Positive words carry less information than negative words

We show that the frequency of word use is not only determined by the word length \cite{Zipf1935} and the average information content \cite{Piantadosi2011}, but also by its emotional content. We have analyzed three established lexica of affective word usage in English, German, and Spanish, to verify that these lexica have a neutral, unbiased, emotional content. Taking into account the frequency of word usage, we find that words with a positive emotional content are more frequently used. This lends support to Pollyanna hypothesis \cite{Boucher1969} that there should be a positive bias in human expression. We also find that negative words contain more information than positive words, as the informativeness of a word increases uniformly with its valence decrease. Our findings support earlier conjectures about (i) the relation between word frequency and information content, and (ii) the impact of positive emotions on communication and social links.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

A pilot randomised double blind controlled trial of the efficacy of purified fatty acids for the treatment of women with endometriosis-associated pain (PurFECT):study protocol

Abstract Background Endometriosis affects 6–10% of women and is associated with debilitating pelvic pain. It costs the UK > £2.8 billion per year in loss of productivity. Endometriosis can be managed by surgical excision or medically by ovarian suppression. However, ~ 75% symptoms recur after surgery and available medical treatments have undesirable side effects and are contraceptive. Omega-3 purified fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown in animal models to reduce factors that are thought to lead to endometriosis-associated pain, have minimal side effects, and no effects on fertility. This paper presents a protocol for a two-arm, pilot parallel randomised controlled trial (RCT) which aims to inform the planning of a future multicentre trial to evaluate the efficacy of Omega-3 PUFA in the management of endometriosis-associated pain in women. Methods The study will recruit women with endometriosis over a 12-month period in the National Health Service (NHS) Lothian, UK, and randomise them to 8 weeks of treatment with Omega-3 PUFA or comparator (olive oil). The primary objective is to assess recruitment and retention rates. The secondary objectives are to determine the effectiveness/acceptability to participants of the proposed methods of recruitment/randomisation/treatments/questionnaires, to inform the sample size calculation and to refine the research methodology for a future large randomised controlled trial. Response to treatment will be monitored by pain scores and questionnaires assessing physical and emotional function compared at baseline and 8 weeks. Discussion We recognise that there may be potential difficulties in mounting a large randomised controlled trial for endometriosis to assess Omega-3 PUFA because they are a dietary supplement readily available over the counter and already used by women with endometriosis. We have therefore designed this pilot study to assess practical feasibility and following the ‘Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials’ recommendations for the design of chronic pain trials. Trial registration ISRCTN4420234

Semantic feature training in combination with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for progressive anomia

© 2017 Hung, Bauer, Grossman, Hamilton, Coslett and Reilly. We examined the effectiveness of a 2-week regimen of a semantic feature training in combination with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for progressive naming impairment associated with primary progressive aphasia (N = 4) or early onset Alzheimer’s Disease (N = 1). Patients received a 2-week regimen (10 sessions) of anodal tDCS delivered over the left temporoparietal cortex while completing a language therapy that consisted of repeated naming and semantic feature generation. Therapy targets consisted of familiar people, household items, clothes, foods, places, hygiene implements, and activities. Untrained items from each semantic category provided item level controls. We analyzed naming accuracies at multiple timepoints (i.e., pre-, post-, 6-month follow-up) via a mixed effects logistic regression and individual differences in treatment responsiveness using a series of non-parametric McNemar tests. Patients showed advantages for naming trained over untrained items. These gains were evident immediately post tDCS. Trained items also showed a shallower rate of decline over 6-months relative to untrained items that showed continued progressive decline. Patients tolerated stimulation well, and sustained improvements in naming accuracy suggest that the current intervention approach is viable. Future implementation of a sham control condition will be crucial toward ascertaining whether neuro stimulation and behavioral treatment act synergistically or alternatively whether treatment gains are exclusively attributable to either tDCS or the behavioral intervention

The statistics of natural hand movements.

Humans constantly use their hands to interact with the environment and they engage spontaneously in a wide variety of manual activities during everyday life. In contrast, laboratory-based studies of hand function have used a limited range of predefined tasks. The natural movements made by the hand during everyday life have thus received little attention. Here, we developed a portable recording device that can be worn by subjects to track movements of their right hand as they go about their daily routine outside of a laboratory setting. We analyse the kinematic data using various statistical methods. Principal component analysis of the joint angular velocities showed that the first two components were highly conserved across subjects, explained 60% of the variance and were qualitatively similar to those reported in previous studies of reach-to-grasp movements. To examine the independence of the digits, we developed a measure based on the degree to which the movements of each digit could be linearly predicted from the movements of the other four digits. Our independence measure was highly correlated with results from previous studies of the hand, including the estimated size of the digit representations in primary motor cortex and other laboratory measures of digit individuation. Specifically, the thumb was found to be the most independent of the digits and the index finger was the most independent of the fingers. These results support and extend laboratory-based studies of the human hand

Bioaccessibility of selenium after human ingestion in relation to its chemical species and compartmentalization in maize

