Hearing and spatial behavior in Gryllotalpa major Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae).

The prairie mole cricket (Gryllotalpa major Saussure) is a rare orthopteran insect of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem of the south central USA. Populations are known to currently occupy fragmented prairie sites in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri, including The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in north central Oklahoma. Prairie mole cricket populations were surveyed at this site and at another site in Craig County, OK during the spring of 2005 and 2006, using the male cricket's acoustic call to locate advertising aggregations of males.

Affective modulation of eyeblink reactions to noxious sural nerve stimulation: a supraspinal measure of nociceptive reactivity?

Research suggests affective picture-viewing modulates subjective and physiological reactions to noxious stimulation (pain report, heart rate acceleration, skin conductance response, nociceptive flexion reflex). Because the nociceptive flexion reflex (a spinal reflex) is modulated by picture-viewing, this suggests affective processes are able to modulate afferent nociception at spinal levels. This highlights the importance of assessing nociceptive reactivity from physiological measures mediated at different levels of the neuraxis (spinal vs.

Emotional control of nociceptive reactions (ECON): do affective valence and arousal play a role?

Prior research suggests emotional picture-viewing modulates motoric (nociceptive flexion reflex), autonomic (skin conductance response, heart rate acceleration), and subjective (pain rating) reactions to noxious electrodermal stimulation. The present study sought to determine whether emotional valence and arousal contribute to nociception modulation. To do so, pictures varying in emotional content (erotica, food, neutral, loss, attack) were chosen to manipulate emotional valence (pleasant=erotic and food; unpleasant=loss and attack) and arousal (low=food and loss; moderate=erotica and attack).

Quantification of penicillin G during labor and delivery by capillary electrophoresis.

In this study, a capillary electrophoresis (CE) method was developed as a means to measure levels of penicillin G (PCN G) in Group B Streptococcus (GBS) positive pregnant women during labor and delivery. Volunteers for this developmental study were administered five million units of PCN G at the onset of labor. Urine, blood, and amniotic fluid samples were collected during labor and post delivery.

Subtypes of social perception deficits in schizophrenia.

Persons with schizophrenia exhibit consistent deficits in emotion perception (recognizing the emotional expressions of others), but it is currently unclear if their performance represents a specific deficit in identifying emotions only or is a more generalized deficit across different perception tasks. To address this question, it is important to compare emotion perception with face and general visual perception to assess the type of deficit present. The equivocal nature of previous research may suggest the presence of subtypes with different levels and patterns of performance on social perception measures.

The psychometric utility of two self-report measures of PTSD among women substance users.

Given the high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among substance users, integrated programs that target PTSD and substance use are recommended as best practice. To effectively implement such treatments, accurate and reliable PTSD screening instruments are needed. Unfortunately, no standardized PTSD measure has been validated among women substance abusers.

Randomized clinical trial for treatment of chronic nightmares in trauma-exposed adults.

Nightmares and sleep disturbance are fundamental concerns for victims of trauma. This study examined the efficacy of a manualized cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for chronic nightmares in trauma-exposed individuals via a randomized clinical trial. Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group or wait-list control group, with 27 participants completing the treatment.

Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) for inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: preliminary findings.

Individuals with schizophrenia exhibit consistent deficits in social cognition such as emotion perception, attributional style, and theory of mind, which may be targets of psychosocial treatments. Previous intervention studies have typically focused on only one aspect of social cognition and have not assessed generalization of treatment to improvements in social functioning. This paper describes preliminary data from a new group-based treatment, Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT), aimed at improving social cognition in schizophrenia.

Affective modulation of pain in substance-dependent veterans.

Objective: Prior work suggests that positive affect inhibits pain while negative affect facilitates it. The current study sought to determine whether: 1) affective modulation of pain extends to a patient population; 2) cocaine and alcohol dependence influences the pattern of modulation; and 3) affective modulation of pain is mediated by changes in arm temperature.

Design: Thirty-seven participants with and without substance dependence (14 alcohol, 13 cocaine, 10 none) attended three experimental sessions intended to induce emotions (negative, neutral, positive) by picture-viewing.

Affective modulation of autonomic reactions to noxious stimulation.

Research suggests that emotion modulates spinal nociception and pain; however, there is limited evidence that other objective, nociceptive reactions are modulated. This study examined the impact of affective picture-viewing on autonomic reactions (skin conductance response, heart rate acceleration) resulting from noxious electric stimulations to the sural nerve. Pictures varying in affective valence (unpleasant, neutral, pleasant) were presented during which noxious stimulations were delivered.

Pattern of nucleotide substitution and divergence of prophenoloxidase in decapods.

Despite the unprecedented development in identification and characterization of prophenoloxidase (proPO) in commercially important decapods, little is known about the evolutionary relationship, rate of amino acid replacement and differential selection pressures operating on proPO of different species of decapods. Here we report the evolutionary relationship among these nine decapod species based on proPO gene and types of selective pressures operating on proPO codon sites. Our analyses revealed that all the nine decapod species shared a common ancestor.

Self-generated learning in people with multiple sclerosis.

Memory impairment is among the most common cognitive deficits in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). To remediate this problem, recent research has evaluated the benefits of self-generated encoding. These nascent investigations reveal that people with MS who have mild memory impairment demonstrate a significant memory benefit from self-generated encoding compared with didactic learning.

