Adults scan own- and other-race faces differently

It is well established that individuals show an other-race effect (ORE) in face recognition: they recognize own-race faces better than other-race faces. The present study tested the hypothesis that individuals would also scan own- and other-race faces differently. We asked Chinese participants to remember Chinese and Caucasian faces and we tested their memory of the faces over five testing blocks. The participants' eye movements were recorded with the use of an eye tracker. The data were analyzed with an Area of Interest approach using the key AOIs of a face (eyes, nose, and mouth). Also, we used the iMap toolbox to analyze the raw data of participants' fixation on each pixel of the entire face. Results from both types of analyses strongly supported the hypothesis. When viewing target Chinese or Caucasian faces, Chinese participants spent a significantly greater proportion of fixation time on the eyes of other-race Caucasian faces than the eyes of own-race Chinese faces. In contrast, they spent a significantly greater proportion of fixation time on the nose and mouth of Chinese faces than the nose and mouth of Caucasian faces. This pattern of differential fixation, for own- and other-race eyes and nose in particular, was consistent even as participants became increasingly familiar with the target faces of both races. The results could not be explained by the perceptual salience of the Chinese nose or Caucasian eyes because these features were not differentially salient across the races. Our results are discussed in terms of the facial morphological differences between Chinese and Caucasian faces and the enculturation of mutual gaze norms in East Asian cultures.     

The xanthophyll cycle and energy dissipation in differently oriented faces of the cactus Opuntia macrorhiza

  Diurnal changes in titratable acidity, photosynthesis, energy dissipation activity, and the carotenoid composition of differently oriented cladodes of the cactus Opuntia macrorhiza were characterized during exposure to full sunlight in the field. Four cladode faces were chosen such that each was exposed to maximum photon flux densities (PFD) at different times of the day in addition to receiving different daily integrated PFDs. The sum of all carotenoids per chlorophyll was found to increase with increasing exposure to PFD, with the carotenoids of the xanthophyll cycle present in the most exposed face at more than twice the concentration found in the least exposed face. All faces exhibited large increases in xanthophyll cycle-dependent energy dissipation as the sun rose in the morning, even those receiving only minimal levels of diffuse radiation. The transient high levels of energy dissipation in those faces that did not receive direct sunlight in the morning may have been due to low temperature inhibition of photosynthesis (predawn low of 2°C). For the two faces receiving peak PFDs in the morning hours (north and east faces), the level of energy dissipation activity increased rapidly during exposure to direct sunlight in the early morning, gradually declining in the late morning under warm temperatures, and was negligible during the afternoon low light conditions. Changes in the xanthophyll cycle paralleled the changes in energy dissipation with the majority of the cycle present as violaxanthin (V) prior to sunrise, largely de-epoxidized to zeaxanthin (Z) and antheraxanthin (A) during exposure to direct sunlight, and reconverted to V during the afternoon. For the two faces receiving peak PFDs in the afternoon (south and west faces), energy dissipation activity increased dramatically during the early morning low light period, subsequently decreasing during midday as decarboxylation of malic acid proceeded maximally (providing a high concentration of CO₂ for photosynthesis), and then increased to the highest level in the late afternoon as the supply of malic acid was depleted and rates of photosynthetic electron transport declined. The xanthophyll cycle, largely present as Z and A prior to sunrise in the south and west faces, was de-epoxidized to the greatest extent in the late afternoon, followed by epoxidation back to the predawn level by sunset. In all cladode faces high levels of energy dissipation activity were accompanied by decreases in the intrinsic efficiency of photosystem II (PSII), indicative of a regulatory process that diverted the excess energy away from the reaction centers during periods of excess light. Furthermore, the overnight retention of Z and A by the south and west faces was accompanied by a sustained reduction in PSII efficiency (i.e., “photoinhibition”). We suggest that this “photoinhibition” represents the sustained engagement of nocturnally retained Z and A in the photoprotective down-regulation of PSII. Received: 8 May 1996 / Accepted: 9 September 1996     

Quantitative linkage genome scan for atopy in a large collection of Caucasian families

Quantitative phenotypes correlated with a complex disorder offer increased power to detect linkage in comparison to affected-unaffected classifications. Asthma is a complex disorder characterized by periods of bronchial obstruction and increased bronchial hyper reactivity. In childhood and early adulthood, asthma is frequently associated also with quantitative measures of atopy. Genome wide quantitative multipoint linkage analysis was conducted for serum IgE levels and percentage of positive skin prick test (SPT(per)) using three large groups of families originally ascertained for asthma. In this report, 438 and 429 asthma families were informative for linkage using IgE and SPT(per) which represents 690 independent families. Suggestive linkage (LOD > or = 2) was found on chromosomes 1, 3, and 8q with maximum LODs of 2.34 (IgE), 2.03 (SPT(per)), and 2.25 (IgE) near markers D1S1653, D3S2322-D3S1764, and D8S2324, respectively. The results from chromosomes 1 and 3 replicate previous reports of linkage. We also replicate linkage to 5q with peak LODs of 1.96 (SPT(per)) and 1.77 (IgE) at or near marker D5S1480. Our results provide further evidence implicating chromosomes 1, 3, and 5q. The current report represents one of the biggest genome scans so far reported for asthma related phenotypes. This study also demonstrates the utility of increased sample sizes and quantitative phenotypes in linkage analysis of complex disorders.     

