Neurophysiological markers of emotion processing in burnout syndrome

The substantial body of research employing subjective measures indicates that burnout syndrome is associated with cognitive and emotional dysfunctions. The growing amount of neurophysiological and neuroimaging research helps in broadening existing knowledge of the neural mechanisms underlying core burnout components (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization/cynicism) that are inextricably associated with emotional processing. In the presented EEG study, a group of 93 participants (55 women; mean age = 35.8) were selected for the burnout group or the demographically matched control group on the basis of the results of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS). Subjects then participated in an EEG experiment using two experimental procedures: a facial recognition task and viewing of passive pictures. The study focuses on analyzing event-related potentials (ERPs): N170, VPP, EPN, and LPP, as indicators of emotional information processing. Our results show that burnout subjects, as compared to the control group, demonstrate significantly weaker response to affect-evoking stimuli, indexed by a decline in VPP amplitude to emotional faces and decreased EPN amplitude in processing emotional scenes. The analysis of N170 and LPP showed no significant between-group difference. The correlation analyses revealed that VPP and EPN, which are ERP components related to emotional processing, are associated with two core burnout symptoms: emotional exhaustion and cynicism. To our knowledge, we are one of the first research groups to use ERPs to demonstrate such a relationship between neurophysiological activity and burnout syndrome in the context of emotional processing. Thus, in conclusion we emphasized that the decreased amplitude of VPP and EPN components in the burnout group may be a neurophysiological manifestation of emotional blunting and may be considered as neurophysiological markers of emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Additionally, we did not observe a decrease in LPP, which may be considered as a marker that significantly differentiates burnout from depression

Rare species of field weeds of the south Podlasie Lowland and the neighbouring regions

Wydano przy pomocy finansowej Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego oraz Komitetu Badań NaukowychThe paper presents results of a study on the occurrence and localization of 30 field weed species in middle-eastern Poland. The species are considered to be regionally and overregionally rare and most of them grow on fertile soil (rendsine, alluvial soil). They include naturally rare species or species occurring on the border of geographical ranges (Anagallis arvensis var. azurea, Aphanes arvensis, Nigella arvensis) as well as species which are close to extinction (Bromus secatinus, Digitaria sanguinalis, Lolium remotum, Sherardia arvensis, Silene noctíflora). A group of important role are also expansive species talcing possession of habitats they have never grown in before (Asperugo procumhens, Falcaría vulgaris, Lathyrus tuberosus, Vicia grandiflora). Besides the list of localities (by provinces) general characteristics of distribution of each species and abundance and dynamic tolerance of localities are given.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Zachowania prośrodowiskowe w hotelach w kontekście zrównoważonego rozwoju turystyki : bariery i rekomendacje dla dalszych badań

Głównymi celami poznawczymi artykułu są: ukazanie dotychczasowego dorobku dotyczącego badań nad zachowaniami prośrodowiskowymi w branży hotelarskiej, identyfikacja głównych barier kształtowania tego rodzaju zachowań oraz sformułowanie kierunków dalszych kierunków badań nad podjętą problematyką w kontekście zrównoważonego rozwoju turystyki. Główną metodą badawczą była systematyczna analiza literatury, lecz autorzy wykorzystali również wiedzę z własnych doświadczeń wynikających z przeprowadzania audytów jakości. Analiza dotychczas opublikowanych badań pozwoliła na identyfikację głównych barier kształtowania zachowań prośrodowiskowych w hotelach zarówno w układzie przedmiotowym (konkretnych działań i problemów), jak i podmiotowym (wszystkich osób, które powinny przejawiać zachowania prośrodowiskowe). W artykule omówiono różne teorie i modele wyjaśniające, w jaki sposób dochodzi do rozwoju zachowań prośrodowiskowych w hotelach. Na ich podstawie menedżerowie hotelowi będą mogli tworzyć własne programy edukacyjne, których celem będzie kształtowanie zachowań prośrodowiskowych.The main cognitive objectives of this paper are the following: to present previous results and achievements in the field of research on pro-environmental behaviours in the hotel industry, to identify major barriers to the shaping of such behaviours, and to specify directions of further research on this topic in the context of sustainable tourism development. The dominant research method used in this paper is a systematic analysis of the available literature on the subject, but the authors also use their own knowledge and experience resulting from conducted quality audits. An analysis of the previous publications in this topic allows the authors to identify the major barriers to the shaping of pro-environmental behaviours in hotels in both the objective dimension (concrete actions and problems) and the subjective dimension (all people who should manifest pro-environmental behaviours). The paper discusses various theories and models explaining the process of the occurrence and development of pro-environmental be-haviours in hotels. They can constitute a basis for hotel managers to create their own training programmes aimed at the shaping of pro-environmental behaviours

