The role of emotional cues in event-based prospective memory

OBJECTIVE

Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to perform expected actions in the future. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of stimuli with emotional content on the prospective memory, with particular attention to different age groups.

METHODS

Starting from an experimental paradigm used in a previous study (by Cona et al., 2015), we evaluated whether emotional cues (positive, negative, or neutral images) did influence a prospective memory task based on the event during the performance of an ongoing n-back task in three different age groups.

RESULTS

A difference emerged between the three investigated groups indicating that positive emotional cues were remembered better than negative and neutral ones. In addition, older subjects resulted slower than others in responding to stimuli and showed the tendency to make more errors in the prospective memory task.

CONCLUSIONS

As hypothesized, a difference in the performance of the task appears as due to age. In general, the younger participants take the test more accurately (i.e., with fewer errors). This could be explained because the prospective memory deteriorates with increasing age. Behavioral results do not yet allow us to answer the research question on the role of emotional material in prospective memory; more research is needed to clarify these issues.

Geostatistical multimodel approach for the assessment of the spatial distribution of natural background concentrations in large-scale groundwater bodies

Quantification of the (spatially distributed) natural contributions to the chemical signature of groundwater resources is an emerging issue in the context of competitive groundwater uses as well as water regulation and management frameworks. Here, we illustrate a geostatistically-based approach for the characterization of spatially variable Natural Background Levels (NBLs) of target chemical species in large-scale groundwater bodies yielding evaluations of local probabilities of exceedance of a given threshold concentration. The approach is exemplified by considering three selected groundwater bodies and focusing on the evaluation of NBLs of ammonium and arsenic, as detected from extensive time series of concentrations collected at monitoring boreholes. Our study is motivated by the observation that reliance on a unique NBL value as representative of the natural geochemical signature of a reservoir can mask the occurrence of localized areas linked to diverse strengths of geogenic contributions to the groundwater status. We start from the application of the typical Pre-Selection (PS) methodology to the scale of each observation borehole to identify local estimates of NBL values. The latter are subsequently subject to geostatistical analysis to obtain estimates of their spatial distribution and the associated uncertainty. A multimodel framework is employed to interpret available data. The impact of alternative variogram models on the resulting spatial distributions of NBLs is assessed through probabilistic weights based on model identification criteria. Our findings highlight that assessing possible impacts of anthropogenic activities on groundwater environments with the aim of designing targeted solutions to restore a good groundwater quality status should consider a probabilistic description of the spatial distribution of NBLs. The latter is useful to provide enhanced information upon which one can then build decision-making protocols embedding the quantification of the associated uncertainty.

Molecular design driving tetraporphyrin self-assembly on graphite: a joint STM, electrochemical and computational study

Tuning the intermolecular interactions among suitably designed molecules forming highly ordered self-assembled monolayers is a viable approach to control their organization at the supramolecular level. Such a tuning is particularly important when applied to sophisticated molecules combining functional units which possess specific electronic properties, such as electron/energy transfer, in order to develop multifunctional systems. Here we have synthesized two tetraferrocene-porphyrin derivatives that by design can selectively self-assemble at the graphite/liquid interface into either face-on or edge-on monolayer-thick architectures. The former supramolecular arrangement consists of two-dimensional planar networks based on hydrogen bonding among adjacent molecules whereas the latter relies on columnar assembly generated through intermolecular van der Waals interactions. Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) at the solid-liquid interface has been corroborated by cyclic voltammetry measurements and assessed by theoretical calculations to gain multiscale insight into the arrangement of the molecule with respect to the basal plane of the surface. The STM analysis allowed the visualization of these assemblies with a sub-nanometer resolution, and cyclic voltammetry measurements provided direct evidence of the interactions of porphyrin and ferrocene with the graphite surface and offered also insight into the dynamics within the face-on and edge-on assemblies. The experimental findings were supported by theoretical calculations to shed light on the electronic and other physical properties of both assemblies. The capability to engineer the functional nanopatterns through self-assembly of porphyrins containing ferrocene units is a key step toward the bottom-up construction of multifunctional molecular nanostructures and nanodevices.

Geochemical modeling of arsenic release from a deep natural solid matrix under alternated redox conditions

Dissolved arsenic (As) concentrations detected in groundwater bodies of the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) exhibit values which are above the regulation limit and could be related to the natural composition of the host porous matrix. To support this hypothesis, we present the results of a geochemical modeling study reproducing the main trends of the dynamics of As, Fe, and Mn concentrations as well as redox potential and pH observed during batch tests performed under alternating redox conditions. The tests were performed on a natural matrix extracted from a deep aquifer located in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy). The solid phases implemented in the model were selected from the results of selective sequential extractions performed on the tested matrix. The calibrated model showed that large As concentrations have to be expected in the solution for low crystallinity phases subject to dissolution. The role of Mn oxides on As concentration dynamics appears significant in strongly reducing environments, particularly for large water-solid matrix interaction times. Modeled data evidenced that As is released firstly from the outer surface of Fe oxihydroxides minerals exhibiting large concentrations in water when persistent reducing conditions trigger the dissolution of the crystalline structure of the binding minerals. The presence of organic matter was found to strongly affect pH and redox conditions, thus influencing As mobility.

