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International Journal of Offender... Oct 2023This study explored emotional patterns in relation to the Offence Paralleling Behavior and the schema mode frameworks. The study retrospectively assesses schema modes in...
This study explored emotional patterns in relation to the Offence Paralleling Behavior and the schema mode frameworks. The study retrospectively assesses schema modes in the events prior and during criminal and institutional violent behavior. It draws upon observer-ratings of schema modes by 42 male patients who received mandated clinical care in a forensic hospital in the Netherlands. Wilcoxon Signed Ranked tests showed no differences between events prior crimes and incidents with regard to schema modes that relate to universal childhood needs with the exception of impulsive child mode. States of intoxication were more prevalent prior and during the crimes than during the incidents. Furthermore, modes tended to be less activated during incidents, particularly low self-control, conning and manipulating, and self-aggrandizer modes. It is hoped that criminal justice institutions and their staff would benefit from being more aware of schema mode in order to prevent and deal with incidental violence.
PubMed: 37902405
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X231206516 -
Journal of Experimental Psychology.... Sep 2023Rational numbers are represented by multiple notations: fractions, decimals, and percentages. Whereas previous studies have investigated affordances of these notations...
Rational numbers are represented by multiple notations: fractions, decimals, and percentages. Whereas previous studies have investigated affordances of these notations for representing different types of information (DeWolf et al., 2015; Tian et al., 2020), the present study investigated their affordances for solving different types of arithmetic problems. We hypothesized that decimals afford addition better than fractions do and that fractions afford multiplication better than decimals do. This hypothesis was tested in two experiments with university students (s = 77 and 80). When solving fraction and decimal arithmetic problems, participants converted addition problems from fraction to decimal form more than vice versa, and converted multiplication problems from decimal to fraction form more than vice versa, thus revealing preferences favoring decimals for addition and fractions for multiplication. Accuracies paralleled these revealed preferences: Addition accuracy was higher with decimals than fractions, whereas multiplication accuracy was higher with fractions than decimals. Variations in notation preferences as a function of the types of operands involved (e.g., equal vs. unequal denominator fractions) were more consistent with an explanation based on adaptive strategy choice (Siegler, 1996) than with one based on semantic interpretations associated with each notation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Humans; Mathematics; Language; Semantics; Databases, Factual
PubMed: 36006715
DOI: 10.1037/xlm0001161 -
Journal of Pharmacological and... 2023The cardiovascular safety pharmacology (SP) study conducted to satisfy ICH S7A and S7B has commonly used a cross-over study design where each animal receives all...
The cardiovascular safety pharmacology (SP) study conducted to satisfy ICH S7A and S7B has commonly used a cross-over study design where each animal receives all treatments. In an increasing number of cases, cross-over designs are not possible and parallel studies have to be used. These can seldom be as large as 8 animals/treatment to match an n = 8 cross-over. Animals in parallel designs receive only one treatment. Parallel studies will have a different sensitivity to detect changes. This sensitivity is a critical question in using nonclinical QTc evaluations to support an integrated proarrhythmic risk assessment under the newly released ICH E14/S7B Q&As. The current analysis used a study large enough (n = 48) to be analyzed both as a parallel and as a cross-over design to directly compare the performance of the two experimental designs coupled to different statistical models, while all other study conduct aspects were the same. A total of 48 nonhuman primates (NHP) received 2 different treatments twice: vehicle, moxifloxacin (80 mg/kg), vehicle, moxifloxacin (80 mg/kg). Post-dose QTc interval data were recorded for 48 h for each treatment. Data were analyzed using 12 animals randomly selected for each treatment in a parallel design or as an n = 48 animal cross-over study. Different statistical models were used. The primary endpoint was the residual deviation (sigma) from the models applied to hourly time intervals. The sigma was used to determine the minimal detectable difference (MDD) for the study design-statistical model combination. Two statistical models were applicable to either study design. They gave similar sigma and resulting MDD values. In cross-over designs, the individual animal identification (ID) can be used in the statistical model. This enabled the smallest MDD value. Simple statistical models for analysis were identified: Treatment + Baseline for parallel designs and Treatment + ID for cross-over designs. The statistical sensitivity of NHP parallel study designs is reasonable (MDD for n = 6 of 12.7 ms), and in combination with testing exposures higher than likely to be necessary in man could be used in an integrated risk assessment. Where sensitivity of the NHP in vivo QTc assessment is critical, the cross-over design enabled a higher sensitivity (MDD 12.2 ms for n = 4; 8 ms for n = 8).
