Identification of a narrow post-ovulatory window of vulnerability to distressing involuntary memories in healthy women

Psychological disorders characterised by intrusive memories are more prevalent in women than men. The biological, social and cognitive processes underlying this gender-difference have yet to be fully elucidated. Some evidence suggests that (fluctuations in) ovarian hormone levels are responsible for altered sensitivity to emotional stimuli during certain phases in the menstrual-cycle and this may form the basis of a specific vulnerability to psychological disorders in women. The post-ovulatory (luteal) phase has been identified as a period of particular vulnerability to the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Using an experimental model of PTSD, we examine whether differences are detectable between discrete phases in the menstrual-cycle in the experience of intrusive memories. Women (18-35 years-old) in one of three tightly-defined periods within the menstrual cycle – mid-follicular (n=15), early-luteal (n=15) and late-luteal (n=11) - provided saliva samples for ovarian-hormone assay and watched a distressing film. Subsequent intrusive memories, assessed using a daily online-diary, occurred significantly more frequently in the early-luteal group compared to mid-follicular and late-luteal groups. Intrusion frequency was negatively correlated with the estradiol-to-progesterone ratio, but not estradiol or progesterone alone, suggesting that the interactive effect of low estradiol and high progesterone at encoding contributes to the observed effect. Our results support the need for further research in a clinical context with naturally-cycling women who experience a traumatic event, since assessment of days-since-last-menses and ovarian hormone levels may help to identify those at greatest risk of developing re-experiencing symptoms akin to those seen in psychological disorder such as depression and PTSD

Processing of GPS Data using Accuracy Enhancement Techniques for Sag Monitoring Device

The paper describes an experimental set up used to collect GPS data in real time. The effect of weather of particular location is also considered in the paper. The major problems in GPS measurements may be due to tall buildings, high mountains, overhead foliage etc. The positioning data provided directly by the satellites are subject to variety of error sources such as thermal noise, tropospheric delays, multipath error, ephemeris errors, satellite clock errors and ionospheric delays before they are processed into position and time solution in the GPS receiver. The paper discusses DSP techniques such as Bad Data identification and modification and Kalman filter used to enhance the accuracy of GPS altitude measurements. Results obtained demonstrate that Kalman filter after Bad Data identification and modification technique significantly reduced the errors in GPS altitude measurements

Mindfulness, Acceptance and Defusion Strategies in Smokers: a Systematic Review of Laboratory Studies

The psychological flexibility model (PFM) provides a framework for understanding and treating behavioural dysregulation in addictions. Rather than modulating the intensity of subjective experience, interventions based on, or consistent with, the PFM (PFM interventions) seek to alter the individual’s relationship to internal states, such as craving, negative affect and drug-related thoughts, using mindfulness, acceptance and related strategies. Experimental (non-clinical) studies in smokers have examined the effects of specific isolated strategies informed by or consistent with the PFM (PFM strategies). Here, we systematically review these studies and determine the extent to which they conform to methodological standards indicative of high levels of internal validity. Eligible studies were identified through electronic database searches and assessed for the presence of specific methodological features. Provisional aggregate effect sizes were determined depending on availability of data. Of 1499 screened publications, 12 met the criteria. All examined aspects of private subjective experience relevant to abstinence (craving n = 12; negative affect n = 10), demonstrating effects favouring PFM strategies relative to inactive control conditions. However, only six assessed outcome domains consistent with the PFM and provided no consistent evidence favouring PFM strategies. Overall, most studies had methodological limitations. As such, high-quality experimental studies continue to be needed to improve our understanding of necessary and/or sufficient constituents of PFM-guided smoking cessation interventions. Recommendations for future research are discussed

Hybrid vigour for yield and quality traits in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.)

