Searching the Internet for evidence of time travelers

arXiv: 1312.7128 [physics.pop-ph]
(Submitted on 26 Dec 2013)

Robert J Nemiroff and Teresa Wilson

Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931

Abstract

Time travel has captured the public imagination for much of the past century, but little has been done to actually search for time travelers. Here, three implementations of Internet searches for time travelers are described, all seeking a prescient mention of information not previously available. The first search covered prescient content placed on the Internet, highlighted by a comprehensive search for specific terms in tweets on Twitter. The second search examined prescient inquiries submitted to a search engine, highlighted by a comprehensive search for specific search terms submitted to a popular astronomy web site. The third search involved a request for a direct Internet communication, either by email or tweet, pre-dating to the time of the inquiry. Given practical verifiability concerns, only time travelers from the future were investigated. No time travelers were discovered. Although these negative results do not disprove time travel, given the great reach of the Internet, this search is perhaps the most comprehensive to date.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.7128

Reducing pathogen transmission in a hospital setting. Handshake verses fist bump: a pilot study

Journal of Hospital Infection
Volume 85, Issue 4, December 2013, Pages 321–323
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2013.08.010

P.A. Ghareeb [a], T. Bourlai [b], W. Dutton [a], W.T. McClellan [a]

[a] Department of Surgery, West Virginia University, School of Medicine, 1085 Van Voorhis Rd #350, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
[b] West Virginia University, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, Morgantown, WV, USA

Summary

Handshaking is a known vector for bacterial transmission between individuals. Handwashing has become a major initiative throughout healthcare systems to reduce transmission rates, but as many as 80% of individuals retain some disease-causing bacteria after washing. The fist bump is an alternative to the handshake that has become popular. We have determined that implementing the fist bump in the healthcare setting may further reduce bacterial transmission between healthcare providers by reducing contact time and total surface area exposed when compared with the standard handshake.

Keywords

Fist bump; Hand hygiene; Handshake; Nosocomial infection

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195670113003186

The effect of the color red on consuming food does not depend on achromatic (Michelson) contrast and extends to rubbing cream on the skin

Appetite
Volume 71, 1 December 2013, Pages 307–313
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.08.012

Nicola Bruno, Margherita Martani, Claudia Corsini, Claudio Oleari

Dipartimento di Neuroscienze
Unità di Psicologia
Università di Parma
Borgo Carissimi 10
43100 Parma
Italy

Highlights

• We replicate the effect of the color red on food consumption in a different setting.
• We show that a similar effect can be observed for the consumption of moisturizing cream.
• We make a conceptual distinction between achromatic (luminance) and chromatic (color per se) contrast.
• We show that these effects are not due to achromatic contrast.

Abstract

Recent literature suggests that individuals may consume less food when this is served on red plates. We explored this intriguing effect in three experiments. Independent groups of participants were presented with constant amounts of popcorns, chocolate chips, or moisturizing cream, on red, blue, or white plates. They were asked to sample the foods (by tasting them) or the cream (by rubbing it on the hand and forearm) as they wished and to complete mock “sensory analysis” questionnaires. Results confirmed that red plates reduce taste-related consumption and extended this effect to the touch-related consumption of moisturizing cream. Suggesting that the effect was not due to a decrease in the consciously experienced appeal of products on red plates, overall appreciation of the foods or cream did not differ according to plate color. After careful photometric measures of the materials used for each food-plate pairing, we determined that food and cream consumption was not predicted by Michelson (achromatic) contrast. Although the origin of the intriguing effect of the color red on consumption remains unclear, our results may prove useful to future potential explanations.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566631300370X

The Greedy Bastard’s Guide to Business

Journal of Macromarketing
December 2013 vol. 33 no. 4 369-385
doi: 10.1177/0276146713491435

Morris B. Holbrook, W. T. Dillard Professor Emeritus of Marketing, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, 140 Riverside Drive, #5H, New York, NY 10024, USA

Abstract

Greedy Bastards, eager to achieve success in the business world, need helpful advice on steps toward climbing to the top. Drawing on the author’s 35-plus years of experience in teaching MBAs, the present treatise offers tips in the form of a self-help tutorial intended as an inspirational guide. In that spirit, the discussion covers pertinent aspects of business education; impression management (Dre$$ for $ucce$$); tips from travel services; ethics; borderline-legal corruption; unintended benefits such as obesity, traffic, cell phones, and impacts on popular culture – culminating in a Greedy Bastard’s Honor Roll of Civic Achievements.

http://jmk.sagepub.com/content/33/4/369.abstract

Urinal Dynamics

Bulletin of the American Physical Society
66th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics
Volume 58, Number 18
Sunday, November 24, 2013, 5:11 PM–5:24 PM

Randy Hurd, Kip Hacking, Benjamin Haymore, Tadd Truscott

Brigham Young University

In response to harsh and repeated criticisms from our mothers and several failed relationships with women, we present the splash dynamics of a simulated human male urine stream impacting rigid and free surfaces. Our study aims to reduce undesired splashing that may result from lavatory usage. Experiments are performed at a pressure and flow rate that would be expected from healthy male subjects. For a rigid surface, the effects of stream breakup and surface impact angle on lateral and vertical droplet ejection distances are measured using high-speed photography and image processing. For free surface impact, the effects of velocity and fluid depth on droplet ejection distances are measured. Guided by our results, techniques for splash reduction are proposed.

http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2013.DFD.E9.3

Why does a beer bottle foam up after a sudden impact on its mouth?

Bulletin of the American Physical Society
66th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics
Volume 58, Number 18
Sunday, November 24, 2013, 9:05 AM–9:18 AM

Javier Rodriguez-Rodriguez
Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain

Almudena Casado-Chacon
Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain

Daniel Fuster
CNRS (UMR 7190), Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Institut Jean le Rond d'Alembert, France

A sudden vertical impact on the mouth of a beer bottle generates a compression wave that propagates through the glass towards the bottom. When this wave reaches the base of the bottle, it is transmitted to the liquid as an expansion wave that travels to free surface, where it bounces back as a compression wave. This train of expansion-compression waves drives the forced cavitation of existing air pockets, leading to their violent collapse. A cloud of very small daughter bubbles are generated upon these collapses, that expand much faster than their mothers due to their smaller size. These rapidly growing bubble clusters effectively act as buoyancy sources, what leads to the formation of bubble-laden plumes whose void fraction increases quickly by several orders of magnitude, eventually turning most of the beverage into foam. In this talk, we will analyze quantitatively these processes in order to explain the extremely high efficiency of the degasification process that occurs in the bottle within the few seconds that follow the impact.

This work has been supported by Spanish Ministries of Science and of Economy and Competitiveness through grants: DPI2008-06369 and DPI2011-28356-C03-02.

http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2013.DFD.A11.6

Energy Optimality in Novel Movement: Sideways Walking

The Ohio State University Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Honors Theses
November 2012
date available 2012-11-09T20:34:17Z
http://hdl.handle.net/1811/53177

Matthew Handford

Abstract

The theory of energy optimality states that humans naturally move in a manner that minimizes the energy that their bodies use. This theory has been shown to be approximately true for natural gaits but it has not been tested on many unnatural gaits. To test if this theory would work on novel gaits, we conducted an experiment to compare people’s natural preferred speed to their energy optimal speed as they walked sideways. Subjects were asked to choose a comfortable speed using while walking sideways which was then recorded as the preferred velocity. Then, using a portable metabolic measurement system (the Oxycon Mobile VO2 device), their metabolic energy usage was recorded at a variety of speeds. Using this data, energy optimal velocities were found and compared with preferred velocities. While these quantities didn’t match exactly, a person’s preferred speed could be predicted by the population’s optimal speed with an average absolute error of 0.117 m/s. With the caveat that the subject pool was small with high data variability, the mean optimal speed (0.592 m/s) differed from the preferred speeds by only about an average of 0.041 m/s. In future experimentation, we hope to investigate the effects of perception and prior experience and the length of time it takes to reach the energy optimal speed with the subjects’ natural movement.

