Masked priming effect reflects evidence accumulated by the prime.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinoshita, Sachiko; Norris, Dennis

2010-01-01

In the same-different match task, masked priming is observed with the same responses but not different responses. Norris and Kinoshita's (2008) Bayesian reader account of masked priming explains this pattern based on the same principle as that explaining the absence of priming for nonwords in the lexical decision task. The pattern of priming follows from the way the model makes optimal decisions in the two tasks; priming does not depend on first activating the prime and then the target. An alternative explanation is in terms of a bias towards responding "same" that exactly counters the facilitatory effect of lexical access. The present study tested these two views by varying both the degree to which the prime predicts the response and the visibility of the prime. Unmasked primes produced effects expected from the view that priming is influenced by the degree to which the prime predicts the response. In contrast, with masked primes, the size of priming for the same response was completely unaffected by predictability. These results rule out response bias as an explanation of the absence of masked priming for different responses and, in turn, indicate that masked priming is not a consequence of automatic lexical access of the prime.

Spatial analysis of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus among pregnant women1

Science.gov (United States)

de Holanda, Eliane Rolim; Galvão, Marli Teresinha Gimeniz; Pedrosa, Nathália Lima; Paiva, Simone de Sousa; de Almeida, Rosa Lívia Freitas

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVES: to analyze the spatial distribution of reported cases of pregnant women infected by the human immunodeficiency virus and to identify the urban areas with greater social vulnerability to the infection among pregnant women. METHOD: ecological study, developed by means of spatial analysis techniques of area data. Secondary data were used from the Brazilian National Disease Notification System for the city of Recife, Pernambuco. Birth data were obtained from the Brazilian Information System on Live Births and socioeconomic data from the 2010 Demographic Census. RESULTS: the presence of spatial self-correlation was verified. Moran's Index was significant for the distribution. Clusters were identified, considered as high-risk areas, located in grouped neighborhoods, with equally high infection rates among pregnant women. A neighborhood located in the Northwest of the city was distinguished, considered in an epidemiological transition phase. CONCLUSION: precarious living conditions, as evidenced by the indicators illiteracy, absence of prenatal care and poverty, were relevant for the risk of vertical HIV transmission, converging to the grouping of cases among disadvantaged regions. PMID:26155005

Uric acid priming in human monocytes is driven by the AKT–PRAS40 autophagy pathway

Science.gov (United States)

Crişan, Tania O.; Cleophas, Maartje C. P.; Novakovic, Boris; Erler, Kathrin; van de Veerdonk, Frank L.; Stunnenberg, Hendrik G.; Netea, Mihai G.; Dinarello, Charles A.; Joosten, Leo A. B.

2017-01-01

Metabolic triggers are important inducers of the inflammatory processes in gout. Whereas the high serum urate levels observed in patients with gout predispose them to the formation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals, soluble urate also primes for inflammatory signals in cells responding to gout-related stimuli, but also in other common metabolic diseases. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms through which uric acid selectively lowers human blood monocyte production of the natural inhibitor IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and shifts production toward the highly inflammatory IL-1β. Monocytes from healthy volunteers were first primed with uric acid for 24 h and then subjected to stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the presence or absence of MSU. Transcriptomic analysis revealed broad inflammatory pathways associated with uric acid priming, with NF-κB and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling strongly increased. Functional validation did not identify NF-κB or AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylation, but uric acid priming induced phosphorylation of AKT and proline-rich AKT substrate 40 kDa (PRAS 40), which in turn activated mTOR. Subsequently, Western blot for the autophagic structure LC3-I and LC3-II (microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3) fractions, as well as fluorescence microscopy of LC3-GFP–overexpressing HeLa cells, revealed lower autophagic activity in cells exposed to uric acid compared with control conditions. Interestingly, reactive oxygen species production was diminished by uric acid priming. Thus, the Akt–PRAS40 pathway is activated by uric acid, which inhibits autophagy and recapitulates the uric acid-induced proinflammatory cytokine phenotype. PMID:28484006

Uric acid priming in human monocytes is driven by the AKT-PRAS40 autophagy pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Crişan, Tania O; Cleophas, Maartje C P; Novakovic, Boris; Erler, Kathrin; van de Veerdonk, Frank L; Stunnenberg, Hendrik G; Netea, Mihai G; Dinarello, Charles A; Joosten, Leo A B

2017-05-23

Metabolic triggers are important inducers of the inflammatory processes in gout. Whereas the high serum urate levels observed in patients with gout predispose them to the formation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals, soluble urate also primes for inflammatory signals in cells responding to gout-related stimuli, but also in other common metabolic diseases. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms through which uric acid selectively lowers human blood monocyte production of the natural inhibitor IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and shifts production toward the highly inflammatory IL-1β. Monocytes from healthy volunteers were first primed with uric acid for 24 h and then subjected to stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the presence or absence of MSU. Transcriptomic analysis revealed broad inflammatory pathways associated with uric acid priming, with NF-κB and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling strongly increased. Functional validation did not identify NF-κB or AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylation, but uric acid priming induced phosphorylation of AKT and proline-rich AKT substrate 40 kDa (PRAS 40), which in turn activated mTOR. Subsequently, Western blot for the autophagic structure LC3-I and LC3-II (microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3) fractions, as well as fluorescence microscopy of LC3-GFP-overexpressing HeLa cells, revealed lower autophagic activity in cells exposed to uric acid compared with control conditions. Interestingly, reactive oxygen species production was diminished by uric acid priming. Thus, the Akt-PRAS40 pathway is activated by uric acid, which inhibits autophagy and recapitulates the uric acid-induced proinflammatory cytokine phenotype.

Colorimetry and prime colours--a theorem.

Science.gov (United States)

Hornaes, Hans Petter; Wold, Jan Henrik; Farup, Ivar

2005-08-01

Human colour vision is the result of a complex process involving topics ranging from physics of light to perception. Whereas the diversity of light entering the eye in principle span an infinite-dimensional vector space in terms of the spectral power distributions, the space of human colour perceptions is three dimensional. One important consequence of this is that a variety of colours can be visually matched by a mixture of only three adequately chosen reference lights. It has been observed that there exists one particular set of monochromatic reference lights that, according to a certain definition, is optimal for producing colour matches. These reference lights are commonly denoted prime colours. In the present paper, we intend to rigorously show that the existence of prime colours is not particular to the human visual system as sometimes stated, but rather an algebraic consequence of the manner in which a kind of colorimetric functions called colour-matching functions are defined and transformed. The solution is based on maximisation of a determinant determining the gamut size of the colour space spanned by the prime colours. Cramer's rule for solving a set of linear equations is an essential part of the proof. By means of examples, it is shown that mathematically the optimal set of reference lights is not unique in general, and that the existence of a maximum determinant is not a necessary condition for the existence of prime colours.

40 CFR 26.1704 - Prohibition of reliance on unethical human research with non-pregnant, non-nursing adults...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prohibition of reliance on unethical human research with non-pregnant, non-nursing adults conducted before April 7, 2006. 26.1704 Section 26.1704 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS...

40 CFR 26.1705 - Prohibition of reliance on unethical human research with non-pregnant, non-nursing adults...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prohibition of reliance on unethical human research with non-pregnant, non-nursing adults conducted after April 7, 2006. 26.1705 Section 26.1705 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS...

HIV Risk Factors among Pregnant and Non-Pregnant High-Risk Women in New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Deren, Sherry; And Others

1993-01-01

Compared high-risk pregnant (n=55) and nonpregnant (n=598) women from Harlem on human immunodeficiency virus-related drug and sexual risk behaviors. Found higher percentage of intravenous drug users (IVDUs) among nonpregnant women and no significant differences between pregnant and nonpregnant IVDUs in terms of needle risk behaviors. Pregnant…

Seroprevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV among pregnant women in eastern Sudan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdalla Ali Mohammed

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Summary: We conducted a cross-sectional survey to determine the prevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV among pregnant women attending a major hospital in Kassala state, eastern Sudan. Unlinked anonymous testing of residual blood specimens, which were originally collected for other routine clinical purposes, was performed using rapid immunochromatographic assays. In total, 430 residual blood specimens were consecutively collected over a 6-week period (April–May 2010. Specimens from the antenatal clinic (ANC constituted 50.7% (218/430 of the total whereas specimens from the labour ward accounted for the remaining 49.3% (212/430. The median age of pregnant women was 29 years (range 16–40. The prevalence of HIV-1 infection was 0.23% (1/430 [95% confidence interval = 0.01–1.29%]. The only reactive specimen came from a 20-year-old ANC attendee. We report low HIV prevalence among pregnant women in eastern Sudan but further research is needed to confirm our findings. An integrated framework to diagnose and treat maternal HIV infection should be developed in order to prevent transmission to infants. Keywords: HIV, Prevalence, Pregnancy, Eastern Sudan

Priming nanoparticle-guided diagnostics and therapeutics towards human organs-on-chips microphysiological system

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jin-Ha; Lee, Jaewon; Shin, Woojung; Choi, Jeong-Woo; Kim, Hyun Jung

2016-10-01

Nanotechnology and bioengineering have converged over the past decades, by which the application of multi-functional nanoparticles (NPs) has been emerged in clinical and biomedical fields. The NPs primed to detect disease-specific biomarkers or to deliver biopharmaceutical compounds have beena validated in conventional in vitro culture models including two dimensional (2D) cell cultures or 3D organoid models. However, a lack of experimental models that have strong human physiological relevance has hampered accurate validation of the safety and functionality of NPs. Alternatively, biomimetic human "Organs-on-Chips" microphysiological systems have recapitulated the mechanically dynamic 3D tissue interface of human organ microenvironment, in which the transport, cytotoxicity, biocompatibility, and therapeutic efficacy of NPs and their conjugates may be more accurately validated. Finally, integration of NP-guided diagnostic detection and targeted nanotherapeutics in conjunction with human organs-on-chips can provide a novel avenue to accelerate the NP-based drug development process as well as the rapid detection of cellular secretomes associated with pathophysiological processes.

MoCog1: A computer simulation of recognition-primed human decision making, considering emotions

Science.gov (United States)

Gevarter, William B.

1992-01-01

The successful results of the first stage of a research effort to develop a versatile computer model of motivated human cognitive behavior are reported. Most human decision making appears to be an experience-based, relatively straightforward, largely automatic response to situations, utilizing cues and opportunities perceived from the current environment. The development, considering emotions, of the architecture and computer program associated with such 'recognition-primed' decision-making is described. The resultant computer program (MoCog1) was successfully utilized as a vehicle to simulate earlier findings that relate how an individual's implicit theories orient the individual toward particular goals, with resultant cognitions, affects, and behavior in response to their environment.

Transposed-Letter Priming Effects with Masked Subset Primes: A Re-Examination of the "Relative Position Priming Constraint"

Science.gov (United States)

Stinchcombe, Eric J.; Lupker, Stephen J.; Davis, Colin J.

2012-01-01

Three experiments are reported investigating the role of letter order in orthographic subset priming (e.g., "grdn"-GARDEN) using both the conventional masked priming technique as well as the sandwich priming technique in a lexical decision task. In all three experiments, subset primes produced priming with the effect being considerably…

Behavioral Priming 2.0: Enter a Dynamical Systems Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Krpan, Dario

2017-01-01

On a daily basis, people are exposed to numerous stimuli, ranging from colors and smells to sounds and words, that could potentially activate different cognitive constructs and influence their actions. This type of influence on human behavior is referred to as priming. Roughly two decades ago, behavioral priming was hailed as one of the core forces that shape automatic behavior. However, failures to replicate some of the representative findings in this domain soon followed, which posed the following question: “How robust are behavioral priming effects, and to what extent are they actually important in shaping people's actions?” To shed a new light on this question, I revisit behavioral priming through the prism of a dynamical systems perspective (DSP). The DSP is a scientific paradigm that has been developed through a combined effort of many different academic disciplines, ranging from mathematics and physics to biology, economics, psychology, etc., and it deals with behavior of simple and complex systems over time. In the present paper, I use conceptual and methodological tools stemming from the DSP to propose circumstances under which behavioral priming effects are likely to occur. More precisely, I outline three possible types of the influence of priming on human behavior, to which I refer as emergence, readjustment, and attractor switch, and propose experimental designs to examine them. Finally, I discuss relevant implications for behavioral priming effects and their replications. PMID:28769846

Behavioral Priming 2.0: Enter a Dynamical Systems Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dario Krpan

2017-07-01

Full Text Available On a daily basis, people are exposed to numerous stimuli, ranging from colors and smells to sounds and words, that could potentially activate different cognitive constructs and influence their actions. This type of influence on human behavior is referred to as priming. Roughly two decades ago, behavioral priming was hailed as one of the core forces that shape automatic behavior. However, failures to replicate some of the representative findings in this domain soon followed, which posed the following question: “How robust are behavioral priming effects, and to what extent are they actually important in shaping people's actions?” To shed a new light on this question, I revisit behavioral priming through the prism of a dynamical systems perspective (DSP. The DSP is a scientific paradigm that has been developed through a combined effort of many different academic disciplines, ranging from mathematics and physics to biology, economics, psychology, etc., and it deals with behavior of simple and complex systems over time. In the present paper, I use conceptual and methodological tools stemming from the DSP to propose circumstances under which behavioral priming effects are likely to occur. More precisely, I outline three possible types of the influence of priming on human behavior, to which I refer as emergence, readjustment, and attractor switch, and propose experimental designs to examine them. Finally, I discuss relevant implications for behavioral priming effects and their replications.

Metabolism and physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of flumioxazin in pregnant animals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takaku, Tomoyuki, E-mail: takakut@sc.sumitomo-chem.co.jp; Nagahori, Hirohisa; Sogame, Yoshihisa

2014-06-15

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed to predict the concentration of flumioxazin, in the blood and fetus of pregnant humans during a theoretical accidental intake (1000 mg/kg). The data on flumioxazin concentration in pregnant rats (30 mg/kg po) was used to develop the PBPK model in pregnant rats using physiological parameters and chemical specific parameters. The rat PBPK model developed was extrapolated to a human model. Liver microsomes of female rats and a mixed gender of humans were used for the in vitro metabolism study. To determine the % of flumioxazin absorbed after administration at a dose of 1000 mg/kg assuming maximum accidental intake, the biliary excretion study of [phenyl-U-{sup 14}C]flumioxazin was conducted in bile duct-cannulated female rats (Crl:CD (SD)) to collect and analyze the bile, urine, feces, gastrointestinal tract, and residual carcass. The % of flumioxazin absorbed at a dose of 1000 mg/kg in rats was low (12.3%) by summing up {sup 14}C of the urine, bile, and residual carcass. The pregnant human model that was developed demonstrated that the maximum flumioxazin concentration in the blood and fetus of a pregnant human at a dose of 1000 mg/kg po was 0.86 μg/mL and 0.68 μg/mL, respectively, which is much lower than K{sub m} (202.4 μg/mL). Because the metabolism was not saturated and the absorption rate was low at a dose of 1000 mg/kg, the calculated flumioxazin concentration in pregnant humans was thought to be relatively low, considering the flumioxazin concentration in pregnant rats at a dose of 30 mg/kg. For the safety assessment of flumioxazin, these results would be useful for further in vitro toxicology experiments. - Highlights: • A PBPK model of flumioxazin in pregnant humans was developed. • Simulated flumioxazin concentration in pregnant humans was relatively low. • The results would be useful for further in vitro toxicology experiments.

Metabolism and physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of flumioxazin in pregnant animals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takaku, Tomoyuki; Nagahori, Hirohisa; Sogame, Yoshihisa

2014-01-01

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed to predict the concentration of flumioxazin, in the blood and fetus of pregnant humans during a theoretical accidental intake (1000 mg/kg). The data on flumioxazin concentration in pregnant rats (30 mg/kg po) was used to develop the PBPK model in pregnant rats using physiological parameters and chemical specific parameters. The rat PBPK model developed was extrapolated to a human model. Liver microsomes of female rats and a mixed gender of humans were used for the in vitro metabolism study. To determine the % of flumioxazin absorbed after administration at a dose of 1000 mg/kg assuming maximum accidental intake, the biliary excretion study of [phenyl-U- 14 C]flumioxazin was conducted in bile duct-cannulated female rats (Crl:CD (SD)) to collect and analyze the bile, urine, feces, gastrointestinal tract, and residual carcass. The % of flumioxazin absorbed at a dose of 1000 mg/kg in rats was low (12.3%) by summing up 14 C of the urine, bile, and residual carcass. The pregnant human model that was developed demonstrated that the maximum flumioxazin concentration in the blood and fetus of a pregnant human at a dose of 1000 mg/kg po was 0.86 μg/mL and 0.68 μg/mL, respectively, which is much lower than K m (202.4 μg/mL). Because the metabolism was not saturated and the absorption rate was low at a dose of 1000 mg/kg, the calculated flumioxazin concentration in pregnant humans was thought to be relatively low, considering the flumioxazin concentration in pregnant rats at a dose of 30 mg/kg. For the safety assessment of flumioxazin, these results would be useful for further in vitro toxicology experiments. - Highlights: • A PBPK model of flumioxazin in pregnant humans was developed. • Simulated flumioxazin concentration in pregnant humans was relatively low. • The results would be useful for further in vitro toxicology experiments

The single-biopsy approach in determining protein synthesis in human slow-turning-over tissue: use of flood-primed, continuous infusion of amino acid tracer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Lars; Reitelseder, Søren; Dideriksen, Kasper

2014-01-01

Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) rate is determined conventionally by obtaining two or more tissue biopsies during a primed, continuous infusion of a stable isotopically labeled amino acid. The purpose of the present study was to test whether tracer priming given as a flooding dose, thereby securing....... In conclusion, the flood-primed, continuous infusion protocol using phenylalanine as tracer can validly be used to measure the protein synthesis rate in human in vivo experiments by obtaining only a single tissue biopsy after a prolonged infusion period....

Detection of human papillomavirus in dental biofilm and the uterine cervix of a pregnant adolescent.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavalcanti, Édila Figuerêdo Feitosa; Silva, Célia Regina; Ferreira, Dennis Carvalho; Ferreira, Mariana Vasconcellos Martins; Vanderborght, Patrícia Rosa; Torres, Maria Cynésia Medeiros Barros; Torres, Sandra Regina

2016-01-01

Adolescence and pregnancy are considered to be risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The relationship between this infection in the uterine cervix and oral HPV infection is controversial. This report describes a case of a pregnant 16-year-old adolescent who presented HPV infection in the uterine cervix and the mouth. Smears were collected from the cervix and the tongue/palate. Dental biofilm samples were also collected. The microarray technique was used to detect HPV. The HPV 56 subtype was observed in the cervical smear and HPV 6 in dental biofilm. In this pregnant adolescent, HPV infection was present in both the cervix and the mouth, but the HPV subtypes infecting these two areas were different.

Motivational sensitivity of outcome-response priming: Experimental research and theoretical models.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Poppy; Wiers, Reinout W; Hommel, Bernhard; de Wit, Sanne

2018-02-21

Outcome-response (O-R) priming is at the core of various associative theories of human intentional action. This is a simple and parsimonious mechanism by which activation of outcome representations (e.g. thinking about the light coming on) leads to activation of the associated motor patterns required to achieve it (e.g. pushing the light switch). In the current manuscript, we review the evidence for such O-R associative links demonstrated by converging (yet until now, separate) strands of research. While there is a wealth of evidence that both the perceptual and motivational properties of an outcome can be encoded in the O-R association and mediate O-R priming, we critically examine the integration of these mechanisms and the conditions under which motivational factors constrain the sensory O-R priming effect. We discuss the clinical relevance of this O-R priming mechanism, whether it can satisfactorily account for human goal-directed behaviour, and the implications for theories of human action control.

Priming T-cell responses with recombinant measles vaccine vector in a heterologous prime-boost setting in non-human primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolton, Diane L; Santra, Sampa; Swett-Tapia, Cindy; Custers, Jerome; Song, Kaimei; Balachandran, Harikrishnan; Mach, Linh; Naim, Hussein; Kozlowski, Pamela A; Lifton, Michelle; Goudsmit, Jaap; Letvin, Norman; Roederer, Mario; Radošević, Katarina

2012-09-07

Licensed live attenuated virus vaccines capable of expressing transgenes from other pathogens have the potential to reduce the number of childhood immunizations by eliciting robust immunity to multiple pathogens simultaneously. Recombinant attenuated measles virus (rMV) derived from the Edmonston Zagreb vaccine strain was engineered to express simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) Gag protein for the purpose of evaluating the immunogenicity of rMV as a vaccine vector in rhesus macaques. rMV-Gag immunization alone elicited robust measles-specific humoral and cellular responses, but failed to elicit transgene (Gag)-specific immune responses, following aerosol or intratracheal/intramuscular delivery. However, when administered as a priming vaccine to a heterologous boost with recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 expressing the same transgene, rMV-Gag significantly enhanced Gag-specific T lymphocyte responses following rAd5 immunization. Gag-specific humoral responses were not enhanced, however, which may be due to either the transgene or the vector. Cellular response priming by rMV against the transgene was highly effective even when using a suboptimal dose of rAd5 for the boost. These data demonstrate feasibility of using rMV as a priming component of heterologous prime-boost vaccine regimens for pathogens requiring strong cellular responses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Top-down modulation of motor priming by belief about animacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Liepelt, Roman; Brass, Marcel

2010-01-01

There is recent evidence that we directly map observed actions of other agents onto our own motor repertoire, referred to as direct matching (Iacoboni et al., 1999). This was shown when we are actively engaged in joint action with others' (Sebanz et al. 2003) and also when observing irrelevant movements while executing congruent or incongruent movements (Brass et al., 2000). However, an open question is whether direct matching in human beings is limited to the perception of intentional agents. Recent research provides contradictory evidence with respect to the question whether the direct matching system has a biological bias possibly emerging from perceptual differences of the stimulus display. In this study all participants performed a motor priming task observing the identical animation showing finger lifting movements of a hand in a leather glove. Before running the experiment we presented either a human hand or a wooden analog hand wearing the leather glove. We found a motor priming effect for both human and wooden hands. However, motor priming was larger when participants believed that they interacted with a human hand than when they believed to interact with a wooden hand. The stronger motor priming effect for the biological agent suggests that the "direct matching system" is tuned to represent actions of animate agents.

Two RFLPs in the 5 prime end of the human osteonectin (ON) gene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwartz, R C; Tsipouras, P [Univ. of Connecticut Health Center Farmington (USA); Young, M F [National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (USA)

1988-09-26

On 164 is a 550 base pair cDNA clone at the 5{prime} end of the human osteonectin gene. The insert is an EcoRI fragment inserted into Bluescript. HincII identified a simple two allele polymorphism with a band at either 14 kb or 12.5 kb. TaqI identified a simple two allele polymorphism with a band at either 4.9 or 4.6 kb. 18 and 26 unrelated individuals from the CEPH panel were studied for the HincII and TaqI polymorphisms respectively. Autosomal dominant inheritance was demonstrated in 2 kindreds of 8 individuals for each polymorphism.

The composition and stability of the vaginal microbiota of normal pregnant women is different from that of non-pregnant women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Romero, Roberto; Hassan, Sonia S; Gajer, Pawel

2014-01-01

was higher than that of non-pregnant women; however, during normal pregnancy, bacterial communities shift almost exclusively from one CST dominated by Lactobacillus spp. to another CST dominated by Lactobacillus spp. CONCLUSION: We report the first longitudinal study of the vaginal microbiota in normal......BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to characterize the vaginal microbiota throughout normal human pregnancy using sequence-based techniques. We compared the vaginal microbial composition of non-pregnant patients with a group of pregnant women who delivered at term. RESULTS: A retrospective case......-control longitudinal study was designed and included non-pregnant women (n = 32) and pregnant women who delivered at term (38 to 42 weeks) without complications (n = 22). Serial samples of vaginal fluid were collected from both non-pregnant and pregnant patients. A 16S rRNA gene sequence-based survey was conducted...

Pregnant woman and road safety: experimental crash test with post mortem human subject.

Science.gov (United States)

Delotte, Jerome; Behr, Michel; Thollon, Lionel; Arnoux, Pierre-Jean; Baque, Patrick; Bongain, Andre; Brunet, Christian

2008-05-01

Trauma affect between 3 and 7% of all pregnancies in industrialized countries, and the leading cause of these traumas is car crashes. The difficulty to appreciate physiologic and anatomic changes occurring during pregnancy explain that majority of studies were not based on anatomical data. We present a protocol to create a realistic anatomical model of pregnant woman using a post mortem human subject (PMHS). We inserted a physical model of the gravid uterus into the pelvis of a PMHS. 3D acceleration sensors were placed on the subject to measure the acceleration on different body segments. We simulated three frontal impact situations at 20 km/h between two average European cars. Two main kinematics events were identified as possible causes of injuries: lap belt loading and backrest impact. Cadaver experiments provide one interesting complementary approach to study injury mechanisms related to road accidents involving pregnant women. This anatomical accuracy makes it possible to progress in the field of safety devices.

A matrix of cholesterol crystals, but not cholesterol alone, primes human monocytes/macrophages for excessive endotoxin-induced production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Role in atherosclerotic inflammation?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendtzen, Klaus; Christensen, Ole; Nielsen, Claus Henrik

2014-01-01

When exposed to small amounts of bacterial endotoxin, matrices of cholesterol crystals, but not cholesterol itself, primed human monocytes/macrophages to a highly augmented (>10-fold) production of inflammatory tumor necrosis factor-α. Priming also sensitized the cells, as 10- to 100-fold lower...

The Prime Numbers Hidden Symmetric Structure and its Relation to the Twin Prime Infinitude and an Improved Prime Number Theorem

CERN Document Server

Mikoss, I

2006-01-01

Due to the sieving process represented by a Secondary Sieving Map; during the generation of the prime numbers, geometric structures with definite symmetries are formed which become evident through their geometrical representations. The study of these structures allows the development of a constructive prime generating formula. This defines a mean prime density yielding a second order recursive and discrete prime producing formula and a second order differential equation whose solutions produce an improved Prime Number Theorem. Applying these results to twin prime pairs is possible to generate a Twin Prime Number Theorem and important conclusions about the infinitude of the twin primes.

Factors influencing HIV seroprevalence rate among pregnant ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Human immune deficiency virus (HIV) seroprevalence among pregnant women in Calabar was studied. The aims were to establish HIV seroprevalence rate and to identify factors which influence this rate in our pregnant women. HIV seroprevalence rate of 2.7% among antenatal women in Calabar was recorded with a ...

Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes self-renewal and inhibits the primed state transition in naïve human embryonic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhuojin; Robitaille, Aaron M; Berndt, Jason D; Davidson, Kathryn C; Fischer, Karin A; Mathieu, Julie; Potter, Jennifer C; Ruohola-Baker, Hannele; Moon, Randall T

2016-10-18

In both mice and humans, pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) exist in at least two distinct states of pluripotency, known as the naïve and primed states. Our understanding of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that enable PSCs to self-renew and to transition between different pluripotent states is important for understanding early development. In mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), Wnt proteins stimulate mESC self-renewal and support the naïve state. In human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), Wnt/β-catenin signaling is active in naïve-state hESCs and is reduced or absent in primed-state hESCs. However, the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in naïve hESCs remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that inhibition of the secretion of Wnts or inhibition of the stabilization of β-catenin in naïve hESCs reduces cell proliferation and colony formation. Moreover, we show that addition of recombinant Wnt3a partially rescues cell proliferation in naïve hESCs caused by inhibition of Wnt secretion. Notably, inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in naïve hESCs did not cause differentiation. Instead, it induced primed hESC-like proteomic and metabolic profiles. Thus, our results suggest that naïve hESCs secrete Wnts that activate autocrine or paracrine Wnt/β-catenin signaling to promote efficient self-renewal and inhibit the transition to the primed state.

The priming of basic combinatory responses in MEG.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanco-Elorrieta, Esti; Ferreira, Victor S; Del Prato, Paul; Pylkkänen, Liina

2018-01-01

Priming has been a powerful tool for the study of human memory and especially the memory representations relevant for language. However, although it is well established that lexical access can be primed, we do not know exactly what types of computations can be primed above the word level. This work took a neurobiological approach and assessed the ways in which the complex representation of a minimal combinatory phrase, such as red boat, can be primed, as evidenced by the spatiotemporal profiles of magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals. Specifically, we built upon recent progress on the neural signatures of phrasal composition and tested whether the brain activities implicated for the basic combination of two words could be primed. In two experiments, MEG was recorded during a picture naming task where the prime trials were designed to replicate previously reported combinatory effects and the target trials to test whether those combinatory effects could be primed. The manipulation of the primes was successful in eliciting larger activity for adjective-noun combinations than single nouns in left anterior temporal and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, replicating prior MEG studies on parallel contrasts. Priming of similarly timed activity was observed during target trials in anterior temporal cortex, but only when the prime and target shared an adjective. No priming in temporal cortex was observed for single word repetition and two control tasks showed that the priming effect was not elicited if the prime pictures were simply viewed but not named. In sum, this work provides evidence that very basic combinatory operations can be primed, with the necessity for some lexical overlap between prime and target suggesting combinatory conceptual, as opposed to syntactic processing. Both our combinatory and priming effects were early, onsetting between 100 and 150ms after picture onset and thus are likely to reflect the very earliest planning stages of a combinatory message

Masked priming for the comparative evaluation of camouflage conspicuity.

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Brunyé, Tad T; Eddy, Marianna D; Cain, Matthew S; Hepfinger, Lisa B; Rock, Kathryn

2017-07-01

Human observer test and evaluation of camouflage patterns is critical for understanding relative pattern conspicuity against a range of background scenes. However, very few validated methodologies exist for this purpose, and those that do carry several limitations. Five experiments examined whether masked priming with a dot probe could be used to reliably differentiate camouflage patterns. In each experiment, participants were primed with a camouflaged target appearing on the left or right of the screen, and then made a speeded response to a dot probe appearing on the same (congruent) or different (incongruent) side. Across experiments we parametrically varied prime duration between 35, 42, 49, 56, and 63 ms. Results demonstrated that as prime duration increased, a response time disadvantage for incongruent trials emerged with certain camouflage patterns. Interestingly, the most conspicuous patterns showed behavioral differences at a relatively brief (49 ms) prime duration, whereas behavioral differences were only found at longer prime durations for less conspicuous patterns; this overall results pattern matched that predicted by a visual salience model. Together, we demonstrate the viability of masked priming for the test and evaluation of camouflage patterns, and correlated outcomes for saliency models and primed object processing. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Transplantation of neuronal-primed human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in hemiparkinsonian rodents.

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Melissa L M Khoo

Full Text Available Bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs have shown promise in in vitro neuronal differentiation and in cellular therapy for neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson' disease. However, the effects of intracerebral transplantation are not well defined, and studies do not agreed on the optimal neuronal differentiation method. Here, we investigated three growth factor-based neuronal differentiation procedures (using FGF-2/EGF/PDGF/SHH/FGF-8/GDNF, and found all to be capable of eliciting an immature neural phenotype, in terms of cell morphology and gene/protein expression. The neuronal-priming (FGF-2/EGF method induced neurosphere-like formation and the highest NES and NR4A2 expression by hMSCs. Transplantation of undifferentiated and neuronal-primed hMSCs into the striatum and substantia nigra of 6-OHDA-lesioned hemiparkinsonian rats revealed transient graft survival of 7 days, despite the reported immunosuppressive properties of MSCs and cyclosporine-immunosuppression of rats. Neither differentiation of hMSCs nor induction of host neurogenesis was observed at injection sites, and hMSCs continued producing mesodermal fibronectin. Strategies for improving engraftment and differentiation post-transplantation, such as prior in vitro neuronal-priming, nigral and striatal grafting, and co-transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells that promote neural regeneration, were unable to provide advantages. Innate inflammatory responses (Iba-1-positive microglia/macrophage and GFAP-positive astrocyte activation and accumulation were detected around grafts within 7 days. Our findings indicate that growth factor-based methods allow hMSC differentiation toward immature neuronal-like cells, and contrary to previous reports, only transient survival and engraftment of hMSCs occurs following transplantation in immunosuppressed hemiparkinsonian rats. In addition, suppression of host innate inflammatory responses may be a key factor for

A prime-boost vaccination strategy using attenuated Salmonella typhimurium and a replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus vector elicits protective immunity against human respiratory syncytial virus.

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Fu, Yuan-Hui; He, Jin-Sheng; Wang, Xiao-Bo; Zheng, Xian-Xian; Wu, Qiang; Xie, Can; Zhang, Mei; Wei, Wei; Tang, Qian; Song, Jing-Dong; Qu, Jian-Guo; Hong, Tao

2010-04-23

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for which no clinically approved vaccine is available yet, is globally a serious pediatric pathogen of the lower respiratory tract. Several approaches have been used to develop vaccines against RSV, but none of these have been approved for use in humans. An efficient vaccine-enhancing strategy for RSV is still urgently needed. We found previously that oral SL7207/pcDNA3.1/F and intranasal FGAd/F were able to induce an effective protective immune response against RSV. The heterologous prime-boost immunization regime has been reported recently to be an efficient vaccine-enhancing strategy. Therefore, we investigated the ability of an oral SL7207/pcDNA3.1/F prime and intranasal (i.n.) FGAd/F boost regimen to generate immune responses to RSV. The SL7207/pcDNA3.1/F prime-FGAd/F boost regimen generated stronger RSV-specific humoral and mucosal immune responses in BALB/c mice than the oral SL7207/pcDNA3.1/F regimen alone, and stronger specific cellular immune responses than the i.n. FGAd/F regimen alone. Histopathological analysis showed an increased efficacy against RSV challenge by the heterologous prime-boost regimen. These results suggest that such a heterologous prime-boost strategy can enhance the efficacy of either the SL7207 or the FGAd vector regimen in generating immune responses in BALB/c mice. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus among pregnant women attending a hospital in the Moungo district, Cameroon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van dan Meeberg, P. C.; Kooiman, R. C.; Buisman, N. J.; Goudsmit, J.; Lange, J. M.; Bannenberg, A. F.

1989-01-01

A seroepidemiological survey conducted from January to May 1986 among 650 pregnant women from mixed rural/urban origin in the Moungo district, Cameroon, revealed a very low prevalence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). One subject appeared to be infected with HIV 2. This is

A novel marker in pregnant with preeclampsia: renalase.

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Yılmaz, Zehra Vural; Akkaş, Elif; Yıldırım, Tolga; Yılmaz, Rahmi; Erdem, Yunus

2017-04-01

Preeclampsia is characterized by an increase in high blood pressure and decrease in GFR and proteinuria, however, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Renalase is a recently discovered protein implicated in regulation of blood pressure in humans. Plasma concentrations of serum renalase were measured in healthy controls, healthy pregnant and pregnant with preeclampsia matched for age, gestational age, in the third trimester of pregnancy. Serum renalase levels were compared in pregnant with and without preeclampsia and non-pregnant controls. Factors associated with serum renalase levels in pregnancies were also evaluated. In healthy pregnant serum renalase levels were significantly higher than in controls. However, pregnant with preeclampsia had lower renalase levels than healthy controls. Serum renalase levels were inversely associated with blood pressure levels and positively correlated with glomerular filtration rate. The results indicated that the development of preeclampsia in pregnant is accompanied by altered serum renalase levels. High blood pressure and kidney damage that characterize this disorder are mediated at least in part by low renalase levels.

Safety of the novel influenza viral vector Brucella abortus vaccine in pregnant heifers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaissar Tabynov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The present study provides the first information about the safety of a new influenza viral vector vaccine expressing the Brucella ribosomal protein L7/L12 or Omp16 containing the adjuvant Montanide Gel01 in pregnant heifers. Immunization of pregnant heifers was conducted via the conjunctival (n=10 or subcutaneous (n=10 route using cross prime and booster vaccination schedules at an interval of 28 days. The vector vaccine was evaluated in comparison with positive control groups vaccinated with B. abortus S19 (n=10 or B. abortus RB51 (n=10 and a negative (PBS+Montanide Gel01; n=10 control group. Clinical studies, thermometry, assessment of local reactogenicity and observation of abortion showed that the vector vaccine via the conjunctival or subcutaneous route was completely safe for pregnant heifers compared to the commercial vaccines B. abortus S19 or B. abortus RB51. The only single adverse event was the formation of infiltration at the site of subcutaneous injection; this reaction was not observed for the conjunctival route.

Comparative analysis between endometrial proteomes of pregnant and non-pregnant ewes during the peri-implantation period.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Haichao; Sui, Linlin; Miao, Kai; An, Lei; Wang, Dong; Hou, Zhuocheng; Wang, Rui; Guo, Min; Wang, Zhilong; Xu, Jiqiang; Wu, Zhonghong; Tian, Jianhui

2015-01-01

Early pregnancy failure has a profound impact on both human reproductive health and animal production. 2/3 pregnancy failures occur during the peri-implantation period; however, the underlying mechanism(s) remains unclear. Well-organized modification of the endometrium to a receptive state is critical to establish pregnancy. Aberrant endometrial modification during implantation is thought to be largely responsible for early pregnancy loss. In this study, using well-managed recipient ewes that received embryo transfer as model, we compared the endometrial proteome between pregnant and non-pregnant ewes during implantation period. After embryo transfer, recipients were assigned as pregnant or non-pregnant ewes according to the presence or absence of an elongated conceptus at Day 17 of pregnancy. By comparing the endometrial proteomic profiles between pregnant and non-pregnant ewes, we identified 94 and 257 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the endometrial caruncular and intercaruncular areas, respectively. Functional analysis showed that the DEPs were mainly associated with immune response, nutrient transport and utilization, as well as proteasome-mediated proteolysis. These analysis imply that dysfunction of these biological processes or pathways of DEP in the endometrium is highly associated with early pregnancy loss. In addition, many proteins that are essential for the establishment of pregnancy showed dysregulation in the endometrium of non-pregnant ewes. These proteins, as potential candidates, may contribute to early pregnancy loss.

Optimization of heterologous DNA-prime, protein boost regimens and site of vaccination to enhance therapeutic immunity against human papillomavirus-associated disease.

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Peng, Shiwen; Qiu, Jin; Yang, Andrew; Yang, Benjamin; Jeang, Jessica; Wang, Joshua W; Chang, Yung-Nien; Brayton, Cory; Roden, Richard B S; Hung, Chien-Fu; Wu, T-C

2016-01-01

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been identified as the primary etiologic factor of cervical cancer as well as subsets of anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers. The two HPV viral oncoproteins, E6 and E7, are uniquely and consistently expressed in all HPV infected cells and are therefore promising targets for therapeutic vaccination. Both recombinant naked DNA and protein-based HPV vaccines have been demonstrated to elicit HPV-specific CD8+ T cell responses that provide therapeutic effects against HPV-associated tumor models. Here we examine the immunogenicity in a preclinical model of priming with HPV DNA vaccine followed by boosting with filterable aggregates of HPV 16 L2E6E7 fusion protein (TA-CIN). We observed that priming twice with an HPV DNA vaccine followed by a single TA-CIN booster immunization generated the strongest antigen-specific CD8+ T cell response compared to other prime-boost combinations tested in C57BL/6 mice, whether naïve or bearing the HPV16 E6/E7 transformed syngeneic tumor model, TC-1. We showed that the magnitude of antigen-specific CD8+ T cell response generated by the DNA vaccine prime, TA-CIN protein vaccine boost combinatorial strategy is dependent on the dose of TA-CIN protein vaccine. In addition, we found that a single booster immunization comprising intradermal or intramuscular administration of TA-CIN after priming twice with an HPV DNA vaccine generated a comparable boost to E7-specific CD8+ T cell responses. We also demonstrated that the immune responses elicited by the DNA vaccine prime, TA-CIN protein vaccine boost strategy translate into potent prophylactic and therapeutic antitumor effects. Finally, as seen for repeat TA-CIN protein vaccination, we showed that the heterologous DNA prime and protein boost vaccination strategy is well tolerated by mice. Our results provide rationale for future clinical testing of HPV DNA vaccine prime, TA-CIN protein vaccine boost immunization regimen for the control of HPV-associated diseases.

Stacking faults of {gamma}{prime}{prime} phase precipitated in a Ni-15Cr-8Fe-6Nb alloy; Ni-15Cr-8Fe-6Nb gokin ni sekishutsusuru {gamma}{prime}{prime} sonai no sekiso kekkan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kusabiraki, K; Ikeuchi, S [Toyama University, Toyama (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1995-09-01

The stacking faults of a metastable {gamma}{prime}{prime} phase precipitated in a nickel-base superalloy, a modified NCF 3 type alloy (X-750M) were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction method. The {gamma}{prime}{prime} precipitates are circular shaped plates at the early stage of aging and they become elliptic or irregular shaped plates at the latter stage of aging up to 1033K. Contrast which suggests the existence of stacking faults on {l_brace}112{r_brace}{sub {gamma}{prime}{prime}} planes can be seen in many of large {gamma}{prime}{prime} precipitates extracted from the specimens aged at 1033K. It is clear that the values of {gamma}{prime}{prime}/{gamma} lattice mismatch increase with increasing the aging time from the measurement of lattice constants of the {gamma} and the {gamma}{prime}{prime} phase. The formation of stacking faults on {l_brace}112{r_brace}{sub {gamma}{prime}{prime}} in the large {gamma}{prime}{prime} precipitates is due to the movement of an a/6 [111] partial dislocation introduced by {gamma}{prime}{prime} /{gamma} coherency strain. Since a part of stacking sequence has a similar crystal structure to that of a stable {delta} phase precipitates in {gamma} phase, the formation of stacking faults in the {gamma}{prime}{prime} precipitates is considered to be favorable for the stabilization of them. 14 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab.

Children Draw More Affiliative Pictures Following Priming with Third-Party Ostracism

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Song, Ruiting; Over, Harriet; Carpenter, Malinda

2015-01-01

Humans have a strong need to belong. Thus, when signs of ostracism are detected, adults often feel motivated to affiliate with others in order to reestablish their social connections. This study investigated the importance of affiliation to young children following priming with ostracism. Four- and 5-year-old children were primed with either…

40 CFR 26.1203 - Prohibition of research involving intentional exposure of any human subject who is a pregnant...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prohibition of research involving intentional exposure of any human subject who is a pregnant woman (and therefore her fetus), a nursing woman, or a child. 26.1203 Section 26.1203 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL...

Hematological parameters of human immunodeficiency virus positive pregnant women on antiretroviral therapy in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, North Western Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdulqadir, Ibrahim; Ahmed, Sagir Gumel; Kuliya, Aisha Gwarzo; Tukur, Jamilu; Yusuf, Aminu Abba; Musa, Abubakar Umar

2018-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) scourge continues to affect young women within the reproductive age group and pregnancy is a recognized indication for the use antiretroviral (ARV) drugs among HIV-positive women. The aim is to determine the combined effect of pregnancy, HIV and ARV drugs on the hematological parameters of the pregnant women. This was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted among 70 each of HIV-positive and negative pregnant women. Bio-demographic and clinical data were extracted from the client folder and 4 ml of blood sample was obtained from each participant. Full blood count was generated using Swelab automatic hematology analyzer while reticulocyte count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were conducted manually. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version software 16 while P women with HIV had statistically significant lower hematocrit and white blood cell (WBC) and higher ESR than pregnant women without HIV ( P 0.05). However, among HIV positive pregnant women, those with CD4 count 0.050) between women on first- and second-line ARV regimens. There is a significant difference in terms of hematological parameters between HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnant women in this environment.

Immunogenicity of NYVAC Prime-Protein Boost Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Envelope Vaccination and Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Challenge of Nonhuman Primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Kevin O; Santra, Sampa; Parks, Robert; Yates, Nicole L; Sutherland, Laura L; Scearce, Richard M; Balachandran, Harikrishnan; Bradley, Todd; Goodman, Derrick; Eaton, Amanda; Stanfield-Oakley, Sherry A; Tartaglia, James; Phogat, Sanjay; Pantaleo, Giuseppe; Esteban, Mariano; Gomez, Carmen E; Perdiguero, Beatriz; Jacobs, Bertram; Kibler, Karen; Korber, Bette; Montefiori, David C; Ferrari, Guido; Vandergrift, Nathan; Liao, Hua-Xin; Tomaras, Georgia D; Haynes, Barton F

2018-04-15

A preventive human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine is an essential part of the strategy to eradicate AIDS. A critical question is whether antibodies that do not neutralize primary isolate (tier 2) HIV-1 strains can protect from infection. In this study, we investigated the ability of an attenuated poxvirus vector (NYVAC) prime-envelope gp120 boost to elicit potentially protective antibody responses in a rhesus macaque model of mucosal simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) infection. NYVAC vector delivery of a group M consensus envelope, trivalent mosaic envelopes, or a natural clade B isolate B.1059 envelope elicited antibodies that mediated neutralization of tier 1 viruses, cellular cytotoxicity, and phagocytosis. None of the macaques made neutralizing antibodies against the tier 2 SHIV SF162P3 used for mucosal challenge. Significant protection from infection was not observed for the three groups of vaccinated macaques compared to unvaccinated macaques, although binding antibody to HIV-1 Env correlated with decreased viremia after challenge. Thus, NYVAC Env prime-gp120 boost vaccination elicited polyfunctional, nonneutralizing antibody responses with minimal protective activity against tier 2 SHIV mucosal challenge. IMPORTANCE The antibody responses that confer protection against HIV-1 infection remain unknown. Polyfunctional antibody responses correlated with time to infection in previous macaque studies. Determining the ability of vaccines to induce these types of responses is critical for understanding how to improve upon the one efficacious human HIV-1 vaccine trial completed thus far. We characterized the antibody responses induced by a NYVAC-protein vaccine and determined the protective capacity of polyfunctional antibody responses in an R5, tier 2 mucosal SHIV infection model. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Prime tight frames

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemvig, Jakob; Miller, Christopher; Okoudjou, Kasso A.

2014-01-01

to suggest effective analysis and synthesis computation strategies for such frames. Finally, we describe all prime frames constructed from the spectral tetris method, and, as a byproduct, we obtain a characterization of when the spectral tetris construction works for redundancies below two.......We introduce a class of finite tight frames called prime tight frames and prove some of their elementary properties. In particular, we show that any finite tight frame can be written as a union of prime tight frames. We then characterize all prime harmonic tight frames and use thischaracterization...

Non-cognate translation priming in masked priming lexical decision experiments: A meta-analysis.

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Wen, Yun; van Heuven, Walter J B

2017-06-01

The masked translation priming paradigm has been widely used in the last 25 years to investigate word processing in bilinguals. Motivated by studies reporting mixed findings, in particular for second language (L2) to first language (L1) translation priming, we conducted, for the first time in the literature, a meta-analysis of 64 masked priming lexical decision experiments across 24 studies to assess the effect sizes of L1-L2 and L2-L1 non-cognate translation priming effects in bilinguals. Our meta-analysis also investigated the influence of potential moderators of translation priming effects. The results provided clear evidence of significant translation priming effects for both directions, with L1-L2 translation priming significantly larger than L2-L1 translation priming (i.e., effect size of 0.86 vs. 0.31). The analyses also revealed that L1-L2 translation effect sizes were moderated by the interval between prime and target (ISI), whereas L2-L1 translation effect sizes were modulated by the number of items per cell. Theoretical and methodological implications of this meta-analysis are discussed and recommendations for future studies are provided.

Porphyromonas Gingivalis and E-coli induce different cytokine production patterns in pregnant women

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faas, Marijke M; Kunnen, Alina; Dekker, Daphne C; Harmsen, Hermie J M; Aarnoudse, Jan G; Abbas, Frank; De Vos, Paul; Van Pampus, Maria G

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Pregnant individuals of many species, including humans, are more sensitive to various bacteria or their products as compared with non-pregnant individuals. Pregnant individuals also respond differently to different bacteria or their products. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated

Inhalative cadmium effects in pregnant and fetal rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prigge, E.

1978-01-01

Pregnant and non-pregnant rats were continuously exposed for 21 days to an aerosol containing 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 mg cadmium/m/sup 3/ air. Pregnant and non-pregnant rats exposed to clean air served as controls. The aerosol was generated by an ultrasonic nebulizer and was carried into inhalation chambers. The median aerodynamic diameters were on the order of 0.6 ..mu..m. After inhalation of cadmium aerosols, serum iron levels were not lowered significantly in adult rats. A polycythaemic response of non-pregnant rats was observed due to a direct stimulatory effect of cadmium on erythropoiesis. Polycythaemia was less marked in pregnancy, presumably due to iron loss to placenta and fetus. Disturbances of pulmonary gas exchange or decreased plasma volumes were excluded as causative mechanisms of polycythaemia. In pregnant rats there was a marked dose dependent decrease of the activity of the alkaline phosphatase after cadmium inhalation, while there was no effect in exposed non-pregnant rats. This decreased enzyme activity, together with slowed growth rates and hemolytic effect indicate a higher sensitivity to cadmium in pregnancy. Proteinuria was not found in neither pregnant nor non-pregnant rats. Therefore, it is concluded that in this respect cadmium intoxication by inhalation does not resemble human toxemia of pregnancy, as discussed in the literature.

Priming in concert: Assimilation and contrast with multiple affective and gender primes.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fockenberg, D.A.; Koole, S.L.; Semin, G.R.

2008-01-01

The present research investigated the influence of multiple sequential primes on social categorization processes. Study 1 examined an evaluative decision task in which targets were preceded and succeeded by two primes. As expected, the temporally closest forward primes had assimilative effects on

The elimination of positive priming with increasing prime duration reflects a transition from perceptual fluency to disfluency rather than bias against primed words.

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Potter, Kevin W; Donkin, Chris; Huber, David E

2018-03-01

With immediate repetition priming of forced choice perceptual identification, short prime durations produce positive priming (i.e., priming the target leads to higher accuracy, while priming the foil leads to lower accuracy). Many theories explain positive priming following short duration primes as reflecting increased perceptual fluency for the primed target (i.e., decreased identification latency). However, most studies only examine either accuracy or response times, rather than considering the joint constraints of response times and accuracy to properly address the role of decision biases and response caution. This is a critical oversight because several theories propose that the transition to negative priming following a long duration prime reflects a decision strategy to compensate for the effect of increased perceptual fluency. In contrast, the nROUSE model of Huber and O'Reilly (2003) explains this transition as reflecting perceptual habituation, and thus a change to perceptual disfluency. We confirmed this prediction by applying a sequential sampling model (the diffusion race model) to accuracy and response time distributions from a new single item same-different version of the priming task. In this way, we measured strategic biases and perceptual fluency in each condition for each subject. The nROUSE model was only applied to accuracy from the original forced-choice version of the priming task. This application of nROUSE produced separate predictions for each subject regarding the degree of fluency and disfluency in each condition, and these predictions were confirmed by the drift rate parameters (i.e., fluency) from the response time model in contrast to the threshold parameters (i.e., bias). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On the Control of Single-Prime Negative Priming: The Effects of Practice and Time Course

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Hsuan-Fu

2009-01-01

Single-prime negative priming refers to the phenomenon wherein repetition of a prime as the probe target results in delayed response. Sometimes this effect has been found to be contingent on participants' unawareness of the primes, and sometimes it has not. Further, sometimes this effect has been found to be eliminated when the prime could predict…

Subliminal semantic priming in speech.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jérôme Daltrozzo

Full Text Available Numerous studies have reported subliminal repetition and semantic priming in the visual modality. We transferred this paradigm to the auditory modality. Prime awareness was manipulated by a reduction of sound intensity level. Uncategorized prime words (according to a post-test were followed by semantically related, unrelated, or repeated target words (presented without intensity reduction and participants performed a lexical decision task (LDT. Participants with slower reaction times in the LDT showed semantic priming (faster reaction times for semantically related compared to unrelated targets and negative repetition priming (slower reaction times for repeated compared to semantically related targets. This is the first report of semantic priming in the auditory modality without conscious categorization of the prime.

The burden of co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and malaria in pregnant women in sub-saharan Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ter Kuile, Feiko O.; Parise, Monica E.; Verhoeff, Francine H.; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam; Newman, Robert D.; van Eijk, Anne M.; Rogerson, Stephen J.; Steketee, Richard W.

2004-01-01

In sub-Saharan Africa, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and malaria are among the leading causes of morbidity during pregnancy. We reviewed available information collected since the first report 15 years ago that HIV impaired the ability of pregnant women to control malaria parasitemia. Results

Primes, Geometry and Condensed Matter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al Rabeh R. H.

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Fascination with primes dates back to the Greeks and before. Primes are named by some "the elementary particles of arithmetic" as every nonprime integer is made of a unique set of primes. In this article we point to new connections between primes, geometry and physics which show that primes could be called "the elementary particles of physics" too. This study considers the problem of closely packing similar circles/spheres in 2D/3D space. This is in effect a discretization process of space and the allowable number in a pack is found to lead to some unexpected cases of prime configurations which is independent of the size of the constituents. We next suggest that a non-prime can be considered geometrically as a symmetric collection that is separable (factorable into similar parts- six is two threes or three twos for example. A collection that has no such symmetry is a prime. As a result, a physical prime aggregate is more difficult to split symmetrically resulting in an inherent stability. This "number/physical" stability idea applies to bigger collections made from smaller (prime units leading to larger stable prime structures in a limitless scaling up process. The distribution of primes among numbers can be understood better using the packing ideas described here and we further suggest that differing numbers (and values of distinct prime factors making a nonprime collection is an important factor in determining the probability and method of possible and subsequent disintegration. Disintegration is bound by energy conservation and is closely related to symmetry by Noether theorems. Thinking of condensed matter as the packing of identical elements, we examine plots of the masses of chemical elements of the periodic table, and also those of the elementary particles of physics, and show that prime packing rules seem to play a role in the make up of matter. The plots show convincingly that the growth of prime numbers and that of the masses of

Cognate status and cross-script translation priming.

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Voga, Madeleine; Grainger, Jonathan

2007-07-01

Greek-French bilinguals were tested in three masked priming experiments with Greek primes and French targets. Related primes were the translation equivalents of target words, morphologically related to targets, or phonologically related to targets. In Experiment 1, cognate translation equivalents (phonologically similar translations) showed facilitatory priming, relative to matched phonologically related primes, in conditions in which morphologically related primes showed no effect (50-msec prime exposure). Cross-language morphological priming emerged at longer prime exposure durations (66 msec), but cognate primes continued to generate more priming than did those in the morphological condition. In Experiments 2 and 3, the level of phonological overlap across translation equivalents was varied, and priming effects were measured against those for matched phonologically related primes and those in an unrelated prime condition. When measured against the unrelated baseline, cognate primes showed the typical advantage over noncognate primes. However, this cognate advantage disappeared when priming was measured against the phonologically related prime condition. The results are discussed in terms of how translation equivalents are represented in bilingual memory.

