•Overall driving speeds increase as a function of time-on-task.•Ability to focus on the driving task decreases as a function of time-on-task.•Differences in sustained attention ability associated ...with changes in driving speed.•Correlation between mind-wandering incidents and amount of emotional rumination.•Top predictors of mind-wandering prior to a drive are fatigue and hours of sleep.
Mind-wandering involves a lapse in attention due to preoccupation with one’s own thoughts, the experience of which may interfere with performance on a primary task. The goal of this study was to investigate how task length and fatigue influenced the tendency to mind-wander while driving. We were also interested in whether the propensity to mind-wander could be predicted by individual differences in sustained attention, as measured by the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). Participants completed three 20–25 min drives, during which time pre-recorded thought-probes prompted participants to answer whether they were thinking of driving. Mind-wandering was measured both during the drive (in terms of the percentage of thought-probe trials where drivers reported that they were not thinking of driving), as well post-task (in terms of self-rated difficulty in focusing attention). Driving speed, steering variability and hazard response time were measured by the driving simulator, and drivers also rated their performance post-task. There were significant increases in self-rated difficulty focusing with time on task, and non-significant increases in reported mind-wandering. Driving speeds and steering variability also increased with time on task, but individual differences in sustained attention as measured by the SART did not predict these changes. Overall, the best advance predictor of mind-wandering was the number of hours of sleep the previous night. Mind-wandering and difficulty focusing were correlated with negative emotional rumination (e.g., worries, guilt, anger), though it is unclear whether negative emotionality causes mind-wandering or vice versa. This research has implications for both basic and applied research on individual differences and cognitive distraction, as well as practical safety implications in areas of driver training and autonomous vehicle development.
An integral part of global environment change is an increase in the atmospheric concentration of CO2 (CO2) 1. Increased CO2 reduces leaf stomatal apertures and density of stomata that plays out as ...reductions in evapotranspiration 2–4. Surprisingly, given the importance of transpiration to the control of terrestrial water fluxes 5 and plant nutrient acquisition 6, we know comparatively little about the molecular components involved in the intracellular signaling pathways by which CO2 controls stomatal development and function 7. Here, we report that elevated CO2-induced closure and reductions in stomatal density require the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby adding a new common element to these signaling pathways. We also show that the PYR/RCAR family of ABA receptors 8, 9 and ABA itself are required in both responses. Using genetic approaches, we show that ABA in guard cells or their precursors is sufficient to mediate the CO2-induced stomatal density response. Taken together, our results suggest that stomatal responses to increased CO2 operate through the intermediacy of ABA. In the case of CO2-induced reductions in stomatal aperture, this occurs by accessing the guard cell ABA signaling pathway. In both CO2-mediated responses, our data are consistent with a mechanism in which ABA increases the sensitivity of the system to CO2 but could also be explained by requirement for a CO2-induced increase in ABA biosynthesis specifically in the guard cell lineage. Furthermore, the dependency of stomatal CO2 signaling on ABA suggests that the ABA pathway is, in evolutionary terms, likely to be ancestral.
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•CO2-induced stomatal closure and density reduction require reactive oxygen species•CO2-induced stomatal closure and density reduction require ABA and ABA receptors•Guard cell/precursor ABA is sufficient to mediate closure and density reduction•Stomatal CO2 responses operating via ABA explains overlap between these pathways
Chater et al. describe the requirement for ABA and ABA signaling in both elevated CO2-induced stomatal closure and elevated CO2-induced reductions in stomatal density, suggesting that ABA itself is downstream of stomatal CO2 perception and that ABA signaling is likely to predate the origin of CO2-induced stomatal responses.
