Counter-stereotypical pictures as a strategy for overcoming spontaneous gender stereotypes

The present research investigated the use of counter-stereotypical pictures as a strategy for overcoming spontaneous gender stereotypes when certain social role nouns and professional terms are read. Across two experiments, participants completed a judgment task in which they were presented with word pairs comprised of a role noun with a stereotypical gender bias (e.g., beautician) and a kinship term with definitional gender (e.g., brother). Their task was to quickly decide whether or not both terms could refer to one person. In each experiment they completed two blocks of such judgment trials separated by a training session in which they were presented with pictures of people working in gender counter-stereotypical (Experiment 1) or gender stereotypical roles (Experiment 2). To ensure participants were focused on the pictures, they were also required to answer four questions on each one relating to the character’s leisure activities, earnings, job satisfaction, and personal life. Accuracy of judgments to stereotype incongruent pairings was found to improve significantly across blocks when participants were exposed to counter-stereotype images (9.87%) as opposed to stereotypical images (0.12%), while response times decreased significantly across blocks in both studies. It is concluded that exposure to counter-stereotypical pictures is a valuable strategy for overcoming spontaneous gender stereotype biases in the short term

Worldwide survey on key indicators for public cord blood banking technologies: By the World Marrow DonorAssociation Cord Blood Working Group

The Cord Blood Working Group of the World Marrow Donor Association created a survey for cord blood banks (CBBs) aimed to identify and understand the main technical procedures currently used by public CBBs worldwide regarding cord blood units (CBUs) available for unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These technical procedures include CBU collection, (pre-) processing, packaging, testing, storage and transport. The survey was an online survey created with SurveyGizmo and was completed individually by each CBB at the end of 2017. The information is valuable to transplant centers, CBBs as well as the global industry of public cord blood banking. In general, we can conclude from this survey that the majority of CBBs are up to standard in terms of CBB technologies. Areas of improvement include accreditation, increase standardization in testing and setting of total nucleated cells thresholds for acceptance a CBU for public use. Furthermore, there is a need for a consensus in the way CBBs operate in term of reservation and release to facilitate a more straightforward access to the therapy

Atherosclerosis exacerbates arrhythmia following myocardial infarction: Role of myocardial inflammation

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerotic animal models show increased recruitment of inflammatory cells to the heart following myocardial infarction (MI), which impacts ventricular function and remodeling. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether increased myocardial inflammation following MI also contributes to arrhythmias. METHODS: MI was created in 3 mouse models: 1) atherosclerotic (ApoE(−/−) on atherogenic diet; n=12), 2) acute inflammation (wild-type [WT] given daily lipopolysaccharide [LPS], 10µg/day; n=7), and 3) WT (n=14). Sham-operated (n=4) mice were also studied. Four days post-MI, an inflammatory protease-activatable fluorescent probe (Prosense680) was injected intravenously to quantify myocardial inflammation on day 5. Optical mapping with voltage-sensitive dye was performed on day 5 to assess electrophysiology and arrhythmia susceptibility. RESULTS: Inflammatory activity (Prosense680 fluorescence) was increased approximately 2-fold in ApoE+MI and LPS+MI hearts versus WT+MI (p<0.05) and 3-fold versus Sham (p<0.05). ApoE+MI and LPS+MI hearts also had prolonged action potential duration, slowed conduction velocity, and increased susceptibility to pacing-induced arrhythmias (56% and 71%; vs. 13% for WT+MI and 0% for Sham, respectively, p<0.05 for ApoE+MI and LPS+MI groups versus both WT+MI and Sham). Increased macrophage accumulation in ApoE+MI and LPS+MI hearts was confirmed with immunofluorescence. Macrophages were associated with areas of connexin-43 (Cx43) degradation and a 2-fold decrease in Cx43 expression was found in ApoE+MI versus WT+MI hearts (p<0.05). ApoE+MI hearts also had a 3-fold increase in interleukin-1β expression, an inflammatory cytokine known to degrade Cx43. CONCLUSIONS: Underlying atherosclerosis exacerbates post-MI electrophysiological remodeling and arrhythmias. LPS+MI hearts fully recapitulate the atherosclerotic phenotype, suggesting myocardial inflammation as a key contributor to post-MI arrhythmia