Priming Procedure Research Articles

In the Realm of Uncertainty: Quantum Thinking Promotes Tolerance for Ambiguity.

According to the principles of quantum mechanics, individuals are unable to accurately predict the precise outcome of a measurement or observation. Despite the significant impact of quantum thinking on science, there is a lack of understanding regarding the psychological consequences associated with adopting such a mindset. This research investigates how engaging in quantum thinking, which accepts the universe's inherent complexities and uncertainties, influences one's tolerance for ambiguity. To test our hypothesis, we conducted three complementary studies involving diverse populations (students and community adults), multiple measures of tolerance of ambiguity (self-report data and behavioral indicators), and different priming procedures (text reading and sentence scrambling tasks). Study 1 demonstrated that university students exposed to quantum thinking principles exhibited greater tolerance for ambiguity within an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting. Moving beyond the educational setting, Study 2 corroborated these observations by evaluating an individual's ease with uncertainty and unpredictability across different everyday scenarios. Addressing potential self-report biases, Study 3 incorporated a behavioral measure to objectively validate the observed effect. Together, these findings suggest that the thinking mindset prevalent in physics significantly impacts individuals' cognitive flexibility and behavior, highlighting the broad relevance of quantum thinking beyond its scientific origins.

Pea Seed Priming with Pluronic P85-Grafted Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Affects Photosynthetic Gas Exchange but Not Photosynthetic Light Reactions.

Nanotechnology is rapidly advancing towards the development of applications for sustainable plant growth and photosynthesis optimization. The nanomaterial/plant interaction has been intensively investigated; however, there is still a gap in knowledge regarding their effect on crop seed development and photosynthetic performance. In the present work, we apply a priming procedure with 10 and 50 mg/L Pluronic-P85-grafted single-walled carbon nanotubes (P85-SWCNT) on garden pea seeds and examine the germination, development, and photosynthetic activity of young seedlings grown on soil substrate. The applied treatments result in a distorted topology of the seed surface and suppressed (by 10-19%) shoot emergence. No priming-induced alterations in the structural and functional features of the photosynthetic apparatus in 14-day-old plants are found. However, photosynthetic gas exchange measurements reveal reduced stomatal conductance (by up to 15%) and increased intrinsic water use efficiency (by 12-15%), as compared to hydro-primed variants, suggesting the better ability of plants to cope with drought stress-an assumption that needs further verification. Our study prompts further research on the stomatal behavior and dark reactions of photosynthesis in order to gain new insights into the effect of carbon nanotubes on plant performance.

Central lines, aseptic batching services, and infection rates: A pharmacy-led initiative of intravenous tube priming within a NICU.

In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are hospital-acquired, serious complications that greatly affect many vulnerable neonates throughout their hospital stay. This article describes the implementation of a unique practice in which pharmacy primes continuous infusions through medication tubing for neonatal central lines in a cleanroom at Children's Hospital Colorado - Colorado Springs (CHCO-CSH). This institution is a freestanding children's hospital with a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that opened in April 2019. Since then, the pharmacy department has been priming central line tubing for continuous infusions for all patients in the NICU. Neonates are at increased risk for developing CLABSIs due to their immature immune systems and frequent need for central line placement. With that in mind, the pharmacy department decided to focus efforts on this population. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians received training on how to properly prime tubing, document when a patient received a new central line, document if a central line was removed, and record when new tubing was due based on a department policy. This novel, pharmacy-led priming procedure resulted in a low CLABSI incidence, offering a promising strategy to reduce CLABSIs in a NICU.

Characterization of Protein Binding on an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Circuit Following the Priming Procedure.

Characterization of Protein Binding on an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Circuit Following the Priming Procedure.

Are we afraid of the woods? – An investigation of the implicit and explicit fear reactions to forests

The beneficial effects of nature exposure have been repeatedly documented and encourage frequent and regular contact with nature and especially highlight forests. However, in human history, forests have also been associated with negative emotions such as fear and were seen as dangerous environments. While existing literature could demonstrate that natural environments can evoke fear, the focus was on the explicit perception. Given that research has shown the significance of additional implicit processes in fear-related behaviour, we aim to explore the presence of an implicit fear response to forests. Therefore, in an online study, we investigated the explicit and implicit fear reactions to forests by a Northern German sample of N = 256. Using three explicit measurements, we investigated fear and danger perception on a semantic and visual level of the stimulus category "forest" compared to the human-made urban green space "park" and the urban setting "house". Additionally, we assessed the unconscious response tendencies towards the forest within three implicit tasks: Subliminal Priming Procedure (SPP), Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) and Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). Within the analyzed sample, the subliminally presented word forest evoked a stronger positive valence response compared to park (SPP). In contrast to houses, the forest showed a stronger approach and weaker avoidance tendency (AAT). At the same time, both the three explicit and one implicit measurement (AMP) showed a stronger fear perception of forests compared to parks or houses. Considering the increasingly utilised beneficial effects of nature in interventions, these findings should be acknowledged when implementing nature exposure in interventions and treatments.

Activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway enhances exosome production by hucMSCs and improves their capability to promote diabetic wound healing

BackgroundThe use of stem cell-derived exosomes (Exos) as therapeutic vehicles is receiving increasing attention. Exosome administration has several advantages over cell transplantation, thus making exosomes promising candidates for large-scale clinical implementation and commercialization. However, exosome extraction and purification efficiencies are relatively low, and therapeutic heterogeneity is high due to differences in culture conditions and cell viability. Therefore, in this study, we investigated a priming procedure to enhance the production and therapeutic effects of exosomes from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs). After preconditioning hucMSCs with agonists/inhibitors that target the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, we assessed both the production of exosomes and the therapeutic efficacy of the optimized exosomes in the context of diabetic wound healing, hoping to provide a safer, more stable and more effective option for clinical application.ResultsThe Wnt signalling pathway agonist CHIR99021 increased exosome production by 1.5-fold without causing obvious changes in the characteristics of the hucMSCs or the size of the exosome particles. Further studies showed that CHIR99021 promoted the production of exosomes by facilitating exocytosis. This process was partly mediated by SNAP25. To further explore whether CHIR99021 changed the cargo that was loaded into the exosomes and its therapeutic effects, we performed proteomic and transcriptomic analyses of exosomes from primed and control hucMSCs. The results showed that CHIR99021 significantly upregulated the expression of proteins that are associated with cell migration and wound healing. Animal experiments confirmed that, compared to control hucMSC-derived exosomes, CHIR99021-pretreated hucMSC-derived exosomes (CHIR-Exos) significantly accelerated wound healing in diabetic mice, enhanced local collagen deposition, promoted angiogenesis, and reduced chronic inflammation. Subsequent in vitro experiments confirmed that the CHIR-Exos promoted wound healing by facilitating cell migration, inhibiting oxidative stress-induced apoptosis, and preventing cell cycle arrest.ConclusionsThe Wnt agonist CHIR99021 significantly increased exosome secretion by hucMSCs, which was partly mediated by SNAP25. Notably, CHIR99021 treatment also significantly increased the exosomal levels of proteins that are associated with wound healing and cell migration, resulting in enhanced acceleration of wound healing. All of these results suggested that pretreatment of hucMSCs with CHIR99021 not only promoted exosome production but also improved the exosome therapeutic efficacy, thus providing a promising option for large-scale clinical implementation and commercialization.Graphical

A new generalized prime random approximation procedure and some of its applications

A new generalized prime random approximation procedure and some of its applications

Impact of jasmonates, salicylic acid, and fungal elicitor on the health of <i>Hippeastrum hybridum</i> bulbs achieved by <i>in vitro</i> procedure

Production of high-quality vigorous plant materials obtained by micropropagation requires not only a good regeneration procedure but also efficient ways to enhance their post-transplanting ability to cope with external environmental factors. There is increasing interest in <i>Hippeastrum hybridum</i> on the horticultural market. However, the traditional method of cultivation using seeds and bulbs does not meet the growing demand and requirements of available priming procedures, thus leading to a search for more effective methods of reproduction. The aim of the study was to assess the morphogenetic abilities of bulb and flower explants for regeneration and investigate whether the enrichment of the multiplication process by exposure to elicitors will improve the health of the obtained plants through faster synthesis of phytoalexin. The study revealed that high regeneration efficiency can be obtained by using twin-scales, peduncles, and receptacles. Over 76% of explants were capable of bulblet induction and the micropropagation rates were 2.3, 2.7, and 5.0, respectively. At the rooting stage, the use of regulator-free medium was required, yielding a high percentage of rooted shoots of over 90% (shoots obtained on twin-scales and peduncles). The materials obtained <i>in vitro</i> did not differ morphologically from the initial materials. However, it was noted that, after exposure to the <i>Phoma narcissi</i> fungal elicitor or to jasmonic acid (JA) and jasmonic acid methyl ester (MeJA), the <i>in vitro</i>-derived bulbs were able to synthesize phytoalexin with higher efficiency than the untreated ones. Therefore, the described methods can be useful for <i>H. hybridum</i> multiplication. Moreover, the enrichment of the multiplication process with the stage of exposure to elicitors ensures initial immunity of <i>H. hybridum</i> to the pathogen <i>Phoma narcissi</i>, which can be used as a priming procedure.

