotinine are likely to be good indicators of sources that can occur in urban areas, such as sewage spills or leaks or the widespread use and careless disposal of tobacco products and caffeine-containing beverages. Neither compound, however, is likely to be a good tracer for a specific source unless that source is large. The presence of 1,7-dimethylxanthine (a caffeine metabolite) concurrently with caffeine might indicate the presence of untreated wastewater; in contrast, the absence of the metabolite might help rule out that source. Acetaminophen might make a good tracer for untreated wastewater because of its common usage, high concentration in raw wastewater, and effective removal via treatment. Carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole have the potential to be good indicators of treated wastewater because of their incomplete removal in treatment facilities. Some of these pharmaceutical chemicals, either singly or in combination, might prove useful as tracers of contamination after further study

Campus Bridging: Campus Leadership Engagement in Building a Coherent Campus Cyberinfrastructure Workshop Report

This report presents the discussions at and recommendations made at “Campus Leadership Engagement in Building a Coherent Campus Cyberinfrastructure,” a workshop held in Anaheim, California from October 10-12, 2010. The main goals for this workshop focused on gathering the thoughts, ideas and perspectives of senior university administrators. The resulting report covers the topics of: - The current state of campus bridging from the perspectives of the CIO and VP for Research. - Challenges and opportunities at the campus leader level for enablement of campus bridging in the university community. - The senior campus leadership advocacy role for promoting campus bridging.This workshop and preparation of this report and related documents were supported by several sources, including: National Science Foundation through grant #OCI-1059812 (Patrick Dreher PI; Craig A. Stewart; James Pepin; Guy Almes; Michael Mundrane Co-PIs) (Co-Principal Investigator) RENCI (the Renaissance Computing Institute, http://www.renci.org/) supported this workshop and report by generously providing the time and effort of Patrick Dreher and through underwriting of this effort by RENCI Director Stanley Ahalt Indiana University Pervasive Technology Institute (http://pti.iu.edu/) for funding staff providing logistical support of the task force activities, writing and editorial staff, and layout and production of the final report document. Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu) supported this workshop and report by generously providing the time and effort of Guy Almes. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, the Indiana University Pervasive Technology Institute, or Indiana University

N-methyl-N-alkylpyrrolidinium nonafluoro-1-butanesulfonate salts : Ionic liquid properties and plastic crystal behaviour

A series of N-methyl-N-alkylpyrrolidinium nonafluoro-1-butanesulfonate salts were synthesised and characterised. The thermophysical characteristics of this family of salts have been investigated with respect to potential use as ionic liquids and solid electrolytes. N-Methyl-N-butylpyrrolidinium nonafluoro-1-butanesulfonate (p1,4NfO) has the lowest melting point of the family, at 94 &deg;C. Electrochemical analysis of p1,4 NfO in the liquid state shows an electrochemical window of ~6 V. All compounds exhibit one or more solid&ndash;solid transitions at sub-ambient temperatures, indicating the existence of plastic crystal phases.<br /

Weld-bonded stainless steel to carbon fibre-reinforced plastic joints

This paper investigates a resistance spot welded reinforced adhesive (weld-bonded) joint between 304 stainless steel to carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), where welds are made both with and without the reinforcing carbon fibres present. Successful welds with the fibres present could only be produced with high electrode pinch forces, which helped reduce contamination of the weld nugget. Similar joint strengths were achieved in both cases, however the joints without fibres exhibited an increased strain to failure. Both joints were significantly stronger than either an adhesive joint or a comparable bolt reinforced adhesive joint. These techniques provide an alternative for joining thin metallic components to CFRP structures where increased strength and integrity is required

Final report on accomplishments of a Task Force on Campus Bridging sponsored workshop: Campus Leadership Engagement in Building a Coherent Campus Cyberinfrastructure

