Facilitatory Effect Research Articles

Phenology mediates direct and indirect interactions among co-occurring invasive plant species.

Why nonnative invasive plant species commonly co-occur, despite their competitive superiority and propensity to displace native species, remains a paradox in invasion biology. Negative interactions among competitively dominant invaders are potentially alleviated by two understudied mechanisms: seasonal priority effects, where phenological separation weakens the effect of competition on species with early phenology; and indirect facilitation, where competition between two species is mitigated by a third species. Although phenological separation has been speculated as a mechanism for explaining co-occurrence patterns of invasive plants, it has never been directly tested. In a greenhouse experiment, we tested the effect of phenological separation on direct and indirect interactions between three co-occurring invasive plant species found in the riparian forests of North America. These species have distinct natural phenological separation with reproduction in early spring (Ficaria verna), mid-spring (Alliaria petiolata), and late summer (Microstegium vimineum). When phenology was experimentally synchronized, direct pairwise interactions among invasive species were overwhelmingly negative, asymmetric, and unlikely to promote co-occurrence. However, increasing phenological separation generated seasonal priority effects, which weakened the effect of competition on species with early phenology. Furthermore, the addition of a third species generated indirect facilitative effects, which balanced competitive outcomes among the two weakest competitors. Based on these findings, we conclude that phenological separation modulates the strength of both seasonal priority effects and indirect facilitation within species interaction networks and may promote the co-occurrence of three common invasive species within this study system. We articulate how future studies can test the external validity of these findings in more complex environmental conditions and with a larger range of invasive plants.

Emojis and affective priming in visual word recognition

ABSTRACT Emojis are frequently used in digital communication to supplement the lack of non-verbal cues, but their integration during reading has not been thoroughly examined. This study explores the interplay between language and emotion by testing the influence of emotional valence and face-status of emojis on visual word recognition. Two online experiments were conducted with 92 native English-speaking university students, examining priming effects between congruent (e.g. delicious) and incongruent (e.g. hate) prime-target pairs, varying the face-status of the emoji prime (face vs. non-face) and the valence (positive vs. negative) of the word target. Irrespective of valence, face emojis demonstrated a processing advantage over non-face emojis, implying automatic attention capture. Additionally, the results revealed an interaction between prime-target congruency and valence, with a facilitatory effect for positive, but not negative, items, suggesting a valence-specific mechanism of affective priming in the lexical decision task. The research suggests that the rapid integration of emoji content occurs during the early stages of visual word recognition, with heightened attentional sensitivity to both face-like and positive stimuli when reading digital communications.

The temporal profile of self-prioritization

Personal relevance exerts a powerful influence on decisional processing, such that arbitrary stimuli associated with the self are classified more rapidly than identical material linked with other people. Notwithstanding numerous demonstrations of this facilitatory effect, it remains unclear whether self-prioritization is a temporally stable outcome of decision-making. Accordingly, using a shape-label matching task in combination with computational modeling, the current experiment investigated this matter. The results were informative. First, regardless of the target of comparison (i.e., friend or stranger), self-prioritization was a persistent product of decision-making across the testing session. Second, a variant of the standard drift diffusion model in which decisional boundaries collapsed gradually over the course of the task best fit the observed data. Third, whereas the efficiency of stimulus processing increased for other-related stimuli during the task, it decreased for self-related material. Collectively, these findings advance understanding of the temporal profile of self-prioritization.

Two faces of holistic face processing: Facilitation and interference underlying part-whole and composite effects.

Holistic processing, a strong tendency to process multiple features together, is regarded as a hallmark of face perception. Holistic effects can be revealed by several tasks, including the part-whole task, standard composite task, and complete composite task. Although holistic effects are readily observed using these tasks, the lack of correlations among these effects and the mixed findings across these tasks when examining the effects among various populations or manipulations pose questions about how these effects should be understood. We distinguished facilitation and interference effects within the holistic effects in the complete composite task and found that the holistic effect in the part-whole task appeared to be correlated with facilitation but not interference in the complete composite task, whereas the holistic effect in the standard composite task was correlated with interference but not facilitation in the complete composite task. These findings suggest that clarifying the roles of facilitation and interference is critical for understanding holistic face processing.

