Language and theory of mind in autism spectrum disorder : the relationship between complement syntax and false belief task performance.

This study aimed to test the hypothesis that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) use their knowledge of complement syntax as a means of “hacking out” solutions to false belief tasks, despite lacking a representational theory of mind (ToM). Participants completed a “memory for complements” task, a measure of receptive vocabulary, and traditional location change and unexpected contents false belief tasks. Consistent with predictions, the correlation between complement syntax score and location change task performance was significantly stronger within the ASD group than within the comparison group. However, contrary to predictions, complement syntax score was not significantly correlated with unexpected contents task performance within either group. Possible explanations for this pattern of results are considered

Literature-based discovery of diabetes- and ROS-related targets

Abstract Background Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known mediators of cellular damage in multiple diseases including diabetic complications. Despite its importance, no comprehensive database is currently available for the genes associated with ROS. Methods We present ROS- and diabetes-related targets (genes/proteins) collected from the biomedical literature through a text mining technology. A web-based literature mining tool, SciMiner, was applied to 1,154 biomedical papers indexed with diabetes and ROS by PubMed to identify relevant targets. Over-represented targets in the ROS-diabetes literature were obtained through comparisons against randomly selected literature. The expression levels of nine genes, selected from the top ranked ROS-diabetes set, were measured in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of diabetic and non-diabetic DBA/2J mice in order to evaluate the biological relevance of literature-derived targets in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. Results SciMiner identified 1,026 ROS- and diabetes-related targets from the 1,154 biomedical papers (http://jdrf.neurology.med.umich.edu/ROSDiabetes/). Fifty-three targets were significantly over-represented in the ROS-diabetes literature compared to randomly selected literature. These over-represented targets included well-known members of the oxidative stress response including catalase, the NADPH oxidase family, and the superoxide dismutase family of proteins. Eight of the nine selected genes exhibited significant differential expression between diabetic and non-diabetic mice. For six genes, the direction of expression change in diabetes paralleled enhanced oxidative stress in the DRG. Conclusions Literature mining compiled ROS-diabetes related targets from the biomedical literature and led us to evaluate the biological relevance of selected targets in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/1/1755-8794-3-49.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/2/1755-8794-3-49-S7.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/3/1755-8794-3-49-S10.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/4/1755-8794-3-49-S8.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/5/1755-8794-3-49-S3.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/6/1755-8794-3-49-S1.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/7/1755-8794-3-49-S4.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/8/1755-8794-3-49-S2.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/9/1755-8794-3-49-S12.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/10/1755-8794-3-49-S11.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/11/1755-8794-3-49-S9.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/12/1755-8794-3-49-S5.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/13/1755-8794-3-49-S6.XLShttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78315/14/1755-8794-3-49.pdfPeer Reviewe

Emulsifying properties of defatted rice bran concentrates enriched in fiber and proteins

BACKGROUND: Rice bran (RB), a by-product of the rice milling industry, constitutes around 10% of the total weight of rough rice. The interest in the use of RB is centered on its nutritional quality, its low cost, and its extensive worldwide production. As RB is commonly used for oil extraction, the defatted rice bran (DRB) is obtained as a second by-product. The aim of this work was to obtain a defatted rice bran concentrate (DRBC), enriched in protein and fiber, from defatted rice bran flour (DRBF) and to determine its physicochemical and emulsifying properties. RESULTS: To obtain the DRBC, the starch was efficiently hydrolyzed (> 98%) with α-amylase and amyloglucosidase, with a concomitant increase in the proportions of crude protein (from 154.7 to 274.3 g kg−1) and total dietary fiber (from 276.1 to 492.3 g kg−1). Defatted rice bran concentrate exhibited a loss of protein solubility and increased surface hydrophobicity compared with DRBF. Defatted rice-bran concentrate dispersions with and without previous ultrasound treatment were prepared. The sonication led to an increase in the apparent viscosity. Emulsions were prepared with dispersions with and without previous ultrasound treatment and showed high stability in quiescent conditions over 28 days. However, the emulsions prepared with dispersions treated with ultrasound resulted in lower D4,3 values and higher elastic and viscous moduli. CONCLUSION: The rice bran concentrate can be used to obtain stable oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions, including both soluble and insoluble fractions, in acidic and neutral conditions. These innovative findings thus contribute to increasing the added value of this important by-product of the rice-milling industry.Fil: Bonifacino, Carla. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Química; UruguayFil: Franco Fraguas, Eugenia. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Química; UruguayFil: López, Débora Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Departamento de Química y Física. Área Fisicoquímica; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Facultad de Química e Ingeniería-Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Wagner, Jorge Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Investigación en Funcionalidad y Tecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Cabezas, Dario Marcelino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Investigación en Funcionalidad y Tecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Panizzolo, Luis Alberto. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Química; UruguayFil: Palazolo, Gonzalo Gastón. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Investigación en Funcionalidad y Tecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Abirached, Cecilia. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Química; Urugua

Factors associated with chest injuries to front seat occupants in frontal impacts

