A role for diatom-like silicon transporters in calcifying coccolithophores

Biomineralization by marine phytoplankton, such as the silicifying diatoms and calcifying coccolithophores, plays an important role in carbon and nutrient cycling in the oceans. Silicification and calcification are distinct cellular processes with no known common mechanisms. It is thought that coccolithophores are able to outcompete diatoms in Si-depleted waters, which can contribute to the formation of coccolithophore blooms. Here we show that an expanded family of diatom-like silicon transporters (SITs) are present in both silicifying and calcifying haptophyte phytoplankton, including some globally important coccolithophores. Si is required for calcification in these coccolithophores, indicating that Si uptake contributes to the very different forms of biomineralization in diatoms and coccolithophores. Significantly, SITs and the requirement for Si are absent from highly abundant bloom-forming coccolithophores, such as Emiliania huxleyi. These very different requirements for Si in coccolithophores are likely to have major influence on their competitive interactions with diatoms and other siliceous phytoplankton

Interaction between Gender and Skill on Competitive State Anxiety Using the Time-to-Event Paradigm: What Roles Do Intensity, Direction, and Frequency Dimensions Play?

Hagan Jr. JE, Pollmann D, Schack T. Interaction between Gender and Skill on Competitive State Anxiety Using the Time-to-Event Paradigm: What Roles Do Intensity, Direction, and Frequency Dimensions Play? Frontiers in Psychology. 2017;8: 692.Background and purpose: The functional understanding and examination of competitive anxiety responses as temporal events that unfold as time-to-competition moves closer has emerged as a topical research area within the domains of sport psychology. However, little is known from an inclusive and interaction oriented perspective. Using the multidimensional anxiety theory as a framework, the present study examined the temporal patterning of competitive anxiety, focusing on the dimensions of intensity, direction, and frequency of intrusions in athletes across gender and skill level. Methods: Elite and semi-elite table tennis athletes from the Ghanaian league (N = 90) completed a modified version of Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) with the inclusion of the directional and frequency of intrusion scales at three temporal phases (7 days, 2 days, and 1 h) prior to a competitive fixture. Results: Multivariate Analyses of Variance repeated measures with follow-up analyses revealed significant interactions for between-subjects factors on all anxiety dimensions (intensity, direction, and frequency). Notably, elite (international) female athletes were less cognitively anxious, showed more facilitative interpretation toward somatic anxiety symptoms and experienced less frequency of somatic anxiety symptoms than their male counterparts. However, both elite groups displayed appreciable level of self-confidence. For time-to-event effects, both cognitive and somatic anxiety intensity fluctuated whereas self-confidence showed a steady rise as competition neared. Somatic anxiety debilitative interpretation slightly improved 1 h before competition whereas cognitive anxiety frequencies also increased progressively during the entire preparatory phase. Conclusion: Findings suggest a more dynamic image of elite athletes’ pre-competitive anxiety responses than suggested by former studies, potentially influenced by cultural differences. The use of psychological skills interventions that require effective structure, content, and timing in a composite manner is suggested

Machine learning uncovers the most robust self-report predictors of relationship quality across 43 longitudinal couples studies

Given the powerful implications of relationship quality for health and well-being, a central mission of relationship science is explaining why some romantic relationships thrive more than others. This large-scale project used machine learning (i.e., Random Forests) to 1) quantify the extent to which relationship quality is predictable and 2) identify which constructs reliably predict relationship quality. Across 43 dyadic longitudinal datasets from 29 laboratories, the top relationship-specific predictors of relationship quality were perceived-partner commitment, appreciation, sexual satisfaction, perceived-partner satisfaction, and conflict. The top individual-difference predictors were life satisfaction, negative affect, depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety. Overall, relationship-specific variables predicted up to 45% of variance at baseline, and up to 18% of variance at the end of each study. Individual differences also performed well (21% and 12%, respectively). Actor-reported variables (i.e., own relationship-specific and individual-difference variables) predicted two to four times more variance than partner-reported variables (i.e., the partner’s ratings on those variables). Importantly, individual differences and partner reports had no predictive effects beyond actor-reported relationship-specific variables alone. These findings imply that the sum of all individual differences and partner experiences exert their influence on relationship quality via a person’s own relationship-specific experiences, and effects due to moderation by individual differences and moderation by partner-reports may be quite small. Finally, relationship-quality change (i.e., increases or decreases in relationship quality over the course of a study) was largely unpredictable from any combination of self-report variables. This collective effort should guide future models of relationships

Modes: Cohesive Personality States and their Inter-relationships as Organizing Concepts in Psychopathology

