Transmission of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae (Myxozoa: Malacosporea), the causative organism of salmonid proliferative kidney disease, to the freshwater bryozoan Fredericella sultana

Proliferative kidney disease (PKD), caused by the malacosporean parasite Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, causes significant losses among salmonids in Western Europe and North America. The role of salmonid fish in the life-cycle of this parasite has been conjectured upon for over a quarter of a century. To examine whether fish can transmit the infection to bryozoans, the known invertebrate host, water containing parasitized brown trout Salmo trutta was pumped into tanks containing colonies of Fredericella sultana collected from the wild. The specific parasite-free status of these colonies being first assessed, by PCR and prolonged laboratory culture. After 6 weeks exposure to the brown trout aquarium effluent, portions of these colonies displayed overt infections with T. bryosalmonae. This was in contrast to control bryozoans, derived from the experimental colonies prior to exposure, which remained T. bryosalmonae negative. In addition, spores obtained from the experimentally infected colonies were exposed to naive rainbow trout, resulting in clinical PKD, thus completing a cycle of transmission. During the experiments, the infection was noted to inhibit statoblast formation within bryozoans and appeared to be pathogenic, finally killing the bryozoan host. These findings indicate that fish can transmit the parasite to bryozoans and are an integral part of this parasite’s life-cycle

Go with the flow: a neuroscientific view on being fully engaged

Flow is a state of full task absorption, accompanied with a strong drive and low levels of self-referential thinking. Flow is likely when there is a match between a person's skills and the task challenge. Despite its relevance for human performance and the vast body of research on flow, there is currently still relatively little insight in its underlying neurocognitive mechanisms. In this paper, we discuss a set of large brain networks that may be involved in establishing the core dimensions of flow. We propose that dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems mediate the intrinsic motivation and activate mood states that are typical for flow. The interaction between three large-scale attentional networks, namely the Default Mode Network, Central Executive Network and the Salience Network is proposed to play a role in the strong task engagement, low self-referential thinking, feedback and feelings of control in flow. The proposed relationships between flow and the brain networks may support the generation of new hypotheses and can guide future research in this field.Pathways through Adolescenc

Getting lost in a story: how narrative engagement emerges from narrative perspective and individual differences in alexithymia

The present research examines how narrative engagement, or the extent to which people immerse themselves into the world of a story, varies as a function of narrative perspective and individual differences in alexithymia. The authors hypothesised that narrative engagement would be higher when people assume a first-person (rather than third-person) perspective and for people lower (rather than higher) on alexithymia. In an online study (N = 541) and a lab study (N = 55), participants with varying levels of alexithymia read first- and/or third-person narrated texts and then rated their narrative engagement. As expected, first-person stories evoked more narrative engagement than third-person stories, and global alexithymia was negatively correlated with narrative engagement. Narrative perspective did not interact with cognitive facets of alexithymia (i.e. difficulties identifying, verbalising, and understanding feelings). However, narrative perspective did interact with affective facets of alexithymia (i.e. emotionalising and fantasising): First-person (rather than third-person) stories elicited more narrative engagement at lower levels of affective alexithymia, but not at higher levels of affective alexithymia. The interaction effect was significant in Study 1; the interaction was significant in Study 2 after controlling for trait absorption. Together, these findings suggest that alexithymia is linked to difficulties in mentally simulating narrative worlds.Pathways through Adolescenc

Spelling in adolescents with dyslexia: errors and modes of assessment

In this study we focused on the spelling of high-functioning students with dyslexia. We made a detailed classification of the errors in a word and sentence dictation task made by 100 students with dyslexia and 100 matched control students. All participants were in the first year of their bachelor’s studies and had Dutch as mother tongue. Three main error categories were distinguished: phonological, orthographic, and grammatical errors (on the basis of morphology and language-specific spelling rules). The results indicated that higher-education students with dyslexia made on average twice as many spelling errors as the controls, with effect sizes of d ≥ 2. When the errors were classified as phonological, orthographic, or grammatical, we found a slight dominance of phonological errors in students with dyslexia. Sentence dictation did not provide more information than word dictation in the correct classification of students with and without dyslexia

Go with the flow: A neuroscientific view on being fully engaged

Flow is a state of full task absorption, accompanied with a strong drive and low levels of self-referential thinking. Flow is likely when there is a match between a person's skills and the task challenge. Despite its relevance for human performance and the vast body of researc

Evaluation of current prediction models for Lynch syndrome: updating the PREMM5 model to identify PMS2 mutation carriers

Until recently, no prediction models for Lynch syndrome (LS) had been validated for PMS2 mutation carriers. We aimed to evaluate MMRpredict and PREMM5 in a clinical cohort and for PMS2 mutation carriers specifically. In a retrospective, clinic-based cohort we calculated predictions for LS according to MMRpredict and PREMM5. The area under the operator receiving characteristic curve (AU

Noninvasive Evaluation of the Aortic Root With Multislice Computed Tomography Implications for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

ObjectivesIn the present study, the anatomy of the aortic root was assessed noninvasively with multislice computed tomography (MSCT).BackgroundTranscatheter aortic valve replacement has been proposed as an alternative to surgery in high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis. For this procedure, detailed knowledge of aortic annulus diameters and the relation between the annulus and the coronary arteries is needed.MethodsIn 169 patients (111 men, age 54 ± 11 years), a 64-slice MSCT scan was performed for evaluation of coronary artery disease. Of these, 150 patients had no or mild aortic stenosis, and 19 patients had moderate to severe aortic stenosis. Reconstructed coronal and sagittal views were used for assessment of the aortic annulus diameter in 2 directions. In addition, the distance between the annulus and the ostium of the right and left coronary arteries and the length of the coronary leaflets were assessed. The LV outflow tract and interventricular septum were analyzed on the single oblique sagittal view at end-diastole.ResultsThe diameter of the aortic annulus was 26.3 ± 2.8 mm on the coronal view, and 23.5 ± 2.7 mm on the sagittal view. Mean difference between the 2 diameters was 2.9 ± 1.8 mm, indicating an oval shape of the aortic annulus. Mean distance between the aortic annulus and the ostium of the right coronary artery was 17.2 ± 3.3 mm, and mean distance between the annulus and the ostium of the left coronary artery was 14.4 ± 2.9 mm. In 82 patients (49%), the length of the left coronary leaflet exceeded the distance between the annulus and the ostium of the left coronary artery. There were no significant differences in the diameter of annulus, diameter of sinus of Valsalva, or the distance between the annulus, left coronary leaflet, and the ostium of the left coronary artery, between the patient with and without severe aortic stenosis.ConclusionsThe MSCT can provide detailed information on the shape of the aortic annulus and the relation between the annulus and the ostia of the coronary arteries. Thereby, MSCT may be helpful for avoiding paravalvular leakage and coronary occlusion and may facilitate the selection of candidates for transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Role of computed tomography imaging for transcatheter valvular repair/insertion

During the last decade, the development of transcatheter based therapies has provided feasible therapeutic options for patients with symptomatic severe valvular heart disease who are deemed inoperable. The promising results of many nonrandomized series and recent landmark trials have increased the number of percutaneous transcatheter valve procedures in high operative risk patients. Pre-procedural imaging of the anatomy of the aortic or mitral valve and their spatial relationships is crucial to select the most appropriate device or prosthesis and to plan the percutaneous procedure. Multidetector row computed tomography provides 3-dimensional volumetric data sets allowing unlimited plane reconstructions and plays an important role in pre-procedural screening and procedural planning. This review will describe the evolving role of multidetector row computed tomography in patient selection and strategy planning of transcatheter aortic and mitral valve procedures