Keywords

Human Locomotion; Energy; Walking; Optimality

http://hdl.handle.net/1811/53177

http://kb.osu.edu/dspace/handle/1811/53177

Too Impatient to Smell the Roses - Exposure to Fast Food Impedes Happiness

Social Psychological and Personality Science
November 14, 2013
doi: 10.1177/1948550613511498

Julian House, Sanford E. DeVoe, Chen-Bo Zhong

Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, 105 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S3E6

Abstract

We tested whether exposure to the ultimate symbols of an impatience culture—fast food—undermines people’s ability to experience happiness from savoring pleasurable experiences. Study 1 found that the concentration of fast-food restaurants in individuals’ neighborhoods predicted their tendencies to savor. Study 2 revealed that exposure to fast-food primes impeded participants’ ability to derive happiness from pictures of natural beauty. Study 3 showed that priming fast food undermined positive emotional responses to a beautiful melody by inducing greater impatience, measured by both subjective perception of time passage and self-reports of impatience experienced during the music. Together, these studies show that as pervasive symbols of impatience, fast food can inhibit savoring, producing negative consequences for how we experience pleasurable events.

http://spp.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/11/13/1948550613511498.abstract

Is “Huh?” a Universal Word? Conversational Infrastructure and the Convergent Evolution of Linguistic Items

PLoS ONE 01/2013; 8(11):e78273
Published: November 8, 2013
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0078273

Mark Dingemanse, Francisco Torreira, N. J. Enfield

Language and Cognition Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
(N. J. Enfield, Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

A word like Huh?–used as a repair initiator when, for example, one has not clearly heard what someone just said– is found in roughly the same form and function in spoken languages across the globe. We investigate it in naturally occurring conversations in ten languages and present evidence and arguments for two distinct claims: that Huh? is universal, and that it is a word. In support of the first, we show that the similarities in form and function of this interjection across languages are much greater than expected by chance. In support of the second claim we show that it is a lexical, conventionalised form that has to be learnt, unlike grunts or emotional cries. We discuss possible reasons for the cross-linguistic similarity and propose an account in terms of convergent evolution. Huh? is a universal word not because it is innate but because it is shaped by selective pressures in an interactional environment that all languages share: that of other-initiated repair. Our proposal enhances evolutionary models of language change by suggesting that conversational infrastructure can drive the convergent cultural evolution of linguistic items.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0078273

Rumor Diffusion in an Interests-Based Dynamic Social Network

The Scientific World Journal
Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 824505, 10 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/824505

Mingsheng Tang [1], Xinjun Mao [1], Zahia Guessoum [2], and Huiping Zhou [1]

[1] College of Computer, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
[2] LIP 6, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, 75006 Paris, France

Received 12 July 2013; Accepted 3 November 2013

Academic Editors: H. M. Chamberlin and Y. Zhang

Copyright © 2013 Mingsheng Tang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

To research rumor diffusion in social friend network, based on interests, a dynamic friend network is proposed, which has the characteristics of clustering and community, and a diffusion model is also proposed. With this friend network and rumor diffusion model, based on the zombie-city model, some simulation experiments to analyze the characteristics of rumor diffusion in social friend networks have been conducted. The results show some interesting observations: (1) positive information may evolve to become a rumor through the diffusion process that people may modify the information by word of mouth; (2) with the same average degree, a random social network has a smaller clustering coefficient and is more beneficial for rumor diffusion than the dynamic friend network; (3) a rumor is spread more widely in a social network with a smaller global clustering coefficient than in a social network with a larger global clustering coefficient; and (4) a network with a smaller clustering coefficient has a larger efficiency.

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2013/824505/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3881697/

Reduced cognitive control in passionate lovers

Motivation and Emotion
November 2013
Published online: 02 November 2013
DOI 10.1007/s11031-013-9380-3

Henk van Steenbergen (1,2), Sandra J. E. Langeslag (3), Guido P. H. Band (1,2), Bernhard Hommel (1,2)

1. Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
2. Leiden University Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
3. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

RUNNING HEAD: Love and control

Abstract

Passionate love is associated with intense changes in emotion and attention which are thought to play an important role in the early stages of romantic relationship formation. Although passionate love usually involves enhanced, near-obsessive attention to the beloved, anecdotal evidence suggest that the lover’s concentration for daily tasks like study and work may actually be impaired, suggesting reduced cognitive control. Affect might also contribute to changes in cognitive control. We examined the link between passionate love and cognitive control in a sample of students who had recently become involved in a romantic relationship. Intensity of passionate love as measured by the Passionate Love Scale was shown to correlate with decreased individual efficiency in cognitive control as measured in Stroop and flanker task performance. There was no evidence that affective changes mediate this effect. This study provides the first empirical evidence that passionate love in the early stages of romantic relationship is characterized by impaired cognitive control.

Keywords

Passionate love, Cognitive control, Flanker task, Stroop task, Passionate Love Scale (PLS)

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-013-9380-3

Chasing maximal performance: a cautionary tale from the celebrated jumping frogs of Calaveras County

J Exp Biol 216, 3947-3953
November 1, 2013
doi: 10.1242/​jeb.090357

H. C. Astley [1*], E. M. Abbott [**], E. Azizi [**], R. L. Marsh [2] and T. J. Roberts [1]

[1] Brown University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Providence, RI 02912, USA
[2] Northeastern University, Department of Biology, Boston, MA 02115, USA
[*] Author for correspondence at present address: Department of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
[**] Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

Summary

Maximal performance is an essential metric for understanding many aspects of an organism's biology, but it can be difficult to determine because a measured maximum may reflect only a peak level of effort, not a physiological limit. We used a unique opportunity provided by a frog jumping contest to evaluate the validity of existing laboratory estimates of maximum jumping performance in bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana). We recorded video of 3124 bullfrog jumps over the course of the 4-day contest at the Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee, and determined jump distance from these images and a calibration of the jump arena. Frogs were divided into two groups: ‘rental’ frogs collected by fair organizers and jumped by the general public, and frogs collected and jumped by experienced, ‘professional’ teams. A total of 58% of recorded jumps surpassed the maximum jump distance in the literature (1.295 m), and the longest jump was 2.2 m. Compared with rental frogs, professionally jumped frogs jumped farther, and the distribution of jump distances for this group was skewed towards long jumps. Calculated muscular work, historical records and the skewed distribution of jump distances all suggest that the longest jumps represent the true performance limit for this species. Using resampling, we estimated the probability of observing a given jump distance for various sample sizes, showing that large sample sizes are required to detect rare maximal jumps. These results show the importance of sample size, animal motivation and physiological conditions for accurate maximal performance estimates.

