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Effects of the Soothe Vision well-being tool on university students’ mood: a pilot study
Get PDFThe “Soothe Vision” well-being tool was designed through co-production with young people, combining soothing images from Project Soothe and literary quotes and music to produce a set of soothing videos. The present research was a pilot study evaluating its effects on mood states in university students. Specifically, it examined if the Soothe Vision tool (intervention group) was more effective than viewing the soothing images from Project Soothe alone (control group) in producing positive mood changes.
Methods: This study was conducted online with 151 Chinese university students (age M = 22.77; SD = 0.23) both in and outside China. Standardised measures were used to assess the symptoms of depression, anxiety, personality traits and loneliness at the baseline phase. Changes in mood states were measured before and after the intervention.
Results: Repeated measure ANOVAs indicated that both groups showed reduced negative mood states (i.e., negative affect, depressive and anxious mood) and an increased serenity affect; however, there were no group differences. Correlation analyses suggested that higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms at baseline were associated with a greater reduction in depressive and anxious mood. Participants with a higher neuroticism score reported larger reductions in anxious mood states.
Conclusion: These preliminary findings suggest that imagery-based tools/interventions can be beneficial in increasing positive mood and reducing negative mood in students, particularly in those with higher levels of baseline depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as those with higher vulnerability by virtue of neuroticism
Feed additives for methane mitigation: recommendations for testing enteric methane-mitigating feed additives in ruminant studies
Get PDFThere is a need for rigorous and scientifically-based testing standards for existing and new enteric methane mitigation technologies, including antimethanogenic feed additives (AMFA). The current review provides guidelines for conducting and analyzing data from experiments with ruminants intended to test the antimethanogenic and production effects of feed additives. Recommendations include study design and statistical analysis of the data, dietary effects, associative effect of AMFA with other mitigation strategies, appropriate methods for measuring methane emissions, production and physiological responses to AMFA, and their effects on animal health and product quality. Animal experiments should be planned based on clear hypotheses, and experimental designs must be chosen to best answer the scientific questions asked, with pre-experimental power analysis and robust post-experimental statistical analyses being important requisites. Long-term studies for evaluating AMFA are currently lacking and are highly needed. Experimental conditions should be representative of the production system of interest, so results and conclusions are applicable and practical. Methane-mitigating effects of AMFA may be combined with other mitigation strategies to explore additivity and synergism, as well as trade-offs, including relevant manure emissions, and these need to be studied in appropriately designed experiments. Methane emissions can be successfully measured, and efficacy of AMFA determined, using respiration chambers, the sulfur hexafluoride method, and the GreenFeed system. Other techniques, such as hood and face masks, can also be used in short-term studies, ensuring they do not significantly affect feed intake, feeding behavior, and animal production. For the success of an AMFA, it is critically important that representative animal production data are collected, analyzed, and reported. In addition, evaluating the effects of AMFA on nutrient digestibility, animal physiology, animal health and reproduction, product quality, and how AMFA interact with nutrient composition of the diet is necessary and should be conducted at various stages of the evaluation process. The authors emphasize that enteric methane mitigation claims should not be made until the efficacy of AMFA is confirmed in animal studies designed and conducted considering the guidelines provided herein
The spirit of the times: historical conditions and market-seeking FDI strategies by U.S. alcohol firms
Get PDFMarket-seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) remains central for firms to expand their global presence and seize opportunities abroad. However, existing research often focuses on immediate or near-term drivers related to firms’ market-seeking FDI strategies, and thus neglects the valuable insights a historical perspective can provide. To address this gap, we draw insights from imprinting theory and propose a framework theorizing the dual-layered imprinting of historical conditions stemming from both extreme historical experiences and founding conditions. Using the U.S. alcohol industry as a research context, we employ a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative techniques. Our findings reveal that firms’ experiences during extreme anti-alcohol conditions, such as Prohibition, positively correlate with regulation-driven market-seeking FDI, while firms founded in more pro-alcohol periods prioritize speed-driven market-seeking FDI. Moreover, we identify how unrelated diversification, a strategy consistent with the anti-alcohol imprint but inconsistent with the pro-alcohol imprint, affects the relationship between historical imprints and FDI strategies through imprint amplification or decay. Our qualitative analyses elucidate the role of founders’ and leaders’ strategic decision-making in reinforcing the mechanisms through which historical conditions shape FDI strategy. This longitudinal framework provides insights into imprint formation, transmission, and manifestation, accounting for contextual variations and implications for FDI strategy
Differences in appetite, food intake, and gastric emptying responses to protein intake by older adults varying in level of physical activity: a randomised controlled trial
Get PDFOlder adults are encouraged to increase their protein intake and engage in more physical activity to preserve muscle mass. However, since protein is considered the most satiating macronutrient, this advice might lead to a
decrease in overall energy consumption. Physical activity is also recommended to older adults to enhance appetite, as it has been shown to help regulate appetite in younger adults, yet there is limited evidence to support this in older populations. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of physical activity and protein on food intake, perceived appetite, and gastric emptying in older adults. Nineteen active and 19 less active older adults completed a single-blind, randomised, crossover trial involving two test days at home. Participants received a standard breakfast, followed by an isovolumetric (250 ml) and isocaloric (~300 kcal) high- or low protein preload milkshake (57% versus 17% energy as protein) matched for sensory properties. Three hours after the preload, participants were offered an ad libitum meal. Food intake was weighed, perceived appetite was measured by 100 mm visual analogue scales, and gastric emptying via the 13C-octanoic acid breath test. Higher
protein intake did not affect subsequent energy intake or appetite ratings in both active and less active groups.