False memories and lexical decision: even twelve primes do not cause long-term semantic priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeelenberg, René; Pecher, Diane

2002-03-01

Semantic priming effects are usually obtained only if the prime is presented shortly before the target stimulus. Recent evidence obtained with the so-called false memory paradigm suggests, however, that in both explicit and implicit memory tasks semantic relations between words can result in long-lasting effects when multiple 'primes' are presented. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether these effects would generalize to lexical decision. In four experiments we showed that even as many as 12 primes do not cause long-term semantic priming. In all experiments, however, a repetition priming effect was obtained. The present results are consistent with a number of other results showing that semantic information plays a minimal role in long-term priming in visual word recognition.

Telephone Smoking Cessation Quitline Use Among Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women

OpenAIRE

Bombard, Jennifer M.; Farr, Sherry L.; Dietz, Patricia M.; Tong, Van T.; Zhang, Lei; Rabius, Vance

2013-01-01

To describe characteristics, referrals, service utilization, and self-reported quit rates among pregnant and non-pregnant women enrolled in a smoking cessation quitline. This information can be used to improve strategies to increase pregnant and non-pregnant smokers’ use of quitlines. We examined tobacco use characteristics, referral sources, and use of services among 1,718 pregnant and 24,321 non-pregnant women aged 18–44 years enrolled in quitline services in 10 states during 2006–2008. We ...

QT Interval in Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Majid Zamani

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Prolongation of QT interval might result in dangerous cardiac arrhythmias, including Torsades de Pointes (TdP, consequently leading to syncope or death. A limited number of studies carried out in this respect to date have shown that QT interval might increase during pregnancy. On the other hand, it has been shown that each pregnancy might result in an increase in the risk of cardiac accidents in patients with long QT interval. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to compare QT intervals in pregnant and non-pregnant women. Methods: Pregnant women group consisted of 40 women in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and the non-pregnant control group consisted of healthy women 18-35 years of age. All the patients underwent standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG. The QT interval was measured for each patient at lead II. The mean corrected QT interval (QTc and QT dispersions (QTd were compared between the two groups. Results: Mean heart rates in the pregnant and non-pregnant groups were 98.55±14.09 and 72.53±13.17 beats/minutes (P<0.001. QTd and QTc means were in the normal range in both groups; however, these variables were 49.50±12.80 and 43.03±18.47 milliseconds in the pregnant group and 39.5±9.59 and 40.38±17.20 milliseconds in the control group, respectively (P<0.001. Conclusion: The QT interval was longer in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women; however, it was in the normal range in both groups. Therefore, it is important to monitor and manage risk factors involved in prolongation of QT interval and prevent concurrence of these factors with pregnancy.

Primes, Geometry and Condensed Matter

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Al Rabeh R. H.

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Fascination with primes dates back to the Greeks and before. Primes are named by some “the elementary particles of arithmetic” as every nonprime integer is made of a unique set of primes. In this article we point to new connections between primes, geometry and physics which show that primes could be called “the elementary particles of physics” too. This study considers the problem of closely packing similar circles / spheres in 2D / 3D space. This is in effect a discretization process of space and the allowable num- ber in a pack is found to lead to some unexpected cases of prime configurations which is independent of the size of the constituents. We next suggest that a non-prime can be considered geometrically as a symmetric collection that is separable (factorable into similar parts- six is two threes or three twos for example. A collection that has no such symmetry is a prime. As a result, a physical prime aggregate is more difficult to split symmetrically resulting in an inherent stability. This “number / physical” stability idea applies to bigger collections made from smaller (prime units leading to larger sta- ble prime structures in a limitless scaling up process. The distribution of primes among numbers can be understood better using the packing ideas described here and we further suggest that differing numbers (and values of distinct prime factors making a nonprime collection is an important factor in determining the probability and method of possible and subsequent disintegration. Disintegration is bound by energy conservation and is closely related to symmetry by Noether theorems. Thinking of condensed matter as the packing of identical elements, we examine plots of the masses of chemical elements of the periodic table, and also those of the elementary particles of physics, and show that prime packing rules seem to play a role in the make up of matter. The plots show con- vincingly that the growth of prime numbers and that

Eyes wide open: Pupil size as a proxy for inhibition in the masked-priming paradigm.

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Geller, Jason; Still, Mary L; Morris, Alison L

2016-05-01

A core assumption underlying competitive-network models of word recognition is that in order for a word to be recognized, the representations of competing orthographically similar words must be inhibited. This inhibitory mechanism is revealed in the masked-priming lexical-decision task (LDT) when responses to orthographically similar word prime-target pairs are slower than orthographically different word prime-target pairs (i.e., inhibitory priming). In English, however, behavioral evidence for inhibitory priming has been mixed. In the present study, we utilized a physiological correlate of cognitive effort never before used in the masked-priming LDT, pupil size, to replicate and extend behavioral demonstrations of inhibitory effects (i.e., Nakayama, Sears, & Lupker, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 34, 1236-1260, 2008, Exp. 1). Previous research had suggested that pupil size is a reliable indicator of cognitive load, making it a promising index of lexical inhibition. Our pupillometric data replicated and extended previous behavioral findings, in that inhibition was obtained for orthographically similar word prime-target pairs. However, our response time data provided only a partial replication of Nakayama et al. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 34, 1236-1260, 2008. These results provide converging lines of evidence that inhibition operates in word recognition and that pupillometry is a useful addition to word recognition researchers' toolbox.

Molecular detection of cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus 2, human papillomavirus 16-18 in Turkish pregnants

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Bedia Dinc

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Human cytomegalovirus (CMV is the most common cause of viral intrauterine infections in the world. Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2 and human papillomavirus (HPV are the main agents of viral sexually transmitted diseases, which cause genital ulcers and genital warts, respectively. HPV infection has been linked to the majority of the anogenital malignancies. The aim of this study was to detect the existence of CMV, HSV-2 and HPV type 16-18 in Turkish pregnants by using sensitive molecular assays. METHODS: One hundred thirty-four women (18-41 years old; mean age ± SD: 27 ± 8 applied to outpatient clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in between 18th - 22nd weeks of their pregnancy and a control group of 99 healthy women (15-39 years old; mean age ± SD: 24 ± 8 were included in the study. Cervical smear samples were used for DNA extraction. CMV, HSV-2 and HPV 16-18 detections were carried out by real time PCR and in house PCR method, respectively. RESULTS: Three patients (3/134; 2.2% were found to be positive for each HPV and HSV-2. Dual infection with HPV and HSV was found in just one patient. HPV 18 was detected in all positive samples. CMV was found to be positive in two patients (2/134; 1.4 %. CONCLUSION: HPV, HSV and CMV must be screened due to high prevalence of these viruses in pregnants by using sensitive molecular methods.

Molecular detection of cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus 2, human papillomavirus 16-18 in Turkish pregnants.

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Dinc, Bedia; Bozdayi, Gulendam; Biri, Aydan; Kalkanci, Ayse; Dogan, Bora; Bozkurt, Nuray; Rota, Seyyal

2010-01-01

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of viral intrauterine infections in the world. Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and human papillomavirus (HPV) are the main agents of viral sexually transmitted diseases, which cause genital ulcers and genital warts, respectively. HPV infection has been linked to the majority of the anogenital malignancies. The aim of this study was to detect the existence of CMV, HSV-2 and HPV type 16-18 in Turkish pregnants by using sensitive molecular assays. One hundred thirty-four women (18-41 years old; mean age ± SD: 27 ± 8) applied to outpatient clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in between 18th - 22nd weeks of their pregnancy and a control group of 99 healthy women (15-39 years old; mean age ± SD: 24 ± 8) were included in the study. Cervical smear samples were used for DNA extraction. CMV, HSV-2 and HPV 16-18 detections were carried out by real time PCR and in house PCR method, respectively. Three patients (3/134; 2.2%) were found to be positive for each HPV and HSV-2. Dual infection with HPV and HSV was found in just one patient. HPV 18 was detected in all positive samples. CMV was found to be positive in two patients (2/134; 1.4 %). HPV, HSV and CMV must be screened due to high prevalence of these viruses in pregnants by using sensitive molecular methods.

Human immuno-deficiency virus antibody seroprevalence among pregnant women at booking at a university teaching hospital in South-Eastern Nigeria.

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Okeudo, C; Ezem, B U; Ojiyi, E C

2012-01-01

In Africa, human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) infection continues to be progressively feminized. This has led to an increase in the number of paediatric HIV infections reported due to increased risk of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV during pregnancy, labour and breastfeeding. The objective of the study was to determine the HIV positive sero-prevalence at booking among pregnant women at the Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu. A retrospective analysis of the case records of women who booked and were screened for Human Immune-deficiency Virus at the Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUTH), Orlu from 1st March 2008 to 28th February 2010 was done. Data on age, parity, educational status, gestational age at booking, and retroviral status were collected and analysed using spss version 13. Nine hundred and twenty one pregnant women were screened for the presence of HIV 1 & 2 antibodies in their serum. One hundred and six of them were positive, giving a sero-prevalence rate at booking of 11.5%. The highest sero prevalence rate of 45.2% occurred in the age group of 26-30 years. Petty traders contributed 97 (91.5%) of the HIV positive women, while multiparous (para 2-4) women contributed 50% of the positive pregnant women. Only 32 (30.2%) of the HIV positive women booked within the first trimester for antenatal care. Majority 53 (59.4%) of the HIV positive women had secondary education, while those that had no formal education contributed only 6 (5.7%) of the HIV positive women. There was a high HIV seroprevalence at booking among pregnant women at IMSUTH, Orlu. A lot more needs to be done in order to reduce vertical transmission of HIV in our environment.

Collagen Fiber Orientation and Dispersion in the Upper Cervix of Non-Pregnant and Pregnant Women.

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Wang Yao

Full Text Available The structural integrity of the cervix in pregnancy is necessary for carrying a pregnancy until term, and the organization of human cervical tissue collagen likely plays an important role in the tissue's structural function. Collagen fibers in the cervical extracellular matrix exhibit preferential directionality, and this collagen network ultrastructure is hypothesized to reorient and remodel during cervical softening and dilation at time of parturition. Within the cervix, the upper half is substantially loaded during pregnancy and is where the premature funneling starts to happen. To characterize the cervical collagen ultrastructure for the upper half of the human cervix, we imaged whole axial tissue slices from non-pregnant and pregnant women undergoing hysterectomy or cesarean hysterectomy respectively using optical coherence tomography (OCT and implemented a pixel-wise fiber orientation tracking method to measure the distribution of fiber orientation. The collagen fiber orientation maps show that there are two radial zones and the preferential fiber direction is circumferential in a dominant outer radial zone. The OCT data also reveal that there are two anatomic regions with distinct fiber orientation and dispersion properties. These regions are labeled: Region 1-the posterior and anterior quadrants in the outer radial zone and Region 2-the left and right quadrants in the outer radial zone and all quadrants in the inner radial zone. When comparing samples from nulliparous vs multiparous women, no differences in these fiber properties were noted. Pregnant tissue samples exhibit an overall higher fiber dispersion and more heterogeneous fiber properties within the sample than non-pregnant tissue. Collectively, these OCT data suggest that collagen fiber dispersion and directionality may play a role in cervical remodeling during pregnancy, where distinct remodeling properties exist according to anatomical quadrant.

Collagen Fiber Orientation and Dispersion in the Upper Cervix of Non-Pregnant and Pregnant Women.

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Yao, Wang; Gan, Yu; Myers, Kristin M; Vink, Joy Y; Wapner, Ronald J; Hendon, Christine P

2016-01-01

The structural integrity of the cervix in pregnancy is necessary for carrying a pregnancy until term, and the organization of human cervical tissue collagen likely plays an important role in the tissue's structural function. Collagen fibers in the cervical extracellular matrix exhibit preferential directionality, and this collagen network ultrastructure is hypothesized to reorient and remodel during cervical softening and dilation at time of parturition. Within the cervix, the upper half is substantially loaded during pregnancy and is where the premature funneling starts to happen. To characterize the cervical collagen ultrastructure for the upper half of the human cervix, we imaged whole axial tissue slices from non-pregnant and pregnant women undergoing hysterectomy or cesarean hysterectomy respectively using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and implemented a pixel-wise fiber orientation tracking method to measure the distribution of fiber orientation. The collagen fiber orientation maps show that there are two radial zones and the preferential fiber direction is circumferential in a dominant outer radial zone. The OCT data also reveal that there are two anatomic regions with distinct fiber orientation and dispersion properties. These regions are labeled: Region 1-the posterior and anterior quadrants in the outer radial zone and Region 2-the left and right quadrants in the outer radial zone and all quadrants in the inner radial zone. When comparing samples from nulliparous vs multiparous women, no differences in these fiber properties were noted. Pregnant tissue samples exhibit an overall higher fiber dispersion and more heterogeneous fiber properties within the sample than non-pregnant tissue. Collectively, these OCT data suggest that collagen fiber dispersion and directionality may play a role in cervical remodeling during pregnancy, where distinct remodeling properties exist according to anatomical quadrant.

Reassessment of primed constant-infusion tracer method to measure urea kinetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jahoor, F.; Wolfe, R.R.

1987-01-01

The validity of the primed constant-infusion tracer technique to make short-term measurements of urea production rates (R/sub a/) in humans in a physiological steady state and during disruption of steady state was evaluated. Four subjects received a primed constant infusion (P/I = 560 min) of [ 13 C]urea for 8 h. A plateau in urea enrichment was reached after 2 h and maintained throughout. When [ 13 C]- and [ 18 O]urea were simultaneously infused into four subjects at P/I ratios of 560:1 and 360:1, respectively, both tracers reached plateau enrichment at the same time (2-4 h). The enrichment at plateau was a function of the infusion rate rather than the priming dose, and calculated urea R/sub a/ was the same with either prime. In five additional experiments the technique responded acutely to a physiological perturbation (alanine infusion) in a dose-dependent manner. The results confirm that this technique is appropriate for short-term measurements of urea R/sub a/, and the requirement for accuracy in estimating the priming dose is not impractically stringent

Priming with ceramide-1 phosphate promotes the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells on pulmonary artery hypertension

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Lim, Jisun; Kim, YongHwan; Heo, Jinbeom; Kim, Kang-Hyun; Lee, Seungun; Lee, Sei Won; Kim, Kyunggon; Kim, In-Gyu; Shin, Dong-Myung

2016-01-01

Some molecules enriched in damaged organs can contribute to tissue repair by stimulating the mobilization of stem cells. These so-called “priming” factors include bioactive lipids, complement components, and cationic peptides. However, their therapeutic significance remains to be determined. Here, we show that priming of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) with ceramide-1 phosphate (C1P), a bioactive lipid, enhances their therapeutic efficacy in pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). Human bone marrow (BM)-derived MSCs treated with 100 or 200 μM C1P showed improved migration activity in Transwell assays compared with non-primed MSCs and concomitantly activated MAPK p42/44 and AKT signaling cascades. Although C1P priming had little effect on cell surface marker phenotypes and the multipotency of MSCs, it potentiated their proliferative, colony-forming unit-fibroblast, and anti-inflammatory activities. In a monocrotaline-induced PAH animal model, a single administration of human MSCs primed with C1P significantly attenuated the PAH-related increase in right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and thickness of α-smooth muscle actin-positive cells around the vessel wall. Thus, this study shows that C1P priming increases the effects of MSC therapy by enhancing the migratory, self-renewal, and anti-inflammatory activity of MSCs and that MSC therapy optimized with priming protocols might be a promising option for the treatment of PAH patients. - Highlights: • Human BM-derived MSCs primed with C1P have enhanced migratory activity. • C1P primed MSCs increase proliferation, self-renewal, and anti-inflammatory capacity. • C1P priming enhances the therapeutic capacity of MSCs in a PAH animal model.

Priming with ceramide-1 phosphate promotes the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells on pulmonary artery hypertension

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Lim, Jisun [Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Department of Physiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43 gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul 05505 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, YongHwan; Heo, Jinbeom; Kim, Kang-Hyun; Lee, Seungun [Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Department of Physiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sei Won [Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Clinical Research Center for Chronic Obstructive Airway Diseases, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kyunggon [Department of Convergence Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Clinical Proteomics Core Lab, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, In-Gyu, E-mail: igkim@plaza.snu.ac.kr [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43 gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul 05505 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Dong-Myung, E-mail: d0shin03@amc.seoul.kr [Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Department of Physiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-04-22

Some molecules enriched in damaged organs can contribute to tissue repair by stimulating the mobilization of stem cells. These so-called “priming” factors include bioactive lipids, complement components, and cationic peptides. However, their therapeutic significance remains to be determined. Here, we show that priming of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) with ceramide-1 phosphate (C1P), a bioactive lipid, enhances their therapeutic efficacy in pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). Human bone marrow (BM)-derived MSCs treated with 100 or 200 μM C1P showed improved migration activity in Transwell assays compared with non-primed MSCs and concomitantly activated MAPK{sup p42/44} and AKT signaling cascades. Although C1P priming had little effect on cell surface marker phenotypes and the multipotency of MSCs, it potentiated their proliferative, colony-forming unit-fibroblast, and anti-inflammatory activities. In a monocrotaline-induced PAH animal model, a single administration of human MSCs primed with C1P significantly attenuated the PAH-related increase in right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and thickness of α-smooth muscle actin-positive cells around the vessel wall. Thus, this study shows that C1P priming increases the effects of MSC therapy by enhancing the migratory, self-renewal, and anti-inflammatory activity of MSCs and that MSC therapy optimized with priming protocols might be a promising option for the treatment of PAH patients. - Highlights: • Human BM-derived MSCs primed with C1P have enhanced migratory activity. • C1P primed MSCs increase proliferation, self-renewal, and anti-inflammatory capacity. • C1P priming enhances the therapeutic capacity of MSCs in a PAH animal model.

Sequential Stereotype Priming: A Meta-Analysis.

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Kidder, Ciara K; White, Katherine R; Hinojos, Michelle R; Sandoval, Mayra; Crites, Stephen L

2017-08-01

Psychological interest in stereotype measurement has spanned nearly a century, with researchers adopting implicit measures in the 1980s to complement explicit measures. One of the most frequently used implicit measures of stereotypes is the sequential priming paradigm. The current meta-analysis examines stereotype priming, focusing specifically on this paradigm. To contribute to ongoing discussions regarding methodological rigor in social psychology, one primary goal was to identify methodological moderators of the stereotype priming effect-whether priming is due to a relation between the prime and target stimuli, the prime and target response, participant task, stereotype dimension, stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), and stimuli type. Data from 39 studies yielded 87 individual effect sizes from 5,497 participants. Analyses revealed that stereotype priming is significantly moderated by the presence of prime-response relations, participant task, stereotype dimension, target stimulus type, SOA, and prime repetition. These results carry both practical and theoretical implications for future research on stereotype priming.

Research with Pregnant Women: New Insights on Legal Decision-Making.

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Mastroianni, Anna C; Henry, Leslie Meltzer; Robinson, David; Bailey, Theodore; Faden, Ruth R; Little, Margaret O; Lyerly, Anne Drapkin

2017-05-01

U.S. researchers and scholars often point to two legal factors as significant obstacles to the inclusion of pregnant women in clinical research: the Department of Health and Human Services' regulatory limitations specific to pregnant women's research participation and the fear of liability for potential harm to children born following a pregnant woman's research participation. This article offers a more nuanced view of the potential legal complexities that can impede research with pregnant women than has previously been reflected in the literature. It reveals new insights into the role of legal professionals throughout the research pathway, from product conception to market, and it highlights a variety of legal factors influencing decision-making that may slow or halt research involving pregnant women. Our conclusion is that closing the evidence gap created by the underrepresentation and exclusion of pregnant women in research will require targeted attention to the role of legal professionals and the legal factors that influence their decisions. © 2017 The Hastings Center.

Oral Mucosal Disorders in Pregnant versus Non-Pregnant Women

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Fahimeh Rezazadeh

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The effects of pregnancy on the Oral Mucosa Disorder (OMD have been sporadically documented in some developed countries. Less known is the status of OMD during pregnancy in less developed/developing countries. Iran is no exception. This study assesses the prevalence of OMD in 200 pregnant women and compares the findings with the findings from a 200 non-pregnant woman of similar age distribution in Iran. The participants had been referred to a clinic to receive reproductive age-related services. Participants suffering from systemic chronic diseases, those on medications/drugs, smokers, needing biopsies, and those with urgent Oral Mucosal Lesion (OML treatments were excluded from the study. Oral mucosal of all 400 participants were examined. The participants’ age ranges were from 17 to 47; with the average age of 33.14 for one group; and 30.23 for the other group. Both groups had the same level of formal education. Out of 400 examined women; 62 had lesions, including 47 pregnant (23.5%; and 15 non-pregnant (7.5% women. This result shows that the OMD rate of occurrence was significantly higher among the pregnant women. Higher OML prevalence in pregnant women, as compared to the non-pregnant women, indicates the importance of timely oral examination of pregnant women and subsequent treatment plans for them.

Happiness and related factors in pregnant women.

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Jayasvasti, Kanthika; Kanchanatawan, Buranee

2005-09-01

Pregnancy is a crisis in the human life cycle as an important turning point in aspects of anatomical, physiological and psychosocial changes. An unhappy pregnanus could influence the fetal growth and development and sense of maternal competence as well as bonding with the fetus which profoundly affect the nurture of the infant after delivery. The authors'purposes were to study happiness and related factors in pregnant women having antenatal care at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Four hundred and thirty-eight pregnant women from the antenatal clinic at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital were randomly selected to complete a set of questionnaires that consisted of personal information, pregnant information, The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), The Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI) and The Marital Satisfaction Scale (MSS). Prevalence of happiness level was classified by descriptive analysis. Unpaired t-test, ANOVA and Pearson's Product Moment Correlation analyzed related factors to happiness in pregnant woman. Also Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis was used to define predictive factors for happiness in pregnant women. The sample had a high level of happiness of 57.3%. Significant related factors to happiness were age between 31-35 years, high education level, high individual and family income, having saving deposition, no drug abuse, improved marital relationship, no conflict with relatives, extrovert and stable personality types and no concerns about post-partum body image. Four predictive factors for happiness in pregnant women were extrovert personality, stable personality, high family income and improved marital relationship. Level of happiness in pregnant women could be predicted by type of personality, family income and marital relationship.

Unconscious Congruency Priming from Unpracticed Words Is Modulated by Prime-Target Semantic Relatedness

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Ortells, Juan J.; Mari-Beffa, Paloma; Plaza-Ayllon, Vanesa

2013-01-01

Participants performed a 2-choice categorization task on visible word targets that were preceded by novel (unpracticed) prime words. The prime words were presented for 33 ms and followed either immediately (Experiments 1-3) or after a variable delay (Experiments 1 and 4) by a pattern mask. Both subjective and objective measures of prime visibility…

Leading, but not trailing, primes influence temporal order perception: further evidence for an attentional account of perceptual latency priming.

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Scharlau, Ingrid

2002-11-01

Presenting a masked prime leading a target influences the perceived onset of the masking target (perceptual latency priming; Scharlau & Neumann, in press). This priming effect is explained by the asynchronous updating model (Neumann, 1982; Scharlau & Neumann, in press): The prime initiates attentional allocation toward its location, which renders a trailing target at the same place consciously available earlier. In three experiments, this perceptual latency priming by leading primes was examined jointly with the effects of trailing primes in order to compare the explanation of the asynchronous updating model with the onset-averaging and the P-center hypotheses. Experiment 1 showed that an attended, as well as an unattended, prime leads to perceptual latency priming. In addition, a large effect of trailing primes on the onset of a target was found. As Experiment 2 demonstrated, this effect is quite robust, although smaller than that of a leading prime. In Experiment 3, masked primes were used. Under these conditions, no influence of trailing primes could be found, whereas perceptual latency priming persisted. Thus, a nonattentional explanation for the effect of trailing primes seems likely.

Mechanisms of subliminal response priming.

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Kiesel, Andrea; Kunde, Wilfried; Hoffmann, Joachim

2008-07-15

Subliminal response priming has been considered to operate on several stages, e.g. perceptual, central or motor stages might be affected. While primes' impact on target perception has been clearly demonstrated, semantic response priming recently has been thrown into doubt (e.g. Klinger, Burton, & Pitts, 2000). Finally, LRP studies have revealed that subliminal primes evoke motor processes. Yet, the premises for such prime-evoked motor activation are not settled. A transfer of priming to stimuli that have never been presented as targets appears particularly interesting because it suggests a level of processing that goes beyond a reactivation of previously acquired S-R links. Yet, such transfer has not always withstood empirical testing. To account for these contradictory results, we proposed a two-process model (Kunde, Kiesel, & Hoffmann, 2003): First, participants build up expectations regarding imperative stimuli for the required responses according to experience and/or instructions. Second, stimuli that match these "action triggers" directly activate the corresponding motor responses irrespective of their conscious identification. In line with these assumptions, recent studies revealed that non-target primes induce priming when they fit the current task intentions and when they are expected in the experimental setting.

Development of a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for bisphenol A in pregnant mice

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Kawamoto, Yuko; Matsuyama, Wakoto; Wada, Masahiro; Hishikawa, Junko; Chan, Melissa Pui Ling; Nakayama, Aki; Morisawa, Shinsuke

2007-01-01

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a weakly estrogenic monomer used to produce polymers for food contact and other applications, so there is potential for oral exposure of humans to trace amounts via ingestion. To date, no physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model has been located for BPA in pregnant mice with or without fetuses. An estimate by a mathematical model is essential since information on humans is difficult to obtain experimentally. The PBPK model was constructed based on the pharmacokinetic data of our experiment following single oral administration of BPA to pregnant mice. The risk assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) on the development of human offspring is an important issue. There have been limited data on the exposure level of human fetuses to BPA (e.g. BPA concentration in cord blood) and no information is available on the pharmacokinetics of BPA in humans with or without fetuses. In the present study, we developed a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model describing the pharmacokinetics of BPA in a pregnant mouse with the prospect of future extrapolation to humans. The PBPK model was constructed based on the pharmacokinetic data of an experiment we executed on pregnant mice following single oral administration of BPA. The model could describe the rapid transfer of BPA through the placenta to the fetus and the slow disappearance from fetuses. The simulated time courses after three-time repeated oral administrations of BPA by the constructed model fitted well with the experimental data, and the simulation for the 10 times lower dose was also consistent with the experiment. This suggested that the PBPK model for BPA in pregnant mice was successfully verified and is highly promising for extrapolation to humans who are expected to be exposed more chronically to lower doses

A yeast model for target-primed (non-LTR retrotransposition

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Busby Jason N

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Target-primed (non-LTR retrotransposons, such as the human L1 element, are mobile genetic elements found in many eukaryotic genomes. They are often present in large numbers and their retrotransposition can cause mutations and genomic rearrangements. Despite their importance, many aspects of their replication are not well understood. Results We have developed a yeast model system for studying target-primed retrotransposons. This system uses the Zorro3 element from Candida albicans. A cloned copy of Zorro3, tagged with a retrotransposition indicator gene, retrotransposes at a high frequency when introduced into an appropriate C. albicans host strain. Retrotransposed copies of the tagged element exhibit similar features to the native copies, indicating that the natural retrotransposition pathway is being used. Retrotransposition is dependent on the products of the tagged element's own genes and is highly temperature-regulated. The new assay permits the analysis of the effects of specific mutations introduced into the cloned element. Conclusion This Zorro3 retrotransposition assay system complements previously available target-primed retrotransposition assays. Due to the relative simplicity of the growth, manipulation and analysis of yeast cells, the system should advance our understanding of target-primed retrotransposition.

Replicating rather than nonreplicating adenovirus-human immunodeficiency virus recombinant vaccines are better at eliciting potent cellular immunity and priming high-titer antibodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Bo; Wang, Liqun Rejean; Gómez-Román, Victor Raúl; Davis-Warren, Alberta; Montefiori, David C; Kalyanaraman, V S; Venzon, David; Zhao, Jun; Kan, Elaine; Rowell, Thomas J; Murthy, Krishna K; Srivastava, Indresh; Barnett, Susan W; Robert-Guroff, Marjorie

2005-08-01

A major challenge in combating the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic is the development of vaccines capable of inducing potent, persistent cellular immunity and broadly reactive neutralizing antibody responses to HIV type 1 (HIV-1). We report here the results of a preclinical trial using the chimpanzee model to investigate a combination vaccine strategy involving sequential priming immunizations with different serotypes of adenovirus (Ad)/HIV-1(MN)env/rev recombinants and boosting with an HIV envelope subunit protein, oligomeric HIV(SF162) gp140deltaV2. The immunogenicities of replicating and nonreplicating Ad/HIV-1(MN)env/rev recombinants were compared. Replicating Ad/HIV recombinants were better at eliciting HIV-specific cellular immune responses and better at priming humoral immunity against HIV than nonreplicating Ad-HIV recombinants carrying the same gene insert. Enhanced cellular immunity was manifested by a greater frequency of HIV envelope-specific gamma interferon-secreting peripheral blood lymphocytes and better priming of T-cell proliferative responses. Enhanced humoral immunity was seen in higher anti-envelope binding and neutralizing antibody titers and better induction of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. More animals primed with replicating Ad recombinants mounted neutralizing antibodies against heterologous R5 viruses after one or two booster immunizations with the mismatched oligomeric HIV-1(SF162) gp140deltaV2 protein. These results support continued development of the replicating Ad-HIV recombinant vaccine approach and suggest that the use of replicating vectors for other vaccines may prove fruitful.

Rhizosphere priming: a nutrient perspective

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Feike Auke Dijkstra

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Rhizosphere priming is the change in decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM caused by root activity. Rhizosphere priming plays a crucial role in soil carbon (C dynamics and their response to global climate change. Rhizosphere priming may be affected by soil nutrient availability, but rhizosphere priming itself can also affect nutrient supply to plants. These interactive effects may be of particular relevance in understanding the sustained increase in plant growth and nutrient supply in response to a rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration. We examined how these interactions were affected by elevated CO2 in two similar semiarid grassland field studies. We found that an increase in rhizosphere priming enhanced the release of nitrogen (N through decomposition of a larger fraction of SOM in one study, but not in the other. We postulate that rhizosphere priming may enhance N supply to plants in systems that are N limited, but that rhizosphere priming may not occur in systems that are phosphorus (P limited. Under P limitation, rhizodeposition may be used for mobilisation of P, rather than for decomposition of SOM. Therefore, with increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, rhizosphere priming may play a larger role in affecting C sequestration in N poor than in P poor soils.

Degree of handedness and priming: Further evidence for a distinction between production and identification priming mechanisms.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donna J. LaVoie

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The distinction between implicit and explicit forms of memory retrieval is long-standing, and important to the extent it reveals how different neural architecture supports different aspects of memory function. Similarly, distinctions have been made between kinds of repetition priming, a form of implicit memory retrieval. This study focuses on the production-identification priming distinction, which delineates priming tasks involving verification of stimulus features as compared to priming tasks that require use of a cue to guide response retrieval. Studies investigating this dissociation in dementia or similar patient populations indicate that these forms of priming may differ in their neural bases. The current study looks at degree of handedness as a way of investigating inferred neural architecture supporting these two forms of priming. A growing body of research indicates that degree of handedness (consistent, or CH, versus inconsistent, or ICH is associated with greater interhemispheric interaction and functional access to right hemisphere processing in ICH, with superior performance seen in ICH on memory tasks reliant on this processing. Arguments about the theoretical mechanisms underlying identification and production forms of perceptual priming tasks suggest that performance on these tasks will differ as a function of degree of handedness. We tested this question in a group of CH and ICH young adults, who were asked to study lists of words prior to performing a production priming task (word stem completion, a perceptual word identification task, and a word stem cued recall task. While both handedness groups exhibited reliable priming across tasks, word stem completion priming was greater in ICH than CH participants, with identification priming not differing between groups. This dissociation supports the argument that production and identification forms of priming have different underlying neural bases.

Rapid response learning of brand logo priming: Evidence that brand priming is not dominated by rapid response learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Boehm, Stephan G; Smith, Ciaran; Muench, Niklas; Noble, Kirsty; Atherton, Catherine

2017-08-31

Repetition priming increases the accuracy and speed of responses to repeatedly processed stimuli. Repetition priming can result from two complementary sources: rapid response learning and facilitation within perceptual and conceptual networks. In conceptual classification tasks, rapid response learning dominates priming of object recognition, but it does not dominate priming of person recognition. This suggests that the relative engagement of network facilitation and rapid response learning depends on the stimulus domain. Here, we addressed the importance of the stimulus domain for rapid response learning by investigating priming in another domain, brands. In three experiments, participants performed conceptual decisions for brand logos. Strong priming was present, but it was not dominated by rapid response learning. These findings add further support to the importance of the stimulus domain for the relative importance of network facilitation and rapid response learning, and they indicate that brand priming is more similar to person recognition priming than object recognition priming, perhaps because priming of both brands and persons requires individuation.

Exclusion of pregnant women from industry-sponsored clinical trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, Kristine E; Lyerly, Anne Drapkin

2013-11-01

The lack of human data available to inform evidence-based treatment for illness during pregnancy has led to calls for greater inclusion of pregnant women in research, but the extent of their current representation is poorly characterized. Our objective was to measure the current exclusion of pregnant women from industry-sponsored clinical trials as a baseline for future comparison. We compiled data from studies enrolling women of childbearing potential posted on www.ClinicalTrials.gov between 1 October 2011 and 31 January 2012. The review was limited to open United States-based phase IV interventional studies sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry evaluating treatment of conditions that may be experienced by but are not limited to pregnant women and did not involve a medication classified as potentially teratogenic. If there was no mention of pregnancy in the inclusion or exclusion criteria, we contacted a study representative to confirm that pregnant women could be enrolled. Of 558 qualifying industry-sponsored studies, five (1%) were designed specifically for pregnant women. Of 367 phase IV clinical trials with verified inclusion and exclusion criteria, 348 (95%) excluded pregnant women and 19 (5%) did not. We found the exclusion of pregnant women from industry-sponsored clinical trials to be common practice. Moving beyond reflexive exclusion and developing thoughtful criteria for inclusion of pregnant women in clinical research would likely advance the evidence base to inform treatment decisions during pregnancy and lead to better health outcomes for women and children.

Mechanisms of masked evaluative priming: task sets modulate behavioral and electrophysiological priming for picture and words differentially.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiefer, Markus; Liegel, Nathalie; Zovko, Monika; Wentura, Dirk

2017-04-01

Research with the evaluative priming paradigm has shown that affective evaluation processes reliably influence cognition and behavior, even when triggered outside awareness. However, the precise mechanisms underlying such subliminal evaluative priming effects, response activation vs semantic processing, are matter of a debate. In this study, we determined the relative contribution of semantic processing and response activation to masked evaluative priming with pictures and words. To this end, we investigated the modulation of masked pictorial vs verbal priming by previously activated perceptual vs semantic task sets and assessed the electrophysiological correlates of priming using event-related potential (ERP) recordings. Behavioral and electrophysiological effects showed a differential modulation of pictorial and verbal subliminal priming by previously activated task sets: Pictorial priming was only observed during the perceptual but not during the semantic task set. Verbal priming, in contrast, was found when either task set was activated. Furthermore, only verbal priming was associated with a modulation of the N400 ERP component, an index of semantic processing, whereas a priming-related modulation of earlier ERPs, indexing visuo-motor S-R activation, was found for both picture and words. The results thus demonstrate that different neuro-cognitive processes contribute to unconscious evaluative priming depending on the stimulus format. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A Prime Example of the Maluma/Takete Effect? Testing for Sound Symbolic Priming.

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Sidhu, David M; Pexman, Penny M

2017-09-01

Certain nonwords, like maluma and takete, are associated with roundness and sharpness, respectively. However, this has typically been demonstrated using explicit tasks. We investigated whether this association would be detectable using a more implicit measure-a sequential priming task. We began with a replication of the standard Maluma/Takete effect (Experiments 1a and 1b) before examining whether round and sharp nonword primes facilitated the categorization of congruent shapes (Experiment 2). We found modest evidence of a priming effect in response accuracy. We next examined whether nonword primes affected categorization of ambiguous shapes, using visual (Experiment 3) and auditory primes (Experiment 4). We found that ambiguous shapes were categorized as round (sharp) more often following the presentation of a round (sharp) nonword. This suggests that phonemes may activate related shape information which then affects the processing of shapes, and that this association emerges even when participants are not explicitly searching for it. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Sedentary behavior patterns in non-pregnant and pregnant women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marquis Hawkins

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Sedentary behavior has been associated with adverse health outcomes among pregnant women; however, few studies have characterized sedentary behavior patterns in this population. We described patterns of accelerometer-determined indicators of sedentary behavior among a national sample of US pregnant (n = 234 women and non-pregnant (n = 1146 women participating in the NHANES 2003-06 cycles. We included women with ≥4 days of accelerometer wear of ≥10 h/day. A count threshold of <100 cpm was used to describe sedentary behavior as: 1 total accumulated sedentary time by bout length categories; 2 accumulated sedentary time within discrete bout length categories; 3 mean, median, and usual bout length; and 4 and bout frequency. Both non-pregnant and pregnant women spent up to 60% of their accelerometer wear time in sedentary behavior depending on the minimum bout threshold applied. Sedentary time was higher among pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women when lower bout thresholds (i.e. 10 min or less were applied. The majority of total sedentary time was accumulated in bouts lasting <10 min. The women averaged less than two prolonged sedentary bouts (i.e., ≥30 min per day, which accounted for nearly 20% of total accumulated sedentary time. When applying a minimum threshold of at least 15 min, sedentary time increased across pregnancy trimesters, while sedentary time was similar across trimesters when using lower thresholds. These findings provide the first characterization of accelerometer-determined indicators of sedentary behavior in pregnant women. The minimum bout threshold applied influenced estimates of sedentary time and patterns sedentary time accumulation across pregnancy trimesters.

Biochemical Profiles of Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2018-05-01

May 1, 2018 ... RESULT: Pregnant women as compared to non-pregnant had significantly increased .... addition, study participants who were smokers, drinkers and chewers of ..... physiology. a clinical perspective 4th ed. Maryland Heights ...

Prime Slaughter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valente, Andrea; Marchetti, Emanuela

2011-01-01

of primality and factorization into playful interactions, addressed to primary and early secondary school children. Taking into account individual needs expressed by children regarding play, during a participatory design processes aimed at enhancing learning in museums, Prime Slaughter allows for multiple......Starting from the difficulty of creating playful representation of domain-specific abstract concepts, this study discusses the design of Prime Slaughter, a computer game aimed at facilitating individual sense-making of abstract mathematical concepts. Specifically the game proposes a transposition...

Discovery: Prime Numbers

Science.gov (United States)

de Mestre, Neville

2008-01-01

Prime numbers are important as the building blocks for the set of all natural numbers, because prime factorisation is an important and useful property of all natural numbers. Students can discover them by using the method known as the Sieve of Eratosthenes, named after the Greek geographer and astronomer who lived from c. 276-194 BC. Eratosthenes…

Cost-effectiveness of female human papillomavirus vaccination in 179 countries: a PRIME modelling study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jit, Mark; Brisson, Marc; Portnoy, Allison; Hutubessy, Raymond

2014-07-01

Introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in settings with the highest burden of HPV is not universal, partly because of the absence of quantitative estimates of country-specific effects on health and economic costs. We aimed to develop and validate a simple generic model of such effects that could be used and understood in a range of settings with little external support. We developed the Papillomavirus Rapid Interface for Modelling and Economics (PRIME) model to assess cost-effectiveness and health effects of vaccination of girls against HPV before sexual debut in terms of burden of cervical cancer and mortality. PRIME models incidence according to proposed vaccine efficacy against HPV 16/18, vaccine coverage, cervical cancer incidence and mortality, and HPV type distribution. It assumes lifelong vaccine protection and no changes to other screening programmes or vaccine uptake. We validated PRIME against existing reports of HPV vaccination cost-effectiveness, projected outcomes for 179 countries (assuming full vaccination of 12-year-old girls), and outcomes for 71 phase 2 GAVI-eligible countries (using vaccine uptake data from the GAVI Alliance). We assessed differences between countries in terms of cost-effectiveness and health effects. In validation, PRIME reproduced cost-effectiveness conclusions for 24 of 26 countries from 17 published studies, and for all 72 countries in a published study of GAVI-eligible countries. Vaccination of a cohort of 58 million 12-year-old girls in 179 countries prevented 690,000 cases of cervical cancer and 420,000 deaths during their lifetime (mostly in low-income or middle-income countries), at a net cost of US$4 billion. HPV vaccination was very cost effective (with every disability-adjusted life-year averted costing less than the gross domestic product per head) in 156 (87%) of 179 countries. Introduction of the vaccine in countries without national HPV vaccination at present would prevent substantially more cases

Word encoding during sleep is suggested by correlations between word-evoked up-states and post-sleep semantic priming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon eRuch

2014-11-01

Full Text Available To test whether humans can encode words during sleep we played everyday words to men while they were napping and assessed priming from sleep-played words following waking. Words were presented during non-rapid eye movement (NREM sleep. Priming was assessed using a semantic and a perceptual priming test. These tests measured differences in the processing of words that had been or had not been played during sleep. Synonyms to sleep-played words were the targets in the semantic priming test that tapped the meaning of sleep-played words. All men responded to sleep-played words by producing up-states in their electroencephalogram. Up-states are NREM sleep-specific phases of briefly increased neuronal excitability. The word-evoked up-states might have promoted word processing during sleep. Yet, the mean performance in the priming tests administered following sleep was at chance level, which suggests that participants as a group failed to show priming following sleep. However, performance in the two priming tests was positively correlated to each other and to the magnitude of the word-evoked up-states. Hence, the larger a participant’s word-evoked up-states, the larger his perceptual and semantic priming. Those participants who scored high on all variables must have encoded words during sleep. We conclude that some humans are able to encode words during sleep, but more research is needed to pin down the factors that modulate this ability.

Superficial Priming in Episodic Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Dopkins, Stephen; Sargent, Jesse; Ngo, Catherine T.

2010-01-01

We explored the effect of superficial priming in episodic recognition and found it to be different from the effect of semantic priming in episodic recognition. Participants made recognition judgments to pairs of items, with each pair consisting of a prime item and a test item. Correct positive responses to the test item were impeded if the prime…

Fetal demise and failed antibody therapy during Zika virus infection of pregnant macaques.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnani, Diogo M; Rogers, Thomas F; Maness, Nicholas J; Grubaugh, Nathan D; Beutler, Nathan; Bailey, Varian K; Gonzalez-Nieto, Lucas; Gutman, Martin J; Pedreño-Lopez, Núria; Kwal, Jaclyn M; Ricciardi, Michael J; Myers, Tereance A; Julander, Justin G; Bohm, Rudolf P; Gilbert, Margaret H; Schiro, Faith; Aye, Pyone P; Blair, Robert V; Martins, Mauricio A; Falkenstein, Kathrine P; Kaur, Amitinder; Curry, Christine L; Kallas, Esper G; Desrosiers, Ronald C; Goldschmidt-Clermont, Pascal J; Whitehead, Stephen S; Andersen, Kristian G; Bonaldo, Myrna C; Lackner, Andrew A; Panganiban, Antonito T; Burton, Dennis R; Watkins, David I

2018-04-24

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection of pregnant women is associated with pathologic complications of fetal development. Here, we infect pregnant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with a minimally passaged ZIKV isolate from Rio de Janeiro, where a high rate of fetal development complications was observed. The infection of pregnant macaques with this virus results in maternal viremia, virus crossing into the amniotic fluid (AF), and in utero fetal deaths. We also treated three additional ZIKV-infected pregnant macaques with a cocktail of ZIKV-neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (nmAbs) at peak viremia. While the nmAbs can be effective in clearing the virus from the maternal sera of treated monkeys, it is not sufficient to clear ZIKV from AF. Our report suggests that ZIKV from Brazil causes fetal demise in non-human primates (NHPs) without additional mutations or confounding co-factors. Treatment with a neutralizing anti-ZIKV nmAb cocktail is insufficient to fully stop vertical transmission.

Syntactic priming in American Sign Language.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Matthew L; Ferreira, Victor S; Mayberry, Rachel I

2015-01-01

Psycholinguistic studies of sign language processing provide valuable opportunities to assess whether language phenomena, which are primarily studied in spoken language, are fundamentally shaped by peripheral biology. For example, we know that when given a choice between two syntactically permissible ways to express the same proposition, speakers tend to choose structures that were recently used, a phenomenon known as syntactic priming. Here, we report two experiments testing syntactic priming of a noun phrase construction in American Sign Language (ASL). Experiment 1 shows that second language (L2) signers with normal hearing exhibit syntactic priming in ASL and that priming is stronger when the head noun is repeated between prime and target (the lexical boost effect). Experiment 2 shows that syntactic priming is equally strong among deaf native L1 signers, deaf late L1 learners, and hearing L2 signers. Experiment 2 also tested for, but did not find evidence of, phonological or semantic boosts to syntactic priming in ASL. These results show that despite the profound differences between spoken and signed languages in terms of how they are produced and perceived, the psychological representation of sentence structure (as assessed by syntactic priming) operates similarly in sign and speech.

Repetition Priming Magnitude Depends on Affirmative Prime Responses: A Test of Two Congruity Explanations.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiet, Paula; Sorensen, Linda; Mayne, Zachary; Corgiat, Damon; Woltz, Dan

2016-01-01

We conducted 2 experiments to evaluate the impact of positive prime responses on repetition priming effects while decoupling this impact from content congruity and specific evaluation operations. Our first experiment consisted of word-meaning comparison trials that required participants to evaluate synonyms or antonyms. A crossing of evaluation operation with semantic content allowed us to test the goal-content congruity hypothesis against the semantic congruity explanation for greater facilitation from positive response primes. Results suggested that operation-based priming is affected by goal-content congruity. A second experiment tested the observed effect of positive responses on repetition priming using mental rotation of irregular shapes, affording a test of the impact of congruity in evaluation goals and content in a nonverbal stimulus domain. Both experiments produced a pattern of results inconsistent with Schulman's (1974) semantic congruity account and instead implicated a different form of congruity that affects memory for prior operations rather than memory for semantic and episodic content.

Complex architecture of primes and natural numbers.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Pérez, Guillermo; Serrano, M Ángeles; Boguñá, Marián

2014-08-01

Natural numbers can be divided in two nonoverlapping infinite sets, primes and composites, with composites factorizing into primes. Despite their apparent simplicity, the elucidation of the architecture of natural numbers with primes as building blocks remains elusive. Here, we propose a new approach to decoding the architecture of natural numbers based on complex networks and stochastic processes theory. We introduce a parameter-free non-Markovian dynamical model that naturally generates random primes and their relation with composite numbers with remarkable accuracy. Our model satisfies the prime number theorem as an emerging property and a refined version of Cramér's conjecture about the statistics of gaps between consecutive primes that seems closer to reality than the original Cramér's version. Regarding composites, the model helps us to derive the prime factors counting function, giving the probability of distinct prime factors for any integer. Probabilistic models like ours can help to get deeper insights about primes and the complex architecture of natural numbers.

A Brighter Side to Memory Illusions: False Memories Prime Children's and Adults' Insight-Based Problem Solving

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, Mark L.; Garner, Sarah R.; Charlesworth, Monica; Knott, Lauren

2011-01-01

Can false memories have a positive consequence on human cognition? In two experiments, we investigated whether false memories could prime insight problem-solving tasks. Children and adults were asked to solve compound remote associate task (CRAT) problems, half of which had been primed by the presentation of Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) lists…

Z(prime) Phenomenology and the LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rizzo, Thomas G.

2006-01-01

A brief pedagogical overview of the phenomenology of Z(prime) gauge bosons is ILC in determining Z(prime) properties is also discussed. and explore in detail how the LHC may discover and help elucidate the models, review the current constraints on the possible properties of a Z(prime) nature of these new particles. We provide an overview of the Z(prime) studies presented. Such particles can arise in various electroweak extensions of that have been performed by both ATLAS and CMS. The role of the the Standard Model (SM). We provide a quick survey of a number of Z(prime)

Biochemical Profiles of Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2018-05-01

May 1, 2018 ... sample was collected from 139 pregnant and 139 age matched ... have major consequences for fetal growth. ... metabolic disorder in pregnancy is gestational ... expected to be 23.4 %, and the child mortality rate ... diabetic pregnant women and her unborn infant ... hemorrhage, fetal obesity, miscarriage,.

Transposed-letter priming of prelexical orthographic representations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinoshita, Sachiko; Norris, Dennis

2009-01-01

A prime generated by transposing two internal letters (e.g., jugde) produces strong priming of the original word (judge). In lexical decision, this transposed-letter (TL) priming effect is generally weak or absent for nonword targets; thus, it is unclear whether the origin of this effect is lexical or prelexical. The authors describe the Bayesian Reader theory of masked priming (D. Norris & S. Kinoshita, 2008), which explains why nonwords do not show priming in lexical decision but why they do in the cross-case same-different task. This analysis is followed by 3 experiments that show that priming in this task is not based on low-level perceptual similarity between the prime and target, or on phonology, to make the case that priming is based on prelexical orthographic representation. The authors then use this task to demonstrate equivalent TL priming effects for nonwords and words. The results are interpreted as the first reliable evidence based on the masked priming procedure that letter position is not coded absolutely within the prelexical, orthographic representation. The implications of the results for current letter position coding schemes are discussed.

Wrath of God: religious primes and punishment.

Science.gov (United States)

McKay, Ryan; Efferson, Charles; Whitehouse, Harvey; Fehr, Ernst

2011-06-22

Recent evidence indicates that priming participants with religious concepts promotes prosocial sharing behaviour. In the present study, we investigated whether religious priming also promotes the costly punishment of unfair behaviour. A total of 304 participants played a punishment game. Before the punishment stage began, participants were subliminally primed with religion primes, secular punishment primes or control primes. We found that religious primes strongly increased the costly punishment of unfair behaviours for a subset of our participants--those who had previously donated to a religious organization. We discuss two proximate mechanisms potentially underpinning this effect. The first is a 'supernatural watcher' mechanism, whereby religious participants punish unfair behaviours when primed because they sense that not doing so will enrage or disappoint an observing supernatural agent. The second is a 'behavioural priming' mechanism, whereby religious primes activate cultural norms pertaining to fairness and its enforcement and occasion behaviour consistent with those norms. We conclude that our results are consistent with dual inheritance proposals about religion and cooperation, whereby religions harness the byproducts of genetically inherited cognitive mechanisms in ways that enhance the survival prospects of their adherents.

Dynamic representations of human body movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Kourtzi, Z; Shiffrar, M

1999-01-01

Psychophysical and neurophysiological studies suggest that human body motions can be readily recognized. Human bodies are highly articulated and can move in a nonrigid manner. As a result, we perceive highly dissimilar views of the human form in motion. How does the visual system integrate multiple views of a human body in motion so that we can perceive human movement as a continuous event? The results of a set of priming experiments suggest that motion can readily facilitate the linkage of different views of a moving human. Positive priming was found for novel views of a human body that fell within the path of human movement. However, no priming was observed for novel views outside the path of motion. Furthermore, priming was restricted to those views that satisfied the biomechanical constraints of human movement. These results suggest that visual representation of human movement may be based upon the movement limitations of the human body and may reflect a dynamic interaction of motion and object-recognition processes.

Recognizing Plant Defense Priming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Martinez-Medina, Ainhoa; Flors, Victor; Heil, Martin; Mauch-Mani, Brigitte; Pieterse, Corné M J|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/113115113; Pozo, Maria J; Ton, Jurriaan; van Dam, Nicole M; Conrath, Uwe

2016-01-01

Defense priming conditions diverse plant species for the superinduction of defense, often resulting in enhanced pest and disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance. Here, we propose a guideline that might assist the plant research community in a consistent assessment of defense priming in

Recognizing plant defense priming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Martinez-Medina, A.; Flors, V.; Heil, M.; Mauch-Mani, B.; Pieterse, C.M.J.; Pozo, M.J.; Ton, J.; Van Dam, N.M.; Conrath, U.

2016-01-01

Defense priming conditions diverse plant species for the superinduction of defense, often resulting in enhanced pest and disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance. Here, we propose a guideline that might assist the plant research community in a consistent assessment of defense priming in

Syntactic priming in American Sign Language.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew L Hall

Full Text Available Psycholinguistic studies of sign language processing provide valuable opportunities to assess whether language phenomena, which are primarily studied in spoken language, are fundamentally shaped by peripheral biology. For example, we know that when given a choice between two syntactically permissible ways to express the same proposition, speakers tend to choose structures that were recently used, a phenomenon known as syntactic priming. Here, we report two experiments testing syntactic priming of a noun phrase construction in American Sign Language (ASL. Experiment 1 shows that second language (L2 signers with normal hearing exhibit syntactic priming in ASL and that priming is stronger when the head noun is repeated between prime and target (the lexical boost effect. Experiment 2 shows that syntactic priming is equally strong among deaf native L1 signers, deaf late L1 learners, and hearing L2 signers. Experiment 2 also tested for, but did not find evidence of, phonological or semantic boosts to syntactic priming in ASL. These results show that despite the profound differences between spoken and signed languages in terms of how they are produced and perceived, the psychological representation of sentence structure (as assessed by syntactic priming operates similarly in sign and speech.

Multisensory Flavor Priming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dijksterhuis, Garmt Bernard

2016-01-01

with a taxonomy of different priming situations. In food-related applications of flavor, both bottom-up (sensory) as well as top-down (expectations) processes are at play. Most of the complex interactions that this leads to take place outside the awareness of the perceiving subject. A model is presented where...... many, past and current, aspects (sensory, surroundings, social, somatic, sentimental) of a (flavor) perception, together result in the perception of a flavor, its liking. or its choice. This model borrows on ideas from priming, situated/embodied cognition, and (food-related) perception.......Flavor is multisensory; several interacting sensory systems-taste, smell, and mouthfeel-together comprise "flavor," making it a cognitively constructed percept rather than a bottom-up sensory one. In this chapter, some of the complications this entails for flavor priming are introduced, along...