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/216/21/3947

Infertility in Star Trek

World Future Review
November, Winter 2012 vol. 4 no. 4 19-27
doi: 10.1177/194675671200400405

Victor Grech

Abstract

It is fair to say that Star Trek comprises a selfcontained subgenre within science fiction (SF). Over nearly 50 years, through six distinct television series, and eleven feature length films, the “Star Trek universe” envisioned by Gene Roddenberry has become arguably the world's most elaborate and widely recognized depiction of life in future times (covering roughly the twenty-second through the twenty-ninth centuries). In this article, situations involving infertility occurring in episodes from different Star Trek series are examined and some general conclusions offered concerning the perception of this problem and the variety of responses proposed.

STAR TREK; INFERTILITY; MEDICINE IN SCIENCE FICTION

http://wfr.sagepub.com/content/4/4/19.abstract

The Morning Morality Effect - The Influence of Time of Day on Unethical Behavior

Psychological Science
January 2014 vol. 25 no. 1 95-102
October 28, 2013
doi: 10.1177/0956797613498099

Maryam Kouchaki [1], Isaac H. Smith [2]

1 Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, 124 Mount Auburn St., Suite 520N, Cambridge, MA
2 Department of Management, University of Utah

Abstract

Are people more moral in the morning than in the afternoon? We propose that the normal, unremarkable experiences associated with everyday living can deplete one’s capacity to resist moral temptations. In a series of four experiments, both undergraduate students and a sample of U.S. adults engaged in less unethical behavior (e.g., less lying and cheating) on tasks performed in the morning than on the same tasks performed in the afternoon. This morning morality effect was mediated by decreases in moral awareness and self-control in the afternoon. Furthermore, the effect of time of day on unethical behavior was found to be stronger for people with a lower propensity to morally disengage. These findings highlight a simple yet pervasive factor (i.e., the time of day) that has important implications for moral behavior.

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/25/1/95

Impulsive frotteurism: A case report

Medicine, Science and the Law
October 21, 2013 vol. 53 no. 4 235-238
doi: 10.1177/0025802412474813

Ambika Prasad Patra [1], Balaji Bharadwaj [2], Kusa Kumar Shaha [1], Siddhartha Das [1], Anand P Rayamane [3], Chandra Sekhara Tripathi [4]

[1] Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, 605006 India
[2] Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Research, India
[3] Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences, India
[4] Department of Psychiatry, M.K.C.G. Medical College & Hospital, India

Abstract

Frotteurism is a perverted sexual behaviour wherein the person tends to rub or bring about physical contact between his genitals and an unrelated female or male to derive sexual pleasure. Moreover, frotteurism is a common phenomenon among the general population which usually goes unnoticed or overlooked. Nevertheless, public frottage has legal implications in almost all countries over the world. But, when frotteurism manifests on the backdrop of psychiatric illness or as a developmental abnormality then it is worth discussing what the legal liability would be. The present case report is based on hypersexual frotteuristic behaviour manifested on the background of a concealed psychiatric illness, featuring depression and obsessive compulsive disease. The hypersexual behaviour manifested in the form of masturbation with features of frotteurism and subsequent development of depression. Nevertheless, compulsive manifestation of frotteuristic behaviour and subsequent development of morbid depression is rare. This paper describes a 12-year-old boy having unrestrained impulsive frotteurism with his peers, school mates and with his younger brother. He was conscious of the fact and feeling guilty of what he was doing but unable to restrain himself. It was followed by the development of symptoms of depression which was treated with Sertraline. Concurrent psychiatric counseling and rehabilitation measures were taken too. There was complete remission of the symptoms 6 months after the onset of treatment and without relapse thereafter. The paper discusses the differential diagnosis and management of hypersexual behaviour.

http://msl.sagepub.com/content/53/4/235.abstract?etoc

Joking in the face of death: A terror management approach to humor production

Humor
Volume 26, Issue 4 (19 Oct 2013), Pages 493–509
DOI: 10.1515/humor-2013-0012

Christopher R. Long [1], Dara N. Greenwood [2]

[1] Ouachita Baptist University
[2] Vassar College

Abstract

Terror management theory has spawned a body of experimental research documenting a multitude of defensive responses to mortality salience manipulations (e.g., rigid adherence to dominant cultural values, self-esteem bolstering). Another substantive body of work suggests that humor functions as a natural and often effective means of down-regulating stressful or traumatic experiences. Integrating a terror management paradigm with a cartoon captioning task, the present study finds that participants subliminally primed with death wrote funnier captions than those primed with pain, as judged by outside raters. Interestingly, a reverse pattern was obtained for participants' own ratings of their captions; explicitly death-primed participants rated themselves more successful at generating humorous captions than their pain-primed counterparts, while no significant difference emerged between the two subliminal priming conditions. Findings contribute new insights to recent research suggesting that death reminders may sometimes facilitate creativity and open-mindedness.

Keywords: humor; terror management; mortality; creativity

http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/humr.2013.26.issue-4/humor-2013-0012/humor-2013-0012.xml

Testicular Augmentation Using Chin Implants

The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Volume 10, Issue 10, pages 2582–2585, October 2013
Issue published online: 7 Oct 2013
DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02963.x

Fernando Ugarte y Romano MD [1] and Adolfo González Serrano GP [2]

1 Department of Urology, Hospital Ángeles del Pedregal, México, México
2 Department of Sexology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México 10700, México

Introduction

Disturbances in testicular integrity have the potential to cause severe concerns about masculinity, body image, and sexual function. Testicular volume replacement surgery with prosthesis has been known about since 1941, although esthetic procedures for testicular augmentation have not been satisfactory.

Aim

To describe an unprecedented testicular augmentation surgical technique that is specially focused on preserving testicular function and providing a favorable esthetic outcome.

Methods

We present a case of a 45-year-old man with body dysmorphic disorder. Surgical treatment using a new technique by placing a chin implant on the testicle was offered and accepted.

Results

Good symmetry between both testicles was achieved. No complications were reported. One month after the procedure, the patient started a satisfactory sex life. Functional monitoring was normal during the year after the procedure.

Conclusions

This technique is unprecedented in literature, it represents a safe and effective therapeutic alternative; nevertheless, more experience in performing this procedure is needed.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02963.x/abstract

Apparatus and method for wearing replica cauliflower ears

United States Patent Application
Publication number US20130326793 A1
December 12, 2013

Canadian Patents Database
Patent Application: CA 2812333
Open to Public Inspection: 2013-10-06

Andrew James Bingley, Walter David McCrindle, Christopher Brian Prickett

Fergus, CA

Abstract

There is disclosed an apparatus and method for wearing replica “cauliflower” ears which are molded from the actual cauliflower ears of athletes contact sports including mixed martial arts (MMA), wrestling, rugby, boxing and others. In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises support means adapted to support left and right replica cauliflower ears on a wearer's head. A fastening means is adapted to fasten the left and right replica cauliflower ears, respectively, to the support means. The left and right replica cauliflower ears are modeled from a mold of an athlete's cauliflower ears, and suitably resized and shaped to be worn over the ears of the wearer. In another embodiment, the supporting means comprises a flexible head band, and the left and right replica cauliflower ears are fastened to the left and right arms, respectively, of the head band, and wherein the left and right arms am configured to at least partially wrap around a wearer's head.

