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Trends in Ecology & Evolution Jun 2015Tropical forests are highly diverse systems involving extraordinary numbers of interactions between species, with each species responding in a different way to the... (Review)
Review
Tropical forests are highly diverse systems involving extraordinary numbers of interactions between species, with each species responding in a different way to the abiotic environment. Understanding how these systems function and predicting how they respond to anthropogenic global change is extremely challenging. We argue for the necessity of 'whole-ecosystem' experimental manipulations, in which the entire ecosystem is targeted, either to reveal the functioning of the system in its natural state or to understand responses to anthropogenic impacts. We survey the current range of whole-ecosystem manipulations, which include those targeting weather and climate, nutrients, biotic interactions, human impacts, and habitat restoration. Finally we describe the unique challenges and opportunities presented by such projects and suggest directions for future experiments.
Topics: Ecosystem; Environmental Restoration and Remediation; Forests; Research Design; Tropical Climate
PubMed: 25896491
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.03.010 -
Medical Care May 2019Spinal mobilization and manipulation are 2 therapies found to be generally safe and effective for chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, the question remains whether...
Clinical Scenarios for Which Spinal Mobilization and Manipulation Are Considered by an Expert Panel to be Inappropriate (and Appropriate) for Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain.
BACKGROUND
Spinal mobilization and manipulation are 2 therapies found to be generally safe and effective for chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, the question remains whether they are appropriate for all CLBP patients.
RESEARCH DESIGN
An expert panel used a well-validated approach, including an evidence synthesis and clinical acumen, to develop and then rate the appropriateness of the use of spinal mobilization and manipulation across an exhaustive list of clinical scenarios which could present for CLBP. Decision tree analysis (DTA) was used to identify the key patient characteristics that affected the ratings.
RESULTS
Nine hundred clinical scenarios were defined and then rated by a 9-member expert panel as to the appropriateness of spinal mobilization and manipulation. Across clinical scenarios more were rated appropriate than inappropriate. However, the number patients presenting with each scenario is not yet known. Nevertheless, DTA indicates that all clinical scenarios that included major neurological findings, and some others involving imaging findings of central herniated nucleus pulposus, spinal stenosis, or free fragments, were rated as inappropriate for both spinal mobilization and manipulation. DTA also identified the absence of these imaging findings and no previous laminectomy as the most important patient characteristics in predicting ratings of appropriate.
CONCLUSIONS
A well-validated expert panel-based approach was used to develop and then rate the appropriateness of the use of spinal mobilization and manipulation across the clinical scenarios which could present for CLBP. Information on the clinical scenarios for which these therapies are inappropriate should be added to clinical guidelines for CLBP.
Topics: Chronic Disease; Decision Trees; Delphi Technique; Humans; Low Back Pain; Manipulation, Orthopedic; Patient Selection
PubMed: 30870390
DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001108 -
Heart Rhythm O2 Jun 2022Cardiac procedures in infants and children require a high level of skill and dexterity owing to small stature and anatomy. Lower incidence of procedure volume in this...
BACKGROUND
Cardiac procedures in infants and children require a high level of skill and dexterity owing to small stature and anatomy. Lower incidence of procedure volume in this population results in fewer clinical opportunities for learning. Simulators have grown in popularity for education and training, though most existing simulators are often cost-prohibitive or model adult anatomy.
OBJECTIVE
Develop a low-cost simulator for practicing the skills to perform percutaneous pericardial access and cardiac ablation procedures in pediatric patients.
METHODS
We describe 2 simulators for practicing cardiac procedures in pediatric patients, with a total cost of less than $500. Both simulators are housed within an infant-size doll. The first simulator is composed of an infant-size heart and a skin-like covering to practice percutaneous pericardial access to the heart. Participants obtained sheath access to the heart under direct visualization. The second simulator houses a child-size heart with 7 touch-activated targets to practice manipulating a catheter through a small heart. This can be performed under direct visualization and with 3-dimensional mapping via CARTO. Participants manipulated a catheter to map the heart by touching the 6 positive targets, avoiding the negative target.
RESULTS
Physicians-in-training improved their time to complete the task between the first and second attempts. Physicians experienced with the tools took less time to complete the task than physicians-in-training.
CONCLUSION
This inexpensive simulator is anatomically realistic and can be used to practice manipulating procedure tools and develop competency for pediatric cardiac procedures.
