Attachment Styles and Communication of Displeasing Truths

This work explores how humans manage the communication of a displeasing and face-threatening truth and how the communicative strategies of the sender and the reaction of the receiver are influenced by their attachment style. Two experimental studies demonstrate that the attachment styles of both senders and receivers can influence the communicative styles of the sender, the emotions that both senders and receivers feel or attribute to their interlocutor, and the reactions of the receivers. In Study 1, couples of participants played a bogus computer game, ostensibly to test their abilities. Subsequently, “the spokesperson” was given the task to communicate to the “the receiver” a bogus low score of the other and a high score of oneself. Finally, all participants completed an adult Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). A content analysis of the verbal messages of the spokespersons showed two main communication styles: frankness and mitigation. The results suggest that the spokespersons’ attachment style influences these communication styles. Using a similar procedure, Study 2 showed that spokespersons with a high avoidant attachment more frequently used frankness when communicating low scores to the receivers. Furthermore, the emotions and impressions reported by anxious and avoidant spokespersons and receivers, respectively, confirm the negative model of the self or the other, typical, respectively, in anxious and avoidant attachment. The detection of communicative strategies stemming from different attachment styles might be of use in user modeling and the planning of personalized systems

Plant patch hydrodynamics in streams : Mean flow, turbulence, and drag forces

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Turbulent friction in flows over permeable walls

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Defective Expression and Function of the Leukocyte Associated Ig-like Receptor 1 in B Lymphocytes from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by the production of a wide array of autoantibodies and dysregulation of B cell function. The leukocyte associated Immunoglobulin (Ig)-like receptor (LAIR)1 is a transmembrane molecule belonging to Ig superfamily which binds to different types of collagen. Herein, we have determined the expression and function of LAIR1 on B lymphocyte from SLE patients. LAIR1 expression in peripheral blood B lymphocytes from 54 SLE, 24 mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), 20 systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, 14 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 40 sex and age matched healthy donors (HD) have been analyzed by immunofluorescence. The effect of LAIR1 ligation by specific monoclonal antibodies, collagen or collagen producing mesenchymal stromal cells from reactive lymph nodes or bone marrow on Ig production by pokeweed mitogen and B cell receptor (BCR)-mediated NF-kB activation was assessed by ELISA and TransAM assay. The percentage of CD20+ B lymphocytes lacking or showing reduced expression of LAIR1 was markedly increased in SLE and MCTD but not in SSc or RA patients compared to HD. The downregulation of LAIR1 expression was not dependent on corticosteroid therapy. Interestingly, LAIR1 engagement by collagen or collagen-producing mesenchymal stromal cells in SLE patients with low LAIR1 expression on B cells delivered a lower inhibiting signal on Ig production. In addition, NF-kB p65 subunit activation upon BCR and LAIR1 co-engagement was less inhibited in SLE patients than in HD. Our findings indicate defective LAIR1 expression and function in SLE B lymphocytes, possible contributing to an altered control of B lymphocytes behavior

Two Experimental Tests of the Halperin-Lubensky-Ma Effect at the Nematic-Smectic-A Phase Transition

We have conducted two quantitative tests of predictions based on the Halperin-Lubensky-Ma (HLM) theory of fluctuation-induced first-order phase transitions. First, we explore the effect of an external magnetic field on the nematic-smectic-A (NA) transition in a liquid crystal. Second, we examine the dependence of the first-order discontinuity as a function of mixture concentration in pure 8CB and three 8CB-10CB mixtures. We find the first quantitative evidence for deviations from the HLM theory.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Multimodality and Gestures in the Teacher’s Communication

Abstract. The paper presents a research on the multimodal communication of teachers in the classroom. The “musical score”, a procedure for the analysis of multimodal communication, is used to analyse aspects of the signals produced and of the meanings conveyed by teachers while interacting with their pupils, by focusing not only on affective and interactional aspects, but also on the cognitive effects of nonverbal communication. Finally, the paper shows how, based on this procedure, it is possible to analyse chunks of teachers’ communication, and to distinguish different multimodal communicative styles among different teachers. 1 Multimodality in the Classroom Among studies on everyday interaction, an interesting area for the study of multimodal communication is teacher-pupil interaction, a topic generally studied in the domains of education, linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and social psychology [1], [2], [3], [4]. [5] applied Ekman and Friesen’s analysis [6], mainly stressing the affective and interactional aspects of the teacher’s nonverba

Climate change effects on bread wheat phenology and grain quality: A case study in the north of Italy

Increasing temperatures, heat waves, and reduction of annual precipitation are all the expressions of climate change (CC), strongly affecting bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain yield in Southern Europe. Being temperature the major driving force of plants' phenological development, these variations also have effects on wheat phenology, with possible consequences on grain quality, and gluten protein accumulation. Here, through a case study in the Bolognese Plain (North of Italy), we assessed the effects of CC in the area, the impacts on bread wheat phenological development, and the consequences on grain gluten quality. The increasing trend in mean annual air temperature in the area since 1952 was significant, with a breakpoint identified in 1989, rising from 12.7 to 14.1°C, accompanied by the signals of increasing aridity, i.e., increase in water table depth. Bread wheat phenological development was compared in two 15-year periods before and after the breakpoint, i.e., 1952-1966 (past period), and 2006-2020 (present period), the latest characterized by aridity and increased temperatures. A significant shortening of the chronological time necessary to reach the main phenological phases was observed for the present period compared to the past period, finally shortening the whole life cycle. This reduction, as well as the higher temperature regime, affected gluten accumulation during the grain-filling process, as emerged analyzing gluten composition in grain samples of the same variety harvested in the area both before and after the breakpoint in temperature. In particular, the proportion of gluten polymers (i.e., gliadins, high and low molecular weight glutenins, and their ratio) showed a strong and significant correlation with cumulative growing degree days (CGDDs) accumulated during the grain filling. Higher CGDD values during the period, typical of CC in Southern Europe, accounting for higher temperature and faster grain filling, correlated with gliadins, high molecular weight glutenins, and their proportion with low molecular weight glutenins. In summary, herein reported, data might contribute to assessing the effects of CC on wheat phenology and quality, representing a tool for both predictive purposes and decision supporting systems for farmers, as well as can guide future breeding choices for varietal innovation