On right conjugacy closed loops of twice prime order

The right conjugacy closed loops of order 2p, where p is an odd prime, are classified up to isomorphism.Comment: Clarified definitions, added some remarks and a tabl

Searching for an anchor in an unpredictable world: A computational model of obsessive compulsive disorder

In this article, we develop a computational model of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). We propose that OCD is characterized by a difficulty in relying on past events to predict the consequences of patients’ own actions and the unfolding of possible events. Clinically, this corresponds both to patients’ difficulty in trusting their own actions (and therefore repeating them), and to their common preoccupation with unlikely chains of events. Critically, we develop this idea on the basis of the well-developed framework of the Bayesian brain, where this impairment is formalized as excessive uncertainty regarding state transitions. We illustrate the validity of this idea using quantitative simulations and use these to form specific empirical predictions. These predictions are evaluated in relation to existing evidence, and are used to delineate directions for future research. We show how seemingly unrelated findings and phenomena in OCD can be explained by the model, including a persistent experience that actions were not adequately performed and a tendency to repeat actions; excessive information gathering (i.e., checking); indecisiveness and pathological doubt; overreliance on habits at the expense of goal-directed behavior; and overresponsiveness to sensory stimuli, thoughts, and feedback. We discuss the relationship and interaction between our model and other prominent models of OCD, including models focusing on harm-avoidance, not-just-right experiences, or impairments in goal-directed behavior. Finally, we outline potential clinical implications and suggest lines for future research

Paediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder and depressive symptoms: clinical correlates and CBT treatment outcomes.

Depression frequently co-occurs with paediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), yet the clinical correlates and impact of depression on CBT outcomes remain unclear. The prevalence and clinical correlates of depression were examined in a paediatric specialist OCD-clinic sample (N = 295; Mean = 15 [7 - 18] years, 42 % female), using both dimensional (Beck Depression Inventory-youth; n = 261) and diagnostic (Development and Wellbeing Assessment; n = 127) measures of depression. The impact of depressive symptoms and suspected disorders on post-treatment OCD severity was examined in a sub-sample who received CBT, with or without SSRI medication (N = 100). Fifty-one per-cent of patients reported moderately or extremely elevated depressive symptoms and 26 % (95 % CI: 18 - 34) met criteria for a suspected depressive disorder. Depressive symptoms and depressive disorders were associated with worse OCD symptom severity and global functioning prior to CBT. Individuals with depression were more likely to be female, have had a psychiatric inpatient admission and less likely to be attending school (ps < 0.01). OCD and depressive symptom severity significantly decreased after CBT. Depressive symptoms and depressive disorders predicted worse post-treatment OCD severity (βs = 0.19 and 0.26, ps < 0.05) but became non-significant when controlling for pre-treatment OCD severity (βs = 0.05 and 0.13, ns). Depression is common in paediatric OCD and is associated with more severe OCD and poorer functioning. However, depression severity decreases over the course of CBT for OCD and is not independently associated with worse outcomes, supporting the recommendation for treatment as usual in the presence of depressive symptoms

G-Quadruplex DNA Sequences Are Evolutionarily Conserved and Associated with Distinct Genomic Features in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

G-quadruplex DNA is a four-stranded DNA structure formed by non-Watson-Crick base pairing between stacked sets of four guanines. Many possible functions have been proposed for this structure, but its in vivo role in the cell is still largely unresolved. We carried out a genome-wide survey of the evolutionary conservation of regions with the potential to form G-quadruplex DNA structures (G4 DNA motifs) across seven yeast species. We found that G4 DNA motifs were significantly more conserved than expected by chance, and the nucleotide-level conservation patterns suggested that the motif conservation was the result of the formation of G4 DNA structures. We characterized the association of conserved and non-conserved G4 DNA motifs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with more than 40 known genome features and gene classes. Our comprehensive, integrated evolutionary and functional analysis confirmed the previously observed associations of G4 DNA motifs with promoter regions and the rDNA, and it identified several previously unrecognized associations of G4 DNA motifs with genomic features, such as mitotic and meiotic double-strand break sites (DSBs). Conserved G4 DNA motifs maintained strong associations with promoters and the rDNA, but not with DSBs. We also performed the first analysis of G4 DNA motifs in the mitochondria, and surprisingly found a tenfold higher concentration of the motifs in the AT-rich yeast mitochondrial DNA than in nuclear DNA. The evolutionary conservation of the G4 DNA motif and its association with specific genome features supports the hypothesis that G4 DNA has in vivo functions that are under evolutionary constraint

