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Researchers have become increasingly aware that data-analysis decisions affect results. Here, we examine this issue systematically for multinomial processing tree (MPT) models, a popular class of cognitive models for categorical data. Specifically, we examine the robustness of MPT model parameter estimates that arise from two important decisions: the level of data aggregation (complete-pooling, no-pooling, or partial-pooling) and the statistical framework (frequentist or Bayesian). These decisions span a multiverse of estimation methods. We synthesized the data from 13,956 participants (164 published data sets) with a meta-analytic strategy and analyzed the magnitude of divergence between estimation methods for the parameters of nine popular MPT models in psychology (e.g., process-dissociation, source monitoring). We further examined moderators as potential sources of divergence. We found that the absolute divergence between estimation methods was small on average (

Humans live under constant threat from pathogenic microorganisms and minimizing such threat has been a major evolutionary selective force in shaping human behavior and health. A particular adaptive mechanism against the harm caused by parasites and their infectiousness is disgust sensitivity, which has evolved to detect and avoid poisonous foods as well as bodily secretions harboring virulent microorganisms. This ubiquitous and reflexive behavior requires the integration of several internal and external sensory signals between the brain, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and the gastrointestinal tract. Although the emotional expression of disgust is experienced by almost all individuals, the neural mechanisms of sensory signals underlying disgust sensitivity may differ in certain psychiatric conditions. Psychopathy, for instance, is a personality disorder in which disgust sensitivity to contagious bodily secretions is apparently absent or downregulated from its atypical personality temperament. In this review, we provide convergent behavioral, anatomical, and cellular evidence to suggest that a fractured experience of disgust sensitivity might be an additional feature of psychopathic behavior. First, we discuss the neural networks of certain brain regions mediating the emotional states of disgust and then discuss the intersection of the ANS and gastrointestinal tract in the processing of disgust and its relevance to aberrant antisocial behavior. Together, this work highlights the interconnections between the brain and the bilateral body plan as an integrated cell network that is relevant for understanding common principles underlying function and dysfunction of disgust levels in psychiatric domains.

The recurrence of specific deteriorating phenomena in blue paints used by Edvard Munch, observed more frequently from artworks from 1907 and onwards, calls for an analytical investigation of these paints. Ten commercial Ultramarine blue oil paint tubes from Munch’s studio materials were studied, employing a multi-analytical approach comprising ATR-FTIR, µ-Raman, GC-MS, and SEM-EDS techniques. This study aims to ascertain the composition of these industrially produced blue oil paints and shed more light on the potential implications for darkening and other deterioration phenomena observed in Munch’s artworks. The analyzed samples exhibited complex mixtures, characterized by significant presences of additives such as non-drying or partially drying oils, metal soaps, and preservatives. Moreover, extenders including clay minerals and white and other blue pigments were identified. Some compositions diverged from those indicated on the labels of the tubes. This study presents hypotheses regarding the causes of deterioration mechanisms observed in Ultramarine blue paints and outlines future perspectives and implications of darkening and other surface degradation phenomena in paintings from MUNCH’s collection towards best conservation and display practices.

Item memory and source memory are different aspects of episodic remembering. To investigate metamemory differences between them, the authors assessed systematic differences between predictions of item memory via Judgments of Learning (JOLs) and source memory via Judgments of Source (JOSs). Schema-based expectations affect JOLs and JOSs differently: Judgments are higher for expected source-item pairs (e.g., "nightstand in the bedroom") than unexpected pairs (e.g., "bed in the bathroom"), but this expectancy effect is stronger on JOSs than JOLs (Schaper et al., 2019b). The current study tested theoretical underpinnings of this difference. Due to semantic priming, JOLs should be influenced by the consistency between an item and "any of the schemas" activated at study. JOSs, however, should be influenced by the (in)consistency between an item and its "actual source." In three experiments, source-item pairs varied in strength of consistency and inconsistency. Participants provided item-wise JOLs and JOSs. Regardless of an items' actual source, JOLs were higher the more consistent an item was with any of the source schemas, but only if that schema was activated by occurring as a source at study. JOLs were also biased by the actual source: JOLs were lower the more inconsistent an item was with its actual source. By contrast, JOSs were primarily influenced by an item's (in)consistency with its actual source (positively for consistency, negatively for inconsistency). Thus, participants metacognitively differentiated item memory and source memory.

