Plasticity During Short-Term Visual Deprivation

2016 ◽  
Vol 224 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Brodoehl ◽  
Carsten Klingner ◽  
Denise Schaller ◽  
Otto W. Witte

Abstract. During everyday experiences, people sometimes close their eyes to better understand spoken words, to listen to music, or when touching textures and objects. A plausible explanation for this observation is that a reversible loss of vision changes the perceptual function of the remaining non-deprived sensory modalities. Within this work, we discuss general aspects of the effects of visual deprivation on the perceptual performance of the non-deprived sensory modalities with a focus on the time dependency of these modifications. In light of ambiguous findings concerning the effects of short-term visual deprivation and because recent literature provides evidence that the act of blindfolding can change the function of the non-deprived senses within seconds, we performed additional psychophysiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis to provide new insight into this matter. Eye closure for several seconds led to a substantial impact on tactile perception probably caused by an unmasking of preformed neuronal pathways.

Author(s):  
Stefan Scherbaum ◽  
Simon Frisch ◽  
Maja Dshemuchadse

Abstract. Folk wisdom tells us that additional time to make a decision helps us to refrain from the first impulse to take the bird in the hand. However, the question why the time to decide plays an important role is still unanswered. Here we distinguish two explanations, one based on a bias in value accumulation that has to be overcome with time, the other based on cognitive control processes that need time to set in. In an intertemporal decision task, we use mouse tracking to study participants’ responses to options’ values and delays which were presented sequentially. We find that the information about options’ delays does indeed lead to an immediate bias that is controlled afterwards, matching the prediction of control processes needed to counter initial impulses. Hence, by using a dynamic measure, we provide insight into the processes underlying short-term oriented choices in intertemporal decision making.


BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bimandra A. Djaafara ◽  
Charles Whittaker ◽  
Oliver J. Watson ◽  
Robert Verity ◽  
Nicholas F. Brazeau ◽  
...  

Abstract Background As in many countries, quantifying COVID-19 spread in Indonesia remains challenging due to testing limitations. In Java, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were implemented throughout 2020. However, as a vaccination campaign launches, cases and deaths are rising across the island. Methods We used modelling to explore the extent to which data on burials in Jakarta using strict COVID-19 protocols (C19P) provide additional insight into the transmissibility of the disease, epidemic trajectory, and the impact of NPIs. We assess how implementation of NPIs in early 2021 will shape the epidemic during the period of likely vaccine rollout. Results C19P burial data in Jakarta suggest a death toll approximately 3.3 times higher than reported. Transmission estimates using these data suggest earlier, larger, and more sustained impact of NPIs. Measures to reduce sub-national spread, particularly during Ramadan, substantially mitigated spread to more vulnerable rural areas. Given current trajectory, daily cases and deaths are likely to increase in most regions as the vaccine is rolled out. Transmission may peak in early 2021 in Jakarta if current levels of control are maintained. However, relaxation of control measures is likely to lead to a subsequent resurgence in the absence of an effective vaccination campaign. Conclusions Syndromic measures of mortality provide a more complete picture of COVID-19 severity upon which to base decision-making. The high potential impact of the vaccine in Java is attributable to reductions in transmission to date and dependent on these being maintained. Increases in control in the relatively short-term will likely yield large, synergistic increases in vaccine impact.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Blair Thomas Herron ◽  
K M Heil ◽  
D Reid

In 2015, the UK government published the National Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015, which laid out their vision for the future roles and structure of the UK Armed Forces. SDSR 2015 envisaged making broader use of the Armed Forces to support missions other than warfighting. One element of this would be to increase the scale and scope of defence engagement (DE) activities that the UK conducts overseas. DE activities traditionally involve the use of personnel and assets to help prevent conflict, build stability and gain influence with partner nations as part of a short-term training teams. This paper aimed to give an overview of the Specialist Infantry Group and its role in UK DE. It will explore the reasons why the SDSR 2015 recommended their formation as well as an insight into future tasks.