Emotional modulation of spinal nociception and pain: the impact of predictable noxious stimulation.

Recent evidence suggests that emotional picture-viewing is a reliable method of engaging descending modulation of spinal nociception. The present study attempted to replicate these findings and determine the effect of noxious stimulus predictability. Participants viewed pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), during which pain and nociceptive flexion reflexes (NFR) were elicited by electric shocks delivered to the sural nerve.

Paranoia and emotion perception across the continuum.

Objectives: Persons with high levels of paranoid ideation may be more sensitive to emotional stimuli, particularly negative emotions, reflecting the operation of a paranoid schema. However, this finding has not been consistently supported and needs further study. This study examined the effect of paranoia, as measured on a continuum, on emotion perception.

Informed consent in schizophrenia: the use of cues in the assessment of understanding.

The purpose of this study was to determine if providing cues could facilitate participant understanding for consent form information. Understanding scores were measured in a group of participants diagnosed with schizophrenia and a control group using cued recognition and uncued recall methods. When understanding was measured with uncued methods, persons with schizophrenia showed lower scores compared to the control group.

Self-reported comfort in athletic training to same- and opposite-sex athletes.

To assess the comfort of athletic trainers in providing care to athletes of the same- and opposite-sex, the Gender Comfort in Athletic Training Questionnaire was developed. Cronbach alpha was .72.

Differential strain measurement using multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensors.

We investigate differential measurement of strain using fiber Bragg gratings and spatial demultiplexing methods. Differential measurement is shown to improve strain resolution in the presence of noise by an average of 34% compared to absolute measurements of the Bragg wavelengths. Spatial demultiplexing of the gratings provides potentially high-resolution sensing without calculating the sensor wavelengths.

Pollen count forecasting.

Pollen forecasting is becoming increasingly important to allergists as an adjunct to effective patient care. Forecasts allow patients to avoid exposure to high pollen levels and prompt them to take prophylactic medication and to plan outdoor activities for periods of low pollen levels. Investigators are making progress in developing effective models for daily and seasonal forecasts for important pollen allergens; however, current models are limited to specific geographic areas.

Empirically supported ethical research practice: the costs and benefits of research from the participants' view.

Researchers and institutional review boards are routinely called upon to evaluate the cost-benefit status of proposed research protocols that involve human participants. Often these assessments are based on subjective judgments in the absence of empirical data. This reliance on subjective judgments is of particular concern for studies involving clinical samples where unfounded assumptions may adversely affect research progress or clinical outcomes.

A Catholic perspective on organ sales.

In this article, I address the issue of the sale of human organs and the moral implications of a market in human organs under the aegis of Christian Bioethics. I argue that moral issues of this kind cannot be adequately be addressed from the point of view of moral frameworks, which point exclusively to procedural norms. Rather, a moral perspective must embody some substantive norms derived from a particular content-full moral or theological perspective.

A molecular basis for differential developmental anomalies in Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome.

Pitx2, a bicoid-like homeodomain transcription factor and Dlx2 are two transcriptional markers observed during early tooth development. PITX2 binds to bicoid and bicoid-like elements in the Dlx2 promoter and activates this promoter 30-fold in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Mutations in PITX2 associated with Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome (ARS) provided the first link of this homeodomain transcription factor to tooth development.

Analysis of a microbial community oxidizing inorganic sulfide and mercaptans.

Successful treatment of refinery spent-sulfidic caustic (which results from the addition of sodium hydroxide solutions to petroleum refinery waste streams) was achieved in a bioreactor containing an enrichment culture immobilized in organic polymer beads with embedded powdered activated carbon (Bio-Sep). The aerobic enrichment culture had previously been selected using a gas mixture of hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan (MeSH) as the sole carbon and energy sources. The starting cultures for the enrichment consisted of several different Thiobacilli spp.

Determining mutation rates in bacterial populations.

When properly determined, spontaneous mutation rates are a more accurate and biologically meaningful reflection of underlying mutagenic mechanisms than are mutant frequencies. Because bacteria grow exponentially and mutations arise stochastically, methods to estimate mutation rates depend on theoretical models that describe the distribution of mutant numbers among parallel cultures, as in the original Luria-Delbr]uck fluctuation analysis. An accurate determination of mutation rate depends on understanding the strengths and limitations of these methods, and how to design fluctuation assays to optimize a given method.

Phylogeny of the Neotropical killifish family Rivulidae (Cyprinodontiformes, Aplocheiloidei) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences.

Phylogenetic relationships of 70 taxa representing 68 species of the Neotropical killifish family Rivulidae were derived from analysis of 1516 nucleotides sampled from four different segments of the mitochondrial genome: 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, cytochrome oxidase I, and cytochrome b. The basal bifurcation of Cynolebiatinae and Rivulinae (Costa, 1990a,b) is supported; however, Terranatos, Maratecoara, and Plesiolebias are rivulins, not cynolebiatins. These three genera, along with the other recognized annual rivulin genera, form a monophyletic clade.

Identification of the factors affecting the rate of deactivation of hypochlorous acid by melatonin.

It has been found that melatonin reacts rapidly with hypochlorous acid in phosphate-buffered, ethanol-water solutions to produce 2-hydroxymelatonin. The rate law, d[2 - HOMel]/dt - kHOCl[Mel][HOCl] - kOCl-[Mel][OCl-], was obtained. At 37 degrees C and at a water concentration of 23.