Fractionating negative and positive affectivity in handedness: Insights from the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of personality

The Annett Hand Preference Questionnaire (AHPQ), as modified by Briggs and Nebes [(1975). Patterns of hand preference in a student population. Cortex, 11(3), 230-238. doi: 10.1016/s0010-9452(75)80005-0 ], was administered to a sample of 177 participants alongside the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire [RST-PQ; Corr, P. J., & Cooper, A. (2016). The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ): Development and validation. Psychological Assessment. doi: 10.1037/pas000 ], which measures two factors of defensive negative emotion, motivation and affectivity-the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and the Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS)-and one positive-approach dimension related to reward sensitivity, persistence and reactivity-the Behavioural Approach System. We sought to clarify the nature of negative, and positive, affectivity in relation to handedness. ANOVAs and multiple regression analyses converged on the following conclusions: left-handers were higher on the BIS, not the FFFS, than right-handers; in right-handers only, strength of hand preference was positively correlated with the FFFS, not the BIS. The original assessment method proposed by Annett was also used to assess handedness, but associations with RST-PQ factors were not found. These findings help us to clarify existing issues in the literature and raise new ones for future research

Silvoarable agroforestry

Introduction: A silvoarable system of land management implies the cultivation of trees and arable crops on the same area of land, a system practised quite commonly in southern Europe and in the tropics. The system comprises two components: tree rows, generally one tree wide, and arable alleys, alternating across the field. The first major development of silvoarable practice in the UK took place during the 1960s and 1970s when Bryant & May established extensive poplar plantations on lowland farmland in southern England to supply their own market for match veneer timber (Beaton, 1987). Since the demise of the Bryant Sr May market for match timber in 1978, interest in the potential for silvoarable systems lay dormant until the advent of food crop surpluses in the 1980s

Handedness and behavioural inhibition system/behavioural activation system (BIS/BAS) scores: A replication and extension of Wright, Hardie, and Wilson (2009)

The Annett Hand Preference Questionnaire (AHPQ) as modified by Briggs and Nebes was administered along with Carver and White's behavioural inhibition system (BIS) and behavioural activation system (BAS) scale and a shortened form of the Big Five personality questionnaire to 92 university students. After eliminating the data from five respondents who reported having changed handedness and one outlier, there was a significant sex difference in mean BIS scores, with females (n = 43) scoring higher than males (n = 43). Replicating the results of Wright, Hardie and Wilson, non-right-handers (n = 36) had significantly higher mean BIS score than right-handers (n = 50). Controlling for sex of participant, neuroticism and BAS sub-scale scores in hierarchical regression analyses left this BIS effect substantially unaffected. There was no handedness or sex difference on any of the three BAS sub-scales. Further analyses revealed no association between strength, as distinct from direction, of handedness and BIS (or BAS) scores. The findings are discussed with reference to recent developments in reinforcement sensitivity theory on which BIS/BAS variables are based

Extinction Maps Toward The Milky Way Bulge: Two-Dimensional And Three-Dimensional Tests With APOGEE

Galactic interstellar extinction maps are powerful and necessary tools for Milky Way structure and stellar population analyses, particularly toward the heavily reddened bulge and in the midplane. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable extinction measures and distances for a large number of stars that are independent of these maps, tests of their accuracy and systematics have been limited. Our goal is to assess a variety of photometric stellar extinction estimates, including both two-dimensional and three-dimensional extinction maps, using independent extinction measures based on a large spectroscopic sample of stars toward the Milky Way bulge. We employ stellar atmospheric parameters derived from high-resolution H-band Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) spectra, combined with theoretical stellar isochrones, to calculate line-of-sight extinction and distances for a sample of more than 2400 giants toward the Milky Way bulge. We compare these extinction values to those predicted by individual near-IR and near+mid-IR stellar colors, two-dimensional bulge extinction maps, and three-dimensional extinction maps. The long baseline, near+mid-IR stellar colors are, on average, the most accurate predictors of the APOGEE extinction estimates, and the two-dimensional and three-dimensional extinction maps derived from different stellar populations along different sightlines show varying degrees of reliability. We present the results of all of the comparisons and discuss reasons for the observed discrepancies. We also demonstrate how the particular stellar atmospheric models adopted can have a strong impact on this type of analysis, and discuss related caveats.NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship AST-1203017Physics Frontier Center/Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) PHY 08-22648U.S. National Science FoundationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationParticipating InstitutionsU.S. Department of Energy Office of Science ANR-12-BS05-0015-01Astronom

Resting and reactive frontal brain electrical activity (EEG) among a non-clinical sample of socially anxious adults: does concurrent depressive mood matter?

