To Nap or to Rest? The Influence of a Sixty-Minute Intervention on Verbal and Figural Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Background: The relationship between sleep and creativity is a topic of much controversy. General benefits of napping have been described not only in sleep-deprived individuals and in shift workers, but also in people with sufficient night sleep. However, only few studies have investigated the relationship between nap and creativity. Methods: Forty-two native German speakers (29 females, mean age = 24 years, SD = 3.3 years) took part in two experimental sessions (i.e., baseline and intervention). In both sessions, divergent and convergent verbal and figural creativity tasks were administered at the same time of the day. While the baseline session was identical for all the participants, in the second session participants were randomized into either a sixty-minute nap or a sixty-minute rest group. Results: No significant group differences were found for neither divergent nor convergent creativity thinking tasks, suggesting that the interventions had similar effects in both groups. Interestingly, the analysis of the pooled data (i.e., pooled nap and rest groups) indicated differential effects of figural versus verbal creativity tasks, such that significant post-intervention improvements were found for the figural, but not for the verbal divergent and convergent thinking tasks. Conclusions: While further studies are needed to confirm these findings, to the best of our knowledge, such a dissociation between performance of verbal and figural creativity tasks after nap/rest interventions has not been described to date

Synthesis of polymer-supported copper complexes and their evaluation in catalytic phenol oxidation

Polymer-supported metal complexes have been used as catalysts for the catalytic wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation (CWPO) of phenol The synthesis of six catalysts derived from three polymer-supports (a polybenzimidazole resin and two poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) resins) and two Cu(II) salts The catalytic oxidation of phenol with initial phenol concentration of 1 g L-1 was performed in a 200 mL batch stirred tank reactor at 30 C and atmospheric pressure Under these conditions phenol conversion and total organic carbon conversion were evaluated The highest phenol conversion was 93% obtained for poly(DVB-co-VBC) functionalised with iminodiacetic acid (IMDA) and loaded with copper acetylacetonate however metal leaching was very unsatisfactory If metal leaching was taken Into consideration it was found that polybenzimidazole loaded with copper sulphate appeared to be the most stable yielding 54% of mineralisation and 075 TOC/phenol conversion efficiency with simultaneously low release of metal during the oxidatio

Molecular Relationship between Strains of M. bovis from Mexico and Those from Countries with Free Trade of Cattle with Mexico.

The purpose of this study was to identify relationships between spoligotypes of M. bovis from cattle in Mexico and those reported in countries with free trade of cattle with Mexico: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America. Mexican spoligotypes were obtained from isolates collected from cattle in different parts of the country. Spoligotypes from Canada and New Zealand were obtained from different reports in the literature. Those from the United States were obtained from the database of the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in APHIS-USDA. In order to perform the analysis in a single data set, spoligotypes were all converted to binary data and classified according to www.mbovis.org or www.pasteur-guadeloupe.fr:8081. Epidemiologic information included country and species infected. From 3,198 isolates, 174 different spoligotypes were obtained, 95 were orphans. Ninety one percent of the isolates came from the Unites States (n = 1,609) and Mexico (n = 1,323). Spoligotype SB0265 is shared between Canada and the United States in cattle and wildlife. Six spoligotypes, SB0673, SB0121, SB0145, SB0971, SB0140 and SB1165, were frequent in cattle and wildlife in the United States and cattle in Mexico, suggesting wide exchange of strains. Spoligotype SB0669 was found only in Mexico. Spoligotype SB0140 was the most common in Australia and the sixth in the United States and Mexico. In a phylogenetic analysis, spoligotype SB0140 appears as the oldest spoligotype in the data set, suggesting this as the ancestral spoligotype for all spoligotypes in the five countries. Some spoligotypes are shared by animals and humans, corroborating the zoonotic importance of M. bovis

Most Frequent spoligotypes of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> from Mexico and countries with history of free trade of cattle with Mexico.

<p>Most Frequent spoligotypes of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> from Mexico and countries with history of free trade of cattle with Mexico.</p

Spoligoforest of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> spoligotypes obtained from cattle in Mexico and those from countries with history of trade of cattle with Mexico: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and The Unites States of America.

<p>Nodes are labeled with the SB identifier as indicated in <a href="http://www.mbovis.org" target="_blank">www.mbovis.org</a>; numbers in the circle indicate cluster size. The lines between nodes reflect hypothetical evolutionary relationships among spoligotypes with arrows denoting descendence. Continuous lines indicate stronger relationship.</p

Molecular Relationship between Strains of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> from Mexico and Those from Countries with Free Trade of Cattle with Mexico

<div><p>The purpose of this study was to identify relationships between spoligotypes of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> from cattle in Mexico and those reported in countries with free trade of cattle with Mexico: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America. Mexican spoligotypes were obtained from isolates collected from cattle in different parts of the country. Spoligotypes from Canada and New Zealand were obtained from different reports in the literature. Those from the United States were obtained from the database of the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in APHIS-USDA. In order to perform the analysis in a single data set, spoligotypes were all converted to binary data and classified according to <a href="http://www.mbovis.org" target="_blank">www.mbovis.org</a> or <a href="http://www.pasteur-guadeloupe.fr:8081" target="_blank">www.pasteur-guadeloupe.fr:8081</a>. Epidemiologic information included country and species infected. From 3,198 isolates, 174 different spoligotypes were obtained, 95 were orphans. Ninety one percent of the isolates came from the Unites States (n = 1,609) and Mexico (n = 1,323). Spoligotype SB0265 is shared between Canada and the United States in cattle and wildlife. Six spoligotypes, SB0673, SB0121, SB0145, SB0971, SB0140 and SB1165, were frequent in cattle and wildlife in the United States and cattle in Mexico, suggesting wide exchange of strains. Spoligotype SB0669 was found only in Mexico. Spoligotype SB0140 was the most common in Australia and the sixth in the United States and Mexico. In a phylogenetic analysis, spoligotype SB0140 appears as the oldest spoligotype in the data set, suggesting this as the ancestral spoligotype for all spoligotypes in the five countries. Some spoligotypes are shared by animals and humans, corroborating the zoonotic importance of <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i>.</p></div