The psychometric properties of the Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire-Revised in Hebrew

IntroductionThe Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire-Revised (VISQ-R) is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure characteristics of inner speech. In the current study, we adapted and validated a Hebrew version of VISQ-R. Our first hypothesis was that Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the Hebrew VISQ-R would confirm the five subscales replicating the factor structure of the original questionnaire. In addition, building on previous findings that inner speech is involved in tasks that require the executive functions we examined the relationship between VISQ-R and self-reported executive functions questionnaire (BRIEF-A). We hypothesized that correlations between subscales of the Hebrew VISQ-R would reveal covariance between BRIEF-A and some but not all inner speech subscales.Methods406 participants completed the Hebrew VISQ-R and 280 of them also completed the BRIEF-A.ResultsAs hypothesized, CFA confirmed the factor structure revealing the same 5 subscales reported in the original English version, with acceptable internal reliability. Partial support was found for the hypothesized correlations between VISQ-R and BRIEF-A, with covariance of executive functions with some subscales of inner speech (Evaluative, Other-People and Dialogic), and distinct variance with others (Condensed and Positive).DiscussionThese results indicate that the Hebrew version of the VISQ-R has good psychometric properties and that it can be used in future research. The implications concerning the contribution of inner speech for people with difficulties in executive functions are discussed

Single-cell whole-genome amplification technique impacts the accuracy of SNP microarray-based genotyping and copy number analyses

Methods of comprehensive microarray-based aneuploidy screening in single cells are rapidly emerging. Whole-genome amplification (WGA) remains a critical component for these methods to be successful. A number of commercially available WGA kits have been independently utilized in previous single-cell microarray studies. However, direct comparison of their performance on single cells has not been conducted. The present study demonstrates that among previously published methods, a single-cell GenomePlex WGA protocol provides the best combination of speed and accuracy for single nucleotide polymorphism microarray-based copy number (CN) analysis when compared with a REPLI-g- or GenomiPhi-based protocol. Alternatively, for applications that do not have constraints on turnaround time and that are directed at accurate genotyping rather than CN assignments, a REPLI-g-based protocol may provide the best solution

Crustal structure across the Grand Banks–Newfoundland Basin Continental Margin – I. Results from a seismic refraction profile

Author Posting. © Blackwell, 2006. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Blackwell for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Journal International 167 (2006): 127-156, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.02988.x.A P-wave velocity model along a 565-km-long profile across the Grand Banks/Newfoundland basin rifted margin is presented. Continental crust ~36-kmthick beneath the Grand Banks is divided into upper (5.8-6.25 km/s), middle (6.3- 6.53 km/s) and lower crust (6.77-6.9 km/s), consistent with velocity structure of Avalon zone Appalachian crust. Syn-rift sediment sequences 6-7-km thick occur in two primary layers within the Jeanne d’Arc and the Carson basins (~3 km/s in upper layer; ~5 km/s in lower layer). Abrupt crustal thinning (Moho dip ~ 35º) beneath the Carson basin and more gradual thinning seaward forms a 170-km-wide zone of rifted continental crust. Within this zone, lower and middle continental crust thin preferentially seaward until they are completely removed, while very thin (<3 km) upper crust continues ~60 km farther seaward. Adjacent to the continental crust, high velocity gradients (0.5-1.5 s-1) define an 80-km-wide zone of transitional basement that can be interpreted as exhumed, serpentinized mantle or anomalously thin oceanic crust, based on its velocity model alone. We prefer the exhumed-mantle interpretation after considering the non-reflective character of the basement and the low amplitude of associated magnetic anomalies, which are atypical of oceanic crust. Beneath both the transitional basement and thin (<6 km) continental crust, a 200-kmwide zone with reduced mantle velocities (7.6-7.9 km/s) is observed, which is interpreted as partially (<10%) serpentinized mantle. Seaward of the transitional basement, 2- to 6-km-thick crust with layer 2 (4.5-6.3 km/s) and layer 3 (6.3-7.2 km/s) velocities is interpreted as oceanic crust. Comparison of our crustal model with profile IAM-9 across the Iberia Abyssal Plain on the conjugate Iberia margin suggests asymmetrical continental breakup in which a wider zone of extended continental crust has been left on the Newfoundland side.This research was supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) grants OCE-9819053 and OCE-0326714, by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and by the Danish National Research Foundation. B. Tucholke also acknowledges support from the Henry Bryant Bigelow Chair in Oceanography from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

A deep seismic investigation of the Flemish Cap margin: implications for the origin of deep reflectivity and evidence for asymmetric break-up between Newfoundland and Iberia