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 1584-1588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine N. Gibson ◽  
John P. Smol ◽  
Jesse Ford

Cone Pond, New Hampshire, is an acidic (pH = 4.5) clearwater lake that is currently fishless. Historical records indicate declining fish populations between 1951 and 1966, but paleolimnological work using diatoms failed to find evidence for further recent acidification of this naturally acid site. We initiated new paleolimnological studies using mallomonadacean chrysophytes to further our understanding of Cone Pond's recent past. Our stratigraphic analyses indicate recent striking changes in the chrysophyte flora of this lake, with Mallomonas hindonii, a species only common in recently acidified lakes, replacing M. crassisquama, a cosmopolitan species that dominated the flora over the preceding 8000 yr; this recent change parallels the declines in fish populations. Because chrysophytes often bloom in early spring and are known, in other lakes, to experience changes in community composition before those expressed by the diatom community, a possibility is that chrysophytes track transient excursions of lake water chemistry associated with early snowmelt conditions. In this scenario, chrysophytes would respond to a constellation of specific short-term chemical changes including, but not restricted to, pH. Such pH associated changes could include changes in concentrations, speciation, or complexation of metals mobilized from the catchment or sediments, all of which are known to affect both chrysophytes and fish.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 640-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Barrette ◽  
Katherine Harman

Context: Pain in sport has been normalized to the point where athletes are expected to ignore pain and remain in the game despite the possible detrimental consequences associated with playing through pain. While rehabilitation specialists may not have an influence on an athlete’s competitive nature or the culture of risk they operate in, understanding the consequences of those factors on an athlete’s physical well-being is definitely in their area of responsibility. Objective: To explore the factors associated with the experiences of subelite athletes who play through pain in gymnastics, rowing, and speed skating. Design: The authors conducted semistructured interviews with subelite athletes, coaches, and rehabilitation specialists. They recruited coach participants through their provincial sport organization. Athletes of the recruited coaches who were recovering from a musculoskeletal injury and training for a major competition were then recruited. They also recruited rehabilitation specialists who were known to treat subelite athletes independently by e-mail. Setting: An observation session was conducted at the athlete’s training facility. Interviews were then conducted either in a room at the university or at a preferred sound-attenuated location suggested by the participant. Participants: The authors studied 5 coaches, 4 subelite athletes, and 3 rehabilitation specialists. Interventions: The authors photographed athletes during a practice shortly before an important competition, and we interviewed all the participants after that competition. Our photographs were used during the interview to stimulate discussion. Results: The participant interviews revealed 3 main themes related to playing through pain. They are: Listening to your body, Decision making, and Who decides. Conclusion: When subelite athletes, striving to be the best in their sport continue to train with the pain of an injury, performance is affected in the short-term and long-term consequences are also possible. Our study provides some insight into the contrasting forces that athletes balance as they decide to continue or to stop.


2018 ◽  
Vol 159 (32) ◽  
pp. 1295-1302
Author(s):  
Erika Rozália Kovács ◽  
Sára Tóth ◽  
Dániel János Erdélyi

Abstract: Etoposide is a topoisomerase II inhibitor antitumor agent which is widely used in the treatment of several hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The therapeutic index of etoposide is quite high, thus its application causes several short-term and long-term side effects which can decrease the chance to cure patients. Drug dosing is based on body surface area calculation; recommendations for individual dosing do not exist yet. The biotransformation and transportation of etoposide are carried out by enzymes and transporters as reported in pharmacogenomic studies published in this area. Nowadays pharmacoepigenetics research has come to the fore. The authors wish to give an insight into the research of the epigenetical changes of the etoposide pathways, especially focusing on published findings on enzymes and transporters with pharmacokinetic relevance. In the future, epigenetical changes of the etoposide pathway might have a great role in diagnostics, prognostics and personalized medicine. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(32): 1295–1302.


Author(s):  
Teerink Han

This chapter offers insight into a typical initial public offering (IPO) process, highlighting key practical and legal considerations around disclosure, through the IPO prospectus and otherwise. The prospectus plays a key role in the preparations for, and execution of, an IPO. As an IPO prospectus typically constitutes a company's first public dissemination of financial and business information, the company and other parties involved in the IPO process must carefully consider the right balance between, on the one hand, drafting the IPO prospectus as a marketing document introducing the company and its business to potential investors, whilst, on the other hand, being able to use the prospectus as a disclosure document that protects the company against liability arising from claims from investors or others after the IPO. Here, the chapter summarizes the different phases in an IPO process and the most important documents and parties involved, focusing on the central role of the IPO prospectus. In addition, a number of changes resulting from the enactment of the Prospectus Regulation are likely to be of particular relevance to IPO processes. The expected impact of these changes is therefore also discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1266-1272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishnan Ravindran ◽  
Lauren A Dalvin ◽  
Jose S Pulido ◽  
Waleed Brinjikji

Background and purposeIntra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma has been adopted as a first-line treatment option by numerous tertiary centers. The effect of intra-arterial chemotherapy on future rates of metastatic disease as well as on globe salvage in advanced eyes remains relatively unknown.MethodsA search of PubMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science electronic databases was conducted from inception until January 2019 for studies with a minimum of 10 patients reporting outcomes and complications following intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma.ResultsA total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria for analysis, comprising 873 patients and 1467 eyes. Only one study was comparative; there was substantial heterogeneity in reported outcomes and several overlapping patient cohorts that were published. Across all studies, 174 of 1467 eyes were enucleated (11.8%). Metastatic disease occurred in 8 of 513 patients (1.6%). Globe salvage was achieved in 318 of 906 (35.6%) cases of advanced retinoblastoma. The most common ocular complication was retinal detachment, occurring in 23% of eyes, and the most common systemic complications were transient fever and nausea/vomiting.ConclusionsThere is a paucity of higher-level evidence with adequate follow-up surrounding the long-term safety of intra-arterial chemotherapy and effect on metastasis in retinoblastoma. Studies to date have been limited by short-term follow-up. Longitudinal prospective studies could provide greater insight into the ability of intra-arterial chemotherapy to reduce the risk of retinoblastoma metastasis.


Pharmacy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuman Lee ◽  
Nicole Bradley

Understanding antibiotic allergies and the risk of cross-sensitivity between and within antibiotic classes can have a substantial impact on patient care. The purpose of this review article is to provide insight into carbapenem allergies, describing the overall incidence, risk factors, and in-class cross-sensitivity. A PubMed search was conducted using the following search terms: carbapenem, allergy, cross-sensitivity, incidence, imipenem/cilastatin, meropenem, ertapenem, and doripenem. Article bibliographies and relevant drug monographs were also reviewed. The overall reported incidence of carbapenem allergy is 0.3%–3.7%. Risk of cross-sensitivity between penicillins and carbapenems is less than 1% in patients with a positive penicillin skin test. Data on cross-sensitivity between cephalosporins and carbapenems are limited; however, the risk appears to also be low. No clinical studies have described cross-sensitivity between the carbapenem agents thus far. The limited data available from case reports demonstrates a lack of cross-sensitivity between the individual carbapenems, suggesting that an alternative carbapenem may cautiously be used in patients with a reported carbapenem allergy.


1983 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 928-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Gleeson ◽  
A J Fourcin

A study was undertaken to analyse the effect of short-term intubation on the voice. Children were examined laryngographically both pre- and postoperatively. Changes in larynx frequency distribution following intubation were documented using the technique of electrolaryngography; the resolution of these changes was similarly recorded. The results, in comparison with the frequency distributions associated with other disease states, give insight into the nature of the damage and its effect on vocal fold vibratory patterns. The technique therefore enables objective evidence of minor degrees of laryngeal trauma to be demonstrated and differentiated.


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