Trait determinants of impulsive behavior: a comprehensive analysis of 188 rats

Impulsivity is a naturally occurring behavior that, when accentuated, can be found in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. The expression of trait impulsivity has been shown to change with a variety of factors, such as age and sex, but the existing literature does not reflect widespread consensus regarding the influence of modulating effects. We designed the present study to investigate, in a cohort of significant size (188 rats), the impact of four specific parameters, namely sex, age, strain and phase of estrous cycle, using the variable delay-to-signal (VDS) task. This cohort included (i) control animals from previous experiments; (ii) animals specifically raised for this study; and (iii) animals previously used for breeding purposes. Aging was associated with a general decrease in action impulsivity and an increase in delay tolerance. Females generally performed more impulsive actions than males but no differences were observed regarding delay intolerance. In terms of estrous cycle, no differences in impulsive behavior were observed and regarding strain, Wistar Han animals were, in general, more impulsive than Sprague-Dawley. In addition to further confirming, in a substantial study cohort, the decrease in impulsivity with age, we have demonstrated that both the strain and sex influences modulate different aspects of impulsive behavior manifestations.FEDER funds, through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE) and the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement as well as national funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [projects POCI-01–0145-FEDER-007038, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023 and PTDC/NEU-SCC/5301/2014]. Researchers were supported by FCT [grant numbers SFRH/BD/52291/2013 to ME and PD/BD/114117/2015 to MRG via Inter-University Doctoral Programme in Ageing and Chronic Disease, PhDOC; PDE/BDE/113601/2015 to PSM via PhD Program in Health Sciences (Applied) and Phd-iHES; SFRH/BD/109111/2015 to AMC; SFRH/BD/51061/2010 to MMC; SFRH/SINTD/60126/2009 to AM; SFRH/BD/98675/2013 to BC; IF/00883/2013 to AJR; IF/00111/2013 to AJS; SFRH/BPD/80118/2011 to HLA]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Remembering the Sea: Personal and Communal Recollections of Maritime Life in Jizan and the Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.People create narratives of their maritime past through the remembering and forgetting of seafaring experiences, and through the retention and disposal of maritime artefacts that function mnemonically to evoke or suppress those experiences. The sustenance and reproduction of the resulting narratives depends further on effective media of intergenerational transmission; otherwise, they are lost. Rapid socio-economic transformation across Saudi Arabia in the age of oil has disrupted longstanding seafaring economies in the Red Sea archipelago of the Farasan Islands, and the nearby mainland port of Jizan. Vestiges of wooden boatbuilding activity are few; long-distance dhow trade with South Asia, the Arabian-Persian Gulf and East Africa has ceased; and a once substantial pearling and nacre (mother of pearl) collection industry has dwindled to a tiny group of hobbyists: no youth dive today. This widespread withdrawal from seafaring activity among many people in these formerly maritime-oriented communities has diminished the salience of such activity in cultural memory, and has set in motion narrative creation processes, through which memories are filtered and selected, and objects preserved, discarded, or lost. This paper is a product of the encounter of the authors with keepers of maritime memories and objects in the Farasan Islands and Jizan. An older generation of men recall memories of their experiences as boat builders, captains, seafarers, pearl divers and fishermen. Their recounted memories are inscribed, and Arabic seafaring terms recorded. The extent of the retention of maritime material cultural items as memorials is also assessed, and the rôle of individual, communal and state actors in that retention is considered. Through this reflection, it becomes clear that the extra-biological memory and archive of the region’s maritime past is sparse; that intergenerational transmission is failing; that the participation of state agencies in maritime heritage creation is highly limited; and that, as a result, memories current among the older generation have limited prospect of survival. These memories, recorded and interpreted here, identify the Farasan Islands as a former centre of the pearling industry in the Red Sea, and identify them and Jizan as open to far-reaching maritime-mediated cultural influences in an era before the imposition of the attributes of the modern nation-state.This study was funded by the Golden Web Foundation (UK registered charity number 1100608), with additional support from the Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust (UK registered charity number 208669)

"From the moment i wake up i will use it?every day, very hour": A qualitative study on the patterns of adolescents' mobile touch screen device use from adolescent and parent perspectives

