Implicit mechanisms of body image alterations: The covert attention exposure effect.

Visual exposure to extreme-sized bodies elicits explicit self-body image variations. Several features of such modulation remain to be clarified. In this study we explored whether this effect: (i) acts on implicit mechanisms in modifying one's body-size perception, (ii) is body-exposure-specific also at the implicit level, and (iii) is modulated by interoceptive sensibility. We assigned a covert attention task to 100 women, exposing them to extreme-sized bodies (thin and fat) or extreme-sized objects (thin and fat bottles). Before and after the attentional exposure, we tested the association between the "self/others" and "thin/fat" concepts using an Implicit Association Test. We also collected a measure of interoceptive sensibility by means of a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that participants exposed to fat bodies implicitly presented a stronger association between the "self" and "thin" concepts. This association was significantly weaker in the group exposed to thin bodies. This effect was absent after exposure to thin and fat bottles. Notably, participants with a higher tolerance of negative bodily interoceptive signals were less susceptible to the malleability of body image exerted by the exposure attentional task. Our findings shed new light on the relationship between the perception of internal (e.g., visceral) and external (e.g., visual) signals in the representation of our body.

Left caloric vestibular stimulation as a tool to reveal implicit and explicit parameters of body representation.

Homeostatic parameters, such as temperature, are related to body representation. In this study, we measured whether caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) alters body temperature and tactile processing, and if in the direction predicted by a holistic body matrix representation. Skin temperature and tactile two-point discrimination (TPD) acuity were measured for both arms before, immediately after and with a delay from CVS. Participants were also administered a personality questionnaire and an anxiety inventory to rule out confounding factors. Two control experiments were planned to exclude casual variations. Our results show that temperature drops significantly in both arms after CVS. CVS also induces a bilateral improvement in tactile acuity (even though not immediately after but in the delayed condition). Finally, these effects are not due to learning, as demonstrated by the control experiment. In summary, our results suggest that vestibular stimulation updates body representation, supporting the evidence in favor of a body matrix.

The autofocusing system of the IMAT neutron camera.

In this paper, we present the autofocusing system of the imaging instrument to be used on IMAT, a new neutron-imaging facility under construction at the ISIS (UK) target station 2. We have compared 16 different autofocus algorithms to select the one with the best performance. The algorithms have been evaluated by using both a qualitative analysis and a quantitative one. An overall score has been computed and the "contrast based" algorithm has been selected for the autofocusing system. The adopted setup together with the described autofocusing system makes the camera a user-friendly imaging device allowing the optimization of beam time use.

Enhancement of electrorheological effect by particle-fluid interaction.

The influence of interactions between particle surface and host fluids in electrorheological suspensions is explored. It is observed that dispersions of nanosized particles of titania in octanoid acid exhibit an anomalously large electrorheologic effect when compared with a similar dispersion of micrometric particles or with a more conventional colloidal suspension of silica in silicone oil. The effect is interpreted as originated by the formation of a thin layer of octanoid acid molecules with the surface of the titania solid particle. The experimental data are fitted with the outcomes of a modified version of conductive models existing in the literature. It is suggested that anomalous large electrorheological effect is mainly originated by the increasing of the effective radius of the nanometric particles, which results in an increasing of the effective volume fraction of the dispersed phase. It is also shown that the deformation of the soft shell around the solid particles, induced by Coulombic force, plays a not negligible role. Some hints for tailoring electrorheologic fluids suitable for different applications are proposed.

High-frequency propagating density fluctuations in deeply supercooled water: evidence of a single viscous relaxation.

We performed a Brillouin scattering experiment on deeply supercooled water and compared the results with similar literature data obtained both at the same and at higher values of the exchanged wave vector. The whole set of available experimental data can be well reproduced with the use of the generalized hydrodynamic model where all the involved thermodynamic parameters are fixed to their literature values. On the contrary, the model based on the memory function approach generates the wrong estimates for measurables when the same values of the thermodynamic parameters are used. This result confirms our recent criticisms against the utilization of models originating from linear response theory [Phys. Rev. E 84, 051202 (2011)]. The inconsistency between models explains apparent discrepancies between the different conclusions on water acoustic behavior which may be found in the literature. We demonstrate that the observed behavior can be explained by assuming only a single relaxation process that is typical of any viscoelastic system. With all thermodynamics quantities fixed, the hydrodynamic description needs only two parameters to model the experimental data, namely, the relaxation time and the high-frequency limit of the sound velocity. The whole body of the experimental data can be well reproduced when the relaxation time behaves in an Arrhenian manner and the difference between the relaxed and not relaxed sound velocities is a constant. The high-frequency sound velocity is never higher than 2200 m/s. We conclude that, at least from experiments performed within the hydrodynamic regime, there is no indication for a fast sound close to the hypersonic velocity observed in ice.

