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Do Attitudes about Love Say Anything about How Accepting of Lies We Are?
Get PDFResearch indicates that the number of people who use online dating has increased rapidly over the last decade. With this form of technology for building relationships come new potential dangers, including deception. Deception research suggests people lie for a reason. In the case of online dating, the necessity of people to control how they present themselves to others might lead people to lie in order to manage other people’s impressions and thereby attract more dates. Research shows that men and women who lie while using online dating indeed deceive about distinct characteristics. One perspective that may help explain people’s use and acceptability of deception in online dating is the love attitudes framework (Lee, 1988). According to this framework, people’s attitudes toward love can be described according to one or some blend of six different love style categories—Eros, Ludus, Pragma, Storge, Mania, and Agape. This study conducted by survey (N=76) explored the relationship between lie acceptability and the six love styles with an emphasis on Ludus and Mania. It was hypothesized that due to defining characteristics of the Ludus (gameplaying) and Mania (insecure, clingy) love styles, someone who is high on Ludus would be more accepting of lies told online, and those who were highly manic would be less accepting toward deception online. That is, lie acceptability should correlate positively with Ludus and negatively with Mania. As predicted, results indicated a moderately strong, negative correlation between Mania and lie acceptability, and a moderately strong, positive correlation was found between Ludus and lie acceptability. The results for both love styles, however, were not found to be significant
Differential Regulatory Response for the Δ9 Desaturase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Based on Fatty Acid Species and Membrane-Altering Conditions
No full textUnsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) regulate the expression of OLE1, the gene encoding the Δ9 desaturase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Previous work has demonstrated that the transcription factors Mga2p and Spt23p are required for OLE1 expression, and that differential processing controls their activity. We have examined how the structure of unsaturated fatty acids and environmental conditions affect the processing of Mga2 and Spt23p and control the regulation of OLE1. We have found that yeast grown in UFAs 16:1Δ9, and 18:2Δ9,12 strongly repress transcription of OLE1, while 18:1Δ9 and 17:1Δ10 had a lesser effect in a wild-type strain. We also examined how these exogenous UFAs control the processing of Mga2p and Spt23p in wild-type yeast. We have found that cells grown in 17:1Δ10, and 18:2Δ9,12 have all of the Spt23p protein in inactive form, while the other growth conditions Mga2p and Spt23p can be found in both the active and the inactive form
Preparing for Harvesting Radioisotopes from FRIB
No full textThe Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) will be a new national user facility at Michigan State University (MSU) and funded by the Department of Energy Office of Science Office of Nuclear Physics (DOE-SC). FRIB will have the ability to accelerate uranium to 200 MeV/nucleon. Many long-lived, rare isotopes will be generated at FRIB that could potentially be harvested for off-line use. This study will use current conditions at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) to determine the production and extraction yields of four radioisotopes: 24Na, 67Cu, 48V, 85Kr. All of these radioisotopes will eventually be collected in an aqueous beam dump at FRIB. A water target apparatus has been constructed at Hope College that replicates the collection of isotopes in an aqueous beam dump. Modeling of the nuclear reactions at NSCL and subsequent decay products was done using two programs, LISE++ and Nucleonica. The information from these programs is being used to streamline the isolation and extraction procedures for the radioisotopes of interest from the aqueous beam dump at FRIB. 24Na and 67Cu have already been successfully harvested using a purified beam (~75% 67Cu) at the NSCL. Preliminary results from a revised extraction procedure and end station modifications will be presented to describe the successful harvesting at the NSCL from a more intense, less purified beam (~3% 67Cu)
Fun in the Sun with Escherichia coli: Environmental Adaptation and Viability
No full textBacteria of fecal origin present a health risk when present in bodies of water used for recreation. These organisms may be reduced in number when exposed to sun - a process known as insolation. The survivability of fecal indicator bacteria, specifically E. coli, of lab, environmental, and fecal isolates was examined. Bacterial cultures were made of all isolates then pipetted into polyethylene bags. The bags were placed outside in direct sunlight for up to three hours. Samples were removed from insolation in forty-five minute intervals and spread on plates to evaluate cell viability. E. coli counts decreased markedly with sun exposure and were completely inactivated after the full time period. There were clear differences in the survivability of each strain. The laboratory strain died most rapidly whereas the fecal isolates proved to be hardy and consistently decayed slower than most of the environmental isolates. These findings suggest that the environmental E. coli strains may not be better adapted to solar radiation than fecal isolates
