Motion adaptation and attention: A critical review and meta-analysis

The motion aftereffect (MAE) provides a behavioural probe into the mechanisms underlying motion perception, and has been used to study the effects of attention on motion processing. Visual attention can enhance detection and discrimination of selected visual signals. However, the relationship between attention and motion processing remains contentious: not all studies find that attention increases MAEs. Our meta-analysis reveals several factors that explain superficially discrepant findings. Across studies (37 independent samples, 76 effects) motion adaptation was significantly and substantially enhanced by attention (Cohen's d = 1.12, p < .0001). The effect more than doubled when adapting to translating (vs. expanding or rotating) motion. Other factors affecting the attention-MAE relationship included stimulus size, eccentricity and speed. By considering these behavioural analyses alongside neurophysiological work, we conclude that feature-based (rather than spatial, or object-based) attention is the biggest driver of sensory adaptation. Comparisons between naïve and non-naïve observers, different response paradigms, and assessment of 'file-drawer effects' indicate that neither response bias nor publication bias are likely to have significantly inflated the estimated effect of attention

Daphnia as an Emerging Epigenetic Model Organism

Daphnia offer a variety of benefits for the study of epigenetics. Daphnia's parthenogenetic life cycle allows the study of epigenetic effects in the absence of confounding genetic differences. Sex determination and sexual reproduction are epigenetically determined as are several other well-studied alternate phenotypes that arise in response to environmental stressors. Additionally, there is a large body of ecological literature available, recently complemented by the genome sequence of one species and transgenic technology. DNA methylation has been shown to be altered in response to toxicants and heavy metals, although investigation of other epigenetic mechanisms is only beginning. More thorough studies on DNA methylation as well as investigation of histone modifications and RNAi in sex determination and predator-induced defenses using this ecologically and evolutionarily important organism will contribute to our understanding of epigenetics

The time to perform spinal or general anaesthesia in COVID-19 positive parturients requiring emergency caesarean delivery: a prospective crossover simulation study

Background: Spinal anaesthesia is the commonest performed technique for caesarean deliveries except in the emergency setting where general anaesthesia is preferred due to its rapid onset and predictability. There are several modifications to performing general anaesthesia for COVID-19 patients in Australia. We hypothesised that the performance time of these techniques amongst specialist anaesthetists would be similar for COVID-19 parturients undergoing emergency caesarean delivery. Methods: We designed a simulation cross-over study. The primary outcome was the time taken to perform general anaesthesia or spinal anaesthesia in this setting. We also examined the decision-making process time, the decision to incision time and the level of stress associated with both scenarios. Results: Nine specialist anaesthetists participated in the research. There was no difference in the time taken to perform spinal or general anaesthesia (mean difference (GA–SA scenario) –1.2 (–5.3–2.8) minutes, p = 0.5). Irrespective of group allocation the mean time to complete the spinal anaesthesia scenario was 27.4 (standard deviation = 7.8) minutes, while for the general anaesthesia scenario was 24.0 (7.2) minutes. There was no difference between these times (mean difference (GA–SA scenario) = –3.5 minutes, 95th percent confidence interval –9.7–2.8 minutes, p = 0.24). There was no evidence of a carryover effect for the two scenarios based on the group allocation (p = 0.69) and no significant difference between stress levels (p = 0.44). Conclusions: The time to perform spinal anaesthesia was similar to the time to perform general anaesthesia for a confirmed COVID-19 parturient in a simulation environment

Addressing the unmet need for visualizing Conditional Random Fields in Biological Data

Background: The biological world is replete with phenomena that appear to be ideally modeled and analyzed by one archetypal statistical framework - the Graphical Probabilistic Model (GPM). The structure of GPMs is a uniquely good match for biological problems that range from aligning sequences to modeling the genome-to-phenome relationship. The fundamental questions that GPMs address involve making decisions based on a complex web of interacting factors. Unfortunately, while GPMs ideally fit many questions in biology, they are not an easy solution to apply. Building a GPM is not a simple task for an end user. Moreover, applying GPMs is also impeded by the insidious fact that the complex web of interacting factors inherent to a problem might be easy to define and also intractable to compute upon. Discussion: We propose that the visualization sciences can contribute to many domains of the bio-sciences, by developing tools to address archetypal representation and user interaction issues in GPMs, and in particular a variety of GPM called a Conditional Random Field(CRF). CRFs bring additional power, and additional complexity, because the CRF dependency network can be conditioned on the query data. Conclusions: In this manuscript we examine the shared features of several biological problems that are amenable to modeling with CRFs, highlight the challenges that existing visualization and visual analytics paradigms induce for these data, and document an experimental solution called StickWRLD which, while leaving room for improvement, has been successfully applied in several biological research projects.Comment: BioVis 2014 conferenc

An Anti-Human ICAM-1 Antibody Inhibits Rhinovirus-Induced Exacerbations of Lung Inflammation

Human rhinoviruses (HRV) cause the majority of common colds and acute exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Effective therapies are urgently needed, but no licensed treatments or vaccines currently exist. Of the 100 identified serotypes, ∼90% bind domain 1 of human intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) as their cellular receptor, making this an attractive target for development of therapies; however, ICAM-1 domain 1 is also required for host defence and regulation of cell trafficking, principally via its major ligand LFA-1. Using a mouse anti-human ICAM-1 antibody (14C11) that specifically binds domain 1 of human ICAM-1, we show that 14C11 administered topically or systemically prevented entry of two major groups of rhinoviruses, HRV16 and HRV14, and reduced cellular inflammation, pro-inflammatory cytokine induction and virus load in vivo. 14C11 also reduced cellular inflammation and Th2 cytokine/chemokine production in a model of major group HRV-induced asthma exacerbation. Interestingly, 14C11 did not prevent cell adhesion via human ICAM-1/LFA-1 interactions in vitro, suggesting the epitope targeted by 14C11 was specific for viral entry. Thus a human ICAM-1 domain-1-specific antibody can prevent major group HRV entry and induction of airway inflammation in vivo

Predictors of prolonged benefit from palbociclib plus fulvestrant in women with endocrine-resistant hormone receptor–positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative metastatic breast cancer in PALOMA-3

Abstract Background The addition of palbociclib to fulvestrant improved clinical outcomes over placebo-fulvestrant in endocrine-pretreated metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients in PALOMA-3. Here, we examined factors predictive of long-term benefit. Methods Premenopausal-peri/postmenopausal patients with endocrine-resistant, hormone receptor–positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative MBC were randomised 2:1 to fulvestrant (500 mg) and either palbociclib (125 mg/d; 3/1 schedule; n = 347) or placebo (n = 174). Baseline characteristics, mutation status and HR expression levels were compared in patients with and without prolonged benefit (treatment duration ≥18 months). Results By August 2016, 100 patients (29%) on palbociclib-fulvestrant and 26 (15%) on placebo-fulvestrant demonstrated prolonged benefit, with long-term responders in both arms sharing common clinical characteristics. They usually had less disease burden at baseline versus those treated Conclusions This exploratory analysis demonstrates that some patients with endocrine-resistant MBC derive significant and prolonged benefit when treated with palbociclib-fulvestrant, with fewer patients experiencing similar efficacy with placebo-fulvestrant. The current analysis did not identify specific molecular or clinical factors prognostic of long-term benefit with palbociclib-fulvestrant ( ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT01942135 )

Probing Feedback in Galaxy Formation with Millimeter-wave Observations

Achieving a precise understanding of galaxy formation in a cosmological context is one of the great challenges in theoretical astrophysics, due to the vast range of spatial scales involved in the relevant physical processes. Observations in the millimeter bands, particularly those using the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation as a "backlight", provide a unique probe of the thermodynamics of these processes, with the capability to directly measure the density, pressure, and temperature of ionized gas. Moreover, these observations have uniquely high sensitivity into the outskirts of the halos of galaxies and clusters, including systems at high redshift. In the next decade, the combination of large spectroscopic and photometric optical galaxy surveys and wide-field, low-noise CMB surveys will transform our understanding of galaxy formation via these probes.Comment: Submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Surve

Moving from information and collaboration to action: report from the 3rd International Dog Health Workshop, Paris in April 2017

Abstract Background Breed-related health problems in dogs have received increased focus over the last decade. Responsibility for causing and/or solving these problems has been variously directed towards dog breeders and kennel clubs, the veterinary profession, welfare scientists, owners, regulators, insurance companies and the media. In reality, all these stakeholders are likely to share some responsibility and optimal progress on resolving these challenges requires all key stakeholders to work together. The International Partnership for Dogs (IPFD), together with an alternating host organization, holds biennial meetings called the International Dog Health Workshops (IDHW). The Société Centrale Canine (French Kennel Club) hosted the 3rd IDHW, in Paris, in April, 2017. These meetings bring together a wide range of stakeholders in dog health, science and welfare to improve international sharing of information and resources, to provide a forum for ongoing collaboration, and to identify specific needs and actions to improve health, well-being and welfare in dogs. Results The workshop included 140 participants from 23 countries and was structured around six important issues facing those who work to improve dog health. These included individualized breed-specific strategies for health and breeding, extreme conformations, education and communication in relation to antimicrobial resistance, behavior and welfare, genetic testing and population-based evidence. A number of exciting actions were agreed during the meeting. These included setting up working groups to create tools to help breed clubs accelerate the implementation of breed-health strategies, review aspects of extreme conformation and share useful information on behavior. The meeting also heralded the development of an online resource of relevant information describing quality measures for DNA testing. A demand for more and better data and evidence was a recurring message stressed across all themes. Conclusions The meeting confirmed the benefits from inclusion of a diverse range of stakeholders who all play relevant and collaborative parts to improve future canine health. Firm actions were set for progress towards improving breed-related welfare. The next international workshop will be in the UK in 2019 and will be organized by the UK Kennel Club