Semantic priming, not repetition priming, is to blame for false hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Chad S

2017-08-01

Contextual and sensory information are combined in speech perception. Conflict between the two can lead to false hearing, defined as a high-confidence misidentification of a spoken word. Rogers, Jacoby, and Sommers (Psychology and Aging, 27(1), 33-45, 2012) found that older adults are more susceptible to false hearing than are young adults, using a combination of semantic priming and repetition priming to create context. In this study, the type of context (repetition vs. sematic priming) responsible for false hearing was examined. Older and young adult participants read and listened to a list of paired associates (e.g., ROW-BOAT) and were told to remember the pairs for a later memory test. Following the memory test, participants identified words masked in noise that were preceded by a cue word in the clear. Targets were semantically associated to the cue (e.g., ROW-BOAT), unrelated to the cue (e.g., JAW-PASS), or phonologically related to a semantic associate of the cue (e.g., ROW-GOAT). How often each cue word and its paired associate were presented prior to the memory test was manipulated (0, 3, or 5 times) to test effects of repetition priming. Results showed repetitions had no effect on rates of context-based listening or false hearing. However, repetition did significantly increase sensory information as a basis for metacognitive judgments in young and older adults. This pattern suggests that semantic priming dominates as the basis for false hearing and highlights context and sensory information operating as qualitatively different bases for listening and metacognition.

Modified Multi Prime RSA Cryptosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazali Kamardan, M.; Aminudin, N.; Che-Him, Norziha; Sufahani, Suliadi; Khalid, Kamil; Roslan, Rozaini

2018-04-01

RSA [1] is one of the mostly used cryptosystem in securing data and information. Though, it has been recently discovered that RSA has some weaknesses and in advance technology, RSA is believed to be inefficient especially when it comes to decryption. Thus, a new algorithm called Multi prime RSA, an extended version of the standard RSA is studied. Then, a modification is made to the Multi prime RSA where another keys is shared secretly between the receiver and the sender to increase the securerity. As in RSA, the methodology used for modified Multi-prime RSA also consists of three phases; 1. Key Generation in which the secret and public keys are generated and published. In this phase, the secrecy is improved by adding more prime numbers and addition of secret keys. 2. Encryption of the message using the public and secret keys given. 3. Decryption of the secret message using the secret key generated. For the decryption phase, a method called Chinese Remainder Theorem is used which helps to fasten the computation. Since Multi prime RSA use more than two prime numbers, the algorithm is more efficient and secure when compared to the standard RSA. Furthermore, in modified Multi prime RSA another secret key is introduced to increase the obstacle to the attacker. Therefore, it is strongly believed that this new algorithm is better and can be an alternative to the RSA.

The pros and cons of masked priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Forster, K I

1998-03-01

Masked priming paradigms offer the promise of tapping automatic, strategy-free lexical processing, as evidenced by the lack of expectancy disconfirmation effects, and proportionality effects in semantic priming experiments. But several recent findings suggest the effects may be prelexical. These findings concern nonword priming effects in lexical decision and naming, the effects of mixed-case presentation on nonword priming, and the dependence of priming on the nature of the distractors in lexical decision, suggesting possible strategy effects. The theory underlying each of these effects is discussed, and alternative explanations are developed that do not preclude a lexical basis for masked priming effects.

Tuberculosis care for pregnant women: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Hang Thanh; Pandolfini, Chiara; Chiodini, Peter; Bonati, Maurizio

2014-11-19

Tuberculosis (TB) during pregnancy may lead to severe consequences affecting both mother and child. Prenatal care could be a very good opportunity for TB care, especially for women who have limited access to health services. The aim of this review was to gather and evaluate studies on TB care for pregnant women. We used a combination of the terms "tuberculosis" and "pregnancy", limited to human, to search for published articles. Studies reflecting original data and focusing on TB care for pregnant women were included. All references retrieved were collected using the Reference Manager software (Version 11). Thirty five studies were selected for review and their data showed that diagnosis was often delayed because TB symptoms during pregnancy were not typical. TB prophylaxis and anti-TB therapy appeared to be safe and effective for pregnant women and their babies when suitable follow up and early initiation were present, but the compliance rate to TB prophylaxis is still low due to lack of follow up and referral services. TB care practices in the reviewed studies were in line in principle with the WHO International Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ISTC). Integration of TB care within prenatal care would improve TB diagnosis and treatment for pregnant women. To improve the quality of TB care, it is necessary to develop national level guidelines based on the ISTC with detailed guidelines for pregnant women.

Priming Ability Emotional Intelligence

Science.gov (United States)

Schutte, Nicola S.; Malouff, John M.

2012-01-01

Two studies examined whether priming self-schemas relating to successful emotional competency results in better emotional intelligence performance. In the first study participants were randomly assigned to a successful emotional competency self-schema prime condition or a control condition and then completed an ability measure of emotional…

Replicating Rather than Nonreplicating Adenovirus-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Recombinant Vaccines Are Better at Eliciting Potent Cellular Immunity and Priming High-Titer Antibodies

OpenAIRE

Peng, Bo; Wang, Liqun Rejean; Gómez-Román, Victor Raúl; Davis-Warren, Alberta; Montefiori, David C.; Kalyanaraman, V. S.; Venzon, David; Zhao, Jun; Kan, Elaine; Rowell, Thomas J.; Murthy, Krishna K.; Srivastava, Indresh; Barnett, Susan W.; Robert-Guroff, Marjorie

2005-01-01

A major challenge in combating the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic is the development of vaccines capable of inducing potent, persistent cellular immunity and broadly reactive neutralizing antibody responses to HIV type 1 (HIV-1). We report here the results of a preclinical trial using the chimpanzee model to investigate a combination vaccine strategy involving sequential priming immunizations with different serotypes of adenovirus (Ad)/HIV-1MNenv/rev recombinants and boosting wit...

Psychotherapy augmentation through preconscious priming

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Francois eBorgeat

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To test the hypothesis that repeated preconscious (masked priming of personalized positive cognitions could augment cognitive change and facilitate achievement of patients’ goals following a therapy.Methods: Twenty social phobic patients (13 women completed a 36 weeks study beginning by 12 weeks of group behavioural therapy. After the therapy, they received 6 weeks of preconscious priming and 6 weeks of a control procedure in a randomized cross-over design. The Priming condition involved listening twice daily with a passive attitude to a recording of individualized formulations of appropriate cognitions and attitudes masked by music. The Control condition involved listening to an indistinguishable recording where the formulations had been replaced by random numbers. Changes in social cognitions were measured by the Social Interaction Self Statements Test (SISST.Results: Patients improved following therapy. The Priming procedure was associated with increased positive cognitions and decreased negative cognitions on the SISST while the Control procedure was not. The Priming procedure induced more cognitive change when applied immediately after the group therapy. Conclusion: An effect of priming was observed on social phobia related cognitions in the expected direction. This self administered addition to a therapy could be seen as an augmentation strategy.

Prime time news: the influence of primed positive and negative emotion on susceptibility to false memories.

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Porter, Stephen; ten Brinke, Leanne; Riley, Sean N; Baker, Alysha

2014-01-01

We examined the relation between emotion and susceptibility to misinformation using a novel paradigm, the ambiguous stimuli affective priming (ASAP) paradigm. Participants (N = 88) viewed ambiguous neutral images primed either at encoding or retrieval to be interpreted as either highly positive or negative (or neutral/not primed). After viewing the images, they either were asked misleading or non-leading questions. Following a delay, memory accuracy for the original images was assessed. Results indicated that any emotional priming at encoding led to a higher susceptibility to misinformation relative to priming at recall. In particular, inducing a negative interpretation of the image at encoding led to an increased susceptibility of false memories for major misinformation (an entire object not actually present in the scene). In contrast, this pattern was reversed when priming was used at recall; a negative reinterpretation of the image decreased memory distortion relative to unprimed images. These findings suggest that, with precise experimental control, the experience of emotion at event encoding, in particular, is implicated in false memory susceptibility.

Regulation and Gene Expression Profiling of NKG2D Positive Human Cytomegalovirus-Primed CD4+ T-Cells

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Jensen, Helle; Folkersen, Lasse; Skov, Søren

2012-01-01

NKG2D is a stimulatory receptor expressed by natural killer (NK) cells, CD8+ T-cells, and γδ T-cells. NKG2D expression is normally absent from CD4+ T-cells, however recently a subset of NKG2D+ CD4+ T-cells has been found, which is specific for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). This particular subset of HCMV-specific NKG2D+ CD4+ T-cells possesses effector-like functions, thus resembling the subsets of NKG2D+ CD4+ T-cells found in other chronic inflammations. However, the precise mechanism leading to NKG2D expression on HCMV-specific CD4+ T-cells is currently not known. In this study we used genome-wide analysis of individual genes and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to investigate the gene expression profile of NKG2D+ CD4+ T-cells, generated from HCMV-primed CD4+ T-cells. We show that the HCMV-primed NKG2D+ CD4+ T-cells possess a higher differentiated phenotype than the NKG2D– CD4+ T-cells, both at the gene expression profile and cytokine profile. The ability to express NKG2D at the cell surface was primarily determined by the activation or differentiation status of the CD4+ T-cells and not by the antigen presenting cells. We observed a correlation between CD94 and NKG2D expression in the CD4+ T-cells following HCMV stimulation. However, knock-down of CD94 did not affect NKG2D cell surface expression or signaling. In addition, we show that NKG2D is recycled at the cell surface of activated CD4+ T-cells, whereas it is produced de novo in resting CD4+ T-cells. These findings provide novel information about the gene expression profile of HCMV-primed NKG2D+ CD4+ T-cells, as well as the mechanisms regulating NKG2D cell surface expression. PMID:22870231

Regulation and gene expression profiling of NKG2D positive human cytomegalovirus-primed CD4+ T-cells.

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Helle Jensen

Full Text Available NKG2D is a stimulatory receptor expressed by natural killer (NK cells, CD8(+ T-cells, and γδ T-cells. NKG2D expression is normally absent from CD4(+ T-cells, however recently a subset of NKG2D(+ CD4(+ T-cells has been found, which is specific for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV. This particular subset of HCMV-specific NKG2D(+ CD4(+ T-cells possesses effector-like functions, thus resembling the subsets of NKG2D(+ CD4(+ T-cells found in other chronic inflammations. However, the precise mechanism leading to NKG2D expression on HCMV-specific CD4(+ T-cells is currently not known. In this study we used genome-wide analysis of individual genes and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA to investigate the gene expression profile of NKG2D(+ CD4(+ T-cells, generated from HCMV-primed CD4(+ T-cells. We show that the HCMV-primed NKG2D(+ CD4(+ T-cells possess a higher differentiated phenotype than the NKG2D(- CD4(+ T-cells, both at the gene expression profile and cytokine profile. The ability to express NKG2D at the cell surface was primarily determined by the activation or differentiation status of the CD4(+ T-cells and not by the antigen presenting cells. We observed a correlation between CD94 and NKG2D expression in the CD4(+ T-cells following HCMV stimulation. However, knock-down of CD94 did not affect NKG2D cell surface expression or signaling. In addition, we show that NKG2D is recycled at the cell surface of activated CD4(+ T-cells, whereas it is produced de novo in resting CD4(+ T-cells. These findings provide novel information about the gene expression profile of HCMV-primed NKG2D(+ CD4(+ T-cells, as well as the mechanisms regulating NKG2D cell surface expression.

Space-Valence Priming with Subliminal and Supraliminal Words

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Ulrich eAnsorge

2013-02-01

Full Text Available To date it is unclear whether (1 awareness-independent non-evaluative semantic processes influence affective semantics and whether (2 awareness-independent affective semantics influence non-evaluative semantic processing. In the current study, we investigated these questions with the help of subliminal (masked primes and visible targets in a space-valence across-category congruence effect. In line with (1, we found that subliminal space prime words influenced valence classification of supraliminal target words (Experiment 1: Classifications were faster with a congruent prime (e.g., the prime ‘up’ before the target ‘happy’ than with an incongruent prime (e.g., the prime ‘up’ before the target ‘sad’. In contrast to (2, no influence of subliminal valence primes on the classification of supraliminal space targets into up- and down-words was found (Experiment 2. Control conditions showed that standard masked response-priming effects were found with both subliminal prime types, and that an across-category congruence effect was also found with supraliminal valence primes and spatial target words. The final Experiment 3 confirmed that the across-category congruence effect indeed reflected priming of target categorization of a relevant meaning category. Together, the data jointly confirmed prediction (1 that awareness-independent non-evaluative semantic priming influences valence judgments.

Periodontal status in pregnant women in comparison with non-pregnant individuals

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R Surekha

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Our understanding of pathogenesis of periodontal disease has changed remarkably over a few decades. Rather than being confined to periodontium, periodontal disease may have a wide ranging systemic effects. It is now recognized that it shares most of the common risk factors for diabetes, coronary heart disease preterm low birth weight, miscarriage or early pregnancy loss and preeclampsia. Materials and Methods: The study group comprised of 400 women (200 pregnant women and 200 non-pregnant with an age range of 18-40 years. Maternal demographic and medical data were collected. Periodontal examinations included: Oral hygiene index (OHI-S, gingival index (GI, pocket probing depth and clinical attachment loss (CAL. Results: The results were analyzed using test of proportion when OHI-S was compared in pregnant women with that of non-pregnant individuals, there was no significant difference in good oral hygiene group (P = 0.187, Z = 1.32. When the GI index was evaluated, a definite statistical difference was noted in mild, moderate and severe gingivitis (P - 0.000, Z = 0.365; P - 0.00, Z = 4.17; P - 0.000, Z = 0.75. CAL index revealed a statistical difference was observed healthy periodontium, mild, moderate and severe periodontitis in both pregnant and non-pregnant women (P = −0.000, Z = 3.65; P - 0.000, Z = 5.83; P - 0.001, Z - 3.24; P - 0.000, Z - 6.47. Conclusion: The present study conducted supports the hypothesis that there is a definite correlation between the pregnant women and poor oral hygiene (gingivitis and periodontitis as compared with the non-pregnant controls.

Evaluation of anaerobic threshold in non-pregnant and pregnant rats

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ALINE OLIVEIRA NETTO

2017-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Several studies present different methodologies and results about intensity exercise, and many of them are performed in male rats. However, the impact of different type, intensity, frequency and duration of exercise on female rats needs more investigation. From the analysis of blood lactate concentration during lactate minimum test (LacMin in the swimming exercise, the anaerobic threshold (AT was identified, which parameter is defined as the transition point between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. LacMin test is considered a good indicator of aerobic conditioning and has been used in prescription of training in different exercise modalities. However, there is no evidence of LacMin test in female rats. The objective was to determine AT in non-pregnant and pregnant Wistar rats. The LacMin test was performed and AT defined for mild exercise intensity was from a load equivalent to 1% of body weight (bw, moderate exercise as carrying 4% bw and severe intensity as carrying 7% bw. In pregnant rats, the AT was reached at a lower loading from 5.0% to 5.5% bw, while in non-pregnant the load was from 5.5% to 6.0% bw. Thus, this study was effective to identify exercise intensities in pregnant and non-pregnant rats using anaerobic threshold by LacMin test.

Human Asymptomatic Epitope Peptide/CXCL10-Based Prime/Pull Vaccine Induces Herpes Simplex Virus-Specific Gamma Interferon-Positive CD107+ CD8+ T Cells That Infiltrate the Cornea and Trigeminal Ganglia of Humanized HLA Transgenic Rabbits and Protect against Ocular Herpes Challenge.

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Khan, Arif A; Srivastava, Ruchi; Vahed, Hawa; Roy, Soumyabrata; Walia, Sager S; Kim, Grace J; Fouladi, Mona A; Yamada, Taikun; Ly, Vincent T; Lam, Cynthia; Lou, Anthony; Nguyen, Vivianna; Boldbaatar, Undariya; Geertsema, Roger; Fraser, Nigel W; BenMohamed, Lbachir

2018-06-13

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is a prevalent human pathogen that infects the cornea causing potentially blinding herpetic disease. A clinical herpes vaccine is still lacking. In the present study, a novel prime/pull vaccine was tested in Human Leukocyte Antigen- (HLA-) transgenic rabbit model of ocular herpes (HLA Tg rabbit). Three asymptomatic (ASYMP) peptide epitopes were selected from the HSV-1 membrane glycoprotein C (UL44 400-408 ), the DNA replication binding helicase (UL9 196-204 ), and the tegument protein (UL25 572-580 ), all preferentially recognized by CD8 + T cells from "naturally protected" HSV-1-seropositive healthy ASYMP individuals (who never had recurrent corneal herpetic disease). HLA Tg rabbits were immunized with a mixture of these three ASYMP CD8 + T cell peptide epitopes (UL44 400-408 , UL9 196-204 and UL25 572-580 ), delivered subcutaneously with CpG 2007 adjuvant (prime). Fifteen days later, half of the rabbits received a topical ocular treatment with a recombinant neurotropic AAV8 vector, expressing the T cell-attracting CXCL10 chemokine (pull). The frequency, function of HSV-specific CD8 + T cells induced by the prime/pull vaccine were assessed in peripheral blood, cornea, and trigeminal ganglia (TG). Compared to peptides alone, the peptides/CXCL10 prime/pull vaccine generated frequent polyfunctional gamma interferon-positive (IFN-γ + ) CD107 + CD8 + T cells that infiltrated both the cornea and TG. CD8 + T cells mobilization into cornea and TG of prime/pull- vaccinated rabbits was associated with a significant reduction in corneal herpes infection and disease following an ocular HSV-1 challenge (McKrae). These findings draw attention to the novel prime/pull vaccine strategy to mobilize anti-viral CD8 + T cells into tissues protecting them against herpes infection and disease. IMPORTANCE There is an urgent need for a vaccine against widespread herpes simplex virus infections. The present study demonstrates that immunization of HLA

Priming and warnings are not effective to prevent social engineering attacks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Junger, Marianne; Montoya, L.; Overink, F.J.

2017-01-01

Humans tend to trust each other and to easily disclose personal information. This makes them vulnerable to social engineering attacks. The present study investigated the effectiveness of two interventions that aim to protect users against social engineering attacks, namely priming through cues to

Building Numbers from Primes

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Burkhart, Jerry

2009-01-01

Prime numbers are often described as the "building blocks" of natural numbers. This article shows how the author and his students took this idea literally by using prime factorizations to build numbers with blocks. In this activity, students explore many concepts of number theory, including the relationship between greatest common factors and…

Recognizing Plant Defense Priming.

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Martinez-Medina, Ainhoa; Flors, Victor; Heil, Martin; Mauch-Mani, Brigitte; Pieterse, Corné M J; Pozo, Maria J; Ton, Jurriaan; van Dam, Nicole M; Conrath, Uwe

2016-10-01

Defense priming conditions diverse plant species for the superinduction of defense, often resulting in enhanced pest and disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance. Here, we propose a guideline that might assist the plant research community in a consistent assessment of defense priming in plants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The structure factor of primes

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Zhang, G.; Martelli, F.; Torquato, S.

2018-03-01

Although the prime numbers are deterministic, they can be viewed, by some measures, as pseudo-random numbers. In this article, we numerically study the pair statistics of the primes using statistical-mechanical methods, particularly the structure factor S(k) in an interval M ≤slant p ≤slant M + L with M large, and L/M smaller than unity. We show that the structure factor of the prime-number configurations in such intervals exhibits well-defined Bragg-like peaks along with a small ‘diffuse’ contribution. This indicates that primes are appreciably more correlated and ordered than previously thought. Our numerical results definitively suggest an explicit formula for the locations and heights of the peaks. This formula predicts infinitely many peaks in any non-zero interval, similar to the behavior of quasicrystals. However, primes differ from quasicrystals in that the ratio between the location of any two predicted peaks is rational. We also show numerically that the diffuse part decays slowly as M and L increases. This suggests that the diffuse part vanishes in an appropriate infinite-system-size limit.

Porphyromonas Gingivalis and E-coli induce different cytokine production patterns in pregnant women.

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Marijke M Faas

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Pregnant individuals of many species, including humans, are more sensitive to various bacteria or their products as compared with non-pregnant individuals. Pregnant individuals also respond differently to different bacteria or their products. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated whether the increased sensitivity of pregnant women to bacterial products and their heterogeneous response to different bacteria was associated with differences in whole blood cytokine production upon stimulation with bacteria or their products. METHODS: Blood samples were taken from healthy pregnant and age-matched non-pregnant women and ex vivo stimulated with bacteria or LPS from Porphyromonas Gingivalis (Pg or E-coli for 24 hrs. TNFα, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-10 were measured using a multiplex Luminex system. RESULTS: We observed a generally lower cytokine production after stimulation with Pg bacteria or it's LPS as compared with E-coli bacteria. However, there was also an effect of pregnancy upon cytokine production: in pregnant women the production of IL-6 upon Pg stimulation was decreased as compared with non-pregnant women. After stimulation with E-coli, the production of IL-12 and TNFα was decreased in pregnant women as compared with non-pregnant women. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that cytokine production upon bacterial stimulation of whole blood differed between pregnant and non-pregnant women, showing that the increased sensitivity of pregnant women may be due to differences in cytokine production. Moreover, pregnancy also affected whole blood cytokine production upon Pg or E-coli stimulation differently. Thus, the different responses of pregnant women to different bacteria or their products may result from variations in cytokine production.

First-in-Human Evaluation of the Safety and Immunogenicity of an Intranasally Administered Replication-Competent Sendai Virus–Vectored HIV Type 1 Gag Vaccine: Induction of Potent T-Cell or Antibody Responses in Prime-Boost Regimens

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Nyombayire, Julien; Anzala, Omu; Gazzard, Brian; Karita, Etienne; Bergin, Philip; Hayes, Peter; Kopycinski, Jakub; Omosa-Manyonyi, Gloria; Jackson, Akil; Bizimana, Jean; Farah, Bashir; Sayeed, Eddy; Parks, Christopher L.; Inoue, Makoto; Hironaka, Takashi; Hara, Hiroto; Shu, Tsugumine; Matano, Tetsuro; Dally, Len; Barin, Burc; Park, Harriet; Gilmour, Jill; Lombardo, Angela; Excler, Jean-Louis; Fast, Patricia; Laufer, Dagna S.; Cox, Josephine H.

2017-01-01

Background. We report the first-in-human safety and immunogenicity assessment of a prototype intranasally administered, replication-competent Sendai virus (SeV)–vectored, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine. Methods. Sixty-five HIV-1–uninfected adults in Kenya, Rwanda, and the United Kingdom were assigned to receive 1 of 4 prime-boost regimens (administered at 0 and 4 months, respectively; ratio of vaccine to placebo recipients, 12:4): priming with a lower-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally, followed by boosting with an adenovirus 35–vectored vaccine encoding HIV-1 Gag, reverse transcriptase, integrase, and Nef (Ad35-GRIN) given intramuscularly (SLA); priming with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally, followed by boosting with Ad35-GRIN given intramuscularly (SHA); priming with Ad35-GRIN given intramuscularly, followed by boosting with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally (ASH); and priming and boosting with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally (SHSH). Results. All vaccine regimens were well tolerated. Gag-specific IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot–determined response rates and geometric mean responses were higher (96% and 248 spot-forming units, respectively) in groups primed with SeV-Gag and boosted with Ad35-GRIN (SLA and SHA) than those after a single dose of Ad35-GRIN (56% and 54 spot-forming units, respectively) or SeV-Gag (55% and 59 spot-forming units, respectively); responses persisted for ≥8 months after completion of the prime-boost regimen. Functional CD8+ T-cell responses with greater breadth, magnitude, and frequency in a viral inhibition assay were also seen in the SLA and SHA groups after Ad35-GRIN boost, compared with those who received either vaccine alone. SeV-Gag did not boost T-cell counts in the ASH group. In contrast, the highest Gag-specific antibody titers were seen in the ASH group. Mucosal antibody responses were sporadic. Conclusions. SeV-Gag primed functional, durable HIV-specific T

PrimeFaces beginner's guide

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Reddy, K Siva Prasad

2013-01-01

A guide for beginner's with step-by-step instructions and an easy-to-follow approach.PrimeFaces Beginners Guide is a simple and effective guide for beginners, wanting to learn and implement PrimeFaces in their JSF-based applications. Some basic JSF and jQuery skills are required before you start working through the book.

Preliminary study on plasma proteins in pregnant and non-pregnant female dogs.

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Szczubiał, Marek; Wawrzykowski, Jacek; Dąbrowski, Roman; Krawczyk, Magdalena; Kankofer, Marta

2017-07-15

In this study, we used a combined approach based on 2-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), difference in gel electrophoresis (DIGE), and mass spectrometry (MS) to identify the plasma protein composition in pregnant female dogs and compared it with non-pregnant female dogs. We used the plasma samples obtained from four female dogs during I, II, and III thirds of pregnancy, three days after parturition, as well as from four non-pregnant female dogs in diestrus phase. Analysis of 2-DE gel image exhibited of 249 protein spots. The intensity of staining of 35 spots differed significantly (P dogs. We used matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS) to identify 47 spots corresponding to 52 different proteins. Five identified protein spots, including zinc finger BED domain-containing protein 5, hemoglobin subunit beta-2, integrator complex subunit 7, apolipoprotein A-I, and glutamyl aminopeptidase were differentially presented in the plasma of pregnant and non-pregnant female dogs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the plasma protein profile of pregnant and non-pregnant female dogs. In this study, we identified proteins that have not been previously identified in dogs. Our findings showed that numerous protein spots were differentially presented in the plasma of female dogs during normal pregnancy. Although we identified only a limited number of differentially presented proteins, our study demonstrated that the plasma protein profile changed during pregnancy in female dogs, which suggests its importance in maintaining pregnancy. Further studies are necessary to define complete plasma protein profile of pregnant female dogs and to identify all proteins that are differentially presented in the pregnant animals compared with the non-pregnant ones. In addition, studies are warranted to explain the role of those proteins in maintaining the pregnancy and their usefulness in detection of early pregnancy

Semantic priming without association: a meta-analytic review.

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Lucas, M

2000-12-01

A meta-analysis of 26 studies indicated that automatic semantic priming can occur without association. Priming did not vary substantially with differences in variables that affect automatic versus strategic processing, such as time spent processing the prime and target, relationship proportion, and task (except that average effects were smaller in the naming task). Although category coordinates were investigated in the majority of studies, synonyms, antonyms, and script relations also demonstrated priming; functional relations showed greater priming, and essential and perceptual relations showed less. The average effect size for semantic priming was smaller than that for associative priming, suggesting that there is an "associative boost" from adding an associative relationship to a semantic one. The implications of these findings for the modularity thesis and for models of semantic priming are discussed.

Use of Herbal Medicine Among Pregnant Women on Antenatal Care at Nekemte Hospital, Western Ethiopia

OpenAIRE

Bayisa, Bodena; Tatiparthi, Ramanjireddy; Mulisa, Eshetu

2014-01-01

Background: Investigations across the world confirm dramatic increment in the use of complementary and alternative medicine in pregnant women. The most important aspect is lack of awareness of pregnant women about potential effects of using traditional medicine on fetus; some herbal products may be teratogenic in human and animal models. In this area, so far, no research has been conducted in Ethiopia to assess traditional medicine use in pregnant women. Objectives: Therefore, the main object...

Seroprevalence and correlates of human T-cell lymphoma/leukemia virus type 1 antibodies among pregnant women at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria

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Okoye AE

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Augustine Ejike Okoye,1 Obike Godswill Ibegbulam,2 Robinson Chukwudi Onoh,3 Paul Olisaemeka Ezeonu,3 Ngozi I Ugwu,1 Lucky Osaheni Lawani,3 Chukwudi Simon Anigbo,2 Charles E Nonyelu21Department of Haematology and Immunology, Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, 2Department of Haematology and Immunology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH, Ituku-Ozalla, 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, NigeriaBackground: Human T-cell lymphoma/leukemia virus (HTLV-1 is a retrovirus transmitted vertically from mother to child parenterally and sexually by infected lymphocytes.Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HTLV-1 antibodies and associated risk factors for HTLV-1 infection among pregnant women in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, southeast Nigeria.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from July to October 2010. Two hundred pregnant women were recruited consecutively from the antenatal clinic. Five milliliters of blood was collected from each of the participants into a plain sterile bottle and allowed to clot. The serum obtained was stored at -20°C until required for analysis. The serum samples were then analyzed for antibodies to HTLV-1 using a one-step incubation double-antigen sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Participants' demographic characteristics and degree of exposure to the risk factors associated with HTLV-1 infection were captured using a questionnaire. Statistical analysis of results was done using SPSS version 17.Results: The average age of the pregnant women was 28.94 years (standard deviation 4.17. The age-group with the highest representation was those between the ages of 26 and 30 years. Thirty-six percent of the population was above 30 years old. The result of the tests showed that only one respondent, a 31-year-old pregnant woman tested positive for HTLV-1 antibodies. Therefore, the

Pharmacokinetics of lidocaine in nonpregnant and pregnant ewes.

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Santos, A C; Pedersen, H; Morishima, H O; Finster, M; Arthur, G R; Covino, B G

1988-12-01

The pharmacokinetics of lidocaine were studied in nonpregnant and pregnant ewes. The maternal femoral vessels were cannulated and, on the day of study, the urinary bladder was catheterized. Lidocaine HCl, 4-5 mg/kg, was administered by IV injection over 60 seconds. Serial samples of arterial blood and urine were collected over 4 hours, and drug concentrations were determined using a gas chromatographic technique. The volume of the central compartment was greater in pregnant than in nonpregnant ewes (1.51 +/- 0.20 vs. 0.96 +/- 0.16 L/kg) as was the volume of distribution at steady state (Vdss): 3.24 +/- 0.40 vs. 1.88 +/- 0.32 L/kg. The volume of distribution during the terminal exponential phase of drug elimination (Vd beta) and total clearance of lidocaine (Cl) were also higher in pregnant animals: 4.17 +/- 0.50 L/kg and 99.6 +/- 8.5 ml.min-1.kg-1, respectively; compared to 2.46 +/- 0.48 L/kg and 44.1 +/- 6.5 ml.min-1.kg-1, in nonpregnant ewes. However, the balance between these changes in Vd beta and Cl did not result in a significant difference in the elimination half-life of lidocaine (38.1 +/- 2.1 minutes in nonpregnant and 31.9 +/- 3.0 minutes in pregnant ewes). If these data are applicable to humans, the risk of drug accumulation after repeated administration of lidocaine is no greater in pregnant than in nonpregnant patients.

Priming methods in semantics and pragmatics.

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Maldonado, Mora; Spector, Benjamin; Chemla, Emmanuel

2017-01-01

Structural priming is a powerful method to inform linguistic theories. We argue that this method extends nicely beyond syntax to theories of meaning. Priming, however, should still be seen as only one of the tools available for linguistic data collection. Specifically, because priming can occur at different, potentially conflicting levels, it cannot detect every aspect of linguistic representations.

Evaluation of sleep problems in preeclamptic, healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women.

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Habibolah Khazaie

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Sleep problems are common complaints among pregnant women. This study was designed to compare subjective sleep problems in non-pregnancy condition, healthy and preeclamptic pregnancy as a major complication of pregnancy. We hypothesized that some sleep problems are more prevalent in females with preeclampsia.In this cross-sectional study, 102 women with preeclampsia, 106 healthy pregnant women in the third trimester and 103 healthy non-pregnant women were selected through random sampling. Age and parity were matched in the three groups. We used Global sleep assessment questionnaire (GSAQ to check the subjective sleep problems, and then we performed statistical analysis using Analysis of variance (ANOVA and Pearson Chi-square tests.Our findings revealed significant differences in initial insomnia (p = 0.034, fragmented sleep (p = 0.022, snoring (p<0.001, non-idiopathic insomnia (p = 0.045 and sadness and anxiety (p = 0.001 between the three groups. Some sleep problems were more common in preeclampctic compared to healthy pregnant women including initial insomnia, fragmented sleep, snoring, sleep apnea and non-idiopathic insomnia. Moreover, the subjects with preeclampsia revealed more fragmented sleep, snoring, sadness and anxiety and lack of getting enough sleep due to other activities compared to non-pregnant women.Different kinds of sleep problems can occur in subjects with preeclampsia in comparison with the non-pregnant and healthy pregnant subjects. Sleep problems should be evaluated during pregnancy, particularly in pregnant women with preeclampsia, and suitable treatment should be provided for any specific sleep problem.

Structural priming, action planning, and grammar.

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MacDonald, Maryellen C; Weiss, Daniel J

2017-01-01

Structural priming is poorly understood and cannot inform accounts of grammar for two reasons. First, those who view performance as grammar + processing will always be able to attribute psycholinguistic data to processing rather than grammar. Second, structural priming may be simply an example of hysteresis effects in general action planning. If so, then priming offers no special insight into grammar.

A single-system model predicts recognition memory and repetition priming in amnesia.

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Berry, Christopher J; Kessels, Roy P C; Wester, Arie J; Shanks, David R

2014-08-13

We challenge the claim that there are distinct neural systems for explicit and implicit memory by demonstrating that a formal single-system model predicts the pattern of recognition memory (explicit) and repetition priming (implicit) in amnesia. In the current investigation, human participants with amnesia categorized pictures of objects at study and then, at test, identified fragmented versions of studied (old) and nonstudied (new) objects (providing a measure of priming), and made a recognition memory judgment (old vs new) for each object. Numerous results in the amnesic patients were predicted in advance by the single-system model, as follows: (1) deficits in recognition memory and priming were evident relative to a control group; (2) items judged as old were identified at greater levels of fragmentation than items judged new, regardless of whether the items were actually old or new; and (3) the magnitude of the priming effect (the identification advantage for old vs new items) overall was greater than that of items judged new. Model evidence measures also favored the single-system model over two formal multiple-systems models. The findings support the single-system model, which explains the pattern of recognition and priming in amnesia primarily as a reduction in the strength of a single dimension of memory strength, rather than a selective explicit memory system deficit. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3410963-12$15.00/0.

A comparison of the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in pregnant and non pregnant women.

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Nnaji, G A; Ikechebelu, J I; Okafor, C I

2009-01-01

To compare the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and the mean parasite density in pregnant women at first antenatal visit with those of the control subjects at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi. A case control prospective survey using a structured questionnaire to collect data from pregnant women attending antenatal clinic between 1 April and 30 September 2001 and matched controls at the GOPD during the same period. Peripheral blood smears were examined in 420 pregnant women at their first antenatal visit and 200 control subjects to compare the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and mean parasite density in pregnant women and controls. The prevalence of parasitaemia was 79.3 percent (i.e. 333 of 420) for pregnant women and 31.5 percent (or 63 of 200) for the control. For both pregnant women and controls, an overall prevalence of 63.1 percent was observed. The study found the mean parasite density for the pregnant women to be 1978 +/- 1531 (Mean +/- SD), while that of the controls was 766 +/- 1923. This study demonstrates the higher prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and mean parasite density in pregnant women when compared with the matched controls.

Social priming increases nonverbal expressive behaviors in schizophrenia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Del-Monte

Full Text Available Semantic priming tasks are classically used to influence and implicitly promote target behaviors. Recently, several studies have demonstrated that prosocial semantic priming modulated feelings of social affiliation. The main aim of this study was to determine whether inducing feelings of social affiliation using priming tasks could modulate nonverbal social behaviors in schizophrenia. We used the Scrambled Sentence Task to prime schizophrenia patients according to three priming group conditions: pro-social, non-social or anti-social. Forty-five schizophrenia patients, diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR, were randomly assigned to one of the three priming groups of 15 participants. We evaluated nonverbal social behaviors using the Motor-Affective subscale of the Motor-Affective-Social-Scale. Results showed that schizophrenia patients with pro-social priming had significantly more nonverbal behaviors than schizophrenia patients with anti-social and non-social priming conditions. Schizophrenia patient behaviors are affected by social priming. Our results have several clinical implications for the rehabilitation of social skills impairments frequently encountered among individuals with schizophrenia.

Optical coding theory with Prime

CERN Document Server

Kwong, Wing C

2013-01-01

Although several books cover the coding theory of wireless communications and the hardware technologies and coding techniques of optical CDMA, no book has been specifically dedicated to optical coding theory-until now. Written by renowned authorities in the field, Optical Coding Theory with Prime gathers together in one volume the fundamentals and developments of optical coding theory, with a focus on families of prime codes, supplemented with several families of non-prime codes. The book also explores potential applications to coding-based optical systems and networks. Learn How to Construct

The Legal Rights of Pregnant Students and Pregnant Employees.

Science.gov (United States)

Evers, Irving C.

This speech presents an analysis of court cases dealing with the rights of pregnant students and pregnant employees. The discussion of these rights, such as the right to maternity leave, focuses around the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its implications for equal employment opportunity. The court cases discussed consider the application of the equal…

Priming of antiherbivore defensive responses in plants

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jinwon Kim; Gary W.Felton

2013-01-01

Defense priming is defined as increased readiness of defense induction.A growing body of literature indicates that plants (or intact parts of a plant) are primed in anticipation of impending environmental stresses,both biotic and abiotic,and upon the following stimulus,induce defenses more quickly and strongly.For instance,some plants previously exposed to herbivore-inducible plant volatiles (HIPVs) from neighboring plants under herbivore attack show faster or stronger defense activation and enhanced insect resistance when challenged with secondary insect feeding.Research on priming of antiherbivore defense has been limited to the HIPV-mediated mechanism until recently,but significant advances were made in the past three years,including non-HIPV-mediated defense priming,epigenetic modifications as the molecular mechanism of priming,and others.It is timely to consider the advances in research on defense priming in the plantinsect interactions.

Virtual traumatology of pregnant women: the PRegnant car Occupant Model for Impact Simulations (PROMIS).

Science.gov (United States)

Auriault, F; Thollon, L; Peres, J; Delotte, J; Kayvantash, K; Brunet, C; Behr, M

2014-01-03

This study report documents the development of a finite element (FE) model for analyzing trauma in pregnant women involved in road accidents and help the design of a specific safety device. The model is representative of a 50th percentile pregnant woman at 26 weeks of pregnancy in sitting position. To achieve this, the HUMOS 2 model, which has been validated in a wide range of dynamic tests, was scaled to the morphology of a woman in the 50th percentile and coupled with a model of gravid uterus. During scaling, special attention was paid to the pelvic region which is known to differ considerably in morphological terms between men and women. The gravid uterus model includes a placenta, a fetus, uterosacral ligaments and the amniotic fluid by means of fluid structure interaction formulation. The uterus and the female model were coupled using an original method whereby the growth of an uterus was simulated to compress the abdominal organs in a realistic manner. The model was validated based on experimental tests described in the literature. Additional tests based on abdominal loadings with a seatbelt on Post Mortem Human Surrogates (PMHS) coupled to silicone uterus were also performed. Results highlighted the role of the possible interaction of the fetus in the pregnant woman abdominal response. Experimental corridors taking into account the presence of this fetus could therefore be proposed. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

To buy or not buy? A review of affective priming in purchase decision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mograbi GJ

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Gabriel JC Mograbi,1 Daniel C Mograbi21Department of Philosophy, UFMT – Federal University of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso, Brazil; 2Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UKAbstract: The current paradigm of neuroeconomics goes beyond merely axiomatic models and contemplates the influence of psychological factors on economic decisions. Under this framework, the main aim of the current review is to address the influence of affective priming in purchase decision. For this purpose, we first summarize the affective priming literature, followed by a section concentrating on purchase-decision studies that show that this phenomenon is value-driven, going beyond the emotionless calculation of traditional utility models in microeconomics. Finally, both themes are connected by reviewing the available experiments investigating affective priming effects on economic and purchase decision. We discuss these findings within a framework that considers that humans, as biological entities, attribute salience to hedonic information, highlighting the value-driven nature of decision-making, especially purchase decisions.Keywords: affective priming, decision-making, purchase decision, prospective theory

Priming 3D cultures of human mesenchymal stromal cells toward cartilage formation via developmental pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Centola, Matteo; Tonnarelli, Beatrice; Schären, Stefan; Glaser, Nicolas; Barbero, Andrea; Martin, Ivan

2013-11-01

The field of regenerative medicine has increasingly recognized the importance to be inspired by developmental processes to identify signaling pathways crucial for 3D organogenesis and tissue regeneration. Here, we aimed at recapitulating the first events occurring during limb development (ie, cell condensation and expansion of an undifferentiated mesenchymal cell population) to prime 3D cultures of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hBM-MSC) toward the chondrogenic route. Based on embryonic development studies, we hypothesized that Wnt3a and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) induce hBM-MSC to proliferate in 3D culture as an undifferentiated pool of progenitors (defined by clonogenic capacity and expression of typical markers), retaining chondrogenic potential upon induction by suitable morphogens. hBM-MSC were responsive to Wnt signaling in 3D pellet culture, as assessed by significant upregulation of main target genes and increase of unphosphorylated β-catenin levels. Wnt3a was able to induce a five-fold increase in the number of proliferating hBM-MSC (6.4% vs. 1.3% in the vehicle condition), although total DNA content of the 3D construct was decreasing over time. Preconditioning with Wnt3a improved transforming growth factor-β1 mediated chondrogenesis (30% more glycosaminoglycans/cell in average). In contrast to developmental and 2D MSC culture models, FGF2 antagonized the Wnt-mediated effects. Interestingly, the CD146⁺ subpopulation was found to be more responsive to Wnt3a. The presented data indicate a possible strategy to prime 3D cultures of hBM-MSC by invoking a "developmental engineering" approach. The study also identifies some opportunities and challenges to cross-fertilize skeletal development models and 3D hBM-MSC culture systems.

Random reward priming is task-contingent: The robustness of the 1-trial reward priming effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Árni Gunnar Ásgeirsson

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Consistent financial reward of particular features influences the allocation of visual attention in many ways. More surprising are 1-trial reward priming effects on attention where reward schedules are random and reward on one trial influences attentional allocation on the next. Those findings are thought to reflect that rewarded features become more salient than unrewarded ones on the subsequent trial. Here we attempt to conceptually replicate this effect, testing its generalizability. In three versions of an analogous paradigm to the additional singleton paradigm involving singleton search for a Gabor patch of odd spatial frequency we found no evidence of reward priming, while we only partially replicate the reward priming in the exact original paradigm tested by Hickey and colleagues. The results cast doubt on the proposal that random reward enhances salience, suggested in the original papers, and highlight the need for a more nuanced account. In many other paradigms reward effects have been found to progress gradually, becoming stronger as they build up, and we argue that for robust reward priming, reward schedules need to be more consistent than in the original 1-trial reward priming paradigm.

Seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 IgG and IgM antibodies among pregnant women in Oyo State, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Abiodun, Iyanda; Opaleye, Oluyinka Oladele; Ojurongbe, Olusola; Fagbami, Ademola Hezekiah

2013-12-15

Human parvovirus B19 causes a wide range of complications in pregnant women including abortion, severe fetal anemia, non-immune hydrops fetalis, and even intrauterine fetal death. However, there is a dearth of information on the prevalence of the virus among pregnant women in southwestern Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from 231 pregnant women and screened for antibodies to human parvovirus B19 IgM and IgG using an enzyme immunosorbent assay kits. Of the 231 women, 31 were in their first trimester, 146 were in their second trimester, and 54 were in their third trimester. Forty-five (20%) were positive for parvovirus B19 IgG antibodies, 10 (4%) were positive for parvovirus B19 IgM antibodies, and 176 (76%) had no detectable parvovirus B19 antibodies. Twenty-eight (19%) of the 146 pregnant women in their second trimester were positive for parvovirus B19 IgG antibody while three (2%) of the 146 were positive for parvovirus B19 IgM antibody. It is evident that there is a high prevalence of human parvovirus B19 among pregnant women in south-western Nigeria. This suggests that there is an active transmission of the virus in the community; it is therefore necessary to conduct more studies on the virus in pregnant women in Nigeria to ascertain its effect on the fetus.

Organochlorine pesticide levels in adipose tissue of pregnant women in Veracruz, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrero-Mercado, Margarita; Waliszewski, S M; Valencia-Quintana, R; Caba, M; Hernández-Chalate, F; García-Aguilar, E; Villalba, R

2010-06-01

DDT and Lindane (gamma-HCH) which were used until 1999 in Mexico, have provided great benefits in the combat of vectors that spread infection-borne diseases and in agriculture for crop protection. The persistence in the environment and their accumulative properties results in bioconcentration in lipid rich tissues of the human body that reflect the extent of environmental pollution. Human adipose tissue samples were taken during 2009 from abdominal cavities of 69 pregnant women by cesarean surgery and from 34 samples of control donors by autopsy in Veracruz State. The samples were analyzed by gas chromatography with ECD. The results of mean levels (mg/kg on fat basis) were higher in controls compared to pregnant women beta-HCH 0.064 vs 0.027; pp'DDE 1.187 vs. 0.745; op'DDT 0.016 vs. 0.011; pp'DDT 0.117 vs. 0.099 and Sigma-DDT 1.337 vs. 0.854. The pregnant women group was divided according to age: up to 20, 20-30, and more than 30 years, and presented an increase for the more persistent pesticides with age in terms of mean concentrations and a more pronounced higher correlation in medians levels. Pairing Body Mass Index to organochlorine pesticide mean levels revealed no correlation between these factors in pregnant women.

Determination of a saliva cotinine cut-off to distinguish pregnant smokers from pregnant non-smokers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hegaard, Hanne K; Kjaergaard, Hanne; Møller, Lars F

2007-01-01

Objective validation of smoking status is necessary. Earlier studies have used saliva cotinine concentrations between 14.2 and 30 ng/ml as cut-off values to distinguish pregnant smokers from non-smokers. However, these cut-offs derive from studies including men and non-pregnant women....... This constitutes a problem, as recent studies have reported an accelerated metabolism in pregnant smokers. The aim of this study was to determine the optimum cut-off cotinine level distinguishing pregnant smokers from pregnant non-smokers....

Mechanisms of masked evaluative priming: task sets modulate behavioral and electrophysiological priming for picture and words differentially

OpenAIRE

Kiefer, Markus; Liegel, Nathalie; Zovko, Monika; Wentura, Dirk

2016-01-01

Research with the evaluative priming paradigm has shown that affective evaluation processes reliably influence cognition and behavior, even when triggered outside awareness. However, the precise mechanisms underlying such subliminal evaluative priming effects, response activation vs semantic processing, are matter of a debate. In this study, we determined the relative contribution of semantic processing and response activation to masked evaluative priming with pictures and words. To this end,...

Priming analogical reasoning with false memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, Mark L; Garner, Sarah R; Threadgold, Emma; Ball, Linden J

2015-08-01

Like true memories, false memories are capable of priming answers to insight-based problems. Recent research has attempted to extend this paradigm to more advanced problem-solving tasks, including those involving verbal analogical reasoning. However, these experiments are constrained inasmuch as problem solutions could be generated via spreading activation mechanisms (much like false memories themselves) rather than using complex reasoning processes. In three experiments we examined false memory priming of complex analogical reasoning tasks in the absence of simple semantic associations. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated the robustness of false memory priming in analogical reasoning when backward associative strength among the problem terms was eliminated. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we extended these findings by demonstrating priming on newly created homonym analogies that can only be solved by inhibiting semantic associations within the analogy. Overall, the findings of the present experiments provide evidence that the efficacy of false memory priming extends to complex analogical reasoning problems.

Priming intelligent behavior: an elusive phenomenon.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David R Shanks

Full Text Available Can behavior be unconsciously primed via the activation of attitudes, stereotypes, or other concepts? A number of studies have suggested that such priming effects can occur, and a prominent illustration is the claim that individuals' accuracy in answering general knowledge questions can be influenced by activating intelligence-related concepts such as professor or soccer hooligan. In 9 experiments with 475 participants we employed the procedures used in these studies, as well as a number of variants of those procedures, in an attempt to obtain this intelligence priming effect. None of the experiments obtained the effect, although financial incentives did boost performance. A Bayesian analysis reveals considerable evidential support for the null hypothesis. The results conform to the pattern typically obtained in word priming experiments in which priming is very narrow in its generalization and unconscious (subliminal influences, if they occur at all, are extremely short-lived. We encourage others to explore the circumstances in which this phenomenon might be obtained.

Priming Intelligent Behavior: An Elusive Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Shanks, David R.; Newell, Ben R.; Lee, Eun Hee; Balakrishnan, Divya; Ekelund, Lisa; Cenac, Zarus; Kavvadia, Fragkiski; Moore, Christopher

2013-01-01

Can behavior be unconsciously primed via the activation of attitudes, stereotypes, or other concepts? A number of studies have suggested that such priming effects can occur, and a prominent illustration is the claim that individuals' accuracy in answering general knowledge questions can be influenced by activating intelligence-related concepts such as professor or soccer hooligan. In 9 experiments with 475 participants we employed the procedures used in these studies, as well as a number of variants of those procedures, in an attempt to obtain this intelligence priming effect. None of the experiments obtained the effect, although financial incentives did boost performance. A Bayesian analysis reveals considerable evidential support for the null hypothesis. The results conform to the pattern typically obtained in word priming experiments in which priming is very narrow in its generalization and unconscious (subliminal) influences, if they occur at all, are extremely short-lived. We encourage others to explore the circumstances in which this phenomenon might be obtained. PMID:23637732

First-in-Human Evaluation of the Safety and Immunogenicity of an Intranasally Administered Replication-Competent Sendai Virus-Vectored HIV Type 1 Gag Vaccine: Induction of Potent T-Cell or Antibody Responses in Prime-Boost Regimens.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyombayire, Julien; Anzala, Omu; Gazzard, Brian; Karita, Etienne; Bergin, Philip; Hayes, Peter; Kopycinski, Jakub; Omosa-Manyonyi, Gloria; Jackson, Akil; Bizimana, Jean; Farah, Bashir; Sayeed, Eddy; Parks, Christopher L; Inoue, Makoto; Hironaka, Takashi; Hara, Hiroto; Shu, Tsugumine; Matano, Tetsuro; Dally, Len; Barin, Burc; Park, Harriet; Gilmour, Jill; Lombardo, Angela; Excler, Jean-Louis; Fast, Patricia; Laufer, Dagna S; Cox, Josephine H

2017-01-01

 We report the first-in-human safety and immunogenicity assessment of a prototype intranasally administered, replication-competent Sendai virus (SeV)-vectored, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine.  Sixty-five HIV-1-uninfected adults in Kenya, Rwanda, and the United Kingdom were assigned to receive 1 of 4 prime-boost regimens (administered at 0 and 4 months, respectively; ratio of vaccine to placebo recipients, 12:4): priming with a lower-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally, followed by boosting with an adenovirus 35-vectored vaccine encoding HIV-1 Gag, reverse transcriptase, integrase, and Nef (Ad35-GRIN) given intramuscularly (S L A); priming with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally, followed by boosting with Ad35-GRIN given intramuscularly (S H A); priming with Ad35-GRIN given intramuscularly, followed by boosting with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally (AS H ); and priming and boosting with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally (S H S H ).  All vaccine regimens were well tolerated. Gag-specific IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot-determined response rates and geometric mean responses were higher (96% and 248 spot-forming units, respectively) in groups primed with SeV-Gag and boosted with Ad35-GRIN (S L A and S H A) than those after a single dose of Ad35-GRIN (56% and 54 spot-forming units, respectively) or SeV-Gag (55% and 59 spot-forming units, respectively); responses persisted for ≥8 months after completion of the prime-boost regimen. Functional CD8 + T-cell responses with greater breadth, magnitude, and frequency in a viral inhibition assay were also seen in the S L A and S H A groups after Ad35-GRIN boost, compared with those who received either vaccine alone. SeV-Gag did not boost T-cell counts in the AS H group. In contrast, the highest Gag-specific antibody titers were seen in the AS H group. Mucosal antibody responses were sporadic.  SeV-Gag primed functional, durable HIV-specific T-cell responses and boosted antibody

MPQS with three large primes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leyland, P.; Lenstra, A.K.; Dodson, B.; Muffett, A.; Wagstaff, S.; Fieker, C.; Kohel, D.R.

2002-01-01

We report the factorization of a 135-digit integer by the triple-large-prime variation of the multiple polynomial quadratic sieve. Previous workers [6][10] had suggested that using more than two large primes would be counterproductive, because of the greatly increased number of false reports from

Shifting evaluation windows : predictable forward primes with long SOAs eliminate the impact of backward primes.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fockenberg, D. A. F.; Koole, S.L.; Lakens, D.; Semin, G.R.

2013-01-01

Recent work suggests that people evaluate target stimuli within short and flexible time periods called evaluation windows. Stimuli that briefly precede a target (forward primes) or briefly succeed a target (backward primes) are often included in the target's evaluation. In this article, the authors

Wheat seed enhancement by vitamin and hormonal priming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, M.B.; Gurchani, M.A.; Hussain, M.

2011-01-01

Seed priming has proven beneficial in many important agricultural crops. The present study was conducted to explore the role (if any) of hormonal and vitamin seed priming to improve the germination, seedling emergence, early seedling establishment, electrolyte leakage and nutrients uptake in wheat seedlings. The wheat seeds were soaked for 48 hours in aerated solution of salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, kinetin and GA3 with 20 ppm concentration of each solution, whereas untreated seeds were taken as control. Seed priming with ascorbic acid resulted in maximum final germination and emergence percentage (FGP and FEP), radical and plumule length, root and shoot length, number of secondary roots, root shoot ratio, root dry weight, shoot dry weight and seedling dry weight compared to control (untreated seeds). Minimum mean germination and emergence time (MGT and MET) was recorded in seeds primed with kinetin and GA3. While in case of biochemical attributes, seedling potassium contents were decreased by hormonal seed priming while total soluble sugars were increased by salicylic acid and ascorbic acid seed priming. Hormonal seed priming had non-significant effect on phosphorus seedling contents. Untreated (Control) seeds showed maximum electrical conductivity at 0.5, 1, 2, 6, 12 and 24 h after inbibition than primed seeds against the minimum electrical conductivity that was recorded in seeds primed with salicylic acid and ascorbic acid. In conclusion, the wheat seeds primed with 20 ppm solution of ascorbic acid may be used for wheat seed invigoration. (author)

Serum Adiponectin, Visfatin, and Omentin Compared between Non-pregnant and Pregnant Women in Overall, Non-obese, and Obese subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chantacha Sitticharoon, M.D., Ph.D.

