When the future “spills under”: general self-efficacy moderates the influence of expected exercise on present intellectual performance

We examined whether an expected future activity (exercise vs. relaxation) impacts a present behavior (performance on an intellectual task) that occurs prior to this activity. Across two experiments (n=320 and n=466), the influence of expected exercise compared to relaxation on present intellectual performance was moderated by general self-efficacy (GSE)—a core personality trait that determines people’s confidence that they can surmount physically or intellectually challenging activities. Participants high in GSE had better intellectual performance when they were expecting to exercise versus relax, whereas the effect reversed under low GSE. Moderated mediation analyses suggested that task-focused attention (i.e., participants’ level of focus while solving the intellectual task) accounted for a significant proportion of variance between the future activity (exercise vs. relaxation) and present intellectual performance across different GSE levels. These findings document a previously unexplored channel through which future expectations shape present outcomes

Human Breast Milk, Infant Formula, and Follow-Up Milks Comparison by Electronic Tongue

Human breast milk, infant formula, and follow-up milks were tested by a commercial electronic tongue (aAstree, Alpha MOS) with the aim to determine taste diversity, since it has been recently shown that infants exposed to different tastes early in life, develop different food preference at a later age. Human milk (36 samples) were obtained from 13 lactating women, while 12 samples of infant formula and 14 samples of follow-up milk were obtained from the Croatian market and opened prior to analysis. Human breast milk samples showed a much higher diversity than both infant formulae and follow-up milks. These results suggest that breast-fed infants are exposed to a broader sensory experience, while formula fed infants are exposed to less diverse taste. Future studies will probably answer how this influences later food choice, taste preferences, and consequently, risk of obesity and other chronic diseases

Looking at spillovers in the mirror: making a case for "behavioural spillunders"

Behavioral spillovers refer to the influence that a given intervention targeting behavior 1 exerts on a subsequent, non-targeted, behavior 2, which may or may not be in the same domain (health, finance, etc.) as one another. So, a nudge to exercise more, for example, could lead people to eat more or less, or possibly even to give more or less to charity depending on the nature of the spillover. But what if spillovers also operate backward; that is, if the expectation of behavior 1 influences behavior 0 that precedes it? For example, a person may form an intention to exercise prompted by a policy intervention but overeat at present as a result. We define such a possibility as a "spillunder." In the proposed article, we critically review the few papers that we have identified through a narrative literature review which have demonstrated spillunder effects to date, and we propose a conceptual framework. Based on evidence about the human mind and behavior from psychology and economics, we argue that spillunder effects may be more common than the limited empirical findings suggest. We propose six representative mechanisms through which the prospect of behavior 1 may impact behavior 0: executive functions, moral licensing and moral cleansing, emotion regulation, energization, construal level, and savoring and dread. We further discuss the policy and practical implications of spillunder effects and examine methodological issues that need to be considered when empirically testing these effects. As with our earlier paper on spillovers, we aim to motivate other behavioral scientists to research behavioral spillunders more systematically and extensively, and to prompt decision makers to consider these effects when designing behavioral interventions

Sub-millimeter galaxies as progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies

Three billion years after the big bang (at redshift z=2), half of the most massive galaxies were already old, quiescent systems with little to no residual star formation and extremely compact with stellar mass densities at least an order of magnitude larger than in low redshift ellipticals, their descendants. Little is known about how they formed, but their evolved, dense stellar populations suggest formation within intense, compact starbursts 1-2 Gyr earlier (at 3<z<6). Simulations show that gas-rich major mergers can give rise to such starbursts which produce dense remnants. Sub-millimeter selected galaxies (SMGs) are prime examples of intense, gas-rich, starbursts. With a new, representative spectroscopic sample of compact quiescent galaxies at z=2 and a statistically well-understood sample of SMGs, we show that z=3-6 SMGs are consistent with being the progenitors of z=2 quiescent galaxies, matching their formation redshifts and their distributions of sizes, stellar masses and internal velocities. Assuming an evolutionary connection, their space densities also match if the mean duty cycle of SMG starbursts is 42 (+40/-29) Myr (consistent with independent estimates), which indicates that the bulk of stars in these massive galaxies were formed in a major, early surge of star-formation. These results suggests a coherent picture of the formation history of the most massive galaxies in the universe, from their initial burst of violent star-formation through their appearance as high stellar-density galaxy cores and to their ultimate fate as giant ellipticals.Comment: ApJ (in press

The Functional Connectivity Landscape of the Human Brain

Functional brain networks emerge and dissipate over a primarily static anatomical foundation. The dynamic basis of these networks is inter-regional communication involving local and distal regions. It is assumed that inter-regional distances play a pivotal role in modulating network dynamics. Using three different neuroimaging modalities, 6 datasets were evaluated to determine whether experimental manipulations asymmetrically affect functional relationships based on the distance between brain regions in human participants. Contrary to previous assumptions, here we show that short- and long-range connections are equally likely to strengthen or weaken in response to task demands. Additionally, connections between homotopic areas are the most stable and less likely to change compared to any other type of connection. Our results point to a functional connectivity landscape characterized by fluid transitions between local specialization and global integration. This ability to mediate functional properties irrespective of spatial distance may engender a diverse repertoire of cognitive processes when faced with a dynamic environment.</p