BACKGROUND

In mixed martial arts (MMA), wrestling, rugby, boxing and other contact sports, athletes may sustain injuries which may become scarred when the injuries heal. More particularly, athletes in contact sports such as MMK wrestling, rugby and boxing may sustain injuries to the ears resulting in hematoma auris, perichondrial hematoma, or traumatic auricular hematoma, more commonly known as “cauliflower” ears. These cauliflower ears are often unique and distinctive for each athlete, and are often considered by the athletes and their fans to be badges of honor.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for wearing replica “cauliflower” ears which are modeled from the ears of an athlete in MMA, wrestling, or other contact sports.

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20130326793.PGNR.

http://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/patent/2812333/summary.html

Mice Genetically Deficient in Vasopressin V1a and V1b Receptors Are Resistant to Jet Lag

Science 4 October 2013:
Vol. 342 no. 6154 pp. 85-90
DOI: 10.1126/science.1238599

Received for publication 1 April 2013

Yoshiaki Yamaguchi [1], Toru Suzuki [1], Yasutaka Mizoro [1], Hiroshi Kori [2,3], Kazuki Okada [1], Yulin Chen [1], Jean-Michel Fustin [1], Fumiyoshi Yamazaki [1], Naoki Mizuguchi [1], Jing Zhang [4], Xin Dong [4], Gozoh Tsujimoto [5], Yasushi Okuno [6], Masao Doi [1], Hitoshi Okamura [1,4]

[1] Department of Systems Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
[2] Department of Information Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo 112-8620, Japan.
[3] CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
[4] Division of Molecular Brain Science, Department of Brain Science, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Japan.
[5] Department of Genomic Drug Discovery Science, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
[6] Department of Systems Biosciences for Drug Discovery, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.

Jet-lag symptoms arise from temporal misalignment between the internal circadian clock and external solar time. We found that circadian rhythms of behavior (locomotor activity), clock gene expression, and body temperature immediately reentrained to phase-shifted light-dark cycles in mice lacking vasopressin receptors V1a and V1b (V1a–/–V1b–/–). Nevertheless, the behavior of V1a–/–V1b–/– mice was still coupled to the internal clock, which oscillated normally under standard conditions. Experiments with suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) slices in culture suggested that interneuronal communication mediated by V1a and V1b confers on the SCN an intrinsic resistance to external perturbation. Pharmacological blockade of V1a and V1b in the SCN of wild-type mice resulted in accelerated recovery from jet lag, which highlights the potential of vasopressin signaling as a therapeutic target for management of circadian rhythm misalignment, such as jet lag and shift work.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6154/85.abstract

The minds of gods: A comparative study of supernatural agency

Cognition
Volume 129, Issue 1, October 2013, Pages 163–179
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2013.06.010

Benjamin Grant Purzycki

Centre for Human Evolution, Cognition, and Culture, University of British Columbia, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2, Canada

Highlights

• Christians show higher responses to God’s knowledge of moral than nonmoral information.
• Tyvans show a bias towards moralizing explicitly nonmoral Tyvan spirit-masters.
• Tyvans reason about spirit-masters’ knowledge and concerns spatially.
• Wider attributed knowledge breadth of spirit-masters predicts attributed concern for morality.

Abstract

The present work is the first study to systematically compare the minds of gods by examining some of the intuitive processes that guide how people reason about them. By examining the Christian god and the spirit-masters of the Tyva Republic, it first confirms that the consensus view of the Christian god’s mind is one of omniscience with acute concern for interpersonal social behavior (i.e., moral behaviors) and that Tyvan spirit-masters are not as readily attributed with knowledge or concern of moral information. Then, it reports evidence of a moralization bias of gods’ minds; American Christians who believe that God is omniscient rate God as more knowledgeable of moral behaviors than nonmoral information. Additionally, Tyvans who do not readily report pro- or antisocial behavior among the things that spirit-masters care about will nevertheless rate spirit-masters’ knowledge and concern of moral information higher than nonmoral information. However, this knowledge is distributed spatially; the farther away from spirits’ place of governance a moral behavior takes place, the less they know and care about it. Finally, the wider the breadth of knowledge Tyvans attribute to spirit-masters, the more they attribute moral concern for behaviors that transpire beyond their jurisdiction. These results further demonstrate that there is a significant gulf between expressed beliefs and intuitive religious cognition and provides evidence for a moralization bias of gods’ minds.

Keywords

Religion; Minds of gods; Supernatural Punishment Hypothesis; Omniscience; Cultural consensus analysis; Theological correctness

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010027713001224

Fear of Holes

Psychological Science
October 2013 vol. 24 no. 10 1980-1985
doi: 10.1177/0956797613484937

Geoff G. Hole, Arnold J. Wilkins

Centre for Brain Science, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ

Abstract

Phobias are usually described as irrational and persistent fears of certain objects or situations, and causes of such fears are difficult to identify. We describe an unusual but common phobia (trypophobia), hitherto unreported in the scientific literature, in which sufferers are averse to images of holes. We performed a spectral analysis on a variety of images that induce trypophobia and found that the stimuli had a spectral composition typically associated with uncomfortable visual images, namely, high-contrast energy at midrange spatial frequencies. Critically, we found that a range of potentially dangerous animals also possess this spectral characteristic. We argue that although sufferers are not conscious of the association, the phobia arises in part because the inducing stimuli share basic visual characteristics with dangerous organisms, characteristics that are low level and easily computed, and therefore facilitate a rapid nonconscious response.

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/24/10/1980

Is a Woman’s Preference for Chest Hair in Men Influenced by Parasite Threat?

Archives of Sexual Behavior
October 2013, Volume 42, Issue 7, pp 1181-1189
Cover Date 2013-10-01
DOI 10.1007/s10508-012-0007-7

Pavol Prokop (1,2), Markus J. Rantala (3), Muhammet Usak (4), Ibrahim Senay (5)

1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Priemyselná 4, 918 43, Trnava, Slovakia
2. Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
3. Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
4. Faculty of Education, Dumlupinar University, Kutahya, Turkey
5. Department of Psychological Counseling, Zirve University, Gaziantep, Turkey

Abstract

Humans (Homo sapiens) are unique primates due to a lack of a thermally insulating fur covering, typical of all other primates. Our primary goal was to examine the “ectoparasite avoidance mediated by mate choice hypothesis” suggesting that women prefer men lacking chest hair in order to avoid ectoparasite loads. We predicted that women living in areas with high prevalence of pathogens (n = 161) would be less likely to show a preference for a male with chest hair in comparison with women living in areas with low pathogen prevalence (n = 183). We found that overall preference for man chest hair was low, but there were no significant associations between perceived vulnerability to diseases or disgust sensitivity and preference of men who have had experimentally removed chest hair. Women who lived in an environment with a high parasite prevalence rate (Turkey) showed a similar preference for man chest hair as did women from an environment with low parasite prevalence (Slovakia). The participants biological fathers’ chest hair had no significant effect on their preference for men with chest hair. Women living in a high-parasite-prevalence environment reported a higher disgust score in the sexual domain and more recent experiences with illnesses, suggesting that parasites influence sensitivity to sexual disgust. These results provide no support for the ectoparasite avoidance hypothesis mediated by mate choice and suggest that shaved men bodies are preferred more by women.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-012-0007-7

Lemonade from Lemons: The Taphonomic Effect of Lawn Mowers on Skeletal Remains

Journal of Forensic Sciences
Volume 58, Issue 5, pages 1273–1278, September 2013
Issue published online: 4 Sep 2013

DC Martin M.A., Gretchen R. Dabbs Ph.D. and Lindsey G. Roberts B.S.