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study aimed to compare serum adiponectin, visfatin, and omentin between non-pregnant and pregnant women in overall, non-obese, and obese subjects. Methods: There were 40 pregnant and 33 non-pregnant women classified by body mass index (BMI into non-obese or obese subjects. Fasting blood samples were collected in the morning for the non-pregnant group and before delivery for the pregnant group. Results: Plasma glucose levels were significantly lower, but plasma insulin levels were significantly higher in pregnant when compared to non-pregnant women in overall, non-obese, and obese women (p<0.05 all. The homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR was significantly higher, but the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI was significantly lower only in obese pregnant when compared to obese non-pregnant women (p<0.01 all. However, in non-obese women, HOMA-IR and QUICKI were comparable between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Serum adiponectin, visfatin, and omentin were significantly lower in pregnant compared to non-pregnant women in overall, non-obese, and obese groups (p<0.05 all. In pregnant women, serum adiponectin and omentin levels were significantly lower in obese compared to non-obese pregnant women while serum visfatin levels were comparable in both groups. Serum adiponectin levels were highest followed by omentin and visfatin, respectively in both non-obese and obese pregnant groups. These results indicated that lower serum adiponectin, visfatin, and omentin in pregnant women might contribute to higher insulin resistance in pregnancy. Furthermore, serum adiponectin and omentin were reduced in increasing adiposity similarly to non-pregnant women. Conclusion: Lower serum adiponectin, visfatin, and omentin in pregnant women might lead to decreased insulin sensitivity in these women.

Endogenous digitals-like factor in pregnant and non-pregnant women

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clerico, A.; Del Chicca, M.G.; Balzan, S.; Strigini, F.; Melis, G.B.; Fruzzetti, F.; Bernardini, G.; Fioretti, P.

1988-01-01

Elevated plasma levels of an endogenous factor with digoxin-like immunoreactivity (DLIS) was recently found in pregnant women, and it has been postulated to play a role in the regulation of fluids and electrolytes, as well as in the pathogenesis of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. The authors have studied the plasma levels of DLIS in normal women (before and after treatment with contraceptive pills) and in pregnant women (either normotensive or hypertensive), during the gestional and the post-partum period using a sensitive RIA method. In addition, the authors have measured the inhibition of binding activity of 3 H-ouabain to intact erythrocytes in 7 plasma samples collected from healthy adults and in 5 plasma samples of women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. In 8 normal cycling women DLIS levels were similar during the follicular phase (24.9±6.2 pg/ml d.e.) and the luteal phase (22.6±4.7 pg/ml d.e.9. Six months treatment with different preparations of contraceptive pills did not affect the concentrations of DLIS. In a cross-sectional study performed on 171 healthy pregnant women a significant increase (p 3 Houbain extracts of pregnant women as compared to normal adults, with a significant correlation between the data obtained with RIA and RRA method. On the other hand, no significant differences in DLIS levels were found between singleton and 9 twin pregnancies, and also between non-hypertensive and 8 hypertensive pregnant women. This data confirm that the plasma concentration of an endogenous factor (or a group of substances) with cardiac glycoside-like activity is significantly increased in pregnant women. However, further studies are necessary to well charcterize the possible role of DLIS in the pathphysiology of hypertension in pregnancy

Assessment of lipid and protein peroxidation markers in non-pregnant and pregnant female dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Szczubiał, M; Kankofer, M; Dąbrowski, R; Bochniarz, M; Urban-Chmiel, R

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate oxidative stress during normal pregnancy in female dogs based on an evaluation of plasma markers for lipid and protein peroxidation. Twenty clinically healthy female dogs (10 non-pregnant and 10 pregnant) were used in the study. Blood samples from the pregnant animals were collected at 19-21, 38-40, and 56-58 days of pregnancy. Blood samples from non-pregnant female dogs were obtained between 20 and 35 days after ineffective breeding. As indicators of oxidative stress, we measured the following using spectrophotometric and spectrof- luorimetric methods: thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), radical cations of N,N, diethylparaphenylene diamine (RC-DEPPD), sulfhydryl groups (SH groups), bityrosine and formylkynurenine. The mean plasma TBARS concentration in the pregnant dogs (0.486 ± 0.071-0.581 ± 0.191 μmol/g protein) was significantly higher (p pregnant animals (0.274 ± 0.111 μmol/g protein). A marked, although not significant, decrease in SH group content, as well as an increase in bityrosine and formylkynurenine concentration were concurrently observed in the pregnant dogs. No significant differences were found in terms of the studied markers in the pregnant animals when comparing the values obtained during the investigated periods of pregnancy, although there was a progressive decrease in TBARS concentration and a progressive increase in RC-DEPPD, bityrosine and formylkynurenine contents. Our findings suggest that normal pregnancy in female dogs is associated with oxidative stress. Further studies are necessary to establish the physiological ranges of antioxidative/oxidative profiles in pregnant dogs and to explain if and how the intensity of oxidative stress might contribute to the risk of the complications of pregnancy.

Lexical priming in Alzheimer's disease and aphasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Arroyo-Anlló, Eva Maria; Beauchamps, Mireille; Ingrand, Pierre; Neau, Jean Philippe; Gil, Roger

2013-01-01

Lexical priming was examined in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in aphasic patients. Control participants were divided into young and elderly [cf. Arroyo-Anlló et al.: Eur J Cogn Psychol 2004;16:535-553]. For lexical priming, a word-stem completion task was used. Normal elderly participants had lexical priming scores that were significantly lower than those of young individuals. Analysis of covariance with age and educational level as covariates showed that the control participants, aphasic and Alzheimer patients did not differ significantly on the lexical priming task. Our results suggest that performance in the lexical priming task diminishes with physiological aging, but is not significantly affected by mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease or by fluent or non-fluent aphasia. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Achieving Body Weight Adjustments for Feeding Status and Pregnant or Non-Pregnant Condition in Beef Cows

Science.gov (United States)

Gionbelli, Mateus P.; Duarte, Marcio S.; Valadares Filho, Sebastião C.; Detmann, Edenio; Chizzotti, Mario L.; Rodrigues, Felipe C.; Zanetti, Diego; Gionbelli, Tathyane R. S.; Machado, Marcelo G.

2015-01-01

Background Beef cows herd accounts for 70% of the total energy used in the beef production system. However, there are still limited studies regarding improvement of production efficiency in this category, mainly in developing countries and in tropical areas. One of the limiting factors is the difficulty to obtain reliable estimates of weight variation in mature cows. This occurs due to the interaction of weight of maternal tissues with specific physiological stages such as pregnancy. Moreover, variation in gastrointestinal contents due to feeding status in ruminant animals is a major source of error in body weight measurements. Objectives Develop approaches to estimate the individual proportion of weight from maternal tissues and from gestation in pregnant cows, adjusting for feeding status and stage of gestation. Methods and Findings Dataset of 49 multiparous non-lactating Nellore cows (32 pregnant and 17 non-pregnant) were used. To establish the relationships between the body weight, depending on the feeding status of pregnant and non-pregnant cows as a function of days of pregnancy, a set of general equations was tested, based on theoretical suppositions. We proposed the concept of pregnant compound (PREG), which represents the weight that is genuinely related to pregnancy. The PREG includes the gravid uterus minus the non-pregnant uterus plus the accretion in udder related to pregnancy. There was no accretion in udder weight up to 238 days of pregnancy. By subtracting the PREG from live weight of a pregnant cow, we obtained estimates of the weight of only maternal tissues in pregnant cows. Non-linear functions were adjusted to estimate the relationship between fasted, non-fasted and empty body weight, for pregnant and non-pregnant cows. Conclusions Our results allow for estimating the actual live weight of pregnant cows and their body constituents, and subsequent comparison as a function of days of gestation and feeding status. PMID:25793770

[Frequency of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) for pregnant and non-pregnant women].

Science.gov (United States)

Dufloth, Rozany Mucha; Vieira, Luiz Fernando Fonseca; Xavier Júnior, José Candido Caldeira; Vale, Diama Bhadra; Zeferino, Luiz Carlos

2015-05-01

To compare the frequency of an ASCUS Pap Smear result in pregnant and non-pregnant women, stratified by age group. We analyzed the results of 1,336,180 cytopathologyc exams of Pap smears performed between 2000 and 2009 (ten years) with the purpose of screening for cervical carcinoma. Comparisons were made between pregnant and non-pregnant women, and the sample was stratified into three age groups (20-24, 25-29 and 30-34 years). The χ2 test was used and the magnitude of association was determined by the by Odds Ratio (OR) with the 95% confidence interval (95%CI). A Total of 447,489 samples were excluded on the basis of the criteria adopted, for a total final sample of 37,137 pregnant women and 851,554 non-pregnant women. An ASCUS result was detected in 1.2% of cases, with a significant difference between pregnant and non-pregnant women in the age groups of 20-24 years (OR=0.85; 95%CI 0.75-0.97) and 25-29 years (OR=0.78; 95%CI 0.63-0.96). There was no difference in the group between 30-34 years (OR=0.76; 95%CI 0.57-1.03). This study suggested that non-pregnant women have a higher frequency of ASCUS, most evident in the age group of 20 to 29 years. The collection of cervical cancer screening should not be a compulsory part of the prenatal routine.

Investigation of the optimal timing for chondrogenic priming of MSCs to enhance osteogenic differentiation in vitro as a bone tissue engineering strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, F E; Haugh, M G; McNamara, L M

2016-04-01

Recent in vitro tissue engineering approaches have shown that chondrogenic priming of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can have a positive effect on osteogenesis in vivo. However, whether chondrogenic priming is an effective in vitro bone regeneration strategy is not yet known. In particular, the appropriate timing for chondrogenic priming in vitro is unknown albeit that in vivo cartilage formation persists for a specific period before bone formation. The objective of this study is to determine the optimum time for chondrogenic priming of MSCs to enhance osteogenic differentiation by MSCs in vitro. Pellets derived from murine and human MSCs were cultured in six different media groups: two control groups (chondrogenic and osteogenic) and four chondrogenic priming groups (10, 14, 21 and 28 days priming). Biochemical analyses (Hoechst, sulfate glycosaminoglycan (sGAG), Alkaline Phosphate (ALP), calcium), histology (Alcian Blue, Alizarin Red) and immunohistochemistry (collagen types I, II and X) were performed on the samples at specific times. Our results show that after 49 days the highest amount of sGAG production occurred in MSCs chondrogenically primed for 21 days and 28 days. Moreover we found that chondrogenic priming of MSCs in vitro for specific amounts of time (14 days, 21 days) can have optimum influence on their mineralization capacity and can produce a construct that is mineralized throughout the core. Determining the optimum time for chondrogenic priming to enhance osteogenic differentiation in vitro provides information that might lead to a novel regenerative treatment for large bone defects, as well as addressing the major limitation of core degradation and construct failure. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The prime numbers and their distribution

CERN Document Server

Tenenbaum, Gerald

2000-01-01

One notable new direction this century in the study of primes has been the influx of ideas from probability. The goal of this book is to provide insights into the prime numbers and to describe how a sequence so tautly determined can incorporate such a striking amount of randomness. The book opens with some classic topics of number theory. It ends with a discussion of some of the outstanding conjectures in number theory. In between are an excellent chapter on the stochastic properties of primes and a walk through an elementary proof of the Prime Number Theorem. This book is suitable for anyone who has had a little number theory and some advanced calculus involving estimates. Its engaging style and invigorating point of view will make refreshing reading for advanced undergraduates through research mathematicians.

Semantic transparency affects morphological priming . . . eventually.

Science.gov (United States)

Heyer, Vera; Kornishova, Dana

2018-05-01

Semantic transparency has been in the focus of psycholinguistic research for decades, with the controversy about the time course of the application of morpho-semantic information during the processing of morphologically complex words not yet resolved. This study reports two masked priming studies with English - ness and Russian - ost' nominalisations, investigating how semantic transparency modulates native speakers' morphological priming effects at short and long stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). In both languages, we found increased morphological priming for nominalisations at the transparent end of the scale (e.g. paleness - pale) in comparison to items at the opaque end of the scale (e.g. business - busy) but only at longer prime durations. The present findings are in line with models that posit an initial phase of morpho-orthographic (semantically blind) decomposition.

Distribution of 131I-labeled recombinant human erythropoietin in maternal and fetal organs following intravenous administration in pregnant rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yilmaz, O.; Lambrecht, F.Y.; Durkan, K.; Gokmen, N.; Erbayraktar, S.

2007-01-01

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the possible transplacental transmission of 131 I labeled recombinant human erythropoietin ( 131 I-rh-EPO) in pregnant rats and its distribution through maternal and fetal organs. Six Wistar Albino Rats in their pregnancy of 18 days were used 131 I labeled recombinant human erythropoietin (specific activity = 2.4 μCi/IU) was injected into the tail vein of rats. After 30 minutes labeled erythropoietin infusion maternal stomach, kidney, lung, liver, brain and heart as well as fetus were removed. Then, the same organs were removed from each fetus. Measuring weight of maternal and fetal organs as well as placenta were followed by radioactivity count via Cd(Te) detector. 131 I labeled recombinant human erythropoietin was found to be able to pass rat placenta and its distribution order in fetal organs was similar to those of maternal organs. Besides, as measurements were performed closer to cornu uteri, uptakes were decreasing in every fetus and its corresponding placenta. (author)

Continued Funding for Prime Development

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-18

PHP language with the help of CMF Drupal-6. The standard modules of the Drupal core set are developed by third parties and obtained from the...repository drupal.org. Part of the modules was modified specifically for the PrIMe portal. The PrIMe portal uses MySQL for the database technology. It is

First report of human parechovirus type 3 infection in a pregnant woman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makiko Shinomoto

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Human parechovirus type 3 (HPeV3 can cause serious conditions in neonates, such as sepsis and encephalitis, but data for adults are lacking. The case of a pregnant woman with HPeV3 infection is reported herein. A 28-year-old woman at 36 weeks of pregnancy was admitted because of myalgia and muscle weakness. Her grip strength was 6.0 kg for her right hand and 2.5 kg for her left hand. The patient’s symptoms, probably due to fasciitis and not myositis, improved gradually with conservative treatment, however labor pains with genital bleeding developed unexpectedly 3 days after admission. An obstetric consultation was obtained and a cesarean section was performed, with no complications. A real-time PCR assay for the detection of viral genomic ribonucleic acid against HPeV showed positive results for pharyngeal swabs, feces, and blood, and negative results for the placenta, umbilical cord, umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid, and breast milk. The HPeV3 was genotyped by sequencing of the VP1 region. The woman made a full recovery and was discharged with her infant in a stable condition.

STIM and Orai isoform expression in pregnant human myometrium: a potential role in calcium signaling during pregnancy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evonne eChin-Smith

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Store-operated calcium (Ca2+ entry (SOCE can be mediated by two novel proteins, STIM/Orai. We have previously demonstrated that members of the TRPC family, putative basal and store operated calcium entry channels, are present in human myometrium and regulated by labor associated stimuli IL-1β and mechanical stretch. Although STIM and Orai isoforms (1-3 have been reported in other smooth muscle cell types, there is little known about the expression or gestational regulation of STIM and Orai expression in human myometrium. Total RNA was isolated from lower segment human myometrial biopsies obtained at caesarean section from women at the time of preterm no labor (PTNL, preterm labor (PTL, term non-labor (TNL and term with labor (TL; primary cultured human uterine smooth muscle cells, and a human myometrial cell line (hTERT-HM. STIM1-2, and Orai1-3 mRNA expression was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR. All five genes were expressed in myometrial tissue and cultured cells. Orai2 was the most abundant Orai isoform in human myometrium. Expression of STIM1-2/Orai1-3 did not alter with the onset of labor. Orai1 mRNA expression in cultured cells was enhanced by IL-1β treatment. This novel report of STIM1-2 and Orai1-3 mRNA expression in pregnant human myometrium and Orai1 regulation by IL-1β indicates a potential role for these proteins in calcium signaling in human myometrium during pregnancy.

Do Men Produce Higher Quality Ejaculates When Primed With Thoughts of Partner Infidelity?

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Pham, Michael N; Barbaro, Nicole; Holub, Andrew M; Holden, Christopher J; Mogilski, Justin K; Lopes, Guilherme S; Nicolas, Sylis C A; Sela, Yael; Shackelford, Todd K; Zeigler-Hill, Virgil; Welling, Lisa L M

2018-01-01

Sperm competition theory can be used to generate the hypothesis that men alter the quality of their ejaculates as a function of sperm competition risk. Using a repeated measures experimental design, we investigated whether men produce a higher quality ejaculate when primed with cues to sperm competition (i.e., imagined partner infidelity) relative to a control prime. Men ( n = 45) submitted two masturbatory ejaculates-one ejaculate sample for each condition (i.e., sperm competition and control conditions). Ejaculates were assessed on 17 clinical parameters. The results did not support the hypothesis: Men did not produce higher quality ejaculates in the sperm competition condition relative to the control condition. Despite the null results of the current research, there is evidence for psychological and physiological adaptations to sperm competition in humans. We discuss methodological limitations that may have produced the null results and present methodological suggestions for research on human sperm competition.

Estimation of DMFT, Salivary Streptococcus Mutans Count, Flow Rate, Ph, and Salivary Total Calcium Content in Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Women: A Prospective Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamate, Wasim Ismail; Vibhute, Nupura Aniket; Baad, Rajendra Krishna

2017-04-01

Pregnancy, a period from conception till birth, causes changes in the functioning of the human body as a whole and specifically in the oral cavity that may favour the emergence of dental caries. Many studies have shown pregnant women at increased risk for dental caries, however, specific salivary caries risk factors and the particular period of pregnancy at heightened risk for dental caries are yet to be explored and give a scope of further research in this area. The aim of the present study was to assess the severity of dental caries in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women by evaluating parameters like Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) index, salivary Streptococcus mutans count, flow rate, pH and total calcium content. A total of 50 first time pregnant women in the first trimester were followed during their second trimester, third trimester and postpartum period for the evaluation of DMFT by World Health Organization (WHO) scoring criteria, salivary flow rate by drooling method, salivary pH by pH meter, salivary total calcium content by bioassay test kit and salivary Streptococcus mutans count by semiautomatic counting of colonies grown on Mitis Salivarius (MS) agar supplemented by 0.2U/ml of bacitracin and 10% sucrose. The observations of pregnant women were then compared with same parameters evaluated in the 50 non-pregnant women. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon sign rank test were performed to assess the association between the study parameters. Evaluation of different caries risk factors between pregnant and non-pregnant women clearly showed that pregnant women were at a higher risk for dental caries. Comparison of caries risk parameters during the three trimesters and postpartum period showed that the salivary Streptococcus mutans count had significantly increased in the second trimester , third trimester and postpartum period while the mean pH and mean salivary total calcium content decreased in the third trimester and postpartum period. These

Estimation of DMFT, Salivary Streptococcus Mutans Count, Flow Rate, Ph, and Salivary Total Calcium Content in Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Women: A Prospective Study

Science.gov (United States)

Vibhute, Nupura Aniket; Baad, Rajendra Krishna

2017-01-01

Introduction Pregnancy, a period from conception till birth, causes changes in the functioning of the human body as a whole and specifically in the oral cavity that may favour the emergence of dental caries. Many studies have shown pregnant women at increased risk for dental caries, however, specific salivary caries risk factors and the particular period of pregnancy at heightened risk for dental caries are yet to be explored and give a scope of further research in this area. Aim The aim of the present study was to assess the severity of dental caries in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women by evaluating parameters like Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) index, salivary Streptococcus mutans count, flow rate, pH and total calcium content. Materials and Methods A total of 50 first time pregnant women in the first trimester were followed during their second trimester, third trimester and postpartum period for the evaluation of DMFT by World Health Organization (WHO) scoring criteria, salivary flow rate by drooling method, salivary pH by pH meter, salivary total calcium content by bioassay test kit and salivary Streptococcus mutans count by semiautomatic counting of colonies grown on Mitis Salivarius (MS) agar supplemented by 0.2U/ml of bacitracin and 10% sucrose. The observations of pregnant women were then compared with same parameters evaluated in the 50 non-pregnant women. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon sign rank test were performed to assess the association between the study parameters. Results Evaluation of different caries risk factors between pregnant and non-pregnant women clearly showed that pregnant women were at a higher risk for dental caries. Comparison of caries risk parameters during the three trimesters and postpartum period showed that the salivary Streptococcus mutans count had significantly increased in the second trimester, third trimester and postpartum period while the mean pH and mean salivary total calcium content decreased in the third

Rapid modulation of spoken word recognition by visual primes.

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Okano, Kana; Grainger, Jonathan; Holcomb, Phillip J

2016-02-01

In a masked cross-modal priming experiment with ERP recordings, spoken Japanese words were primed with words written in one of the two syllabary scripts of Japanese. An early priming effect, peaking at around 200ms after onset of the spoken word target, was seen in left lateral electrode sites for Katakana primes, and later effects were seen for both Hiragana and Katakana primes on the N400 ERP component. The early effect is thought to reflect the efficiency with which words in Katakana script make contact with sublexical phonological representations involved in spoken language comprehension, due to the particular way this script is used by Japanese readers. This demonstrates fast-acting influences of visual primes on the processing of auditory target words, and suggests that briefly presented visual primes can influence sublexical processing of auditory target words. The later N400 priming effects, on the other hand, most likely reflect cross-modal influences on activity at the level of whole-word phonology and semantics.

Prime implicants in dynamic reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyrväinen, Tero

2016-01-01

This paper develops an improved definition of a prime implicant for the needs of dynamic reliability analysis. Reliability analyses often aim to identify minimal cut sets or prime implicants, which are minimal conditions that cause an undesired top event, such as a system's failure. Dynamic reliability analysis methods take the time-dependent behaviour of a system into account. This means that the state of a component can change in the analysed time frame and prime implicants can include the failure of a component at different time points. There can also be dynamic constraints on a component's behaviour. For example, a component can be non-repairable in the given time frame. If a non-repairable component needs to be failed at a certain time point to cause the top event, we consider that the condition that it is failed at the latest possible time point is minimal, and the condition in which it fails earlier non-minimal. The traditional definition of a prime implicant does not account for this type of time-related minimality. In this paper, a new definition is introduced and illustrated using a dynamic flowgraph methodology model. - Highlights: • A new definition of a prime implicant is developed for dynamic reliability analysis. • The new definition takes time-related minimality into account. • The new definition is needed in dynamic flowgraph methodology. • Results can be represented by a smaller number of prime implicants.

48 CFR 45.501 - Prime contractor alternate locations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Prime contractor alternate... CONTRACT MANAGEMENT GOVERNMENT PROPERTY Support Government Property Administration 45.501 Prime contractor... administration from another contract administration office, for purposes of evaluating prime contractor...

Deciding Where to Attend: Priming of Pop-Out Drives Target Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Brascamp, Jan W.; Blake, Randolph; Kristjansson, Arni

2011-01-01

With attention and eye-movements humans orient to targets of interest. This orienting occurs faster when the same target repeats: priming of pop-out (PoP). While reaction times (RTs) can be important, PoP's real function could be to steer "where" to orient, a possibility underexposed in many current paradigms, as these predesignate a target to…

Event generators for {{\\eta }}/{{{\\eta }}}^{^{\\prime} } decays at BESIII

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Nian; Zhang, Zhen-Yu; Fang, Shuang-Shi; Zhou, Xiang; Du, Lin-Lin; Qiao, Hao-Xue

2018-01-01

The light unflavoured meson {{η }}/{{{η }}}^{\\prime } decays are valuable for testing non-perturbative quantum chromodynamics and exploring new physics beyond the Standard Model. This paper describes a series of event generators, including {{η }}/{{{η }}}^{\\prime }\\to {{γ }}{{{l}}}+{{{l}}}-, {{η }}/{{{η }}}^{\\prime }\\to {{γ }}{{{π }}}+{{{π }}}-, {{{η }}}^{\\prime }\\to {{ω }}{{{e}}}+{{{e}}}-, {{η }}\\to {{{π }}}+{{{π }}}-{{{π }}}0, {{η }}/{{{η }}}^{\\prime }\\to {{{π }}}0{{{π }}}0{{{π }}}0, {{{η }}}^{\\prime }\\to {{η }}{{π }}{{π }} and {{{η }}}^{\\prime }\\to {{{π }}}+{{{π }}}-{{{π }}}+{{{π }}}-/{{{π }}}+{{{π }}}-{{{π }}}0{{{π }}}0, which have been developed for investigating {{η }}/{{{η }}}^{\\prime } decay dynamics. For most of these generators, their usability has been validated in BESIII analyses for determining the detection efficiency, and background studies. The consistency between data and Monte Carlo shows that these generators work well in the BESIII simulation, and will also be useful for ongoing BESIII analyses and other experiments for studying {{η }}/{{{η }}}^{\\prime } physics. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (11205117, 11575133, 11675184), the China Scholarship Council (201506275156), the Wuhan University PhD Short-time Mobility Program 2016, the Joint Funds of the NSFC and Henan Province (U1504112)

Seroprevalence and correlates of human T-cell lymphoma/leukemia virus type 1 antibodies among pregnant women at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Okoye, Augustine Ejike; Ibegbulam, Obike Godswill; Onoh, Robinson Chukwudi; Ezeonu, Paul Olisaemeka; Ugwu, Ngozi I; Lawani, Lucky Osaheni; Anigbo, Chukwudi Simon; Nonyelu, Charles E

2014-01-01

Human T-cell lymphoma/leukemia virus (HTLV)-1 is a retrovirus transmitted vertically from mother to child parenterally and sexually by infected lymphocytes. The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HTLV-1 antibodies and associated risk factors for HTLV-1 infection among pregnant women in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, southeast Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was carried out from July to October 2010. Two hundred pregnant women were recruited consecutively from the antenatal clinic. Five milliliters of blood was collected from each of the participants into a plain sterile bottle and allowed to clot. The serum obtained was stored at -20°C until required for analysis. The serum samples were then analyzed for antibodies to HTLV-1 using a one-step incubation double-antigen sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Participants' demographic characteristics and degree of exposure to the risk factors associated with HTLV-1 infection were captured using a questionnaire. Statistical analysis of results was done using SPSS version 17. The average age of the pregnant women was 28.94 years (standard deviation 4.17). The age-group with the highest representation was those between the ages of 26 and 30 years. Thirty-six percent of the population was above 30 years old. The result of the tests showed that only one respondent, a 31-year-old pregnant woman tested positive for HTLV-1 antibodies. Therefore, the seroprevalence of HTLV-1 antibodies among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital was 0.5%, with a 95% confidence interval of 0%-2.8%. Some of the sociodemographic risk factors of HTLV-1 infection found to be applicable to the 31-year-old woman who tested positive included positive history of previous sexually transmitted diseases, high parity, low socioeconomic status, female sex, and age above 30 years. The pregnant women that participated in this study were exposed to risk

The frequency attenuation effect in identity and associative priming.

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Nievas, Francisco

2010-05-01

Three lexical decision experiments were carried out, where the masked priming paradigm is used to study the role of the frequency attenuation effect (more priming in low-frequency target words than in high-frequency target words) in repetition and associative priming, manipulating Prime Duration (PD) and Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA). A new concept was introduced, Minimum Time Threshold (MTT), this is, the minimum time interval of exposure to the masked word in order to become aware of it. Results support the notion that MTT is a key to the appearance of the frequency attenuation effect when enough word processing time is allowed. Results do not support the unified explanation of masked priming and long-term priming as proposed by Bodner and Masson (2001). Moreover, information feedback from the semantic level was not the reason for the frequency attenuation effect in repetition priming.

Subliminal presentation of emotionally negative vs positive primes increases the perceived beauty of target stimuli.

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Era, Vanessa; Candidi, Matteo; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria

2015-11-01

Emotions have a profound influence on aesthetic experiences. Studies using affective priming procedures demonstrate, for example, that inducing a conscious negative emotional state biases the perception of abstract stimuli towards the sublime (Eskine et al. Emotion 12:1071-1074, 2012. doi: 10.1037/a0027200). Moreover, subliminal happy facial expressions have a positive impact on the aesthetic evaluation of abstract art (Flexas et al. PLoS ONE 8:e80154, 2013). Little is known about how emotion influences aesthetic perception of non-abstract, representational stimuli, especially those that are particularly relevant for social behaviour, like human bodies. Here, we explore whether the subliminal presentation of emotionally charged visual primes modulates the explicit subjective aesthetic judgment of body images. Using a forward/backward masking procedure, we presented subliminally positive and negative, arousal-matched, emotional or neutral primes and measured their effect on the explicit evaluation of perceived beauty (high vs low) and emotion (positive vs negative) evoked by abstract and body images. We found that negative primes increased subjective aesthetic evaluations of target bodies or abstract images in comparison with positive primes. No influence of primes on the emotional dimension of the targets was found, thus ruling out an unspecific arousal effect and strengthening the link between emotional valence and aesthetic appreciation. More specifically, that subliminal negative primes increase beauty ratings compared to subliminal positive primes indicates a clear link between negative emotions and positive aesthetic evaluations and vice versa, suggesting a possible link between negative emotion and the experience of sublime in art. The study expands previous research by showing the effect of subliminal negative emotions on the subjective aesthetic evaluation not only of abstract but also of body images.

The effects of divided attention on auditory priming.

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Mulligan, Neil W; Duke, Marquinn; Cooper, Angela W

2007-09-01

Traditional theorizing stresses the importance of attentional state during encoding for later memory, based primarily on research with explicit memory. Recent research has begun to investigate the role of attention in implicit memory but has focused almost exclusively on priming in the visual modality. The present experiments examined the effect of divided attention on auditory implicit memory, using auditory perceptual identification, word-stem completion and word-fragment completion. Participants heard study words under full attention conditions or while simultaneously carrying out a distractor task (the divided attention condition). In Experiment 1, a distractor task with low response frequency failed to disrupt later auditory priming (but diminished explicit memory as assessed with auditory recognition). In Experiment 2, a distractor task with greater response frequency disrupted priming on all three of the auditory priming tasks as well as the explicit test. These results imply that although auditory priming is less reliant on attention than explicit memory, it is still greatly affected by at least some divided-attention manipulations. These results are consistent with research using visual priming tasks and have relevance for hypotheses regarding attention and auditory priming.

Affective priming using facial expressions modulates liking for abstract art.

Science.gov (United States)

Flexas, Albert; Rosselló, Jaume; Christensen, Julia F; Nadal, Marcos; Olivera La Rosa, Antonio; Munar, Enric

2013-01-01

We examined the influence of affective priming on the appreciation of abstract artworks using an evaluative priming task. Facial primes (showing happiness, disgust or no emotion) were presented under brief (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony, SOA = 20 ms) and extended (SOA = 300 ms) conditions. Differences in aesthetic liking for abstract paintings depending on the emotion expressed in the preceding primes provided a measure of the priming effect. The results showed that, for the extended SOA, artworks were liked more when preceded by happiness primes and less when preceded by disgust primes. Facial expressions of happiness, though not of disgust, exerted similar effects in the brief SOA condition. Subjective measures and a forced-choice task revealed no evidence of prime awareness in the suboptimal condition. Our results are congruent with findings showing that the affective transfer elicited by priming biases evaluative judgments, extending previous research to the domain of aesthetic appreciation.

Affective priming using facial expressions modulates liking for abstract art.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Flexas

Full Text Available We examined the influence of affective priming on the appreciation of abstract artworks using an evaluative priming task. Facial primes (showing happiness, disgust or no emotion were presented under brief (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony, SOA = 20 ms and extended (SOA = 300 ms conditions. Differences in aesthetic liking for abstract paintings depending on the emotion expressed in the preceding primes provided a measure of the priming effect. The results showed that, for the extended SOA, artworks were liked more when preceded by happiness primes and less when preceded by disgust primes. Facial expressions of happiness, though not of disgust, exerted similar effects in the brief SOA condition. Subjective measures and a forced-choice task revealed no evidence of prime awareness in the suboptimal condition. Our results are congruent with findings showing that the affective transfer elicited by priming biases evaluative judgments, extending previous research to the domain of aesthetic appreciation.

Object color affects identification and repetition priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Uttl, Bob; Graf, Peter; Santacruz, Pilar

2006-10-01

We investigated the influence of color on the identification of both non-studied and studied objects. Participants studied black and white and color photos of common objects and memory was assessed with an identification test. Consistent with our meta-analysis of prior research, we found that objects were easier to identify from color than from black and white photos. We also found substantial priming in all conditions, and study-to-test changes in an object's color reduced the magnitude of priming. Color-specific priming effects were large for color-complex objects, but minimal for color-simple objects. The pattern and magnitude of priming effects was not influenced either by the extent to which an object always appears in the same color (i.e., whether a color is symptomatic of an object) or by the object's origin (natural versus fabricated). We discuss the implications of our findings for theoretical accounts of object perception and repetition priming.

Preserved semantic priming effect in alexia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mimura, M; Goodglass, H; Milberg, W

1996-09-01

BH, a left-handed patient with alexia and nonfluent aphasia, was presented with a lexical-decision task in which words and pronounceable pseudowords were preceded by semantically related or unrelated picture primes (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, BH was given an explicit reading task using the word lists from Experiment 1. Performance on Experiment 2 disclosed severe reading deficits in both oral reading and semantic matching of the words to pictures. However, in Experiment 1, BH demonstrated a significant semantic priming effect, responding more accurately and more quickly to words preceded by related primes than by unrelated primes. The present results suggest that even in a patient with severe alexia, implicit access to semantic information can be preserved in the absence of explicit identification. The possibility of categorical gradient in implicit activation (living vs. nonliving) in BH was also discussed, which, however, needs to be clarified in the further investigation.

Plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide in normal pregnant women and in pregnant women with preeclampsia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, A L; Schütten, G; Asping, U

1991-01-01

Plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was determined in pregnant women with preeclampsia, in normal pregnant and in nonpregnant women by a specific radioimmunoassay. Results did not show important differences between nonpregnant controls and normal pregnant women, but a signifi......Plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was determined in pregnant women with preeclampsia, in normal pregnant and in nonpregnant women by a specific radioimmunoassay. Results did not show important differences between nonpregnant controls and normal pregnant women......, but a significant rise was seen in women with preeclampsia compared to nonpregnant controls. Marked interindividual variation was found in all three groups. The mechanism of ANP release may differ between those women with normal pregnancy and those with preeclampsia. It is unclear whether the increased level of ANP...... in preeclampsia is an effect or a cause of the disease....

Australia's First Prime Ministerial Library: Past and Future

Science.gov (United States)

Carman-Brown, Lesley; Henderson, Kandy-Jane; Wallace, Lesley

2005-01-01

In creating Australia's first prime ministerial library, a new cultural institution was developed which blends professional practice from the fields of librarianship, education, archives, journalism and museums. The John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library honours the contribution of wartime prime minister John Curtin, works towards the advancement…

Medical radiation exposure of pregnant and potentially pregnant women

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-07-01

The present report clearly states that radiosensitivity is highest during intrauterine development and that the possibility of different types of effects depends on the state of pregnancy and on the dose. The decision whether an examination of the abdomen or pelvis of pregnant or potentiably pregnant women should be carried out is made clear that a delay of examinations due to dose reduction is only warranted if no danger to the patient and/or the unborn child is involved. (orig.) [de

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Prevent Allostimulation In Vivo and Control Checkpoints of Th1 Priming: Migration of Human DC to Lymph Nodes and NK Cell Activation.

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Consentius, C; Akyüz, L; Schmidt-Lucke, J A; Tschöpe, C; Pinzur, L; Ofir, R; Reinke, P; Volk, H-D; Juelke, K

2015-10-01

Although the immunomodulatory potency of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) is well established, the mechanisms behind are still not clear. The crosstalk between myeloid dendritic cells (mDC) and natural killer (NK) cells and especially NK cell-derived interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) play a pivotal role in the development of type 1 helper (Th1) cell immune responses. While many studies explored the isolated impact of MSC on either in vitro generated DC, NK, or T cells, there are only few data available on the complex interplay between these cells. Here, we investigated the impact of MSC on the functionality of human mDC and the consequences for NK cell and Th1 priming in vitro and in vivo. In critical limb ischemia patients, who have been treated with allogeneic placenta-derived mesenchymal-like stromal cells (PLX-PAD), no in vivo priming of Th1 responses toward the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) mismatches could be detected. Further in vitro studies revealed that mDC reprogramming could play a central role for these effects. Following crosstalk with MSC, activated mDC acquired a tolerogenic phenotype characterized by reduced migration toward CCR7 ligand and impaired ability to stimulate NK cell-derived IFN-γ production. These effects, which were strongly related to an altered interleukin (IL)-12/IL-10 production by mDC, were accompanied by an effective prevention of Th1 priming in vivo. Our findings provide novel evidence for the regulation of Th1 priming by MSC via modulation of mDC and NK cell crosstalk and show that off-the-shelf produced MHC-mismatched PLX-PAD can be used in patients without any sign of immunogenicity. © 2015 AlphaMed Press.

Smoking behavior in pregnant Arab Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kulwicki, Anahid; Smiley, Karen; Devine, Susan

2007-01-01

To determine the smoking behavior in pregnant Arab American women who attended a Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program at a local county public health clinic and compare the incidence of smoking behaviors of pregnant Arab American women with pregnant women who were not Arab Americans. Data were extracted from a computer database that contained information from health history charts of pregnant Arab and non-Arab American women. The study sample was 830 women, 823 of whom were Arab American participants enrolled in the WIC program in Michigan. Approximately 6% of pregnant Arab Americans smoked during pregnancy. The prevalence of smoking behavior among pregnant Arab American women was similar to that of smoking behaviors of Hispanics and Asian Americans in the United States. Although smoking behavior is a serious problem among Arab American immigrants in general and in the Arab world in particular, cultural factors that support healthy behavior during pregnancy in the Arab culture seem to limit the use of tobacco in pregnant women. Nurses who care for Arab American pregnant women can use this information to better inform their care of these patients.

A computational approach to negative priming

Science.gov (United States)

Schrobsdorff, H.; Ihrke, M.; Kabisch, B.; Behrendt, J.; Hasselhorn, M.; Herrmann, J. Michael

2007-09-01

Priming is characterized by a sensitivity of reaction times to the sequence of stimuli in psychophysical experiments. The reduction of the reaction time observed in positive priming is well-known and experimentally understood (Scarborough et al., J. Exp. Psycholol: Hum. Percept. Perform., 3, pp. 1-17, 1977). Negative priming—the opposite effect—is experimentally less tangible (Fox, Psychonom. Bull. Rev., 2, pp. 145-173, 1995). The dependence on subtle parameter changes (such as response-stimulus interval) usually varies. The sensitivity of the negative priming effect bears great potential for applications in research in fields such as memory, selective attention, and ageing effects. We develop and analyse a computational realization, CISAM, of a recent psychological model for action decision making, the ISAM (Kabisch, PhD thesis, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat, 2003), which is sensitive to priming conditions. With the dynamical systems approach of the CISAM, we show that a single adaptive threshold mechanism is sufficient to explain both positive and negative priming effects. This is achieved by comparing results obtained by the computational modelling with experimental data from our laboratory. The implementation provides a rich base from which testable predictions can be derived, e.g. with respect to hitherto untested stimulus combinations (e.g. single-object trials).

The effect of unimodal affective priming on dichotic emotion recognition.

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Voyer, Daniel; Myles, Daniel

2017-11-15

The present report concerns two experiments extending to unimodal priming the cross-modal priming effects observed with auditory emotions by Harding and Voyer [(2016). Laterality effects in cross-modal affective priming. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 21, 585-605]. Experiment 1 used binaural targets to establish the presence of the priming effect and Experiment 2 used dichotically presented targets to examine auditory asymmetries. In Experiment 1, 82 university students completed a task in which binaural targets consisting of one of 4 English words inflected in one of 4 emotional tones were preceded by binaural primes consisting of one of 4 Mandarin words pronounced in the same (congruent) or different (incongruent) emotional tones. Trials where the prime emotion was congruent with the target emotion showed faster responses and higher accuracy in identifying the target emotion. In Experiment 2, 60 undergraduate students participated and the target was presented dichotically instead of binaurally. Primes congruent with the left ear produced a large left ear advantage, whereas right congruent primes produced a right ear advantage. These results indicate that unimodal priming produces stronger effects than those observed under cross-modal priming. The findings suggest that priming should likely be considered a strong top-down influence on laterality effects.

Immunomodulatory factors in cervicovaginal secretions from pregnant and non-pregnant women: A cross-sectional study

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Stek Alice

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pregnant women are at an increased risk for HIV infection due to unknown biological causes. Given the strong effect of sex-hormones on the expression of immunomuodulatory factors, the central role of mucosal immunity in HIV pathogenesis and the lack of previous studies, we here tested for differences in immunomuodulatory factors in cervico-vaginal secretions between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Methods We compared concentrations of 39 immunomodulatory factors in cervicovaginal lavages (CVL from 21 pregnant women to those of 24 non-pregnant healthy women from the US. We used Bonferroni correction to correct for multiple testing and linear regression modeling to adjust for possible confounding by plasma cytokine concentration, cervical ectopy, total protein concentration, and other possible confounders. Cervical ectopy was determined by planimetry. Concentration of immunomodulatory factors were measured by a multiplex assay, protein concentration by the Bradford Method. Results Twenty six (66% of the 39 measured immunomodulatory factors were detectable in at least half of the CVL samples included in the study. Pregnant women had threefold lower CVL concentration of CCL22 (geometric mean: 29.6 pg/ml versus 89.7 pg/ml, p = 0.0011 than non-pregnant women. CVL CCL22 concentration additionally correlated negatively with gestational age (Spearman correlation coefficient [RS]: -0.49, p = 0.0006. These associations remained significant when corrected for multiple testing. CCL22 concentration in CVL was positively correlated with age and negatively correlated with time since last coitus and the size of cervical ectopy. However, none of these associations could explain the difference of CCL22 concentration between pregnant and non-pregnant women in this study, which remained significant in adjusted analysis. Conclusions In this study population, pregnancy is associated with reduced concentrations of CCL22 in cervicovaginal secretions

Testing for Human Immunodeficiency Virus

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... Is Done • What Happens If HIV Is Diagnosed • Pregnant Women and HIV Testing • For More Information • Glossary Testing for Human ... cdc.gov/hiv/policies/law/states/index.html. Pregnant Women and HIV Testing If you are pregnant, you will be ...

Comparison Of Blood Proteins And Some Hormonal Levels In Pregnant And Non-Pregnant Cows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TEAMA, F.E.

2010-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the changes in serum protein and its fractions by using electrophoresis in Holstein cows during different months of pregnancy in comparison with non-pregnant cows and to determine hormonal levels including T4, T3 and progesterone hormones. The samples were taken from 40 pregnant cows during deferent months and 10 non-pregnant cows. Significant decrease in the levels of total protein, albumin and globulin were observed in the third and late month of pregnancy than in mid pregnancy where the values were 6.5, 3.1 and 3.4 g/dl for early months and 6.5, 3.2 and 3.3 g/dl for late month as compared to the non-pregnant cows. Significant increase in α-1globulin was observed during months of pregnancy by about 33.3%. The decrease in the levels of α-2, β and γ-globulins were recorded by about 10%, 45.3% and 21.6%, respectively. A marked decrease in T4 hormone (5.0 μg/dl) was observed in pregnant cows than in non-pregnant ones (7.1 μg/dl). Also, a decreasing T3 level (169 ng/dl) was recorded as compared to non-pregnant cows (221 ng/dl). High significant increase in progesterone level was recorded in the mid pregnancy until reached the maximum value (49.94 ng/ml) at the 7 th month of pregnancy then declined (2.42 ng/ml) at the late month of pregnancy. In conclusion, during pregnancy of Holstein dairy cows, a decline in protein fractions and thyroid hormonal levels were recorded during different months as compared to non- pregnant cows. The opposite trend was observed in progesterone levels. The increasing progesterone level at the mid pregnancy indicated its importance in the continuation of pregnancy and maintenance of fetus against maternal rejection.

Heterologous prime-boost strategy in non-human primates combining the infective dengue virus and a recombinant protein in a formulation suitable for human use.

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Valdés, Iris; Hermida, Lisset; Gil, Lázaro; Lazo, Laura; Castro, Jorge; Martín, Jorge; Bernardo, Lídice; López, Carlos; Niebla, Olivia; Menéndez, Tamara; Romero, Yaremis; Sánchez, Jorge; Guzmán, María G; Guillén, Gerardo

2010-05-01

The aim of the present work was to test the concept of the heterologous prime-boost strategy combining an infective dengue virus with a recombinant chimeric protein carrying domain III of the envelope protein. Two studies in monkeys, combining recombinant protein PD5 (domain III of the envelope protein from dengue-2 virus, fused to the protein carrier P64k) and the infective dengue virus in the same immunization schedules were carried out. Humoral and cell-mediated immunity were evaluated. In the first study, monkeys received four doses of the protein PD5 and were subsequently infected with one dose of dengue virus. Antibody response measured after virus inoculation was significantly higher compared to that in non-primed monkeys and comparable to that elicited after two doses of infective virus. In a second study, monkeys were infected with one dose of the virus and subsequently boosted with one dose of the recombinant protein, reaching high levels of neutralizing antibodies, which were still detectable 14 months after the last immunization. In addition, the cellular immune response was also recalled. The results obtained in the present work support the approach of heterologous prime-boosting, in either order prime or boost, combining the chimeric protein PD5 (formulated in alum-CPS-A) and an infective dengue virus. The latter could potentially be replaced by an attenuated vaccine candidate. Copyright 2009 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress priming in picture naming: an SOA study.

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Schiller, Niels O; Fikkert, Paula; Levelt, Clara C

2004-01-01

This study investigates whether or not the representation of lexical stress information can be primed during speech production. In four experiments, we attempted to prime the stress position of bisyllabic target nouns (picture names) having initial and final stress with auditory prime words having either the same or different stress as the target (e.g., WORtel-MOtor vs. koSTUUM-MOtor; capital letters indicate stressed syllables in prime-target pairs). Furthermore, half of the prime words were semantically related, the other half unrelated. Overall, picture names were not produced faster when the prime word had the same stress as the target than when the prime had different stress, i.e., there was no stress-priming effect in any experiment. This result would not be expected if stress were stored in the lexicon. However, targets with initial stress were responded to faster than final-stress targets. The reason for this effect was neither the quality of the pictures nor frequency of occurrence or voice-key characteristics. We hypothesize here that this stress effect is a genuine encoding effect, i.e., words with stress on the second syllable take longer to be encoded because their stress pattern is irregular with respect to the lexical distribution of bisyllabic stress patterns, even though it can be regular with respect to metrical stress rules in Dutch. The results of the experiments are discussed in the framework of models of phonological encoding.

Standing working posture compared in pregnant and non-pregnant conditions.

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Paul, J A; Frings-Dresen, M H

1994-09-01

During pregnancy, an increase in body weight occurs together with changes in body weight distribution and in fit between body dimensions and workplace layout. These changes may cause alterations in working posture which may, in turn, have adverse consequences for the biomechanical load on the musculoskeletal system and so increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Using photographic posture registration, the standing working posture was studied in 27 women during the last stage of pregnancy and after delivery (the experimental group). The women performed an assembly task while standing at various workplace layouts. The postural differences between the pregnant condition and the non-pregnant condition were studied and the effect of the various workplace layouts assessed. Ten non-pregnant controls were also studied twice to establish the effect of the time interval between the measuring occasions. We found that the women of the experimental group stood further from the work surface in the pregnant condition compared to the non-pregnant condition, the hips were positioned more backwards, and, in order to reach the tesk, they increased the flexion of the trunk, increased the anteflexion of the upper arms, and extended the arms more. At the workplace layout in which the work surface height was self-selected, the postural differences due to pregnancy were smallest or even absent, compared to the postural differences in the other workplace layouts studied. Ergonomists and workers in occupational health services should be alert to the consequences for the biomechanical load on the musculoskeletal system and the risk of development of health complaints caused by postural changes due to pregnancy. An adjustable workplace layout may prevent some problems.

Association between dietary patterns and mental disorders in pregnant women in Southern Brazil

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Jéssica T.A. Paskulin

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the association between dietary patterns and mental disorders among pregnant women in southern Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 712 pregnant women recruited from the Study of Food Intake and Eating Behaviors in Pregnancy (ECCAGe. Food intake assessment was performed using the Food Frequency Questionnaire. Dietary patterns were identified by cluster analysis. The Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD was used to evaluate participants’ mental health. Poisson regression models with robust variance were fitted to estimate prevalence ratios (PR. Results: In the adjusted models, there was a high prevalence of major depressive disorder among women with low fruit intake (43%, PR 1.43, 95%CI 1.04-1.95 and high sweets and sugars intake (91%, PR 1.91, 95%CI 1.19-3.07. Women with a common-Brazilian dietary pattern had higher prevalence of major depressive disorder compared to those with a varied consumption pattern (PR 1.43, 95%CI 1.01-2.02. Low intake of beans was significantly associated with generalized anxiety disorder (PR 1.40, 95%CI 1.01-1.93. Conclusions: Low consumption of fruits and beans and intake of the common-Brazilian dietary pattern during pregnancy were associated with higher prevalence of mental disorders. These results reinforce the importance of an adequate dietary intake to ensure better mental health in pregnancy.

Higher prevalence of anemia among pregnant immigrant women compared to pregnant ethnic Danish women

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Nybo, Mads; Friis-Hansen, Lennart; Felding, Peter

2007-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate whether the well-known high anemia prevalence in pregnant women from the eastern Mediterranean and Asian regions decreased when the women immigrated to a low-frequency region (Denmark). During 70 months, 1,741 pregnant immigrant women referred from primary...... status parameters were examined in the two groups. The prevalence of anemia was higher in the immigrant group (20.0%) compared to the Danish women (4.9%) (P ... indicated iron deficiency. Conclusively, the pregnant immigrant women had significantly higher prevalence of anemia compared to pregnant women of Danish origin. It indicates the need for an alternative routine screening procedure for this population group, which should also include nutritional counselling....

Specific and non-specific match effects in negative priming.

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Labossière, Danielle I; Leboe-McGowan, Jason P

2018-01-01

The negative priming effect occurs when withholding a response to a stimulus impairs generation of subsequent responding to a same or a related stimulus. Our goal was to use the negative priming procedure to obtain insights about the memory representations generated by ignoring vs. attending/responding to a prime stimulus. Across three experiments we observed that ignoring a prime stimulus tends to generate higher identity-independent, non-specific repetition effects, owing to an overlap in the coarse perceptual form of a prime distractor and a probe target. By contrast, attended repetition effects generate predominantly identity-specific sources of facilitation. We use these findings to advocate for using laboratory phenomena to illustrate general principles that can be of practical use to non-specialists. In the case of the negative priming procedure, we propose that the procedure provides a useful means for investigating attention/memory interactions, even if the specific cause (or causes) of negative priming effects remain unresolved. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of auditory white noise on semantic priming.

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Angwin, Anthony J; Wilson, Wayne J; Copland, David A; Barry, Robert J; Myatt, Grace; Arnott, Wendy L

2018-04-10

It has been proposed that white noise can improve cognitive performance for some individuals, particularly those with lower attention, and that this effect may be mediated by dopaminergic circuitry. Given existing evidence that semantic priming is modulated by dopamine, this study investigated whether white noise can facilitate semantic priming. Seventy-eight adults completed an auditory semantic priming task with and without white noise, at either a short or long inter-stimulus interval (ISI). Measures of both direct and indirect semantic priming were examined. Analysis of the results revealed significant direct and indirect priming effects at each ISI in noise and silence, however noise significantly reduced the magnitude of indirect priming. Analyses of subgroups with higher versus lower attention revealed a reduction to indirect priming in noise relative to silence for participants with lower executive and orienting attention. These findings suggest that white noise focuses automatic spreading activation, which may be driven by modulation of dopaminergic circuitry. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Epidemiology and risk factors HTLV virus infection in pregnant women.

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Adriella Silva Oliveira

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to perform an integrative review of the epidemiology and the main risk factors for infection with human T lymphotropic to cells (HTLV in pregnant women from the Brazilian scientific production. The articles were extracted from databases: Literature Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO, with nine selected articles published between the years 2000-2012. Upon review of the studies it was observed that Brazil has significant prevalence of HTLV in pregnant women, demonstrating the need for adequate attention to this indicator. Some risk factors indicated by the studies analyzed were: low education, criterion race/color (infected pregnant women were mostly black, brown or indigenous majority, vertical transmission, sexual transmission, multiple pregnancies and premature sexual activity. Therefore, it is important serologic screening to prevent congenital infections, as well as the introduction of new studies on the infection in Brazil. Thus, it becomes evident the need for planning and implementation of prevention and control of HTLV in the prenatal for structuring measures that minimize the appearance of new infections in pregnant women and children due to vertical transmission, the main route of transmission.

Bounded Gaps between Products of Special Primes

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Ping Ngai Chung

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In their breakthrough paper in 2006, Goldston, Graham, Pintz and Yıldırım proved several results about bounded gaps between products of two distinct primes. Frank Thorne expanded on this result, proving bounded gaps in the set of square-free numbers with r prime factors for any r ≥ 2, all of which are in a given set of primes. His results yield applications to the divisibility of class numbers and the triviality of ranks of elliptic curves. In this paper, we relax the condition on the number of prime factors and prove an analogous result using a modified approach. We then revisit Thorne’s applications and give a better bound in each case.

Negative Priming in Free Recall Reconsidered

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Hanczakowski, Maciej; Beaman, C. Philip; Jones, Dylan M.

2016-01-01

Negative priming in free recall is the finding of impaired memory performance when previously ignored auditory distracters become targets of encoding and retrieval. This negative priming has been attributed to an aftereffect of deploying inhibitory mechanisms that serve to suppress auditory distraction and minimize interference with learning and…

Vaccination recommended for pregnant women

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Justyna Magdalena Skolarczyk

2017-04-01

Full Text Available A vaccine is a formulation of biological origin that contains substances capable of inducing immune processes without the ability to cause a disease. Vaccination is considered the best mean to prevent infectious diseases and their serious complications. Vaccination of a pregnant women can provide protection against severe infectious diseases of both pregnant women and their children. The aim of the study is to present currently available types of vaccines recommended for pregnant women and indications for their use by analyzing the data available in the PubMed, and Medline electronic databases. In the United States, vaccination recommendations for pregnant women include inactivated influenza vaccine and tetanus and diphtheria toxoid vaccine (Tdap. In some countries, pregnant women also receive a vaccine against hepatitis B as well as anti hepatitis A and E. There are also studies on vaccines against the RSV virus and pneumococci. Vaccination is the most effective form of prevention of infectious diseases and their use during pregnancy does not entail any additional risk to the mother or her baby. The benefits of vaccination are huge, so pregnant women should take  recommended vaccination and shouldn’t  be afraid of using them.

Serum Neuropeptide Y and Leptin Levels compared between Non-pregnant and Pregnant Women in Overall, Non-obese, and Obese Subjects

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Chantacha Sitticharoon, M.D., Ph.D.

