Believing is seeing: expectations alter visual awareness

Expectations have been shown to be powerful modulators of pain [1] and emotion [2] in placebo studies. In such experiments, expectations are induced by instructions combined with manipulation of the sensory experience that is unknown to the subjects. After an expectation learning phase where a painful stimulation is surreptitiously lowered following placebo application, the placebo effectively reduces subjective pain intensity in a subsequent test phase [3]. The strength of this placebo effect is closely related to the induced expectation [4]. Here, we asked whether this powerful cognitive bias reflects a general property of sensory information processing and tested whether the contents of visual awareness could be altered by a placebo-like expectation manipulation. We found a dramatic effect of experimentally induced expectations on the perception of an ambiguous visual motion stimulus. This shows that expectations have a strong and general influence on our experience of the sensory input independently of its specific type and content.     

Developmental patterns of caspase-3, bax and bcl-2 proteins expression in the human spinal ganglia

The distribution of the bcl-2, bax and caspase-3 proteins was investigated in the cells of developing human spinal ganglia. Paraffin sections of 10 human conceptuses between 5th and 9th gestational weeks were analysed morphologically, immunohistochemically and by TUNEL-method. Cells positive to caspase-3 had brown stained nuclei or nuclear fragmentations. At earliest stages, 6% of ganglion population were caspase-3 positive cells. Later on, a significant increase in number of caspase-3 positive cells appeared, particularly in the ventral part of ganglia (12%), and subsequently decreased to 6%. TUNEL-positive cells had the same distribution pattern as caspase-3 positive cells. Bax-positive cells followed the developmental pattern similar to caspase-3 cells, changing in range between 20% and 32%. There were 8% of bcl-2 positive cells at earliest stages. They increased significantly in dorsal part of the ganglion during the 7th week (28%), and than dropped to 15% by the end of the 8th week. These findings suggest a ventro-dorsal course of development in human spinal ganglia. Number of bcl-2, bax and caspase-3 positive cells changed in a temporally and spatially restricted manner, coincidently with ganglion differentiation. While apoptosis might control cell number, bcl-2 could act in suppression of apoptosis and enhancement of cell differentiation.     

Microarray data mining with visual programming

SUMMARY: Visual programming offers an intuitive means of combining known analysis and visualization methods into powerful applications. The system presented here enables users who are not programmers to manage microarray and genomic data flow and to customize their analyses by combining common data analysis tools to fit their needs. AVAILABILITY: http://www.ailab.si/supp/bi-visprog SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: http://www.ailab.si/supp/bi-visprog.     

Expression and function of the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor in pancreatic beta-cells

The extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) was first identified in tissues involved in systemic Ca2+ homeostasis, where it acts to sense changes in circulating Ca2+. It has since been reported that the CaR is expressed in many tissues that are not associated with Ca2+ homeostasis, including the endocrine cells in pancreatic islets of Langerhans. In the present study we have used an insulin-secreting pancreatic beta-cell line (MIN6) to investigate the expression and function of CaR, using the calcimimetic A568, a CaR agonist that activates the CaR at physiological concentrations of extracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]o). Immunocytochemistry, Western blotting and RT-PCR confirmed the expression of CaR in MIN6 cells. CaR activation was associated with rapid and transient increases in [Ca2+]o, which were accompanied by the initiation of a marked but transient insulin secretory response. Stimulation of beta-cell secretory activity had no detectable effect on CaR mRNA levels, but CaR mRNA was markedly reduced by configuring MIN6 cells into islet- like structures. Our data are consistent with an important function for the beta-cell CaR in cell - cell communication within islets to co-ordinate insulin secretory responses.     

Assessment of microbial carcass contamination of hunted wild boars

To investigate the microbiological conditions of hunted wild boar carcasses and factors that contribute to the microbial carcass contamination, skin and carcass meat swab samples from 210 hunted wild boars were collected from freshly shot animals. The mean aerobic colony counts (ACCs) and Enterobacteriaceae counts on the skin were 5.2 and 3.6 log₁₀ CFU/cm², with 1.4% of animals’ skin tested positive for Salmonella spp. Slightly higher mean ACC and Enterobacteriaceae counts of 5.4 and 3.8 log₁₀ CFU/cm² were obtained from carcass meat with Salmonella spp. prevalence of 1.9%. Inadequate hygiene practices in handling and dressing wild boar carcasses, such as evisceration in the laying position on the ground and practice of skin and interior carcass surface washing after evisceration, were found to have the most significant influence on the microbiological conditions of final carcasses. Therefore, these findings indicate the need for the implementation and strict adherence to good hygiene practice in hunting estates and game handling establishments.     

Modelling of essential fish habitat based on remote sensing,spatial analysis and GIS

Lake Tanganyika is not the most species-rich of the Great East African Lakes, but comprises the greatest diversity of cichlid fishes in terms of morphology, ecology, and breeding styles. The lake contains a polyphyletic assemblage of cichlid lineages, which evolved from several ancient species that colonized the emerging lake some 9–12 million years ago. Based on morphological characteristics, the Tanganyikan cichlids have been classified into 12, or, more recently, 16 tribes, which are largely supported by molecular data. The radiations of East African cichlids are believed to be driven by complex interactions between extrinsic factors, such as climatic changes and geological processes, and intrinsic biological characteristics of the involved organisms. Diversification within different lineages occurred simultaneously in response to drastic habitat changes such as the establishment of lacustrine deep-water conditions 5–6 MYA and subsequent major lake-level fluctuations. This seems particularly true for the mouthbrooding lineages whereas the substrate breeders underwent a more gradual process of diversification. This review presents an account of the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Lake Tanganyika cichlid species assemblage, its relationship to the African cichlid fauna, key factors leading to the astonishing diversity and discusses recently proposed alternative age estimates for the Lake Tanganyika cichlid species assemblage.     

