Imagination vs. routines: festive time, weekly time, and the predictive brain.

This paper examines the relationship between societal structures shaped by traditions, norms, laws, and customs, and creative expressions in arts and media through the lens of the predictive coding framework in cognitive science. The article proposes that both dimensions of culture can be viewed as adaptations designed to enhance and train the brain's predictive abilities in the social domain. Traditions, norms, laws, and customs foster shared predictions and expectations among individuals, thereby reducing uncertainty in social environments.

The extremophilic Andean isolate Acinetobacter sp. Ver3 expresses two ferredoxin-NADP reductase isoforms with different catalytic properties.

Ferredoxin/flavodoxin-NADPH reductases (FPRs) catalyze the reversible electron transfer between NADPH and ferredoxin/flavodoxin. The Acinetobacter sp. Ver3 isolated from high-altitude Andean lakes contains two isoenzymes, FPR1 and FPR2.

Colored valence in a lexical decision task.

Color influences behavior, from the simplest to the most complex, through controlled and more automatic information elaboration processes. Nonetheless, little is known about how and when these highly interconnected processes interact. This study investigates the interaction between controlled and automatic processes during the processing of color information in a lexical decision task.

Bored with boredom? Trait boredom predicts internet addiction through the mediating role of attentional bias toward social networks.

Internet addiction is an emerging issue, impacting people's psychosocial functioning and well-being. However, the prevalence and the mechanisms underlying internet misuse are largely unknown. As with other behavioral addiction disorders, the increase and persistence of internet addiction may be favored by negative affect such as boredom.

Exploring vaccine hesitancy: the twofold role of critical thinking.

Unlabelled: With the progress of the vaccination campaign against the SARS-COV-2, we are ever closer to reaching that part of the population that refuses or is hesitant about vaccination. This study investigated the association between critical thinking motivation factors (i.e.

Mechanism of lipid bilayer perturbation by bactericidal membrane-active small molecules.

Membrane-active small molecules (MASMs) are small organic molecules designed to reproduce the fundamental physicochemical properties of natural antimicrobial peptides: their cationic charge and amphiphilic character. This class of compounds has a promising broad range of antimicrobial activity and, at the same time, solves some major limitations of the peptides, such as their high production costs and low in vivo stability. Most cationic antimicrobial peptides act by accumulating on the surface of bacterial membranes and causing the formation of defects when a threshold is reached.

Face Mask Reduces the Effect of Proposer's (Un)Trustworthiness on Intertemporal and Risky Choices.

Previous literature suggested that individuals increase temporal and risk discounting at the presence of a proposer whose face is perceived as untrustworthy, suggesting the activation of protective choice patterns. By the way, the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially transformed the way we interact with other people, even bringing us into situations where the face of the person making a proposal is not fully visible, because of the mask. With the current study, we aimed at verifying if the effect of proposer's facial (un)trustworthiness on discounting behavior is modulated by mask wearing.

Interhelical H-Bonds Modulate the Activity of a Polytopic Transmembrane Kinase.

DesK is a Histidine Kinase that allows to maintain lipid homeostasis in response to changes in the environment. It is located in the membrane, and has five transmembrane helices and a cytoplasmic catalytic domain. The transmembrane region triggers the phosphorylation of the catalytic domain as soon as the membrane lipids rigidify.

Temporal Discounting of Money and Face Masks During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Hoarding Level.

The current study examines the association of individual hoarding levels with temporal discounting of different commodities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on their hoarding level, participants were assigned to the Hoarding Group (HG) or the Non-Hoarding Group (NHG). Participants performed two delay discounting tasks: a traditional task with monetary options and a modified task, where money was replaced with disposable surgical masks, a needed commodity during the pandemic.

Exploring the chemical space of 1,2,3-triazolyl triclosan analogs for discovery of new antileishmanial chemotherapeutic agents.

Triclosan and isoniazid are known antitubercular compounds that have proven to be also active against parasites. On these grounds, a collection of 37 diverse 1,2,3-triazoles based on the antitubercular molecules triclosan and 5-octyl-2-phenoxyphenol (8PP) were designed in search of novel structures with leishmanicidal activity and prepared using different alkynes and azides. The 37 compounds were assayed against , the etiological agent of leishmaniasis, yielding some analogs with activity at micromolar concentrations and against H37Rv resulting in scarce active compounds with an MIC of 20 μM.

New one-pot synthesis of anti-tuberculosis compounds inspired on isoniazid.

A library of thirty N-substituted tosyl N'-acryl-hydrazones was prepared with p-toluenesulfonyl hydrazide, methyl propiolate and different aldehydes in a one-pot synthesis via an aza-Michael reaction. The scope of the reaction was studied, including aliphatic, isoprenylic, aromatic and carbocyclic aldehydes. The prepared collection was tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.

A Transmembrane Histidine Kinase Functions as a pH Sensor.

The two-component system DesK-DesR regulates the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids in the soil bacteria . This system is activated at low temperature and maintains membrane lipid fluidity upon temperature variations. Here, we found that DesK-the transmembrane histidine kinase-also responds to pH and studied the mechanism of pH sensing.

Recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG is a promising platform to develop vaccines against Trypansoma cruzi infection.

Chagas disease, caused by the hemoflagelate parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is one of the most prevalent endemic parasitoses, affecting 7-8 million people. Due to the complexity of the infection, no vaccines are available at present. The extraordinary adjuvant capacity of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) was explored in this work to develop a vaccine candidate to protect against T.

Antibiotic prescription in the outpatient paediatric population attending emergency departments in Lombardy, Italy: a retrospective database review.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the appropriateness of antibiotic prescription in children seen in emergency departments (EDs) and to compare prescription profiles in ED and primary care.

Design: This is a retrospective analysis of healthcare administrative databases.

Setting: The study analysed data collected in emergency departments (EDs) and primary care practices (PCPs) in Lombardy, Italy.

Driving the catalytic activity of a transmembrane thermosensor kinase.

DesK is a Bacillus thermosensor kinase that is inactive at high temperatures but turns activated when the temperature drops below 25 °C. Surprisingly, the catalytic domain (DesKC) lacking the transmembrane region is more active at higher temperature, showing an inverted regulation regarding DesK. How does the transmembrane region control the catalytic domain, repressing activity at high temperatures, but allowing activation at lower temperatures? By designing a set of temperature minimized sensors that share the same catalytic cytoplasmic domain but differ in number and position of hydrogen-bond (H-bond) forming residues along the transmembrane helix, we are able to tune, invert or disconnect activity from the input signal.

Aggregation determines the selectivity of membrane-active anticancer and antimicrobial peptides: The case of killerFLIP.

Host defense peptides selectively kill bacterial and cancer cells (including those that are drug-resistant) by perturbing the permeability of their membranes, without being significantly toxic to the host. Coulombic interactions between these cationic and amphipathic peptides and the negatively charged membranes of pathogenic cells contribute to the selective toxicity. However, a positive charge is not sufficient for selectivity, which can be achieved only by a finely tuned balance of electrostatic and hydrophobic driving forces.

Sex-related differences in prevalence, treatment and outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation.

To analyze sex-related differences about AF prevalence, use of OAC and outcomes focusing on the older age classes. We used administrative data of the Lombardy Region, describing period prevalence, use of OAC and outcomes from 2002 to 2014 for all patients diagnosed with AF. AF prevalence over the 2002-2014 period was higher in males than in females (2.

Perinatal outcome and healthcare resource utilization in the first year of life after antiepileptic exposure during pregnancy.

Healthcare administrative databases of Italy's Lombardy Region were analyzed with the aim to assess perinatal outcomes and healthcare resource utilization during the first year of life in infants exposed to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) during pregnancy. Drug prescriptions dispensed in the 12 months before delivery to women, who delivered between 2005 and 2011, were analyzed. Neonates were classified as cases if exposed to AEDs, and each case was randomly matched to seven controls.

Spirometry monitoring in asthmatic children in Lombardy Region, Italy.

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in a cohort of asthmatic children before and after starting drug therapy.

Methods: Data were retrieved from administrative databases of the Lombardy Region. The study population was composed of 78 184 children born in the Lombardy Region in 2002 and followed until their 10th birthday.

Deletion of MSMEG_1350 in Mycobacterium smegmatis causes loss of epoxy-mycolic acids, fitness alteration at low temperature and resistance to a set of mycobacteriophages.

Mycobacterium smegmatis is intrinsically resistant to thiacetazone, an anti-tubercular thiourea; however we report here that it causes a mild inhibition in growth in liquid medium. Since mycolic acid biosynthesis was affected, we cloned and expressed Mycobacterium smegmatis mycolic acid methyltransferases, postulated as targets for thiacetazone in other mycobacterial species. During this analysis we identified MSMEG_1350 as the methyltransferase involved in epoxy mycolic acid synthesis since its deletion led to their total loss.

Emergency department use by paediatric patients in Lombardy Region, Italy: a population study.

Objectives: To estimate the rate of paediatric attendance at emergency departments (EDs) in the Lombardy Region, Italy, and to determine the factors contributing to different patterns of use.

Methods: By analysing healthcare administrative databases, ED attendance by 1.6 million youths <18 years old during 2012 in the Lombardy Region was assessed.

Structural organization of lipid-functionalized-Au nanoparticles.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are considered suitable systems for drug delivery and diagnostics with several applications in biomedicine. Size, shape and surface functionalization of these nanoparticles are important parameters influencing their behavior in a biological environment. This study describes the preparation and the characterization of lysophosphocholine coated AuNPs by means of Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and Fluorescence Spectroscopy.

Peripheral arterial disease: Changes in clinical outcomes and therapeutic strategies in two cohorts, from 2002 to 2008 and from 2008 to 2014. A population-based study.

Background The aim of our study was to evaluate whether treatments for peripheral artery disease changed in two different cohorts identified in 2002 and 2008, and whether this had an impact on mortality and major clinical outcomes after six years of follow-up. Methods Using administrative health databases of the largest region in Northern Italy, we identified patients admitted to hospital for peripheral artery disease in 2002 and 2008. Both cohorts were followed for six years.