Be Responsible?

The bystander effect reveals that people are less likely to help a person in need when others are present. We examined the impact of priming the concept of responsibility on the bystander effect in a field study. Lone pedestrians (N = 259) were randomly assigned to a two (Bystanders: none and three nonresponsive bystanders) by two (Shirt: blank shirt and shirt with "Be Responsible" written on the front) design. A researcher dropped eight pens approximately 15 ft from a lone pedestrian, while wearing one of the two shirts in the presence/absence of bystanders (confederates). The bystander effect was found: Pedestrians helped pick up pens more frequently in the no bystanders condition (59.05% helped) compared to the nonresponsive bystanders condition (41.67% helped). The responsibility prime tended to boost helping rates, but it did not significantly increase helping rates either as a main effect or as part of an interaction term. The bystander effect was replicated in a field setting, but priming the concept of responsibility did not appear to reduce it.

Benign heart murmurs as a predictor for complications following total joint arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: There is scant literature examining the predictive role of heart murmurs in the absence of suspected structural heart disease on complications of non-cardiac surgery. We hypothesize the detection of heart murmurs in the absence of structural heart disease will help identify patients at risk for complications following total joint arthroplasty (TJA) surgery. METHOD: This was a prospective cohort of patients undergoing TJA over a twenty-month period. The study was performed at a single academic institution with four subspecialty surgeons. Patients undergoing primary TJA who were over eighteen years old, gave informed consent, and had adequate documentation were included in the study. Patients with a preoperative murmur or a newly discovered postoperative murmur were compared against patients with no murmur. Surgery-related complications, performance with physical therapy, and discharge to a non-home facility were measured in each group. FINDINGS: 345 (63%) eligible patients were included. 20 (5.8%) patients had a documented preoperative murmur and 36 (10.4%) patients had a new postoperative murmur. No patient had concern for major structural heart disease. Preoperative murmurs independently predicted development of acute kidney injury (OR 7.729, p < 0.001; RR 1.36). Preoperative murmurs also predicted likelihood to be discharged to a non-home facility (OR 2.97, p = 0.03; RR 1.87). New postoperative murmurs independently correlated with decreased performance with physical therapy (OR 0.466, p = 0.045; RR 0.664). INTERPRETATION: Detection of heart murmurs both preoperatively and postoperatively is a low cost strategy to identify post-TJA surgical patients at risk for postoperative acute kidney injury, decreased physical performance, and discharge to non-home facilities. These patients may benefit from early fluid resuscitation and renally-dosed post-operative medications.

Self-regulation and social pressure reduce prejudiced responding and increase the motivation to be non-prejudiced.

Self-regulation constrains the expression of prejudice, but when self-regulation falters, the immediate environment can act as an external source of prejudice regulation. This hypothesis derives from work demonstrating that external controls and internal self-regulation can prompt goal pursuit in the absence of self-imposed controls. Across four studies, we found support for this complementary model of prejudice regulation. In Study 1, self-regulatory fatigue resulted in less motivation to be non-prejudiced, compared to a non-fatigued control. In Study 2, strong (vs. weak) perceived social pressure was related to greater motivation to be non-prejudiced. In Study 3, dispositional self-regulation predicted non-prejudice motivation when perceived social pressure was weak or moderate, but not when it was strong. Finally, in Study 4 self-regulatory fatigue increased prejudice when social pressure was weak but not when it was strong.

Parvalbumin-containing chandelier and basket cell boutons have distinctive modes of maturation in monkey prefrontal cortex.

Parvalbumin (PV)-containing cortical GABA neurons include chandelier cells (PVChCs) and basket cells (PVBCs), which innervate the axon initial segment (AIS) and soma/proximal dendrites of pyramidal cells, respectively. In monkey prefrontal cortex (PFC), the density of PVChC axon cartridges detectable by PV immunoreactivity peaks prior to the onset of puberty before declining markedly to adult levels, whereas the density of PV-immunoreactive (IR) puncta (presumed PVBC boutons) increases during adolescence. These inverse developmental changes in bouton density could explain why an electron microscopy study found no change in the density of symmetric, presumably GABAergic, synapses between infancy and adulthood in monkey PFC. Alternatively, the inverse developmental trajectories of PVChC and PVBC boutons could represent cell type-specific differences in the maturation of PV protein levels. To differentiate between these two alternatives, multilabel confocal microscopy was used to quantify the number of PVChC and PVBC boutons per pyramidal neuron in the PFC of 3-month-old and adult monkeys. The mean number of PVChC boutons per pyramidal neuron AIS was, significantly, 32% lower in adult compared with 3-month-old monkeys, whereas the density of PVBC boutons per pyramidal neuron did not differ between age groups. In contrast, relative levels of PV protein were approximately twofold higher in PVBC boutons in adult animals, whereas PV levels in PVChC boutons did not differ between age groups. These findings suggest cell type-specific mechanisms of maturation of PV-containing GABAergic boutons in monkey PFC.

