Feeling for the other with ease:prospective actors show high levels of emotion recognition and report above average empathic concern, but do not experience strong distress

Differences in empathic abilities between acting, dance, and psychology students were explored, in addition to the appropriateness of existing empathy measures in the context of these cohorts. Students ( N = 176) across Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom and Europe were included in the online survey analysis, consisting of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) test, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Empathy Quotient (EQ), and the E-drawing test (EDT), each measuring particular facets of empathy. Based on existing evidence and our understanding of the discipline practices, we predicted that acting students would perform the best at identifying people's emotional expressions but might lack other cognitive or affective empathy skills, particularly those related to emotional reactions. This cohort thus provides an opportunity to evaluate different empathy measures. While actors showed significantly higher RME scores than dancers, the difference between actors and psychologists was marginal. Moreover, actors' scores did not differ significantly on other empathy measures, such as their concern for others' emotional wellbeing or fantasy, both measured by IRI subscales. Psychology students scored highest in the IRI perspective taking subscale and the data supported anecdotal evidence that psychologists were more concerned for others' emotional wellbeing than dancers or actors. Dancers seemed the least concerned with others' perspectives and emotional states, which we explained through a somatosensory 'inward' focus required by their art form. Nevertheless, compared to the general population, our groups reported higher empathic abilities on all IRI subscales except for personal distress. Altogether, our study shows that the RME, the IRI, and the EDT vary in their susceptibility to different facets of empathic abilities in acting, dance, and psychology students whereas the EQ does not. Emotions can be expressed and perceived through language, facial expressions, or behavior. As many empathy tests focus on one type of signal they might miss other strategies. Where empathy tests are applied to individuals that have a predominance to read or respond to others in a particular way, as we showed through these three disciplines, they might not capture these empathic strategies. We thus propose that empathy tests must evolve by means of integrating varied forms of communication. </p

Effects of potassium dichromate on ATP content of mammalian cells cultured in vitro.

In order to elucidate the mechanism of the cytotoxic activity of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), the alterations of intracellular ATP levels induced by potassium dichromate in cultured hamster fibroblasts (BHK line) have been studied. Two kinds of treatment procedures were adopted: (1) BHK cell suspensions were exposed to 0.05--1.00 mM K2Cr2O7 in Hanks' balanced salt solution (BSS) for up to 180 min and ATP concentrations were determined immediately after the exposure to Cr(VI). A decrease of ATP content was observed with 0.25--12.00 mM K2Cr2O7 but only in the case of the highest dose was it related in a linear fashion to the duration of the treatment. (2) Cells were preincubated in BSS for 30 min with 0.05--1.00 mM dichromate. They were then reincubated in Eagle's minimal essential medium (MEM) for up to 180 min and ATP was measured at different time points. Immediately after the exposure to chromium all the treated cultures showed a depletion of ATP content. However while the cells treated with 0.25--0.25 mM dichromate rapidly resumed ATP levels very similar to that of the control, no recovery was detected in cells treated with 0.50 and 1.0 mM K2Cr2O7, even after 180 min. The observed effects have been attributed to the oxidizing activity of Cr(VI), which subtracts electrons from electron donors involved in metabolic pathways producing ATP, and to the ability of Cr(III), deriving from Cr(VI) reduction, to form stable coordination complexes with ATP precursors and enzymes involved in ATP synthesis

Rapid screening and identification of illicit drugs by IR absorption spectroscopy and gas chromatography

Analytical instruments based on InfraRed Absorption Spectroscopy (IRAS) and Gas Chromatography (GC) are today available only as bench-top instrumentation for forensic labs and bulk analysis. Within the 'DIRAC' project funded by the European Commission, we are developing an advanced portable sensor, that combines miniaturized GC as its key chemical separation tool, and IRAS in a Hollow Fiber (HF) as its key analytical tool, to detect and recognize illicit drugs and key precursors, as bulk and as traces. The HF-IRAS module essentially consists of a broadly tunable External Cavity (EC) Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL), thermo-electrically cooled MCT detectors, and an infrared hollow fiber at controlled temperature. The hollow fiber works as a miniaturized gas cell, that can be connected to the output of the GC column with minimal dead volumes. Indeed, the module has been coupled to GC columns of different internal diameter and stationary phase, and with a Vapour Phase Pre-concentrator (VPC) that selectively traps target chemicals from the air. The presentation will report the results of tests made with amphetamines and precursors, as pure substances, mixtures, and solutions. It will show that the sensor is capable of analyzing all the chemicals of interest, with limits of detection ranging from a few nanograms to about 100-200 ng. Furthermore, it is suitable to deal with vapours directly trapped from the headspace of a vessel, and with salts treated in a basic solution. When coupled to FAST GC columns, the module can analyze multi-components mixes in less than 5 minutes