Unraveling the multiple facilitative effects of consumers on marine primary producers.

The loss of consumers threatens the integrity of ecological systems, but the mechanisms underlying the effects on communities and ecosystems remain difficult to predict. This is, in part, due to the complex roles that consumers play in those systems. Here, we highlight this complexity by quantifying two mechanisms by which molluscan grazers-typically thought of as consumers of their algal resources-facilitate algae on rocky shores. Initial observations in high-zone tide pools revealed that both water-column ammonium concentrations and photosynthetic biomass were higher in pools containing higher densities of grazers, suggesting that local-scale nutrient recycling by the grazers could be enhancing algal biomass. We assessed this possibility by experimentally manipulating grazer abundances at the level of whole tide pools but controlling access of those grazers to experimental plots within each pool. Contrary to predictions that algal biomass inside grazer exclusions would increase as grazer abundances in the pools increased, we found that algal biomass inside grazer-exclusion fences was unaffected by grazer abundances. Instead, the consumptive effects of grazers that were evident at low grazer abundances transitioned to facilitative effects as experimentally manipulated grazer abundances increased. This finding suggested that these positive interactions were associated with the physical presence of grazers and not just grazers' effects on nutrient availability. Subsequent experiments highlighted the potential role of "slime"-the pedal mucous trails left behind as the mollusks crawl on the substratum-in promoting the recruitment of algae and thereby mediating a spatial subsidy of new organic matter into the system. Furthermore, different grazer groups contributed disproportionately to ammonium excretion (i.e., turban snails) versus slime production (i.e., littorine snails), suggesting a potential role for grazer diversity. Our work highlights the complex ways in which consumers affect their resources, including multiple, complementary mechanisms by which these grazers facilitate the algae they consume.

Polygons have a small facilitatory effect on extraretinal symmetry perception.

Symmetrical objects only project a symmetrical image onto the retina when viewed from certain angles. Previous work has investigated the ERP response to visual symmetry in frontoparallel and perspective views. When participants are attending to regularity, the ERPs are the same. When participants are attending to colour, the response to perspective symmetry is reduced. We term this reduction ‘perspective cost’. We predicted that perspective cost would be lessened if the stimuli were polygons rather than dot patterns. This prediction was confirmed in a new experiment. This result suggests some stimuli may support automatic 3D interpretation better than others. However, the facilitatory effect of polygons was relatively small, and perspective cost was not eliminated. Furthermore, this study also revealed that attention to symmetry is not always sufficient to eliminate perspective cost.

Different enhancement of Ni doping on La0.3Sr0.7Fe0.9Ti0.1O3-δ electrodes in symmetrical solid oxide cell

Poor catalytic activity is a significant challenge that needs to be addressed to enable the effective use of perovskite electrodes in symmetrical solid oxide cell (SOC). In this study, high-activity Ni ions were doped into the La0.3Sr0.7Fe0.9Ti0.1O3-δ (LSFTi91) perovskite lattice, which endowed the materials with different facilitation effects in different atmospheres. In an oxidizing atmosphere, the introduction of Ni ions enables La0.3Sr0.7Fe0.8Ti0.1Ni0.1O3-δ (LSFTNi811) to exhibit higher conductivity and oxygen vacancy content, which enhances the adsorption and dissociation of gases. When used as symmetrical electrodes in a solid oxide electrolysis cell, the LSFTNi811 symmetric cell presents higher electrolysis performance than LSFTi91 (1.78 A cm−2 vs. 1.57 A cm−2) at 1.5 V and 800 °C. This is the highest level reported for a single-phase perovskite electrode, underlining its excellent catalytic activity. In a reducing atmosphere, although Ni doping weakens the structural stability of the material, a large number of NiFe nanoparticles precipitate the H2 reaction after material decomposition. In this situation, LSFTNi811 achieves better performance than LSFTi91 as a symmetrical electrode for the solid oxide fuel cell both before and after decomposition. Therefore, LSFTNi811 is a promising symmetrical electrode material for SOCs.

