Mineralisation of surfactants using ultrasound and the Advanced Fenton Process

The destruction of the surfactants, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) and dodecyl pyridinium chloride (DPC), using an advanced oxidation process is described. The use of zero valent iron (ZVI) and hydrogen peroxide at pH = 2.5 (the advanced Fenton process), with and without, the application of 20 kHz ultrasound leads to extensive mineralisation of both materials as determined by total organic carbon (TOC)measurements. For DBS, merely stirring with ZVI and H2O2 at 20°C leads to a 51% decrease in TOC, but using 20 kHz ultrasound at 40°C, maintaining the pH at 2.5 throughout and adding extra amounts of ZVI and H2O2 during the degradation, then the extent of mineralisation of DBS is substantially increased to 93%. A similar result is seen for DPC where virtually no degradation occurs at 20°C, but if extra amounts of both ZVI and hydrogen peroxide are introduced during the reaction at 40°C and the pH is maintained at 2.5, then an 87% mineralisation of DPC is obtained. The slow latent remediation of both surfactants and the mechanism of degradation are also discussed

The endogenous and reactive depression subtypes revisited: integrative animal and human studies implicate multiple distinct molecular mechanisms underlying major depressive disorder

Traditional diagnoses of major depressive disorder (MDD) suggested that the presence or absence of stress prior to onset results in either 'reactive' or 'endogenous' subtypes of the disorder, respectively. Several lines of research suggest that the biological underpinnings of 'reactive' or 'endogenous' subtypes may also differ, resulting in differential response to treatment. We investigated this hypothesis by comparing the gene-expression profiles of three animal models of 'reactive' and 'endogenous' depression. We then translated these findings to clinical samples using a human post-mortem mRNA study

Stress-Induced Reinstatement of Drug Seeking: 20 Years of Progress

In human addicts, drug relapse and craving are often provoked by stress. Since 1995, this clinical scenario has been studied using a rat model of stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. Here, we first discuss the generality of stress-induced reinstatement to different drugs of abuse, different stressors, and different behavioral procedures. We also discuss neuropharmacological mechanisms, and brain areas and circuits controlling stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. We conclude by discussing results from translational human laboratory studies and clinical trials that were inspired by results from rat studies on stress-induced reinstatement. Our main conclusions are (1) The phenomenon of stress-induced reinstatement, first shown with an intermittent footshock stressor in rats trained to self-administer heroin, generalizes to other abused drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, and alcohol, and is also observed in the conditioned place preference model in rats and mice. This phenomenon, however, is stressor specific and not all stressors induce reinstatement of drug seeking. (2) Neuropharmacological studies indicate the involvement of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), noradrenaline, dopamine, glutamate, kappa/dynorphin, and several other peptide and neurotransmitter systems in stress-induced reinstatement. Neuropharmacology and circuitry studies indicate the involvement of CRF and noradrenaline transmission in bed nucleus of stria terminalis and central amygdala, and dopamine, CRF, kappa/dynorphin, and glutamate transmission in other components of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system (ventral tegmental area, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens). (3) Translational human laboratory studies and a recent clinical trial study show the efficacy of alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists in decreasing stress-induced drug craving and stress-induced initial heroin lapse

Re-examination of the Controversial Coexistence of Traumatic Brain Injury and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Misdiagnosis and Self-Report Measures

The coexistence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains a controversial issue in the literature. To address this controversy, we focused primarily on the civilian-related literature of TBI and PTSD. Some investigators have argued that individuals who had been rendered unconscious or suffered amnesia due to a TBI are unable to develop PTSD because they would be unable to consciously experience the symptoms of fear, helplessness, and horror associated with the development of PTSD. Other investigators have reported that individuals who sustain TBI, regardless of its severity, can develop PTSD even in the context of prolonged unconsciousness. A careful review of the methodologies employed in these studies reveals that investigators who relied on clinical interviews of TBI patients to diagnose PTSD found little or no evidence of PTSD. In contrast, investigators who relied on PTSD questionnaires to diagnose PTSD found considerable evidence of PTSD. Further analysis revealed that many of the TBI patients who were initially diagnosed with PTSD according to self-report questionnaires did not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD upon completion of a clinical interview. In particular, patients with severe TBI were often misdiagnosed with PTSD. A number of investigators found that many of the severe TBI patients failed to follow the questionnaire instructions and erroneously endorsed PTSD symptoms because of their cognitive difficulties. Because PTSD questionnaires are not designed to discriminate between PTSD and TBI symptoms or determine whether a patient's responses are accurate or exaggerated, studies that rely on self-report questionnaires to evaluate PTSD in TBI patients are at risk of misdiagnosing PTSD. Further research should evaluate the degree to which misdiagnosis of PTSD occurs in individuals who have sustained mild TBI

