No grammatical gender effect on affective ratings: evidence from Italian and German languages

In this study, we tested the linguistic relativity hypothesis by studying the effect of grammatical gender (feminine vs. masculine) on affective judgments of conceptual representation in Italian and German. In particular, we examined the within- and cross-language grammatical gender effect and its interaction with participants’ demographic characteristics (such as, the raters’ age and sex) on semantic differential scales (affective ratings of valence, arousal and dominance) in Italian and German speakers. We selected the stimuli and the relative affective measures from Italian and German adaptations of the ANEW (Affective Norms for English Words). Bayesian and frequentist analyses yielded evidence for the absence of within- and cross-languages effects of grammatical gender and sex- and age-dependent interactions. These results suggest that grammatical gender does not affect judgments of affective features of semantic representation in Italian and German speakers, since an overt coding of word grammar is not required. Although further research is recommended to refine the impact of the grammatical gender on properties of semantic representation, these results have implications for any strong view of the linguistic relativity hypothesis

Characterization of seedling and adult-plant resistance to stem rust race Ug99 in Iranian bread wheat landraces

The full-length infectious cDNA clone was constructed and sequenced from the strain DM of echovirus 9, which was recently isolated from a 6-week-old child at the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes. Parallel with the isolate DM, the full-length infectious cDNA clone of the prototype strain echovirus 9 Barty (Barty-INF), was constructed and sequenced. Genetic relationships of the sequenced echo 9 viruses to the other members of the human enterovirus type B species were studied by phylogenetic analyses. Comparison of capsid protein sequences showed that the isolate DM was closely related to both prototype strains: Hill and Barty-INF. The only exception was the inner capsid protein VP4 where serotype specificity was not evident and the isolate DM clustered with the strain Hill and the strain Barty-INF with echovirus 30 Bastianni. Likewise, the nonstructural protein coding region, P2P3, of isolate DM was more similar to strain Hill than to strain Barty-INF. However, like echovirus 9 Barty, the isolate DM contained the RGD-motif in the carboxy terminus of capsid protein VP1. By blocking experiments using an RGD-containing peptide and a polyclonal rabbit antiserum to the alpha(v)beta(3)-integrin, it was shown that this molecule works as a cellular receptor for isolate DM. By using primary human islets, it was shown that the isolate DM is capable of infecting insulin-producing beta-cells like the corresponding prototype strains did. However, only isolate DM was clearly cytolytic for beta-cells. The infectious clones that were made allow further investigations of the molecular features responsible for the diabetogenicity of the isolate DM

Role of environmental poliovirus surveillance in global polio eradication and beyond

Environmental poliovirus surveillance (ENV) means monitoring of poliovirus (PV) transmission in human populations by examining environmental specimens supposedly contaminated by human faeces. The rationale is based on the fact that PV-infected individuals, whether presenting with disease symptoms or not, shed large amounts of PV in the faeces for several weeks. As the morbidity:infection ratio of PV infection is very low, this fact contributes to the sensitivity of ENV which under optimal conditions can be better than that of the standard acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance. The World Health Organization has included ENV in the new Strategic Plan of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for years 2010-2012 to be increasingly used in PV surveillance, supplementing AFP surveillance. In this paper we review the feasibility of using ENV to monitor wild PV and vaccine-derived PV circulation in human populations, based on global experiences in defined epidemiological situation

Evidence for spared attention to faces in 7-month-old infants after prenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs

Introduction: Prenatal antiepileptic drug (AED) exposure is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and autism spectrum disorders detected mainly at the age of two to six years. We examined whether the developitiental aberrations associated with prenatal AED exposure-could be-detected already in infancy and whether effects on visual attention can be observed at this early age. Material and methods: We compared a prospective cohort of infants with in utero exposure to AED (n = 56) with infants without drug exposures (n = 62). The assessments performed at the age of seven months included standardized neurodevelopmental scores (Griffiths Mental Developmental Scale and Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination) as well as a novel eye-tracking-based test for visual attention and orienting to faces. Background information included prospective collection of AED exposure data, pregnancy outcome, neuropsychological evaluation of the mothers, and information on maternal epilepsy type. Results: Carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, and valproate, but not lamotrigine or levetiracetam, were associated with impaired early language abilities at the age of seven months. The general speed of visuospatial orienting or attentional bias for faces measured by eye-tracker-based tests did not differ between AED-exposed and control infants. Discussion: Our findings support the idea that prenatal AED exposure may impair verbal abilities, and this effect may be detected already in infancy. In contrast, the early development of attention to faces was spared after in utero AED exposure. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

In vivo imaging of pyrrole-imidazole polyamides with positron emission tomography

The biodistribution profiles in mice of two pyrrole-imidazole polyamides were determined by PET. Pyrrole-imidazole polyamides are a class of small molecules that can be programmed to bind a broad repertoire of DNA sequences, disrupt transcription factor-DNA interfaces, and modulate gene expression pathways in cell culture experiments. The 18F-radiolabeled polyamides were prepared by oxime ligation between 4-[18F]-fluorobenzaldehyde and a hydroxylamine moiety at the polyamide C terminus. Small animal PET imaging of radiolabeled polyamides administered to mice revealed distinct differences in the biodistribution of a 5-ring β-linked polyamide versus an 8-ring hairpin, which exhibited better overall bioavailability. In vivo imaging of pyrrole-imidazole polyamides by PET is a minimum first step toward the translation of polyamide-based gene regulation from cell culture to small animal studies

