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Being rejected, excluded, or simply ignored is a painful experience. Ostracism researchers have shown its powerful negative consequences (Williams, 2007), and sociologists have referred to such experiences as social death (Bauman, 1992). Is this is just a metaphor or does being ostracized make death more salient in people's minds? An experiment was conducted in which participants experienced ostracism or inclusion using the Cyberball manipulation, and the accessibility of death-related thoughts was measured via a word-stem completion puzzle. Results showed enhanced death-thought accessibility in the ostracism condition, as well as a negative effect of dispositional self-esteem on the accessibility of death-related thoughts.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell disorder, which often causes parenchymal kidney disease. Light chain (LC) cast nephropathy represents the most common renal lesion. In some instances, LC crystals precipitate within renal tubular lumens and deposit within proximal tubular cell cytoplasms. Importantly, urine microscopy in such patients can provide insight into the underlying LC-related lesion. Here we present two patients with MM complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI) where LC crystalline casts were observed on urinary sediment analysis. Kidney biopsy revealed acute tubular injury with LC crystal casts within both tubular lumens and renal tubular epithelial cell cytoplasms. These findings suggest that the urinary sediment may be a non-invasive way to diagnose LC crystalline-induced AKI in patients with MM.

Bile acid nephropathy, also known as cholemic nephrosis or nephropathy, is an entity that can be seen in patients with severe cholestatic liver disease. It typically is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) with various forms of hepatic disease. Most often, patients with severe obstructive jaundice develop this lesion, which is thought to occur due to direct bile acid injury to tubular cells, as well as obstructing bile acid casts. Patients with end-stage liver disease also can develop AKI, in which case a more heterogeneous lesion occurs that includes hepatorenal syndrome and acute tubular injury/necrosis. In this circumstance, acute tubular injury develops from a combination of hemodynamic changes with some contribution from direct bile acid-related tubular toxicity and obstructive bile casts. We present a case of AKI due to bile acid nephropathy in a bodybuilder who developed severe cholestatic liver disease in the setting of anabolic androgenic steroid use., (Copyright © 2014 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a consensus regarding the appropriate regimen to evaluate long-term suppressive antiviral treatment to reduce complications from herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) and identify potential study sites., Methods: In January 2013, a survey of 13 questions was distributed among cornea fellowship directors, board members of the Cornea Society and Ocular Microbiology and Immunology Group, and Kera-net Listserv members. Questions identified respondents' preferred antiviral regimens to administer for chronic or recurrent HZO, gauged the level of interest in participation in a planned randomized clinical trial, and assessed the number of HZO patients treated among specialists in the past year., Results: Of the 171 respondents who completed the questionnaire, the majority identified as Kera-net Listserv members (107 of 171, 63%) and cornea fellowship directors (46 of 171, 27%). First choice of treatment was valacyclovir 500 mg 2 times per day (61 of 171, 36%), followed by acyclovir 800 mg 2 times per day (56 of 171, 33%), and then valacyclovir 1,000 mg daily (26.9%, 46 of 171). Among the choices, famciclovir consistently placed last among all the respondents (7 of 171, 4%). A majority (106 of 171, 62%) of all respondents, including 70% (26 of 37) of U. S. respondents of the high-volume practices, were interested in participating in a future randomized clinical trial evaluating whether treatment with oral antiviral medications for 1 year decreases complications of HZO., Conclusions: This survey highlights the strong interest in and support for further study of suppressive antiviral treatment regimens to reduce complications of HZO.

Objective: In 2011, 15.8% of eligible patients in the United States were vaccinated against herpes zoster (HZ). To increase the usage of the HZ vaccine by studying physicians' knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived obstacles after interventions to overcome barriers., Methods: General internal medicine physicians were surveyed with a cross-sectional internet survey from October to December 2011 before interventions to increase the use of the HZ vaccine and 1 year later. Interventions included education, increasing availability at the medical center pharmacy, and electronic medical record reminders. Outcome measures included changes in knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and perceived barriers. McNemar chi-square tests were used to compare the changes from the baseline survey for physicians who completed the follow-up survey., Results: Response rate for the baseline study was 33.5% (89/266) and for the follow-up was 29.8% (75/252). Fifty-five completed both surveys. There was a decrease from 57% at baseline to 40% at follow-up in the proportion of physicians who reported that less than 10% of their patients were vaccinated. They were more likely to know the HZ annual incidence (30% baseline; 70% follow-up; P=0.02), and report having educational information for physicians (7% baseline; 27% follow-up; P=0.003). The top helpful intervention was nursing administration of the vaccine. Average monthly HZ vaccine usage in the affiliated outpatient pharmacy increased in 10 months between surveys by 156% compared with the 3 months before the baseline survey., Conclusions: Interventions implemented during the study led to an increase in physicians' basic knowledge of the HZ vaccine and an increase in usage at the affiliated pharmacy.

