Cue properties change timing strategies in group movement synchronisation

To maintain synchrony in group activities, each individual within the group must continuously correct their movements to remain in time with the temporal cues available. Cues might originate from one or more members of the group. Current research suggests that when synchronising movements, individuals optimise their performance in terms of minimising variability of timing errors (asynchronies) between external cues and their own movements. However, the cost of this is an increase in the timing variability of their own movements. Here we investigate whether an individual’s timing strategy changes according to the task, in a group scenario. To investigate this, we employed a novel paradigm that positioned six individuals to form two chains with common origin and termination on the circumference of a circle. We found that participants with access to timing cues from only one other member used a strategy to minimise their asynchrony variance. In contrast, the participant at the common termination of the two chains, who was required to integrate timing cues from two members, used a strategy that minimised movement variability. We conclude that humans are able to flexibly switch timekeeping strategies to maintain task demands and thus optimise the temporal performance of their movements

Using time perception to explore implicit sensitivity to emotional stimuli in autism spectrum disorder

Establishing whether implicit responses to emotional cues are intact in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is fundamental to ascertaining why their emotional understanding is compromised. We used a temporal bisection task to assess for responsiveness to face and wildlife images that varied in emotional salience. There were no significant differences between an adult ASD and comparison group, with both showing implicit overestimation of emotional stimuli. Further, there was no correlation between overestimation of emotional stimuli and autistic traits in undergraduate students. These data do not suggest a fundamental insensitivity to the arousing content of emotional images in ASD, or in individuals with a high degree of autistic traits. The findings have implications for understanding how emotional stimuli are processed in ASD

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research

Pre-informed consumers on a pre-adjusted menu had smaller nitrogen footprints during the N2013 conference, Kampala, than those on a conventional menu

International conferences are hotspots of food wastage and release of reactive nitrogen (Nr) into the environment, but there is limited data about extent of food wastage and food product-specific Nitrogen (N) Footprints of consumers from such conferences. This study was aimed at evaluating the impact of pre-information and pre-adjusted menu on food-product specific N Footprints of the 6th International Nitrogen (N2013) conference held in Kampala, Uganda (average of 140 participants). For comparison, we also computed N Footprints for a baseline conference held at the same venue (average of 180 participants). At N2013, the delegates, hotel management and chefs had been pre-informed about a pre-adjusted menu designed to substitute half of animal-based sources of protein with plant sources (demitarian diet). Average meat consumption (excluding eggs) during the N2013 conference was 118 g capita−1 day−1 on dry weight basis, while milk consumption (excluding powdered milk) was 75 g capita−1 day−1 (fresh weight basis). These values were smaller than those of the baseline conference where meat consumption (excluding eggs) averaged 234 g capita−1 day−1 on dry weight basis and milk consumption (excluding powdered milk) averaged 159 g capita−1 day−1 (fresh weight basis). The reduction in meat consumption during the N2013 conference was compensated for by eating more fruits (102 g capita−1 day−1) and vegetables (45 g capita−1 day−1) than during the baseline conference (69 and 33 g capita−1 day−1, respectively). Overall, the Nitrogen Footprint for the N2013 conference was 97 g N capita−1 day−1, representing a reduction of 40% compared with the baseline conference of 160 g N capita−1 day−1. The Nitrogen Footprint for the N2013 conference would have been even lower, had it not been for over-supply beyond demand that left a substantial amount of food wasted. We conclude that pre-information and a pre-adjusted menu with clear guidelines to actors in food procurement, preparation and consumption are critical to mitigating food wastage from international conferences. The experience demonstrates how a conference approach to cutting down Nr consumption simultaneously helps raise awareness, while allowing delegates to reduce their N footprints with environmental and health benefits

The south-western Black Forest and the Upper Rhine Graben Main Border Fault : thermal history and hydrothermal fluid flow

The thermal history of the south-westernmost Black Forest (Germany) and the adjacent Upper Rhine Graben were constrained by a combination of apatite and zircon fission-track (FT) and microstructural analyses. After intrusion of Palaeozoic granitic plutons in the Black Forest, the thermal regime of the studied area re-equilibrated during the Late Permian and the Mesozoic, interrupted by enhanced hydrothermal activity during the Jurassic. At the eastern flank of the Upper Rhine Graben along the Main Border Fault the analysed samples show microstructural characteristics related to repeated tectonic and hydrothermal activities. The integration of microstructural observations of the cataclastic fault gouge with the FT data identifies the existence of repeated tectonic-related fluid flow events characterised by different thermal conditions. The older took place during the Variscan and/or Mesozoic time at temperatures lower than 280A degrees C, whereas the younger was probably contemporary with the Cenozoic rifting of the Upper Rhine Graben at temperatures not higher than 150A degrees C