Sammendrag Arborære metamorfoser inngår i mytiske tekster fra hele verden. I moderne tid har motivet særlig vært utforsket i barnelitteratur, med Carlo Collodis La avventura di Pinocchio. Storia di un burattino (1883) som et av de mest innflytelsesrike eksemplene. Mens Pinocchio-narrativet i stor grad er blitt tolket som utvikling fra en rå naturtilstand til en modnere kulturell eksistens, synes forvandling fra menneske til tre å være langt mer ambivalent. Det unge forskningsfeltet kritiske plantestudier gir anledning til å utforske motivets aksentuering av forholdet mellom menneske og tre på nye måter. Artikkelen undersøker tre skandinaviske bildebøker for barn gjennom en slik planteorientert tilnærming. Metamorfosen står sentralt i Hans Sande og Olav Hagens Plommetreet (1984), Anna Jacobina Jacobsens Baglænsk (2019) og Lisen Adbåges Furan (2021). Ved å undersøke hvordan forvandlingen skildres i de tre bildebøkene, søker bidraget å belyse den arborære metamorfosens økokritiske potensial.

In the last decade, silicon-based quantum dots (SiQDs) have attracted the attention of researchers due to their unique properties for which they are used in medical applications and in vivo imaging. Detection of cytotoxic effects in vivo is essential for understanding the mechanisms of toxicity, a mandatory step before their administration to human subjects. In this context, we aimed to evaluate the in vivo hepatic and renal acute toxicity of SiQDs obtained by laser ablation. The nanoparticles were administrated at different doses (0, 1, 10, and 100 mg of QDs/kg of body weight) by intravenous injection into the caudal vein of Swiss mice. After 1, 6, 24, and 72 h, the animals were euthanatized, and liver and kidney tissues were used in further toxicity tests. The time- and dose-dependent effects of SiQDs on the antioxidant defense system of mice liver and kidney were investigated by quantifying the activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione S-transferase) in correlation with the morphological changes and inflammatory status in the liver and kidneys. The results showed a decrease in the activities of antioxidant enzymes and histopathological changes, except for superoxide dismutase, in which no significant changes were registered compared with the control. Furthermore, the immunohistochemical expression of TNF-α was significant at doses over 10 mg of QDs/kg of body weight and were still evident at 72 h after administration. Our results showed that doses under 10 mg of SiQDs/kg of b.w. did not induce hepatic and renal toxicity, providing useful information for further clinical trials.

”You only need to look around and see”: Representation of Plants in Swedish and Norwegian Picturebooks from the Early 20th Century Plants are not only vital to all other life on earth; as parts of settings and narrative frames as well as actors, they also form a frequent literary motif, not least in children’s literature. This article explores how plants are represented in Swedish and Norwegian picturebooks published between 1900 and 1930. Inspired by the emerging field of critical plant studies, it presents a plant-oriented quantitative analysis of 102 books. By examining what plant species and types the corpus contains, and how these botanical motifs are portrayed, the article seeks to nuance tendencies identified in historical accounts of the period. While affirming that both the forest and cultural landscapes are central picturebook topoi in the early 20th century, the survey reveals a remarkably diverse flora. The plant-oriented examination shows that representations of both wild and cultivated plants hold ecocritical potential.

