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Background and Objectives: Stereo-EEG-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFTHC) has been proposed as relatively safe from a cognitive perspective; however, there is a lack of evidence based on neuropsychological assessments supporting this. This study is the first prospective evaluation of neuropsychological outcomes associated with stereo-EEG-guided RFTHC in patients with focal drug-resistant epilepsy., Methods: This cohort study involved prospective recruitment of consecutive patients undergoing stereo-EEG from 2 Australian centers. A comprehensive neuropsychological assessment was administered before implantation and 3 months after RFTHC (M = 104.51 days, SD = 29.25). Outcomes across cognitive domains were assessed at a group level with repeated measures t tests. Factorial repeated measures analyses of variance compared memory and language outcomes according to whether dominant mesial temporal lobe (mTL) structures were coagulated. Reliable change indices (RCIs) were computed to explore psychometrically reliable changes at an individual level., Results: The sample comprised 39 patients who underwent stereo-EEG (M = 37.08 ± 9.67 years, range = 17-56 years, 54% female). Nineteen (49%) had a language dominant epileptogenic zone (EZ), 16 (41%) a nondominant EZ, and 4 (10%) a bilateral EZ. All patients underwent RFTHC with a mean of 11.87 (SD = 6.82, range = 2-29) coagulation sites. Ten patients (26%) had RFTHC within the dominant mTL. At a group level, RFTHC was not associated with a significant decline on any neuropsychological measures (all comparisons p > 0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed a decline in delayed verbal recall after RFTHC of dominant mTL structures ( F (1,37) = 4.46, p = 0.04, η p 2 = 0.11, 95% CI [0-0.30]; medium to large effect), although it did not remain statistically significant after correction for false discovery rate. No statistically significant group differences were observed on visual memory or language measures post-RFTHC (all comparisons p > 0.05). RCI revealed that after RFTHC within the dominant mTL, 20% of patients experienced a decline in verbal memory and 10% in visual memory. By contrast, 7% declined in verbal memory and 10% in visual memory post-RFTHC outside the dominant mTL., Discussion: While these findings support the current view that RFTHC is cognitively benign for most cases, the results raise the question of a verbal memory decline after coagulation of the dominant mTL. Individualized neuropsychological counseling before stereo-EEG is essential to avoid unanticipated deficits.

In the present work, we addressed the relationship between parental leave policies and social norms. Using a pre-registered, cross-national approach, we examined the relationship between parental leave policies and the perception of social norms for the gender division of childcare. In this study, 19,259 students (11,924 women) from 48 countries indicated the degree to which they believe childcare is (descriptive norm) and should be (prescriptive norm) equally divided among mothers and fathers. Policies were primarily operationalized as the existence of parental leave options in the respective country. The descriptive and prescriptive norms of equal division of childcare were stronger when parental leave was available in a country - also when controlling for potential confounding variables. Moreover, analyses of time since policy change suggested that policy change may initially affect prescriptive norms and then descriptive norms at a later point. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of the data, drawing causal inferences is difficult., (© 2024 British Psychological Society.)

Variable wind speeds over the ocean can have a significant impact on the formation mechanism and physical-chemical properties of sea spray aerosols (SSA), which in turn influence their climate-relevant impacts. Herein, for the first time, we investigate the effects of wind speed on size-dependent morphology and composition of individual nascent SSA generated from wind-wave interactions of natural seawater within a wind-wave channel as a function of size and their particle-to-particle variability. Filter-based thermal optical analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM), AFM infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed in this regard. This study focuses on SSA with sizes within 0.04-1.8 μm generated at two wind speeds: 10 m/s, representing a wind lull scenario over the ocean, and 19 m/s, indicative of the wind speeds encountered in stormy conditions. Filter-based measurements revealed a reduction of the organic mass fraction as the wind speed increases. AFM imaging at 20% relative humidity of individual SSA identified six main morphologies: prism-like, rounded, core-shell, rod, rod inclusion core-shell, and aggregates. At 10 m/s, most SSA were rounded, while at 19 m/s, core-shells became predominant. Based on AFM-IR, rounded SSA at both wind speeds had similar composition, mainly composed of aliphatic and oxygenated species, whereas the shells of core-shells displayed more oxygenated organics at 19 m/s and more aliphatic organics at 10 m/s. Collectively, our observations can be attributed to the disruption of the sea surface microlayer film structure at higher wind speeds. The findings reveal a significant impact of wind speed on morphology and composition of SSA, which should be accounted for accurate assessment of their climate effects., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Objective: People's psychological tendencies are attuned to their sociocultural context and culture-specific ways of being, feeling, and thinking are believed to assist individuals in successfully navigating their environment. Supporting this idea, a stronger "fit" with one's cultural environment has often been linked to positive psychological outcomes. The current research expands the cultural, conceptual, and methodological space of cultural fit research by exploring the link between well-being and honor, a central driver of social behavior in the Mediterranean region., Method: Drawing on a multi-national sample from eight countries circum-Mediterranean (N = 2257), we examined the relationship between cultural fit in honor and well-being at the distal level (fit with one's perceived society) using response surface analysis (RSA) and at the proximal level (fit with one's university gender group) using profile analysis., Results: We found positive links between fit and well-being in both distal (for some, but not all, honor facets) and proximal fit analyses (across all honor facets). Furthermore, most fit effects in the RSA were complemented with positive level effects of the predictors, with higher average honor levels predicting higher well-being., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the interplay between individual and environmental factors in honor as well as the important role honor plays in well-being in the Mediterranean region., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Personality published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)