Ritu Shodhana - Way to Stay Healthy with special reference to Virechana

Ayurveda is a unique and ancient science of life which considers the Tridoshas vata, Pitta and Kapha as Tristhunas (pillars) of human body. The aim of Ayurveda is to maintain health of a healthy person and treating ailments of the diseased. Timely elimination of increased Doshas by purificatory measures during specified season is known as Ritu shodhana. Sharadiya Virechana i.e., purification therapy in autumn season is best for elimination of Prakupita (aggravated) Pitta dosha. The present review aims to summarize the benefits of Ritu shodhana with special reference to Virechana on health of a person. Materials and Methods: Literature search was carried out through search engines like PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar using keywords like ‘Ritu shodhana’, ‘Virechana’, ‘seasonal regimens’, ‘seasonal variations in India’,’ lifestyle disorders’. Classicals such as Bruhattrayis, Laghuttrayis were also reviewed. The relevant studies were identified and the findings summarized. Result and discussion- Ritu shodhana plays a key role in prevention of diseases. Among Panchakarmas virechana (purgation therapy) is one of the prime purificatory procedures for elimination of Pitta dosha. As the expulsion of Dosha occurs in normal route it is not complicated. Hence it has great promise and requires research in this area.

Probing the effect of perceptual (dis)fluency on metacognitive judgments.

Despite research showing that perceptually fluent stimuli (i.e., stimuli that are easier to process) are given higher judgment of learning (JOL) ratings than perceptually disfluent stimuli, it remains unknown whether the influence of perceptual fluency on JOLs is driven by the fluent or disfluent items. Moreover, it is unclear whether this difference hinges on relative differences in fluency. The current study addressed these unanswered questions by employing (Fiacconi et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 46:926-944, 2020), Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 46[5], 926-944) letter set priming procedure. In this procedure, participants are first exposed to words containing only a subset of letters. Following this exposure, JOLs to new words composed of the same letters (i.e., fluent), and new words composed of nonexposed letters (i.e., disfluent) are compared with isolate the contribution of perceptual fluency. Because this procedure does not rely on parametric variations in perceptual features, we can directly assess the potential benefit and/or cost of fluent and disfluent items, respectively, by including neutral baseline conditions. Moreover, implementing both a mixed- and pure-list design allowed us to assess the comparative nature of perceptual fluency on JOLs. Counter to previous assumptions, our results are the first to demonstrate that perceptual disfluency decreases JOLs. Moreover, we found that the influence of perceptual disfluency on JOLs hinges on the relative differences in fluency between items even in the absence of a belief about the mnemonic impact of the fluency manipulation. These findings have important implications as they provide evidence that the difficulty, rather than ease, of information form the basis of individuals metacognitive judgments.

How do consumers make behavioural decisions on social commerce platforms? The interaction effect between behaviour visibility and social needs

AbstractThe online phenomenon of social commerce (i.e., s‐commerce) platforms has emerged as a combination of online social networking and e‐commerce. On s‐commerce platforms, consumers can observe others' behavioural decisions and can distinguish those made by their friends from those made by their followees (i.e., the people a focal consumer follows but who do not follow that consumer back). Given this distinction, our study examines how consumers' behavioural decisions—regarding, for example, purchases, ratings, or “likes”—are made on s‐commerce platforms, with a focus on how they are influenced by prior decisions of friends and followees. Combining panel data from a large s‐commerce platform and two controlled experiments, we identify a strong normative social influence pattern in which consumers tend to follow others' prior decisions to gain social approval. Because the occurrence of normative social influence depends on both consumer behaviours with high public visibility and strong consumer needs to establish social ties, the unique information concerning behaviour visibility and consumers' social needs in the panel data allows us to identify normative social influence and to distinguish it from informational confounding mechanisms. Our panel data results show that on a friend network, where consumers' behavioural decisions are visible, females exhibit a greater tendency to follow others' prior decisions than males. We attribute this result to the stronger social needs of females. However, on a followee network, where behavioural decisions are invisible, these differences become less evident. Moreover, the two experiments demonstrate that making decision contexts private or activating social needs via a priming procedure can thwart (or even turn off) normative social influence. Our findings challenge prior research that identifies informational social influence as the predominant driver of conformity behaviours and thus have important implications for practice related to normative social influence, such as the development of techniques for satisfying consumers' different social needs depending on their gender or any other situational factors on s‐commerce platforms.