An experiment on heterosis for yield and other component characters of 50 F1 hybrids of tomato derived from the crosses between 10 lines and 5 testers through line x tester technique was conducted at Research Farm of the Department of Vegetable Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2012-13 and 2013-14. The analysis of variance indicated significantly higher amount of differences among treatments for all the characters studied, suggesting the presence of genetic variation among the studied genotypes. In this study, among crosses, the cross Punjab Varkha Bahar-2 x Hisar Lalit (0.400), EC 620383 x Palam Pink (0.383) and BBWR-10-3-18 x Hisar Lalit (0.382) showed higher early fruit yield per plant (kg) as compared to standard checks. The cross EC 620380 x Punjab Chhuhara (0.133 kg) produced the minimum early yield and the cross EC 620391 x Punjab Chhuhara (0.886 kg) the maximum total yield per plant, manifesting higher heterosis for yield per plant. The cross EC 620533 x Arka Meghali exhibited positive desirable heterosis over best parent for ascorbic acid content (30.58%) and the cross EC 620391 x Arka Vikas (54.25%) for total soluble solids . The cross EC 620380 x Arka Vikas showed the highest negative heterosis over best parent for acidity (-17.12%) and the cross Punjab Varkha Bahar-2 x Hisar Lalit (33.78%) exhibited the significantly highest positive heterosis over best parent for acidity

Breastfeeding experience differentially impacts recognition of happiness and anger in mothers

Breastfeeding is a dynamic biological and social process based on hormonal regulation involving oxytocin. While there is much work on the role of breastfeeding in infant development and on the role of oxytocin in socio-emotional functioning in adults, little is known about how breastfeeding impacts emotion perception during motherhood. We therefore examined whether breastfeeding influences emotion recognition in mothers. Using a dynamic emotion recognition task, we found that longer durations of exclusive breastfeeding were associated with faster recognition of happiness, providing evidence for a facilitation of processing positive facial expressions. In addition, we found that greater amounts of breastfed meals per day were associated with slower recognition of anger. Our findings are in line with current views of oxytocin function and support accounts that view maternal behaviour as tuned to prosocial responsiveness, by showing that vital elements of maternal care can facilitate the rapid responding to affiliative stimuli by reducing importance of threatening stimuli

A comparison of emotion regulation strategies in response to craving cognitions: Effects on smoking behaviour, craving and affect in dependent smokers

AIM: The effects of three emotion regulation strategies that targeted smoking-related thoughts were compared on outcomes relevant to smoking cessation. METHOD: Daily smokers applied defusion (n = 25), reappraisal (n = 25) or suppression (n = 23) to thoughts associated with smoking during a cue-induced craving procedure. Smoking behaviour, approach/avoidance behavioural bias, and subjective measures of experiential avoidance, craving, and affect were assessed during the experimental session, with additional behavioural and subjective outcomes assessed at 24 h and seven day follow-up. The influence of baseline group differences in smoking level and nicotine dependence were explored statistically. RESULTS: Defusion and reappraisal were associated with greater restraint in smoking behaviour in the immediate post-session period as well as reduction in smoking at seven day follow-up compared to suppression. Relative to suppression, reduced subjective craving was seen in the reappraisal group, and reduced experiential avoidance in the defusion group. Differences in approach/avoidance responses to smoking and neutral cues were observed only between the suppression and reappraisal groups. Although suppression was rated as lower in both credibility and strategy-expectancy compared to defusion and reappraisal, neither credibility nor expectancy mediated the effect of any strategy on changes in levels of smoking. CONCLUSION: Defusion and reappraisal produced similar benefits in smoking-related behavioural outcomes but, relative to suppression, were associated with distinctive outcomes on experiential avoidance and craving. The effects appear to be independent of perceived expectancy and credibility of the different strategies. Overall, the results suggest a role for reappraisal and defusion strategies in the development of psychological treatments for addiction-related disorders

Confocal Endomicroscopy Characteristics of Different Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm Subtypes

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms are classified into gastric, intestinal, pancreatobiliary, and oncocytic subtypes where morphology portends disease prognosis. The study aim was to demonstrate EUS-guided needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy imaging features of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm subtypes. Four subjects, each with a specific intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm subtype were enrolled. An EUS-guided needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy miniprobe was utilized for image acquisition. The mean cyst size from the 4 subjects (2 females; mean age = 65.3±12 years) was 36.8±12 mm. All lesions demonstrated mural nodules and focal dilation of the main pancreatic duct. EUS-nCLE demonstrated characteristic finger-like papillae with inner vascular core for all subtypes. The image patterns of the papillae for the gastric, intestinal, and pancreatobiliary subtypes were similar. However, the papillae in the oncocytic subtype were thick and demonstrated a fine scale-like or honeycomb pattern with intraepithelial lumina correlating with histopathology. There was significant overlap in the needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy findings for the different intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm subtypes; however, the oncocytic subtype demonstrated distinct patterns. These findings need to be replicated in larger multicenter studies

