Seeking solitude skills : Do memories of intrinsic goals enhance enjoyment of alone time?

Objective: Further investigate the application of self-determination theory (SDT) to experiences of solitude by examining the effects of recalling intrinsic versus non-intrinsic memories. Background: SDT research indicates that recalling memories associated with intrinsic goals (e.g., personal growth, relationships, altruism) enhances present moment wellness by satisfying basic psychological needs. Method: Two studies were conducted with American adults. Study 1 included 465 participants (age = 49.49 [SD = 19.01], 49.46% female) and Study 2 comprised 490 participants (age = 54.16 [SD = 18.89], 51.84% female). Both studies assessed the impact of recalling intrinsic versus non-intrinsic memories prior to a five-minute solitude session. Results: Study 1 found intrinsic memories were linked to more basic psychological need satisfaction than non-intrinsic memories, but both memory types resulted in similar wellness improvements. Contrary to expectations, Study 2 revealed extrinsic memories (e.g., wealth, fame, image) led to the highest basic psychological need satisfaction and least need frustration compared to intrinsic and neutral memories, with all memory conditions showing similar wellness gains. Conclusions: Solitude appears beneficial regardless of memory content. While different memories vary in need satisfying quality, this does not seem to impact the benefits of solitude. These findings suggest further exploration is needed before developing a “solitude skill set” for use during inevitable periods of solitude

The Hexaemeron in Peter Comestor’s \u3cem\u3eHistoria Scholastica\u3c/em\u3e

As a part of the larger Historia Scholastica Project, we are transcribing and translating text from the “Genesis” chapter of the Historia Scholastica found in the Albertson’s Library. Our work began in fall of 2018. Our goal is to locate source material that informed Comestor’s understanding of the content of “Genesis” to better understand and therefore better translate Comestor. We are researching sources that possibly contributed to Comestor’s understanding of cosmology, philosophy, and the biblical creation account, in addition to transcribing and translating the text. Our methodology focuses on ten lines per week, applying textual criticism to identify textual differences and assist where our copy is damaged. We are using Patrologia Latinae 198, the Lugdunensis copy on Wiki, and the online Internet Archive of the Historia Scholastica located in Strasbourg, France. We then filter any possible translations through the lens of biblical studies taking place in medieval France in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Our goal is to produce 100 lines of quality Latin by the end of the semester; to date we have completed approximately 40%. This project will provide groundwork for future researchers in other portions of the Historia Scholastica

Validation Of The Social Identity Group Need Satisfaction And Frustration Scale

In this paper, we argue for the need to assess social identity group need satisfaction and frustration in addition to individual level needs. We argue that political science and psychology require a measure of social identity group needs to provide empirical insights into how state treatment of groups influences their citizens' wellbeing. In this paper, we create and validate a short measure of group needs on a sample of Australian (n = 2081) and American (n = 1493) adults. We show the measure fit the data well, is invariant across gender, nation, and social identity group, and is related to validation variables in expected directions. We also contrast group needs with individual needs. We show that group needs are distinct from individual needs. Group and individual needs are associated in similar directions and strengths with wellbeing and primary goods. Individual need satisfaction is positively related to identity centrality and need frustration negatively related. Group needs are almost always positively related to identity centrality. We argue that our measure can make a meaningful contribution to empirical research in the social sciences

Motivations for personal financial management: A Self-Determination Theory perspective

Financial knowledge and sound financial decision making are now broadly recognized to be important determinants of both personal and societal prosperity, but research has yet to examine how distinct qualities of motivation may be associated with the way people manage their money. In two studies we applied the framework of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to examine people's autonomous (volitional) and controlled (pressured) motivation for understanding and managing their finances, as well as their amotivation (lack of motivation) for doing so, and the differential associations these motives have with financial knowledge and financial well-being. American participants (Study 1, N = 516; Study 2, N = 534) completed detailed demographic surveys and questionnaires assessing the financial variables of interest. As hypothesized, SDT's motivational constructs were associated with financial outcomes over and above participants' age, gender, income, household wealth, and educational attainment. Autonomous motivation was positively associated with a host of positive financial behaviors and characteristics (e.g., saving/investing and financial self-efficacy, well-being, and self-awareness). Controlled motivation was negatively associated with financial well-being. Amotivation was positively associated with overspending and negatively associated with financial self-efficacy and well-being. These findings support the relevance of SDT's framework in this domain and suggest that interventions aimed at promoting financial knowledge and wellness may benefit by adopting evidence-supported strategies for optimizing more autonomous motivations and addressing amotivations

Bees visiting the broad bean (Vicia faba L.) and the impact of border planting on their abundance and the yield improvement in Ismailia, Egypt:

Incorporating flowering plants into cropping systems has the potential to actively enhance pollination and crops yields. This study evaluated whether the introduction of border planting affects bee visitation and yield of a broad bean (Vicia faba L.). Experiments were carried out in 2018 and 2019 in Ismailia, Egypt.  Bee visitation and broad bean yields were compared between plots with and without border planting. Results showed that open flowers achieved higher yields than netted flowers. Apis mellifera L. was the dominant visitor, followed by four solitary bee species, Chalicodoma siculum (Rossi), Colletes lacunatus Dours, 1872, Andrena ovatula and Xylocopa pubescens (Kirby, 1802).  The addition of border planting was associated with a significant increase in the abundance of all five bee visitors and the associated yields. Findings showed that flowering border plants adjacent to broad bean can actively enhance pollination services and yields of this commercially valuable crop, whilst helping to conserve vulnerable bee populations