Future climate change is set to have an impact on the physiological performance of global vegetation. Increasing temperature and atmospheric CO
2
concentration will affect plant growth, net primary ...productivity, photosynthetic capability, and other biochemical functions that are essential for normal metabolic function. Alongside the primary metabolic function effects of plant growth and development, the effect of stress on plant secondary metabolism from both biotic and abiotic sources will be impacted by changes in future climate. Using an untargeted metabolomic fingerprinting approach alongside emissions measurements, we investigate for the first time how elevated atmospheric CO
2
and temperature both independently and interactively impact on plant secondary metabolism through resource allocation, with a resulting “trade-off” between secondary metabolic processes in
Salix
spp. and in particular, isoprene biosynthesis. Although it has been previously reported that isoprene is suppressed in times of elevated CO
2
, and that isoprene emissions increase as a response to short-term heat shock, no study has investigated the interactive effects at the metabolic level. We have demonstrated that at a metabolic level isoprene is still being produced during periods of both elevated CO
2
and temperature, and that ultimately temperature has the greater effect. With global temperature and atmospheric CO
2
concentrations rising as a result of anthropogenic activity, it is imperative to understand the interactions between atmospheric processes and global vegetation, especially given that global isoprene emissions have the potential to contribute to atmospheric warming mitigation.
Breast tumours are embedded in a collagen I-rich extracellular matrix (ECM) network, where nutrients are scarce due to limited blood flow and elevated tumour growth. Metabolic adaptation is required ...for cancer cells to endure these conditions. Here, we demonstrated that the presence of ECM supported the growth of invasive breast cancer cells, but not non-transformed mammary epithelial cells, under amino acid starvation, through a mechanism that required macropinocytosis-dependent ECM uptake. Importantly, we showed that this behaviour was acquired during carcinoma progression. ECM internalisation, followed by lysosomal degradation, contributed to the up-regulation of the intracellular levels of several amino acids, most notably tyrosine and phenylalanine. This resulted in elevated tyrosine catabolism on ECM under starvation, leading to increased fumarate levels, potentially feeding into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Interestingly, this pathway was required for ECM-dependent cell growth and invasive cell migration under amino acid starvation, as the knockdown of p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate hydroxylase-like protein (HPDL), the third enzyme of the pathway, opposed cell growth and motility on ECM in both 2D and 3D systems, without affecting cell proliferation on plastic. Finally, high HPDL expression correlated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. Collectively, our results highlight that the ECM in the tumour microenvironment (TME) represents an alternative source of nutrients to support cancer cell growth by regulating phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Navigating social systems efficiently is critical to our species. Humans appear endowed with a cognitive system that has formed to meet the unique challenges that emerge for highly social species. ...Bullshitting, communication characterised by an intent to be convincing or impressive without concern for truth, is ubiquitous within human societies. Across two studies (N = 1,017), we assess participants’ ability to produce satisfying and seemingly accurate bullshit as an honest signal of their intelligence. We find that bullshit ability is associated with an individual’s intelligence and individuals capable of producing more satisfying bullshit are judged by second-hand observers to be more intelligent. We interpret these results as adding evidence for intelligence being geared towards the navigation of social systems. The ability to produce satisfying bullshit may serve to assist individuals in negotiating their social world, both as an energetically efficient strategy for impressing others and as an honest signal of intelligence.
Historically, diabetes identity has been examined at the individual level as it relates to clinical outcomes and self-management practices. Yet, identity is not experienced as an individually ...isolated phenomenon. The purpose of this study is twofold: (a) examine the social meaning of diabetes identity and (b) formulate a theoretical model of diabetes identity through a sociopolitical lens. Adults living with diabetes engaged in a diabetes online community (N = 20) participated in a 60-minute semi-structured interview focused on social diabetes experiences and diabetes identity. Seven themes emerged related to illness, individuation, and culture, resulting in a novel theoretical model of diabetes identity: willingness to identify, tales of the un-sick, legends of the responsible, a tradition of change-making, sense of sameness, mystification of difference, and diabetes as a unifying social category. Our study extends previous literature focused on self-management practices and compliance, resulting in a theoretical model of diabetes identity centered around social change.
•Negative/high- and positive/low-arousal images are freely recalled the most often.•Response times are longest around billboards displaying negative/low arousal images.•Response times around ...billboard images are longer than when no billboard is present.•Steering varies more around billboards displaying positive/low arousal images.•Driving speeds are higher around billboard images than when no billboard is present.
