Emotions as social information in unambiguous situations: role of emotions on procedural justice perception.

Emotion as Social Information Theory claims that in an ambiguous situation, people rely on others' emotions to make sense of the level of fairness encountered. We tested whether the information provided by emotions about the fairness of a procedure is still a significant factor in explaining individual differences in perception of variance, even in unambiguous situations. We assessed the effects of others' emotions on observers inferred procedural justice during (un)ambiguous situations when people are treated (un)fairly. We collected data using Qualtrics online survey software from 1012 employees across different industry services in the United States. The participants were assigned randomly to one of the 12 experimental conditions (fair, unfair, and unknown x happiness, anger, guilt, and neutral). The results indicated that emotions played a significant role in the psychology of justice judgments under the ambiguous situation, as predicted by the EASI, as well as under unambiguous conditions. The study revealed significant interactions between the procedure and emotion. These findings emphasized the importance of considering how others' emotions influence an observer's perception of justice. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings were also discussed. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04640-y.

Effect of Licorice Essential Oil (Glycyrrhizaglabraglabra) on Performance and Some Biochemical Parameters of Broiler Chickens.

Due to its beneficial components, such as glycyrrhizin, licorice is regarded a medicinal and fragrant plant. This research was designed to investigate the efficacy of licorice essential oil as an alternative to chemical antibiotics on broiler production, carcass features, cellular and humoral safety, and numerous biochemical variables in broiler blood serum. A total of 160 day-old broiler chicks were assigned to four treatment groups using a totally randomized approach. Each treatment consisted of 4 replicates, with 10 chicks in each replication. The experimental treatments included a control group, a group receiving an elemental diet containing 0.1% licorice essential oil, a group receiving an elemental diet containing 0.2% licorice essential oil, and a group receiving an elemental diet containing 0.3% licorice essential oil. Broilers had ad libitum access to feed and water in accordance with a three-phase feeding schedule consisting of a starter, grower, and finisher diet. There was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) in body weight, feed intake, or feed conversion ratio between birds given the control or essential oil licorice at various stages of the experiment. However, birds receiving 0.1% licorice essential oil had a lower gallbladder relative weight and 0.3% licorice essential oil had less abdominal fat than the control group (P<0.05). Blood glucose, cholesterol, and LDL concentrations all fell considerably in licorice essential oil-treated birds relative to controls (P<0.05). The cellular immune response of birds fed licorice-containing diets did not differ from that of control birds (P>0.05), however there was a significant difference in the humoral immune response at 0.1% licorice essential oil compared to the control group (P<0.05). In overall, the results of this experiment demonstrated that incorporating licorice essential oil into a bird's diet improves its health and safety.

The Impact of Sociological and Environmental Factors for Dengue Infection in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Dengue incidence has grown dramatically around the world in recent years. Vector control is the only method to reduce dengue incidence due to the lack of a vaccine available. By understanding the factors contributed to the vector densities such as environmental and sociological factors, dengue prevention and control may succeed. OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at determining the impact of sociological and environmental factors contributing to dengue cases. METHODS: The study surveyed 379 respondents with dengue history. The socio-environmental factors were evaluated by chi-square and binary regression. RESULT: The chi-square results revealed sociological factors associated between family with dengue experience such as older age (p =0.012), fewer than four people in the household (p= 0.008), working people (p= 0.004) and apartment/terrace houses (p=0.023). Similarly, there is a significant association between respondent's dengue history and houses that are shaded with vegetation (p= 0.012) and the present of public playground areas near the residential (p = 0.011). CONCLUSION: The study identified socio-environmental factors that play an important role in the abundance of Aedes mosquitoes and also for the local dengue control measures.

Diagnostic performance of prostate health index (PHI) in predicting prostate cancer on prostate biopsy.

