Being Moved by the Self and Others: Influence of Empathy on Self-Motion Perception

Background: The observation of conspecifics influences our bodily perceptions and actions: Contagious yawning, contagious itching, or empathy for pain, are all examples of mechanisms based on resonance between our own body and others. While there is evidence for the involvement of the mirror neuron system in the processing of motor, auditory and tactile information, it has not yet been associated with the perception of self-motion. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated whether viewing our own body, the body of another, and an object in motion influences self-motion perception. We found a visual-vestibular congruency effect for self-motion perception when observing self and object motion, and a reduction in this effect when observing someone else's body motion. The congruency effect was correlated with empathy scores, revealing the importance of empathy in mirroring mechanisms. Conclusions/Significance: The data show that vestibular perception is modulated by agent-specific mirroring mechanisms. The observation of conspecifics in motion is an essential component of social life, and self-motion perception is crucial for the distinction between the self and the other. Finally, our results hint at the presence of a “vestibular mirror neuron system”

Covariant Momentum Map Thermodynamics for Parametrized Field Theories

Inspired by Souriau's symplectic generalization of the Maxwell-Boltzmann-Gibbs equilibrium in Lie group thermodynamics, we investigate a spacetime-covariant formalism for statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in the multi-symplectic framework for relativistic field theories. A general-covariant Gibbs state is derived, via a maximal entropy principle approach, in terms of the covariant momentum map associated with the lifted action of the diffeomorphisms group on the extended phase space of the fields. Such an equilibrium distribution induces a canonical spacetime foliation, with a Lie algebra-valued generalized notion of temperature associated to the covariant choice of a reference frame, and it describes a system of fields allowed to have non-vanishing probabilities of occupying states different from the diffeomorphism invariant configuration. We focus on the case of parametrized first-order field theories, as a concrete simplified model for fully constrained field theories sharing fundamental general covariant features with canonical general relativity. In this setting, we investigate how physical equilibrium, hence time evolution, emerge from such a state via a gauge-fixing of the diffeomorphism symmetry

Predictors of short and long term recurrence of suicidal behavior in borderline personality disorder

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of suicidal outcomes and risk factors for short- and long-term recurrence of suicidal behavior (SB) among high-risk borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients during a 24-month prospective follow-up period. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study was designed to compare data obtained from 136 patients admitted to the emergency department for current suicidal ideation (SI) or a recent suicide attempt (SA). Subjects were clinically evaluated and monitored for a new SA or suicide. Results: The incidence of a new SA was 25.63 events/100 persons-year, and one patient died by suicide. Child sexual abuse (CSA) was the only significant predictor throughout the complete follow-up period. The absence of prior psychiatric treatment predicts the recurrence of SB in the first 6 months of follow-up. Patient age, poor psychosocial functioning before hospitalization, age at first SA, and having multiple suicide attempts increased risk of SB recurrence at the long-term period (24th months). In addition, there was an interaction between CSA and poor psychosocial functioning that increased risk of SB. Conclusion: The risk of recurrence was higher during the first 6 months. Risk factors at 6 and 24 months vary. These findings are important for implementing suicide strategies.Fil: Rodante, Demián E.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; ArgentinaFil: Grendas, Leandro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital Municipal "José Tiburcio Borda"; ArgentinaFil: Puppo, Soledad. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Vidjen, Patricia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital Municipal "José Tiburcio Borda"; ArgentinaFil: Portela, Alicia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital Municipal "José Tiburcio Borda"; ArgentinaFil: Rojas, Sasha M.. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Chiapella, Luciana Carla. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Cs.bioquímicas y Farmaceuticas. Departamento de Cs.fisiologicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Daray, Federico Manuel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentin

Evaluating a transfer gradient assumption in a fomite-mediated microbial transmission model using an experimental and Bayesian approach

Current microbial exposure models assume that microbial exchange follows a concentration gradient during hand-to-surface contacts. Our objectives were to evaluate this assumption using transfer efficiency experiments and to evaluate a model's ability to explain concentration changes using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) on these experimental data. Experiments were conducted with two phages (MS2, ΦX174) simultaneously to study bidirectional transfer. Concentrations on the fingertip and surface were quantified before and after fingertip-to-surface contacts. Prior distributions for surface and fingertip swabbing efficiencies and transfer efficiency were used to estimate concentrations on the fingertip and surface post contact. To inform posterior distributions, Euclidean distances were calculated for predicted detectable concentrations (log10 PFU cm−2) on the fingertip and surface post contact in comparison with experimental values. To demonstrate the usefulness of posterior distributions in calibrated model applications, posterior transfer efficiencies were used to estimate rotavirus infection risks for a fingertip-to-surface and subsequent fingertip-to-mouth contact. Experimental findings supported the transfer gradient assumption. Through ABC, the model explained concentration changes more consistently when concentrations on the fingertip and surface were similar. Future studies evaluating microbial transfer should consider accounting for differing fingertip-to-surface and surface-to-fingertip transfer efficiencies and extend this work for other microbial types

