Search

Previous research on adaptation to visual-motor rearrangement suggests that the central nervous system represents accurately only 1 visual-motor mapping at a time. This idea was examined in 3 experiments where subjects tracked a moving target under repeated alternations between 2 initially interfering mappings (the 'normal' mapping characteristic of computer input devices and a 108 [degrees] rotation of the normal mapping). Alternation between the 2 mappings led to significant reduction in error under the rotated mapping and significant reduction in the adaptation aftereffect ordinarily caused by switching between mappings. Color as a discriminative cue, interference versus decay in adaptation aftereffect, and intermanual transfer were also examined. The results reveal a capacity for multiple concurrent visual-motor mappings, possibly controlled by a parametric process near the motor output stage of processing.

A review of 19 studies of the effect of dietary oats on cholesterol levels found that people who eat three grams of oat fiber a day can reduce their cholesterol levels by five or six milligrams per deciliter. This is not as great a reduction as some individual studies have claimed. But researchers have found that a cholesterol reduction of one percent can cut deaths from heart disease in the US by two percent. Some of the studies found that those with the highest cholesterol levels experienced the greatest reduction in cholesterol levels. Others have shown that older women experience the greatest declines in cholesterol., Objectives.--To test the a priori hypothesis that consumption of oats will lower the blood total cholesterol level and to assess modifiers and confounders of this association. Data Sources.--A computerized literature (MEDLINE) search and the Quaker Oats Co identified published and unpublished trials as of March 1991. Raw data were requested for all trials. Study Selection.--Trials were included in summary effect size estimates if they were randomized and controlled, if a formal assessment of diet and body weight changes occurred, and, if raw data were not received, if there was enough information in the published report to perform calculations. Data Synthesis.--Twenty trials were identified. Using the methods of DerSimonian and Laird, a summary effect size for change in blood total cholesterol level of -0.13 mmol/L (-5.9 mg/dL) (95% confidence interval [Cl], -0.19 to -0.017 mmol/L [-8.4 to -3.3 mg/dL]) was calculated for the 10 trials meeting the inclusion criteria. The summary effect size for trials using wheat control groups was -0.11 mmol/L (-4.4 mg/dL) (95% Cl, -0.21 to -0.01 mmol/L [-8.3 to -0.38 mg/dL]). Calculation of Keys scores demonstrated that substituting carbohydrates for dietary fats and cholesterol did not account for the majority of blood cholesterol reduction. Larger reductions were seen in trials in which subjects had initially higher blood cholesterol levels ([is greater than or equal to]5.9 mmol/L[is greater than or equal to]229 mg/dL]), particularly when a dose of 3 g or more of soluble fiber was employed. Conclusion.--This analysis supports the hypothesis that incorporating oat products into the diet causes a modest reduction in blood cholesterol level. (JAMA. 1992;267:3317-3325)

Consumption advisories for Great Lakes fish are based on total concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which do not accurately reflect toxicity since PCBs are complex matrices of congeners. Single congeners vary in toxic potency and the relative concentration of congeners vary among environmental samples. Concentrations of dioxin-equivalent in Lake Michigan chinook salmon proved predictable from total concentrations of PCBs with low uncertainty. A toxicity risk assessment based on dioxin-equivalents calculated a yearly allowable consumption of 90 grams compared to 32 grams calculated from total PCBs.

