Human hippocampal CA3 damage disrupts both recent and remote episodic memories

Neocortical-hippocampal interactions support new episodic (event) memories, but there is conflicting evidence about the dependence of remote episodic memories on the hippocampus. In line with systems consolidation and computational theories of episodic memory, evidence from model organisms suggests that the cornu ammonis 3 (CA3) hippocampal subfield supports recent, but not remote, episodic retrieval. In this study, we demonstrated that recent and remote memories were susceptible to a loss of episodic detail in human participants with focal bilateral damage to CA3. Graph theoretic analyses of 7.0-Tesla resting-state fMRI data revealed that CA3 damage disrupted functional integration across the medial temporal lobe (MTL) subsystem of the default network. The loss of functional integration in MTL subsystem regions was predictive of autobiographical episodic retrieval performance. We conclude that human CA3 is necessary for the retrieval of episodic memories long after their initial acquisition and functional integration of the default network is important for autobiographical episodic memory performance

Strategically Equivalent Contests

Using a two-player Tullock-type contest, we show that intuitively and structurally different contests can be strategically equivalent. Strategically equivalent contests generate the same best response functions and, as a result, the same equilibrium efforts. However, strategically equivalent contests may yield different equilibrium payoffs. We propose a simple two-step procedure to identify strategically equivalent contests. Using this procedure, we identify contests that are strategically equivalent to the original Tullock contest, and provide new examples of strategically equivalent contests. Finally, we discuss possible contest design applications and avenues for future theoretical and empirical research

Immunohistochemical evaluation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and estrogen and progesterone receptors in breast carcinoma in Jordan

INTRODUCTION: Although breast carcinoma (BC) is the most common malignancy affecting Jordanian females and the affected population in Jordan is younger than that in the West, no information is available on its biological characteristics. Our aims in this study are to evaluate the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu overexpression in BC in Jordan, and to compare the expression of these with other prognostic parameters for BC such as histological type, histological grade, tumor size, patients' age, and number of lymph node metastases. METHOD: This is a retrospective study conducted in the Department of Pathology at Jordan University of Science and Technology. A confirmed 91 cases of BC diagnosed in the period 1995 to 1998 were reviewed and graded. We used immunohistochemistry to evaluate the expression of ER, PR, and Her-2. Immunohistochemical findings were correlated with age, tumor size, grade and axillary lymph node status. RESULTS: Her-2 was overexpressed in 24% of the cases. The mean age of Her-2 positive cases was 42 years as opposed to 53 years among Her-2 negative cases (p = 0.0001). Her-2 expression was inversely related to ER and PR expression. Her-2 positive tumors tended to be larger than Her-2 negative tumors with 35% overexpression among T3 tumors as opposed to 22% among T2 tumors (p = 0.13). Her-2 positive cases tended to have higher rates of axillary metastases, but this did not reach statistical significance. ER and PR positive cases were seen in older patients with smaller tumor sizes. CONCLUSION: Her-2 overexpression was seen in 24% of BC affecting Jordanian females. Her-2 overexpression was associated with young age at presentation, larger tumor size, and was inversely related to ER and PR expression. One-fifth of the carcinomas were Her-2 positive and ER negative. This group appears to represent an aggressive form of BC presenting at a young age with large primary tumors and a high rate of four or more axillary lymph node metastases

How does gender influence the recognition of cardiovascular risk and adherence to self-care recommendations? : a study in polish primary care

