Gender-based navigation stereotype improves men’s search for a hidden goal

While a general stereotype exists that men are better at navigating than women, experimental evidence indicates that men and women differ in their use of spatial strategies, and this preference determines gender-differences. When both environmental geometry and landmark cues are available, men appear to learn to navigate using both types of cues, while women show a preference for using landmarks. Using a computer-generated task, 80 undergraduate students from North-East England learned to navigate to a hidden goal. Activating the general navigation stereotype improved the performance of men, compared to the control condition, both when only geometric cues and only landmark cues were present (stereotype lift), suggesting that activating a general stereotype can affect tasks both with (geometry) and without (landmark) established gender-differences in preference. In addition, in the test trial (hidden goal removed) women who learned to navigate using only landmarks spent longer in the correct location of the hidden goal than those who learned to navigate using only geometry. In contrast, the opposite result was found for men, suggesting that when only one cue-type is available, gender-differences still occur, with women better able to navigate using landmarks than geometry, while men seemed to learn more about the location of the goal with reference to geometric than landmark cues

The discovery of kimberlites in antarctica extends the vast gondwanan cretaceous province

Kimberlites are a volumetrically minor component of the Earth's volcanic record, but are very important as the major commercial source of diamonds and as the deepest samples of the Earth's mantle. They were predominantly emplaced from ≈2,100 Ma to ≈1

The new COSMIN guidelines confront traditional concepts of responsiveness

The recently published "COSMIN" guidelines aim to rate properties of outcome instruments and state two issues with regard to responsiveness which is the instrument's ability to detect change over time. These issues are comparison of score changes with change of an external criterion using correlations and the judgement of traditional methods as inappropriate. The latter are the "transition" concept, a global rating of change, and parametric measures of responsiveness, for example, effect sizes. It can be shown that the methodology proposed by the guidelines has important weaknesses and that denunciation of traditional methods is not appropriate. Some claims of the guidelines about responsiveness do not match the demands of clinical reality and confront findings of numerous epidemiological studies

Introspective physicalism as an approach to the science of consciousness

Most ‘theories of consciousness’ are based on vague speculations about the properties of conscious experience. We aim to provide a more solid basis for a science of consciousness. We argue that a theory of consciousness should provide an account of the very processes that allow us to acquire and use information about our own mental states – the processes underlying introspection. This can be achieved through the construction of information processing models that can account for ‘Type-C’ processes. Type-C processes can be specified experimentally by identifying paradigms in which awareness of the stimulus is necessary for an intentional action. The Shallice (1988b) framework is put forward as providing an initial account of Type-C processes, which can relate perceptual consciousness to consciously performed actions. Further, we suggest that this framework may be refined through the investigation of the functions of prefrontal cortex. The formulation of our approach requires us to consider fundamental conceptual and methodological issues associated with consciousness. The most significant of these issues concerns the scientific use of introspective evidence. We outline and justify a conservative methodological approach to the use of introspective evidence, with attention to the difficulties historically associated with its use in psychology

The effects of combination canagliflozin and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist therapy on intermediate markers of cardiovascular risk in the CANVAS program

Background: Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) reduce cardiovascular events, and improve intermediate markers of cardiometabolic health, in those with type 2 diabetes. We investigated these effects in the CANVAS Program. Methods and results: The CANVAS Program comprised 2 double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials (CANVAS and CANVAS-R) done in patients with type 2 diabetes and elevated cardiovascular risk. Effects were estimated using mixed-effects models for continuous measures and Cox regression models for other outcomes. Randomized treatment by subgroup interaction terms were used to compare effects of canagliflozin versus placebo across subgroups defined by baseline use of GLP1-RA. There were 10,142 participants, of whom 407 (4%) were using GLP1-RA therapy at baseline. Those using GLP1-RA at baseline were less likely to have a history of cardiovascular disease (60.4% vs 65.8%), had a longer duration of diabetes (152 vs 13.5 years) and a higher body mass index (BMI; 35.6 vs 31.8 kg/m(2)) but were otherwise similar. There were greater reductions with canagliflozin versus placebo for HbA1c (-0.75% versus -0.58%; P = .0091), SBP (-6.26 versus -3.83 mmHg; P = .0018), and body weight (-3.79 versus -2.18 kg; P <.0001) in those on baseline GLP1-RA therapy. Effects across subgroups were similar for UACR (P = .21), eGFR slope (A - .72), major adverse cardiac events (P = .94) and total serious adverse events (P = .74). Conclusions: There may be a synergistic effect of SGLT2 inhibition when used on a background of GLP1-RA for intermediate cardiometabolic markers. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