Cortical Thinning in Patients with Recent Onset Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after a Single Prolonged Trauma Exposure

Most of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) focused primarily on measuring of small brain structure volume or regional brain volume changes. There were rare reports investigating cortical thickness alterations in recent onset PTSD. Recent advances in computational analysis made it possible to measure cortical thickness in a fully automatic way, along with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) that enables an exploration of global structural changes throughout the brain by applying statistical parametric mapping (SPM) to high-resolution MRI. In this paper, Laplacian method was utilized to estimate cortical thickness after automatic segmentation of gray matter from MR images under SPM. Then thickness maps were analyzed by SPM8. Comparison between 10 survivors from a mining disaster with recent onset PTSD and 10 survivors without PTSD from the same trauma indicates cortical thinning in the left parietal lobe, right inferior frontal gyrus, and right parahippocampal gyrus. The regional cortical thickness of the right inferior frontal gyrus showed a significant negative correlation with the CAPS score in the patients with PTSD. Our study suggests that shape-related cortical thickness analysis may be more sensitive than volumetric analysis to subtle alteration at early stage of PTSD

Bodily illusions in young children: Developmental change in visual and proprioceptive contributions to perceived hand position.

We examined the visual capture of perceived hand position in forty-five 5- to 7-year-olds and in fifteen young adults, using a mirror illusion task. In this task, participants see their left hand on both the left and right (by virtue of a mirror placed at the midline facing the left arm, and obscuring the right). The accuracy of participants’ reaching was measured when proprioceptive and visual cues to the location of the right arm were put into conflict (by placing the arms at different distances from the mirror), and also when only proprioceptive information was available (i.e., when the mirror was covered). Children in all age-groups (and adults) made reaching errors in the mirror condition in accordance with the visually-specified illusory starting position of their hand indicating a visual capture of perceived hand position. Data analysis indicated that visual capture increased substantially up until 6 years of age. These findings are interpreted with respect to the development of the visual guidance of action in early childhood

Análisis del mercado local de los estudios de opinión pública y mercados, y factores que inciden en su credibilidad. Estudio de caso

La industria de los estudios de opinión y de mercados atraviesa por una crisis mediática que desacredita la validez de la información generada a través de este tipo de estudios. El presente documento presenta los resultados de una investigación cualitativa que permite conocer el comportamiento de los estudios de opinión pública en sus diferentes segmentos, en particular la aplicación de los estudios de mercado; se describe el proceso y las estructuras de compra, el precio, los factores que influyen en la decisión de compra, y aborda la problemática de la identificación de los factores que inciden en la credibilidad de estos estudios

Susceptibility to Ebbinghaus and Muller-Lyer illusions in autistic children: a comparison of three different methods

Background Studies reporting altered susceptibility to visual illusions in autistic individuals compared to that typically developing individuals have been taken to reflect differences in perception (e.g. reduced global processing), but could instead reflect differences in higher-level decision-making strategies. Methods We measured susceptibility to two contextual illusions (Ebbinghaus, Müller-Lyer) in autistic children aged 6–14 years and typically developing children matched in age and non-verbal ability using three methods. In experiment 1, we used a new two-alternative-forced-choice method with a roving pedestal designed to minimise cognitive biases. Here, children judged which of two comparison stimuli was most similar in size to a reference stimulus. In experiments 2 and 3, we used methods previously used with autistic populations. In experiment 2, children judged whether stimuli were the ‘same’ or ‘different’, and in experiment 3, we used a method-of-adjustment task. Results Across all tasks, autistic children were equally susceptible to the Ebbinghaus illusion as typically developing children. Autistic children showed a heightened susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer illusion, but only in the method-of-adjustment task. This result may reflect differences in decisional criteria. Conclusions Our results are inconsistent with theories proposing reduced contextual integration in autism and suggest that previous reports of altered susceptibility to illusions may arise from differences in decision-making, rather than differences in perception per se. Our findings help to elucidate the underlying reasons for atypical responses to perceptual illusions in autism and call for the use of methods that reduce cognitive bias when measuring illusion susceptibility