Multilocus and interaction-based genome scan for alcoholism risk factors in Caucasian Americans: the COGA study

In this paper, we applied the nonparametric linkage regression approach to the Caucasian genome scan data from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism to search for regions of the genome that exhibit evidence for linkage to putative alcoholism-predisposing genes. The multipoint single-locus model identified four regions of the genome with LOD scores greater than one. These regions were on 7p near D7S1790 (LOD = 1.31), two regions on 7q near D7S1870 (LOD = 1.15) and D7S1799 (LOD = 1.13) and 21q near D21S1440 and D21S1446 (LOD = 1.78). Jointly modeling these loci provided stronger evidence for linkage in each of these regions (LOD = 1.58 on 7q11, LOD = 1.61 on 11q23, and LOD = 1.95 on 21q22). The evidence for linkage tended to increase among pedigrees with earlier mean age of onset at 8q23 (p = 0.0016), 14q21 (p = 0.0079), and 18p12 (p = 0.0021) and with later mean age of onset at 4q35 (p = 0.0067) and 9p22 (p = 0.0008).     

A genome-wide linkage scan for quantitative trait loci underlying obesity related phenotypes in 434 Caucasian families

To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that contribute to obesity, we performed a large-scale whole genome linkage scan (WGS) involving 4,102 individuals from 434 Caucasian families. The most pronounced linkage evidence was found at the genomic region 20p11-12 for fat mass (LOD = 3.31) and percentage fat mass (PFM) (LOD = 2.92). We also identified several regions showing suggestive linkage signals (threshold LOD = 1.9) for obesity phenotypes, including 5q35, 8q13, 10p12, and 17q11.     

Effects of parity and age on female attraction to faces of infants and neonates in rhesus macaques

This study investigated the effects of parity and age on female rhesus macaque attention toward infants, and assessed whether the faces of neonates are more attractive than those of older infants. Six nulliparous and six multiparous females were shown digitized images of neonates’ and 5- to 6-month-old infants’ faces. Attention and preferences for images were measured by gaze duration and other picture-directed behaviors, including lip smacking, approaches, and presentations. As predicted, nulliparous females displayed significantly longer gaze durations for images than did multiparous females. There were no significant differences in gaze duration for faces of neonates and those of infants, but images of infants were approached more frequently than images of neonates. This difference is tentatively explained on the basis of differences in female familiarity with neonates’ and infants’ faces and differences in opportunities for allomothering with neonates and infants.     

Resting Metabolic Rate in African-American and Caucasian Girls

YANOVSKI, SUSAN ZELITCH, JAMES C REYNOLDS, ALLISON J BOYLE, JACK A YANOVSKI. Resting metabolic rate in African-American and Caucasian girls. Recent studies have found a lower resting metabolic rate (RMR) in African-American (AA) women with obesity as compared with Caucasian (C) women with obesity. It is unknown if this difference in RMR is seen in prepubertal girls or in those of average body weight. Therefore, we studied RMR in 21 AA and 24 C girls, ages 7–10, who were well matched for age, weight, body mass index (BMI), and pubertal status. All had BMI between 15% and 85% for age and race, based on data from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Fat free mass (FFM) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RMR was measured with a Deltatrac indirect calorimeter under controlled conditions after the subjects underwent an overnight fast. The slopes of the regression equations were similar for both groups (ρ=0.7). After adjustment for FEM, the AA girls had a significantly lower RMR than did the C girls (?92 ± 32 kcal/d, ρ=0.007 by analysis of covariance). This significance was maintained after exclusion of total body bone mineral content. These data suggest that normal-weight prepubertal AA girls may have reduced resting energy expenditure compared with C girls.     

Hereditary pyropoikilocytosis and elliptocytosis in a Caucasian family

Summary Hereditary pyropoikilocytosis (HPP) is a severe hemolytic anemia characterized by a material instability of the red cell membrane leading to cell fragmentation. This fragility may be correlated with functional and structural defects of spectrin. Most HPP patients have been black. We now report three HPP patients from a Caucasian family, the proposita and her two maternal uncles. The proposita's mother and daughter presented mild type I hereditary elliptocytosis (HE), while the proposita's father was clinically and hematologically normal. Our studies revealed a defective ability of spectrin to self-associate, resulting in an excess of spectrin dimer in 4°C extracts in the three HPP patients and to a similar extent in HE relatives. Limited tryptic digestion of spectrin showed a molecular variant in the I domain as expressed by a decreased amount of 80 000-dalton peptide with a concomitant increase in the 74 000-dalton peptide. Investigations in the proposita's father revealed no abnormalities of the erythrocyte membrane. The co-transmission of HPP and HE phenotypes in the same lineage might suggest variability in the clinical expression of the same molecular defect and lead us to discuss the hypothesis of a double heterozygosity in HPP patients.     

