Raising awareness about measurement error in research on unconscious mental processes

Experimental psychologists often neglect the poor psychometric properties of the dependent measures collected in their studies. In particular, a low reliability of measures can have dramatic consequences for the interpretation of key findings in some of the most popular experimental paradigms, especially when strong inferences are drawn from the absence of statistically significant correlations. In research on unconscious cognition, for instance, it is commonly argued that the lack of a correlation between task performance and measures of awareness or explicit recollection of the target stimuli provides strong support for the conclusion that the cognitive processes underlying performance must be unconscious. Using contextual cuing of visual search as a case study, we show that given the low reliability of the dependent measures collected in these studies, it is usually impossible to draw any firm conclusion about the unconscious character of this effect from correlational analyses. Furthermore, both a psychometric meta-analysis of the available evidence and a cognitive-modeling approach suggest that, in fact, we should expect to see very low correlations between performance and awareness at the empirical level, even if both constructs are perfectly related at the latent level. Convincing evidence for the unconscious character of contextual cuing and other effects will most likely demand richer and larger data sets, coupled with more powerful analytic approaches

2nd UMN-CAS Bilateral Seminar on PM2.5 science, health effects and control technologies, October 7-8, 2015 at 3M Innovation Center, Maplewood, MN, USA

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineerin

Prenatal Diagnosis of Placental Mesenchymal Dysplasia with 46, X, Isochromosome Xq/45, X Mosaicism

Placental mesenchymal dysplasia is an uncommon vascular anomaly of the placenta with characteristics of placentomegaly and multicystic appearance and with or without association with fetal chromosomal anomaly. We present a unique placental mesenchymal dysplasia patient with amniotic fluid karyotyping as 46, X, iso(X) (q10). Detailed molecular testing of the amniotic fluid, fetal cord blood, non-dysplastic placenta and dysplastic placenta was conducted after termination of pregnancy, from which we proved biparental/androgenetic (46, X, i(X) (q10)/45, X) mosaicism in different gestational tissues. A high portion of androgenetic cells in dysplastic placenta (74.2%) and near 100% of biparental cells in the fetus’s blood and amniotic fluid were revealed. Delicate mosaic analyses were performed, and possible pathogenesis and embryogenesis of this case were drawn up

Identification of a c.544C>T mutation in WDR34 as a deleterious recessive allele of short rib-polydactyly syndrome

Objective: Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarrays and whole-exome sequencing (WES) are tools to precisely diagnose rare autosomal recessive (AR) diseases. In this study, SNP chip and WES were used to identify a mutated location in WDR34 in a baby born to consanguineous parents. Case report: The baby, born at 36 gestational weeks had a small thoracic cage, symmetric short proximal bones, and polydactyly. Radiography showed short ribs with reduced lung volume and pulmonary opacities, compatible with asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy or short rib-polydactyly syndrome (SRPS). At 4 months of age, she died of pulmonary hypoplasia and sepsis. SNP microarray and evaluation tool confirmed WDR34 as the candidate gene. WES detected an AR mutation at c.554C > T [p.Arg182Trp] in WDR34. Conclusion: This study was the first to identify c.544C > T [p.Arg182Trp] mutation in WDR34 in a patient with SRPS. According to the database, the homozygous mutation of c.544C > T in WDR34 was deleterious and the prevalence of heterozygous mutation was relatively higher in Asian population. More studies of this mutation in patients with SRPS are required

Genome-Wide Detection of Uniparental Disomy in a Fetus with Intrauterine Growth Restriction Using Genotyping Microarrays

SummaryObjectiveTo present the clinical and molecular features of a fetus with confined trisomy 16 mosaicism with maternal uniparental disomy (UPD), using various prenatal diagnostic techniques.Materials and MethodsChromosomal karyotyping was performed on samples of chorionic villi, amniotic fluid cells, amniotic membrane, umbilical cord, fetal skin, and placenta from a fetus with elevated nuchal translucency. Polymorphic short tandem repeat markers and Affymetrix single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mapping chips were used for molecular analyses.ResultsKaryotypes from chorionic villi and amniocytes showed 47, XX, +16 and 46, XX, respectively. Short tandem repeat markers on chromosome 16 suggested maternal UPD for chromosome 16. Affymetrix 10K SNP mapping chips were used to simultaneously confirm the difference in karyotypes between the placenta and amniocytes and to diagnose UPD for chromosome 16. Fetal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging identified severe intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Autopsy revealed IUGR, incomplete lobulation of bilateral lungs, and malrotation of the intestines. The karyotypes of umbilical cord, fetal skin and amniotic membrane were 46, XX, and the trisomy 16 karyotype appeared to be confined to the placenta.ConclusionUPD should be investigated as a possible etiology in all cases of unexplained IUGR. SNP microarrays can be useful for confirming this diagnosis

Maternal–Neonatal Outcomes of Obstetric Deliveries Performed in Negative Pressure Isolation Rooms during the COVID-19 Omicron Variant Pandemic in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Study of a Single Institution

Objective: To investigate the maternal–neonatal outcomes of obstetric deliveries performed in negative pressure isolated delivery rooms (NPIDRs) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) omicron variant pandemic period in a single tertiary center in northern Taiwan. Methods: Confirmed positive and suspected-positive COVID-19 cases delivered in NPIDRs and COVID-19-negative mothers delivered in conventional delivery rooms (CDRs) in the period of 1 May 2022 to 31 May 2022 during the COVID-19 omicron variant pandemic stage were reviewed. The maternal–neonatal outcomes between the two groups of mothers were analyzed. All deliveries were performed following the obstetric and neonatologic protocols conforming to the epidemic prevention regulations promulgated by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (T-CDC). Multiple gestations, deliveries at gestational age below 34 weeks, and major fetal anomalies were excluded from this study. Results: A total of 213 obstetric deliveries were included. Forty-five deliveries were performed in NPIDRs due to a positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test (n = 41) or suspected COVID-19 positive status (n = 4). One hundred and sixty-eight deliveries with negative COVID-19 PCR tests were performed in CDRs. There was no statistical difference in maternal characteristics between the two groups of pregnant women. All COVID-19-confirmed cases either presented with mild upper-airway symptoms (78%) or were asymptomatic (22%); none of these cases developed severe acute respiratory syndrome. The total rate of cesarean section was not statistically different between obstetric deliveries in NPIDRs and in CDRs (38.1% vs. 40.0%, p = 0.82, respectively). Regardless of delivery modes, poorer short-term perinatal outcomes were observed in obstetric deliveries in NPIDRs: there were significant higher rates of neonatal respiratory distress (37.8% vs. 10.7%, p p p Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that obstetric deliveries for positive and suspected COVID-19 omicron-variant cases performed in NPIDRs are associated with poorer short-term perinatal outcomes. Reasonable use of personal protective equipment in NPIDRs could effectively prevent nosocomial infection during obstetric deliveries for pregnant women infected with the COVID-19 omicron variant