Modeling Bacterial Metabolism and Genetic Regulation
No full textA number of methods have been proposed to incorporate gene expression data to improve metabolic modeling with Flux Balance Analysis (FBA). With the idea of using probabilities of specific genes to be on or off which are computed from gene expression data, one of such methods, PROM (the Probabilistic Regulation of Metabolism) is known to produce better results than traditional methods. However, it suffers from the lack of biological explanation why it uses such probabilities to limit fluxes of reactions instead of setting genes to be on or off. In our method, we use the probabilities to penalize inconsistent gene usage by incorporating gene use variables into the objective function during FBA. We also decided to implement the method on KBase, an open platform for genomics and systems biology, to utilize existing methods and data, and to make it easier to publish and share our method and results in future
Self-Oscillating Gels Catalyzed by Ruthenium-Poly(Vinyl Pyridine) (RuPVP) Metallopolymer
No full textStimuli responsive polymer gels, in which a single stimulus (e.g. temperature, pH, etc.) causes a change in volume, have been a subject of intense interest for applications such as drug delivery and biological sensors. A periodic change in external stimulus is required for a gel to exhibit periodic oscillations. However, many biological systems maintain periodic oscillations under constant environmental conditions, converting chemical energy into mechanical work. Materials capable of emulating this biological behavior represent exciting opportunities for extending responsive behavior through energy harvesting and autonomous function. Autonomous oscillations can be achieved by the oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction within gels containing the BZ catalyst. When a gel containing a catalyst metal, such as ruthenium, is placed in a solution containing the BZ reactants (minus the Ru), the catalyst within the gel undergoes oscillation in its redox state. Due to the difference in the hydrophilicity of the polymer network at the Ru2+ and Ru3+ states, the gel displays swell-deswell oscillations. Currently used catalysts are either cost prohibitive or overly difficult to synthesize. To alleviate this problem, a facile, relatively inexpensive synthesis of ruthenium catalyst complex was attempted following previously reported procedures in the coordination polymer literature. Using readily available precursors, cis-Dichlorobis(2,2’bipyridine) ruthenium(II) and poly(4-vinylpyridine), RuPVP metallopolymer that successfully triggers BZ reactions was prepared. The catalyst was successfully immobilized in poly(Nisopropylacrylamide) to make hydrogels that capture chemical oscillations in the form of waves when placed in a BZ reaction solution
Platelet Transfusion Guidelines Development and Implementation in a Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology Population
No full textThe threshold for transfusing platelets in the pediatric hematology/oncology population is not standardized, resulting in potentially inappropriate transfusions. Consequently, patients can be unnecessarily exposed to foreign antigens or infection, the donor platelet supply could be depleted, and organizations may experience unnecessary costs. These problems can significantly impact patient safety, quality of care, and healthcare costs. The objective of this project is to survey providers regarding their current practice in prophylactic, pre-procedural, and therapeutic platelet transfusions. This project exists within a greater evidenced based initiative in which guidelines detailing thresholds to transfuse platelets will be implemented into practice. The impetus for the larger project included an internal study that showed platelet transfusions given at a median count of 22,000; much higher than many institutions. A literature review reinforced a critical need to standardize platelet transfusions. This review also revealed the existence of an established questionnaire regarding institution platelet transfusion practices and algorithms that direct appropriate times to transfuse. The steps of this project are being guided by the institution’s Channels for Change Framework, based on the Iowa Model for Evidence-Based Practice. A team of nurses and a physician has tailored a pre-existing platelet transfusion questionnaire for use in one large Midwest children\u27s teaching hospital. The survey will be distributed electronically by January 2015 to physicians, surgeons, and intensivists who care for patients on a pediatric hematology/oncology unit. A potential challenge of this project is a low response rate to the survey. Survey data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. A synthesis of current provider practices will be completed, with identification of potential inconsistencies among physicians, surgeons, and intensivists. The results of this project are pending. However, it is anticipated that results will be used to direct the development of evidenced-based guidelines focused on platelet transfusion practices