PubMed: 35734304
DOI: 10.1016/j.hroo.2022.02.010 -
Psychopharmacology Oct 2017Although there is clear evidence for the serotonergic regulation of descending control of pain in animals, little direct evidence exists in humans. The majority of our...
INTRODUCTION
Although there is clear evidence for the serotonergic regulation of descending control of pain in animals, little direct evidence exists in humans. The majority of our knowledge comes from the use of serotonin (5-HT)-modulating antidepressants as analgesics in the clinical management of chronic pain.
OBJECTIVES
Here, we have used an acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) to manipulate 5-HT function and examine its effects of ATD on heat pain threshold and tolerance, attentional manipulation of nociceptive processing and mood in human volunteers.
METHODS
Fifteen healthy participants received both ATD and balanced amino acid (BAL) drinks on two separate sessions in a double-blind cross-over design. Pain threshold and tolerance were determined 4 h post-drink via a heat thermode. Additional attention, distraction and temperature discrimination paradigms were completed using a laser-induced heat pain stimulus. Mood was assessed prior and throughout each session.
RESULTS
Our investigation reported that the ATD lowered plasma TRP levels by 65.05 ± 7.29% and significantly reduced pain threshold and tolerance in response to the heat thermode. There was a direct correlation between the reduction in total plasma TRP levels and reduction in thermode temperature. In contrast, ATD showed no effect on laser-induced pain nor significant impact of the distraction-induced analgesia on pain perception but did reduce performance of the painful temperature discrimination task. Importantly, all findings were independent of any effects of ATD on mood.
CONCLUSION
As far as we are aware, it is the first demonstration of 5-HT effects on pain perception which are not confounded by mood changes.
Topics: Adult; Affect; Attention; Beverages; Cross-Over Studies; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Male; Pain Measurement; Pain Perception; Serotonin; Tryptophan
PubMed: 28798976
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-017-4686-6 -
NeuroImage Aug 2021The dynamic nature of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain activity and connectivity has drawn great interest in the past decade. Specific...
The dynamic nature of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain activity and connectivity has drawn great interest in the past decade. Specific temporal properties of fMRI brain dynamics, including metrics such as occurrence rate and transitions, have been associated with cognition and behaviors, indicating the existence of mechanism distruption in neuropsychiatric disorders. The development of new methods to manipulate fMRI brain dynamics will advance our understanding of these pathophysiological mechanisms from native observation to experimental mechanistic manipulation. In the present study, we applied repeated transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) and the left orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC), during multiple simultaneous tDCS-fMRI sessions from 81 healthy participants to assess the modulatory effects of stimulating target brain regions on fMRI brain dynamics. Using the rDLPFC and the lOFC as seeds, respectively, we first identified two reoccurring co-activation patterns (CAPs) and calculated their temporal properties (e.g., occurrence rate and transitions) before administering tDCS. The spatial maps of CAPs were associated with different cognitive and disease domains using meta-analytical decoding analysis. We then investigated how active tDCS compared to sham tDCS in the modulation of the occurrence rates of these different CAPs and perturbations of transitions between CAPs. We found that by enhancing neuronal excitability of the rDLPFC and the lOFC, the occurrence rate of one CAP was significantly decreased while that of another CAP was significantly increased during the first 6 min of stimulation. Furthermore, these tDCS-associated changes persisted over subsequent testing sessions (both during and before/after tDCS) across three consecutive days. Active tDCS could perturb transitions between CAPs and a non-CAP state (when the rDLPFC and the lOFC were not activated), but not the transitions within CAPs. These results demonstrate the feasibility of modulating fMRI brain dynamics, and open new possibilities for discovering stimulation targets and dynamic connectivity patterns that can ensure the propagation of tDCS-induced neuronal excitability, which may facilitate the development of new treatments for disorders with altered dynamics.
Topics: Adult; Brain Mapping; Cortical Excitability; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Prefrontal Cortex; Random Allocation; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Young Adult
PubMed: 33933595
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118100 -
Annals of Palliative Medicine Oct 2021Acupuncture therapy is a method of piercing needles into acupoints to treat diseases with/without corresponding manipulations, which could serve as a useful... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Acupuncture therapy is a method of piercing needles into acupoints to treat diseases with/without corresponding manipulations, which could serve as a useful supplementary therapy for psoriasis. The present study aimed to outline and sum up current evidence from systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) that investigate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture on psoriasis.