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: The primary objective of this study was to compare serum NPY and leptin levels between non-pregnant and pregnant women in overall, non-obese, and obese subjects. The secondary objective was to compare these peptides between non-obese and obese pregnant women. Methods: Fasting venous blood was collected from non-pregnant women before open abdominal surgery and from pregnant women when admitted to the delivery room during the latent phase of labor. Results: There were 12 non-obese and 14 obese subjects in the non-pregnant group and 9 non-obese and 30 obese subjects in the pregnant group. Systolic blood pressure (SBP was comparable, but heart rate (HR was higher in pregnant compared to non-pregnant women. Mean±S.E.M serum NPY levels were lower in the pregnant than in the non-pregnant group in overall (0.54±0.02 and 1.34±0.08, respectively, non-obese (0.53±0.05 and 1.23±0.14, respectively, and obese (0.54±0.03 and 1.43±0.09, respectively subjects (p<0.01 for all, but these were comparable between obese and non- obese pregnant subjects. Serum NPY was positively correlated with SBP (R=0.281, p<0.05, but negatively correlated with HR (R=-0.324, p<0.01. Serum leptin levels were not different between pregnant and non-pregnant groups, but were significantly higher in obese than non-obese pregnant subjects (p<0.001. Serum leptin levels were positively correlated with body weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences in overall and pregnant subjects (p<0.001 all. Conclusion: In pregnancy, decreased NPY levels might be associated with inhibition of SBP rising as well as increased HR. Leptin levels might not be associated with pregnancy, but associated mainly with obesity.

Novel Word Lexicalization and the Prime Lexicality Effect

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Qiao, Xiaomei; Forster, Kenneth I.

2013-01-01

This study investigates how newly learned words are integrated into the first-language lexicon using masked priming. Two lexical decision experiments are reported, with the aim of establishing whether newly learned words behave like real words in a masked form priming experiment. If they do, they should show a prime lexicality effect (PLE), in…

The prevalence of anemia in pregnant women and its associated risk factors in North Sumatera, Indonesia

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Lestari, S.; Fujiati, I. I.; Keumalasari, D.; Daulay, M.; Martina, S. J.; Syarifah, S.

2018-03-01

The gestation period is the period that determines the quality of human resources in the future because the development of the child is determined from the time of the fetus in utero. The most common nutrition problems suffered by pregnant women in Indonesia is Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and anemia. The aim of this research to determine the prevalence of anemia in pregnant women and the risk factors associated with anemia in urban and rural areas of North Sumatera Province. This research is as descriptive analyticwith cross-sectional approach. Total sample 140 pregnant women from the Medan City, Langkat District and South Labuhan Batu District, and was from June to October 2016. Data collected by using interviews, hemoglobinometer tool and analyzed with Chi-square test. Anemia was in 40.7% of pregnant women, and the incidence of anemia is more common in pregnant women in urban areas than in rural areas. The factors associated with anemia in pregnant women is parity, knowledge of nutrition, diet and the risk of chronic energy deficiency (p anemia in pregnant women in North Sumatra was higher than the national prevalence.

Identity negative priming: a phenomenon of perception, recognition or selection?

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Hecke Schrobsdorff

Full Text Available The present study addresses the problem whether negative priming (NP is due to information processing in perception, recognition or selection. We argue that most NP studies confound priming and perceptual similarity of prime-probe episodes and implement a color-switch paradigm in order to resolve the issue. In a series of three identity negative priming experiments with verbal naming response, we determined when NP and positive priming (PP occur during a trial. The first experiment assessed the impact of target color on priming effects. It consisted of two blocks, each with a different fixed target color. With respect to target color no differential priming effects were found. In Experiment 2 the target color was indicated by a cue for each trial. Here we resolved the confounding of perceptual similarity and priming condition. In trials with coinciding colors for prime and probe, we found priming effects similar to Experiment 1. However, trials with a target color switch showed such effects only in trials with role-reversal (distractor-to-target or target-to-distractor, whereas the positive priming (PP effect in the target-repetition trials disappeared. Finally, Experiment 3 split trial processing into two phases by presenting the trial-wise color cue only after the stimulus objects had been recognized. We found recognition in every priming condition to be faster than in control trials. We were hence led to the conclusion that PP is strongly affected by perception, in contrast to NP which emerges during selection, i.e., the two effects cannot be explained by a single mechanism.

Can False Memories Prime Problem Solutions?

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Howe, Mark L.; Garner, Sarah R.; Dewhurst, Stephen A.; Ball, Linden J.

2010-01-01

Previous research has suggested that false memories can prime performance on related implicit and explicit memory tasks. The present research examined whether false memories can also be used to prime higher order cognitive processes, namely, insight-based problem solving. Participants were asked to solve a number of compound remote associate task…

Steroid hormones level in milk of non-pregnant and pregnant river buffalos at various gestational trimesters

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Yaser Shahbazi

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Milk is a valuable sources of nutrition in the human diet however; there are reports on safety of milk steroid hormones contain. This study designed to determine the level of steroid hormones including estrone (E1, 17β-estradiol (E2, and estriol (E3 in raw and pasteurized milk from non-pregnant and pregnant buffalos.Methods: Steroids was extracted using liquid extraction, enzymatical deconjugation, and C18 solid-phase extraction from collected milk samples. Estrogens were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography equipped by fluorescence detector.Results: Free E1 (554.1±77.0 ng/L and deconjugated E1 (701.6±44.7 ng/L was found highest level estrogen followed by E2, while E3 level was under the detection limit (10 ng/L. The lowest E1: 554.1±77.0 and E2: 28.1±4.4ng/L estrogens level were determined in raw milk from non-pregnant and highest E1: 1014.7±123.8 and E2: 108.2±9.1 ng/L estrogens were found in milk of animals in the third trimester of gestation. The estrogens concentration in pasteurized milk did not show significant (P>0.05 differences with those in raw milk.Conclusion: As buffalo milk poses more fat than cow's milk, it may contain higher level of steroid hormones. Since consumption of buffalo's milk with higher amount of steroidal hormones could be considered one of the potential risk factors for carcinogenesis.

Hormonal priming, induction of ovulation and in-vitro fertilization of the endangered Wyoming toad (Bufo baxteri

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Seratt Jessica

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract The endangered Wyoming toad (Bufo baxteri is the subject of an extensive captive breeding and reintroduction program. Wyoming toads in captivity rarely ovulate spontaneously and hormonal induction is used to ovulate females or to stimulate spermiation in males. With hormonal induction, ovulation is unreliable and egg numbers are low. The sequential administration of anovulatory doses of hormones (priming has increased egg numbers and quality in both anurans and fish. Consequently, we tested the efficacy of a combination of human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG and Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone analogue (LHRHa administered as one dose, or two or three sequential doses to Bufo baxteri on egg numbers, fertilization and early embryo development. Spawning toads deposited eggs into Simplified Amphibian Ringers (SAR solution to enable controlled in-vitro fertilization (IVF with sperm from hormonally induced male toads. Unprimed females receiving a single mixed normally ovulatory dose of 500 IU hCG plus 4 micrograms of LHRHa produced no eggs. Whereas females primed with this dose and an anovulatory dose (100 IU hCG and 0.8 micrograms of LHRHa of the same hormones, or primed only with an anovulatory dose, spawned after then receiving an ovulatory dose. Higher total egg numbers were produced with two primings than with one priming. Moreover, two primings produced significantly more eggs from each individual female than one priming. The cleavage rate of eggs was not found to differ between one or two primings. Nevertheless, embryo development with eggs from two primings gave a significantly greater percentage neurulation and swim-up than those from one priming. Of the male toads receiving a single dose of 300 IU hCG, 80% produced spermic urine with the greatest sperm concentration 7 hours post-administration (PA. However, peak sperm motility (95% was achieved at 5 hours PA and remained relatively constant until declining 20 hours PA. In

Tuning the brain for motherhood: prolactin-like central signalling in virgin, pregnant, and lactating female mice.

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Salais-López, Hugo; Lanuza, Enrique; Agustín-Pavón, Carmen; Martínez-García, Fernando

2017-03-01

Prolactin is fundamental for the expression of maternal behaviour. In virgin female rats, prolactin administered upon steroid hormone priming accelerates the onset of maternal care. By contrast, the role of prolactin in mice maternal behaviour remains unclear. This study aims at characterizing central prolactin activity patterns in female mice and their variation through pregnancy and lactation. This was revealed by immunoreactivity of phosphorylated (active) signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (pSTAT5-ir), a key molecule in the signalling cascade of prolactin receptors. We also evaluated non-hypophyseal lactogenic activity during pregnancy by administering bromocriptine, which suppresses hypophyseal prolactin release. Late-pregnant and lactating females showed significantly increased pSTAT5-ir resulting in a widespread pattern of immunostaining with minor variations between pregnant and lactating animals, which comprises nuclei of the sociosexual and maternal brain, including telencephalic (septum, nucleus of the stria terminalis, and amygdala), hypothalamic (preoptic, paraventricular, supraoptic, and ventromedial), and midbrain (periaqueductal grey) regions. During late pregnancy, this pattern was not affected by the administration of bromocriptine, suggesting it to be elicited mostly by non-hypophyseal lactogenic agents, likely placental lactogens. Virgin females displayed, instead, a variable pattern of pSTAT5-ir restricted to a subset of the brain nuclei labelled in pregnant and lactating mice. A hormonal substitution experiment confirmed that estradiol and progesterone contribute to the variability found in virgin females. Our results reflect how the shaping of the maternal brain takes place prior to parturition and suggest that lactogenic agents are important candidates in the development of maternal behaviours already during pregnancy.

Affective Priming in Major Depressive Disorder

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Joelle eLeMoult

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Research on cognitive biases in depression has provided considerable evidence for the impact of emotion on cognition. Individuals with depression tend to preferentially process mood-congruent material and to show deficits in the processing of positive material leading to biases in attention, memory, and judgments. More research is needed, however, to fully understand which cognitive processes are affected. The current study further examines the impact of emotion on cognition using a priming design with facial expressions of emotion. Specifically, this study tested whether the presentation of facial expressions of emotion affects subsequent processing of affective material in participants with major depressive disorder (MDD and healthy controls (CTL. Facial expressions displaying happy, sad, angry, disgusted, or neutral expressions were presented as primes for 500ms, and participants’ speed to identify a subsequent target’s emotional expression was assessed. All participants displayed greater interference from emotional versus neutral primes, marked by slower response times to judge the emotion of the target face when it was preceded by an emotional prime. Importantly, the CTL group showed the strongest interference when happy emotional expressions served as primes whereas the MDD group failed to show this bias. These results add to a growing literature that shows that depression is associated with difficulties in the processing of positive material.

Instant PrimeFaces starter

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Hlavats, Ian

2013-01-01

Get to grips with a new technology, understand what it is and what it can do for you, and then get to work with the most important features and tasks. Instant Primefaces Starter is a fast-paced, introductory guide designed to give you all the information you need to start using Primfaces, instantly.Instant PrimeFaces Starter is great for developers looking to get started quickly with PrimeFaces. It's assumed that you have some JSF experience already, as well as familiarity with other Java technologies such as CDI and JPA and an understanding of MVC principles, object-relational mapping (ORM),

Facial expression primes and implicit regulation of negative emotion.

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Yoon, HeungSik; Kim, Shin Ah; Kim, Sang Hee

2015-06-17

An individual's responses to emotional information are influenced not only by the emotional quality of the information, but also by the context in which the information is presented. We hypothesized that facial expressions of happiness and anger would serve as primes to modulate subjective and neural responses to subsequently presented negative information. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a functional MRI study in which the brains of healthy adults were scanned while they performed an emotion-rating task. During the task, participants viewed a series of negative and neutral photos, one at a time; each photo was presented after a picture showing a face expressing a happy, angry, or neutral emotion. Brain imaging results showed that compared with neutral primes, happy facial primes increased activation during negative emotion in the dorsal anterior cingulated cortex and the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, which are typically implicated in conflict detection and implicit emotion control, respectively. Conversely, relative to neutral primes, angry primes activated the right middle temporal gyrus and the left supramarginal gyrus during the experience of negative emotion. Activity in the amygdala in response to negative emotion was marginally reduced after exposure to happy primes compared with angry primes. Relative to neutral primes, angry facial primes increased the subjectively experienced intensity of negative emotion. The current study results suggest that prior exposure to facial expressions of emotions modulates the subsequent experience of negative emotion by implicitly activating the emotion-regulation system.

[Eating habits of pregnant and non-pregnant women: are there differences?].

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Gomes, Caroline de Barros; Malta, Maíra Barreto; Martiniano, Ana Carolina de Almeida; Di Bonifácio, Luiza Pereira; Carvalhaes, Maria Antonieta de Barros Leite

2015-07-01

To determine the eating behavior of pregnant women assisted by primary health care and to compare it with women at childbearing age in Brazilian capitals. A cross-sectional study conducted on 256 pregnant women in the second trimester of gestation, selected by drawing lots from those assisted by primary health care units of a municipality in the state of São Paulo in 2009/2010. Eating habits were investigated via a questionnaire adapted from the VIGITEL system, consisting of questions about eating habits in general and the frequency and consumption characteristics of food groups/specific foods. For tis comparison, we used the indicators reported by the VIGITEL system for women at childbearing age in Brazilian capitals in 2010. The analyses involved the presentation of frequency distribution and descriptive statistics with comparisons according to the age group. Most patients had breakfast every day (86.7%) and 45.7% habitually exchanged a main meal for a snack once or twice a week. A daily consumption of fruit, raw salad and vegetables was not reported by 48.8%, 41.8% and 55.1% of the women, respectively. Fish was reported to never or almost never be consumed by 64.4% of the pregnant women. At least once a week, 69.9% of them reported the consumption of soda, and 86.4% of wafers/cookies. The comparison between the pregnant women and women at childbearing age in capitals showed a close similar prevalence of overweight, and no difference in the regular consumption of fruit and vegetables. Meat containing excess of fat and whole milk were more consumed by pregnant women, with differences reported in all the age groups analyzed. On the other hand, the pregnant women reported a less regular intake of soft drinks. The actions that need to be performed in prenatal care are various and very important, promoting the consumption of specific foods and providing guidelines about eating behavior, while reinforcing healthy eating habits already present.

Long-term repetition priming with symmetrical polygons and words.

Science.gov (United States)

Kersteen-Tucker, Z

1991-01-01

In two different tasks, subjects were asked to make lexical decisions (word or nonword) and symmetry judgments (symmetrical or nonsymmetrical) about two-dimensional polygons. In both tasks, every stimulus was repeated at one of four lags (0, 1, 4, or 8 items interposed between the first and second stimulus presentations). This paradigm, known as repetition priming, revealed comparable short-term priming (Lag 0) and long-term priming (Lags 1, 4, and 8) both for symmetrical polygons and for words. A shorter term component (Lags 0 and 1) of priming was observed for nonwords, and only very short-term priming (Lag 0) was observed for nonsymmetrical polygons. These results indicate that response facilitation accruing from repeated exposure can be observed for stimuli that have no preexisting memory representations and suggest that perceptual factors contribute to repetition-priming effects.

Semantic Priming for Coordinate Distant Concepts in Alzheimer's Disease Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Perri, R.; Zannino, G. D.; Caltagirone, C.; Carlesimo, G. A.

2011-01-01

Semantic priming paradigms have been used to investigate semantic knowledge in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). While priming effects produced by prime-target pairs with associative relatedness reflect processes at both lexical and semantic levels, priming effects produced by words that are semantically related but not associated should…

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MAXIMUM PE AND PI BETWEEN PREGNANT AND NO-PROGNANT WOMEN AND PREGNANT OF DIFFERENT GESTATIONAL PERIODS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila Graziele Dias de Almeida

2005-08-01

Full Text Available This research had how his objectives to investigate if there is difference between the insp. and exp. pressure maxim of pregnant women and no-pregnant women of period different of pregnancy. To get the informations necessary, we use the machine manuvacuômetro MVD 500 Mycrohard Globalmed , how the instrument to have the insp. and exp. pressure maxim of pregnant and no- pregnant women that have similar age. We use how criterion to select the informer this research to be pregnant in one group and not to be pregnant in another group. The women that participate of this research were choose aleatorialy through of the indications of the another persons. We went to their houses to collect data of the insp. and exp. maxim pressure and afterward, we organize, understand, pass to the category and, finely, to find the medium of the value. The value of the insp. and exp. maxim pressures that were found in the pregnant group was the follow: PE Max= 51,3 cm H20 and PIMax= 48,3 cm H20; the averages found in the not- pregnant were: PEMax= 73 cm H20, PIMax = 69,2 cm H20. The pregnants that were in the subgroup of the 1o to 5o month had a average of PE= 56 cm H20 and PI= 60 cm H20, while the pregnant of subgroup above the 6o month had the averages of PE and PI = 56 cm H20 and 43 cm H20, respective. Based in the results we conclude that have difference between the insp. and exp. pressures between pregnant and no-pregnant women, as well as in the pregnant of different period of pregnance.

Q fever in pregnant Goats: PAthogenesis and excretion of Coxiella burnetii

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roest, H.I.J.; Gelderen, van E.; Dinkla, A.; Frangoulidis, D.; Zijderveld, van F.G.; Rebel, J.M.J.; Keulen, van L.J.M.

2012-01-01

Coxiella burnetii is an intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes Q fever. Infected pregnant goats are a major source of human infection. However, the tissue dissemination and excretion pathway of the pathogen in goats are still poorly understood. To better understand Q fever pathogenesis, we

Syntactic Priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicol, Janet L.

1996-01-01

Reviews the syntactic priming task, a paradigm involving the presentation of a phrasal or clausal context, followed by the presentation of a target item for lexical decision or naming. Notes that response times are faster for targets syntactically congruent with the preceding context than for incongruent targets. Outlines how to administer this…

A prime a day keeps calories away: The effects of supraliminal priming on food consumption and the moderating role of gender and eating restraint.

Science.gov (United States)

Minas, Randall K; Poor, Morgan; Dennis, Alan R; Bartelt, Valerie L

2016-10-01

The link between intentions and action in weight control is weaker than previously thought, so recent research has called for further investigation of ways to improve weight control that bypass conscious intentions. Priming has been shown to have effects on individual behavior in a variety of contexts by influencing subconscious cognition. This paper investigates the effects of semantic priming using healthy body image, goal-oriented words on food consumption. The moderating role of both restrained eating and gender is investigated. 161 participants were involved in an experiment using a novel version of a scrambled sentence priming game. The outcome measure was the number of kilocalories consumed, examined using a between subjects ANCOVA with priming, gender, restrained eating index, self-reported BMI, and two interaction terms (primingxgender, and primingxrestrained eating index). There was no main effect of priming but there was an interaction of priming with gender. Females consumed significantly fewer kilocalories after being exposed to priming words related to a healthy body image (i.e. "slim", "fit,") compared to females receiving the neutral prime, with a medium effect size (d = 0.58). The body image prime did not significantly affect food intake for males, nor did it have a differential effect on restrained eaters. This study shows that priming can be an effective method for influencing females to reduce food intake, regardless of whether they are restrained or unrestrained eaters. Future studies could investigate whether different priming words related to a male's healthy body image goal (i.e. "buff," "muscles," etc.) would similarly reduce food intake for males. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Antigenicity of Leishmania-Activated C-Kinase Antigen (LACK in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells, and Protective Effect of Prime-Boost Vaccination With pCI-neo-LACK Plus Attenuated LACK-Expressing Vaccinia Viruses in Hamsters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Fernández

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Leishmania-activated C-kinase antigen (LACK is a highly conserved protein among Leishmania species and is considered a viable vaccine candidate for human leishmaniasis. In animal models, prime-boost vaccination with LACK-expressing plasmids plus attenuated vaccinia viruses (modified vaccinia Ankara [MVA] and mutant M65 expressing LACK, has been shown to protect against cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL. Further, LACK demonstrated to induce the production of protective cytokines in patients with active CL or cured visceral leishmaniasis, as well as in asymptomatic individuals from endemic areas. However, whether LACK is capable to trigger cytokine release by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients cured of CL due to Leishmania infantum (L. infantum or induce protection in L. infantum-infected hamsters [visceral leishmaniasis (VL model], has not yet been analyzed. The present work examines the ex vivo immunogenicity of LACK in cured VL and CL patients, and asymptomatic subjects from an L. infantum area. It also evaluates the vaccine potential of LACK against L. infantum infection in hamsters, in a protocol of priming with plasmid pCI-neo-LACK (DNA-LACK followed by a booster with the poxvirus vectors MVA-LACK or M65-LACK. LACK-stimulated PBMC from both asymptomatic and cured subjects responded by producing IFN-γ, TNF-α, and granzyme B (Th1-type response. Further, 78% of PBMC samples that responded to soluble Leishmania antigen showed IFN-γ secretion following stimulation with LACK. In hamsters, the protocol of DNA-LACK prime/MVA-LACK or M65-LACK virus boost vaccination significantly reduced the amount of Leishmania DNA in the liver and bone marrow, with no differences recorded between the use of MVA or M65 virus vector options. In summary, the Th1-type and cytotoxic responses elicited by LACK in PBMC from human subjects infected with L. infantum, and the parasite protective effect of prime/boost vaccination in hamsters with DNA

Metabolism of whole body protein in pregnant and non-pregnant gilts using 15N-glycine single-dose end-product method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu De; Liu Huifang; Zhou Anguo; Wang Kangning; Yang Feng

2007-01-01

The metabolism of whole-body protein for pregnant and non-pregnant gilts was investigated using single-dose of 15 N-glycine end-product method. The results showed that there were no differences (P>0.05) in protein dynamic metabolism, amino acids utilization rate between pregnant and non-pregnant gilts at breeding. However, N flux, protein turnover rate, protein synthesis rate and breakdown rate of pregnant gilts were lower (P<0.05) than those of non-pregnant gilts at 30days after breeding, but the protein aggradiation's rate increased by 25% (P<0.05). During late gestation, N flux, protein turnover rate, protein synthesis rate and breakdown rate of pregnant sows were significantly increased (P<0.01), and protein aggradation's rate increased by 71.1%, compared with that of non-pregnant gilts. (authors)

INFECTIOUS MYXOMATOSIS (SANARELLI) IN PREGNANT RABBITS

Science.gov (United States)

Sprunt, Douglas H.

1932-01-01

Pregnancy in rabbits alters the reactivity of the tissues to the virus of infectious myxomatosis. The livers of pregnant animals with the myxoma have a central acidophilic necrosis. Secondary lesions in the lungs are much more numerous and larger in the pregnant than in the non-gravid animals. In like manner the lesions in the spleen are more extensive in the pregnant rabbit. On the other hand the skin lesions of the pregnant animal are decreased in size. PMID:19870088

Euclidean Primes Have the Minimum Number of Primitive Roots

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Křížek, Michal; Somer, L.

2008-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 1 (2008), s. 121-127 ISSN 0972-5555 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA100190803 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : Euclidean primes * Fermat primes * Sophie Germain primes Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

Seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV, and HTLV among Pregnant Women in Southwestern Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Opaleye, Oluyinka Oladele; Igboama, Magdalene C; Ojo, Johnson Adeyemi; Odewale, Gbolabo

2016-01-01

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are major public health challenge especially in developing countries. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and Human T-cell lymphotropic Virus type I (HTLV-I) among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic, in Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, and South-Western Nigeria. One hundred and eighty two randomly selected pregnant women were screened for HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV and HTLV-1 IgM antibodies using commercially available ELISA kit. Of the 182 blood samples of pregnant women screened whose age ranged from 15-49 years, 13 (7.1%), 5 (2.7%), 9 (4.9%), and 44 (24.2%) were positive for HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV, and HTLV-1 IgM antibodies, respectively. The co-infection rate of 0.5% was obtained for HBV/HCV, HBV/HIV, HIV/HTLV-1, and HCV/HTLV-1 while 1.1% and 0% was recorded for HBV/HTLV-1 and HCV/HIV co-infections, respectively. Expected risk factors such as history of surgery, circumcision, tattooing and incision showed no significant association with any of the viral STIs (P > 0.05). This study shows that there is the need for a comprehensive screening of all pregnant women for HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV and HTLV-1 to prevent mother to child transmission of these viral infections and its attending consequences.

Italy's Prime Minister visits CERN

CERN Multimedia

Stefania Pandolfi

2015-01-01

On Tuesday, 7 July 2015, the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Matteo Renzi, visited CERN. He was accompanied by a delegation that included Italy's Minister for Education, University and Research, Stefania Giannini.   From left to right: Fernando Ferroni, President of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN); Sergio Bertolucci, CERN Director for Research and Scientific Computing; Stefania Giannini, Italy's Minister of Education, University and Research; Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of the Italian Republic; Fabiola Gianotti, CERN Director-General Designate; Rolf Heuer, CERN Director-General.   The Prime Minister was welcomed by members of the CERN Management together with former CERN Director-General and Senator for Life of the Italian Republic, Carlo Rubbia. After a brief general introduction to CERN’s activities by Rolf Heuer, the Italian delegation visited LHC Point 1. After a tour of the ATLAS control room, they donned helmets to visit th...

Prime alternative algebras that are nearly commutative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pchelintsev, S V

2004-01-01

We prove that by deforming the multiplication in a prime commutative alternative algebra using a C-operation we obtain a prime non-commutative alternative algebra. Under certain restrictions on non-commutative algebras this relation between algebras is reversible. Isotopes are special cases of deformations. We introduce and study a linear space generated by the Bruck C-operations. We prove that the Bruck space is generated by operations of rank 1 and 2 and that 'general' Bruck operations of rank 2 are independent in the following sense: a sum of n operations of rank 2 cannot be written as a linear combination of (n-1) operations of rank 2 and an arbitrary operation of rank 1. We describe infinite series of non-isomorphic prime non-commutative algebras of bounded degree that are deformations of a concrete prime commutative algebra

Syntactic Variance and Priming Effects in Translation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bangalore, Srinivas; Behrens, Bergljot; Carl, Michael

2016-01-01

The present work investigates the relationship between syntactic variation and priming in translation. It is based on the claim that languages share a common cognitive network of neural activity. When the source and target languages are solicited in a translation context, this shared network can...... lead to facilitation effects, so-called priming effects. We suggest that priming is a default setting in translation, a special case of language use where source and target languages are constantly co-activated. Such priming effects are not restricted to lexical elements, but do also occur...... on the syntactic level. We tested these hypotheses with translation data from the TPR database, more specifically for three language pairs (English-German, English-Danish, and English-Spanish). Our results show that response times are shorter when syntactic structures are shared. The model explains this through...

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis in Pregnant Women in Ilam Province, Iran

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H Keshavarz

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite which can infect human and animals. Acquired toxoplasmosis during pregnancy can lead to fetal infection, which may ultimately result in loss of fetus or lesion in brain and eyes. This study was performed to evaluate the seroepidemiological status of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Ilam City, western Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 553 blood samples were collected from pregnant women. Sera were separated by blood centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 5 min and frozen at -20 °C until use. The samples were tested for IgG antibody by Indirect Immunoflourecence antibody test (IFA. Results: Out of the 553 pregnant women, 247 were positive for T. gondii IgG antibodies and 306 were negative. The mean age of women was 21 and the seropositive rate of latent T. gondii infection was 44.8%. Conclusion: About half of the married women in the present study were at risk of infection with T.gondii, so preventive method should be considered. Keywords: Seroepidemiology, Toxoplasmosis, IFA, Iran.

Heterologous Prime-Boost HIV-1 Vaccination Regimens in Pre-Clinical and Clinical Trials

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Julia L. Hurwitz

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Currently, there are more than 30 million people infected with HIV-1 and thousands more are infected each day. Vaccination is the single most effective mechanism for prevention of viral disease, and after more than 25 years of research, one vaccine has shown somewhat encouraging results in an advanced clinical efficacy trial. A modified intent-to-treat analysis of trial results showed that infection was approximately 30% lower in the vaccine group compared to the placebo group. The vaccine was administered using a heterologous prime-boost regimen in which both target antigens and delivery vehicles were changed during the course of inoculations. Here we examine the complexity of heterologous prime-boost immunizations. We show that the use of different delivery vehicles in prime and boost inoculations can help to avert the inhibitory effects caused by vector-specific immune responses. We also show that the introduction of new antigens into boost inoculations can be advantageous, demonstrating that the effect of ‘original antigenic sin’ is not absolute. Pre-clinical and clinical studies are reviewed, including our own work with a three-vector vaccination regimen using recombinant DNA, virus (Sendai virus or vaccinia virus and protein. Promising preliminary results suggest that the heterologous prime-boost strategy may possibly provide a foundation for the future prevention of HIV-1 infections in humans.

The Nature of Affective Priming in Music and Speech

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goerlich, K.S.; Witteman, J.; Schiller, N.O.; Van Heuven, V.J.; Aleman, A.; Martens, S.

The phenomenon of affective priming has caught scientific interest for over 30 years, yet the nature of the affective priming effect remains elusive. This study investigated the underlying mechanism of cross-modal affective priming and the influence of affective incongruence in music and speech on

The homeless pregnant woman.

Science.gov (United States)

Esen, Umo I

2017-09-01

Women who are pregnant and homeless constitute a unique group at significant risk of adverse foetal and maternal outcomes. Despite this heightened risk profile, social housing support to this group of women is less than satisfactory. Concerted effort and more collaborative working is needed by all who provide social, and healthcare services to homeless pregnant women, to improve the lot of these women. Clear definitions and legislative provisions in respect of the homeless will go a long way in reducing ambiguity and close loopholes which currently act to deny the homeless pregnant woman social housing support at a time when it is most needed.

(HIV) infection among pregnant women in an antenatal clinic in Port

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Women attending ante-natal clinic in Nigeria are routinely screened for HIV/AIDS. A retrospective study was conducted between 2000 and 2004 to investigate the prevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic in Braithwalte Memorial Hospital (BMH), Port ...

The priming of priming: Evidence that the N400 reflects context-dependent post-retrieval word integration in working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinhauer, Karsten; Royle, Phaedra; Drury, John E; Fromont, Lauren A

2017-06-09

Which cognitive processes are reflected by the N400 in ERPs is still controversial. Various recent articles (Lau et al., 2008; Brouwer et al., 2012) have revived the idea that only lexical pre-activation processes (such as automatic spreading activation, ASA) are strongly supported, while post-lexical integrative processes are not. Challenging this view, the present ERP study replicates a behavioral study by McKoon and Ratcliff (1995) who demonstrated that a prime-target pair such as finger - hand shows stronger priming when a majority of other pairs in the list share the analogous semantic relationship (here: part-whole), even at short stimulus onset asynchronies (250ms). We created lists with four different types of semantic relationship (synonyms, part-whole, category-member, and opposites) and compared priming for pairs in a consistent list with those in an inconsistent list as well as unrelated items. Highly significant N400 reductions were found for both relatedness priming (unrelated vs. inconsistent) and relational priming (inconsistent vs. consistent). These data are taken as strong evidence that N400 priming effects are not exclusively carried by ASA-like mechanisms during lexical retrieval but also include post-lexical integration in working memory. We link the present findings to a neurocomputational model for relational reasoning (Knowlton et al., 2012) and to recent discussions of context-dependent conceptual activations (Yee and Thompson-Schill, 2016). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improving Consumer Decisions: The Conscious Use of Primes as Performance Enhancers

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Leonardo Nicolao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Through this article we examine ways through which consumers can take advantage of marketers’ priming attempts and make better decisions. Specifically, we investigate what happens when individuals are made aware of primes that may potentially improve their performance. Using an Embedded Figures Test, we demonstrate that individuals can be consciously primed into an analytic thinking mindset and perform better when they believe that the prime will enhance performance. Individuals are able to successfully ignore the prime when they believe that the prime hinders performance. Utilizing both holistic and analytic primes and by alternating the valence of the prime’s potential outcome, we are able to disentangle the conscious effects of primes from demand effects. We discuss how these findings may lead to and suggest avenues for future research.

Persistent Structural Priming from Language Comprehension to Language Production

Science.gov (United States)

Bock, Kathryn; Dell, Gary S.; Chang, Franklin; Onishi, Kristine H.

2007-01-01

To examine the relationship between syntactic processes in language comprehension and language production, we compared structural persistence from sentence primes that speakers heard to persistence from primes that speakers produced. [Bock, J. K., & Griffin, Z. M. (2000). The persistence of structural priming: transient activation or implicit…

Protein turnover and 3-methylhistidine excretion in non-pregnant, pregnant and gestational diabetic women

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fitch, W.L.; King, J.C.

1986-01-01

Protein turnover was studied in nine non-pregnant (NP) women, eight pregnant (P) and two gestational diabetic (GDM) women. Whole body protein turnover, synthesis and catabolism rates were measured using a single oral dose of 15 N-glycine followed by measurement of enrichment of urinary ammonia. Urinary 3-methylhistidine (3MH) excretion was measured for three consecutive days, including the day of the protein turnover study. Whole body protein turnover and synthesis rates did not differ between the P and NP women, although the synthesis rates tended to be higher in the P group. Gestational diabetic women appeared to have considerably higher rates of both turnover and synthesis. Pregnant women excreted significantly more urinary 3MH than did non-pregnant women. GDM women appeared to have lower 3MH excretion than the P women. Correlation between 3MH excretion and protein turnover rates was nearly significant (p = .06) in the NP women, but was poorly correlated (p = .43) in the P women, suggesting that muscles may be a less important site of whole body protein turnover in pregnancy than in the non-pregnant state

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND RISK FACTORS HTLV VIRUS INFECTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN

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Adriella Silva Oliveira

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to perform an integrative review of the epidemiology and the main risk factors for infection with human T lymphotropic to cells (HTLV in pregnant women from the Brazilian scientific production. The articles were extracted from databases: Literature Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO, with nine selected articles published between the years 2000-2012. Upon review of the studies it was observed that Brazil has significant prevalence of HTLV in pregnant women, demonstrating the need for adequate attention to this indicator. Some risk factors indicated by the studies analyzed were: low education, criterion race/color (infected pregnant women were mostly black, brown or indigenous majority, vertical transmission, sexual transmission, multiple pregnancies and premature sexual activity. Therefore, it is Epidemiologia e fatores de risco da infecção do vírus HTLV em gestantes important serologic screening to prevent congenital infections, as well as the introduction of new studies on the infection in Brazil. Thus, it becomes evident the need for planning and implementation of prevention and control of HTLV in the prenatal for structuring measures that minimize the appearance of new infections in pregnant women and children due to vertical transmission, the main route of transmission.

Effects of Religious Priming Concepts on Prosocial Behavior Towards Ingroup and Outgroup.

Science.gov (United States)

Batara, Jame Bryan L; Franco, Pamela S; Quiachon, Mequia Angelo M; Sembrero, Dianelle Rose M

2016-11-01

Several studies show that there is a connection between religion and prosociality (e.g., Saroglou, 2013). To investigate whether there is a causal relationship between these two variables, a growing number of scholars employed priming religious concepts and measure its influence on prosocial behavior (e.g., Pichon, Boccato, & Saroglou, 2007). In the recent development of religious priming, Ritter and Preston (2013) argued that different primes (agent prime, spiritual/abstract prime, and institutional prime) may also have varying influence on prosocial behavior specifically helping an ingroup or an outgroup target. With this in mind, a 2 (social categorization of the target of help) by 3 (agent prime, institutional prime, spiritual prime) experiment was conducted to directly investigate this hypothesis. Results suggest that priming religious concepts especially the spiritual prime can increase prosocial behaviors. However, no significant effect was found on the social categorization which implies that Filipino participants elicit prosocial behavior regardless of the social categorization (be it ingroup or outgroup) of the target of help. The present study's findings contribute to further the literature on religious priming and its influence on prosocial behavior.

Arithmetically Related Ideal Topologies and the Infinitude of Primes ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

algebra. Mathematics Subject Classification (1991): 11N80, 11N25, 11A41, 11T99, 13A15, 20M25 Keywords: x-ideal, topological semigroup, ideal topology, infinitude of primes, generalized primes and integers, distribution, integers, specified multiplicative constraints, primes, ideals, multiplicative ideal theory, semigroup

HIV Surveillance Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics: Evolution and Current Direction.

Science.gov (United States)

Dee, Jacob; Garcia Calleja, Jesus M; Marsh, Kimberly; Zaidi, Irum; Murrill, Christopher; Swaminathan, Mahesh

2017-12-05

Since the late 1980s, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sentinel serosurveillance among pregnant women attending select antenatal clinics (ANCs) based on unlinked anonymous testing (UAT) has provided invaluable information for tracking HIV prevalence and trends and informing global and national HIV models in most countries with generalized HIV epidemics. However, increased coverage of HIV testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), and antiretroviral therapy has heightened ethical concerns about UAT. PMTCT programs now routinely collect demographic and HIV testing information from the same pregnant women as serosurveillance and therefore present an alternative to UAT-based ANC serosurveillance. This paper reports on the evolution and current direction of the global approach to HIV surveillance among pregnant women attending ANCs, including the transition away from traditional UAT-based serosurveillance and toward new guidance from the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS on the implementation of surveillance among pregnant women attending ANCs based on routine PMTCT program data. ©Jacob Dee, Jesus M Garcia Calleja, Kimberly Marsh, Irum Zaidi, Christopher Murrill, Mahesh Swaminathan. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 05.12.2017.

Religious Priming: A Meta-Analysis With a Focus on Prosociality.

Science.gov (United States)

Shariff, Azim F; Willard, Aiyana K; Andersen, Teresa; Norenzayan, Ara

2016-02-01

Priming has emerged as a valuable tool within the psychological study of religion, allowing for tests of religion's causal effect on a number of psychological outcomes, such as prosocial behavior. As the literature has grown, questions about the reliability and boundary conditions of religious priming have arisen. We use a combination of traditional effect-size analyses, p-curve analyses, and adjustments for publication bias to evaluate the robustness of four types of religious priming (Analyses 1-3), review the empirical evidence for religion's effect specifically on prosocial behavior (Analyses 4-5), and test whether religious-priming effects generalize to individuals who report little or no religiosity (Analyses 6-7). Results across 93 studies and 11,653 participants show that religious priming has robust effects across a variety of outcome measures-prosocial measures included. Religious priming does not, however, reliably affect non-religious participants-suggesting that priming depends on the cognitive activation of culturally transmitted religious beliefs. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Promoting Physical Activity through Priming the Content of Motivation

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Tom St Quinton

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Non-conscious processes are important in influencing the performance of a number of behaviors, such as physical activity. One way that such processes can be influenced is through priming. Despite this, approaches within health psychology have predominantly focused on reflective processes with a number of psychological theories dedicated to identifying the predictors of intention. In doing so, critical beliefs and thoughts are first identified and then altered within interventions. Such work has shown limited effectiveness, however, with a gap apparent between what one intends to do and what subsequently ensues. Although there have been attempts to bridge this gap, such as theoretical integration, recent efforts include priming implicit processes. The aim of this commentary is to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of priming non-conscious processes and to suggest that the content of motivation should also succumb to priming influences. This brief review suggests that priming one of the most influential conscious processes, that of self-efficacy, could demonstrate particular effectiveness in promoting physical activity. Thus, the main purpose of the article is to suggest that the content of implicit processes as well their more traditional conscious counterparts may provide useful intervention targets. To achieve this, the article will first introduce the role of non-conscious processes and behavioral priming. Following this, the more common reflective processes will be outlined as well as attempts at theoretical integration. Finally, the article will identify studies priming non-conscious processes and will then suggest priming self-efficacy.

Drug use by pregnant women and comparable non-pregnant women in The Netherlands with reference to the Australian classification system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schirm, Eric; Meijer, W.M.; Tobi, H; de Jong-van den Berg, Lolkje Theodora Wilhelmina

2004-01-01

Objective: To describe drug use in pregnancy, and compare drug use of pregnant women with non-pregnant women with respect to possible teratogenicity. Study design: A cross-sectional study based on pharmacy records from 1997 to 2001 was performed. Pregnant women and matched non-pregnant women (same

The lesser spotted pregnant surgeon.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, L C

2017-10-19

With more women entering surgical training, it will become more commonplace to encounter pregnant surgeons. This paper discusses the evidence for work-related risk factors as well as outlining the rights of a pregnant doctor. There are, in fact, very few real risks to pregnancy encountered as a surgeon, with the main risks involving standing or sitting for long periods and fatigue, which can be managed with support from the department. It is important for women in surgery to know that it is possible to continue their training while pregnant so they do not feel pressured into changing to a less demanding specialty or even leaving medicine entirely. It is also important for other professionals to understand the risks and choices faced by pregnant surgeons so that they can better support them in the workplace.

Boosting BCG-primed responses with a subunit Apa vaccine during the waning phase improves immunity and imparts protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nandakumar, Subhadra; Kannanganat, Sunil; Dobos, Karen M; Lucas, Megan; Spencer, John S; Amara, Rama Rao; Plikaytis, Bonnie B; Posey, James E; Sable, Suraj B

2016-05-13

Heterologous prime-boosting has emerged as a powerful vaccination approach against tuberculosis. However, optimal timing to boost BCG-immunity using subunit vaccines remains unclear in clinical trials. Here, we followed the adhesin Apa-specific T-cell responses in BCG-primed mice and investigated its BCG-booster potential. The Apa-specific T-cell response peaked 32-52 weeks after parenteral or mucosal BCG-priming but waned significantly by 78 weeks. A subunit-Apa-boost during the contraction-phase of BCG-response had a greater effect on the magnitude and functional quality of specific cellular and humoral responses compared to a boost at the peak of BCG-response. The cellular response increased following mucosal BCG-prime-Apa-subunit-boost strategy compared to Apa-subunit-prime-BCG-boost approach. However, parenteral BCG-prime-Apa-subunit-boost by a homologous route was the most effective strategy in-terms of enhancing specific T-cell responses during waning in the lung and spleen. Two Apa-boosters markedly improved waning BCG-immunity and significantly reduced Mycobacterium tuberculosis burdens post-challenge. Our results highlight the challenges of optimization of prime-boost regimens in mice where BCG drives persistent immune-activation and suggest that boosting with a heterologous vaccine may be ideal once the specific persisting effector responses are contracted. Our results have important implications for design of prime-boost regimens against tuberculosis in humans.

Population pharmacokinetics of artesunate and dihydroartemisinin in pregnant and non-pregnant women with malaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bose Carl

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The World Health Organization endorses the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy for treatment of acute uncomplicated falciparum malaria in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. However, the effects of pregnancy on the pharmacokinetics of artemisinin derivatives, such as artesunate (AS, are poorly understood. In this analysis, the population pharmacokinetics of oral AS, and its active metabolite dihydroartemisinin (DHA, were studied in pregnant and non-pregnant women at the Kingasani Maternity Clinic in the DRC. Methods Data were obtained from 26 pregnant women in the second (22 - 26 weeks or the third (32 - 36 weeks trimester of pregnancy and from 25 non-pregnant female controls. All subjects received 200 mg AS. Plasma AS and DHA were measured using a validated LC-MS method. Estimates for pharmacokinetic and variability parameters were obtained through nonlinear mixed effects modelling. Results A simultaneous parent-metabolite model was developed consisting of mixed zero-order, lagged first-order absorption of AS, a one-compartment model for AS, and a one-compartment model for DHA. Complete conversion of AS to DHA was assumed. The model displayed satisfactory goodness-of-fit, stability, and predictive ability. Apparent clearance (CL/F and volume of distribution (V/F estimates, with 95% bootstrap confidence intervals, were as follows: 195 L (139-285 L for AS V/F, 895 L/h (788-1045 L/h for AS CL/F, 91.4 L (78.5-109 L for DHA V/F, and 64.0 L/h (55.1-75.2 L/h for DHA CL/F. The effect of pregnancy on DHA CL/F was determined to be significant, with a pregnancy-associated increase in DHA CL/F of 42.3% (19.7 - 72.3%. Conclusions In this analysis, pharmacokinetic modelling suggests that pregnant women have accelerated DHA clearance compared to non-pregnant women receiving orally administered AS. These findings, in conjunction with a previous non-compartmental analysis of the modelled data, provide further evidence that

Method for priming and DNA sequencing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mugasimangalam, R.C.; Ulanovsky, L.E.

1997-12-01

A method is presented for improving the priming specificity of an oligonucleotide primer that is non-unique in a nucleic acid template which includes selecting a continuous stretch of several nucleotides in the template DNA where one of the four bases does not occur in the stretch. This also includes bringing the template DNA in contract with a non-unique primer partially or fully complimentary to the sequence immediately upstream of the selected sequence stretch. This results in polymerase-mediated differential extension of the primer in the presence of a subset of deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates that does not contain the base complementary to the base absent in the selected sequence stretch. These reactions occur at a temperature sufficiently low for allowing the extension of the non-unique primer. The method causes polymerase-mediated extension reactions in the presence of all four natural deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates or modifications. At this high temperature discrimination occurs against priming sites of the non-unique primer where the differential extension has not made the primer sufficiently stable to prime. However, the primer extended at the selected stretch is sufficiently stable to prime.

Auditory phonological priming in children and adults during word repetition

Science.gov (United States)

Cleary, Miranda; Schwartz, Richard G.

2004-05-01

Short-term auditory phonological priming effects involve changes in the speed with which words are processed by a listener as a function of recent exposure to other similar-sounding words. Activation of phonological/lexical representations appears to persist beyond the immediate offset of a word, influencing subsequent processing. Priming effects are commonly cited as demonstrating concurrent activation of word/phonological candidates during word identification. Phonological priming is controversial, the direction of effects (facilitating versus slowing) varying with the prime-target relationship. In adults, it has repeatedly been demonstrated, however, that hearing a prime word that rhymes with the following target word (ISI=50 ms) decreases the time necessary to initiate repetition of the target, relative to when the prime and target have no phonemic overlap. Activation of phonological representations in children has not typically been studied using this paradigm, auditory-word + picture-naming tasks being used instead. The present study employed an auditory phonological priming paradigm being developed for use with normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children. Initial results from normal-hearing adults replicate previous reports of faster naming times for targets following a rhyming prime word than for targets following a prime having no phonemes in common. Results from normal-hearing children will also be reported. [Work supported by NIH-NIDCD T32DC000039.

Effects of Religious Priming Concepts on Prosocial Behavior Towards Ingroup and Outgroup

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Jame Bryan L. Batara

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Several studies show that there is a connection between religion and prosociality (e.g., Saroglou, 2013. To investigate whether there is a causal relationship between these two variables, a growing number of scholars employed priming religious concepts and measure its influence on prosocial behavior (e.g., Pichon, Boccato, & Saroglou, 2007. In the recent development of religious priming, Ritter and Preston (2013 argued that different primes (agent prime, spiritual/abstract prime, and institutional prime may also have varying influence on prosocial behavior specifically helping an ingroup or an outgroup target. With this in mind, a 2 (social categorization of the target of help by 3 (agent prime, institutional prime, spiritual prime experiment was conducted to directly investigate this hypothesis. Results suggest that priming religious concepts especially the spiritual prime can increase prosocial behaviors. However, no significant effect was found on the social categorization which implies that Filipino participants elicit prosocial behavior regardless of the social categorization (be it ingroup or outgroup of the target of help. The present study’s findings contribute to further the literature on religious priming and its influence on prosocial behavior.

Stochastic resolution analysis of co-prime arrays in radar

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pribic, R; Coutiño Minguez, M.A.; Leus, G.J.T.

2016-01-01

Resolution from co-prime arrays and from a full ULA of the size equal to the virtual size of co-prime arrays is investigated. We take into account not only the resulting beam width but also the fact that fewer measurements are acquired by co-prime arrays. This fact is relevant in compressive

Pregnant Teenager Involvement in Sexual Activity and the Social Context

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Maria José Carvalho Sant'Anna

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Pregnancy during adolescence represents a challenge to society as a whole. Its incidence is increasing and brings about social and medical consequences to both the teen mothers and their children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate pregnant teenager involvement in sexual activity and the social context. The group studied comprised 152 pregnant teenagers attending the Department of Pediatrics, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo (SCSP General Hospital. All information was analyzed. The age at first intercourse was 14.2 years and the average period between first intercourse and pregnancy was 1.4 years. Most pregnancies (75% were neither planned nor wanted, however, most teen mothers (64.3% did not use any contraceptive method. Of the pregnant teenagers, 68.1% came from unstructured families where in 71% of the teen pregnancy cases, there was a role model (mother, sister, or cousin who already experienced teen pregnancy. The average number of school years attended by the analyzed pregnant teenagers was 8.1 years, however, there was a high dropout rate of 40.1%. The age at first intercourse was low and concurs with the high incidence of unstructured families. The average number of school years attended was high, which would theoretically reflect a greater knowledge with regard to human reproduction, pointing to the multicausality of teen pregnancy and the role played by the family. Conclusions: We confirmed that teen pregnancy presents multicausal etiology; sexual initiation of pregnant teenagers was quite early with high dropout rates, which indicated that prevention methodology should be based on early detection of risk factors for elaboration of appropriate prevention proposals.

urinary tract infections amongst pregnant women attending

African Journals Online (AJOL)

boaz

Urinary tract infection (UTI) constitutes a major health problem in pregnant women due to their relatively short urethra, which ... the urine samples of pregnant women prior to treatment. ... Of 500 asymptomatic pregnant women screened, 433.

Associative priming in a masked perceptual identification task: evidence for automatic processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pecher, Diane; Zeelenberg, René; Raaijmakers, Jeroen G W

2002-10-01

Two experiments investigated the influence of automatic and strategic processes on associative priming effects in a perceptual identification task in which prime-target pairs are briefly presented and masked. In this paradigm, priming is defined as a higher percentage of correctly identified targets for related pairs than for unrelated pairs. In Experiment 1, priming was obtained for mediated word pairs. This mediated priming effect was affected neither by the presence of direct associations nor by the presentation time of the primes, indicating that automatic priming effects play a role in perceptual identification. Experiment 2 showed that the priming effect was not affected by the proportion (.90 vs. .10) of related pairs if primes were presented briefly to prevent their identification. However, a large proportion effect was found when primes were presented for 1000 ms so that they were clearly visible. These results indicate that priming in a masked perceptual identification task is the result of automatic processes and is not affected by strategies. The present paradigm provides a valuable alternative to more commonly used tasks such as lexical decision.

Exploring the Pregnant Guinea Pig as a Model for Group B Streptococcus Intrauterine Infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrell, Maria I; Burnside, Kellie; Whidbey, Christopher; Vornhagen, Jay; Adams Waldorf, Kristina M; Rajagopal, Lakshmi

2017-09-01

Infection of the amniotic cavity remains a major cause of preterm birth, stillbirth, fetal injury and early onset, fulminant infections in newborns. Currently, there are no effective therapies to prevent in utero infection and consequent co-morbidities. This is in part due to the lack of feasible and appropriate animal models to understand mechanisms that lead to in utero infections. Use of mouse and rat models do not fully recapitulate human pregnancy, while pregnant nonhuman primate models are limited by ethical considerations, technical constraints, and cost. Given these limitations, the guinea pig is an attractive animal model for studying pregnancy infections, particularly as the placental structure is quite similar to the human placenta. Here, we describe our studies that explored the pregnant guinea pig as a model to study in utero Group B Streptococci (GBS) infections. We observed that intrauterine inoculation of wild type GBS in pregnant guinea pigs resulted in bacterial invasion and dissemination to the placenta, amniotic fluid and fetal organs. Also, hyperhemolytic GBS such as those lacking the hemolysin repressor CovR/S showed increased dissemination into the amniotic fluid and fetal organs such as the fetal lung and brain. These results are similar to those observed in mouse and non-human primate models of in utero infection, and support use of the guinea pig as a model for studying GBS infections in pregnancy.

Determination of mercury and methylmercury in Vietnamese pregnant woman head hair

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen Tac Anh; Ho Manh Dung; Le Tat Mua; Vu Tien Ha

1992-01-01

As a participant to the Coordinated Research Program (CRP) on the Assessment of Environmental Exposure to Mercury in Selected Human Populations as Studied by Nuclear and Other Techniques since 1 July 1992, the Vietnamese started to carry out work on project ''Determination of Mercury and Methylmercury in Vietnamese Pregnant Women Head Hair''. This study is aimed at making a concrete survey of hair mercury levels in groups of women as monitored continuously from early pregnancy to post-natal period. The obtained data could be of great usefulness for further investigation on potential health risks in pregnant women and their babies as related to degree of mercury pollution in the environment. 2 figs, 7 tabs

Salivary flow rate, pH, and concentrations of calcium, phosphate, and sIgA in Brazilian pregnant and non-pregnant women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindemann Laura

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies on salivary variables and pregnancy in Latin America are scarce. This study aimed to compare salivary flow rate, pH, and concentrations of calcium, phosphate, and sIgA of unstimulated whole saliva in pregnant and non-pregnant Brazilians. Methods Cross-sectional study. Sample was composed by 22 pregnant and 22 non-pregnant women attending the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics, São Lucas Hospital, in Porto Alegre city, South region of Brazil. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected to determine salivary flow rate, pH, and biochemical composition. Data were analyzed by Student t test and ANCOVA (two-tailed α = 0.05. Results No difference was found for salivary flow rates and concentrations of total calcium and phosphate between pregnant and non-pregnant women (p > 0.05. Pregnant women had lower pH (6.7 than non-pregnant women (7.5 (p Conclusion Some of the tested variables of unstimulated whole saliva were different between pregnant and non-pregnant Brazilians in this sample. Overall, the values of the tested salivary parameters were within the range of international references of normality.

Pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of vitamin D3 (70,000 IU in pregnant and non-pregnant women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roth Daniel E

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Improvements in antenatal vitamin D status may have maternal-infant health benefits. To inform the design of prenatal vitamin D3 trials, we conducted a pharmacokinetic study of single-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in women of reproductive age. Methods A single oral vitamin D3 dose (70,000 IU was administered to 34 non-pregnant and 27 pregnant women (27 to 30 weeks gestation enrolled in Dhaka, Bangladesh (23°N. The primary pharmacokinetic outcome measure was the change in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration over time, estimated using model-independent pharmacokinetic parameters. Results Baseline mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 54 nmol/L (95% CI 47, 62 in non-pregnant participants and 39 nmol/L (95% CI 34, 45 in pregnant women. Mean peak rise in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration above baseline was similar in non-pregnant and pregnant women (28 nmol/L and 32 nmol/L, respectively. However, the rate of rise was slightly slower in pregnant women (i.e., lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D on day 2 and higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D on day 21 versus non-pregnant participants. Overall, average 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 19 nmol/L above baseline during the first month. Supplementation did not induce hypercalcemia, and there were no supplement-related adverse events. Conclusions The response to a single 70,000 IU dose of vitamin D3 was similar in pregnant and non-pregnant women in Dhaka and consistent with previous studies in non-pregnant adults. These preliminary data support the further investigation of antenatal vitamin D3 regimens involving doses of ≤70,000 IU in regions where maternal-infant vitamin D deficiency is common. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00938600

Suggestibility and negative priming: two replication studies.

