No Prior Entry for Threat-Related Faces: Evidence from Temporal Order Judgments

Previous research showed that threat-related faces, due to their intrinsic motivational relevance, capture attention more readily than neutral faces. Here we used a standard temporal order judgment (TOJ) task to assess whether negative (either angry or fearful) emotional faces, when competing with neutral faces for attention selection, may lead to a prior entry effect and hence be perceived as appearing first, especially when uncertainty is high regarding the order of the two onsets. We did not find evidence for this conjecture across five different experiments, despite the fact that participants were invariably influenced by asynchronies in the respective onsets of the two competing faces in the pair, and could reliably identify the emotion in the faces. Importantly, by systematically varying task demands across experiments, we could rule out confounds related to suboptimal stimulus presentation or inappropriate task demands. These findings challenge the notion of an early automatic capture of attention by (negative) emotion. Future studies are needed to investigate whether the lack of systematic bias of attention by emotion is imputed to the primacy of a non-emotional cue to resolve the TOJ task, which in turn prevents negative emotion to exert an early bottom-up influence on the guidance of spatial and temporal attention.     

Effect of pH on transepithelial electrical parameters in seawater-adapted eel intestine

The sensitivity to external pH of Cl^- absorption was studied in isolated stripped intestinal mucosa of the eel, Anguilla anguilla, mounted in Ussing chambers. Short-circuit current, transepithelial potential difference and conductance were measured in bathing solutions containing various combinations of HCO₃ ^--concentration (0–25 mmol·l^-1), partial pressure of CO₂ (0–76 mm Hg) and pH (6.9–7.9). A linear relationship was found between pH and short-circuit current in the range of pH studied both in HCO₃ ^-/CO₂ Ringer and in Hepes Ringer. The pH effect was almost completely reversible. It was not affected by the presence of mucosal Ba²⁺ (10^-3 mol·l^-1) but it was inhibited by the presence of luminal (10^-5 mol·l^-1) or serosal (10^-4 mol·l^-1) bumetanide. The results obtained suggest that the Cl^- absorption in the European eel intestine is pH sensitive. The data do not indicate whether the pH affects directly the Na⁺–K⁺–Cl^- cotransport and/or the basolateral Cl^- conductance or other mechanisms indirectly linked to Cl^- absorption.Abbreviations g _t transepithelial conductance - Hepes N-2-Hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid - I _sc short circuit current - R _t transepithelial resistence - V _t transepithelial potential difference     

Modulation of Chitotriosidase During Macrophage Differentiation

Macrophages as a principal component of immune system play an important role in the initiation, modulation, and final activation of the immune response against pathogens. Upon stimulation with different cytokines, macrophages can undergo classical or alternative activation to become M1 or M2 macrophages, which have different functions during infections. Although chitotriosidase is widely accepted as a marker of activated macrophages and is thought to participate in innate immunity, particularly in defense mechanisms against chitin containing pathogens, little is known about its expression during macrophages full maturation and polarization. In this study we analyzed CHIT-1 modulation during monocyte-to-macrophage maturation and during their polarization. The levels of CHIT-1 expression was investigated in human monocytes obtained from buffy coat of healthy volunteers, polarized to classically activated macrophages (or M1), whose prototypical activating stimuli are interferon-γ and lipopolysaccharide, and alternatively activated macrophages (or M2) obtained by interleukin-4 exposure by real-time PCR and by Western blot analysis. During monocyte–macrophage differentiation both protein synthesis and mRNA analysis showed that CHIT-1 rises significantly and is modulated in M1 and M2 macrophages.Our results demonstrated that variations of CHIT-1 production are strikingly associated with macrophages polarization, indicating a different rule of this enzyme in the specialized macrophages.     

Different effects of cGMP and cAMP in the intestine of the European eel,Anguilla anguilla