A number of studies have noted that the pattern of resting frontal brain electrical activity (EEG) is related to individual differences in affective style in healthy infants, children, and adults and some clinical populations when symptoms are reduced or in remission. We measured self-reported trait shyness and sociability, concurrent depressive mood, and frontal brain electrical activity (EEG) at rest and in anticipation of a speech task in a non-clinical sample of healthy young adults selected for high and low social anxiety. Although the patterns of resting and reactive frontal EEG asymmetry did not distinguish among individual differences in social anxiety, the pattern of resting frontal EEG asymmetry was related to trait shyness after controlling for concurrent depressive mood. Individuals who reported a higher degree of shyness were likely to exhibit greater relative right frontal EEG activity at rest. However, trait shyness was not related to frontal EEG asymmetry measured during the speech-preparation task, even after controlling for concurrent depressive mood. These findings replicate and extend prior work on resting frontal EEG asymmetry and individual differences in affective style in adults. Findings also highlight the importance of considering concurrent emotional states of participants when examining psychophysiological correlates of personality

Increased incidence and size of the cavum septum pellicidum in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is a result of a hemizygotic microdeletion that results in a variety of impairments in children including greater risk for psychiatric ailments in adulthood. We used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging to accurately quantify the length and, for the first time, volume, of the cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) in children aged 7 to 14years with 22q11.2DS and typically developing (TD) controls. Significantly greater anteroposterior length and greater CSP volumes were found in children with 22q11.2DS compared with controls. Furthermore, the largest CSP were found only in the 22q11.2DS group and with a much higher incidence than previously reported in the literature. Given the significant midline anomalies in the brains of those affected by 22q11.2DS, large CSP may be a biomarker of atypical brain development. The implication of these larger CSP for cognitive and behavioral development is a topic in need of further investigation

Increased incidence and size of the cavum septum pellicidum in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is a result of a hemizygotic microdeletion that results in a variety of impairments in children including greater risk for psychiatric ailments in adulthood. We used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging to accurately quantify the length and, for the first time, volume, of the cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) in children aged 7 to 14years with 22q11.2DS and typically developing (TD) controls. Significantly greater anteroposterior length and greater CSP volumes were found in children with 22q11.2DS compared with controls. Furthermore, the largest CSP were found only in the 22q11.2DS group and with a much higher incidence than previously reported in the literature. Given the significant midline anomalies in the brains of those affected by 22q11.2DS, large CSP may be a biomarker of atypical brain development. The implication of these larger CSP for cognitive and behavioral development is a topic in need of further investigation

The First Ultra-cool Brown Dwarf Discovered by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

We report the discovery of the first new ultra-cool brown dwarf (BDs) found with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The object’s preliminary designation is WISEPC J045853.90+643451.9. Follow-up spectroscopy with the LUCIFER instrument on the Large Binocular Telescope indicates that it is a very late-type T dwarf with a spectral type approximately equal to T9. Fits to an IRTF/SpeX 0.8–2.5 μm spectrum to the model atmospheres of Marley and Saumon indicate an effective temperature of approximately 600 K as well as the presence of vertical mixing in its atmosphere. The new BD is easily detected by WISE, with a signal-to-noise ratio of ~36 at 4.6 μm. Current estimates place it at a distance of 6–10 pc. This object represents the first in what will likely be hundreds of nearby BDs found by WISE that will be suitable for follow-up observations, including those with the James Webb Space Telescope. One of the two primary scientific goals of the WISE mission is to find the coolest, closest stars to our Sun; the discovery of this new BD proves that WISE is capable of fulfilling this objective

The UT 7/8 February 2013 Sila-Nunam Mutual Event and Future Predictions

A superior mutual event of the Kuiper Belt binary system (79360) Sila-Nunam was observed over 15.47 h on UT 7/8 February 2013 by a coordinated effort at four different telescope facilities; it started approximately 1.5 h earlier than anticipated, the duration was approximately 9.5 h (about 10% longer than predicted), and was slightly less deep than predicted. It is the first full event observed for a comparably sized binary Kuiper Belt object. We provide predictions for future events refined by this and other partial mutual event observations obtained since the mutual event season began