INTRODUCTION: Prostate health index (PHI) has been shown to have better diagnostic accuracy in predicting prostate cancer (PCa) in men with total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels between 4-10ng/ml. However, little is known of its value in men with elevated PSA beyond this range. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of PHI in Malaysian men with elevated PSA values ≤ 20ng/ml. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From March 2015 to August 2016, all men consecutively undergoing transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy with total PSA values ≤ 20ng/ ml were recruited. Blood samples were taken immediately before undergoing prostate biopsy. The performance of total PSA, %fPSA, %p2PSA and PHI in determining the presence of PCa on prostate biopsy were compared. RESULTS: PCa was diagnosed in 25 of 84 patients (29.7%). %p2PSA and PHI values were significantly higher (p<0.05) in patients with PCa than those without PCa. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for total PSA, %fPSA, %p2PSA and PHI were 0.558, 0.560, 0.734 and 0.746, respectively. At 90% sensitivity, the specificity of PHI (42.4%) was five times better than total PSA (8.5%) and two times better than %fPSA (20.3%). By utilising PHI cut-off >22.52, 27 of 84 (32.1%) patients could have avoided undergoing biopsy. CONCLUSION: Findings of our study support the potential clinical effectiveness of PHI in predicting PCa in a wider concentration range of total PSA up to 20ng/ml.

Is Procalcitonin more superior to hs-CRP in the diagnosis of infection in diabetic foot ulcer?

INTRODUCTION: Procalcitonin (PCT) has recently emerged as a marker for diagnosing infection. This study aimed to compare the performance of PCT and other infection markers in diagnosing infected diabetic foot ulcer (IDFU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 128 diabetic patients with foot ulcers were recruited and divided into two groups, consisting of 73 patients in the IDFU group and 55 in the non-infected diabetic foot ulcer (NIDFU). The severity of infection in IDFU patients was graded based on the Infectious Disease Society of America-International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot classification. Blood samples from all the patients were collected for measurement of PCT, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and white cell count (WBC). The area under the receiver operating curves (AUC) were then constructed and analysed. RESULTS: PCT, hs-CRP and WBC levels were significantly higher in the IDFU group compared to NIDFU with hs-CRP demonstrated the highest AUC (0.91; p <0.001) followed by PCT (0.814; p < 0.001) and lastly WBC (0.775; p < 0.001). The best cut off value, sensitivity and specificity for the presence of infection in diabetic foot, were 3.47 mg/dL, 80% and 89% for hs-CRP, 0.11 ng/ml, 70% and 87% for PCT and 11.8x109/L, 60% and 90% for WBC. All the infection markers showed significant positive correlations with infection severity of DFU. CONCLUSION: This study showed that hs-CRP is a more sensitive marker for diagnosing IDFU. Although PCT is useful in differentiating IDFU from NIDFU, the use of PCT is not necessary as it adds little value to the current practice.

Retraction: Randomized controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in children with autism spectrum disorder.

The above article, published in print in the Jan 2018 issue of the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry and online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by the JCPP Editor-in-Chief, Edmund Sonuga-Barke, and John Wiley & Sons. Following a series of communications from readers highlighting concerns about the paper (now published on the journal website), the journal editors requested that the authors send them the raw data from the trial. In response the authors informed the editors that; (i) the electronic data base had been lost following a computer outage and (ii) that they could send only 95 out of 120 hard-copy participant data sheets as one site had closed and was no longer contactable. The substantial data loss in and of itself posed a serious difficulty in verifying the correctness of the data presented in the paper. The JCPP then analysed the data from the 95 cases itself. A number of significant discrepancies emerged between the re-analysis and the findings reported in the paper both in terms of means and standard deviations of key outcome variables across the trial. These involved very substantial differences that we judged to be extremely unlikely to have arisen due to variations in composition of the original and re-analysed samples. We also discovered previously unidentified/reported problems with missing data and recording irregularities regarding changes in treatment regimen and subject identifiers. As a result of these issues the Editors no longer have confidence in the findings reported in the original paper. Based on all these matters combined and following published guidance from the Committee on Publishing Ethics (COPE) and Wiley's Best Practice Guidelines on Publishing Ethics, we have decided that the only course of action available to us is to retract the paper.

