How do you say ‘hello’? Personality impressions from brief novel voices

On hearing a novel voice, listeners readily form personality impressions of that speaker. Accurate or not, these impressions are known to affect subsequent interactions; yet the underlying psychological and acoustical bases remain poorly understood. Furthermore, hitherto studies have focussed on extended speech as opposed to analysing the instantaneous impressions we obtain from first experience. In this paper, through a mass online rating experiment, 320 participants rated 64 sub-second vocal utterances of the word ‘hello’ on one of 10 personality traits. We show that: (1) personality judgements of brief utterances from unfamiliar speakers are consistent across listeners; (2) a two-dimensional ‘social voice space’ with axes mapping Valence (Trust, Likeability) and Dominance, each driven by differing combinations of vocal acoustics, adequately summarises ratings in both male and female voices; and (3) a positive combination of Valence and Dominance results in increased perceived male vocal Attractiveness, whereas perceived female vocal Attractiveness is largely controlled by increasing Valence. Results are discussed in relation to the rapid evaluation of personality and, in turn, the intent of others, as being driven by survival mechanisms via approach or avoidance behaviours. These findings provide empirical bases for predicting personality impressions from acoustical analyses of short utterances and for generating desired personality impressions in artificial voices

Reproducibility and day time bias correction of optoelectronic leg volumetry: a prospective cohort study

Background Leg edema is a common manifestation of various underlying pathologies. Reliable measurement tools are required to quantify edema and monitor therapeutic interventions. Aim of the present work was to investigate the reproducibility of optoelectronic leg volumetry over 3 weeks' time period and to eliminate daytime related within-individual variability. Methods Optoelectronic leg volumetry was performed in 63 hairdressers (mean age 45 ± 16 years, 85.7% female) in standing position twice within a minute for each leg and repeated after 3 weeks. Both lower leg (legBD) and whole limb (limbBF) volumetry were analysed. Reproducibility was expressed as analytical and within-individual coefficients of variance (CVA, CVW), and as intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Results A total of 492 leg volume measurements were analysed. Both legBD and limbBF volumetry were highly reproducible with CVA of 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Within-individual reproducibility of legBD and limbBF volumetry over a three weeks' period was high (CVW 1.3% for both; ICC 0.99 for both). At both visits, the second measurement revealed a significantly higher volume compared to the first measurement with a mean increase of 7.3 ml ± 14.1 (0.33% ± 0.58%) for legBD and 30.1 ml ± 48.5 ml (0.52% ± 0.79%) for limbBF volume. A significant linear correlation between absolute and relative leg volume differences and the difference of exact day time of measurement between the two study visits was found (P < .001). A therefore determined time-correction formula permitted further improvement of CVW. Conclusions Leg volume changes can be reliably assessed by optoelectronic leg volumetry at a single time point and over a 3 weeks' time period. However, volumetry results are biased by orthostatic and daytime-related volume changes. The bias for day-time related volume changes can be minimized by a time-correction formula

A Measurement of Rb using a Double Tagging Method

The fraction of Z to bbbar events in hadronic Z decays has been measured by the OPAL experiment using the data collected at LEP between 1992 and 1995. The Z to bbbar decays were tagged using displaced secondary vertices, and high momentum electrons and muons. Systematic uncertainties were reduced by measuring the b-tagging efficiency using a double tagging technique. Efficiency correlations between opposite hemispheres of an event are small, and are well understood through comparisons between real and simulated data samples. A value of Rb = 0.2178 +- 0.0011 +- 0.0013 was obtained, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The uncertainty on Rc, the fraction of Z to ccbar events in hadronic Z decays, is not included in the errors. The dependence on Rc is Delta(Rb)/Rb = -0.056*Delta(Rc)/Rc where Delta(Rc) is the deviation of Rc from the value 0.172 predicted by the Standard Model. The result for Rb agrees with the value of 0.2155 +- 0.0003 predicted by the Standard Model.Comment: 42 pages, LaTeX, 14 eps figures included, submitted to European Physical Journal

