Gender Stereotype Susceptibility

Gender affects performance on a variety of cognitive tasks, and this impact may stem from socio-cultural factors such as gender stereotyping. Here we systematically manipulated gender stereotype messages on a social cognition task on which no initial gender gap has been documented. The outcome reveals: (i) Stereotyping affects both females and males, with a more pronounced impact on females. Yet an explicit negative message for males elicits a striking paradoxical deterioration in performance of females. (ii) Irrespective of gender and directness of message, valence of stereotype message affects performance: negative messages have stronger influence than positive ones. (iii) Directness of stereotype message differentially impacts performance of females and males: females tend to be stronger affected by implicit than explicit negative messages, whereas in males this relationship is opposite. The data are discussed in the light of neural networks underlying gender stereotyping. The findings provide novel insights into the sources of gender related fluctuations in cognition and behavior.     

How Visuo-Spatial Mental Imagery Develops: Image Generation and Maintenance

Two experiments examined the nature of visuo-spatial mental imagery generation and maintenance in 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-year old children and adults (N = 211). The key questions were how image generation and maintenance develop (Experiment 1) and how accurately children and adults coordinate mental and visually perceived images (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 indicated that basic image generation and maintenance abilities are present at 4 years of age but the precision with which images are generated and maintained improves particularly between 4 and 8 years. In addition to increased precision, Experiment 2 demonstrated that generated and maintained mental images become increasingly similar to visually perceived objects. Altogether, findings suggest that for simple tasks demanding image generation and maintenance, children attain adult-like precision younger than previously reported. This research also sheds new light on the ability to coordinate mental images with visual images in children and adults.     

5-Adamantan thiadiazole-based thiazolidinones as antimicrobial agents. Design,synthesis, molecular docking and evaluation

In continuation of our efforts to develop new compounds with antimicrobial properties we describe design, synthesis, molecular docking study and evaluation of antimicrobial activity of seventeen novel 2-{[5-(adamantan-1-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-imino}-5-arylidene-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones. All compounds showed antibacterial activity against eight Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial species. Twelve out of seventeen compounds were more potent than streptomycin and all compounds exhibited higher potency than ampicillin. Compounds were also tested against three resistant bacterial strains: MRSA, P. aeruginosa and E. coli. The best antibacterial potential against ATCC and resistant strains was observed for compound 8 (2-{[5-(adamantan-1-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-imino}-5-(4-nitrobenzylidene)-1,3thiazolidin-4-one). The most sensitive bacterium appeared to be S. typhimirium, followed by B. cereus while L. monocitogenes and M. flavus were the most resistant. Compounds were also tested for their antifungal activity against eight fungal species. All compounds exhibited antifungal activity better than the reference drugs bifonazole and ketokonazole (3-115 times). It was found that compound 8 appeared again to be the most potent. Molecular docking studies on E. coli MurB, MurA as well as C. albicans CYP 51 and dihydrofolate reductase were used for the prediction of mechanism of antibacterial and antifungal activities confirming the experimental results.     

Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in goats,cats and humans in Russia

Toxoplasmosis, a most common zoonosis, is caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. However, there is little epidemiological information on T. gondii infections in humans and livestock animals in Russia. Therefore, in this study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats in Russia was investigated. A total of 216 goats from 32 farms were investigated and 95 of them were seropositive for T. gondii. The difference in seroprevalence between the examined regions was not statistically significant. We next collected serum samples from 99 cats and 181 humans in Kazan city, the state capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and examined their T. gondii seroprevalences. Thirty-nine of the 99 cat samples and 56 of the 181 human samples showed seropositivity. Logistical regression analysis revealed that the cat breeding history of the human subjects, but not their sex or age is a significant risk factor for T. gondii seropositivity. These findings suggest that the natural environment in Russia may be widely polluted with T. gondii oocysts shed by cats, and ingestion of these oocysts provides a major route for human infection with this parasite.     

Discovery of amino-1,4-oxazines as potent BACE-1 inhibitors

New amino-1,4-oxazine derived BACE-1 inhibitors were explored and various synthetic routes developed. The binding mode of the inhibitors was elucidated by co-crystallization of 4 with BACE-1 and X-ray analysis. Subsequent optimization led to inhibitors with low double digit nanomolar activity in a biochemical and single digit nanomolar potency in a cellular assays. To assess the inhibitors for their permeation properties and potential to cross the blood-brain-barrier a MDR1-MDCK cell model was successfully applied. Compound 8a confirmed the in vitro results by dose-dependently reducing Aβ levels in mice in an acute treatment regimen.