The impact of bilateral cerebellar damage on theory of mind,empathy and decision making

The extensive infarction affecting the posterior vermis and the medial and posterior regions of both cerebellar hemispheres, as well as the small central pontine lesion, seems to have disrupted multiple cerebral and brainstem cerebellar loops. These loops process information related to many cognitive domains, behavior and emotion, including decision making, empathy and theory of mind.     

Influence of Some Psychosocial Factors on Mobbing and its Consequences Among Employees Working with People with Intellectual Disabilities

Background The problem of mobbing has attracted a great deal of attention over the past few years. This concern has increased the study of the phenomena, which has resulted in many scientific publications. Mobbing has been characterized as an emerging risk at work. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of some psychosocial factors at work – role clarity, interpersonal conflicts and social support – on mobbing and its consequences – that is, inclination towards absenteeism and psychosomatic disorders. Materials and methods The sample included 422 employees working with people with intellectual disabilities. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. Results The Hypothesized model showed an adequate fit to data, and all hypothesized relationships were significant. Conclusions The results of this study provide support for the mediator role of mobbing in the relationship between high role ambiguity, low social support and high interpersonal conflicts and psychosomatic disorders and inclination towards absenteeism.     

From the Cover: Ecosystem responses in the southern Caribbean Sea to global climate change

Over the last few decades, rising greenhouse gas emissions have promoted poleward expansion of the large-scale atmospheric Hadley circulation that dominates the Tropics, thereby affecting behavior of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Expression of these changes in tropical marine ecosystems is poorly understood because of sparse observational datasets. We link contemporary ecological changes in the southern Caribbean Sea to global climate change indices. Monthly observations from the CARIACO Ocean Time-Series between 1996 and 2010 document significant decadal scale trends, including a net sea surface temperature (SST) rise of ∼1.0 ± 0.14 °C (±SE), intensified stratification, reduced delivery of upwelled nutrients to surface waters, and diminished phytoplankton bloom intensities evident as overall declines in chlorophyll a concentrations (ΔChla = −2.8 ± 0.5%⋅y⁻¹) and net primary production (ΔNPP = −1.5 ± 0.3%⋅y⁻¹). Additionally, phytoplankton taxon dominance shifted from diatoms, dinoflagellates, and coccolithophorids to smaller taxa after 2004, whereas mesozooplankton biomass increased and commercial landings of planktivorous sardines collapsed. Collectively, our results reveal an ecological state change in this planktonic system. The weakening trend in Trade Winds (−1.9 ± 0.3%⋅y⁻¹) and dependent local variables are largely explained by trends in two climatic indices, namely the northward migration of the Azores High pressure center (descending branch of Hadley cell) by 1.12 ± 0.42°N latitude and the northeasterly progression of the ITCZ Atlantic centroid (ascending branch of Hadley cell), the March position of which shifted by about 800 km between 1996 and 2009.     

Irs2 Inactivation Suppresses Tumor Progression in Pten+/− Mice

Mutations in the phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN)/phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase-α (PI3K) signaling pathway are frequently found in human cancer. In addition, Pten^+/− mice develop tumors in multiple organs because of the activation of the PI3K signaling cascade. Because activation of PI3K signaling leads to feedback inhibition of insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS2) expression, an upstream activator of PI3K, we therefore anticipated that IRS2 expression would be low in tumors that lack PTEN. Surprisingly, however, an elevation of IRS2 was often detected in tumor samples in which PTEN levels were compromised. To determine the potential contribution of Irs2 to tumor progression, Pten^+/− mice were crossed with Irs2^+/− mice. Deletion of Irs2 did not affect the initiation of neoplasia found in Pten^+/− mice but suppressed cancer cell growth, proliferation, and invasion through the basement membrane. Deletion of Irs2 also attenuated the expression of Myc in prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia in Pten^+/− mice. In addition, the expression levels of IRS2 and MYC were highly correlated in human prostate cancer, and IRS2 could stimulate MYC expression in cultured cells. Our findings provide evidence that the PI3K-activating adaptor Irs2 contributes to tumor progression in Pten^+/− mice by stimulating both Myc and DNA synthesis.     

Luminal dopamine modulates canine ileal water and electrolyte transport

Previous studies have suggested that dopamine stimulates active ileal ion absorption via ₂-adrenergic or dopaminergic receptor activation. Identification of a dopamine 1a receptor on rat enterocytes located in intestinal crypts prompted this investigation of the effect of luminally administered dopamine on water and ion transport in the canine ileum. Absorption studies (n=27) were performed in dogs with 25-cm ileal Thiry-Vella fistulas. Perfusion with [¹⁴C PEG was used to calculate absorption of water and electrolytes from the Thiry-Vella fistula. Experiments consisted of three 1-hr periods: basal, luminal drug infusion at 10^–4 M, and recovery. Agonists used included dopamine (DOP: -adrenergic, D₁ and D₂ receptor) and SKF 38393 (D₁ receptor). Antagonists used included terazosin (TZ: ₁) and yohimbine (YOH: ₂). DOP caused significant increases in water and electrolyte absorption. TZ and YOH prevented the dopamine-induced proabsorptive response. Luminal DOP may serve as a proabsorptive modulator of ileal transport, acting via ₁, ₂, and dopaminergic receptors. The development of more potent proabsorptive dopamine analogs, which maintain the ability to broadly activate mucosal receptors, may be useful in such clinical situations as diabetic diarrhea, short gut syndrome, or following small bowel transplantation.Presented in part as a poster presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association, New Orleans, May 14–18, 1994, and published in abstract form inGastroenterology 106:A432, 1994.Supported in part by National Institutes of Health grant R29-DK 41178 (C.J.Y.).