Age Affects the Expression of Maternal Care and Subsequent Behavioural Development of Offspring in a Precocial Bird

Variations of breeding success with age have been studied largely in iteroparous species and particularly in birds: survival of offspring increases with parental age until senescence. Nevertheless, these results are from observations of free-living individuals and therefore, it remains impossible to determine whether these variations result from parental investment or efficiency or both, and whether these variations occur during the prenatal or the postnatal stage or during both. Our study aimed first, to determine whether age had an impact on the expression of maternal breeding care by comparing inexperienced female birds of two different ages, and second, to define how these potential differences impact chicks’ growth and behavioural development. We made 22 2-month-old and 22 8-month-old female Japanese quail foster 1-day-old chicks. We observed their maternal behaviour until the chicks were 11 days old and then tested these chicks after separation from their mothers. Several behavioural tests estimated their fearfulness and their sociality. We observed first that a longer induction was required for young females to express maternal behaviour. Subsequently as many young females as elder females expressed maternal behaviour, but young females warmed chicks less, expressed less covering postures and rejected their chicks more. Chicks brooded by elder females presented higher growth rates and more fearfulness and sociality. Our results reveal that maternal investment increased with age independently of maternal experience, suggesting modification of hormone levels implied in maternal behaviour. Isolated effects of maternal experience should now be assessed in females of the same age. In addition, our results show, for first time in birds, that variations in maternal care directly induce important differences in the behavioural development of chicks. Finally, our results confirm that Japanese quail remains a great laboratory model of avian maternal behaviour and that the way we sample maternal behaviour is highly productive

The VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project: continuum data and source catalog release

We present the VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project based on 384 hours of observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at 3 GHz (10 cm) toward the two square degree Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field. The final mosaic reaches a median rms of 2.3 uJy/beam over the two square degrees at an angular resolution of 0.75". To fully account for the spectral shape and resolution variations across the broad (2 GHz) band, we image all data with a multiscale, multifrequency synthesis algorithm. We present a catalog of 10,830 radio sources down to 5 sigma, out of which 67 are combined from multiple components. Comparing the positions of our 3 GHz sources with those from the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)-COSMOS survey, we estimate that the astrometry is accurate to 0.01" at the bright end (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N_3GHz > 20). Survival analysis on our data combined with the VLA-COSMOS 1.4~GHz Joint Project catalog yields an expected median radio spectral index of alpha=-0.7. We compute completeness corrections via Monte Carlo simulations to derive the corrected 3 GHz source counts. Our counts are in agreement with previously derived 3 GHz counts based on single-pointing (0.087 square degrees) VLA data. In summary, the VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project simultaneously provides the largest and deepest radio continuum survey at high (0.75") angular resolution to date, bridging the gap between last-generation and next-generation surveys

Biophilic architecture: a review of the rationale and outcomes

Contemporary cities have high stress levels, mental health issues, high crime levels and ill health, while the built environment shows increasing problems with urban heat island effects and air and water pollution. Emerging from these concerns is a new set of design principles and practices where nature needs to play a bigger part called “biophilic architecture”. This design approach asserts that humans have an innate connection with nature that can assist to make buildings and cities more effective human abodes. This paper examines the evidence for this innate human psychological and physiological link to nature and then assesses the emerging research supporting the multiple social, environmental and economic benefits of biophilic architecture

Impact of tending measures on assortment structure of fellings in central Croatian beech stands

The effects of management of even-aged beech stands on the quality of beech timberassortments by type of cut were investigated in the region of Bjelovar. The research was carried outusing Croatian timber standards. Assortment tables were developed separately for thinning andintermediate felling, and separately for regeneration and final felling in accordance with theinterventions of management. The average shares of assortments maintained the same ratios by qualityclasses regardless of the applied standards (HRN or HRN EN). The research identified the problems inproduction of assortments, and justified the need for developing separate tables for thinning,intermediate felling, and for regeneration and final felling. Through forest management the quantityand quality of timber assortments may be oriented to a certain extent towards the production target.With the application of tending measures the value of the stand and timber assortments increases overtime. In economic respect, the development of false heartwood shows an opposite trend. Therefore acompromise must be achieved by proper management and determination of appropriate harvesting ageof beech stands

Pandemic related changes in social interaction are associated with changes in automatic approach-avoidance behaviour

People's natural tendencies to either approach or avoid different stimuli in their environment are considered fundamental motivators of human behaviour. There is a wealth of research exploring how changes in approach and avoidance motivational orientations impact behaviour with consequences for wellbeing. However, research has seldom explored this relationship in reverse. The COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique opportunity to explore whether widespread changes in social behaviour are associated with changes in automatic approach-avoidance tendencies over time. We gathered online survey data on people's adherence to 7 of the prescribed social restrictions set out by the UK government and people's automatic approach-avoidance tendencies in response to different stimuli (sad/happy faces and social scenes) at three time points during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced-overall-interaction (digital and in person) was found to be significantly associated with faster avoidance relative to approach of sad faces. The results suggest that automatic approach-avoidance tendencies may function to protect people against the typically negative experience of reduced social interaction, with important implications for understanding public resilience during times of crisis, and beyond