Effects of Exogenous Auditory Attention on Temporal and Spectral Resolution

Previous research in the visual domain suggests that exogenous attention in form of peripheral cueing increases spatial but lowers temporal resolution. It is unclear whether this effect transfers to other sensory modalities. Here, we tested the effects of exogenous attention on temporal and spectral resolution in the auditory domain. Eighteen young, normal-hearing adults were tested in both gap and frequency change detection tasks with exogenous cuing. Benefits of valid cuing were only present in the gap detection task while costs of invalid cuing were observed in both tasks. Our results suggest that exogenous attention in the auditory system improves temporal resolution without compromising spectral resolution

German translation, cultural adaptation and testing of the Person‐centred Practice Inventory – Staff (PCPI‐S)

From Crossref via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: epub 2020-05-26, issued 2020-05-26Brendan McCormack - ORCID 0000-0001-8525-8905 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8525-8905Aim The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the PCPI‐S into German and to eventually test its psychometric properties in long‐term care settings.Background Person‐centred practice has been widely adopted internationally as a best‐practice model in nursing and health care. To ensure a sustainable implementation of this practice and to successively promote it, person‐centred practice should be evaluated on a regular basis. The Person‐centred Practice Inventory—Staff (PCPI‐S), which is based on McCormack & McCance's Person‐centred Practice Framework, is a new instrument for this purpose by assessing perceptions of person‐centredness among healthcare staff.Design A two‐phase research design was used involving the translation and cultural adaption of the PCPI‐S from English to German (PCPI‐S‐G; Phase 1) and a quantitative cross‐sectional survey (Phase 2).Methods Construct validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach's α .Results Phase 1 was conducted using an internationally recommended checklist for translations and cultural adaptations. In Phase 2, the PCPI‐S‐G was tested in 15 residential care homes in Austria with a sample of 255 staff members. The CFA showed good construct validity and supported the theoretical framework. The internal consistency for the three constructs of the PCPI‐S was excellent, revealing Cronbach's α ‐scores from 0.902–0.941.Funder: Office of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria7pubpub

Functional network topology of the right insula affects emotion dysregulation in hyperactive-impulsive attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Contains fulltext : 236832.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access

Emotion dysregulation and integration of emotion-related brain networks affect intraindividual change in ADHD severity throughout late adolescence

Contains fulltext : 244227.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access

Qualidade de vida de pacientes renais crônicos em hemodiálise e fatores relacionados

Objetivo: verificar la asociación entre la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud de los pacientes renales crónicos sometidos a hemodiálisis con las características sociodemográficas, clínicas, de depresión y de adhesión a la medicación. Método: estudio transversal con 183 pacientes renales crónicos sometidos a hemodiálisis en el estado de Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Se utilizaron cuestionario sociodemográfico y clínico, Kidney Disease and Quality of Life Short-Form, Inventario de Depresión de Beck y Escala de adhesión a la Medicación Morisky - ocho ítems. Entre las variables, se evaluaron las comorbilidades, las complicaciones de la enfermedad renal y las complicaciones durante y después de la hemodiálisis. El análisis se realizó con estadística descriptiva y analítica. Resultados: el 55.2% de los pacientes tenían 60 años o más, 35,0% eran hipertensos, con calidad de vida regular, promedio de 62.61. Puntuaciones por debajo del promedio en las dimensiones de calidad de vida se asociaron, principalmente, con infecciones repetitivas y edema como complicaciones de la enfermedad, dolor durante la hemodiálisis y debilidad posterior. La baja adhesión a los medicamentos repercutió en una peor calidad de vida, afectando diez de las 20 dimensiones evaluadas y la depresión en todos, excepto la satisfacción del paciente. Conclusión: la calidad de vida reducida en esta población se asocia con síntomas depresivos, complicaciones como infecciones repetitivas, dolor y anemia, debilidad después de la sesión de diálisis y baja adhesión a la medicación. Las acciones dirigidas a cambiar estos factores pueden promover el bienestar.Objetivo: verificar a associação entre a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde de pacientes renais crônicos em hemodiálise com as características sociodemográficas, clínicas, depressão e adesão medicamentosa. Método: pesquisa transversal com 183 pacientes renais crônicos em hemodiálise do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Foram utilizados questionário sociodemográfico e clínico, Kidney Disease and Quality of Life Short-Form, Inventário de Depressão de Beck e Escala de Adesão à Medicação de Morisky - oito itens. Entre as variáveis foram avaliadas comorbidades, complicações da doença renal e intercorrências durante e após a hemodiálise. A análise foi feita com estatística descritiva e analítica. Resultados: 55,2% dos pacientes tinham 60 anos ou mais, 35,0% eram hipertensos, com qualidade de vida regular, média de 62,61. Escores abaixo da média nas dimensões de qualidade de vida foram associados, principalmente, às infecções repetitivas e ao edema como complicações da doença, dor durante a hemodiálise e fraqueza após. A baixa adesão medicamentosa repercutiu em uma pior qualidade de vida com impacto em dez das 20 dimensões avaliadas e depressão em todas, exceto satisfação do paciente. Conclusão: a qualidade de vida reduzida nessa população associa-se aos sintomas depressivos, complicações como infecções repetitivas, dor e anemia, fraqueza após a sessão dialítica e baixa adesão medicamentosa. Ações direcionadas à modificação desses fatores podem promover bem-estar.Objective: to verify the association between the health-related quality of life of chronic renal patients on hemodialysis with sociodemographic, clinical, depression and medication adherence characteristics. Method: a cross-sectional study with 183 chronic renal patients undergoing hemodialysis in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, Kidney Disease and Quality of Life Short-Form, Beck Depression Inventory and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale - eight items were used. Among the variables, comorbidities, complications of kidney disease and intercurrences during and after hemodialysis were evaluated. The analysis was performed with descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: 55.2% of the patients were 60 years old or older, 35.0% were hypertensive, with regular quality of life, average of 62.61. Scores below average in the dimensions of quality of life were mainly associated with repetitive infections and edema as complications of the disease, pain during hemodialysis and weakness afterwards. Low drug adherence resulted in a worse quality of life, impacting ten of the 20 dimensions evaluated and depression in all, except for patient satisfaction. Conclusion: reduced quality of life in this population is associated with depressive symptoms, complications such as repetitive infections, pain and anemia, weakness after the dialysis session and low medication adherence. Actions aimed at changing these factors can promote well-being

