Refining the time course of facilitation and inhibition in attention and action.

According to action-centred models of attention, there is a tight coupling between attention and response planning processes. In support of these models, previous research has shown that reach trajectories deviate towards a cue at short (<100ms) cue-target onset asynchronies (CTOAs) and away from a cue presented at longer CTOAs (>750ms). These deviations resemble the pattern of facilitatory and inhibitory reaction time (RT) effects observed in keypress studies.

What is the most practical, optimal, and cost effective method for performing follow-up after lung cancer surgery, and by whom should it be done?

Surgery is the treatment of choice for early stage non-small cell lung cancer. In this context, postoperative follow-up is important to diagnose late postoperative complications, as well as to detect recurring cancer or new primaries as early as possible. There is, however, no high-quality evidence regarding the benefits of monitoring programs on survival and quality of life.

Safety and efficacy of noninvasive ventilation in patients with blunt chest trauma: a systematic review.

Introduction: This systematic review looks at the use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV), inclusive of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) and continuous positive pressure ventilation (CPAP), in patients with chest trauma to determine its safety and clinical efficacy in patients with blunt chest trauma who are at high risk of acute lung injury (ALI) and respiratory failure.

Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases. Pairs of reviewers abstracted relevant clinical data and assessed the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using the Cochrane domain and observational studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

The development of a haptic virtual reality environment to study body image and affect.

We report the results of a preliminary study testing the effect of participants' mood rating on visual motor performance using a haptic device to manipulate a cartoonish human body. Our results suggest that moods involving high arousal (e.g.

Feasibility and effectiveness of a home-based exercise training program before lung resection surgery.

Background: Patients with lung cancer often experience a reduction in exercise tolerance, muscle weakness and decreased quality of life. Although the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation programs is well recognized in other forms of cancers and in many pulmonary diseases, few researchers have studied its impact in patients with lung cancer, particularly in those awaiting lung resection surgery (LRS).

Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of a short, home-based exercise training program (HBETP) with patients under investigation for non-small cell lung cancer and potential candidates for LRS, and to determine the effectiveness of this program on exercise tolerance, skeletal muscle strength and quality of life.

Mammary cancer bone metastasis follow-up using multimodal small-animal MR and PET imaging.

Unlabelled: Despite tremendous progress in the management of breast cancer, the survival rate of this disease is still correlated with the development of metastases-most notably, those of the bone. Diagnosis of bone metastasis requires a combination of multiple imaging modalities. MR imaging remains the best modality for soft-tissue visualization, allowing for the distinction between benign and malignant lesions in many cases.

Facilitating the use of online visual feedback: advance information and the inter-trial interval?

Cheng et al. (2008) showed that when goal-directed reaching movements are performed with a 2.5 s inter-trial interval (ITI) under a randomized visual feedback schedule, individuals use online visual information on trial n to perform efficient online corrections on trial n + 1 (i.

Cortical facilitation of proprioceptive inputs related to gravitational balance constraints during step preparation.

Several studies have shown that the transmission of afferent inputs from the periphery to the somatosensory cortex is attenuated during the preparation of voluntary movements. In the present study, we tested whether sensory attenuation is also observed during the preparation of a voluntary step. It would appear dysfunctional to suppress somatosensory information, which is considered to be of the utmost importance for gait preparation.

The Advanced Trauma Operative Management course--a two student to one faculty model.

Background: The internationally recognized Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM) course uses a 1:1 student-to-faculty teaching model. This study examines a two student to one faculty ATOM teaching model.

Materials And Methods: We randomly assigned 16 residents to four experienced ATOM faculty members.

A multi-atlas based method for automated anatomical Macaca fascicularis brain MRI segmentation and PET kinetic extraction.

Unlabelled: MRI templates and digital atlases are needed for automated and reproducible quantitative analysis of non-human primate PET studies. Segmenting brain images via multiple atlases outperforms single-atlas labelling in humans. We present a set of atlases manually delineated on brain MRI scans of the monkey Macaca fascicularis.

The utility of vision during action: multiple visuomotor processes?

Recently, D. Elliott et al. (2010) asserted that the current control phase of a movement could be segregated in multiple processes, including impulse and limb-target regulation processes.

Effect of repetitive afferent electrical stimulation of the lower limb on corticomotor excitability and implications for rehabilitation.

Despite the extensive work published on the effects of electrical stimulation on corticomotor excitability, very few studies have focused on lower limb muscles. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of high-frequency afferent electrical stimulation of the anterior thigh area on the corticomotor excitability of lower limb muscles. Twenty-two healthy subjects (mean age 23 ± 7 years) participated in the study.

Ultrasound-responsive block copolymer micelles based on a new amplification mechanism.

A new approach for amplifying the effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in disassembling amphiphilic block copolymer (BCP) micelles in aqueous solution was investigated. The diblock copolymer is comprised of a water-soluble poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block and a block of poly(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate) (PMEO(2)MA) that is hydrophobic at temperatures above its lower critical solution temperature (LCST). We show that by introducing a small amount of HIFU-labile 2-tetrahydropyranyl methacrylate (THPMA) comonomer units into the PMEO(2)MA that forms the micelle core at T > LCST, an ultrasound irradiation of a micellar solution could induce the hydrolysis of THPMA groups.

The ketogenic diet increases brain glucose and ketone uptake in aged rats: a dual tracer PET and volumetric MRI study.