Background: Studies have shown a correlation between gender and an ability to change lifestyle to reduce the risk of disease. However, the results of these studies are ambiguous, especially where a healthy lifestyle is concerned. Additionally, health behaviors are strongly modified by culture and the environment. Psychological factors also substantially affect engagement with disease-related lifestyle interventions. This study aimed to examine whether there are differences between men and women in the frequency of health care behavior for the purpose of reducing cardiovascular risk (CVR), as well as cognitive appraisal of this type of risk. We also aimed to identify the psychological predictors of engaging in recommended behavior for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease after providing information about this risk in men and women. Methods: A total of 134 consecutive eligible patients in a family practice entered a longitudinal study. At initial consultation, the individual’s CVR and associated health burden was examined, and preventive measures were recommended by the physician. Self-care behavior, cognitive appraisal of risk, and coping styles were then assessed using psychological questionnaires. Six months after the initial data collection, the frequency of subjects’ self-care behavior was examined. Results: We found an increase in health care behavior after providing information regarding the rate of CVR in both sexes; this increase was greater for women than for men. Women followed self-care guidelines more often than men, particularly for preventive measures and dietary advice. Women were more inclined to recognize their CVR as a challenge. Coping style, cognitive appraisal, age, level of health behaviors at baseline and CVR values accounted for 48% of the variance in adherence to self-care guidelines in women and it was 52% in men. In women, total risk of CVD values were most important, while in men, cognitive appraisal of harm/loss was most important. Conclusions: Different predictors of acquisition of health behavior are encountered in men and women. Our results suggest that gender-adjusted motivation models influencing the recognition process need to be considered to optimize compliance in patients with CVR

An Experiment on Prediction Markets in Science

Prediction markets are powerful forecasting tools. They have the potential to aggregate private information, to generate and disseminate a consensus among the market participants, and to provide incentives for information acquisition. These market functionalities can be very valuable for scientific research. Here, we report an experiment that examines the compatibility of prediction markets with the current practice of scientific publication. We investigated three settings. In the first setting, different pieces of information were disclosed to the public during the experiment. In the second setting, participants received private information. In the third setting, each piece of information was private at first, but was subsequently disclosed to the public. An automated, subsidizing market maker provided additional incentives for trading and mitigated liquidity problems. We find that the third setting combines the advantages of the first and second settings. Market performance was as good as in the setting with public information, and better than in the setting with private information. In contrast to the first setting, participants could benefit from information advantages. Thus the publication of information does not detract from the functionality of prediction markets. We conclude that for integrating prediction markets into the practice of scientific research it is of advantage to use subsidizing market makers, and to keep markets aligned with current publication practice

Effects of the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin on plasma biomarkers TNFR-1, TNFR-2 and KIM-1 in the CANVAS trial

Aims/hypothesis Higher plasma concentrations of tumour necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-1, TNFR-2 and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) have been found to be associated with higher risk of kidney failure in individuals with type 2 diabetes in previous studies. Whether drugs can reduce these biomarkers is not well established. We measured these biomarkers in samples of the CANVAS study and examined the effect of the sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor canagliflozin on these biomarkers and assessed whether the early change in these biomarkers predict cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in individuals with type 2 diabetes in the CANagliflozin cardioVascular Assessment Study (CANVAS). Methods Biomarkers were measured with immunoassays (proprietary multiplex assay performed by RenalytixAI, New York, NY, USA) at baseline and years 1, 3 and 6. Mixed-effects models for repeated measures assessed the effect of canagliflozin vs placebo on the biomarkers. Associations of baseline levels and the early change (baseline to year 1) for each biomarker with the kidney outcome were assessed using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression. Results In total, 3523/4330 (81.4%) of the CANVAS participants had available samples at baseline. Each doubling in baseline TNFR-1, TNFR-2 and KIM-1 was associated with a higher risk of kidney outcomes, with corresponding HRs of 3.7 (95% CI 2.3, 6.1; p < 0.01), 2.7 (95% CI 2.0, 3.6; p < 0.01) and 1.5 (95% CI 1.2, 1.8; p < 0.01), respectively. Canagliflozin reduced the level of the plasma biomarkers with differences in TNFR-1, TNFR-2 and KIM-1 between canagliflozin and placebo during follow-up of 2.8% (95% CI 3.4%, 1.3%; p < 0.01), 1.9% (95% CI 3.5%, 0.2%; p = 0.03) and 26.7% (95% CI 30.7%, 22.7%; p < 0.01), respectively. Within the canagliflozin treatment group, each 10% reduction in TNFR-1 and TNFR-2 at year 1 was associated with a lower risk of the kidney outcome (HR 0.8 [95% CI 0.7, 1.0; p = 0.02] and 0.9 [95% CI 0.9, 1.0; p < 0.01] respectively), independent of other patient characteristics. The baseline and 1 year change in biomarkers did not associate with cardiovascular or heart failure outcomes. Conclusions/interpretation Canagliflozin decreased KIM-1 and modestly reduced TNFR-1 and TNFR-2 compared with placebo in individuals with type 2 diabetes in CANVAS. Early decreases in TNFR-1 and TNFR-2 during canagliflozin treatment were independently associated with a lower risk of kidney disease progression, suggesting that TNFR-1 and TNFR-2 have the potential to be pharmacodynamic markers of response to canagliflozin