Facial expression drawings and the full cup test: valid tools for the measurement of swelling after dental surgery.

Assessment of postoperative swelling is subjective and depends on the patient's opinion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of facial expression drawings and the full cup test and to compare their performance with that of other scales in measuring postoperative swelling. Fifty patients who had one of several procedures were included. All patients were asked to fill in a form for six days postoperatively (including the day of operation) that contained four scales to rate the amount of swelling: facial expression drawings, the full cup test, the visual analogue scale (VAS), and the verbal rating scale (VRS). Seven patients did not know how to use some of the scales. However, all patients successfully used the facial expression drawings. There was a significant difference between the scale that patients found easiest to use and the others (p<0.008). Fourteen patients selected facial expression drawings and five the VRS. The results showed that the correlations between the scales were good (p<0.01). Facial expression drawings and the full cup test are valid tools and could be used to assess postoperative swelling interchangeably with other scales for rating swelling, and some patients found facial expression drawings were the easiest to use.

Conventional versus Doxorubicin-Eluting Beads Transarterial Chemoembolization for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Tertiary Medical Centre Experience in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer that is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage. Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is an effective palliative treatment for patients who are not eligible for curative treatment. The two main methods for performing TACE are conventional (c-TACE) or with drug eluting beads (DEB-TACE). We sought to compare survival rates and tumour response between patients undergoing c-TACE and DEB-TACE at our centre. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing either treatment was carried out from January 2009 to December 2014. Tumour response to the procedures was evaluated according to the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST). Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess and compare the overall survival in the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 79 patients were analysed (34 had c-TACE, 45 had DEB-TACE) with a median follow-up of 11.8 months. A total of 20 patients in the c-TACE group (80%) and 12 patients in the DEB-TACE group (44%) died during the follow up period. The median survival durations in the c-TACE and DEB-TACE groups were 4.9 ± 3.2 months and 8.3 ± 2.0 months respectively (p=0.008). There was no statistically significant difference noted among the two groups with respect to mRECIST criteria. CONCLUSIONS: DEB-TACE demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival rates for patients with unresectable HCC when compared to c-TACE. It is a safe and promising approach and should potentially be considered as a standard of care in the management of unresectable HCC.

Relationships between emotional intelligence and sales performance in Kuwait / Relación entre inteligencia emocional y productividad en ventas en Kuwait

This study investigates the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and Total Sales Performance (TSP), and whether EI contributes to predicting the performance of sales professionals in Kuwait. The sample was 218 sales professionals working for 24 different car dealerships. An ability model of EI was measured using the Assessing Emotions Scale (AES) developed by Schutte et al. (1998) and its Arabic version. The trait model of EI was assessed using the Effective Intelligence Scale (EIS). The findings showed a negative but weak correlation between TSP and the AES and all its subscales. No correlation was found between TSP and the EIS. A weak positive correlation existed between Objective Sales Performance and each of total EIS, Accuracy, and Patience subscales (AU)

Este estudio indaga en la relación entre inteligencia emocional (IE) y productividad en el total de ventas (PTV) y si la primera contribuye a predecir la actuación de los comerciales profesionales en Kuwait. La muestra estaba compuesta por 218 comerciales profesionales que trabajaban en 24 concesionarios diferentes de automóviles. Se siguió el modelo de habilidades de inteligencia emocional, utilizándose la versión árabe de la Escala de Evaluación de Emociones (EEE) de Schutte et al. (1998). La IE de rasgo se evaluó mediante la Escala de Inteligencia Eficaz (EIE). Los resultados indican una correlación negativa débil entre PTV y la EEE y todas sus subescalas. No se obtuvo correlación entre PTV y EIE. Se dio una correlación positiva débil entre ventas objetivas y cada una de las subescalas del EIE, precisión y paciencia (AU)

Switching from sulphonylurea to a sodium-glucose cotransporter2 inhibitor in the fasting month of Ramadan is associated with a reduction in hypoglycaemia.

