The seed of goal-related doubts : a longitudinal investigation of the roles of failure and expectation of success among police trainee applicants

Various theories on personal goal striving rely on the assumption that failure raises doubts about the goal. Yet, empirical evidence for an association between objective failure experiences and doubts about personal long-term goals is still missing. In a longitudinal field study, applicants for a job as a police trainee (n = 172, Mage = 25.15; 55 females and 117 males) were accompanied across three measurement times over a period of five months. We investigated the effects of failure and initial expectation of success (in the standardized selection process) on doubts regarding the superordinate goal of becoming a police officer. As hypothesized, both failure and low initial expectation of success as well as their interaction led to increased goal-related doubts over time. The findings provide first empirical evidence for the role of failure in the emergence of goal-related doubts in personal long-term goals and, therefore, the disengagement process as it is hypothesized in various theories on goal striving and life-span development

Diverse Far-Red Light Utilization Strategies in Cyanobacteria and Algae

In their natural environments, photosynthetic organisms are often exposed to widely varied light environments. Species adapted to shade light, often found growing in lower layers of photosynthetic biofilms, must survive on filtered light alone. Filtered light is highly enriched in far-red wavelengths, which are normally unavailable for photosynthetic energy production in most oxygenic phototrophs. To overcome light limitations in filtered light environments, some species of algae and cyanobacteria utilize specialized photosynthetic pigments and antenna systems to harvest these far-red wavelengths. By sampling the natural environment and using custom-built far-red light growth chambers, I have isolated several species of oxygenic phototrophs that are capable of utilizing far-red light, and have characterized their photosynthetic antenna systems. The Eustigmatophyte alga I isolated from Forest Park, St. Louis, MO uses a red-shifted light-harvesting complex that contains Chlorophyll a as its only chlorophyll. The filamentous cyanobacterium LSP65 isolated from the underside of a lily pad in Ludington, MI, contains far-red-absorbing Chlorophyll f, with which it harvests far-red wavelengths. These far-red light-harvesting systems may play an important role in the improvement of photosynthetic light utilization in crop plants in the future

How self-awareness is connected to less experience of action crises in personal goal pursuit

In this research, we applied a differential perspective to the study of action crises, i.e., being in an intra-psychic decisional conflict whether to pursue or abandon a goal once difficulties in its pursuit arise. In two studies, we investigated the role of individuals’ levels of self-awareness when experiencing such action crises. Both among professional ballet dancers (daily diary, Study 1) and university undergraduates (preregistered experience sampling, Study 2), individuals with greater levels of (dispositional and situational) self-awareness showed an adaptive, that is, problem-solving oriented way of dealing with difficulties in the pursuit of their (training or study) goals. As a consequence, self-awareness contributed to less experience of action crisis during goal pursuit and, as a result, led to better goal performance

Longitudinal foveal fluorescence lifetime characteristics in geographic atrophy using fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO).

PURPOSE Short foveal fluorescence lifetimes (fFLT) in geographic atrophy are typically found in eyes with foveal sparing (FS) but may also occur in eyes without FS. We investigated whether short fFLT could serve as a functional biomarker for disease progression in geographic atrophy (GA). METHODS Thirty three eyes were followed over the course of 4-6 years. FS was assessed using fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy, OCT, FAF and macular pigment optical density. RESULTS Eyes with FS exhibited shorter fFLT compared to eyes without FS. Short fFLT (<600ps) were measured in all eyes with FS and half of the eyes without FS. Eyes with FS showed a bigger increase in fFLT per year (+39/+30 ps (SSC/LSC) in FS vs. +29/+22 ps (SSC/LSC) in non FS). BCVA correlated significantly with fFLT (p=0.018 and p=0.005 for SSC/LSC). MPOD measurements correlated significantly with fFLT but not in all spectral channels (p ranging from 0.018 to 0.077). CONCLUSION In GA, shorter fFLT are associated with foveal sparing but they can also be observed in eyes without FS. Our longitudinal data suggests that shorter fFLT features in eyes with loss of FS represent an earlier stage of disease and may be more prone to loss of visual acuity

The Importance of Clinical Examination under General Anesthesia: Improving Parametrial Assessment in Cervical Cancer Patients

Background: Parametrial tumor involvement is an important prognostic factor in cervical cancer and is used to guide management. Here, we investigate the diagnostic value of clinical examination under general anesthesia (EUA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in determining parametrial tumor spread. Methods: Post-operative pathological findings of 400 patients with primary cervical cancer were compared to the respective MRI data and the results from EUA. The gynecological oncologist had access to the MR images during clinical assessment (augmented EUA, aEUA). Results: Pathologically proven parametrial tumor invasion was present in 165 (41%) patients. aEUA exhibited a higher accuracy than MRI alone (83% vs. 76%; McNemar’s odds ratio [OR] = 2.0, 95%CI 1.25–3.27, p = 0.003). Although accuracy was not affected by tumor size in aEUA, MRI was associated with a lower accuracy in tumors ≥2.5 cm (OR for a correct diagnosis compared to smaller tumors 0.22, p < 0.001). There was also a decrease in specificity when evaluating parametrial invasion by MRI in tumors ≥2.5 cm in diameter (p < 0.0001) compared to smaller tumors (< 2.5 cm). Body mass index had no influence on performance of either method. Conclusions: aEUA has the potential to increase the diagnostic accuracy of MRI in determining parametrial tumor involvement in cervical cancer patients

The Influence of Cataract on Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy (FLIO).

