The associations of use of social network sites with perceived social support and loneliness

Research shows that use of social network sites is associated with loneliness and this may be amplified in tertiary students by their transition from home life, especially if they struggle to integrate with peers. The buffering effects of social support may offer a solution and the online dimension may offer a suitable outlet for lonely and isolated students. In this study, N = 111 university students, aged 18-40, completed a frequency assessment of Instagram and WhatsApp, the Spanish version of the UCLA loneliness scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Social Support in an online survey. The statistical analysis was completed by Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS 25.0. The construct validity of social network sites was established by good factor loadings for WhatsApp and Instagram, but Facebook was excluded as it did not load adequately on to the latent measurement model, in keeping with the diminishing trend for Facebook use in young students. Loneliness emerged as pivotal in a mediation model, and online social support from friends/significant others, emerged as salient in the predictive model in contrast to family. However, these associations may not have the same advantageous weight for mature students given the observed negative associations with age. Results may have implications for policy and planning through highlighting the psychological variables that are operative in the dynamics of integration, retention, and adjustment to tertiary level experience

User centered ecological interface design (UCEID): A novel method applied to the problem of safe and user-friendly interaction between drivers and autonomous vehicles

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018. User Centered Ecological Interface Design (UCEID) is a novel Human Factors method that integrates relationships between Ecological Interface Design (EID) and inclusive Human Centered Design. It combines existing methodology from the Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) framework [1–3] and Inclusive User Centered Design [4, 5]. This paper offers a practical guide to UCEID by providing a high-level summary for practitioners using the example of vehicle to driver handover in a BASt Level 3 autonomous vehicle

The activation of eco-driving mental models: can text messages prime drivers to use their existing knowledge and skills?

Eco-driving campaigns have traditionally assumed that drivers lack the necessary knowledge and skills and that this is something that needs rectifying. Therefore, many support systems have been designed to closely guide drivers and fine-tune their proficiency. However, research suggests that drivers already possess a substantial amount of the necessary knowledge and skills regarding eco-driving. In previous studies, participants used these effectively when they were explicitly asked to drive fuel-efficiently. In contrast, they used their safe driving skills when they were instructed to drive as they would normally. Hence, it is assumed that many drivers choose not to engage purposefully in eco-driving in their everyday lives. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of simple, periodic text messages (nine messages in 2 weeks) on drivers’ eco- and safe driving performance. It was hypothesised that provision of eco-driving primes and advice would encourage the activation of their eco-driving mental models and that comparable safety primes increase driving safety. For this purpose, a driving simulator experiment was conducted. All participants performed a pre-test drive and were then randomly divided into four groups, which received different interventions. For a period of 2 weeks, one group received text messages with eco-driving primes and another group received safety primes. A third group received advice messages on how to eco-drive. The fourth group were instructed by the experimenter to drive fuel-efficiently, immediately before driving, with no text message intervention. A post-test drive measured behavioural changes in scenarios deemed relevant to eco- and safe driving. The results suggest that the eco-driving prime and advice text messages did not have the desired effect. In comparison, asking drivers to drive fuel-efficiently led to eco-driving behaviours. These outcomes demonstrate the difficulty in changing ingrained habits. Future research is needed to strengthen such messages or activate existing knowledge and skills in other ways, so driver behaviour can be changed in cost-efficient ways

Early Palaeozoic ocean anoxia and global warming driven by the evolution of shallow burrowing

The evolution of burrowing animals forms a defining event in the history of the Earth. It has been hypothesised that the expansion of seafloor burrowing during the Palaeozoic altered the biogeochemistry of the oceans and atmosphere. However, whilst potential impacts of bioturbation on the individual phosphorus, oxygen and sulphur cycles have been considered, combined effects have not been investigated, leading to major uncertainty over the timing and magnitude of the Earth system response to the evolution of bioturbation. Here we integrate the evolution of bioturbation into the COPSE model of global biogeochemical cycling, and compare quantitative model predictions to multiple geochemical proxies. Our results suggest that the advent of shallow burrowing in the early Cambrian contributed to a global low-oxygen state, which prevailed for ~100 million years. This impact of bioturbation on global biogeochemistry likely affected animal evolution through expanded ocean anoxia, high atmospheric CO2 levels and global warming

Genomic insights into members of the candidate phylum Hyd24-12 common in mesophilic anaerobic digesters

Members of the candidate phylum Hyd24-12 are globally distributed, but no genomic information or knowledge about their morphology, physiology or ecology is available. In this study, members of the Hyd24-12 lineage were shown to be present and abundant in full-scale mesophilic anaerobic digesters at Danish wastewater treatment facilities. In some samples, a member of the Hyd24-12 lineage was one of the most abundant genus-level bacterial taxa, accounting for up to 8% of the bacterial biomass. Three closely related and near-complete genomes were retrieved using metagenome sequencing of full-scale anaerobic digesters. Genome annotation and metabolic reconstruction showed that they are Gram-negative bacteria likely involved in acidogenesis, producing acetate and hydrogen from fermentation of sugars, and may play a role in the cycling of sulphur in the digesters. Fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed single rod-shaped cells dispersed within the flocs. The genomic information forms a foundation for a more detailed understanding of their role in anaerobic digestion and provides the first insight into a hitherto undescribed branch in the tree of life

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

Exploring ecological interface design for future ROV capabilities in maritime command and control

Future maritime command teams will process more data, a trend driven by continued technological advances and new sensors. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are contributing to this, as their usage is steadily growing in civilian and military contexts. A key challenge is effective integration of growing volumes of data into the command team, ensuring optimal performance for completing the variety of missions and tasks that may be required. In particular, operator cognitive capacity should not be exceeded, as this may negatively impact global team performance. A review of ROV usage revealed that they are predominately deployed to understand and interact with their environment. Ecological Interface Design (EID) aims to make system constraints apparent and reduce operator workload. As the aims of EID are synergistic with ROV operation, it is hypothesised that operator workload may be reduced if interfaces are implemented that adhere to these design principles. In the current work EID is proposed as a design paradigm for ROV UIs, to facilitate optimal future performance