Surface topography of hydroxyapatite affects ROS17/2.8 cells response

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been used in orthopedic, dental, and maxillofacial surgery as a bone substitute. The aim of this investigation was to study the effect of surface topography produced by the presence of microporosity on cell response, evaluating: cell attachment, cell morphology, cell proliferation, total protein content, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. HA discs with different percentages of microporosity (< 5%, 15%, and 30%) were confected by means of the combination of uniaxial powder pressing and different sintering conditions. ROS17/2.8 cells were cultured on HA discs. For the evaluation of attachment, cells were cultured for two hours. Cell morphology was evaluated after seven days. After seven and fourteen days, cell proliferation, total protein content, and ALP activity were measured. Data were compared by means of ANOVA and Duncan’s multiple range test, when appropriate. Cell attachment (p = 0.11) and total protein content (p = 0.31) were not affected by surface topography. Proliferation after 7 and 14 days (p = 0.0007 and p = 0.003, respectively), and ALP activity (p = 0.0007) were both significantly decreased by the most irregular surface (HA30). These results suggest that initial cell events were not affected by surface topography, while surfaces with more regular topography, as those present in HA with 15% or less of microporosity, favored intermediary and final events such as cell proliferation and ALP activity

Liver Enzyme Abnormalities and Associated Risk Factors in HIV Patients on Efavirenz-Based HAART with or without Tuberculosis Co-Infection in Tanzania.

To investigate the timing, incidence, clinical presentation, pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetic predictors for antiretroviral and anti-tuberculosis drug induced liver injury (DILI) in HIV patients with or without TB co-infection. A total of 473 treatment naïve HIV patients (253 HIV only and 220 with HIV-TB co-infection) were enrolled prospectively. Plasma efavirenz concentration and CYP2B6*6, CYP3A5*3, *6 and *7, ABCB1 3435C/T and SLCO1B1 genotypes were determined. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected at baseline and up to 48 weeks of antiretroviral therapy. DILI case definition was according to Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS). Incidence of DILI and identification of predictors was evaluated using Cox Proportional Hazards Model. The overall incidence of DILI was 7.8% (8.3 per 1000 person-week), being non-significantly higher among patients receiving concomitant anti-TB and HAART (10.0%, 10.7 per 1000 person-week) than those receiving HAART alone (5.9%, 6.3 per 1000 person-week). Frequency of CYP2B6*6 allele (p = 0.03) and CYP2B6*6/*6 genotype (p = 0.06) was significantly higher in patients with DILI than those without. Multivariate cox regression model indicated that CYP2B6*6/*6 genotype and anti-HCV IgG antibody positive as significant predictors of DILI. Median time to DILI was 2 weeks after HAART initiation and no DILI onset was observed after 12 weeks. No severe DILI was seen and the gain in CD4 was similar in patients with or without DILI. Antiretroviral and anti-tuberculosis DILI does occur in our setting, presenting early following HAART initiation. DILI seen is mild, transient and may not require treatment interruption. There is good tolerance to HAART and anti-TB with similar immunological outcomes. Genetic make-up mainly CYP2B6 genotype influences the development of efavirenz based HAART liver injury in Tanzanians

What Can We Conclude from Death Registration? Improved Methods for Evaluating Completeness

Julie Rajaratnam and colleagues evaluate the performance of a suite of demographic methods that estimate the fraction of deaths registered and counted by civil registration systems, and identify three variants that generally perform the best

Fluctuations of a holographic quantum Hall fluid

We analyze the neutral spectrum of the holographic quantum Hall fluid described by the D2-D8' model. As expected for a quantum Hall state, we find the system to be stable and gapped and that, at least over much of the parameter space, the lowest excitation mode is a magneto-roton. In addition, we find magneto-rotons in higher modes as well. We show that these magneto-rotons are direct consequences of level crossings between vector and scalar modes.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures; v.2 figures improved, 2 figures added, and text clarified particularly in Sec. 5, to appear in JHE