Diffusion tensor imaging of the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease revisited.

Objective: To analyze diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data in the substantia nigra (SN) using a more consistent region of interest (ROI) defined by neuromelanin-sensitive MRI in order to assess Parkinson's disease (PD) related changes in diffusion characteristics in the SN.

Methods: T1 -weighted and DTI data were obtained in a cohort of 37 subjects (17 control subjects and 20 subjects with PD). The subjects in the PD group were clinically diagnosed PD patients with an average Unified Parkinsonian Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)-III score of 23.

Neural correlates of time-varying functional connectivity in the rat.

Functional connectivity between brain regions, measured with resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging, holds great potential for understanding the basis of behavior and neuropsychiatric diseases. Recently it has become clear that correlations between the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signals from different areas vary over the course of a typical scan (6-10 min in length), though the changes are obscured by standard methods of analysis that assume the relationships are stationary. Unfortunately, because similar variability is observed in signals that share no temporal information, it is unclear which dynamic changes are related to underlying neural events.

Short-time windows of correlation between large-scale functional brain networks predict vigilance intraindividually and interindividually.

A better understanding of how behavioral performance emerges from interacting brain systems may come from analysis of functional networks using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Recent studies comparing such networks with human behavior have begun to identify these relationships, but few have used a time scale small enough to relate their findings to variation within a single individual's behavior. In the present experiment we examined the relationship between a psychomotor vigilance task and the interacting default mode and task positive networks.

Conceptualising the functional role of mental health consultation-liaison nurse in multi-morbidity, using Peplau's nursing theory.

This paper examines the mental health consultation-liaison nursing (MHCLN) role and links this to the interpersonal relations theory of nurse theorist Hildegard Peplau. The paper argues that, as mental health nursing care around the world is increasingly focused upon meaningful therapeutic engagement, the role of the MHCLN is important in helping to reduce distressing symptoms, reduce the stigma for seeking help for mental health problems and enhancing mental health literacy among generalist nurses. The paper presents a small case exemplar to demonstrate interpersonal relations theory as an engagement process, providing patients with methodologies which allow them to work through the internal dissonance that exists in relation to their adjustment to changes in life roles precipitated by physical illness.

Involvement abroad of U.S. academic health centers and major teaching hospitals: the developing landscape.

Purpose: To compile information about major offshore clinical, education, and research programs and operations of U.S. academic health centers (AHCs) and major teaching hospitals, and to describe how these offshore activities relate to each institution's underlying mission and to the organizational mechanisms that link the activities to the organization's core mission while protecting the organization from potential risks.

Paradigms lost?

Thomas Kuhn (1957, 1962) explored the issues of paradigm shifts, scientific revolutions, and the relationship between them. Written before the techniques and practices of the complexity sciences were developed, Kuhn described what he termed the Copernican Revolution as the last scientific revolution signifying a paradigmatic shift in society. We will explore whether New Science approaches in nonlinear dynamics and complexity research signify postmodern science perspectives, and examine the role of New Science in what may be the on-going evolution of the next paradigm shift.

Psychometric and clinimetric validity of the 20-Item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20).

A valid measure of rhinosinusitis health status and quality of life is required for the complete assessment of treatment effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric and clinimetric validity of the 20-Item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20), a disease-specific, health-related quality-of-life measure for rhinosinusitis. The SNOT-20 is a modification of the 31-Item Rhinosinusitis Outcome Measure, and it contains 20 nose, sinus, and general items.