International audienceSelenium is a micronutrient needed by all living organisms including humans, but often present in low concentration in food with possible deficiency. From another side, at higher concentrations in soils as observed in seleniferous regions of the world, and in function of its chemical species, Se can also induce (eco)toxicity. Root Se uptake was therefore studied in function of its initial form for maize (Zea mays L.), a plant widely cultivated for human and animal food over the world. Se phytotoxicity and compartmentalization were studied in different aerial plant tissues. For the first time, Se oral human bioaccessibility after ingestion was assessed for the main Se species (SeIV and SeVI) with the BARGE ex vivo test in maize seeds (consumed by humans), and in stems and leaves consumed by animals. Corn seedlings were cultivated in hydroponic conditions supplemented with 1 mg L−1 of selenium (SeIV, SeVI, Control) for 4 months. Biomass, Se concentration, and bioaccessibility were measured on harvested plants. A reduction in plant biomass was observed under Se treatments compared to control, suggesting its phytotoxicity. This plant biomass reduction was higher for selenite species than selenate, and seed was the main affected compartment compared to control. Selenium compartmentalization study showed that for selenate species, a preferential accumulation was observed in leaves, whereas selenite translocation was very limited toward maize aerial parts, except in the seeds where selenite concentrations are generally high. Selenium oral bioaccessibility after ingestion fluctuated from 49 to 89 % according to the considered plant tissue and Se species. Whatever the tissue, selenate appeared as the most human bioaccessible form. A potential Se toxicity was highlighted for people living in seleniferous regions, this risk being enhanced by the high Se bioaccessibility

Is preview benefit from word n + 2 a common effect in reading Chinese? Evidence from eye movements

Although most studies of reading English (and other alphabetic languages) have indicated that readers do not obtain preview benefit from word n + 2, Yang, Wang, Xu, and Rayner (2009) reported evidence that Chinese readers obtain preview benefit from word n + 2. However, this effect may not be common in Chinese because the character prior to the target word in Yang et al.’s experiment was always a very high frequency function word. In the current experiment, we utilized a relatively low frequency word n + 1 to examine whether an n + 2 preview benefit effect would still exist and failed to find any preview benefit from word n + 2. These results are consistent with a recent study which indicated that foveal load modulates the perceptual span during Chinese reading (Yan, Kliegl, Shu, Pan, & Zhou, 2010). Implications of these results for models of eye movement control are discussed

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

A novel RFC1 repeat motif (ACAGG) in two Asia-Pacific CANVAS families

Cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy and vestibular areflexia syndrome (CANVAS) is a progressive late-onset, neurological disease. Recently, a pentanucleotide expansion in intron 2 of RFC1 was identified as the genetic cause of CANVAS. We screened an Asian-Pacific cohort for CANVAS and identified a novel RFC1 repeat expansion motif, (ACAGG)exp, in three affected individuals. This motif was associated with additional clinical features including fasciculations and elevated serum creatine kinase. These features have not previously been described in individuals with genetically-confirmed CANVAS. Haplotype analysis showed our patients shared the same core haplotype as previously published, supporting the possibility of a single origin of the RFC1 disease allele. We analysed data from >26 000 genetically diverse individuals in gnomAD to show enrichment of (ACAGG) in non-European populations

Estrogen receptor transcription and transactivation: Estrogen receptor knockout mice - what their phenotypes reveal about mechanisms of estrogen action

Natural, synthetic and environmental estrogens have numerous effects on the development and physiology of mammals. Estrogen is primarily known for its role in the development and functioning of the female reproductive system. However, roles for estrogen in male fertility, bone, the circulatory system and immune system have been established by clinical observations regarding sex differences in pathologies, as well as observations following menopause or castration. The primary mechanism of estrogen action is via binding and modulation of activity of the estrogen receptors (ERs), which are ligand-dependent nuclear transcription factors. ERs are found in highest levels in female tissues critical to reproduction, including the ovaries, uterus, cervix, mammary glands and pituitary gland. Since other affected tissues have extremely low levels of ER, indirect effects of estrogen, for example induction of pituitary hormones that affect the bone, have been proposed. The development of transgenic mouse models that lack either estrogen or ER have proven to be valuable tools in defining the mechanisms by which estrogen exerts its effects in various systems. The aim of this article is to review the mouse models with disrupted estrogen signaling and describe the associated phenotypes

Epigenetic Regulation of Histone H3 Serine 10 Phosphorylation Status by HCF-1 Proteins in C. elegans and Mammalian Cells

BACKGROUND: The human herpes simplex virus (HSV) host cell factor HCF-1 is a transcriptional coregulator that associates with both histone methyl- and acetyltransferases, and a histone deacetylase and regulates cell proliferation and division. In HSV-infected cells, HCF-1 associates with the viral protein VP16 to promote formation of a multiprotein-DNA transcriptional activator complex. The ability of HCF proteins to stabilize this VP16-induced complex has been conserved in diverse animal species including Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans suggesting that VP16 targets a conserved cellular function of HCF-1. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To investigate the role of HCF proteins in animal development, we have characterized the effects of loss of the HCF-1 homolog in C. elegans, called Ce HCF-1. Two large hcf-1 deletion mutants (pk924 and ok559) are viable but display reduced fertility. Loss of Ce HCF-1 protein at reduced temperatures (e.g., 12 degrees C), however, leads to a high incidence of embryonic lethality and early embryonic mitotic and cytokinetic defects reminiscent of mammalian cell-division defects upon loss of HCF-1 function. Even when viable, however, at normal temperature, mutant embryos display reduced levels of phospho-histone H3 serine 10 (H3S10P), a modification implicated in both transcriptional and mitotic regulation. Mammalian cells with defective HCF-1 also display defects in mitotic H3S10P status. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that HCF-1 proteins possess conserved roles in the regulation of cell division and mitotic histone phosphorylation