Bad but Bold: Ambivalent Attitudes Toward Men Predict Gender Inequality in 16 Nations.

A 16-nation study involving 8,360 participants revealed that hostile and benevolent attitudes toward men, assessed by the Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (P. Click & S.T. Fiske, 1999), were (a) reliably measured across cultures, (b) positively correlated (for men and women, within samples and across nations) with each other and with hostile and benevolent sexism toward women (Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, P. Click & S.T. Fiske, 1996), and (c) negatively correlated with gender equality in cross-national comparisons. Stereotype measures indicated that men were viewed as having less positively valenced but more powerful traits than women. The authors argue that hostile as well as benevolent attitudes toward men reflect and support gender inequality by characterizing men as being designed for dominance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does it make sense to modify tropical cyclones? A decision-analytic assessment

Recent dramatic increases in damages caused by tropical cyclones (TCs) and improved understanding of TC physics have led DHS to fund research on intentional hurricane modification. We present a decision analytic assessment of whether it is potentially cost-effective to attempt to lower the wind speed of TCs approaching South Florida by reducing sea surface temperatures with wind-wave pumps. Using historical data on hurricanes approaching South Florida, we develop prior probabilities of how storms might evolve. The effects of modification are estimated using a modern TC model. The FEMA HAZUS-MH MR3 damage model and census data on the value of property at risk are used to estimate expected economic losses. We compare wind damages after storm modification with damages after implementing hardening strategies protecting buildings. We find that if it were feasible and properly implemented, modification could reduce net losses from an intense storm more than hardening structures. However, hardening provides "fail safe" protection for average storms that might not be achieved if the only option were modification. The effect of natural variability is larger than that of either strategy. Damage from storm surge is modest in the scenario studied but might be abated by modification.     

Credence quality coordination and consumers' willingness-to-pay for certified halal labelled meat

This paper reports on halal credence quality coordination and Muslim consumers' willingness to buy and pay for certified halal labelled meat at the supermarket and the Islamic butcher. Cross-sectional data were collected through a survey with 202 Muslim consumers in Belgium. Findings indicate that more acculturated and female consumers are more in favour of purchasing certified halal labelled meat in a supermarket. Important conditions are that supermarkets can provide a guarantee of separating halal from non-halal meat and of the organisation of adequate verification and control. Results further show that more Muslim consumers are willing to pay a price premium (of 13% on average) for halal labelled meat at the Islamic butcher shop than at the supermarket. The higher the importance attached to a certified halal label and the more distrust in the actual halal meat status, the higher the likelihood that a Muslim consumer is willing to pay a higher price for certified halal labelled meat at the Islamic butcher shop. Gender and generation determine the actual premium Muslim consumers are willing to pay.     

Modification of the polyphenolic and aromatic fractions of red wines aged on lees assisted with ultrasound

The ageing on lees is a technique particularly interesting in the production of red wines due to the possibility of enhancing some of their sensory characteristics. Different authors have researched the ultrasound assistance to accelerate this ageing process in wines. The present work evaluated the modification that both fractions, polyphenolic and aromatic, of red wines suffer during the ageing on lees process assisted with ultrasounds and with the addition of oak chips. The results obtained during the experimental design indicate that the ultrasound treatment decreased the concentration of proanthocyanidins (between 20.3% and 32.8% with and without oak chips, respectively) and the total pigment content (with the highest reduction in the control sonicated wine 55.9% without chips and lees and from 47.8% to 48.9% when having oak chips/lees and lees, respectively). In addition, it has been observed that the ultrasound treatment did not affect the amount of fermentative volatile compounds present in the wine but, it increased the concentration of phenolic aldehydes coming from oak wood chips (10.8% in control wine and from 35.92% with oak chips/lees to 55.8% with lees).     

Selection of Glycolytically Inefficient Yeasts for Reducing the Alcohol Content of Wines from Hot Regions

The selection of glycolytically inefficient yeasts is of interest for producing wines with less ethanol, especially when they can also improve their sensorial properties. The selection criteria used in the present study included low fermentative power and high production of secondary metabolites with a positive sensorial impact on red wine. Yeast strains were assayed at different must sugar concentrations and fermentation temperatures. Gas chromatograph with a flame ionisation detector was used to determine volatile glycolytic metabolites, and enzyme tests were employed to determine non-volatile compounds. Taking both laboratory and winery experimental results together, strain TP2A16 was found to show glycolytic inefficiency, reducing the mean ethanol content by 1% by volume in fermentations at 25?°C. From a sensorial point of view, this strain showed good production of glycerine and ethyl lactate. It also showed good production of acetaldehyde, which favours the production of stable pigments.     

