The emotional valence of subliminal priming effects perception of facial expressions

We investigated, in young healthy subjects, how the affective content of subliminally presented priming images and their specific visual attributes impacted conscious perception of facial expressions. The priming images were broadly categorised as aggressive, pleasant, or neutral and further subcategorised by the presence of a face and by the centricity (egocentric or allocentric vantage-point) of the image content. Subjects responded to the emotion portrayed in a pixelated target-face by indicating via key-press if the expression was angry or neutral. Priming images containing a face compared to those not containing a face significantly impaired performance on neutral or angry targetface evaluation. Recognition of angry target-face expressions was selectively impaired by pleasant prime images which contained a face. For egocentric primes, recognition of neutral target-face expressions was significantly better than of angry expressions. Our results suggest that, first, the affective primacy hypothesis which predicts that affective information can be accessed automatically, preceding conscious cognition, holds true in subliminal priming only when the priming image contains a face. Second, egocentric primes interfere with the perception of angry target-face expressions suggesting that this vantage-point, directly relevant to the viewer, perhaps engages processes involved in action preparation which may weaken the priority of affect processing.Accepted manuscrip

Visual attributes of subliminal priming images impact conscious perception of facial expressions

We investigated, in young healthy participants, how the affective content of subliminally presented priming images and their specific visual attributes impacted conscious perception of facial expressions. The priming images were broadly categorized as aggressive, pleasant, or neutral and further subcategorized by the presence of a face and by the centricity (egocentric or allocentric vantage-point) of the image content. Participants responded to the emotion portrayed in a pixelated target-face by indicating via key-press if the expression was angry or neutral. Response time to the neutral target face was significantly slower when preceded by face primes, compared to non-face primes (p < 0.05, Bonferroni corrected). In contrast, faster RTs were observed when angry target faces were preceded by face compared to non-face primes. In addition, participants’ performance was worse when a priming image contained an egocentric face compared to when it contained either an allocentric face or an egocentric non-face. The results suggest a significant impact of the visual features of the priming image on conscious perception of face expression.Published versio

Data Gaps in Evidence-Based Research on Small Water Enterprises in Developing Countries

This paper assess the literature on small water enterprises -- water delivery operations that predominantly provide water at the community level. A research agenda is recommended to advance knowledge on effective SWE service

I\u27m Your Perfect Girl

I’m Your Perfect Girl is a thesis exhibition of glitch-inspired painting and video self-portraiture that studies the desires, failures, and dissonance associated with portraying an idealized self for a digital audience. Adopting the perfect girl persona online has never been easier; however, the physical and emotional roles society expects women to fulfill have never been further out of reach. In this exhibition, I consider how those of us coming of age with the internet construct alternative identities online—fantasies, really—that bear little resemblance to the person “IRL.” Internet-era artists have built convincingly realistic perfect girls. I take the perfect girl concept to its next logical step by transforming my image beyond believable authenticity: it is fragmented and distorted to the point of becoming disconnected from my real body. Ultimately, I use this series of works to dismantle the complicated archetypes to which women must conform in our ever-changing cyber landscape

Vestal Virgins of Rome: Images Of Power

From humble beginnings, the Vestal Virgins were able to create a foothold in political life through the turbulence of the transition from Republic to Principate. In part due to the violent and perilous transition, the Vestal Virgins of Rome began to represent a sense of what it meant to be Roman. The manifestation of the symbolization of Rome gave the Vestals great power, which they expressed in political and social venues. In order to describe these expressions, this presentation explains the religious and social roles of the Vestals established before the Late Republic. This is necessary because most of the evidence is focused around the turn of the millennium, and concrete evidence for earlier Vestals is rare. Yet, a discussion of the traditions that were accepted as ancient is still necessary to establish the social expectations for the Vestals up until the Late Republic. The second phase details how the transitions from Republic to Principate resulted in a change in social and political roles for Vestals. The Vestal Virgins were originally placed in a liminal status set between the state and individual families. The third and final part demonstrates that the powers that the Vestals gained, and were perceived to have gained, were dependent upon the social consciousness of contemporary Rome. By placing these power dynamics in the context of a Roman consciousness, I show that Vestals gained power by virtue of their unique social and political positions

Normal sleep bouts are not essential for C. elegans survival and FoxO is important for compensatory changes in sleep

Additional file 6: Decreased lag-2 function does not slow vulval development. The progeny of wild type and lag-2(q420) animals raised at 25.5 °C were selected at the L4 stage, prior to lethargus entry. Vulval eversion was scored after 3 h; the percentage of animals completing vulval eversion was recorded. Significance was assessed by student’s two-tailed t-test p value < 0.5; error bars represents SEM from 3 trials. Total number of animals: wild type n = 45 and lag-2(q420) n = 42

