Biogenic Amine Levels Markedly Increase in the Aqueous Humor of Individuals with Controlled Type 2 Diabetes

The composition of the aqueous humor of patients with type 2 diabetes is relevant to understanding the underlying causes of eye-related comorbidities. Information on the composition of aqueous humor in healthy subjects is limited due to the lack of adequate controls. To carry out a metabolomics study, 31 samples of aqueous humor from healthy subjects without ocular pathology, submitted to refractive surgery and seven samples from patients with type 2 diabetes without signs of ocular pathology related to diabetes were used. The level of 25 molecules was significantly (p < 0.001) altered in the aqueous humor of the patient group. The concentration of a single molecule, N-acetylornithine, makes it possible to discriminate between control and diabetes (sensitivity and specificity equal to 1). In addition, receptor operating characteristic curve and principal component analysis for the above-mentioned six molecules yielded significantly (p < 0.001) altered in the aqueous humor of the patient group. In addition, receptor operating characteristic curve and principal component analysis for six compounds yielded cut-off values and remarkable sensitivity, specificity, and segregation ability. The altered level of N-acetylornithine may be due to an increased amount of acetate in diabetes. It is of interest to further investigate whether this alteration is related to the pathogenesis of the disease. The increase in the amino form of pyruvate, alanine, in diabetes is also relevant because it could be a means of reducing the formation of lactate from pyruvate.     

采珠后河蚌副产物的营养成分分析及评价

对采珠后河蚌的副产物—蚌肉、外套膜和蚌泪(蚌内体液)进行了成分分析,并对其营养价值进行综合评定。结果表明,新鲜蚌肉、外套膜和蚌泪的含水量分别为76.92%、82.44%和89.31%。干基表示其余指标,蚌肉、外套膜和蚌泪中粗蛋白含量分别为51.07%、47.72%和43.84%;灰分含量7.19%、15.01%和4.34%;粗脂肪含量分别为7.45%、6.37%和4.57%;总糖26.65%、22.9%和42.46%。蚌肉、外套膜和蚌泪中氨基酸总量分别41.54%、37.61%和32.56%,其中必需氨基酸占氨基酸总量的44.43%、42.75和45.02%,接近FAO/WHO推荐的最佳模式;矿质元素如Ca、P、Fe、Mg等含量丰富,蚌肉中铅、汞、铬、砷等几种重金属含量远低于食品卫生标准限量;不饱和脂肪酸含量较高,分别占脂肪酸总量的64.05%、70.39%和57.49%。河蚌浑身是宝,是一种低价、优质的可用资源。      

Humor as aggression: Effects of motivation on hostility expressed in humor appreciation.

In 4 studies, the authors examined the hypothesis that relative to primed autonomy motivation, primed control would increase enjoyment of hostile (compared with nonhostile) humor as assessed by self-reported enjoyment and aversiveness and by nonverbal behavior. Results confirmed the hypothesis. Furthermore, initial state hostility moderated the effect such that high-hostility participants who were primed with control motivation especially enjoyed hostile humor. The 2 final studies showed that the effect was mediated by implicit aggression such that the combination of high initial state hostility and control priming led to implicit aggression, which in turn resulted in hostile humor enjoyment. Results are interpreted in terms of the effects of autonomy versus control motivation on intrapersonal self-regulatory processes, which influence interpersonal functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Ridiculous in Rhetorical Judgment

This essay makes a case for ridicule as a vehicle for humoring rhetorical judgments. With an eye to the “ugly,” the “laughable,” and the “distorted” as longstanding topoi for defying conventional appeals and wrongheaded standards, I build on contemporary interest in the politics of comedy by providing a provisional map of some of the tensions that emerge out of ridiculous appeals in public discourse. The general orientation is toward comic forms that seem to evidence the civic virtue in vulgarity. Specifically, this essay considers how ridicule bends the rules of rhetorical judgment in the formation (or reaffirmation) of cultural values. Stephen Colbert's stunt in establishing a political action committee is put forth as an example of how particularly comic judgments test the grounds of what tends to pass for acceptable political speech. In addition, broader economies of ridicule are engaged in order to consider some of our current politics of offense, the importance of occasionally disidentifying with so-called common sense, and laughter as a powerful rhetorical force in judging matters. The essay closes with a critical reflection on the stress that comic ridicule seems to put on rhetorical judgment as a site of civic education.     

