Following in the Wake of Anger: When Not Discriminating Is Discriminating

Does seeing a scowling face change your impression of the next person you see? Does this depend on the race of the two people? Across four studies, White participants evaluated neutrally expressive White males as less threatening when they followed angry (relative to neutral) White faces; Black males were not judged as less threatening following angry Black faces. This lack of threat-anchored contrast for Black male faces is not attributable to a general tendency for White targets to homogenize Black males—neutral Black targets following smiling Black faces were contrasted away from them and seen as less friendly—and emerged only for perceivers low in motivation to respond without prejudice (i.e., for those relatively comfortable responding prejudicially). This research provides novel evidence for the overperception of threat in Black males

I only have eyes for you: Ovulation redirects attention (but not memory) to attractive men

A number of studies have found a disjunction between women’s attention to, and memory for, handsome men. Although women pay initial attention to handsome men, they do not remember those men later. The present study examines how ovulation might differentially affect these attentional and memory processes. We found that women near ovulation increased their visual attention to attractive men. However, this increased visual attention did not translate into better memory. Discussion focuses on possible explanations, in the context of an emerging body of findings on disjunctions between attention to, and memory for, other people.National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) (R01MH064734

Monitoring SO2 emission at the Soufriere Hills Volcano: implications for changes in erruptive conditions

FLWINinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Polydiacetylenic nanofibers as new siRNA vehicles for in vitro and in vivo delivery

Polydiacetylenic nanofibers (PDA-Nfs) obtained by photopolymerization of surfactant 1 were optimized for intracellular delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). PDA-Nfs/siRNA complexes efficiently silenced the oncogene Lim-1 in the renal cancer cells 786-O in vitro. Intraperitoneal injection of PDA-Nfs/siLim1 downregulated Lim-1 in subcutaneous tumor xenografts obtained with 786-O cells in nude mice. Thus, PDA-Nfs represent an innovative system for in vivo delivery of siRNAs

DHODH modulates transcriptional elongation in the neural crest and melanoma

Melanoma is a tumour of transformed melanocytes, which are originally derived from the embryonic neural crest. It is unknown to what extent the programs that regulate neural crest development interact with mutations in the BRAF oncogene, which is the most commonly mutated gene in human melanoma1. We have used zebrafish embryos to identify the initiating transcriptional events that occur on activation of human BRAF(V600E) (which encodes an amino acid substitution mutant of BRAF) in the neural crest lineage. Zebrafish embryos that are transgenic for mitfa:BRAF(V600E) and lack p53 (also known as tp53) have a gene signature that is enriched for markers of multipotent neural crest cells, and neural crest progenitors from these embryos fail to terminally differentiate. To determine whether these early transcriptional events are important for melanoma pathogenesis, we performed a chemical genetic screen to identify small-molecule suppressors of the neural crest lineage, which were then tested for their effects on melanoma. One class of compound, inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), for example leflunomide, led to an almost complete abrogation of neural crest development in zebrafish and to a reduction in the self-renewal of mammalian neural crest stem cells. Leflunomide exerts these effects by inhibiting the transcriptional elongation of genes that are required for neural crest development and melanoma growth. When used alone or in combination with a specific inhibitor of the BRAF(V600E) oncogene, DHODH inhibition led to a marked decrease in melanoma growth both in vitro and in mouse xenograft studies. Taken together, these studies highlight developmental pathways in neural crest cells that have a direct bearing on melanoma formation

The confounded nature of angry men and happy women.

Findings of 7 studies suggested that decisions about the sex of a face and the emotional expressions of anger or happiness are not independent: Participants were faster and more accurate at detecting angry expressions on male faces and at detecting happy expressions on female faces. These findings were robust across different stimulus sets and judgment tasks and indicated bottom-up perceptual processes rather than just top-down conceptually driven ones. Results from additional studies in which neutrally expressive faces were used suggested that the connections between masculine features and angry expressions and between feminine features and happy expressions might be a property of the sexual dimorphism of the face itself and not merely a result of gender stereotypes biasing the perception

