A sense of control, even if illusory, eliminates emotion-driven distortions of time

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) ? We humans have a fairly erratic sense of time. We tend to misjudge the duration of events, particularly when they are emotional in nature. Disturbingly negative experiences, for example, seem to last much longer than they actually do. And highly positive experiences seem to pass more quickly than negative ones.

Researchers say they have found a way to lessen these emotion-driven time distortions. Having a sense of control over events reduces the influence of emotions on time perception, the researchers report. This is true even for highly reactive emotional individuals and even if one's sense of control is an illusion.

The researchers describe their findings in a paper in Frontiers in Psychology.

Previous studies have found that highly arousing emotional experiences lead to the time distortions described above. Most people report that highly arousing positive images (erotic pictures, for example), viewed briefly on a computer monitor, flash by more quickly than disturbingly negative ones (of a dismembered body, for instance), even when the images are viewed for the same length of time. In contrast, low arousing positive or negative images (of a flower or mop, for example) tend to have the opposite effect: Most people report that mildly positive images seem to last longer than mildly negative ones do.

"We imagine that we're perfect at judging time, but we're not," said University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Simona Buetti, who conducted the study with psychology professor Alejandro Lleras. "If you see a disgusting image, like a photo of a mutilated body, you will perceive this image lasting longer than if you see a picture of people on a roller coaster, or an erotic image. The major contribution of this study is to show that when you give participants a feeling of control, even if it's not perfect and even if it's totally illusory in an experiment, then you can make all these time distortions vanish."

Previous studies also exposed participants to positive and negative images to determine their effect on cognition, Lleras said.

"But in these previous studies, participants never had a sense of control over the experimental events. Images were just presented and participants simply reacted to them as they appeared," he said. "What is novel in our study is that participants are for the first time being given a sense that they can control the emotional events that they are witnessing in the lab."

In a series of experiments, the researchers asked participants to press keys on a keyboard to try to increase the frequency with which positive (or, in one experiment, negative) images appeared on a computer monitor. In reality, the participants had no control over the images; the researchers manipulated the ratio of positive to negative images to give them the impression that they were controlling -- or failing to control -- the emotional content of the images.

The researchers also tested a subset of participants who had a strong aversion to spiders. Buetti and Lleras reasoned that if control could alter the way people experienced emotional events, a particularly rigorous and useful test of this hypothesis would be to see if this held true in subjects who had very strong emotional reactions to images of spiders.

As in previous studies, when participants experienced low levels of control over experimental events, they tended to overestimate the amount of time they looked at highly arousing negative images (including photos of spiders) in relation to the amount of time they viewed highly arousing positive images. Buetti and Lleras also discovered that the more a person feared spiders, the more he or she tended to overestimate the duration of spider images.

"For spider-fearful individuals, it's as if time slows down when they are confronted with spiders," Lleras said.

But when the researchers induced a high level of perceived control in participants, the time distortions associated with the emotional content of the images went away.

"Even among spider-fearful participants, images of spiders no longer slowed time," said Lleras, who also is an affiliate of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

"Across experiments, we found that the same images, the same horrible or positive images are actually treated differently if you give a sense of control to participants," Buetti said. "All of a sudden, they're looking at the world differently; they're reacting to the world differently."

Some time distortions returned, however, when in a final experiment participants were made to feel in control of negative events (the viewing of mostly negative images). When they pursued a goal that violated their basic instincts and desires for well-being, Lleras said, their sense of control "failed to inoculate them from the time distortions associated with viewing very disturbing negative images."

The new findings have implications for future studies, the researchers said.

"We now know that experiments on emotion processing can lead to dramatically different outcomes depending on whether participants are offered a sense of control over experimental events or not," Buetti said.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Simona Buetti, Alejandro Lleras. Perceiving Control Over Aversive and Fearful Events Can Alter How We Experience Those Events: An Investigation of Time Perception in Spider-Fearful Individuals. Frontiers in Psychology, 2012; 3 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00337

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/QZ4lAeyk-MI/121024133450.htm

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2012 Antarctic ozone hole second smallest in 20 years

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) ? The average area covered by the Antarctic ozone hole this year was the second smallest in the last 20 years, according to data from NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites. Scientists attribute the change to warmer temperatures in the Antarctic lower stratosphere.

The ozone hole reached its maximum size Sept. 22, covering 8.2 million square miles (21.2 million square kilometers), or the area of the United States, Canada and Mexico combined. The average size of the 2012 ozone hole was 6.9 million square miles (17.9 million square kilometers). The Sept. 6, 2000 ozone hole was the largest on record at 11.5 million square miles (29.9 million square kilometers).