Communication: An extended model of liquid bridging.

Recent phenomenological studies have drawn attention to an appealing effect, observed for the first time in 1893, today known as water-bridge. The phenomenon has been ascribed to unknown properties of water. We report some experimental results showing that, contrary to a widely common belief, the phenomenon is not to be related with water neither with a property of hydrogen bonded networks. Using a very simple model, we show that the liquid bridge phenomenon is originated by electrostatic effects and can be reproduced in any dense fluid with no respect of its peculiar molecular properties. This basic approach is able to reproduce many of the experimentally observed features of the bridge formation. In perspective of future investigations, the possible phenomena responsible of the bridge stability, after its formation, are briefly discussed.

Relation between low-temperature thermal conductivity and the specific heat of cesium borate glasses.

Low-temperature specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements have been performed on cesium borate glasses as a function of cesium oxide content. We have found experimental evidence of a concurrent growth of specific heat and thermal conductivity with increasing Cs(+) content. This finding shows the existence of an uncommon relationship between the peak in C(p)/T(3) and the plateau in thermal conductivity in glasses and represents the most intriguing result for these alkaline borate glasses. The role of local modes associated with heavy cations on the vibrational dynamics in oxide glasses has been considered. Furthermore, a possible correlation between low-temperature thermal properties and the structure on the nanometer length scale of these glasses is put forward.

Excess thermodynamic properties in mixtures of a representative room-temperature ionic liquid and acetonitrile.

The nature of the interactions between a representative room-temperature ionic liquid, namely 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF(4)]) and a common organic solvent, acetonitrile (CH(3)CN) has been investigated by means of Brillouin light scattering, over the whole concentration range and in the temperature range from -20 to 45 degrees C. Negative deviations from the ideal behavior of both molar volumes and adiabatic compressibility have been observed. This result has been interpreted within the framework of a well-established theoretical model, namely a nonadditive hard-sphere mixture. Despite that similar findings were rationalized in terms of enhanced interactions between molecules, a more detailed analysis of excess thermodynamic functions indicates that they are mainly due to excluded volume effects and that the differences in local intermolecular interactions act as higher order contributions: we have found that this can be a general feature of liquid mixtures. On this basis we present a reconsideration for excess thermodynamic data and for their role in providing direct information on intermolecular interactions.

Excess compressibility in binary liquid mixtures.

Brillouin scattering experiments have been carried out on some mixtures of molecular liquids. From the measurement of the hypersonic velocities we have evaluated the adiabatic compressibility as a function of the volume fraction. We show how the quadratic form of the excess compressibility dependence on the solute volume fraction can be derived by simple statistical effects and does not imply any interaction among the components of the system other than excluded volume effects. This idea is supported by the comparison of the experimental results with a well-established prototype model, consisting of a binary mixture of hard spheres with a nonadditive interaction potential. This naive model turns out to be able to produce a very wide spectrum of structural and thermodynamic features depending on values of its parameters. An attempt has made to understand what kind of structural information can be gained through the analysis of the volume fraction dependence of the compressibility.