Department of Anthropology
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
1000 Faner Drive
Mail Code 4502
Carbondale, IL 62901

Abstract

This study provides a descriptive analysis of the taphonomic changes produced by passing over skeletonized remains (n = 4, Sus scrofa) with three common lawn mowers. Two skeletons were mowed over with a riding lawn mower set at multiple blade heights (10.16, 7.62, 5.08 cm) and one each with a rotary mower (9.53, 6.35 cm) and a mulching mower (6.35 cm). Results show that different types of common lawn mowers will produce different patterns of bone dispersal and fragmentation rates. Overall, skeletal elements projecting upward from the surface frequently exhibited a sheared morphology characterized by a smooth, flat, cut surface (7.0–7.6% of elements). The push mowers yielded a higher frequency of undamaged bone than the riding mower (54.8–61.2% vs. 17.7%), and the riding mower created more catastrophic damage to skeletal elements. Additionally, each mower produced a distinct dispersal pattern of skeletal fragments. The dispersal patterns have been identified as “bull's-eye” (riding), circular (mulching), and discontinuous rectangle (rotary).

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1556-4029.12177/abstract

Where are you? Location talk in mobile phone conversations

Mobile Media & Communication
September 2013 vol. 1 no. 3 314-334
doi: 10.1177/2050157913493773

Ditte Laursen
State Media Archive
State and University Library
Viktor Albecksvej 1
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark

Margaret H. Szymanski
Work Practice & Technology
Xerox Innovation Group
USA

Abstract

Conversational studies have shown that location cannot be considered as an external framework that shapes interaction; rather it is to be analyzed as a resource and an achievement in interaction (Schegloff, 1972). Building on a corpus of 93 recorded mobile phone conversations from the United States and Denmark, this article adds to current interaction research by investigating how location is produced, understood and socially accomplished via mobile phones. More specifically, we investigate how location talk operates in the opening sequences of the call. We find that location is an opening-relevant topic: speakers introduce it as the reason for the call and topicalize it following initial engagement. When referring to location, speakers predominately use two variations: inquiries (where are you), and reports of their whereabouts (I just got home). Further, speakers formulate their locations in two ways: location specific (I’m sitting on a train) or status of transit (we are on our way). In addition to open format where-are-you elicitations, location talk can take the form of a candidate (are you at Union street); candidate formulations show how speakers orient to the collaborative work of meeting up with one another and display knowledge about each other’s activities. Finally, we treat the case of reciprocal location inquiries and reports, where both caller and callee state their whereabouts, showing how location talk is sequence organized.

http://mmc.sagepub.com/content/1/3/314.abstract

Technical note: Evaluation of odor from vaginal discharge of cows in the first 10 days after calving by olfactory cognition and an electronic device

Journal of Dairy Science
Volume 96, Issue 9, Pages 5773-5779, September 2013
http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2013-6813

I. Sannmann *, O. Burfeind *, V. Suthar *, A. Bos †, M. Bruins †, W. Heuwieser *

* Clinic for Animal Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Königsweg 65, 14163 Berlin, Germany
† C-it, 7201 JB Zutphen, the Netherlands

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine test characteristics (i.e., intra- and interobserver variability, intraassay variability, sensitivity, and specificity) of an evaluation of odor from vaginal discharge (VD) of cows in the first 10 d postpartum conducted by olfactory cognition and an electronic device, respectively.

In experiment 1, 16 investigators (9 veterinary students and 7 licensed veterinarians) evaluated 5 VD samples each on 10 different days. The kappa test revealed an agreement between investigators (interobserver) of κ = 0.43 with a Fleiss adjusted standard error of 0.0061. The overall agreement was the same for students (κ = 0.28) and veterinarians (κ = 0.28). Mean agreement within observers (intraobserver) was κ = 0.52 for all observers, and 0.49 and 0.62 for students and veterinarians, respectively.

In experiment 2, the repeatability of an electronic device (DiagNose; C-it, Zutphen, the Netherlands) was tested. Therefore, 5 samples of VD from 5 cows were evaluated 10 times each. The repeatability was 0.97, determined by Cronbach’s α.

In experiment 3, 20 samples collected from healthy cows and 20 of cows with acute puerperal metritis were evaluated by the 16 investigators and the DiagNose using a dichotomous scale (1 = cow with acute puerperal metritis; 0 = healthy cow). Sensitivity and specificity of olfactory evaluation was 75.0 and 60.1% compared with 92.0 and 100%, respectively, for the electronic nose device.

The study revealed a considerable subjectivity of the human nose concerning the classification into healthy and sick animals based on the assessment of vaginal discharge. The repeatability of the electronic nose was higher. In conclusion, the DiagNose system, although imperfect, is a reasonable tool to improve odor assessment of VD. The current system, however, is not suitable as a screening tool in the field. Further research is warranted to adapt such electronic devices to practical on-farm screening tools.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030213004694

http://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302%2813%2900469-4/abstract

Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Tool for Pork Pie Development

Foods 2013, 2(3), 393-400
Published: 28 August 2013
doi:10.3390/foods2030393

Adam P. Gaunt, Robert H. Morris and Michael I. Newton

School of Science & Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UK

Abstract

The traditional British pork pie consists of roughly chopped pork cooked in a hot water pastry crust. Due to shrinkage of the meat during cooking, the gap formed around the meat is usually sealed using a gelatin based jelly to exclude air and thus help to preserve the pie. The properties of the jelly are such that it will ingress into the pastry crust causing undesirable softening. The jelly is traditionally produced by simmering pig trotters with seasoning for several hours. In this work we demonstrate the potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a tool for investigating the conditions required for producing jellies with different properties and present two examples of this use. Firstly we demonstrate that MRI can determine the ability of water to diffuse through the jelly which is critical in minimizing the amount of moisture moving from the jelly to the crust. Secondly, the impact of jelly temperature on the penetration length into the crust is investigated. These examples highlight the power of MRI as a tool for food assessment.

http://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/2/3/393

Foot Orgasm Syndrome: A Case Report in a Woman

The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Volume 10, Issue 8, pages 1926–1934, August 2013

Marcel D. Waldinger MD, PhD, FECSM [1,2,3,*], Govert J. de Lint PT [4], Ad P.G. van Gils MD, PhD [5], Farhad Masir MD [6], Egbert Lakke MD, PhD [7], Ruben S. van Coevorden MD [8] and Dave H. Schweitzer MD, PhD [9]

[1] Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of BetaSciences, Utrecht University, Universiteitslaan 99, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
[2] Private Practice, Amstelveen, The Netherlands
[3] Department of Neurosexology, HagaZiekenhuis, Den Haag, The Netherlands
[4] Department of Physiotherapy, HagaZiekenhuis, Den Haag, The Netherlands
[5] Department of Radiology, HagaZiekenhuis, Den Haag, The Netherlands
[6] Department of Anesthesiology, HagaZiekenhuis, Den Haag, The Netherlands
[7] Department of Anatomy, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
[8] Medisch Centrum Buitenveldert, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
[9] Department of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Reinier de Graaf Groep of Hospitals, Delft-Voorburg, The Netherlands

Introduction

Spontaneous orgasm triggered from inside the foot has so far not been reported in medical literature.

Aims

The study aims to report orgasmic feelings in the left foot of a woman.

Methods

A woman presented with complaints of undesired orgasmic sensations originating in her left foot. In-depth interview, physical examination, sensory testing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI-scan), electromyography (EMG), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and blockade of the left S1 dorsal root ganglion were performed.

