A low-cost, wireless near-infrared spectroscopy device detects the presence of lower extremity atherosclerosis as measured by computed tomographic angiography and characterizes walking impairment in peripheral artery disease

Background Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who experience intermittent claudication report a range of symptoms. Patients with symptoms other than classically described intermittent claudication may be at the highest risk for functional decline and mobility loss. Therefore, technologies allowing for characterization of PAD severity are desirable. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) allows for measurements of muscle heme oxygen saturation (StO2) during exercise. We hypothesized lower extremities affected by PAD would exhibit distinct NIRS profiles as measured by a low-cost, wireless NIRS device and that NIRS during exercise predicts walking limitation. Methods We recruited 40 patients with PAD and 10 control participants. All patients with PAD completed a computed tomographic angiography, 6-minute walk test, and a standardized treadmill test. Controls completed a 540-second treadmill test for comparison. StO2 measurements were continuously taken from the gastrocnemius during exercise. Variables were analyzed by Fischer\u27s exact, χ2, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and Kruskal-Wallis tests as appropriate. Correlations were assessed by partial Spearman correlation coefficients adjusted for occlusive disease pattern. Results Patients with PAD experienced claudication onset at a median of 108 seconds with a median peak walking time of 288 seconds. The baseline StO2 was similar between PAD and control. The StO2 of PAD and control participants dropped below baseline at a median of 1 and 104 seconds of exercise, respectively (P \u3c .0001). Patients with PAD reached minimum StO2 earlier than control participants (119 seconds vs 522 seconds, respectively; P \u3c .001) and experienced a greater change in StO2 at 1 minute of exercise (−73.2% vs 8.3%; P \u3c .0001) and a greater decrease at minimum exercise StO2 (−83.4% vs −16.1%; P \u3c .0001). For patients with PAD, peak walking time, and 6-minute walking distance correlated with percent change in StO2 at 1 minute of exercise (r = −0.76 and -0.67, respectively; P \u3c .001) and time to minimum StO2 (r = 0.79 and 0.70, respectively; P \u3c .0001). Conclusions In this initial evaluation of a novel, low-cost NIRS device, lower extremities affected by PAD exhibited characteristic changes in calf muscle StO2, which differentiated them from healthy controls and were strongly correlated with walking impairment. These findings confirm and expand on previous work demonstrating the potential clinical value of NIRS devices and the need for further research investigating the ability of low-cost NIRS technology to evaluate, diagnose, and monitor treatment response in PAD

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Boundary objects and boundary crossing for numeracy teaching

In this paper, we share analysis of an episode of a pre-service teacher’s handling of a map artefact within his practicum teaching of ‘Mathematical Literacy’ in South Africa. Mathematical Literacy, as a post-compulsory phase subject in the South African curriculum, shares many of the aims of numeracy as described in the international literature— including approaches based on the inclusion of real life contexts and a trajectory geared towards work, life and citizenship. Our attention in this paper is focused specifically on artefacts at the boundary of mathematical and contextual activities. We use analysis of the empirical handling of artefacts cast as ‘boundary objects’ to argue the need for ‘boundary crossing’ between mathematical and contextual activities as a critical feature of numeracy teaching. We pay particular attention to the differing conventions and extents of applicability of rules associated with boundary artefacts when working with mathematical or contextual perspectives. Our findings suggest the need to consider boundary objects more seriously within numeracy teacher education, with specific attention to the ways in which they are configured on both sides of the boundary in order to deal effectively with explanations and interactions in classrooms aiming to promote numeracy

Choline supplementation in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are conditions characterized by physical anomalies, neurodevelopmental abnormalities, and neurocognitive deficits, including intellectual, executive, and memory deficits. There are no specific biological treatments for FASDs, but rodent models have shown that prenatal or postnatal choline supplementation reduces cognitive and behavioral deficits. Potential mechanisms include phospholipid production for axonal growth and myelination, acetylcholine enhancement, and epigenetic effects

When and how favour rendering ameliorates workplace ostracism over time: Moderating effect of self‐monitoring and mediating effect of popularity enhancement