Science.gov (United States)

David, Daniel; Brown, Richard J

2002-07-01

Research suggests that inhibiting the effect of irrelevant stimuli on subsequent thought and action (cognitive inhibition) may be an important component of suggestibility. Two small correlation studies were conducted to address the relationship between different aspects of suggestibility and individual differences in cognitive inhibition, operationalized as the degree of negative priming generated by to-be-ignored stimuli in a semantic categorization task. The first study found significant positive correlations between negative priming, hypnotic suggestibility, and creative imagination; a significant negative correlation was obtained between negative priming and interrogative suggestibility, demonstrating the discriminant validity of the study results. The second study replicated the correlation between negative priming and hypnotic suggestibility, using a different suggestibility measurement procedure that assessed subjective experience and hypnotic involuntariness as well as objective responses to suggestions. These studies support the notion that the ability to engage in cognitive inhibition may be an important component of hypnotic responsivity and maybe of other forms of suggestibility.

Molecular Characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae Isolates From Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Women at Yazd University Hospital, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeh, Maryam; Firouzi, Roya; Derakhshandeh, Abdollah; Bagher Khalili, Mohammad; Kong, Fanrong; Kudinha, Timothy

2016-02-01

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B streptococcus, GBS) that colonize the vaginas of pregnant women may occasionally cause neonatal infections. It is one of the most common causes of sepsis and meningitis in neonates and of invasive diseases in pregnant women. It can also cause infectious disease among immunocompromised individuals. The distribution of capsular serotypes and genotypes varies over time and by geographic era. The serotyping and genotyping data of GBS in Iranian pregnant and non-pregnant women seems very limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the GBS ‎molecular capsular serotype ‎and genotype distribution of pregnant and non-pregnant carrier ‎women at Yazd university hospital, in Iran.‎. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 100 GBS strains isolated from 237 pregnant and 413 non-pregnant women were investigated for molecular capsular serotypes and surface protein genes using the multiplex PCR assay. The Chi-square method was used for statistical analysis. Out of 650 samples, 100 (15.4%) were identified as GBS, with a predominance of capsular serotypes III (50%) [III-1 (49), III-3 (1)], followed by II (25%), Ia (12%), V (11%), and Ib (2%), which was similar with another study conducted in Tehran, Iran, but they had no serotype Ia in their report. The surface protein antigen genes distribution was rib (53%), epsilon (38%), alp2/3 (6%), and alpha-c (3%). The determination of serotype and surface proteins of GBS strains distribution would ‎be ‎relevant ‎for the future possible formulation of a GBS vaccine.

Effects of low priming dose irradiation on cell cycle arrest of HepG2 cells caused by high dose irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Jingguang; Jin Xiaodong; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; Li Wenjian; Wang Jufang; Guo Chuanling; Gao Qingxiang

2005-01-01

Human hepatoma cells hepG2 were irradiated twice by 60 Co γ-rays with a priming dose of 5 cGy and a higher dose of 3 Gy performed 4h or 8h after the low dose irradiation. Effects of the priming dose irradiation on cell cycle arrest caused by high dose were examined with flow cytometry. Cells in G 2 /M phase accumulated temporarily after the 5 cGy irradiation, and proliferation of tumor cells was promoted significantly by the low dose irradiation. After the 3 Gy irradiation, G 2 phase arrest occurred, and S phase delayed temporally. In comparison with 3 kGy irradiation only, the priming dose delivered 4h prior to the high dose irradiation facilitated accumulation of hepG2 cells in G 2 /M phase, whereas the priming dose delivered 8h prior to the high dose irradiation helped the cells to overcome G 2 arrest. It was concluded that effects of the priming dose treatment on cell cycle arrest caused by high dose irradiation were dependent on time interval between the two irradiations. (authors)

DNA polymerase preference determines PCR priming efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Wenjing; Byrne-Steele, Miranda; Wang, Chunlin; Lu, Stanley; Clemmons, Scott; Zahorchak, Robert J; Han, Jian

2014-01-30

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is one of the most important developments in modern biotechnology. However, PCR is known to introduce biases, especially during multiplex reactions. Recent studies have implicated the DNA polymerase as the primary source of bias, particularly initiation of polymerization on the template strand. In our study, amplification from a synthetic library containing a 12 nucleotide random portion was used to provide an in-depth characterization of DNA polymerase priming bias. The synthetic library was amplified with three commercially available DNA polymerases using an anchored primer with a random 3' hexamer end. After normalization, the next generation sequencing (NGS) results of the amplified libraries were directly compared to the unamplified synthetic library. Here, high throughput sequencing was used to systematically demonstrate and characterize DNA polymerase priming bias. We demonstrate that certain sequence motifs are preferred over others as primers where the six nucleotide sequences at the 3' end of the primer, as well as the sequences four base pairs downstream of the priming site, may influence priming efficiencies. DNA polymerases in the same family from two different commercial vendors prefer similar motifs, while another commercially available enzyme from a different DNA polymerase family prefers different motifs. Furthermore, the preferred priming motifs are GC-rich. The DNA polymerase preference for certain sequence motifs was verified by amplification from single-primer templates. We incorporated the observed DNA polymerase preference into a primer-design program that guides the placement of the primer to an optimal location on the template. DNA polymerase priming bias was characterized using a synthetic library amplification system and NGS. The characterization of DNA polymerase priming bias was then utilized to guide the primer-design process and demonstrate varying amplification efficiencies among three commercially

Current exposure of 200 pregnant Danish women to phthalates, parabens and phenols

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tefre de Renzy-Martin, Katrine; Frederiksen, Hanne; Christensen, Jeppe Hagstrup

2014-01-01

Many phthalates, parabens and phenols are suspected to have endocrine disrupting properties in humans. They are found in consumer products, including food wrapping, cosmetics and building materials. The foetus is vulnerable and exposure to these chemicals is of particular concern for pregnant women...... still raise concern. As current toxicological risk assessments in humans do not take into account simultaneous exposure, the true cumulative risk for the foetus may be underestimated....

Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in South African Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Pregnant and Postpartum Women: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Madhi, Shabir A; Cutland, Clare L; Downs, Sarah; Jones, Stephanie; van Niekerk, Nadia; Simoes, Eric A F; Nunes, Marta C

2018-05-17

Limited data exist on the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) illness among pregnant women, to determine their potential benefit from RSV vaccination. We evaluated the incidence of RSV illness from midpregnancy until 24 weeks postpartum in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-uninfected and HIV-infected women and their infants. Mother-infant dyads were enrolled in maternal influenza vaccine efficacy trials. These included 1060 and 1056 HIV-uninfected pregnant women in 2011 and 2012, respectively, 194 HIV-infected pregnant women in 2011, and their infants. Upper respiratory tract samples obtained at illness visits were tested for RSV. The incidence (per 1000 person-months) of RSV illness (n = 43 overall) among HIV-uninfected women was lower in 2011 (1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], .6-2.2) than in 2012 (4.0; 95% CI, 2.8-5.6). The incidence of RSV illness (n = 5) in HIV-infected women was 3.4 (95% CI, 1.4-8.1). Maternal RSV infection was associated with respiratory symptoms including cough (72.1%), rhinorrhea (39.5%), sore throat (37.2%), and headache (42%), but fever was absent. RSV infection during pregnancy was not associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Postpartum, RSV infection in mothers (n = 27) was associated with concurrent infection among 51.9% of their infants and, conversely, 29.8% of mothers investigated within 7 days of their infants having an RSV illness also tested positive for RSV. RSV infection is associated with respiratory illness during pregnancy and postpartum. Vaccination of pregnant women against RSV could benefit the mother, albeit primarily against nonfebrile illness, and her infant. NCT01306669 and NCT01306682.

Alcohol Primes, Expectancies, and the Working Self-Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Joshua A.; Schlegel, Rebecca J.; Friedman, Ronald S.; McCarthy, Denis M.

2016-01-01

Previous research has shown that alcohol consumption can lead to momentary changes in the self-concept (e.g., Steele & Josephs, 1990). In two studies (n = 150), we examined whether the implicit activation of alcohol expectancies (i.e., sociability-related expectancies) would also lead to changes in self-perception. To test this idea, participants first completed a measure of sociability-related alcohol expectancies. In a subsequent laboratory session, participants were exposed to either alcohol-related primes (i.e., pictures or words associated with alcohol) or neutral primes. After the priming task, participants completed an ostensibly unrelated self-concept survey that contained words related to sociability (e.g., “outgoing”) and non-sociability related words (e.g., “clever”). For both studies, results revealed that sociability-related alcohol expectancies were positively associated with sociability-related self-concept ratings for participants exposed to alcohol primes, but not for participants exposed to the neutral primes. Implications for the role implicit self-concept activation may have on drinking behaviors are discussed. PMID:19769437

Visual Priming of Inverted and Rotated Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Knowlton, Barbara J.; McAuliffe, Sean P.; Coelho, Chase J.; Hummel, John E.

2009-01-01

Object images are identified more efficiently after prior exposure. Here, the authors investigated shape representations supporting object priming. The dependent measure in all experiments was the minimum exposure duration required to correctly identify an object image in a rapid serial visual presentation stream. Priming was defined as the change…

Priming in the Type I-F CRISPR-Cas system triggers strand-independent spacer acquisition, bi-directionally from the primed protospacer.

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Corinna; Dy, Ron L; McKenzie, Rebecca E; Watson, Bridget N J; Taylor, Corinda; Chang, James T; McNeil, Matthew B; Staals, Raymond H J; Fineran, Peter C

2014-07-01

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), in combination with CRISPR associated (cas) genes, constitute CRISPR-Cas bacterial adaptive immune systems. To generate immunity, these systems acquire short sequences of nucleic acids from foreign invaders and incorporate these into their CRISPR arrays as spacers. This adaptation process is the least characterized step in CRISPR-Cas immunity. Here, we used Pectobacterium atrosepticum to investigate adaptation in Type I-F CRISPR-Cas systems. Pre-existing spacers that matched plasmids stimulated hyperactive primed acquisition and resulted in the incorporation of up to nine new spacers across all three native CRISPR arrays. Endogenous expression of the cas genes was sufficient, yet required, for priming. The new spacers inhibited conjugation and transformation, and interference was enhanced with increasing numbers of new spacers. We analyzed ∼ 350 new spacers acquired in priming events and identified a 5'-protospacer-GG-3' protospacer adjacent motif. In contrast to priming in Type I-E systems, new spacers matched either plasmid strand and a biased distribution, including clustering near the primed protospacer, suggested a bi-directional translocation model for the Cas1:Cas2-3 adaptation machinery. Taken together these results indicate priming adaptation occurs in different CRISPR-Cas systems, that it can be highly active in wild-type strains and that the underlying mechanisms vary. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Macroscopic morphometry of the corpus luteum of pregnant and non-pregnant zebu cows in the Colombian tropics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco González T

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study was to determine the volume, weight, measures, ovarian location and shape of the corpus luteum of pregnant and non - pregnant cows from zebu cows of the Colombian tropics. 528 reproductive tracts were collected; 264 pregnant and 264 non-pregnant of cows benefited at the local slaughterhouse in Monteria, Córdoba, Colombia. The period of collection of the samples was extended for three months. After collection of each reproductive tract, the ovaries were separated, identified as right and left, weighed and measured. Then the drawing of the location of the corpus luteum was performed on the ovary according to the anatomical planes previously established in the corresponding form. Subsequently the corpus luteum was removed to perform their measurements, weighings and visualization of their shape. There were statistical differences between the locations of the corpus luteum in the ovary: Anterior pole, posterior pole, free edge, upper face and lower face (p≤0.05. The weight and volume of gestational corpus luteum was greater by 30 and 27.9% than the corpus luteum of non-pregnant cows. The predominant form por shape of the corpus luteum in both pregnant and non-pregnant cows was oval, then pyramidal and finally rounded. No gestation was observed contralateral to the location of the corpus luteum.

[Neural correlates of priming in vision: evidence from neuropsychology and neuroimaging].

Science.gov (United States)

Kristjánsson, Arni

2005-04-01

When we look around us, we are overall more likely to notice objects that we have recently looked at; an effect known as priming. For example, when the color or shape of a visual search target is repeated, observers find the target faster than otherwise. Here I summarize recent research undertaken to uncover the temporary changes in brain activity that accompany these priming effects. In light of the fact that priming seems to have a large effect on how attention is allocated, we investigated priming effects in a visual search task on patients suffering from the neurological disorder "hemispatial neglect" in which patients typically fail to notice display items in one of their visual hemifields. Priming of target color was relatively normal for these patients, while priming of target location seemed to require awareness of the briefly presented visual search target. An experiment with functional magnetic resonance imaging of normal observers revealed that both color and location priming had a strong modulatory influence on attentional mechanisms of the frontal and parietal cortex. Color priming was also correlated with changes in activity in visual cortex as well as color processing areas in the temporal lobe. Location priming was correlated with changes in activity near the temporo- parietal junction and lateral inferior frontal cortex, areas that have been connected with attentional capture; which ties well with our finding of deficits of location priming for the neglect patients who indeed have lesions in the temporo-parietal junction. Overall, the results confirm the tight coupling of visual attention and priming in vision, and also that the visual areas of the brain show some modulation of activity as priming develops.

Natural gas prime movers: A prime income opportunity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katz, M.G.

1997-01-01

Although almost every factory, for example, uses compressed air to operate and control equipment--from power tools to packaging machinery--most air compressors are driven by electric motors. Similarly, although industry uses refrigeration for everything from freezing food to chilling warehouses to making chemicals and ice to operating skating rinks, natural gas powers only about 100 industrial refrigeration units in North America. But several factors are beginning to make natural gas more attractive as a prime mover. For one thing, the rising cost of electricity, with its demand or time-of-day and summer on-peak charges, has everyone looking for ways to cut their electric bills. At the same time, in the wake of deregulation of the nation's electric industry, customers can build on-site power plants that use natural gas to generate their own electricity, or have outside power suppliers or energy service companies (ESCOs) do it for them. Waste and exhaust heat, which can represent up to 60% of the total energy supplied from both engines and turbines, can be captured and used. Finally, growing concern over electric power outages has made natural gas more attractive for mission-critical operations, while new financing options let people buy and install natural gas prime movers more easily

Comparison of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade in second trimester pregnant women and non-pregnant women.

Science.gov (United States)

Jun, I J; Jun, J; Kim, E M; Lee, K Y; Kim, N; Chung, M H; Choi, Y R; Choi, E M

2018-05-01

This study set out to compare the onset and duration of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade in second trimester pregnant women and non-pregnant women receiving general anesthesia. Forty-seven pregnant (Group P) and forty-seven non-pregnant (Group C) women were enrolled. Anesthesia was induced with propofol 2.0 mg/kg and rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg, and neuromuscular blockade was assessed with an accelerometric sensor using train-of-four stimulation (TOF-Watch® SX). Tracheal intubation was performed at maximum depression of the first twitch (T1) and anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane 1.5-2.5% and 50% oxygen in air. We recorded the times to maximum T1 depression and 5% and 25% T1 recovery, as well as the mean arterial pressure and heart rate at baseline, injection of rocuronium, intubation, and 5% and 25% T1 recovery. The onset of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade (time to maximum T1 depression) did not differ significantly between the groups. The duration (time to 25% T1 recovery) was significantly longer in Group P than in Group C (45.7 ± 12.9 min vs 40.6 ± 10.4 min, P rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade did not significantly differ in onset but lasted significantly longer in second trimester pregnant women compared with non-pregnant women. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prime-booster vaccination of cattle with an influenza viral vector Brucella abortus vaccine induces a long-term protective immune response against Brucella abortus infection.

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Tabynov, Kaissar; Yespembetov, Bolat; Ryskeldinova, Sholpan; Zinina, Nadezhda; Kydyrbayev, Zhailaubay; Kozhamkulov, Yerken; Inkarbekov, Dulat; Sansyzbay, Abylai

2016-01-20

This study analyzed the duration of the antigen-specific humoral and T-cell immune responses and protectiveness of a recently-developed influenza viral vector Brucella abortus (Flu-BA) vaccine expressing Brucella proteins Omp16 and L7/L12 and containing the adjuvant Montadine Gel01 in cattle. At 1 month post-booster vaccination (BV), both humoral (up to 3 months post-BV; GMT IgG ELISA titer 214±55 to 857±136, with a prevalence of IgG2a over IgG1 isotype antibodies) and T-cell immune responses were observed in vaccinated heifers (n=35) compared to control animals (n=35, injected with adjuvant/PBS only). A pronounced T-cell immune response was induced and maintained for 12 months post-BV, as indicated by the lymphocyte stimulation index (2.7±0.4 to 10.1±0.9 cpm) and production of IFN-γ (13.7±1.7 to 40.0±3.0 ng/ml) at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-BV. Prime-boost vaccination provided significant protection against B. abortus infection at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months (study duration) post-BV (7 heifers per time point; alpha=0.03-0.01 vs. control group). Between 57.1 and 71.4% of vaccinated animals showed no signs of B. abortus infection (or Brucella isolation) at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months post-BV; the severity of infection, as indicated by the index of infection (P=0.0003 to Brucella colonization (P=0.03 to abortus infection was also observed among pregnant vaccinated heifers (alpha=0.03), as well as their fetuses and calves (alpha=0.01), for 12 months post-BV. Additionally, 71.4% of vaccinated heifers calved successfully whereas all pregnant control animals aborted (alpha=0.01). Prime-boost vaccination of cattle with Flu-BA induces an antigen-specific humoral and pronounced T cell immune response and most importantly provides good protectiveness, even in pregnant heifers, for at least 12 months post-BV. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effects of the concreteness of differently valenced words on affective priming.

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Yao, Zhao; Wang, Zhenhong

2013-07-01

This study aimed to determine whether affective priming is influenced by the concreteness of emotional words. To address this question, we conducted three experiments using lexical decision-priming task. In Experiment 1, positive-abstract (PA) and positive-concrete (PC) words were used as primes to examine the effect of the concreteness of positive words on affective priming, and in Experiment 2, negative-abstract (NA) and negative-concrete (NC) words were used as primes to examine the effect of the concreteness of negative words on affective priming. Results showed that participants responded faster to affectively congruent-abstract trails than incongruent-abstract trails in PA prime conditions, but for PC or negative word (NC and NA) prime conditions, there were no differences between the response times of congruent trails and incongruent trails. To examine the reliability of the priming effects observed in Experiments 1 and 2, we set up a neutral condition as a baseline in Experiment 3, through which we confirmed the difference in the affective priming effect between positive and negative primes in a concrete-abstract dimension. PA words were found to have the tendency to possess more emotional load and facilitate affective association between the prime and the target. The study finding suggests that aside from arousal and valence, the concreteness of positive words also has an impact on affective priming effect. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Oxygen transfer rate identifies priming compounds in parsley cells.

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Schilling, Jana Viola; Schillheim, Britta; Mahr, Stefan; Reufer, Yannik; Sanjoyo, Sandi; Conrath, Uwe; Büchs, Jochen

2015-11-25

In modern agriculture, the call for an alternative crop protection strategy increases because of the desired reduction of fungicide and pesticide use and the continuously evolving resistance of pathogens and pests to agrochemicals. The direct activation of the plant immune system does not provide a promising plant protection measure because of high fitness costs. However, upon treatment with certain natural or synthetic compounds, plant cells can promote to a fitness cost-saving, primed state of enhanced defense. In the primed state, plants respond to biotic and abiotic stress with faster and stronger activation of defense, and this is often associated with immunity and abiotic stress tolerance. Until now, the identification of chemical compounds with priming-inducing activity (so-called plant activators) relied on tedious and invasive approaches, or required the late detection of secreted furanocoumarin phytoalexins in parsley cell cultures. Thus, simple, fast, straightforward, and noninvasive techniques for identifying priming-inducing compounds for plant protection are very welcome. This report demonstrates that a respiration activity-monitoring system (RAMOS) can identify compounds with defense priming-inducing activity in parsley cell suspension in culture. RAMOS relies on the quasi-continuous, noninvasive online determination of the oxygen transfer rate (OTR). Treatment of parsley culture cells with the known plant activator salicylic acid (SA), a natural plant defense signal, resulted in an OTR increase. Addition of the defense elicitor Pep13, a cell wall peptide of Phythophthora sojae, induced two distinctive OTR peaks that were higher in SA-primed cells than in unprimed cells upon Pep13 challenge. Both, the OTR increase after priming with SA and the Pep13 challenge were dose-dependent. Furthermore, there was a close correlation of a compound's activity to enhance the oxygen consumption in parsley cells and its capacity to prime Pep13-induced furanocoumarin

Measurement of Branching Fractions and Charge Asymmetries in B Meson Decays to eta(prime)K*, eta(prime)rho, and eta pi

CERN Document Server

Ford, W

2003-01-01

The present preliminary measurements of branching fractions and charge asymmetries for the B meson decays B -> eta(prime) K*, B -> eta(prime)rho, and B sup + -> eta(prime)pi sup +. The data were recorded with the BABAR detector at PEP-II and correspond to 89 x 10 sup 6 B(bar B) pairs produced in e sup + e sup - annihilation through the UPSILON(4S) resonance. They find the branching fractions BETA(B sup 0 -> eta K* sup 0) = (19.0 sub - sub 2 sub . sub 1 sup + sup 2 sup . sup 2 +- 1.3) x 10 sup - sup 6 , BETA(B sup + -> eta K* sup +) = (25.7 sub - sub 3 sub . sub 6 sup + sup 3 sup . sup 8 +- 1.8) x 10 sup - sup 6 with 90% confidence, and BETA(B sup + -> eta(prime)pi sup +) = (2.8 sub - sub 1 sub . sub 0 sup + sup 1 sup . sup 3 +- 0.3) x 10 sup - sup 6 ( eta(prime)K* sup 0) eta(prime)K* sup +) < 12 x 10 sup - sup 6. The time-integrated charge asymmetries are A sub c sub h (eta K* sup 0) = +0.03 +- 0.11 +- 0.02, A sub c sub h (eta K* sup +) = +0.15 +- 0.14 +- 0.02, and A sub c sub h (eta rho sup +) = +0.06 +-...

The role of the placenta in the initiation of spiral artery remodelling in an early pregnant chimpanzee uterus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vercruysse, L; Carter, A. M.; Pijnenborg, R

2017-01-01

Introduction In this study we evaluated the full extent of placental bed changes (centre to periphery) in a pregnant chimpanzee uterus, kept at the Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium. According to placental size the specimen was equivalent to an 8 weeks pregnant human uterus. Methods...... to be a feature of the placental bed as a whole, being significantly less prominent in the adjacent non-placental bed part of the uterus, indicating an effect of the presence of the placenta. The different time-course of early spiral artery remodelling in the chimpanzee as compared to the human may have had...

TB-HIV co-infection among pregnant women in Karnataka, South India: A case series.

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Suresh, Shastri; Sharath, Burugina N; Anita, Shet; Lalitha, Ravindra; Prasad, Tripathy J; Rewari, Bharat B

2016-01-01

Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant contributor to mortality in HIV-infected patients. Concurrent TB infection is also a significant contributing factor to maternal mortality in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected pregnant women. Studies addressing the outcomes of TB and HIV co-infection among pregnant women are generally infrequent. Although limited, the records maintained by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) and the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) in Karnataka State, Southern India provide information about the numbers of pregnant women who are co-infected with TB and HIV and their pregnancy outcomes. We reviewed the data and conducted this study to understand how TB-HIV co-infection influences the outcomes of pregnancy in this setting. We sought to determine the incidence and treatment and delivery outcomes of TB-HIV co-infected pregnant women in programmatic settings in Karnataka State in southern India. The study participants were all the HIV-infected pregnant women who were screened for tuberculosis under the NACP from 2008 to 2012. For the purposes of this study, the program staff in the field gathered the data regarding on treatment and delivery outcomes of pregnant women. A total of seventeen pregnant women with TB-HIV co-infection were identified among 3,165,729 pregnant women (for an incidence of 5.4 per million pregnancies). The median age of these pregnant women was 24 years, and majority were primiparous women with WHO HIV stage III disease and were on a stavudine-based ART regimen. The maternal mortality rates were 18% before delivery and 24% after delivery. The abortion rate was 24%, and the neonatal mortality rate was 10%. The anti-tuberculosis treatment and anti-retroviral treatment outcome mortality rates were 30% and 53%, respectively. Although the incidence of TB among the HIV-infected pregnant women was marginally less than that among the non-HIV-infected women, the delivery outcomes were relatively

Searching for control: priming randomness increases the evaluation of ritual efficacy.

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Legare, Cristine H; Souza, André L

2014-01-01

Reestablishing feelings of control after experiencing uncertainty has long been considered a fundamental motive for human behavior. We propose that rituals (i.e., socially stipulated, causally opaque practices) provide a means for coping with the aversive feelings associated with randomness due to the perception of a connection between ritual action and a desired outcome. Two experiments were conducted (one in Brazil [n = 40] and another in the United States [n = 94]) to evaluate how the perceived efficacy of rituals is affected by feelings of randomness. In a between-subjects design, the Scramble Sentence Task was used as a priming procedure in three conditions (i.e., randomness, negativity, and neutral) and participants were then asked to rate the efficacy of rituals used for problem-solving purposes. The results demonstrate that priming randomness increased participants' perception of ritual efficacy relative to negativity and neutral conditions. Implications for increasing our understanding of the relationship between perceived control and ritualistic behavior are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

7 CFR 29.1166 - Primings (P Group).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Primings (P Group). 29.1166 Section 29.1166... REGULATIONS TOBACCO INSPECTION Standards Grades § 29.1166 Primings (P Group). This group consists of round-tipped leaves from the lowest portion of the stalk. Leaves of the P group ripen prematurely as a result...

Rabies Vaccine Hesitancy and Deaths Among Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women - Vietnam, 2015-2016.

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Nguyen, Huong T T; Tran, Cuc H; Dang, Anh D; Tran, Huong G T; Vu, Thiem D; Pham, Thach N; Nguyen, Hoang V; Nguyen, Anh N K; Pieracci, Emily G; Tran, Duong N

2018-03-02

Human rabies deaths are preventable through prompt administration of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) with rabies immune globulin and rabies vaccine after exposure to a rabid animal (1); there are no known contraindications to receiving PEP (1,2). Despite widespread availability of PEP in Vietnam, in 2015 the Ministry of Health (MoH) received reports of pregnant and breastfeeding women with clinically diagnosed rabies. MoH investigated factors associated with these rabies cases. MoH found that, during 2015-2016, among 169 cases reported in Vietnam, two probable cases of rabies were reported in breastfeeding mothers and four in pregnant women, all of whom had been bitten by dogs. All six patients died. Three of the four pregnant women had cesarean deliveries. One of the three newborns died from complications believed to be unrelated to rabies; the fourth pregnant woman contracted rabies too early in pregnancy for the fetus to be viable. Two of the patients sought care from a medical provider or traditional healer; however, none sought PEP after being bitten. In each case, families reported the patient's fear of risk to the fetus or breastfed child as the primary barrier to receiving PEP. These findings highlight the need for public health messaging about the safety and effectiveness of PEP in preventing rabies among all persons with exposures, including pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Priming healthy eating. You can't prime all the people all of the time.

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Forwood, Suzanna E; Ahern, Amy L; Hollands, Gareth J; Ng, Yin-Lam; Marteau, Theresa M

2015-06-01

In the context of a food purchasing environment filled with advertising and promotions, and an increased desire from policy makers to guide individuals toward choosing healthier foods, this study tests whether priming methods that use healthy food adverts to increase preference for healthier food generalize to a representative population. In two studies (Study 1 n = 143; Study 2 n = 764), participants were randomly allocated to a prime condition, where they viewed fruit and vegetable advertisements, or a control condition, with no advertisements. A subsequent forced choice task assessed preference between fruits and other sweet snacks. Additional measures included current hunger and thirst, dietary restraint, age, gender, education and self-reported weight and height. In Study 1, hunger reduced preferences for fruits (OR (95% CI) = 0.38 (0.26-0.56), p choice was unaffected by hunger or the prime. This study provides preliminary evidence that the effects of adverts on healthy eating choices depend on key individual traits (education level) and states (hunger), do not generalize to a broader population and have the potential to increase health inequalities arising from food choice. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Priming healthy eating. You can't prime all the people all of the time☆

Science.gov (United States)

Forwood, Suzanna E.; Ahern, Amy L.; Hollands, Gareth J.; Ng, Yin-Lam; Marteau, Theresa M.

2015-01-01

Objective In the context of a food purchasing environment filled with advertising and promotions, and an increased desire from policy makers to guide individuals toward choosing healthier foods, this study tests whether priming methods that use healthy food adverts to increase preference for healthier food generalize to a representative population. MethodsIn two studies (Study 1 n = 143; Study 2 n = 764), participants were randomly allocated to a prime condition, where they viewed fruit and vegetable advertisements, or a control condition, with no advertisements. A subsequent forced choice task assessed preference between fruits and other sweet snacks. Additional measures included current hunger and thirst, dietary restraint, age, gender, education and self-reported weight and height. ResultsIn Study 1, hunger reduced preferences for fruits (OR (95% CI) = 0.38 (0.26–0.56), p choice was unaffected by hunger or the prime. ConclusionThis study provides preliminary evidence that the effects of adverts on healthy eating choices depend on key individual traits (education level) and states (hunger), do not generalize to a broader population and have the potential to increase health inequalities arising from food choice. PMID:25636234

Suggestion-Induced Modulation of Semantic Priming during Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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Ulrich, Martin; Kiefer, Markus; Bongartz, Walter; Grön, Georg; Hoenig, Klaus

2015-01-01

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a primed visual lexical decision task, we investigated the neural and functional mechanisms underlying modulations of semantic word processing through hypnotic suggestions aimed at altering lexical processing of primes. The priming task was to discriminate between target words and pseudowords presented 200 ms after the prime word which was semantically related or unrelated to the target. In a counterbalanced study design, each participant performed the task once at normal wakefulness and once after the administration of hypnotic suggestions to perceive the prime as a meaningless symbol of a foreign language. Neural correlates of priming were defined as significantly lower activations upon semantically related compared to unrelated trials. We found significant suggestive treatment-induced reductions in neural priming, albeit irrespective of the degree of suggestibility. Neural priming was attenuated upon suggestive treatment compared with normal wakefulness in brain regions supporting automatic (fusiform gyrus) and controlled semantic processing (superior and middle temporal gyri, pre- and postcentral gyri, and supplementary motor area). Hence, suggestions reduced semantic word processing by conjointly dampening both automatic and strategic semantic processes. PMID:25923740

Suggestion-Induced Modulation of Semantic Priming during Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

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Martin Ulrich

Full Text Available Using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a primed visual lexical decision task, we investigated the neural and functional mechanisms underlying modulations of semantic word processing through hypnotic suggestions aimed at altering lexical processing of primes. The priming task was to discriminate between target words and pseudowords presented 200 ms after the prime word which was semantically related or unrelated to the target. In a counterbalanced study design, each participant performed the task once at normal wakefulness and once after the administration of hypnotic suggestions to perceive the prime as a meaningless symbol of a foreign language. Neural correlates of priming were defined as significantly lower activations upon semantically related compared to unrelated trials. We found significant suggestive treatment-induced reductions in neural priming, albeit irrespective of the degree of suggestibility. Neural priming was attenuated upon suggestive treatment compared with normal wakefulness in brain regions supporting automatic (fusiform gyrus and controlled semantic processing (superior and middle temporal gyri, pre- and postcentral gyri, and supplementary motor area. Hence, suggestions reduced semantic word processing by conjointly dampening both automatic and strategic semantic processes.

Filling in the Gaps: Priming and the Ethics of Pharmaceutical Advertising.

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Biegler, Paul

2015-06-01

A prime is a cue that makes associated concepts, behaviors, and goals more psychologically accessible to people, influencing their responses in subsequent related environments. I build a case that Direct to Consumer Advertising of Prescription Pharmaceuticals (DTCA) operates as a prime that causes some viewers to prefer and pursue the advertised drug. Drawing on literature from social psychology I show that people subject to priming are mostly unaware of its influence and liable to misattribute the reasons for their primed actions. Misattribution typically includes heightened appraisals of the value of a primed goal. Consistent with this account, I argue that viewers primed by DTCA hold favorable, yet false beliefs about the safety and efficacy of the advertised drug. I further argue that, because those drug properties are material to viewers with the relevant illness, priming in DTCA can undermine the autonomy of their medicine choices. The threat to autonomy posed by priming in DTCA suggests it warrants attention from both regulators and the wider research community. It also adds further reason to be sceptical about the permissibility of this form of advertising.

Anterior medial prefrontal cortex implements social priming of mimicry.

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Wang, Yin; Hamilton, Antonia F de C

2015-04-01

The neural and cognitive mechanisms by which primed constructs can impact on social behavior are poorly understood. In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore how scrambled sentence priming can impact on mimicry behavior. Sentences involving pro/antisocial events from a first/third-person point of view were presented in short blocks, followed by a reaction-time assessment of mimicry. Behavioral results showed that both prosociality and viewpoint impact on mimicry, and fMRI analysis showed this effect is implemented by anterior medial prefrontal cortex (amPFC). We suggest that social primes may subtly modulate processing in amPFC in a manner linked to the later behavior, and that this same region also implements the top-down control of mimicry responses. This priming may be linked to processing of self-schemas in amPFC. Our findings demonstrate how social priming can be studied with fMRI, and have important implications for our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of prime-to-behavior effects as well as for current theories in social psychology. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Positional priming of pop-out is nested in visuospatial context.

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Gokce, Ahu; Müller, Hermann J; Geyer, Thomas

2013-11-26

The present study investigated facilitatory and inhibitory positional priming using a variant of Maljkovic and Nakayama's (1996) priming of pop-out task. Here, the singleton target and the distractors could be presented in different visuospatial contexts-but identical screen locations-across trials, permitting positional priming based on individual locations to be disentangled from priming based on interitem configural relations. The results revealed both significant facilitatory priming, i.e., faster reaction times (RTs) to target presented at previous target relative to previously empty locations, and inhibitory priming, i.e., slower RTs to target at previous distractor relative to previously empty locations. However, both effects were contingent on repetitions versus changes of stimulus arrangement: While facilitation of target locations was dependent on the repetition of the exact item configuration (e.g., T-type followed by T-type stimulus arrangement), the inhibitory effect was more "tolerant," being influenced by repetitions versus changes of the item's visuospatial category (T-type followed by Z-type pattern; cf. Garner & Clement, 1963). The results suggest that facilitatory and inhibitory priming are distinct phenomena (Finke et al., 2009) and that both effects are sensitive to subtle information about the arrangement of the display items (Geyer, Zehetleitner, & Müller, 2010). The results are discussed with respect to the stage(s) of visual pop-out search that are influenced by positional priming.

Estimation of daily energy expenditure in pregnant and non-pregnant women using a wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometer.

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van Hees, Vincent T; Renström, Frida; Wright, Antony; Gradmark, Anna; Catt, Michael; Chen, Kong Y; Löf, Marie; Bluck, Les; Pomeroy, Jeremy; Wareham, Nicholas J; Ekelund, Ulf; Brage, Søren; Franks, Paul W

2011-01-01

Few studies have compared the validity of objective measures of physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) in pregnant and non-pregnant women. PAEE is commonly estimated with accelerometers attached to the hip or waist, but little is known about the validity and participant acceptability of wrist attachment. The objectives of the current study were to assess the validity of a simple summary measure derived from a wrist-worn accelerometer (GENEA, Unilever Discover, UK) to estimate PAEE in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and to evaluate participant acceptability. Non-pregnant (N = 73) and pregnant (N = 35) Swedish women (aged 20-35 yrs) wore the accelerometer on their wrist for 10 days during which total energy expenditure (TEE) was assessed using doubly-labelled water. PAEE was calculated as 0.9×TEE-REE. British participants (N = 99; aged 22-65 yrs) wore accelerometers on their non-dominant wrist and hip for seven days and were asked to score the acceptability of monitor placement (scored 1 [least] through 10 [most] acceptable). There was no significant correlation between body weight and PAEE. In non-pregnant women, acceleration explained 24% of the variation in PAEE, which decreased to 19% in leave-one-out cross-validation. In pregnant women, acceleration explained 11% of the variation in PAEE, which was not significant in leave-one-out cross-validation. Median (IQR) acceptability of wrist and hip placement was 9(8-10) and 9(7-10), respectively; there was a within-individual difference of 0.47 (p<.001). A simple summary measure derived from a wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometer adds significantly to the prediction of energy expenditure in non-pregnant women and is scored acceptable by participants.

Estimation of daily energy expenditure in pregnant and non-pregnant women using a wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincent T van Hees

Full Text Available Few studies have compared the validity of objective measures of physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE in pregnant and non-pregnant women. PAEE is commonly estimated with accelerometers attached to the hip or waist, but little is known about the validity and participant acceptability of wrist attachment. The objectives of the current study were to assess the validity of a simple summary measure derived from a wrist-worn accelerometer (GENEA, Unilever Discover, UK to estimate PAEE in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and to evaluate participant acceptability.Non-pregnant (N = 73 and pregnant (N = 35 Swedish women (aged 20-35 yrs wore the accelerometer on their wrist for 10 days during which total energy expenditure (TEE was assessed using doubly-labelled water. PAEE was calculated as 0.9×TEE-REE. British participants (N = 99; aged 22-65 yrs wore accelerometers on their non-dominant wrist and hip for seven days and were asked to score the acceptability of monitor placement (scored 1 [least] through 10 [most] acceptable.There was no significant correlation between body weight and PAEE. In non-pregnant women, acceleration explained 24% of the variation in PAEE, which decreased to 19% in leave-one-out cross-validation. In pregnant women, acceleration explained 11% of the variation in PAEE, which was not significant in leave-one-out cross-validation. Median (IQR acceptability of wrist and hip placement was 9(8-10 and 9(7-10, respectively; there was a within-individual difference of 0.47 (p<.001.A simple summary measure derived from a wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometer adds significantly to the prediction of energy expenditure in non-pregnant women and is scored acceptable by participants.

Nutritional status among women with pre-eclampsia and healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women in a Latin American country.

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Reyes, Laura; Garcia, Ronald; Ruiz, Silvia; Dehghan, Mahshid; López-Jaramillo, Patricio

2012-03-01

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been proposed that, among other risk factors, the nutritional status of women can lead to the endothelial dysfunction that characterizes this entity. The aim of the present study was to compare the nutritional status of women with PE with healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women. A multicenter case-control study was carried out. Between September 2006 and July 2009, 201 women with PE were compared with 201 pregnant, and 201 non-pregnant aged-matched women without cardiovascular or endocrine diseases. A clinical history and physical examination was performed. Fasting blood samples were drawn to measure serum glucose and lipid profile. The nutritional status of participants was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. The average age of women was 26.6 ± 7.2 years. Compared to healthy pregnant controls, women with PE had a higher body mass index, higher fasting blood glucose levels, higher triglycerides, and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Women with PE had a higher intake of carbohydrates, energy intake and cereal compared to healthy pregnant and non-pregnant controls. A conditional logistic regression demonstrated that carbohydrate and sodium intake are associated with PE development. Diets of women with PE were characterized by higher energy and carbohydrate intake compared to normal pregnant and non-pregnant women. This suggests that higher carbohydrate and sodium intake increases the risk of PE among women in Colombia. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2012 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Almost Fixed-Point-Free Automorphisms of Prime Power Order

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B.A.F. Wehrfritz

2016-06-01

Full Text Available We study the effect under various rank restrictions of a group having an automorphism of prime power order whose fixed-point set is also finite of prime power order for the same prime. Generally our conclusions are that the group has a soluble normal subgroup of bounded derived length. Not surprisingly the bound gets larger as the rank restrictions get weaker.

Pregnant teenagers' group: contributions to prenatal care.

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Queiroz, Maria Veraci Oliveira; Menezes, Giselle Maria Duarte; Silva, Thaís Jormanna Pereira; Brasil, Eysler Gonçalves Maia; Silva, Raimunda Magalhães da

2017-06-05

To describe changes in nurses' care following the implementation of a group of pregnant teenagers in prenatal care based on the expectations and experiences of pregnant teenagers. Qualitative and descriptive study conducted from February to November 2013 at a Primary Care Unit in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, through focus groups with 16 adolescents from the group of pregnant women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. The analysis identified central ideas and units of meanings that formed the categories. The strategy of a group of pregnant teenagers, which provides a space for coexistence and the establishment of ties encourages these individuals to talk about their needs, re-signifying their ties. Educational strategies to promote self-care of pregnant teenagers and care for their babies involve the sharing of experiences, doubts and beliefs. Considerations and suggestions of the adolescents contributed to guide nurses' practice and provide a strategic space of care and support for pregnant adolescents in primary care.

Comparison of renal venous blood flow between normal pregnant women and non-pregnant women by colour and duplex doppler sonography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, S.; Butt, R.W.; Masoud, R; Umar, M.; Shakil, U.

2012-01-01

To investigate whether normal pregnancy has a significant effect on intrarenal venous blood flow and to assess whether the physiological maternal pyelocaliectasis causes a measurable change in venous impedance indices in pregnant women. Study Design: Cross sectional comparative study. Place and duration of study: Radiology Departments, KRL Hospital Islamabad and Combined Military Hospital Lahore from Jan 2010 to Jul 2010 Patients and Methods: A total of 50 normal pregnant women in their second and third trimester and 50 controls, i.e. normal non-pregnant married healthy women of childbearing age were included in the study. Confounding variables were controlled by excluding subjects having recent or previous renal calculi, pathological renal conditions or congenital renal anomalies or generalized disorders affecting haemodynamics ruled out by history, clinical examination and ultrasound examination in both pregnant and non-pregnant women. Results: After grading the degree of hydronephrosis, venous impedance index was obtained from the interlobar veins. Overall the collecting system dilatation was present in 60 % of 50 right kidneys and 42 % of 50 left kidneys in the pregnant women. The venous impedance indices were significantly lower in 50 pregnant women than the values in non-pregnant subjects (p< 0.001 for the right and the left kidney). The overall difference in venous impedance indices between right and left kidneys was not significant in pregnant women (p = 0.11). There was an inverse correlation between the grade of pelvicalyceal dilatation and the venous impedance indices in both kidneys in 50 pregnant women. Conclusion: Normal pregnancy causes dilatation of the pelvicalyceal system and significant reduction in renal venous impedance index values in second and third trimesters. Therefore one should be careful in interpretation of an abnormally reduced venous impedance index and hydronephrosis as a sign of pathological ureteral obstruction in pregnant women

Cognitive factors associated with the willingness for HIV testing among pregnant women in China.

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Li, Chunrong; Yang, Liu; Kong, Jinwang

2014-01-01

The spread of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic in the worldwide trend is not contained effectively. The pregnant women infected HIV seriously in the high HIV epidemic areas in China. The transmission of HIV to child may be cut off if HIV positive mother was found early by HIV testing. Pregnant women mandatorily received the HIV counseling and testing services. Most of them did not know the knowledge about HIV prevention and were not willing to receive HIV testing actively. Willingness for HIV testing among pregnant women was investigated, which can help to promote them to take up HIV testing actively. This study assessed the prevalence of the willingness for HIV testing and cognitive factors associated with it. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to 500 pregnant women via face-to-face interviews with anonymous structured questionnaire guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM). The prevalence of the willingness for HIV testing was 58.60%. Perceived higher susceptibility to HIV (multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (ORm) = 2.02, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.40-5.06), more knowledge for HIV (ORm = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.11-3.87) and perceived less social stigma (ORm = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.34-0.91) were associated with higher willingness for HIV testing among pregnant women. To prevent HIV mother to children transmission, it is necessary to enhance knowledge for HIV, change cognitive factors and increase willingness for HIV testing among pregnant women.

Seed priming improves salinity tolerance of wheat varieties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamal, Y.; Shafi, M.; Arif, M.

2011-01-01

To evaluate the response of wheat varieties to seed priming and salinity, an experiment was conducted in completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications at Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), KPK Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan. The performance of 6 wheat varieties (Tatara-96, Ghaznavi-98, Fakhri Sarhad, Bakhtawar-92, Pirsabaq-2004 and Auqab-2000) at two seed conditions (primed with 30 mM NaCl and un primed) under four salinity levels (0, 40, 80 and 120 mM) was studied. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that salinity, seed priming and varieties had significantly (P= 0.05) affected shoot fresh weight plant/sup -1/ shoot dry weight plant/sup -1/, shoot Na/sup +/ contents (mg g/sup -1/ dry weight), shoot K/sup +/ contents (mg g/sup -1/ dry weight) and shoot K/sup +/Na/sup +/ ratio. Maximum shoot fresh weight plant/sup -1/ (7.71 g), shoot dry weight plant/sup -1/ (1.68 g), shoot K/sup +/ contents (1.39 mg g/sup -1/ dry weight) and shoot K/sup +/ Na/sup +/ratio (1.45) were recorded from Bakhtawar-92 as compared with other varieties. Highest shoot Na/sup +/ contents (1.43 mg g/sup -1/ dry weight) were recorded from Auqab-2000 when compared with other varieties. All parameters were enhanced with seed priming except shoot Na/sup +/ contents, which reduced significantly (p= 0.05) with seed priming. (author)

Comments on ICRP-60 rationale for dose limits for the pregnant worker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, D.K.

1992-06-01

ICRP Publication 60 has recently recommended new dose limits for the radiation exposure of pregnant workers. These new dose limits for pregnant workers are more restrictive than the current limits in force in Canada. Recent presentations by Dr. R.H. Mole have faulted the arguments provided by ICRP as justification for reducing the previously recommended limits for pregnant radiation workers. The present paper provides a brief review of the development of the human conceptus, of the biological effects of low doses of radiation on the foetus, and discusses R.H. Mole's comments on ICRP-60. On the critical issues concerning the presence or absence of threshold doses for induction of specific biological endpoints, Dr. Mole and ICRP-60 appear to be in agreement. The basic disagreement between Dr. Mole and ICRP-60 seems to revolve around the philosophical question of whether dose limits should be based on quantitative risks to the foetus or whether dose limits to the pregnant worker should provide a standard of protection to the foetus which is broadly comparable with that provided for members of the general public. Further research is recommended on one of the topics raised by Dr. Mole, namely, foetal doses from radionuclides inhaled or ingested by the mother

An extracellular subtilase switch for immune priming in Arabidopsis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vicente Ramírez

Full Text Available In higher eukaryotes, induced resistance associates with acquisition of a priming state of the cells for a more effective activation of innate immunity; however, the nature of the components for mounting this type of immunological memory is not well known. We identified an extracellular subtilase from Arabidopsis, SBT3.3, the overexpression of which enhances innate immune responses while the loss of function compromises them. SBT3.3 expression initiates a durable autoinduction mechanism that promotes chromatin remodeling and activates a salicylic acid(SA-dependent mechanism of priming of defense genes for amplified response. Moreover, SBT3.3 expression-sensitized plants for enhanced expression of the OXI1 kinase gene and activation of MAP kinases following pathogen attack, providing additional clues for the regulation of immune priming by SBT3.3. Conversely, in sbt3.3 mutant plants pathogen-mediated induction of SA-related defense gene expression is drastically reduced and activation of MAP kinases inhibited. Moreover, chromatin remodeling of defense-related genes normally associated with activation of an immune priming response appear inhibited in sbt3.3 plants, further indicating the importance of the extracellular SBT3.3 subtilase in the establishment of immune priming. Our results also point to an epigenetic control in the regulation of plant immunity, since SBT3.3 is up-regulated and priming activated when epigenetic control is impeded. SBT3.3 represents a new regulator of primed immunity.

Anxiety and depression symptoms among sub-fertile women, women pregnant after infertility treatment, and naturally pregnant women.

Science.gov (United States)

Salih Joelsson, L; Tydén, T; Wanggren, K; Georgakis, M K; Stern, J; Berglund, A; Skalkidou, A

2017-09-01

Infertility has been associated with psychological distress, but whether these symptoms persist after achieving pregnancy via assisted reproductive technology (ART) remains unclear. We compared the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms between women seeking for infertility treatment and women who conceived after ART or naturally. Four hundred and sixty-eight sub-fertile non-pregnant women, 2972 naturally pregnant women and 143 women pregnant after ART completed a questionnaire in this cross-sectional study. The Anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A≥8) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS≥12) were used for assessing anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Multivariate Poisson regression models with robust variance were applied to explore associations with anxiety and depressive symptoms. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among sub-fertile, non-pregnant women (57.6% and 15.7%, respectively) were significantly higher compared to women pregnant after ART (21.1% and 8.5%, respectively) and naturally pregnant women (18.8% and 10.3%, respectively). History of psychiatric diagnosis was identified as an independent risk factor for both anxiety and depressive symptoms. The presence of at least one unhealthy lifestyle behavior (daily tobacco smoking, weekly alcohol consumption, BMI≥25, and regular physical exercise<2h/week) was also associated with anxiety (Prevalence Ratio, PR: 1.24; 95%CI: 1.09-1.40) and depressive symptoms (PR: 1.25; 95%CI: 1.04-1.49). Women pregnant after ART showed no difference in anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to naturally pregnant women. However, early psychological counseling and management of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors for sub-fertile women may be advisable, particularly for women with a previous history of psychiatric diagnosis. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Semantic priming effects of synonyms, antonyms, frame, implication and verb-object categories

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Elsa Skënderi-Rakipllari

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Semantic priming has been a major subject of interest for psycholinguists, whose aim is to discover how lexical memory is structured and organized. The facilitation process of word retrieval through semantic priming has long been studied. The present research is aimed to reveal which semantic category has the best priming effect. Through a lexical decision task experiment we compared the reaction times of masked primed pairs and unprimed pairs. In addition, we analyzed the reaction times and priming effect of connected semantic relations: antonymy, frame, synonymy, implication and verb-object. The data collected and interpreted unveiled that the mean reaction times of primed pairs were shorter than those of unprimed pairs. As to semantic priming, the most significantly primed pairs were those of implications and verb- objects, and not those of synonymy or antonymy as it might be expected.

Birth after human chorionic gonadotropin-primed oocyte in vitro maturation and fertilization with testicular sperm in a normo-ovulatory patient

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia González-Ortega

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this report, we present a case of in vitro maturation (IVM with surgical retrieved testicular sperm in a normo-ovulatory female. Human chorionic gonadotropin-primed IVM, testicular biopsy for sperm retrieval and intracytoplasmic sperm injection with fresh sperm were performed. Fourteen cumulus-oocyte complexes were obtained in germinal vesicle or metaphase I stage, eight oocytes reached metaphase II, seven presumptive zygotes were obtained, and three cleavage stages embryos in day 2 were transferred producing a singleton pregnancy. A single healthy newborn was obtained. Our results suggest that IVM may be an alternative for in vitro fertilization in normo-ovulatory women even if surgical retrieval of sperm is needed. Further research is required to depict contributing factors to the success of IVM in indications different from polycystic ovaries syndrome and the role of male gamete.

[Quality of life of pregnant women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the city of São Paulo].

Science.gov (United States)

Tirado, Maria do Carmo Braga do Amaral; Bortoletti, Fátima Ferrreira; Nakamura, Mary Uchiyama; Souza, Eduardo de; Soárez, Patrícia Coelho de; Castelo Filho, Adauto; Amed, Abês Mahmed

2014-05-01

It was to assess the quality of life (QOL) of HIV-infected pregnant women using the HIV/AIDS - Targeted Quality of Life (HAT-QoL) questionnaire. A descriptive study of 60 pregnant women attended at the Multidisciplinary Nucleus of Infectious Diseases During Pregnancy (NUPAIG) - UNIFESP/EPM and in the referral network of the Municipal Office of São Paulo, conducted from February 2011 to October 2012. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected from 60 HIV-infected pregnant women who answered the HAT-QoL questionnaire, which included 34 questions about quality of life. The average age was 30 years and the average period of HIV infection was 5.7 years. Only 8.3% of patients had a CD4 cell score of ≤200 cells/mm³ and 45% showed undetectable viral load. The average domain scores ranged from 47.5 to 83.7. The domains with the lowest scores were financial concerns and concerns about secrecy. The domains with the highest scores and lower impact on quality of life were concerns about medication and confidence in the professional. In this initial study with 60 pregnant women, we concluded that the HAT-QOL can contribute to the assessment of quality of life in the population of HIV-infected pregnant women in Brazil.

Number theory an introduction via the density of primes

CERN Document Server

Fine, Benjamin

2016-01-01

Now in its second edition, this textbook provides an introduction and overview of number theory based on the density and properties of the prime numbers. This unique approach offers both a firm background in the standard material of number theory, as well as an overview of the entire discipline. All of the essential topics are covered, such as the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, theory of congruences, quadratic reciprocity, arithmetic functions, and the distribution of primes. New in this edition are coverage of p-adic numbers, Hensel's lemma, multiple zeta-values, and elliptic curve methods in primality testing. Key topics and features include: A solid introduction to analytic number theory, including full proofs of Dirichlet's Theorem and the Prime Number Theorem Concise treatment of algebraic number theory, including a complete presentation of primes, prime factorizations in algebraic number fields, and unique factorization of ideals Discussion of the AKS algorithm, which shows that primality testing is...

Spectral statistics and scattering resonances of complex primes arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ren; Pinheiro, Felipe A.; Dal Negro, Luca

2018-01-01

We introduce a class of aperiodic arrays of electric dipoles generated from the distribution of prime numbers in complex quadratic fields (Eisenstein and Gaussian primes) as well as quaternion primes (Hurwitz and Lifschitz primes), and study the nature of their scattering resonances using the vectorial Green's matrix method. In these systems we demonstrate several distinctive spectral properties, such as the absence of level repulsion in the strongly scattering regime, critical statistics of level spacings, and the existence of critical modes, which are extended fractal modes with long lifetimes not supported by either random or periodic systems. Moreover, we show that one can predict important physical properties, such as the existence spectral gaps, by analyzing the eigenvalue distribution of the Green's matrix of the arrays in the complex plane. Our results unveil the importance of aperiodic correlations in prime number arrays for the engineering of gapped photonic media that support far richer mode localization and spectral properties compared to usual periodic and random media.