Uncoupling proteins 1 and 3 are regulated differently

Using a heterologous yeast expression system, we have previously found a marked discordance between the effects of uncoupling protein (UCP) 1 and UCP3L on basal O(2) consumption in whole yeast versus isolated mitochondria. In whole yeast, UCP3L produces a greater stimulation of basal O(2) consumption, while in isolated mitochondria, UCP1 produces a much greater effect. As shown previously and in this report, UCP3L, in contrast to UCP1, is not inhibited by purine nucleotides. In the present study, we addressed two hypothetical mechanisms that could account for the observed discordance: (i) in whole yeast, purine nucleotides inhibit UCP1 but not UCP3L and (ii) preparations of isolated mitochondria lack an activator of UCP3L that is normally present in vivo. By use of a mutant of UCP1 that lacks purine nucleotide inhibition, it is demonstrated that cytosolic concentrations of purine nucleotides present in yeast effectively inhibit UCP1 activity. This suggests that the lower activity of UCP1 compared to UCP3L in whole yeast is due to purine nucleotide inhibition of UCP1 but not UCP3L. As potential activators of UCP3L we tested free fatty acids in whole yeast and isolated mitochondria. While UCP1 was strongly activated by free fatty acids, no stimulatory effect on UCP3L was observed. In summary, this study indicates that UCP1 and UCP3L differ in their regulation by purine nucleotides and free fatty acids. This different regulation may be related to different physiological functions of the two proteins.     

Quin-2 and fura-2 measure calcium differently

Several fluorescent probes have been used in the past to monitor and to measure intracellular calcium and calcium fluxes. The most widely used of these probes are those developed by Tsien. We address the markedly different values obtained when comparing Quin-2 (the original probe) with Fura-2 (a second-generation probe). In most cases the values for intracellular calcium have been considered to be interchangeable for the different probes. Using several different hematopoietic cell lines we show that in no case do the two probes yield equivalent values.     

BDSF对白假丝酵母体外作用的研究

白假丝酵母(又称白念珠菌)是人体重要的条件致病真菌.在正常人体中,白假丝酵母是一种无害共生真菌;在免疫力低下人群中,白假丝酵母可引起假丝酵母病,轻者可导致黏膜感染,重者可发展为系统性疾病,甚至危及生命.白假丝酵母从酵母相至菌丝相的形态转变是极其重要的致病因素之一.BDSF是小分子短链脂肪酸,由Burkholderia cenocepacia分泌产生.对酵母相白假丝酵母,在BDSF≥30 μmol/L时因菌丝生长受强烈抑制,无法从酵母相向菌丝相转变.而对菌丝相白假丝酵母,当BDSF在30 μmol/L和60 μmol/L时,菌丝进一步生长并产生分支,但随菌丝分支生长,新生的分支菌丝不断转变为酵母相;当BDSF增加至120 μmol/L时,菌丝生长和分支状况几乎完全受抑制.由此可见,BDSF不仅强烈抑制菌丝生长,还可促使新生的菌丝相向酵母相转化.     

Pressure induces interdigitation differently in DPPC and DPPG

The phase behaviours of chain-perdeuterated dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC-d ₆₂) and chain-perdeuterated dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG-d ₆₂) bilayers were compared using ²H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and quadrupole echo decay measurements over pressures ranging from ambient to 196 MPa and temperatures ranging from 60 to −25°C. At ambient pressure, the phase behaviours of DPPC-d ₆₂ and DPPG-d ₆₂ were nearly identical. At 196 MPa, their behaviours were also very similar and both lipids appeared to pass from an interdigitated gel phase at high temperature, through a non-interdigitated gel phase at intermediate temperature, to a chain-immobilized ordered phase at low temperature. At 85 MPa, the behaviour of DPPC-d ₆₂ was similar to its ambient pressure behaviour with no evidence of interdigitation. For DPPG-d ₆₂, however, the behaviour at 85 MPa was similar to its higher pressure behaviour and spectra characteristic of an interdigitated gel phase were observed. Pressure-temperature phase diagrams for both lipids were compared. While the minimum pressure for DPPC-d ₆₂ interdigitation is about 150 MPa, DPPG-d ₆₂ was observed to interdigitate at pressures as low as 60 MPa. Given the similarity of their phase behaviours at both higher and lower pressures, this difference reflects the extent to which bilayer phase behaviour depends on the balance between interactions in the headgroup and hydrocarbon regions of the bilayer.