Are Happy Faces Attractive? The Roles of Early vs. Late Processing.

Facial attractiveness is closely related to romantic love. To understand if the neural underpinnings of perceived facial attractiveness and facial expression are similar constructs, we recorded neural signals using an event-related potential (ERP) methodology for 20 participants who were viewing faces with varied attractiveness and expressions. We found that attractiveness and expression were reflected by two early components, P2-lateral (P2l) and P2-medial (P2m), respectively; their interaction effect was reflected by LPP, a late component.

SIRT1-dependent myoprotective effects of resveratrol on muscle injury induced by compression.

Our current understanding on the molecular mechanisms by which sustained compression induces skeletal muscle injury is very limited. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that activation of SIRT1 by the natural antioxidant resveratrol could deactivate apoptotic and catabolic signaling in skeletal muscle exposed to moderate compression. Two cycles of 6-h constant pressure at 100 mmHg was applied to the tibialis region of right, but not left hindlimbs of Sprague Dawley rats pre-treated with DMSO (vehicle control) or resveratrol with/without sirtinol.

Effects of Ankle Arthrodesis on Biomechanical Performance of the Entire Foot.

Background/methodology: Ankle arthrodesis is one popular surgical treatment for ankle arthritis, chronic instability, and degenerative deformity. However, complications such as foot pain, joint arthritis, and bone fracture may cause patients to suffer other problems. Understanding the internal biomechanics of the foot is critical for assessing the effectiveness of ankle arthrodesis and provides a baseline for the surgical plan.

Input-output relation and energy efficiency in the neuron with different spike threshold dynamics.

Neuron encodes and transmits information through generating sequences of output spikes, which is a high energy-consuming process. The spike is initiated when membrane depolarization reaches a threshold voltage. In many neurons, threshold is dynamic and depends on the rate of membrane depolarization (dV/dt) preceding a spike.

Functional categorization of carbapenemase-mediated resistance by a combined genotyping and two-tiered Modified Hodge Test approach.

The functional relationship between the detection of carbapenemase activity and phenotypic resistance in Gram-negative bacterial pathogens is often ill-defined. To address this issue, we developed a two-tiered Modified Hodge Test approach for carbapenemase detection and typing, in which the use of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO1 and Escherichia coli as indicator strains conferred two levels of sensitivities to carbapenemases. When applied alongside PCR genotyping tests for existence of known carbapenemase genes in 92 carbapenem resistant clinical isolates, this method is extremely useful in elucidating the relative role by which different enzymes contributed to the prevalent carbapenem-resistance phenotypes.

Total synthesis of the putative structure of the proposed Banyasin A.

The first total synthesis of four possible isomers of a molecule possessing the configuration proposed for Banyasin A is described. The structure synthesized appears to be different from that of the natural product.

Biomimicking Topographic Elastomeric Petals (E-Petals) for Omnidirectional Stretchable and Printable Electronics.

are new versatile substrates for stretchable and printable electronics. Compared with conventional flat polydimethylsiloxane substrates, elastomeric petals have biomimicking topographic surfaces that can effectively inhibit the propagation of microcracks formed in the conducting layer, which is deposited on top, regardless of the type of conductive materials and the deposition methods.

Development and evaluation of a nurse-led hypertension management model in a community: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

This study aims to develop a nurse-led hypertension management model in the community setting and pilot it to an experimental trial. A total of 73 recruited participants were randomly allocated into two groups. The study group received a home visit and 2-4 telephone follow-ups from the trained community nurses assisted by nursing student volunteers.

An ERP study of effects of regularity and consistency in delayed naming and lexicality judgment in a logographic writing system.

Phonological access is an important component in theories and models of word reading. However, phonological regularity and consistency effects are not clearly separable in alphabetic writing systems. We investigated these effects in Chinese, where the two variables are operationally distinct.

Characterization of a novel zinc transporter ZnuA acquired by Vibrio parahaemolyticus through horizontal gene transfer.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a clinically important foodborne pathogen that causes acute gastroenteritis worldwide. It has been shown that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) contributes significantly to virulence development of V. parahaemolyticus.

Rehabilitation Interventions for Unilateral Neglect after Stroke: A Systematic Review from 1997 through 2012.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of rehabilitation for persons with unilateral neglect (UN) after stroke was conducted by searching the computerized databases from 1997 through 2012. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of neglect treatment strategies for stroke patients which used the Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT) as the primary outcome measure were eligible for inclusion. Out of 201 studies initially identified, 12 RCTs covering 277 participants were selected for analysis.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with treadmill training can modulate corticomotor inhibition and improve walking performance in people with Parkinson's disease.

Question: Does adding repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to treadmill training modulate cortical excitability and improve walking in people with Parkinson's disease (PD)?

Design: Randomised controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment.

Setting: A medical centre in Taiwan.

Participants: Individuals with Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr Stage 2-3), and ability to walk independently were key inclusion criteria.

Modeling Equilibrium of microRNA Expression.

MicroRNAs are a class of non-coding RNAs and the dysregulated expression of these short RNA molecules was frequently observed in cancer cells. The steady state level of microRNA concentration may differentiate the biological function of the cells between normal and impaired. To understand the steady state or equilibrium of microRNAs, their interactions with transcription factors and target genes need to be explored and visualized through prediction and network analysis algorithms.

Clinical validity of Fuld Object Memory Evaluation to screen for dementia in a Chinese society.

Objectives: Fuld Object Memory Evaluation (FOME) evaluates the episodic memory functions of encoding, storage, and recall across five recall trials and a delayed recall trial. This study examined the clinical validity of FOME as a screening tool for dementia in older Chinese adults.

Method: The psychometric properties and the discriminative power of FOME were examined in a convenience sample of 192 community-dwelling older individuals, of which 57 were diagnosed with dementia.