Plasma ET-1 Concentrations Are Elevated in Pregnant Women with Hypertension -Meta-Analysis of Clinical Studies

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Yong-Ping Lu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: The ET system might be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. The objective is to analyse the impact of ET-1 in hypertensive pregnant women by a strict meta-analysis of published human clinical studies. Methods: Based on the principle of Cochrane systematic reviews, Cohort studies in PubMed (Medline, Google Scholar and China Biological Medicine Database (CBM-disc designed to identify the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1 in the pathophysiology of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia were screened. Review Manager Version 5.0 (Rev-Man 5.0 was applied for statistical analysis. Mean difference and 95% confidence interval (CI were shown in inverse variance (IV fixed-effects model or IV random-effects model. Results: Sixteen published cohort studies including 1739 hypertensive cases and 409 controls were used in the meta-analysis. ET-1 plasma concentrations were higher in hypertensive pregnant women as compared to the controls (mean difference between groups: 19.02 [15.60～22.44], P < 0.00001,. These finding were driven by severity of hypertension and/or degree of proteinuria. Conclusion: Plasma ET-1 concentrations are elevated in hypertensive disorders during human pregnancy. In particular women with preeclampsia (hypertensive pregnant women with proteinuria have substantially elevated plasma ET-1 concentration as compared to pregnant women with normal blood pressure.

Determination of a saliva cotinine cut-off to distinguish pregnant smokers from pregnant non-smokers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hegaard, Hanne K; Kjaergaard, Hanne; Møller, Lars F

2007-01-01

Objective validation of smoking status is necessary. Earlier studies have used saliva cotinine concentrations between 14.2 and 30 ng/ml as cut-off values to distinguish pregnant smokers from non-smokers. However, these cut-offs derive from studies including men and non-pregnant women. This consti...

Attentional Control and the Relatedness Proportion Effect in Semantic Priming

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchison, Keith A.

2007-01-01

In 2 experiments, participants completed both an attentional control battery (OSPAN, antisaccade, and Stroop tasks) and a modified semantic priming task. The priming task measured relatedness proportion (RP) effects within subjects, with the color of the prime indicating the probability that the to-be-named target would be related. In Experiment…

Does pizza prime coin? Perceptual priming in lexical decision and pronunciation.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pecher, D.; Zeelenberg, R.; Raaijmakers, J.G.W.

1998-01-01

In 6 experiments the authors investigated priming for perceptually related word pairs (i.e., words that refer to objects with the same shape such as pizza-coin), trying to replicate earlier findings by R. Schreuder et al (see record 1985-06198-001) while avoiding some of the methodological problems

Allograph priming is based on abstract letter identities: Evidence from Japanese kana.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinoshita, Sachiko; Schubert, Teresa; Verdonschot, Rinus G

2018-04-23

It is well-established that allographs like the uppercase and lowercase forms of the Roman alphabet (e.g., a and A) map onto the same "abstract letter identity," orthographic representations that are independent of the visual form. Consistent with this, in the allograph match task ("Are 'a' and 'A' the same letter?"), priming by a masked letter prime is equally robust for visually dissimilar prime-target pairs (e.g., d and D) and similar pairs (e.g., c and C). However, in principle this pattern of priming is also consistent with the possibility that allograph priming is purely phonological, based on the letter name. Because different allographic forms of the same letter, by definition, share a letter name, it is impossible to rule out this possibility a priori. In the present study, we investigated the influence of shared letter names by taking advantage of the fact that Japanese is written in two distinct writing systems, syllabic kana-that has two parallel forms, hiragana and katakana-and logographic kanji. Using the allograph match task, we tested whether a kanji prime with the same pronunciation as the target kana (e.g., - い, both pronounced /i/) produces the same amount of priming as a kana prime in the opposite kana form (e.g., イ- い). We found that the kana primes produced substantially greater priming than the phonologically identical kanji prime, which we take as evidence that allograph priming is based on abstract kana identity, not purely phonology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Management of pregnant patient in dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurien, Sophia; Kattimani, Vivekanand S; Sriram, Roopa Rani; Sriram, Sanjay Krishna; Rao V K, Prabhakara; Bhupathi, Anitha; Bodduru, Rupa Rani; N Patil, Namrata

2013-02-01

The purpose of this article is to update general dentists and maxillofacial surgeons in the perioperative management of the pregnant patient. Pregnancy results in physiologic changes in almost all organ systems in the body mediated mainly by hormones; which influences the treatment schedule. Understanding these normal changes is essential for providing quality care for pregnant women. The general principles that apply in this situation are discussed, followed by the relevant physiologic changes and their treatment implications, the risks of various medications to the mother and fetus, the management of concomitant medical problems in the pregnant patient, appropriate timing of oral and maxillofacial surgery during pregnancy, and management of emergencies during pregnancy. Information about the compatibility, complications, and excretion of the common drugs during pregnancy is provided. Guidelines for the management of a pregnant patient in the dental office are summarized. How to cite this article: Kurien S, Kattimani V S, Sriram R, Sriram S K, Prabhakar Rao V K, Bhupathi A, Bodduru R, Patil N N. Management of Pregnant Patient in Dentistry. J Int Oral Health 2013; 5(1):88-97.

Human immunodeficiency virus seropositivity and malaria as risk factors for third-trimester anemia in asymptomatic pregnant women in western Kenya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Eijk, A. M.; Ayisi, J. G.; ter Kuile, F. O.; Misore, A.; Otieno, J. A.; Kolczak, M. S.; Kager, P. A.; Steketee, R. W.; Nahlen, B. L.

2001-01-01

To assess risk factors for anemia in late pregnancy, we studied healthy pregnant women with a singleton uncomplicated pregnancy of > or = 32 weeks attending the prenatal clinic in the Provincial Hospital in Kisumu, Kenya. Between June 1996 and December 1998, 4,608 pregnant women had a blood sample

Influence of Individual and Group Priming on Medical Students

OpenAIRE

McGeown, Helen Rosemary

2009-01-01

This study investigated the impact of information on level of prototypicality of the ingroup ‘medical students’, comparing self-esteem effects for those primed as individuals with self-esteem effects for those primed as group members. Indication of prototypicality was given by false feedback on purported individual levels of empathy, an important group norm for medical students. As well as priming type having interactive effects with prototypicality information, it was hypothesized that initi...

Positions priming in briefly presented search arrays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asgeirsson, Arni Gunnar; Kristjánsson, Árni; Kyllingsbæk, Søren

2011-01-01

Repetition priming in visual search has been a topic of extensive research since Maljkovic & Nakayama [1994, Memory & Cognition, 22, 657-672] presented the first detailed studies of such effects. Their results showed large reductions in reaction times when target color was repeated on consecutive...... the targets are oddly colored alphanumeric characters. The effects arise at very low exposure durations and benefit accuracy at all exposure durations towards the subjects’ ceiling. We conclude that temporally constricted experimental conditions can add to our understanding priming in visual search...... pop-out search trials. Such repetition effects have since been generalized to a multitude of target attributes. Priming has primarily been investigated using self-terminating visual search paradigms, comparing differences in response times. Response accuracy has predominantly served as a control...

Emotion potentiates response activation and inhibition in masked priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Bocanegra, Bruno R; Zeelenberg, René

2012-01-01

Previous studies have shown that emotion can have 2-fold effects on perception. At the object-level, emotional stimuli benefit from a stimulus-specific boost in visual attention at the relative expense of competing stimuli. At the visual feature-level, recent findings indicate that emotion may inhibit the processing of small visual details and facilitate the processing of coarse visual features. In the present study, we investigated whether emotion can boost the activation and inhibition of automatic motor responses that are generated prior to overt perception. To investigate this, we tested whether an emotional cue affects covert motor responses in a masked priming task. We used a masked priming paradigm in which participants responded to target arrows that were preceded by invisible congruent or incongruent prime arrows. In the standard paradigm, participants react faster, and commit fewer errors responding to the directionality of target arrows, when they are preceded by congruent vs. incongruent masked prime arrows (positive congruency effect, PCE). However, as prime-target SOAs increase, this effect reverses (negative congruency effect, NCE). These findings have been explained as evidence for an initial activation and a subsequent inhibition of a partial response elicited by the masked prime arrow. Our results show that the presentation of fearful face cues, compared to neutral face cues, increased the size of both the PCE and NCE, despite the fact that the primes were invisible. This is the first demonstration that emotion prepares an individual's visuomotor system for automatic activation and inhibition of motor responses in the absence of visual awareness.

Analgesic exposure in pregnant rats affects fetal germ cell development with inter-generational reproductive consequences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dean, Afshan; van den Driesche, Sander; Wang, Yili

2016-01-01

Analgesics which affect prostaglandin (PG) pathways are used by most pregnant women. As germ cells (GC) undergo developmental and epigenetic changes in fetal life and are PG targets, we investigated if exposure of pregnant rats to analgesics (indomethacin or acetaminophen) affected GC development...... smaller ovaries and reduced follicle numbers during puberty/adulthood; as similar changes were found for F2 offspring of analgesic-exposed F1 fathers or mothers, we interpret this as potentially indicating an analgesic-induced change to GC in F1. Assuming our results are translatable to humans, they raise...

Prime Slaughter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valente, Andrea; Marchetti, Emanuela

2011-01-01

of primality and factorization into playful interactions, addressed to primary and early secondary school children. Taking into account individual needs expressed by children regarding play, during a participatory design processes aimed at enhancing learning in museums, Prime Slaughter allows for multiple...... forms of play and their integration. A simple working prototype has already been developed; it will be tested and re-designed through participatory workshops, involving a group of children in our target group....

Color coherent effects in (e,e{prime}N) and (e,e{prime}N,N(h)) processes at CEBAF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frankfurt, L.L.; Sargsyan, M.M. [Tel Aviv Univ. (Israel); Strikman, M.I. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)]|[St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Inst. (Russian Federation)

1994-04-01

The options for investigating color coherent effects and competing nuclear effects of nucleon-nucleon correlations in nuclei, nuclear shell effects in (e, e{prime}N) and (e, e{prime}NN(h)) reactions are considered. They argue that extension of CEBAF energies to reach Q{sup 2} = 10 GeV{sup 2} will allow systematical investigations of color coherent effects in nonperturbative regime of QCD and their interplay with nuclear effects.

Risk factors for syphilis and hiv infection in pregnant women attending a tertiary care public sector hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batool, K.; Bano, K.A.; Sherwani, M.I.K.

2010-01-01

Background: Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease which seemed to have disappeared or had been controlled over the years, has now been re-emerged as a major public health problem in many communities. It can complicate the pregnancies with serious consequences. Appropriate treatment of pregnant women often prevents such complications. Aims: To study the frequency of syphilis in pregnant women attending a tertiary care public sector hospital, and see the positivity for HIV/AIDS among syphilis positive women. Patients and Methods: This cross sectional and interventional study was conducted among pregnant women attending Sir Ganga Ram hospital for antenatal care at PMRC Research Centre, Fatima Jinnah Medical College, Lahore. Blood samples from 2000 women were collected after taking consent. The blood was tested for syphilis by Treponema Pallidum Haemagglutination. History of the subjects for risks factors was also taken. Syphilis positive women were further screened for human immunodeficiency virus positivity. Results: The treponemal antibodies were detected in less than one percent (9) pregnant women. The highest positivity was observed among age group of 21-26 years. Women in third trimester were significantly more infected with syphilis. Risk factors included husband's history with frequent traveling and drug abuse. All husbands of syphilis positive women were also positive. All syphilis positive women and their husbands were negative for Human immunodeficiency virus /Acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Conclusions: Less than 1% of pregnant women were infected with syphilis, and most of the spouses of these positive women were either travelers or drug addicts.(author)

Prostasin and its regulatory proteins in human placentas from pregnant women with preeclampsia and healthy pregnant controls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frederiksen-Møller, Britta; Jørgensen, Jan Stener; Vogel, Lotte Katrine

2015-01-01

for normal placental development in mice. Prostasin is regulated by aldosterone in the kidney and may activate the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). Preeclampsia is characterized by disturbed placentation, suppression of aldosterone and avid renal sodium retention with hypertension. It was hypothesized...... that preeclampsia is associated with low prostasin expression in placenta and spillover of prostasin into urine across the defect glomerular barrier. METHODS: This hypothesis was addressed in a cross-sectional design with 20 healthy pregnant women and 20 women with new onset of preeclampsia (hypertension and 1......+ for protein on urine dipstick). Blood and urine samples were obtained in relation to delivery and placental biopsies were taken immediately after delivery (control = 39 and preeclampsia 40 weeks). RESULTS: Women with preeclampsia displayed lower levels of aldosterone in plasma (p=0.0475) and in spot urine...

Characterisation of the human uterine microbiome in non-pregnant women through deep sequencing of the V1-2 region of the 16S rRNA gene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans Verstraelen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. It is widely assumed that the uterine cavity in non-pregnant women is physiologically sterile, also as a premise to the long-held view that human infants develop in a sterile uterine environment, though likely reflecting under-appraisal of the extent of the human bacterial metacommunity. In an exploratory study, we aimed to investigate the putative presence of a uterine microbiome in a selected series of non-pregnant women through deep sequencing of the V1-2 hypervariable region of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA gene.Methods. Nineteen women with various reproductive conditions, including subfertility, scheduled for hysteroscopy and not showing uterine anomalies were recruited. Subjects were highly diverse with regard to demographic and medical history and included nulliparous and parous women. Endometrial tissue and mucus harvesting was performed by use of a transcervical device designed to obtain endometrial biopsy, while avoiding cervicovaginal contamination. Bacteria were targeted by use of a barcoded Illumina MiSeq paired-end sequencing method targeting the 16S rRNA gene V1-2 region, yielding an average of 41,194 reads per sample after quality filtering. Taxonomic annotation was pursued by comparison with sequences available through the Ribosomal Database Project and the NCBI database.Results. Out of 183 unique 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences, 15 phylotypes were present in all samples. In some 90% of the women included, community architecture was fairly similar inasmuch B. xylanisolvens, B. thetaiotaomicron, B. fragilis and an undetermined Pelomonas taxon constituted over one third of the endometrial bacterial community. On the singular phylotype level, six women showed predominance of L. crispatus or L. iners in the presence of the Bacteroides core. Two endometrial communities were highly dissimilar, largely lacking the Bacteroides core, one dominated by L. crispatus and another consisting of a highly diverse community, including

STEP--a System for Teaching Experimental Psychology using E-Prime.

Science.gov (United States)

MacWhinney, B; St James, J; Schunn, C; Li, P; Schneider, W

2001-05-01

Students in psychology need to learn to design and analyze their own experiments. However, software that allows students to build experiments on their own has been limited in a variety of ways. The shipping of the first full release of the E-Prime system later this year will open up a new opportunity for addressing this problem. Because E-Prime promises to become the standard for building experiments in psychology, it is now possible to construct a Web-based resource that uses E-Prime as the delivery engine for a wide variety of instructional materials. This new system, funded by the National Science Foundation, is called STEP (System for the Teaching of Experimental Psychology). The goal of the STEP Project is to provide instructional materials that will facilitate the use of E-Prime in various learning contexts. We are now compiling a large set of classic experiments implemented in E-Prime and available over the Internet from http://step.psy.cmu.edu. The Web site also distributes instructional materials for building courses in experimental psychology based on E-Prime.

Prime Minister of Pakistan visits CERN

CERN Multimedia

Anaïs Schaeffer

2016-01-01

On Saturday, 23 January 2016, CERN welcomed Mr Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan.   From left to right: Minister of Finance Mr Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti and CMS national contact physicist Hafeez Hoorani. Mr Muhammad Nawaz Sharif arrived at Point 5 in Cessy, where he was welcomed onto French soil by the sous-préfet of Cessy, Stéphane Donnot, and, representing CERN, Director-General Fabiola Gianotti, Directors Eckhard Elsen and Charlotte Warakaulle, and Rüdiger Voss, the adviser for relations with Pakistan. It was the first visit by a head of government of Pakistan since the country became CERN's latest Associate Member State in July 2015. The Prime Minister then had the opportunity to visit the CMS underground experimental area accompanied by the CMS Spokesperson, Tiziano Camporesi, and the CMS collaboration’...

PrimeFaces blueprints

CERN Document Server

Jonna, Sudheer

2014-01-01

If you are a Java developer with experience of frontend UI development, and want to take the plunge to develop stunning UI applications with the most popular JSF framework, PrimeFaces, then this book is for you. For those with entrepreneurial aspirations, this book will provide valuable insights into how to utilize successful business models.

Neural correlates of cross-domain affective priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qin; Li, Xiaohua; Gold, Brian T; Jiang, Yang

2010-05-06

The affective priming effect has mostly been studied using reaction time (RT) measures; however, the neural bases of affective priming are not well established. To understand the neural correlates of cross-domain emotional stimuli presented rapidly, we obtained event-related potential (ERP) measures during an affective priming task using short SOA (stimulus onset asynchrony) conditions. Two sets of 480 picture-word pairs were presented at SOAs of either 150ms or 250ms between prime and target stimuli. Participants decided whether the valence of each target word was pleasant or unpleasant. Behavioral results from both SOA conditions were consistent with previous reports of affective priming, with longer RTs for incongruent than congruent pairs at SOAs of 150ms (771 vs. 738ms) and 250ms (765 vs. 720ms). ERP results revealed that the N400 effect (associated with incongruent pairs in affective processing) occurred at anterior scalp regions at an SOA of 150ms, and this effect was only observed for negative target words across the scalp at an SOA of 250ms. In contrast, late positive potentials (LPPs) (associated with attentional resource allocation) occurred across the scalp at an SOA of 250ms. LPPs were only observed for positive target words at posterior parts of the brain at an SOA of 150ms. Our finding of ERP signatures at very short SOAs provides the first neural evidence that affective pictures can exert an automatic influence on the evaluation of affective target words. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Presence and resistance of Streptococcus agalactiae in vaginal specimens of pregnant and adult non-pregnant women and association with other aerobic bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Numanović, Fatima; Smajlović, Jasmina; Gegić, Merima; Delibegović, Zineta; Bektaš, Sabaheta; Halilović, Emir; Nurkić, Jasmina

2017-02-01

Aim To determine the prevalence rate and resistance profile of Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) in vaginal swabs of pregnant and adult non-pregnant women in the Tuzla region, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), as well as its association with other aerobic bacteria. Methods This prospective study included 200 women, 100 pregnant and 100 adult non-pregnant. The research was conducted at the Institute of Microbiology, University Clinical Center Tuzla from October to December 2015. Standard aerobic microbiological techniques were used for isolation and identification of S. agalactiae and other aerobic bacteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the disk diffusion and microdilution method(VITEK 2/AES instrument). Results Among 200 vaginal swabs, 17 (8.50%) were positive for S. agalactiae, e. g., 7% (7/100) of pregnant and 10% (10/100) of adult non-pregnant women. In the pregnant group, 71.4% (5/7) of S. agalactiae isolates were susceptible to clindamycin and 85.7%(6/7) to erythromycin. In the adult non-pregnant group, only resistance to clindamycin was observed in one patient (1/10; 10%). S. agalactiae as single pathogen was isolated in 57.14% (4/7) of pregnant and 60% (6/10) of adult non-pregnant S. agalactiae positive women. In mixed microbial cultures S. agalactiae was most frequently associated with Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli. Conclusion The rate of S. agalactiae positive women in the population of pregnant and adult non-pregnant women of Tuzla Canton, B&H is comparable with other European countries. Large studies are needed to develop a common national strategy for the prevention of S. agalactiae infection in B&H, especially during pregnancy. Copyright© by the Medical Assotiation of Zenica-Doboj Canton.

The set of prime numbers: Multiscale analysis and numeric accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iovane, Gerardo

2009-01-01

In this work, we show that the prime numbers follow a multiscale distribution. Indeed they can be classified thanks to tree structures, which are expressed in terms of two maximal subsets of N and using multilayer selection rules, acting on these sets of prime candidates. Consequently, the prime numbers follow a specific deterministic rules. Indeed, a numeric accelerator for generating primes can be realized in terms of the above mentioned specific rules. From the comparison with the Fibonacci numbers a beautiful harmony comes in terms of the Golden Mean which is relevant to high energy physics and E-Infinity theory too.

Ovation Prime Real-Time

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Ovation Prime Real-Time (OPRT) product is a real-time forecast and nowcast model of auroral power and is an operational implementation of the work by Newell et...

Use of herbal medicine among pregnant women on antenatal care at nekemte hospital, Western ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayisa, Bodena; Tatiparthi, Ramanjireddy; Mulisa, Eshetu

2014-11-01

Investigations across the world confirm dramatic increment in the use of complementary and alternative medicine in pregnant women. The most important aspect is lack of awareness of pregnant women about potential effects of using traditional medicine on fetus; some herbal products may be teratogenic in human and animal models. In this area, so far, no research has been conducted in Ethiopia to assess traditional medicine use in pregnant women. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and use of herbal drugs among pregnant women attending Nekemte Hospital to provide baseline information for future studies. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted by quantitative and qualitative approaches to identify the prevalence of using herbal medicines among pregnant women. About 50.4% of study participants used herbal drugs during their pregnancy. The proportion of herbal drug usage was gradually decreased along with the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The most and least commonly used herbs were ginger (44.36%) and tenaadam (9.15 %), respectively. The common indications of herbal remedies use during pregnancy were nausea (23.90%) and morning sickness (21.05%). The result of the present study confirmed wide use of herbal drugs use during pregnancy that need to report the safety concerns of these drugs during pregnancy. To achieve the requirements of pregnant women, it is vital for health care workers to be familiar with the effect of herbal medicine in pregnancy.

Priming of disability and elderly stereotype in motor performance: similar or specific effects?

Science.gov (United States)

Ginsberg, Frederik; Rohmer, Odile; Louvet, Eva

2012-04-01

In three experimental studies, the effects of priming participants with the disability stereotype were investigated with respect to their subsequent motor performance. Also explored were effects of activating two similar stereotypes, persons with a disability and elderly people. In Study 1, participants were primed with the disability stereotype versus with a neutral prime, and then asked to perform on a motor coordination task. In Studies 2 and 3, a third condition was introduced: priming participants with the elderly stereotype. Results indicated that priming participants with the disability stereotype altered their motor performance: they showed decreased manual dexterity and performed slower than the non-primed participants. Priming with the elderly stereotype decreased only performance speed. These findings underline that prime-to-behavior effects may depend on activation of specific stereotype content.

Target Categorization with Primes that Vary in Both Congruency and Sense Modality

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Kathryn eWeatherford

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In two experiments we examined conceptual priming within and across sense modalities by varying the modality (picture and environmental sounds and the category congruency of prime-target pairs. Both experiments used a repetition priming paradigm, but Experiment 1 studied priming effects with a task that required a superordinate categorization response (man-made or natural, while Experiment 2 used a lower-level category response (musical instruments or animal: one that was more closely associated with the basic level of the semantic network. Results from Experiment 1 showed a strong effect of target modality and two distinct patterns of conceptual priming effects with picture and environmental sound targets. However, no priming advantage was found when congruent and incongruent primes were compared. Results from Experiment 2, found congruency effects that were specific to environmental sound targets when preceded by picture primes. The findings provide support for the intermodal event file and multisensory framework, and suggest that auditory and visual features about a single item in a conceptual category may be more tightly connected than two different items from the same category.

Recommendations for physical activity for pregnant women

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Mateja Videmšek

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Properly selected and prescribed physical activity during pregnancy has a favorable effects on the health of pregnant women and the fetus, and is excellent preparation for childbirth. Absolute and relative contraindications to exercise during pregnancy are well defined, as well as the warning signs to terminate exercise while pregnant. Knowledge of these is essential for physically active pregnant women and exercise professionals that work with pregnant women. Pregnant women should be moderately physically active every day of the week for at least 30 minutes. The term moderate is thoroughly and clearly defined in the guidelines. Resistance exercises during pregnancy are safe but it is advised to use light loads and a large number of repetitions (e.g. 15-20 repetitions. Strength exercises for the pelvic floor muscles deserves a special place during pregnancy. Appropriate forms of physical activity for pregnant women are walking and jogging, swimming and aquatic exercise, cycling, Pilates and yoga, aerobics, fitness and cross-country skiing. Certain forms of physical activity need special adjustments (alpine skiing, ice skating and rollerblading, racket sports, team ball games, horseback riding and scuba diving. 

Inability of newborns' or pregnant women's monocytes to suppress pokeweed mitogen-induced responses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durandy, A.; Fischer, A.; Griscelli, C.

1982-01-01

Although an excess of human adult blood adherent cells inhibits the pokeweed mitogen- (PWM) induced normal adult lymphocyte proliferation and B cell maturation into immunoglobulin-containing cells (ICC), adherent cells collected from newborn infants or pregnant women at time of delivery were unable to exert a similar suppressor activity. After activation by Concanavalin A (Con A), newborns' and pregnant women's adherent cells acquired a suppressor activity comparable to that of control adult adherent cells. The adherent suppressor cell was shown to be radioresistant (3000 rad), indicating its probable monocytic orgin. Both monocyte-suppressor activities (MSA) observed in adulthood (spontaneously) and in the neonatal period (after activation) were dependent on prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) secretion, because they were abolished by indomethacin or a specific anti-PGE 2 anti-serum. Expression of MSA appeared to be under a negative regulation exerted by naturally occurring T suppressor lymphocytes present in the blood of newborns or pregnant women, because incubation of adult monocytes or Con A-activated newborn monocytes with newborns' or pregnant women's T lymphocytes resulted in a dramatic decrease of their MSA. These results strongly suggest that the lack of MSA in the neonatal period and in late pregnancy is a consequence of activation of T suppressor lymphocytes

Hospital environment: Generator of stigma and rejection of pregnant women with HIV/aids

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Yolanda Munévar-Torres

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: For the mothers included in this study, pregnancy is normal until they are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Studies on experiences in hospital environments are scarce. Objective: To understand the experiences of pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS during prenatal attention in two hospitals. Materials and methods: Interpretative phenomenological qualitative study, in which ten women, diagnosed with HIV during pregnancy and selected according to relevance and adequacy, participated. The sample size was established by theoretical saturation. Data were collected during in-depth interviews and analyzed through Colaizzi strategy. Results: Categorizing the hospital environment as a generator of stigma and rejection of pregnant women with HIV/AIDS is part of a research project on living with HIV/AIDS during pregnancy. The hospital environment shows the spaces and actors around these mothers during diagnosis and treatment of this infection. Participants refer to the first stage as “accidental diagnosis” and described attention as full of “reckless professionals”. Conclusions: Attitudes and behaviors of health professionals can generate a hostile environment for pregnant women with HIV/AIDS, heightening negative feelings, fears and uncertainties. However, they can also offer a friendly and human scenario that contributes to care and trust between professionals and pregnant women, thus helping mothers to cope with this complex experience.

Making sense of the Sense Model: translation priming with Japanese-English bilinguals

OpenAIRE

Allen, David; Conklin, Kathy; Van Heuven, Walter J.B.

2015-01-01

Many studies have reported that first language (L1) translation primes speed responses to second language (L2) targets, whereas L2 translation primes generally do not speed up responses to L1 targets in lexical decision. According to the Sense Model (Finkbeiner, Forster, Nicol & Nakamura, 2004) this asymmetry is due to the proportion of senses activated by the prime. Because L2 primes activate only a subset of the L1 translations senses, priming is not observed. In this study we test the pred...

Withania somnifera Root Extract Enhances Chemotherapy through 'Priming'.

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Aine Brigette Henley

Full Text Available Withania somnifera extracts are known for their anti-cancerous, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. One of their mechanisms of actions is to modulate mitochondrial function through increasing oxidative stress. Recently 'priming' has been suggested as a potential mechanism for enhancing cancer cell death. In this study we demonstrate that 'priming', in HT-29 colon cells, with W. somnifera root extract increased the potency of the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. We have also showed the W. somnifera root extract enhanced mitochondrial dysfunction and that the underlying mechanism of 'priming' was selectively through increased ROS. Moreover, we showed that this effect was not seen in non-cancerous cells.

CROSS-TOLERANCE MECHANISM INDUCTION IN MELON SEEDS BY PRIMING PRIOR DRYING

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Jean Marcel Sousa Lira

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The loss of benefits after re-drying is one of the drawbacks of the seed priming technique. Different types of stresses have been used before re-drying to preserve the priming benefits. This process may be seen as promoting cross tolerance to increase the defense mechanisms that prevent loss of viability in seeds primed after drying. We tested the effect of some stresses to induce cross-tolerance and different drying conditions with the aim of maintaining priming benefits in melon seeds. The seeds were primed in an aerated KNO3 solution (0.35M, -1.7MPa, 25 °C, in the dark for six days. The primed seeds were then submitted to slow drying, fast drying, cold shock + slow drying, cold shock + fast drying, heat shock + slow drying, heat shock + fast drying, PEG + slow drying, PEG + fast drying, ABA + slow drying, ABA + fast drying and no drying (planted directly after priming. We evaluated antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT and APX, germinability, mean time of germination (MTG and mean rate of germination (MRG. A completely randomized design was used with three repetitions of 50 seeds in each treatment. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and means were compared by the Scott-Knott test (p ≤ 0.05. ABA increased SOD activity after drying and CAT activity was reduced by priming. APX activity was not observed. The stress submission prior to re-drying improved the MRG and reduced MTG. Therefore, the induction of the cross-tolerance mechanism could be effective to maintain priming benefits in melon seeds.

Neural Priming in Human Frontal Cortex: Multiple Forms of Learning Reduce Demands on the Prefrontal Executive System

Science.gov (United States)

Race, Elizabeth A.; Shanker, Shanti; Wagner, Anthony D.

2009-01-01

Past experience is hypothesized to reduce computational demands in PFC by providing bottom-up predictive information that informs subsequent stimulus-action mapping. The present fMRI study measured cortical activity reductions ("neural priming"/"repetition suppression") during repeated stimulus classification to investigate the mechanisms through…

Conscious, but not unconscious, logo priming of brands and related words.

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Brintazzoli, Gigliola; Soetens, Eric; Deroost, Natacha; Van den Bussche, Eva

2012-06-01

This study assessed whether real-life stimulus material can elicit conscious and unconscious priming. A typical masked priming paradigm was used, with brand logo primes. We used a rigorous method to assess participants' awareness of the subliminal information. Our results show that shortly presented and masked brand logos (e.g., logo of McDonald's) have the power to prime their brand names (e.g., "McDonald's") and, remarkably, words associated to the brand (e.g., "hamburger"). However, this only occurred when the logos could be categorized clearly above the consciousness threshold. Once the primes were presented close to the consciousness threshold, no subliminal influences on behavior were observed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On prime ideals and associated spectrum of BCK-algebras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahsan, J.; Thaheem, A.B.; Deeba, E.Y.

1989-07-01

In this paper we study prime ideals and define the spectrum of a bounded commutative BCK-algebra. We also obtain a characterization of minimal prime (lattice) ideals of these algebras. (author). 8 refs, 4 tabs

C3-dependent mechanism of microglial priming relevant to multiple sclerosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ramaglia, Valeria; Hughes, Timothy R.; Donev, Rossen M.; Ruseva, Marieta M.; Wu, Xiaobo; Huitinga, Inge; Baas, Frank; Neal, James W.; Morgan, B. Paul

2012-01-01

Microglial priming predisposes the brain to neurodegeneration and affects disease progression. The signal to switch from the quiescent to the primed state is unknown. We show that deleting the C3 convertase regulator complement receptor 1-related protein y (Crry) induces microglial priming. Mice

Inflammasome priming is similar for francisella species that differentially induce inflammasome activation.

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Mohammed G Ghonime

Full Text Available Inflammasome activation is a two-step process where step one, priming, prepares the inflammasome for its subsequent activation, by step two. Classically step one can be induced by LPS priming followed by step two, high dose ATP. Furthermore, when IL-18 processing is used as the inflammasome readout, priming occurs before new protein synthesis. In this context, how intracellular pathogens such as Francisella activate the inflammasome is incompletely understood, particularly regarding the relative importance of priming versus activation steps. To better understand these events we compared Francisella strains that differ in virulence and ability to induce inflammasome activation for their relative effects on step one vs. step two. When using the rapid priming model, i.e., 30 min priming by live or heat killed Francisella strains (step 1, followed by ATP (step 2, we found no difference in IL-18 release, p20 caspase-1 release and ASC oligomerization between Francisella strains (F. novicida, F. holarctica -LVS and F. tularensis Schu S4. This priming is fast, independent of bacteria viability, internalization and phagosome escape, but requires TLR2-mediated ERK phosphorylation. In contrast to their efficient priming capacity, Francisella strains LVS and Schu S4 were impaired in inflammasome triggering compared to F. novicida. Thus, observed differences in inflammasome activation by F. novicida, LVS and Schu S4 depend not on differences in priming but rather on their propensity to trigger the primed inflammasome.

Priming involuntary autobiographical memories in the lab

OpenAIRE

Barzykowski, Krystian; Niedźwieńska, Agnieszka

2018-01-01

Involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) are recollections of personal past that frequently and spontaneously occur in daily life. Initial studies by Mace. Priming involuntary autobiographical memories. Showed that deliberately reminiscing about a certain lifetime period (e.g., high school) significantly increased the number of different IAMs from the same period in subsequent days, suggesting that priming may play a significant role in the retrieval of IAMs in everyday life. In the prese...

How visual working memory contents influence priming of visual attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlisle, Nancy B; Kristjánsson, Árni

2017-04-12

Recent evidence shows that when the contents of visual working memory overlap with targets and distractors in a pop-out search task, intertrial priming is inhibited (Kristjánsson, Sævarsson & Driver, Psychon Bull Rev 20(3):514-521, 2013, Experiment 2, Psychonomic Bulletin and Review). This may reflect an interesting interaction between implicit short-term memory-thought to underlie intertrial priming-and explicit visual working memory. Evidence from a non-pop-out search task suggests that it may specifically be holding distractors in visual working memory that disrupts intertrial priming (Cunningham & Egeth, Psychol Sci 27(4):476-485, 2016, Experiment 2, Psychological Science). We examined whether the inhibition of priming depends on whether feature values in visual working memory overlap with targets or distractors in the pop-out search, and we found that the inhibition of priming resulted from holding distractors in visual working memory. These results are consistent with separate mechanisms of target and distractor effects in intertrial priming, and support the notion that the impact of implicit short-term memory and explicit visual working memory can interact when each provides conflicting attentional signals.

When Love Meets Money: Priming the Possession of Money Influences Mating Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yi Ming; Li, Jian; Chan, Darius K-S; Zhang, Bo

2016-01-01

Money is an important factor that influences the development of romantic relationships. The current paper examines how the feeling of having relatively more or less money influences human mating strategies in long-term and short-term mating contexts under the framework of evolutionary psychology. We recruited mainland Chinese college students involved in steady, heterosexual romantic relationships to participate in two experiments. In each study, we experimentally triggered participants' feelings of having relatively more or less money and then examined their thoughts and behaviors related to mating. Results of Study 1 showed that men who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money were less satisfied with their partners' physical attractiveness than those primed to feel that they had less money, suggesting that the subjective feeling of having more or less money may affect men's preferences regarding the physical appearance of a mate in a long-term relationship. Interestingly, this difference was not significant for women. Results of Study 2 indicated that both men and women who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money exhibited a greater "behavioral approach tendency" toward an attractive member of the opposite sex than those primed to feel that they had less money. This finding suggests that people who feel they have relatively more money may have more interest in an attractive alternative than those who feel they have relatively less money. The differences in mating strategies between and within the genders brought about by money support the evolutionary hypothesis that individuals adopt conditional mating strategies in response to environmental conditions. Additionally, the results of experimental studies provide evidence for the causal effects of money on mating strategies. These findings have both conceptual and practical implications for the psychology of evolution and romantic relationships.

When Love Meets Money: Priming the Possession of Money Influences Mating Strategies

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Yi Ming eLi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Money is an important factor that influences the development of romantic relationships. The current paper examines how the feeling of having relatively more or less money influences human mating strategies in long-term and short-term mating contexts under the framework of evolutionary psychology. We recruited mainland Chinese college students involved in steady, heterosexual romantic relationships to participate in two experiments. In each study, we experimentally triggered participants’ feelings of having relatively more or less money and then examined their thoughts and behaviors related to mating. Results of Study 1 showed that men who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money were less satisfied with their partners’ physical attractiveness than those primed to feel that they had less money, suggesting that the subjective feeling of having more or less money may affect men’s preferences regarding the physical appearance of a mate in a long-term relationship. Interestingly, this difference was not significant for women. Results of Study 2 indicated that both men and women who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money exhibited a greater behavioral approach tendency toward an attractive member of the opposite sex than those primed to feel that they had less money. This finding suggests that people who feel they have relatively more money may have more interest in an attractive alternative than those who feel they have relatively less money. The differences in mating strategies between and within the genders brought about by money support the evolutionary hypothesis that individuals adopt conditional mating strategies in response to environmental conditions. These findings have both conceptual and practical implications for the psychology of evolution and romantic relationships.

When Love Meets Money: Priming the Possession of Money Influences Mating Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yi Ming; Li, Jian; Chan, Darius K.-S.; Zhang, Bo

2016-01-01

Money is an important factor that influences the development of romantic relationships. The current paper examines how the feeling of having relatively more or less money influences human mating strategies in long-term and short-term mating contexts under the framework of evolutionary psychology. We recruited mainland Chinese college students involved in steady, heterosexual romantic relationships to participate in two experiments. In each study, we experimentally triggered participants' feelings of having relatively more or less money and then examined their thoughts and behaviors related to mating. Results of Study 1 showed that men who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money were less satisfied with their partners' physical attractiveness than those primed to feel that they had less money, suggesting that the subjective feeling of having more or less money may affect men's preferences regarding the physical appearance of a mate in a long-term relationship. Interestingly, this difference was not significant for women. Results of Study 2 indicated that both men and women who were primed to feel that they had relatively more money exhibited a greater “behavioral approach tendency” toward an attractive member of the opposite sex than those primed to feel that they had less money. This finding suggests that people who feel they have relatively more money may have more interest in an attractive alternative than those who feel they have relatively less money. The differences in mating strategies between and within the genders brought about by money support the evolutionary hypothesis that individuals adopt conditional mating strategies in response to environmental conditions. Additionally, the results of experimental studies provide evidence for the causal effects of money on mating strategies. These findings have both conceptual and practical implications for the psychology of evolution and romantic relationships. PMID:27047415

BREASTFEEDING: THE MEANING FOR PREGNANT POSITIVE HIV

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Dayane Cristina Silva Vinhas

2006-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: In The actions of prevention to the HIV AIDS, in the prenatal lens the advising of women infected by the HIV about the risk from the vertical transmission causing to prohibition from the lactation and from the breast-feeding crossed. Objective it identify joined the pregnants HIV positive the main worries as regards the impediment from the breast-feeding natural and evaluate the individual educational needs of activities as form alternative to the affectionate and psychic emotional support to the pregnant. Methodology treats itself of a boarding qualitative, they were interviewed pregnants soropositivas inscription in the outpatient clinic of prenatal of high risk, of a Public Hospital, in Goiânia GO. Analyzing the facts: them interviewed were unanimous in affirm that to pregnancy was not planned. It be pregnant and uncover that they are bearers of the virus HIV brought bigger expectations regarding the pregnancy: fear, insecurity, anguish and doubts are emotions by them related. And, they stood out that the specific groups permit bigger liberty for argument and change of experiences, the work helps to pregnant react to the consequences of the virus HIV. Like this being, we understand that the aid to the pregnant soroposotive, in the institution studied attends a standard quality, however, is important thing systematize the specific formation of groups of pregnant soropositives for HIV. KEY WORDS: Risk Prenatal; Nursing; HIV.

A proof of the conjecture on the twin primes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zuo-ling, Zhou [Department of Lingnan college, Sun Yat-sen University GuangZhou, GuangDong, 510275 (China)

2016-06-08

In this short note, we have proved the conjecture on twin primes using some thoughts of the set theory. Firstly, using the original sieve method and a new notation(concept)introduced by myself, the conjecture on twin primes is summed up as an elementary successive limit, afterwards we form a subsequence of positive integers,and using it,we prove that the successive limits are commutative and complete the proof of the conjecture on twin primes We also give a more straightforward proof of the conjecture.

Aggressive priming online: Facebook adverts can prime aggressive cognitions

OpenAIRE

Buchanan, Tom

2015-01-01

Through the process of priming, incidental stimuli in our environments can influence our thoughts, feelings and behavior. This may be true of incidental stimuli in online environments, such as adverts on websites. Two experiments (N=325, N=331) showed that the mere presence of advertisements with violent content on a simulated Facebook page induced higher levels of aggression-related cognition in comparison to non-violent adverts (d=0.56 , d=0.71). In a subsequent word recognition task, parti...

Seed Priming to Overcome Salinity Stress in Persian Cultivars of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.

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Ali SEPEHRI

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In order to investigate the effect of hydro-priming on seed germination with distilled water on germination of five Alfalfa cultivars under salinity stress, an experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications. Seven levels of hydro-priming and salinity of NaCl including prime and non-salinity, prime and 50 mM salinity, prime and 100 mM salinity, prime and 150 mM salinity, prime and 200 mM salinity, prime and 250 mM salinity and without prime and salinity and five alfalfa varieties, including ‘Hamedani’, ‘Isfahani’, ‘Bami’, ‘Yazdi’ and ‘Ghareh Yonjeh’ were used. The results showed that the main effect of prime, salinity and cultivars and their interaction in all studied traits were significantly affected at the 5% probability level. Priming treatments in non-salinity of all cultivars were the highest. In all cultivars, final germination percentage, length and weight of radicle, plumule and seedling, germination rate and time, relative radicle elongation, vigor index and stress index, were significantly improved in response to priming in salinity levels of 50-200 mM, compared to control. Radicle produced higher length and weight than the plumule in hydro- priming and salinity treatments. ‘Hamedani’ cultivar in most of studied characteristics had a better response than others. The lowest response to salinity stress and priming was observed in ‘Yazdi’ cultivar.

Multi-targeted priming for genome-wide gene expression assays

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Adomas Aleksandra B

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Complementary approaches to assaying global gene expression are needed to assess gene expression in regions that are poorly assayed by current methodologies. A key component of nearly all gene expression assays is the reverse transcription of transcribed sequences that has traditionally been performed by priming the poly-A tails on many of the transcribed genes in eukaryotes with oligo-dT, or by priming RNA indiscriminately with random hexamers. We designed an algorithm to find common sequence motifs that were present within most protein-coding genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and of Neurospora crassa, but that were not present within their ribosomal RNA or transfer RNA genes. We then experimentally tested whether degenerately priming these motifs with multi-targeted primers improved the accuracy and completeness of transcriptomic assays. Results We discovered two multi-targeted primers that would prime a preponderance of genes in the genomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Neurospora crassa while avoiding priming ribosomal RNA or transfer RNA. Examining the response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to nitrogen deficiency and profiling Neurospora crassa early sexual development, we demonstrated that using multi-targeted primers in reverse transcription led to superior performance of microarray profiling and next-generation RNA tag sequencing. Priming with multi-targeted primers in addition to oligo-dT resulted in higher sensitivity, a larger number of well-measured genes and greater power to detect differences in gene expression. Conclusions Our results provide the most complete and detailed expression profiles of the yeast nitrogen starvation response and N. crassa early sexual development to date. Furthermore, our multi-targeting priming methodology for genome-wide gene expression assays provides selective targeting of multiple sequences and counter-selection against undesirable sequences, facilitating a more complete and

Conceptual and non-conceptual repetition priming in category exemplar generation: Evidence from bilinguals.

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Wendy S; Fernandez, Norma P; Bjork, Robert A

2010-10-01

One measure of conceptual implicit memory is repetition priming in the generation of exemplars from a semantic category, but does such priming transfer across languages? That is, do the overlapping conceptual representations for translation equivalents provide a sufficient basis for such priming? In Experiment 1 (N=96) participants carried out a deep encoding task, and priming between languages was statistically reliable, but attenuated, relative to within-language priming. Experiment 2 (N=96) replicated the findings of Experiment 1 and assessed the contributions of conceptual and non-conceptual processes using a levels-of-processing manipulation. Words that underwent shallow encoding exhibited within-language, but not between-language, priming. Priming in shallow conditions cannot therefore be explained by incidental activation of the concept. Instead, part of the within-language priming effect, even under deep-encoding conditions, is due to increased availability of language-specific lemmas or phonological word forms.

Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in infected pregnant

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Нана Мерабівна Пасієшвілі

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The infected pregnant women have been various perinatal complications. The aim of the work was to clarify the role of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in the development of perinatal complications in infected pregnant.Methods. The study included 68 pregnant women with signs of maternal-fetal infection (MFI and 30 pregnant women who were found infected (control group. Later pregnant with MFI were divided into 2 groups: the first included 30 women who received traditional antibacterial and antiviral therapy, the second group consisted of 28 women who were additionally given an immunomodulator in combination with ozone therapy.Results. During pregnancy with MFI it is characterized the thrombophilic disorders, break immune homeostasis pregnant, endothelial dysfunction, which adversely affects perinatal indicators.Conclusions. The use of immunomodulators and ozone therapy in the complex treatment of MFI is pathogenetically substantiated effective treatment of oxidative stress and mitochondrial toxicity in the prevention of perinatal complications in infected women

Physiological and biochemical mechanisms of seed priming-induced chilling tolerance in rice cultivars

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Saddam eHussain

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Rice belongs to tropical and subtropical environments and is extremely sensitive to chilling stress particularly during emergence and early stages of seedling development. Seed priming can be a good approach to enhance rice germination and stand establishment under chilling stress. The present study examined the role of different seed priming techniques viz., hydropriming, osmopriming, redox priming, chemical priming, and hormonal priming, in enhancing the chilling tolerance in rice. The most effective reagents and their pre-optimized concentrations based on preliminary experiments were used in this study. Two different rice cultivars were sown under chilling stress (18˚C and normal temperatures (28˚C in separate growth chambers. A non-primed control treatment was also maintained for comparison. Chilling stress caused erratic and delayed germination, poor seedling growth, reduced starch metabolism and lower respiration rate, while higher lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide accumulation in rice seedlings of both cultivars. Nevertheless, all the seed priming treatments effectively alleviated the negative effects of chilling stress. In addition, seed priming treatments triggered the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase, and enhanced the accumulations of glutathione and free proline in rice seedlings, which suggests that these measures help prevent the rice seedlings from chilling induced oxidative stress. Chemical priming with selenium and hormonal priming with salicylic acid remained more effective treatments for both rice cultivars under chilling stress than all other priming treatments. The better performance and greater tolerance of primed rice seedlings was associated with enhanced starch metabolism, high respiration rate, lower lipid peroxidation, and strong antioxidative defense system under chilling stress.

A Simple and High-Throughput Analysis of Amatoxins and Phallotoxins in Human Plasma, Serum and Urine Using UPLC-MS/MS Combined with PRiME HLB μElution Platform

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Shuo Zhang

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Amatoxins and phallotoxins are toxic cyclopeptides found in the genus Amanita and are among the predominant causes of fatal food poisoning in China. In the treatment of Amanita mushroom poisoning, an early and definite diagnosis is necessary for a successful outcome, which has prompted the development of protocols for the fast and confirmatory determination of amatoxins and phallotoxins in human biological fluids. For this purpose, a simple, rapid and sensitive multiresidue UPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of α-amanitin, β-amanitin, γ-amanitin, phalloidin (PHD and phallacidin (PCD in human plasma, serum and urine was developed and validated. The diluted plasma, serum and urine samples were directly purified with a novel PRiME technique on a 96-well μElution plate platform, which allowed high-throughput sample processing and low reagent consumption. After purification, a UPLC-MS/MS analysis was performed using positive electrospray ionization (ESI+ in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM mode. This method fulfilled the requirements of a validation test, with good results for the limit of detection (LOD, lower limit of quantification (LLOQ, accuracy, intra- and inter-assay precision, recovery and matrix effects. All of the analytes were confirmed and quantified in authentic plasma, serum and urine samples obtained from cases of poisoning using this method. Using the PRiME μElution technique for quantification reduces labor and time costs and represents a suitable method for routine toxicological and clinical emergency analysis.

On the last digits of consecutive primes

OpenAIRE

Holt, Fred B.

2016-01-01

Recently Oliver and Soundararajan made conjectures based on computational enumerations about the frequency of occurrence of pairs of last digits for consecutive primes. By studying Eratosthenes sieve, we have identified discrete dynamic systems that exactly model the populations of gaps across stages of Eratosthenes sieve. Our models provide some insight into the observed biases in the occurrences of last digits in consecutive primes, and the models suggest that the biases will ultimately be ...

A note on the countable union of prime submodules

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M. R. Pournaki

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Let M be a finitely-generated module over a Noetherian ring R. Suppose is an ideal of R and let N=M and =Ann(M/N. If ⫅J(R, M is complete with respect to the -adic topology, {Pi}i≥1 is a countable family of prime submodules of M, and x∈M, then x+N⫅∪i≥1Pi implies that x+N⫅Pj for some i≥1. This extends a theorem of Sharp and Vámos concerning prime ideals to prime submodules.

Physiological quality and seed respiration of primed Jatropha curcas seeds

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Micheli Angelica Horbach

2017-11-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Seed deterioration is a natural and irreversible process. Nevertheless, seed priming with water and antioxidants can minimize oxidative damage in oilseeds, resulting in attenuation of seed deterioration. The objective of this assay was to evaluate seed priming on respiratory activity of Jatropha curcas submitted to accelerated aging. Seeds from two provenances (Janauba and Pedro J. Caballero were submitted to three priming treatments (control, immersion in deionized water, and with 750 µmol L-1 of ascorbic acid and treated for accelerated aging at 41 °C for 72 h. The results showed that the priming of J. curcas seeds promoted tolerance to accelerated aging. Primed seeds, with ascorbic acid from Janauba and deionized water from Pedro J. Caballero, resulted in a higher percentage of normal seedlings, and increased germination speed index and seed respiration. The decline of physiological quality of J. curcas seeds after accelerated aging is directly associated with a reduction in respiratory activity that is related to seed moisture content.

Smoking in urban pregnant women in South Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

tobacco use during their pregnancy. Of the pregnant women, 70% lived with at least one smoker in the house. Conclusions. Few black and Indian pregnant women in. South Africa smoke, while coloured pregnant women smoke heavily. QUitting programmes should be targeted at them when they attend antenatal services.

Priming patient safety: A middle-range theory of safety goal priming via safety culture communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Groves, Patricia S; Bunch, Jacinda L

2018-05-18

The aim of this paper is discussion of a new middle-range theory of patient safety goal priming via safety culture communication. Bedside nurses are key to safe care, but there is little theory about how organizations can influence nursing behavior through safety culture to improve patient safety outcomes. We theorize patient safety goal priming via safety culture communication may support organizations in this endeavor. According to this theory, hospital safety culture communication activates a previously held patient safety goal and increases the perceived value of actions nurses can take to achieve that goal. Nurses subsequently prioritize and are motivated to perform tasks and risk assessment related to achieving patient safety. These efforts continue until nurses mitigate or ameliorate identified risks and hazards during the patient care encounter. Critically, this process requires nurses to have a previously held safety goal associated with a repertoire of appropriate actions. This theory suggests undergraduate educators should foster an outcomes focus emphasizing the connections between nursing interventions and safety outcomes, hospitals should strategically structure patient safety primes into communicative activities, and organizations should support professional development including new skills and the latest evidence supporting nursing practice for patient safety. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The structure of semantic person memory: evidence from semantic priming in person recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiese, Holger

2011-11-01

This paper reviews research on the structure of semantic person memory as examined with semantic priming. In this experimental paradigm, a familiarity decision on a target face or written name is usually faster when it is preceded by a related as compared to an unrelated prime. This effect has been shown to be relatively short lived and susceptible to interfering items. Moreover, semantic priming can cross stimulus domains, such that a written name can prime a target face and vice versa. However, it remains controversial whether representations of people are stored in associative networks based on co-occurrence, or in more abstract semantic categories. In line with prominent cognitive models of face recognition, which explain semantic priming by shared semantic information between prime and target, recent research demonstrated that priming could be obtained from purely categorically related, non-associated prime/target pairs. Although strategic processes, such as expectancy and retrospective matching likely contribute, there is also evidence for a non-strategic contribution to priming, presumably related to spreading activation. Finally, a semantic priming effect has been demonstrated in the N400 event-related potential (ERP) component, which may reflect facilitated access to semantic information. It is concluded that categorical relatedness is one organizing principle of semantic person memory. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Thioredoxin priming prolongs lung allograft survival by promoting immune tolerance.

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Hanbo Hu

Full Text Available Tolerance to allograft antigen is the major challenge and final goal of transplant medicine. Our previous study demonstrated that thioredoxin-1 (Trx priming of donor lung significantly protected allogeneic lung graft. To determine whether Trx priming of donor lung inhibits allograft rejection, extends allograft survival and induces immune tolerance, orthotopic left lung transplantation was performed from Lewis to Sprague-Dawley rats without immunosuppression. Donor lungs were primed with Trx at 4°C for 4 hr prior to transplantation. After up to 37 days post-transplantation, allograft lung morphology, recipient T cell and humoral alloantigen-specific immune responses were examined. We found that Trx-primed lungs exhibited much reduced acute rejection and associated lung injuries resulting in loss of graft functional area at 5-37 days post-transplant in contrast to the control groups. CD4+ T cells from the recipients with Trx-primed grafts responded to the stimulation of dendritic cells (DCs of donor origin, in contrast to DCs from the third party, with significantly reduced proliferation. Consistent with above findings, we observed that CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in spleen cells from the recipients with Trx-primed grafts were significantly increased compared to controls, and CD4+ T cells from the recipients with Trx-primed grafts produced much higher levels of immunosuppressive cytokine, IL-10 when stimulated with allogeneic donor DCs. In addition, humoral immune tolerance was also induced as there was no significant increase levels of serum antibodies against donor antigens in Trx-lung recipients when re-challenged with allogeneic donor antigens. Our results demonstrate that one-time Trx-priming of donor lung grafts prior to transplantation significantly prolongs the survival of the grafts through inducing or promoting cellular and humoral alloantigen-specific immune tolerance, which might be associated with the induction of

Priming with Rocuronium to Accelerate the Onset Time of Cisatracurium During Intubation

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Shih-Pin Lin

2009-01-01

Conclusion: Priming with rocuronium or cisatracurium for 3 minutes significantly accelerated the onset of cisatracurium. Priming with rocuronium for 3 minutes improved the onset time of cisatracurium even more than priming with cisatracurium itself.

The role of selective attention in perceptual and affective priming

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, M.; Ladd, S. L.; Gabrieli, J. D.

