Where is the length effect? A cross-linguistic study.

Many models of speech production assume that one cannot begin to articulate a word before all its segmental units are inserted into the articulatory plan. Moreover, some of these models assume that segments are serially inserted from left to right. As a consequence, latencies to name words should increase with word length. In a series of five experiments, however, we showed that the time to name a picture or retrieve a word associated with a symbol is not affected by the length of the word. Experiments 1 and 2 used French materials and participants, while Experiments 3, 4 and 5 were conducted with English materials and participants. These results are discussed in relation to current models of speech production, and previous reports of length effects are reevaluated in light of these findings. We conclude that if words are encoded serially, then articulation can start before an entire phonological word has been encoded

Generalized product expansions for pair‐correlated wavefunctions

A correlated wavefunction in the form of a linear combination of generalized products is proposed for describing electron correlation in N‐electron systems. The generalized product configurations are group functional products describing the correlated behavior of a pair of electrons in an N‐2‐electron independent particle sea. The linear expansion includes terms for all possible pairs and thus includes correlation effects for every pair of electrons. The structure of the wavefunction is given, the matrix elements of the Hamiltonian are determined, and some of the variational equations determining the optimal total wavefunction are discussed. The relation between second‐order Nesbet‐Bethe‐Goldstone calculations and the pair at a time CI method of Sinanoğlu and the pair‐correlated wavefunction developed here is discussed, and a method is given for obtaining a complete generalized product wavefunction from these type independent pair approximations.<br/

Employee Participation Programs after \u3ci\u3eElectromation\u3c/i\u3e: They\u27re Worth the Risk!

Employee participation programs ( EPP s) can be an invaluable means of utilizing employee input, particularly in the healthcare industry. However, the National Labor Relation Board\u27s ( NLRB ) recent decision in Electromation, Inc. affects the structure and use of EPPs. There are still ways in which EPPs can be structured to meet the NLRB\u27s requirements

Complement C3 serum levels in anorexia nervosa: a potential biomarker for the severity of disease?

BackgroundAnorexia nervosa carries the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. Even the most critically ill anorexic patients may present with normal 'standard' laboratory values, underscoring the need for a new sensitive biomarker. The complement cascade, a major component of innate immunity, represents a driving force in the pathophysiology of multiple inflammatory disorders. The role of complement in anorexia nervosa remains poorly understood. The present study was designed to evaluate the role of complement C3 levels, the extent of complement activation and of complement hemolytic activity in serum, as potential new biomarkers for the severity of anorexia nervosa.Patients and methodsThis was a prospective cohort study on 14 patients with severe anorexia nervosa, as defined by a body mass index (BMI) &lt;14 kg/m2. Serum samples were obtained in a biweekly manner until hospital discharge. A total of 17 healthy subjects with normal BMI values served as controls. The serum levels of complement C3, C3a, C5a, sC5b-9, and of the 50% hemolytic complement activity (CH50) were quantified and correlated with the BMIs of patients and control subjects.ResultsSerum C3 levels were significantly lower in patients with anorexia nervosa than in controls (median 3.7 (interquartile range (IQR) 2.5-4.9) vs 11.4 (IQR 8.9-13.7, P &lt;0.001). In contrast, complement activation fragments and CH50 levels were not significantly different between the two groups. There was a strong correlation between index C3 levels and BMI (Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.71, P &lt;0.001).ConclusionsComplement C3 serum levels may represent a sensitive new biomarker for monitoring the severity of disease in anorexia nervosa. The finding from this preliminary pilot study will require further investigation in future prospective large-scale multicenter trials

Structural dynamics of calmodulin and troponin C

We present the results of computational simulation studies of the structures of calmodulin (CAM) and troponin C (TNC). Possible differences between the structures of these molecules in the crystal and in solution were suggested by results from some recent experimental studies, which implied that their conformations in solution may be more compacted than the characteristic dumbbell shape observed in the crystal. The molecular dynamics simulations were carried out with the CHARMM system of programs, and the environment was modeled with a distance-dependent dielectric permittivity and discrete water molecules surrounding the proteins at starting positions identified in the crystals of CAM and TNC. Methods of macromolecular structure analysis, including linear distance plots, distance matrices and a matrix representation of hydrogen bonding, were used to analyze the nature, the extent and the source of structural differences between the computed structures of the molecules and their conformations in the crystal. Following the longest simulation, in which intradomain structure was conserved, the crystallographically observed dumbbell structure of the molecule changed due to a kinking or bending in the region of the central tether helix connecting the two Ca2+-binding domains which moved into close proximity. The resulting structure correlates with experimental observations of complexes between CAM and peptides such as melittin and mastoparan. Analysis of the corresponding pair distance distribution functions in comparison to experimental results suggests the dynamic existence of a non-negligible fraction of the compacted structure in aqueous solutions of CAM. In this more nearly globular shape, CAM reveals to the environment two interior pockets that contain a number of hydrophobic residues, in agreement with NMR data suggesting involvement of such residues in the binding of inhibitors and proteins to CA

