scholarly journals ERP correlates of motivating voices: quality of motivation and time-course matters

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1687-1700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantina Zougkou ◽  
Netta Weinstein ◽  
Silke Paulmann
2015 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn J. Bélanger ◽  
Noa Schori-Eyal ◽  
Gennaro Pica ◽  
Arie W. Kruglanski ◽  
Marc-André Lafrenière

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 161-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Flossdorf ◽  
Walter F. Haupt ◽  
Anna Brunn ◽  
Martina Deckert ◽  
Gereon R. Fink ◽  
...  

Background: Small fiber neuropathy (SFN) is a challenging subtype of peripheral neuropathies. Once the diagnosis has been established, there is an uncertainty how SFN may progress, whether larger fibers will become involved over time, whether quality of life may be compromised, or whether repeated diagnostic workup in patients with unknown underlying cause may increase the yield of treatable causes of SFN. Methods: We evaluated 16 patients with documented long-time course of idiopathic SFN. Results: Clinical and electrophysiological course remained stable in 75% of the patients, while 25% SFN-patients developed large fiber neuropathies. Conclusions: Our data suggest that SFN represents a benign disease course in the majority of patients without severely limiting the quality of life.


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Agca ◽  
H. Men ◽  
S. F. Mullen ◽  
L. K. Riley ◽  
R. S. Prather ◽  
...  

The ability to produce porcine embryos of good quality will have a significant impact on a number of porcine assisted reproductive technologies, such as cloning, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and embryo cryopreservation. However, porcine embryos resulting from current serum-free embryo culture systems differ significantly both structurally and functionally from those derived in vivo (Wang et al. 1999 Mol. Reprod. Dev. 53, 99-107). In this experiment, the quality of porcine embryos produced by North Carolina State University (NCSU)-23 medium (Petters and Wells 1993 J. Reprod. Fertil. Suppl. 1993, 48, 61-73) and porcine zygote medium (PZM)-1 (Yoshioka et al. 2002 Biol. Reprod. 66, 112-119) were compared by assessing the total cell number and the time course of in vitro blastocyst hatching. Porcine embryos were produced by in vitro maturation and fertilization using serum-free systems. After fertilization, presumptive zygotes were randomly allocated to either PZM-1 or NCSU-23 for subsequent development. On Day 4 of culture, the embryo culture media were supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Day 6 blastocysts from each group were counted and the blastocysts were subsequently fixed in 4% formalin for counting the total cell number. The cell number in each embryo was determined by counting the nuclei after staining with bisbenzimide (Hoechst 33342). To assess the hatching ability of blastocysts, Day 6 blastocysts were cultured until Day 9 and hatched blastocysts were counted daily. Day 6 blastocyst rates (ratio of blastocysts to oocytes) and total cell number count were replicated three times. The time course of blastocyst hatching experiment was repeated four times. The data were analyzed using a chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, or Student's t-test. The blastocyst rate from culture in PZM-3 was 19.4 � 0.96% (mean � SEM), which was similar to that (16.7 � 3.2%) resulting from culture in NCSU-23 (P > 0.05). However, the total cell number in Day 6 blastocysts cultured in PZM-3 was significantly higher than for blastocysts cultured in NCSU-23 (57 � 3.1 vs. 46 � 1.7; P < 0.01). The total hatching rates (ratio of hatched blastocysts to total blastocysts) by Day 9 were similar between the two culture systems (50.1 � 9.1% vs. 50.7 � 4.1%; P > 0.05). However, on Day 6, 2.1% of blastocysts from PZM-3 culture hatched whereas no blastocysts from NCSU-23 culture hatched. The cumulative hatching rates from PZM-3 culture on Day 7 were significantly higher than those from NCSU-23 culture (15.1 � 3.8% vs. 2.6 � 1.1%; P < 0.01). In conclusion, these data suggest that blastocysts produced in PZM-3 medium have better quality than blastocysts produced in the NCSU-23 culture system as assessed by the total cell number and the time course of blastocyst hatching. This project was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (U42 RR 018877).


