Penn State now owns a handful of .xxx domain names — but not for adult entertainment purposes.

With .xxx domains about to go on the market to the public, the university has been purchasing sites to prevent unaffiliated porn sites from making use of the school’s name.

Earlier this year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers voted to create the .xxx domain in an effort to better flag sites with adult content, but with this decision came concern from universities and many other trademark owners.

“These domains are obviously going to be used with adult entertainment. Schools as well as other trademark owners have done so much to protect and promote their brand,” Michael Drucker, vice president and associate counsel for The Collegiate Licensing Company, said. “They don’t want that brand to be associated with the adult entertainment business.”

ICANN took this concern into consideration, and before making the domain names available to the public, the company offered trademark owners the opportunity to purchase sites containing their trademarked names.

“They provided a period of time, the Sunshine B period, which allowed owners of registered trademarks that chance to purchase domain names that included their trademarks before opening the .xxx sale to the public,” Jeffrey Hermann, director of university relations and member of the University Licensing Committee, said.

This sunshine period opened in September, at which time Penn State purchased four .xxx domains: Penn State, PSU, Nittany Lions and The Pennsylvania State University.

“These are the most popular of our federally registered trademarks. The committee [the University Licensing Committee] felt this was a good opportunity to protect the Penn State brand from possible negative associations,” Hermann said.

Each domain name cost the university $200, but Hermann said the price tag also to prevents associations that reflect poorly on the university. That purchase will also prevent anyone from buying a domain that includes the trademarked term with other words, such as nittanyliongirls.xxx.

“We also still have the standard dispute resolution process we can follow to remove any domain name which violates these or any of our other trademarks,” Hermann said.

The sunshine period only applied to trademarks that were already federally registered, in other words, not just any name could be purchased, Drucker said.

“Penn State has an excellent federal registration portfolio, so they are able to protect themselves,” Drucker said.

The .xxx domain names will become available to the public starting Dec. 6.

After an emotionally stressful day, dreaming can help in coping with distressing memories, according to a U. California-Berkeley study published Nov. 23 in the journal Current Biology.

The study, which shows that rapid-eye movement sleep can decrease emotional intensity in reaction to past events, is the first to systematically test how sleep affects reactivity to previous emotional experiences at both a brain and behavioral level.

“It’s the first to look at REM sleep in such a sophisticated way,” said Els van der Helm, a UC Berkeley doctoral student in psychology and lead author of the study, in an email. “It aids therapies not only for (post-traumatic stress disorder) but also mood disorders.”

According to the research — which was conducted over one and a half years — REM sleep creates an ideal environment for the brain to process emotions because it reduces stress-inducing electrical activity patterns and activity of some neurotransmitters.

“We believe this unique brain state helps to put these emotional experiences ‘in perspective’ by integrating them with previous memories while ‘stripping away’ the emotional tone associated with them,” van der Helm said in the email.

The study is the first to record sleep’s effect on both brain activity and behavioral reactions to emotional experiences. Researchers tracked activity in the emotional regions of the brain and measured how intensely participants rated the emotional images that were shown to them during the study after REM sleep.

Researchers also noticed that the aggressive reactionary forces of the brain’s emotion-processing area — the amygdala — decreased as a result of REM sleep, allowing the rational part of the brain to regain control of the individual’s emotional reactions.

During REM sleep, neurotransmitters that play an important role in memory processing are more active. The heightened presence of these chemicals, as well as reduced stress, allows the brain to process emotions most beneficially during the most vivid dreams, van der Helm said in the email.

“The finding that REM sleep physiology is associated with … amygdala activity in response to previous emotional experiences … the next day has some very exciting implications for treatment of mood and/or anxiety disorders,” said Carrie Bearden, associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and psychology at UCLA, in an email. “It’s a very innovative study.”

For the study, researchers showed images invoking intense emotional response to 35 healthy young adults twice with a 12-hour interval in between.

Participants who were allowed to sleep between the two viewings showed a significantly less intense reaction to the images the second time around compared to those who stayed awake.

“This research shows that sleep plays a crucial role in emotional processing and opens up doors for therapeutic avenues,” van der Helm said in the email.

The study focuses particularly on the condition of post-traumatic stress disorder, characterized by REM abnormalities and exaggerated amygdala reactivity where “sleep problems are often part of the diagnostic criteria, but often go untreated,” van der Helm said in the email.

Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mood disorders can benefit from improved therapeutic sessions using the findings in the study, he said in the email.

“It would be interesting to conduct a longer-term study to examine cross-lagged effects of changes in amygdala reactivity and subjective emotional reactivity over time,” Bearden said in the email. “The relationship of REM sleep to emotional response is surprisingly under-studied so I think this is a great step in that direction.”

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Apparently, Ohio State thinks Duke is all talk. It might have proven it Tuesday night.