Topics: Humans; Animals; Moxifloxacin; Fluoroquinolones; Cross-Over Studies; Long QT Syndrome; Electrocardiography; Primates; Heart Rate; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
PubMed: 37495163
DOI: 10.1016/j.vascn.2023.107299 -
Medical Physics Dec 2023Small animal irradiation is essential to study the radiation response of new interventions before or parallel to human therapy. Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and...
BACKGROUND
Small animal irradiation is essential to study the radiation response of new interventions before or parallel to human therapy. Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) are recently adopted in small animal irradiation to more closely mimic human treatments. However, sophisticated techniques require exceedingly high time, resources, and expertize that are often impractical.
PURPOSE
We propose a high throughput and high precision platform named Multiple Mouse Automated Treatment Environment (Multi-MATE) to streamline image-guided small animal irradiation.
METHODS
Multi-MATE consists of six parallel and hexagonally arranged channels, each equipped with a transfer railing, a 3D-printed immobilization pod, and an electromagnetic control unit, computer-controlled via an Arduino interface. The mouse immobilization pods are transferred along the railings between the home position outside the radiation field and the imaging/irradiation position at the irradiator isocenter. All six immobilization pods are transferred to the isocenter in the proposed workflow for parallel CBCT scans and treatment planning. The immobilization pods are then sequentially transported to the imaging/therapy position for dose delivery. The positioning reproducibility of Multi-MATE are evaluated using CBCT and radiochromic films.
RESULTS
While parallelizing and automating the image-guided small animal radiation delivery, Multi-MATE achieved the average pod position reproducibility of 0.17 ± 0.04 mm in the superior-inferior direction, 0.20 ± 0.04 mm in the left-right direction, and 0.12 ± 0.02mm in the anterior-posterior direction in repeated CBCT tests. Additionally, in image-guided dose delivery tasks, Multi-MATE demonstrated the positioning reproducibility of 0.17 ± 0.06 mm in the superior-inferior direction, 0.19 ± 0.06 mm in the left-right direction.
CONCLUSIONS
We designed, fabricated, and tested a novel automated irradiation platform, Multi-MATE to accelerate and automate image-guided small animal irradiation. The automated platform minimizes human operation and achieves high setup reproducibility and image-guided dose delivery accuracy. Multi-MATE thus removes a major barrier to implementing high-precision preclinical radiation research.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Phantoms, Imaging; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; Radiotherapy, Image-Guided; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 37341036
DOI: 10.1002/mp.16563 -
Plants (Basel, Switzerland) Sep 2023Paleogenomics focuses on the recovery, manipulation, and analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) from historical or long-dead organisms to reconstruct and analyze their genomes.... (Review)
Review
Paleogenomics focuses on the recovery, manipulation, and analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) from historical or long-dead organisms to reconstruct and analyze their genomes. The aDNA is commonly obtained from remains found in paleontological and archaeological sites, conserved in museums, and in other archival collections. collections represent a great source of phenotypic and genotypic information, and their exploitation has allowed for inference and clarification of previously unsolved taxonomic and systematic relationships. Moreover, specimens offered a new source for studying phenological traits in plants and for disentangling biogeography and evolutionary scenarios of species. More recently, advances in molecular technologies went in parallel with the decreasing costs of next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches, which paved the way to the utilization of aDNA for whole-genome studies. Although many studies have been carried out combining modern analytic techniques and ancient samples, such as specimens, this research field is still relatively unexplored due to the need for improving strategies for aDNA manipulation and exploitation from ancient samples. The higher susceptibility of aDNA to degradation and contamination during conservation and manipulation and the occurrence of biochemical postmortem damage can result in a more challenging reconstruction of the original DNA sequence. Here, we review the methodological approaches that have been developed for the exploitation of historical plant materials, such as best practices for aDNA extraction, amplification, and genotyping. We also focus on some strategies to overcome the main problems related to the utilization of specimens for their exploitation in plant evolutionary studies.
