The mediating roles of disgust sensitivity and danger expectancy in relation to hand washing behaviour

Copyright © 2010 British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive PsychotherapiesBackground: Recent interest in the role of vulnerability factors in obsessional washing has suggested that disgust sensitivity, danger expectancy and health anxiety may be of interest. Aims: This study explores the differential impact of these factors on both behavioural and cognitive measures of washing behaviour and is based on a replication of the Jones and Menzies (1997) experiment, during which participants immersed their hands in a noxious compound while rating themselves on a range of measures: the time they subsequently took to wash their hands was measured and danger expectancies were found to be the best predictor of this. Method: The present study added measures of disgust sensitivity and health anxiety to this experimental methodology while removing factors they found to be of little import to compulsive washing. Thirty non-clinical participants took part. Results: Results confirmed that disgust sensitivity was related to the behavioural measure of washing time, but that this relationship was almost entirely mediated by the danger expectancy concerning judgements of severity of consequent disease. However, a different pattern emerged when the outcome measure was questionnaire based: danger expectancy was not at all related to this. Disgust sensitivity mediated the relationship between health anxiety and scores on a questionnaire measure of washing compulsions. Interestingly, these scores were not related to the behavioural measure of washing time. Conclusions: The implications of these relationships to the further development of subtypes of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are discussed

PiXi: Password Inspiration by Exploring Information

Passwords, a first line of defense against unauthorized access, must be secure and memorable. However, people often struggle to create secure passwords they can recall. To address this problem, we design Password inspiration by eXploring information (PiXi), a novel approach to nudge users towards creating secure passwords. PiXi is the first of its kind that employs a password creation nudge to support users in the task of generating a unique secure password themselves. PiXi prompts users to explore unusual information right before creating a password, to shake them out of their typical habits and thought processes, and to inspire them to create unique (and therefore stronger) passwords. PiXi's design aims to create an engaging, interactive, and effective nudge to improve secure password creation. We conducted a user study ($N=238$) to compare the efficacy of PiXi to typical password creation. Our findings indicate that PiXi's nudges do influence users' password choices such that passwords are significantly longer and more secure (less predictable and guessable).Comment: 16 page

Genome Expression Dynamics Reveal the Parasitism Regulatory Landscape of the Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita and a Promoter Motif Associated with Effector Genes.

Root-knot nematodes (genus Meloidogyne) are the major contributor to crop losses caused by nematodes. These nematodes secrete effector proteins into the plant, derived from two sets of pharyngeal gland cells, to manipulate host physiology and immunity. Successful completion of the life cycle, involving successive molts from egg to adult, covers morphologically and functionally distinct stages and will require precise control of gene expression, including effector genes. The details of how root-knot nematodes regulate transcription remain sparse. Here, we report a life stage-specific transcriptome of Meloidogyne incognita. Combined with an available annotated genome, we explore the spatio-temporal regulation of gene expression. We reveal gene expression clusters and predicted functions that accompany the major developmental transitions. Focusing on effectors, we identify a putative cis-regulatory motif associated with expression in the dorsal glands, providing an insight into effector regulation. We combine the presence of this motif with several other criteria to predict a novel set of putative dorsal gland effectors. Finally, we show this motif, and thereby its utility, is broadly conserved across the Meloidogyne genus, and we name it Mel-DOG. Taken together, we provide the first genome-wide analysis of spatio-temporal gene expression in a root-knot nematode and identify a new set of candidate effector genes that will guide future functional analyses

Managing understory light conditions in boreal mixedwoods through variation in the intensity and spatial pattern of harvest: A modelling approach

In the context of partial harvesting, adequately managing post-harvest light conditions are essential to obtain a desired composition of tree species regeneration. The objective of this study was to determine how varying the intensity and spatial pattern of harvest would affect understory light conditions in boreal mixedwood stands of northwestern Quebec using the spatially explicit SORTIE-ND light model. The model was evaluated based on comparisons of observed and predicted light levels in both mapped and un-mapped plots. In mapped plots, reasonably accurate predictions of the overall variation in light levels were obtained, but predictions tended to lack spatial precision. In un-mapped plots, SORTIE-ND accurately predicted stand-level mean GLI (Gap Light Index) under a range of harvest intensities. The model was then used to simulate nine silvicultural treatments based on combinations of three intensities of overstory removal (30%, 45% and 60% of basal area) and three harvest patterns (uniform, narrow strips, large gaps). Simulations showed that increasing overstory removal had less impact on light conditions with uniform harvests, and a more marked effect with more aggregated harvest patterns. Whatever the harvest intensity, uniform cuts almost never created high light conditions (GLI > 50%). Gap cuts, on the other hand, resulted in up to 40% of microsites receiving GLI > 50%. Our results suggest that either a 30% strip or gap cut or a 45–60% uniform partial harvest could be used to accelerate the transition from an aspen dominated composition to a mixedwood stand because both types of cut generate the greatest proportion of moderately low light levels (e.g., 15–40% GLI). These light levels tend to favour an accelerated growth response among shade-tolerant conifers, while preventing excessive recruitment of shade-intolerant species. A better understanding of how spatial patterns of harvest interact with tree removal intensity to affect understory light conditions can provide opportunities for designing silvicultural prescriptions that are tailored to species’ traits and better suited to meet a variety of management objectives

澳大利亚矿产勘查——趋势、经济影响和政策问题

一、导言矿产勘查活动近来在澳大利亚及海外经历了大幅度的衰退。从1996-97到2001-02这五年间,澳大利亚的矿产勘查费(除石油外,以2000-01年澳元计算)从12.29亿澳元下降

More questions than answers to the diagnosis and management of cauda equina syndrome-Authors' reply

No abstract available

Chronic exposure to arsenic in the drinking water alters the expression of immune response genes in mouse lung

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Environmental Health Perspectives 117 (2009): 1108-1115, doi:10.1289/ehp.0800199.Chronic exposure to drinking water arsenic is a significant worldwide environmental health concern. Exposure to As is associated with an increased risk of lung disease, which may make it a unique toxicant, because lung toxicity is usually associated with inhalation rather than ingestion. The goal of this study was to examine mRNA and protein expression changes in the lungs of mice exposed chronically to environmentally relevant concentrations of As in the food or drinking water, specifically examining the hypothesis that As may preferentially affect gene and protein expression related to immune function as part of its mechanism of toxicant action. C57BL/6J mice fed a casein-based AIN-76A defined diet were exposed to 10 or 100 ppb As in drinking water or food for 5–6 weeks. Whole genome transcriptome profiling of animal lungs revealed significant alterations in the expression of many genes with functions in cell adhesion and migration, channels, receptors, differentiation and proliferation, and, most strikingly, aspects of the innate immune response. Confirmation of mRNA and protein expression changes in key genes of this response revealed that genes for interleukin 1β, interleukin 1 receptor, a number of toll-like receptors, and several cytokines and cytokine receptors were significantly altered in the lungs of As-exposed mice. These findings indicate that chronic low-dose As exposure at the current U.S. drinking-water standard can elicit effects on the regulation of innate immunity, which may contribute to altered disease risk, particularly in lung.This work was supported by National Institute of Environmental Health Science grant P42 ES007373 [J.W.H., Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) project 2]. C.D.K., A.P.N., and J.A.G. were supported by graduate and postdoctoral fellowships from P42 ES007373 (SBRP, Training Core). C.D.K. was also supported by National Institutes of Health training grant predoctoral fellowship T32-DF007301. P.L.E. and D.J.W. were supported by Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Research grant HL081289