Workplace intervention among pregnant hospital employees − a cluster randomised trial evaluating sick leave

ObjectiveSick leave during pregnancy is common and associated with strenuous working conditions and multiple occupational exposures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of midwifery facilitation of sessions with pregnant employees and managers focusing on work adjustment, to reduce discomfort and occupational risks. MethodsA cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted. Hospital employees were randomised to intervention or reference. The intervention group received additional midwifery support in addition to the standard hospital pregnancy policy provided to the reference group. Outcomes were pregnancy-related sick leave and general sick leave. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed with mixed-effect models. ResultsSick leave was similar between the intervention and reference groups, and 51 % of pregnant employees did not take any days of full pregnancy related sick leave, while approximately 21 % took more than 30 days. Group differences in mean estimates for partial sick leave were −0.5 (CI −2.3;1.3) days. Differences in full sick leave was 1.2 (CI −2.9;5.2) days, and 0.6 (CI −1.0;2.1) days for general sick leave. ConclusionMidwifery support as an add-on to usual pregnancy policy did not decrease sick leave during pregnancy compared to usual practice in a study population of Danish healthcare professionals. Midwifery support tailored towards the specific work environment may perhaps provide better results.

High variability phonetic training facilitates categorical perception of Mandarin lexical tones in L2 older adults: A link to auditory processing

The current study investigated the facilitatory effects of High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) in second language (L2) categorical perception (CP) of Mandarin lexical tones. It also explored whether and how individual differences in auditory processing predicted gains from such training. The participants were 32 native English-speaking adults aged over 60 years who were learning Mandarin Chinese as their L2. They were randomly divided into the HVPT group (HG) ( n = 16) and the control group (CG) ( n = 16). Their L2 CP performance was assessed through an identification task and discrimination task before training, immediately after training, and two months later. Auditory processing tests were also conducted to measure the participants’ ability to encode spectral and temporal details of sounds. Linear mixed-effects (LME) models showed that, compared to the CG, the HG exhibited a more pronounced improvement in tonal categorization. Furthermore, regression analysis confirmed that individual differences in perceptual acuity significantly predicted gains from training in L2 CP of Mandarin lexical tones.

Facilitation of lexical form or discourse relation: Evidence from contrastive pairs of discourse markers

Research has shown that people anticipate upcoming linguistic content, but evidence regarding expectations of specific lexical markers is mixed. We use the Dutch pair of discourse markers "Aan de ene kant...Aan de andere kant" (“On the one hand...On the other hand”) and "Enerzijds...Anderzijds" (also equivalent to “On the one hand...On the other hand”) to test whether readers generate predictions of an upcoming upcoming contrast dependency based on the lexical marker for the first contrastive perspective, and whether such predictions focus on a lexical form or rather on a discourse relation. In a self-paced reading, we show that readers do generate expectations for upcoming discourse markers, but that these expectations are not specific to a lexical form. In an eye-tracking study, we replicate the facilitative effect of the first marker of a lexical pair on the processing of the second marker, and show that this effect occurs in immediate processing. These results establish expectation-driven effects at the discourse level in the earliest possible reading time measures, showing comprehenders’ awareness of the discourse dependency established by a discourse marker along with their flexibility in identifying and integrating discourse relations with different markers.

