Higher-order Level Research Articles

Exploring Mind Wandering While Driving

Mind wandering while performing various tasks has been shown to increase errors and impair task performance (Smallwood, McSpadden, & Schooler, 2008). Performance decrements elicited by mind wandering occur when attention necessary for the primary task is diverted to task-unrelated thoughts. While these results remain consistent in various domains, it is less understood how driving performance is affected by mind wandering. He Becic, Lee, and McCarley (2011) used a self-caught method to detect mind wandering, finding that variability in vehicle velocity decreased during states of mind wandering compared to attentive states. Other studies using a probe method to detect mind wandering have found that speed was greater during mind wandering (Yanko & Spalek, 2014), or that speed and speed variability were lower during mind wandering (Bencich, Gamboz, Coluccia, & Brandimonte, 2014) compared to attentive states. Although these studies provide some insight about the performance decrements and associated consequences of engaging in mind wandering while driving, the extent that mind wandering affects driving performance is not fully understood. The goal for this research was to further investigate differences in driving performance during mind wandering and attentive states. Participants performed two simulated driving scenarios and were instructed to indicate when they noticed they were just mind wandering (He et al., 2011; Smallwood & Schooler, 2015) by pressing a button on the steering wheel. Episodes of mind wandering were classified as 10 seconds before a button press with a three second buffer and, for comparison, instances of attentiveness relative to mind wandering episodes were classified as 10 seconds after a button press with a three second buffer (He et al., 2011). The results from linear mixed effects models showed that steering reversal rate, lane deviation, and lateral position were significantly greater during attentive states compared to states of mind wandering. These results may best be explained by Michon’s (1985) proposal that driving is a hierarchical task consisting of three levels. The first level includes basic operational control (e.g., speed and lane maintenance), while the higher-order levels are tactical (e.g., interacting with other vehicles, lane changing, etc.) and strategic (e.g., navigation, planning, and decision making). Our data suggest that mind wandering affected but did not necessarily disrupt driving performance. However, the present study only investigated basic operational-level metrics. Mind wandering may be more likely to negatively influence the detection of critical events and hazards–deviations from routine behaviors associated with higher level components of the driving task (i.e., tactical and strategic). For example, Yanko and Spalek (2014) reported that when participants were mind wandering they responded more slowly to critical events while driving. Further research is needed to determine whether the negative effects of mind wandering are more likely to occur within these higher order components of the driving tasks.

Resistance determination of a South Indian bruchid strain against rice bean landraces of Manipur (India)

Rice bean (Vigna umbellata) is one of the under-exploited tropical food legumes. It is regarded as a potentially valuable multipurpose (grain, fodder and green manure) crop among farmers in the marginal hill areas of North-Eastern India, Manipur in particular. Rice bean seeds are comparatively resistant to storage grain pests including bruchids (Callosobruchus spp.), which generally damages other pulses of the same genus Vigna and related legumes. However, there are reports of seed infestation by bruchids during storage. The present investigation involved subjecting seeds of rice bean landraces from Manipur to low and high bruchid infestation levels in order to determine their reaction. This is the first report on bruchid bioassay conducted on landraces of this remotely situated Indian state. The landraces were classified based on the seed damage per cent with 1–9 score. Although variations in oviposition response were observed among the landraces, regression and correlation studies between seed characteristics and bruchid life parameters suggested no significant role of antixenosis (non-preference) mechanism in imparting resistance to bruchids. To date, rice bean has not been subjected to systematic breeding, despite the species' many useful characteristics. The experiments revealed identification of new sources of bruchid resistance. Hence, these landraces can be effectively used as promising donors for hybridization in pulse improvement programmes.

Higher order change: a transorganizational system diagnostic model

Purpose Transorganizational systems (TSs) are a collection of organizations that have agreed to work interdependently to accomplish a task too large in scope for a single organization. TS are organizational structures capable of addressing large-scale problems, and are vitally important. However, relative to the stand-alone organization, TS theory is under-developed and currently no comprehensive diagnostic model exits for managing TS change. Theoretically constructed diagnostic models are essential ingredients of any planned change effort. The purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive model for diagnosing TS. Design/methodology/approach In this paper a comprehensive model for diagnosing TS is proposed. In constructing the model existing literature is integrated with the enduring organization development work of Cummings and Worley (2015). These authors developed a comprehensive model to diagnose organizations at three levels: individual, group, and organization. This paper proposes adding a fourth, higher order level – the TS level. Findings The resulting diagnostic model offers theorists and practitioners a comprehensive framework for use in diagnosing TS functionality and performance. Practical implications The results of quality diagnosis are essential in managing change leading to improved TS effectiveness. Originality/value Currently no comprehensive diagnostic model is available for managing higher order change in TS. This paper aims to fill this void.

