Author Correction: Task-dependent representations of stimulus and choice in mouse parietal cortex.

In the original version of this Article, the Acknowledgements section was inadvertently omitted. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article

Serum IL-6 Is Increased During Performance Cycling After Energy Drink Consumption

Energy Drinks (ED) have become popular preexercise supplements due to the stimulant effects of their ingredients such as caffeine. Other ingredients including carbohydrate (CHO), glucuronolactone and taurine may also contribute to performance enhancement. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of energy drink consumption on cycling performance, substrate oxidation and immune-related variables. Methods: This study was a blinded, randomized, cross-over design with 3 experimental conditions. Eleven trained male cyclists (mean age 33.4±8.9 yr, body mass 81±7.6 kg, VO2max 51.72±3.4 ml*kg-1*min-1) consumed 3 different 500 ml beverages: 1) Energy Drink (ED1- 2.0g taurine, 1.2 g glucoronolactone, 160 mg caffeine, 54 g CHO, 40 mg niacin, 10 mg pantothenic acid, 10 mg vitamin B6, and 10 μg vitamin B12), 2) cola matched for caffeine and CHO (ED2), or 3) non-caloric sparkling water (ED3) 55 min prior to racing. Performance was measured as time to complete a 25-mile simulated road race. Blood was collected pre-drink (PrD), 30 minutes after drink (pre-exercise, PrEx), during exercise at mile 5 (M5), mile 15 (M15), and immediately (PoEx) & 30 min post-exercise (30min). Results: Performance time was not different among trials (ED1 4117±161, ED2 4132±230, ED3 4173±225 s). PrEx IL-6 was not different among ED1, 2 or 3 (0.61±0.09, 0.78±0.1, 0.56±0.07 pg*mL-1, respectively). PoEx IL-6 was greatest after ED1 while ED2 IL-6 response was greater than ED3 (10.2±1.6, 6.7±0.6, 4.8±0.7 pg*ml-1, p\u3c0.001). IL-6 declined after ED1 & ED2 by 30min, but remained significantly greater than baseline after all trials (5.3±1, 4.1±0.5, 3.6±0.7, at 30min, ED1, 2 and 3, respectively, p\u3c0.001). Cycling increased leukocyte number in all conditions with ED1 leukocyte number greater than that of ED3 at M15 (9.8±0.6, 8.5±0.3 x10^6 cells/mL, p=0.012). Mean fat oxidation was greater in ED3 compared to ED2 (0.43±0.06, 0.28±0.04 g*min-1, p=0.033) but did not differ between ED1 (0.32±0.06) and ED3. Fat oxidation was increased in all trials from M5 (0.27±0.06, 0.28±0.05, 0.40±0.07, ED1, 2, 3 respectively) to M15 (0.46±0.08, 0.42±0.06, 0.61±0.06, ED1, 2, 3 respectively, p\u3c0.001). Conclusion: Coingestion of caffeine and CHO prior to endurance cycling significantly increased the IL-6 response to exercise, and the additional ingredients of ED1 appear to have further augmented this response. ED1 also appears to have increased leukocyte number compared to ED3 and fat oxidation so that it was similar to that observed during ED3. The observed results may be consequent to SNS stimulation via caffeine or other ingredients in ED1

Causes of decoupling between larval supply and settlement and consequences for understanding recruitment and population connectivity

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 392 (2010): 9-21, doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2010.04.008.Marine broadcast spawners have two-phase life cycles, with pelagic larvae and benthic adults. Larval supply and settlement link these two phases and are crucial for the persistence of marine populations. Mainly due to the complexity in sampling larval supply accurately, many researchers use settlement as a proxy for larval supply. Larval supply is a constraining variable for settlement because, without larval supply, there is no settlement. Larval supply and settlement may not be well correlated, however, and settlement may not consistently estimate larval supply. This paper explores the argument that larval supply (i.e., larval abundance near settlement sites) may not relate linearly to settlement. We review the relationship between larval supply and settlement, from estimates and biases in larval supply sampling, to non-behavioral and behavioral components, including small-scale hydrodynamics, competency, gregarious behavior, intensification of settlement, lunar periodicity, predation and cannibalism. Physical and structural processes coupled with behavior, such as small-scale hydrodynamics and intensification of settlement, sometimes result in under- or overestimation of larval supply, where it is predicted from a linear relationship with settlement. Although settlement is a function of larval supply, spatial and temporal processes interact with larval behavior to distort the relationship between larval supply and settlement, and when these distortions act consistently in time and space, they cause biased estimates of larval supply from settlement data. Most of the examples discussed here suggest that behavior is the main source of the decoupling between larval supply and settlement because larval behavior affects the vertical distribution of larvae, the response of larvae to hydrodynamics, intensification of settlement, gregariousness, predation and cannibalism. Thus, larval behavior seems to limit broad generalizations on the regulation of settlement by larval supply. Knowledge of the relationship is further hindered by the lack of a well founded theoretical relationship between the two variables. The larval supply- settlement transition may have strong general consequences for population connectivity, since larval supply is a result of larval transport, and settlement constrains recruitment. Thus, measuring larval supply and settlement effectively allows more accurate quantification and understanding of larval transport, recruitment and population connectivity.JP would like to thank WHOI Ocean Life Institute for partial funding. FP’s contribution is based upon research supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation

Data from: Distinct roles of visual, parietal, and frontal motor cortices in memory-guided sensorimotor decisions

Mapping specific sensory features to future motor actions is a crucial capability of mammalian nervous systems. We investigated the role of visual (V1), posterior parietal (PPC), and frontal motor (fMC) cortices for sensorimotor mapping in mice during performance of a memory-guided visual discrimination task. Large-scale calcium imaging revealed that V1, PPC, and fMC neurons exhibited heterogeneous responses spanning all task epochs (stimulus, delay, response). Population analyses demonstrated unique encoding of stimulus identity and behavioral choice information across regions, with V1 encoding stimulus, fMC encoding choice even early in the trial, and PPC multiplexing the two variables. Optogenetic inhibition during behavior revealed that all regions were necessary during the stimulus epoch, but only fMC was required during the delay and response epochs. Stimulus identity can thus be rapidly transformed into behavioral choice, requiring V1, PPC, and fMC during the transformation period, but only fMC for maintaining the choice in memory prior to execution

Task-dependent representations of stimulus and choice in mouse parietal cortex

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has been implicated in perceptual decisions, but whether its role is specific to sensory processing or sensorimotor transformation is not well understood. Here, we trained mice to perform a go/no-go visual discrimination task and imaged the activity of neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) and PPC during engaged behavior and passive viewing. Unlike V1 neurons, which respond robustly to stimuli in both conditions, most PPC neurons respond exclusively during task engagement. To test whether signals in PPC primarily encoded the stimulus or the animal's impending choice, we image the same neurons before and after re-training mice with a reversed sensorimotor contingency. Unlike V1 neurons, most PPC neurons reflect the animal's choice of the new target stimulus after re-training. Mouse PPC is therefore strongly task-dependent, reflects choice more than stimulus, and may play a role in the transformation of visual inputs into motor commands

Using i-PARIHS to assess implementation of the Surgical Safety Checklist: an international qualitative study

Abstract Background Strategies selected to implement the WHO’s Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) are key factors in its ability to improve patient safety. Underutilization of implementation frameworks for informing implementation processes hinders our understanding of the checklists’ varying effectiveness in different contexts. This study explored the extent to which SSC implementation practices could be assessed through the i-PARIHS framework and examined how it could support development of targeted recommendations to improve SSC implementation in high-income settings. Methods This qualitative study utilized interviews with surgical team members and health administrators from five high-income countries to understand the key elements necessary for successful implementation of the SSC. Using thematic analysis, we identified within and across-case themes that were mapped to the i-PARIHS framework constructs. Gaps in current implementation strategies were identified, and the utility of i-PARIHS to guide future efforts was assessed. Results Fifty-one multi-disciplinary clinicians and health administrators completed interviews. We identified themes that impacted SSC implementation in each of the four i-PARIHS constructs and several that spanned multiple constructs. Within innovation, a disconnect between the clinical outcomes-focused evidence in the literature and interviewees’ patient-safety focus on observable results reduced the SSC’s perceived relevance. Within recipients, existing surgical team hierarchies impacted checklist engagement, but this could be addressed through a shared leadership model. Within context, organizational priorities resulting in time pressures on surgical teams were at odds with SSC patient safety goals and reduced fidelity. At a health system level, employing surgical team members through the state or health region resulted in significant challenges in enforcing checklist use in private vs public hospitals. Within its facilitation construct, i-PARIHS includes limited definitions of facilitation processes. We identified using multiple interdisciplinary champions; establishing checklist performance feedback mechanisms; and modifying checklist processes, such as implementing a full-team huddle, as facilitators of successful SSC implementation. Conclusion The i-PARIHS framework enabled a comprehensive assessment of current implementation strategies, identifying key gaps and allowed for recommending targeted improvements. i-PARIHS could serve as a guide for planning future SSC implementation efforts, however, further clarification of facilitation processes would improve the framework’s utility. Trial registration No health care intervention was performed