Investigation of the Corrosion–Wear Interaction Behavior of 8Cr4Mo4V Bearing Steel at Various Corrosion Intervals

The corrosion–wear coupling damage failure of 8Cr4Mo4V bearing steel under marine atmospheric conditions significantly limits aeroengine bearing applications. The present work aims to investigate the evolution of the corrosion–wear properties of 8Cr4Mo4V bearing steel at varied corrosion intervals and estimate the corrosion–wear interaction (CWI) effect. Neutral salt spray tests combined with tribological experiments were employed to explore the effect of corrosion on wear and the influence of wear on corrosion, and a quantitative characterization method of corrosion–wear interactions was proposed by establishing the component relationships of material losses in the corrosion–wear process. The results indicate that the corrosion rates initially increase and then decrease, ultimately resulting in a pattern characterized by predominant total corrosion and nested localized corrosion. The corroded surfaces tremendously influence the friction coefficient curves at the third stage, and a synergistic acceleration effect exists in the CWI behavior of 8Cr4Mo4V bearing steel under the action of corrosion and wear. A sample corroded for 6 h displayed the significant facilitative effect of corrosion on wear, exhibiting the highest CWI ratio and a greater total mass loss primarily attributed to corrosion. This study offers a significant reference for the quantitative assessment of the tribo-corrosion properties of bearings in a marine atmospheric environment.

Effectiveness of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation on Walking Speed, Discomfort, and Knee Extension in an Acute Stroke Patient: A Case Study

This study investigates the impact of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) on improving functional mobility in a stroke patient, with a focus on walking speed, discomfort levels, and knee extension range of motion (ROM). PNF techniques were applied over four weeks to assess their effectiveness. The patient's walking performance was evaluated using the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and discomfort was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) during walking and knee extension movements in both seated and standing positions. The results revealed a significant reduction in 6MWT time from 16.47 seconds to 14.2 seconds post-intervention. VAS scores showed a marked decrease in discomfort during the 6MWT from 8 to 1 and during knee extension from 7 to 4 in both positions. Additionally, the knee extension ROM increased significantly, with the most pronounced improvement observed in the seated position (from 141.3° to 158.5°). These findings suggest that PNF is an effective therapeutic approach for enhancing walking performance and reducing discomfort related to hamstring stiffness in acute stroke patients. The study's limitations include its single-case design, limiting the generalizability of the results. Future research with a larger sample size and more objective assessment tools is recommended to validate these findings.

How does emotional content influence visual word recognition? A meta-analysis of valence effects

AbstractResearch on the interplay between language and emotion has shown evidence that the affective content of words influences their recognition. However, the direction of the effects is not clear, as there are mixed findings regarding the role of positive and, especially, negative valence. We conducted a Bayesian multi-level meta-analysis to examine the role of valence in visual word recognition, focusing on the lexical decision task. The results revealed a facilitative effect of positive valence on lexical decision times. That is, positive words led to faster responses than both negative and neutral words. In contrast, negative valence did not have any effect, although the analysis of several moderator variables suggested that there might be a facilitative effect in some cases, specifically, when negative words elicit very strong and intense emotions. These results shed light on the complexities of emotional word processing. They also point to the need for psycholinguistic models to take affective information into account, and thus provide a complete view of visual word recognition.

The cross-script cognate effect in spoken and written second language production: A study based on Chinese-English bilinguals.

Previous studies using cognates with the same writing system have found cognate facilitation effect in the lexical processes of spoken and typewritten productions and cognate interference effect in the sub-lexical process of typewritten production. This study focused on cross-script cognates, Chinese-English, which have different writing systems, and explored cognate effects based on the input and output modalities by using a Chinese-English translation task. Experiment 1 was under visual input modality and investigated the cross-script cognate effect in all three output modalities: spoken, typewritten and handwritten. Results revealed a cognate facilitation effect in the lexical processes across all three output modalities. However, it showed a cognate facilitation effect rather than a cognate interference effect in the sub-lexical process of typewritten production. Experiment 2 was under auditory input modality and focused on exploring cross-script cognate effect on typewritten and handwritten modalities, finding a consistent result on cognate effects with Experiment 1. Both experiments showed higher accuracy for cognates, and there was no significant difference in cgnate effect between visual and auditory inputs. In summary, these findings indicated that the use of cross-script cognates could effectively mitigate cognate interference. While spoken, handwritten and typewritten production share lexical processes, differences emerge in sub-lexical processes, with spoken production being less influenced by orthography. Furthermore, combining the results of Experiments 1 and 2, typewritten production may lean towards the phonological route while handwritten production may favour the direct lexical-orthographic route in the sub-lexical processes.

