The influence of increasing color variety on numerosity estimation and counting.

Previous research has suggested that numerosity estimation and counting are closely related to distributed and focused attention, respectively (Chong & Evans, WIREs Cognitive Science, 2(6), 634-638, 2011). Given the critical role of color in guiding attention, this study investigated its effects on numerosity processing by manipulating both color variety (single color, medium variety, high variety) and spatial arrangement (clustered, random). Results from the estimation task revealed that high color variety led to a perceptual bias towards larger quantities, regardless of whether colors were clustered or randomly arranged.

Exenatide administration time-dependently affects the hepatic circadian clock through glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors in the central nervous system.

Accumulating evidence indicates that disruption of the circadian clock contributes to the development of lifestyle-related diseases. We have previously shown that exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, can strongly affect the molecular clocks in the peripheral tissues. This study aimed to investigate the effects of its dosing time and the central nervous system-specific GLP-1 receptor knockdown (GLP1RKD) on the hepatic clock in mice treated with exenatide.

Imeglimin profoundly affects the circadian clock in mouse embryonic fibroblasts.

Objective: Imeglimin is a novel antidiabetic drug structurally related to metformin. Metformin has been shown to modulate the circadian clock in rat fibroblasts. Accordingly, in the present study, we aimed to determine whether imeglimin can impact the circadian oscillator in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs).

Desynchronization between Food Intake and Light Stimulations Induces Uterine Clock Quiescence in Female Mice.

Background: Dysmenorrhea is associated with breakfast skipping in young women, suggesting that fasting in the early active phase disrupts uterine functions.

Objectives: To investigate the possible involvement of the uterine clock system in fasting-induced uterine dysfunction, we examined core clock gene expressions in the uterus using a 28-h interval-fed mouse model.

Methods: Young female mice (8 wk of age) were divided into 3 groups: group I (ad libitum feeding), group II (time-restricted feeding, initial 4 h of the active period every day), and group III (time-restricted feeding for 8 h with a 28-h cycle).

Differential Neural Correlates in the Prefrontal Cortex during a Delay Discounting Task in Healthy Adults: An fNIRS Study.

The phenomenon of future rewards being devalued as a function of delay is referred to as delay discounting (DD). It is considered a measure of impulsivity, and steep DD characterizes psychiatric problems such as addictive disorders and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. This preliminarily study examined prefrontal hemodynamic activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in healthy young adults performing a DD task.

The Circadian Clock, Nutritional Signals and Reproduction: A Close Relationship.

The circadian rhythm, which is necessary for reproduction, is controlled by clock genes. In the mouse uterus, the oscillation of the circadian clock gene has been observed. The transcription of the core clock gene period () and cryptochrome () is activated by the heterodimer of the transcription factor circadian locomotor output cycles kaput () and brain and muscle Arnt-like protein-1 ().

Perceiving societal pressure to be happy is linked to poor well-being, especially in happy nations.

Happiness is a valuable experience, and societies want their citizens to be happy. Although this societal commitment seems laudable, overly emphasizing positivity (versus negativity) may create an unattainable emotion norm that ironically compromises individual well-being. In this multi-national study (40 countries; 7443 participants), we investigate how societal pressure to be happy and not sad predicts emotional, cognitive and clinical indicators of well-being around the world, and examine how these relations differ as a function of countries' national happiness levels (collected from the World Happiness Report).

Effects of short-term existential group therapy for breast Cancer patients.

Objectives: Cancer patients who suffer from existential difficulties, including fear of death, isolation, or loss of human relationships, try to accept these fears by exploring the meaning of their life. In particular, early psychological intervention for patients prevents them from psychosocial maladjustment afterwards. Therefore, we have developed the Short-term Existential Group Therapy Program (Short-term EGP) for cancer patients, focusing on relief of existential or spiritual suffering and/or pain.

A case report on using biofeedback for psychological assessment.

A psychological assessment using biofeedback was performed for an adjustment disorder inpatient who showed less verbal and non-verbal expressions, and experienced difficulty in receiving favorable results from treatment. The assessment revealed hidden problems behind the symptoms. She was subsequently discharged, after which no clinical intervention was required, including medication.

Understanding the information-seeking behavior of pharmacy college faculty, staff, and students: implications for improving embedded librarian services.

Objective: Research was conducted on the embedded librarian program at The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and the Health Sciences Library to understand how this service is relevant to users and identify the potential for further improvement. This study examined users' information-seeking behaviors and considered the implications for the effectiveness of the embedded librarian service.

