Effects of chest movements while sitting on Navon task performance and stress levels.

Background: This study explored physical activity during remote work, most of which takes place while sitting in front of a computer. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to develop a classification for body motion by creating a neural net that can distinguish among several kinds of chest movement. Experiment 2 examined the effects of chest movements on stress and performance on the Navon test to validate the model developed in Experiment 1. Method and results: The procedures for this study were as follows.Experiment 1: Creation of the body movement classification model and preliminary experiment for Experiment 2.Data from five participants were used to construct a machine-learning categorization model. The other three participants participated in a pilot study for Experiment 2.Experiment 2: Model validation and confirmation of stress measurement validity.We recruited 34 new participants to test the validity of the model developed in Experiment 1. We asked 10 of the 34 participants to retake the stress measurement since the results of the stress assessment were unreliable.Using LSTM models, we classified six categories of chest movement in Experiment 1: walking, standing up and sitting down, sitting still, rotating, swinging, and rocking. The LSTM models yielded an accuracy rate of 83.8%. Experiment 2 tested the LSTM model and found that Navon task performance correlated with swinging chest movement. Due to the limited reliability of the stress measurement results, we were unable to draw a conclusion regarding the effects of body movements on stress. In terms of cognitive performance, swinging of the chest reduced RT and increased accuracy on the Navon task (ß = .015 [-.003,.054], R2 = .31). Conclusions: LSTM classification successfully distinguished subtle movements of the chest; however, only swinging was related to cognitive performance. Chest movements reduced the reaction time, improving cognitive performance. However, the stress measurements were not stable; thus, we were unable to draw a clear conclusion about the relationship between body movement and stress. The results indicated that swinging of the chest improved reaction times in the Navon task, while sitting still was not related to cognitive performance or stress. The present article discusses how to collect sensor data and analyze it using machine-learning methods as well as the future applicability of measuring physical activity during remote work.

Measuring shared knowledge with group false memory.

We conducted two experiments to investigate the effects of word list consistency and group collaboration on false memory. Using the DRM (Deese-Roediger-McDermott) paradigm, the first experiment (n = 121) examined false memory in a group; participants collaborated to select keywords using a between-subject condition of a consistent or randomized word list. The proportion of false responses was larger than that of error responses, especially for the consistent word list condition (p < 0.001), and group collaboration increased false recognition for both word lists (p < 0.001). Using an applied within-subject word list condition, the second experiment (n = 119) confirmed the results of Experiment 1. Furthermore, individual differences Euclidean distance model analysis revealed a difference in the shared cognitive dimension related to group false memory.

Effect of word-list consistency on the correlation between group memory and group polarization.

Two studies investigated the effect of shared knowledge, manipulated using associated or randomly ordered word lists, on the correlation between group remembering and group polarization. Group polarization due to accumulation of information was expected only if it was consistent with shared knowledge among group members (the knowledge shared among group members before discussion). Consistency of information with shared knowledge was manipulated by lists of words that were ordered either randomly or in a manner consistent along with four stereotype categories. In Experiment 1, 159 college students answered a questionnaire about the common stereotype that blood type determines personality; half were given lists of words that were consistent with the stereotype (consistent condition) and the other half, randomly ordered word lists (inconsistent condition). After completion of the questionnaire, they were given, a surprise free-recall test including words from the lists that had appeared in the questionnaire; the test was administered in a group (group condition) or individual (individual condition) setting. The results indicated that stereotype-consistency of the word list reduced the groups' ability to detect incorrect answers compared with the individual condition. In Experiment 2 (N = 132), the divergence of memory among group members was manipulated by altering the constitution of each group with regard to members' blood type. The results showed that the shift in the score representing belief in the blood-type stereotype correlated with the number of words recalled in the stereotype-consistent word-list condition.

Effect of group means on the probability of consensus.