Plant diversity enhances production and downward transport of biodegradable dissolved organic matter

1. Plant diversity is an important driver of belowground ecosystem functions, such as root growth, soil organic matter (SOM) storage, and microbial metabolism, mainly by influencing the interactions between plant roots and soil. Dissolved organic matter (DOM), as the most mobile form of SOM, plays a crucial role for a multitude of soil processes that are central for ecosystem functioning. Thus, DOM is likely to be an important mediator of plant diversity effects on soil processes. However, the relationships between plant diversity and DOM have not been studied so far. 2. We investigated the mechanisms underlying plant diversity effects on concentrations of DOM using continuous soil water sampling across 6 years and 62 plant communities in a long‐term grassland biodiversity experiment in Jena, Germany. Furthermore, we investigated plant diversity effects on the molecular properties of DOM in a subset of the samples. 3. Although DOM concentrations were highly variable over the course of the year with highest concentrations in summer and autumn, we found that DOM concentrations consistently increased with plant diversity across seasons. The positive plant diversity effect on DOM concentrations was mainly mediated by increased microbial activity and newly sequestered carbon in topsoil. However, the effect of soil microbial activity on DOM concentrations differed between seasons, indicating DOM consumption in winter and spring, and DOM production in summer and autumn. Furthermore, we found increased contents of small and easily decomposable DOM molecules reaching deeper soil layers with high plant diversity. 4. Synthesis. Our findings suggest that plant diversity enhances the continuous downward transport of DOM in multiple ways. On the one hand, higher plant diversity results in higher DOM concentrations, on the other hand, this DOM is less degraded. The present study indicates, for the first time, that higher plant diversity enhances the downward transport of dissolved molecules that likely stimulate soil development in deeper layers and therefore increase soil fertility

Diversity Promotes Temporal Stability across Levels of Ecosystem Organization in Experimental Grasslands

The diversity–stability hypothesis states that current losses of biodiversity can impair the ability of an ecosystem to dampen the effect of environmental perturbations on its functioning. Using data from a long-term and comprehensive biodiversity experiment, we quantified the temporal stability of 42 variables characterizing twelve ecological functions in managed grassland plots varying in plant species richness. We demonstrate that diversity increases stability i) across trophic levels (producer, consumer), ii) at both the system (community, ecosystem) and the component levels (population, functional group, phylogenetic clade), and iii) primarily for aboveground rather than belowground processes. Temporal synchronization across studied variables was mostly unaffected with increasing species richness. This study provides the strongest empirical support so far that diversity promotes stability across different ecological functions and levels of ecosystem organization in grasslands

Genome-Wide Meta-Analyses of Breast, Ovarian, and Prostate Cancer Association Studies Identify Multiple New Susceptibility Loci Shared by at Least Two Cancer Types.

