Proactive and reactive control depends on emotional valence: a Stroop study with emotional expressions and words

We examined proactive and reactive control effects in the context of task-relevant happy, sad, and angry facial expressions on a face-word Stroop task. Participants identified the emotion expressed by a face that contained a congruent or incongruent emotional word (happy/sad/angry). Proactive control effects were measured in terms of the reduction in Stroop interference (difference between incongruent and congruent trials) as a function of previous trial emotion and previous trial congruence. Reactive control effects were measured in terms of the reduction in Stroop interference as a function of current trial emotion and previous trial congruence. Previous trial negative emotions exert greater influence on proactive control than the positive emotion. Sad faces in the previous trial resulted in greater reduction in the Stroop interference for happy faces in the current trial. However, current trial angry faces showed stronger adaptation effects compared to happy faces. Thus, both proactive and reactive control mechanisms are dependent on emotional valence of task-relevant stimuli.

The Demographic Study of Otorhinolaryngological Trauma Among Patients with Head and Neck Trauma and Their Management in a Tertiary Care Centre

The trauma has been increasing in frequency, especially in recent decades because of the higher number of automobile accidents and violence. The ear, nose and face region is the area in the body that is commonly involved in head and neck injury. Trauma to this region is often associated with mortality and varying degree of physical, functional and psychological damage. To study the demography, aetiology, clinical presentation, outcome of ENT trauma in our tertiary care centre and to compare our study with previous studies to see the changing trends with passage of time. A prospective study was conducted on 200 head and neck patients with ENT injuries during a period of 1 year from July 2014 to July 2015, who were admitted in ENT Department and Trauma Centre of Gajra Raja Medical College and J.A. Group of Hospital, Gwalior. Most of the patients were young adult males of age group 18-40 years (45, 22.5%) with a male:female ratio 1.78:1. Among them 53% patients were from rural area while 47% were from urban area. RTA is the most prevalent cause of ENT trauma (37%), followed by interpersonal violence (25%). 27% of the patients had facial injury and multiple region injury each. Among 200 patients 33% were managed conservatively on the other hand 66% patients required surgical interventions. Mortality rate was 8%. Among all 184 survivors 25.5% suffered from hearing loss, 14.5% had tympanic membrane perforation with hearing loss, 12% had pinna disfigurement, 10% had change in voice, 6.5% had permanent nasal deformity, 2% had facial nerve palsy. Young male adults were the most prevalent victims of ENT trauma, and Road traffic accidents were responsible for majority of the ENT injuries. Screening of all the patients with head and neck injuries for the presence of trauma in the ENT region should be introduced to enable early detection and therefore prevention of complications.

RecA stimulates AlkB-mediated direct repair of DNA adducts

The Escherichia coli AlkB protein is a 2-oxoglutarate/Fe(II)-dependent demethylase that repairs alkylated single stranded and double stranded DNA. Immunoaffinity chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry identified RecA, a key factor in homologous recombination, as an AlkB-associated protein. The interaction between AlkB and RecA was validated by yeast two-hybrid assay; size-exclusion chromatography and standard pull down experiment and was shown to be direct and mediated by the N-terminal domain of RecA. RecA binding results AlkB–RecA heterodimer formation and RecA–AlkB repairs alkylated DNA with higher efficiency than AlkB alone.

Association of oxidative status and semen characteristics with seminal plasma proteins of buffalo semen

To study the influence of season on oxidative status of buffalo semen and their association with semen characteristics and seminal plasma proteins, ejaculates were collected twice a week in winter, summer and rainy seasons from six adult Bhadawari buffalo bulls. The neat semen was analyzed for semen characteristics immediately after collection and oxidative status viz. lipid peroxidation (LPO), catalase (CAT), super oxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and total protein (TP) were estimated in seminal plasma. The protein profiling was carried out by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The significant effect of season was observed on TP, SOD activity and % protein fractions of seminal plasma proteins of buffalo bulls. The TP values showed positive correlation with ejaculate volume (EV), sperm concentration (SC), and % live-dead (LD) and negative correlation with progressive motility (PM), and hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST). The SOD activity showed positive correlation with PM, LD, HOST and % acrosoamal integrity (AI). Besides that, results showed correlation of TP with 6.5, 38 and 66 kDa proteins, LPO with 70, 72, 84 and 86 kDa proteins, CAT with 70 kDa and 86 kDa proteins, and SOD with 6.5, 24.5, 44.5, 70 and 72 kDa proteins. In conclusion, this study indicated that TP and SOD activity of seminal plasma of buffalo bulls were influenced by season and were found to be associated with some of the semen characteristics and expression of seminal plasma proteins.

Prognostic indicators of mortality of mechanically ventilated patients with acute leukemia in a comprehensive cancer center

BACKGROUND

The prognosis for adult acute leukemia patients that require intensive care unit (ICU) admission and invasive mechanical ventilation is poor. We aimed to identify prognostic indicators of 30-day hospital mortality in adult patients who had acute leukemia and respiratory failure, who had received invasive mechanical ventilation in the ICU but who had not received blood and marrow transplantation, were not admitted due to cardiopulmonary arrest or myocardial infarction and, had not recently undergone surgery.

