The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Cool and Hot Cognitive Processes: A Systematic Review

Although emotion and cognition were considered to be separate aspects of the psyche in the past, researchers today have demonstrated the existence of an interplay between the two processes. Emotional intelligence (EI), or the ability to perceive, use, understand, and regulate emotions, is a relatively young concept that attempts to connect both emotion and cognition. While EI has been demonstrated to be positively related to well-being, mental and physical health, and non-aggressive behaviors, little is known about its underlying cognitive processes. The aim of the present study was to systematically review available evidence about the relationship between EI and cognitive processes as measured through “cool” (i.e., not emotionally laden) and “hot” (i.e., emotionally laden) laboratory tasks. We searched Scopus and Medline to find relevant articles in Spanish and English, and divided the studies following two variables: cognitive processes (hot vs. cool) and EI instruments used (performance-based ability test, self-report ability test, and self-report mixed test). We identified 26 eligible studies. The results provide a fair amount of evidence that performance-based ability EI (but not self-report EI tests) is positively related with efficiency in hot cognitive tasks. EI, however, does not appear to be related with cool cognitive tasks: neither through self-reporting nor through performance-based ability instruments. These findings suggest that performance-based ability EI could improve individuals’ emotional information processing abilities.This research was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy (PSI2012-37490) and the Innovation and Development Agency of Andalusia,Spain(SEJ-07325)

Duplex realtime PCR method for Epstein-Barr virus and human DNA quantification: its application for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders detection

INTRODUCTION: The quantification of circulating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA is used to monitor transplant patients as an early marker of Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders (PTLD). So far no standardized methodology exists for such determination.OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to develop and validate a real-time PCR assay to quantify EBV DNA in clinical samples from transplant recipients.METHODS: A duplex real-time PCR method was developed to amplify DNA from EBV and from a human gene. The EBV load was determined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), plasma and oropharyngeal tissue from 64 non-transplanted patients with lymphoid-hypertrophy (Non-Tx), 47 transplant recipients without PTLD (Tx), 54 recipients with PTLD (Tx-PTLD), and 66 blood donors (BD). WinPEPI, version 11.14 software was used for statistical analysis.RESULTS:Analytical validation: the intra and inter-assays variation coefficients were less than 4.5% (EBV-reaction) and 3% (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase - GAPDH reaction). Linear ranges comprised 107-10 EBV genome equivalents (gEq) (EBV-reaction) and 500,000-32 human gEq (GAPDH-reaction). The detection limit was 2.9 EBV gEq (EBV-reaction). Both reactions showed specificity. Application to clinical samples: higher levels of EBV were found in oropharyngeal tissue from transplanted groups with and without PTLD, compared to Non-Tx (p < 0.05). The EBV load in PBMC from the groups of BD, Non-Tx, Tx and Tx-PTLD exhibited increasing levels (p < 0.05). In BD, PBMC and plasma, EBV loads were undetectable.CONCLUSIONS: The performance of the assay was suitable for the required clinical application. The assay may be useful to monitor EBV infection in transplant patients, in particular in laboratories from low-income regions that cannot afford to use commercial assays

Epstein-barr virus (EBV) in healthy carriers: Distribution of genotypes and 30 bp deletion in latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1) oncogene

Fil: Correa, Rita Mariel. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Fellner, María Dolores. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Alonio, Lidia Virginia. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Durand, Karina. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Teyssié, Angélica R. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Picconi, María Alejandra. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.There are two types of Epstein Barr virus (EBV): EBV-1 and EBV-2, distinguished by genomic polymorphism in the genes encoding the nuclear antigens (EBNA-2, -3A, -3B, -3C). Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) is an EBV protein with known oncogenic properties. Different variants had been described; among them, a 30 base pair (bp) deletion (del-LMP-1) had been reported in benign and malignant pathologies, but there is little information about its frequency in healthy populations. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of the EBV genotypes and the 30 bp deletion frequency, in EBV healthy carriers from Argentina. Analysis of EBNA-3C and LMP-1 genes were done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by Southern blot hybridization on DNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from blood bank donors. EBV-1 was present in 75.9% of samples, EBV-2 in 14.6%, and co-infections with both types in 6.5%. The deleted LMP-1 variant was found in 7.4% of analyzed samples, corresponding 3.2% to deleted variant alone and 4.2% to co-infections with non-deleted form. The non-deleted variant was found in 64.6% whereas in the remaining 28%, no PCR product was detected. These results showed that EBV-1 was the more prevalent type in healthy carriers of Argentina, similar to reports from others countries. A predominance of the non-deleted LMP-1 variant was observed. The presence of co-infections with both types and variants demonstrated that healthy individuals may also harbor multiple EBV infections