A burgeoning literature has established that exposure to atrocities committed by in-group members triggers moral-disengagement strategies. There is little research, however, on how such moral disengagement affects the degree to which conversations shape people's memories of the atrocities and subsequent justifications for those atrocities. We built on the finding that a speaker's selective recounting of past events can result in retrieval-induced forgetting of related, unretrieved memories for both the speaker and the listener. In the present study, we investigated whether American participants listening to the selective remembering of atrocities committed by American soldiers (in-group condition) or Afghan soldiers (out-group condition) resulted in the retrieval-induced forgetting of unmentioned justifications. Consistent with a motivated-recall account, results showed that the way people's memories are shaped by selective discussions of atrocities depends on group-membership status., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Patients with hypopigmented mycosis fungoides (HMF) present at a younger age than those with classic MF. Our goal was to describe the clinical presentation, histopathologic features and long-term outcome in patients who developed HMF before the age of 21. It was observed that among 69 pediatric patients diagnosed with MF between 1992 and 2010, 50 had HMF. Thirty-five patients had clinical follow-up. There were 37 males and 32 females with a mean age of 13.6 years. Most patients were African American or Hispanic and presented with multiple hypopigmented patches. All biopsies showed epidermotropism of T-lymphocytes, whereas fibroplasia and lichenoid infiltrate were variable. All specimens tested were CD8+. Treatment modalities included topical steroids, narrow band ultraviolet B and psoralen and ultraviolet A. HMF patients were followed for <1-12 years. Most children responded to treatment, but recurrence rates were high. One patient progressed to plaque/tumor stage. Others did not progress; however, many were lost to follow-up. We present a large cohort of children with HMF and report on the features of disease and progression. A major difference in histology of HMF was lack of fibroplasia and lichenoid infiltrate, probably because of presentation in the early patch stage. Most patients have a waxing-and-waning course and relapse after discontinuation of therapy, requiring repetitive treatment., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Understanding others' mental states is a crucial skill that enables the complex social relationships that characterize human societies. Yet little research has investigated what fosters this skill, which is known as Theory of Mind (ToM), in adults. We present five experiments showing that reading literary fiction led to better performance on tests of affective ToM (experiments 1 to 5) and cognitive ToM (experiments 4 and 5) compared with reading nonfiction (experiments 1), popular fiction (experiments 2 to 5), or nothing at all (experiments 2 and 5). Specifically, these results show that reading literary fiction temporarily enhances ToM. More broadly, they suggest that ToM may be influenced by engagement with works of art.

RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription is essential for the cell cycle, growth and protein synthesis in eukaryotes. In the present study, we found that phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) is a part of the protein complex on the active ribosomal promoter during transcription. PIP2 makes a complex with Pol I and the Pol I transcription factor UBF in the nucleolus. PIP2 depletion reduces Pol I transcription, which can be rescued by the addition of exogenous PIP2. In addition, PIP2 also binds directly to the pre-rRNA processing factor fibrillarin (Fib), and co-localizes with nascent transcripts in the nucleolus. PIP2 binding to UBF and Fib modulates their binding to DNA and RNA, respectively. In conclusion, PIP2 interacts with a subset of Pol I transcription machinery, and promotes Pol I transcription.

The desire for justice can escalate or facilitate resolution of intergroup conflicts. Two studies investigated retributive and restorative notions of justice as the mediating factor of the effect of perceived outgroup sentience-an aspect of (mechanistic) dehumanization referring to the emotional depth attributed to others-on intergroup conflict resolution. Study 1 showed that for Palestinians, who see themselves as victims, perceived sentience of Israelis decreased retributive but increased restorative notions of justice, which, ultimately, increased support for conflict resolution by negotiation rather than political violence. Study 2 partially replicated Study 1's findings with Jewish Israelis. The role of perceived sentience and its relationship to retributive and restorative notions of justice in protracted and nonprotracted conflicts and their resolution is discussed.

What aspects of ingroup identification can lead people to resist justice for the victims of their ingroup's mistreatment? In three studies carried out in the United States and United Kingdom, in which participants read reports of mistreatment of prisoners and civilians by coalition troops in the Iraq war, ingroup glorification, but not ingroup attachment or other individual-difference variables, was a key predictor of lesser demands for justice, but only when the perpetrators belonged to the ingroup. This effect of glorification was mediated by two moral disengagement mechanisms focusing on the outgroup: minimization of the emotional suffering of the victims' families and explicit dehumanization of the victim group. These findings further reinforce the difference between glorification and other forms of ingroup identification, demonstrating that glorification is problematic in maintaining and fostering intergroup relations because of its connection to moral disengagement.