Intersectionality and quantitative methods: assessing regression from a feminist perspective

This article examines the use of quantitative methods to advance feminist-inspired understandings of intersectionality. We acknowledge a range of conflicting opinions about the suitability of current quantitative techniques. To contribute to this debate, we assess the conceptualizations of intersectionality embedded in the most common approach to quantitative analysis, multiple regression. We identify three features of intersectional analysis highlighted in the feminist literature: (1) attention to context; (2) a heuristic approach to identifying relevant dimensions of inequality; (3) and addressing the complex, multidimensional structuring of inequality. Using these criteria, we evaluate: (1) multiple regression including context as a higher-order interaction; (2) multiple regressions run within different contexts and compared; and (3) multilevel regression including context as a higher-order level of analysis. We demonstrate with research illustrations that the models do a progressively better job at satisfying the criteria. We conclude that the third model offers a conceptualization of intersectionality that is the most consistent with the feminist literature.

Biocontrol of Potato Common Scab is Associated with High Pseudomonas fluorescens LBUM223 Populations and Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid Biosynthetic Transcript Accumulation in the Potato Geocaulosphere.

Pseudomonads are often used as biocontrol agents because they display a broad range of mechanisms to control diseases. Common scab of potato, caused by Streptomyces scabies, was previously reported to be controlled by Pseudomonas fluorescens LBUM223 through phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) production. In this study, we aimed at characterizing the population dynamics of LBUM223 and the expression of phzC, a key gene involved in the biosynthesis of PCA, in the rhizosphere and geocaulosphere of potato plants grown under controlled and field conditions. Results obtained from controlled experiments showed that soil populations of LBUM223 significantly declined over a 15-week period. However, at week 15, the presence of S. scabies in the geocaulosphere was associated with significantly higher populations of LBUM223 than when the pathogen was absent. It also led to the detection of significantly higher phzC gene transcript numbers. Under field conditions, soil populations of LBUM223 followed a similar decline in time when a single inoculation was applied in spring but remained stable when reinoculated biweekly, which also led to greater phzC gene transcripts accumulation. Taken together, our findings suggest that LBUM223 must colonize the potato geocaulosphere at high levels (10(7) bacteria/g of soil) in order to achieve biocontrol of common scab through increased PCA production.

Teacher Evaluations: Corporeal Matters and Un/Wanted Affects

Teacher Evaluations: Corporeal Matters and Un/Wanted Affects

Vitamin D in dementia prevention.

Beyond effects on bone health, vitamin D exerts effects on a variety of target organs, including the brain. The discussion herein presents the state of the art in research on the neurological role of vitamin D and clinical implications among older adults, including implications for dementia onset and progression. Some of the neurosteroid actions of vitamin D include regulation of calcium homeostasis, clearance of amyloid-β peptide, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and possible protection against the neurodegenerative mechanisms associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The correction of age-related hypovitaminosis D and cognitive decline has been reported by various cross-sectional and longitudinal studies reporting associations of lower vitamin D concentrations with brain changes and poorer cognition, specifically with respect to executive dysfunction. Epidemiological studies have consistently shown an association between inadequate dietary intake of vitamin D and cognitive disorders, including greater AD risk. Although there have not been any randomized placebo-controlled trials conducted to examine the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation to prevent AD, several nonrandomized controlled studies have found that older adults experienced cognitive improvements after 1-15 months of vitamin D supplementation. Therefore, it appears crucial to maintain vitamin D concentrations at sufficiently high levels in order to slow, prevent, or improve neurocognitive decline.