Experimental assessment of pro-lymphangiogenic growth factors in the treatment of post-surgical lymphedema following lymphadenectomy

Introduction: Lymphedema is a frequent consequence of lymph node excision during breast cancer surgery. Current treatment options are limited mainly to external compression therapies to limit edema development. We investigated previously, postsurgical lymphedema in a sheep model following the removal of a single lymph node and determined that autologous lymph node transplantation has the potential to reduce or prevent edema development. In this report, we examine the potential of lymphangiogenic therapy to restore lymphatic function and reduce postsurgical lymphedema. Methods: Lymphangiogenic growth factors (vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C)) and angiopoietin-2 (ANG-2) were loaded into a gel-based drug delivery system (HAMC; a blend of hyaluronan and methylcellulose). Drug release rates and lymphangiogenic signaling in target endothelial cells were assessed in vitro and vascular permeability biocompatibility tests were examined in vivo. Following, the removal of a single popliteal lymph node, HAMC with the growth factors was injected into the excision site. Six weeks later, lymphatic functionality was assessed by injecting 125Iodine radiolabeled bovine serum albumin (125I-BSA) into prenodal vessels and measuring its recovery in plasma. Circumferential leg measurements were plotted over time and areas under the curves used to quantify edema formation. Results: The growth factors were released over a two-week period in vitro by diffusion from HAMC, with 50% being released in the first 24 hr. The system induced lymphangiogenic signaling in target endothelial cells, while inducing only a minimal inflammatory response in sheep. Removal of the node significantly reduced lymphatic functionality (nodectomy 1.9 ± 0.9, HAMC alone 1.7 ± 0.8) compared with intact groups (3.2 ± 0.7). In contrast, there was no significant difference between the growth factor treatment group (2.3 ± 0.73) and the intact group indicating improved function with the molecular factors. An increase in the number of regenerated lymphatic vessels at treatment sites was observed with fluoroscopy. Groups receiving HAMC plus growth factors displayed significantly reduced edema (107.4 ± 51.3) compared with nontreated groups (nodectomy 219.8 ± 118.7 and HAMC alone 162.6 ± 141). Conclusions: Growth factor therapy has the potential to increase lymphatic function and reduce edema magnitude in an animal model of lymphedema. The application of this concept to lymphedema patients warrants further examination

Measurement of the B+ and B-0 lifetimes and search for CP(T) violation using reconstructed secondary vertices

The lifetimes of the B+ and B-0 mesons, and their ratio, have been measured in the OPAL experiment using 2.4 million hadronic Z(0) decays recorded at LEP. Z(0) --> b (b) over bar decays were tagged using displaced secondary vertices and high momentum electrons and muons. The lifetimes were then measured using well-reconstructed charged and neutral secondary vertices selected in this tagged data sample. The results aretau(B+) = 1.643 +/- 0.037 +/- 0.025 pstau(Bo) = 1.523 +/- 0.057 +/- 0.053 pstau(B+)/tau(Bo) = 1.079 +/- 0.064 +/- 0.041,where in each case the first error is statistical and the second systematic.A larger data sample of 3.1 million hadronic Z(o) decays has been used to search for CP and CPT violating effects by comparison of inclusive b and (b) over bar hadron decays, No evidence fur such effects is seen. The CP violation parameter Re(epsilon(B)) is measured to be Re(epsilon(B)) = 0.001 +/- 0.014 +/- 0.003and the fractional difference between b and (b) over bar hadron lifetimes is measured to(Delta tau/tau)(b) = tau(b hadron) - tau((b) over bar hadron)/tau(average) = -0.001 +/- 0.012 +/- 0.008

Does the availability of positron emission tomography modify diagnostic strategies for solitary pulmonary nodules? An observational study in France

International audienceBACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that at the individual level, positron emission tomography (PET) has some benefits for patients and physicians in terms of cancer management and staging. We aimed to describe the benefits of (PET) in the management of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) in a population level, in terms of the number of diagnostic and invasive tests performed, time to diagnosis and factors determining PET utilization. METHODS: In an observational study, we examined reports of computed tomography (CT) performed and mentioning "spherical lesion", "nodule" or synonymous terms. We found 11,515 reports in a before-PET period, 2002-2003, and 20,075 in an after-PET period, 2004-2005. Patients were followed through their physician, who was responsible for diagnostic management. RESULTS: We had complete data for 112 patients (73.7%) with new cases of SPN in the before-PET period and 250 (81.4%) in the after-PET period. Patients did not differ in mean age (64.9 vs. 64.8 years). The before-PET patients underwent a mean of 4 tests as compared with 3 tests for the after-PET patients (p = 0.08). Patients in the before-PET period had to wait 41.4 days, on average, before receiving a diagnosis as compared with 24.0 days, on average, for patients in the after-PET period who did not undergo PET (p < 0.001). In the after-PET period, 11% of patients underwent PET during the diagnostic process. A spiculated nodule was more likely to determine prescription for PET (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that patients in both periods underwent fewer tests when PET was prescribed by general practitioners (p < 0.001) and if the nodule was not spiculated (p < 0.001). The proportion of unnecessary invasive approaches prescribed (47% vs. 49%) did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSION: In our study, 1 year after the availability of PET, the technology was not the first choice for diagnostic management of SPN. Even though we observed a tendency for reduced number of tests and mean time to diagnosis with PET, these phenomena did not fully relate to PET availability in health communities. In addition, the availability of PET in the management of SPN diagnosis did not reduce the overall rate of unnecessary invasive approaches

A Liposome-Based Mycobacterial Vaccine Induces Potent Adult and Neonatal Multifunctional T Cells through the Exquisite Targeting of Dendritic Cells

BACKGROUND: In the search for more potent and safer tuberculosis vaccines, CAF01 was identified as a remarkable formulation. Based on cationic liposomes and including a synthetic mycobacterial glycolipid as TLR-independent immunomodulator, it induces strong and protective T helper-1 and T helper-17 adult murine responses to Ag85B-ESAT-6, a major mycobacterial fusion protein. Here, we assessed whether these properties extend to early life and how CAF01 mediates its adjuvant properties in vivo. METHODS/FINDINGS: Following adult or neonatal murine immunization, Ag85B-ESAT-6/CAF01 similarly reduced the post-challenge bacterial growth of M. bovis BCG, whereas no protection was observed using Alum as control. This protection was mediated by the induction of similarly strong Th1 and Th17 responses in both age groups. Multifunctional Th1 cells were already elicited after a single vaccine dose and persisted at high levels for at least 6 months even after neonatal priming. Unexpectedly, this potent adjuvanticity was not mediated by a massive targeting/activation of dendritic cells: in contrast, very few DCs in the draining lymph nodes were bearing the labeled antigen/adjuvant. The increased expression of the CD40 and CD86 activation markers was restricted to the minute portion of adjuvant-bearing DCs. However, vaccine-associated activated DCs were recovered several days after immunization. CONCLUSION: The potent adult and neonatal adjuvanticity of CAF01 is associated in vivo with an exquisite but prolonged DC uptake and activation, fulfilling the preclinical requirements for novel tuberculosis vaccines to be used in early life

Persistence of DNA threads in human anaphase cells suggests late completion of sister chromatid decatenation