The Effects of Pranks in Social Media on Brands

Practical jokes belong to the category of disparagement humor and they have been extensively investigated by social scientists for decades. Nevertheless, the available empirical results pertain mostly to human-to-human situations and little is known on the effects of pranks in the computer-mediated environment (CME). As CME encourages different patterns of reactions and behaviors than non-CME, the present study provides an experimental evaluation of consumer responses to brands that use practical jokes in their social media communication. The results reveal that high-disparagement pranks may significantly hurt brand perceptions and decrease brand affect. This effect is better predicted by prior brand attitudes than usage (i.e., the more favorable predisposition to a brand, the higher probability that a high-disparagement prank will produce a lower brand affect). No significant impact of low-disparagement pranks was found on subsequent brand responses. The findings will help scholars and practitioners in understanding this new phenomenon and in maximizing returns from humor online.     

LEARNING TO LAUGH (AUTOMATICALLY): COMPUTATIONAL MODELS FOR HUMOR RECOGNITION

Humor is one of the most interesting and puzzling aspects of human behavior. Despite the attention it has received in fields such as philosophy, linguistics, and psychology, there have been only few attempts to create computational models for humor recognition or generation. In this article, we bring empirical evidence that computational approaches can be successfully applied to the task of humor recognition. Through experiments performed on very large data sets, we show that automatic classification techniques can be effectively used to distinguish between humorous and non-humorous texts, with significant improvements observed over a priori known baselines.     

Explaining Potential Antecedents of Workplace Social Support: Reciprocity or Attractiveness?

Effects of social support are an important topic in occupational stress theories and research, yet little is known about support's potential antecedents. Based on reciprocity theory, the authors hypothesized that the social support received is related to the extent the employee performs organizational citizenship behaviors directed at individuals and to one's social competence; based on the notion of personal attraction, the authors hypothesized that employees' physical attractiveness and sense of humor would be associated with the amount of social support received. In a survey of 123 high school employees and separate ratings of their attractiveness, reciprocity variables were related but attraction variables were not related to social support availability. Further research should examine reciprocity in predicting social support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frances Benjamin Johnston 1864˜1952

Abstract

A short obituary in Time magazine, published in June 1952, marked the passing of one of America's foremost women photographers, whose death had occurred almost three months earlier, on 16th March 1952.     

乘客

主要介绍伦敦AA建筑学院的本科设计工作室Intermediate 1的教学方法.在马克·坎贝尔和斯图尔特·多德的指导下,工作室成员通过调查、写作、讨论、摄影、录像、制图和设计等探索形式,致力于研究美国境内的废弃建筑以及固执地栖居于其中的古怪住户.这些研究显示了我们对建筑在更广泛的社会文化、技术和历史系统中得以运作的兴趣.假若我们接受西格弗里德·吉迪翁关于建筑是社会潜意识之表征的观点,那么在美国,建筑的角色往往表现出这个国家作为一个世界超级大国的衰退.在此图景下,建筑成为这种衰落过程的副产品或遗弃物.在过去三年间,Intermediate 1对密西西比三角洲地区、加利福尼亚州的索尔顿湖以及密歇根州的底特律等地区进行了研究.在雷纳·斑汉姆的启示下,我们尝试以“近期未来的考古学家”的身份,仔细考察那些破败的建筑、潜在的发展机遇,以及——最重要的——这些地区中人们的境遇.通过这些工作,Intermediate 1尝试质疑建筑的绝对可靠性,同时探讨建筑过时淘汰的可能性.