On the Lx-L6micron ratio as a diagnostic for Compton-thick AGN

As the mid-IR luminosity represents a good isotropic proxy of the AGN power, a low X-ray to mid-IR luminosity ratio is often claimed to be a reliable indicator for selecting Compton-thick (CT) AGN. We assess the efficiency of this diagnostic by examining the 12mu IRAS AGN sample for which high signal-to-noise XMM observations have been recently become available. We find that the vast majority (10/11) of the AGN that have been classified as CT on the basis the X-ray spectroscopy by Brightman & Nandra present a low Lx/L6 luminosity ratio, i.e. lower than a few percent of the average AGN ratio which is typical of reflection-dominated CT sources. At low Lx/L6 ratios we also find a comparable number of AGN, most of which are heavily absorbed but not CT. This implies that although most Compton-thick AGN present low Lx/L6 ratios, at least in the local, Universe, the opposite is not necessarily true. Next, we extend our analysis to higher redshifts. We perform the same analysis in the CDFS where excellent quality chandra (4 Ms) and xmm (3 Ms) X-ray spectra are available. We derive accurate X-ray luminosities for chandra sources using X-ray spectral fits, as well as 6mu luminosities from SED fits. We find 8 AGN with low Lx/L6 ratios in total, after excluding one source where the 6mu emission primarily comes from star-formation. One of these sources has been already demonstrated to host a CT nucleus, while for another one at a redshift of z=1.22 we argue it is most likely CT on the basis of its combined chandra and xmm spectrum. We find a large number of non CT contaminant with low Lx/L6 ratios. The above suggest that a low Lx/L6 ratio alone cannot ascertain the presence of a CT AGN, albeit the majority of low Lx/L6 AGN are heavily obscured. The two most reliable CT AGN in the high redshift Universe have high Lx/L6 ratios, showing that this method cannot provide complete CT AGN samples.Comment: 11 pages, to appear to A&

Effects of canagliflozin on myocardial infarction:a post hoc analysis of the CANVAS Program and CREDENCE trial

AIMS: Given the benefits of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibition (SGLT2i) in protecting against heart failure in diabetic patients, we sought to explore the potential impact of SGLT2i on the clinical features of patients presenting with myocardial infarction (MI) through a post-hoc analysis of CANVAS Program and CREDENCE trial.METHODS AND RESULTS: Individuals with type 2 diabetes and history or high risk of cardiovascular disease (CANVAS Program) or type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CREDENCE) were included. The intervention was Canagliflozin 100 or 300 mg (combined in the analysis) or placebo. MI events were adjudicated as ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-STEMI as well as type 1 MI or type 2 MI. 421 first MI events in the CANVAS Program and 178 first MI events in the CREDENCE trial were recorded (83 fatal, 128 STEMI, 431 non-STEMI, and 40 unknown). No benefit of canagliflozin compared with placebo on time to first MI event was observed (HR 0.89; 95% CI 0.75, 1.05). Canagliflozin was associated with lower risk for non-STEMI (HR 0.78; 95% CI 0.65, 0.95) but suggested a possible increase in STEMI (HR 1.55; 95% CI 1.06, 2.27), with no difference in risk of type 1 or type 2 MI. There was no change in fatal MI (HR 1.22, 95% CI 0.78, 1.93).CONCLUSIONS: Canagliflozin was not associated with a reduction in overall MI in the pooled CANVAS Program and CREDENCE trial population. The possible differential effect on STEMI and Non-STEMI observed in the CANVAS cohort warrants further investigation.</p