Arsenic release from deep natural solid matrices under experimentally controlled redox conditions

We investigated the role of iron (Fe) on arsenic (As) release from two samples of a natural deep soil collected in an aquifer body in the Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy. Each sample is representative of a different solid matrix, i.e., sand and vegetal matter. Batch experiments were performed by applying alternating aerobic/anaerobic conditions to the samples under a range of redox and pH conditions, consistent with the corresponding values measured in the field. Arsenic mobilization was triggered by abrupt and rapid changes in redox conditions and displayed a clear correlation with oxidation/reduction potential for both solid matrices. Vegetal matter showed high binding capacity and large As concentration release. Arsenic release was also correlated with Fe released from the solid matrices. Our results suggest that the environmentally critical As concentrations detected in some aquifers in the Emilia-Romagna Region are consistent with (a) the occurrence of high natural As content in the component of the host porous medium associated with vegetal matter and (b) the effect of possible sharp localized (and temporally oscillating) variations in redox conditions.

A photosensitizer dinuclear ruthenium complex: intramolecular energy transfer to a covalently linked fullerene acceptor

A fullerene derivative (5) in which a dinuclear ruthenium complex is covalently linked to a fulleropyrrolidine (FP) through a rigid spacer has been prepared through azomethine ylide cycloaddition to C60. Electrochemical and photophysical studies revealed that ground-state electronic interactions between the bimetallic ruthenium chromophore and the FP moiety are small. The absorption spectrum of 5 displays a metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transition at about 620 nm in CH2Cl2 which is shifted by nearly 160 nm relative to that of a previously reported mononuclear dyad (8). The photophysical investigations have also shown that both in dichloromethane and acetonitrile the photoexcited MLCT state of dyad 5 transforms into the fullerene triplet excited state with a quantum yield of 0.19 and that, contrary to mononuclear dyad 8, electron transfer, if any under the applied conditions, is negligible relative to energy transfer.

Sediment composition and normalisation procedures: an example from a QUASH project sediment exercise

The QUASH UE-Project was designed to assess the reliability of normalisation approaches to compensate the influence of natural process affecting the distribution and concentration of contaminants in sediment. The focus of this paper was to test the influence on normalisation procedures of an inorganic matrix using a sample collected in the Venice Lagoon, Italy.

Laparoscopic vs open splenectomy

HYPOTHESIS

Laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) provides health benefits to patients compared with open splenectomy (OS) in terms of perioperative morbidity, complications, and patient recuperation.

DESIGN

Prospective operative and outcome data of LS patients were compared with those of OS patients (historical controls).

SETTING

Data were gathered, and patients were evaluated and treated at 2 McMaster University teaching hospitals in Hamilton, Ontario, and at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, also a teaching hospital.

PATIENTS

From January 1, 1994, through October 31, 1998, a total of 210 patients were studied. Of them, 147 patients from 3 university teaching hospitals underwent LS. These patients were matched with 63 OS patients according to age, sex, spleen weight, indication for splenectomy, and preoperative morbidity score.

INTERVENTIONS

A total of 147 patients evaluated for elective splenectomy underwent LS.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Spleen weight, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, perioperative complications, and cost.

RESULTS

No significant difference in mean spleen weight was found between groups. Mean operative time was significantly longer for LS, but intraoperative blood loss was significantly lower. Mean postoperative hospital stay was significantly lower and perioperative complications significantly fewer for LS patients. Mean cost for LS with no complications was slightly lower than for OS.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with OS, the lateral approach to LS takes longer to perform but results in reduced blood loss, shorter postoperative stay, and fewer complications. Mean weighted cost of LS is lower than OS at the study institutions. A prospective, randomized, controlled trial comparing these techniques is planned.

High-dose intravenous immune globulin and the response to splenectomy in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

BACKGROUND

High-dose intravenous immune globulin produces a temporary rise in the platelet count in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Splenectomy may also be effective, but it is not possible to predict which patients will have a good response. We hypothesized that the response to intravenous immune globulin predicts the response to splenectomy.

METHODS

We studied retrospectively 30 patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura who had first been treated with immune globulin and then undergone splenectomy. The responses to the two treatments were classified on the basis of the platelet count as poor (<50,000 per cubic millimeter), good (50,000 to 150,000 per cubic millimeter), or excellent (>150,000 per cubic millimeter).

RESULTS

All nine patients who had poor responses to intravenous immune globulin also had poor responses to splenectomy at one year. Of the 21 patients with good or excellent responses to intravenous immune globulin, 19 had good or excellent responses to splenectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura who have good or excellent responses to intravenous immune globulin are likely to have good or excellent responses to splenectomy, whereas patients who have poor responses to intravenous immune globulin are unlikely to have good or excellent responses to splenectomy.