Controle de qualidade do minoxidil em laboratórios de pequeno porte / Quality control of minoxidil in compounding pharmacies

O minoxidil é um fármaco empregado no tratamento de hipertensão e da alopécia androgenética em homens e mulheres. Comercialmente, encontra-se sob a forma de comprimidos e de loção tópica. Observou-se que, para a preparação de loções com concentração superior a 2 por cento, tem sido empregado o sal do fármaco, devido à sua maior solubilidade. No entanto, esta molécula não possui patente e tampouco é citada na literatura. Objetivou-se propôr métodos alternativos para o controle de qualidade do minoxidil e confirmar a molécula descrita no laudo do fornecedor/fabricante do sulfato de minoxidil. Os testes qualitativos desenvolvidos (solubilidade, reações de cor/formação de precipitado e cromatografia em camada delgada) possibilitaram a identificação do minoxidil, bem como sua diferenciação do sulfato de minoxidil. Alterações na metodologia oficial do minoxidil permitiram a substituição da titulação potenciométrica pela detecção visual do ponto final, mantendo-se as características de exatidão e precisão. A molécula de sulfato de minoxidil foi devidamente caracterizada por testes de espectrometria de massas e espectrometria no infravermelho, sendo que a molécula informada pelo laboratório produtor foi confirmada. No entanto, os teores encontrados na análise quantitativa do fármaco não puderam ser confirmados, pela impossibilidade de comparação com métodos analíticos instrumentais, por inexistência de substância de referência.

Quantitative and morphological analysis of the vascular bed in bronchial biopsy specimens from asthmatic and non-asthmatic subjects.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to establish the number and area (as a percentage) of bronchial wall vessels in subjects with and without asthma, to obtain information on the morphology of the vessels, and to see whether changes differed in patients with mild, moderate, and severe asthma. METHODS: Biopsy specimens were taken using a rigid bronchoscope from the carina of the middle lobe bronchus of 20 patients with allergic asthma and 20 non-asthmatic controls. Specimens were sectioned and stained with haematoxylin-eosin, Masson trichrome, PAS, alcian blue-PAS, and orcein. The vessels were counted and the vascular area was calculated as a percentage in the lamina propria, in blind conditions, on PAS stained sections in 50 microscopic fields (magnification x1000, 0.02 mm(2) per field). The vascular area was calculated using the points counting procedure (Chalkley point array). The vascular morphology, intravascular cells, and the perivascular area were also studied using a magnification up to x1200. RESULTS: Patients with asthma had more vessels (mean (SD) 226.70 (74.53) v 172.05 (30.58), p=0.0043) and a larger percentage vascular area (8.61 (2.38)% v 6.81 (2.25)%, p=0.028) than non-asthmatic subjects. Patients with severe asthma had significantly more vessels than those with mild or moderate disease (p=0.0044). Asthmatic capillaries and venules had oedematous walls and thickening of the subendothelial basement membrane, and hypotrophic or atrophic myocytes and fibrosis in the arterioles. Vessels from asthmatic subjects showed eosinophil recruitment, activation, and intravascular lysis. Intense eosinophil recruitment was associated with more marked vascular structural changes. Muscular formations protruded into the lumen in the arterioles of both groups, and in asthmatics these had hypotrophic or atrophic myocytes and fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Morphometric analysis showed that the bronchial lamina propria of asthmatic subjects had a larger number of vessels, occupying a larger percentage area than in non-asthmatic subjects. The number of vessels was correlated with the severity of the asthma. Marked alterations to the vascular structure appeared to be associated with intense eosinophil recruitment and intravascular activation. This is the first report of asthmatic and non-asthmatic bronchial wall specimens containing intra-arteriolar muscular formations, presumably to regulate blood flow to the capillary network and/or sinusoids. This function might be impaired when these structures are remodelled in asthmatic patients.

Technical refinements in surgical treatment of benign parotid tumours.

Over the last 15 years, a number of techniques have been developed that make it possible to treat benign parotid tumours surgically with virtually no morphofunctional sequelae. Given that the main objectives of the intervention are the complete removal of the lesion as well as isolation and preservation of the facial nerve and its branches, the authors recommend the following procedure: a face-lifting type of incision in order to disguise the cutaneous scar better; preservation of the posterior branch of the great auricular nerve, in order to maintain the sensitivity of the ear lobe; coverage of the residual defect by means of a flap composed of superficial and deep temporalis fascia in order to reduce the postoperative depression in the parotid region and the onset of Frey's syndrome.

[An uncommon anatomical variety of the right lower apical bronchus]. / Su una non comune variazione anatomica del bronco apicale inferiore destro.

A rare (1 case out of 1000 bronchoscopies) variety of the right lower apical bronchus, consisting in its division into two bronchi, one emerging from the intermediate bronchus and the other situated one centimeter lower, in front of the orifice of the middle lobar bronchus, is described.