In an unusual move, the sold-out crowd at Value City Arena was treated to a pre-game hype video taking aim particularly at the Blue Devils. Footage of Dick Vitale and other ESPN analysts praising the No. 3 Blue Devils was mocked, and ended with the tagline, “It’s time to talk about THIS,” as the No. 2 Buckeyes took the floor.

After Ohio State’s performance in Columbus, it now looks like no one will be talking about anything else.

In the premier game of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Buckeyes (7-0) handed Duke its worst loss since its season ending blowout to Villanova in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, defeating the Blue Devils 85-63. Four Ohio State starters scored more than 16 points, and the team shot 59 percent from the field compared to Duke’s 47 percent clip.

“Sometimes you just get your butt kicked. We got our butt kicked,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said following the loss. “Tonight my butt’s sore.”

After being knocked down by an 11-0 run to start the game, the Blue Devils (7-1) battled back behind the offense of Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers to cut the lead to one point with 12:33 to go in the first half. The Buckeyes responded, though, as Jared Sullinger, William Buford and Deshuan Thomas combined to score 19 of Ohio State’s next 23 points as the lead ballooned to 13.

But the true dagger didn’t come until later in the half. After a three-point play by Rivers brought the lead back down to ten with 4:15 to go, Duke looked poised to make a run and narrow the deficit before halftime. While Buford answered Rivers with an impressive fade-away jumper, however, the Blue Devils lost their shooting touch. Tyler Thornton, Quinn Cook and Rivers missed four open threes, two of which were airballs, and Duke would only score two points the rest of the half.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils were flummoxed by Thomas, who scored nine straight Buckeye points following Buford’s jumper and even exploited a rare zone defense implemented by Krzyzewski.

Duke found itself down 19 at the half, and would not close the lead to less than 17 the rest of the way.

“They went out there and they took a punch at us,” Rivers said. “We just put our hands up and fell back into the ropes. We never ever struck back, not once.”

Although Duke’s defense was the main culprit of the blowout loss, the Blue Devils also struggled to find an offensive rhythm in a hostile environment. Rivers and Plumlee accounted for 38 of Duke’s 63 points and took nearly 55 percent of the team’s shots.

Seth Curry scored only seven points, his lowest total of the year, after taking only four shots in the first half. Ryan Kelly, coming off MVP honors at the Maui Invitational, was invisible in Columbus. The junior captain took just two shots in 14 first-half minutes, and played only one minute the rest of the way. He finished with no points and three rebounds.

The team accumulated just ten assists and is now ranked 242nd in Division-I basketball in assists per game.

According to Krzyzewski, though, the trip to Maui played a major role in Duke’s lackluster effort Tuesday. The Blue Devils had just come off a grueling schedule of seven games in thirteen days, while Ohio State has not left Columbus yet this season.

“They haven’t been on the road. We just got back from a hellacious tournament in Maui,” Krzyzewski said. “We weren’t able to get juiced up in this short amount of time to go on the road. That had a bearing on it. Even if we did that I’m not sure if we would have beaten that team.”

The Buckeyes were also on the end of every bounce—in the first half alone Ohio State had ten second chance points, compared to none by Duke. And a team that is shooting below 35 percent from beyond the 3-point arc this season went 5-for-5 in the second half to stymie any hope of a Blue Devil run.

Regardless, Duke was never able to overcome those first half runs that turned a top 5 matchup into a laugher.

“I just think they were more ready to play,” Plumlee said. “You can tell by the way the game started. We just didn’t come ready.”

Having too much to drink is no longer an excuse for that irresponsible one-night stand.

Studies done by researchers at U. Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions, as well as a study by an Ohio State graduate, show that binge drinking and risky sexual behavior have no relation.

The study at the U. Buffalo, Randomized Controlled Trial of Brief Interventions to Reduce College Students’ Drinking and Risky Sex, surveyed 154 heavy-drinking college students, 91 women and 63 men, whose sexual behavior put them at risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. Students were subjected to counseling on the amount of alcohol they consumed and their risk for HIV.

Counseling for HIV-risk sexual behavior led to a decrease in unprotected sex. However, the counseling on alcohol consumption did not reduce unprotected sex.

Kurt Dermen, lead investigator of the study, said the results were surprising.

“It was somewhat surprising that reducing drinking did not lead to a reduction in risky sex,” Dermen said. “However, it is clear from other research that many factors affect students’ decisions about condom use and partner choice.”

Daniela Faloon, a June 2011 OSU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, completed research for her honors thesis on binge drinking, self-esteem and sexual activity among women. Her thesis, “The Relationships between Self-esteem, Binge Drinking and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Young Women” showed no correlation between binge drinking (defined as four or more drinks in one sitting) and risky sexual behavior.