During follow-up, MB versus non-MB patients had, on average, twice as many all-cause hospitalizations (1.1 vs. 0.4 per patient year, P < 0.001), longer total hospital length of stays (7.7 vs. 2.3 days per patient year, P < 0.001), and higher all-cause inpatient ($33,640 vs. $13,671 per patient, P < 0.001) and outpatient ($39,302 vs. $21,640 per patient, P < 0.001) costs. Methods: Adult patients (>=18 years of age) treated with FXaIs (rivaroxaban, apixaban, or edoxaban) who were hospitalized with MB (MB patients) or had no MB hospitalizations (non-MB patients) during January 1, 2015, through April 30, 2018, were extracted from the MarketScan claims databases. Metabolomic Profiling during Diabetic Ketoacidosis and the Pathophysiology of Ketosis-Prone Diabetes Jean W. Hsu, Paras Mehta, Kelly R. Keene, Surya N. Mulukutla, Eunice I. Caducoy, William Peacock, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Farook Jahoor Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA Background: Obese patients with ketosis-prone type 2 diabetes ("A-B+ KPD") have increased catabolism of the ketogenic amino acids leucine/isoleucine (Leu/Ile) and impaired ketone oxidation when stable and normoglycemic. Bleeding concern patients had higher mortality (6.3%) than acute hemorrhage patients (0.002% overall, 1.1% for intracranial hemorrhage) but were also older with more comorbidities. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract Background The sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is a carrier protein that modulates the bio-availability of serum sex steroid hormones, which may be involved in ovarian cancer. We evaluated whether common genetic variation in SHBG and its 3' neighbor ATP1B2, in linkage disequilibrium, is associated with the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods The study population included 264 women with ovarian carcinoma and 625 controls participating in a population-based case-control study in Poland. Five common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SHGB and five in ATP1B2 were selected to capture most common variation in this region. Results None of the SNPs evaluated was significantly associated with ovarian cancer risk, including the putative functional SNPs SHBG D356N (rs6259) and -67G>A 5'UTR (rs1799941). However, our data were consistent with a decreased ovarian cancer risk associated with the variant alleles for these two SNPs, which have been previously associated with increased circulating levels of SHBG. Conclusion These data do not support a substantial association between common genetic variation in SHBG and ovarian cancer risk.

Abstract Background Whole genome amplification (WGA) promises to eliminate practical molecular genetic analysis limitations associated with genomic DNA (gDNA) quantity. We evaluated the performance of multiple displacement amplification (MDA) WGA using gDNA extracted from lymphoblastoid cell lines (N = 27) with a range of starting gDNA input of 1–200 ng into the WGA reaction. Yield and composition analysis of whole genome amplified DNA (wgaDNA) was performed using three DNA quantification methods (OD, PicoGreen® and RT-PCR). Two panels of N = 15 STR (using the AmpFlSTR® Identifiler® panel) and N = 49 SNP (TaqMan®) genotyping assays were performed on each gDNA and wgaDNA sample in duplicate. gDNA and wgaDNA masses of 1, 4 and 20 ng were used in the SNP assays to evaluate the effects of DNA mass on SNP genotyping assay performance. A total of N = 6,880 STR and N = 56,448 SNP genotype attempts provided adequate power to detect differences in STR and SNP genotyping performance between gDNA and wgaDNA, and among wgaDNA produced from a range of gDNA templates inputs. Results The proportion of double-stranded wgaDNA and human-specific PCR amplifiable wgaDNA increased with increased gDNA input into the WGA reaction. Increased amounts of gDNA input into the WGA reaction improved wgaDNA genotyping performance. Genotype completion or genotype concordance rates of wgaDNA produced from all gDNA input levels were observed to be reduced compared to gDNA, although the reduction was not always statistically significant. Reduced wgaDNA genotyping performance was primarily due to the increased variance of allelic amplification, resulting in loss of heterozygosity or increased undetermined genotypes. MDA WGA produces wgaDNA from no template control samples; such samples exhibited substantial false-positive genotyping rates. Conclusion The amount of gDNA input into the MDA WGA reaction is a critical determinant of genotyping performance of wgaDNA. At least 10 ng of lymphoblastoid gDNA input into MDA WGA is required to obtain wgaDNA TaqMan® SNP assay genotyping performance equivalent to that of gDNA. Over 100 ng of lymphoblastoid gDNA input into MDA WGA is required to obtain optimal STR genotyping performance using the AmpFlSTR® Identifiler® panel from wgaDNA equivalent to that of gDNA.

This study investigates the impact of 70 US and EU macroeconomic news announcements on euro/dollar returns and volatility from November 2004 to April 2014. We use regime smooth transition regression to endogenously define recession and expansion. Our sample period includes the US mortgage crisis and EU sovereign debt crisis. Most news is unstable as its effect varies between these economic states. There are asymmetrical effects between recession and expansion states for both US and EU news, with most US news having a larger impact and nearly double the number of significant EU announcements. Volatility increases for over 85% of news coefficients, with more than half still being significantly different between states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outlines an innovative district-wide staff development program that improved morale, lessened the teacher burnout rate, and saved the district money. (MD)