METHODS
A comprehensive search involving eight electronic databases was conducted from the date of inception to July 2021, and grey literatures were manually searched. The research was selected according to prespecified inclusion criteria and relevant data were obtained. The methodological quality of the included SRs was scrutinized using the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2) tool. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was used to appraise the reporting quality of the included SRs. Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews (ROBIS) was selected for the evaluation of bias risk of the included SRs. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) was applied to determine the quality of evidence from primary outcome measures.
RESULTS
After screening, seven SRs/MAs met the inclusion criteria, including two English and five Chinese articles. All of the SRs were published between 2015 and 2020. Based on AMSTAR-2, the quality of all SRs was rated as dangerously low. Using the PRISMA-A checklist, major reporting flaws were observed in the financial statements, protocols, and registrations of the included literature. According to the ROBIS tool, two SRs/MAs were classed as low bias risk. Using the GRADE tool, this review contained 27 outcomes, with only one being classified as high-quality evidence, seven moderate-quality evidences, and 19 as low-quality evidence. The present research results advocated acupuncture therapy as a supplementary treatment for psoriasis patients; however, the evidence should still be treated with caution due to certain limitations.
CONCLUSIONS
Our overview suggests that acupuncture could be used as a complementary therapy to produce effective clinical result for psoriasis. Nonetheless, considering the poor quality of SRs/Mas that advocate these findings, studies with more rigorous design, larger populations samples and of higher quality are called for to provide stronger evidence for definitive conclusions.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Humans; Psoriasis; Research Design; Research Report
PubMed: 34763442
DOI: 10.21037/apm-21-2523 -
The Journal of Neuroscience : the... Nov 2019Music ranks among the greatest human pleasures. It consistently engages the reward system, and converging evidence implies it exploits predictions to do so. Both...
Music ranks among the greatest human pleasures. It consistently engages the reward system, and converging evidence implies it exploits predictions to do so. Both prediction confirmations and errors are essential for understanding one's environment, and music offers many of each as it manipulates interacting patterns across multiple timescales. Learning models suggest that a balance of these outcomes (i.e., intermediate complexity) optimizes the reduction of uncertainty to rewarding and pleasurable effect. Yet evidence of a similar pattern in music is mixed, hampered by arbitrary measures of complexity. In the present studies, we applied a well-validated information-theoretic model of auditory expectation to systematically measure two key aspects of musical complexity: predictability (operationalized as information content [IC]), and uncertainty (entropy). In Study 1, we evaluated how these properties affect musical preferences in 43 male and female participants; in Study 2, we replicated Study 1 in an independent sample of 27 people and assessed the contribution of veridical predictability by presenting the same stimuli seven times. Both studies revealed significant quadratic effects of IC and entropy on liking that outperformed linear effects, indicating reliable preferences for music of intermediate complexity. An interaction between IC and entropy further suggested preferences for more predictability during more uncertain contexts, which would facilitate uncertainty reduction. Repeating stimuli decreased liking ratings but did not disrupt the preference for intermediate complexity. Together, these findings support long-hypothesized optimal zones of predictability and uncertainty in musical pleasure with formal modeling, relating the pleasure of music listening to the intrinsic reward of learning. Abstract pleasures, such as music, claim much of our time, energy, and money despite lacking any clear adaptive benefits like food or shelter. Yet as music manipulates patterns of melody, rhythm, and more, it proficiently exploits our expectations. Given the importance of anticipating and adapting to our ever-changing environments, making and evaluating uncertain predictions can have strong emotional effects. Accordingly, we present evidence that listeners consistently prefer music of intermediate predictive complexity, and that preferences shift toward expected musical outcomes in more uncertain contexts. These results are consistent with theories that emphasize the intrinsic reward of learning, both by updating inaccurate predictions and validating accurate ones, which is optimal in environments that present manageable predictive challenges (i.e., reducible uncertainty).
