Cerebellar contributions to visuomotor adaptation and motor sequence learning: an ALE meta-analysis

Cerebellar contributions to motor learning are well-documented. For example, under some conditions, patients with cerebellar damage are impaired at visuomotor adaptation and at acquiring new action sequences. Moreover, cerebellar activation has been observed in functional MRI (fMRI) investigations of various motor learning tasks. The early phases of motor learning are cognitively demanding, relying on processes such as working memory, which have been linked to the cerebellum as well. Here, we investigated cerebellar contributions to motor learning using activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis. This allowed us to determine, across studies and tasks, whether or not the location of cerebellar activation is constant across differing motor learning tasks, and whether or not cerebellar activation in early learning overlaps with that observed for working memory. We found that different regions of the anterior cerebellum are engaged for implicit and explicit sequence learning and visuomotor adaptation, providing additional evidence for the modularity of cerebellar function. Furthermore, we found that lobule VI of the cerebellum, which has been implicated in working memory, is activated during the early stages of explicit motor sequence learning. This provides evidence for a potential role for the cerebellum in the cognitive processing associated with motor learning. However, though lobule VI was activated across both early explicit sequence learning and working memory studies, there was no spatial overlap between these two regions. Together, our results support the idea of modularity in the formation of internal representations of new motor tasks in the cerebellum, and highlight the cognitive processing relied upon during the early phases of motor skill learning

Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in Blacks with HIV/AIDS in America: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) related to HIV infection is becoming a major public health concern in the United Stated. Epidemiologic studies show that prolonged use of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, HIV/AIDS itself, and a combination of traditional vascular risk factors increase the risk for CVD among people with HIV/AIDS. However, little is known about any racial disparities in the risk for CVD in the HIV/AIDS population. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of literature on HIV/AIDS and CVD (June 1, 2010-July 31, 2014) through MEDLINE to examine whether and how HIV-positive African Americans are disproportionately affected by CVD compared to their white counterparts. The corrected pooled effect from the eligible studies was 1.26 (95% confidence interval 1.22-1.30). Blacks living with HIV/AIDS have higher risk for CVD than non-Hispanic whites. The findings of this study provide an important basis for prevention efforts as well as recommendations for addressing the existing racial disparities in the risk for CVD among people living with HIV/AIDS

Planification d'expériences numériques à partir du processus ponctuel de Strauss

In the computer experiments setting, Space-Filling Designs (SFDs) are widely used to explore the complex relationship between inputs and outputs. In this paper, a new SFD is initially defined with the help of the Strauss process. Through Markov chain Monte-Carlo (McMC) methods, more general Gibbs processes can be used to perform different goals. We will see that it is easy to sample over the entire range of each input variable as Latin hypercubes do it. Moreover, non-homogeneous designs can be constructed to take account of a priori information

Associations prospectives entre l’exposition préscolaire à des contenus télévisuels violents et le bien-être psychosocial au début de l’adolescence

Objectif. Les avancées technologiques procurent aux jeunes enfants un accès sans précédent aux médias violents. Pourtant, l’étendue et la persistance des risques psychosociaux et scolaires à long terme découlant de l’exposition précoce à des médias violents demeurent méconnues. Cette étude vise donc à examiner les associations prospectives entre l’exposition préscolaire à des contenus télévisuels violents et le bien-être psychosocial des filles et des garçons au début de l’adolescence. Méthode. Les participants (978 filles et 998 garçons) de cette étude longitudinale prospective proviennent de la cohorte de naissances de l'Étude longitudinale du développement des enfants du Québec (ÉLDEQ). Les parents ont rapporté la fréquence d’exposition à des contenus télévisuels violents de leur enfant à l’âge de 3,5 ans et 4,5 ans. Huit ans plus tard, huit indicateurs importants du bien-être psychosocial de l’enfant à 12 ans ont été rapportés par l’enseignant et l’adolescent. Pour mesurer les associations prospectives, les indicateurs de bien-être psychosocial à 12 ans ont d’abord été régressé linéairement sur l’exposition à des contenus télévisuels violents à l’âge de 3,5 et 4,5 ans, et cela, pour chaque enfant, sans distinction du sexe. Puis, des analyses stratifiées par le sexe ont été effectuées. L’ensemble des analyses ont été contrôlées pour des caractéristiques individuelles et familiales confondantes. Résultats. Pour les filles, l’exposition préscolaire à des contenus télévisuels violents est associée à une augmentation de la détresse émotionnelle (β = 0,11; intervalle de confiance [IC] 95 %, 0,13 à 0,49) et à une diminution de l’engagement en classe (β = -0,10; IC 95 %, -1,55 à -0,40), du rendement scolaire (β = -0,16; IC 95 %, -3,48 à -1,72) et de la motivation intrinsèque scolaire (β = -0,07; IC 95 %, -1,09 à -0,07) à l’âge de 12 ans. Pour les garçons, l’exposition préscolaire à des contenus télévisuels violents est associée à une augmentation de la détresse émotionnelle (β = 0,10; IC 95 %, 0,13 à 0,53), de l’inattention (β = 0,08; IC 95 %, 0,06 à 0,45), des comportements découlant du trouble des conduites (β = 0,06; IC 95 %, 0,00 à 0,21) et de retrait social (β = 0,08; IC 95 %, 0,05 à 0,40), ainsi qu’à une diminution de l’engagement en classe (β = -0,07; IC 95 %, -1,57 à -0,12), du rendement scolaire (β = -0,07; IC 95 %, -2,15 à -0,23) et de la motivation intrinsèque scolaire (β = -0,07; IC 95 %, -1,13 à -0,03) à l’âge de 12 ans. Conclusion. Nos résultats révèlent des risques psychosociaux et scolaires distincts et persistants au début de l'adolescence associés à l'exposition préscolaire à des contenus télévisuels violents pour les filles et les garçons. La diminution de l'exposition à des contenus violents à l'écran durant les années préscolaires représente une intervention parentale bénéfique et un objectif d'éducation aux médias.Objective. The extent to which the long-term risks of early exposure to media violence remains unclear. This study aims to examine whether preschool exposure to violent media predicts a range of associated psycho-social and academic risks for boys and for girls in early adolescence. Methods. Participants (978 girls and 998 boys) are from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development birth cohort. Self- and teacher-reported measures of child psycho-social and academic adjustment indicators at age 12 years were linearly regressed on parent-reported child exposure to televised violence at age 3.5 and 4.5 years, while adjusting for potential confounders. Results. For girls, violent televiewing during preschool years was associated with increases in emotional distress (β = 0.11; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.13 to 0.49) and decreases in classroom engagement (β = -0.10; 95% CI, -1.55 to -0.40), academic achievement (β = -0.16; 95% CI, -3.48 to -1.72), and intrinsic academic motivation (β = -0.07; 95% CI, -1.09 to -0.07) at age 12 years. For boys, violent televiewing during preschool years was associated with increases in emotional distress (β = 0.10; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.53), inattention (β = 0.08; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.45), and conduct disordered (β = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.21) and socially withdrawn behavior (β = 0.08; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.40), as well as decreases in classroom engagement (β = -0.07; 95% CI, -1.57 to -0.12), academic achievement (β = -0.07; 95% CI, -2.15 to -0.23) and intrinsic academic motivation (β = -0.07; 95% CI, -1.13 to -0.03) at age 12 years. Conclusion. Our findings in early adolescence reveal distinct, persistent risks associated with preschool exposure to violent televiewing for boys and girls. Diminishing preschool screen violence exposure represents a useful parent intervention and media literacy target

