Coordinated optimization of visual cortical maps (II) Numerical studies

It is an attractive hypothesis that the spatial structure of visual cortical architecture can be explained by the coordinated optimization of multiple visual cortical maps representing orientation preference (OP), ocular dominance (OD), spatial frequency, or direction preference. In part (I) of this study we defined a class of analytically tractable coordinated optimization models and solved representative examples in which a spatially complex organization of the orientation preference map is induced by inter-map interactions. We found that attractor solutions near symmetry breaking threshold predict a highly ordered map layout and require a substantial OD bias for OP pinwheel stabilization. Here we examine in numerical simulations whether such models exhibit biologically more realistic spatially irregular solutions at a finite distance from threshold and when transients towards attractor states are considered. We also examine whether model behavior qualitatively changes when the spatial periodicities of the two maps are detuned and when considering more than 2 feature dimensions. Our numerical results support the view that neither minimal energy states nor intermediate transient states of our coordinated optimization models successfully explain the spatially irregular architecture of the visual cortex. We discuss several alternative scenarios and additional factors that may improve the agreement between model solutions and biological observations.Comment: 55 pages, 11 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1102.335

Second-Generation Antipsychotics and Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome: Systematic Review and Case Report Analysis

BACKGROUND: Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a rare, severe, idiosyncratic adverse reaction to antipsychotics. Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) were originally assumed to be free from the risk of causing NMS, however several cases of NMS induced by SGAs (SGA-NMS) have been reported. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to systematically review available studies and case reports on SGA-NMS and compare the presentation of NMS induced by different SGAs. DATA SOURCES: Citations were retrieved from PubMed up to November 2013, and from reference lists of relevant citations. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Eligibility criteria included (a) primary studies reporting data on NMS, with at least 50 % of the sample receiving SGAs; or (b) case reports and case reviews reporting on NMS induced by SGA monotherapy, excluding those due to antipsychotic withdrawal. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: A standardized method for data extraction and coding was developed for the analysis of eligible case reports. RESULTS: Six primary studies and 186 individual cases of NMS induced by SGAs were included. Primary studies suggest that SGA-NMS is characterized by lower incidence, lower clinical severity, and less frequent lethal outcome than NMS induced by first-generation antipsychotics. Systematic analysis of case reports suggests that even the most recently marketed antipsychotics are not free from the risk of inducing NMS. Furthermore, clozapine-, aripiprazole- and amisulpride-induced NMS can present with atypical features more frequently than other SGA-NMS, i.e. displaying less intense extrapyramidal symptoms or high fever. LIMITATIONS: Case reports report non-systematic data, therefore analyses may be subject to bias. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: Clinicians should be aware that NMS is virtually associated with all antipsychotics, including those most recently marketed. Although apparently less severe than NMS induced by older antipsychotics, SGA-NMS still represent a relevant clinical issue

International Social Survey Programme: Social Inequality IV - ISSP 2009

Social inequality. Themes: Importance of social background, merit, discrimination,corruption and good relations as prerequisites for success in society(wealthy family, well-educated parents, good education, ambitions, hardworking, knowing the right people, political connections, givingbribes, person´s race and religion, gender); attitude towards equalityof educational opportunity in one´s country (corruption as criteria forsocial mobility, only students from the best secondary schools have agood chance to obtain a university education, only rich people canafford the costs of attending university, same chances for everyone toenter university, regardless of gender, ethnicity or socialbackground); opinion about own salary: actual occupational earning isadequate; estimation of actual and reasonable earnings for occupationalgroups: doctor, chairman of a large national corporation, shopassistant, unskilled worker in a factory, cabinet minister in thenational government; income differences are too large in therespondent´s country; responsibility of government to reduce incomedifferences; government should provide a decent standard of living forthe unemployed and spend less on benefits for poor people; demand forhigher taxes for people with high incomes; opinion on taxes for peoplewith high income; justification of better medical supply and bettereducation for people with higher income; perception of class conflictsbetween social groups in the country (poor and rich people, workingclass and middle class, management and workers, people at the top ofsociety and people at the bottom); self-assessment and assessment ofthe family the respondent grew up in on a top-bottom-scale; socialposition compared to father (social mobility); salary criteria (scale:responsibility, education, needed support for family and children,quality of job performance or hard work at the job); feeling of a justpayment; characterisation of the actual and the desired social systemof the country, measured by classification on pyramid diagrams (imageof society). Demography: sex; age; marital status; steady life partner; years ofschooling; highest education level; country specific education anddegree; current employment status (respondent and partner); hoursworked weekly; occupation (ISCO 1988) (respondent and partner);supervising function at work; working for private or public sector orself-employed (respondent and partner); if self-employed: number ofemployees; trade union membership; earnings of respondent (countryspecific); family income (country specific); size of household;household composition; party affiliation (left-right); country specificparty affiliation; participation in last election; religiousdenomination; religious main groups; attendance of religious services;self-placement on a top-bottom scale; region (country specific); sizeof community (country specific); type of community: urban-rural area;country of origin or ethnic group affiliation; occupation status andprofession of respondent´s father and mother during the youth of therespondent (ISCO 88); number of books in the parental home during theyouth of the respondent (cultural resources); occupational status andprofession in the first job and the current job (ISCO 88 and workingtype); self-assessment of the social class; estimated amount of familywealth (monetary value of assets); work orientation:self-characterisation at this time and in the youth of the respondentconcerning his performance at work respectively at school. Additionally coded: administrative mode of data-collection; weightingfactor; case substitution

International Social Survey Programme: Role of Government IV - ISSP 2006

The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) is a continuous programme of cross-national collaboration running annual surveys on topics important for the social sciences. The programme started in 1984 with four founding members - Australia, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States – and has now grown to almost 50 member countries from all over the world. As the surveys are designed for replication, they can be used for both, cross-national and cross-time comparisons. Each ISSP module focuses on a specific topic, which is repeated in regular time intervals. Please, consult the documentation for details on how the national ISSP surveys are fielded. The present study focuses on questions about Role of Government: political attitudes and the role of government