Natural Frequencies Improve Public Understanding of Medical Test Results: An Experimental Study on Various Bayesian Inference Tasks with Multiple Scoring Methods and Non-Bayesian Reasoning Strategies.

It is well established that the natural frequencies (NF) format is cognitively more beneficial for Bayesian inference than the conditional probabilities (CP) format. However, empirical studies have suggested that the NF facilitation effect might be limited to specific groups of individuals. Unlike previous studies that focused on a limited number of Bayesian inference problems evaluated by a single scoring method, it was essential to examine multiple Bayesian problems using various scoring metrics. This study also explored the impact of numeracy on Bayesian inference and assessed non-Bayesian cognitive strategies using the numerical information in problem solving. In a Web-based experimental survey, 175 South Korean adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 format groups (NF v. CP). After completing numeracy scales, participants were asked to estimate 4 Bayesian inference problems and document the numerical information used in their problem-solving process. Four scoring methods-strict rounding, loose rounding, absolute deviation, and 50-Split-were used to evaluate participants' estimations. The NF format generally outperformed the CP format across all problems, except in a chorionic villus sampling test problem when evaluated using the 50-Split method. In addition, numeracy levels significantly influenced Bayesian inference; participants with higher numeracy demonstrated better performance. In addition, participants used various non-Bayesian strategies influenced by the format and the nature of the problems. The NF facilitation effect was consistently observed across multiple Bayesian problems and scoring methods. Individuals with higher numeracy levels benefited more from the NF format. The use of various non-Bayesian strategies varied with the formats and nature of specific tasks. The natural frequencies (NF) format is known to foster understanding of medical test results compared with the conditional probabilities (CP) format, but some studies have reported that this benefit is either nonexistent or limited to specific groups.This study aims to replicate previous empirical studies using various Bayesian problems using multiple scoring methods.The NF format fosters understanding of medical test results across all Bayesian problems by all scoring methods, except in the CVS problem when using a 50-Split scoring method.Participants with high numeracy perform better Bayesian inference than those with lower numeracy. Particularly, higher numerates benefit more in the NF format than lower numerates do. In addition, the public tend to use various non-Bayesian reasoning strategies depending on the format and the nature of the tasks.

Development of L1-L2 naming skills in a monolingual context: Evidence from children and adolescents

Adolescence is marked by significant developmental changes that can influence language processing and control. This study aimed to uncover developmental differences in language co-activation and control in unbalanced Spanish (L1)-English (L2) bilinguals. Children and adolescents attending bilingual schools within a L1 monolingual context completed a picture-naming task including cognates and non-cognates nouns, with collection of behavioral and ERP data. The study consistently found a cognate facilitation effect (CFE) in L2, evident in enhanced accuracy, faster reaction times, and reduced N400 negativity for cognates in comparison with no-cognate nouns. However, in L1, CFE was only observed in the N400 component, indicating weaker transfer from L2 to L1. Additionally, children exhibited greater N200 negativity when naming cognates in L1, while adolescents showed no N200 modulations, suggesting differences in frontal control region involvement and potential differences in control strategies. Language co-activation appears independent of maturation, while language control depends on development.

Extraction of Genomic DNA from Soil Samples by Polyethylene Glycol-Modified Magnetic Particles via Isopropanol Promotion and Ca2+ Mediation.

Obtaining reliable and informative DNA data from soil samples is challenging due to the presence of interfering substances and typically low DNA yields. In this work, we prepared poly(ethylene glycol)-modified magnetic particles (PEG@Fe3O4) for DNA purification. The particles leverage the facilitative effect of calcium ions (Ca2+), which act as bridges between DNA and PEG@Fe3O4 by coordinating with the phosphate groups of DNA and the hydroxyl groups on the particles. The addition of 2-propanol further enhances this Ca2+-mediated DNA adsorption by inducing a conformational change from the B-form to the more compact A-form of DNA. PEG@Fe3O4 demonstrates a DNA adsorption capacity of 144.6 mg g-1. When applied to the extraction of genomic DNA from soil samples, PEG@Fe3O4 outperforms commercial kits and traditional phenol-chloroform extraction methods in terms of DNA yield and purity. Furthermore, we developed a 16-channel automated DNA extraction device to streamline the process and reduce the extraction time. The successful amplification of target bacterial and fungal amplicons underscores the potential of this automated, device-assisted method for studying soil microbial diversity.

