Timing Variables in Reading and Language: The Relation of Naming Speed and Motor Speed to Auditory Temporal Processing

Naming speed, motor skill, and auditory temporal processing (ATP) are constructs that are important to reading and language. These variables require processing timing information inherent in the stimulus or processing stimuli rapidly. ATP deficits are found in individuals with reading impairments, but studies are conflicting regarding the relationship between reading and ATP. This study examined relationships between naming speed, motor speed, and ATP, and centered on possible factors why inconsistencies have occurred across studies examining the association between reading and ATP. If the timing element of naming speed (rapid automatized naming-RAN) and of motor speed is common to ATP, then RAN and motor speed should predict thresholds for three auditory tasks (CMR, backward masking, and the precedence effect with TOJ) known to require temporal processing. Tasks were administered to adult participants in order to examine the effects with skilled readers. Many of the variables were skewed and there were multiple outliers that altered the analyses. Ultimately, 75 participants were included in the final data set. Results indicated that RAN did not predict thresholds for any of the masking tasks given. However, motor speed predicted thresholds for one CMR and two backward masking tasks, suggesting that motor speed should be controlled for in research assessing the contribution of ATP to reading or language. Neither naming speed nor motor speed predicted localization performance. Non-verbal intelligence predicted performance on several of the masking tasks, consistent with previous research. Performance on all three auditory tasks was similar to that reported in the literature assessing smaller samples of participants. Although the suggestion of a general timing component is not supported, the relationships found between motor speed and several auditory temporal measures indicate that the underlying timing elements are not independent

First-principles calculation of the temperature dependence of the optical response of bulk GaAs

A novel approach has been developed to calculate the temperature dependence of the optical response of a semiconductor. The dielectric function is averaged over several thermally perturbed configurations that are extracted from molecular dynamic simulations. The calculated temperature dependence of the imaginary part of the dielectric function of GaAs is presented in the range from 0 to 700 K. This approach that explicitly takes into account lattice vibrations describes well the observed thermally-induced energy shifts and broadening of the dielectric function.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Test-retest reliability of the political elites aversive personality scale (PEAPS)

Although aversive (“dark”) personality characteristics of politicians have increasingly become a focus of research, a suitable self-assessment inventory for political elites has only recently been introduced. This article examines the test-retest reliability of the Political Elites Aversive Personality Scale (PEAPS) in a unique natural setting using a panel study of candidates running for the 2021 Berlin state election and the 2023 Berlin repeated election (N = 106, 37.7% female). The average age was 47.5 (2021) and 49.5 years (2023), respectively (SD = 14.7 years). 14.2% of the participants ran for the Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), 11.3% for the Liberal Party (FDP), 8.5% for the Social Democrats (SPD), 7.5% for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), 6.6% for the Christian Democrats (CDU), 4.7% for the Left Party (Die Linke), and 48.1% for smaller parties not represented in the parliament. Across various methods, we find moderate to high levels of reliability. Especially in the light of the relatively long time lag between the measurement occasions, results thus support using PEAPS for self-assessment of aversive personality of politicians. Given that PEAPS comprises six items only, it appears to be suitable for measuring aversive personality in situations in which time or cost prevent the use of more comprehensive personality measures. We also suggest that future research might aim to test the usefulness of PEAPS for other elites (e.g., corporate leaders).<br/

Comparative mitochondrial and chloroplast genomics of a genetically distinct form of Sargassum contributing to recent “Golden Tides” in the Western Atlantic

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecology and Evolution 7 (2017): 516–525, doi:10.1002/ece3.2630.Over the past 5 years, massive accumulations of holopelagic species of the brown macroalga Sargassum in coastal areas of the Caribbean have created “golden tides” that threaten local biodiversity and trigger economic losses associated with beach deterioration and impact on fisheries and tourism. In 2015, the first report identifying the cause of these extreme events implicated a rare form of the holopelagic species Sargassum natans (form VIII). However, since the first mention of S. natans VIII in the 1930s, based solely on morphological characters, no molecular data have confirmed this identification. We generated full-length mitogenomes and partial chloroplast genomes of all representative holopelagic Sargassum species, S. fluitans III and S. natans I alongside the putatively rare S. natans VIII, to demonstrate small but consistent differences between S. natans I and VIII (7 bp differences out of the 34,727). Our comparative analyses also revealed that both S. natans I and S. natans VIII share a very close phylogenetic relationship with S. fluitans III (94- and 96-bp differences of 34,727). We designed novel primers that amplified regions of the cox2 and cox3 marker genes with consistent polymorphic sites that enabled differentiation between the two S. natans forms (I and VIII) from each other and both from S. fluitans III in over 150 Sargassum samples including those from the 2014 golden tide event. Despite remarkable gene synteny and sequence conservation, the three Sargassum forms differ in morphology, ecology, and distribution patterns, warranting more extensive interrogation of holopelagic Sargassum genomes as a whole.This work was supported by a US National Science Foundation (NSF) collaborative grant to LAA-Z (OCE-1155571) and ERZ (OCE-1155379), and an NSF TUES grant (DUE-1043468) to LAA-Z and ER