Review/Recension

Few studies have compared interference-based forgetting between item versus associative memory. The memory-system dependent forgetting hypothesis (Hardt, Nader, & Nadel, 2013) predicts that effects of interference on associative memory should be minimal because its hippocampal representation allows pattern separation even of highly similar information. In contrast, there should be strong interference effects on extra-hippocampally represented item memory. We tested this prediction in behavioral data from 3 experiments using continuous recognition paradigms. Given older adults' greater deficits in associative than item memory, we also compared younger and older adults to test whether this associative deficit extends to greater interference susceptibility in older adults' associative memory. Experiment 1 examined item-item associative memory with participants studying unrelated word pairs continuously intermixed with item (single words) and associative (intact vs. recombined pairs) recognition tests across interference-filled lags. Experiments 2 and 3 examined item-context (i.e., source) associative memory with participants studying words in different spatial positions continuously intermixed with source-monitoring tests (presented on top vs. on bottom vs. new?) across interference-filled lags (Experiment 3 controlling for delay/decay-based effects). In all experiments, item memory declined from the first lag on. In contrast, associative memory initially remained stable, with strong evidence for null effects of interference even in older adults, but showed some declines at later lags. The data supports Hardt et al.'s proposal of differential interference-based forgetting in item versus associative memory. The results further show that the age-related associative memory deficit does not extend to greater interference-based forgetting in older adults' associative memory.

Context in which events are embedded is often hypothesized to serve as an independent cue for retrieval. This means that any effects of context need to obey two basic principles of cue-dependent memory: Memory retrieval should be augmented when, first, encoding context is reinstated and, second, this context uniquely specifies individual items stored in memory. Both of these regularities are well supported for recall tests, but they remain contentious in recognition tests. Here, in three experiments, we assess whether unique and nonunique contexts affect memory processes when reinstated during recognition. However, rather than focusing on measures of recognition performance, we looked at confidence judgments collected during recognition that should be particularly sensitive to recollective effects resulting from context cuing. Experiments 1 and 2, using old/new and forced-choice recognition tests, respectively, documented positive effects of context reinstatement on confidence in correct recognition identifications, but only for contexts uniquely associated with individual items. These effects emerged even when there were no reliable context effects in recognition performance measures. Experiment 3 showed the same effect of context reinstatement, moderated by context load, when spontaneous recognition of a previous study episode occurred during restudy. These results demonstrate the role of context as an independent retrieval cue both in deliberate and spontaneous recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Source monitoring involves attributing information to one of several sources. Schemas are known to influence source-monitoring processes, with enhanced memory for schematically unexpected sources (inconsistency effect) and biased schema-consistent source guessing. The authors investigated whether this guessing bias reflects a compensatory guessing strategy based on metacognitive awareness of the inconsistency effect, or reflects other strategies as proposed by the probability-matching account. To determine people's awareness of the inconsistency effect, the authors investigated metamemory predictions in a source-monitoring task. In four experiments, participants studied object word items that were presented with one of two scene labels as sources. Items were either presented with their schematically expected source (e.g., kitchen-- oven) or with their schematically unexpected source (e.g., kitchen-- toothpaste). In Experiments 1 and 2, participants predicted their item memory and their source memory after each source--item presentation. In Experiment 1, people incorrectly predicted both their item memory and, even more so, their source memory to be better for expected than for unexpected source--item pairs. In Experiment 2, this effect replicated with different types of judgment probes. Crucially, item-wise memory predictions did not predict source guessing. In Experiment 3, metacognitive awareness of the inconsistency effect on source memory changed during the test phase. However, metamemory convictions never predicted source guessing. In Experiment 4, the authors manipulated participants' convictions concerning the impact of schematic expectations on source memory. These convictions also did not predict source guessing. Thus, the results show that schema-consistent source guessing does not reflect a compensatory strategy.

