Positive words carry less information than negative words

We show that the frequency of word use is not only determined by the word length \cite{Zipf1935} and the average information content \cite{Piantadosi2011}, but also by its emotional content. We have analyzed three established lexica of affective word usage in English, German, and Spanish, to verify that these lexica have a neutral, unbiased, emotional content. Taking into account the frequency of word usage, we find that words with a positive emotional content are more frequently used. This lends support to Pollyanna hypothesis \cite{Boucher1969} that there should be a positive bias in human expression. We also find that negative words contain more information than positive words, as the informativeness of a word increases uniformly with its valence decrease. Our findings support earlier conjectures about (i) the relation between word frequency and information content, and (ii) the impact of positive emotions on communication and social links.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

Comparative Genomic Analysis of Drosophila melanogaster and Vector Mosquito Developmental Genes

Genome sequencing projects have presented the opportunity for analysis of developmental genes in three vector mosquito species: Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Anopheles gambiae. A comparative genomic analysis of developmental genes in Drosophila melanogaster and these three important vectors of human disease was performed in this investigation. While the study was comprehensive, special emphasis centered on genes that 1) are components of developmental signaling pathways, 2) regulate fundamental developmental processes, 3) are critical for the development of tissues of vector importance, 4) function in developmental processes known to have diverged within insects, and 5) encode microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate developmental transcripts in Drosophila. While most fruit fly developmental genes are conserved in the three vector mosquito species, several genes known to be critical for Drosophila development were not identified in one or more mosquito genomes. In other cases, mosquito lineage-specific gene gains with respect to D. melanogaster were noted. Sequence analyses also revealed that numerous repetitive sequences are a common structural feature of Drosophila and mosquito developmental genes. Finally, analysis of predicted miRNA binding sites in fruit fly and mosquito developmental genes suggests that the repertoire of developmental genes targeted by miRNAs is species-specific. The results of this study provide insight into the evolution of developmental genes and processes in dipterans and other arthropods, serve as a resource for those pursuing analysis of mosquito development, and will promote the design and refinement of functional analysis experiments

Transforming growth factor beta signaling: The master sculptor of fingers

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF?) constitutes a large and evolutionarily conserved superfamily of secreted factors that play essential roles in embryonic development, cancer, tissue regeneration, and human degenerative pathology. Studies of this signaling cascade in the regulation of cellular and tissue changes in the three-dimensional context of a developing embryo have notably advanced in the understanding of the action mechanism of these growth factors. In this review, we address the role of TGF? signaling in the developing limb, focusing on its essential function in the morphogenesis of the autopod. As we discuss in this work, modern mouse genetic experiments together with more classical embryological approaches in chick embryos, provided very valuable information concerning the role of TGF? and Activin family members in the morphogenesis of the digits of tetrapods, including the formation of phalanxes, digital tendons, and interphalangeal joints. We emphasize the importance of the Activin and TGF? proteins as digit inducing factors and their critical interaction with the BMP signaling to sculpt the hand and foot morphology

Emergence of polarized opinions from free association networks

We developed a method that can identify polarized public opinions by finding modules in a network of statistically related free word associations. Associations to the cue “migrant” were collected from two independent and comprehensive samples in Hungary (N1 = 505, N2 = 505). The co-occurrence-based relations of the free word associations reflected emotional similarity, and the modules of the association network were validated with well-established measures. The positive pole of the associations was gathered around the concept of “Refugees” who need help, whereas the negative pole associated asylum seekers with “Violence”. The results were relatively consistent in the two independent samples. We demonstrated that analyzing the modular organization of association networks can be a tool for identifying the most important dimensions of public opinion about a relevant social issue without using predefined constructs

Decreased filtration fraction during active proliferative lupus nephritis: relation to disease activity and reversibility of renal function

Nine consecutive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were studied longitudinally for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) during ten exacerbations of severe proliferative glomerulonephritis. At the onset of exacerbation, GFR decreased significantly whereas ERPF did not fall; the latter even increased in some patients. As a consequence mean filtration fraction (FF), the ratio of GFR and ERPF, fell from 0.20 to 0.10. At maximum exacerbation, both GFR and ERPF had decreased without change in FF. During remission FF rose to pre-exacerbation values as a result of increase in GFR without change in ERPF. We conclude that changes in FF reflect changes in renal haemodynamics in patients with SLE and active proliferative glomerulonephritis. Determination of FF may be of some value in assessing renal disease activity and the degree of reversibility of renal function in those patients.Nine consecutive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were studied longitudinally for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) during ten exacerbations of severe proliferative glomerulonephritis. At the onset of exacerbation, GFR decreased significantly whereas ERPF did not fall; the latter even increased in some patients. As a consequence mean filtration fraction (FF), the ratio of GFR and ERPF, fell from 0.20 to 0.10. At maximum exacerbation, both GFR and ERPF had decreased without change in FF. During remission FF rose to pre-exacerbation values as a result of increase in GFR without change in ERPF. We conclude that changes in FF reflect changes in renal haemodynamics in patients with SLE and active proliferative glomerulonephritis. Determination of FF may be of some value in assessing renal disease activity and the degree of reversibility of renal function in those patients