The Automatic Conservative: Ideology-Based Attentional Asymmetries in the Processing of Valenced Information

Research has widely explored the differences between conservatives and liberals, and it has been also recently demonstrated that conservatives display different reactions toward valenced stimuli. However, previous studies have not yet fully illuminated the cognitive underpinnings of these differences. In the current work, we argued that political ideology is related to selective attention processes, so that negative stimuli are more likely to automatically grab the attention of conservatives as compared to liberals. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that negative (vs. positive) information impaired the performance of conservatives, more than liberals, in an Emotional Stroop Task. This finding was confirmed in Experiment 2 and in Experiment 3 employing a Dot-Probe Task, demonstrating that threatening stimuli were more likely to attract the attention of conservatives. Overall, results support the conclusion that people embracing conservative views of the world display an automatic selective attention for negative stimuli

The effects of perceived competence and sociability on electoral outcomes

Previous research demonstrated that inferences of competence from the face are good predictors of electoral outcomes (Todorov et al., 2005). In the current work we examined the role of another key dimension in social perception, namely perceived sociability. Results showed that people considered both competence and sociability, as inferred from the face, as related to higher chances of winning the elections. A different pattern emerged in relation to the actual electoral outcomes. Indeed, perceived competence was related to higher chances of winning, whereas perceived sociability was negatively related to electoral success. It is thus shown that these two fundamental dimensions in social perception exert opposite effects on voting behaviors

Effects of Chronic Oral Probiotic Treatment in Paclitaxel-Induced Neuropathic Pain

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) represents one of the most prevalent and potentially disabling side effects due to the use of anticancer drugs, one of the primary neuropathies detected is peripheral neuropathy induced by administration of taxanes, including paclitaxel. It has been demonstrated that gut microbiota is crucial for the therapeutic effect of chemotherapeutic drugs for inhibiting tumor growth and contributed to the pathogenesis of the CIPN. The use of nutraceuticals has receiving growing attention from the research community due to their phytochemical, biological, and pharmacological properties. It has been demonstrated that probiotic formulations may both reduce inflammation and modulate the expression of pain receptors. Our studies tested the efficacy of a probiotic formulation, SLAB51, in preventing paclitaxel-induced neuropathy. Interestingly, our probiotic formulation was able to keep the gut integrity, preserving its functionality, in CIPN-mice, moreover, it prevented the mechanical and cold hypersensitivity induced in paclitaxel-mice. Additionally, ex-vivo analysis showed that in CIPN-mice the pro-biotic treatment increased the expression of opioid and cannabinoid receptors in spinal cord, it prevented in the reduction in nerve fiber damage in the paws and modulated the serum proinflammatory cytokines concentration. On basis of these data, the use of this specific probiotic formulation may represent a valid adjuvant agent to paclitaxel, useful and not toxic for long-lasting therapies

Ileal Crohn's Disease Exhibits Similar Transmural Fibrosis Irrespective of Phenotype

Transmural inflammation and submucosal fibrosis are important hallmarks of Crohn’s disease (CD) (1). Intestinal fibrosis concerns extracellular matrix accumulation and mesenchymal cell expansion (2,3). In this process, inflammation is the main activator of mesenchymal cells and an essential factor to initiate fibrogenesis. Still, once fibrosis is established, it may be selfpropagating (3,4). In the setting of CD, patients with inflammatory lesions are considered medical therapy-responsive, while those with more fibrotic lesions will eventually need surgery (4). Hence, despite all the available therapies targeting inflammation, intestinal fibrosis remains difficult to treat and pre vent (3,4). Strictures are subdivided in fibrotic, inflammatory, and mixed forms (5). Pure fibrotic or inflammatory strictures are rare, with both components presenting overlapped histopathology (3,6–10). In CD, transmural intestinal inflammation can be assessed by cross-sectional imaging (2,11–16). On the other hand, fibrosis cannot be measured by this technique nor through biomarkers (16,17). Endoscopy or biopsy-based histology (2,11) is not feasible as tissue remodeling occurs mostly in deeper layers (18). Thus, the extent and severity of fibrosis must be evaluated by histopathological analysis of intestinal resection specimens, resorting to several histopathological scoring systems (19,20). The main objective of our work was to characterize and quantify inflammation and fibrosis, in ileal CD resection specimens, according to a CD transmural histopathological scoring system. We also aimed to correlate inflammation and fibrosis profiles with progressive disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BlockGuitars: una herramienta para las transacciones de instrumentos musicales mediante blockchain

