Mental heartbeat tracking and rating of emotional pictures are not related

Our aim was to conceptually replicate the fndings of previous empirical studies showing that people with higher cardiac interoceptive accuracy experience more intense emotions. Apart of the mental heartbeat tracking task of Schandry, Hungarian (n=46, 76.0% female, mean age 22.28±2.228) and Norwegian (n=50, 60.0% female, mean age 24.66±3.048) participants rated the arousal and valence evoked by positive, neutral and negative pictures. Multivariate repeated analysis of variance (applying both frequentist and Bayesian approaches) did not reveal any connection between heartbeat perception scores and the subjective ratings (i.e., arousal and valence) of the pictures in any of the two groups. The lack of the expected association between cardioceptive accuracy and arousal might partly be explained by the methodological diferences between previous studies and this one; for example, we did not split or preselected the sample based on the performance on the Schandry task and applied a relatively strict instruction (i.e., by encouraging to count felt heartbeats only, and to report zero if no sensations were detected)

The BLAST View of the Star Forming Region in Aquila (ell=45deg,b=0deg)

We have carried out the first general submillimeter analysis of the field towards GRSMC 45.46+0.05, a massive star forming region in Aquila. The deconvolved 6 deg^2 (3\degree X 2\degree) maps provided by BLAST in 2005 at 250, 350, and 500 micron were used to perform a preliminary characterization of the clump population previously investigated in the infrared, radio, and molecular maps. Interferometric CORNISH data at 4.8 GHz have also been used to characterize the Ultracompact HII regions (UCHIIRs) within the main clumps. By means of the BLAST maps we have produced an initial census of the submillimeter structures that will be observed by Herschel, several of which are known Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs). Our spectral energy distributions of the main clumps in the field, located at ~7 kpc, reveal an active population with temperatures of T~35-40 K and masses of ~10^3 Msun for a dust emissivity index beta=1.5. The clump evolutionary stages range from evolved sources, with extended HII regions and prominent IR stellar population, to massive young stellar objects, prior to the formation of an UCHIIR.The CORNISH data have revealed the details of the stellar content and structure of the UCHIIRs. In most cases, the ionizing stars corresponding to the brightest radio detections are capable of accounting for the clump bolometric luminosity, in most cases powered by embedded OB stellar clusters

Human genetics and clinical aspects of neurodevelopmental disorders

This chapter traverses contemporary understandings of the genetic architecture of human disease, and explores the clinical implications of the current state of knowledge. Many different classes of genetic mutations have been implicated as being involved in predisposition to certain diseases, and researchers are continually uncovering other means by which genetics plays an important role in human disease, such as with somatic genetic mosaicism. Putative “de novo” mutations can represent cases of parental mosaicism (including in the germline), which could be revealed by careful genotyping of parental tissues other than peripheral blood lymphocytes. There is an increasingly rich literature regarding rare mutations with seemingly large phenotypic effects. Privacy concerns have added to the difficulties of implementing genomics-guided medicine. With the advent of exome and whole genome sequencing (WGS), one needs to focus again on families over several generations, so as to attempt to minimize genetic differences, locus heterogeneity and environmental influences

Activation of p38MAPK Contributes to Expanded Polyglutamine-Induced Cytotoxicity

The signaling pathways that may modulate the pathogenesis of diseases induced by expanded polyglutamine proteins are not well understood.Herein we demonstrate that expanded polyglutamine protein cytotoxicity is mediated primarily through activation of p38MAPK and that the atypical PKC iota (PKCiota) enzyme antagonizes polyglutamine-induced cell death through induction of the ERK signaling pathway. We show that pharmacological blockade of p38MAPK rescues cells from polyglutamine-induced cell death whereas inhibition of ERK recapitulates the sensitivity observed in cells depleted of PKCiota by RNA interference. We provide evidence that two unrelated proteins with expanded polyglutamine repeats induce p38MAPK in cultured cells, and demonstrate induction of p38MAPK in an in vivo model of neurodegeneration (spinocerebellar ataxia 1, or SCA-1).Taken together, our data implicate activated p38MAPK in disease progression and suggest that its inhibition may represent a rational strategy for therapeutic intervention in the polyglutamine disorders

Testi tudatosság és egészség. A testi tudatosság és az egészség összefüggésének empirikus vizsgálata zumba fitness-t gyakorló, rendszeresen jógázó és nem sportoló nőkből álló mintán

Cél: Jelen munka célja feltárni, hogyan függ össze a testi és a lelki egészséggel a többdimenziós, tudatos jelenlét szempontjából értelmezett testi tudatosság (Mehling és mtsai, 2012), valamint ennek egyéni különbségei a zumba fitness és a jóga gyakorlásával. Módszerek: A kutatásban 50 nő vett részt, három csoportban (jógát -, zumbafitness-t gyakorló, nem sportoló). A mérőeszközök a következők voltak: Multidimensional Assesment of Interoceptive Awareness (előzetesen kulturális adaptációjára került sor), Színkulcs-teszt módosított változata, Pennebaker-féle Testi Tünetlista, Rövidített Beck Depresszió Kérdőív, WHO Jóllét Kérdőív rövidített változata. Eredmények: Az egészség változói a testi tudatosság 8 skálája közül hattal pozitív összefüggésben álltak. A jógát gyakorlók átlaga 6, a zumbát gyakorlóké 1 skálán volt magasabb a nem sportolókhoz képest. Következtetések: A testi tudatosság különböző elemei eltérő mértékben, pozitívan korrelálnak az egészség változóival. Egyik vizsgált dimenzió esetében sem kaptunk maladaptív hatásra utaló összefüggést. Az eredmények felhívják a figyelmet a jóga és a zumba fitness preventív értékére