A semiquantitative PCR method (SQ-PCR) to measure Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load: its application in transplant patients

Fil: Fellner, María Dolores. ANLIS Dr. C. G. Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas (INEI). Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Durand, Karina. ANLIS Dr. C. G. Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas (INEI). Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Correa, Mariel. ANLIS Dr. C. G. Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas (INEI). Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Bes, David. Hospital Nacional de Pediatría "Prof. Juan P. Garrahan"; Buenos Aires, Argentina.Fil: Alonio, Lidia V. ANLIS Dr. C. G. Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas (INEI). Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Teyssié, Angélica R. ANLIS Dr. C. G. Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas (INEI). Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Picconi, María Alejandra. ANLIS Dr. C. G. Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas (INEI). Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Background: High Epstein-Barr virus load has been related to an increased risk of Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders (PTLD) in transplant recipients. Objectives: Development of a method to quantitate EBV DNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and evaluate its usefulness in transplant patients. Study design: We designed a semiquantitative nested PCR based on a limiting dilution analysis to detect high viral loads in PBMC. This method was applied to 25 healthy carriers, and 85 solid organ transplant recipients as follows: (A) 53 asymptomatic patients; (B) 24 symptomatic patients; (C) eight patients with PTLD. Results: In healthy carriers the reciprocal of the limiting dilution (RLD) ranged between non-detected (ND) and 1, the median RLD was ND, which is equivalent to a viral load of <1 copy per 10(5) PBMC. In the transplant population the medians RLD (range) were: (A) asymptomatic group: ND (ND-64), median equivalent to a viral load of <1 copy per 10(5) PBMC; (B) symptomatic group: 4 (ND-256), median equivalent to a range of viral load of 4-64 copies per 10(5) PBMC. (C) PTLD group: 256 (16-16384), median equivalent to a range of viral load of 256-4096 copies per 10(5) PBMC. Statistically significant differences were found between all groups: A+B vs. C (P<0.0001); A vs. B (P<0.0001); A vs. C (P<0.0001), B vs. C (P<0.0001). We also observed a good correlation between viral loads and clinical findings in four follow-up patients. Considering the RLD=256 as a cutoff point to detect transplant patients with PTLD, resulted in sensitivity 75%, specificity 96.7%, positive predictive value 60%, negative predictive value 98.3%. Conclusion: This SQ-PCR method enables us to differentiate between transplant patients with and without PTLD; therefore, it could be applied as a marker for early detection of this pathology

Circulating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in HIV-infected patients and its relation with primary brain lymphoma

Fil: Fellner, María Dolores. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Durand, Karina. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Correa, Rita Mariel. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Redini, Liliana. FUNDAI. Laboratorio de Retrovirus y Virus asociados; Argentina.Fil: Yampolsky, Claudio. Sanatorio Guemes. Servicio de Neurocirugía; Argentina.Fil: Colobraro, Antonio. Instituto FLENI. Servicio de Patología; Argentina.Fil: Sevlever, Gustavo. Instituto FLENI. Servicio de Patología; Argentina.Fil: Teyssié, Angélica R. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Benetucci, Jorge. FUNDAI. Laboratorio de Retrovirus y Virus asociados; Argentina.Fil: Picconi, María Alejandra. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.OBJECTIVE To analyze Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load at different HIV infection stages and its relation with brain lymphoma. DESIGN A cross-sectional study was conducted on 172 HIV-infected individuals: 62 asymptomatic HIV carriers (group A), 30 HIV progressors (group B), 73 AIDS patients (group C), seven AIDS patients with brain lymphoma (group C-BL); and 26 blood donors (group BD) as healthy carriers. EBV load was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and plasma samples using a semi-quantitative PCR method. RESULTS PBMC-EBV levels in HIV-infected patients were higher than in the blood donors (p0.05), while the C-BL group had significantly lower levels (p0.05), while significantly lower levels were found in cases with less than 50 cells/mm(3) (p<0.05). In all HIV-infected patients, plasma-EBV load was lower than, or similar to, PBMC-EBV load, unlike 2/7 HIV-positive brain lymphoma patients. CONCLUSIONS During HIV infection PBMC-EBV load rises in comparison to healthy carriers, but decreases when immunosuppression progresses and CD4+ T cell count becomes <50/mm(3). Circulating EBV is mainly cell-associated in the HIV-infected population. Neither PBMC-EBV nor plasma-EBV loads would be useful to diagnose brain lymphoma in AIDS patients