In 2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a grant of $49,840 to the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to organize a workshop on the topic of campus cyberinfrastructure with the title “Campus Bridging Taskforce Sponsored Workshop: Campus Leadership Engagement in Building a Coherent Campus Cyberinfrastructure.” This report discusses the contents of the full workshop report to the NSF as well as the accomplishments and outcomes reported via the NSF’s online reporting system.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 1059812 to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with Patrick Dreher as principal investigator and Craig Stewart, James Pepin, Guy Almes, and Michael Mundrane as co-principal investigators. Stewart’s involvement was supported by the Indiana University Pervasive Technology Institute, which is supported in part by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. (a private charitable trust). Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF or the Lilly Endowment

Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm and Planktonic cultures differentially impact gene expression, mapk phosphorylation, and cytokine production in human keratinocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many chronic diseases, such as non-healing wounds are characterized by prolonged inflammation and respond poorly to conventional treatment. Bacterial biofilms are a major impediment to wound healing. Persistent infection of the skin allows the formation of complex bacterial communities termed biofilm. Bacteria living in biofilms are phenotypically distinct from their planktonic counterparts and are orders of magnitude more resistant to antibiotics, host immune response, and environmental stress. <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>is prevalent in cutaneous infections such as chronic wounds and is an important human pathogen.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The impact of <it>S. aureus </it>soluble products in biofilm-conditioned medium (BCM) or in planktonic-conditioned medium (PCM) on human keratinocytes was investigated. Proteomic analysis of BCM and PCM revealed differential protein compositions with PCM containing several enzymes involved in glycolysis. Global gene expression of keratinocytes exposed to biofilm and planktonic <it>S. aureus </it>was analyzed after four hours of exposure. Gene ontology terms associated with responses to bacteria, inflammation, apoptosis, chemotaxis, and signal transduction were enriched in BCM treated keratinocytes. Several transcripts encoding cytokines were also upregulated by BCM after four hours. ELISA analysis of cytokines confirmed microarray results at four hours and revealed that after 24 hours of exposure, <it>S. aureus </it>biofilm induced sustained low level cytokine production compared to near exponential increases of cytokines in planktonic treated keratinocytes. The reduction in cytokines produced by keratinocytes exposed to biofilm was accompanied by suppressed phosphorylation of MAPKs. Chemical inhibition of MAPKs did not drastically reduce cytokine production in BCM-treated keratinocytes suggesting that the majority of cytokine production is mediated through MAPK-independent mechanisms.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Collectively the results indicate that <it>S. aureus </it>biofilms induce a distinct inflammatory response compared to their planktonic counterparts. The differential gene expression and production of inflammatory cytokines by biofilm and planktonic cultures in keratinocytes could have implications for the formation and persistence of chronic wounds. The formation of a biofilm should be considered in any study investigating host response to bacteria.</p

Optimizing cutoff scores for the Barthel Index and the modified Rankin Scale for defining outcome in acute stroke trials

Background and Purpose - There is little agreement on how to assess outcome in acute stroke trials. Cutoff scores for the Barthel Index (BI) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) are frequently arbitrarily chosen to dichotomize favorable and unfavorable outcome. We investigated sensitivity and specificity of BI cutoff scores in relation to the mRS to obtain the optimal corresponding BI and mRS scores. Methods - BI and mRS scores were collected from 1034 ischemic stroke patients. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for BI cutoff scores from 45 to 100 in mRS score 1, 2, and 3 and were plotted in receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. Results - The cutoff scores for the BI with the highest sum of sensitivity and specificity were 95 (sensitivity 85.6%; specificity 91.7%), 90 (sensitivity 90.7%; specificity 88.1%), and 75 ( sensitivity 95.7%; specificity, 88.5%) for, respectively, mRS 1, 2, and 3. The area under the ROC curve was 0.933 in mRS 1, 0.960 in mRS 2, and 0.979 in mRS 3. Conclusions - The optimal cutoff scores for the BI were 95 for mRS 1, 90 for mRS 2, and 75 for mRS 3. For future acute stroke trials that assess stroke outcome with the BI and mRS, we recommend the use of these BI cutoff score(s) with the corresponding mRS cutoff score(s), to ensure the use of consistent and uniform end points