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Adolescent; Auditory Perception; Female; Forecasting; Humans; Learning; Male; Music; Pleasure; Random Allocation; Reward; Uncertainty; Young Adult
PubMed: 31636112
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0428-19.2019 -
Genes Mar 2021Olive ( L.) is the most characteristic and important oil crop of the Mediterranean region. Traditional olive cultivation is based on few tens cultivars of ancient... (Review)
Review
Olive ( L.) is the most characteristic and important oil crop of the Mediterranean region. Traditional olive cultivation is based on few tens cultivars of ancient origin. To improve this crop, novel selections with higher tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, adaptable to high-density planting systems and resilient to climate change are needed; however, breeding programs are hindered by the long juvenile period of this species and few improved genotypes have been released so far. Genetic transformation could be of great value, in the near future, to develop new varieties or rootstocks in a shorter time; in addition, it has currently become an essential tool for functional genomic studies. The recalcitrance of olive tissues to their in vitro manipulation has been the main bottleneck in the development of genetic transformation procedures in this species; however, some important traits such as fungal resistance, flowering or lipid composition have successfully been manipulated through the genetic transformation of somatic embryos of juvenile or adult origin, providing a proof of the potential role that this technology could have in olive improvement. However, the optimization of these protocols for explants of adult origin is a prerequisite to obtain useful materials for the olive industry. In this review, initially, factors affecting plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis are discussed. Subsequently, the different transformation approaches explored in olive are reviewed. Finally, transgenic experiments with genes of interest undertaken to manipulate selected traits are discussed.
Topics: Genetic Variation; Genome, Plant; Genotype; Olea; Phylogeny; Plant Breeding; Regeneration; Transformation, Genetic
PubMed: 33803172
DOI: 10.3390/genes12030386 -
PloS One 2016Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a trans-diagnostic construct involved in anxiety and related disorders. Research focused on cross-sectional reporting, manipulating...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a trans-diagnostic construct involved in anxiety and related disorders. Research focused on cross-sectional reporting, manipulating attitudes toward objective and impersonal events or on treatments designed to reduce IU in clinical populations. The current paper presents an experimental procedure for laboratory manipulations of IU and tests mediation hypotheses following the Intolerance of Uncertainty Model.
METHODS
On pre-test, undergraduate volunteers (Study 1, n = 43;68% women. Study 2, n = 169;83.8% women) were asked to provide an idiosyncratic future negative life event. State-IU, Worry, Positive and Negative Affect were assessed after that a standardized procedure was used to identify event's potential negative consequences. The same variables were assessed on post-test, after that participants were asked to read-through increasing and decreasing IU statements.
RESULTS
Temporary changes on IU were consistently reproduced in both studies. Participants receiving increasing IU instructions reported greater state-IU, Worry and Negative Affect than those receiving decreasing IU instructions. However, this latter condition was not different from a control one (Study 2). Both studies revealed significant indirect effects of IU induction instructions on Worry and Negative Affect through state-IU.
LIMITATIONS
Both studies used undergraduate psychology students samples, younger than average population and predominantly female. Experimental manipulation and outcome measures belongs to the same semantic domain, uncertainty, potentially limiting generalizability.
CONCLUSIONS
Results supported the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed IU manipulation for non-clinical sample. Findings parallel clinical research showing that state-IU preceded Worry and Negative Affect states.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety Disorders; Attitude; Behavior; Cognition; Decision Making; Female; Humans; Male; Personality; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Uncertainty
PubMed: 27254099
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155130 -
Chiropractic & Manual Therapies May 2024Research waste is defined as research outcomes with no or minimal societal benefits. It is a widespread problem in the healthcare field. Four primary sources of research...
BACKGROUND
Research waste is defined as research outcomes with no or minimal societal benefits. It is a widespread problem in the healthcare field. Four primary sources of research waste have been defined: (1) irrelevant or low priority research questions, (2) poor design or methodology, (3) lack of publication, and (4) biased or inadequate reporting. This commentary, which was developed by a multidisciplinary group of researchers with spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) research expertise, discusses waste in SMT research and provides suggestions to improve future research.
MAIN TEXT
This commentary examines common sources of waste in SMT research, focusing on design and methodological issues, by drawing on prior research and examples from clinical and mechanistic SMT studies. Clinical research is dominated by small studies and studies with a high risk of bias. This problem is compounded by systematic reviews that pool heterogenous data from varying populations, settings, and application of SMT. Research focusing on the mechanisms of SMT often fails to address the clinical relevance of mechanisms, relies on very short follow-up periods, and has inadequate control for contextual factors.
CONCLUSIONS
This call to action is directed to researchers in the field of SMT. It is critical that the SMT research community act to improve the way research is designed, conducted, and disseminated. We present specific key action points and resources, which should enhance the quality and usefulness of future SMT research.
Topics: Humans; Manipulation, Spinal; Research Design; Biomedical Research
PubMed: 38745213
DOI: 10.1186/s12998-024-00539-y