Fear of Positive Evaluation and Negative Affect from Inclusion in Cyberball

Fear of positive evaluation (FPE) is a construct related to social anxiety that involves discomfort when receiving positive attention and feedback from others. FPE research has increased over the past decade, and results suggest that it may be an important part of social anxiety for some individuals; however, it is not yet known whether FPE may also include discomfort from being included in social situations. Level of inclusion was hypothesized to moderate the relationship between FPE and negative affect from being over included such that those with high FPE would feel more uncomfortable the more they were included. To test this hypothesis, the present study utilized Cyberball, a virtual ball-tossing game involving one human player and two computerized players. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions varying in the amount of ball tosses they received: (1) equal inclusion, (2) over inclusion, and (3) strong over inclusion. Participants played two trials of Cyberball; all participants played the equal inclusion condition during Trial 1 and the randomized experimental condition during Trial 2. A measure of FPE was collected before the first trial of Cyberball, and measures of negative affect were collected at pre-Cyberball, post-Trial 1, and post-Trial 2. As expected, a check of the study manipulation suggested a significant difference in reported feelings of inclusion between study conditions. A multiple linear regression examined the relationship between FPE, study condition (i.e., level of inclusion), and the interaction of FPE and study condition on change in negative affect from post-Trial 1 to post-Trial 2. Results of the regression indicated no significant effect for the interaction between FPE and study condition. A number of post hoc exploratory analyses were conducted to investigate possible explanations for the non-significant interaction. Results from these analyses did not suggest alternative explanations, suggesting that the relationship between FPE and level of inclusion does not predict negative affect during inclusion in Cyberball. Theories of FPE are discussed in relation to study outcomes and features of Cyberball

Guttate leukoderma and acrokeratosis verruciformis of Hopf: a rare combination in Darier disease

A distinct Darier phenotype presenting with confetti-like hypopigmented macules was first described in 1965. Designated as "guttate leukoderma," this skin finding is a rarely-reported presentation of Darier disease. It has been theorized that the mutation in ATP2A2 causes defective E-cadherin, which in turn disrupts the adhesion of melanocytes to keratinocytes, thus leading to impaired dendrite formation, hindered melanin transfer, and ultimately to melanocyte apoptosis. Herein, we contribute a case of a 56-year old woman who presented with the rarely-described guttate leukoderma of Darier disease and acrokeratosis verruciformis of Hopf

Cell-specific discrimination of desmosterol and desmosterol mimetics confers selective regulation of LXR and SREBP in macrophages.

Activation of liver X receptors (LXRs) with synthetic agonists promotes reverse cholesterol transport and protects against atherosclerosis in mouse models. Most synthetic LXR agonists also cause marked hypertriglyceridemia by inducing the expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)1c and downstream genes that drive fatty acid biosynthesis. Recent studies demonstrated that desmosterol, an intermediate in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway that suppresses SREBP processing by binding to SCAP, also binds and activates LXRs and is the most abundant LXR ligand in macrophage foam cells. Here we explore the potential of increasing endogenous desmosterol production or mimicking its activity as a means of inducing LXR activity while simultaneously suppressing SREBP1c-induced hypertriglyceridemia. Unexpectedly, while desmosterol strongly activated LXR target genes and suppressed SREBP pathways in mouse and human macrophages, it had almost no activity in mouse or human hepatocytes in vitro. We further demonstrate that sterol-based selective modulators of LXRs have biochemical and transcriptional properties predicted of desmosterol mimetics and selectively regulate LXR function in macrophages in vitro and in vivo. These studies thereby reveal cell-specific discrimination of endogenous and synthetic regulators of LXRs and SREBPs, providing a molecular basis for dissociation of LXR functions in macrophages from those in the liver that lead to hypertriglyceridemia

Water for Texas: Applicant Capacity Assessment Tool for the Economically Distressed Areas Program