Gastric emptying half time was longer following the high-protein milkshake compared to the low-protein milkshake. The active group had a lower perceived appetite, but faster gastric emptying time compared to the less active group. In conclusion, while higher protein intake slows gastric emptying, it did not reduce appetite or subsequent food intake in older adults, regardless of physical activity level. Additionally, being physically active suppresses perceived appetite and accelerates gastric emptying without affecting food intake
Impact of post-task explicit instruction on the interaction among child EFL learners in online task-based reading lessons
Get PDFL2 researchers increasingly agree that task-based teaching, combined with timely form-focused instruction, offers an ideal environment for L2 learning. However, the timing of form-focused instruction is debated, with concerns that pre-task interventions may distract learners from focusing on meaning. While some studies address this issue for adults, little is known about children. Hence, this study examined the impact of post-task explicit instruction on children’s task-based interactions in an online EFL setting. Thirty-three Korean EFL children aged 7–11 participated in seven online lessons using Zoom and Padlet. They read a storybook and completed a collaborative post-reading task. The +Explicit Instruction group (+EI) received a three-minute grammar explanation before the task, while the −Explicit Instruction group (−EI) did not. The children’s interaction was analysed for language-related episodes (LREs). Although the number of LREs was small, the −EI group generated significantly more and more elaborate LREs than the +EI group. Regardless of group, the participants attempted to address the majority of linguistic issues raised, but importantly, LREs related to the target form hardly ever occurred. Overall, the analyses of task-based interactions revealed that participants’ primary attention remained on meaning, regardless of whether or not they received explicit instruction
Efficiency of feed and energy use in primiparous and multiparous dairy cows fed contrasting dietary protein concentrations across lactation
Get PDFReducing dietary CP concentration can reduce feeding costs and N excretion in dairy production; but may negatively impact productivity and efficiency. This study investigated the impact of reduced dietary CP concentration, across early, mid and late lactation stages in primiparous and multiparous lactating cows, on productivity, feed and energy use efficiency (EUE) and CH4 emission parameters. Twenty-four Holstein-Friesian (12 primiparous, 12 multiparous) cows were allocated to three experimental total mixed rations containing 12.2, 15.1 or 18.1 % CP (LCP, MCP and HCP, respectively; DM basis), in a continuous study across lactation (day 1–305). Digestibility and gas exchanges were measured in metabolism units and indirect open-circuit respiration calorimeter chambers during early, mid and late lactation. Data were analysed using a linear mixed model, with repeated measures, with CP concentration, stage of lactation, parity and their interactions as fixed effects, and a random effect of cow fitted as the subject and stage of lactation as the repeated measure. When compared with LCP treatment, MCP and HCP had higher DM intake (DMI) (+1.9 and +3.0 kg/d), milk yield (+5.5 and +7.7 kg/d), energy corrected milk yield (ECMY) (+5.0 and +7.1 kg/d), and feed efficiency (ECMY/DMI, +0.13 and +0.15 kg/kg; milk solids/DMI, +16 and +20 g/kg; milk energy output (EL)/DMI, +0.40 and 0.46 MJ/kg). Digestible energy intake (DEI)/gross energy intake (GEI), metabolizable energy intake (MEI)/GEI, MEI/DEI and milk energy output adjusted for zero energy balance (EL(0))/MEI were higher in HCP (+0.02, +0.03, +0.02, and +0.06 MJ/MJ) than LCP; while there were no differences between LCP and MCP for DEI/GEI, or between MCP and HCP for MEI/DEI and EL(0)/MEI. Methane production per digestible DMI and ECMY were lower for MCP (-3.2 and -3.1 g/kg) and HPC (-3.8 and -3.4 g/kg), when compared with LCP. Methane energy per GEI, DEI and MEI were lower for the MCP (-0.007, -0.011 and -0.014 MJ/MJ) and HCP (-0.007, -0.014 and -0.017 MJ/MJ) than LCP. The significant interaction between CP concentration and stage of lactation on milk yield and ECMY showed that treatment differences (increased values in MCP or HCP vs. LCP diets) reduced as lactation progressed. A diet containing 15.1% CP (DM basis) may be sufficient to maintain milk production and feed efficiency while reducing CH4 yield and intensity. However, regression analysis suggests that productivity may increase further between 15-18% CP (DM basis) but the response to dietary CP may depend on stage of lactation
Legacy of warming and cover crops on the response of soil microbial function to repeated drying and rewetting cycles