Resting tachycardia, a warning sign in anorexia nervosa: case report

BACKGROUND: Among psychiatric disorders, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate. During an exacerbation of this illness, patients frequently present with nonspecific symptoms. Upon hospitalization, anorexia nervosa patients are often markedly bradycardic, which may be an adaptive response to progressive weight loss and negative energy balance. When anorexia nervosa patients manifest tachycardia, even heart rates in the 80–90 bpm range, a supervening acute illness should be suspected. CASE PRESENTATION: A 52-year old woman with longstanding anorexia nervosa was hospitalized due to progressive leg pain, weakness, and fatigue accompanied by marked weight loss. On physical examination she was cachectic but in no apparent distress. She had fine lanugo-type hair over her face and arms with an erythematous rash noted on her palms and left lower extremity. Her blood pressure was 96/50 mm Hg and resting heart rate was 106 bpm though she appeared euvolemic. Laboratory tests revealed anemia, mild leukocytosis, and hypoalbuminemia. She was initially treated with enteral feedings for an exacerbation of anorexia nervosa, but increasing leukocytosis without fever and worsening left leg pain prompted the diagnosis of an indolent left lower extremity cellulitis. With antibiotic therapy her heart rate decreased to 45 bpm despite minimal restoration of body weight. CONCLUSIONS: Bradycardia is a characteristic feature of anorexia nervosa particularly with significant weight loss. When anorexia nervosa patients present with nonspecific symptoms, resting tachycardia should prompt a search for potentially life-threatening conditions

Nutritional Rehabilitation: Practical Guidelines for Refeeding the Anorectic Patient

Weight restoration is crucial for successful treatment of anorexia nervosa. Without it, patients may face serious or even fatal medical complications of severe starvation. However, the process of nutritional rehabilitation can also be risky to the patient. The refeeding syndrome, a problem of electrolyte and fluid shifts, can cause permanent disability or even death. It is essential to identify at-risk patients, to monitor them carefully, and to initiate a nutritional rehabilitation program that aims to avoid the refeeding syndrome. A judicious, slow initiation of caloric intake, requires daily management to respond to entities such as liver inflammation and hypoglycemia that can complicate the body's conversion from a catabolic to an anabolic state. In addition, nutritional rehabilitation should take into account clinical characteristics unique to these patients, such as gastroparesis and slowed colonic transit, so that measures can be taken to ameliorate the physical discomforts of weight restoration. Adjunct methods of refeeding such as the use of enteral or parenteral nutrition may play a small but important role in a select patient group who cannot tolerate oral nutritional rehabilitation alone

Assessing the utilization of high-resolution 2-field HLA typing in solid organ transplantation.

HLA typing in solid organ transplantation (SOT) is necessary for determining HLA-matching status between donor-recipient pairs and assessing patients\u27 anti-HLA antibody profiles. Histocompatibility has traditionally been evaluated based on serologically defined HLA antigens. The evolution of HLA typing and antibody identification technologies, however, has revealed many limitations with using serologic equivalents for assessing compatibility in SOT. The significant improvements to HLA typing introduced by next-generation sequencing (NGS) require an assessment of the impact of this technology on SOT. We have assessed the role of high-resolution 2-field HLA typing (HR-2F) in SOT by retrospectively evaluating NGS-typed pre- and post-SOT cases. HR-2F typing was highly instructive or necessary in 41% (156/385) of the cases. Several pre- and posttransplant scenarios were identified as being better served by HR-2F typing. Five different categories are presented with specific case examples. The experience of another center (Temple University Hospital) is also included, whereby 21% of the cases required HR-2F typing by Sanger sequencing, as supported by other legacy methods, to properly address posttransplant anti-HLA antibody issues

Assessing the impact of typeface design in a text-rich automotive user interface

Text-rich driver–vehicle interfaces are increasingly common in new vehicles, yet the effects of different typeface characteristics on task performance in this brief off-road based glance context remains sparsely examined. Subjects completed menu selection tasks while in a driving simulator. Menu text was set either in a ‘humanist’ or ‘square grotesque’ typeface. Among men, use of the humanist typeface resulted in a 10.6% reduction in total glance time as compared to the square grotesque typeface. Total response time and number of glances showed similar reductions. The impact of typeface was either more modest or not apparent for women. Error rates for both males and females were 3.1% lower for the humanist typeface. This research suggests that optimised typefaces may mitigate some interface demands. Future work will need to assess whether other typeface characteristics can be optimised to further reduce demand, improve legibility, increase usability and help meet new governmental distraction guidelines