The aim of the present study was to assess the hypoglycaemia risk and safety of dapagliflozin compared with sulphonylurea during the fasting month of Ramadan. In this 12-week, randomized, open-label, two-arm parallel group study, 110 patients with type 2 diabetes who were receiving sulphonylurea and metformin were randomized either to receive 10 mg (n = 58) of dapagliflozin daily or to continue receiving sulphonylurea (n = 52). The primary outcome was to compare the effects of dapagliflozin and sulphonylurea on the proportions of patients with at least one episode of hypoglycaemia during Ramadan, as well as to assess the safety of dapagliflozin when used to treat patients observing Ramadan. A lower proportion of patients had reported or documented hypoglycaemia in the dapagliflozin group than in the sulphonylurea group: 4 (6.9%) versus 15 (28.8%); p = 0.002. The relative risk of any reported or documented hypoglycaemia in the 4th week of Ramadan was significantly lower in the dapagliflozin group: RR=0.24, 95%CI: 0.09, 0.68; p=0.002. No significance differences were observed between the two groups regarding postural hypotension (13.8 vs 3.8%; p = 0.210) or urinary tract infections (10.3 vs 3.8%; p = 0.277). In conclusion, fewer patients exhibited hypoglycaemia in the dapagliflozin group than in the sulphonylurea group.

[Snake venom Kunitz/BPTI family: Structure, classification and pharmacological potential]. / LA FAMILE KUNITZ/BPTI DES VENINS DE SERPENTS: STRUCTURE, CIASSIFICATION ET POTENTIEL PHARMACOLOGIQUE.

Snake venoms are rich sources of serine proteinase inhibitors that are members of the KunitzBPTI (bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor) family. Generally, these inhibitors are formed by 60 amino acids approximately. Their folding is characterised by a canonical loop that binds in a complementary manner to the active site of serine protease. Some variants from snake venoms show only weak inhibitory activity against proteases while others are neurotoxic. Moreover, proteases inhibitors are involved in various physiological prdcesses, such as blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, and inflammation. Also, these molecules showed an anti-tumoralpotent and anti-metastatic effect. Interestingly, KunitzBPTI peptides can have exquisite binding specificities and possess high potency for their targets making them excellent therapeutic candidates.

The Effectiveness of Trypsin Modulating Oostatic Factor (TMOF) and Combination of TMOF with Bacillus thuringiensis Against Aedes aegypti Larvae in the Laboratory.

BACKGROUND: Trypsin Modulating Oostatic Factor (TMOF) terminates trypsin biosynthesis in adult and larval mosquito gut. It will inhibit the growth and development of mosquito larvae feeding on it resulting in death by starvation. The objective of this study is to determine the effective dose of Pichia-TMOF and the combination of Pichia-TMOF with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) as larvicide on Ae. aegypti larvae. METHODS: Aedes aegypti first-instar larvae were exposed to various doses of Pichia-TMOF, Bt and combination of Pichia-TMOF and Bt. The development of the larvae were observed and recorded daily during the bioassay larval test until the adult emergence. RESULTS: The results showed that 400 ppm Pichia-TMOF and 300 ppm Pichia-TMOF were able to cause 100% and 67% cumulative mortality on Ae. aegypti larvae on 8(th) day respectively. At 200 ppm, 100 ppm and 50 ppm concentration Pichia-TMOF showed obvious stunted effect on Ae. aegypti larvae. Moreover, the combination of 400 ppm Pichia-TMOF with 0.1 ppm Bt showed synergistic effect on Ae. aegypti. CONCLUSION: Pichia-TMOF inhibited trypsin biosynthesis is potential to act in larval gut causing stunted growth and larval development and causing mortality. The combination of Pichia-TMOF and Bt increased the effectiveness in causing larval mortality.