However, higher levels of self-esteem were related to higher levels of binge drinking, according to Faloon’s findings.

“Women with higher self-esteem may be more confident and therefore, be more likely to go out and socialize,” Faloon said.

According to Faloon’s research, almost half of all sexually transmitted infections each year are among people ages 15 to 24.

“As a student at a large university I saw firsthand the prevalence of binge drinking and how it affects decision-making,” she said.

Both Faloon and Dermen acknowledged that there are other studies that show alcohol does play a role in sexual activity.

Amy Bonomi, a professor of human sexuality at OSU specializing in domestic violence and assault, cited a pilot study done by researchers at OSU showing that any alcohol use, including binge drinking (having five or more drinks on any given occasion), leads to more sexual partners.

“On college campuses, the trend is to hook up,” Bonomi said. “The traditional date is like no longer in existence.”

Alexandra Egger, a fourth-year in communication, said that alcohol can alter peoples decision making.

“Alcohol lowers your inhibition and reduces your ability to make judgments that coincide with your beliefs,” Egger said. “That factor, plus the college environment where there is constant peer pressure, can really lead to more promiscuous behavior.”

Bonomi explained that there are many more factors involved with risky sexual behavior than sexually transmitted diseases.

Women tend to feel bad after having a “random hook up,” she said. Typically men are not upset by these occurrences.

Bonomi attributed this situation to society’s “gender double standard” that men are expected to be more sexually forward than women.

Bonomi’s advice to students who want to avoid finding themselves in risky sexual situations: use the “buddy system” at parties and bars, abstain from drinking or simply drink less.

“Let’s put it this way: the hook up does not happen without alcohol,” Bonomi said.

Sarah Stemen contributed to this story.

Syracuse fired Bernie Fine, its longtime associate head basketball coach, Sunday night amid allegations that he had molested several ball boys while they were involved with the program. The university’s action came after a third individual stepped forward to accuse Fine last weekend and a taped phone conversation between Fine’s wife and another accuser was released in which Fine’s wife acknowledged having concerns about her husband having sexual contact with boys.

In addition to prompting Fine’s firing, these developments caused the university’s head basketball coach Jim Boeheim to apologize for comments he made earlier this month in which he said one of Fine’s accusers was “lying” and that “the kid behind this is trying to get money.” Although a police investigation of Fine’s conduct is still ongoing and he should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with due process, the response that the allegations elicited from Boeheim is a sad follow-up to the recent revelation that Joe Paterno failed to notify law enforcement authorities about allegations of child molestation lodged against Jerry Sandusky, one of his assistant football coaches while at Penn State. These two situations are evidence that major institutions such as colleges and universities need to offer better guidance to employees about how they should handle allegations of sexual misconduct that are filed against their colleagues so as to ensure that accusations are properly investigated and victims are not intimidated into silence.

Chief among the recommendations should be that employees refrain from publicly commenting about allegations of which they lack direct knowledge out of deference for the potential victims of abuse. One of the greatest hurdles to successfully bringing child molesters to justice is that victims often are unwilling to come forward because of the backlash they fear from friends, family and other members of their communities. This concern is amplified in cases such as the one at Syracuse, where the alleged perpetrator is a person of prominence who has a strong public reputation and many resources available to defend himself. Institutions should make clear to their employees that while they are entitled to defend themselves as Boeheim did when accused of knowing about Fine’s alleged misconduct, it is wholly unacceptable to impugn the motives of those who accuse their colleagues.

Moreover, institutions should make clear that employees have a duty to report any credible complaints of sexual misconduct to law enforcement officials in addition to their superiors within the organization. Even when the proper internal procedures are in place for handling such accusations, those charged with carrying them out may be influenced by personal desires to protect their friends or institutions. These shortcomings were on vivid display at Penn State, where members of the athletic department are alleged to have covered up the accusations against Sandusky in the interests of sparing the university a potential scandal.

They are evident to a lesser extent at Syracuse, where Boeheim demonstrated a significant bias in favor of his assistant coach by immediately calling into question the character of those accusing him of abuse. Although no evidence yet exists to suggest that Boeheim had knowledge of the allegations beyond what the university and police investigated in 2005, his attitude suggests that had complaints been brought to his attention alone he might have viewed them with skepticism and been hesitant to take action.

Fortunately, U. Virginia has already indicated a willingness to review its own approach to addressing allegations of misconduct in light of these scandals. “I want U.Va. to learn from negative events that happen at any university … and to model for our students how we can continue to learn and improve,” President Teresa A. Sullivan told the Board of Visitors shortly after Paterno’s firing at Penn State. Although it is far too late to rectify the injustices done to past victims of child sex abuse, Sullivan should follow through on her pledge to engage in institutional self-reflection so that members of the University community will know how to react should such distressing incidents occur here in the future.