PICH (Plk1-interacting checkpoint helicase) was recently identified as an essential component of the spindle assembly checkpoint and shown to localize to kinetochores, inner centromeres, and thin threads connecting separating chromosomes even during anaphase. In this paper, we have used immuno-fiber fluorescence in situ hybridization and chromatin-immunoprecipitation to demonstrate that PICH associates with centromeric chromatin during anaphase. Furthermore, by careful analysis of PICH-positive anaphase threads through FISH as well as bromo-deoxyurdine and CREST labeling, we strengthen the evidence that these threads comprise mainly alphoid centromere deoxyribonucleic acid. Finally, by timing the addition of ICRF-193 (a specific inhibitor of topoisomerase-II alpha) to cells synchronized in anaphase, we demonstrate that topoisomerase activity is required specifically to resolve PICH-positive threads during anaphase (as opposed to being required to prevent the formation of such threads during earlier cell cycle stages). These data indicate that PICH associates with centromeres during anaphase and that most PICH-positive threads evolve from inner centromeres as these stretch in response to tension. Moreover, they show that topoisomerase activity is required during anaphase for the resolution of PICH-positive threads, implying that the complete separation of sister chromatids occurs later than previously assumed

MS4a4B, a CD20 Homologue in T Cells, Inhibits T Cell Propagation by Modulation of Cell Cycle

MS4a4B, a CD20 homologue in T cells, is a novel member of the MS4A gene family in mice. The MS4A family includes CD20, FcεRIβ, HTm4 and at least 26 novel members that are characterized by their structural features: with four membrane-spanning domains, two extracellular domains and two cytoplasmic regions. CD20, FcεRIβ and HTm4 have been found to function in B cells, mast cells and hematopoietic cells respectively. However, little is known about the function of MS4a4B in T cell regulation. We demonstrate here that MS4a4B negatively regulates mouse T cell proliferation. MS4a4B is highly expressed in primary T cells, natural killer cells (NK) and some T cell lines. But its expression in all malignant T cells, including thymoma and T hybridoma tested, was silenced. Interestingly, its expression was regulated during T cell activation. Viral vector-driven overexpression of MS4a4B in primary T cells and EL4 thymoma cells reduced cell proliferation. In contrast, knockdown of MS4a4B accelerated T cell proliferation. Cell cycle analysis showed that MS4a4B regulated T cell proliferation by inhibiting entry of the cells into S-G2/M phase. MS4a4B-mediated inhibition of cell cycle was correlated with upregulation of Cdk inhibitory proteins and decreased levels of Cdk2 activity, subsequently leading to inhibition of cell cycle progression. Our data indicate that MS4a4B negatively regulates T cell proliferation. MS4a4B, therefore, may serve as a modulator in the negative-feedback regulatory loop of activated T cell

Gender Differences in Associations of Glutamate Decarboxylase 1 Gene (GAD1) Variants with Panic Disorder

Background: Panic disorder is common (5% prevalence) and females are twice as likely to be affected as males. The heritable component of panic disorder is estimated at 48%. Glutamic acid dehydrogenase GAD1, the key enzyme for the synthesis of the inhibitory and anxiolytic neurotransmitter GABA, is supposed to influence various mental disorders, including mood and anxiety disorders. In a recent association study in depression, which is highly comorbid with panic disorder, GAD1 risk allele associations were restricted to females. Methodology/Principal Findings: Nineteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging the common variation in GAD1 were genotyped in two independent gender and age matched case-control samples (discovery sample n = 478; replication sample n = 584). Thirteen SNPs passed quality control and were examined for gender-specific enrichment of risk alleles associated with panic disorder by using logistic regression including a genotype×gender interaction term. The latter was found to be nominally significant for four SNPs (rs1978340, rs3762555, rs3749034, rs2241165) in the discovery sample; of note, the respective minor/risk alleles were associated with panic disorder only in females. These findings were not confirmed in the replication sample; however, the genotype×gender interaction of rs3749034 remained significant in the combined sample. Furthermore, this polymorphism showed a nominally significant association with the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire sum score. Conclusions/Significance: The present study represents the first systematic evaluation of gender-specific enrichment of risk alleles of the common SNP variation in the panic disorder candidate gene GAD1. Our tentative results provide a possible explanation for the higher susceptibility of females to panic disorder