Hope as a Source of Resilience in Later Adulthood

This research provided a preliminary investigation of how variations in trait and state hope are associated with positive adaptation to stress in later adulthood. Trait hope and neuroticism were measured by questionnaires and state hope, stress, and negative emotions were assessed daily for 45 days. Results from multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses suggested that daily hope provides protective benefits by keeping negative emotions low, while also contributing to adaptive recovery from stress. The dynamic linkages between daily hope, stress, and emotion were further moderated by individual differences in trait hope. Compared with those low in trait hope, high-hope individuals showed diminished stress reactivity and more effective emotional recovery

New interactions in the dark sector mediated by dark energy

Cosmological observations have revealed the existence of a dark matter sector, which is commonly assumed to be made up of one particle species only. However, this sector might be more complicated than we currently believe: there might be more than one dark matter species (for example, two components of cold dark matter or a mixture of hot and cold dark matter) and there may be new interactions between these particles. In this paper we study the possibility of multiple dark matter species and interactions mediated by a dark energy field. We study both the background and the perturbation evolution in these scenarios. We find that the background evolution of a system of multiple dark matter particles (with constant couplings) mimics a single fluid with a time-varying coupling parameter. However, this is no longer true on the perturbative level. We study the case of attractive and repulsive forces as well as a mixture of cold and hot dark matter particles

Maximal force and tremor changes across the menstrual cycle

PURPOSE: Sex hormones have profound effects on the nervous system in vitro and in vivo. The present study examines the effect of the menstrual cycle on maximal isometric force (MVC) and tremor during an endurance task. METHODS: Nine eumenorrheic females participated in five study visits across their menstrual cycle. In each menstrual phase, an MVC and an endurance task to failure were performed. Tremor across the endurance task was quantified as the coefficient of variation in force and was assessed in absolute time and relative percent time to task failure. RESULTS: MVC decreases 23% from ovulation to the mid luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. In absolute time, the mid luteal phase has the highest initial tremor, though the early follicular phase has substantially higher tremor than other phases after 150 s of task performance. In relative time, the mid luteal phase has the highest level of tremor throughout the endurance task. CONCLUSIONS: Both MVC and tremor during an endurance task are modified by the menstrual cycle. Performance of tasks and sports which require high force and steadiness to exhaustion may be decreased in the mid luteal phase compared to other menstrual phases

Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Impact Several Toxicological Endpoints and Cause Neurodegeneration in \u3cem\u3eCaenorhabditis elegans\u3c/em\u3e

Engineered nanoparticles are becoming increasingly incorporated into technology and consumer products. In 2014, over 300 tons of copper oxide nanoparticles were manufactured in the United States. The increased production of nanoparticles raises concerns regarding the potential introduction into the environment or human exposure. Copper oxide nanoparticles commonly release copper ions into solutions, which contribute to their toxicity. We quantified the inhibitory effects of both copper oxide nanoparticles and copper sulfate on C. elegans toxicological endpoints to elucidate their biological effects. Several toxicological endpoints were analyzed in C. elegans, including nematode reproduction, feeding behavior, and average body length. We examined three wild C. elegans isolates together with the Bristol N2 laboratory strain to explore the influence of different genotypic backgrounds on the physiological response to copper challenge. All strains exhibited greater sensitivity to copper oxide nanoparticles compared to copper sulfate, as indicated by reduction of average body length and feeding behavior. Reproduction was significantly reduced only at the highest copper dose, though still more pronounced with copper oxide nanoparticles compared to copper sulfate treatment. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of copper oxide nanoparticles and copper sulfate on neurons, cells with known vulnerability to heavy metal toxicity. Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons was observed in up to 10% of the population after copper oxide nanoparticle exposure. Additionally, mutants in the divalent-metal transporters, smf-1 or smf-2, showed increased tolerance to copper exposure, implicating both transporters in copper-induced neurodegeneration. These results highlight the complex nature of CuO nanoparticle toxicity, in which a nanoparticle-specific effect was observed in some traits (average body length, feeding behavior) and a copper ion specific effect was observed for other traits (neurodegeneration, response to stress)

Investigating the association between mating-relevant self-concepts and mate preferences through a data-driven analysis of online personal descriptions

Research on mate preference have often taken a theory-driven approach; however, such an approach can constrain the range of possible predictions. As a result, the research community may inadvertently neglect traits that are potentially important for human mate choice if current theoretical models simply do not identify them. Here, we address this limitation by using a data-driven approach to investigate mating-relevant self-concepts (i.e., what individuals believe to be attractive about themselves). Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA; a clustering method developed in computer science) and a large sample of written descriptions from online personal advertisements (N = 7,973), we identify 25 common topics that individuals use when advertising themselves. Men were more likely to advertise education/status, while women were more likely to discuss being honest/nurturing and caring for pets. We also assessed patterns of universal and compatible mate preferences for these 25 topics by collecting ratings of desirability from a separate group of 100 participants on a subset of these profiles (N = 468). Participants were also asked to write a personal description of themselves as if they were writing for a dating website. Overall, both male and female profiles that discussed outdoor activities, and music/art were rated as more desirable, while women that discussed a healthy lifestyle and friends/family were also rated as more desirable. Both men and women who discussed sex or mentioned being a parent were rated as less desirable. When comparing the topic probabilities between profiles collected online and those written by the raters, we found that raters preferred profiles that were more similar to their own, particularly for topics to do with being outgoing and agreeable

Individual-specific mortality is associated with how individuals evaluate future discounting decisions