Carga de virus Epstein-Barr en pacientes trasplantados: detección temprana de desórdenes linfoproliferativos postrasplante

Fil: Fellner, María Dolores. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Durand, Karina A. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Solernou, Veronica. "Prof. Dr. Juan. P. Garrahan" National Pediatrics Hospital. Pathology Service; Argentina.Fil: Bosaleh, Andrea. "Prof. Dr. Juan. P. Garrahan" National Pediatrics Hospital. Pathology Service; Argentina.Fil: Balbarrey, Ziomara. "Prof. Dr. Juan. P. Garrahan" National Pediatrics Hospital. Pathology Service; Argentina.Fil: García de Dávila, María T. "Prof. Dr. Juan. P. Garrahan" National Pediatrics Hospital. Pathology Service; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, Marcelo. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Irazu, Lucía. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Alonio, Lidia V. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Picconi, María A. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.High levels of circulating EBV load are used as a marker of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD). There is no consensus regarding the threshold level indicative of an increase in peripheral EBV DNA. The aim of the study was to clinically validate a developed EBV quantification assay for early PTLD detection. Transversal study: paired peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), plasma and oropharyngeal lymphoid tissue (OLT) from children undergoing a solid organ transplant with (n=58) and without (n=47) PTLD. Retrospective follow-up: 71 paired PBMC and plasma from recipients with (n=6) and without (n=6) PTLD history. EBV load was determined by real-time PCR. The diagnostic ability to detect all PTLD (categories 1-4), advanced PTLD (categories 2-4) or neoplastic PTLD (categories 3 and 4) was estimated by analyzing the test performance at different cut-off values or with a load variation greater than 0.5log units. The higher diagnostic performance for identifying all, advanced or neoplastic PTLD, was achieved with cut-off values of 1.08; 1.60 and 2.47log EBVgEq/10(5) PBMC or 2.30; 2.60; 4.47loggEq/10(5) OLT cells, respectively. EBV DNA detection in plasma showed high specificity but low (all categories) or high (advanced/neoplastic categories) sensitivity for PTLD identification. Diagnostic performance was greater when: (1) a load variation in PBMC or plasma was identified; (2) combining the measure of EBV load in PBMC and plasma. The best diagnostic ability to identify early PTLD stages was achieved by monitoring EBV load in PBMC and plasma simultaneously; an algorithm was proposed

Circulating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in HIV-infected patients and its relation with primary brain lymphoma

Fil: Fellner, María Dolores. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Durand, Karina. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Correa, Rita Mariel. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Redini, Liliana. FUNDAI. Laboratorio de Retrovirus y Virus asociados; Argentina.Fil: Yampolsky, Claudio. Sanatorio Guemes. Servicio de Neurocirugía; Argentina.Fil: Colobraro, Antonio. Instituto FLENI. Servicio de Patología; Argentina.Fil: Sevlever, Gustavo. Instituto FLENI. Servicio de Patología; Argentina.Fil: Teyssié, Angélica R. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.Fil: Benetucci, Jorge. FUNDAI. Laboratorio de Retrovirus y Virus asociados; Argentina.Fil: Picconi, María Alejandra. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Virus Oncogénicos; Argentina.OBJECTIVE To analyze Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load at different HIV infection stages and its relation with brain lymphoma. DESIGN A cross-sectional study was conducted on 172 HIV-infected individuals: 62 asymptomatic HIV carriers (group A), 30 HIV progressors (group B), 73 AIDS patients (group C), seven AIDS patients with brain lymphoma (group C-BL); and 26 blood donors (group BD) as healthy carriers. EBV load was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and plasma samples using a semi-quantitative PCR method. RESULTS PBMC-EBV levels in HIV-infected patients were higher than in the blood donors (p0.05), while the C-BL group had significantly lower levels (p0.05), while significantly lower levels were found in cases with less than 50 cells/mm(3) (p<0.05). In all HIV-infected patients, plasma-EBV load was lower than, or similar to, PBMC-EBV load, unlike 2/7 HIV-positive brain lymphoma patients. CONCLUSIONS During HIV infection PBMC-EBV load rises in comparison to healthy carriers, but decreases when immunosuppression progresses and CD4+ T cell count becomes <50/mm(3). Circulating EBV is mainly cell-associated in the HIV-infected population. Neither PBMC-EBV nor plasma-EBV loads would be useful to diagnose brain lymphoma in AIDS patients