Differential cell autonomous responses determine the outcome of coxsackievirus infections in murine pancreatic α and β cells

This is the final version of the article. Available from eLife Sciences Publications via the DOI in this record.Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease caused by loss of pancreatic β cells via apoptosis while neighboring α cells are preserved. Viral infections by coxsackieviruses (CVB) may contribute to trigger autoimmunity in T1D. Cellular permissiveness to viral infection is modulated by innate antiviral responses, which vary among different cell types. We presently describe that global gene expression is similar in cytokine-treated and virus-infected human islet cells, with up-regulation of gene networks involved in cell autonomous immune responses. Comparison between the responses of rat pancreatic α and β cells to infection by CVB5 and 4 indicate that α cells trigger a more efficient antiviral response than β cells, including higher basal and induced expression of STAT1-regulated genes, and are thus better able to clear viral infections than β cells. These differences may explain why pancreatic β cells, but not α cells, are targeted by an autoimmune response during T1D.Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique – FNRS: FNRS- F 5/4/5.MCF/KP. Project de secherche (PDR) T.0036.13; European Commission (EC): Projects Naimit and BetaBat, in the Framework Programme 7 of the European Community; Federation Wallonie- Bruxelles: the Communaute Franc¸ aise de BelgiqueActions de Recherche Concertees (ARC); Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique – FNRS: FNRS post-doctoral fellowship; Governo Brasil: PDE/CSF Pos-Doutorado no Exterior; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF): JDRF Career Development Award; European Commission (EC): European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme [FP7/2007-2013] under grant agreement 261441 PEVNE

Effects of bright light treatment on psychomotor speed in athletes

Purpose: A recent study suggests that transcranial brain targeted light treatment via ear canals may have physiological effects on brain function studied by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques in humans. We tested the hypothesis that bright light treatment could improve psychomotor speed in professional ice hockey players. Methods: Psychomotor speed tests with audio and visual warning signals were administered to a Finnish National Ice Hockey League team before and after 24 days of transcranial bright light or sham treatment. The treatments were given during seasonal darkness in the Oulu region (latitude 65 degrees north) when the strain on the players was also very high (10 matches during 24 days). A daily 12-min dose of bright light or sham (n = 11 for both) treatment was given every morning between 8–12 am at home with a transcranial bright light device. Mean reaction time and motor time were analyzed separately for both psychomotor tests. Analysis of variance for repeated measures adjusted for age was performed. Results: Time x group interaction for motor time with a visual warning signal was p = 0.024 after adjustment for age. In Bonferroni post-hoc analysis, motor time with a visual warning signal decreased in the bright light treatment group from 127 ± 43 to 94 ± 26 ms (p = 0.024) but did not change significantly in the sham group 121 ± 23 vs. 110 ± 32 ms (p = 0.308). Reaction time with a visual signal did not change in either group. Reaction or motor time with an audio warning signal did not change in either the treatment or sham group. Conclusion: Psychomotor speed, particularly motor time with a visual warning signal, improves after transcranial bright light treatment in professional ice-hockey players during the competition season in the dark time of the year

Pancreatic metabolism, blood flow, and β-cell function in obese humans.

Context: Glucolipotoxicity is believed to induce pancreatic &beta;-cell dysfunction in obesity. Previously, it has not been possible to study pancreatic metabolism and blood flow in humans. Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate whether pancreatic metabolism and blood flow are altered in obesity using positron emission tomography (PET). In the preclinical part, the method was validated in animals. Design: This was a cross-sectional study. Setting: The study was conducted in a clinical research center. Participants: Human studies consisted of 52 morbidly obese and 25 healthy age-matched control subjects. Validation experiments were done with rodents and pigs. Interventions: PET and magnetic resonance imaging studies using a glucose analog ([18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose), a palmitate analog [14(R,S)-[18F]fluoro-6-thia-heptadecanoic acid], and radiowater ([15O]H2O) were performed. In animals, a comparison between ex vivo and in vivo data was performed. Main Outcome Measures: Pancreatic glucose/fatty acid (FA) uptake, fat accumulation, and blood flow parameters of &beta;-cell function were measured. Results: PET proved to be a feasible method to measure pancreatic metabolism. Compared with healthy participants, obese participants had elevated pancreatic FA uptake (P &lt; .0001), more fat accumulation (P = .0001), lowered glucose uptake both during fasting and euglycemic hyperinsulinemia, and blunted blood flow (P &lt; .01) in the pancreas. Blood flow, FA uptake, and fat accumulation were negatively associated with multiple markers of &beta;-cell function. Conclusions: Obesity leads to changes in pancreatic energy metabolism with a substrate shift from glucose to FAs. In morbidly obese humans, impaired pancreatic blood flow may contribute to &beta;-cell dysfunction and in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. &nbsp;</div

Specific Viruses Detected in Nigerian Children in Association with Acute Respiratory Disease

Occurrence of different viruses in acute respiratory tract infections of Nigerian children was examined. Respiratory swabs were collected from 246 children referred to hospital clinics because of acute respiratory symptoms from February through May 2009. Validated real-time RT-PCR techniques revealed nucleic acids of at least one virus group in 189 specimens (77%). Human rhinoviruses and parainfluenza viruses were present each in one third of the children. Adenoviruses, enteroviruses, human metapneumovirus, human bocavirus, and influenza C virus were also relatively common. Possibly due to their seasonal occurrence, influenza A and B virus, and respiratory syncytial virus were detected rarely. We conclude that all major groups of respiratory tract viruses are causing illness in Nigerian children