In the laboratory, emotional valence (positivity or negativity) and arousal (calmness or excitement) have been shown to have varying effects on attention and behaviour, but on the road these factors may have life or death consequences. It is not uncommon for drivers to be exposed to different types of roadside imagery, either on billboards or in roadside scenery. When looking at the impact of emotional images on driving, past studies have used paradigms that force drivers to look at stimuli, but in real life no one forces drivers to look at distracting roadside imagery. In this study, we looked at whether roadside images would draw the drivers’ attention away from the road even when there was no reason (or instruction) to look at the images. We tested participants in a driving simulator to see how these images would affect performance (driving speed, steering, hazard response). Drivers were simply instructed to drive safely on a highway, observing the rules of the road. Periodically there were billboards, a portion of which displayed images taken from the International Affective Picture System (positive/high arousal, positive/low arousal, negative/high arousal, and negative/low arousal images), though some were controls (scrambled images with no thematic content). Analyses revealed main effects of Valence as well as Valence X Arousal interactions in terms of the extent to which drivers took notice of (and thus recalled) the images, and in driving performance (speed, steering, and hazard response). Results have implications for driver safety, road policy, and billboard design guidelines.
Burnout, often regarded as an individual failing, rather than a systemic one, negatively impacts quality of care, patient safety and healthcare costs. Focusing on improving well-being can help ...mitigate burnout. This study examined protective factors that promote well-being and professional fulfillment in surgeons.
Using a purposive sample, 32 semi-structured 30-60-min interviews were conducted with surgeons of varying sub-specialties and rank. Abductive exploratory analysis was used to code and interpret interview transcripts and to build a conceptual model of surgeon well-being.
Emergent protective factors were placed into one of three levels of implementation: individual, team-level, and institutional (figure). Individual factors for well-being included autonomy and adequate time to pursue non-clinical endeavors. Team-level factors consisted of adaptability, boundaries, and cohesion. Institutional factors related to diversifying performance evaluations and celebrating and recognizing individual value and contributions.
The conceptual model developed from the results of this study highlights factors important to surgeons’ professional well-being. This model can be used to guide quality improvement efforts.
•Well-being research benefits from qualitative interviewing methods that encourage community-building rather than transactional exchanges.•Our conceptual framework of professional fulfillment distributes responsibility rather than focusing solely upon individuals.•Administrative and staff support are key for well-being intervention because they underpin all other protective factors.
•Compensatory slowing, poor steering control when texting, using touchscreen console.•Individual differences significant covariates with task load, secondary task type.•Working memory predictive of ...speed compensation when texting.•Driving, task experience predict speed compensation, SDLP interference when texting.•Individual differences interact to predict speed compensation, SDLP interference.
Driving while carrying out another (secondary) task interferes with performance, though the degree of interference may vary between tasks and individual drivers. In this study, we focused on two potentially interrelated individual difference variables that may play a role in determining dual-task interference: working memory capacity and the driver’s experience with the relevant secondary task. We used a driving simulator to measure interference, comparing single-task performance (driving alone) with driving performance during three secondary tasks: conversing on a handsfree cellphone, texting, and selecting a song on a touchscreen Mp3 player. Drivers also rated the difficulty of driving while carrying out each secondary task. For the individual difference variables, working memory was measured using the Operation Span test (OSPAN), and experience was assessed in terms of self-reported daily driving exposure and exposure to the relevant secondary tasks (frequency, duration). Overall, we found evidence of dual-task interference, though interference varied between tasks; the texting and Mp3 tasks produced significantly more interference than handsfree cellphone conversation. For the texting and Mp3 song selection tasks, interference was apparent in terms of increased steering variability, but for the Mp3 task there was also compensatory slowing, with drivers slowing down while carrying out the task. OSPAN performance and daily driving exposure were both covariates in predicting the amount of dual-task interference. However, our results suggest that in all but two cases, both involving the texting task, the effects of the OSPAN and the driving and secondary task exposure variables were independent rather than interrelated.
Though clinical researchers have begun to use social media platforms to recruit participants, social media influencers are innovative community connectors to further expand recruitment reach, ...especially in hard-to-reach populations.
The purpose of this methods article is to provide a step-by-step guide for engaging social media influencers for virtual participant recruitment.
There are multiple steps for researchers to follow, including preplanning, institutional review board approval, engaging with influencers, the pitch, the post, and results dissemination.
Engaging social media influencers to recruit for clinical research demonstrates great potential to increase access to hard-to-reach populations. Several methodological considerations remain, and this article shares both opportunities and challenges to guide researchers in this technique.
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