"The ozone hole mainly is caused by chlorine from human-produced chemicals, and these chlorine levels are still sizable in the Antarctic stratosphere," said NASA atmospheric scientist Paul Newman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Natural fluctuations in weather patterns resulted in warmer stratospheric temperatures this year. These temperatures led to a smaller ozone hole."

Observing Earth's Ozone Layer

Atmospheric ozone is no longer declining because concentrations of ozone-depleting chemicals stopped increasing and are now declining.

The ozone layer acts as Earth's natural shield against ultraviolet radiation, which can cause skin cancer. The ozone hole phenomenon began making a yearly appearance in the early 1980s. The Antarctic ozone layer likely will not return to its early 1980s state until about 2065, Newman said. The lengthy recovery is because of the long lifetimes of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere. Overall atmospheric ozone no longer is declining as concentrations of ozone-depleting substances decrease. The decrease is the result of an international agreement regulating the production of certain chemicals.

This year also marked a change in the concentration of ozone over the Antarctic. The minimum value of total ozone in the ozone hole was the second highest level in two decades. Total ozone, measured in Dobson units (DU) reached 124 DU on Oct. 1. NOAA ground-based measurements at the South Pole recorded 136 DU on Oct. 5. When the ozone hole is not present, total ozone typically ranges from 240-500 DU.

This is the first year growth of the ozone hole has been observed by an ozone-monitoring instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. The instrument, called the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS), is based on previous instruments, such as the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet instrument (SBUV/2). OMPS continues a satellite record dating back to the early 1970s.

In addition to observing the annual formation and extent of the ozone hole, scientists hope OMPS will help them better understand ozone destruction in the middle and upper stratosphere with its Nadir Profiler. Ozone variations in the lower stratosphere will be measured with its Limb Profiler.

"OMPS Limb looks sideways, and it can measure ozone as a function of height," said Pawan K. Bhartia, a NASA atmospheric physicist and OMPS Limb instrument lead. "This OMPS instrument allows us to more closely see the vertical development of Antarctic ozone depletion in the lower stratosphere where the ozone hole occurs."

NASA and NOAA have been monitoring the ozone layer on the ground and with a variety of instruments on satellites and balloons since the 1970s. Long-term ozone monitoring instruments have included TOMS, SBUV/2, Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment series of instruments, the Microwave Limb Sounder, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument, and the OMPS instrument on Suomi NPP. Suomi NPP is a bridging mission leading to the next-generation polar-orbiting environmental satellites called the Joint Polar Satellite System, will extend ozone monitoring into the 2030s.

NASA and NOAA have a mandate under the Clean Air Act to monitor ozone-depleting gases and stratospheric depletion of ozone. NOAA complies with this mandate by monitoring ozone via ground and satellite measurements. The NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., performs the ground-based monitoring. The Climate Prediction Center performs the satellite monitoring.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/bmS8jbWtmn0/121024164723.htm

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Flawed Perfectiin.

Flawed Perfection.

Thehighschool years..Best or Worst?

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U.S. Department of State's American Music Abroad Program Now ...

U.S. Department of State?s American Music Abroad Program Now Accepting Applications

US Deparment of StateWASHINGTON, D.C. /Music Industry Newswire/ ? The U.S. Department of State?s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced today that the American Music Abroad program, an international exchange program that uses music as a means to engage underserved audiences worldwide, is now accepting applications for American musicians for the 2013-2014 season. Candidates may apply at www.americanvoice.org/ama.

The American Music Abroad program consists of month-long, multi-country tours for approximately 10 American musical groups. The musicians will be chosen to conduct musical exchange tours abroad to foster cross-cultural engagement and understanding. Musicians from a variety of American musical genres are encouraged to apply. American Music Abroad ensembles will be selected on the basis of artistic quality and commitment to educational and cultural engagement.

The deadline for applicants is January 18, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. PST.

Through public concerts, interactive performances with local musicians, lecture demonstrations, workshops, and jam sessions, American Music Abroad builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton?s vision of ?smart power,? which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools, including music, to bring people together and create opportunities for greater understanding.

The U.S. Department of State partners with the Association of American voices to reach international audiences with little or no access to live American musical performances, especially underserved youth, in nearly 40 countries in every region of the world.

For more information, visit http://exchanges.state.gov/cultural/ama.html .

