\u201cGive, but Give until It Hurts\u201d: The Modulatory Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence on the Motivation to Help

Two studies investigated the effect of trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) on people\u2019s moti- vation to help. In Study 1, we developed a new computer-based paradigm that tested partic- ipants\u2019 motivation to help by measuring their performance on a task in which they could gain a hypothetical amount of money to help children in need. Crucially, we manipulated partici- pants\u2019 perceived efficacy by informing them that they had been either able to save the chil- dren (positive feedback) or unable to save the children (negative feedback). We measured trait EI using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire\u2013Short Form (TEIQue-SF) and assessed participants\u2019 affective reactions during the experiment using the PANAS-X. Results showed that high and low trait EI participants performed differently after the presen- tation of feedback on their ineffectiveness in helping others in need. Both groups showed increasing negative affective states during the experiment when the feedback was negative; however, high trait EI participants better managed their affective reactions, modulating the impact of their emotions on performance and maintaining a high level of motivation to help. In Study 2, we used a similar computerized task and tested a control situation to explore the effect of trait EI on participants\u2019 behavior when facing failure or success in a scenario unre- lated to helping others in need. No effect of feedback emerged on participants\u2019 emotional states in the second study. Taken together our results show that trait EI influences the impact of success and failure on behavior only in affect-rich situation like those in which people are asked to help others in need

Exercise training as a novel primary treatment for localised prostate cancer: a multi-site randomised controlled phase II study

Alternative management strategies for localised prostate cancer are required to reduce morbidity and overtreatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety and acceptability of exercise training (ET) with behavioural support as a primary therapy for low/intermediate risk localised prostate cancer. Men with low/intermediate-risk prostate cancer were randomised to 12 months of ET or usual care with physical activity advice (UCwA) in a multi-site open label RCT. Feasibility included acceptability, recruitment, retention, adherence, adverse events and disease progression. Secondary outcomes included quality of life and cardiovascular health indices. Of the 50 men randomised to ET (n=25) or UCwA (n=25), 92% (n=46) completed 12 month assessments. Three men progressed to invasive therapy (two in UCwA). In the ET group, men completed mean: 140 mins per week for 12 months (95% CI 129,152mins) (94% of target dose) at 75% Hrmax. Men in the ET group demonstrated improved body mass (mean reduction: 2.0 kg; 95% CI -2.9,-1.1), reduced systolic (mean: 13 mmHg; 95% CI 7,19) and diastolic blood pressure (mean:8 mmHg; 95% CI 5,12) and improved quality of life (EQ5D mean:13 points; 95% CI 7,18). There were no serious adverse events. ET in men with low/intermediate risk prostate cancer is feasible and acceptable with a low progression rate to radical treatment. Early signals on clinically relevant markers were found which warrant further investigation

Molecular and electronic structure of terminal and alkali metal-capped uranium(V) nitride complexes

Determining the electronic structure of actinide complexes is intrinsically challenging because inter-electronic repulsion, crystal field, and spin–orbit coupling effects can be of similar magnitude. Moreover, such efforts have been hampered by the lack of structurally analogous families of complexes to study. Here we report an improved method to U≡N triple bonds, and assemble a family of uranium(V) nitrides. Along with an isoelectronic oxo, we quantify the electronic structure of this 5f1 family by magnetometry, optical and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies and modelling. Thus, we define the relative importance of the spin–orbit and crystal field interactions, and explain the experimentally observed different ground states. We find optical absorption linewidths give a potential tool to identify spin–orbit coupled states, and show measurement of UV···UV super-exchange coupling in dimers by EPR. We show that observed slow magnetic relaxation occurs via two-phonon processes, with no obvious correlation to the crystal field

When Right Feels Left: Referral of Touch and Ownership between the Hands

Feeling touch on a body part is paradigmatically considered to require stimulation of tactile afferents from the body part in question, at least in healthy non-synaesthetic individuals. In contrast to this view, we report a perceptual illusion where people experience “phantom touches” on a right rubber hand when they see it brushed simultaneously with brushes applied to their left hand. Such illusory duplication and transfer of touch from the left to the right hand was only elicited when a homologous (i.e., left and right) pair of hands was brushed in synchrony for an extended period of time. This stimulation caused the majority of our participants to perceive the right rubber hand as their own and to sense two distinct touches – one located on the right rubber hand and the other on their left (stimulated) hand. This effect was supported by quantitative subjective reports in the form of questionnaires, behavioral data from a task in which participants pointed to the felt location of their right hand, and physiological evidence obtained by skin conductance responses when threatening the model hand. Our findings suggest that visual information augments subthreshold somatosensory responses in the ipsilateral hemisphere, thus producing a tactile experience from the non-stimulated body part. This finding is important because it reveals a new bilateral multisensory mechanism for tactile perception and limb ownership

