Spatial attention is not affected by alpha or beta transcranial alternating current stimulation: A registered report.

Using Electroencephalography (EEG) an event-related change in alpha activity has been observed over primary sensory cortices during the allocation of spatial attention. This is most prominent during top-down, or endogenous, attention, and nearly absent in bottom-up, or exogenous orienting. These changes are highly lateralised, such that an increase in alpha power is seen ipsilateral to the attended region of space and a decrease is seen contralaterally.

The seductive allure of technical language and its effect on covid-19 vaccine beliefs and intentions.

Previous research has demonstrated a 'seductive allure' of technical or reductive language such that bad (e.g., circular) explanations are judged better when irrelevant technical terms are included.

Exploring the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness in youth aged 7-17 years.

Objective: This study aimed to adapt the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) questionnaire for younger respondents.

Method: The language of the MAIA was revised and children aged 7-10 years (n = 212) and adolescents aged 11-17 years (n = 217) completed the questionnaire.

Results: The original eight-factor model was tested for fit using confirmatory factor analysis.

Event-related alpha desynchronization in touch - Comparing attention and perception.

An event-related decrease in alpha power contralateral to the presentation of a stimulus is now a well-established phenomenon. Two distinct accounts of the functional role of alpha changes are present in the literature that either focus on alpha changes observed during attentional or simple perceptual tasks. This study directly compares tasks that invoke alpha decreases during exogenous, endogenous and perceptual processing.

The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2).

Interoception, the process by which the nervous system senses, interprets, and integrates signals originating from within the body, has become major research topic for mental health and in particular for mind-body interventions. Interoceptive awareness here is defined as the conscious level of interoception with its multiple dimensions potentially accessible to self-report. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) is an 8-scale state-trait questionnaire with 32 items to measure multiple dimensions of interoception by self-report and was published in November 2012.

Influences of temporal lobe epilepsy and temporal lobe resection on olfaction.

Although temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and resection (TLR) impact olfactory eloquent brain structures, their influences on olfaction remain enigmatic. We sought to more definitively assess the influences of TLE and TLR on olfaction using three well-validated olfactory tests and measuring  the tests' associations with the volume of numerous temporal lobe brain structures. The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test and an odor detection threshold test were administered to 71 TLE patients and 71 age- and sex-matched controls; 69 TLE patients and controls received an odor discrimination/memory test.

Mechanical Characterization of Hybrid Vesicles Based on Linear Poly(Dimethylsiloxane-b-Ethylene Oxide) and Poly(Butadiene-b-Ethylene Oxide) Block Copolymers.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane-ethylene oxide) (PDMS-PEO) and poly(butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) (PBd-PEO) are two block copolymers which separately form vesicles with disparate membrane permeabilities and fluidities. Thus, hybrid vesicles formed from both PDMS-PEO and PBd-PEO may ultimately allow for systematic, application-specific tuning of vesicle membrane fluidity and permeability. However, given the relatively low strength previously noted for comb-type PDMS-PEO vesicles, the mechanical robustness of the resulting hybrid vesicles must first be confirmed.

Frontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) abolishes list-method directed forgetting.

It is a point of controversy as to whether directed forgetting effects are a result of active inhibition or a change of context initiated by the instruction to forget. In this study we test the causal role of active inhibition in directed forgetting. By applying cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right prefrontal cortex we suppressed cortical activity commonly associated with inhibitory control.

Taste function in early stage treated and untreated Parkinson's disease.

Since brain stem regions associated with early Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology encroach upon those involved in taste function, the ability to taste may be compromised in PD. However, studies on this point have been contradictory. We administered well-validated whole-mouth and regional taste tests that incorporated multiple concentrations of sucrose, citric acid, caffeine, and sodium chloride to 29 early stage PD patients and 29 age-, sex-, and race-matched controls.

Correlates of implicit cognitive line length representation in two-dimensional space.

Twenty-eight sex- and age-matched participants, half dextrals and half sinstrals, were instructed to move a pen-sized planometer three inches (7.6 cm) while blindfolded. Under separate trials, movements were made at four angles, towards and away from the body, and at two distances from the body (30 cm, 53 cm).

Sensitivity of 'mu' rhythm modulation to the relevance of an observed movement but not to goal congruency.

There is some dispute over whether the primary role of a system that processes both performed and observed actions (the mirror neuron system) is action understanding or the coordination of action with others. We present behavioural and EEG data from a motor priming task that shed some light on this debate. Participants are asked to make one of two simple actions whilst watching video clips of movements that differ in terms of their visuospatial overlap with, and goal-related relevance to, the required performed action.

