2,330 research outputs found
Maltreated and non-maltreated children's true and false memories of neutral and emotional word lists in the DRM task
Maltreated (n = 26) and non - maltreated (n = 31) 7 - to 12 - year - old children were tested on the Deese/Roediger - McDermot (DRM) false memory task using emotional and neutral word lists. True recall was significantly better for non - maltreated than maltreated children regardless of list valence. The proportion of false recall for neutral lists was comparable regardless of maltreatment status. However, maltreated children showed a significantly higher false recall rate for the emotional lists than non - maltreated children. Together, these results provide new evidence that maltreated children could be more prone to false memory illusions for negatively - valenced information than their non - maltreated counterparts
Prevention and treatment practices and implications for malaria control in Mukono District Uganda
The influence of spatial pattern on visual short-term memory for contrast
Several psychophysical studies of visual short-term memory (VSTM) have shown high-fidelity storage capacity for many properties of visual stimuli. On judgments of the spatial frequency of gratings, for example, discrimination performance does not decrease significantly, even for memory intervals of up to 30 s. For other properties, such as stimulus orientation and contrast, however, such “perfect storage” behavior is not found, although the reasons for this difference remain unresolved. Here, we report two experiments in which we investigated the nature of the representation of stimulus contrast in VSTM using spatially complex, two-dimensional random-noise stimuli. We addressed whether information about contrast per se is retained during the memory interval by using a test stimulus with the same spatial structure but either the same or the opposite local contrast polarity, with respect to the comparison (i.e., remembered) stimulus. We found that discrimination thresholds got steadily worse with increasing duration of the memory interval. Furthermore, performance was better when the test and comparison stimuli had the same local contrast polarity than when they were contrast-reversed. Finally, when a noise mask was introduced during the memory interval, its disruptive effect was maximal when the spatial configuration of its constituent elements was uncorrelated with those of the comparison and test stimuli. These results suggest that VSTMfor contrast is closely tied to the spatial configuration of stimuli and is not transformed into a more abstract representation
Treatment of Advanced Emphysema with Emphysematous Lung Sealant (AeriSeal (R))
Background: This report summarizes initial tests of an emphysematous lung synthetic polymer sealant (ELS) designed to reduce lung volume in patients with advanced emphysema. Objectives: The primary study objective was to define a therapeutic strategy to optimize treatment safety and effectiveness. Methods: ELS therapy was administered bronchoscopically to 25 patients with heterogeneous emphysema in an open-label, noncontrolled study at 6 centers in Germany. Treatment was performed initially at 2-4 subsegments. After 12 weeks, patients were eligible for repeat therapy to a total of 6 sites. Safety and efficacy were assessed after 6 months. Responses were evaluated in terms of changes from baseline in lung physiology, functional capacity, and health-related quality of life. Follow-up is available for 21 of 25 patients. Results: Treatment was well tolerated. There were no treatment-related deaths (i.e. within 90 days of treatment), and an acceptable short-and long-term safety profile. Physiological and clinical benefits were observed at 24 weeks. Efficacy responses were better among Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage III patients {[}n = 14; change in residual volume/total lung capacity (Delta RV/TLC) = -7.4 +/- 10.3%; Delta forced expiratory volume in 1 s (Delta FEV(1)) = +15.9 +/- 22.6%; change in forced vital capacity (Delta FVC) = +24.1 +/- 22.7%; change in carbon monoxide lung diffusion capacity (Delta DLCO) = +19.3 +/- 34.8%; change in 6-min walk test (Delta 6MWD) = +28.7 +/- 59.6 m; change in Medical Research Council Dyspnea (Delta MRCD) score = -1.0 +/- 1.04 units; change in St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (Delta SGRQ) score = -9.9 +/- 15.3 units] than for GOLD stage IV patients (n = 7; Delta RV/TLC = -0.5 +/- 6.4%; Delta FEV 1 = +2.3 +/- 12.3%; Delta FVC = +2.6 +/- 21.1%; Delta DLCO = -2.8 +/- 17.2%; Delta 6MWD = +28.3 +/- 58.4 m; Delta MRCD = 0.3 +/- 0.81 units; Delta SGRQ = -6.7 +/- 7.0 units). Conclusions: ELS therapy shows promise for treating patients with advanced heterogeneous emphysema. Additional studies to assess responses in a larger cohort with a longer follow-up are warranted. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base
Validation of the Human Ozone Challenge Model as a Tool for Assessing Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Early Development
This study aimed to test the utility of the ozone challenge model for profiling novel compounds designed to reduce airway inflammation. The authors used a randomized, doubledummy, double-blind, placebo-controlled 3-period crossover design alternating single orally inhaled doses of fluticasone propionate (inhaled corticosteroids, 2mg), oral prednisolone (oral corticosteroids, 50mg), ormatched placebo. At a 2-week interval, 18 healthy ozone responders (>10% increase in sputum neutrophils) underwent a 3-hour ozone (250 ppb)/intermittent exercise challenge starting 1 hour after drug treatment. Airway inflammation was assessed at 2 hours (breath condensate) and 3 hours (induced sputum) after ozone challenge. Compared to placebo, pretreatment with inhaled corticosteroids or oral corticosteroids resulted in a significant reduction (mean [95% confidence interval]) of sputum neutrophils by 62% (35%, 77%) and 64% (39%, 79%) and of sputum supernatant myeloperoxidase by 55% (41%, 66%) and 42% (25%, 56%), respectively. The authors conclude that an optimized ozone challenge model (including ozone responders and ensuring adequate drug levels during exposure) may be useful for testing novel anti-inflammatory compounds in early development
Experimental investigation of a combinational iron chelating protoporphyrin IX prodrug for fluorescence detection and photodynamic therapy
This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) is an oxygen-dependent, light-activated, and locally destructive drug treatment of cancer. Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX)-induced PDT exploits cancer cells’ own innate heme biosynthesis to hyper-accumulate the naturally fluorescent and photoactive precursor to heme, PpIX. This occurs as a result of administering heme precursors (e.g., aminolevulinic acid; ALA) because the final step of the pathway (the insertion of ferrous iron into PpIX by ferrochelatase to form heme) is relatively slow. Separate administration of an iron chelating agent has previously been demonstrated to significantly improve dermatological PpIX-PDT by further limiting heme production. A newly synthesized combinational iron chelating PpIX prodrug (AP2-18) has been assessed experimentally in cultured primary human cells of bladder and dermatological origin, as an alternative photosensitizing agent to ALA or its methyl or hexyl esters (MAL and HAL respectively) for photodetection/PDT. Findings indicated that the technique of iron chelation (either through the separate administration of the established hydroxypyridinone iron chelator CP94 or the just as effective combined AP2-18) did not enhance either PpIX fluorescence or PDT-induced (neutral red assessed) cell death in human primary normal and malignant bladder cells. However, 500 µM AP2-18 significantly increased PpIX accumulation and produced a trend of increased cell death within epithelial squamous carcinoma cells. PpIX accumulation destabilized the actin cytoskeleton in bladder cancer cells prior to PDT and resulted in caspase-3 cleavage/early apoptosis afterwards. AP2-18 iron chelation should continue to be investigated for the enhancement of dermatological PpIX-PDT applications but not bladder photodetection/PDT.Medical Research Council (MRC)Killing Cance
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