Anatomy of phreatic eruptions

This study investigates phreatic eruptions at two similar volcanoes, Kawah Ijen (Indonesia) and White Island (New Zealand). By carefully processing broadband seismic signals, we reveal seismic signatures and characteristics of these eruptions. At both volcanoes, the phreatic eruptions are initiated by a very-long-period (VLP) seismic event located at shallow depths between 700 and 900 m below the crater region, and may be triggered by excitation of gas trapped behind a ductile magma carapace. The shallow hydrothermal systems respond in different ways. At Kawah Ijen, the stress change induced by VLPs directly triggers an eigenoscillation of the hyperacidic lake. This so-called seiche is characterized by long-lasting, long-period oscillations with frequencies governed by the dimensions of the crater lake. A progressive lateral rupture of a seal below the crater lake and/or fluids migrating toward the surface is seismically recorded ∼ 15 min later as high-frequency bursts superimposed to tilt signals. At White Island, the hydrothermal system later (∼ 25 min) responds by radiating harmonic tremor at a fixed location that could be generated through eddy-shedding. These seismic signals shed light on several aspects of phreatic eruptions, their generation and timeline. They are mostly recorded at periods longer than tens of seconds further emphasizing the need to deploy broadband seismic equipment close to active volcanic activity

Signal Detection on the Battlefield: Priming Self-Protection vs. Revenge-Mindedness Differentially Modulates the Detection of Enemies and Allies

Detecting signs that someone is a member of a hostile outgroup can depend on very subtle cues. How do ecology-relevant motivational states affect such detections? This research investigated the detection of briefly-presented enemy (versus friend) insignias after participants were primed to be self-protective or revenge-minded. Despite being told to ignore the objectively nondiagnostic cues of ethnicity (Arab vs. Western/European), gender, and facial expressions of the targets, both priming manipulations enhanced biases to see Arab males as enemies. They also reduced the ability to detect ingroup enemies, even when these faces displayed angry expressions. These motivations had very different effects on accuracy, however, with self-protection enhancing overall accuracy and revenge-mindedness reducing it. These methods demonstrate the importance of considering how signal detection tasks that occur in motivationally-charged environments depart from results obtained in conventionally motivationally-inert laboratory settings.National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) (Grant MH64734)U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (Grant W74V8H-05-K-0003)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant BCS-0642873

Pre-neoplastic alterations define CLL DNA methylome and persist through disease progression and therapy

Most human cancers converge to a deregulated methylome with reduced global levels and elevated methylation at select CpG islands. To investigate the emergence and dynamics of the cancer methylome, we characterized genome-wide DNA methylation in preneoplastic monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), including serial samples collected across disease course. We detected the aberrant tumor-associated methylation landscape at CLL diagnosis and found no significant differentially methylated regions in the high-count MBL-to-CLL transition. Patient methylomes showed remarkable stability with natural disease and posttherapy progression. Single CLL cells were consistently aberrantly methylated, indicating a homogeneous transition to the altered epigenetic state and a distinct expression profile together with MBL cells compared with normal B cells. Our longitudinal analysis reveals the cancer methylome to emerge early, which may provide a platform for subsequent genetically driven growth dynamics, and, together with its persistent presence, suggests a central role in disease onset. SigNifiCANCe: DNA methylation data from a large cohort of patients with MBL and CLL show that epigenetic transformation emerges early and persists throughout disease stages with limited subsequent changes. Our results indicate an early role for this aberrant landscape in the normal-to-preneoplastic transition that may reflect a pan-cancer mechanism

Evaluating the effects of six alcohol-related message frames on emotions and intentions: The neglected role of disgust

A total of 120 18- to 56-year-olds, divided into six groups containing equal numbers of men and women, were shown a textual message and associated photograph featuring alcohol-related behaviour. Subsequently, questions were answered about intentions to reduce consumption, to drink moderately and how positive and negative the messages made participants feel. Loss-framed messages, in particular those featuring health-related disgust, were the most effective for increasing intentions to reduce alcohol intake. In conclusion, studies have over-focused on fear-loss frames, neglecting the utility of disgust-loss frames in health messages. This study suggests that disgust-loss frames deserve equivalent attention