Chemical hazards analysis of resilient flooring for healthcare.

This article addresses resilient flooring, evaluating the potential health effects of vinyl flooring and the leading alternatives-synthetic rubber, polyolefin, and linoleum-currently used in the healthcare marketplace. The study inventories chemicals incorporated as components of each of the four material types or involved in their life cycle as feedstocks, intermediary chemicals, or emissions. It then characterizes those chemicals using a chemical hazard-based framework that addresses persistence and bioaccumulation, human toxicity, and human exposures.

Reflection interference contrast microscopy of arbitrary convex surfaces.

Current accurate applications of reflection interference contrast microscopy (RICM) are limited to known geometries; when the geometry of the object is unknown, an approximated fringe spacing analysis is usually performed. To complete an accurate RICM analysis in more general situations, we review and improve the formulation for intensity calculation based on nonplanar interface image formation theory and develop a method for its practical implementation in wedges and convex surfaces. In addition, a suitable RICM model for an arbitrary convex surface, with or without a uniform layer such as a membrane or ultrathin coating, is presented.

A direct probe of the interplay between bilayer morphology and surface reactivity in polymersomes.

Bilayer vesicles self-assembled from amphiphilic poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polybutadiene (PEO-b-PBd) copolymers are cell-like structures whose high stability and tunable membrane properties make them ideal for use as potential drug carriers and cell mimicry templates. Understanding how the surface interactions (reaction, binding, etc.) are governed by the bilayer structure is critical to enable construction of polymersomes with tailored colloidal behavior.

Sex and individual differences in induced and evoked EEG measures of action observation.

We used two established methods for analysing the EEG response of the neurotypical adult human brain to examine the execution and observation of simple motor actions. In one, execution or observation of a button-press in response to a tone caused a decrease in the power at 8-13 Hz ("mu") frequencies. In the other, the response preparation (or the inferred response preparation when these actions are observed in another person) was measured by the averaged response time-locked potentials measured over motor cortex--the "readiness potential".

Polymerization of hydrogels inside self-assembled block copolymer vesicles.

Block copolymer vesicles are powerful tools for investigating cell adhesion since they display the fluid, deformable, semipermeable membrane properties of lipid vesicles while having greater chemical and mechanical stability. The aim of the present study was to fabricate block copolymer vesicles containing hydrogel interiors in order to extend achievable vesicle properties and, thereby, their range of cell-like behaviors. Block copolymer vesicles based on poly(butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) were demonstrated to compartmentalize and retain acrylamide solutions through particle dialysis and to allow for subsequent in situ hydrogel polymerization.

Influence of diabetes on the maintenance of sinus rhythm after a successful direct current cardioversion in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Aim: To determine independent risk factors for recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after a successful direct current (DC) cardioversion in patients with and without diabetes.

Design: We retrospectively analysed the outcome in patients recently diagnosed with persistent AF.

Methods: Of 364 patients included, 289 had a successful direct current (DC) cardioversion.

Effect of multiple scattering on SANS spectra from bicontinuous microemulsions.

Small-angle neutron scattering is a powerful tool for investigating the microstructure of self-assembled systems. The domain length, d, and the correlation length, xi, are two measures of bicontinuous microemulsions that are often determined from coherent SANS spectra. Some microemulsions scatter strongly, however, so measured spectra can contain multiple coherent scattering, and neglect of that multiple scattering can lead to incorrect values of d and xi.

Adhesion of polymer vesicles.

The adhesion and bending modulus of polybutadiene-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymer vesicles made from a bidisperse mixture of polymers is measured using micropipette aspiration. The adhesion energy between biotinylated vesicles and avidin beads is modeled by incorporating the extension of the adhesive ligands above the surface brush of the vesicle according to the blob model of bidisperse polymer mixtures of Komura and Safran assuming the polymer brush at the surface of the vesicle is compact. The same model accurately reproduces the scaling of the bending modulus with polymer composition.

The effect of polymer chain length and surface density on the adhesiveness of functionalized polymersomes.

Giant cell-like polymer vesicles, polymersomes, made from the diblock copolymer poly(ethylene oxide)-polybutadiene (PEO-PBD), have bilayer structures similar to the cell membrane but have superior and tunable properties for storage and stability. We have modified the terminal hydroxyl of the hydrophilic block with biotin-lysine (biocytin), a biologically derived group that imparts specific adhesiveness to a polymer colloid coated with avidin. The functionalized polymer will form vesicles, either on its own or when mixed with unmodified block copolymers that also form vesicles.