Scanning Electron Microscopy of the Surface of Human Duodenum in Patients With and Without Duodenal Ulcer Disease

Endoscopic biopsy specimens of normal human duodenum from patients with duodenal ulcer disease were studied by light microscopy and by scanning electron microscopy. For scanning, the tissue was dried by the critical point-drying technique. SEM criteria for both normal and abnormal duodenal surfaces were determined. SEM evidence for the presence of tuft cells similar to those found on the surface of rat duodenum was found in both the normal and abnormal human material. Although other reports have described the favorable effects of carbenoxolone sodium treatment on duodenal ulcer disease, our SEM studies of four patients found that this treatment had no effect on the duodenal surface

ABERRANT TESTA SHAPE encodes a KANADI family member, linking polarity determination to separation and growth of Arabidopsis ovule integuments

The Arabidopsis aberrant testa shape (ats) mutant produces a single integument instead of the two integuments seen in wild-type ovules. Cellular anatomy and patterns of marker gene expression indicate that the single integument results from congenital fusion of the two integuments of the wild type. Isolation of the ATS locus showed it to encode a member of the KANADI (KAN) family of putative transcription factors, previously referred to as KAN4. ATS was expressed at the border between the two integuments at the time of their initiation, with expression later confined to the abaxial layer of the inner integument. In an inner no outer (ino) mutant background, where an outer integument does not form, the ats mutation led to amorphous inner integument growth. The kan1 kan2 double mutant exhibits a similar amorphous growth of the outer integument without affecting inner integument growth. We hypothesize that ATS and KAN1/KAN2 play similar roles in the specification of polarity in the inner and outer integuments, respectively, that parallel the known roles of KAN proteins in promoting abaxial identity during leaf development. INO and other members of the YABBY gene family have been hypothesized to have similar parallel roles in outer integument and leaf development. Together, these two hypotheses lead us to propose a model for normal integument growth that also explains the described mutant phenotypes

Adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis show qualitatively altered patterns of activation during rule learning

Background The ability to flexibly apply rules to novel situations is a critical aspect of adaptive human behavior. While executive function deficits are known to appear early in the course of psychosis, it is unclear which specific facets are affected. Identifying whether rule learning is impacted at the early stages of psychosis is necessary for truly understanding the etiology of psychosis and may be critical for designing novel treatments. Therefore, we examined rule learning in healthy adolescents and those meeting criteria for clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. Methods 24 control and 22 CHR adolescents underwent rapid, high-resolution fMRI while performing a paradigm which required them to apply novel or practiced task rules. Results Previous work has suggested that practiced rules rely on rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) during rule encoding and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during task performance, while novel rules show the opposite pattern. We failed to replicate this finding, with greater activity for novel rules during performance. Comparing the HC and CHR group, there were no statistically significant effects, but an effect size analysis found that the CHR group showed less activation during encoding and greater activation during performance. This suggests the CHR group may use less efficient reactive control to retrieve task rules at the time of task performance, rather than proactively during rule encoding. Conclusions These findings suggest that flexibility is qualitatively altered in the clinical high risk state, however, more data is needed to determine whether these deficits predict disease progression.This work was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health R01MH094650 to V.A.M.. J.M.O. was supported by F32DA034412 and by start-up funds from Texas A&M University. J.A.B. was supported by NIH F32MH102898, a Brain & Behavior Research Foundation NARSAD Young Investigator Award as the Donald & Janet Boardman Family Investigator, and by start-up funds from Texas A&M University