Bullying and cyberbullying studies in the school-aged population on the island of Ireland : a meta-analysis

Background. Bullying research has gained a substantial amount of interest in recent years because of the implications for child and adolescent development. Aim and sample. We conducted a meta-analysis of traditional and cyberbullying studies in the Republic and North of Ireland to gain an understanding of prevalence rates and associated issues (particularly psychological correlates and intervention strategies) among young people (primary and secondary school students). Method. Four electronic databases were searched (PsychArticles, ERIC, PsychInfo and Education Research Complete) for studies of traditional bullying and cyberbullying behaviours (perpetrators, victims or both) published between January 1997 and April 2016. Results. Afinal sample of 39 articles fit our selection criteria.CMAsoftware was used to estimate a pooled prevalence rate for traditional/cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. A systematic review on the psychological impacts for all types of bullying and previously used interventions in an Irish setting is also provided. Conclusions. The results demonstrate the influence moderating factors (e.g., assessment tools, answer scale, time frame) have on reported prevalence rates. These results are discussed in light of current studies, and points for future research are considered

Neurotransmitter alterations in a model of perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury

Vulnerability of neurotransmitter-specific neurons to hypoxia-ischemia was examined in the immature rat corpus striatum. Carotid artery ligation plus 2 hours of 8% oxygen atmosphere at 1 week of age produced ipsilateral striatal injury and reduced hemisphere mass 2 and 6 weeks later. Striatal injury was always more severe than damage to overlying cortex. Over half the animals had status marmoratus, a neuropathological change seen in the basal ganglia and thalamus after hypoxic-ischemic injury in full-term human infants. Two weeks after the insult, markers for choinergic, dopaminergic, and Γ-aminobutyric acid–containing neurons were all reduced, but the reduction in cholinergic markers was greater than that for the other two transmitters. Muscarinic cholinergic receptors were relatively preserved, but their distribution was disrupted. In adult animals specific activity of cholinergic neuronal markers was normal, suggesting that the balance of neurotransmitters was restored after the early insult.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50300/1/410130507_ftp.pd

Early Change in Albuminuria with Canagliflozin Predicts Kidney and Cardiovascular Outcomes:A Post Hoc Analysis from the CREDENCE Trial

Background The association between early changes in albuminuria and kidney and cardiovascular events is primarily based on trials of renin-angiotensin system blockade. It is unclear whether this association occurs with sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibition. Methods TheCanagliflozin and Renal Events inDiabeteswith EstablishedNephropathy Clinical Evaluation (CREDENCE) trial enrolled 4401 patients with type 2 diabetes and CKD (urinary albumin-creatinine ratio [UACR].300 mg/g). This post hoc analysis assessed canagliflozin's effect on albuminuria and how early change in albuminuria (baseline to week 26) is associated with the primary kidney outcome (ESKD, doubling of serum creatinine, or kidney death), major adverse cardiovascular events, and hospitalization for heart failure or cardiovascular death. Results Complete data for early change in albuminuria and other covariates were available for 3836 (87.2%) participants in the CREDENCE trial. Compared with placebo, canagliflozin lowered UACR by 31% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 27% to 36%) at week 26, and significantly increased the likelihood of achieving a 30% reduction in UACR ( odds ratio, 2.69; 95% CI, 2.35 to 3.07). Each 30% decrease in UACR over the first 26 weeks was independently associated with a lower hazard for the primary kidney outcome (hazard ratio [HR], 0.71; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.76; P,0.001), major adverse cardiovascular events (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.96; P,0.001), and hospitalization for heart failure or cardiovascular death (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.81 to 0.90; P,0.001). Residual albuminuria levels at week 26 remained a strong independent risk factor for kidney and cardiovascular events, overall and in each treatment arm. Conclusions In people with type 2 diabetes and CKD, use of canagliflozin results in early, sustained reductions in albuminuria, which were independently associated with long-term kidney and cardiovascular outcomes