Purpose To investigate the influence of lens opacifications on fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO). Methods Forty-seven eyes of 45 patients were included. Mean fluorescence lifetimes (Tm) were recorded with a fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscope in a short spectral channel (SSC) and a long spectral channel (LSC). Retinal and lens autofluorescence lifetimes were measured in subjects before and after cataract surgery. Lens opacification was graded using the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS III) classification. Results The retinal Tm decreased significantly after cataract surgery in both spectral channels (SSC: -53%, P < 0.0001; LSC: -26%, P = 0.0041). The lens Tm differed significantly between the crystalline and the artificial lens in both spectral channels (P < 0.0001). The "nuclear opacity" and "nuclear color" score of the LOCS III classification correlated significantly with the mean Tm difference in both spectral channels (P < 0.0001). Conclusions Lens opacification results in significantly longer retinal Tm. Therefore the lens status has to be considered when performing cross-sectional fluorescence lifetime analysis. Cataract-formation and cataract-surgery needs to be considered when conducting longitudinal studies. Grading of nuclear opacity following the LOCS III classification provides an approximate conversion formula for the mean change of lifetimes, which can be helpful in the interpretation of data in patients with lens opacities. Translational Relevance FLIO is significantly influenced by lens opacities. Using a lens opacity grading scheme and measuring fluorescence lifetimes before and after cataract surgery, an approximative conversion formula can be calculated, which enables the comparison of lifetimes after cataract surgery or over the course of time

Nodular lymphocyte predominant hodgkin lymphoma and T cell/histiocyte rich large B cell lymphoma : endpoints of a spectrum of one disease?

In contrast to the commonly indolent clinical behavior of nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL), T cell/histiocyte rich large B cell lymphoma (THRLBCL) is frequently diagnosed in advanced clinical stages and has a poor prognosis. Besides the different clinical presentations of these lymphoma entities, there are variants of NLPHL with considerable histopathologic overlap compared to THRLBCL. Especially THRLBCL-like NLPHL, a diffuse form of NLPHL, often presents a histopathologic pattern similar to THRLBCL, suggesting a close relationship between both lymphoma entities. To corroborate this hypothesis, we performed gene expression profiling of microdissected tumor cells of NLPHL, THRLBCL-like NLPHL and THRLBCL. In unsupervised analyses, the lymphomas did not cluster according to their entity. Moreover, even in supervised analyses, very few consistently differentially expressed transcripts were found, and for these genes the extent of differential expression was only moderate. Hence, there are no clear and consistent differences in the gene expression of the tumor cells of NLPHL, THRLBCL-like NLPHL and THRLBCL. Based on the gene expression studies, we identified BAT3/BAG6, HIGD1A, and FAT10/UBD as immunohistochemical markers expressed in the tumor cells of all three lymphomas. Characterization of the tumor microenvironment for infiltrating T cells and histiocytes revealed significant differences in the cellular composition between typical NLPHL and THRLBCL cases. However, THRLBCL-like NLPHL presented a histopathologic pattern more related to THRLBCL than NLPHL. In conclusion, NLPHL and THRLBCL may represent a spectrum of the same disease. The different clinical behavior of these lymphomas may be strongly influenced by differences in the lymphoma microenvironment, possibly related to the immune status of the patient at the timepoint of diagnosis

Age-related development of self-regulation : evidence on stability and change in action orientation

Action (vs. state) orientation describes the ability to modulate affect and is at the core of goal-directed self-regulation. However, evidence on stability and change over time is scarce. In Study 1 (N = 368 couples), we investigated measurement invariance of action orientation (measured with the ACS-90) as well as rank-order stability and mean-level change over a period of four years. We report results from three samples with young adults (Study 2). Measurement invariance was obtained for an adjusted ACS-90 scale after removing 4 items. Rank-order stability was high. In both studies, one of two subscales – prospective action orientation – increased over time. Positive change was most consistent for middle-aged adults, implying that self-regulatory abilities improve during middle adulthood

Investigating the Unified Motive Scales : the predictive validity of the achievement motive subscale

Explicit motives are well-studied in the field of personality and motivation psychology. However, the statistical overlap of different explicit motive measures is only moderate. As a consequence, the Unified Motive Scales (UMS; Schönbrodt & Gerstenberg, 2012) were developed to improve the measurement of explicit motives. The present longitudinal field study examined the predictive validity of the UMS achievement motive subscale. Applicants of a police department (n = 168, Mage = 25.11, 53 females and 115 males) completed the UMS and their performance in the selection process was assessed. As expected, UMS achievement predicted success in the selection process. The findings provide first evidence for the predictive validity of UMS achievement in an applied setting