Objective: Improving crash protection for older car occupants is a matter of urgency since the number of older car users is forecast to grow dramatically over the next two decades. The thorax is particularly vulnerable in older occupants, and this study aimed to provide real-world in-depth analysis of factors contributing to chest injuries in frontal impacts involving European cars. Methods: Real world crash injury data were interrogated, focusing on cars with current restraint components. The research examined belted front-seat occupants in frontal impacts where air bags, pretensioners and load limiters were present. Results: The chest was the most often injured body region at AIS 2+, 3+ and 4+ injury levels. The rate of AIS 2+ and AIS 3+ chest injuries was highest among elderly occupants and lowest among young occupants, and elderly occupants sustained proportionally more severe chest injuries in low/moderate speed impacts compared to young and middle-aged occupants. However, it should be noted that rates of AIS 2 chest injury were also significantly higher for middle-aged occupants compared to the young. The front passenger seat was shown to be more often associated with significant chest injury than the driver seat. The higher proportion of elderly female occupants was postulated as a reason for this. Skeletal injury was the most frequent type of AIS 2+ chest injury and the rate of injury for elderly occupants with such injuries was higher than for young and middle-aged occupants. With the increase in the number of rib fractures, the risk of pulmonary complications and organ injuries tended to increase. The major cause of chest injury was identified as restraining loads transmitted to the chest via the seat belt. The absence of intrusion in the majority of cases, suggests an opportunity for the restraint system to better manage the crash pulse. Not only for elderly occupants but for those who are middle-aged as well. Conclusions: This study shows the necessity for safety interventions, through new vehicle crashworthiness systems to improve chest protection especially for middle aged and elderly car occupants. Deployment of appropriate injury risk criteria, use of an appropriate dummy thorax, development of a low energy restraint test, and the development of more adaptive restraints have been discussed as possible solutions to the problem

Recognizing Speech in a Novel Accent: The Motor Theory of Speech Perception Reframed

The motor theory of speech perception holds that we perceive the speech of another in terms of a motor representation of that speech. However, when we have learned to recognize a foreign accent, it seems plausible that recognition of a word rarely involves reconstruction of the speech gestures of the speaker rather than the listener. To better assess the motor theory and this observation, we proceed in three stages. Part 1 places the motor theory of speech perception in a larger framework based on our earlier models of the adaptive formation of mirror neurons for grasping, and for viewing extensions of that mirror system as part of a larger system for neuro-linguistic processing, augmented by the present consideration of recognizing speech in a novel accent. Part 2 then offers a novel computational model of how a listener comes to understand the speech of someone speaking the listener's native language with a foreign accent. The core tenet of the model is that the listener uses hypotheses about the word the speaker is currently uttering to update probabilities linking the sound produced by the speaker to phonemes in the native language repertoire of the listener. This, on average, improves the recognition of later words. This model is neutral regarding the nature of the representations it uses (motor vs. auditory). It serve as a reference point for the discussion in Part 3, which proposes a dual-stream neuro-linguistic architecture to revisits claims for and against the motor theory of speech perception and the relevance of mirror neurons, and extracts some implications for the reframing of the motor theory

Testing the cognitive-behavioural maintenance models across DSM-5 bulimic-type eating disorder diagnostic groups: A multi-centre study

The original cognitive-behavioural (CB) model of bulimia nervosa, which provided the basis for the widely used CB therapy, proposed that specific dysfunctional cognitions and behaviours maintain the disorder. However, amongst treatment completers, only 40–50 % have a full and lasting response. The enhanced CB model (CB-E), upon which the enhanced version of the CB treatment was based, extended the original approach by including four additional maintenance factors. This study evaluated and compared both CB models in a large clinical treatment seeking sample (N = 679), applying both DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria for bulimic-type eating disorders. Application of the DSM-5 criteria reduced the number of cases of DSM-IV bulimic-type eating disorders not otherwise specified to 29.6 %. Structural equation modelling analysis indicated that (a) although both models provided a good fit to the data, the CB-E model accounted for a greater proportion of variance in eating-disordered behaviours than the original one, (b) interpersonal problems, clinical perfectionism and low self-esteem were indirectly associated with dietary restraint through over-evaluation of shape and weight, (c) interpersonal problems and mood intolerance were directly linked to binge eating, whereas restraint only indirectly affected binge eating through mood intolerance, suggesting that factors other than restraint may play a more critical role in the maintenance of binge eating. In terms of strength of the associations, differences across DSM-5 bulimic-type eating disorder diagnostic groups were not observed. The results are discussed with reference to theory and research, including neurobiological findings and recent hypotheses

Neurology Case Reporting: a call for all

From antiquity to present day, the act of recording and publishing our observations with patients remains essential to the art of medicine and the care of patients. Neurology is rich with case reports over the centuries. They contribute to our understanding and knowledge of disease entities, and are a cornerstone of our professional development as physicians and the care of our patients. This editorial seeks to enthuse and invigorate house staff and practicing physicians everywhere to continue the long and time-honored tradition of neurology case reporting