Smell terms are not rara : A semantic investigation of odor vocabulary in Thai

Large lexica of basic smell terms are considered to be restricted to a handful of small languages of non-industrialized societies. Accordingly, they are thought to belong to the sphere of rara within lexical typology (Plank 2001. Das grammatische Raritätenkabinett. Konstanz: University of Konstanz. https://typo.uni-konstanz.de/rara/intro/index.php (accessed 3 October 2017)). However, smell lexica might in fact be more common than previously suggested. In this article, we discuss the case of Thai- A language with a population of tens of millions of speakers-which defies this assumption. We show Thai has a sizeable lexicon of terms for olfactory qualities, and investigate their semantics using a multi-method approach. In particular, we demonstrate a novel use of exemplar listing where-in addition to giving insights into the terms' extensions-exemplar data is used to reveal the structure of the lexicon. Additionally, we use corpus data to provide complementary information on meaning and usage, thereby showing the advantage of multi-method approaches. Overall, the findings suggest smell lexica are not rara, and their distribution in the world's languages goes beyond the stereotypical cases of languages spoken by small-scale societies

Relationship between Peripheral White Blood Count and Arterial Blood Pressure in Patients with Essential Hypertension

Wstęp Nadciśnienie tętnicze jest jednym z czynników przyspieszających rozwój miażdżycy naczyń. W ostatniej dekadzie zwrócono ponownie uwagę na udział czynników zapalnych w patogenezie miażdżycy. Odzwierciedleniem aktywności stanu zapalnego jest między innymi liczba leukocytów we krwi obwodowej. Nieliczne badania epidemiologiczne sugerują, że liczba leukocytów we krwi może również być jednym z czynników ryzyka nadciśnienia tętniczego. Celem pracy była ocena zależności między liczbą białych krwinek we krwi obwodowej a ciśnieniem tętniczym u chorych z nadciśnieniem tętniczym samoistnym. Materiał i metody Analizie retrospektywnej poddano wyniki uzyskane u 1257 pacjentów z nadciśnieniem tętniczym (720 M, 537 K), u których w trakcie hospitalizacji w Klinice wykluczono objawowy charakter nadciśnienia tętniczego. Wszystkich chorych podzielono na cztery przedziały kwartylowe, uwzględniające liczbę leukocytów we krwi obwodowej. Oceniano wartości ciśnienia tętniczego (mierzonego 2-krotnie metodą Korotkowa przed ograniczeniem podaży soli w diecie oraz po 3-dniowym ograniczeniu) oraz wskaźnik masy ciała (BMI), OB, stężenie kreatyniny, kwasu moczowego, glukozy, cholesterolu w surowicy, aktywność reninową osocza oraz stężenie hemoglobiny we krwi. Wyniki Chorzy z większą liczbą leukocytów we krwi charakteryzowali się wyższymi wartościami BMI oraz ciśnienia tętniczego rozkurczowego (DBP) przed ograniczeniem podaży sodu w diecie i po nim, jak również ciśnienia skurczowego (SBP) po restrykcji sodu. W grupie chorych z najwyższą liczbą leukocytów we krwi stężenie kreatyniny w surowicy było najniższe, a kwasu moczowego najwyższe. Analizowane podgrupy nie różniły się pod względem stężenia glukozy i cholesterolu w surowicy. W całej grupie chorych stwierdzono występowanie znamiennych korelacji dodatnich między liczbą leukocytów we krwi a ciśnieniem tętniczym skurczowym i rozkurczowym. W analizie regresji wielokrotnej dla zmiennych zależnych: ciśnienie skurczowe/rozkurczowe stwierdzono, że liczba leukocytów wykazuje niewielką, choć znamienną zależność z ciśnieniem tętniczym. Wnioski Wyniki przeprowadzonych badań sugerują udział leukocytów (stanu zapalnego?) w patogenezie samoistnego nadciśnienia tętniczego.Background Both inflammation and arterial hypertension participate in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The peripheral leukocyte blood count is one of several markers of inflammation processes. Some epidemiological studies suggest, that white blood cell count can also be considered as a risk factor of arterial hypertension. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between peripheral white blood cell count and arterial blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension. Material and methods In this retrospective analysis 1257 patients with essential arterial hypertension (720 M, 537 F) were included. In all examined subjects presence of secondary hypertension was excluded during hospitalization in our clinic. All patients were divided in quartile subgroups according to the peripheral leukocytes blood count. In all patients the following parameters were analyzed: arterial blood pressure (assesed twice by the Korotkow method in patients receiving a normal sodium diet and after 3 days of sodium restriction), BMI, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum concentrations of creatinine, uric acid, glucose, total cholesterol, plasma renin activity and blood hemoglobin concentration. Results Patients with higher leukocyte blood count showed higher values of BMI, diastolic blood pressure (both during intake of a normal sodium diet and after 3 days of sodium restriction) and systolic blood pressure (only during sodium restriction). The lowest serum creatinine concentration but the highest serum uric acid concentration was found in a subgroup of patients with the highest leukocyte blood count. All analyzed subgroups showed a similar serum concentrations of glucose and total cholesterol. A significant positive correlation was obtained between the white blood cell count and systolic or diastolic blood pressure respectively. Multiple regression analyses for dependent variables: systolic/diastolic blood pressure revealed that leukocyte blood count weakly but significantly contributes to arterial blood pressure values. Conclusions Results presented in this study suggest, that leukocytes (or inflammation process) may participate in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension

Odor-color associations differ with verbal descriptors for odors : A comparison of three linguistically diverse groups

People appear to have systematic associations between odors and colors. Previous research has emphasized the perceptual nature of these associations, but little attention has been paid to what role language might play. It is possible odor-color associations arise through a process of labeling; that is, participants select a descriptor for an odor and then choose a color accordingly (e.g., banana odor → "banana" label → yellow). If correct, this would predict odor-color associations would differ as odor descriptions differ. We compared speakers of Dutch (who overwhelmingly describe odors by referring to the source; e.g., smells like banana) with speakers of Maniq and Thai (who also describe odors with dedicated, abstract smell vocabulary; e.g., musty), and tested whether the type of descriptor mattered for odor-color associations. Participants were asked to select a color that they associated with an odor on two separate occasions (to test for consistency), and finally to label the odors. We found the hunter-gatherer Maniq showed few, if any, consistent or accurate odor-color associations. More importantly, we found the types of descriptors used to name the smells were related to the odor-color associations. When people used abstract smell terms to describe odors, they were less likely to choose a color match, but when they described an odor with a source-based term, their color choices more accurately reflected the odor source, particularly when the odor source was named correctly (e.g., banana odor → yellow). This suggests language is an important factor in odor-color cross-modal associations

Neurological symptoms in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and their association with in-hospital mortality

Objectives. To evaluate the spectrum of neurological symptoms in patients with COVID-19 during the first 14 days of hospitalisation and its association with in-hospital mortality. Material and methods. We included 200 patients with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to University Hospital in Krakow, Poland. In 164 patients, a detailed questionnaire concerning neurological symptoms and signs was performed prospectively within 14 days of hospitalisation. In the remaining 36 patients, such questionnaires were completed retrospectively based on daily observations in the Department of Neurology. Results. During hospitalisation, 169 patients (84.5%) experienced neurological symptoms; the most common were: fatigue (62.5%), decreased mood (45.5%), myalgia (43.5%), and muscle weakness (42.5%). Patients who died during hospitalisation compared to the remainder were older (79 [70.5–88.5] vs. 63.5 [51–77] years, p = 0.001), and more often had decreased level of consciousness (50.0% vs. 9.3%, p < 0.001), delirium (33.3% vs. 4.4%, p < 0.001), arterial hypotension (50.0% vs. 19.6%, p = 0.005) or stroke during (18.8% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.026) or before hospitalisation (50.0% vs. 7.1, p < 0.001), whereas those who survived more often suffered from headache (42.1% vs. 0%, p = 0.012) or decreased mood (51.7% vs. 0%, p = 0.003). Conclusions. Most hospitalised patients with COVID-19 experience neurological symptoms. Decreased level of consciousness, delirium, arterial hypotension, and stroke during or before hospitalisation increase the risk of in-hospital mortality

Color technology is not necessary for rich and efficient color language

The evolution of basic color terms in language is claimed to be stimulated by technological development, involving technological control of color or exposure to artificially colored objects. Accordingly, technologically “simple” non-industrialized societies are expected to have poor lexicalization of color, i.e., only rudimentary lexica of 2, 3 or 4 basic color terms, with unnamed gaps in the color space. While it may indeed be the case that technology stimulates lexical growth of color terms, it is sometimes considered a sine qua non for color salience and lexicalization. We provide novel evidence that this overlooks the role of the natural environment, and people’s engagement with the environment, in the evolution of color vocabulary. We introduce the Maniq—nomadic hunter-gatherers with no color technology, but who have a basic color lexicon of 6 or 7 terms, thus of the same order as large languages like Vietnamese and Hausa, and who routinely talk about color. We examine color language in Maniq and compare it to available data in other languages to demonstrate it has remarkably high consensual color term usage, on a par with English, and high coding efficiency. This shows colors can matter even for non-industrialized societies, suggesting technology is not necessary for color language. Instead, factors such as perceptual prominence of color in natural environments, its practical usefulness across communicative contexts, and symbolic importance can all stimulate elaboration of color language

FTIR and Raman Spectroscopy-Based Biochemical Profiling Reflects Genomic Diversity of Clinical <i>Candida</i> Isolates That May Be Useful for Diagnosis and Targeted Therapy of Candidiasis