The Maternal Infant Health Survey: Quality Analysis of Nursing Practice as it Relates to the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative
No full textHealthy People 2020 has stated that it is essential to increase the rate of newborns that exclusively breastfeed, and to decrease the intake of supplemental formula. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the Baby Friendly Initiative as best evidence-based maternal infant practice through the completion of ten steps, follow-up, and accreditation. The purpose of this quality improvement study is to evaluate maternal infant practices relating to the Baby Friendly ten steps through a nursing staff survey. This research was based on Lewin’s Change Theory of unfreezing, changing, and refreezing nursing practice. A Likert-scored survey was created and used to determine the current state of maternal infant practices. The survey was administered to 20 staff members on a labor and delivery unit from a small community hospital in Southwest Michigan. An arithmetic mean was used to analyze the results and determined if the ten steps were met (80% or greater), partially met (70%-80%), or not met (70% or less). These percentages were based on the Baby Friendly Initiative, which requires 80% compliance for each step of the ten steps. After analyzing these steps, one step was met, two steps were partially met, 6 steps were not met, and one step is pending. This study encountered generalizability and sample size limitations. The results of this study will facilitate current evidence-based practice in regards to maternal infant nursing interventions and will be a foundation for nursing education as it relates to obtaining optimal lactating mother and newborn outcomes
Primer Design for Detecting Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms within the Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) among Persons with Alzheimer Disease
No full textApathy, defined as a disorder of motivation with deficits in behavioral, emotional, and cognitive domains, is a prevalent behavioral symptom among persons with Alzheimer Disease (AD). Various complications have been associated with apathy, such as physical deconditioning, uncooperativeness with care, and social isolation. Little is known about the characteristics of persons with AD, including biological factors, that contribute to the presence and/or severity of apathy. Variations in the Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) are hypothesized to be candidate modifiers of apathy severity in persons with AD. OXTR is approximately 19,000 bp in length and is located on chromosome 3. A DNA variant within OXTR (rs53576) significantly predicted 19.4% of the variance in apathy severity as measured by the Apathy subscale of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-Apathy) (F=3.379, p=.027), while controlling for cognitive status and number of Apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 alleles in a previous study. The aims of this study were to design and successfully utilize primers and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in order to amplify OXTR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as a means to examine variations within OXTR that may be associated with apathy in persons with AD. Primer sets were designed to amplify seven SNPs (rs53576, rs237885, rs2254298, rs237887, rs2268493, rs2268498, and rs13316193) within OXTR and were tested using ten lab control human DNA samples. Gel electrophoresis results showed that bands migrated appropriate distances for the expected length of DNA fragments. This indicated successful DNA extraction, primer design, and amplification of all seven SNPs. Study findings may contribute to a risk profile for identifying individuals with AD most at risk for apathy based on OXTR genotype, with a long-term goal to design targeted nursing interventions to benefit these individuals
Making a Difference: Getting Inside the Tutor’s Mind Concerning the CASA Program
No full textThe purpose of this research was to determine how Children’s After School Achievement (CASA) tutors perceived the effectiveness of this program. CASA tutors are undergraduates attending Hope College who are paired with elementary at-risk students to work on reading, math, other homework, and life skills. A 14-question survey was given to the 105 tutors asking about the effectiveness of the program along with their interactions with these elementary students. This portion of the research is using the second year of data results (continuing from a previous undergraduate project). Data analysis using a onesample t-test revealed that CASA tutors believed their students benefited from required reading time, that this program was enjoyable for students and tutors, and students benefited both academically and non-academically. Comparison between the first year and second year will be noted