The Psychometric Properties of a Brief Version of the Systemizing Quotient

“This version of the article may not completely replicate the final authoritative version published in European Journal of Psychological Assessment at https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000283. It is not the version of record and is therefore not suitable for citation. Please do not copy or cite without the permission of the author(s).”Publishe

The radical Right, realism, and the politics of conservatism in postwar international thought

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British International Studies Association. The rise of the radical Right over the last decade has created a situation that demands engagement with the intellectual origins, achievements, and changing worldviews of radical conservative forces. Yet, conservative thought seems to have no distinct place in the theoretical field that has structured debates within the discipline of IR since 1945. This article seeks to explain some of the reasons for this absence. In the first part, we argue that there was in fact a clear strand of radical conservative thought in the early years of the field's development and recover some of these forgotten positions. In the second part, we argue that the near disappearance of those ideas can be traced in part to a process of 'conceptual innovation' through which postwar realist thinkers sought to craft a 'conservative liberalism' that defined the emerging field's theoretical alternatives in ways that excluded radical right-wing positions. Recovering this history challenges some of IR's most enduring narratives about its development, identity, and commitments - particularly the continuing tendency to find its origins in a defining battle between realism and liberalism. It also draws attention to overlooked resources to reflect upon the challenge of the radical Right in contemporary world politics

Evaluation of the efficacy of Alpron disinfectant for dental unit water lines

AIMS: To assess the efficacy of a disinfectant, Alpron, for controlling microbial contamination within dental unit water lines. METHODS: The microbiological quality of water emerging from the triple syringe, high speed handpiece, cup filler and surgery hand wash basin from six dental units was assessed for microbiological total viable counts at 22 degrees C and 37 degrees C before and after treatment with Alpron solutions. RESULTS: The study found that the use of Alpron disinfectant solutions could reduce microbial counts in dental unit water lines to similar levels for drinking water. This effect was maintained in all units for up to six weeks following one course of treatment. In four out of six units the low microbial counts were maintained for 13 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Disinfectants may have a short term role to play in controlling microbial contamination of dental unit water lines to drinking water quality. However, in the longer term attention must be paid to redesigning dental units to discourage the build up of microbial biofilms

Media outlets and their moguls: why concentrated individual or family ownership is bad for editorial independence

This article investigates the levels of owner influence in 211 different print and broadcast outlets in 32 different European media markets. Drawing on the literature from industrial organisation, it sets out reasons why we should expect greater levels of influence where ownership of individual outlets is concentrated; where it is concentrated in the hands of individuals or families; and where ownership groups own multiple outlets in the same media market. Conversely, we should expect lower levels of influence where ownership is dispersed between transnational companies. The articles uses original data on the ownership structures of these outlets, and combines it with reliable expert judgments as to the level of owner influence in each of the outlets. These hypotheses are tested and confirmed in a multilevel regression model of owner influence. The findings are relevant for policy on ownership limits in the media, and for the debate over transnational versus local control of media

'Choosing shoes': a preliminary study into the challenges facing clinicians in assessing footwear for rheumatoid patients

Background: Footwear has been accepted as a therapeutic intervention for the foot affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Evidence relating to the objective assessment of footwear in patients with RA is limited. The aims of this study were to identify current footwear styles, footwear characteristics, and factors that influence footwear choice experienced by patients with RA. Methods: Eighty patients with RA were recruited from rheumatology clinics during the summer months. Clinical characteristics, global function, and foot impairment and disability measures were recorded. Current footwear, footwear characteristics and the factors associated with choice of footwear were identified. Suitability of footwear was recorded using pre-determined criteria for assessing footwear type, based on a previous study of foot pain. Results: The patients had longstanding RA with moderate-to severe disability and impairment. The foot and ankle assessment demonstrated a low-arch profile with both forefoot and rearfoot structural deformities. Over 50% of shoes worn by patients were opentype footwear. More than 70% of patients’ footwear was defined as being poor. Poor footwear characteristics such as heel rigidity and sole hardness were observed. Patients reported comfort (17%) and fit (14%) as important factors in choosing their own footwear. Only five percent (5%) of patients wore therapeutic footwear. Conclusions: The majority of patients with RA wear footwear that has been previously described as poor. Future work needs to aim to define and justify the specific features of footwear that may be of benefit to foot health for people with RA

The metabolic significance of octulose phosphates in the photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle in spinach