Author Posting. © Blacwell, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of Blackwell for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Journal International 164 (2006): 501–515, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.02800.x.Seismic reflection and refraction data were acquired along the southeast margin of Flemish Cap at a position conjugate to drilling and geophysical surveys across the Galicia Bank margin. The data document first-order asymmetry during final break-up between Newfoundland and Iberia. An abrupt necking profile of continental crust observed off Flemish Cap contrasts strongly with gradual tapering on the conjugate margin. There is no evidence beneath Flemish Cap for a final phase of continental extension that resulted in thin continental crust underlain by a strong 'S'-like reflection, which indicates that this mode of extension occurred only on the Galicia Bank margin. Compelling evidence for a broad zone of exhumed mantle or for peridotite ridges is also lacking along the Flemish Cap margin. Instead, anomalously thin, 3–4-km-thick oceanic crust is observed. This crust is highly tectonized and broken up by high-angle normal faulting. The thin crust and rift structures that resemble the abandoned spreading centre in the Labrador sea suggest that initial seafloor spreading was affected by processes observed in present-day ultra-slow spreading environments. Landwards, Flemish Cap is underlain by a highly reflective lower crust. The reflectivity most likely originates from older Palaeozoic orogenic structures that are unrelated to extension and break-up tectonics.This work was supported by the Danish National Research Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation grants OCE-9819053 and OCE-0326714, and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Additional support for Hopper was provided by the German Research Foundation grant MO-961/4-1. Tucholke also acknowledges support from Henry Bryant Bigelow Chair in Oceanography at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Characterization of sills associated with the U reflection on the Newfoundland margin : evidence for widespread early post-rift magmatism on a magma-poor rifted margin

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2010. This article is posted here by permission of John Wiley & Sons for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Journal International 182 (2010): 113-136, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04635.x.Drilling during ODP Leg 210 penetrated two post-rift sills (dated as ∼105.3 and ∼97.8 Ma) in the deep sediments overlying basement of the continent–ocean transition zone on the magma-poor Newfoundland margin. The sill emplacement post-dated the onset of seafloor spreading by at least 7–15 Myr. The shallower of the two sills coincides with the high-amplitude U reflection observed throughout the deep Newfoundland Basin, and strong reflectivity in the sub-U sequence suggests that a number of other sills are present there. In this paper, we use multichannel seismic reflection data and synthetic seismograms to investigate the nature, magnitude and extent of this post-rift magmatism in the deep basin. Features observed in seismic profiles that we attribute to sill injection include high-amplitude reflections with geometries characteristic of intrusions such as step-like aspect; abrupt endings, disruptions and junctions of reflections; finger-like forms; differential compaction around possible loci of magma injection and disruption of overlying sediments by apparent fluid venting. Interpreted sills occur only over transitional basement that probably consists of a mixture of serpentinized peridotite and highly thinned continental crust, and they cover an area of ∼80 000 km2. From analysis of synthetic seismograms, we estimate that sill intrusions may comprise ∼26 per cent of the sub-U high-reflectivity sequence, which yields a crude estimate of ∼5800 km3 for the total volume of sills emplaced by post-rift magmatism. This is significant for a margin usually described as 'non-volcanic'. We discuss competing hypotheses about the source of the magmatism, which is still uncertain.G. Peron-Pinvidic's post-doctoral research at the University of Strasbourg and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was supported by TOTAL. B. Tucholke's research was supported by NSF grant OCE0647035. Multichannel seismic field programs that provided much of the data used for this research were supported by NSF grants OCE839085, OCE830823 and OCE9819053

Synaptically-Competent Neurons Derived from Canine Embryonic Stem Cells by Lineage Selection with EGF and Noggin

Pluripotent stem cell lines have been generated in several domestic animal species; however, these lines traditionally show poor self-renewal and differentiation. Using canine embryonic stem cell (cESC) lines previously shown to have sufficient self-renewal capacity and potency, we generated and compared canine neural stem cell (cNSC) lines derived by lineage selection with epidermal growth factor (EGF) or Noggin along the neural default differentiation pathway, or by directed differentiation with retinoic acid (RA)-induced floating sphere assay. Lineage selection produced large populations of SOX2+ neural stem/progenitor cell populations and neuronal derivatives while directed differentiation produced few and improper neuronal derivatives. Primary canine neural lines were generated from fetal tissue and used as a positive control for differentiation and electrophysiology. Differentiation of EGF- and Noggin-directed cNSC lines in N2B27 with low-dose growth factors (BDNF/NT-3 or PDGFαα) produced phenotypes equivalent to primary canine neural cells including 3CB2+ radial progenitors, MOSP+ glia restricted precursors, VIM+/GFAP+ astrocytes, and TUBB3+/MAP2+/NFH+/SYN+ neurons. Conversely, induction with RA and neuronal differentiation produced inadequate putative neurons for further study, even though appropriate neuronal gene expression profiles were observed by RT-PCR (including Nestin, TUBB3, PSD95, STX1A, SYNPR, MAP2). Co-culture of cESC-derived neurons with primary canine fetal cells on canine astrocytes was used to test functional maturity of putative neurons. Canine ESC-derived neurons received functional GABAA- and AMPA-receptor mediated synaptic input, but only when co-cultured with primary neurons. This study presents established neural stem/progenitor cell populations and functional neural derivatives in the dog, providing the proof-of-concept required to translate stem cell transplantation strategies into a clinically relevant animal model