Dentin surface modification by MDP to improve dentin bonding stability: Topological enhancement and mineralization of collagen structure in hybrid layers

Decades of research have been conducted on 10-Methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP) through numerous studies. The mechanisms by which its residual calcium salts benefit dentin bonding remain undetermined. The objective of the research was to investigate the role and process of remaining calcium salts in the priming procedure and their capacity for remineralization. The investigation focused on the variations in topological structure, mechanical properties, and chemical interactions between the main agent and the dentin surface. Two adhesive modes including prime-and-rinse(P&R) and prime-and-nonrinse (P&NR) utilized to evaluate the bonding performance and remineralization ability. The findings indicated that both P&R and P&NR methods could eliminate the smear-layer, uncover dentinal-tubules, and generate a textured/rough surface on the dentin. Collagen fibrils exhibited a greater presence of inorganic minerals in the P&NR mode. Compared to control group, both P&R and P&NR groups improved immediate and aging bond strength significantly (P < 0.05). AFM and 3D-STORM revealed MDP and its residual calcium salts distributed in collagen fibrils and expanded collagen matrix. In the P&NR group, TEM revealed that the dentin collagen matrix experienced some remineralization, and there was also mineralization within the collagen fibrils embedded in the bonding interface. Thus, MDP priming improved dentin bonding stability. Residual calcium salts of P&NR process can enhance topological structure of the collagen matrix and induce intrafibrillar mineralization.

An examination of models of reading multi-morphemic and pseudo multi-morphemic words using sandwich priming.

Rastle et al. (2004) reported that true (e.g., walker) and pseudo (e.g., corner) multi-morphemic words prime their stem words more than form controls do (e.g., brothel priming BROTH) in a masked priming lexical decision task. This data pattern has led a number of models to propose that both of the former word types are "decomposed" into their stem (e.g., walk, corn) and affix (e.g., -er) early in the reading process. The present experiments were designed to examine the models proposed to explain Rastle et al.'s effect, including models not assuming a decomposition process, using a more sensitive priming technique, sandwich priming (Lupker & Davis, 2009). Experiment 1, using the conventional masked priming procedure, replicated Rastle et al.'s results. Experiments 2 and 3, involving sandwich priming procedures, showed a clear dissociation between priming effects for true versus pseudo multi-morphemic words, results that are not easily explained by any of the current models. Nonetheless, the overall data pattern does appear to be most consistent with there being a decomposition process when reading real and pseudo multi-morphemic words, a process that involves activating (and inhibiting) lexical-level representations including a representation for the affix (e.g., -er), with the ultimate lexical decision being based on the process of resolving the pattern created by the activated representational units. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A REVIEW ON AGNIKARMA AND ITS PROBABLE MODE OF ACTION

Salyatantra is one among the important and vital branches of Ayurveda, which consists of various surgical and para surgical procedures. Agnikarma or thermal cauterization is the foremost among these para surgical procedures. It means application of heat to the body part directly or indirectly with help of different materials to prevent or to cure a disease. It is a potent and minimally invasive para surgical procedure which has wide application in chronic conditions as well as in emergency management. Agnikarma has been given special place in surgery by Susruta and the disease treated by Agnikarma never reoccurs. Clinically it is considered as prime para surgical procedure and it provide relief in certain diseases which are not cured by herbal medicine, surgical interventions and alkaline cauterization. Based on specific heat retention and transmission capacity of different substances acharyas had prescribed different materials for cauterizing specific body parts. Most commonly Agnikarma is indicated in neurogenic pain, tendinopathies, or in diseases of skin, vein, ligament, bone or joint where pain is an exclusive factor. The preventive, curative and haemostatic properties of Agnikarma were known even centuries back.

Facial first impressions are not mandatory: A priming investigation

A common assertion is that, based around prominent character traits, first impressions are spontaneously extracted from faces. Specifically, mere exposure to a person is sufficient to trigger the involuntary extraction of core personality characteristics (e.g., trustworthiness, dominance, competence), an outcome that supports a range of significant judgments (e.g., hiring, investing, electing). But is this in fact the case? Noting ambiguities in the extant literature, here we used a repetition priming procedure to probe the extent to which impressions of dominance are extracted from faces absent the instruction to evaluate the stimuli in this way. Across five experiments in which either the character trait of interest was made increasingly obvious to participants (Expts. 1–3) or attention was explicitly directed toward the faces to generate low-level/high-level judgments (Expts. 4 & 5), no evidence for the spontaneous extraction of first impressions was observed. Instead, priming only emerged when judgments of dominance were an explicit requirement of the task at hand. Thus, at least using a priming methodology, the current findings contest the notion that first impressions are a mandatory product of person perception.