Are people mindful in different ways? Disentangling the quantity and quality of mindfulness in latent profiles and exploring their links to mental health and life effectiveness

We sought to disambiguate the quantitative and qualitative components of mindfulness profiles, examine whether including ‘nonattachment’ as a subcomponent of mindfulness alters the profiles, and evaluate the extent to which the person‐centred approach to understanding mindfulness adds predictive power beyond a more parsimonious variable‐centred approach. Using data from a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 7884; 52% female; Age: M = 47.9, SD = 16), we utilized bifactor exploratory structural equation modelling and latent profile analysis to separate the level and shape of previously identified profiles of mindfulness (Pearson, Lawless, Brown, & Bravo, 2015). Consistent with past research, we identified a judgmentally observing profile and a non‐judgmentally aware group, but inconsistent with past research, we did not find profiles that showed high or low levels on all specific aspects of mindfulness. Adding nonattachment did not alter the shape of the profiles. Profile membership was meaningfully related to demographic variables. In models testing the distinctive predictive utility of the profiles, the judgmentally observing profile, compared to the other profiles, showed the highest levels of mental ill‐health, but also the highest levels of life satisfaction and effectiveness. We discuss the implications of our study for clinical interventions and understanding the varieties of mindfulnes

Elevated Levels of Arachidonic Acid-Derived Lipids Including Prostaglandins and Endocannabinoids Are Present Throughout ABHD12 Knockout Brains: Novel Insights Into the Neurodegenerative Phenotype

Derived from arachidonic acid (AA), the endogenous cannabinoid (eCB) 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) is a substrate for α/β hydrolase domain-12 (ABHD12). Loss-of-function mutations of ABHD12 are associated with the neurodegenerative disorder polyneuropathy, hearing loss, ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa, and cataract (PHARC). ABHD12 knockout (KO) mice show PHARC-like behaviors in older adulthood. Here, we test the hypothesis that ABHD12 deletion age-dependently regulates bioactive lipids in the CNS. Lipidomics analysis of the brainstem, cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, midbrain, striatum and thalamus from male young (3–4 months) and older (7 months) adult ABHD12 KO and age-matched wild-type (WT) mice was performed on over 80 lipids via HPLC/MS/MS, including eCBs, lipoamines, 2-acyl glycerols, free fatty acids, and prostaglandins (PGs). Aging and ABHD12 deletion drove widespread changes in the CNS lipidome; however, the effects of ABHD12 deletion were similar between old and young mice, meaning that many alterations in the lipidome precede PHARC-like symptoms. AA-derived lipids were particularly sensitive to ABHD12 deletion. 2-AG increased in the striatum, hippocampus, cerebellum, thalamus, midbrain, and brainstem, whereas the eCB N-arachidonoyl ethanolamine (AEA) increased in all 8 brain regions, along with at least 2-PGs. Aging also had a widespread effect on the lipidome and more age-related changes in bioactive lipids were found in ABHD12 KO mice than WT suggesting that ABHD12 deletion exacerbates the effects of age. The most robust effects of aging (independent of genotype) across the CNS were decreases in N-acyl GABAs and N-acyl glycines. In conclusion, levels of bioactive lipids are dynamic throughout adulthood and deleting ABHD12 disrupts the wider lipidome, modulating multiple AA-derived lipids with potential consequences for neuropathology

TGFβ, smooth muscle cells and coronary artery disease: a review

Excessive vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, migration and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis are key events in the development of intimal hyperplasia, a pathophysiological response to acute or chronic sources of vascular damage that can lead to occlusive narrowing of the vessel lumen. Atherosclerosis, the primary cause of coronary artery disease, is characterised by chronic vascular inflammation and dyslipidemia, while revascularisation surgeries such as coronary stenting and bypass grafting represent acute forms of vascular injury. Gene knockouts of transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ), its receptors and downstream signalling proteins have demonstrated the importance of this pleiotropic cytokine during vasculogenesis and in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis. Dysregulated TGFβ signalling is a hallmark of many vascular diseases, and has been associated with the induction of pathological vascular cell phenotypes, fibrosis and ECM remodelling. Here we present an overview of TGFβ signalling in SMCs, highlighting the ways in which this multifaceted cytokine regulates SMC behaviour and phenotype in cardiovascular diseases driven by intimal hyperplasia

Regulation of inositol 5-phosphatase activity by the C2 domain of SHIP1 and SHIP2

SHIP1, an inositol 5-phosphatase, plays a central role in cellular signaling. As such, it has been implicated in many conditions. Exploiting SHIP1 as a drug target will require structural knowledge and the design of selective small molecules. We have determined apo, and magnesium and phosphate-bound structures of the phosphatase and C2 domains of SHIP1. The C2 domains of SHIP1 and the related SHIP2 modulate the activity of the phosphatase domain. To understand the mechanism, we performed activity assays, hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, and molecular dynamics on SHIP1 and SHIP2. Our findings demonstrate that the influence of the C2 domain is more pronounced for SHIP2 than SHIP1. We determined 91 structures of SHIP1 with fragments bound, with some near the interface between the two domains. We performed a mass spectrometry screen and determined four structures with covalent fragments. These structures could act as starting points for the development of potent, selective probes