The regulation of salt absorption in the sea water cell intestine was studied by evaluating the effects of theophylline, 8 Br cyclic adenosine monophosphate, 8 Br cyclic guanosine monophosphate, atriopeptin III, porcine vasoactive intestinal peptide and prostaglandin E ₁ on the short-circuit current, the transepithelial voltage difference and conductance and on the dilution potentials. It was shown that theophylline increased the transepithelial conductance and reduced the magnitude of the dilution potentials, indicating that the drug increase the anion conductance of the tight junctions. In addition its inhibitory effect on short-circuit current and transepithelial voltage difference suggests that theophylline also affects the transcellular transport mechanisms. It was shown that 8 Br cyclic guanosine monophosphate and 8 Br cyclic adenosine monophosphate affect transcellular mechanisms underlying Cl^– transport since both compounds reduced short-circuit current and transepithelial voltage difference; however, cyclic adenosine monophosphate is less effective since unlike cyclic guanosine monophosphate, even at maximal concentration, it was not able to completely abolish transepithelial voltage difference and short-circuit current. The effects of cyclic guanosine monophosphate and cyclic adenosine monophosphate were not additive even if cyclic guanosine monophosphate may produce further inhibition of ion transport in 8 Br cyclic adenosine monophosphate-treated tissues. In addition, cyclic guanosine monophosphate but not cyclic adenosine monophosphate reduced the magnitude of the dilution potentials, suggesting that cyclic guanosine monophosphate acts also on the paracellular pathway. Rat atriopeptin III, a peptide known to increase cyclic guanosine monophosphate cellular levels, behaved like 8 Br cyclic guanosine monophosphate since it lowered the dilution potentials and reduced short-circuit current and transepithelial voltage difference to near zero values, suggesting that the hormone modulates both paracellular and transcellular transport mechanisms, probably acting on the Na-K-2Cl cotransport. Agents acting via cyclic adenosine monophosphate, like porcine vasoactive intenstinal peptide and prostaglandin, behaved like 8 Br cyclic adenosine monophosphate. They were less effective in inhibiting ion transport and did not interfere with the paracellular pathway.Abbreviations AP III rat artriopeptin III - 8 Br cAMP 8 Br cyclic adenosine monophosphate - 8 Br cGMP 8 Br cyclic guanosine monophosphate - g _t transepithelial conductance - I _sc short circuit current - IC ₅₀ half-maximal inhibitory concentration - NaK ATPase Na-K-adenosine monophosphate - NPPB 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid - PGE prostaglandin E ₁ - R _t tissue resistance - SITS 4-acetamide-4-isothiocyano-stilbene-2,2-disulfonic acid - V _t transepithelial voltage difference - VIP porcine vasoactive intestinal peptide     

Beta-2-glycoprotein I is growth regulated and plays a role as survival factor for hepatocytes

Beta-2-glycoprotein I (beta(2)GPI) is mainly produced by the liver and is found in plasma partially associated to lipoproteins. Although various properties have been attributed to this protein, its physiological role remains still unclear. We investigated its expression in cultured liver cells and in regenerating liver. Expression studies in HepG2 cells demonstrate that beta(2)GPI mRNA is regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner, with very low expression in low cycling conditions and increasing levels in proliferating cells. p21 WAF-dependent growth arrest, induced by butyrate treatment, down-regulate beta(2)GPI mRNA levels. Immunolocalization in normal rat liver shows a non-homogeneous pattern, being mainly present in the centrolobular area; post-hepatectomy regenerating rat liver is uniformly immunostained and mitotic elements show the highest protein expression. Albumin gene expression, studies as control liver specific product, was not affected by sodium butyrate induced growth arrest. As previously reported for endothelial cells, beta(2)GPI behaves as survival factor for HepG2 cells: when increasing amounts of the protein (10-50 microg) have been added to serum deficient cultured liver cells a progressive reduced cell loss was observed. In conclusion, the present data demonstrate that beta(2)GPI gene expression is strictly related to the proliferative status of hepatic cells and that this protein could play a role in maintaining liver cells vitality when exposed to different stress factors such as regeneration after partial hepatectomy or growth factors depletion.     

Emotional Disorders in Pairs of Patients and Their Family Members during and after ICU Stay

Introduction

Patients and family members undergo different experiences of suffering from emotional disorders during ICU stay and after ICU discharge. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in pairs (patient and respective family member), during stay at an open visit ICU and at 30 and 90-days post-ICU discharge. We hypothesized that there was a positive correlation with the severity of symptoms among pairs and different patterns of suffering over time.

Methods

A prospective study was conducted in a 22-bed adult general ICU including patients with >48 hours stay. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was completed by the pairs (patients/respective family member). Interviews were made by phone at 30 and 90-days post-ICU discharge using the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the HADS. Multivariate models were constructed to predict IES score at 30 days for patients and family members.

Results

Four hundred and seventy one family members and 289 patients were interviewed in the ICU forming 184 pairs for analysis. Regarding HADS score, patients presented less symptoms than family members of patients who survived and who deceased at 30 and 90-days (p<0.001). However, family members of patients who deceased scored higher anxiety and depression symptoms (p = 0.048) at 90-days when compared with family members of patients who survived. Patients and family members at 30-days had a similar IES score, but it was higher in family members at 90-days (p = 0.019). For both family members and patients, age and symptoms of anxiety and depression during ICU were the major determinants for PTSD at 30-days.

Conclusions

Anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms were higher in family members than in the patients. Furthermore, these symptoms in family members persisted at 3 months, while they decreased in patients.