Exogenous spatial precuing reliably modulates object processing but not object substitution masking

Object substitution masking (OSM) is used in behavioral and imaging studies to investigate processes associated with the formation of a conscious percept. Reportedly, OSM occurs only when visual attention is diffusely spread over a search display or focused away from the target location. Indeed, the presumed role of spatial attention is central to theoretical accounts of OSM and of visual processing more generally (Di Lollo, Enns, & Rensink, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 129:481–507, 2000). We report a series of five experiments in which valid spatial precuing is shown to enhance the ability of participants to accurately report a target but, in most cases, without affecting OSM. In only one experiment (Experiment 5) was a significant effect of precuing observed on masking. This is in contrast to the reliable effect shown across all five experiments in which precuing improved overall performance. The results are convergent with recent findings from Argyropoulos, Gellatly, and Pilling (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 39:646–661, 2013), which show that OSM is independent of the number of distractor items in a display. Our results demonstrate that OSM can operate independently of focal attention. Previous claims of the strong interrelationship between OSM and spatial attention are likely to have arisen from ceiling or floor artifacts that restricted measurable performance

Asenapine effects in animal models of psychosis and cognitive function

Asenapine, a novel psychopharmacologic agent in the development for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, has high affinity for serotonergic, α-adrenergic, and dopaminergic receptors, suggesting potential for antipsychotic and cognitive-enhancing properties. The effects of asenapine in rat models of antipsychotic efficacy and cognition were examined and compared with those of olanzapine and risperidone. Amphetamine-stimulated locomotor activity (Amp-LMA; 1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg s.c.) and apomorphine-disrupted prepulse inhibition (Apo-PPI; 0.5 mg/kg s.c.) were used as tests for antipsychotic activity. Delayed non-match to place (DNMTP) and five-choice serial reaction (5-CSR) tasks were used to assess short-term spatial memory and attention, respectively. Asenapine doses varied across tasks: Amp-LMA (0.01–0.3 mg/kg s.c.), Apo-PPI (0.001–0.3 mg/kg s.c.), DNMTP (0.01–0.1 mg/kg s.c.), and 5-CSR (0.003–0.3 mg/kg s.c.). Asenapine was highly potent (active at 0.03 mg/kg) in the Amp-LMA and Apo-PPI assays. DNMTP or 5-CSR performance was not improved by asenapine, olanzapine, or risperidone. All agents (P < 0.01) reduced DNMTP accuracy at short delays; post hoc analyses revealed that only 0.1 mg/kg asenapine and 0.3 mg/kg risperidone differed from vehicle. All active agents (asenapine, 0.3 mg/kg; olanzapine, 0.03–0.3 mg/kg; and risperidone, 0.01–0.1 mg/kg) significantly impaired 5-CSR accuracy (P < 0.05). Asenapine has potent antidopaminergic properties that are predictive of antipsychotic efficacy. Asenapine, like risperidone and olanzapine, did not improve cognition in normal rats. Rather, at doses greater than those required for antipsychotic activity, asenapine impaired cognitive performance due to disturbance of motor function, an effect also observed with olanzapine and risperidone

Sustainable corporate entrepreneurship initiatives: a risk and reward analysis

Earlier studies recognize the importance of corporate entrepreneurship towards achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. This study proposes that the likelihood of individual participation in corporate entrepreneurship initiatives is contingent upon individual perceptions of rewards and risks. The research presents different scenarios, and tests several attributes that influence the decision to participate. Conjoint analysis utilisation simulates a real life situation where scenario analyses in varying combinations in terms of their intensity levels take place. The results indicate the most important attribute influencing the decision to participate is the probability of venture success followed closely by financial reward. As expected, job risk, pay risk and required effort are deterrents to participation; and individuals with past entrepreneurial experience are less concerned about job risk and have a higher positive perception regarding the probability of corporate venture success

The global abundance of tree palms

Aim Palms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evolutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quantified global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change. Location Tropical and subtropical moist forests. Time period Current. Major taxa studied Palms (Arecaceae). Methods We assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., ≥10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to co‐occurring non‐palm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure. Results On average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly associated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of long‐term climate stability. Life‐form diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many non‐tree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of above‐ground biomass, but the magnitude and direction of the effect require additional work. Conclusions Tree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also overwhelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests

Proceedings of the Sixth Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 20-22, 2011.

494 pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 26 cm. Conference sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and the St. Catherines Island Foundation.Although this volume covers a broad range of temporal and methodological topics, the chapters are unified by a geographic focus on the archaeology of the Georgia Bight. The various research projects span multiple time periods (including Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and contact periods) and many incorporate specialized analyses (such as petrographic point counting, shallow geophysics, and so forth). The 26 contributors conducting this cutting-edge work represent the full spectrum of the archaeological community, including museum, academic, student, and contract archaeologists. Despite the diversity in professional and theoretical backgrounds, temporal periods examined, and methodological approaches pursued, the volume is unified by four distinct, yet interrelated, themes. Contributions in Part I discuss a range of analytical approaches for understanding time, exchange, and site layout. Chapters in Part II model coastal landscapes from both environmental and social perspectives. The third section addresses site-specific studies of late prehistoric architecture and village layout throughout the Georgia Bight. Part IV presents new and ongoing research into the Spanish mission period of this area. These papers were initially presented and discussed at the Sixth Caldwell Conference, cosponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and the St. Catherines Island Foundation, held on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 20-22, 2011. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Revising the ¹⁴C reservoir correction for St. Catherines Island, Georgia / David Hurst Thomas, Matthew C. Sanger, and Royce H. Hayes -- An assessment of coastal faunal data from Georgia and northeast Florida / Alexandra L. Parsons and Rochelle A. Marrinan -- Archaeological geophysics on St. Catherines Island : beyond prospection / Ginessa J. Mahar -- Paste variability and clay resource utilization at the Fountain of Youth site, St. Augustine, 8SJ31 / Ann S. Cordell and Kathleen A. Deagan -- Petrographic analysis of pottery and clay samples from the Georgia Bight : evidence of regional social interactions / Neill J. Wallis and Ann S. Cordell -- Past shorelines of the Georgia coast / Chester B. DePratter and Victor D. Thompson -- Coastal landscapes and their relationship to human settlement on the Georgia coast / John A. Turck and Clark R. Alexander -- The role of small islands in foraging economies of St. Catherines Island / Matthew F. Napolitano -- Ever-shifting landscapes : tracking changing spatial usage along coastal Georgia / Matthew C. Sanger -- A paleoeconomic model of the Georgia coast (4500-300 B.P.) / Thomas G. Whitley -- A survey of Irene phase architecture on the Georgia coast / Deborah A. Keene and Ervan G. Garrison -- Life and death on the Ogeechee : a view from the Redbird Creek village / Ryan O. Sipe -- Mission San Joseph de Sapala : mission-period archaeological research on Sapelo Island / Richard W. Jefferies and Christopher R. Moore -- The Guale landscape of Mission Santa Catalina de Guale : 30 years of geophysics at a Spanish colonial mission / Elliot H. Blair -- Missions San Buenaventura and Santa Cruz de Guadalquini : retreat from the Georgia coast / Keith H. Ashley, Vicki L. Rolland, and Robert L. Thunen -- Entangling events : the Guale coastal landscape and the Spanish missions / Victor D. Thompson, John A. Turck, Amanda D. Roberts Thompson, and Chester B. DePratter -- Island and coastal archaeology on the Georgia Bight / Scott M. Fitzpatrick

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1,2,3,4,5,6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field