Main Outcome Measures

The main outcomes are description of this clinical syndrome, results of TENS application, and S1 dorsal root ganglion blockade.

Results

Subtle attenuation of sensory amplitudes of the left suralis, and the left medial and lateral plantar nerve tracts was found at EMG. MRI-scan disclosed no foot abnormalities. TENS at the left metatarso-phalangeal joint-III of the left foot elicited an instant orgasmic sensation that radiated from plantar toward the vagina. TENS applied to the left side of the vagina elicited an orgasm that radiated to the left foot. Diagnostic blockade of the left S1 dorsal root ganglion with 0.8 mL bupivacaine 0.25 mg attenuated the frequency and intensity of orgasmic sensation in the left foot with 50% and 80%, respectively. Additional therapeutic blockade of the same ganglion with 0.8 mL bupivacaine 0.50 mg combined with pulsed radiofrequency treatment resulted in a complete disappearance of the foot-induced orgasmic sensations.

Conclusion

Foot orgasm syndrome (FOS) is descibed in a woman. Blockade of the left S1 dorsal root ganglion alleviated FOS. It is hypothesized that FOS, occurring 1.5 years after an intensive care emergency, was caused by partial nerve regeneration (axonotmesis), after which afferent (C-fiber) information from a small reinnervated skin area of the left foot and afferent somatic and autonomous (visceral) information from the vagina on at least S1 spinal level is misinterpreted by the brain as being solely information originating from the vagina.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsm.12217/abstract

Belief bias during reasoning among religious believers and skeptics

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
August 2013, Volume 20, Issue 4, pp 806-811

Gordon Pennycook, James Allan Cheyne, Derek J. Koehler, Jonathan A. Fugelsang

Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada

Abstract

We provide evidence that religious skeptics, as compared to believers, are both more reflective and effective in logical reasoning tasks. While recent studies have reported a negative association between an analytic cognitive style and religiosity, they focused exclusively on accuracy, making it difficult to specify potential underlying cognitive mechanisms. The present study extends the previous research by assessing both performance and response times on quintessential logical reasoning problems (syllogisms). Those reporting more religious skepticism made fewer reasoning errors than did believers. This finding remained significant after controlling for general cognitive ability, time spent on the problems, and various demographic variables. Crucial for the purpose of exploring underlying mechanisms, response times indicated that skeptics also spent more time reasoning than did believers. This novel finding suggests a possible role of response slowing during analytic problem solving as a component of cognitive style that promotes overriding intuitive first impressions. Implications for using additional processing measures, such as response time, to investigate individual differences in cognitive style are discussed.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.3758%2Fs13423-013-0394-3

Describing the relationship between cat bites and human depression using data from an electronic health record

PLoS One. 2013 Aug 1;8(8):e70585
Published: August 01, 2013
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070585

David A. Hanauer [1], Naren Ramakrishnan [2], and Lisa S. Seyfried [3]

[1] Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
[2] Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
[3] Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
University of Rennes 1, France

Abstract

Data mining approaches have been increasingly applied to the electronic health record and have led to the discovery of numerous clinical associations. Recent data mining studies have suggested a potential association between cat bites and human depression. To explore this possible association in more detail we first used administrative diagnosis codes to identify patients with either depression or bites, drawn from a population of 1.3 million patients. We then conducted a manual chart review in the electronic health record of all patients with a code for a bite to accurately determine which were from cats or dogs. Overall there were 750 patients with cat bites, 1,108 with dog bites, and approximately 117,000 patients with depression. Depression was found in 41.3% of patients with cat bites and 28.7% of those with dog bites. Furthermore, 85.5% of those with both cat bites and depression were women, compared to 64.5% of those with dog bites and depression. The probability of a woman being diagnosed with depression at some point in her life if she presented to our health system with a cat bite was 47.0%, compared to 24.2% of men presenting with a similar bite. The high proportion of depression in patients who had cat bites, especially among women, suggests that screening for depression could be appropriate in patients who present to a clinical provider with a cat bite. Additionally, while no causative link is known to explain this association, there is growing evidence to suggest that the relationship between cats and human mental illness, such as depression, warrants further investigation.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0070585

The separate roles of the reflective mind and involuntary inhibitory control in gatekeeping paranormal beliefs and the underlying intuitive confusions

British Journal of Psychology
Volume 104, Issue 3, pages 303–319, August 2013
DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.2012.02118.x

Annika M. Svedholm and Marjaana Lindeman

Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Division of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, University of Helsinki, Finland

Intuitive thinking is known to predict paranormal beliefs, but the processes underlying this relationship, and the role of other thinking dispositions, have remained unclear. Study 1 showed that while an intuitive style increased and a reflective disposition counteracted paranormal beliefs, the ontological confusions suggested to underlie paranormal beliefs were predicted by individual differences in involuntary inhibitory processes. When the reasoning system was subjected to cognitive load, the ontological confusions increased, lost their relationship with paranormal beliefs, and their relationship with weaker inhibition was strongly accentuated. These findings support the argument that the confusions are mainly intuitive and that they therefore are most discernible under conditions in which inhibition is impaired, that is, when thinking is dominated by intuitive processing. Study 2 replicated the findings on intuitive and reflective thinking and paranormal beliefs. In Study 2, ontological confusions were also related to the same thinking styles as paranormal beliefs. The results support a model in which both intuitive and non-reflective thinking styles and involuntary inhibitory processes give way to embracing culturally acquired paranormal beliefs.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2012.02118.x/abstract

Eating dogfood: Examining the relative roles of reason and emotion

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Volume 92, August 2013, Pages 202–213
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2013.06.004

William Schulze [a], Annemie Maertens [b], Brian Wansink [c]

[a] Kenneth L. Robinson Professor of Agricultural Economics at Cornell University, United States
[b] Posvar Hall 3204, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, United States
[c] John Dyson Professor of Consumer Behavior at Cornell University, United States

Highlights

• We study stigma in a laboratory setting by eliciting willingness-to-pay from participants for a chicken sandwich and ice cream.
• We provide information about the sandwich (healthy ingredients, but made for dogs) and ice cream (artificial ingredients, but fat free).
• We put a subset of the participants under cognitive load.
• The order in which the information is provided matters and participants who are not under cognitive load deliberate the health benefits.
• These results point to an underlying dual process model.

Abstract

Psychologists have described the working of the human brain as a combination of two systems – a dual process model. One system is intuitive and automatic (System 1) and the other is reflective and rational (System 2). To determine what insights this model has for stigma – such as fears of food contamination – we elicited the willingness-to-pay for two foods: a sandwich made of dog food and fat-free ice cream. We find critical evidence of a dual process decision making process in which the absence of cognitive load allows the participants to deliberate over the health benefits of either food. In addition, in the case of the sandwich, there is an emotional component in which the positive emotion of surprise can partially offset the negative emotion of disgust. This has notable implications for addressing food safety fears related to contamination as well as the food neophobia related to unfamiliar foods, processing, or preparation.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016726811300156X

Generation of tooth-like structures from integration-free human urine induced pluripotent stem cells

Cell Regeneration 2013, 2:6
Published: 30 July 2013
doi:10.1186/2045-9769-2-6

Jinglei Cai [1], Yanmei Zhang [1], Pengfei Liu [1,2], Shubin Chen [1], Xuan Wu [1,2], Yuhua Sun [3], Ang Li [4], Ke Huang [1], Rongping Luo [1], Lihui Wang [1], Ying Liu [1,5], Ting Zhou [1], Shicheng Wei [3,6], Guangjin Pan [1] and Duanqing Pei [1]

1 CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 190 Kai Yuan Avenue, Science Park, Guangzhou 510530, P.R.China

2 Department of Regeneration Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical, Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China

3 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Studies, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Peking University, Beijing, P.R. China

4 Biodynamic Optical Imaging Center (BIOPIC), Peking University, Beijing, P.R. China

5 The Shenzhen Key Lab of Gene and Antibody Therapy, Center for Biotech & Biomedicine and Division of Life Sciences, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, P.R. China

6 Center for Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, P.R. China

Background

Tooth is vital not only for a good smile, but also good health. Yet, we lose tooth regularly due to accidents or diseases. An ideal solution to this problem is to regenerate tooth with patients’ own cells. Here we describe the generation of tooth-like structures from integration-free human urine induced pluripotent stem cells (ifhU-iPSCs).