PubMed: 37836192
DOI: 10.3390/plants12193452 -
Current Opinion in Neurology Feb 2024Electrical stimulation of the peripheral and central vestibular system using noninvasive (galvanic vestibular stimulation, GVS) or invasive (intracranial electrical... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Electrical stimulation of the peripheral and central vestibular system using noninvasive (galvanic vestibular stimulation, GVS) or invasive (intracranial electrical brain stimulation, iEBS) approaches have a long history of use in studying self-motion perception and balance control. The aim of this review is to summarize recent electrophysiological studies of the effects of GVS, and functional mapping of the central vestibular system using iEBS in awake patients.
RECENT FINDINGS
The use of GVS has become increasingly common in the assessment and treatment of a wide range of clinical disorders including vestibulopathy and Parkinson's disease. The results of recent single unit recording studies have provided new insight into the neural mechanisms underlying GVS-evoked improvements in perceptual and motor responses. Furthermore, the application of iEBS in patients with epilepsy or during awake brain surgery has provided causal evidence of vestibular information processing in mostly the middle cingulate cortex, posterior insula, inferior parietal lobule, amygdala, precuneus, and superior temporal gyrus.
SUMMARY
Recent studies have established that GVS evokes robust and parallel activation of both canal and otolith afferents that is significantly different from that evoked by natural head motion stimulation. Furthermore, there is evidence that GVS can induce beneficial neural plasticity in the central pathways of patients with vestibular loss. In addition, iEBS studies highlighted an underestimated contribution of areas in the medial part of the cerebral hemispheres to the cortical vestibular network.
Topics: Humans; Vestibule, Labyrinth; Temporal Lobe; Brain; Stereotaxic Techniques; Electric Stimulation
PubMed: 37889571
DOI: 10.1097/WCO.0000000000001228 -
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology... Mar 2024Primary aldosteronism is a form of low-renin hypertension characterized by dysregulated aldosterone production.
CONTEXT
Primary aldosteronism is a form of low-renin hypertension characterized by dysregulated aldosterone production.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the contributions of renin-independent aldosteronism, and ACTH-mediated aldosteronism, in individuals with a low-renin phenotype representing the entire continuum of blood pressure..
DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS
Human physiology study of 348 participants with a low-renin phenotype with severe and/or resistant hypertension, hypertension with hypokalemia, elevated blood pressure and stage I/II hypertension, and normal blood pressure.
SETTING
4 international centers..
INTERVENTIONS/MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Saline suppression test (SST) to quantify the magnitude of renin-independent aldosteronism; dexamethasone suppression and ACTH-stimulation tests to quantify the magnitude of ACTH-mediated aldosteronism; adrenal venous sampling to determine lateralization.
RESULTS
There was a continuum of non-suppressible and renin-independent aldosterone production following SST that paralleled the magnitude of the blood pressure continuum and transcended conventional diagnostic thresholds. In parallel, there was a full continuum of ACTH-mediated aldosteronism wherein post-SST aldosterone levels were strongly correlated with ACTH-stimulated aldosterone production (r = 0.75, P < 0.0001) and non-suppressible aldosterone production post-dexamethasone (r = 0.40, P < 0.0001). Beyond participants who met criteria for primary aldosteronism (post-SST aldosterone of ≥10 ng/dL or ≥277 pmol/L), the continuum of non-suppressible and renin-independent aldosterone production persisted below this diagnostic threshold, wherein 15% still had lateralizing aldosteronism amenable to surgical adrenalectomy, and the remainder were treated with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists.