UNLABELLED: Breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers are hormone-related and may have a shared genetic basis, but this has not been investigated systematically by genome-wide association (GWA) studies. Meta-analyses combining the largest GWA meta-analysis data sets for these cancers totaling 112,349 cases and 116,421 controls of European ancestry, all together and in pairs, identified at P < 10(-8) seven new cross-cancer loci: three associated with susceptibility to all three cancers (rs17041869/2q13/BCL2L11; rs7937840/11q12/INCENP; rs1469713/19p13/GATAD2A), two breast and ovarian cancer risk loci (rs200182588/9q31/SMC2; rs8037137/15q26/RCCD1), and two breast and prostate cancer risk loci (rs5013329/1p34/NSUN4; rs9375701/6q23/L3MBTL3). Index variants in five additional regions previously associated with only one cancer also showed clear association with a second cancer type. Cell-type-specific expression quantitative trait locus and enhancer-gene interaction annotations suggested target genes with potential cross-cancer roles at the new loci. Pathway analysis revealed significant enrichment of death receptor signaling genes near loci with P < 10(-5) in the three-cancer meta-analysis. SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate that combining large-scale GWA meta-analysis findings across cancer types can identify completely new risk loci common to breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. We show that the identification of such cross-cancer risk loci has the potential to shed new light on the shared biology underlying these hormone-related cancers. Cancer Discov; 6(9); 1052-67. ©2016 AACR.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 932.The Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC), the Prostate Cancer Association Group to Investigate Cancer Associated Alterations in the Genome (PRACTICAL), and the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC) that contributed breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer data analyzed in this study were in part funded by Cancer Research UK [C1287/A10118 and C1287/A12014 for BCAC; C5047/A7357, C1287/A10118, C5047/A3354, C5047/A10692, and C16913/A6135 for PRACTICAL; and C490/A6187, C490/A10119, C490/A10124, C536/A13086, and C536/A6689 for OCAC]. Funding for the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (COGS) infrastructure came from: the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement number 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175), Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A 10710, C12292/A11174, C1281/A12014, C5047/A8384, C5047/A15007, C5047/A10692, and C8197/A16565), the US National Institutes of Health (CA128978) and the Post-Cancer GWAS Genetic Associations and Mechanisms in Oncology (GAME-ON) initiative (1U19 CA148537, 1U19 CA148065, and 1U19 CA148112), the US Department of Defence (W81XWH-10-1-0341), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer, Komen Foundation for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund [with donations by the family and friends of Kathryn Sladek Smith (PPD/RPCI.07)]. Additional financial support for contributing studies is documented under Supplementary Financial Support.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Association for Cancer Research via http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-15-122

Anomalies of the aortic arch in dogs: evaluation with the use of multidetector computed tomography angiography and proposal of an extended classification scheme

BACKGROUND: Congenital anomalies of the aortic arch are important as they may be associated with vascular ring anomalies. The most common vascular ring anomaly in dogs is a persistent right aortic arch. However, published data of the distribution of the different types of vascular ring anomalies and other aortic arch anomalies are lacking. The objective of this retrospective descriptive study was to evaluate both the prevalence and the different types of aortic arch anomalies that can be detected using thoracic computed tomography (CT) examination. Archived thoracic CT examinations acquired between 2008 and 2020 at a single institution were retrospectively evaluated by 2 evaluators for the prevalence and type of aortic arch anomaly. Breed, age, and presenting complaint were obtained from the medical record system. RESULTS: A total of 213 CT studies were evaluated; 21 dogs (21/213, 9.9%) showed a right aortic arch and a left ligamentum arteriosum with compression of the esophagus. The following incidental additional findings were detected: aberrant left subclavian artery (17/21, 76.2%), branching from the persistent ductus arteriosus (PDA) (1/21, 4.8%), left-sided brachiocephalic trunk (3/21, 14.3%), bicarotid trunk (17/21, 81.0%), double aortic arch (1/21, 4.8%). One hundred ninety two dogs (192/213, 90.1%) showed a left aortic arch without esophageal compression. The following additional abnormalities were obtained in those dogs with left aortic arch: aberrant right subclavian artery (3/192, 1.6%) without clinical signs of esophageal compression, aberrant vessel branching from the aorta into the left caudal lung lobe (2/192, 1.0%), focal dilatation of the left or right subclavian artery (2/192, 1.0%), bicarotid trunk (1/192, 0.5%). CONCLUSION: Similar to previous studies an aberrant left subclavian artery is the most common additional finding in dogs with persistent right aortic arch. Newly, a left-sided brachiocephalic trunk was identified in 14.3% of the dogs with a persistent right aortic arch; no additional compression was caused by the left sided brachiocephalic trunk. Similarly, aberrant right subclavian artery can be an incidental CT finding without causing compression of the esophagus