Antibacterial Activity and Mesophase Identification of Azomethnine and Azo derivatives

A new mesogenic homologous series of liquid crystalline azomethnine and azo derivatives of 4ꞌ-nalkoxybenzylidiene- 4-aminoazobenzene has been synthesized and characterized by a combination of elemental analysis and standard spectroscopic methods. In the present series, nematic mesophase commences from n-propyloxy derivative as enantiotropic and persists up to the last member synthesized except in derivative C10. The smectic A (SmA) mesophases commences from n-pentyloxy derivative as enantiotropic and also persists up to ntetradecyloxy synthesized. Imine linkage (-CH═N-) between central and terminal benzene rings helping to understand the polarizability effect as well as nature of mesophase as stability gets reduced due to the presence of nitrogen in the ring. The mesomorphic properties of present series are of great importance to evaluate the effects of central linkage on mesomorphism. The mesomorphic properties of present series were compared with other structurally related mesogenic homologous series to evaluate the effects of central linkage on mesomorphism.

Crossmodal Interactions Between Olfaction and Touch Affecting Well-Being and Perception of Cosmetic Creams

In the present series of studies, we investigated crossmodal perception of odor and texture. In four studies, participants tried two textures of face creams, one high viscosity (HV) and one low viscosity (LV), each with one of three levels of added odor (standard level, half of standard, or base [no added odor]), and then reported their levels of well-being. They also reported their perceptions of the face creams, including liking (global liking of the product, liking of its texture) and “objective” evaluations on just about right (JAR) scales (texture and visual appearance evaluations). In Study 1, women in France tried the creams on their hands, as they would when testing them in a store, and in Study 2, a second group of French women tried the creams on their faces, as they would at home. In Studies 3 and 4, these same two procedures were repeated in China. Results showed that both odor and texture had effects on well-being, liking, and JAR ratings, including interaction effects. Though effects varied by country and context (hand or face), the addition of odor to the creams generally increased reports of well-being, global liking and texture liking, in some cases affecting the “objective” evaluations of texture. This is one of the first investigations of crossmodal olfactory and tactile perception's impacts on well-being, and it reinforces previous literature showing the importance of olfaction on well-being.

The mechanism of filler items in the response time concealed information test

The response time concealed information test (RT-CIT) can reveal that a person recognizes a relevant (probe) item among other, irrelevant items, based on slower responding to the probe compared to the irrelevant items. Therefore, if this person is concealing the knowledge about the relevance of this item (e.g., recognizing it as a murder weapon), this deception can be unveiled. Adding familiarity-related filler items to the task has been shown to substantially increase the validity of the method, but assumptions for this effect have never been tested before. In the present series of three experiments (N = 511), we tested several factors, most of which were found to indeed influence the enhancing effects of fillers. First, larger enhancement is achieved when a smaller proportion of fillers shares the response key with the target. Second, familiarity context does play a role in the enhancement, and the target sharing its response key with the familiarity-referring fillers leads to larger enhancement. Third, mere symbolic fillers (such as simple arrow-like characters) also lead to enhancement, but filler words without task-relevant meaning are not effective. Fourth, small visual differences (lettercase or underlining) between fillers and the rest of the items have no significant influence. All this provides justification for the original structure of the fillers and also demonstrates that the enhancement is highly generalizable: Fillers have a potential to improve the RT-CIT regardless of deception scenario, item types, or the examinee's language comprehension.

The Mechanism of Filler Items in the Response Time Concealed Information Test

The Response Time Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) can reveal that a person recognizes a relevant (probe) item among other, irrelevant items, based on slower responding to the probe compared to the irrelevant items. Therefore, if this person is concealing the knowledge about the relevance of this item (e.g., recognizing it as a murder weapon), this deception can be unveiled. Adding familiarity-related filler items to the task has been shown to substantially increase the validity of the method, but assumptions for this effect have never been tested before. In the present series of three experiments (N = 511), we tested several factors, most of which were found to indeed influence the enhancing effects of fillers. First, larger enhancement is achieved when a smaller proportion of fillers shares the response key with the target. Second, familiarity context does play a role in the enhancement, and the target sharing its response key with the familiarity-referring fillers leads to larger enhancement. Third, mere symbolic fillers (such as simple arrow-like characters) also lead to enhancement, but filler words without task-relevant meaning are not effective. Fourth, small visual differences (lettercase or underlining) between fillers and the rest of the items has no significant influence. All this provides justification for the original structure of the fillers and also demonstrates that the enhancement is highly generalizable: Fillers have a potential to improve the RT-CIT regardless of deception scenario, item types, or the examinee's language comprehension.

