University of North Carolina at Greensboro

About: University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a education organization based out in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 5481 authors who have published 13715 publications receiving 456239 citations. The organization is also known as: UNCG & UNC Greensboro.

Using Multidimensional Item Response Theory to Evaluate Educational and Psychological Tests

Abstract: Many educational and psychological tests are inherently multidimensional, meaning these tests measure two or more dimensions or constructs. The purpose of this module is to illustrate how test practitioners and researchers can apply multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) to understand better what their tests are measuring, how accurately the different composites of ability are being assessed, and how this information can be cycled back into the test development process. Procedures for conducting MIRT analyses–from obtaining evidence that the test is multidimensional, to modeling the test as multidimensional, to illustrating the properties of multidimensional items graphically-are described from both a theoretical and a substantive basis. This module also illustrates these procedures using data from a ninth-grade mathematics achievement test. It concludes with a discussion of future directions in MIRT research.

Openness to experience and awe in response to nature and music: Personality and profound aesthetic experiences.

Abstract: Profound aesthetic experiences associated with awe—often described as a sense of wonder, amazement, fascination, or being moved and touched—have received less attention than milder states like pleasure, liking, and interest. Who tends to experience these powerful states? We suggest that openness to experience, although not normally seen as an emotional trait, is a propensity for awe-like experiences that stretch one’s normal ways of thinking about oneself and the world. A sample of 103 adults took part in a two-phase study that examined the role of openness to experience in two domains: nature and music. In the first phase, people viewed 14 images of the sky and space and rated their experience of each on items related to awe, wonder, and fascination. In the second phase, people listened to a song with qualities known to evoke awe (“Hoppípolla” by Sigur Rós) and rated their experience of it afterward. Openness to experience predicted the experience of awe for both space images (r = .48) and music (r = .35), and the experience of awe was correlated across the domains (r = .35). The other four factors of personality had much smaller effects, and extraversion’s effects were consistently near zero, indicating that awe-like experience differs from the activated positive affectivity typical of extraversion. Overall, the results support the view of openness to experience as an essentially aesthetic trait and extend it to deeper aesthetic states.

Quorum sensing between bacterial species on the skin protects against epidermal injury in atopic dermatitis

Abstract: Colonization of the skin by Staphylococcus aureus is associated with exacerbation of atopic dermatitis (AD), but any direct mechanism through which dysbiosis of the skin microbiome may influence the development of AD is unknown. Here, we show that proteases and phenol-soluble modulin α (PSMα) secreted by S. aureus lead to endogenous epidermal proteolysis and skin barrier damage that promoted inflammation in mice. We further show that clinical isolates of different coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) species residing on normal skin produced autoinducing peptides that inhibited the S. aureus agr system, in turn decreasing PSMα expression. These autoinducing peptides from skin microbiome CoNS species potently suppressed PSMα expression in S. aureus isolates from subjects with AD without inhibiting S. aureus growth. Metagenomic analysis of the AD skin microbiome revealed that the increase in the relative abundance of S. aureus in patients with active AD correlated with a lower CoNS autoinducing peptides to S. aureus ratio, thus overcoming the peptides’ capacity to inhibit the S. aureus agr system. Characterization of a S. hominis clinical isolate identified an autoinducing peptide (SYNVCGGYF) as a highly potent inhibitor of S. aureus agr activity, capable of preventing S. aureus–mediated epithelial damage and inflammation on murine skin. Together, these findings show how members of the normal human skin microbiome can contribute to epithelial barrier homeostasis by using quorum sensing to inhibit S. aureus toxin production.

Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Predict Alcohol and Other Drug Consequence Trajectories in the First Year of College

Abstract: Objective: College matriculation begins a period of transition into adulthood, one that is marked by new freedoms and responsibilities. This transition also is marked by an escalation in heavy drinking and other drug use as well as a variety of use-related negative consequences. Trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may affect alcohol and drug problems and, thus, may be a point of intervention. Yet, no studies have examined trauma, PTSD, and alcohol and drug problem associations during this developmental period. The present study provides such an examination. Method: Matriculating college students (N = 997) completed surveys in September (Time 1) and at 5 subsequent time points (Time 2-Time 6) over their 1st year of college. With latent growth analysis, trajectories of alcohol- and drug-related consequences were modeled to examine how trauma (No Criterion A Trauma, Criterion A Only, No PTSD Symptoms) and PTSD (partial or full) symptom status predicted these trajectories. Results: Results showed substantial risk for alcohol- and other drug-related negative consequences that is conferred by the presence of PTSD at matriculation. Those with both partial and full PTSD started the year with more alcohol and drug consequences. These individuals showed a steeper decrease in consequences in the 1st semester, which leveled off as the year progressed. Both alcohol and drug consequences remained higher for those in the PTSD group throughout the academic year. Hyperarousal symptoms showed unique effects on substance consequence trajectories. Risk patterns were consistent for both partial and full PTSD symptom presentations. Trajectories did not vary by gender. Conclusions: Interventions that offer support and resources to students entering college with PTSD may help to ameliorate problem substance use and may ultimately facilitate a stronger transition into college and beyond. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en

Combined antioxidant treatment effects on blood oxidative stress after eccentric exercise.

Abstract: Purpose:This study was designed to ascertain the effects of a combination antioxidant therapy on plasma protein carbonyls (PC), malondialdehyde (MDA), and whole blood total (TGSH), oxidized (GSSG), and reduced (GSH) glutathione in nonresistance trained females after eccentric resistance exer