Results

We first differentiated ifhU-iPSCs to epithelial sheets, which were then recombined with E14.5 mouse dental mesenchymes. Tooth-like structures were recovered from these recombinants in 3 weeks with success rate up to 30% for 8 different iPSC lines, comparable to H1 hESC. We further detected that ifhU-iPSC derived epithelial sheets differentiated into enamel-secreting ameloblasts in the tooth-like structures, possessing physical properties such as elastic modulus and hardness found in the regular human tooth.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that ifhU-iPSCs can be used to regenerate patient specific dental tissues or even tooth for further drug screening or regenerative therapies.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

http://www.cellregenerationjournal.com/content/2/1/6

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2F2045-9769-2-6

Unusual but sound minds: Mental health indicators in spiritual individuals

British Journal of Psychology
Volume 104, Issue 3, pages 364–381, August 2013
Issue published online: 15 JUL 2013

Miguel Farias, Raphael Underwood and Gordon Claridge

Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, England

Previous research has linked certain types of modern spirituality, including New Age and Pagan, with either benign schizotypy or insecure attachment. While the first view emphasizes a positive aspect of spiritual believers’ mental health (benign schizotypy), the second view emphasizes a negative aspect, namely the unhealthy emotional compensation associated with an insecure attachment style. This study addresses these two conflicting views by comparing a sample of modern spiritual individuals (N = 114) with a contrast group of traditional religious believers (N = 86). Measures of schizotypy and attachment style were combined with mental health scales of anxiety and depression. We further assessed death anxiety to determine whether modern spiritual beliefs fulfilled a similar function as traditional religious beliefs in the reduction of existential threat. Our results support a psychological contiguity between traditional and modern spiritual believers and reinforce the need to de-stigmatize spiritual ideas and experiences. Using hierarchical regression, we showed that unusual experiences and ideas are the major predictor of engagement in modern spiritual practices. Anxiety, depression variables, and insecure attachment were not significant predictors of spirituality or correlated with them; on the other hand, the results show that spiritual believers report high social support satisfaction and this variable predicts involvement in modern spirituality. Further, spiritual practices were negatively correlated with and negatively predicted by death anxiety scores. Overall, the results strengthen the association between modern spirituality, good mental health, and general well-being.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2012.02128.x/abstract

Venturi didgeridoo

United States Patent
Publication number US8466361 B1
Application number US 13/554,713
Publication date Jun 18, 2013

Charles Adams Eaton

Corrales, NM

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. A musical instrument played by blowing air in a first end in the manner of an Australian Aboriginal Didgeridoo, the musical instrument comprising: a body comprising two or more un-tapered venture cylinder segments that can be nested or telescoped for portability; wherein each segment closer to a second end of the musical instrument, opposite the first end, has a diameter smaller than a diameter of any preceding segment closer to the first end.

2. The instrument of claim 1, further comprising: terminal sections of various lengths to provide different fundamental frequencies.

[...]

UTILIZATIONS

The “Walkabout Didgerido”

The 48″ Venturi-Didgeridoo, when made of fiberglass and resin, weighs only 9 ounces. If the rubber tip for a cane is inserted into the distal opening (FIG. 2) and a cap with a strap is put over the proximal opening (FIG. 3), it is converted into a walking stick—or “Walkabout Didgeridoo”. If the base of the cap is drilled and tapped, a properly threaded bolt will convert the “Walkabout Didgeridoo” into a monopod for camera stabilization (FIG. 3).

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/8466361

An Intriguing Correlation between the Distribution of Star Multiples and Human Adults in Household

International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Vol. 3 No. 2, June 2013, pp. 153-160
DOI: 10.4236/ijaa.2013.32017

Alon Retter

Hamaccabim St., Shoham, Israel

Abstract

It is a known fact that like people, some stars are singles, many others tend to couple in binaries, and fewer are in triples etc. The distribution of multiplicity in the 4559 brightest nearby stars was matched with that of human adults in household in six countries, in which this information could be dug and estimated. A strong resemblance between the two curves is evident. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that this result is significant at a confidence level higher than 98%. Apparently, there should be no connection between the two populations, thus this striking result may supply some clues about the way Nature works. It is noted that extended versions of this work were proposed three years ago, and two predictions of this absurd model have already been verified.

http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=32738

http://file.scirp.org/Html/10-4500123_32738.htm

The Geriatric Clinic: Dry and Limp: Aging Queers, Zombies, and Sexual Reanimation

Journal of Medical Humanities
June 2013, Volume 34, Issue 2, pp 261-268
2013-06-01
DOI 10.1007/s10912-013-9226-8

Shaka McGlotten, Lisa Jean Moore

Purchase College, SUNY, Purchase, NY, USA

Abstract

This essay looks to the omission of aging queer bodies from new medical technologies of sex. We extend the Foucauldian space of the clinic to the mediascape, a space not only of representations but where the imagination is conditioned and different worlds dreamed into being. We specifically examine the relationship between aging queers and the marketing of technologies of sexual function. We highlight the ways queers are excluded from the spaces of the clinic, specifically the heternormative sexual scripts that organize biomedical care. Finally, using recent zombie theory, we gesture toward both the constraints and possibilities of queer inclusion within the discourses and practices that aim to reanimate sexual function. We suggest that zombies usefully frame extant articulations of aging queers with sex and the dangerous lure of medical treatments that promise revitalized, but normative, sexual function at the cost of other, perhaps queerer intimacies.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10912-013-9226-8

Psychological phenomena in dead people: Post- traumatic stress disorder in murdered people and its consequences to public health

Australian Journal of Parapsychology
Vol. 13, No. 1, Jun 2013: 37-56

de Almeida Ferreira, Wasney

Faculdade de Medicina (FM), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract: The aims of this paper are to narrate and analyze some psychological phenomena that I have perceived in dead people, including evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in murdered people. The methodology adopted was "projection of consciousness" (i.e., a non-ordinary state of consciousness), which allowed me to observe, interact, and interview dead people directly as a social psychologist. This investigation was based on Cartesian skepticism, which allowed me a more critical analysis of my experiences during projection of consciousness. There is strong evidence that a dead person: (i) continues living, thinking, behaving after death as if he/she still has his/her body because consciousness continues in an embodied state as 'postmortem embodied experiences'; (ii) may not realize for a considerable time that he/she is already dead since consciousness continues to be embodied after death (i.e., 'postmortem perturbation' - the duration of this perturbation can vary from person to person, in principle according to the type of death, and the level of conformation), and (iii) does not like to talk, remember, and/or explain things related to his/her own death because there is evidence that many events related to death are repressed in his/her unconscious ('postmortem cognitive repression'). In addition, there is evidence that dying can be very traumatic to consciousness, especially to the murdered, and PTSD may even develop.

