Mind wandering away from pain dynamically engages antinociceptive and default mode brain networks

Human minds often wander away from their immediate sensory environment. It remains unknown whether such mind wandering is unsystematic or whether it lawfully relates to an individual’s tendency to attend to salient stimuli such as pain and their associated brain structure/function. Studies of pain–cognition interactions typically examine explicit manipulation of attention rather than spontaneous mind wandering. Here we sought to better represent natural fluctuations in pain in daily life, so we assessed behavioral and neural aspects of spontaneous disengagement of attention from pain. We found that an individual’s tendency to attend to pain related to the disruptive effect of pain on his or her cognitive task performance. Next, we linked behavioral findings to neural networks with strikingly convergent evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging during pain coupled with thought probes of mind wandering, dynamic resting state activity fluctuations, and diffusion MRI. We found that (i) pain-induced default mode network (DMN) deactivations were attenuated during mind wandering away from pain; (ii) functional connectivity fluctuations between the DMN and periaqueductal gray (PAG) dynamically tracked spontaneous attention away from pain; and (iii) across individuals, stronger PAG–DMN structural connectivity and more dynamic resting state PAG–DMN functional connectivity were associated with the tendency to mind wander away from pain. These data demonstrate that individual tendencies to mind wander away from pain, in the absence of explicit manipulation, are subserved by functional and structural connectivity within and between default mode and antinociceptive descending modulation networks.

Examining second language development using event-related potentials: a cross-sectional study on the processing of gender and number agreement

This cross-sectional study examines the role of L1-L2 differences and structural distance in the processing of gender and number agreement by English-speaking learners of Spanish at three different levels of proficiency. Preliminary results show that differences between the L1 and L2 impact L2 development, as sensitivity to gender agreement violations, as opposed to number agreement violations, emerges only in learners at advanced levels of proficiency. Results also show that the establishment of agreement dependencies is impacted by the structural distance between the agreeing elements for native speakers and for learners at intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency but not for low proficiency. The overall pattern of results suggests that the linguistic factors examined here impact development but do not constrain ultimate attainment; for advanced learners, results suggest that second language processing is qualitatively similar to native processing.

The influence of plant species number on productivity, ground coverage and floral performance in grass-free lawns

The grass-free lawn is a novel development in modern ornamental horticulture where the traditional monoculture of grass is replaced by a variety of mowing-tolerant clonal forbs. It brings floral aesthetics and a diverse species approach to the use of lawn space. How the number of constituent forb species affects the aesthetic and structural performance of grass-free lawns was investigated using grass-free lawns composed of four, six and twelve British native clonal perennial forb species. Lawn productivity was seen to increase with increasing species number but the relationship was not linear. Plant cover was dynamic in all lawn types, varied between years and was not representative of individual species' floral performance. The behaviour of component species common to all lawns suggested that lawns with 12 species show greater structural stability than the lawns with a lower species number. Visual performance in lawns with the greatest species number was lower than in lawns with fewer species, with increasing variety in floral size and individual species floral productivity leading to a trade-off between diversity and floral performance. Individual species were seen to have different aesthetic functions in grass-free lawns either by providing flowers, ground coverage or both.

Anthropogenic nutrient sources and loads from a Mediterranean catchment into a coastal lagoon: Mar Menor, Spain

The Mar Menor is a coastal lagoon increasingly threatened by urban and agricultural pressures. The main watercourse draining into the lagoon is the Rambla del Albujón. A fortnightly campaign carried out over one annual cycle enabled us to characterize the treated urban sewage effluents and agricultural sources which contribute to the nutrient fluxes in the watercourse. Multivariate analysis provided information for establishing chemical signatures and for assessing the relative influence of the various sources on the water quality at the outlet. Mass balances were used to examine net gains and losses, and cross-correlations with rainfall to analyze climatic influence and control factors in the trends of the nutrient flux. The rainfall pattern was significantly cross-correlated with nitrate and phosphorus fluxes from agricultural sources, while fluctuations in the resident population explained the phosphorus flux trend in urban sources. 50% of dissolved inorganic nitrogen was from agricultural sources, while 70% of total phosphate and 91% of total organic carbon were from urban point sources. The net amounts of all the nutrients fell as a result of plant uptake and/or denitrification in the channel. The control of urban point sources (phosphorus-enriched) is suggested as a promptly action for improving the health of the coastal lagoon.

Effect of high pressure homogenisation and heat treatment on physical properties and stability of almond and hazelnut milks

The effect of high pressure homogenisation (HPH) and heat treatments on physicochemical properties and physical stability of almond and hazelnut milks was studied. Vegetable milks were obtained and homogenised by applying 62, 103 and 172 MPa (MF1, MF2 and MF3, respectively). Untreated and MF3 samples were also submitted to two different heat treatments (85 °C/30 min (LH) or 121 °C/15 min (HH)). Physical and structural properties of the products were greatly affected by heat treatments and HPH. In almond milk, homogenised samples showed a significant reduction in particle size, which turned from bimodal and polydisperse to monodisperse distributions. Particle surface charge, clarity and Whiteness Index were increased and physical stability of samples was improved, without affecting either viscosity or protein stability. Hazelnut beverages showed similar trends, but HPH notably increased their viscosity while change their rheological behaviour, which suggested changes in protein conformation. HH treatments caused an increment of particle size due to the formation oil droplet-protein body clusters, associated with protein denaturation. Samples submitted to the combined treatment MF3 and LH showed the greatest stability.

Synthesis and characterisation of the anion-ordered tellurides MGeTe (M = Co, Rh)

The synthesis and structural characterisation, carried out using a combination of single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, of the materials MGeTe (M = Co, Rh) are described. These phases adopt an ordered α-NiAs2 structure, which can be considered intermediate between those of pyrite and marcasite. Electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient measurements, carried out over the temperature range 77 ≤ T/K ≤ 325, indicate that these materials are n-type semiconductors.

Understanding the link between single cell and population scale responses of Escherichia coli in differing ligand gradients

We formulate an agent-based population model of Escherichia coli cells which incorporates a description of the chemotaxis signalling cascade at the single cell scale. The model is used to gain insight into the link between the signalling cascade dynamics and the overall population response to differing chemoattractant gradients. Firstly, we consider how the observed variation in total (phosphorylated and unphosphorylated) signalling protein concentration affects the ability of cells to accumulate in differing chemoattractant gradients. Results reveal that a variation in total cell protein concentration between cells may be a mechanism for the survival of cell colonies across a wide range of differing environments. We then study the response of cells in the presence of two different chemoattractants.In doing so we demonstrate that the population scale response depends not on the absolute concentration of each chemoattractant but on the sensitivity of the chemoreceptors to their respective concentrations. Our results show the clear link between single cell features and the overall environment in which cells reside.

Water, women, waste, wisdom and wealth: harvesting the confluences and opportunities

This special volume offers a collection of papers that examine challenges and solutions where water meets complex, intersections with women, waste, wisdom or wealth. This unique array of articles offer readers of the Journal of Cleaner Production multidisciplinary views of water issues involving physical and structural perspectives, as well as political, social, cultural and increasingly serious environmental challenges. By building upon extensive literature reviews along with data collected through empirical study and real world observations, the authors effectively present valuable insights into the depth and nature of many of the problems but also present a well-developed array of recommendations, based upon successful projects and programs, world-wide. Among the recommendations are proposals for policies, approaches and regulations that provide system enhancements to prevent pollution and contamination and ideas to monitor and regulate water consumption. This international collection includes studies from 15 countries, documented and written by an equal number of female and male authors.