Speech perception in MRI scanner noise by persons with aphasia

Purpose. To examine reductions in performance on auditory tasks by aphasic and neurologically-intact individuals as a result of concomitant MRI scanner noise. Methods. Four tasks together forming a continuum of linguistic complexity were developed. They included complex-tone pitch discrimination, same/different discrimination of minimal pair syllables, lexical decision, and sentence plausibility. Each task was performed by persons with aphasia (PWA) and by controls. The stimuli were presented in silence and also in the noise recorded from within the bore of a 3T MRI scanner at three signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns). Results. Across the four tasks, the PWA scored lower than the controls and performance fell as a function of decreased S/N. However, the rate at which performance fell was not different across the two listener groups in any task. Conclusions. Depending upon the relative levels of the signals and noise, the intense noise accompanying MRI scanning has the potential to severely disrupt performance. However, PWA are no more susceptible to the disruptive influence of this noise than are unimpaired individuals usually employed as controls. Thus, fMRI data from aphasic and control individuals may be interpreted without complications associated with large interactions between scanner noise and performance reduction

Field Trials of Health Interventions: A Toolbox

Before new interventions can be used in disease control programmes, it is essential that they are carefully evaluated in “field trials”, which may be complex and expensive undertakings. Descriptions of the detailed procedures and methods used in trials that have been conducted in the past have generally not been published. As a consequence, those planning such trials have few guidelines available and little access to previously accumulated knowledge. In this book the practical issues of trial design and conduct are discussed fully and in sufficient detail for the text to be used as a “toolbox” by field investigators. The toolbox has now been extensively tested through use of the first two editions and this third edition is a comprehensive revision, incorporating the many developments that have taken place with respect to trials since 1996 and involving more than 30 contributors. Most of the chapters have been extensively revised and 7 new chapters have been added

Indigenous demosponge spicules in a Late Devonian stromatoporoid basal skeleton from the Frasnian of Belgium

This paper records the first example of a demosponge spicule framework in a single specimen of a Devonian stromatoporoid from the Frasnian of southern Belgium. The small sample (2.5 × 2 cm) is a component in a brecciated carbonate from a carbonate mound in La Boverie Quarry 30 km east of Dinant. Because of the small size of the sample, generic identification is not confirmed, but the stromatoporoid basal skeleton is similar to the genus Stromatopora. The spicules are arranged in the calcified skeleton, but not in the gallery space, and are recrystallized as multi-crystalline calcite. The spicules fall into two size ranges: 10-20 μm diameter and 500-2000 μm long for the large ones and between 5-15 μm diameter and 50-100 μm length for the small ones. In tangential section, the spicules are circular, they have a simple structure, and no axial canal has been preserved. The large spicules are always monaxons, straight or slightly curved styles or strongyles. The spicules most closely resemble halichondrid/axinellid demosponge spicules and are important rare evidence of the existence of spicules in Palaeozoic stromatoporoids, reinforcing the interpretation that stromatoporoids were sponges. The basal skeleton may have had an aragonitic spherulitic mineralogy. Furthermore, the spicules indicate that this stromatoporoid sample is a demosponge. © 2014 Lethaia Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Proactive and politically skilled professionals: What is the relationship with affective occupational commitment?

The aim of this study is to extend research on employee affective commitment in three ways: (1) instead of organizational commitment the focus is on occupational commitment; (2) the role of proactive personality on affective occupational commitment is examined; and (3) occupational satisfaction is examined as a mediator and political skills as moderator in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Two connected studies, one in a hospital located in the private sector and one in a university located in the public sector, are carried out in Pakistan, drawing on a total sample of over 400 employees. The results show that proactive personality is positively related to affective occupational commitment, and that occupational satisfaction partly mediates the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. No effect is found for a moderator effect of political skills in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Political skills however moderate the relationship between proactive personality and affective organizational commitment

Managing contested spaces: Public managers, obscured mechanisms and the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland

Societies emerging from ethno-political and inter-communal conflict face a range of complex problems that stem directly from the recent lived experience of bloodshed and injury, militarisation, securitisation and segregation. As institutional agents in such an environment, public managers perform the dual role of both interpreting public policy and implementing it within a politically contested space and place. In this article we address how managers cope with the outworking of ethno-nationalist conflict and peace building within government processes and policy implementation and contend this is a subject of emerging concern within the wider public administration, urban studies and conflict literature. Using data from a witness seminar initiative on the Northern Ireland conflict transformation experience, we explain how public sector managers make sense of their role in post-agreement public management and highlight the importance of three identified mechanisms; ‘bricolage’, ‘diffusion’ and ‘translation’ in the management of public sector organisations and urban spaces in a context of entrenched conflict and an uncertain path to peace