Despite decades of study, it is still unclear whether regional brain glucose uptake is lower in the cognitively healthy elderly. Whether regional brain uptake of ketones (β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate [AcAc]), the main alternative brain fuel to glucose, changes with age is unknown. We used a sequential, dual tracer positron emission tomography (PET) protocol to quantify brain (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) and (11)C-AcAc uptake in two studies with healthy, male Sprague-Dawley rats: (i) Aged (21 months; 21M) versus young (4 months; 4M) rats, and (ii) The effect of a 14 day high-fat ketogenic diet (KD) on brain (18)F-FDG and (11)C-AcAc uptake in 24 month old rats (24M).

Towards a primate model of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome: anatomo-behavioural correlation of disorders induced by striatal dysfunction.

Introduction: Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is characterized by abnormal movements (tics) often associated with behavioural disorders. Neuropathological data from GTS patients have suggested that aberrant activation of distinct striatal functional territories could produce a large spectrum of GTS symptoms. In a monkey model, injections of GABA-antagonist into the striatum enabled us to produce tic-like movements, hyperactivity and stereotyped behaviours.

A micro-imaging study linking bone cancer pain with tumor growth and bone resorption in a rat model.

Bone metastases represent a frequent complication of advanced breast cancer. As tumor growth-induced bone remodeling progresses, episodes of severe pain and fractures of weight-bearing limbs increase. All of these skeletal-related events influence the patient's quality of life and survival.

Cancer radiotherapy based on femtosecond IR laser-beam filamentation yielding ultra-high dose rates and zero entrance dose.

Since the invention of cancer radiotherapy, its primary goal has been to maximize lethal radiation doses to the tumor volume while keeping the dose to surrounding healthy tissues at zero. Sadly, conventional radiation sources (γ or X rays, electrons) used for decades, including multiple or modulated beams, inevitably deposit the majority of their dose in front or behind the tumor, thus damaging healthy tissue and causing secondary cancers years after treatment. Even the most recent pioneering advances in costly proton or carbon ion therapies can not completely avoid dose buildup in front of the tumor volume.

Effects of dopamine and serotonin antagonist injections into the striatopallidal complex of asymptomatic MPTP-treated monkeys.

The cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), akinesia, rigidity and tremor, are only observed when the striatal level of dopamine (DA) is decreased by 60-80%. It is likely that compensatory mechanisms during the early phase of DA depletion delay the appearance of motor symptoms. In a previous study, we proposed a new PD monkey model with progressive MPTP intoxication.

Induction of selective blood-tumor barrier permeability and macromolecular transport by a biostable kinin B1 receptor agonist in a glioma rat model.

Treatment of malignant glioma with chemotherapy is limited mostly because of delivery impediment related to the blood-brain tumor barrier (BTB). B1 receptors (B1R), inducible prototypical G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) can regulate permeability of vessels including possibly that of brain tumors. Here, we determine the extent of BTB permeability induced by the natural and synthetic peptide B1R agonists, LysdesArg(9)BK (LDBK) and SarLys[dPhe(8)]desArg(9)BK (NG29), in syngeneic F98 glioma-implanted Fischer rats.

Effect of chemotherapy in patients with resected small-cell or large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.

Introduction: Surgical resection of an undiagnosed lung lesion may lead to unintentional removal of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). The benefit of perioperative chemotherapy in resected SCLC or large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNEC) is not clear.

Methods: This retrospective analysis included limited disease SCLC and LCNEC that had been surgically removed between 1979 and 2007 at a single institution.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation for myeloproliferative neoplasm in blast phase.

The prognosis for patients with Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) who evolve into acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or blast phase (MPN-BP) is extremely poor. Although allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is considered potentially curative, very few patients have been reported who have undergone allo-SCT for MPN-BP; therefore the success rate remains unknown. In a retrospective review, we identified 13 patients with an MPN transformation to blast phase after a median 9 years (range 5 months to 30 years); 8 (median age 55) continued to allo-SCT within 6 months.

Conversion of arterial input functions for dual pharmacokinetic modeling using Gd-DTPA/MRI and 18F-FDG/PET.

Reaching the full potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-positron emission tomography (PET) dual modality systems requires new methodologies in quantitative image analyses. In this study, methods are proposed to convert an arterial input function (AIF) derived from gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) in MRI, into a (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) AIF in PET, and vice versa. The AIFs from both modalities were obtained from manual blood sampling in a F98-Fisher glioblastoma rat model.

Development of a harpacticoid copepod bioassay: selection of species and relative sensitivity to zinc, atrazine and phenanthrene.

Worldwide, estuaries are under increasing pressure from numerous contaminants. This study aimed to identify a suitable marine harpacticoid copepod species for toxicity testing of New Zealand estuaries. Multiple aspects were considered for species selection and included: a broad regional distribution, ease of culture, reproductive rate under laboratory conditions, sexual dimorphism, and sensitivity to contaminants.

Early detection of placental inflammation by MRI enabling protection by clinically relevant IL-1Ra administration.

Objective: We studied whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be used to detect placental inflammation before the detection of irreversible tissue damage. Next, we tested whether this early detection would enable the administration of treatment (ie, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist [IL-1Ra]) in a realistic clinical time after diagnosis.

Study Design: Pregnant rats were injected intraperitoneally with lipopolysaccharide with/without delayed IL-1Ra.