The Embodiment of Success and Failure as Forward versus Backward Movements

People often speak of success (e.g., “advance”) and failure (e.g., “setback”) as if they were forward versus backward movements through space. Two experiments sought to examine whether grounded associations of this type influence motor behavior. In Experiment 1, participants categorized success versus failure words by moving a joystick forward or backward. Failure categorizations were faster when moving backward, whereas success categorizations were faster when moving forward. Experiment 2 removed the requirement to categorize stimuli and used a word rehearsal task instead. Even without Experiment 1’s response procedures, a similar cross-over interaction was obtained (e.g., failure memorizations sped backward movements relative to forward ones). The findings are novel yet consistent with theories of embodied cognition and self-regulation

Effects of Once-Weekly Exenatide on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes.

Abstract BACKGROUND: The cardiovascular effects of adding once-weekly treatment with exenatide to usual care in patients with type 2 diabetes are unknown. METHODS: We randomly assigned patients with type 2 diabetes, with or without previous cardiovascular disease, to receive subcutaneous injections of extended-release exenatide at a dose of 2 mg or matching placebo once weekly. The primary composite outcome was the first occurrence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. The coprimary hypotheses were that exenatide, administered once weekly, would be noninferior to placebo with respect to safety and superior to placebo with respect to efficacy. RESULTS: In all, 14,752 patients (of whom 10,782 [73.1%] had previous cardiovascular disease) were followed for a median of 3.2 years (interquartile range, 2.2 to 4.4). A primary composite outcome event occurred in 839 of 7356 patients (11.4%; 3.7 events per 100 person-years) in the exenatide group and in 905 of 7396 patients (12.2%; 4.0 events per 100 person-years) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 1.00), with the intention-to-treat analysis indicating that exenatide, administered once weekly, was noninferior to placebo with respect to safety (P<0.001 for noninferiority) but was not superior to placebo with respect to efficacy (P=0.06 for superiority). The rates of death from cardiovascular causes, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal or nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for heart failure, and hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome, and the incidence of acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, medullary thyroid carcinoma, and serious adverse events did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with type 2 diabetes with or without previous cardiovascular disease, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events did not differ significantly between patients who received exenatide and those who received placebo. (Funded by Amylin Pharmaceuticals; EXSCEL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01144338 .)

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar, and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 survey that publicly releases infrared spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the subsurvey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey subsurvey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated value-added catalogs. This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper, Local Volume Mapper, and Black Hole Mapper surveys

Meso-predators: A confounding variable in consumer exclusion studies

Large consumers are important in determining community structure and have been extensively researched. The impact of predation on hard-substrate marine invertebrate communities tends to be mixed. Numerous exclusion studies fail to incorporate appropriate procedural controls or account for meso-predators. An experimental exclusion study was performed to investigate the effects of large predators on the development of hard-substrate invertebrate assemblages, whilst simultaneously quantifying changes in the abundances of meso-predators. Settlement plates were deployed subtidally and were either caged (to exclude large predators), placed in cage controls or left exposed to predation. Assemblages were collected and censused after 9, 14 and 19. weeks. The overall structure of the communities differed due to predation, and this effect was consistent through time. Encrusting bryozoans and hydroids occupied more space on exposed surfaces. Amphipod tube cover was greater in caged treatments, with the magnitude of the difference increasing through time, whilst solitary ascidian cover was greater on caged treatments in week 19 only. Meso-predators varied in their responses to large predators, with whelks more abundant in the absence of predators, whereas flatworm abundance was greater where predators were present. Our study demonstrated that strong effects of predators on particular taxa was able to alter the overall community composition, with the cascading effects of large predators on meso-predator abundances potentially contributing to this outcome. © 2014 Elsevier B.V

Small-scale habitat complexity of artificial turf influences the development of associated invertebrate assemblages

Ecosystem engineers can influence biodiversity by enhancing complexity, and modifying the availability of resources. Understanding the mechanisms by which ecosystem engineers shape biodiversity is central to the concept of ‘ecological engineering’ of anthropogenic structures to enhance biodiversity. Here the presence and complexity of artificial turf was manipulated on an artificial structure to test the hypothesis that the colonisation of sessile invertebrates and mobile epibiota would vary with habitat complexity. Both sessile and mobile assemblage compositions differed according to the presence of artificial turf, and its complexity. Sessile invertebrates occupied greater proportions of available space on topographically simple ‘blank’ surfaces or low complexity artificial turf than those with high complexity turf, whereas mobile taxa were generally more abundant on the turf. However, the mobile assemblage was unrelated to the sessile assemblage when examined within each level of initial substrata complexity. Contrary to the increasing number of studies demonstrating nested hierarchical relationships between co-occurring ecosystem engineers, this study provides an example of an ecosystem engineer mimic (artificial turf) leading to the formation of habitat mosaics at small scales. The introduction of complex substrata to otherwise topographically simple artificial structures is a promising means of actively influencing assemblage composition

An empirical examination of consumer effects across twenty degrees of latitude

The strength and importance of consumer effects are predicted to increase toward low latitudes, but this hypothesis has rarely been tested using a spatially consistent methodology. In a consumer-exclusion experiment spanning twenty degrees of latitude along the east Australian coast, the magnitude of consumer effects on sub-tidal sessile assemblage composition was not greater at low than high latitudes. Across caged and control assemblages, Shannon's diversity, Pielou's evenness, and richness of functional groups decreased with increasing latitude, but the magnitude of consumer effects on these metrics did not display consistent latitudinal gradients. Instead, latitudinal gradients in consumer effects were apparent for individual functional groups. Solitary ascidians displayed the pattern consistent with predictions of greater direct effects of predators at low than high latitude. As consumers reduced the biomass of this and other competitive dominants, groups less prone to predation (e.g., hydroids, various groups of bryozoans) were able to take advantage of freed space in the presence of consumers and show increased abundances there. This large-scale empirical study demonstrates the complexity of species interactions, and the failure of assemblage-level metrics to adequately capture consumer effects over large spatial gradients

Attenuation of muscle damage by preconditioning with muscle hyperthermia 1-day prior to eccentric exercise

This study investigated the hypothesis that muscle damage would be attenuated in muscles subjected to passive hyperthermia 1 day prior to exercise. Fifteen male students performed 24 maximal eccentric actions of the elbow flexors with one arm; the opposite arm performed the same exercise 2-4 weeks later. The elbow flexors of one arm received a microwave diathermy treatment that increased muscle temperature to over 40°C, 16-20 h prior to the exercise. The contralateral arm acted as an untreated control. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction strength (MVC), range of motion (ROM), upper arm circumference, muscle soreness, plasma creatine kinase activity and myoglobin concentration were measured 1 day prior to exercise, immediately before and after exercise, and daily for 4 days following exercise. Changes in the criterion measures were compared between conditions (treatment vs. control) using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA with a significance level of P < 0.05. All measures changed significantly following exercise, but the treatment arm showed a significantly faster recovery of MVC, a smaller change in ROM, and less muscle soreness compared with the control arm. However, the protective effect conferred by the diathermy treatment was significantly less effective compared with that seen in the second bout performed 4-6 weeks after the initial bout by a subgroup of the subjects (n = 11) using the control arm. These results suggest that passive hyperthermia treatment 1 day prior to eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage has a prophylactic effect, but the effect is not as strong as the repeated bout effect. © Springer-Verlag 2006