Nonlinear and dynamic effects of responsive and proactive market orientation: A longitudinal investigation

Business practice and the extant literature widely acknowledge that market orientation (MO) is a key driver of firm performance, yet some studies question its benefits. Research that has tried to clarify these inconsistencies by investigating the dimensions of responsive MO (RMO) and proactive MO (PMO) has found conflicting results. This study seeks to resolve the debate by identifying the total effects of RMO and PMO on firm performance, thereby helping to extend the understanding of the differing performance consequences of RMO and PMO. The total effects of the two kinds of MO are composed of the contemporary nonlinear relationships between RMO and PMO and firm performance, along with the carry-over effects of the previous levels of RMO and PMO, which may also be nonlinear. Based on objective performance measures and panel data of fifty-six US companies observed over 9years, we find support for an inverted-U-shaped contemporary effect of RMO that suggests that a medium level of RMO is most beneficial for firms. In contrast, the contemporary effect of PMO on firm performance is U-shaped, so a high level of PMO provides the most promising competitive advantage. Our empirical results only partially support our hypotheses regarding carry-over effects. While the results confirm the proposed inverted-U-shaped carry-over effects of RMO, PMO exerts no carry-over effects, so firms must instead continuously implement PMO at high levels in order to benefit profits in a sustainable way and avoid losing ground to competitors.

Divide and conquer, or the disintegration of strategic management: It’s time to celebrate

Every so often it is useful for a field of study to take the time to self-reflect and consider its existence from a high level in order to re-evaluate and possibly re-direct its resource allocations moving forward (where such reflection has become a wonderful and valuable standard in Strategic Organization!). In this essay, we counter Hambrick’s call to consolidate with a radical suggestion to separate the field of strategic organization into at least two camps. We offer a sound logic for that split and detail its hypothetical positive implications for the field in terms of the possibilities for improved research resource allocation and improved practical impact.

RF Basics [Book\/Software Reviews

The content of this book is meant to fill the gap between communication hardware circuit-level specifications and communicationsystem level design considerations. The book also provides some insight into the practical aspects of the radio front-end design process at a higher level in order to convey how circuits operate together to provide an overall working system. This includes RF systems design, introduction to communications systems, basic RF design concepts and building blocks, system-level architecture and design, frequency synthesizers, and block-level radio design examples.

Rival Methodologies in Emergence Theory: A Non-Dual Approach

ABSTRACTJason Roberts proposes that Karl Rahner's theology of nature serves as an appropriate dialogue partner for natural scientists like Terrence Deacon in his naturalistic approach to the emergence of higher-order levels of existence and activity within the natural sciences. Yet Rahner and Deacon employ different understandings of formal causality in their respective approaches to evolutionary theory: for Rahner, causal agency vis-à-vis constituents; for Deacon, objective constraint on the agency of constituents. Yet a compromise position may be available based on a modest revision of the relationship between societies and their constituent actual entities in A.N. Whitehead's cosmology.

A facile approach for the fabrication of 2D supermicelle networks.

A novel and facile approach to fabricating well-organized macroscopic 2D networks of cylindrical micelles is reported, based on transfer printing and thermal welding of aligned supramolecular micelles of block copolymers. This versatile approach provides a new strategy for fabricating functional 2D superstructures with a higher level of order.

Multi-scale modelling of rolling shear failure in cross-laminated timber structures by homogenisation and cohesive zone models

In this paper we investigate the rolling shear failure in cross-laminated timber structures by homogenisation and cohesive zone models. In order to predict the structural response, four spatial scales are interlinked within a purely kinematic multi-scale modelling framework. The constitutive description has incorporated information coming from the wood cell-wall in the order of a few nanometres, wood fibres with dimensions of tens of micrometres and growth rings described by a few millimetres. The computational homogenisation scheme is solved sequentially from the lowest to the highest level in order to determine the effective mechanical properties for the fourth (structural) scale represented by a cross-laminated timber plate with dimensions of the order of one meter. In order to simulate the cracking in the material, a cohesive zone model is adopted at the homogenised macroscopic scale. The finite element problem is then solved using a mixed domain decomposition strategy due to its huge number of unknowns. This approach allows us to capture interlaminar and inter-fibre cracking and to solve the macroscopic equilibrium problem using parallel computations. Our numerical predictions are compared with experimental results and are validated successfully. In particular, we study the influence of wood density, edge-gluing and span-to-depth ratio on the rolling shear failure in cross-laminated timber.