METHODS

In this case-control study, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of relevant patients >16 year old who had been admitted to the ICU at our institution over a 4-year period. The main outcome measure was 30-day hospital mortality. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine significant predictors of death.

RESULTS

For the 167 patients meeting our eligibility criteria, the median age was 61 years. The majority was admitted due to respiratory insufficiency/failure (69%). The 30-day hospital mortality rate was 62%. Independent predictors of 30-day hospital mortality were advanced disease status (odds ratio [OR]=3.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65-6.77) and increased organ failure at the time of intubation (OR=1.17; 95% CI, 1.03-1.33) per point increase in the SOFA score. Patients who had received endotracheal intubation within the first 24 h of ICU admission were less likely than others to die (OR=0.46, 95% CI, 0.23-0.91) within the next 30 days after admission to the hospital.

CONCLUSION

Advanced disease status and elevated SOFA scores at intubation are strong predictors of 30-day mortality in patients with acute leukemia and respiratory failure. The protective effect of early endotracheal intubation warrants further investigation.

Magnetic phase diagrams based on static and dynamic magnetic behaviour in Ru-based superconducting ferromagnets

In this work, we present magnetic phase diagrams of a RuSr(2)Eu(1.5)Ce(0.5)Cu(2)O(10-δ) (Ru-1222) superconducting ferromagnet derived from its static and dynamic magnetic responses, measured by temperature and field dependences of dc magnetization and nonlinear ac susceptibility in both low and high magnetic fields. Comparison of magnetic phase diagrams of phase pure and impure samples singles out the intrinsic and extrinsic magnetic features, naturally proposing a unified model of Ru-1222 magnetic behaviour. The results considered within the proposed interpretation indicate full agreement between static and dynamic properties which, if measured in combination, effectively complement each other, uncovering existing ambiguities.

Breastfeeding practices in baby friendly hospitals of Indore

An interview based cross sectional study was conducted in two of the designated Baby Friendly Hospitals of Indore in the year 2008. None of the hospitals were having a written breastfeeding policy, which is routinely communicated to all the health workers and no regular training regarding the Programme was being imparted. There is a need to develop a BFHI Monitoring System to ensure that the status is kept in check. Training regarding essential Criteria of BFHI should be there for all the staff.

Effects of sudden stress due to heavy metal mercury on benthic foraminifer Rosalina leei: laboratory culture experiment

Laboratory culture experiments were carried out to understand the response of benthic foraminifer Rosalina leei to gradual as well as sudden addition of heavy metal mercury into the media. When mercury was added suddenly, specimens did not show any change in morphology during the initial 40 days. However, later on, out of all the specimens subjected to mercury concentrations up to 150 ng/l, 75% developed deformities, whereas all the specimens subjected to 150-275 ng/l Hg concentrations, had deformed chambers. All specimens kept at 300 ng/l Hg concentration died within 20 days. In addition to this, irregularities were also observed in the rate of reproduction, number of juveniles produced and the survival rate of the juveniles. Where as in an earlier experiment where Hg concentration was increased gradually, irregularities in the newly added chambers were noticed only in case of specimens subjected to very high (180 ng/l) Hg concentration. However, during this experiment, growth was found to be inversely proportional to the mercury concentration.

Algorithm for perturbing thermodynamically infeasible metabolic networks

Networks of reactions inside the cell are constrained by the laws of mass and energy balance. The second law of thermodynamics further constrains the topology of the metabolic network, by disallowing interactions that can sustain themselves when they are isolated from the rest of the network. We present an algorithm that identifies such subnetworks and makes them feasible by deleting reactions. This perturbs the network topology, but preserves the optimality of the mass balance solutions. This method has been applied to a full network of Escherichia coli.

Application of foraminifers in ecotoxicology: retrospect, perspect and prospect

In view of the extensive use of foraminifers for the pollution monitoring especially their unmatched utility in deciphering the temporal variation in the type and concentration of pollutants at a given location, the literature dealing with the application of foraminifers for pollution studies has been reviewed. The pollution monitoring through foraminifers started with attribution of peculiar foraminiferal features at any location to the circumstantial presence of pollutants at that site. These peculiar features of the foraminifers in polluted areas included, variation in the abundance of total, calcareous and agglutinated foraminifers, species diversity, abnormal tests, etc. The abnormalities of tests included stunted growth, abraded margins, dissolved ornamentations, etc. Initially, much attention was paid to the effects of sewage pollution on the foraminifers but later on all kinds of human induced as well as natural pollutants came under the preview of foraminiferologists working on pollution aspects. The advantage of application of foraminifers, over other chemical and biological techniques, for pollution monitoring lies in their potentiality to decipher temporal variation in type and concentration of pollutants at any site even in the absence of pre-pollution studies, based on the recovery of foraminifers from the sediment core samples. Realizing the potential application of characteristic foraminiferal features from the polluted areas to decipher the variation in introduction and concentration of pollutants at any given location with time, efforts were made to characterize the specific types of foraminiferal features to the specific pollutants. It was at this point that the need of culture studies was widely felt which resulted in numerous lab and field culture studies where foraminifers were subjected to specific pollutants in order to document their response to these pollutants and to develop effective foraminiferal proxies for pollution monitoring through time. Such studies are still going on and it is felt that culture studies need to be supplemented with advanced crystallographic and molecular studies in order to find the mechanism through which foraminifers respond to the pollutants.