We examined the attribution of primary and secondary emotions in the context of equal status groups with a non-conflictual relationship, that is, Germans and French. In Study 1 (N = 169), we found that in such an intergroup context, there was no differential attribution of secondary emotions but an over-attribution of primary emotions to the out-group. Only high identifiers tended to attribute more secondary emotions to the in-group than to the out-group. In Study 2 (N = 423), the role of the identification with the in-group and a superordinate group (Europe) in the process of infrahumanization was examined. Participants' national versus European identification was primed. The results did not differ between these two conditions. As in Study 1, an over-attribution of primary emotions to the out-group was observed. Concerning the secondary emotions, the classical infrahumanization effect occurred, that is, an over-attribution of secondary emotions to the in-group.

The perception of groups as real entities rather than mere aggregates of individuals has important consequences on intergroup relations. Social psychological research, in fact, shows that it affects stereotyping, identification process, and intergroup bias. Previous research has also shown that group entitativity is not a positive or negative group attribute per se; rather, it depends on the context and the relationship between the perceiver and the group. While enhancing entitativity leads to worse expectations about the out-group actions, high entitativity is a valued characteristic when associated with an ally or with the in-group. Indeed, enhancing in-group entitativity leads to stronger in-group identification. The specific reasons for why this is the case, however, remain to be ascertained. What is good about in-group entitativity? In the present contribution we propose that in-group entitativity may lead to perceive the group as a real entity provided with intentions and capacity for planned actions, notably ensuring the safety of its members by protecting them against external threats. We report two correlational studies conducted with American citizens (Study 1) and Italian citizens (Study 2), showing that in-group entitativity is associated with a higher level of identification, attribution of intentionality, and perceived security provided by the in-group. These findings were replicated in a third study-conducted with a role-play method on a fictitious scenario-in which entitativity was manipulated rather than measured. Study 3 also shows that artificially increasing the perception of in-group entitativity enhances perceived safety in an international context and reduces the perception of threat from an out-group. Findings are discussed in terms of possible implications for intergroup and international relations.

Several reports over the last few years have documented the dose-response curve for steroid hormone induction of gene transcription as a modulated property of a given receptor-agonist complex that varies with the changing concentration of a variety of factors including: homologous receptor, co-activators, co-repressors and selected co-factors. In each report, the dose-response curves are sigmoidal and show an excellent fit with the curve generated by Michaelis-Menten kinetics. In addition, even the overall function of human oestrogen receptors (hERs) can show a similar graph for the determination of sex versus oestrogen compounds in reptiles. Thus, the kinetic properties of the simple bimolecular reaction of A+B-->C appear, surprisingly, to be sufficient to describe the dose-response curve of the multi-step process of steroid-regulated gene induction that involves several molecules. Any advance in explaining why the dose-response curve for steroid-regulated gene expression is sigmoidal would assist in understanding what parameters are key factors of the dose-response curve and can benefit in the design of new oestrogenic substances. We have constructed and analysed a multi-step model of hER-induced gene transcription that explains the multiple forms of a simple dose-response curve in an in vitro transcription system.

The present research examines how awareness of violence perpetrated against an out-group by one's in-group can intensify the infrahumanization of the out-group, as measured by a reduced tendency to accord uniquely human emotions to out-groups. Across 3 experiments that used different in-groups (humans, British, White Americans) and out-groups (aliens, Australian Aborigines, and Native Americans), when participants were made aware of the in-group's mass killing of the out-group, they infrahumanized the victims more. The perception of collective responsibility, not just the knowledge that the out-group members had died in great numbers, was shown to be necessary for this effect. Infrahumanization also occurred concurrently with increased collective guilt but was unrelated to it. It is proposed that infrahumanization may be a strategy for people to reestablish psychological equanimity when confronted with a self-threatening situation and that such a strategy may occur concomitantly with other strategies, such as providing reparations to the out-group., (Copyright 2006 APA.)

In two experiments, we investigated the impact of the presentation of a deviant ingroup member on the perception of the ingroup among participants who differed in their degree of identification with the ingroup. In Study 1, we measured psychology students' level of identification with the group of psychologists (i.e. the ingroup) and presented them with an anti-norm versus a pro-norm psychologist. Results showed that in the anti-norm condition (but not in the pre-norm condition), identification predicted the ratings of psychologists as a group and the perception of typicality of the deviant psychologist. Also, in this condition, the impact of the level of identification on the ratings of psychologists proved to be mediated by the perceived typicality of the deviant. In Study 2, group measures were taken both before and after presentation of a deviant among members of an environmentalist group who differed in their level of identification with the ingroup. The level of identification had an impact on the modification of the ratings of environmentalists as a group, and this effect was mediated by the perceived typicality of the deviant environmentalist. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the black sheep effect and the stereotype change literature.

