Out of sight out of mind: Perceived physical distance between the observer and someone in pain shapes observer's neural empathic reactions

Social and affective relations may shape empathy to others' affective states. Previous studies also revealed that people tend to form very different mental representations of stimuli on the basis of their physical distance. In this regard, embodied cognition and embodied simulation propose that different physical distances between individuals activate different interpersonal processing modes, such that close physical distance tends to activate the interpersonal processing mode typical of socially and affectively close relationships. In Experiment 1, two groups of participants were administered a pain decision task involving upright and inverted face stimuli painfully or neutrally stimulated, and we monitored their neural empathic reactions by means of event-related potentials (ERPs) technique. Crucially, participants were presented with face stimuli of one of two possible sizes in order to manipulate retinal size and perceived physical distance, roughly corresponding to the close and far portions of social distance. ERPs modulations compatible with an empathic reaction were observed only for the group exposed to face stimuli appearing to be at a close social distance from the participants. This reaction was absent in the group exposed to smaller stimuli corresponding to face stimuli observed from a far social distance. In Experiment 2, one different group of participants was engaged in a match-to-sample task involving the two-size upright face stimuli of Experiment 1 to test whether the modulation of neural empathic reaction observed in Experiment 1 could be ascribable to differences in the ability to identify faces of the two different sizes. Results suggested that face stimuli of the two sizes could be equally identifiable. In line with the Construal Level and Embodied Simulation theoretical frameworks, we conclude that perceived physical distance may shape empathy as well as social and affective distance

Inferior Olive HCN1 Channels Coordinate Synaptic Integration and Complex Spike Timing

Acknowledgments This work was supported by the Medical Research Council (G0501216), the Wellcome Trust (093295/Z/10/Z and 086602/Z/08/Z), and the BBSRC (Bb/H020284/1). We thank Paolo Puggioni for help with motion analysis and the IMPACT facility at the University of Edinburgh for imaging resources.Peer reviewe

Long-Term Iron and Vitamin B12 Deficiency Are Present after Bariatric Surgery, Despite the Widespread Use of Supplements

There are few long-term nutritional studies in subjects undergoing bariatric surgery that have assessed weight regain and nutritional deficiencies. In this study, we report data 8 years after surgery on weight loss, use of dietary supplements and deficit of micronutrients in a cohort of patients from five centres in central and northern Italy. The study group consisted of 52 subjects (age: 38.1 +/- 10.6 y, 42 females): 16 patients had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), 25 patients had sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and 11 subjects had adjustable gastric banding (AGB). All three bariatric procedures led to sustained weight loss: the average percentage excess weight loss, defined as weight loss divided by excess weight based on ideal body weight, was 60.6% +/- 32.3. Despite good adherence to prescribed supplements, 80.7% of subjects (72.7%, AGB; 76.7%, SG; 93.8 %, RYGB) reported at least one nutritional deficiency: iron (F 64.3% vs. M 30%), vitamin B12 (F 16.6% vs. M 10%), calcium (F 33.3% vs. M 0%) and vitamin D (F 38.1% vs. M 60%). Long-term nutritional deficiencies were greater than the general population among men for iron and among women for vitamin B12

A randomised controlled trial of an Intervention to Improve Compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines (IICARus)

Background: The ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines are widely endorsed but compliance is limited. We sought to determine whether journal-requested completion of an ARRIVE checklist improves full compliance with the guidelines. Methods: In a randomised controlled trial, manuscripts reporting in vivo animal research submitted to PLOS ONE (March-June 2015) were randomly allocated to either requested completion of an ARRIVE checklist or current standard practice. Authors, academic editors, and peer reviewers were blinded to group allocation. Trained reviewers performed outcome adjudication in duplicate by assessing manuscripts against an operationalised version of the ARRIVE guidelines that consists 108 items. Our primary outcome was the between-group differences in the proportion of manuscripts meeting all ARRIVE guideline checklist subitems. Results: We randomised 1689 manuscripts (control: n = 844, intervention: n = 845), of which 1269 were sent for peer review and 762 (control: n = 340; intervention: n = 332) accepted for publication. No manuscript in either group achieved full compliance with the ARRIVE checklist. Details of animal husbandry (ARRIVE subitem 9b) was the only subitem to show improvements in reporting, with the proportion of compliant manuscripts rising from 52.1 to 74.1% (X 2 = 34.0, df = 1, p = 2.1 × 10-7) in the control and intervention groups, respectively. Conclusions: These results suggest that altering the editorial process to include requests for a completed ARRIVE checklist is not enough to improve compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines. Other approaches, such as more stringent editorial policies or a targeted approach on key quality items, may promote improvements in reporting

The anti-microbial peptide (Lin-SB056-1)(2)-K reduces pro-inflammatory cytokine release through Interaction with Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide

The ability of many anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) to modulate the host immune response has highlighted their possible therapeutic use to reduce uncontrolled inflammation during chronic infections. In the present study, we examined the anti-inflammatory potential of the semi-synthetic peptide lin-SB056-1 and its dendrimeric derivative (lin-SB056-1)(2)-K, which were previously found to have anti-microbial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in in vivo-like models mimicking the challenging environment of chronically infected lungs (i.e., artificial sputum medium and 3-D lung mucosa model). The dendrimeric derivative exerted a stronger anti-inflammatory activity than its monomeric counterpart towards lung epithelial- and macrophage-cell lines stimulated with P. aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide (LPS), based on a marked decrease (up to 80%) in the LPS-induced production of different pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., IL-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-8). Accordingly, (lin-SB056-1)(2)-K exhibited a stronger LPS-binding affinity than its monomeric counterpart, thereby suggesting a role of peptide/LPS neutralizing interactions in the observed anti-inflammatory effect. Along with the anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm properties, the anti-inflammatory activity of (lin-SB056-1)(2)-K broadens its therapeutic potential in the context of chronic (biofilm-associated) infections