Predicted and experienced affective responses to the outcome of the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

People typically have intense feelings about politics. Therefore, it was no surprise that the campaign and eventual election of Barack Obama were highly anticipated and emotionally charged events, making it and the emotion experienced afterward a useful situation in which to replicate prior research showing that people typically overestimate the intensity and duration of their future affective states. Consequently, it was expected that Obama supporters and McCain supporters might overestimate the intensity of their affective responses to the outcome of the election. Data showed that while McCain supporters underestimated how happy they would be following the election, Obama supporters accurately predicted how happy they would be following the election. These data provide descriptive information on the accuracy of people's predicted reactions to the 2008 U.S. presidential election. The findings are discussed in the context of the broad literature and this specific and unique event.

The erosive potential of soft drinks on enamel surface substrate: an in vitro scanning electron microscopy investigation.

AIM: Using scanning electron and light microscopy, this study qualitatively evaluated the erosive potential of carbonated cola beverages as well as sports and high-energy drinks on enamel surface substrate. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Beverages used in this study included: Coca Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Gatorade sports drink, Red Bull high-energy drink, and tap water (control). Extracted human permanent molars free of hypocalcification and/or caries were used in this study. The coronal portion of each tooth was removed and sectioned longitudinally from the buccal to the lingual surface. The crown sections were embedded in acrylic resin, leaving the enamel surfaces exposed. Following finishing and polishing of all surfaces, one side was covered with red nail varnish while the remaining side was exposed to individual beverage immersion for 14 days, 24 hours per day, at 37 degrees C. The specimens were evaluated for enamel surface changes using scanning electron and light microscopy. RESULTS: Enamel specimens exhibited visual surface changes following immersion in the test beverages with Red Bull and Gatorade revealing the most striking surface morphological changes. Specimens subjected to Coca Cola Classic and Diet Coke immersion also displayed irregular post-treatment surface morphology. CONCLUSIONS: As verified by microscopic evaluation, all test beverages displayed enamel dissolution in the following order: Red Bull>Gatorade>Coca-Cola Classic>Diet Coke.

Effect of carbonated beverages, coffee, sports and high energy drinks, and bottled water on the in vitro erosion characteristics of dental enamel.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the effect of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, bottled and tap water, on the erosive potential of dental enamel with and without fluoride varnish protection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Beverages used in this study included: Coca Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Gatorade sports drink, Red Bull high-energy drink, Starbucks Frappuccino coffee drink, Dasani water (bottled), and tap water (control). Enamel surfaces were coated with Cavity Shield 5% sodium fluoride treatment varnish. Twenty-eight previously extracted human posterior teeth free of hypocalcification and caries were used in this study. The coronal portion of each tooth was removed and then sectioned transverse from the buccal to lingual surface using a diamond coated saw blade. The crown sections were embedded in acrylic resin blocks leaving the enamel surfaces exposed. The enamel surfaces were polished using 600 to 2000 grit abrasive paper and diamond paste. Test specimens were randomly distributed to seven beverage groups and comprised 4 specimens per group. Two specimens per beverage group were treated with a fluoride varnish while 2 specimens did not receive fluoride coating. Surface roughness (profilometer) readings were performed at baseline (prior to fluoride treatment and immersion in the beverage) and again, following immersion for 14 days (24 hours/day). The test beverages were changed daily and the enamel specimens were immersed at 37 degrees C. Surface roughness data was evaluated using multiple factor ANOVA at a significance level of p<0.05. RESULTS: Results showed that Coca-Cola Classic, Gatorade and Red Bull with/without fluoride revealed the highest post-treatment surface roughness measurements. Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Gatorade, and Red Bull all showed significantly higher post treatment readings than StarBucks coffee, Dasani water, and tap water. Fluoride varnish was not a significant impact factor; however, beverage (type) and exposure time were significant impact variables. CONCLUSION: Both carbonated and non-carbonated beverages displayed a significant erosive effect on dental enamel; however, fluoride varnish treatments did not demonstrate a significant protective influence on enamel surfaces.