Disgust Sensitivity Among Women During the COVID-19 Outbreak

The emotion of disgust is suggested to be an adaptation that evolved to keep us away from sources of infection. Therefore, individuals from populations with greater pathogen stress should have a greater disgust sensitivity. However, current evidence for a positive relationship between disgust sensitivity and the intensity of infectious diseases in the environment is limited. We tested whether disgust and contamination sensitivity changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disgust was assessed in 984 women in 2017 (before pandemic) and 633 women in 2020 (during pandemic) by a set of photographs depicting sources of infection and Pathogen and Moral of Three-Domain Disgust Scale. Further, contamination sensitivity among participants in two waves was measured by Contamination Obsessions and Washing Compulsions Subscale of Padua Inventory. State anxiety was measured with the Polish adaptation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) only during the second wave of data collection. Women from the COVID-19 pandemic group assessed the photographs depicting sources of infection as more disgusting, scoring higher on Padua Inventory, but lower on Moral Disgust Domain as compared to women from before the pandemic. In addition, anxiety levels during pandemic positively correlated with scores from Pathogen Disgust Domain, Padua Inventory, and the ratings of the photographs. The participants of the study scored higher in state anxiety than the norms determined for the Polish population. Summarizing, we present evidence for differences in individual levels of disgust sensitivity in relation to pathogen stress, supporting the idea that disgust evolved to serve as protection from pathogens.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Disgust Proneness, Contamination Sensitivity, and Their Covariance

Dozens of studies have indicated that individuals more prone to experiencing disgust have stronger symptoms of anxiety disorders—especially contamination sensitivity. However, no work has informed the degree to which this relationship arises from genetic factors versus environmental factors. In the present study, we fill this gap by measuring disgust proneness and contamination sensitivity in a sample of 7,199 twins and siblings of twins, including 1,411 complete twin pairs. Disgust proneness was related to contamination sensitivity, r = .32. Multivariate twin modeling revealed that genetic factors accounted for 34% and 40% of the variance in disgust proneness and contamination sensitivity, respectively, and that the correlation between the two traits reflected overlapping genetic (54%) and unshared environmental (46%)—but not shared environmental—influences. Although consistent with work indicating that disgust proneness relates to contamination sensitivity, results suggest that prevailing parental-modeling hypotheses for explaining this relationship be reevaluated.

Genetic and environmental influences on disgust proneness, contamination sensitivity, and their covariance

Dozens of studies indicate that individuals more prone to experiencing disgust have stronger symptoms of anxiety disorders – especially contamination sensitivity. However, no work has informed the degree to which this relationship arises from genetic versus environmental factors. The present study fills this gap by measuring disgust proneness and contamination sensitivity in a sample of 7,199 twins and siblings of twins, including 1,411 complete twin pairs. Disgust proneness was related to contamination sensitivity, r = .32. Multivariate twin modeling revealed that genetic factors accounted for 34% and 40% of the variance in disgust proneness and contamination sensitivity, respectively, and that the correlation between the two traits reflected overlapping genetic (54%) and unshared environmental (46%) – but not shared environmental – influences. While consistent with work indicating that disgust proneness relates to contamination sensitivity, results suggest that parental-modeling hypotheses for explaining this relationship be re-evaluated.

Hydraulic plunger pump contamination sensitivity evaluation

The correct operation of the hydraulic pump and achieving the assumed durability depends on the purity of the used working fluid. The research paper discusses a method for evaluating the contamination sensitivity of a hydraulic plunger pump. The theoretical grounds for evaluating the contamination sensitivity of hydraulic plunger pumps of a hydraulic drive based on the contamination sensitivity factor were presented. An example of evaluating contamination sensitivity of an NP-34M hydraulic plunger pump was discussed.

Performance Degradation of Wind Turbine Airfoils due to Dust Contamination: A Comparative Numerical Study

Sand accumulation can pose significant problems to wind turbines operating in the dusty Saharan environments of the Middle East and North Africa. Despite its difficulty, sand particles can be to a great extent avoided using sealed power drive trains; however, surface contamination of the blades is certainly unavoidable. As a result, aerodynamic losses and even premature separation can be incurred. To mitigate such advert consequences and avoid significant power losses, the choice of properly designed airfoil sections with low contamination sensitivity is a must. Alternatively, mitigation techniques for premature separation may also be considered. In this paper the contamination sensitivity of a number of airfoil sections widely used in the wind turbine industry is compared. Additionally, the possibility of deploying a leading edge slat to mitigate the contamination-driven performance degradation of wind turbine airfoils is explored. A two dimensional CFD model of the particle laden flow over an airfoil section is developed by solving Navier-Stokes equations along with the SST k-ω turbulence model. Additionally, a particle deposition model has been deployed via FLUENT’s discrete phase modeling capability to simulate dust particles trajectories and hence predict their accumulation rate. The preliminary results obtained indicate that airfoil sections with low surface contamination sensitivity specifically designed for wind turbines perform better under dusty conditions. Furthermore installing a leading edge slat affects the aerodynamics of the particle laden flow and may therefore be used to mitigate the adverse effects of surface contamination that otherwise would require frequent cleaning which can be expensive.