Postremediation dose assessment for the former Alba Craft Laboratory site, Oxford, Ohio

Potential maximum radiation dose rates were calculated for the former Alba Craft Laboratory site in Oxford, Ohio, which was involved in machining of uranium metal in the 1950s for the U.S. atomic energy program. The site is not currently being used. The residual radioactive material guidelines (RESRAD) computer code, which implements the methodology described in the US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) manual for establishing residual radioactive material guidelines, was sued in this evaluation. Three potential land use scenarios were considered for the former Alba Craft site; the scenarios vary with regard to the type of site use, time spent at the site by the exposed individual, and sources of food consumed. Scenario A (a possible land use scenario) assumed industrial use of the site; Scenario B (a likely future land use scenario) assumed residential use of the site; and Scenario C (a possible but unlikely land use scenario) assumed the presence of a resident farmer. For scenario A, it was assumed that any water used for domestic or industrial activities would be from uncontaminated off-site municipal sources. The water used for drinking, household purposes, and irrigation was assumed to be from uncontaminated municipal sources in Scenario B; groundwater drawn from a well located at the downgradient edge of the contaminated zone would be the only source of water for drinking, irrigation, and raising livestock in Scenario C. The results of the evaluation indicated that the DOE dose limit of 100 mrem/yr would not be exceeded for any of the scenarios analyzed. The potential maximum dose rates for Scenarios A, B, and C are 0.64, 2.0, and 11 mrem/yr, respectively

Stimulating meditation: a pre-registered randomised controlled experiment combining a single dose of the cognitive enhancer, modafinil, with brief mindfulness training

Background: Mindfulness-meditation has a variety of benefits on well-being. However, individuals with primary attentional impairments (e.g. attention deficit disorder) or attentional symptoms secondary to anxiety, depression or addiction, may be less likely to benefit, and require additional mindfulness-augmenting strategies. / Aims: To determine whether a single dose of the cognitive enhancer, modafinil, acutely increases subjective and behavioural indices of mindfulness, and augments brief mindfulness training. / Methods: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2 (drug: placebo, modafinil) × 2 (strategy: mindfulness, relaxation control) experiment was conducted. Seventy-nine meditation-naïve participants were assigned to: placebo–relaxation, placebo–mindfulness, modafinil–relaxation or modafinil–mindfulness. Pre-drug, post-drug and post-strategy state mindfulness, affect and autonomic activity, along with post-strategy sustained attention and mind-wandering were assessed within a single lab session. After the session, participants were instructed to practice their assigned behavioural strategy daily for one week, with no further drug administration, after which, follow-up measures were taken. / Results: As predicted, modafinil acutely increased state mindfulness and improved sustained attention. Differential acute strategy effects were found following mindfulness on autonomic activity but not state mindfulness. There were no strategy or drug effects on mind-wandering. However, exploratory analyses indicated that participants receiving modafinil engaged in more strategy practice across strategy conditions during follow-up. / Conclusions: Modafinil acutely mimicked the effects of brief mindfulness training on state mindfulness but did not enhance the effects of this training. Limitations of the current study, and recommendations for future research examining modafinil as an adjunct to mindfulness- (or relaxation-) based treatments are discussed

Derivation of guidelines for uranium residual radioactive material in soil at the New Brunswick Site, Middlesex County, New Jersey

Residual radioactive material guidelines for uranium in soil were derived for the New Brunswick Site, located in Middlesex County, New Jersey. This site has been designated for remedial action under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program of the US Department of Energy (DOE). Residual radioactive material guidelines for individual radionuclides of concern and total uranium were derived on the basis of the requirement that the 50-year committed effective dose equivalent to a hypothetical individual who lives or works in the immediate vicinity of the New Brunswick Site should not exceed a dose of 30 mrem/yr following remedial action for the current-use and likely future-use scenarios or a dose of 100 mrem/yr for less likely future-use scenarios. The DOE residual radioactive material guideline computer code, RESRAD, was used in this evaluation; RESRAD implements the methodology described in the DOE manual for establishing residual radioactive material guidelines. The guidelines derived in this report are intended to apply to the remediation of these remaining residual radioactive materials at the site. The primary radionuclides of concern in these remaining materials are expected to be radium-226 and, to a lesser extent, natural uranium and thorium. The DOE has established generic cleanup guidelines for radium and thorium in soil; however, cleanup guidelines for other radionuclides must be derived on a site-specific basis