Background: The use of mobile touch screen devices, e.g. smartphones and tablet computers, has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents. However, little is known about how adolescents use these devices and potential influences on their use. Hence, this qualitative study explored adolescents' perceptions on their patterns of use and factors influencing use, and perceptions and concerns from parents. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents (n = 36; 11 to 18 years) and their parents/caregivers (n = 28) in Singapore recruited to represent males and females across a range of ages from different socioeconomic groups. Prompts covered weekday and weekend use patterns, types of activities, perspectives on amount of use, parental control measures and concerns. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were coded and thematic analysis was carried out. Results: Smartphone was the most common mobile device owned and used by many of the adolescents, while only some used a tablet. Many adolescents and their parents felt that adolescents' MTSD use was high, frequent and ubiquitous, with frequent checking of device and multitasking during use. Reported influences of use included functional, personal and external influences. Some of the influences were irresistibility of mobile devices, lack of self-control, entertainment or relaxation value, and high use by peers, family and for schoolwork that contributed to high use, or school/parental control measures and lack of internet availability that limited use. Most adolescents were generally unconcerned about their use and perceived their usage as appropriate, while most parents expressed several concerns about their adolescents' use and perceived their usage as excessive. Conclusions: This study has provided rich insights into the patterns and influences of contemporary mobile device use by adolescents. Mobile device use has become an integral part of adolescents' daily routines, and was affected by several functional, personal and external influences which either facilitated or limited their use. There also seemed to be a strong inclination for adolescents to frequently check and use their mobile devices. There is an urgent need to understand the implications of these common adolescent behaviours to inform advice for wise mobile device use by adolescents

The do's, don't and don't knows of supporting transition to more independent practice

Introduction: Transitions are traditionally viewed as challenging for clinicians. Throughout medical career pathways, clinicians need to successfully navigate successive transitions as they become progressively more independent practitioners. In these guidelines, we aim to synthesize the evidence from the literature to provide guidance for supporting clinicians in their development of independence, and highlight areas for further research. Methods: Drawing upon D3 method guidance, four key themes universal to medical career transitions and progressive independence were identified by all authors through discussion and consensus from our own experience and expertise: workplace learning, independence and responsibility, mentoring and coaching, and patient perspectives. A scoping review of the literature was conducted using Medline database searches in addition to the authors’ personal archives and reference snowballing searches. Results: 387 articles were identified and screened. 210 were excluded as not relevant to medical transitions (50 at title screen; 160 at abstract screen). 177 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility; a further 107 were rejected (97 did not include career transitions in their study design; 10 were review articles; the primary references of these were screened for inclusion). 70 articles were included of which 60 provided extractable data for the final qualitative synthesis. Across the four key themes, seven do’s, two don’ts and seven don’t knows were identified, and the strength of evidence was graded for each of these recommendations. Conclusion: The two strongest messages arising from current literature are first, transitions should not be viewed as one moment in time: career trajectories are a continuum with valuable opportunities for personal and professional development throughout. Second, learning needs to be embedded in practice and learners provided with authentic and meaningful learning opportunities. In this paper, we propose evidence-based guidelines aimed at facilitating such transitions through the fostering of progressive independence

Impact of large-scale climatic oscillations on snowfall-related climate parameters in the world's major downhill ski areas: a review

Skiers are passionate about finding the best snow conditions. Snow conditions in thousands of ski resorts around the world depend mainly on natural snowfall, particularly in the case of backcountry skiing. In various mountain ranges popular among skiers, snowfall is strongly linked to large-scale climatic oscillations. This paper reviews existing information on the impacts of several of these phenomena, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, and North Pacific Index, on snowfall-related climate parameters in the world's major ski areas. We found that in each of the studied areas, one or more large-scale climatic oscillations affected snowfall-related climate parameters. Understanding the predictability of such oscillations is high on the climate research agenda. If this research leads to improved predictability in the coming years, this could be combined with the knowledge summarized in our paper on the relationships between climatic oscillations and snow-related parameters to provide useful information for winter sports and other snow-related fields. © 2012 International Mountain Society