Despite the fact that Candida albicans is documented to be the main cause of human candidiasis, non-C. albicans Candida (NCAC) species, such as Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis, are also suggested to be implicated in the etiopathogenesis of opportunistic fungal infections. As biology, epidemiology, pathogenicity, and antifungal resistance of NCAC species may be affected as a result of genomic diversity and plasticity, rapid and unambiguous identification of Candida species in clinical samples is essential for proper diagnosis and therapy. In the present study, 25 clinical isolates of C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. tropicalis species were characterized in terms of their karyotype patterns, DNA content, and biochemical features. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra- and Raman spectra-based molecular fingerprints corresponded to the diversity of chromosomal traits and DNA levels that provided correct species identification. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy was documented to be useful for the evaluation of ergosterol content that may be associated with azole resistance. Taken together, we found that vibrational spectroscopy-based biochemical profiling reflects the variability of chromosome patterns and DNA content of clinical Candida species isolates and may facilitate the diagnosis and targeted therapy of candidiasis

Reduced levels of methyltransferase DNMT2 sensitize human fibroblasts to oxidative stress and DNA damage that is accompanied by changes in proliferation-related miRNA expression

Methyltransferase DNMT2 is suggested to be involved in the regulation of numerous processes, however its biological significance and underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. In the present study, we have used WI-38 and BJ human fibroblasts as an in vitro model system to investigate the effects of siRNA-based DNMT2 silencing. DNMT2-depleted cells were found to be sensitive to oxidative stress conditions as judged by increased production of reactive oxygen species and susceptible to DNA damage that resulted in the inhibition of cell proliferation. DNMT2 silencing promoted upregulation of proliferation-related and tumor suppressor miRNAs, namely miR-28-3p, miR-34a-3p, miR-30b-5p, miR-29b-3p, miR-200c-3p, miR-28-5p, miR-379-5p, miR-382-5p, miR-194-5p, miR-193b-3p and miR-409-3p. Moreover, DNMT2 silencing induced cellular senescence and DNMT2 levels were elevated in replicatively senescent cells. Taken together, we found that DNMT2 may take part in the regulation of cell proliferation and longevity in human fibroblasts and speculate that the manipulation of DNMT2 levels that limits cell proliferation may be potentially useful anticancer strategy. Keywords: DNMT2, Fibroblasts, Oxidative stress, Genotoxicity, Proliferation, miRNA

Effect of Different Water Cooling Treatments on Changes in Rectal and Surface Body Temperature in Leisure Horses after Medium-Intensity Effort

Cooling a horse after intensive exercise under hot conditions is commonly recommended. The study aimed to analyze changes in the rectal and surface temperature of the horses subjected to various water cooling treatments. This followed medium-intensity exercise performed by leisure horses under moderate air temperature. The experiment involved a control group without water application, and three variants of water cooling applied to 19 warmblood geldings after medium-intensity effort. Cooling of lower, upper, and lower and upper body parts was performed. In each variant, the rectal and body surface temperatures were measured five times: before; immediately after; and 10, 20, and 30 min after effort. Using water cooling under the studied conditions did not influence a post-exercise decrease in the rectal temperature. The decrease in body surface temperature depended on the used variant of cooling down the horse. Cooling the limbs by pouring water several times changed the surface body temperature from 34.2 ± 0.37 °C to 32.0 ± 0.32 °C and was more efficient than the repeated application of cool water on both the upper and lower body parts, leading to a temperature change from 34.6 ± 0.26 °C to 33.2 ± 0.36 °C. Thus, the application of cold water on the limbs only is sufficient for cooling the horse after medium-intensity exercise under moderate air temperature (about 24 °C)

Evaluation of Antifungal Activity of Naja pallida and Naja mossambica Venoms against Three Candida Species

In contrast to comprehensively investigated antibacterial activity of snake venoms, namely crude venoms and their selected components, little is known about antifungal properties of elapid snake venoms. In the present study, the proteome of two venoms of red spitting cobra Naja pallida (NPV) and Mozambique spitting cobra Naja mossambica (NMV) was characterized using LC-MS/MS approach, and the antifungal activity of crude venoms against three Candida species was established. A complex response to venom treatment was revealed. NPV and NMV, when used at relatively high concentrations, decreased cell viability of C. albicans and C. tropicalis, affected cell cycle of C. albicans, inhibited C. tropicalis-based biofilm formation and promoted oxidative stress in C. albicans, C. glabrata and C. tropicalis cells. NPV and NMV also modulated ammonia pulses during colony development and aging in three Candida species. All these observations provide evidence that NPV and NMV may diminish selected pathogenic features of Candida species. However, NPV and NMV also promoted the secretion of extracellular phospholipases that may facilitate Candida pathogenicity and limit their usefulness as anti-candidal agents. In conclusion, antifungal activity of snake venoms should be studied with great caution and a plethora of pathogenic biomarkers should be considered in the future experiments