On femtosecond micromachining of HPHT single-crystal diamond with direct laser writing using tight focusing.

We investigate the formation of diversiform micro-/nano-structures in High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) synthetic single-crystal diamond by tight-focusing 200 fs regeneratively amplified Ti: Sapphire laser pulses centered at lambda = 800 nm. Ablated samples of synthetic single crystal nanodiamond and their acetate replicas are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Using pulse energies that are significantly above the threshold for permanent change, it is shown from this work that amplified femtosecond pulses are capable of producing controlled modification of HPHT single-crystal diamond at size scales below the diffraction limit and provided negligible collateral heating and shock-wave damage. This is attributed to the low thermal losses and negligible hydrodynamic expansion of the ablated material during the femtosecond laser pulse. It is shown that low pulse energy is a key factor for the accurate and precise machining of micropattems.

An amplified femtosecond laser system for material micro-/nanostructuring with an integrated Raman microscope.

In order to obtain new insights into laser-induced chemical material modifications, we introduce a novel combined approach of femtosecond pulsed laser-direct writing and in situ Raman microscopy within a single experimental apparatus. A newly developed scanning microscope, the first of its kind, provides a powerful tool for micro-/nanomachining and characterization of material properties and allows us to relate materials' functionality with composition. We address the issues of light delivery to the photomodification site and show the versatility of the system using tight focusing. Amplified femtosecond pulses are generated by a Ti:sapphire laser oscillator and a chirped-pulse regenerative amplifier, both pumped by a diode-pumped frequency doubled neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO(4)) laser operating at 532 nm. Results of Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy images of femtosecond laser micro-/nanomachining on the surface and in the bulk of single-crystal diamond obtained from first trials of this instrument are also presented. This effective combination could help to shed light on the influence of the local structure fluctuations on controllability of the laser processing and the role of the irradiation in the ablation processes ruling out possible imprecisions coming from the use of the two independent techniques.

Evaluation of Piper aduncum Linn. Essential Oil (Fam:Piperaceae) against Periplaneta americana (L.).

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of Piper aduncum essential oil was evaluated against Periplaneta americana adults and nymphs in the laboratory. METHODS: The plant essential oil at varying concentrations ranging between 10,000 to 80,000 ppm were placed inside glass beakers, rolled horizontally to ensure the essential oil covers all sides of the beakers and exposed to adults and nymphs of P. americana. Resigen (R) 1ppm was used as positive control and distilled water as negative control. The LT50 and LT90 was obtained using Log Probit programme. RESULTS: Exposure of essential oil to females P. americana at concentrations between 10,000 to 80,000 ppm indicated the LT50 and LT90 values between 5.31 h-189.19 h and 14.90 h-2105.31 h, respectively. Treatment with the same concentrations against males P. americana ,the LT50 and LT90 were 2.08 h-181.73 h and 5.4 h-8460.51 h, respectively. Treatment against the nymphal stage with the same range of concentrations indicated the LT50 and LT 90 of 4.68 h-381.02 h and 28.71 h-5313.36 h, respectively.The nymphs and males were more susceptible than the females cockroaches. Treatment with Resigen (R) at 1ppm indicated much lower LT 50 and LT 90 values of 2.54 h-9.47 h for the females, 1.47 h-4.22 h for the males and 4.69 h-8.92 h for the nymphs.The negative control indicated no mortality for all stages of the cockroach. CONCLUSION: Piper aduncum essential oil can be used as an alternative natural product for controlling the cockroach Peripatetic americana.

[Molecular phylogeny and genetic variability of echovirus 30 based on the analysis of the 3' end of the VP1 gene]. / Phylogénie moléculaire et variabilité génétique des échovirus 30 basées sur l'analyse de la région 3' terminale du gène VP1.