What Drives Asian Descendent Students’ Motivation for Learning? Exploring the Key Ingredients to Nurture Achievement

This motivation project is part of a larger study of exploring the relationship between Asian parenting styles and children’s academic achievement. In light of the consistent Asian students PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) data results and the media phenomenon created by Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in 2011 in U.S., our research team found that high motivation has been a reoccurring theme in children’s academic achievement in the perceptions of Asian descendent parents. The purpose of this project is to examine the Asian descendent students’ motivations for learning through the parents’ experiences and perceptions. The research methods include individual interviews and a focus group interview. Eighteen parents, including thirteen mothers and five fathers participated in this study. All participants had at least one child within the ages of 2-20 years old. Based on our findings, four themes have emerged. We learned that these parents nurtured and sustained children’s motivation for learning through the following four ingredients, including resources, communications, setting clear and high expectations, and the modeling of the parents. Implications for educators will be provided in this presentation.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2014/1003/thumbnail.jp

The Toxicity of Nanoparticles Depends on Multiple Molecular and Physicochemical Mechanisms

Nanotechnology is an emerging discipline that studies matters at the nanoscale level. Eventually, the goal is to manipulate matters at the atomic level to serve mankind. One growing area in nanotechnology is biomedical applications, which involve disease management and the discovery of basic biological principles. In this review, we discuss characteristics of nanomaterials, with an emphasis on transition metal oxide nanoparticles that influence cytotoxicity. Identification of those properties may lead to the design of more efficient and safer nanosized products for various industrial purposes and provide guidance for assessment of human and environmental health risk. We then investigate biochemical and molecular mechanisms of cytotoxicity that include oxidative stress-induced cellular events and alteration of the pathways pertaining to intracellular calcium homeostasis. All the stresses lead to cell injuries and death. Furthermore, as exposure to nanoparticles results in deregulation of the cell cycle (i.e., interfering with cell proliferation), the change in cell number is a function of cell killing and the suppression of cell proliferation. Collectively, the review article provides insights into the complexity of nanotoxicology

A systematic analysis of the PARP protein family identifies new functions critical for cell physiology

The poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) family of proteins use NAD[superscript +] as their substrate to modify acceptor proteins with ADP-ribose modifications. The function of most PARPs under physiological conditions is unknown. Here, to better understand this protein family, we systematically analyse the cell cycle localization of each PARP and of poly(ADP-ribose), a product of PARP activity, then identify the knockdown phenotype of each protein and perform secondary assays to elucidate function. We show that most PARPs are cytoplasmic, identify cell cycle differences in the ratio of nuclear to cytoplasmic poly(ADP-ribose) and identify four phenotypic classes of PARP function. These include the regulation of membrane structures, cell viability, cell division and the actin cytoskeleton. Further analysis of PARP14 shows that it is a component of focal adhesion complexes required for proper cell motility and focal adhesion function. In total, we show that PARP proteins are critical regulators of eukaryotic physiology.Rita Allen FoundationSidney Kimmel Foundation (Cancer Research Scholar)Howard S. and Linda B. Stern Career Development Assistant ProfessorNational Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Cancer Center Support (Core) Grant P30-CA14051)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant RO1GM087465)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1F32GM103089-01)Jeptha H. and Emily V. Wade FundKathy and Curt Marble Cancer Research Fun

The Prevalence of Very Frequent Physical Fighting among Boys and Girls in 27 Countries and Cities: Regional and Gender Differences

Objective. Using nationally representative data, this study examined the prevalence of very frequent physical fighting (≥12 times per year) among youth in 27 countries and cities. Frequent physical fighting has rarely been reported in the previous literature despite the implications for research and practice. Methods. Analyses were based on theGlobal School-based StudentHealth Survey (2003–2008) and the 2009 US Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Multinomial regression analyses were conducted to determine gender differences in frequent fighting. Countrieswere categorized into five regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America,Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, and the United States), and one-way ANOVA tests were used to determine regional differences. Results. The prevalence of frequent fighting was highest in Zambia (7.7%) and lowest inMyanmar (0.5%). Gender differences were found in 20 countries, with boys beingmore likely to report frequent fighting than girls. The prevalence of frequent fighting varied by region ((3, 22) = 4.78, = .01), with the Eastern Mediterranean having a significantly higher prevalence of frequent fighting than Asia ( \u3c .01). Conclusion.The prevalence of frequent fighting varies by gender in many countries and varies across world regions.More cross-national research is needed to better understand the sociocultural context of frequent fighting and to inform youth violence prevention efforts