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About Christopher Laird Simmons

Christopher Simmons has been writing about music since 1984 when he sold his first feature to Polyphony (now Electronic Musician) magazine. He has composed music for two TV cable shows, is a member of ASCAP and PRSA, and is the managing editor for Music Industry Newswire(TM), as well as the CEO of Neotrope(R) Entertainment. His 80s music can be found on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby, among others. He played in several electronica bands in the '80s, and currently tries to find time to play with his studio gear. He is also an award winning graphic designer, photographer, author of one book "Fractopia," and has created digital art for numerous national magazines. ? Christopher Laird Simmons. More at: ChristopherSimmons.com .

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Source: http://musicindustrynewswire.com/u-s-department-of-states-american-music-abroad-program-now-accepting-applications/

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Simone and Montefiore to build Bronx hospital - Real Estate Weekly

Home ? Construction & Design

11:21 am, October 24, 2012

Rendering of new facility at Hutchinson

Montefiore Medical Center has announced an agreement with Simone Development to lease an 11-story, 280,000 s/f building at Hutchinson Metro Center.

The new construction project, scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2014, will include an ambulatory surgery center, featuring 12 operating rooms and four procedure rooms; an advanced imaging center; onsite laboratory services and pharmacy; as well as new primary and specialty care practices.

The initial lease agreement is for 16 years with the option to extend the lease or purchase the tower.

?This new tower will allow Montefiore to bring the healthcare of tomorrow to our patients here in the Bronx,? said Steven M. Safyer, MD, president and CEO of Montefiore Medical Center. ?We are reshaping outpatient care and establishing leading practices that provide Montefiore?s world-class treatments through multidisciplinary teams at a hospital without beds.?

?We are very mindful of the healthcare industry trends driving demand for high-quality medical office space,? said Joseph Simone, president of Simone Development.?The needs of hospital systems have shifted significantly in recent years, and Simone Development is a leader in helping the medical profession to navigate this new landscape. We?re thrilled to be expanding Montefiore?s presence here at Hutchinson Metro Center, and helping them to fulfill their facility needs with this beautiful new tower has been rewarding for us.?

The new tower will be adjacent to another building on the Simone Development site that is home to Montefiore?s Center for Orthopaedic Specialties. Together, this will create Montefiore?s fourth campus, to be called Hutchinson Campus, extending Montefiore?s care delivery network to a new area of the Bronx.

The integrated network encompasses more than 130 locations, 50 advanced primary and specialty care centers, 19 school health clinics, a home health agency and four traditional hospitals, including the Children?s Hospital at Montefiore.

The new tower is the latest chapter in the success of the Hutchinson Metro Center. The 42-acre suburban-style campus offers Class A office space and a host of first-class amenities.?The complex also offers free parking with more than 1,100 spaces and a free shuttle service to nearby subway lines.

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Source: http://www.rew-online.com/2012/10/24/simone-and-montefiore-to-build-bronx-hospital/

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Top Tips For Student Budgeting | Frugal Finance

Budgeting is a massive part of student life. It generally comes as quite a shock to new students who have never had to buy food, household goods or look after themselves in general. It pays to get good at budgeting pretty quick when you get to uni, it really will help you in the long run!

Here are a few of the top tips to make sure your first few months go off without a hitch:

Recording ? In your very first month of university, try to record how much money you spend on what and when. This will help you create an initial budget that can act as a benchmark for the rest of the year. You can also review on which areas you could be skimming the fat.

Books ? Yes the first year of university does come with an inevitable spend on academic literature and there is no way of getting round that. There are though, ways of getting around the premium prices you can find at the high street book stores. First of all, you don?t have to buy every single book on your reading list; many of them will be available from your university library anyway.

But the downside of library borrowing is that a lot of texts are very popular and when it comes to writing an essay, the majority of the people on your course could be scrapping for the same book. In this instance always go for second hand. There is an abundance of online book stores where you can get the literature you need for much cheaper.

Pay off the boring stuff first ? This is a standard rule of thumb and it goes for everyone, not just university students. As long as you have the big stuff, phone bills, utilities, rent etc. covered you shouldn?t get into too much trouble. If you would rather spend your excess money on drinking than going food shopping that?s fine, as long as you?re not evicted from your house!

Mike writes for an essay writing company offering academic services to students around the world called Essay-Site.com.

Source: http://www.frugalfinance.co.uk/top-tips-for-student-budgeting/

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A Grown-Up Slingshot For the Mischievous Little Kid in Us All

Try as you might to satiate that mischievous little voice inside you by watching Joerg Sprave's crazy slingshot creations, deep down you know it just isn't enough. So as long as you're not using it for random acts of violence, what's the harm in having a little fun with this beautiful GloveShot slingshot? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/OV4U-F2dts4/a-grown+up-slingshot-for-the-mischievous-little-kid-still-inside-you

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Green Roof and Green Wall Market Growing Like Weeds ...