A pivoting algorithm for metabolic networks in the presence of thermodynamic constraints

A linear programming algorithm is presented to constructively compute thermodynamically feasible fluxes and change in chemical potentials of reactions for a metabolic network. It is based on physical laws of mass conservation and the second law of thermodynamics that all chemical reactions should satisfy. As a demonstration, the algorithm has been applied to the core metabolic pathway of E. coli.

The effects of speech output technology in the learning of graphic symbols

The effects of auditory stimuli in the form of synthetic speech output on the learning of graphic symbols were evaluated. Three adults with severe to profound mental retardation and communication impairments were taught to point to lexigrams when presented with words under two conditions. In the first condition, participants used a voice output communication aid to receive synthetic speech as antecedent and consequent stimuli. In the second condition, with a nonelectronic communications board, participants did not receive synthetic speech. A parallel treatments design was used to evaluate the effects of the synthetic speech output as an added component of the augmentative and alternative communication system. The 3 participants reached criterion when not provided with the auditory stimuli. Although 2 participants also reached criterion when not provided with the auditory stimuli, the addition of auditory stimuli resulted in more efficient learning and a decreased error rate. Maintenance results, however, indicated no differences between conditions. Finding suggest that auditory stimuli in the form of synthetic speech contribute to the efficient acquisition of graphic communication symbols.

Foraminifers as indicators of marine pollution: a culture experiment with Rosalina leei

In order to develop a viable foraminiferal proxy for heavy metal pollutants, juvenile specimens of Rosalina leei were subjected to different mercury concentrations (0-180 ng/l). Initially considerable growth was observed in specimens kept in saline water having a mercury concentration up to 100 ng/l. But with the gradual increase in concentration of mercury the growth rate started decreasing. Total growth achieved was significantly lower in case of specimens kept at relatively higher mercury concentrations then those maintained in normal saline water. The most significant result of this experiment was the addition of abnormal chambers in the specimens kept at higher mercury concentration. Later the specimens kept at highest concentration (180 ng/l) were subjected to progressively increasing concentration of mercury to see the further effects and it was found that the specimens were still living at as high a mercury concentration as 260 ng/l although there was no growth.

Prevalence of adrenal antibodies in Addison's disease among north Indian Caucasians

OBJECTIVE

The prevalence of antibodies in different organ-specific autoimmune diseases can vary depending on the racial group studied. Data on the prevalence of antibodies against steroidogenic enzymes in Addison's disease is available only for white Caucasians. We have evaluated the frequency of antibodies against adrenal cytoplasm, 21-hydroxylase, 17-alpha-hydroxylase and side-chain cleavage enzyme in a cohort of Indian patients with Addison's disease of idiopathic and granulomatous aetiology.

DESIGN

Study of all patients with Addison's disease on whom serum samples were available (84% of total), presenting to the Endocrinology Department in a teaching hospital in India, between 1990 and 1999.

PATIENTS

Thirty-eight patients with Addison's disease (19 idiopathic, 19 granulomatous).

METHODS

A radiobinding assay using in vitro transcribed and translated recombinant human 35S-labelled 21-hydroxylase, 17-alpha-hydroxylase and side-chain cleavage enzymes was utilized to detect the respective antibodies. Adrenal cytoplasmic antibodies were measured by indirect immunofluorescence on cryostatic sections of human adrenal cortex.

RESULTS

Of the 19 patients with idiopathic Addison's disease, adrenal cytoplasmic antibodies were present in five (26%) patients, while 21-hydroxylase antibodies were present in four (21%) subjects. The frequency of 21-hydroxylase antibodies was similar among patients with isolated idiopathic Addison's disease (3/13, 23%), and those associated with other organ-specific autoimmune diseases (1/6, 17%). 17-alpha-hydroxylase and side-chain cleavage antibodies were present in four (21%) and three (16%) patients, respectively. Overall, at least one of the three antibodies was present in eight (42%) subjects. All four female patients with premature ovarian failure had antibodies against 17-alpha-hydroxylase and/or side-chain cleavage enzyme. Two (11%) patients with granulomatous Addison's disease had adrenal antibodies. Of these, one patient with enlarged and calcified adrenal gland secondary to tuberculosis had a high titre of antibodies against all three steroidogenic enzymes.

CONCLUSIONS

Antibodies to 21-hydroxylase enzyme are less frequent in idiopathic Addison's disease in north Indians, when compared with other Caucasians. In contrast, the prevalence of 17-alpha-hydroxylase and side-chain cleavage enzyme antibodies is similar to those reported. High titre antibodies against steroidogenic enzymes may occasionally be present in patients with clinical evidence of tuberculous Addison's disease.