Blockchain y smart contracts son novedosas tecnologías que permiten registrar de forma eficaz y segura transacciones de elementos virtuales, como criptomonedas. Pero también se pueden aplicar a otros ámbitos. En este artículo se describe la construcción de un sistema de registro de instrumentos musicales aplicando estas nuevas tecnologías. El aporte, en primer lugar, es poner a disposición de los músicos una herramienta segura y distribuida que les ofrecerá una alternativa para enfrentar los frecuentes hurtos de estos elementos. Por otra parte, la descripción de la metodología seguida para el desarrollo del sistema, así como las decisiones de diseño adoptadas, la base tecnológica seleccionada y el análisis legal realizado, son recursos de utilidad para los desarrolladores que inicien la construcción de un sistema similar en otro dominio.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

BlockGuitars: una herramienta para las transacciones de instrumentos musicales mediante blockchain

Blockchain y smart contracts son novedosas tecnologías que permiten registrar de forma eficaz y segura transacciones de elementos virtuales, como criptomonedas. Pero también se pueden aplicar a otros ámbitos. En este artículo se describe la construcción de un sistema de registro de instrumentos musicales aplicando estas nuevas tecnologías. El aporte, en primer lugar, es poner a disposición de los músicos una herramienta segura y distribuida que les ofrecerá una alternativa para enfrentar los frecuentes hurtos de estos elementos. Por otra parte, la descripción de la metodología seguida para el desarrollo del sistema, así como las decisiones de diseño adoptadas, la base tecnológica seleccionada y el análisis legal realizado, son recursos de utilidad para los desarrolladores que inicien la construcción de un sistema similar en otro dominio

A Multi-Analytical Study of an Ancient Egyptian Limestone Stele for Knowledge and Conservation Purposes: Recovering Hieroglyphs and Figurative Details by Image Analysis

A multi-analytical study was carried out on an ancient Egyptian limestone stele with red figures and hieroglyphs (S. 6145) coming from the village of Deir el-Medina and belonging to the collection of the Museo Egizio (Turin, Italy). With the support of a multidisciplinary team, a project for the preservation and conservation of this stele provided an opportunity to carry out a very detailed study of the object. Petrographic and mineralogical analysis led to the characterization and dating of the limestone, and ultrasonic tests were of great help in shedding light on the state of preservation of the stele, as a preliminary to planning conservation treatment. The chemical nature of the red pigment was investigated by non-invasive spectroscopic analyses. Multispectral imaging and statistical image processing improved the readability of the hieroglyphs, whose preservation ranged from heavily compromised to almost completely invisible, revealing some signs that had previously not been visible

The Brazil-Argentina gemini group for the study of globular cluster systems (BAGGs GCs): Flamingos-2 and GMOS data for NGC 1395

In this letter, we present preliminary results of the analysis of Flamingos-2 and GMOS-S photometry of the globular cluster (GC) system of the elliptical galaxy NGC1395. This is the first step of a long-term Brazilian-Argentinian collaboration for the study of GC systems in early-type galaxies. In the context of this collaboration, we obtained deep NIR photometric data in two different bands (J and Ks), which were later combined with high quality optical Gemini + GMOS photometry previously obtained by the Argentinian team. This allowed us to obtain different color indices, less sensitive to the effect of horizontal branch (HB) stars for several hundreds of GC candidates, and to make an initial assessment of the presence or absence of multiple GC populations in colors in NGC1395.Instituto de Astrofísica de La PlataMuseo de Astronomía y Geofísic

The Brazil-Argentina gemini group for the study of globular cluster systems (BAGGs GCs): Flamingos-2 and GMOS data for NGC 1395

In this letter, we present preliminary results of the analysis of Flamingos-2 and GMOS-S photometry of the globular cluster (GC) system of the elliptical galaxy NGC1395. This is the first step of a long-term Brazilian-Argentinian collaboration for the study of GC systems in early-type galaxies. In the context of this collaboration, we obtained deep NIR photometric data in two different bands (J and Ks), which were later combined with high quality optical Gemini + GMOS photometry previously obtained by the Argentinian team. This allowed us to obtain different color indices, less sensitive to the effect of horizontal branch (HB) stars for several hundreds of GC candidates, and to make an initial assessment of the presence or absence of multiple GC populations in colors in NGC1395.Instituto de Astrofísica de La PlataMuseo de Astronomía y Geofísic