CONCLUSIONS
In the context of a low-renin phenotype, there is a continuum of dysregulated aldosterone production that is prominently influenced by ACTH. A large proportion of individuals with low-renin have dysregulated aldosterone production and may benefit from aldosterone-directed therapy.
PubMed: 38450549
DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgae145 -
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Sep 2023: To date, understanding age-related changes in cognitive processes during heat exposure still needs to be better-understood. Thus, the main aim of the current study was...
: To date, understanding age-related changes in cognitive processes during heat exposure still needs to be better-understood. Thus, the main aim of the current study was to evaluate the effects of whole-body hyperthermia (WBH), i.e., a ≈ 2.5 °C increase in rectal temperature (Tre) from overnight-fast baseline value, on cognitive functioning in old and young men and to explore factors, such as stress and thermophysiological strain, that could influence such changes. : Ten young (19-21 years of age) and nine old (61-80 years of age) healthy men underwent an experimental trial with passive lower-body heating in hot water immersion (HWI) at 43 °C (HWI-43 °C) until Tre reached 39 °C in old adults and 39.5 °C in young adults. Cognitive performance and cortisol concentration were assessed before and after HWI, and the physiological strain index (PSI) was assessed during HWI-43 °C. : PSI was lower and cortisol concentration was greater after HWI-43 °C in the old group compared with the young group ( < 0.05). Surprisingly, hyperthermia improved cognitive flexibility only in old adults, whereas short-term and visual recognition memories were maintained in both age groups. : A ≈ 2.5 °C increase in rectal temperature can improve executive function in old adults, and this increase parallels the increased cortisol concentration and the lower thermophysiological strain under severe WBH conditions.
PubMed: 37763784
DOI: 10.3390/medicina59091665 -
ArXiv Oct 2023Scanning-probe and wide-field magnetic microscopes based on Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have enabled remarkable advances in the study of biology and...
Scanning-probe and wide-field magnetic microscopes based on Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have enabled remarkable advances in the study of biology and materials, but each method has drawbacks. Here, we implement an alternative method for nanoscale magnetic microscopy based on optical control of the charge state of NV centers in a dense layer near the diamond surface. By combining a donut-beam super-resolution technique with optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we imaged the magnetic fields produced by single 30-nm iron-oxide nanoparticles. The magnetic microscope has a lateral spatial resolution of ~100 nm, and it resolves the individual magnetic dipole features from clusters of nanoparticles with interparticle spacings down to ~190 nm. The magnetic feature amplitudes are more than an order of magnitude larger than those obtained by confocal magnetic microscopy due to the smaller characteristic NV-nanoparticle distance within nearby sensing voxels. We analyze the magnetic point-spread function and sensitivity as a function of the microscope's spatial resolution and identify sources of background fluorescence that limit the present performance, including diamond second-order Raman emission and imperfect NV charge-state control. Our method, which uses less than 10 mW laser power and can be parallelized by patterned illumination, introduces a new format for nanoscale magnetic imaging.
PubMed: 37873018
DOI: No ID Found -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Dec 2023Pooled optical screens have enabled the study of cellular interactions, morphology, or dynamics at massive scale, but have not yet leveraged the power of highly-plexed...
Pooled optical screens have enabled the study of cellular interactions, morphology, or dynamics at massive scale, but have not yet leveraged the power of highly-plexed single-cell resolved transcriptomic readouts to inform molecular pathways. Here, we present Perturb-FISH, which bridges these approaches by combining imaging spatial transcriptomics with parallel optical detection of amplified guide RNAs. We show that Perturb-FISH recovers intracellular effects that are consistent with Perturb-seq results in a screen of lipopolysaccharide response in cultured monocytes, and uncover new intercellular and density-dependent regulation of the innate immune response. We further pair Perturb-FISH with a functional readout in a screen of autism spectrum disorder risk genes, showing common calcium activity phenotypes in induced pluripotent stem cell derived astrocytes and their associated genetic interactions and dysregulated molecular pathways. Perturb-FISH is thus a generally applicable method for studying the genetic and molecular associations of spatial and functional biology at single-cell resolution.
PubMed: 38076932
DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.30.569494