The recurrence of specific deteriorating phenomena in blue paints used by Edvard Munch, observed more frequently from artworks from 1907 and onwards, calls for an analytical investigation of these paints. Ten commercial Ultramarine blue oil paint tubes from Munch's studio materials were studied, employing a multi-analytical approach comprising ATR-FTIR, µ-Raman, GC-MS, and SEM-EDS techniques. This study aims to ascertain the composition of these industrially produced blue oil paints and shed more light on the potential implications for darkening and other deterioration phenomena observed in Munch's artworks. The analyzed samples exhibited complex mixtures, characterized by significant presences of additives such as non-drying or partially drying oils, metal soaps, and preservatives. Moreover, extenders including clay minerals and white and other blue pigments were identified. Some compositions diverged from those indicated on the labels of the tubes. This study presents hypotheses regarding the causes of deterioration mechanisms observed in Ultramarine blue paints and outlines future perspectives and implications of darkening and other surface degradation phenomena in paintings from MUNCH's collection towards best conservation and display practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant kingdom is vital to all other life on earth and is a fundamental part of children's culture. Yet, we have little knowledge about how plants are currently represented in picturebooks aimed at children. In this article, I conduct a quantitative analysis of plant motifs in picturebooks published in Sweden and Norway in 2020. Inspired by concepts drawn from ecocritical children's literature research and critical plant studies, the article investigates which plant species and types the books contain and how they are presented through text and pictures. Although the study finds that plants are prevalent motifs in contemporary Swedish and Norwegian picturebooks, it also shows that vegetal entities are often backgrounded and depicted as generic plant types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Prospective memory, the ability to remember to execute an intended action at the appropriate moment in the future, is frequently assessed with standardized questionnaires. Prospective-memory abilities strongly depend on the different strategies people use to remember their intentions. In this study, we introduce the short version of the Metacognitive Prospective Memory Inventory (MPMI-s) that allows for a quick assessment of individual differences in self-reported prospective-memory abilities as well as in the use of mnemonic strategies (e.g., intention rehearsal) and external memory aids (e.g., calendars). Based on data from two waves of the GESIS longitudinal panel, we provide evidence that this novel questionnaire offers reliable and valid measures of prospective-memory abilities as well as of internal and external strategy use. As the panel sample is representative of the German population, we are further able to provide reference data that allow evaluating individual PM ability and strategy-use scores obtained with the MPMI-s.

Rare diseases are a special category of pathology recognized as such relatively recently, starting about 30 years ago in the USA and around the year 2000 in Europe. Rare diseases are clinically and therapeutically heterogeneous, being characterized by a number of common aspects that have a negative impact on patients’ evolution and quality of life, such as: delayed diagnosis, limited scientific knowledge about some of them, lack of treatment or limited availability of treatment. At the same time, information campaigns on rare diseases are limited, and the number of association of patients that promote their interests and rights is also reduced. The quality of physician- patient relationship is particularly important in the management of rare diseases, non-medical aspects, especially the ethical and moral aspects, being often more relevant to patients than the medical aspects. The ethical framework for the analysis of rare diseases encompasses a number of particular aspects, generated on the one hand by the need to properly approach patients suffering from rare diseases in the context of rising expectations for the medical system, and on the other hand, the pro-profit behavior of the pharma companies. This paper analyzes the particular ethical issues identified in the clinical approach on rare diseases, with a focus on the particularities of the physician-patient relationship in this context.

Although some cognitive decline with healthy aging appears inevitable, previous research on strategy instruction and training has repeatedly demonstrated that older adults can substantially improve their cognitive performance through effective strategies. At the same time, age-related changes in strategy repertoire, distribution, execution, and selection have also been documented and, in part, been shown to contribute to the observed age-related deficits in cognitive performance. Authored by researchers from France, Germany, Italy, and the U.S., the nine articles of this Topical Issue on Strategy Contributions to Cognitive Aging provide novel insights on age-related differences (and similarities) in strategies across a variety of cognitive domains (episodic [item, source, event] memory, metamemory, decision making, and numeracy), ranging from new insights on traditional memory-encoding strategies such as self-generation to the discovery of novel strategies involved in event memory, metamemory, and numerosity comparison. Further, a review of event segmentation training and two novel training studies demonstrate much potential for the improvement of older adults’ cognitive performance, transferring beyond the trained task—but also identify for whom cognitive strategy training may be less beneficial, necessitating a more intensive or different training approach. All in all, this Topical Issue provides a comprehensive picture of age-related changes in cognitive strategies and means to improve older adults’ strategic approach to cognitive tasks.

