Reported Effects (reported + effects)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Dude looks like a lady: Exploring the malleability of person categorization

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
Joanne L. Brebner
Recent research has documented how single facial features can trigger person categorization. Questions remain, however, regarding the automaticity of the reported effects. Using a modified flanker paradigm, the current investigation explored the extent to which hair cues drive sex categorization when faces comprise task-irrelevant (i.e., unattended) stimuli. In three experiments, participants were required to classify target forenames by gender while ignoring irrelevant flanking faces with and without hair cues. When present, hair cues were either congruent or incongruent with prevailing cultural stereotypes. The results demonstrated the potency of category-specifying featural cues. First, flanker interference only emerged when critical hair cues were present (Experiment 1). Second, flankers with stereotype-incongruent hairstyles (e.g., men with long hair) facilitated access to information associated with the opposite sex (Experiment 2), even when the flankers were highly familiar celebrities (Experiment 3). The theoretical implications of these findings are considered. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Effect of defoliation on grass growth.

OIKOS, Issue 1 2002
A quantitative review
The diversity of responses of individual grasses to defoliation created a controversy about 15 years ago, which still needs clarification. We quantitatively assessed the evidence of defoliation effects on individual grass growth, addressing two main questions: 1) what is the average and variability of the effect of defoliation on plant growth? and 2) what are the associated conditions accounting for the diversity of effects? Regarding the first question, the results showed a negative overall effect of defoliation on plant growth and substantial variability in the defoliation responses of different plant components. There was an intermediate negative effect on total production (which included clipped-off biomass), a large negative effect on final live biomass at harvest, and a minimal effect on root biomass. Regarding the second question (conditions accounting for the diversity of effects), defoliation intensity had no effect on the response to defoliation, but both time for recovery from the last defoliation and the period of time between defoliation events significantly decreased the negative effect of defoliation. Nitrogen availability also altered the effect of defoliation, as plants grown at highest nitrogen levels were more negatively affected by clipping than plants with no supplementary addition of nitrogen. These results indicate that the magnitude of defoliation response by an individual plant differs among plant compartments and this response is modulated by other factors, such as time for recovery after defoliation, and nutrient availability. In general, the effect of defoliation on individual plant production was more negative than reported effects of grazing on ecosystem primary production. [source]


How tumour necrosis factor blockers interfere with tuberculosis immunity

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
J. Harris
Summary Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) is a potent inflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in immunity to numerous bacterial infections, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB) in humans. Infliximab, adalimumab, certolizumab pegol and etanercept are anti-TNF agents used to treat a range of inflammatory/autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. The use of some of these drugs has been linked to reactivation TB. In addition to blocking TNF-mediated immune responses, some anti-TNF drugs have been found to interfere with innate immune responses, such as phagolysosomal maturation and monocyte apoptosis, as well as cell-mediated responses, including interferon-, secretion by memory T cells, complement-mediated lysis of Mtb-reactive CD8+ T cells and increased regulatory T cell activity. This review summarizes some of the reported effects of TNF blockers on immune cell responses in the context of the observed clinical data on TB reactivation in patients on anti-TNF therapy. [source]


REVIEW: Curcumin and Alzheimer's Disease

CNS: NEUROSCIENCE AND THERAPEUTICS, Issue 5 2010
Tsuyoshi Hamaguchi
Curcumin has a long history of use as a traditional remedy and food in Asia. Many studies have reported that curcumin has various beneficial properties, such as antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antitumor. Because of the reported effects of curcumin on tumors, many clinical trials have been performed to elucidate curcumin's effects on cancers. Recent reports have suggested therapeutic potential of curcumin in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In in vitro studies, curcumin has been reported to inhibit amyloid-,-protein (A,) aggregation, and A,-induced inflammation, as well as the activities of ,-secretase and acetylcholinesterase. In in vivo studies, oral administration of curcumin has resulted in the inhibition of A, deposition, A, oligomerization, and tau phosphorylation in the brains of AD animal models, and improvements in behavioral impairment in animal models. These findings suggest that curcumin might be one of the most promising compounds for the development of AD therapies. At present, four clinical trials concerning the effects of curcumin on AD has been conducted. Two of them that were performed in China and USA have been reported no significant differences in changes in cognitive function between placebo and curcumin groups, and no results have been reported from two other clinical studies. Additional trials are necessary to determine the clinical usefulness of curcumin in the prevention and treatment of AD. [source]