We propose a transdiagnostic approach which centers on modes, state-like manifestations of personality that function as cohesive organizational units. Modes are characterized by specific profiles of affects, behaviors, cognitions, and desires that tend to be co-activated. Each mode is typically experienced as having its own distinct experiential and agentic qualities. A mode-based approach to psychopathology builds on recent analytic and methodological developments which demonstrate the value of modeling personality states dynamically, as well as on longstanding theoretical and empirical traditions that highlight the pragmatic clinical utility of such conceptualizations. We seek to illustrate how the conceptualization of psychopathology in terms of modes and their dynamic inter-relations holds considerable transdiagnostic promise. As background, we review both theory and research from philosophical accounts of selfhood, developmental psychology, social and personality psychology, and diverse psychotherapy models which lay the foundation for this mode-based approach to psychopathology. We elaborate on this foundation and (in Section I of our online supplement) provide examples of the approach’s explicit or implicit relevance to several classes of psychopathology, including dissociative, trauma-related, mood, anxiety, obsessional, substance, psychotic, and personality disorders. After addressing the clinical utility of mode-based conceptualizations, we lay out a research blueprint for assessing and modeling modes, and (in Section II of the online supplement) present a broader research agenda highlighting intriguing empirical questions regarding modes in psychopathology. We conclude by noting that the time seems ripe for modes to be (re-)introduced as an organizing construct for understanding psychopathology and personality

Delineating Discrete Generalizable States from Intraindividual Time Series: Towards a Science of Moments

The present paper pursues archetypal states—compound sets of concurrent, fixed-distance intervals in temporal variables that predict person-level data across persons. Using unsupervised learning, we identify a set of states defined by varying degrees of negatively correlated positive and negative affect. We demonstrate the consistency of these structures across three samples. Sample 1 (N=838) was split into N=500 training series and N=338 hold-out series. Training data were used to distill archetypal compound emotion states, which were validated across the hold-out sample and two external samples—a naturalistic sample of 179 participants and a sample of 45 individuals with depression and anxiety. Predictions of momentary variation in the out-of-sample data accounted for 40% to 50% of the variance in these unseen data. We propose that the current paradigm serves as a proof of concept for a novel and generative science of moments that provides means for transcending the idiographic-nomothetic divide

Silent voices that must be heard – women’s perceptions of gynecologic examinations

Purpose To analyze the perception of gynecologic examination from the patients’ point of view. Materials and methods This anonymous electronic cross-sectional survey aimed to evaluate the subjective experiences of women during gynecologic examinations (levels of pain, embarrassment and trauma), the manner the examination was conducted, and women’s suggestions for improving their experience. Results Overall, 6,508 women answered the survey. The examination was considered an embarrassing event by 47%, painful by 35% and traumatic by 19%. Importantly, only 43% of the respondents stated they would notify the gynecologist in case of physical discomfort or pain during the examination. The quality of physician-to-patient communication was rated as the most important aspect of gynecologic examination, and showed a significant association with the general quality of the experience (levels of pain, embarrassment, and trauma). Matters relating to women’s privacy during gynecologic examination were also considered important. An option for a companion was rated as important by 64% of the respondents. Significant differences with large effect-sizes were found between the respondents’ preferences and their reports of the observed situation. Conclusion The findings highlight the need for establishing guidelines for gynecologic examinations, according to a patient-centered care approach. This study constitutes a first discourse on the subject of gynecologic examinations in Israel in order to provide an overview and initial insights, serving as a starting point for further specific and more in-depth research

Emotion Differentiation During the Transition to Parenthood – Concurrent and Prospective Positive Effects

Emotion differentiation, the extent to which same-valenced emotions are experienced in a distinct manner, has been found to be associated with various positive outcomes. However, little is known about its role in relational contexts. The present work examines couples in the transition to parenthood (TTP), a particularly emotionally demanding period, and explores the associations between emotion differentiation and both concurrent (3 months postpartum) and prospective (6 months postpartum) relationship quality. Both negative emotion differentiation (NED) and positive emotional differentiation (PED) were extracted from daily diaries completed over 21 days by both partners in 88 couples. They were then examined as predictors of relationship quality (relationship satisfaction and perceived partner responsiveness) using actor-partner interdependence models. NED was found to be concurrently associated with elevated relationship quality for one's self and for one's partner, but only when the partner's NED was low. Prospectively, partner NED was associated with greater perceived partner responsiveness and with relationship satisfaction when the actor’s NED was low. PED was found to be concurrently associated with relationship satisfaction for one’s self and one’s partner; a similar association was found for one’s own perceived partner responsiveness. Prospectively, partner PED was associated with greater relationship satisfaction. The findings suggest that NED functions as a compensatory or shared dyadic resource, and that PED, whose effects in previous studies have been mixed, may also be constructive. This suggests that individuals undergoing emotionally demanding periods (such as the TTP) may benefit from developing more nuanced emotional experiences