Emojis as social information in digital communication.

Facial expressions of emotion are nonverbal cues that evoke affective, inferential, and social responses during face-to-face communication. Given that communication is moving more and more from face-to-face to digital contexts, the present research tested the functional equivalence of their digital counterparts-emojis. Eleven high-powered experiments tested the general effectiveness of emojis to convey emotionality and to disambiguate discourse during digital communication, as well as predictions about their social-emotional properties derived from the Emotion as Social Information (EASI) model. Compared to messages without emojis, those including emojis were perceived as emotionally more intense and as of more extreme valence. Furthermore, the effects of emojis on perceived valence were mediated via perceived emotional intensity. This suggests that emojis are effective quasi-nonverbal cues for digital communication. Furthermore, in line with predictions of the EASI model, emojis produced patterns similar to what has been observed for facial expressions of emotion in face-to-face communication, supporting their functional equivalence. Specifically, they instigated affective (emotion contagion) and inferential (understanding) processes, which subsequently resulted in behavioral intentions (empathic concern). In terms of the predicted mediating processes, we found differences between emojis and offline facial expressions of emotion. These deviations from our predictions are attributed to inherent differences between digital and face-to-face communication and limitations in the employed methodology. In light of the present findings, we discuss a theoretical synthesis of emojis in digital communication with the EASI model and propose a research agenda to connect emotion research with predominant forms of modern communication. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Induction of heat shock proteins and the proteasome system by casein-N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine and N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine in Caco-2 cells.

Repeated mild heat shock treatment has been shown to have anti-aging effects on cellular mechanisms in vitro. Among these, the age-associated accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), such as N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), has been demonstrated to be effectively prevented in glyoxal-exposed human skin fibroblasts following mild heat shock treatment. The biochemical mechanism responsible for this inhibition is not yet known. However, the involvement of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and the misfolded proteins degrading the ubiquitin-proteasome system have been hypothesized. As AGE-modified proteins are likely to be conformationally modified, we investigated whether treatment of human intestinal cells with casein-linked CML or nonprotein-linked CML affects the expression of HSPs and the ubiquitin-proteasome system by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight tandem mass spectroscopy (after protein separation by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis) and by Western blotting. Compared to nontreated control cells, expression of HSP90, HSP60, HSP70 chaperones, and the proteasome S26 ATPase subunit 2 were significantly upregulated in casein-CML and in CML-treated cells. Exposure of Caco-2 cells to beta-amyloid, a nonglycation product, revealed similar results. In conclusion, the results indicate that CML and casein-linked CML activate the expression of HSPs as well as the proteasome system, which are involved in the degradation of misfolded and possibly glycated proteins. Whether this mechanism is based on binding to cell surface receptors, such as the receptor for AGE, has to be clarified in future studies.

The impact of dysexecutive syndrome on use of tools and technical devices.

We present two studies aimed at elucidating why patients with dysexecutive syndrome encounter difficulties with the use of tools and technical devices. Two different groups of patients with dysexecutive syndrome took part in them. Their results were compared with those of two groups of normal controls and in the first study also with those of patients with posterior left or right brain lesions. The first study contrasted single step with multi-step actions and explored the role of novelty and consecutive demands on problem solving. Dysexecutive patients encountered problems only with the multi-step actions. The rank order of strength of impairment corresponded to the presumed rank order of demands on problem solving, but the analysis of individual results demonstrated high variability of this pattern which moreover could not be fully replicated when the same tests were applied in the second study. The second study pursued the hypothesis that maintenance of goals and constraints in working memory is the crucial factor for difficulties of dysexecutive patients. Support for this hypothesis was less ambiguous, but as this study did not include patients with posterior lesions it remains open whether this factor is specific for dysexecutive syndrome and prefrontal brain damage or applies to brain damage regardless of its location.