At least 30 different missense mutations have been identified within the presenilin 1 (PS1) gene in pedigrees transmitting familial Alzheimer's disease. The authors investigated the clinical and pathological features of affected members of two pedigrees segregating a PS1 Met146Leu mutation. Genetic relationships between these pedigrees can be effectively excluded on the basis of genealogical data and the fact that although the amino acid substitution is identical, the nucleotide mutations are different. The clinical picture shows remarkable similarities in the neurological and the neuropathological findings between the two pedigrees. This general clinical and pathological concordance argues that much of the disease phenotype arises directly from the effects of the amino acid substitution within the PS1 protein itself. Clinical differences could arise from a direct effect of the difference in base sequence or, alternatively, from the effect of genetic or environmental modifiers.

1. A transient two fold increase in the cyclic GMP content was observed in rat freshly isolated glomeruli 6 to 9 h after a single subcutaneous injection of 20 mg kg-1 cyclosporine A (CsA) in conscious animals. 2.In vitro stimulation with endothelin 3 (ET-3) of isolated glomeruli obtained from CsA-untreated rats resulted in a dose-dependent increase in cyclic GMP content. The increase observed with 10 nM ET-3 was similar to that observed in glomeruli isolated 9 h after in vivo CsA administration. 3. The rise in glomerular cyclic GMP content after in vivo CsA injection was prevented by in vivo treatment with L-NAME (10 mg kg-1) or by in vitro calcium deprivation of the incubation medium. 4. The stimulating effects of CsA on glomerular cyclic GMP content were inhibited by in vivo administration of the ETB receptor antagonist BQ-788 (2 mg kg-1) but not by the ETA receptor antagonist BQ-123 (2 mg kg-1). 5. The maximum increase in glomerular cyclic GMP content induced in vitro by acetylcholine (100 microM) and by ET-3 (100 nM) was slightly lower (approximately by 20-25%; P < 0.05) in glomeruli from CsA-treated rats than in glomeruli from untreated rats. In contrast, the maximum increase achieved with 1 microM sodium nitroprusside was similar in both groups. 6. A single subcutaneous injection of CsA did not significantly alter the glomerular mRNA expression of constitutive endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), as evaluated by RT-PCR, whereas the mRNA expression of the inducible NO synthase (iNOS), which follows pretreatment with lipopolysaccharide, was prevented. 7. These results indicate that in vivo administration of a single dose of cyclosporine A transiently increases the cyclic GMP content of freshly isolated glomeruli, and that activation of ETB receptors and stimulation of the NO pathway are involved in this process. Furthermore, a single administration of CsA does not impair eNOS mRNA expression and only slightly reduces NO-dependent glomerular cyclic GMP production.

A central event in Alzheimer's disease is the conformational change from normally circulating soluble amyloid beta peptides (A beta) and tau proteins into amyloid fibrils, in the form of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles respectively. The apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene locus has recently been associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease. It is not know whether apoE plays a direct role in the pathogenesis of the disease. In the present work we have investigated whether apoE can affect the known spontaneous in vitro formation of amyloid-like fibrils by synthetic A beta analogues using a thioflavine-T assay for fibril formation, electron microscopy and Congo Red staining. Our results show that, under the conditions used, apoE directly promotes amyloid fibril formation, increasing both the rate of fibrillogenesis and the total amount of amyloid formed. ApoE accelerated fibril formation of both wild-type A beta-(1-40) and A beta-(1-40A), an analogue created by the replacement of valine with alanine at residue 18, which alone produces few amyloid-like fibrils. However, apoE produced only a minimal effect on A beta-(1-40Q), found in the Dutch variant of Alzheimer's disease. When recombinant apoE isoforms were used, apoE4 was more efficient than apoE3 at enhancing amyloid formation. These in vitro observations support the hypothesis that apoE acts as a pathological chaperone, promoting the beta-pleated-sheet conformation of soluble A beta into amyloid fibres, and provide a possible explanation for the association of the apoE4 genetic isoform with Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the deposition of beta-protein (A beta) as amyloid. Recently, it was found that A beta is a normal component of serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Synthetic peptides homologous to A beta form amyloid-like fibrils spontaneously in water or physiological solutions. Using a peptide homologous to A beta 1-40, we find that fibril formation is inhibited by the presence of cerebrospinal fluid.

The molecular basis of fibril formation in Alzheimers disease was explored by electron micrographic and x-ray diffraction analysis of a series of synthetic peptides corresponding to portions of the amino acid sequence of beta protein and that of its putative precursor. A minimum 14 residue peptide was identified that formed typical amyloid fibrils under physiological conditions. Of these 14 residues, 10 were sufficient to give an identical 4.76 A and 10.6 A diffraction pattern as that recently described for isolated neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid plaque cores and leptomeningeal amyloid fibrils.