Green roofs and green walls will grow from a $5.3 billion market in 2011 into a $7.7 billion market in 2017, driven by mandates and incentives in cities worldwide, according to Lux Research. But while installations will increase 70 percent to 204 million square meters, costs and lack of validation will limit their rise.

Green roofs will account for $7 billion of the 2017 market, presenting a $2 billion opportunity to suppliers of polymeric materials such as geosynthetic fabrics and waterproof membranes, according to Building-Integrated Vegetation: Redefining the Landscape or Chasing a Mirage?

Green walls, meanwhile, will swell to a $680 million market, using $200 million worth of materials such as self-supporting polyurethane foam growth media.

Rapid urbanization over the past 50 years has caused air pollution, urban heat-island effects and loss of green spaces. To combat these and other environmental issues, cities such as Copenhagen, London, Singapore and Chicago have issued mandates or incentives for vegetated roofs to reduce storm-water volume, clean air pollutants, reduce the heat-island effect and sequester carbon dioxide.

However, it?s difficult to monetize the environmental benefits of green roofs and walls, and some wonder if building-integrated vegetation is merely a ?green curiosity,? says Aditya Ranade, Lux Research senior analyst and the lead author of the report.

While green roofs and walls do offer a multitude of environmental benefits, they face obstacles to widespread implementation, the report says. Installed cost ? $300/m2 to $500/m2 for green roofs and $900/m2 to $1,100/m2 for green walls ? is far higher than alternatives.

And while adoption is driven by a handful of cities in the developed world, growth in the developing world will depend on the global economic market.

The report forecasts more building material suppliers will develop building-integrated vegetation materials and create special grades of waterproof membranes and geosynthetic fabrics suited for building-integrated vegetation. Products will improve as the market becomes more mainstream and more performance standards are established.

In other green roof news, new research funded by the UK?s Royal Horticultural Society and Portugal?s Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia found green-roof plants other than sedums may help cool air temperatures more effectively, Energy Manager Today reports. The study looked at the possibility of using different plants ? sedum, Stachys byzantina, Hedera hibernica and Bergenia cordifolia ? for green roofs. Sedum is currently the most popular, according to RHS.

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Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/10/22/green-roof-and-green-wall-market-growing-like-weeds/

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Movie Review: MAGIC MIKE Is Steven Soderbergh's Wry, Amusing ...

It?s inspiring and more than a little fitting that Steven Soderbergh released both Haywire and Magic Mike this year: inspiring, because viewed back to back, the films offer an impressive display of his gifts as a director; and fitting, because both titles let their respective leading actors operate squarely in their comfort zones.? Sure, Gina Carano made it big kicking other people in the face as hard as she could, while Channing Tatum only took his clothes off for money, but Soderbergh?s operating principle in both situations is the same.? Why train an actor to fake the moves when you can just hire the real thing?

The big surprise is one of accessibility.? Who?da thunk that Haywire, with its bone-crunching fight scenes and international skullduggery, would turn out to be the year?s most esoteric thriller (it?s The Bourne Identity as directed by Michelangelo Antonioni), whereas the seamy world of man-thongs and body sweat that Magic Mike so lovingly details proves so immediately engaging?? Soderbergh pulls off a delicate balancing act; you never get the sense that he?s sugar-coating the lives his buff, mostly-nude leads, and credit must go to Tatum, whose own life provided much of the picture?s inspiration.? The scenes backstage have a workaday grind.? You see the sexual apathy, the financial hunger that drives the dancers, and when the show begins, they turn into aerobicized automatons, their glazed-over eyes standing in marked contrast to their lusty physical gyrations.? Yet ? and this is key ? Soderbergh isn?t in his Traffic-expos? mode.? He?s making a glossy entertainment, with a sharp, knowing script from Reid Carolin and a host of thrilling dance sequences (like he did in Haywire, Soderbergh lets movement play out in long, uninterrupted takes).? The thing has the feel of a classic Hollywood production ? it?s Soderbergh?s most enjoyable picture since 2001?s Ocean?s Eleven.