A Dominated Coupling From The Past algorithm for the stochastic simulation of networks of biochemical reactions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, stochastic descriptions of biochemical reactions based on the Master Equation (ME) have become widespread. These are especially relevant for models involving gene regulation. Gillespie’s Stochastic Simulation Algorithm (SSA) is the most widely used method for the numerical evaluation of these models. The SSA produces exact samples from the distribution of the ME for finite times. However, if the stationary distribution is of interest, the SSA provides no information about convergence or how long the algorithm needs to be run to sample from the stationary distribution with given accuracy. </p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present a proof and numerical characterization of a Perfect Sampling algorithm for the ME of networks of biochemical reactions prevalent in gene regulation and enzymatic catalysis. Our algorithm combines the SSA with Dominated Coupling From The Past (DCFTP) techniques to provide guaranteed sampling from the stationary distribution. The resulting DCFTP-SSA is applicable to networks of reactions with uni-molecular stoichiometries and sub-linear, (anti-) monotone propensity functions. We showcase its applicability studying steady-state properties of stochastic regulatory networks of relevance in synthetic and systems biology.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The DCFTP-SSA provides an extension to Gillespie’s SSA with guaranteed sampling from the stationary solution of the ME for a broad class of stochastic biochemical networks.</p

Estimating Distribution of Hidden Objects with Drones: From Tennis Balls to Manatees

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, have been used widely in military applications, but more recently civilian applications have emerged (e.g., wildlife population monitoring, traffic monitoring, law enforcement, oil and gas pipeline threat detection). UAV can have several advantages over manned aircraft for wildlife surveys, including reduced ecological footprint, increased safety, and the ability to collect high-resolution geo-referenced imagery that can document the presence of species without the use of a human observer. We illustrate how geo-referenced data collected with UAV technology in combination with recently developed statistical models can improve our ability to estimate the distribution of organisms. To demonstrate the efficacy of this methodology, we conducted an experiment in which tennis balls were used as surrogates of organisms to be surveyed. We used a UAV to collect images of an experimental field with a known number of tennis balls, each of which had a certain probability of being hidden. We then applied spatially explicit occupancy models to estimate the number of balls and created precise distribution maps. We conducted three consecutive surveys over the experimental field and estimated the total number of balls to be 328 (95%CI: 312, 348). The true number was 329 balls, but simple counts based on the UAV pictures would have led to a total maximum count of 284. The distribution of the balls in the field followed a simulated environmental gradient. We also were able to accurately estimate the relationship between the gradient and the distribution of balls. Our experiment demonstrates how this technology can be used to create precise distribution maps in which discrete regions of the study area are assigned a probability of presence of an object. Finally, we discuss the applicability and relevance of this experimental study to the case study of Florida manatee distribution at power plants

A GFP-lacZ Bicistronic Reporter System for Promoter Analysis in Environmental Gram-Negative Bacteria

Here, we describe a bicistronic reporter system for the analysis of promoter activity in a variety of Gram-negative bacteria at both the population and single-cell levels. This synthetic genetic tool utilizes an artificial operon comprising the gfp and lacZ genes that are assembled in a suicide vector, which is integrated at specific sites within the chromosome of the target bacterium, thereby creating a monocopy reporter system. This tool was instrumental for the complete in vivo characterization of two promoters, Pb and Pc, that drive the expression of the benzoate and catechol degradation pathways, respectively, of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440. The parameterization of these promoters in a population (using β-galactosidase assays) and in single cells (using flow cytometry) was necessary to examine the basic numerical features of these systems, such as the basal and maximal levels and the induction kinetics in response to an inducer (benzoate). Remarkably, GFP afforded a view of the process at a much higher resolution compared with standard lacZ tests; changes in fluorescence faithfully reflected variations in the transcriptional regimes of individual bacteria. The broad host range of the vector/reporter platform is an asset for the characterization of promoters in different bacteria, thereby expanding the diversity of genomic chasses amenable to Synthetic Biology methods