Get PDFThe response of soils to extreme weather events will become increasingly important in the future as more frequent and severe floods and droughts are expected to subject soils to drying and rewetting cycles as a result of climate change. These extreme events will be experienced against a backdrop of overall warming. Farmers are adopting cover cropping as a sustainable management practice to increase soil organic matter, benefit soil health. Cover crops may also increase the resilience of soils to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. We examined the legacy of warming and cover crops on the response of soil microbial function to repeated drying and rewetting cycles. We introduced open top chambers to warm the soil surface of a field plot experiment in which cover crops (single species monocultures and 4-species polycultures) were grown over the summer after harvest and before planting of autumn sown cash crops in a cereal rotation. Soil samples were collected from warmed and ambient areas of the experimental plots in spring, before harvesting the cereal crop. Warming significantly increased, and cover crops significantly decreased, the abundance of genes encoding Fungal β-glucosidase. We quantified respiration (a measure of soil microbial function) with high-frequency CO2 flux measurements after 0, 1, 2, 4, or 8 wet/dry cycles imposed in the laboratory and the addition of barley grass powder substrate at a ratio of 10 mg g-1 soil. We observed lower cumulative substrate induced respiration in soils previously planted with cover crop mixtures than expected from the average of the same species grown in monoculture. Repeated drying and rewetting cycles increased the cumulative substrate induced respiration rate observed, suggesting that repeated perturbations selected for a community adapted to processing the barley shoot powder more quickly. When we calculated the cumulative respiration after 8 wet/dry cycles, relative to cumulative respiration after 0 wet/dry cycles (which we infer represents the extent to which microbial communities adapted to repeated drying and rewetting cycles) our data revealed that the legacy of warming significantly reduced soil microbial community adaptation, but the legacy of cover crops significantly increased, soil microbial community adaptation. This adaptation of the soil microbial community was positively correlated with the concentration of water extractable organic carbon in the soils prior to imposing the drying and rewetting cycles and/or adding the substrate. We conclude that cover crops may enhance the ability of the soil microbial community to adapt to drought events and mitigate the impact of warming, possibly due to the provision of labile organic carbon for the synthesis of osmolytes which then prime the decomposition of labile plant material upon rewetting
Ocean stratification impedes particulate transport to the plumes of Enceladus
Get PDFWater-vapour plumes erupting from Enceladus’ south pole provide a window into the properties of its subsurface ocean, a prime target in the search for life. However, the extent to which plume material represents conditions at Enceladus’ depths is unclear, because of its unknown ocean stratification, which may impede the transport of matter to the ocean top. Previous studies have found conflicting stratification regimes using differing parameter choices and model physics. Here, we build a comprehensive view of Enceladus’ ocean stratification and bottom-to-top transport timescale, across plausible ranges of salinity and tidally- and librationally-induced mixing, accounting for non-linearities in the equation of state for water, geothermal heating and ice-ocean freshwater exchanges. We use theoretical models verified with global ocean numerical simulations. We show that, under a steady state assumption for the ice shell, which requires melting at the poles, there is no parameter choice permitting an unstratified ocean from top to bottom there. As a result, potential hydrothermal products take at minimum 100s of years to reach the plumes. This suggests that either timescales of several months, inferred from Cassini observations, are incorrect, perhaps biased by alternative particulate transport mechanisms, or that Enceladus' ice shell is not in a quasi-equilibrated state
Quantifying the acceleration of multidecadal global sea surface warming driven by Earth’s energy imbalance
Get PDFGlobal mean sea surface temperature (GMSST) is a fundamental diagnostic of ongoing climate change, yet there is incomplete understanding of multi-decadal changes in warming rate and year-to-year variability. Exploiting satellite observations since 1985 and a statistical model incorporating drivers of variability and change, we identify an increasing rate of rise in GMSST. This accelerating ocean surface warming is physically linked to an upward trend in Earth’s energy imbalance (EEI). We quantify that GMSST has increased by 0.54±0.07 K for each GJ m–2 of accumulated energy, equivalent to 0.17+/-0.02 K decade–1 (W m–2)–1. Using the statistical model to isolate the trend from interannual variability, the underlying rate of change of GMSST rises in proportion with Earth’s energy accumulation from 0.06 K decade–1 during 1985-89 to 0.27 K decade–1 for 2019-23. While variability associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) triggered the exceptionally high GMSSTs of 2023 and early 2024, 44% (90% confidence interval: 35% to 52%) of the +0.22 K difference in GMSST between the peak of the 2023/24 event and that of the 2015/16 event is unexplained unless the acceleration of the GMSST trend is accounted for. Applying indicative future scenarios of EEI based on recent trends, GMSST increases are likely to be faster than would be expected from linear extrapolation of the past four decades. Our results provide observational evidence that the GMSST increase inferred over the past 40 years will likely be exceeded within the next 20 years. Policy makers and wider society should be aware that the rate of global warming over recent decades is a poor guide to the faster change that is likely over the decades to come, underscoring the urgency of deep reductions in fossil- fuel burning