http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=406555355897542;res=IELHSS

‘Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder’: People who think they are drunk also think they are attractive

British Journal of Psychology
Volume 104, Issue 2, pages 225–234, May 2013
DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.2012.02114.x

Laurent Bègue [1,*], Brad J. Bushman [2,3], Oulmann Zerhouni [1], Baptiste Subra [4] and Medhi Ourabah [5]

[1] University of Grenoble 2, LIP, 1251, Av. Centrale, BP47, 38040 Grenoble, France
[2] The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
[3] VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
[4] University of Paris Descartes, France
[5] University of Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France

This research examines the role of alcohol consumption on self-perceived attractiveness. Study 1, carried out in a barroom (N= 19), showed that the more alcoholic drinks customers consumed, the more attractive they thought they were. In Study 2, 94 non-student participants in a bogus taste-test study were given either an alcoholic beverage (target BAL [blood alcohol level]= 0.10 g/100 ml) or a non-alcoholic beverage, with half of each group believing they had consumed alcohol and half believing they had not (balanced placebo design). After consuming beverages, they delivered a speech and rated how attractive, bright, original, and funny they thought they were. The speeches were videotaped and rated by 22 independent judges. Results showed that participants who thought they had consumed alcohol gave themselves more positive self-evaluations. However, ratings from independent judges showed that this boost in self-evaluation was unrelated to actual performance.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2012.02114.x/abstract

Observational cadaveric study of emergency bystander cricothyroidotomy with a ballpoint pen by untrained junior doctors and medical students

Emerg Med J. 2013 Apr;30(4):308-11
doi: 10.1136/emermed-2012-201317
Epub 2012 May 5

Andrew Neill [1], Philip Anderson [2]

[1] Anatomy Department, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
[2] Foundation Year 2 Doctor, Northern Ireland Deanery, UK

Correspondence to Dr A Neill, Level 1, Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College, Pearse St, Dublin 2, Ireland

Contributors
AN conceived the study, performed most of the dissection and drafted the manuscript. PA aided with the dissection and compiled the results.

Objective

Apart from case reports and anecdotes, there are no published studies on the feasibility of using non-medical devices for emergency bystander cricothyroidotomy. This study evaluated the ability of non-trained junior doctors and medical students to place an emergency cricothyroidotomy on an embalmed cadaver using only a blade and a ballpoint pen.

Methods

Participants were junior doctors with no prior experience of surgical airways and second year medical students at the end of their head and neck anatomy course. Nine participants were asked to place an emergency cricothyroidotomy in an undissected embalmed cadaver using only a No 26 scalpel and a dismantled ballpoint pen (Papermate Flexigrip Ultra, external diameter 8.9 mm; internal diameter 7.0 mm). Times were recorded and direct visualisation by dissection was used to assess placement and complications.

Results

Nine participants performed a total of 14 separate cricothyroidtomies on separate cadavers. Landmarks were palpable by researchers in 10 of the 14 cadavers. Eight of 14 (57%) procedures were deemed successful. No major vascular injury occurred. Injuries to the thyroid and cricoid cartilages were common; four of 14 (29%) of these injuries were fractures.

Conclusions

In embalmed cadavers, inexperienced junior doctors and medical students with no prior training were able to place a successful cricothyroidotomy slightly more than half the time. It suggests that surgical cricothyroidotomy with a ballpoint pen and blade is a feasible option in extremis. It is unknown whether junior doctors from other specialties, such as emergency medicine, would perform better.

http://emj.bmj.com/content/30/4/308.abstract

Oral sex as infidelity-detection

Personality and Individual Differences
Volume 54, Issue 6, April 2013, Pages 792–795

Michael N. Pham, Todd K. Shackelford

Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309, USA

Abstract

An evolutionary history of human female infidelity and consequent sperm competition may have caused the evolution of male counter-adaptations. The infidelity-detection hypothesis for oral sex proposes that men perform oral sex to gather information about their partner’s recent sexual history. We tested this hypothesis with data secured from 231 men in committed, sexual, heterosexual relationships. We found support for two derivative predictions: men at a greater recurrent risk of sperm competition expressed greater interest in, and spent more time performing, oral sex on their partner, even after controlling statistically for relationship length, relationship satisfaction, and sexual intercourse duration. The discussion addresses limitations of this research and highlights directions for future research, including distinguishing empirically the infidelity-detection hypothesis from alternative hypotheses for oral sex.

Highlights

► We test the idea that oral sex functions to detect partner’s sexual infidelity.
► Men with more attractive partners have more interest in performing oral sex.
► Men with more attractive partners spend more time performing oral sex.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886912005764

Booing

Contemporary Theatre Review
Volume 23, Issue 1, 2013, pages 11-15
Published online: 18 Mar 2013
DOI: 10.1080/10486801.2013.765102

Dan Rebellato

Department of Drama and Theatre
Royal Holloway
University of London

Three cheers for booing! C’mon people, put your hands together for the little bit of theatre you love to hate!
It’s about time booing got a round of applause - usually booing is jeered off the stage. Plato in The Laws
observes a change from silently respectful audiences to the noisily opinionated audience of his own time,
referring to ‘catcalls and uncouth yelling’. These baying crowds, he suggests, by privileging their own pleasure over the purity and refinement of musical form, have established a ‘theatrocracy’, a mob relativism about artistic standards which will lead in turn to the disre-gard of laws and parental authority, a slow decline into moral chaos, and ‘a wretched life of endless misery’.

[...]

Booing isn’t empty, and even if it could be ejected from the theatre, which it can’t, should be cheered, because booing is a moment where the audience represents the theatre to itself by dramatizing and drawing attention to the fault-lines of performance. It is a kind of liminal activity that throws theatre into sharp relief and asks profound questions about performance. Booing troubles the edges of theatre. Is it a response prompted legitimately by performance and therefore contained within it? Or is it a disruption of performance from performance’s outside? Booing is theatre at its most philosophical and its most theatrical.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10486801.2013.765102

Significant changes in the skin microbiome mediated by the sport of roller derby

PeerJ 1:e53
2013-03-12
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.53

James F. Meadow [​1], Ashley C. Bateman [1], Keith M. Herkert [1,2], Timothy K. O’Connor [1,3], Jessica L. Green [1,4]

[1] Biology and the Built Environment Center, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
[2] Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
[3] Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
[4] Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA

Abstract

Diverse bacterial communities live on and in human skin. These complex communities vary by skin location on the body, over time, between individuals, and between geographic regions. Culture-based studies have shown that human to human and human to surface contact mediates the dispersal of pathogens, yet little is currently known about the drivers of bacterial community assembly patterns on human skin. We hypothesized that participation in a sport involving skin to skin contact would result in detectable shifts in skin bacterial community composition. We conducted a study during a flat track roller derby tournament, and found that teammates shared distinct skin microbial communities before and after playing against another team, but that opposing teams’ bacterial communities converged during the course of a roller derby bout. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the human skin microbiome shifts in composition during activities involving human to human contact, and that contact sports provide an ideal setting in which to evaluate dispersal of microorganisms between people.

https://peerj.com/articles/53/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3628844/