The dark core of personality and socially aversive psychopathology

Objective: Although dark traits as studied in mainstream personality research and socially aversive psychopathology as studied in abnormal psychology intend to account for the same classes of behavior, their degree of conceptual and, consequently, empirical correspondence has remained limited at best. We aim to overcome this divide by demonstrating clear convergence between the common core of all dark traits (the Dark Factor of Personality, D) and the four prominent instances of socially aversive psychopathology: narcissistic, antisocial, paranoid, and borderline tendencies. Method: In a large-scale, eight-month longitudinal study we assessed D, basic personality (the six HEXACO dimensions), and narcissistic, antisocial, paranoid, and borderline tendencies at time 1 (N = 2,329) and the latter aversive tendencies again at time 2 (N = 668) using different inventories. Results: D predicted all instances of socially aversive psychopathology cross-sectionally and longitudinally, with a large effect size on average, beyond the six HEXACO dimensions and even beyond the very same instances (measured through a different inventory). Conclusions: Bridging mainstream personality and abnormal psychology, the findings reveal strong, theory-consistent correspondence between dark traits and socially aversive psychopathology once dark traits are viewed through the lens of their common core, D

Selection and Validation of Reference Genes for miRNA Expression Studies during Porcine Pregnancy

MicroRNAs comprise a family of small non-coding RNAs that modulate several developmental and physiological processes including pregnancy. Their ubiquitous presence is confirmed in mammals, worms, flies and plants. Although rapid advances have been made in microRNA research, information on stable reference genes for validation of microRNA expression is still lacking. Real time PCR is a widely used tool to quantify gene transcripts. An appropriate reference gene must be chosen to minimize experimental error in this system. A small difference in miRNA levels between experimental samples can be biologically meaningful as these entities can affect multiple targets in a pathway. This study examined the suitability of six commercially available reference genes (RNU1A, RNU5A, RNU6B, SNORD25, SCARNA17, and SNORA73A) in maternal-fetal tissues from healthy and spontaneously arresting/dying conceptuses from sows were separately analyzed at gestation day 20. Comparisons were also made with non-pregnant endometrial tissues from sows. Spontaneous fetal loss is a prime concern to the commercial pork industry. Our laboratory has previously identified deficits in vasculature development at maternal-fetal interface as one of the major participating causes of fetal loss. Using this well-established model, we have extended our studies to identify suitable microRNA reference genes. A methodical approach to assessing suitability was adopted using standard curve and melting curve analysis, PCR product sequencing, real time PCR expression in a panel of gestational tissues, and geNorm and NormFinder analysis. Our quantitative real time PCR analysis confirmed expression of all 6 reference genes in maternal and fetal tissues. All genes were uniformly expressed in tissues from healthy and spontaneously arresting conceptus attachment sites. Comparisons between tissue types (maternal/fetal/non-pregnant) revealed significant differences for RNU5A, RNU6B, SCARNA17, and SNORA73A expression. Based on our methodical assessment of all 6 reference genes, results suggest that RNU1A is the most stable reference gene for porcine pregnancy studies

Surrogate End Points and Patient-Reported Outcomes for Novel Oncology Drugs Approved between 2011 and 2017

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may approve drugs based on surrogate end points that reasonably predict that a drug provides clinical benefit. If approved via the accelerated approval pathway, the FDA may require postmarketing studies to confirm the perceived clinical benefit. Assessment of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), defined as any report on a patient’s health that comes directly from the patient, can also play a key role in understanding benefits and tolerability of oncology drugs. We sought to examine the use of surrogate end points for overall survival (OS) in new oncology drug approvals, to evaluate the use of PROs in trials supporting approvals, and to determine whether oncology drugs initially approved without evidence of OS or PRO benefits demonstrated improvements in either measure postapproval