This report contains recommendations, analysis, and an assessment tool for the Economically Distressed Areas program administered by the Texas Water Development Board. The purpose of the assessment tool, known as the Applicant Capacity Assessment Tool (ACAT), was to reduce the number of water infrastructure projects running over-budget and over-schedule

Outcomes of Aortic Surgery for Abdominal Aortic Graft Infections

Background: Literature on postoperative outcomes following aortic surgery for aortic graft infection (AGI) is limited by relatively small sample sizes, resulting in lack of national benchmarks for quality of care. We report in-hospital outcomes following abdominal aortic surgery for AGI and identify factors associated with postoperative complications using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Methods: Patients who underwent aortic graft resection for AGI were identified from the 2002 to 2008 NIS database, a multicenter database capturing 20% of all US admissions. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Among 394 patients (men: 73.4%) who underwent abdominal aortic surgery for AGI, 53% of the admissions were emergent/urgent. A significant trend for decreasing number of abdominal aortic surgery for AGIs per year was observed (Pearson r correlation: -.96; P = .0006). Over the same time span, a significant correlation was also seen with decrease in open and increase in endovascular aortic aneurysm repairs in the NIS database. In-hospital rates of overall postoperative morbidity and mortality were 68.3% and 19.8%, respectively. In-hospital rates of postoperative respiratory failure, renal failure, and cardiac arrest were 35.5%, 14.2%, and 8.9%, respectively. Median length of stay was 26 days, with median hospital charges being US$184 162. On multivariable analysis, increase in age per year (odds ratio [OR] 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.12) was independently associated with postoperative morbidity, while higher hospital volume for this procedure was protective (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.56-0.89). No preoperative factors were independently associated with postoperative mortality. Conclusion: Incidence of abdominal aortic surgery for AGI has progressively declined over the span of our study in association with decreased open and increased endovascular aortic aneurysm repairs. Aortic surgery for AGI is associated with very high morbidity and mortality rates along with prolonged lengths of stay and elevated hospital charges. The outcomes of operations for AGI are better in younger patients and higher volume hospitals

Activation of Steroid and Xenobiotic Receptor (SXR, NR1I2) and Its Orthologs in Laboratory Toxicologic, and Genome Model Species

Background: Nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group I, member 2 (NR1I2), commonly known as steroid xenobiotic receptor (SXR) in humans, is a key ligand-dependent transcription factor responsible for the regulation of xenobiotic, steroid, and bile acid metabolism. The ligand-binding domain is principally responsible for species-specific activation of NR1I2 in response to xenobiotic exposure. Objectives: Our objective in this study was to create a common framework for screening NR1I2 orthologs from a variety of model species against environmentally relevant xenobiotics and to evaluate the results in light of using the species as predictors of xenobiotic disposition and for assessment of environmental health risk. Methods: Sixteen chimeric fusion plasmid vectors expressing the Gal4 DNA-binding domain and species-specific NR1I2 ligand-binding domain were screened for activation against a spectrum of 27 xenobiotic compounds using a standardized cotransfection receptor activation assay. Results: NR1I2 orthologs were activated by various ligands in a dose-dependent manner. Closely related species show broadly similar patterns of activation; however, considerable variation to individual compounds exists, even among species varying in only a few amino acid residues. Conclusions: Interspecies variation in NR1I2 activation by various ligands can be screened through the use of in vitro NR1I2 activation assays and should be taken into account when choosing appropriate animal models for assessing environmental health risk

FY17 Report Summaries of Five Completed Center Innovation Fund (CIF) Projects for the Highlights/Abstract Section of the FY 2018 CIF Annual Report

The Center Innovation Fund Annual Report for FY18 is an annual report for Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Leadership, STMD Principle Technologists, and Center Innovation Fund Management. Attached is the Highlights/Abstract section of this annual report, which is the only section to be shared outside of NASA. Contributors were asked not to include any SBU information for these report summaries