Fetal Immunomodulatory Environment Following Cartilage Injury—The Key to CARTILAGE Regeneration?

Fetal cartilage fully regenerates following injury, while in adult mammals cartilage injury leads to osteoarthritis (OA). Thus, in this study, we compared the in vivo injury response of fetal and adult ovine articular cartilage histologically and proteomically to identify key factors of fetal regeneration. In addition, we compared the secretome of fetal ovine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro with injured fetal cartilage to identify potential MSC-derived therapeutic factors. Cartilage injury caused massive cellular changes in the synovial membrane, with macrophages dominating the fetal, and neutrophils the adult, synovial cellular infiltrate. Correspondingly, proteomics revealed differential regulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators and growth-factors between adult and fetal joints. Neutrophil-related proteins and acute phase proteins were the two major upregulated protein groups in adult compared to fetal cartilage following injury. In contrast, several immunomodulating proteins and growth factors were expressed significantly higher in the fetus than the adult. Comparison of the in vitro MSCs proteome with the in vivo fetal regenerative signature revealed shared upregulation of 17 proteins, suggesting their therapeutic potential. Biomimicry of the fetal paracrine signature to reprogram macrophages and modulate inflammation could be an important future research direction for developing novel therapeutics.     

Parade Game: Impact of Work Flow Variability on Trade Performance

The Parade Game illustrates the impact work flow variability has on the performance of construction trades and their successors. The game consists of simulating a construction process in which resources produced by one trade are prerequisite to work performed by the next trade. Production-level detail, describing resources being passed from one trade to the next, illustrates that throughput will be reduced, project completion delayed, and waste increased by variations in flow. The game shows that it is possible to reduce waste and shorten project duration by reducing the variability in work flow between trades. Basic production management concepts are thus applied to construction management. They highlight two shortcomings of using the critical-path method for field-level planning: The critical-path method makes modeling the dependence of ongoing activities between trades or with operations unwieldy and it does not explicitly represent variability. The Parade Game can be played in a classroom setting either by hand or using a computer. Computer simulation enables students to experiment with numerous alternatives to sharpen their intuition regarding variability, process throughput, buffers, productivity, and crew sizing. Managers interested in schedule compression will benefit from understanding work flow variability's impact on succeeding trade performance.     

Landscape dynamics in Germany

Modern lifestyles, new demographic trends, and the expansion of the European Community are changing the European countryside. At stake are cultural landscapes, their richness in wildlife, historical interest, scenic beauty, and the recreational opportunities they provide. Visible phenomena of change are symptoms of a growing socio-economic and ecological disparity between different regions. Agreements on AGENDA 2000 European policy provide a new platform for regional and agricultural development. The paper explores which landscape dynamics are in store. Employing examples from rural Germany, the paper presents corridors of possible futures for unique, and at the same time, dynamic places. Modern strategies of landscape and urban planning are discussed which aim at closer co-operation between a multitude of stakeholders, policy makers, planners, and other agents of change. Methods and tools are needed to build consensus among ever increasing numbers of participants representing potentially wide ranges of values.     

Contrast polarity and edge integration in achromatic color perception

Previous work has shown that the achromatic color of a target patch embedded in simple two-dimensional display depends not only on the luminance contrast between the target and its immediate surround but also on the contrasts of other nearby edges. Quantitative models have been proposed in which the target color is modeled as a spatially weighted sum of edge contrasts in which the target edge receives the largest weight. Rudd and Arrington [Vision Res.41, 3649 (2001)] elaborated on this idea to include an additional mechanism whereby effects of individual color-inducing edges are "partially blocked" by edges lying along the path between the inducing edge and the target. We tested the blockage model in appearance matching experiments performed with disk-and-single-ring stimuli having all four possible combinations of inner and outer ring edge contrast polarities. Evidence was obtained for both "blockage" (attenuation) and "antiblockage" (amplification) of achromatic color induction signals, depending on the contrast polarities of the inner and outer ring edges. A neural model is proposed to account for our data on the basis of the contrast gain control occurring between cortical edge detector neurons.