Enhanced Auditory Brainstem Response and Parental Bonding Style in Children with Gastrointestinal Symptoms

The electrophysiological properties of the brain and influence of parental bonding in childhood irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are unclear. We hypothesized that children with chronic gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms like IBS may show exaggerated brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) responses and receive more inadequate parental bonding. = 0.024). Multiple regression analysis in females also supported these findings.It is suggested that children with chronic GI symptoms have exaggerated brainstem responses to environmental stimuli and inadequate parental behaviors aggravate these symptoms

Neurogenic mechanisms in bladder and bowel ageing

The prevalence of both urinary and faecal incontinence, and also chronic constipation, increases with ageing and these conditions have a major impact on the quality of life of the elderly. Management of bladder and bowel dysfunction in the elderly is currently far from ideal and also carries a significant financial burden. Understanding how these changes occur is thus a major priority in biogerontology. The functions of the bladder and terminal bowel are regulated by complex neuronal networks. In particular neurons of the spinal cord and peripheral ganglia play a key role in regulating micturition and defaecation reflexes as well as promoting continence. In this review we discuss the evidence for ageing-induced neuronal dysfunction that might predispose to neurogenic forms of incontinence in the elderly

Search for pair-produced long-lived neutral particles decaying to jets in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter in ppcollisions at √s=8TeV

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to search for the decay of a scalar boson to a pair of long-lived particles, neutral under the Standard Model gauge group, in 20.3fb−1of data collected in proton–proton collisions at √s=8TeV. This search is sensitive to long-lived particles that decay to Standard Model particles producing jets at the outer edge of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No significant excess of events is observed. Limits are reported on the product of the scalar boson production cross section times branching ratio into long-lived neutral particles as a function of the proper lifetime of the particles. Limits are reported for boson masses from 100 GeVto 900 GeV, and a long-lived neutral particle mass from 10 GeVto 150 GeV

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Measurement of the production of a W boson in association with a charm quark in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√ = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96+0.26−0.30 at Q 2 = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio σ(W + +c¯¯)/σ(W − + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s−s¯¯¯ quark asymmetry

A prospective investigation of rumination and executive control in predicting overgeneral autobiographical memory in adolescence

The CaR-FA-X model (Williams et al., 2007), or capture and rumination (CaR), functional avoidance (FA) and impaired executive control (X), is a model of overgeneral autobiographical memory. Two mechanisms of the model, rumination and executive control were examined in isolation and in interaction to investigate overgeneral autobiographical memory over time. Method: Across two time points, six months apart, a total of 149 adolescents (13-16 years) completed a minimal instruction autobiographical memory test, a measure of executive control with emotional and non-emotional stimuli, and measures of brooding rumination and reflective pondering. Results: It was found that executive control for emotional information was negatively associated with OGM, but only when reflective pondering levels were high. Conclusion: In the context of higher levels of reflective pondering, greater switch costs (i.e. lower executive control) when processing emotional information predict a decrease in OGM over time

Mitochondrial complex I and cell death: a semi-automatic shotgun model

Mitochondrial dysfunction often leads to cell death and disease. We can now draw correlations between the dysfunction of one of the most important mitochondrial enzymes, NADH:ubiquinone reductase or complex I, and its structural organization thanks to the recent advances in the X-ray structure of its bacterial homologs. The new structural information on bacterial complex I provide essential clues to finally understand how complex I may work. However, the same information remains difficult to interpret for many scientists working on mitochondrial complex I from different angles, especially in the field of cell death. Here, we present a novel way of interpreting the bacterial structural information in accessible terms. On the basis of the analogy to semi-automatic shotguns, we propose a novel functional model that incorporates recent structural information with previous evidence derived from studies on mitochondrial diseases, as well as functional bioenergetics

Adaptive robot training for the treatment of incoordination in Multiple Sclerosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cerebellar symptoms are extremely disabling and are common in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) subjects. In this feasibility study, we developed and tested a robot therapy protocol, aimed at the rehabilitation of incoordination in MS subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eight subjects with clinically defined MS performed planar reaching movements while grasping the handle of a robotic manipulandum, which generated forces that either reduced (error-reducing, ER) or enhanced (error-enhancing, EE) the curvature of their movements, assessed at the beginning of each session. The protocol was designed to adapt to the individual subjects' impairments, as well as to improvements between sessions (if any). Each subject went through a total of eight training sessions. To compare the effect of the two variants of the training protocol (ER and EE), we used a cross-over design consisting of two blocks of sessions (four ER and four EE; 2 sessions/week), separated by a 2-weeks rest period. The order of application of ER and EE exercises was randomized across subjects. The primary outcome measure was the modification of the Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT) score. Other clinical scales and movement kinematics were taken as secondary outcomes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Most subjects revealed a preserved ability to adapt to the robot-generated forces. No significant differences were observed in EE and ER training. However over sessions, subjects exhibited an average 24% decrease in their NHPT score. The other clinical scales showed small improvements for at least some of the subjects. After training, movements became smoother, and their curvature decreased significantly over sessions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results point to an improved coordination over sessions and suggest a potential benefit of a short-term, customized, and adaptive robot therapy for MS subjects.</p