Pressure Training for Performance Domains: A Meta-Analysis.

Studies have tested pressure training (PT) interventions in which performers practice physical or technical skills under simulated psychological pressure, but research has not yet synthesized the results of these studies. This meta-analysis assessed the magnitude of PT’s effect on performance in sport and other high-pressure domains (e.g., law enforcement). A secondary purpose was to investigate how domain, dose, experience, and the type of task moderated the effectiveness of interventions. A study was included if it was peer-reviewed, conducted a PT intervention for sport or another high-pressure domain, and quantitatively compared a PT group with a control group on posttests under pressure. In all, 14 studies in sport (k = 10) and law enforcement (k = 4) were included. Participants (n = 394) were novices, semiprofessional athletes, elite athletes, and police officers. After removal of an outlier, the mean effect was medium (g = 0.67, 95% confidence interval [0.43, 1.12]) with low heterogeneity (I2 = 17.1%). Subgroup analysis did not indicate clear moderators of performance but did reinforce that PT can benefit both novice and experienced participants on open and closed tasks across different domains. The results suggest coaches and instructors should create pressurized training environments rather than relying on greater amounts of training to help performers adjust to pressure. Future research should develop practical pressure manipulations, conduct retention tests, and measure performance in competitive or real-life scenarios

Effect of egg turning and incubation time on carbonic anhydrase gene expression in the blastoderm of the Japanese quail (Coturnix c. japonica)

(1) The gene expression of carbonic anhydrase, a key enzyme for the production sub-embryonic fluid (SEF), was assessed in turned and unturned eggs of the Japanese quail. The plasma membrane-associated isoforms CA IV, CAIX, CA XII, CA XIV, and the cytoplasmic isoform CA II, were investigated in the extra-embryonic tissue of the blastoderm and in embryonic blood. (2) Eggs were incubated at 37.6C, c. 60% R.H., and turned hourly (90 ) or left unturned. From 48 to 96 hours of incubation mRNA was extracted from blastoderm tissue, reverse-transcribed to cDNA and quantified by real-time qPCR using gene-specific primers. Blood collected at 96h was processed identically. (3) Blastoderm CAIV gene expression increased with the period of incubation only in turned eggs, with maxima at 84 and 96h of incubation. Only very low levels were found in blood. (4) Blastoderm CA II gene expression was greatest at 48 and 54h of incubation, subsequently declining to much lower levels and una ected by turning. Blood CA II gene expression was about 25-fold greater than that in the blastoderm. (5) The expression of CA IX in the blastoderm was the highest of all isoforms, yet unaffected by turning. CA XII did not amplify and CA XIV was present at unquantifiable low levels. (6) It is concluded that solely gene expression for CA IV is sensitive to egg turning, and that increased CA IV gene expression could account for the additional SEF mass found at 84-96h of incubation. in embryos of turned eggs

Unsupervised Bayesian linear unmixing of gene expression microarrays

Background: This paper introduces a new constrained model and the corresponding algorithm, called unsupervised Bayesian linear unmixing (uBLU), to identify biological signatures from high dimensional assays like gene expression microarrays. The basis for uBLU is a Bayesian model for the data samples which are represented as an additive mixture of random positive gene signatures, called factors, with random positive mixing coefficients, called factor scores, that specify the relative contribution of each signature to a specific sample. The particularity of the proposed method is that uBLU constrains the factor loadings to be non-negative and the factor scores to be probability distributions over the factors. Furthermore, it also provides estimates of the number of factors. A Gibbs sampling strategy is adopted here to generate random samples according to the posterior distribution of the factors, factor scores, and number of factors. These samples are then used to estimate all the unknown parameters. Results: Firstly, the proposed uBLU method is applied to several simulated datasets with known ground truth and compared with previous factor decomposition methods, such as principal component analysis (PCA), non negative matrix factorization (NMF), Bayesian factor regression modeling (BFRM), and the gradient-based algorithm for general matrix factorization (GB-GMF). Secondly, we illustrate the application of uBLU on a real time-evolving gene expression dataset from a recent viral challenge study in which individuals have been inoculated with influenza A/H3N2/Wisconsin. We show that the uBLU method significantly outperforms the other methods on the simulated and real data sets considered here. Conclusions: The results obtained on synthetic and real data illustrate the accuracy of the proposed uBLU method when compared to other factor decomposition methods from the literature (PCA, NMF, BFRM, and GB-GMF). The uBLU method identifies an inflammatory component closely associated with clinical symptom scores collected during the study. Using a constrained model allows recovery of all the inflammatory genes in a single factor

Flower Bats (Glossophaga soricina) and Fruit Bats (Carollia perspicillata) Rely on Spatial Cues over Shapes and Scents When Relocating Food

Natural selection can shape specific cognitive abilities and the extent to which a given species relies on various cues when learning associations between stimuli and rewards. Because the flower bat Glossophaga soricina feeds primarily on nectar, and the locations of nectar-producing flowers remain constant, G. soricina might be predisposed to learn to associate food with locations. Indeed, G. soricina has been observed to rely far more heavily on spatial cues than on shape cues when relocating food, and to learn poorly when shape alone provides a reliable cue to the presence of food.Here we determined whether G. soricina would learn to use scent cues as indicators of the presence of food when such cues were also available. Nectar-producing plants fed upon by G. soricina often produce distinct, intense odors. We therefore expected G. soricina to relocate food sources using scent cues, particularly the flower-produced compound, dimethyl disulfide, which is attractive even to G. soricina with no previous experience of it. We also compared the learning of associations between cues and food sources by G. soricina with that of a related fruit-eating bat, Carollia perspicillata. We found that (1) G. soricina did not learn to associate scent cues, including dimethyl disulfide, with feeding sites when the previously rewarded spatial cues were also available, and (2) both the fruit-eating C. perspicillata and the flower-feeding G. soricina were significantly more reliant on spatial cues than associated sensory cues for relocating food.These findings, taken together with past results, provide evidence of a powerful, experience-independent predilection of both species to rely on spatial cues when attempting to relocate food

