York University

About: York University is a education organization based out in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 18899 authors who have published 43357 publications receiving 1568560 citations.

A Circular RNA Binds To and Activates AKT Phosphorylation and Nuclear Localization Reducing Apoptosis and Enhancing Cardiac Repair.

Abstract: As central nodes in cardiomyocyte signaling, nuclear AKT appears to play a cardio-protective role in cardiovascular disease. Here we describe a circular RNA, circ-Amotl1 that is highly expressed in neonatal human cardiac tissue, and potentiates AKT-enhanced cardiomyocyte survival. We hypothesize that circ-Amotl1 binds to PDK1 and AKT1, leading to AKT1 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation. In primary cardiomyocytes, epithelial cells, and endothelial cells, we found that forced circ-Amotl1 expression increased the nuclear fraction of pAKT. We further detected increased nuclear pAKT in circ-Amotl1-treated hearts. In vivo, circ-Amotl1 expression was also found to be protective against Doxorubicin (Dox)-induced cardiomyopathy. Putative PDK1- and AKT1-binding sites were then identified in silico. Blocking oligonucleotides could reverse the effects of exogenous circ-Amotl1. We conclude that circ-Amotl1 physically binds to both PDK1 and AKT1, facilitating the cardio-protective nuclear translocation of pAKT.

Is there an age-related positivity effect in visual attention? A comparison of two methodologies.

Abstract: Research suggests a positivity effect in older adults' memory for emotional material, but the evidence from the attentional domain is mixed. The present study combined 2 methodologies for studying preferences in visual attention, eye tracking, and dot-probe, as younger and older adults viewed synthetic emotional faces. Eye tracking most consistently revealed a positivity effect in older adults' attention, so that older adults showed preferential looking toward happy faces and away from sad faces. Dot-probe results were less robust, but in the same direction. Methodological and theoretical implications for the study of socioemotional aging are discussed.

The Perils of Perfectionism in Sports and Exercise

Abstract: Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality construct that has been linked with various forms of maladjustment. In this article, we discuss the role of perfectionism as a maladaptive factor in sports and exercise, and we describe a phenomenon we identify as the perfectionism paradox. We note that even though certain sports require athletes to achieve perfect performance outcomes, the tendency to be characterized by perfectionistic personality traits and to be cognitively preoccupied with the attainment of perfection often undermines performance and fosters a sense of dissatisfaction with performance. We review existing findings in the literature on sports and exercise and demonstrate that the extreme orientation that accompanies perfectionism is antithetical to attaining positive outcomes. Finally, future research directions are outlined.