Socio-cultural circumstances to establish university spin-off companies

The characteristics and behaviour of university spin-off activity is an important subject in economic and management studies literature. Such studies merit research because it is suggested that university innovations stimulate economies by spurring product development, by creating new industries, and by contributing to employment and wealth creation. For this reason, universities have come to be highly valued in terms of the socio-cultural potential of their research efforts. The aim of this paper is to offer a framework for consequences of university spinoff activity

I don't want to miss a thing : learning dynamics and effects of feedback type and monetary incentive in a paired associate deterministic learning task

Effective functioning in a complex environment requires adjusting of behavior according to changing situational demands. To do so, organisms must learn new, more adaptive behaviors by extracting the necessary information from externally provided feedback. Not surprisingly, feedback-guided learning has been extensively studied using multiple research paradigms. The purpose of the present study was to test the newly designed Paired Associate Deterministic Learning task (PADL), in which participants were presented with either positive or negative deterministic feedback. Moreover, we manipulated the level of motivation in the learning process by comparing blocks with strictly cognitive, informative feedback to blocks where participants were additionally motivated by anticipated monetary reward or loss. Our results proved the PADL to be a useful tool not only for studying the learning process in a deterministic environment, but also, due to the varying task conditions, for assessing differences in learning patterns. Particularly, we show that the learning process itself is influenced by manipulating both the type of feedback information and the motivational significance associated with the expected monetary reward

Sensitivity analysis and identification of material defects in dynamical systems

This paper deals with an analytical and computation strategy, based on the adjoint variable approach and boundary integral equation (BIE) formulations, for evaluating void or crack shape sensitivities of objective functionals. Boundary-only expressions for such sensitivities are sought in the context of linear elastodynamics. An evolutionary hybrid algorithm with the gradient mutation is employed for the identification of material defects. Numerical tests of sensitivity expressions and identification of an internal crack and void are presented

Neural networks related to pro-saccades and anti-saccades revealed by independent component analysis

The saccadic eye movement system provides an excellent model for investigating basic cognitive processes and flexible control over behaviour. While the mechanism of pro-saccades (PS) is well known, in the case of the anti-saccade task (AS) it is still not clear which brain regions play a role in the inhibition of reflexive saccade to the target, nor what is the exact mechanism of vector inversion (i.e. orienting in the opposite direction). Independent component analysis (ICA) is one of the methods being used to establish temporally coherent brain regions, i.e. neural networks related to the task. In the present study ICA was applied to fMRI data from PS and AS experiments. The study revealed separate networks responsible for saccade generation into the desired direction, the inhibition of automatic responses, as well as vector inversion. The first function is accomplished by the eye fields network. The inhibition of automatic responses is associated with the executive control network. Vector inversion seems to be accomplished by the network comprising a large set of areas, including intraparietal sulcus, precuneus/posterior cingulate cortices, retrosplenial and parahippocampal. Those regions are associated with the parieto-medial temporal pathway, so far linked only to navigation. These results provide a new insight into understanding of the processes of the inhibition and vector inversion