Age-related changes in global motion coherence: conflicting haemodynamic and perceptual responses

Our aim was to use both behavioural and neuroimaging data to identify indicators of perceptual decline in motion processing. We employed a global motion coherence task and functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). Healthy adults (n = 72, 18-85) were recruited into the following groups: young (n = 28, mean age = 28), middle-aged (n = 22, mean age = 50), and older adults (n = 23, mean age = 70). Participants were assessed on their motion coherence thresholds at 3 different speeds using a psychophysical design. As expected, we report age group differences in motion processing as demonstrated by higher motion coherence thresholds in older adults. Crucially, we add correlational data showing that global motion perception declines linearly as a function of age. The associated fNIRS recordings provide a clear physiological correlate of global motion perception. The crux of this study lies in the robust linear correlation between age and haemodynamic response for both measures of oxygenation. We hypothesise that there is an increase in neural recruitment, necessitating an increase in metabolic need and blood flow, which presents as a higher oxygenated haemoglobin response. We report age-related changes in motion perception with poorer behavioural performance (high motion coherence thresholds) associated with an increased haemodynamic response

Perceptions of Teachers’ Interpersonal Styles and Well-Being and Ill-Being in Secondary School Physical Education Students: The Role of Need Satisfaction and Need Frustration

This study examined the associations among physical education students’ perceptions of their teachers’ autonomy-supportive and controlling interpersonal styles, need satisfaction and need frustration, and indices of psychological well-being (subjective vitality) and ill-being (negative affect). The results from 591 Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong indicated that the relationship between students’ perceptions of autonomy-supportive teaching behaviors and subjective vitality was primarily mediated by need satisfaction, whereas the relationship between perceived controlling teaching behaviors and negative affect was primarily mediated by need frustration. The results obtained from the multi-group structural equation model also suggested that these relationships were invariant across sex

The genomic features that affect the lengths of 5’ untranslated regions in multicellular eukaryotes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The lengths of 5’UTRs of multicellular eukaryotes have been suggested to be subject to stochastic changes, with upstream start codons (uAUGs) as the major constraint to suppress 5’UTR elongation. However, this stochastic model cannot fully explain the variations in 5’UTR length. We hypothesize that the selection pressure on a combination of genomic features is also important for 5’UTR evolution. The ignorance of these features may have limited the explanatory power of the stochastic model. Furthermore, different selective constraints between vertebrates and invertebrates may lead to differences in the determinants of 5’UTR length, which have not been systematically analyzed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Here we use a multiple linear regression model to delineate the correlation between 5’UTR length and the combination of a series of genomic features (G+C content, observed-to-expected (OE) ratios of uAUGs, upstream stop codons (uSTOPs), methylation-related CG/UG dinucleotides, and mRNA-destabilizing UU/UA dinucleotides) in six vertebrates (human, mouse, rat, chicken, African clawed frog, and zebrafish) and four invertebrates (fruit fly, mosquito, sea squirt, and nematode). The relative contributions of each feature to the variation of 5’UTR length were also evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that 14%~33% of the 5’UTR length variations can be explained by a linear combination of the analyzed genomic features. The most important genomic features are the OE ratios of uSTOPs and G+C content. The surprisingly large weightings of uSTOPs highlight the importance of selection on upstream open reading frames (which include both uAUGs and uSTOPs), rather than on uAUGs <it>per se</it>. Furthermore, G+C content is the most important determinants for most invertebrates, but for vertebrates its effect is second to uSTOPs. We also found that shorter 5’UTRs are affected more by the stochastic process, whereas longer 5’UTRs are affected more by selection pressure on genomic features.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that upstream open reading frames may be the real target of selection, rather than uAUGs. We also show that the selective constraints on genomic features of 5’UTRs differ between vertebrates and invertebrates, and between longer and shorter 5’UTRs. A more comprehensive model that takes these findings into consideration is needed to better explain 5’UTR length evolution.</p

A rapid mechanism to remobilize and homogenize highly crystalline magma bodies

International audienceThe largest products of magmatic activity on Earth, the great bodies of granite and their corresponding large eruptions, have a dual nature: homogeneity at the large scale and spatial and temporal heterogeneity at the small scale1-4. This duality calls for amechanism that selectively removes the large-scale heterogeneities associated with the incremental assembly4 of these magmatic systems and yet occurs rapidly despite crystal-rich, viscous conditions seemingly resistant to mixing2,5. Here we show that a simple dynamic template can unify a wide range of apparently contradictory observations from both large plutonic bodies and volcanic systems by a mechanism of rapid remobilization (unzipping) of highly viscous crystalrich mushes. We demonstrate that this remobilization can lead to rapid overturn and produce the observed juxtaposition ofmagmatic materials with very disparate ages and complex chemical zoning. What distinguishes our model is the recognition that the process has two stages. Initially, a stiff mushy magma is reheated from below, producing a reduction in crystallinity that leads to the growth of a subjacent buoyant mobile layer. When the thickening mobile layer becomes sufficiently buoyant, it penetrates the overlying viscous mushy magma. This second stage rapidly exports homogenized material from the lower mobile layer to the top of the system, and leads to partial overturn within the viscous mush itself as an additional mechanism of mixing. Model outputs illustrate that unzipping can rapidly produce large amounts of mobile magma available for eruption. The agreement between calculated and observed unzipping rates for historical eruptions at Pinatubo and at Montserrat demonstrates the general applicability of the model. This mechanism furthers our understanding of both the formation of periodically homogenized plutons (crust building) and of ignimbrites by large eruptions

Use of neuroleptics in a general hospital

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the clinical use of neuroleptics within a general hospital in acutely ill medical or surgical patients and its relation with dementia three months after admission compared with control subjects. METHODS: Cases were defined as every adult patient to whom a neuroleptic medication was prescribed during their hospitalization in our Hospital from February 1(st), to June 30(th), 1998. A control matched by age and sex was randomly selected among patients who had been admitted in the same period, in the same department, and had not received neuroleptics drugs (205 cases and 200 controls). Demographic, clinical and complementary data were compared between cases and controls. Crude odds ratios estimating the risk of dementia in non previously demented subjects compared with the risk in non-demented control subjects were calculated. RESULTS: 205 of 2665 patients (7.7%) received a neuroleptic drug. The mean age was 80.0 ± 13.6 years and 52% were females. They were older and stayed longer than the rest of the population. Only 11% received a psychological evaluation before the prescription. Fifty two percent were agitated while 40% had no reason justifying the use of neuroleptic drug. Three months after neuroleptic use 27% of the surviving cases and 2.6% of the surviving controls who were judged non-demented at admission were identified as demented. CONCLUSIONS: The most common reason for neuroleptic treatment was to manage agitation symptomatically in hospitalised patients. Organic mental syndromes were rarely investigated, and mental status exams were generally absent. Most of neuroleptic recipients had either recognised or unrecognised dementia

Knowledge and competency standards for specialized cognitive behavior therapy for adult obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a leading cause of disability world-wide (World Health Organization, 2008). Treatment of OCD is a specialized field whose aim is recovery from illness for as many patients as possible. The evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment for OCD is specialized cognitive behavior therapy (CBT, NICE, 2005, Koran and Simpson, 2013). However, these treatments are not accessible to many sufferers around the world. Currently available guidelines for care are deemed to be essential but insufficient because of highly variable clinician knowledge and competencies specific to OCD. The phase two mandate of the 14 nation International OCD Accreditation Task Force (ATF) created by the Canadian Institute for Obsessive Compulsive Disorders is development of knowledge and competency standards for specialized treatments for OCD through the lifespan deemed by experts to be foundational to transformative change in this field. This paper presents knowledge and competency standards for specialized CBT for adult OCD developed to inform, advance, and offer a model for clinical practice and training for OCD. During upcoming ATF phases three and four criteria and processes for training in specialized treatments for OCD through the lifespan for certification (individuals) and accreditation (sites) will be developed based on the ATF standards