Despite increasing scholarly attention to workplace ostracism, victims receive little guidance regarding how to break its negative spiral over time. Drawing on a multi‐motive model of rejection‐related experiences and the cybernetic model of impression management, this study examines how and why ostracized employees might ameliorate workplace ostracism through impression management efforts to enhance their popularity. Specifically, an ostracized worker may employ favour rendering tactics to enhance her or his popularity, as reported by peers, which can help reduce ostracism. In addition, ostracized employees with strong self‐monitoring tendencies may be more likely to employ favour rendering tactics and use them more effectively to enhance their popularity and thus reduce ostracism. Data collected from 277 employee–coworker pairs in a three‐wave, time‐lagged design over 2 years confirm the proposed hypotheses, tested in a two‐stage moderated mediation model. These findings have theoretical implications for ostracism research, as well as practical implications to help employees and organizations overcome ostracism

A multi-site collaborative study of the hostile priming effect

Data Accessibility Statement: See Table 1.Supplementary data: Peer Review History - docx file - available online at: https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/7/1/18738/116070/A-Multi-Site-Collaborative-Study-of-the-Hostile#supplementary-data .In a now-classic study by Srull and Wyer (1979), people who were exposed to phrases with hostile content subsequently judged a man as being more hostile. And this “hostile priming effect” has had a significant influence on the field of social cognition over the subsequent decades. However, a recent multi-lab collaborative study (McCarthy et al., 2018) that closely followed the methods described by Srull and Wyer (1979) found a hostile priming effect that was nearly zero, which casts doubt on whether these methods reliably produce an effect. To address some limitations with McCarthy et al. (2018), the current multi-site collaborative study included data collected from 29 labs. Each lab conducted a close replication (total N = 2,123) and a conceptual replication (total N = 2,579) of Srull and Wyer’s methods. The hostile priming effect for both the close replication (d = 0.09, 95% CI [-0.04, 0.22], z = 1.34, p = .16) and the conceptual replication (d = 0.05, 95% CI [-0.04, 0.15], z = 1.15, p = .58) were not significantly different from zero and, if the true effects are non-zero, were smaller than what most labs could feasibly and routinely detect. Despite our best efforts to produce favorable conditions for the effect to emerge, we did not detect a hostile priming effect. We suggest that researchers should not invest more resources into trying to detect a hostile priming effect using methods like those described in Srull and Wyer (1979).We have no funding to declare for this project

A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect

We conducted a preregistered multilaboratory project (k = 36; N = 3,531) to assess the size and robustness of ego-depletion effects using a novel replication method, termed the paradigmatic replication approach. Each laboratory implemented one of two procedures that was intended to manipulate self-control and tested performance on a subsequent measure of self-control. Confirmatory tests found a nonsignificant result (d = 0.06). Confirmatory Bayesian meta-analyses using an informed-prior hypothesis (δ = 0.30, SD = 0.15) found that the data were 4 times more likely under the null than the alternative hypothesis. Hence, preregistered analyses did not find evidence for a depletion effect. Exploratory analyses on the full sample (i.e., ignoring exclusion criteria) found a statistically significant effect (d = 0.08); Bayesian analyses showed that the data were about equally likely under the null and informed-prior hypotheses. Exploratory moderator tests suggested that the depletion effect was larger for participants who reported more fatigue but was not moderated by trait self-control, willpower beliefs, or action orientation

How do we optimize message matching interventions? Identifying matching thresholds, and simultaneously matching to multiple characteristics

Matching the content of persuasive messages to the characteristics (e.g., motives, personality) of people receiving them is a widely used technique to improve persuasion. However, little is known about how to optimize matching beyond simply using the technique. We propose that matching interventions can be strengthened by matching messages to multiple characteristics at a time, and introduce the concept of matching thresholds to improve the way interventionists assign messages. Matching thresholds are defined as the points along characteristics where people change from being most responsive to one message type to another. We provide statistical and methodological tools to estimate matching thresholds, and evaluate these tools in two simulation studies. We then report an online experiment (N = 568) where we find an advantage for simultaneously matching messages to two characteristics (promotion focus and interdependent self-construal) and provide estimates of the matching thresholds to guide the assignment of gain/loss frames and independence/interdependence appeals