Author(s):  
Franca Dipaola ◽  
Caterina Barberi ◽  
Elena Castelnuovo ◽  
Maura Minonzio ◽  
Roberto Fornerone ◽  
...  

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a multifactorial condition capable of chronically reducing the quality of life and the work ability of patients. The study aim was to assess the burden of autonomic symptoms in a cohort of POTS patients over 2 years. Patients’ clinical profiles were assessed by the 31-item Composite Autonomic Symptom Score questionnaire (COMPASS 31) and a visual analog scale (VAS). One-way ANOVA for repeated measures followed by Dunnett’s post-hoc test were used to compare symptoms at baseline and at 1 and 2 years. Out of 42 enrolled patients, 25 had a 1-year follow-up and 12 had a 2-year follow-up. At baseline, the reported burden of autonomic symptoms was high (overall COMPASS 31 = 49.9 ± 14.3 /100). Main complaints were related to orthostatic intolerance according to both COMPASS 31 and VAS. Fourteen patients were rendered inactive because of symptoms. At 1-year follow-up, a statistically significant improvement in pupillomotor function and overall score was detected by the COMPASS 31. These findings were confirmed at 2 years, together with a significant reduction in quality of life impairment, assessed by VAS. However, these improvements did not change patients’ occupational status. Awareness of POTS diagnosis, patient monitoring, and tailored therapies can help to improve patients’ condition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. S58
Author(s):  
Haruki Funao ◽  
Floreana Naef ◽  
Virginie Lafage ◽  
Frank J. Schwab ◽  
Robert A. Hart ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 176 (5) ◽  
pp. R217-R233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoife Garrahy ◽  
Mark Sherlock ◽  
Christopher J Thompson

Advances in the management of traumatic brain injury, subarachnoid haemorrhage and intracranial tumours have led to improved survival rates and an increased focus on quality of life of survivors. Endocrine sequelae of the acute brain insult and subsequent neurosurgery, peri-operative fluid administration and/or cranial irradiation are now well described. Unrecognised acute hypopituitarism, particularly ACTH/cortisol deficiency and diabetes insipidus, can be life threatening. Although hypopituitarism may be transient, up to 30% of survivors of TBI have chronic hypopituitarism, which can diminish quality of life and hamper rehabilitation. Patients who survive SAH may also develop hypopituitarism, though it is less common than after TBI. The growth hormone axis is most frequently affected. There is also accumulating evidence that survivors of intracranial malignancy, who have required cranial irradiation, may develop hypopituitarism. The time course of the development of hormone deficits is varied, and predictors of pituitary dysfunction are unreliable. Furthermore, diagnosis of GH and ACTH deficiency require dynamic testing that can be resource intensive. Thus the surveillance and management of neuroendocrine dysfunction in neurosurgical patients poses significant logistic challenges to endocrine services. However, diagnosis and management of pituitary dysfunction can be rewarding. Appropriate hormone replacement can improve quality of life, prevent complications such as muscle atrophy, infection and osteoporosis and improve engagement with physiotherapy and rehabilitation.


Zygote ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 310-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Letícia Ferrari Crocomo ◽  
Wolff Camargo Marques Filho ◽  
Camila Louise Ackermann ◽  
Daniela Martins Paschoal ◽  
Midyan Daroz Guastali ◽  
...  

