Neural Correlates of the False Consensus Effect:Evidence for Motivated Projection and Regulatory Restraint

The false consensus effect (FCE), the tendency to project our attitudes and opinions on to others, is a pervasive bias in social reasoning with a range of ramifications for individuals and society. Research in social psychology has suggested that numerous factors (anchoring and adjustment, accessibility, motivated projection, etc.) may contribute to the FCE. In this study, we examine the neural correlates of the FCE and provide evidence that motivated projection plays a significant role. Activity in reward regions (ventromedial pFC and bilateral nucleus accumbens) during consensus estimation was positively associated with bias, whereas activity in right ventrolateral pFC (implicated in emotion regulation) was inversely associated with bias. Activity in reward and regulatory regions accounted for half of the total variation in consensus bias across participants (R2 = .503). This research complements models of the FCE in social psychology, providing a glimpse into the neural mechanisms underlying this important phenomenon

An automated method for the determination of deoxyribonuclease activity as exemplified by fractionation of the components of the medicament Varidase®

The activity of most deoxyribonuclease enzymes can be monitored by measuring the change in absorbance at 260 nm which accompanies the breakdown of the double-stranded structure of native DNA. An automated method for determining deoxyribonuclease activity, based on such an absorbance change, which can overcome problems of inhibition arising from the presence of inorganic cations, is described. Variations in inorganic cation concentration is a particular problem when measuring the activity of chromatographic fractions eluted via a salt gradient. A comparison is made between the automated and a manual method for the assay of deoxyribonuclease active constituents, of the medicament ‘Varidase’, eluted from a Cellex-D (Bio-Rad Laboratories Ltd) anionic exchange resin using a 0.05-1.0 M sodium chloride gradient

Development of novel antibacterial active, HaCaT biocompatible and biodegradable CA-g-P(3HB)-EC biocomposites with caffeic acid as a functional entity

International audienceWe have developed novel composites by grafting caffeic acid (CA) onto the P(3HB)-EC based material and laccase from Trametes versicolor was used for grafting purposes. The resulting composites were designated as CA-g-P(3HB)EC i.e., P(3HB)-EC (control), 5CA-g-P(3HB)-EC, 10CA-g-P(3HB)-EC, 15CA-g-P(3HB)-EC and 20CA-g-P(3HB)-EC. FT-IR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) was used to examine the functional and elemental groups of the control and laccase-assisted graft composites. Evidently, 15CA-g-P(3HB)-EC composite exhibited resilient antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. Moreover, a significant level of biocompatibility and biodegradability of the CA-g-P(3HB)-EC composites was also achieved with the human keratinocytes-like HaCaT cells and soil burial evaluation, respectively. In conclusion, the newly developed novel composites with multi characteristics could well represent the new wave of biomaterials for medical applications, and more specifically have promising future in the infection free would dressings, burn and/or skin regeneration field due to their sophisticated characteristics

A cognitive-behavioural pedometer-based group intervention on physical activity and sedentary behaviour in individuals with type 2 diabetes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of a pedometer and a cognitive-behavioural group intervention for promoting physical activity (PA) in type 2 diabetes patients. We recruited 41 participants and randomized them into an intervention group (IG) (n = 20) and a control group (CG) (n = 21). The intervention consisted of five sessions within 12 weeks, a booster session after 22 weeks and a pedometer. Primary outcome was PA assessed by accelerometer (minutes per day) and pedometer (steps per day). Secondary outcomes were weight, body mass index, blood pressure, haemoglobin A1c and total cholesterol. After 12 weeks, the IG increased with more than 2000 steps day−1 compared with the CG, whereas sedentary behaviour decreased more than 1 hour day−1 in the IG and showed no change in the CG. There was no intervention effect on the accelerometer-based PA nor on health measurements. After 1 year, the increase in steps per day remained significant in the IG, but sedentary activity increased again to baseline levels. This pilot study showed that the combination of a 12-week cognitive-behavioura intervention and a pedometer has a significant short-term impact on daily steps and sedentary behaviour but that the effects on total PA and long-term effects were limited

Novel anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective effects of the human melanocortin MC1 receptor agonist BMS-470539 dihydrochloride and human melanocortin MC3 receptor agonist PG-990 on lipopolysaccharide activated chondrocytes

Human melanocortin MC1 and MC3 receptors expressed on C-20/A4 chondrocytes exhibit chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects when activated by melanocortin peptides. Nearly 9 million people in the UK suffer from osteoarthritis, and bacterial infections play a role in its development. Here, we evaluate the effect of a panel of melanocortin peptides with different selectivity for human melanocortin MC1 (α-MSH, BMS-470539 dihydrochloride) and MC3 ([DTrp8]-γ-MSH, PG-990) receptors and C-terminal peptide α-MSH11-13(KPV), on inhibiting LPS-induced chondrocyte death, pro-inflammatory mediators and induction of anti-inflammatory proteins. C-20/A4 chondrocytes were treated with a panel of melanocortin peptides prophylactically and therapeutically in presence of LPS (0.1 μg/ml). The chondroprotective properties of these peptides determined by cell viability assay, RT-PCR, ELISA for detection of changes in inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-8 and MMP-1, -3 and -13) and western blotting for expression of the anti-inflammatory protein heme-oxygenase-1. C-20/A4 expressed human melanocortin MC1 and MC3 receptors and melanocortin peptides elevated cAMP. LPS stimulation caused a reduction in C-20/A4 viability, attenuated by the human melanocortin MC1 receptor agonist BMS-470539 dihydrochloride, and MC3 receptor agonists PG-990 and [DTrp8]-γ-MSH. Prophylactic and therapeutic regimes of [DTrp8]-γ-MSH significantly inhibited LPS-induced modulation of cartilage-damaging IL-6, IL-8, MMPs −1,-3 and −13 mediators both prophylactically and therapeutically, whilst human melanocortin MC1 and MC3 receptor agonists promoted an increase in HO-1 production. In the presence of LPS, activation of human melanocortin MC1 and MC3 receptors provided potent chondroprotection, upregulation of anti-inflammatory proteins and downregulation of inflammatory and proteolytic mediators involved in cartilage degradation, suggesting a new avenue for osteoarthritis treatment

Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), a promising new material for cardiac tissue engineering

Cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) is currently a prime focus of research due to an enormous clinical need. In this work, a novel functional material, Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), P(3HO), a medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), produced using bacterial fermentation, was studied as a new potential material for CTE. Engineered constructs with improved mechanical properties, crucial for supporting the organ during new tissue regeneration, and enhanced surface topography, to allow efficient cell adhesion and proliferation, were fabricated. Our results showed that the mechanical properties of the final patches were close to that of cardiac muscle. Biocompatibility of the P(3HO) neat patches, assessed using Neonatal ventricular rat myocytes (NVRM), showed that the polymer was as good as collagen in terms of cell viability, proliferation and adhesion. Enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation properties were observed when porous and fibrous structures were incorporated to the patches. Also, no deleterious effect was observed on the adults cardiomyocytes' contraction when cardiomyocytes were seeded on the P(3HO) patches. Hence, P(3HO) based multifunctional cardiac patches are promising constructs for efficient CTE. This work will provide a positive impact on the development of P(3HO) and other PHAs as a novel new family of biodegradable functional materials with huge potential in a range of different biomedical applications, particularly CTE, leading to further interest and exploitation of these materials

Novel colours and the content of experience

I propose a counterexample to naturalistic representational theories of phenomenal character. The counterexample is generated by experiences of novel colours reported by Crane and Piantanida. I consider various replies that a representationalist might make, including whether novel colours could be possible colours of objects and whether one can account for novel colours as one would account for binary colours or colour mixtures. I argue that none of these strategies is successful and therefore that one cannot fully explain the nature of the phenomenal character of perceptual experiences using a naturalistic conception of representation

Attaching metabolic expenditures to standard occupational classification systems: perspectives from time-use research

Abstract Background Traditionally, time-use data have been used to inform a broad range of economic and sociological research topics. One of the new areas in time-use research is the study of physical activity (PA) and physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE). Time-use data can be used to study PAEE by assigning MET values to daily activities using the Ainsworth Compendium of Physical Activities. Although most diarists record their daily activities accurately and in detail, they are only required to record their paid working hours, not the job-specific tasks they undertake. This makes it difficult to assign MET values to paid work episodes. Methods In this methodological paper, we explain how we addressed this problem by using the detailed information about respondents’ occupational status included in time-use survey household and individual questionnaires. We used the 2008 ISCO manual, a lexicon of the International Labour Organization of occupational titles and their related job-specific tasks. We first assigned a MET value to job-specific tasks using the Ainsworth compendium (2011) then calculated MET values for each of the 436 occupations in the ISCO-08 manual by averaging all job-specific MET values for each occupation. Results The ISCO-08 Major Groups of ‘elementary occupations’ and ‘craft and related trades workers’ are associated with high PAEE variation in terms of their job-specific MET values and together represented 21.6% of the Belgian working population in 2013. We recommend that these occupational categories should be prioritised for further in-depth research into occupational activity (OA). Conclusions We developed a clear and replicable procedure to calculate occupational activity for all ISCO-08 occupations. All of our calculations are attached to this manuscript which other researchers may use, replicate and refine

The Promise and Perils of Private Voluntary Regulation: Labor Standards and Work Organization in Two Mexican Garment Factories

This paper is part of a larger project on globalization and labor standards organized by Professor Richard Locke of M.I.T.. In addition to the results presented in this paper (some of which appear as well in Monica Romis, "Beneath Corporate Codes of Conduct: What Drives Compliance in Two Mexican Garment Factories," (Masters Thesis, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, M.I.T., 2005)), the project entailed field research in China, Turkey, Europe and the United States as well as systematic analysis of Nike’s factory audits of working conditions in over 800 factories in 51 countries.What role can private voluntary regulation play in improving labor standards and working conditions in global supply chain factories? How does this system relate to and interact with other systems of labor regulation and work organization? This paper seeks to address these questions through a structured comparison of two factories supplying Nike, the world’s largest athletic footwear and apparel company. These two factories have many similarities - both are in Mexico, both are in the apparel industry, both produce more or less the same products for Nike (and other brands) and both are subject to the same code of conduct. On the surface, both factories appear to have similar employment (i.e., recruitment, training, remuneration) practices and they receive comparable scores when audited by Nike’s compliance staff. However, underlying (and somewhat obscured by) these apparent similarities, significant differences in actual labor conditions exist between these two factories. What drives these differences in working conditions? What does this imply for traditional systems of monitoring and codes of conduct? Field research conducted at these two factories reveals that beneath the code of conduct and various monitoring efforts aimed at enforcing it, workplace conditions and labor standards are shaped by very different patterns of work organization and human resource management policies