Boosting attachment security promotes prosociality: The mediating effect of moral disengagement.

While attachment security is known to promote prosocial behaviour, a closer examination is needed to clarify the active mechanism in this relationship. We addressed this issue by examining the mediation effect of moral disengagement in two studies. Participants were assigned to the control priming group or the attachment security priming group. After the priming procedure, they completed the measurements of a sense of security, moral disengagement and prosocial behaviour. The results from both studies showed that compared with control priming, attachment security priming enhanced prosociality. Furthermore, mediation analysis showed that moral disengagement mediated the relationship between attachment security and prosociality. The present findings extend the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of attachment security and prosociality, and provide insights into the effectiveness of boosting attachment security in intervening in moral disengagement.

Creative mindset reduces racial ingroup bias in empathic neural responses.

Spontaneous racial categorization of other-race individuals provides a cognitive basis of racial ingroup biases in empathy and prosocial behavior. In two experiments, we investigated whether fostering a creativity mindset reduces racial ingroup biases in empathy and undermines spontaneous racial categorization of other-race faces. Before and after a creative mindset priming procedure that required the construction of novel objects using discreteness, we recorded electroencephalography signals to Asian and White faces with painful or neutral expressions from Chinese adults to assess neural activities underlying racial ingroup biases in empathy and spontaneous racial categorization of faces. We found that a frontal-central positive activity within 200ms after face onset (P2) showed greater amplitudes to painful (vs. neutral) expressions of Asian compared with White faces and exhibited repetition suppression in response to White faces. These effects, however, were significantly reduced by creative mindset priming. Moreover, the creative mindset priming enhanced the P2 amplitudes to others' pain to a larger degree in participants who created more novel objects. The priming effects were not observed in control participants who copied objects constructed by others. Our findings suggest that creative mindsets may reduce racial ingroup biases in empathic neural responses by undermining spontaneous racial categorization of faces.

10 clinical tips for advancing patient safety when using syringe pump systems for microinfusion intravenous drug therapy.

10 clinical tips for advancing patient safety when using syringe pump systems for microinfusion intravenous drug therapy.

Does Going Green Feel Good in Russia: Implicit Measurements With Visual Stimuli

Research has shown that in developed environmental cultures, people typically have positive attitudes towards sustainability and pro-environmental behaviour. This has been measured both explicitly, through surveys and interviews, and implicitly, through indirect measures. However, this phenomenon has not yet been extensively studied in emerging environmental cultures, such as Russia. In this study, we adapted two indirect measures, the Affect misattribution procedure and the Affective priming procedure, to examine whether people in Russia have a positive pro-environmental attitude and whether there is a relationship between this implicitly measured attitude and an explicit environmental concern. To ensure reproducibility, we preregistered and conducted two similar studies. The total sample size of the two studies is 394. Our results showed that both measures converge and successfully detect the existence of a positive implicit attitude towards sustainability and pro-environmental behaviour, but there does not appear to be a relationship with environmental concern.

Resin composite cements: Current status and a novel classification proposal.

Currently, a classification of resin cements that includes relatively recently formulated ("universal") cements is lacking. Furthermore, the terminology used to define different resin cements in the scientific reports is inconsistent. Accordingly, this work aims to: (i) propose a novel classification of resin composite cements; (ii) disambiguate the term "universal cements" and (iii) present an overview of the properties of these cements. An analysis of peer-reviewed literature (PubMed search), as well as market research on definitive resin composite cements were performed. A tendency toward simplified and versatile luting materials was observed both in the scientific literature and on the dental market with the advent of self-adhesive/one-step resin cements. However, additional priming procedures were necessary to improve their bonding performance in certain clinical situations. Hence, several cements that can be applied both in adhesive and self-adhesive mode were introduced. These cements are associated with a universal adhesive resin, that can be used as a tooth and/or restorative material primer, without the need for other priming systems, regardless of the substrate. These systems should be considered truly universal. Therefore, we hereby suggested a new classification of resin-based cements: (1) adhesive/multi-step; (2) self-adhesive/one-step; (3) universal cements (one- or multi-step). Despite promising in vitro results, clinical trials and long-track laboratory studies are necessary to confirm the reliability of the universal cements. This review presented the current advances in the field of resin-based cements, which are reflected in the proposed classification. The term "universal cement" was disambiguated, which will help standardize the terminology used in published research. The classification of resin-based cements and a better understanding of the proper terminology will help standardize the terminology in published research, as well as improve the understanding of the clinical practitioners of the different indications and possible modalities of use of the available cements.