Multivariate prediction of Saliva Precipitation Index for relating selected chemical parameters of red wines to the sensory perception of astringency

Astringency is an essential sensory attribute of red wine closely related to the saliva precipitation upon contact with the wine. In this study a data matrix of 52 physico-chemical parameters was used to predict the Saliva Precipitation Index (SPI) in 110 Italian mono-varietal red wines using partial least squares regression (PLSr) with variable selection by Variable Importance for Projection (VIP) and the significance of regression coefficients. The final PLSr model, evaluated using a test data set, had 3 components and yielded an R2test of 0.630 and an RMSEtest of 0.994, with 19 independent variables whose regression coefficients were all significant at p < 0.05. Variables selected in the final model according to the decreasing magnitude of their absolute regression coefficient include the following: Procyanidin B1, Epicatechin terminal unit, Total aldehydes, Protein content, Vanillin assay, 520 nm, Polysaccharide content, Epigallocatechin PHL, Tartaric acid, Volatile acidity, Titratable acidity, Catechin terminal unit, Proanthocyanidin assay, pH, Tannin-Fe/Anthocyanin, Buffer capacity, Epigallocatechin PHL gallate, Catechin + epicatechin PHL, and Tannin-Fe. These results can be used to better understand the physico-chemical relationship underlying astringency in red win

TP53 and p16INK4A, but not H-KI-Ras, are involved in tumorigenesis and progression of pleomorphic adenomas.

The putative role of TP53 and p16INK4A tumor suppressor genes and Ras oncogenes in the development and progression of salivary gland neoplasias was studied in 28 cases of pleomorphic adenomas (PA), 4 cases of cystic adenocarcinomas, and 1 case of carcinoma ex-PA. Genetic and epigenetic alterations in the above genes were analyzed by Polymerase Chain Reaction/Single Strand Conformational Polymorphism (PCR/SSCP) and sequencing and by Methylation Specific-PCR (MS-PCR). Mutations in TP53 were found in 14% (4/28) of PAs and in 60% (3/5) of carcinomas. Mutations in H-Ras and K-Ras were identified in4%(1/28) and7% (2/28) of PAs, respectively. Only 20% (1/5) of carcinomas screened displayed mutations in K-Ras. p16INK4A promoter hypermethylation was found in 14% (4/28) of PAs and 100% (5/5) carcinomas. All genetic and epigenetic alterations were detected exclusively in the epithelial and transitional tumor components, and were absent in the mesenchymal parts. Our analysis suggests that TP53 mutations and p16INK4A promoter methylation, but not alterations in the H-Ras and K-Ras genes, might be involved in the malignant progression of PA into carcinoma. J. Cell. Physiol. 207: 654–659, 2006. 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Detection and quantification of mammaglobin in the blood of breast cancer patients: can it be useful as a potential clinical marker? Preliminary results of a GOIM (Gruppo Oncologico dell'Italia Meridionale) prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Mammaglobin is expressed mainly in mammary tissue, overexpressed in breast cancer (BC) and rarely in other tissue. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of transcript MGB1 detection and to evaluate the role of MGB1 as potential clinical marker for the detection of disseminated cancer cells in the blood of BC patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 23 BC tissues, 36 peripheral blood BC samples and 35 healthy peripheral blood samples was prospectively recruited to investigate MGB1 expression by means of a quantitative Real Time RT-PCR assay. RESULTS: MGB1 overexpression in tissue samples of BC patients is significantly associated only with high level of Ki67 (P <0.05). None of the samples from peripheral blood of 35 healthy female individuals were positive for MGB1 transcript. In contrast MGB1 mRNA expression was detected in three of 36 (8%) peripheral blood of BC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary results demonstrate that the detection of MGB1 transcript in peripheral blood of BC patients was specific but with low sensitivity. MGB1 overexpression by itself or in combination with Ki67 might be considered an index of BC progression

Long-Lasting Efficacy of Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer Neuromodulation Treatment on Functional Dysmetria, an Adaptive Motor Behavior

BackgroundFluctuating asymmetry (FA) is widely defined as the deviation from perfect bilateral symmetry and is considered an epigenetic measure of environmental stress. Rinaldi and Fontani hypothesized that the FA morpho-functional changes originate from an adaptive motor behavior determined by functional alterations in the cerebellum and neural circuits, not caused by a lesion, but induced by environmental stress. They called this phenomenon functional dysmetria (FD). On this premise, they developed the radio electric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) technology, a neuromodulation technology aimed at optimizing the best neuro-psycho-motor strategies in relation to environmental interaction.AimsPrevious studies showed that specific REAC neuro postural optimization (NPO) treatment can induce stable FD recovery. This study aimed to verify the duration of the NPO effect in inducing the stable FD recovery over timeMaterials and methodsData were retrospectively collected from a population of 29,794 subjects who underwent a specific semiological FD assessment and received the NPO treatment, regardless of the pathology referred.ResultsThe analysis of the data collected by the various participants in the study led us to ascertain the disappearance of FD in 100% of the cases treated, with a stability of the result detected up to 18 years after the single administration of the REAC NPO treatment.ConclusionsThe REAC NPO neurobiological modulation treatment consisting of a single administration surprisingly maintains a very long efficacy in the correction of FD. This effect can be explained as the long-lasting capacity of the NPO treatment to induce greater functional efficiency of the brain dynamics as proven in previous studies