Designing a hollow MoSe2/CuS nanospheres type-II heterojunction photocatalyst with superior UV-vis-NIR absorption for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants.

In this work, a hollow MoSe2/CuS type-II heterojunction was fabricated using hollow MoSe2 nanospheres as the basis for structural design. UV-Vis-NIR diffuse absorption tests show that MoSe2/CuS has a broad spectral absorption to extend the optical response range from UV-Vis to NIR. The light source utilization rate and interfacial area are increased by the hollow MoSe2/CuS core-shell structure. The broad absorption ability of MoSe2/CuS can facilitate the photocatalysis process. As the electrochemical impedance of MoSe2/CuS is lower than that of the MoSe2, MoSe2/CuS has a good photogenerated carrier separation efficiency. Benefiting from the synergistic facilitation effect of the multi-level 3D hollow nanosphere and the significant space charge region in type-II heterojunction, the RhB degradation efficiency of MoSe2/CuS reached 96.0% in 120.0minunder Xe (350W) broadband spectrum light irradiation. The photocatalysis mechanism of the hollow MoSe2/CuS core-shell structure was investigated. This work provides an insight into the application of broad spectrum semiconductor heterojunctions to solve environmental problems.

Is predictability of the conditioning stimulus (CS) a critical factor in conditioned pain modulation (CPM)?

Introduction Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) allows to investigate endogenous pain modulation and its clinical outcomes. Although co-activation of emotions has been shown to affect CPM, the impact of ‘threat,’ which may accompany CPM stimulation itself, has been mostly neglected. A critical factor for the threat level of the conditioning stimulus (CS) may be its predictability. Methods 38 healthy participants (18 female) took part in a CPM study with pressure stimulation on the leg (blood-pressure cuff) serving as CS and heat stimulation on the forearm (contact thermode; CHEPS) serving as test stimulus (TS). While CS varied in intensity and –as operationalisation of threat– in temporary predictability, TS was kept constant. CPM effects were studied by EEG parameters (N2P2) and pain ratings. Results We found a significant CPM effect when considering N2P2, with low CS predictability augmenting CPM inhibition; in contrast, a surprisingly facilitatory CPM effect occurred in pain ratings (in the high CS predictability condition). The threat manipulation was only partially successful because CS intensity increased the threat ratings but not -as intended- CS predictability. Correlations between subjective and psychophysiological CPM responses were low. Discussion The differing CPM effects in subjective and psychophysiological responses, with both inhibitory and facilitatory effects, is puzzling but has already been observed earlier. The consideration of the CPM stimulation as major threat that is emotionally active is theoretically clearly justifiable but the operationalisation by means of different levels of CS predictability as in the present study might not have been ideal. Thus, further attempts of experimental verification are warranted.

A color-digit Stroop task shows numerical influence on numerosity processing.

The numerical Stroop task involves presenting participants with two digits that differ in physical size and numerical value and asking them to report which digit had the larger size or value while ignoring the other dimension. Previous studies show that participants have difficulty ignoring the irrelevant dimension and thus have implications on the automaticity of numerical processing. The present study investigates the automatic influence of numerical value on numerosity processing in a novel Stroop-like task. In two experiments, participants were presented with digits made of colored stripes and asked to identify the number of different colors. In both experiments, interference and facilitation effects were found, supporting the automaticity of symbolic number processing and its influence on numerosity processing. These findings expand upon previous research on numerical as well as counting Stroop tasks, and have potential implications for studying interference and basic numerical processing in children and clinical populations.