Most and Least Preferred Colours Differ According to Object Context: New Insights from an Unrestricted Colour Range

Humans like some colours and dislike others, but which particular colours and why remains to be understood. Empirical studies on colour preferences generally targeted most preferred colours, but rarely least preferred (disliked) colours. In addition, findings are often based on general colour preferences leaving open the question whether results generalise to specific objects. Here, 88 participants selected the colours they preferred most and least for three context conditions (general, interior walls, t-shirt) using a high-precision colour picker. Participants also indicated whether they associated their colour choice to a valenced object or concept. The chosen colours varied widely between individuals and contexts and so did the reasons for their choices. Consistent patterns also emerged, as most preferred colours in general were more chromatic, while for walls they were lighter and for t-shirts they were darker and less chromatic compared to least preferred colours. This meant that general colour preferences could not explain object specific colour preferences. Measures of the selection process further revealed that, compared to most preferred colours, least preferred colours were chosen more quickly and were less often linked to valenced objects or concepts. The high intra- and inter-individual variability in this and previous reports furthers our understanding that colour preferences are determined by subjective experiences and that most and least preferred colours are not processed equally.     

PC61 (Anti-CD25) Treatment Inhibits Influenza A Virus-Expanded Regulatory T Cells and Severe Lung Pathology during a Subsequent Heterologous Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection

Prior immunity to influenza A virus (IAV) in mice changes the outcome to a subsequent lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection and can result in severe lung pathology, similar to that observed in patients that died of the 1918 H1N1 pandemic. This pathology is induced by IAV-specific memory CD8⁺ T cells cross-reactive with LCMV. Here, we discovered that IAV-immune mice have enhanced CD4⁺ Foxp3⁺ T-regulatory (Treg) cells in their lungs, leading us to question whether a modulation in the normal balance of Treg and effector T-cell responses also contributes to enhancing lung pathology upon LCMV infection of IAV-immune mice. Treg cell and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels remained elevated in the lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes (mLNs) throughout the acute LCMV response of IAV-immune mice. PC61 treatment, used to decrease Treg cell levels, did not change LCMV titers but resulted in a surprising decrease in lung pathology upon LCMV infection in IAV-immune but not in naive mice. Associated with this decrease in pathology was a retention of Treg in the mLN and an unexpected partial clonal exhaustion of LCMV-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses only in IAV-immune mice. PC61 treatment did not affect cross-reactive memory CD8⁺ T-cell proliferation. These results suggest that in the absence of IAV-expanded Treg cells and in the presence of cross-reactive memory, the LCMV-specific response was overstimulated and became partially exhausted, resulting in a decreased effector response. These studies suggest that Treg cells generated during past infections can influence the characteristics of effector T-cell responses and immunopathology during subsequent heterologous infections. Thus, in humans with complex infection histories, PC61 treatment may lead to unexpected results.     

Apelin Receptor Signaling Protects GT1-7 GnRH Neurons Against Oxidative Stress In Vitro

Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology - Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis regulates stress response in the body and abnormal increase in oxidative stress contributes to the...     

Laboratory cryo soft X-ray microscopy

Lens-based water-window X-ray microscopy allows two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) imaging of intact unstained cells in their near-native state with unprecedented contrast and resolution. Cryofixation is essential to avoid radiation damage to the sample. Present cryo X-ray microscopes rely on synchrotron radiation sources, thereby limiting the accessibility for a wider community of biologists. In the present paper we demonstrate water-window cryo X-ray microscopy with a laboratory-source-based arrangement. The microscope relies on a λ=2.48-nm liquid-jet high-brightness laser-plasma source, normal-incidence multilayer condenser optics, 30-nm zone-plate optics, and a cryo sample chamber. We demonstrate 2D imaging of test patterns, and intact unstained yeast, protozoan parasites and mammalian cells. Overview 3D information is obtained by stereo imaging while complete 3D microscopy is provided by full tomographic reconstruction. The laboratory microscope image quality approaches that of the synchrotron microscopes, but with longer exposure times. The experimental image quality is analyzed from a numerical wave-propagation model of the imaging system and a path to reach synchrotron-like exposure times in laboratory microscopy is outlined.     