The Dynamic Range Paradox: A Central Auditory Model of Intensity Change Detection

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Doctoral Training Account (www.epsrc.ac.uk) studentship at Queen Mary University of London

Extent, intensity and drivers of mammal defaunation:a continental-scale analysis across the Neotropics

Neotropical mammal diversity is currently threatened by several chronic human-induced pressures. We compiled 1,029 contemporary mammal assemblages surveyed across the Neotropics to quantify the continental-scale extent and intensity of defaunation and understand their determinants based on environmental covariates. We calculated a local defaunation index for all assemblages—adjusted by a false-absence ratio—which was examined using structural equation models. We propose a hunting index based on socioenvironmental co-variables that either intensify or inhibit hunting, which we used as an additional predictor of defaunation. Mammal defaunation intensity across the Neotropics on average erased 56.5% of the local source fauna, with ungulates comprising the most ubiquitous losses. The extent of defaunation is widespread, but more incipient in hitherto relatively intact major biomes that are rapidly succumbing to encroaching deforestation frontiers. Assemblage-wide mammal body mass distribution was greatly reduced from a historical 95th-percentile of ~ 14 kg to only ~ 4 kg in modern assemblages. Defaunation and depletion of large-bodied species were primarily driven by hunting pressure and remaining habitat area. Our findings can inform guidelines to design transnational conservation policies to safeguard native vertebrates, and ensure that the “empty ecosystem” syndrome will be deterred from reaching much of the New World tropics

Evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Dementia Care Mapping™ to enable person-centred care for people with dementia and their carers (DCM-EPIC) in care homes: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background Up to 90 % of people living with dementia in care homes experience one or more behaviours that staff may describe as challenging to support (BSC). Of these agitation is the most common and difficult to manage. The presence of agitation is associated with fewer visits from relatives, poorer quality of life and social isolation. It is recommended that agitation is treated through psychosocial interventions. Dementia Care Mapping™ (DCM™) is an established, widely used observational tool and practice development cycle, for ensuring a systematic approach to providing person-centred care. There is a body of practice-based literature and experience to suggests that DCM™ is potentially effective but limited robust evidence for its effectiveness, and no examination of its cost-effectiveness, as a UK health care intervention. Therefore, a definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT) of DCM™ in the UK is urgently needed. Methods/design A pragmatic, multi-centre, cluster-randomised controlled trial of Dementia Care Mapping (DCM™) plus Usual Care (UC) versus UC alone, where UC is the normal care delivered within the care home following a minimum level of dementia awareness training. The trial will take place in residential, nursing and dementia-specialist care homes across West Yorkshire, Oxfordshire and London, with residents with dementia. A random sample of 50 care homes will be selected within which a minimum of 750 residents will be registered. Care homes will be randomised in an allocation ratio of 3:2 to receive either intervention or control. Outcome measures will be obtained at 6 and 16 months following randomisation. The primary outcome is agitation as measured by the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, at 16 months post randomisation. Key secondary outcomes are other BSC and quality of life. There will be an integral cost-effectiveness analysis and a process evaluation. Discussion The protocol was refined following a pilot of trial procedures. Changes include replacement of a questionnaire, whose wording caused some residents distress, to an adapted version specifically designed for use in care homes, a change to the randomisation stratification factors, adaption in how the staff measures are collected to encourage greater compliance, and additional reminders to intervention homes of when mapping cycles are due, via text message. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN82288852. Registered on 16 January 2014. Full protocol version and date: v7.1: 18 December 2015

Phylogenetic ctDNA analysis depicts early-stage lung cancer evolution.

The early detection of relapse following primary surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer and the characterization of emerging subclones, which seed metastatic sites, might offer new therapeutic approaches for limiting tumour recurrence. The ability to track the evolutionary dynamics of early-stage lung cancer non-invasively in circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has not yet been demonstrated. Here we use a tumour-specific phylogenetic approach to profile the ctDNA of the first 100 TRACERx (Tracking Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Evolution Through Therapy (Rx)) study participants, including one patient who was also recruited to the PEACE (Posthumous Evaluation of Advanced Cancer Environment) post-mortem study. We identify independent predictors of ctDNA release and analyse the tumour-volume detection limit. Through blinded profiling of postoperative plasma, we observe evidence of adjuvant chemotherapy resistance and identify patients who are very likely to experience recurrence of their lung cancer. Finally, we show that phylogenetic ctDNA profiling tracks the subclonal nature of lung cancer relapse and metastasis, providing a new approach for ctDNA-driven therapeutic studies