In its broad strokes, Magic Mike is A Star is Born with body glitter.? Nineteen-year-old Adam (Alex Pettyfer) is drifting aimlessly through Tampa, Florida, when he meets ?Magic? Mike Lane (Tatum), a dancer and aspiring interior decorator who initiates Adam into the world of male strip clubs.? As Adam rises through the ranks, he finds himself increasingly vulnerable to the job?s perils, and Soderbergh compares his coming-of-age to Mike?s long-dormant disenchantment with the nearly nude lifestyle. ?Mike is smarter and more driven than the other guys he dances with ? and he knows it ? and his sweet, tentative courtship of Adam?s sister Brooke (Cody Horn, daughter of Walt Disney Studios? chairman Alan Horn) has him looking for an exit.? It?s that old dilemma ? can Adam avoid losing his soul while Mike tries to regain his ? but the lived-in milieu and Soderbergh?s clean, objective eye make the melodrama feel fresh and unpredictable.? I was reminded of Hal Ashby?s landmark Shampoo, another wry dramedy about struggling swingers; both share the same mix of grit and sympathy.

After a failed attempt to become the new Robert Pattinson (I Am Number Four, anybody?), Pettyfer finally gets a role that makes the most of his talents.? It?s a subtle piece of work ? Adam is such an easy-going kid that we don?t realize how far down the rabbit-hole he is until it?s almost too late ? and Pettyfer gives the part a touching na?vety.? But everyone is operating on their A-game.? Tatum is wry and funny and charismatic (between this and 21 Jump Street, he?s having a banner year), and the movie has sharp little turns from the likes of Olivia Munn, Joe Manganiello, and Matt Bomer.? Best of all is Matthew McConaughey as Xquisite?s owner and head M.C. Dallas.? For much of the film, McConaughey seems like he?s sending up his well-worn affable dreamboat persona; he?s prone to drawling ?All right, all right, all right,? he plays the bongos, and he?s often shirtless.? Every so often, though, he?ll let the veil drop, and Dallas turns into something predatory and dark.? It?s an electric piece of acting ? think Joel Grey from Cabaret in assless chaps.

This being Soderbergh and all, the film doesn?t operate on a wholly trivial level.? In many ways, Magic Mike is an infinitely more entertaining redo of the director?s 2008 drama The Girlfriend Experience; the two features view flesh peddling as unconventional-yet acceptable means of earning a living.? Mike?s world has its pitfalls ? and if I have one problem with Magic Mike, it?s that Adam?s third-act descent into drug-abuse and self-loathing feels rote in a way that?s at odds with the freewheeling invention of the first two-thirds ? but those issues are no worse than the shifting, morally flexible landscape of an American economy that left so many of its citizens adrift.

You got to hand it to Mike and his crew: at least they?re honest about what they?re selling.? At its best, Magic Mike is a clear-eyed and funny look at how tough it is to get by in America.? It is also completely and fully a Steven Soderbergh picture, and we are richer for that fact.

Warner Bros? Blu-ray presents the film in a wonderful HD transfer.? Shooting on digital, Soderbergh achieves a remarkably film-like look (the use of an anamorphic lens greatly helps), and the disc faithfully replicates the depth and texture of the image.? The Blu-ray also has an immersive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track.

Unfortunately, like the director?s recent Haywire and Contagion discs, supplements are in scant supply.? There?s a too-short making-of featurette (?Backstage on Magic Mike?), the ?Dance Play Mode? which plays all the dance sequences in one twenty-minute chunk, and extended cuts of three dance setpieces.? I miss the Steven Soderbergh who gave us exhaustive behind-the-scenes materials; I hope he returns some day.

Magic Mike is so much better than its cheesecake trailer suggested.? The lesson is simple:? in Soderbergh we trust.

Magic Mike streets on October 23rd.? Click HERE for Amazon?s listing.

Also ? a brief heads-up: ?Warner is bringing The Dark Knight Rises to Blu-ray Combo Pack or Digital Download on December 4th. ?Click HERE for a special Blu-ray sizzle video.

Source: http://culturemob.com/movie-review-magic-mike-is-steven-soderberghs-wry-amusing-look-at-male-strippers

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Victoria Advocate | Steelers missing top 2 running backs vs Bengals

CINCINNATI (AP) - The Steelers were missing their top two running backs and two offensive linemen Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rashard Mendenhall (Achilles tendon) and Isaac Redman (ankle) were inactive, a setback to the NFL's 31st-ranked running game. In addition, rookie Mike Adams made his first start at right tackle for Marcus Gilbert (ankle) and Doug Legursky started for center Maurkice Pouncey (knee).

Safety Troy Polamalu (calf) was inactive for the fourth time in five games.

The Bengals also were thin at running back with Brian Leonard active because of bruised ribs. Receiver Armon Binns was out with a sprained ankle, giving Brandon Tate a chance to start. The Bengals gave rookie cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick another game off, recovering from a knee injury over the summer.


Source: http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2012/oct/21/bc-fbn-steelers-bengals-inactives/

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