Clickable Bifunctional and Vertically Aligned Mesoporous Silica Films

Getting oriented mesoporous thin films with functionalized pores accessible from the substrate surface remains one key challenge in materials science, and jumping the step forward to multifunctional layers with perpendicular nanochannels has still to be achieved. Here, a general method is introduced combining the electrochemically assisted deposition of ordered and oriented azide‐ and thiol‐functionalized mesoporous silica with a selective sequential azide‐alkyne and thiol‐ene “click chemistry” approach to prepare nanostructured and vertically aligned hybrid films bearing tunable amounts of organo‐functional groups. High‐resolution electron microscopy is used to evidence the high level of mesostructural order and pore orientation, while the effectiveness of the functionalization processes is proven from spectroscopic and electrochemical measurements. Voltammetric data also demonstrate that both the accessibility through the films and the properties of the incorporated functions are maintained upon derivatization. Feasibility of this simple and generic strategy is illustrated here for two couples of model derivatives (ethynylcobaltocenium/vinylferrocene and propargyl alcohol/allyl cyanide) but such stepwise postfunctionalization can be extensively used for the incorporation of a variety of organic functions in mesoporous silica films.

Twisted photon entanglement through turbulent air across Vienna

Photons with a twisted phase front can carry a discrete, in principle, unbounded amount of orbital angular momentum (OAM). The large state space allows for complex types of entanglement, interesting both for quantum communication and for fundamental tests of quantum theory. However, the distribution of such entangled states over large distances was thought to be infeasible due to influence of atmospheric turbulence, indicating a serious limitation on their usefulness. Here we show that it is possible to distribute quantum entanglement encoded in OAM over a turbulent intracity link of 3 km. We confirm quantum entanglement of the first two higher-order levels (with OAM=± 1ħ and ± 2ħ). They correspond to four additional quantum channels orthogonal to all that have been used in long-distance quantum experiments so far. Therefore, a promising application would be quantum communication with a large alphabet. We also demonstrate that our link allows access to up to 11 quantum channels of OAM. The restrictive factors toward higher numbers are technical limitations that can be circumvented with readily available technologies.

Structure and Properties of Nanostructured Vacuum-Deposited Foils of Invar Fe–(35–38 wt%)Ni Alloys

The process of electron beam vacuum deposition of the Fe–(35–38 wt%)Ni alloys at substrate temperatures Ts from 300 to700 °C were used to produce vacuum-deposited foils with the FCC structure, differing by the size of characteristic microstructural elements (grains and subgrains). It was shown that refinement of foil microstructural elements to nanoscale is accompanied by their microhardness increase up to 4–5 GPa. The change of the thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of the nanostructured (NS) foil of the Fe–35.1Ni alloy within the temperature range from −50 to 150 °C has some deviation from that observed for cast Invar alloy of the same composition. It has been found that the main factors affecting the peculiarities of thermal expansion of the NS foil can be related to the presence of small fraction of BCC-phase in them, high level of crystalline lattice microstrains and inhomogeneous magnetic order in FCC-phase. It was shown that as a result of additional thermal treatment of NS foils their invar properties become similar to that observed for cast Invar alloy but mechanical properties remain on the same level.

Distinct polymer physics principles govern chromatin dynamics in mouse and Drosophila topological domains.

BackgroundIn higher eukaryotes, the genome is partitioned into large "Topologically Associating Domains" (TADs) in which the chromatin displays favoured long-range contacts. While a crumpled/fractal globule organization has received experimental supports at higher-order levels, the organization principles that govern chromatin dynamics within these TADs remain unclear. Using simple polymer models, we previously showed that, in mouse liver cells, gene-rich domains tend to adopt a statistical helix shape when no significant locus-specific interaction takes place.ResultsHere, we use data from diverse 3C-derived methods to explore chromatin dynamics within mouse and Drosophila TADs. In mouse Embryonic Stem Cells (mESC), that possess large TADs (median size of 840 kb), we show that the statistical helix model, but not globule models, is relevant not only in gene-rich TADs, but also in gene-poor and gene-desert TADs. Interestingly, this statistical helix organization is considerably relaxed in mESC compared to liver cells, indicating that the impact of the constraints responsible for this organization is weaker in pluripotent cells. Finally, depletion of histone H1 in mESC alters local chromatin flexibility but not the statistical helix organization. In Drosophila, which possesses TADs of smaller sizes (median size of 70 kb), we show that, while chromatin compaction and flexibility are finely tuned according to the epigenetic landscape, chromatin dynamics within TADs is generally compatible with an unconstrained polymer configuration.ConclusionsModels issued from polymer physics can accurately describe the organization principles governing chromatin dynamics in both mouse and Drosophila TADs. However, constraints applied on this dynamics within mammalian TADs have a peculiar impact resulting in a statistical helix organization.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1786-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Event-related potentials in Japanese childhood chronic fatigue syndrome