Mining a Cathepsin Inhibitor Library for New Antiparasitic Drug Leads

The targeting of parasite cysteine proteases with small molecules is emerging as a possible approach to treat tropical parasitic diseases such as sleeping sickness, Chagas' disease, and malaria. The homology of parasite cysteine proteases to the human cathepsins suggests that inhibitors originally developed for the latter may be a source of promising lead compounds for the former. We describe here the screening of a unique ∼2,100-member cathepsin inhibitor library against five parasite cysteine proteases thought to be relevant in tropical parasitic diseases. Compounds active against parasite enzymes were subsequently screened against cultured Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanosoma brucei brucei and/or Trypanosoma cruzi parasites and evaluated for cytotoxicity to mammalian cells. The end products of this effort include the identification of sub-micromolar cell-active leads as well as the elucidation of structure-activity trends that can guide further optimization efforts

Domestication Syndrome in Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito L.): Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Domestication Syndrome in Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainitoL.): Fruit and Seed Characteristics: The process of domestication is understudied and poorly known for many tropical fruit tree crops. The star apple or caimito tree (Chrysophyllum cainito L., Sapotaceae) is cultivated throughout the New World tropics for its edible fruits. We studied this species in central Panama, where it grows wild in tropical moist forests and is also commonly cultivated in backyard gardens. Using fruits collected over two harvest seasons, we tested the hypothesis that cultivated individuals of C. cainito show distinctive fruit and seed characteristics associated with domestication relative to wild types. We found that cultivated fruits were significantly and substantially larger and allocated more to pulp and less to exocarp than wild fruits. The pulp of cultivated fruits was less acidic; also, the pulp had lower concentrations of phenolics and higher concentrations of sugar. The seeds were larger and more numerous and were less defended with phenolics in cultivated than in wild fruits. Discriminant Analysis showed that, among the many significant differences, fruit size and sugar concentration drove the great majority of the variance distinguishing wild from cultivated classes. Variance of pulp phenolics among individuals was significantly higher among wild trees than among cultivated trees, while variance of fruit mass and seed number was significantly higher among cultivated trees. Most traits showed strong correlations between years. Overall, we found a clear signature of a domestication syndrome in the fruits of cultivated caimito in Panama

Orally available Mn porphyrins with superoxide dismutase and catalase activities

Superoxide dismutase/catalase mimetics, such as salen Mn complexes and certain metalloporphyrins, catalytically neutralize reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of many serious diseases. Both classes of mimetic are protective in animal models of oxidative stress. However, only AEOL11207 and EUK-418, two uncharged Mn porphyrins, have been shown to be orally bioavailable. In this study, EUK-418 and several new analogs (the EUK-400 series) were synthesized and shown to exhibit superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase activities in vitro. Some also protected PC12 cells against staurosporine-induced cell death. All EUK-400 compounds were stable in simulated gastric fluid, and most were substantially more lipophilic than the salen Mn complexes EUK-189 and EUK-207, which lack oral activity. Pharmacokinetics studies demonstrate the presence of all EUK-400 series compounds in the plasma of rats after oral administration. These EUK-400 series compounds are potential oral therapeutic agents for cellular damage caused by oxidative stress