Evidence for multiple alleles effecting muscling and fatness at the Ovine GDF8 locus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The current investigation surveyed genetic polymorphism at the ovine <it>GDF8 </it>locus and determined its contribution to variation in muscling and fatness in sheep.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Re-sequencing 2988 bp from a panel of 15 sires revealed a total of six SNP, none of which were located within exons of the gene. One of the identified SNP, <it>g+6723G>A</it>, is known to increase muscularity within the Belgian Texel. A genetic survey of 326 animals revealed that the mutation is near fixation within Australian Texels and present in additional breeds including White Suffolk, Poll Dorset and Lincoln. Using a resource population comprising 15 sires and 1191 half-sib progeny with genotypic data, the effect of this and other SNP was tested against a set of 50 traits describing growth, muscling, fatness, yield, meat and eating quality. The loss of function allele (<it>g+6723A</it>) showed significant effects on slaughter measurements of muscling and fatness. No effect was detected on objectively assessed meat quality however evidence was found for an association between <it>g+6723G>A</it>, decreased intramuscular fat and reduced eating quality. Haplotype analysis using flanking microsatellites was performed to search for evidence of currently unidentified mutations which might affect production traits. Four haplotypes were identified that do not carry <it>g+6723A </it>but which showed significant associations with muscling and fatness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The finding that <it>g+6723G>A </it>is present within Australian sheep facilitated an independent evaluation into its phenotypic consequence. Testing was conducted using a separate genetic background and animals raised in different environments to the Belgian Texel in which it was first identified. The observation that the direction and size of effects for <it>g+6723A </it>is approximately consistent represented a robust validation of the effects of the mutation. Based on observed allele frequencies within breeds, selection for <it>g+6723A </it>will have the largest impact within the White Suffolk. <it>GDF8 </it>may harbour additional mutations which serve to influence economically important traits in sheep.</p

Tibiofibular syndesmosis in acute ankle fractures: additional value of an oblique MR image plane

Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVE: To evaluate the additional value of a 45� oblique MRI scan plane for assessing the anterior and posterior distal tibiofibular syndesmotic ligaments in patients with an acute ankle fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospectively, data were collected for 44 consecutive patients with an acute ankle fracture who underwent a radiograph (AP, lateral, and mortise view) as well as an MRI in both the standard three orthogonal planes and in an additional 45� oblique plane. The fractures on the radiographs were classified according to Lauge-Hansen (LH). The anterior (ATIFL) and posterior (PTIFL) distal tibiofibular ligaments, as well as the presence of a bony avulsion in both the axial and oblique planes was evaluated on MRI. MRI findings regarding syndesmotic injury in the axial and oblique planes were compared to syndesmotic injury predicted by LH. Kappa and the agreement score were calculated to determine the interobserver agreement. The Wilcoxon signed rank test and McNemar's test were used to compare the two scan planes. RESULTS: The interobserver agreement (?) and agreement score [AS (\%)] regarding injury of the ATIFL and PTIFL and the presence of a fibular or tibial avulsion fracture were good to excellent in both the axial and oblique image planes (? 0.61-0.92, AS 84-95\%). For both ligaments the oblique image plane indicated significantly less injury than the axial plane (p?<?0.001). There was no significant difference in detection of an avulsion fracture in the axial or oblique plane, neither anteriorly (p?=?0.50) nor posteriorly (p?=?1.00). With syndesmotic injury as predicted by LH as comparison, the specificity in the oblique MR plane increased for both anterior (to 86\% from 7\%) and posterior (to 86\% from 48\%) syndesmotic injury when compared to the axial plane. CONCLUSION: Our results show the additional value of an 45� oblique MR image plane for detection of injury of the anterior and posterior distal tibiofibular syndesmoses in acute ankle fractures. Findings of syndesmotic injury in the oblique MRI plane were closer to the diagnosis as assumed by the Lauge-Hansen classification than in the axial plane. With more accurate information, the surgeon can better decide when to stabilize syndesmotic injury in acute ankle fractures

Visual mismatch negativity to masked stimuli presented at very brief presentation rates

Mismatch Negativity (MMN) has been characterised as a ‘pre-attentive’ component of an event-related potential (ERP) that is related to discrimination and error prediction processes. The aim of the current experiment was to establish whether visual MMN could be recorded to briefly presented, backward and forward masked visual stimuli, given both below and above levels of subjective experience. Evidence of visual MMN elicitation in the absence of the ability to consciously report stimuli would provide strong evidence for the automaticity of the visual MMN mechanism. Using an oddball paradigm, two stimuli that differed in orientation from each other, an + and an x were presented on a computer screen. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded from nine participants (six females), mean age 21.4 years. Results showed that for stimuli that were effectively masked at 7ms presentation, there was little variation in the ERPs evoked to standard and deviant stimuli or in the subtraction waveform employed to delineate the visual MMN. At 14 ms stimulus presentation, when participants were able to report stimulus presence, an enhanced negativity at around 175 ms and 305 ms was observed to the deviant and was evident in the subtraction waveform. Although some of the difference observed in the ERPs can be attributed to stimulus characteristics, the use of a ‘lonely’ deviant protocol revealed attenuated visual MMN components at 14 ms stimulus presentation. Overall, results suggest that some degree of conscious attention is required before visual MMN components emerge, suggesting visual MMN is not an entirely pre-attentive process