The Devil You Know: The Effects of Identifiability on Punishment

Prior research has confirmed Thomas Schelling\u27s observation that people are more sympathetic and hence generous toward specific identified victims than toward “statistical” victims who are yet to be identified. In the study presented in this article we demonstrate an equivalent effect for punitiveness. We find that people are more punitive toward identified wrongdoers than toward equivalent, but unidentified, wrongdoers, even when identifying the wrongdoer conveys no meaningful information about him or her. To account for the effect of identifiability on both generosity and punitiveness, we propose that affective reactions of any type are stronger toward an identified than toward an unidentified target. Consistent with such an account, the effect of identifiability on punishing behavior was mediated by self‐reported anger

Heart Strings and Purse Strings: Carryover Effects of Emotions on Economic Decisions

We examined the impact of specific emotions on the endowment effect, the tendency for selling prices to exceed buying or “choice” prices for the same object. As predicted by appraisal-tendency theory, disgust induced by a prior, irrelevant situation carried over to normatively unrelated economic decisions, reducing selling and choice prices and eliminating the endowment effect. Sadness also carried over, reducing selling prices but increasing choice prices—producing a “reverse endowment effect” in which choice prices exceeded selling prices. The results demonstrate that incidental emotions can influence decisions even when real money is at stake, and that emotions of the same valence can have opposing effects on such decisions

The Role of Phagocytes in Immunity to Candida albicans

Body clearance of fungi such as Candida albicans involves phagocytosis by fixed tissue macrophages as well as infiltrating monocytes and neutrophils. Through phagocytosis, the fungi are confined and killed by the oxidative and non-oxidative anti-microbial systems. These include oxygen derived reactive species, generated from the activation of the NADPH oxidase complex and granule constituents. These same mechanisms are responsible for the damage to hyphal forms of C. albicans. Complement promotes phagocytosis, through their interaction with a series of complement receptors including the recently described complement receptor immunoglobulin. However, it is also evident that under other conditions, the killing of yeast and hyphal forms can occur in a complement-independent manner. Phagocytosis and killing of Candida is enhanced by the cytokine network, such as tumour necrosis factor and interferon gamma. Patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases who have phagocytic deficiencies, such as those with defects in the NADPH oxidase complex are predisposed to fungal infections, providing evidence for the critical role of phagocytes in anti-fungal immunity. Secondary immunodeficiencies can arise as a result of treatment with anti-cancer or other immunosuppressive drugs. These agents may also predispose patients to fungal infections due to their ability to compromise the anti-microbial activity of phagocytes

Time-dependent genetic effects on gene expression implicate aging processes

Gene expression is dependent on genetic and environmental factors. In the last decade, a large body of research has significantly improved our understanding of the genetic architecture of gene expression. However, it remains unclear whether genetic effects on gene expression remain stable over time. Here, we show, using longitudinal whole-blood gene expression data from a twin cohort, that the genetic architecture of a subset of genes is unstable over time. In addition, we identified 2213 genes differentially expressed across time points that we linked with aging within and across studies. Interestingly, we discovered that most differentially expressed genes were affected by a subset of 77 putative causal genes. Finally, we observed that putative causal genes and down-regulated genes were affected by a loss of genetic control between time points. Taken together, our data suggest that instability in the genetic architecture of a subset of genes could lead to widespread effects on the transcriptome with an aging signature

Targeted inhibition of interleukin-6 with CNTO 328 sensitizes pre-clinical models of multiple myeloma to dexamethasone-mediated cell death

Interleukin (IL)-6-mediated signaling attenuates the anti-myeloma activity of glucocorticoids (GCs). We therefore sought to evaluate whether CNTO 328, an anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody in clinical development, could enhance the apoptotic activity of dexamethasone (dex) in pre-clinical models of myeloma. CNTO 328 potently increased the cytotoxicity of dex in IL-6-dependent and –independent human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs), including a bortezomib-resistant HMCL. Isobologram analysis revealed that the CNTO 328/dex combination was highly synergistic. Addition of bortezomib to CNTO 328/dex further enhanced the cytotoxicity of the combination. Experiments with pharmacologic inhibitors revealed a role for the p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in IL-6-mediated GC resistance. Although CNTO 328 alone induced minimal cell death, it potentiated dex-mediated apoptosis, as evidenced by increased activation of caspases-8, -9, and -3, Annexin-V staining, and DNA fragmentation. The ability of CNTO 328 to sensitize HMCLs to dex-mediated apoptosis was preserved in the presence of human bone marrow stromal cells. Importantly, the increased activity of the combination was also seen in plasma cells from patients with GC-resistant myeloma. Taken together, our data provide a strong rationale for the clinical development of the CNTO 328/dex regimen for patients with myeloma

A comprehensive large-scale assessment of fisheries bycatch risk to threatened seabird populations

1.Incidental mortality (bycatch) in fisheries remains the greatest threat to many large marine vertebrates and is a major barrier to fisheries sustainability. Robust assessments of bycatch risk are crucial for informing effective mitigation strategies, but are hampered by missing information on the distributions of key life‐history stages (adult breeders and non‐breeders, immatures and juveniles). 2.Using a comprehensive biologging dataset (1,692 tracks, 788 individuals) spanning all major life‐history stages, we assessed spatial overlap of four threatened seabird populations from South Georgia, with longline and trawl fisheries in the Southern Ocean. We generated monthly population‐level distributions, weighting each life‐history stage according to population age structure based on demographic models. Specifically, we determined where and when birds were at greatest potential bycatch risk, and from which fleets. 3.Overlap with both pelagic and demersal longline fisheries was highest for black‐browed albatrosses, then white‐chinned petrels, wandering and grey‐headed albatrosses, whereas overlap with trawl fisheries was highest for white‐chinned petrels. 4.Hotspots of fisheries overlap occurred in all major ocean basins, but particularly the south‐east and south‐west Atlantic Ocean (longline and trawl) and south‐west Indian Ocean (pelagic longline). Overlap was greatest with pelagic longline fleets in May–September, when fishing effort south of 25°S is highest, and with demersal and trawl fisheries in January–June. Overlap scores were dominated by particular fleets: pelagic longline—Japan, Taiwan; demersal longline and trawl—Argentina, Namibia, Falklands, South Africa; demersal longline—Convention for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) waters, Chile, New Zealand. 5.Synthesis and applications. We provide a framework for calculating appropriately weighted population‐level distributions from biologging data, which we recommend for future fisheries bycatch risk assessments. Many regions of high spatial overlap corresponded with high seabird bycatch rates recorded by on‐board observers, indicating that our approach reliably mapped relative bycatch risk at large spatial scales. Implementation of effective bycatch mitigation in these high‐risk regions varies considerably. Although potential bycatch risk appears to have decreased since the early 2000s, albatross and petrel populations from South Georgia and elsewhere are still declining, emphasizing the need for much improved observer coverage and monitoring of compliance with bycatch regulations