How organisms discount the value of future rewards is associated with many important outcomes, and may be a central component of theories of life-history. According to life-history theories, prioritizing immediacy is indicative of an accelerated strategy (i.e. reaching reproductive maturity quickly and producing many offspring at the cost of long-term investment). Previous work extrapolating life-history theories to facultative calibration of life-history traits within individuals has theorized that cues to mortality can trigger an accelerated strategy; however, compelling evidence for this hypothesis in modern humans is lacking. We assessed whether country-level life expectancy predicts individual future discounting behaviour across multiple intertemporal choice items in a sample of 13 429 participants from 54 countries. Individuals in countries with lower life expectancy were more likely to prefer an immediate reward to one that is delayed. Individuals from countries with greater life expectancy were especially more willing to wait for a future reward when the relative gain in choosing the future reward was large and/or the delay period was short. These results suggest that cues to mortality can influence the way individuals evaluate intertemporal decisions, which in turn can inform life-history trade-offs. We also found that older (but not very old) participants were more willing to wait for a future reward when there is a greater relative gain and/or shorter delay period, consistent with theoretical models that suggest individuals are more future-orientated at middle age

Investigating the association between mating-relevant self-concepts and mate preferences through a data-driven analysis of online personal descriptions

Research on mate preference have often taken a theory-driven approach; however, such an approach can constrain the range of possible predictions. As a result, the research community may inadvertently neglect traits that are potentially important for human mate choice if current theoretical models simply do not identify them. Here, we address this limitation by using a data-driven approach to investigate mating-relevant self-concepts (i.e., what individuals believe to be attractive about themselves). Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA; a clustering method developed in computer science) and a large sample of written descriptions from online personal advertisements (N = 7,973), we identify 25 common topics that individuals use when advertising themselves. Men were more likely to advertise education/status, while women were more likely to discuss being honest/nurturing and caring for pets. We also assessed patterns of universal and compatible mate preferences for these 25 topics by collecting ratings of desirability from a separate group of 100 participants on a subset of these profiles (N = 468). Participants were also asked to write a personal description of themselves as if they were writing for a dating website. Overall, both male and female profiles that discussed outdoor activities, and music/art were rated as more desirable, while women that discussed a healthy lifestyle and friends/family were also rated as more desirable. Both men and women who discussed sex or mentioned being a parent were rated as less desirable. When comparing the topic probabilities between profiles collected online and those written by the raters, we found that raters preferred profiles that were more similar to their own, particularly for topics to do with being outgoing and agreeable

Partner choice, relationship satisfaction, and oral contraception: the congruency hypothesis

Hormonal fluctuation across the menstrual cycle explains temporal variation in women’s judgment of the attractiveness of members of the opposite sex. Use of hormonal contraceptives could therefore influence both initial partner choice and, if contraceptive use subsequently changes, intrapair dynamics. Associations between hormonal contraceptive use and relationship satisfaction may thus be best understood by considering whether current use is congruent with use when relationships formed, rather than by considering current use alone. In the study reported here, we tested this congruency hypothesis in a survey of 365 couples. Controlling for potential confounds (including relationship duration, age, parenthood, and income), we found that congruency in current and previous hormonal contraceptive use, but not current use alone, predicted women’s sexual satisfaction with their partners. Congruency was not associated with women’s nonsexual satisfaction or with the satisfaction of their male partners. Our results provide empirical support for the congruency hypothesis and suggest that women’s sexual satisfaction is influenced by changes in partner preference associated with change in hormonal contraceptive use

The diversity of well-being indicators: a latent profile analysis

IntroductionResearch on the dimensional structure of subjective well-being (SWB) suggests a five-dimensional solution, consisting of the three established dimensions of life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect, and two additional empirically supported dimensions: domain satisfaction and happiness. While these dimensions can be aggregated into a superordinate SWB construct, little research has explored how these dimensions differ in their variation across subpopulations of individuals.MethodsThe present study addresses this gap via secondary analysis of a sample of 1,487 partnered individuals, using the five dimensions of SWB as indicators for latent profile analysis.ResultsAnalyses returned five profiles, which we labeled Satisfied, Ambivalent, Indifferent, Dissatisfied, and Very Dissatisfied. In the Ambivalent and Indifferent profiles, the dimensions of negative affect and happiness exhibit discrepant behavior, resulting in shape differences. The five profiles are organized with reference to the external criterion of couple satisfaction. At the theoretical level, the results of the present study have the potential to inform current debates about the structure of well-being.DiscussionThese findings suggest that, while SWB can usually be measured as a unidimensional construct, there is still merit to using multidimensional approaches and alternative forms of measurement-such as LPA-that capture complexities normally absent from unidimensional treatments. At the practical level, the results of the current study have the potential to inform well-being interventions (both clinical and otherwise), suggesting that those dealing with well-being in real life situations should pause before concluding that the absence of negativity implies the presence of positivity, or vice versa

Adaptation to Antifaces and the Perception of Correct Famous Identity in an Average Face

Previous experiments have examined exposure to anti-identities (faces that possess traits opposite to an identity through a population average), finding that exposure to antifaces enhances recognition of the plus-identity images. Here we examine adaptation to antifaces using famous female celebrities. We demonstrate: that exposure to a color and shape transformed antiface of a celebrity increases the likelihood of perceiving the identity from which the antiface was manufactured in a composite face and that the effect shows size invariance (experiment 1), equivalent effects are seen in internet and laboratory-based studies (experiment 2), adaptation to shape-only antifaces has stronger effects on identity recognition than adaptation to color-only antifaces (experiment 3), and exposure to male versions of the antifaces does not influence the perception of female faces (experiment 4). Across these studies we found an effect of order where aftereffects were more pronounced in early than later trials. Overall, our studies delineate several aspects of identity aftereffects and support the proposal that identity is coded relative to other faces with special reference to a relatively sex-specific mean face representation