BackgroundLife expectancy is increasing in most high-income countries, but gains in life years are maximized if spent in good health and if cognitive abilities are maintained until old age. Age-related decline of cognitive abilities does nevertheless occur, but the pace of decline is decisive. This was the starting point for our study that aims to examine cohort effects of cognitive aging in women and men in Germany, Spain and Sweden by analyzing changes from 2004 to 2013 by estimating cohort effects within age groups starting from the age of 50 years.MethodsA cohort study was conducted that was based on data of the surveys 2004 (N = 6,081) and 2013 (N = 8,650) from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The analyses were based on data of female and male respondents aged 50 years and older. Age-specific means of verbal fluency and delayed recall from the German, Spanish and Swedish samples were the cognitive domains considered in the study.ResultsIn both domains of cognitive ability the achievements in the later surveys were higher than in the earlier ones. This was found in all countries, abut achievement levels increased markedly in the German and the Spanish samples, while the scores of the Swedish samples were not significantly different. While the highest scores were found for Sweden, Germany ranked in the middle and the lowest scores were found in the Spanish samples. Over time, the scores of the German samples approached those of Sweden.ConclusionsFrom the first to the second survey, improvements of older adults' cognitive abilities were found for all countries considered. This may indicate improvements of the underlying educational systems, but also increasingly stimulating general living conditions.

Experience-based cues, such as perceptual fluency, have long been thought to influence metacognitive judgments (Kelley & Jacoby, 1996; Koriat, 1997). Studies found that manipulations of perceptual fluency via changes in font and volume alter Judgments of Learning (JOLs) without influencing memory performance (Rhodes & Castel, 2008, 2009). Nonetheless, recent research (Mueller, Tauber, & Dunlosky, 2013; Mueller, Dunlosky, Tauber, & Rhodes, 2014, 2016) has challenged the notion that experience-based cues such as fluency are the primary basis for item-level JOLs, arguing instead that preexisting beliefs about these manipulations are responsible for these effects. For the first time, we compared global metacognitive judgments to item-level JOLs made during study to independently assess the contribution of beliefs and experience to volume-effects on JOLs. In 3 experiments, we found evidence for strong beliefs about volume-effects on memory, both before and after a study-test phase. However, these beliefs either did not account for the volume effect on JOLs (Experiment 3) or only partially accounted for the volume effect on JOLs (Experiments 1 and 2). Further, in Experiments 2 and 3 global performance estimates (before and after study) did not differ with respect to the volume dose whereas item-level JOLs generally varied with dose strength. Taken together, our findings suggest that both beliefs and experience-based cues contribute independently to the effects of volume on item-level JOLs, but that beliefs alone cannot fully account for the effects of volume on item-level JOLs.

Illicit drugs use is a real public health issue, especially among young people. The totality of the drugs harmful effects on the body is difficult to quantify, especially because of poor epidemiological data and ethical concerns about the inclusion of consumers in clinical trials. However, health professionals need to be alert to identify, report and fight drug-related pathology. This article aims to draw attention to the lung pathology induced by the consumption of some of the most commonly used illicit drugs: cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

Intentional forgetting of previously learned information is an adaptive cognitive capability of humans but its cognitive underpinnings are not yet well understood. It has been argued that it strongly depends on the presentation method whether forgetting instructions alter storage or retrieval stages (Basden, Basden, & Gargano, 1993). In Experiment 1, we compared the processes underlying the directed-forgetting effect in 2 most widely used presentation methods, namely the list-method and the item-method, and also differentiated between costs (i.e., poorer memory for to-be-forgotten information) and benefits (i.e., better memory for to-be-remembered information) of directed forgetting within both methods. Using a multinomial modeling approach (Riefer & Rouder, 1992; Rouder & Batchelder, 1998), our results showed that directed-forgetting benefits were due to better storage of to-be-remembered information in both methods. In line with current theorizing, list-method directed-forgetting costs occurred due to reduced retrieval of to-be-forgotten information. Item-method costs, however, occurred not only due to reduced storage, which is the dominant current view, but also due to reduced retrieval. In Experiment 2, we replicated the novel finding that retrieval processes contribute to item-method directed forgetting independent of recall-output order. Implications of these findings for current directed-forgetting theories are discussed.