(14)C-Labelled octulose phosphates were formed during photosynthetic (14)CO(2) fixation and were measured in spinach leaves and chloroplasts. Because mono- and bisphosphates of d-glycero-d-ido-octulose are the active 8-carbon ketosugar intermediates of the L-type pentose pathway, it was proposed that they may also be reactants in a modified Calvin–Benson–Bassham pathway reaction scheme. This investigation therefore initially focussed only on the ido-epimer of the octulose phosphates even though (14)C-labelled d-glycero-d-altro-octulose mono- and bisphosphates were also identified in chloroplasts and leaves. (14)CO(2) predominantly labelled positions 5 and 6 of d-glycero-d-ido-octulose 1,8-P(2) consistent with labelling predictions of the modified scheme. The kinetics of (14)CO(2) incorporation into ido-octulose was similar to its incorporation into some traditional intermediates of the path of carbon, while subsequent exposure to (12)CO(2) rapidly displaced the (14)C isotope label from octulose with the same kinetics of label loss as some of the confirmed Calvin pathway intermediates. This is consistent with octulose phosphates having the role of cyclic intermediates rather than synthesized storage products. (Storage products don’t rapidly exchange isotopically labelled carbons with unlabelled CO(2).) A spinach chloroplast extract, designated stromal enzyme preparation (SEP), catalysed and was used to measure rates of CO(2) assimilation with Calvin cycle intermediates and octulose and arabinose phosphates. Only pentose (but not arabinose) phosphates and sedoheptulose 7-phosphate supported CO(2) fixation at rates in excess of 120 μmol h(−1) mg(−1) Chl. Rates for octulose, sedoheptulose and fructose bisphosphates, octulose, hexose and triose monophosphates were all notably less than the above rate and arabinose 5-phosphate was inactive. Altro-octulose phosphates were more active than phosphate esters of the ido-epimer. The modified scheme proposed a specific phosphotransferase and SEP unequivocally catalysed reversible phosphate transfer between sedoheptulose bisphosphate and d-glycero-d-ido-octulose 8-phosphate. It was also initially hypothesized that arabinose 5-phosphate, an L-Type pentose pathway reactant, may have a role in a modified Calvin pathway. Arabinose 5-phosphate is present in spinach chloroplasts and leaves. Radiochromatography showed that (14)C-arabinose 5-phosphate with SEP, but only in the presence of an excess of unlabelled ribose 5-phosphate, lightly labelled ribulose 5-phosphate and more heavily labelled hexose and sedoheptulose mono- and bisphosphates. However, failure to demonstrate any CO(2) fixation by arabinose 5-phosphate as sole substrate suggested that the above labelling may have no metabolic significance. Despite this arabinose and ribose 5-phosphates are shown to exhibit active roles as enzyme co-factors in transaldolase and aldolase exchange reactions that catalyse the epimeric interconversions of the phosphate esters of ido- and altro-octulose. Arabinose 5-phosphate is presented as playing this role in a New Reaction Scheme for the path of carbon, where it is concluded that slow reacting ido-octulose 1,8 bisphosphate has no role. The more reactive altro-octulose phosphates, which are independent of the need for phosphotransferase processing, are presented as intermediates in the new scheme. Moreover, using the estimates of phosphotransferase activity with altro-octulose monophosphate as substrate allowed calculation of the contributions of the new scheme, that ranged from 11% based on the intact chloroplast carboxylation rate to 80% using the carboxylation rate required for the support of octulose phosphate synthesis and its role in the phosphotransferase reaction

Flame Treatment of Polypropylene: A Study by Electron and Ion Spectroscopies

The effects of flame treatment on the surface characteristics of four injection moulded, automotive grade, polypropylene samples, pigmented with carbon black, have been studied. The changes in wettability have been monitored by water contact angle and Dyne inks, whilst XPS has been used to establish the changes in oxygen surface concentration as a function of flame treatment. As expected carbon pigmented and carbon plus talc filled samples showed a significant increase in oxygen concentration and surface wettability with increasing flame treatment. For the glass filled sample this effect was not so pronounced. Inspection of the XPS valence band shows initial attack in the flame treatment process to be at the pendant methyl group of the poly(propylene) molecular architecture. XPS in conjunction with cluster ion bombardment shows the depth of surface treatment to range from ca. 7 nm at one pass of flame treatment to some 15 nm following seven passes. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) shows the segregation of characteristic additives during the injection moulding process which are subsequently greatly reduced during the flame treatment. As treatment level increases oxygen increases from mono-atomic to diatomic attachment. This work extends the understanding of the flame treatment of moulded polyolefines and establishes that the beneficial properties conferred are the result of the conjoint effect of the oxygenation of the bulk polymer along with the removal of surface segregated processing aids

Where do we go from here? An assessment of navigation performance using a compass versus a GPS unit

The Global Positioning System (GPS) looks set to replace the traditional map and compass for navigation tasks in military and civil domains. However, we may ask whether GPS has a real performance advantage over traditional methods. We present an exploratory study using a waypoint plotting task to compare the standard magnetic compass against a military GPS unit, for both expert and non-expert navigators. Whilst performance times were generally longer in setting up the GPS unit, once navigation was underway the GPS was more efficient than the compass. For mediumto long-term missions, this means that GPS could offer significant performance benefits, although the compass remains superior for shorter missions. Notwithstanding the performance times, significantly more errors, and more serious errors, occurred when using the compass. Overall, then, the GPS offers some clear advantages, especially for non-expert users. Nonetheless, concerns over the development of cognitive maps remain when using GPS technologies