Epstein Barr virus genotypes and LMP-1 variants in HIV-infected patients

Fil: Correa, Rita Mariel. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Fellner, María Dolores. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Durand, Karina. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Redini, Liliana. Hospital de Enfermedades Infecciosas “Dr. F. Muñiz”; Argentina.Fil: Alonio, Virginia. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Yampolsky, Claudio. Sanatorio Güemes. Servicio de Neurocirugía; Argentina.Fil: Colobraro, Antonio. Clínica Bazterrica. Servicio Patología; Argentina.Fil: Sevlever, Gustavo. Instituto Fleni. Servicio Patología; Argentina.Fil: Teyssié, Angélica. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Benetucci, Jorge. Fundación Ayuda al Inmunodeficiente. Laboratorio de Retrovirus y virus asociados; Argentina.Fil: Picconi, María Alejandra. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Two Epstein Barr virus (EBV) genotypes: EBV-1 and EBV-2 have been described. A 30-bp deletion in latent membrane protein-1 gene (del-LMP-1) has been identified in various pathologies. The aim of this study was to determine EBV genotypes and 30-bp deletion frequency in HIV-infected patients from Argentina. The study was performed on 258 individuals: Cases: 144 HIV-infected patients that included: (a) 7 AIDS patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), (b) 62 AIDS patients, and (c) 75 asymptomatic HIV-infected patients. Controls: 114 HIV-negative individuals. EBV genotypes and variants in LMP-1 gene were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-Southern blot on DNA extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and brain biopsies. In PCNSL, the presence of EBV was confirmed by EBER RNA in situ hybridization, and DNA sequencing of 3' end LMP-l gene of PCR products was performed. In HIV-infected patients, EBV-1 was detected in 48.6%, EBV-2 in 18.8%, and co-infection with both genotypes in 32.6%. In control group, EBV-1 was present in 74.3%, EBV-2 in 12.4%, and co-infection in 13.3%. Del-LMP-1 was found in 44.4% of HIV-infected patients samples (20.7% alone and 23.7% co-infection with non-deleted form) while it was found in 25.3% (6.3% alone and 19% with co-infection) in HIV-negative individuals. In HIV-infected patients EBV-2, co-infection and 30-bp deletion are more prevalent than in control group. In all, PCNSL brain biopsies samples, del-LMP-1 always was detected with EBV-2, but more cases would have to be included to draw definitive conclusions

Evaluation of RT-qPCR and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assays for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Argentina

Our aim was to evaluate the analytical and clinical performance of the SARS-CoV-2 molecular detection kits used in Argentina. Nine real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and three reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assays were evaluated using the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended test as reference method. A secondary standard calibrated for the E, N and RdRp genes against the Pan American Health Organization—World Health Organization—International Standard was used to calculate the limit of detection (LoD). A panel of artificial clinical samples, 32 positive and 30 negative for SARS-CoV-2, were analyzed to estimate the kappa concordance (κ) and the diagnostic performance. Differences among the LoD values for the target genes amplified by each kit were &gt;1 log copies/reaction. The κ for the RT-qPCR kits was greater than 0.9, whereas that for the RT-LAMP assays ranged from 0.75 to 0.93. The clinical performance of RT-qPCR kits showed 100% specificity and high sensitivity, although with variations according to the gene analyzed. The E and N genes provided greater clinical sensitivity, whereas the RdRp gene increased the clinical specificity. The RT-LAMP assays revealed a variable diagnostic performance. The information provided can be useful to choose the most appropriate diagnostic test and may contribute to the establishment of a consensus in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 in Argentina and the region