Low VHL mRNA Expression is Associated with More Aggressive Tumor Features of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Alterations of the von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene can cause different hereditary tumors associated with VHL syndrome, but the potential role of the VHL gene in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has not been characterized. This study set out to investigate the relationship of VHL expression level with clinicopathological features of PTC in an ethnically and geographically homogenous group of 264 patients from Serbia, for the first time. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a strong correlation between low level of VHL expression and advanced clinical stage (OR = 5.78, 95% CI 3.17–10.53, P<0.0001), classical papillary morphology of the tumor (OR = 2.92, 95% CI 1.33–6.44, P = 0.008) and multifocality (OR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.06–3.62, P = 0.031). In disease-free survival analysis, low VHL expression had marginal significance (P = 0.0502 by the log-rank test) but did not appear to be an independent predictor of the risk for chance of faster recurrence in a proportion hazards model. No somatic mutations or evidence of VHL downregulation via promoter hypermethylation in PTC were found. The results indicate that the decrease of VHL expression associates with tumor progression but the mechanism of downregulation remains to be elucidated.     

Structural change in wood by brown rot fungi and effect on enzymatic hydrolysis

The effects of biological pretreatment on Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus, were evaluated after exposure to two brown rot fungi Gloephylum trabeum and Laetoporeus sulphureus. Changes in chemical composition, structural modification, and susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis in the degraded wood were analyzed. After eight weeks of biodegradation, the greatest loss of weight and hemicellulose were 13% and 31%, respectively, for P. radiata with G. trabeum. The content of glucan decreased slightly, being the highest loss of 20% for E. globulus with G. trabeum. Consistent with degradation mechanism of these fungi, lignin was essentially undegraded by both brown rot fungi. Both brown rot fungi cause a sharp reduction in the cellulose degree of polymerization (DP) in the range between 58% and 79%. G. trabeum depolymerized cellulose in both wood faster than L. sulphureus. Also, structural characteristic of crystalline cellulose were measured by using two different techniques - X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The biological pretreatments showed an effect on cellulose crystallinity structure, a decrease between 6% and 21% was obtained in the crystallinity index (CrI) calculated by IR, no changes were observed in the XRD. Material digestibility was evaluated by enzymatic hydrolysis, the conversion of cellulose to glucose increased with the biotreatment time. The highest enzymatic hydrolysis yields were obtained when saccharification was performed on wood biopretreated with G. trabeum (14% P. radiata and 13% E. globulus). Decreasing in DP and CrI, and hemicellulose removal result in an increase of enzymatic hydrolysis performance. Digestibility was better related to DP than with other properties. G. trabeum can be considered as a potential fungus for biological pretreatment, since it provides an effective process in breaking the wood structure, making it potentially useful in the development of combined pretreatments (biological-chemical). A viable alternative to pretreatment process that can be used is a bio-mimetic system, similar to low-molecular complexes generated by fungi such as G. trabeum combined pretreatments (biological-chemical).     

Plasma Protein Biomarkers of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in HCV-Infected Alcoholic Patients with Cirrhosis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and lethal cancers in the world, with limited options for treatment unless timely diagnosed. Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and persistent heavy alcohol consumption are independent risk factors for HCC development, which may induce a specific protein expression pattern different from those caused separately. The aim of the study was to identify protein biomarkers for the detection of HCC in HCV-infected alcoholic patients with cirrhosis in order to improve survival. We compared protein expression profiles of plasma samples from 52 HCV-infected alcoholic patients with and without HCC, using 2-D DIGE coupled with MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. The 2-D DIGE results were analyzed statistically using Decyder software, and verified by western-blot and ELISA. In plasma samples from HCV-infected alcoholic patients, we found significantly differential expression profiles of carboxypeptidase-N, ceruloplasmin (CP), complement component 4a (C4a), fibrinogen-alpha (FGA), immunoglobulin mu chain C region, serum albumin, and serum paraoxonase/arylesterase 1 (PON1). Deregulation of plasma/serum levels of the identified proteins was associated to HCV, ethanol consumption, and/or HCC progression. In the validation through ELISA, C4a serum concentration was increased in HCC patients (2.4±1 ng/mg vs 1.8±0.6 ng/mg; p = 0.029), being the only independent predictor of HCC in the multivariate analysis (OR = 2.15; p = 0.015), with an AUROC = 0.70. The combination of C4a, FGA, CP and PON1 improved slightly the predictive ability of C4a alone (AUROC 0.81). In conclusion, we identified proteins related to acute-phase response, oxidative stress, or immune response, whose differential expression in plasma may be attributed to the presence of HCC. Among them, C4a, and its combination with CP, FGA and PON1, could be considered as potentially reliable biomarkers for the detection of HCC in HCV-infected alcoholic patients.