2000-01-01

Two kinds of perceptual priming (word identification and word fragment completion), as well as preference priming (that may rely on special affective mechanisms) were examined after participants either read or named the colors of words and nonwords at study. Participants named the colors of words more slowly than the colors of nonwords, indicating that lexical processing of the words occurred at study. Nonetheless, priming on all three tests was lower after color naming than after reading, despite evidence of lexical processing during color naming shown by slower responses to words than to nonwords. These results indicate that selective attention to (rather than the mere processing of) letter string identity at study is important for subsequent repetition priming.

Reward guides vision when it's your thing: trait reward-seeking in reward-mediated visual priming.

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Clayton Hickey

Full Text Available Reward-related mesolimbic dopamine is thought to play an important role in guiding animal behaviour, biasing approach towards potentially beneficial environmental stimuli and away from objects unlikely to garner positive outcome. This is considered to result in part from an impact on perceptual and attentional processes: dopamine initiates a series of cognitive events that result in the priming of reward-associated perceptual features. We have provided behavioural and electrophysiological evidence that this mechanism guides human vision in search, an effect we refer to as reward priming. We have also demonstrated that there is substantial individual variability in this effect. Here we show that behavioural differences in reward priming are predicted remarkably well by a personality index that captures the degree to which a person's behaviour is driven by reward outcome. Participants with reward-seeking personalities are found to be those who allocate visual resources to objects characterized by reward-associated visual features. These results add to a rapidly developing literature demonstrating the crucial role reward plays in attentional control. They additionally illustrate the striking impact personality traits can have on low-level cognitive processes like perception and selective attention.

Treatment of human embryonic stem cells with different combinations of priming and inducing factors toward definitive endoderm.

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Tahamtani, Yasser; Azarnia, Mahnaz; Farrokhi, Ali; Sharifi-Zarchi, Ali; Aghdami, Nasser; Baharvand, Hossein

2013-05-01

Despite the enormous progress in studying definitive endoderm (DE) differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), none of the reported protocols have produced a universal, cost-effective, and competent DE with the capability to further differentiate into endodermal derivatives. In this study, by using a 2-step differentiation strategy, we have treated hESCs for 1 day with "priming" small molecules (SM), [stauprimide, NSC-308848, rapamycin (Rapa), and/or CHIR] and for the next 3 days with "inducing" SM (LY294002, cymarin, IDE1, and/or IDE2) in conjunction with activin A. In the positive control group, we treated hESCs with Wnt3a (25 ng/mL) for 1 day and activin A (100 ng/mL; W/A100-A100) for the next 3 days. Gene expression analysis showed that treatment of hESCs with 100 nM Rapa and 50 ng/mL activin A (Rapa-A50) out of 25 combinations of factors gave rise to higher expressions of 2 DE-specific genes, SOX17 and FOXA2. Similar results were obtained after treating 2 other hESC lines with this regimen. To investigate the competency of Rapa-A50-induced DE for further differentiation into endodermal derivatives, these cells and W/A100-A100-induced DE cells (positive control) were further differentiated into pancreatic progenitors (PP), then into pancreatic endocrine (PE) cells using 5 previously described differentiation protocols. Gene analysis of differentiated cells showed that the established protocols were insufficient to enable universal differentiation into PE, whereas Rapa-A50-induced DE cells were more competent for PP differentiation in a protocol-dependent manner. Additionally, Rapa-A50-induced DE had the capability to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) as efficiently as W/A100-A100-induced DE. These data have indicated that hESCs primed with Rapa, and induced by a lower concentration of activin A, could lead to DE that had the capability to further differentiate into HLCs and PP cells, but not PE cells. Thus, current protocols

Fall Colors, 2001-02: Prime Time Diversity Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, McCrae A.; Miller, Patti; Espejo, Eileen; Grossman-Swenson, Sarah

Television is an integral part of American culture, and has the ability to play a major role in shaping belief systems, particularly for the youngest and most impressionable viewers. This study is the third annual study of diversity of characters in prime time television programming. The study examined the first two episodes of each prime time…

Prevalence of malaria among pregnant women in Owerri ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A study was carried out on the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women in Owerri Municipal council area in Imo State, Nigeria between December 2001 and October 2002. Of 250 women examined, 200 women were pregnant. Of the 200 pregnant women examined, 22 (11.0%) had malaria parasitaemia. Prevalence ...

Q Fever in Pregnant Goats: Pathogenesis and Excretion of Coxiella burnetii

Science.gov (United States)

Roest, Hendrik-Jan; van Gelderen, Betty; Dinkla, Annemieke; Frangoulidis, Dimitrios; van Zijderveld, Fred; Rebel, Johanna; van Keulen, Lucien

2012-01-01

Coxiella burnetii is an intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes Q fever. Infected pregnant goats are a major source of human infection. However, the tissue dissemination and excretion pathway of the pathogen in goats are still poorly understood. To better understand Q fever pathogenesis, we inoculated groups of pregnant goats via the intranasal route with a recent Dutch outbreak C. burnetii isolate. Tissue dissemination and excretion of the pathogen were followed for up to 95 days after parturition. Goats were successfully infected via the intranasal route. PCR and immunohistochemistry showed strong tropism of C. burnetii towards the placenta at two to four weeks after inoculation. Bacterial replication seemed to occur predominantly in the trophoblasts of the placenta and not in other organs of goats and kids. The amount of C. burnetii DNA in the organs of goats and kids increased towards parturition. After parturition it decreased to undetectable levels: after 81 days post-parturition in goats and after 28 days post-parturition in kids. Infected goats gave birth to live or dead kids. High numbers of C. burnetii were excreted during abortion, but also during parturition of liveborn kids. C. burnetii was not detected in faeces or vaginal mucus before parturition. Our results are the first to demonstrate that pregnant goats can be infected via the intranasal route. C. burnetii has a strong tropism for the trophoblasts of the placenta and is not excreted before parturition; pathogen excretion occurs during birth of dead as well as healthy animals. Besides abortions, normal deliveries in C. burnetii-infected goats should be considered as a major zoonotic risk for Q fever in humans. PMID:23152826

Sulforaphane Modifies Histone H3, Unpacks Chromatin, and Primes Defense.

Science.gov (United States)

Schillheim, Britta; Jansen, Irina; Baum, Stephani; Beesley, Alexander; Bolm, Carsten; Conrath, Uwe

2018-03-01

Modern crop production calls for agrochemicals that prime plants for enhanced defense. Reliable test systems for spotting priming-inducing chemistry, however, are rare. We developed an assay for the high-throughput search for compounds that prime microbial pattern-induced secretion of antimicrobial furanocoumarins (phytoalexins) in cultured parsley cells. The screen produced 1-isothiocyanato-4-methylsulfinylbutane (sulforaphane; SFN), a secondary metabolite in many crucifers, as a novel defense priming compound. While elucidating SFN's mode of action in defense priming, we found that in Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) the isothiocyanate provokes covalent modification (K4me3, K9ac) of histone H3 in the promoter and promoter-proximal region of defense genes WRKY6 and PDF1 2 , but not PR1 SFN-triggered H3K4me3 and H3K9ac coincide with chromatin unpacking in the WRKY6 and PDF1 2 regulatory regions, primed WRKY6 expression, unprimed PDF1 2 activation, and reduced susceptibility to downy mildew disease ( Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis ). Because SFN also directly inhibits H arabidopsidis and other plant pathogens, the isothiocyanate is promising for the development of a plant protectant with a dual mode of action. © 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

An Intersensory Interaction Account of Priming Effects-and Their Absence.

Science.gov (United States)

Klatzky, Roberta L; Creswell, J David

2014-01-01

Psychological researchers have found that exposures to stimuli (primes) can subsequently influence people's behavior by pathways that would seem to be quite remote. For example, people exposed to words associated with older adults may walk more slowly. Recently priming studies, particularly those showing dramatic effects on social behavior, have been under scrutiny because of the unreliability of empirical results. In this article, we shed light on the issue by describing a general model of intersensory interaction, in which two or more sources of information provide an estimate or "bid" on a property of the world, with the perceptual outcome being a weighted combination of the bids. When it is extended by adding bids that stem from memory or inference, the model identifies systematic factors that might undermine priming, including random variation in estimates, contextual influences on memory retrieval and inference, competition among information sources, and cognitive control. These factors are not only explanatory but are predictive of when priming effects can be expected. Our hope is that by promoting the understanding of underlying processes that may explain how primes can influence behavior, the bidding model and the general approach that it represents offer novel insights into the hotly debated area of priming research. © The Author(s) 2013.

Asymptomatic Bacteriuria among Pregnant Women Attending ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The apparent decline in immunity of pregnant women appears to promote the growth of both com-mensal and non-commensal microorganisms. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women visiting the University hospital, Ku-masi. This prospective ...

Determinants and Temporal Trends of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Pregnant Women: The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children’s Health

OpenAIRE

Meng-Shan Tsai; Chihiro Miyashita; Atsuko Araki; Sachiko Itoh; Yu Ait Bamai; Houman Goudarzi; Emiko Okada; Ikuko Kashino; Hideyuki Matsuura; Reiko Kishi

2018-01-01

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent bio-accumulative chemicals that impact the health of pregnant women and their children. PFAS derive from environmental and consumer products, which depend on human lifestyle, socioeconomic characteristics, and time variation. Here, we aimed to explore the temporal trends of PFAS in pregnant women and the characteristics related to maternal PFAS concentration. Our study is part of the Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children’s Health, the Hokka...

Influencing Trust for Human-Automation Collaborative Scheduling of Multiple Unmanned Vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Clare, Andrew S; Cummings, Mary L; Repenning, Nelson P

2015-11-01

We examined the impact of priming on operator trust and system performance when supervising a decentralized network of heterogeneous unmanned vehicles (UVs). Advances in autonomy have enabled a future vision of single-operator control of multiple heterogeneous UVs. Real-time scheduling for multiple UVs in uncertain environments requires the computational ability of optimization algorithms combined with the judgment and adaptability of human supervisors. Because of system and environmental uncertainty, appropriate operator trust will be instrumental to maintain high system performance and prevent cognitive overload. Three groups of operators experienced different levels of trust priming prior to conducting simulated missions in an existing, multiple-UV simulation environment. Participants who play computer and video games frequently were found to have a higher propensity to overtrust automation. By priming gamers to lower their initial trust to a more appropriate level, system performance was improved by 10% as compared to gamers who were primed to have higher trust in the automation. Priming was successful at adjusting the operator's initial and dynamic trust in the automated scheduling algorithm, which had a substantial impact on system performance. These results have important implications for personnel selection and training for futuristic multi-UV systems under human supervision. Although gamers may bring valuable skills, they may also be potentially prone to automation bias. Priming during training and regular priming throughout missions may be one potential method for overcoming this propensity to overtrust automation. © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Plasma levels of antiprogestin RU 486 following oral administration to non-pregnant and early pregnant women

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swahn, M.L.; Wang, G.; Aedo, A.R.; Cekan, S.Z.; Bygdeman, M.

1986-01-01

RU 486 is a synthetic steroid which acts as an antiprogestin at the receptor level. The clinical usefulness of the compound for menstrual regulation and termination of early pregnancy is currently being evaluated. The aim of the present study was to determine the plasma levels of RU 486 following the oral administration of the compound to 42 pregnant and 10 non-pregnant women. The levels of RU 486 were measured by a radioimmunoassay method which uses chromatography on Sephadex LH 20 columns. The identity of the compound assayed as RU 486 was confirmed, but the presence of small amounts of two highly cross-reacting metabolites (monodemethyl and didemethyl RU 486) in the analyzed fractions could not be excluded. Following the ingestion of a single tablet containing 25 and 50 mg of the compound, a peak plasma value of approximately 3.5 to 4.0 mumol/l in both the pregnant and non-pregnant subjects was reached one to two hours later. The half-lives of elimination were about 20 hours in both the pregnant and the non-pregnant women. Following the repeated oral administration of 50, 100 or 200 mg of RU 486 daily for four days, maximum plasma levels of 2.9, 4.5 and 5.4 mumol/l, respectively, were found. Thus, the increase in plasma levels was not directly proportional to the increase in the dose. No accumulation of RU 486 in the plasma was found, even when the duration of treatment was prolonged to six days. The data partly explain the reported lack of relation between ingested dose and frequency of induced abortion and they may be useful for designing future studies on the use of compound to prevent implantation, induce menstruation or terminate an early pregnancy

Plasma levels of antiprogestin RU 486 following oral administration to non-pregnant and early pregnant women

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swahn, M.L.; Wang, G.; Aedo, A.R.; Cekan, S.Z.; Bygdeman, M.

1986-11-01

RU 486 is a synthetic steroid which acts as an antiprogestin at the receptor level. The clinical usefulness of the compound for menstrual regulation and termination of early pregnancy is currently being evaluated. The aim of the present study was to determine the plasma levels of RU 486 following the oral administration of the compound to 42 pregnant and 10 non-pregnant women. The levels of RU 486 were measured by a radioimmunoassay method which uses chromatography on Sephadex LH 20 columns. The identity of the compound assayed as RU 486 was confirmed, but the presence of small amounts of two highly cross-reacting metabolites (monodemethyl and didemethyl RU 486) in the analyzed fractions could not be excluded. Following the ingestion of a single tablet containing 25 and 50 mg of the compound, a peak plasma value of approximately 3.5 to 4.0 mumol/l in both the pregnant and non-pregnant subjects was reached one to two hours later. The half-lives of elimination were about 20 hours in both the pregnant and the non-pregnant women. Following the repeated oral administration of 50, 100 or 200 mg of RU 486 daily for four days, maximum plasma levels of 2.9, 4.5 and 5.4 mumol/l, respectively, were found. Thus, the increase in plasma levels was not directly proportional to the increase in the dose. No accumulation of RU 486 in the plasma was found, even when the duration of treatment was prolonged to six days. The data partly explain the reported lack of relation between ingested dose and frequency of induced abortion and they may be useful for designing future studies on the use of compound to prevent implantation, induce menstruation or terminate an early pregnancy.

Brand priming effect on consumers’ financial risk taking behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danielle Mantovani

Full Text Available Abstract Taking the perspective of brand priming theory, this study proposes that brands associated with an audacious personality trait may influence consumers to be take more risks in making subsequent decisions. Two experiments, run in sport brands contexts, showed that individuals exposed to brands with high (vs. low audacity traits demonstrated a higher rate of risk taking in financial decisions. The studies also showed that this effect is moderated by individuals’ experience with the financial market. This moderation suggests that there was an activation of a goal not just semantic activation, but through the brand priming. This research provides insights into how today's consumers deal with brand priming effects in risky choice settings. From a managerial perspective, it can help managers to understand the likely effects of brand priming on behavior and better predict the probability of risk aversion or risk seeking outcomes.

Is Semantic Priming (Ir)rational? Insights from the Speeded Word Fragment Completion Task

Science.gov (United States)

Heyman, Tom; Hutchison, Keith A.; Storms, Gert

2016-01-01

Semantic priming, the phenomenon that a target is recognized faster if it is preceded by a semantically related prime, is a well-established effect. However, the mechanisms producing semantic priming are subject of debate. Several theories assume that the underlying processes are controllable and tuned to prime utility. In contrast, purely…

Determination of plasma adrenomedullin in normal pregnant women and pregnancy-induced hypertension patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruan Lihong; Li Jingbo; Zhu Fengquan; Pan Yu; Yuan Aijun; He Kai

2004-01-01

Objective: To study the relationships between plasma adrenomedullin (ADM) and normal pregnancy and pathogenesis of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). Methods: ADM concentrations in the plasma from 10 normal non-pregnant women, 36 normal pregnant women (12 first, 12 second, 12 third trimester, respectively) and 30 cases of PIH (10 mild, 10 moderate, 10 severe, respectively) were determined by radioimmunoassay, and data were analyzed statistically. Results: ADM concentrations in the first, second and third trimester of normal pregnancy increased significantly than that of normal non-pregnant women (P<0.05). ADM concentration in the plasma of patients with PIH was higher than that of third trimester pregnancy (P<0.01). There were significant differences between mild, moderate, and severe PIH groups (P<0.05). In the PIH groups, significant positive correlation was found between plasma ADM concentration and mean arterial pressure (r=0.822, P<0.05). Incidence of low birth weight infants was related to serious degree of PIH. Conclusion: ADM may involve in maintaining normal human pregnancy. ADM may increase compensatorily in the pathogenesis of PIH

The TLR5 ligand flagellin promotes asthma by priming allergic responses to indoor allergens

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Rhonda H.; Maruoka, Shuichiro; Whitehead, Gregory S.; Foley, Julie F.; Flake, Gordon P.; Sever, Michelle L.; Zeldin, Darryl C.; Kraft, Monica; Garantziotis, Stavros; Nakano, Hideki; Cook, Donald N.

2012-01-01

Allergic asthma is a complex disease characterized by eosinophilic pulmonary inflammation, mucus production and reversible airway obstruction1. Exposure to indoor allergens is a clear risk factor for asthma, but this disease is also associated with high household levels of total and Gram-negative bacteria2. The ability of bacterial products to act as adjuvants3 suggests they might promote asthma by priming allergic sensitization to inhaled allergens. In support of this idea, house dust extracts (HDEs) can activate antigen presenting dendritic cells (DC) in vitro and promote allergic sensitization to inhaled innocuous proteinsin vivo4. It is unknown which microbial products provide most of the adjuvant activity in HDEs. A screen of microbial products for their adjuvant activity in the airway revealed that the bacterial protein, flagellin (FLA) stimulated strong allergic responses to an innocuous inhaled protein. Moreover, toll-like receptor (TLR)5, the mammalian receptor for FLA5,6, was required for priming strong allergic responses to natural indoor allergens present in HDEs. In addition, the incidence of human asthma was associated with high serum levels of FLA-specific antibodies. Together, these findings suggest that household FLA promotes the development of allergic asthma by TLR5-dependent priming of allergic responses to indoor allergens. PMID:23064463

Brucellosis in pregnant women from Pakistan: an observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Shahzad; Akhter, Shamim; Neubauer, Heinrich; Scherag, André; Kesselmeier, Miriam; Melzer, Falk; Khan, Iahtasham; El-Adawy, Hosny; Azam, Asima; Qadeer, Saima; Ali, Qurban

2016-09-02

Brucella species occasionally cause spontaneous human abortion. Brucella can be transmitted commonly through the ingestion of raw milk or milk products. The objective of this study was to determine the sero-prevalence of and to identify potential risk factors for brucellosis in pregnant women from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. We conducted a cross-sectional study at the Gynecology Outdoor Patient department of the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan from March to June 2013. Data related to potential risk factors and clinical history was collected by individual interviews on the blood sampling day. The 429 serum samples collected were initially screened by Rose Bengal Plate Agglutination test for the detection of Brucella antibodies. We applied standard descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses. Twenty five (5.8 %; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 3.8 % -8.5 %) serum samples were found to be seropositive. Brucellosis-related clinical symptoms were recorded in various seropositive cases. Animal contact, raw milk consumption, having an abortion history and the experience of an intrauterine fetal death were associated with seropositivity for brucellosis in univariate analyses (all p Brucellosis is a serious threat for pregnant women and their unborn children in Pakistan. Pregnant women having brucellosis-related symptoms or previous history of abortions, miscarriages, intrauterine fetal death and other brucellosis-related manifestations should be screened for brucellosis - especially those exposed to animals given the increased risk - and medication should be administered according to state of the art.

Affective priming of emotional pictures in parafoveal vision: left visual field advantage.

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo, Manuel G; Avero, Pedro

2008-03-01

This study investigated whether stimulus affective content can be extracted from visual scenes when these appear in parafoveal locations of the visual field and are foveally masked, and whether there is lateralization involved. Parafoveal prime pleasant or unpleasant scenes were presented for 150 msec 2.5 degrees away from fixation and were followed by a foveal probe scene that was either congruent or incongruent in emotional valence with the prime. Participants responded whether the probe was emotionally positive or negative. Affective priming was demonstrated by shorter response latencies for congruent than for incongruent prime-probe pairs. This effect occurred when the prime was presented in the left visual field at a 300-msec prime-probe stimulus onset asynchrony, even when the prime and the probe were different in physical appearance and semantic category. This result reveals that the affective significance of emotional stimuli can be assessed early through covert attention mechanisms, in the absence of overt eye fixations on the stimuli, and suggests that right-hemisphere dominance is involved.

Verbal priming and taste sensitivity make moral transgressions gross.

Science.gov (United States)

Herz, Rachel S

2014-02-01

The aims of the present study were to assess whether: (a) visceral and moral disgust share a common oral origin (taste); (b) moral transgressions that are also viscerally involving are evaluated accordingly as a function of individual differences in taste sensitivity; (c) verbal priming interacts with taste sensitivity to alter how disgust is experienced in moral transgressions; and (d) whether gender moderates these effects. Standard tests of disgust sensitivity, a questionnaire developed for this research assessing different types of moral transgressions (nonvisceral, implied-visceral, visceral) with the terms "angry" and "grossed-out," and a taste sensitivity test of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) were administered to 102 participants. Results confirmed past findings that the more sensitive to PROP a participant was the more disgusted they were by visceral, but not moral, disgust elicitors. Importantly, the findings newly revealed that taste sensitivity had no bearing on evaluations of moral transgressions, regardless of their visceral nature, when "angry" was the emotion primed. However, when "grossed-out" was primed for evaluating moral violations, the more intense PROP tasted to a participant the more "grossed-out" they were by all transgressions. Women were generally more disgust sensitive and morally condemning than men, but disgust test, transgression type, and priming scale modulated these effects. The present findings support the proposition that moral and visceral disgust do not share a common oral origin, but show that linguistic priming can transform a moral transgression into a viscerally repulsive event and that susceptibility to this priming varies as a function of an individual's sensitivity to the origins of visceral disgust-bitter taste.

Is semantic priming due to association strength or feature overlap? A microanalytic review.

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Hutchison, Keith A

2003-12-01

In a recent meta-analysis, Lucas (2000) concluded that there is strong evidence of an overall pure semantic priming effect but no evidence of priming based purely on association. In the present review, I critically examine the individual studies claiming evidence of featural and associative relations in semantic memory. The most important conclusion is that automatic priming appears to be due to both association strength and feature overlap. Mediated associates provide the strongest evidence of automatic associative priming, whereas functional associates, synonyms, and antonyms instead support priming based on feature overlap. In contrast, automatic priming does not occur for category coordinates or perceptually similar items, at least when presented in the visual modality. The status of other relations, such as collocates, episodic relatives, and script relations, is unclear and requires further experimentation. Implications for current models of semantic representation and priming are discussed.

On the Prime Ideals of C [0, 1

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

It is well known that the set C[0, 1] of real-valuedcontinuous functions on the closed interval [0, 1]has a natural ring structure. Its maximal idealsare known to be points. Here we show thatalthough there exist prime ideals which are notmaximal, the zero set is again a singleton. In particular,each prime ideal is contained in a ...

[Violence towards pregnant women].

Science.gov (United States)

Kramek, J; Grzymała-Krzyzostaniak, A; Celewicz, Z; Ronin-Walknowska, E

2001-12-01

The aim of this work was the evaluation of the scale of violence towards pregnant women in the westpomeranian province, the definition of the social-biological profile of women exposed to violence and social-biological profile of their partners. The evaluation of the influence of violence on pregnant women's ending term and the weight of the newborns. 481 women were enrolled and an anonymous study was used in the form of questionnaires. A questionnaire was a modified form of a query-sheet proposed by WHO. 25% of the enrolled women were exposed to physical and psychological (emotional) abuse, 7.1% to psychical violence, women and men exposed to violence in their childhood more often become violent in their adult life. Men that physically abuse pregnant women are often of primary school education, are unemployed, drink alcohol and smoke. Physical abuse by a partner during pregnancy usually experience women with primary school education, who drink and smoke. Violence during pregnancy is usually associated with premature delivery as well as low birth weight of the newborns.

The effects of alcohol expectancy priming on group bonding.

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Moltisanti, Allison J; Below, Maureen C; Brandon, Karen O; Goldman, Mark S

2013-12-01

According to alcohol expectancy theory, drinking-related information is stored in memory and, when cue activated, influences alcohol-related behavior. Priming of alcohol cues and expectancies has been shown to elicit both drinking and nonconsumptive behavior associated with alcohol consumption, such as willingness to meet with a stranger and aggression. These social influence effects have been shown to be moderated by individual differences in alcohol expectancies. In the present study, we tested whether an alcohol prime would facilitate social group bonding even in the absence of consumption, and whether such group bonding would be moderated by individually held social expectancies. One hundred twenty undergraduates (75% female) completed an alcohol expectancy measure prior to participation. Participants were primed with either alcohol or neutral beverage words and completed a collaborative group activity followed by questionnaires measuring perceived group cohesion. Several interactions were found between condition and expectancy reflecting that those in the alcohol prime condition with higher social alcohol expectancies reported greater cohesion on task-related, but not emotion-related, group measures. These findings underscore the complexity of the impact of expectancy and social behavior on drinking: the priming of alcohol expectancies may activate aspects of pro-social behavior, which may influence drinking, which in turn may feedback to positively reinforce social expectancies.

Self-Construal Priming Modulates Self-Evaluation under Social Threat

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Tianyang Zhang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that Westerners evaluate themselves in an especially flattering way when faced with a social-evaluative threat. The current study first investigated whether East Asians also have a similar pattern by recruiting Chinese participants and using social-evaluative threat manipulations in which participants perform self-evaluation tasks while adopting different social-evaluative feedbacks (Experiment 1. Then further examined whether the different response patterns can be modulated by different types of self-construal by using social-evaluative threat manipulations in conjunction with a self-construal priming task (Experiment 2. The results showed that, as opposed to Westerners' pattern, Chinese participants rated themselves as having significantly greater above-average effect only when faced with the nonthreatening feedback but not the social-evaluative threat. More importantly, we found that self-construal modulated the self-evaluation under social-evaluative threat: following independent self-construal priming, participants tended to show a greater above-average effect when faced with a social-evaluative threat. However, this pattern in conjunction with a social threat disappeared after participants received interdependent self-construal priming or neutral priming. These findings suggest that the effects of social-evaluative threat on self-evaluation are not culturally universal and is strongly modulated by self-construal priming.

A NEW ANIMAL-MODEL FOR HUMAN PREECLAMPSIA - ULTRA-LOW-DOSE ENDOTOXIN INFUSION IN PREGNANT RATS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

FAAS, MM; SCHUILING, GA; BALLER, JFW; VISSCHER, CA; BAKKER, WW

OBJECTIVE: An animal model for preeclampsia was developed by means of an ultra-low-dose endotoxin infusion protocol in conscious pregnant rats. STUDY DESIGN: Rats received a permanent jugular vein cannula on day 0 of pregnancy, through which endotoxin (1.0 mu/kg body weight) (n = 10) or saline

Putative periodontopathic bacteria and herpesviruses in pregnant women: a case-control study.

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Lu, Haixia; Zhu, Ce; Li, Fei; Xu, Wei; Tao, Danying; Feng, Xiping

2016-06-15

Little is known about herpesvirus and putative periodontopathic bacteria in maternal chronic periodontitis. The present case-control study aimed to explore the potential relationship between putative periodontopathic bacteria and herpesviruses in maternal chronic periodontitis.Saliva samples were collected from 36 pregnant women with chronic periodontitis (cases) and 36 pregnant women with healthy periodontal status (controls). Six putative periodontopathic bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis [Pg], Aggregatibacer actinomycetemcomitans [Aa], Fusobacterium nucleatum [Fn], Prevotella intermedia [Pi], Tannerella forsythia [Tf], and Treponema denticola [Td]) and three herpesviruses (Epstein-Barr virus [EBV], human cytomegalovirus [HCMV], and herpes simplex virus [HSV]) were detected. Socio-demographic data and oral health related behaviors, and salivary estradiol and progesterone levels were also collected. The results showed no significant differences in socio-demographic background, oral health related behaviors, and salivary estradiol and progesterone levels between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The detection rates of included periodontopathic microorganisms were not significantly different between the two groups (all P > 0.05), but the coinfection rate of EBV and Pg was significantly higher in the case group than in the control group (P = 0.028). EBV and Pg coinfection may promote the development of chronic periodontitis among pregnant women.

ASYMPTOMATIC BACTERIURIA IN PREGNANT WOMEN: DIAGNOSTICS AND TREATMENT

OpenAIRE

N. B. Gordovskaya; I. V. Korotchaeva

2014-01-01

In this article, the questions of screening, diagnostics and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women are considered. AB is found in 2-13% of pregnant women and it is a risk factor of gestational pyelonephritis development in 30-40% of pregnant women. Timely antibacterial therapy of AB prevents development of pyelonephritis in 70-80% of cases.

Repetition-priming effect: a cognitive task for the definition of a clinical assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Pagani

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This research aims to study how semantic priming words can influence behavioral measures (RTs, accuracy, to develop an experimental paradigm to differentiate visual neglect and hemianopia. 69 experimental subjects were involved in four experiments. In each experiment target words were preceded by word primes semantically related, neutral or unrelated to the target. The four experiments differed in terms of: number of prime, prime duration and distance between PC monitor and subject. In general, related primes should improve facilitatory effect in target recognition more than unrelated primes, reducing RTs and increasing response accuracy. After repeated ANOVA analysis applied to each experiment and paired comparisons, it is possible to point out that single related primes, shown for 150 ms, greatly improve response behavior in terms of RTs reduction. For future applications to the clinical field, we assume that neglect patients should be facilitated in these specific experimental conditions, due to implicit contralesional prime processing. On the contrary, hemianopics should nowise be facilitated, due to visual field deficit.

Secretory Vesicle Priming by CAPS Is Independent of Its SNARE-Binding MUN Domain

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Cuc Quynh Nguyen Truong

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Priming of secretory vesicles is a prerequisite for their Ca2+-dependent fusion with the plasma membrane. The key vesicle priming proteins, Munc13s and CAPSs, are thought to mediate vesicle priming by regulating the conformation of the t-SNARE syntaxin, thereby facilitating SNARE complex assembly. Munc13s execute their priming function through their MUN domain. Given that the MUN domain of Ca2+-dependent activator protein for secretion (CAPS also binds syntaxin, it was assumed that CAPSs prime vesicles through the same mechanism as Munc13s. We studied naturally occurring splice variants of CAPS2 in CAPS1/CAPS2-deficient cells and found that CAPS2 primes vesicles independently of its MUN domain. Instead, the pleckstrin homology domain of CAPS2 seemingly is essential for its priming function. Our findings indicate a priming mode for secretory vesicles. This process apparently requires membrane phospholipids, does not involve the binding or direct conformational regulation of syntaxin by MUN domains of CAPSs, and is therefore not redundant with Munc13 action.

Behavioral priming: it's all in the mind, but whose mind?

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Stéphane Doyen

Full Text Available The perspective that behavior is often driven by unconscious determinants has become widespread in social psychology. Bargh, Chen, and Burrows' (1996 famous study, in which participants unwittingly exposed to the stereotype of age walked slower when exiting the laboratory, was instrumental in defining this perspective. Here, we present two experiments aimed at replicating the original study. Despite the use of automated timing methods and a larger sample, our first experiment failed to show priming. Our second experiment was aimed at manipulating the beliefs of the experimenters: Half were led to think that participants would walk slower when primed congruently, and the other half was led to expect the opposite. Strikingly, we obtained a walking speed effect, but only when experimenters believed participants would indeed walk slower. This suggests that both priming and experimenters' expectations are instrumental in explaining the walking speed effect. Further, debriefing was suggestive of awareness of the primes. We conclude that unconscious behavioral priming is real, while real, involves mechanisms different from those typically assumed to cause the effect.

HIV shedding in cervico-vaginal secretions in pregnant women.

Science.gov (United States)

Gardella, Barbara; Roccio, Marianna; Maccabruni, Anna; Mariani, Bianca; Panzeri, Lucia; Zara, Francesca; Spinillo, Arsenio

2011-07-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of HIV-1 in cervico-vaginal secretions of pregnant as compared to non-pregnant HIV-seropositive women. We compared 43 known HIV seropositive pregnant patients versus 241 age-matched (± 2 years) control non-pregnant HIV-seropositive subjects. In pregnant patients blood and cervico-vaginal samples were obtained during each trimester of pregnancy. In control subjects the same samples were obtained at enrolment. HIV-1 RNA was measured in plasma; proviral HIV-1 DNA, cell-associated and cell-free HIV-1 RNA in cervico-vaginal secretion by competitive polymerase chain reaction (cRT-PCR) and reverse transcriptase PCR. The genital shedding of HIV-DNA (22/43 as compared to 79/241, p = 0.02), and cell-free HIV-RNA detection (26/43 as compared to 72/241, p pregnant than in non pregnant women. Pregnancy correlated with a significant positive trend in the cervico-vaginal load of HIV-DNA (Spearman Rho= 0.149, p= 0.012), and cell-free HIV-RNA (Spearman Rho= 0.253, p HIV-RNA transcripts (Spearman Rho = 0.06, p= 0.31). After correction for potential confounders, first trimester pregnant women had increased rates of genital HIV- DNA (odds ratio = 1.94, 95% confidence interval = 1.01 3.78) and cell-free HIV-RNA (odds ratio = 4.07, 95% confidence interval = 1.97 8.41) detection compared to nonpregnant controls. The shedding of genital HIV was increased in pregnant compared to non pregnant subjects, even in patients with undetectable viremia. In this low-risk HIV-positive population the risks of vertical or horizontal transmissions should not be underestimated.

Motivating Smoking Cessation Text Messages: Perspectives from Pregnant Smokers.

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Schindler-Ruwisch, Jennifer M; Leavitt, Leah E; Macherelli, Laura E; Turner, Monique M; Abroms, Lorien C

2018-06-01

The purpose of this research is to analyze cessation text-messages written by pregnant smokers to elucidate the target population's preferred content and message attributes. To achieve this goal, the objectives of this study are three-fold; to qualitatively code messages written by pregnant smokers for frame, type of appeal, and intended target. Study participants were recruited as part of a larger trial of pregnant smokers who were enrolled in a text-messaging program or control group and surveyed 1 month post-enrollment. Each participant was asked to write a brief message to another pregnant smoker and two independent coders qualitatively analyzed responses. User generated messages (N = 51) were equally loss and gain framed, and the most common appeals were: fear, guilt, cognitive, hope and empathy, in order of most to least frequent. The target of the majority of the messages was the baby. Allowing pregnant smokers to write cessation text-messages for other pregnant women can provide relevant insight into intervention content. Specifically, pregnant smokers appear to equally promote gain and loss frames, but may prefer messages that include components of fear and guilt related to the impact of smoking on their baby. Additional research is needed to systematically uncover perspectives of pregnant smokers to ensure interventions are optimally effective.

The Influence of Working Memory Load on Semantic Priming

Science.gov (United States)

Heyman, Tom; Van Rensbergen, Bram; Storms, Gert; Hutchison, Keith A.; De Deyne, Simon

2015-01-01

The present research examines the nature of the different processes that have been proposed to underlie semantic priming. Specifically, it has been argued that priming arises as a result of "automatic target activation" and/or the use of strategies like prospective "expectancy generation" and "retrospective semantic…

76 FR 80907 - TRICARE Prime Urgent Care Demonstration Project

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-27

... care including minor illness or injury for Active Duty Family Members enrolled in TRICARE Prime or.... Current data indicates that the ADFMs frequently need urgent care while traveling to new duty stations for... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary TRICARE Prime Urgent Care Demonstration Project...

Abnormal vaginal flora in symptomatic non-pregnant and pregnant women in a Greek hospital: a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tansarli, G S; Skalidis, T; Legakis, N J; Falagas, M E

2017-02-01

Bacterial vaginosis (BV), candidiasis, and trichomoniasis were the three established types of vaginal conditions until aerobic vaginitis (AV) was defined in the early 2000s. We sought to study the prevalence of abnormal vaginal flora (AVF) with inflammation in our hospital and to correlate it with AV. We prospectively collected vaginal smear specimens originated from symptomatic women who were examined at Iaso Obstetrics, Gynecology and Children's Hospital of Athens from April 2014 until September 2015. Amsel's criteria were used for the diagnosis of BV. The presence of leukocytes and lactobacillary grade were evaluated to classify a condition as AVF with inflammation; subsequently, bacterial cultures were performed. A total of 761 women were included. Five hundred and seventy-nine women were diagnosed with candidiasis, BV, trichomoniasis, or other types of vaginitis in which no pathogenic bacterial growth occurred in cultures. One hundred and eighty-two women (23.9 %) were diagnosed with AVF with inflammation (116 non-pregnant, 66 pregnant). Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen among these women (non-pregnant: 45.7 %, pregnant: 34.8 %). Other common pathogens were Group-B-Streptococcus (non-pregnant: 20.7 %, pregnant: 22.7 % respectively), Enterococcus faecalis (14.7 %, 18.2 %), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (6.9 %, 12.1 %). The prevalence of AVF with inflammation may be high. Since inflammation criteria were applied, most cases of BV were eliminated and the majority of cases of AVF are AV. Therefore, clinicians should include AV in the differential diagnosis of vaginitis, while microbiologists should take into account the growth of aerobic bacteria in vaginal cultures originating from women with microscopic findings of AV.

Aglycone Ebselen and β-d-Xyloside Primed Glycosaminoglycans Co-contribute to Ebselen β-d-Xyloside-Induced Cytotoxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Yang; Zhang, Siqi; Chang, Yajing; Fan, Dacheng; Agostini, Ariane De; Zhang, Lijuan; Jiang, Tao

2018-04-12

Most β-d-xylosides with hydrophobic aglycones are nontoxic primers for glycosaminoglycan assembly in animal cells. However, when Ebselen was conjugated to d-xylose, d-glucose, d-galactose, and d-lactose (8A-D), only Ebselen β-d-xyloside (8A) showed significant cytotoxicity in human cancer cells. The following facts indicated that the aglycone Ebselen and β-d-xyloside primed glycosaminoglycans co-contributed to the observed cytotoxicity: 1. Ebselen induced S phase cell cycle arrest, whereas 8A induced G2/M cell cycle arrest; 2. 8A augmented early and late phase cancer cell apoptosis significantly compared to that of Ebselen and 8B-D; 3. Both 8A and phenyl-β-d-xyloside primed glycosaminoglycans with similar disaccharide compositions in CHO-pgsA745 cells; 4. Glycosaminoglycans could be detected inside of cells only when treated with 8A, indicating Ebselen contributed to the unique property of intracellular localization of the primed glycosaminoglycans. Thus, 8A represents a lead compound for the development of novel antitumor strategy by targeting glycosaminoglycans.

Homophonic and semantic priming of Japanese Kanji words: a time course study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hsi-Chin; Yamauchi, Takashi; Tamaoka, Katsuo; Vaid, Jyotsna

2007-02-01

In an examination of the time course of activation of phonological and semantic information in processing kanji script, two lexical decision experiments were conducted with native readers of Japanese. Kanji targets were preceded at short (85-msec) and long (150-msec) intervals by homophonic, semantically related, or unrelated primes presented in kanji (Experiment 1) or by hiragana transcriptions of the kanji primes (Experiment 2). When primes were in kanji, semantic relatedness facilitated kanji target recognition at both intervals but homophonic relatedness did not. When primes were in hiragana, kanji target recognition was facilitated by homophonic relatedness at both intervals and by semantic relatedness only at the longer interval. The absence of homophonic priming of kanji targets by kanji primes challenges the universal phonology principle's claim that phonology is central to accessing meaning from print. The stimuli used in the present study may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive.

Abstract spatial concept priming dynamically influences real-world actions

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Sarah M Tower-Richardi

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Experienced regularities in our perceptions and actions play important roles in grounding abstract concepts such as social status, time, and emotion. Might we similarly ground abstract spatial concepts in more experienced-based domains? The present experiment explores this possibility by implicitly priming abstract spatial terms (north, south, east, west and then measuring participants’ hand movement trajectories while they respond to a body-referenced spatial target (up, down, left, right in a verbal (Exp. 1 or spatial (Exp. 2 format. Results from two experiments demonstrate temporally-dynamic and prime-biased movement trajectories when the primes are incongruent with the targets (e.g., north – left, west – up. That is, priming abstract coordinate directions influences subsequent actions in response to concrete target directions. These findings provide the first evidence that abstract concepts of world-centered coordinate axes are implicitly understood in the context of concrete body-referenced axes; critically, this abstract-concrete relationship manifests in motor movements, and may have implications for spatial memory organization.

Priming performance-related concerns induces task-related mind-wandering.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordano, Megan L; Touron, Dayna R

2017-10-01

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that priming of performance-related concerns would (1) increase the frequency of task-related mind-wandering (i.e., task-related interference; TRI) and (2) decrease task performance. In each experiment, sixty female participants completed an operation span task (OSPAN) containing thought content probes. The task was framed as a math task for those in a condition primed for math-related stereotype threat and as a memory task for those in a control condition. In both studies, women whose performance-related concerns were primed via stereotype threat reported more TRI than women in the control. The second experiment used a more challenging OSPAN task and stereotype primed women also had lower math accuracy than controls. These results support the "control failures×current concerns" framework of mind-wandering, which posits that the degree to which the environmental context triggers personal concerns influences both mind-wandering frequency and content. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Novel vector vaccine against Brucella abortus based on influenza A viruses expressing Brucella L7/L12 or Omp16 proteins: evaluation of protection in pregnant heifers.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabynov, Kaissar; Yespembetov, Bolat; Sansyzbay, Abylai

2014-10-14

The present study provides the first information about the protection of a novel influenza viral vector vaccine expressing the Brucella proteins ribosomal L7/L12 or Omp16 containing the adjuvant Montanide Gel01 in pregnant heifers. Immunization of pregnant heifers was conducted via the conjunctival (n=10) or subcutaneous (n=10) route using cross prime and booster vaccination schedules at an interval of 28 days. The vector vaccine was evaluated in comparison with positive control groups vaccinated with Brucella abortus S19 (n=10) or B. abortus RB51 (n=10) and a negative (PBS+Montanide Gel01; n=10) control group. Via both the conjunctival or subcutaneous route, evaluation of protectiveness against abortion, effectiveness of vaccination and index of infection (in heifers and their fetuses or calves) demonstrated the vector vaccine provided good protection against B. abortus 544 infection compared to the negative control group (PBS+Montanide Gel01) and comparable protection to commercial vaccines B. abortus S19 or B. abortus RB51. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Word Meaning Frequencies Affect Negative Compatibility Effects In Masked Priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Brocher, Andreas; Koenig, Jean-Pierre

2016-01-01

Negative compatibility effects (NCEs)-that is, slower responses to targets in related than unrelated prime-target pairs, have been observed in studies using stimulus-response (S-R) priming with stimuli like arrows and plus signs. Although there is no consensus on the underlying mechanism, explanations tend to locate NCEs within the motor-response system. A characteristic property of perceptuo-motor NCEs is a biphasic pattern of activation: A brief period in which very briefly presented (typically) masked primes facilitate processing of related targets is followed by a phase of target processing impairment. In this paper, we present data that suggest that NCEs are not restricted to S-R priming with low-level visual stimuli: The brief (50 ms), backward masked (250 ms) presentation of ambiguous words (bank) leads to slower responses than baseline to words related to the more frequent (rob) but not less frequent meaning (swim). Importantly, we found that slowed responses are preceded by a short phase of response facilitation, replicating the biphasic pattern reported for arrows and plus signs. The biphasic pattern of priming and the fact that the NCEs were found only for target words that are related to their prime word's more frequent meaning has strong implications for any theory of NCEs that locate these effects exclusively within the motor-response system.

Reading "glasses" will prime "vision," but reading a pair of "glasses" will not.

Science.gov (United States)

Neely, J H; VerWys, C A; Kahan, T A

1998-01-01

In a lexical decision task with two primes and a target, the target was preceded 300 msec by the second prime (P2) which in turn was preceded by a brief forward and backward masked first prime (P1). When P1 and P2 were unrelated, reaction times were faster when the target was related to P2 (e.g., wave SALT ... pepper) than when the target was unrelated to P2 (and P1--e.g., wave LOAN ... pepper). However, this semantic priming effect was reduced to statistically nonsignificant levels when P1 and P2 were repetitions of the same word. That is, priming did not occur for salt SALT ... pepper relative to loan LOAN ... pepper. This reduction in priming was observed whether P2 and the target were strongly or weakly related. These findings raise problems for current accounts of semantic priming.

Where perception meets memory: a review of repetition priming in visual search tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kristjánsson, Arni; Campana, Gianluca

2010-01-01

What we have recently seen and attended to strongly influences how we subsequently allocate visual attention. A clear example is how repeated presentation of an object's features or location in visual search tasks facilitates subsequent detection or identification of that item, a phenomenon known as priming. Here, we review a large body of results from priming studies that suggest that a short-term implicit memory system guides our attention to recently viewed items. The nature of this memory system and the processing level at which visual priming occurs are still debated. Priming might be due to activity modulations of low-level areas coding simple stimulus characteristics or to higher level episodic memory representations of whole objects or visual scenes. Indeed, recent evidence indicates that only minor changes to the stimuli used in priming studies may alter the processing level at which priming occurs. We also review recent behavioral, neuropsychological, and neurophysiological evidence that indicates that the priming patterns are reflected in activity modulations at multiple sites along the visual pathways. We furthermore suggest that studies of priming in visual search may potentially shed important light on the nature of cortical visual representations. Our conclusion is that priming occurs at many different levels of the perceptual hierarchy, reflecting activity modulations ranging from lower to higher levels, depending on the stimulus, task, and context-in fact, the neural loci that are involved in the analysis of the stimuli for which priming effects are seen.

French Prime Minister tours CERN

CERN Multimedia

Anaïs Schaeffer

2012-01-01

On 30 July, Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Prime Minister of the French Republic, and Geneviève Fioraso, the Minister of Higher Education and Research, visited the Laboratory.   After being met by the Director-General at LHC Point 5, they visited the CMS control centre and experiment cavern, and got a glimpse of the LHC tunnel at Point 5. The visit ended with a round-table discussion with French and other international members of CERN’s scientific community. During the discussion, the Prime Minister reaffirmed that “support for fundamental research has to be maintained, and France must continue to invest in education, research and innovation.” He also paid tribute to CERN's role in international cooperation, which he qualified as “a fine example of science without borders.”

Priming motivation through unattended speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Radel, Rémi; Sarrazin, Philippe; Jehu, Marie; Pelletier, Luc

2013-12-01

This study examines whether motivation can be primed through unattended speech. Study 1 used a dichotic-listening paradigm and repeated strength measures. In comparison to the baseline condition, in which the unattended channel was only composed by neutral words, the presence of words related to high (low) intensity of motivation led participants to exert more (less) strength when squeezing a hand dynamometer. In a second study, a barely audible conversation was played while participants' attention was mobilized on a demanding task. Participants who were exposed to a conversation depicting intrinsic motivation performed better and persevered longer in a subsequent word-fragment completion task than those exposed to the same conversation made unintelligible. These findings suggest that motivation can be primed without attention. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Goal-Directed Visual Attention Drives Health Goal Priming: An Eye-Tracking Experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Laan, van der Laura N.; Hooge, I.T.C.; Smeets, P.A.M.

2017-01-01

Objective: Several lab and field experiments have shown that goal priming interventions can be highly effective in promoting healthy food choices. Less is known, however, about the mechanisms by which goal priming affects food choice. This experiment tested the hypothesis that goal priming affects

ASYMPTOMATIC BACTERIURIA IN PREGNANT WOMEN: DIAGNOSTICS AND TREATMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. B. Gordovskaya

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this article, the questions of screening, diagnostics and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women are considered. AB is found in 2-13% of pregnant women and it is a risk factor of gestational pyelonephritis development in 30-40% of pregnant women. Timely antibacterial therapy of AB prevents development of pyelonephritis in 70-80% of cases.

Subtle differences in selective pressures applied on the envelope gene of HIV-1 in pregnant versus non-pregnant women.

Science.gov (United States)

Ransy, Doris G; Lord, Etienne; Caty, Martine; Lapointe, Normand; Boucher, Marc; Diallo, Abdoulaye Baniré; Soudeyns, Hugo

2018-04-17

Pregnancy is associated with modulations of maternal immunity that contribute to foeto-maternal tolerance. To understand whether and how these alterations impact antiviral immunity, a detailed cross-sectional analysis of selective pressures exerted on HIV-1 envelope amino-acid sequences was performed in a group of pregnant (n = 32) and non-pregnant (n = 44) HIV-infected women in absence of treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Independent of HIV-1 subtype, p-distance, dN and dS were all strongly correlated with one another but were not significantly different in pregnant as compared to non-pregnant patients. Differential levels of selective pressure applied on different Env subdomains displayed similar yet non-identical patterns between the two groups, with pressure applied on C1 being significantly lower in constant regions C1 and C2 than in V1, V2, V3 and C3. To draw a general picture of the selection applied on the envelope and compensate for inter-individual variations, we performed a binomial test on selection frequency data pooled from pregnant and non-pregnant women. This analysis uncovered 42 positions, present in both groups, exhibiting statistically-significant frequency of selection that invariably mapped to the surface of the Env protein, with the great majority located within epitopes recognized by Env-specific antibodies or sites associated with the development of cross-reactive neutralizing activity. The median frequency of occurrence of positive selection per site was significantly lower in pregnant versus non-pregnant women. Furthermore, examination of the distribution of positively selected sites using a hypergeometric test revealed that only 2 positions (D137 and S142) significantly differed between the 2 groups. Taken together, these result indicate that pregnancy is associated with subtle yet distinctive changes in selective pressures exerted on the HIV-1 Env protein that are compatible with transient modulations of maternal

Comparative evaluation of subgingival plaque microflora in pregnant and non-pregnant women: A clinical and microbiologic study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rishi Emmatty

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Gingival changes in pregnancy have been attributed to changes in the subgingival biofilm related to hormonal variations. Aims: To evaluate the subgingival plaque microflora in pregnant and nonpregnant women to determine if pregnancy induces any alterations in the subgingival plaque and to associate these changes with changes in periodontal status. Settings and Design: Thirty pregnant and 10 nonpregnant women within the age group of 20-35 years having a probing pocket depth (PPD of 3-4 mm were included in the study. The pregnant women were equally divided into 3 groups of 10, each belonging to I, II, and III trimester. Materials and Methods: Plaque index, gingival index, PPD, and microbiologic evaluation for specific bacterial counts for Prevotella intermedia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Parvimonas micra, and Fusobacterium nucleatum were carried out for all subjects. Statistical Analysis: Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Increase in gingival inflammation was observed in II and III trimester as compared with I trimester and control. Plaque scores did not show any significant difference between pregnant and nonpregnant women. Specific bacterial examination revealed an increase in proportion of P. intermedia in pregnant women of both II and III trimester as compared with I trimester and nonpregnant women. Conclusions: A definite increase in proportions of P. intermedia occurs in subgingival plaque microflora in pregnancy that may be responsible for the exaggerated gingival response.

Optimizing HIV-1-specific CD8+ T-cell induction by recombinant BCG in prime-boost regimens with heterologous viral vectors.

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Hopkins, Richard; Bridgeman, Anne; Bourne, Charles; Mbewe-Mvula, Alice; Sadoff, Jerald C; Both, Gerald W; Joseph, Joan; Fulkerson, John; Hanke, Tomáš

2011-12-01

The desire to induce HIV-1-specific responses soon after birth to prevent breast milk transmission of HIV-1 led us to propose a vaccine regimen which primes HIV-1-specific T cells using a recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (rBCG) vaccine. Because attenuated live bacterial vaccines are typically not sufficiently immunogenic as stand-alone vaccines, rBCG-primed T cells will likely require boost immunization(s). Here, we compared modified Danish (AERAS-401) and Pasteur lysine auxotroph (222) strains of BCG expressing the immunogen HIVA for their potency to prime HIV-1-specific responses in adult BALB/c mice and examined four heterologous boosting HIVA vaccines for their immunogenic synergy. We found that both BCG.HIVA(401) and BCG.HIVA(222) primed HIV-1-specific CD8(+) T-cell-mediated responses. The strongest boosts were delivered by human adenovirus-vectored HAdV5.HIVA and sheep atadenovirus-vectored OAdV7.HIVA vaccines, followed by poxvirus MVA.HIVA; the weakest was plasmid pTH.HIVA DNA. The prime-boost regimens induced T cells capable of efficient in vivo killing of sensitized target cells. We also observed that the BCG.HIVA(401) and BCG.HIVA(222) vaccines have broadly similar immunologic properties, but display a number of differences mainly detected through distinct profiles of soluble intercellular signaling molecules produced by immune splenocytes in response to both HIV-1- and BCG-specific stimuli. These results encourage further development of the rBCG prime-boost regimen. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The effects of associative and semantic priming in the lexical decision task.

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Perea, Manuel; Rosa, Eva

2002-08-01

Four lexical decision experiments were conducted to examine under which conditions automatic semantic priming effects can be obtained. Experiments 1 and 2 analyzed associative/semantic effects at several very short stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs), whereas Experiments 3 and 4 used a single-presentation paradigm at two response-stimulus intervals (RSIs). Experiment 1 tested associatively related pairs from three semantic categories (synonyms, antonyms, and category coordinates). The results showed reliable associative priming effects at all SOAs. In addition, the correlation between associative strength and magnitude of priming was significant only at the shortest SOA (66 ms). When prime-target pairs were semantically but not associatively related (Experiment 2), reliable priming effects were obtained at SOAs of 83 ms and longer. Using the single-presentation paradigm with a short RSI (200 ms, Experiment 3), the priming effect was equal in size for associative + semantic and for semantic-only pairs (a 21-ms effect). When the RSI was set much longer (1,750 ms, Experiment 4), only the associative + semantic pairs showed a reliable priming effect (23 ms). The results are interpreted in the context of models of semantic memory.

Repetition priming with Japanese Kana scripts in word-fragment completion.

Science.gov (United States)

Komatsu, S; Naito, M

1992-03-01

Manipulating two types of Japanese Kana script, Katakana and Hiragana, we examined the effects of a script change between study and test on later word-fragment completion. Throughout three experiments, materials were composed of foreign loan nouns normally written in Katakana, but not in Hiragana, according to approved usage in Japanese. Experiment 1 demonstrated the reliable size of cross-script priming between Katakana and Hiragana. In Experiment 2, cross-modal priming was substantial when modality of presentation was changed from auditory to visual. In Experiment 3, generating a target word from its definition induced priming comparable in size to that in the prior reading condition. These results have been confirmed in the Hiragana test, as well as in the Katakana test, thereby suggesting that some conceptual and modality-independent processes may also mediate repetition priming.

Heterologous prime-boost regimens with a recombinant chimpanzee adenoviral vector and adjuvanted F4 protein elicit polyfunctional HIV-1-specific T-Cell responses in macaques.