The growth and lifespan of the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) in the Tatar Strait (Sea of Japan) in connection with the conditions of life at the northern border of the species range

The study of materials that were collected by trawling and diving in the Tatar Strait (Sea of Japan) in 2010 showed that the commercial bivalve Crenomytilus grayanus is distributed northward along the continental coast of the Khabarovsk region to Mosolov Bay (51°14.308?? N, 140°42.358?? E). Mussel druses and single mussels were found at depths of 3?C32 m in bays, along the open sea coast on rocks, boulders, and in other biotopes characteristic of this species. The growth rate of C. grayanus in the Tatar Strait varied depending on the habitat conditions and was markedly lower than in the warmer waters of Peter the Great Bay, where at similar depths this species reaches its legal size 5?C8 years earlier. The lifespan of C. grayanus in the Tatar Strait is 126 years, a value comparable with the lifespan of this species in more southern areas.     

Loss of Anti-Viral Immunity by Infection with a Virus Encoding a Cross-Reactive Pathogenic Epitope

T cell cross-reactivity between different strains of the same virus, between different members of the same virus group, and even between unrelated viruses is a common occurrence. We questioned here how an intervening infection with a virus containing a sub-dominant cross-reactive T cell epitope would affect protective immunity to a previously encountered virus. Pichinde virus (PV) and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) encode subdominant cross-reactive NP_205–212 CD8 T cell epitopes sharing 6 of 8 amino acids, differing only in the MHC anchoring regions. These pMHC epitopes induce cross-reactive but non-identical T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires, and structural studies showed that the differing anchoring amino acids altered the conformation of the MHC landscape presented to the TCR. PV-immune mice receiving an intervening infection with wild type but not NP205-mutant LCMV developed severe immunopathology in the form of acute fatty necrosis on re-challenge with PV, and this pathology could be predicted by the ratio of NP205-specific to the normally immunodominant PV NP_38–45 -specific T cells. Thus, cross-reactive epitopes can exert pathogenic properties that compromise protective immunity by impairing more protective T cell responses.     

Spatial growth rate variability in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Callista brevisiphonata</Emphasis> (Carpenter, 1865) (Bivalvia: Veneridae)

The features of the group linear growth of the bivalve Callista brevisiphonata were studied over a large part of its range in the Sea of Japan along the mainland coast of Russia. It was found that in the south of the species range in the Peter the Great Bay, the shell length in individuals of the same age can differ by almost 1.5 times, depending on the position of the population relative to the open sea. With propagation from south to north, trends to a decreasing growth rate and a narrowing of the range of age variation in shell length were recorded in C. brevisiphonata populations. It was shown that the clams need 5–18 years to reach their commercial size (a shell length of more than 70 mm). The observed differences in growth rate are considered in connection to the habitat environment of C. brevisiphonata.     

Enhanced Renewal of Erythroid Progenitors in Myelodysplastic Anemia by Peripheral Serotonin

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Estimation of the abundance of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nucella heyseana</Emphasis> (Mollusca: Gastropoda) by the mark and recapture technique

The abundance of the predatory gastropod, the Far East dogwhelk Nucella heyseana in the Vostok Bay of the Sea of Japan was assessed by applying the mark and recapture technique with reverse sampling. It was shown that assessment of mollusk abundance using this approach did not differ significantly from that resulting from the frame technique. It was determined that the number of the dogwhelks decreased in recent years in the surveyed area. In implementing long-term research, including the seasonal dynamics of the number of N. heyseana and other mollusk species similar to it in their biology and behavior, we suggest applying, concurrently with the mark and recapture technique, other methods, enabling one to obtain more adequate figures of their numbers in the cold season.