Association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency with NT-pro BNP levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a cross-sectional analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nutritional vitamin D deficiency is an emerging risk factor for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure. The association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels with N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a robust prognostic marker for post-AMI mortality and heart failure, is unknown and could illuminate a potential pathway for adverse outcomes among post-AMI patients with 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a cross-sectional analysis, we studied 238 AMI patients from 21 U.S. centers to test the association of nutritional vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]) deficiency with NT-proBNP levels. Levels of 25(OH)D levels were categorized as normal (≥30 ng/mL), insufficient (>20 - <30 ng/mL), deficient (>10 - ≤20 ng/mL), or severely deficient (≤10 ng/mL).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Low 25(OH)D levels were found in 95.7% of AMI patients. No significant trends for higher mean baseline log NT-proBNP levels in severely deficient (6.9 ± 1.3 pg/mL), deficient (6.9 ± 1.2 pg/mL), and insufficient (6.9 ± 0.9 pg/ml) groups were observed as compared with patients having normal (6.1 ± 1.7 pg/mL) levels, <it>P </it>= 0.17. Findings were similar in the subset of patients who had follow-up NT-proBNP levels drawn at one month. In multivariate regression modeling, after adjusting for multiple covariates, 25(OH)D was not associated with NT-proBNP.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Potential associations between nutritional vitamin D deficiency and prognosis in the setting of AMI are unlikely to be mediated through NT-proBNP pathways. Future studies should examine other mechanisms, such as inflammation and vascular calcification, by which 25(OH)D deficiency could mediate adverse outcomes post-AMI.</p

The treatment of migraines and tension-type headaches with intravenous and oral niacin (nicotinic acid): systematic review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Migraine and tension-type headaches impose a tremendous economic drain upon the healthcare system. Intravenous and oral niacin has been employed in the treatment of acute and chronic migraine and tension-type headaches, but its use has not become part of contemporary medicine, nor have there been randomized controlled trials further assessing this novel treatment. We aimed to systematically review the evidence of using intravenous and/or oral niacin as a treatment for migraine headaches, tension-type headaches, and for headaches of other etiologic types. METHODS: We searched English and non-English language articles in the following databases: MEDLINE (1966–February 2004), AMED (1995–February 2004) and Alt HealthWatch (1990–February 2004). RESULTS: Nine articles were found to meet the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. Hypothetical reasons for niacin's effectiveness include its vasodilatory properties, and its ability to improve mitochondrial energy metabolism. Important side effects of niacin include flushing, nausea and fainting. CONCLUSION: Although niacin's mechanisms of action have not been substantiated from controlled clinical trials, this agent may have beneficial effects upon migraine and tension-type headaches. Adequately designed randomized trials are required to determine its clinical implications

Comparison of three oxidative stress biomarkers in a sample of healthy adults Oxidative stress biomarkers in healthy adults J. L. Watters et al.

Oxidative stress is a potentially important etiologic factor for many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, and cancer, yet studies often find inconsistent results. The associations between three of the most widely-used biomarkers of oxidative stress, i.e., F2-isoprostanes for lipid peroxidation and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) and the comet assay with FPG for oxidative DNA damage, were compared in a sample of 135 healthy African American and White adults. Modest associations were observed between F2-isoprostanes and the comet assay (r=0.22, p=0.01), but there were no significant correlations between 8-oxo-dG and the comet assay (r=−0.09) or F2-IsoP (r=−0.04). These results are informative for researchers seeking to compare results pertaining to oxidative stress across studies and/or assessment methods in healthy disease-free populations. The development and use of oxidative stress biomarkers is a promising field; however, additional validation studies are necessary to establish accuracy and comparability across oxidative stress biomarkers

Female responses to experimental removal of sexual selection components in Drosophila melanogaster

Despite the common assumption that multiple mating should in general be favored in males, but not in females, to date there is no consensus on the general impact of multiple mating on female fitness. Notably, very little is known about the genetic and physiological features underlying the female response to sexual selection pressures. By combining an experimental evolution approach with genomic techniques, we investigated the effects of single and multiple matings on female fecundity and gene expression. We experimentally manipulated the opportunity for mating in replicate populations of Drosophila melanogaster by removing components of sexual selection, with the aim of testing differences in short term post-mating effects of females evolved under different mating strategies