The neural correlates of childhood maltreatment and the ability to understand mental states of others

$\textbf{Background}$: Emotional abuse and emotional neglect are related to impaired interpersonal functioning. One underlying mechanism could be a developmental delay in mentalizing, the ability to understand other people’s thoughts and emotions. $\textbf{Objective}$: This study investigates the neural correlates of mentalizing and the specific relationship with emotional abuse and neglect whilst taking into account the level of sexual abuse, physical abuse and physical neglect. $\textbf{Method}$: The RMET was performed in an fMRI scanner by 46 adolescents (Age: $\textit{M}$ = 18.70, $\textit{SD}$ = 1.46) who reported a large range of emotional abuse and/or emotional neglect. CM was measured using a self-report questionnaire (CTQ). $\textbf{Results}$: Neither severity of emotional abuse nor neglect related to RMET accuracy or reaction time. The severity of sexual abuse was related to an increased activation of the left IFG during mentalization even when controlled for psychopathology and other important covariates. This increased activation was only found in a group reporting both sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment and not when reporting isolated emotional abuse or neglect or no maltreatment. Functional connectivity analysis showed that activation in the left IFG was associated with increased activation in the right insula and right STG, indicating that the IFG activation occurs in a network relevant for mentalizing. $\textbf{Conclusions}$: Being sexually abused in the context of emotional abuse and neglect is related to an increase in activation of the left IFG, which may indicate a delayed development of mirroring other people’s thoughts and emotions. Even though thoughts and emotions were correctly decoded from faces, the heightened activity of the left IFG could be an underlying mechanism for impaired interpersonal functioning when social situations are more complex or more related to maltreatment experiences.This work was supported by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)-E.A.C., VICI-grant [453-14- 001], B.M.E., VIDI-grant [016-085-353], A.L.v.H., Rubicon grant [446-13-006] and by the Royal Society-A.L.v.H., Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship [DH150176]

Quantitative estimation of tissue blood flow rate

The rate of blood flow through a tissue (F) is a critical parameter for assessing the functional efficiency of a blood vessel network following angiogenesis. This chapter aims to provide the principles behind the estimation of F, how F relates to other commonly used measures of tissue perfusion, and a practical approach for estimating F in laboratory animals, using small readily diffusible and metabolically inert radio-tracers. The methods described require relatively nonspecialized equipment. However, the analytical descriptions apply equally to complementary techniques involving more sophisticated noninvasive imaging. Two techniques are described for the quantitative estimation of F based on measuring the rate of tissue uptake following intravenous administration of radioactive iodo-antipyrine (or other suitable tracer). The Tissue Equilibration Technique is the classical approach and the Indicator Fractionation Technique, which is simpler to perform, is a practical alternative in many cases. The experimental procedures and analytical methods for both techniques are given, as well as guidelines for choosing the most appropriate method

The 10th Biennial Hatter Cardiovascular Institute workshop: cellular protection—evaluating new directions in the setting of myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, and cardio-oncology

Due to its poor capacity for regeneration, the heart is particularly sensitive to the loss of contractile cardiomyocytes. The onslaught of damage caused by ischaemia and reperfusion, occurring during an acute myocardial infarction and the subsequent reperfusion therapy, can wipe out upwards of a billion cardiomyocytes. A similar program of cell death can cause the irreversible loss of neurons in ischaemic stroke. Similar pathways of lethal cell injury can contribute to other pathologies such as left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure caused by cancer therapy. Consequently, strategies designed to protect the heart from lethal cell injury have the potential to be applicable across all three pathologies. The investigators meeting at the 10th Hatter Cardiovascular Institute workshop examined the parallels between ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), ischaemic stroke, and other pathologies that cause the loss of cardiomyocytes including cancer therapeutic cardiotoxicity. They examined the prospects for protection by remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) in each scenario, and evaluated impasses and novel opportunities for cellular protection, with the future landscape for RIC in the clinical setting to be determined by the outcome of the large ERIC-PPCI/CONDI2 study. It was agreed that the way forward must include measures to improve experimental methodologies, such that they better reflect the clinical scenario and to judiciously select combinations of therapies targeting specific pathways of cellular death and injury

An accurate and efficient identification of children with psychosocial problems by means of computerized adaptive testing

Background: Questionnaires used by health services to identify children with psychosocial problems are often rather short. The psychometric properties of such short questionnaires are mostly less than needed for an accurate distinction between children with and without problems. We aimed to assess whether a short Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) can overcome the weaknesses of short written questionnaires when identifying children with psychosocial problems. Method: We used a Dutch national data set obtained from parents of children invited for a routine health examination by Preventive Child Healthcare with 205 items on behavioral and emotional problems (n = 2,041, response 84%). In a random subsample we determined which items met the requirements of an Item Response Theory (IRT) model to a sufficient degree. Using those items, item parameters necessary for a CAT were calculated and a cut-off point was defined. In the remaining subsample we determined the validity and efficiency of a Computerized Adaptive Test using simulation techniques, with current treatment status and a clinical score on the Total Problem Scale (TPS) of the Child Behavior Checklist as criteria. Results: Out of 205 items available 190 sufficiently met the criteria of the underlying IRT model. For 90% of the children a score above or below cut-off point could be determined with 95% accuracy. The mean number of items needed to achieve this was 12. Sensitivity and specificity with the TPS as a criterion were 0.89 and 0.91, respectively. Conclusion: An IRT-based CAT is a very promising option for the identification of psychosocial problems in children, as it can lead to an efficient, yet high-quality identification. The results of our simulation study need to be replicated in a real-life administration of this CAT

Children Base Their Investment on Calculated Pay-Off

To investigate the rise of economic abilities during development we studied children aged between 3 and 10 in an exchange situation requiring them to calculate their investment based on different offers. One experimenter gave back a reward twice the amount given by the children, and a second always gave back the same quantity regardless of the amount received. To maximize pay-offs children had to invest a maximal amount with the first, and a minimal amount with the second. About one third of the 5-year-olds and most 7- and 10-year-olds were able to adjust their investment according to the partner, while all 3-year-olds failed. Such performances should be related to the rise of cognitive and social skills after 4 years

A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N=10,535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β=0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β=0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

Changing perspectives on the internationalization of R&D and innovation by multinational enterprises: a review of the literature

Internationalization of R&D and innovation by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) has undergone a gradual and comprehensive change in perspective over the past 50 years. From sporadic works in the late 1950s and in the 1960s, it became a systematically analysed topic in the 1970s, starting with pioneering reports and “foundation texts”. Our review unfolds the theoretical and empirical evolution of the literature from dyadic interpretations of centralization versus decentralization of R&D by MNEs to more comprehensive frameworks, wherein established MNEs from Advanced Economies still play a pivotal role, but new players and places also emerge in the global generation and diffusion of knowledge. Hence views of R&D internationalization increasingly rely on concepts, ideas and methods from IB and other related disciplines such as industrial organization, international economics and economic geography. Two main findings are highlighted. First, scholarly research pays an increasing attention to the network-like characteristics of international R&D activities. Second, different streams of literature have emphasized the role of location- specific factors in R&D internationalization. The increasing emphasis on these aspects has created new research opportunities in some key areas, including inter alia: cross-border knowledge sourcing strategies, changes in the geography of R&D and innovation, and the international fragmentation of production and R&D activities