Methods: The authors conducted 18 semi-structured interviews of faculty, researchers, and students at the College of Pharmacy to obtain descriptive accounts of how they seek information, manage information, and use the library and library services.

Time-Restricted Feeding Regulates Circadian Rhythm of Murine Uterine Clock.

Background: Skipping breakfast is associated with dysmenorrhea in young women. This suggests that the delay of food intake in the active phase impairs uterine functions by interfering with circadian rhythms.

Objectives: To examine the relation between the delay of feeding and uterine circadian rhythms, we investigated the effects of the first meal occasion in the active phase on the uterine clock.

Impulsivity and self-control in elementary school children and adult females: Using identical task and procedural parameters.

Results of studies examining the relationship between impulsivity and age are limited because different tasks, procedural parameters, and different reinforcers have been used with different aged participants. Thus, the current study sought to rectify these differences in two experiments with children (42, ages 5-12) and adults (69 college-aged females) using the same task with identical procedural parameters. In the Self-Control Video Software Task (SCVST; Forzano and Schunk, 2008; Forzano et al.

Brown adipocyte-specific knockout of Bmal1 causes mild but significant thermogenesis impairment in mice.

Objective: Impaired circadian clocks can cause obesity, but their pathophysiological role in brown adipose tissue (BAT), a major tissue regulating energy metabolism, remains unclear. To address this issue, we investigated the effects of complete disruption of the BAT clock on thermogenesis and energy expenditure.

Methods: Mice with brown adipocyte-specific knockout of the core clock gene Bmal1 (BA-Bmal1 KO) were generated and analyzed.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with dysmenorrhea in early adulthood: A cohort study.

Aim: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are serious conditions that occur in 5-10% of pregnancies. Maternal factors, such as maternal age, obesity, and renal disease, have been described as risk factors. In order to extract the background lifestyle and gynecological characteristics for HDP, we conducted a prospective cohort study.

Positive orientation, job satisfaction and psychological well-being of mental health practitioners in Malaysia.

Mental health practitioners in many developing countries are faced with high job demands and a lack of institutional support. Given their high levels of work-related stress, it is important to identify mechanisms that help them to maintain psychological well-being and job satisfaction. Recent research has focused on the role that positive orientation (POS) may play in mediating the negative impact of stress on individual well-being.

Breakfast Skipping in Female College Students Is a Potential and Preventable Predictor of Gynecologic Disorders at Health Service Centers.

Inadequate dietary habits in youth are known to increase the risk of onset of various diseases in adulthood. Previously, we found that female college students who skipped breakfast had higher incidences of dysmenorrhea, suggesting that breakfast skipping interferes with ovarian and uterine functions. Since dietary habits can be managed by education, it is preferable to establish a convenient screening system for meal skipping that is associated with dysmenorrhea as part of routine services of health service centers.

Adolescent Dietary Habit-induced Obstetric and Gynecologic Disease (ADHOGD) as a New Hypothesis-Possible Involvement of Clock System.

There are growing concerns that poor dietary behaviors at young ages will increase the future risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. We found that female college students who skipped breakfast had higher incidences of dysmenorrhea and irregular menstruation, suggesting that meal skipping affects ovarian and uterine functions. Since dysmenorrhea is more prevalent in those with a past history of dieting, we proposed a novel concept that inadequate dietary habits in adolescence become a trigger for the subsequent development of organic gynecologic diseases.

Promoting Roles of Embryonic Signals in Embryo Implantation and Placentation in Cooperation with Endocrine and Immune Systems.

Embryo implantation in the uterus is an essential process for successful pregnancy in mammals. In general, the endocrine system induces sufficient embryo receptivity in the endometrium, where adhesion-promoting molecules increase and adhesion-inhibitory molecules decrease. Although the precise mechanisms remain unknown, it is widely accepted that maternal-embryo communications, including embryonic signals, improve the receptive ability of the sex steroid hormone-primed endometrium.

Male Infants Born to Older Pregnant Women Are Affected by Maternal Physique at the Beginning of the Pregnancy through Birth until 18 Months of Age.

We have previously reported a positive correlation between the body mass index (BMI) of mothers and the Kaup index of infants at birth and that this correlation may have a stronger influence on the male infants, born to older mothers. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to clarify the correlation between maternal age and gender of the infants as maternal BMI and the Kaup index of infants from birth till 18 mo of age. This study was conducted from April 2010 to September 2011 in Japan.