The Psychological Science Accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

The Psychological Science Accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

Effects of different drying methods on the yield and the composition of essential oil from herb Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudso

This paper discusses the impact of different methods of drying on the content and chemical composition of the essential oil from the herb Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson. Drying of plant material was carried out naturally in the shade of draughty place, in the laboratory oven at the temperature 45°C and absorptive low temperature condensation drying oven at 35°C (low temperature drying). Isolation of essential oil from dried samples in three different ways was conducted by hydrodistillation, whilst chemical analysis was carried out by GC/FID and GC/MS methods. The highest yield of the essential oil was obtained from the herb which was dried at low temperature (1.1%) and the lowest from that dried in the laboratory oven (0.6%). The biggest content of the dominant component of essential oils, piperitone, was recorded in the oil from low temperature dried herb (71.7%), while those isolated from naturally dried drug and in from the laboratory oven contained piperitone in lower concentrations (50.8% and 43.1%, respectively)

Effects of fentanyl and its analogs on electric field-stimulated contractions of rat ileum

Opiates inhibit electrically-stimulated contractions of isolated rat ileum acting on δ-receptors. We have examined effects of fentanyl and its three analogues on contractions of isolated rat ileum stimulated by electric field (20 V, 22 ms, 1 Hz). Fentanyl (from 10-9 M to 10-7 M) and trans-3-(carbomethoxy) fentanyl (from 10-7 M to 10-5 M) produced concentration-dependent decrease in amplitude of stimulated contractions, only fentanyl was about 40 times more potent. Cis-3-(methyl) fentanyl and Cis-3-(carbomethoxy) fentanyl did not affect stimulated contractions. Our study suggested that introduction of methyl and carbomethoxy moieties on position 3 of piperidine ring produced loss of fentanyl activity on δ-opioid receptors, cis-orientation being specially uafavourable

Extended time of cold ischemia and its influence on the physiological function of human adult pancreatic islets

In this study we compared the effects of duration of cold ischemia (longer and shorter ischemia) on the yield, viability and preservation of the physiological function and insulin secretion of adult human pancreatic islets in short-term (seven days) culture. Based on the tested parameters, we established that there are no major differences between these two test groups and that the storage and transport of pancreatic tissue in physiological solution at 4oC gives quite satisfactory results

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

Background: Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution education research. Ambiguous results in this field of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance differently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these deficits, we conducted a standardized European survey, on 9200 first-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, comprehensive questionnaire, the “Evolution Education Questionnaire”, to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as influencing factors on evolution acceptance. Results: We found that, despite European countries’ different cultural backgrounds and education systems, European first-year university students generally accept evolution. At the same time, they lack substantial knowledge about it, even if they are enrolled in a biology-related study program. Additionally, we developed a multilevel-model that determines religious faith as the main influencing factor in accepting evolution. According to our model, knowledge about evolution and interest in biological topics also increase acceptance of evolution, but to a much lesser extent than religious faith. The effect of age and sex, as well as the country’s affiliation, students’ denomination, and whether or not a student is enrolled in a biology-related university program, is negligible. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that, despite all their differences, most of the European education systems for upper secondary education lead to acceptance of evolution at least in university students. It appears that, at least in this sample, the differences in knowledge between countries reflect neither the extent to which school curricula cover evolutionary biology nor the percentage of biology-related students in the country samples. Future studies should investigate the role of different European school curricula, identify particularly problematic or underrepresented evolutionary concepts in biology education, and analyze the role of religious faith when teaching evolution. © 2021, The Author(s)