Palliative care asserts the importance of life, considering that the human beings have the right to be cared and respected until the last moment of their lives. In oncologic patients, physical symptoms in general, and pain, in particular, are enhanced by psychological, social, cultural and spiritual issues. Along with progression of the disease, symptoms may become overwhelming and refractory to usual therapeutic approaches, despite the efforts, sometimes even aggressive, to identify a tolerable therapy which does not compromise the consciousness and relieves pain. One of the solutions may be palliative sedation, which means the voluntary administration of the opioids and non-opioids drugs in adequate doses and concentrations in order to lower the consciousness as much as necessary to ameliorate one or more symptoms which are refractory to other therapies. Palliative sedation, since the proposition of its practice in the healthcare of the terminal patient, with unbearable pain, generated numerous dilemmas and debates which are still ongoing. In this paper the authors approach the issue of the palliative sedation both from medical and ethical perspectives, highlighting the importance of placing the patient in the center of the decision-making process regarding the medical treatment and its guidance according to the risks and benefits for the patient.

Neonaticide represents a particular issue both to society and forensic field, being admitted nowadays as a crime all over the world. Apart from common gross and microscopic examination of the newborn cadaver, thorough examination of the umbilical cord during autopsy proved many times its major utility in solving neonaticide cases. Although by its constituents, the umbilical cord is a quite resistant structure to bending and compression, mechanical properties vary along its surface, with gestational age or various pregnancy disorders, as well as genetic anomalies of the fetus, so that a rupture may occur. The authors present the case of a newborn found dead in a sink – about whom mother states that he accidentally fell in the feces, the moment of the birth being a surprise – and discuss on the circumstances when the umbilical cord may rupture. This issue is most important when is a need to differentiate between a true accident and an intentional newborn homicide by the mother set forth as an accident.

Multinomial processing tree (MPT) models allow testing hypotheses on latent psychological processes that underlie human behavior. However, past applications of this model class have mainly been restricted to the analysis of main effects. In this paper, we adopt the interaction concept as defined in log-linear models and show why it is appropriate for MPT models. We then explain how to implement and test ordinal and disordinal two-way interaction hypotheses in MPT models. We also show how our method generalizes to higher-order interactions involving three or more factors. An empirical example from source memory and aging demonstrates the applicability of this method and allows for directly testing the associative deficit theory that age differences are larger in associative (e.g., source) memory as opposed to item memory. Throughout the paper, we explain how most analytic steps can be easily implemented in the freely available software multiTree.

This report is the first research study that aims to explore the molecular mechanisms involved in the in vitro pulmonary cytotoxicity triggered by long-term exposure to silicon-based quantum dots (QDs). Human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5 cell line) were exposed to 5 µg/mL silicon-based QDs for 5 weeks and the concentration was increased up to 40 µg/mL QDs during the next 4 weeks. Cell viability and population doubling level were calculated based on Trypan blue staining. The expression levels of proteins were established by Western blotting and the telomeres’ length was determined through Southern blotting. Prolonged exposure of lung fibroblasts to QDs reduced the cell viability by 10% compared to untreated cells. The level of p53 and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) expression increased during the exposure, the peak intensity being registered after the seventh week. The expressions of autophagy-related proteins, Beclin-1 and LC-3, were higher compared to untreated cells. Regarding the protein expression of Nrf-2, a progressive decrease was noticed, suggesting the downregulation of a cytoprotective response to oxidative stress. In contrast, the heat shock proteins’ (HSPs) expression was increased or maintained near the control level during QDs exposure in order to promote cell survival. Furthermore, the telomeres’ length was not reduced during this exposure, indicating that QDs did not induce cellular senescence. In conclusion, our study shows that silicon-based QDs triggered the activation of apoptotic and autophagy pathways and downregulation of survival signaling molecules as an adaptive response to cellular stress which was not associated with telomeres shortening.