Nanomedical Theranostics in Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. New diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are needed to mitigate this public health issue. Advances in nanotechnology have generated innovative strategies for diagnosis and therapy in a variety of diseases, foremost in cancer. Based on these studies, a novel concept referred to as nanomedical theranostics, or the combinatory application of nanoparticulate agents to allow diagnostic therapy, is being explored to enable image-guided, personalized, or targeted treatment. Preclinically, theranostics have been gradually applied to CVD with several interesting and encouraging findings. This article summarizes studies and challenges of nanotheranostic strategies in CVD. It also evaluates nanotheranostic strategies that may potentially be utilized to benefit patients

Massive stars as thermonuclear reactors and their explosions following core collapse

Nuclear reactions transform atomic nuclei inside stars. This is the process of stellar nucleosynthesis. The basic concepts of determining nuclear reaction rates inside stars are reviewed. How stars manage to burn their fuel so slowly most of the time are also considered. Stellar thermonuclear reactions involving protons in hydrostatic burning are discussed first. Then I discuss triple alpha reactions in the helium burning stage. Carbon and oxygen survive in red giant stars because of the nuclear structure of oxygen and neon. Further nuclear burning of carbon, neon, oxygen and silicon in quiescent conditions are discussed next. In the subsequent core-collapse phase, neutronization due to electron capture from the top of the Fermi sea in a degenerate core takes place. The expected signal of neutrinos from a nearby supernova is calculated. The supernova often explodes inside a dense circumstellar medium, which is established due to the progenitor star losing its outermost envelope in a stellar wind or mass transfer in a binary system. The nature of the circumstellar medium and the ejecta of the supernova and their dynamics are revealed by observations in the optical, IR, radio, and X-ray bands, and I discuss some of these observations and their interpretations.Comment: To be published in " Principles and Perspectives in Cosmochemistry" Lecture Notes on Kodai School on Synthesis of Elements in Stars; ed. by Aruna Goswami & Eswar Reddy, Springer Verlag, 2009. Contains 21 figure

The value of prognostic factors for uterine cervical cancer patients treated with irradiation alone

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of our study was to investigate and evaluate the prognostic value of and correlations between preclinical and clinical factors such as the stage of the disease, blood Hb level before treatment, size of cervix and lymph nodes evaluated by CT, age, dose of irradiation and duration of radiotherapy related to overall survival, disease-free survival, local control and metastases-free survival in cervical cancer patients receiving radiotherapy alone.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>162 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIA-IIIB cervical carcinoma treated with irradiation were analysed. Univariate and multivariate analyses using the Cox regression model were performed to determine statistical significance of some tumor-related factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Hb level before treatment showed significant influence on overall survival (p = 0.001), desease free survival (p = 0.040) and local control (p = 0.038). The lymph node status (>10 mm) assessed on CT had impact on overall survival (p = 0,030) and local control (p = 0,036). The dose at point A had impact on disease free survival (p = 0,028) and local control (p = 0,021) and the radiotherapy duration had showed significant influence on overall survival (p = 0,045), disease free survival (p = 0,006) and local control (p = 0,033).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Anemia is a significant and independent prognostic factor of overall survival, disease-free survival and local control in cervical cancer patients treated with irradiation. The size of lymph nodes in CT is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and local control in cervical cancer patients. The size of cervix uteri evaluated by CT has no prognostic significance in cervical cancer patients treated with radiotherapy. The prognostic value of FIGO stage of cervical cancer is influenced by other factors, analyzed in this study and is not an independent prognostic factor.</p

Androgen receptor expression in metastatic adenocarcinoma in females favors a breast primary

BACKGROUND: The differential diagnosis of metastatic mammary adenocarcinoma and adenocarcinomas from other primary sites can be challenging, particularly in tumors that are poorly differentiated and negative for Estrogen/Progesterone receptors (ER/PR). With progression of disease, Androgen receptors (AR) are preserved with higher frequency than ER/PR in metastatic mammary carcinoma. This study was undertaken to evaluate the diagnostic significance of AR expression in adenocarcinoma of breast and other morphologically similar adenocarcinomas. DESIGN: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections of 113 primary adenocarcinoma of various sites [breast (34, all females), lung (23, M- 6, F-17), colon (9, M-2, F-7), stomach (6, M-4, F-2), liver and bile duct (11, M-5, F-6), pancreas (7, M-2, F-5), ovary (10), endometrium (7), and cervix (6)] were immunostained with monoclonal antibody for AR. Except for well differentiated lobular carcinoma of breast (5) and bronchoalveolar carcinoma of lung (10), majority of the tumors were moderately to poorly differentiated. Tumors immunoreactive for ≥ 10% of nuclei were considered AR positive. However, AR immunoreactivity in the cytoplasm only was also recorded. RESULTS: 56% (19/34) mammary carcinoma and 20% (2/10) adenocarcinoma of ovary were positive for AR. Remaining 69 adenocarcinomas did not show nuclear immunoreactivity for AR in ≥ 10% nuclei; however, 52% (36/69) showed variable cytoplasmic immunoreactivity. CONCLUSION: Significant proportion of mammary carcinomas and some ovarian carcinomas express AR in the nuclei of more than 10% tumor cells. If metastatic tumor with unknown primary in a female is AR positive, breast and ovary are the most likely primary sites. Cytoplasmic immunoreactivity alone without nuclear immunoreactivity for AR was non-specific for this differential diagnosis

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty