Electrophysiological correlates of self-related processing in adults with autism.

The term "self-bias" refers to the human propensity to prioritize self- over other-related stimuli and is believed to influence various stages of the processing stream. By means of event-related potentials (ERPs), it was recently shown that the self-bias in a shape-label matching task modulates early as well as later phases of information processing in neurotypicals. Recent claims suggest autism-related deficits to specifically impact later stages of self-related processing; however, it is unclear whether these claims hold based on current findings.

Reduced Primacy Bias in Autism during Early Sensory Processing.

Recent theories of autism propose that a core deficit in autism would be a less context-sensitive weighting of prediction errors. There is also first support for this hypothesis on an early sensory level. However, an open question is whether this decreased context sensitivity is caused by faster updating of one's model of the world (i.

Autistic traits are related to worse performance in a volatile reward learning task despite adaptive learning rates.

Recent theories propose that autism is characterized by an impairment in determining when to learn and when not. Here, we investigated this hypothesis by estimating learning rates (i.e.

Eating and physical activity behaviours among ethnic groups in Queensland, Australia.

Objective: To examine differences in eating and physical activity behaviours among ethnic groups in Queensland, Australia, and differences in those behaviours due to the duration of residency in Australia.

Design: Cross-sectional study using baseline data collected for the Living Well Multicultural-Lifestyle Modification Program between October 2014 and June 2017.

Setting: Culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD), including Afghani, Somali, Burmese, Pacific and South Sea Islander, Sri Lankan, Sudanese and Vietnamese, living in Queensland, Australia.

The effectiveness of living well multicultural-lifestyle management program among ethnic populations in Queensland, Australia.

Issue: Some migrant groups have higher risks of deaths and chronic diseases due to barriers associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, social isolation, racism, language, poor access to health services and low levels of health literacy. However, few culturally tailored interventions have targeted ethnic groups in Australia. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Living Well Multicultural-Lifestyle Management Program (LWM-LMP) in Queensland, Australia.

The Relation Between Preference for Predictability and Autistic Traits.

A common idea about individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is that they have an above-average preference for predictability and sameness. However, surprisingly little research has gone toward this core symptom, and some studies suggest the preference for predictability in ASD might be less general than commonly assumed. Here, we investigated this important symptom of ASD using three different paradigms, which allowed us to measure preference for predictability under well-controlled experimental conditions.

Iodine status of non-pregnant women and availability of food vehicles for fortification with iodine in a remote community in Gulf province, Papua New Guinea.

Adequate iodine status of women of childbearing age is essential for optimal growth and development of their offspring. The objectives of the current study were to assess the iodine status of non-pregnant women, availability and use of commercial salt, extent to which it is iodised, and availability of other industrially processed foods suitable for fortification with iodine. This prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in 2018 in a remote area in Gulf province, Papua New Guinea.

Differences in cardiometabolic risk markers among ethnic groups in Queensland, Australia.

Very little is known about the cardiometabolic risk of migrants who settle in Australia. This study investigated differences in cardiometabolic risk markers among ethnic groups attending a tailored healthy lifestyle program in Queensland, Australia; and differences in these markers between those living in Australia for shorter versus longer periods of time. Baseline data collected between October 2014 and June 2017 from the Living Well Multicultural-Lifestyle Modification Program were used.

Iodine status of children and knowledge, attitude, practice of iodised salt use in a remote community in Kerema district, Gulf province, Papua New Guinea.

Iodine deficiency is the single most common cause of preventable mental impairment in communities with suboptimal iodine intake. Objective of the present study was to assess in more detail the iodine status and knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) relating to use of iodised salt in a remote community in Kotidanga area, Kerema district, Gulf province, Papua New Guinea. This prospective school and community based cross-sectional study was carried out in 2017.

Serovar Typhi in Bangladesh: Exploration of Genomic Diversity and Antimicrobial Resistance.

Typhoid fever, caused by serovar Typhi, is a global public health concern due to increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Characterization of Typhi genomes for AMR and the evolution of different lineages, especially in countries where typhoid fever is endemic such as Bangladesh, will help public health professionals to better design and implement appropriate preventive measures. We studied whole-genome sequences (WGS) of 536 Typhi isolates collected in Bangladesh during 1999 to 2013 and compared those sequences with data from a recent outbreak in Pakistan reported previously by E.

Sensory Prediction Errors Are Less Modulated by Global Context in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Background: Recent predictive coding accounts of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggest that a key deficit in ASD concerns the inflexibility in modulating local prediction errors as a function of global top-down expectations. As a direct test of this central hypothesis, we used electroencephalography to investigate whether local prediction error processing was less modulated by global context (i.e.

Atypical neural responding to hearing one's own name in adults with ASD.

Diminished responding to hearing one's own name is one of the earliest and strongest predictors of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we studied, for the first time, the neural correlates of hearing one's own name in ASD. Based on existing research, we hypothesized enhancement of late parietal positive activity specifically for the own name in neurotypicals, and for this effect to be reduced in adults with ASD.

Nutritional status and dietary diversity of Kamea in Gulf Province, Papua New Guineas.

Background And Objectives: To assess the nutritional status of infants, children and non-pregnant women and underlying factors, dietary diversity and community food security, in the Kamea community in Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea.

Methods And Study Design: Prospective cross sectional study. Study population 69 infants (0-59 months), 151 children (6-12 years) and 79 non-pregnant women from 10 villages in Kotidanga Local Level Government, Kerema District, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea.

Implementation of a general practitioner cooperative adjacent to the emergency department of a hospital increases the caseload for the GPC but not for the emergency department.

Background: The implementation of general practitioner cooperatives (GPC) for out-of-hours (OOH) primary care, raises the question if the location of a GPC adjacent to a hospital reduces the OOH caseload of the emergency department (ED).

Methods: Two natural experiments were used in this before-after study, the effect of the implementation of two GPCs in two different regions on the out-of-hours caseload of the local EDs was compared. One GPC was located adjacent to the ED of a general hospital, the other was not.

PP2A binds to the LIM domains of lipoma-preferred partner through its PR130/B″ subunit to regulate cell adhesion and migration.

Here, we identify the LIM protein lipoma-preferred partner (LPP) as a binding partner of a specific protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) heterotrimer that is characterised by the regulatory PR130/B″α1 subunit (encoded by PPP2R3A). The PR130 subunit interacts with the LIM domains of LPP through a conserved Zn²⁺-finger-like motif in the differentially spliced N-terminus of PR130. Isolated LPP-associated PP2A complexes are catalytically active.

Face validity of a Wii U video game for training basic laparoscopic skills.

Background: Although the positive effects of playing video games on basic laparoscopic skills have been studied for several years, no games are actually used in surgical training. This article discusses the face validity of the first video game and custom-made hardware, which takes advantage of these effects.

Methods: Participants were recruited at the Chirurgendagen 2013 and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons 2014 annual meeting.

The effects of video games on laparoscopic simulator skills.

Background: Recently, there has been a growth in studies supporting the hypothesis that video games have positive effects on basic laparoscopic skills. This review discusses all studies directly related to these effects.

Data Sources: A search in the PubMed and EMBASE databases was performed using synonymous terms for video games and laparoscopy.

Training basic laparoscopic skills using a custom-made video game.

Video games are accepted and used for a wide variety of applications. In the medical world, research on the positive effects of playing games on basic laparoscopic skills is rapidly increasing. Although these benefits have been proven several times, no institution actually uses video games for surgical training.

Construct and concurrent validity of a Nintendo Wii video game made for training basic laparoscopic skills.

Background: Virtual reality (VR) laparoscopic simulators have been around for more than 10 years and have proven to be cost- and time-effective in laparoscopic skills training. However, most simulators are, in our experience, considered less interesting by residents and are often poorly accessible. Consequently, these devices are rarely used in actual training.

Effectiveness of multicultural health workers in chronic disease prevention and self-management in culturally and linguistically diverse populations: a systematic literature review.

With a large and increasing culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) population, the Australian health care system faces challenges in the provision of accessible culturally competent health care. Communities at higher risk of chronic disease include CALD communities. Overseas, multicultural health workers (MHWs) have been increasingly integrated in the delivery of culturally relevant primary health care to CALD communities.

Molecular implication of PP2A and Pin1 in the Alzheimer's disease specific hyperphosphorylation of Tau.

Background: Tau phosphorylation and dephosphorylation regulate in a poorly understood manner its physiological role of microtubule stabilization, and equally its integration in Alzheimer disease (AD) related fibrils. A specific phospho-pattern will result from the balance between kinases and phosphatases. The heterotrimeric Protein Phosphatase type 2A encompassing regulatory subunit PR55/Bα (PP2A(T55α)) is a major Tau phosphatase in vivo, which contributes to its final phosphorylation state.

Mice lacking phosphatase PP2A subunit PR61/B'delta (Ppp2r5d) develop spatially restricted tauopathy by deregulation of CDK5 and GSK3beta.

Functional diversity of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) enzymes mainly results from their association with distinct regulatory subunits. To analyze the functions of one such holoenzyme in vivo, we generated mice lacking PR61/B'δ (B56δ), a subunit highly expressed in neural tissues. In PR61/B'δ-null mice the microtubule-associated protein tau becomes progressively phosphorylated at pathological epitopes in restricted brain areas, with marked immunoreactivity for the misfolded MC1-conformation but without neurofibrillary tangle formation.

High intragenomic heterogeneity of 16S rRNA genes in a subset of Vibrio vulnificus strains from the western Mediterranean coast.

Heterogeneity among ribosomal operons in Vibrio vulnificus is purported as a probabilistic indicator of strain virulence and classifies V. vulnificus strains as 16S rRNA genes type A and B. In this study, 16S rRNA genes typing of V.

Live-cell imaging RNAi screen identifies PP2A-B55alpha and importin-beta1 as key mitotic exit regulators in human cells.

When vertebrate cells exit mitosis various cellular structures are re-organized to build functional interphase cells. This depends on Cdk1 (cyclin dependent kinase 1) inactivation and subsequent dephosphorylation of its substrates. Members of the protein phosphatase 1 and 2A (PP1 and PP2A) families can dephosphorylate Cdk1 substrates in biochemical extracts during mitotic exit, but how this relates to postmitotic reassembly of interphase structures in intact cells is not known.