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When the offset of a visual stimulus (GAP condition) precedes the onset of a target, saccadic reaction times are reduced in relation to the condition with no offset (overlap condition) - the GAP effect. However, the existence of the GAP effect for manual responses is still controversial. In two experiments using both simple (Experiment 1, N = 18) and choice key-press procedures (Experiment 2, N = 12), we looked for the GAP effect in manual responses and investigated possible contextual influences on it. Participants were asked to respond to the imperative stimulus that would occur under different experimental contexts, created by varying the array of warning-stimulus intervals (0, 300 and 1000 ms) and conditions (GAP and overlap): i) intervals and conditions were randomized throughout the experiment; ii) conditions were run in different blocks and intervals were randomized; iii) intervals were run in different blocks and conditions were randomized. Our data showed that no GAP effect was obtained for any manipulation. The predictability of stimulus occurrence produced the strongest influence on response latencies. In Experiment 1, simple manual responses were shorter when the intervals were blocked (247 ms, P < 0.001) in relation to the other two contexts (274 and 279 ms). Despite the use of choice key-press procedures, Experiment 2 produced a similar pattern of results. A discussion addressing the critical conditions to obtain the GAP effect for distinct motor responses is presented. In short, our data stress the relevance of the temporal allocation of attention for behavioral performance.

Previous studies have shown that women are more emotionally expressive than men. It is unclear, however, if women are also more susceptible to the emotional modulation of behavior imposed by an affective stimulus. To investigate this issue, we devised a task in which female subjects performed six sequential trials of visual target detection following the presentation of emotional (mutilation and erotic) or neutral pictures (domestic utensils and objects) and compared the data obtained in the present study with those described in a previous study with male subjects. The experiment consisted of three blocks of 24 pictures and each block had an approximate duration of 4 min. Our sample consisted of 36 subjects (age range: 18 to 26 years) and each subject performed all blocks. Trials following the presentation of mutilation pictures (283 ms) had significantly slower reaction times than those following neutral (270 ms) pictures. None of the trials in the "pleasant block" (271 ms) was significantly different from those in the "neutral block". The increase in reaction time observed in the unpleasant block may be related in part to the activation of motivational systems leading to an avoidance behavior. The interference effect observed in this study was similar to the pattern previously described for men. Thus, although women may be more emotionally expressive, they were not more reactive to aversive stimuli than men, as measured by emotional interference in a simple reaction time task.

Conflito distributivo em sociedades pretorianas: uma interpretação teórica da inflação brasileira

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Background The genesis of the endometrial polyp is as yet unclear. There is evidence that the polyp is related to the inflammatory process and that it interacts with the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme. Objective To review the influence of COX-2 on the postmenopausal endometrial polyp. Methods A systematic review was made of the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases, covering the years of 2001-2014. The inclusion criteria were: experimental studies with immunohistological analysis of COX-2 in endometrial polyps; women; hysteroscopic and surgical evaluation; and studies with comparisons between the endometrial polyp and other tissues (normal endometrium, adjacent endometrium, and other uterine diseases). The exclusion criteria were: polyps in other organs; genetic polymorphisms; endometrial cancer exclusively; abnormal uterine bleeding unrelated to polyps. The search key words (taken from the Medical Subject Headings - MeSH) were endometrial polyp and cyclooxygenase-2. Results Seven of ten articles were selected. Results showed positive COX-2 expression in the glandular epithelium of the polyps, and expression was more intense when the polyp was malignant. However, there was a study which did not find any difference between polyps and the normal endometrium, and there was another which compared polyps in menacme with postmenopausal polyps. Conclusion There is no consensus in the literature as to the participation of COX-2 in the development of benign and/or malignant endometrial polyps. In all of the studies, COX-2 was present in the postmenopausal polyps and with greater intensity in the malignant ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the effectiveness of the combination of mitomycin C, bleomycin and methotrexate as a neoadjuvant treatment for cervical cancer in women. It mentions that the three drugs were given to 27 patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix for five sessions, once every four weeks. The result suggests that the strategy could be effective for advanced cases, providing patients to receive surgical treatment.

Dye effluents cause diverse environmental problems. Methylene blue (MB) dye stands out since it is widely used in the textile industry. To reduce the pollution caused by the MB, we developed biosorbents from tucumã seeds, where the in natura seeds were treated with NaOH (BT) and H 3 PO 4 (AT) solutions and characterized by Boehm titration, point of zero charges, FTIR, TGA, BET, and SEM. It was observed that the acid groups predominate on the surface of the three biosorbents. The process was optimized for all biosorbents at pH = 8, 7.5 g/L, 240 min, C 0  = 250 mg/L, and 45 ℃. BT was more efficient in removing MB (96.20%; Q Max  = 35.71 mg/g), while IT and AT removed around 60% in similar conditions. The adsorption process best fits Langmuir and Redlich-Peterson isotherms, indicating a hybrid adsorption process (monolayer and multilayer) and pseudo-second-order kinetics. Thermodynamic data confirmed an endothermic and spontaneous adsorption process, mainly for BT. MB was also recovered through a desorption process with ethanol, allowing the BT recycling and reapplication of the dye. Thus, an efficient and sustainable biosorbent was developed, contributing to reducing environmental impacts., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)