There Is No Primacy Effect in Interpersonal Perception: A Series of Preregistered Analyses Using Judgments of Actual Behavior

First impressions are commonly assumed to be particularly important: Information about a person that we obtain early on may shape our overall impression of that person more strongly than information obtained later. In contrast to previous research, the present series of preregistered analyses uses actual person judgment data to investigate this so-called primacy effect: Perceivers ( N = 1,395) judged the videotaped behavior of target persons ( N = 200) in 10 different situations. Separate subsamples of about 200 perceivers each were used in moving from exploratory to increasingly confirmatory analyses. Contrary to our expectations, no primacy effect was found. Instead, judgments of the targets in later situations were more strongly associated with overall impressions, indicating an acquaintance effect. Relying on early information seems unreasonable when more comprehensive information is readily available. Early information may, however, affect perceivers’ behavioral reactions to the targets and thus their future interactions, if such interactions are possible.

Multiple-site neural tube defects: embryogenesis with complete review of existing literature

OBJECTIVEMultiple-site neural tube defects (MNTDs) are very uncommon, with the predominant number of cases being reported in developing countries. The classic theory of neural tube closure fails to explain the occurrence of these defects. Multisite closure theory, first proposed in 1995, explains most of the occurrences with a few modifications specific to a few defects. In this paper, the authors endeavor to explain all the defects, along with their genetic and embryological bases, and to review the available literature and discuss their own experience in the management of these complex cases.METHODSThe authors retrospectively reviewed the data of all the patients treated surgically for MNTDs over that past 14 years. All possible demographic data, clinical details, and radiological imaging data were reviewed. In addition, surgical parameters, complications, and status at follow-up of more than 12 months were evaluated. All previously reported cases of MNTD were analyzed, and comparisons with the present series were made.RESULTSA total of 3 major series (including the present one) on MNTDs have been from India. A total of 57 such cases (including those of the present series) have been reported in the available literature. While previous series reported a higher incidence of spinal defects, the present series had a higher rate of cephalic defects (55%). Among the reported cases, insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt was necessary in 12 (26%), and only 4 patients were operated on in 2 stages. Neurological status at presentation dictated outcome.CONCLUSIONSMNTDs are extremely rare, and their embryogenesis is different from that of single neural tube defects. Simultaneous repair of 2 or even 3 defects is possible in a single-stage surgery. The requirement of a shunt is uncommon, and complications following surgery are rare. Folic acid supplementation may reduce the incidence of defects.

Seeing Both the Forest and the Trees: Distinct Resolution of Hierarchical Representations in Visual Working Memory

The capacity limit in visual working memory (VWM) has been well established, but the way in which it is limited remains under debate. For example, an item limit was proposed by the discrete slot models whereas a flexible allocation of information was suggested by the flexible resource models. Despite the discrepancies on the nature of VWM capacity limit, both models assume that items are processed independently. Recent evidence, however, revealed that VWM is hierarchically structured. Given that an item can be represented both at the ensemble and the item level, existing measures of VWM capacity cannot distinguish between them. To separately measure an item at both ensemble and item levels, we designed a novel paradigm by combining the continuous report paradigm with a categorical judgement task. In the present series of four experiments, we found that participants’ performance at the ensemble and the item level was differentially affected by the layout and the number of objects in the display. Similarly, hierarchical Bayesian models fit to the empirical data suggest distinct effects of layout and set size on ensemble and item representations, respectively. Moreover, separating ensemble from item representations further allowed us to address their relationship and we uncovered a surprising possibility of independence between these two levels of representations. Taken together, the present dissociation and the demonstration of independence suggest distinct mechanisms of item and ensemble processing, which further sheds light on the nature and structure of representations in VWM.

Clipping of recanalized intracerebral aneurysms initially treated by the Woven EndoBridge device

Background and purposeIntrasaccular flow disruption using the Woven EndoBridge (WEB) is a safe and effective method to treat intracranial aneurysms, particularly wide neck bifurcation aneurysms. However mid term and long term follow-up imaging can show aneurysm remnant or recanalization, and retreatment is therefore sometimes necessary. In most cases, retreatment is performed using an endovascular approach. The present series reports and analyzes aneurysm clipping of recanalized or incompletely occluded aneurysms following WEB treatment.MethodsAll patients treated with the WEB device since the beginning of our experience in June 2011 were prospectively collected in a local database. Among them, patients who were retreated by clipping for aneurysm remnants were included in the present series.ResultsIn the cumulative population of 130 patients with aneurysms treated by the WEB device from June 2011 to February 2019, 4 patients (3.1%) were retreated with surgical clipping due to incomplete occlusion (2 patients) and aneurysm recanalization (2 patients). Three of the four aneurysms retreated (75%) were located in the middle cerebral artery and one in the anterior communicating artery (25.0%). The aneurysm was ruptured in 1 of 4 patients (25%). Clipping was performed 10–54 months after initial treatment with the WEB. Surgical exposure showed that the WEB device was inside the aneurysm sac in all cases. Clipping was easily performed in all but 1 case. Control DSA showed complete occlusion in two aneurysms and a neck remnant in two.ConclusionClipping is a feasible option for treating aneurysm remnants following initial treatment with intrasaccular flow disruption using the WEB.

Italianistica

The present series provides a collection of the best work written by both professors and researchers of Ca’ Foscari University in the field of Italian Studies and pertaining to Venetian culture.