Echovirus 30 represent one of the most frequently isolated enterovirus serotype, incriminated in various pathologies, essentially aseptic meningitis. Several works studied the molecular epidemiology of these viruses. By analysing a region of 260 nucleotides situated in the end of the VP1 gene (region regrouping the majority of the sequences of the Echovirus 30), we proposed to realise a synthesis work which regroup the main epidemiological studies on the Echovirus 30. We established a phylogenetic profile of 87 Echovirus strains geographically distinct and isolated during a half a century (1957-2003). The phylogentic tree permitted to distinguish 2 genogroups which the nucleotide divergence exceeds 20%. The 2 genogroups also present internal subdivisions named genotypes which the nucleotide divergence is more than 15%. Finally, we noted phylogenetic regroupings within a same genotype. The general profile of the phylogenetic tree is characterised by a distribution of the Echovirus 30 strains in the time independently of their geographically isolation, which reveals a genetic evolution of these viruses related to their high genetic plasticity and the rapid circulation from a geographic area to another.

Directional eye fixation sensor using birefringence-based foveal detection.

We recently developed and reported an eye fixation monitor that detects the fovea by its radial orientation of birefringent nerve fibers. The instrument used a four-quadrant photodetector and a normalized difference function to check for a best match between the detector quadrants and the arms of the bow-tie pattern of polarization states surrounding the fovea. This function had a maximum during central fixation but could not tell where the subject was looking relative to the center. We propose a linear transformation to obtain horizontal and vertical eye position coordinates from the four photodetector signals, followed by correction based on a priori calibration information. The method was verified on both a computer model and on human eyes. The major advantage of this new eye-tracking method is that it uses true information coming from the fovea, rather than reflections from other structures, to identify the direction of foveal gaze.

Field evaluation of cypermethrin and cyfluthrin against dengue vectors in a housing estate in Malaysia.

Cynoff 25ULV (cypermethrin 25 g/l) and Solfac UL015 (cyfluthrin 1.5% w/v) were evaluated against the sentinel sugar-fed adults and 4th-instar larvae of Aedes aegypti in a housing estate endemic of dengue in Malaysia. The impact of both pyrethroids on field populations of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti larvae was monitored weekly using bottle containers. Both Cynoff 25ULV and Solfac UL015 showed adulticidal effects and larvicidal effects. This field trial using Cynoff 25ULV against dengue vectors showed its potential for use in dengue vector control programs.

Field evaluation of deltamethrin/S-bioallethrin/piperonyl butoxide and cyfluthrin against dengue vectors in Malaysia.

Deltacide (S-bioallethrin 0.71% w/v, deltamethrin 0.5% w/v, piperonyl butoxide 8.9% w/v excipients to 100% w/v) and Solfac UL 015 (cyfluthrin 1.5% w/v) were evaluated against the sentinel sugar-fed adults and 4th-instar larvae of Aedes aegypti at 17 storey high-rise apartments in Malaysia using ULV applications. The impact of both insecticides on field populations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus larvae was monitored weekly using bottle containers. Both Deltacide and Solfac UL 015 showed adulticidal and larvicidal effects. This was the first field trial using Deltacide against dengue vectors in Malaysia and showed its potential for use in dengue vector control programs.

Field evaluation of cyfluthrin and malathion 96 TG ULV spraying at high-rise flats on dengue vectors in Malaysia.

Cyfluthrin (Solfac ULO15) and malathion 96 TG were evaluated against sentinel sugar-fed adults and 4th-instar larvae of Aedes aegypti at high-rise flats in Malaysia by ULV spraying. The impact of both insecticides on field populations of Aedes spp. (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus) larvae were monitored weekly using containers. Both cyfluthrin and malathion 96 TG showed adulticidal effects but cyfluthrin showed more significant larvicidal effect than malathion 96 TG (P < 0.05).