The aim of this study was to investigate cognitive functions such as allocation and information processing in patients with childhood type chronic fatigue syndrome (CCFS) using event-related potentials. A total of 190 healthy children as controls and 414 patients with CCFS participated in this study. Both patients and controls had (i) event-related potentials (including P300, P100, N150 and P200 measurements); (ii) component analysis of electrocardiographic R-R interval to evaluate autonomic function; and (iii) KANA-Pick-out test to evaluate frontal lobe function. The cutoff threshold defining abnormal P300 latency to target stimuli and amplitude to non-target stimuli was set at two standard deviations above the mean values of controls. Forty patients (classified as Type-I) had an abnormally-prolonged P300 latency to target stimuli, and 49 patients (classified as Type-II) had an abnormally-exaggerated P300 amplitude, and the remaining 325 patients whose P300 latency and amplitude ranged below the above-mentioned threshold were classified as Type-III. All patient groups had normal P100, N150 and P200 measurements. Component analysis of electrocardiographic R-R intervals revealed that the power of high-frequency components was lower in all patient groups, compared to controls. The score in KANA-Pick-out test was worse in all patient groups compared to controls; Type-I Group had the worst score and Type-II Group had the best score among the patients. Taken together, we speculate that abnormally-prolonged P300 latency to target stimuli might be associated with learning disability and abnormally-exaggerated P300 amplitude to non-target stimuli might be associated with hypersensitivity such as phobia in patients with CCFS. Psychosomatic symptoms in patients with CCFS might be associated with higher-order level cognitive dysfunction.

Distribution and accumulation of Cy5.5-labeled hydrophobically modified glycol chitosan in mice

The ultimate goal of this study is to assess the accumulation and distribution of hydrophobically modified glycol chitosan (HGC) as a degradable nanoparticle in the body. To understand the movement of degradable nanoparticle HGC in the body, we intravenously injected a dose of 20 mg/kg of Cy5.5-labeled HGC with size ranging from 320 to 400 nm into ICR mice, and measured the amount of fluorescence remaining in blood and several organs at various time intervals. In blood, the level of Cy5.5-labeled HGC increased at 15 min and after 30 min and then decreased gradually and reached a plateau at 28 days. In the tissue we confirmed the presence of nanoparticles at high levels in the order of kidney>liver>submandibular gland until 28 days after injection. However, we did not find the distribution of the particles into brain or testes. These results will provide basic information on HGC as a drug delivery agent.

Semantic memory as the root of imagination.

“Imagination is what makes our sensory experience meaningful, enabling us to interpret and make sense of it, whether from a conventional perspective or from a fresh, original, individual one. It is what makes perception more than the mere physical stimulation of sense organs. It also produces mental imagery, visual and otherwise, which is what makes it possible for us to think outside the confines of our present perceptual reality, to consider memories of the past and possibilities for the future, and to weigh alternatives against one another. Thus, imagination makes possible all our thinking about what is, what has been, and, perhaps most important, what might be.”—Nigel J. T. Thomas (2004, as cited in Manu, 2006, p. 47)1. Investigations of the information processing mechanisms that underlie imaginative thought typically focus on a single branch of imagination, such as prospection, mental imagery or creativity, and are often generalized as being insightful to understanding the workings of imagination in general. In reality, however, there is very little in the way of theoretical or empirical exchange between the scientific communities that conduct research within the different domains of imagination. As a result, the research impetus in each of the sub-domains may be skewed to the pursuit of hypotheses that are not particularly viable in terms of understanding imagination as a whole. An example of this is pegging the roots of imagination to the processes of episodic memory—a reasonable assumption to make based on studies of episodic prospection. However, the associated findings and theoretical conclusions that follow are not entirely consistent with the literature on the mechanisms underlying creativity (Bubic and Abraham, 2014), which is another core realm of imagination. In an effort to promote interchange across the frontiers of imagination, in this Opinion Article we put forward the idea that all aspects of imagination emerge from semantic memory with increasingly higher-order levels of imaginative information processing emanating from and interacting with existing systems, eventually expanding beyond these to form new systems (Figure ​(Figure1).1). We compare the associated neurocognitive findings and assumptions in terms of their fit with current knowledge in other fields of imagination and discuss their implications for reformulating hypotheses regarding imagination as a whole. Figure 1 An informal illustration of how imaginative processes emerge from and expand beyond semantic memory operations.