In this study, groups who could not reach a consensus were investigated using the group polarization paradigm. The purpose was to explore the conditions leading to intragroup disagreement and attitude change following disagreement among 269 participants. Analysis indicated that the probability of consensus was low when the group means differed from the grand mean of the entire sample. When small differences among group members were found, depolarization (reverse direction of polarization) followed disagreement. These results suggested the groups which deviated most from the population tendency were the most likely to cause within-group disagreement, while within-group variances determined the direction of attitude change following disagreement within the group.

Determination of diazepam and its metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry using a hydrophilic polymer column.

Diazepam and its major metabolites, nordazepam, temazepam and oxazepam, in human urine samples, were analyzed by liquid chromatography (LC)/tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using a hydrophilic polymer column (MSpak GF-310 4B), which enables direct injection of crude biological samples. Matrix compounds in urine were eluted first from the column, while the target compounds were retained on the polymer stationary phase. The analytes retained on the column were then eluted into an acetonitrile-rich mobile phase using a gradient separation technique. All compounds showed base-peak ions due to [M+H]+ ions on LC/MS with positive ion electrospray ionization, and product ions were produced from each [M+H]+ ion by LC/MS/MS. Quantification was performed by selected reaction monitoring. All compounds spiked into urine showed method recoveries of 50.1-82.0%. The regression equations for all compounds showed excellent linearity in the range of 0.5-500 ng/mL of urine. The limits of detection and quantification for each compound were 0.1 and 0.5 ng/mL of urine, respectively. The intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation for all compounds in urine were not greater than 9.6%. The data obtained from actual determination of diazepam and its three metabolites, oxazepam, nordazepam and temazepam, in human urine after oral administration of diazepam, are also presented.

Simultaneous determination of beta-blockers in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A detailed procedure for the analysis of four beta-blockers, acebutolol, labetalol, metoprolol and propranolol, in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) using an MSpak GF column, which enables direct injection of crude plasma samples, is presented. Protein and/or macromolecule matrix compounds were eluted first from the column, while the drugs were retained on the polymer stationary phase of the MSpak GF column. The analytes retained on the column were then eluted into an acetonitrile-rich mobile phase using a gradient separation technique. All drugs showed base peak ions due to [M + H]+ ions by LC-MS with positive ion electrospray ionization, and the product ions were produced from each [M + H]+ ion by LC-MS-MS. Quantification was performed by selected reaction monitoring. The recoveries of the four beta-blockers spiked into plasma were 73.5-89.9%. The regression equations for all compounds showed excellent linearity in the range 10-1000 ng/mL of plasma, with the exception of propranolol (10-800 ng/mL). The limits of detection and quantification for each drug were 1-3 and 10 ng/mL, respectively, of plasma. The intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation for all drugs in plasma were not greater than 10.9%.

Effect of interleukin-6 neutralization on CYP3A11 and metallothionein-1/2 expressions in arthritic mouse liver.

Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by chronic inflammation of the synovial tissue. We examined the effect of interleukin (IL)-6 neutralization on the expression of cytochrome P450 or metallothionein-1/2 (metallothionein) during chronic phase inflammatory disease using rheumatoid arthritis model mice, human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) transgenic mice. Serum IL-6 concentrations of arthritis-developed HTLV-I transgenic mice were 129.9+/-26.1 pg/ml. Moreover, signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1/3 phosphorylations was observed in arthritic HTLV-I transgenic mouse livers. CYP3A11 mRNA was more strongly reduced by the development of arthritis in HTLV-I transgenic mouse livers as compared with CYP2C29 or CYP2E1 mRNAs. CYP3A protein and testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation activity also changed in a similar manner to the corresponding CYP3A11 mRNA level. On the other hand, metallothionein mRNA was significantly induced as compared with that of wild-type or non-arthritic mice. CYP3A suppression and metallothionein mRNA overexpression activity seen in the developed arthritic mice returned to the gene conditions of the non-arthritic HTLV-I transgenic mice by IL-6 antibody at 48 h after treatment. The present study has revealed that CYP3A11 and metallothionein expressions are affected by the release of IL-6 by arthritis and its systemic circulation, and neutralization of IL-6 recovered from the down-regulation of CYP3A11 mRNA and the induction of metallothionein mRNA in arthritic HTLV-I transgenic mice.