SummaryTemporary meiosis arrest with cyclin-dependent kinases inhibitors has been proposed in order to improve the quality of in vitro matured oocytes. In sheep, however, this phenomenon has been rarely investigated. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of different incubation times with roscovitine on nuclear maturation and cumulus cell expansion of sheep cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs). For this, COCs were cultured for 0, 6, 12 or 20 h in basic maturation medium (Control) containing 75 μM roscovitine (Rosco). After, they were in vitro matured (IVM) for 18 h in the presence of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). At the end of each treatment, cumulus cell expansion and nuclear maturation were assessed under a stereomicroscope and by Hoechst 33342 staining, respectively. In the Control and Rosco groups, the absence of cumulus cell expansion prevailed at 0, 6, 12 and 20 h. After IVM for 18 h, total cumulus cell expansion in the Rosco treatments was dependent on the exposure time to roscovitine. A significantly high percentage of oocytes treated with roscovitine for 6 h (87%), 12 h or 20 h (65%) were arrested at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage. In contrast, 23% GVBD, 54% metaphase I (MI) and 61% MII oocytes were observed in the Control groups at 6, 12 and 20 h, respectively. In all treatments, a significant percentage of oocytes reached MII after IVM for 18 h. Therefore, roscovitine reversibly arrested the meiosis of sheep oocytes during different culture times with the maximal efficiency of meiotic inhibition reached at 6 h. In addition, reversibility of its inhibitory action on cumulus cells was exposure-time dependent.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis F. Jover ◽  
Justin Romberg ◽  
Joshua S. Weitz

In communities with bacterial viruses (phage) and bacteria, the phage-bacteria infection network establishes which virus types infects which host types. The structure of the infection network is a key element in understanding community dynamics. Yet, this infection network is often difficult to ascertain. Introduced over 60 years ago, the plaque assay remains the gold-standard for establishing who infects whom in a community. This culture-based approach does not scale to environmental samples with increased levels of phage and bacterial diversity, much of which is currently unculturable. Here, we propose an alternative method of inferring phage-bacteria infection networks. This method uses time series data of fluctuating population densities to estimate the complete interaction network without having to test each phage-bacteria pair individually. We use in silico experiments to analyze the factors affecting the quality of network reconstruction and find robust regimes where accurate reconstructions are possible. In addition, we present a multi-experiment approach where time series from different experiments are combined to improve estimates of the infection network and mitigate against the possibility of evolutionary changes to infection during the time-course of measurement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii32-ii32
Author(s):  
Natsuko Tsushita Satomi ◽  
Ruriko Miyahara ◽  
Takaki Omura ◽  
Masamichi Takahashi ◽  
Makoto Ohno ◽  
...  

Abstract PURPOSE Measurement of quality of life (QOL) of patients with brain tumors is a challenge, because parameters of the established QOL scales for cancer patients are easily affected by the focal neurological deficits. Thus, simpler QOL scales which are feasible for evaluation of QOL with severe neurological deficits are required. We compared the results of four QOL scales in patients with brain tumors. METHODS From 2015 to 2018, we prospectively performed EORTC QLQ-C30/BN20 (C30/BN20), KPS, EQ-5D and “Distress and Impact Thermometer (DIT)” every three months. RESULTS 2150 QOL evaluations from 710 patients were analyzed. The median age was 54 years (range 14–97). 319 glioma, 93 meningioma, 165 brain metastases and 133 other brain tumors were included. Global health status of C30/BN20 strongly correlated with QOL scores calculated by EQ-5D and DIT; it also showed correlation with KPS (correlation coefficients: 0.632, -0.675, -0.622, 0.412, respectively (p&lt;0.001)). Most items of C30/BN20 showed relatively strong correlation with QOL scores, whereas KPS strongly correlated to physical activities and DIT strongly correlated to items related to psychological status. Seizures did not corelate with any other QOL scales. In patients with KPS≤60, wide dispersion of QOL scores and DIT were observed. In these patients, KPS correlated only with items 1–3 of EQ-5D and DIT with item 5. When time course of QOL scores in malignant glioma was evaluated, it was maintained until first remission, and significantly impaired at recurrence, compared to onset (p=0.014). CONCLUSION QOL scores can be used as an alternative for C30/BN20, and QOL time course of glioma can be adequately evaluated with it. KPS and DIT can also be alternative scales. These two scales should desirably be used in combination in patients with low KPS. Evaluations of feasibility and validity of these QOL scales in patients who cannot answer C30/BN20 are warranted.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document