The time-course of auditory and visual distraction effects in a new crossmodal paradigm

Vision often dominates audition when attentive processes are involved (e.g., the ventriloquist effect), yet little is known about the relative potential of the two modalities to initiate a “break through of the unattended”. The present study was designed to systematically compare the capacity of task-irrelevant auditory and visual events to withdraw attention from the other modality. Sequences of auditory and visual stimuli were presented with different amounts of temporal offset to determine the presence, strength, and time-course of attentional orienting and reorienting as well as their impact on task-related processing. One of the streams was task-relevant, while crossmodal distraction caused by unexpected events in the other stream was measured by impairments of behavioral task performance and by the N2, P3a, and reorienting negativity (RON) components of the event-related potential (ERP). Unexpected events in the visual modality proved to be somewhat more salient than those in the auditory modality, yet crossmodal interference caused by auditory stimuli was more pronounced. The visual modality was relatively constrained in terms of a critical time-range within which distraction effects could be elicited, while the impact of auditory stimuli on task-related processing extended over a longer time-range. These results are discussed in terms of functional differences between the auditory and visual modalities. Further applications of the new crossmodal protocol are deemed promising in view of the considerable size of the obtained distraction effects.     

A Snapshot of CNVs in the Pig Genome

Recent studies of mammalian genomes have uncovered the extent of copy number variation (CNV) that contributes to phenotypic diversity, including health and disease status. Here we report a first account of CNVs in the pig genome covering part of the chromosomes 4, 7, 14, and 17 already sequenced and assembled. A custom tiling oligonucleotide array was used with a median probe spacing of 409 bp for screening 12 unrelated Duroc boars that are founders of a large family material. After a strict CNV calling pipeline, 37 copy number variable regions (CNVRs) across all four chromosomes were identified, with five CNVRs overlapping segmental duplications, three overlapping pig unigenes and one overlapping a RefSeq pig mRNA. This CNV snapshot analysis is the first of its kind in the porcine genome and constitutes the basis for a better understanding of porcine phenotypes and genotypes with the prospect of identifying important economic traits.     

Laparoscopic colonic surgery in Denmark 2004–2007

Objective Laparoscopic colonic surgery was introduced about 15 years ago and has together with the evidence‐based ‘fast‐track’ methodology improved early postoperative outcome. The purpose of this study was to asses the organization and early outcome after laparoscopic colonic surgery in Denmark from 2004 to 2007. Method Based upon the National Patient Register, all laparoscopic colonic operations performed in Denmark between January 2004 and December 2006 were analysed regarding number of hospital departments and procedures, hospital stay, readmissions and mortality. Results One thousand one hundred and forty‐nine laparoscopic colonic resections without simultaneous stoma formation were performed in the study period. Twenty‐five departments performed the procedures but only four departments performed more than 100 procedures. The median length of primary stay was 4 days (mean 7.7 days). One hundred and twenty‐five (10.9%) patients were re‐admitted within 30 days and total length of stay (primary plus readmissions) was a median of 5 days (mean 8.5 days). Thirty‐day mortality was 2.6% and hospital mortality 3.5%. Conclusion This nationwide study has shown an increased implementation of laparoscopic colonic surgery but probably performed in too many low volume departments. Laparoscopic colonic surgery should be monitored and further advances secured by adjustment of perioperative care to fast‐track care.     

Anti-adrenal, cellular hypersensitivity in Addison''s disease

The occurrence in idiopathic Addison's disease of circulating antibodies with specific reactivity to adrenocortical components indicates a state of organ-specific hypersensitivity of the humoral type. The typical histopathological picture in idiopathic Addison's disease suggests a co-existing cellular (delayed type) hypersensitivity with similar specificity. To test this possibility, the leucocyte migration test was applied in a series of patients with Addison's disease, using pooled, foetal, adrenal extract as antigen. The results indicate the existence in nine out of fifteen patients with idiopathic Addison's disease of a state of organ-specific, anti-adrenal hypersensitivity of the cellular type. This reactivity was not seen in patients with Addison's disease of unquestionably tuberculous origin. A parallel study showed that adrenal extract did not induce blast transformation in lymphocyte cultures, as estimated by examination of cell morphology and [¹⁴C]thymidine incorporation.     

Cell-mediated immunity to a serologically defined (SD) HL-A antigen panel in kidney-transplanted patients.

The graft-directed, cell-mediated immunity in kidney-allografted patients was examined with a seriologically defined (SD), donor-unrelated panel of antigenic material in clinical steady state, soon after transplantation, and during acute rejection episodes. The SD antigens were selected from the panel on the basis of predictions hypothesized from the SD match of donor and recipient. The cell-mediated immunity was measured by the direct leukocyte migration agarose test (LMAT). Positive reactions in kidney-transplanted patients were induced particularly by one preparation (antigen 52) and were unpredictable on the basis of SD classification. The investigation shows that other antigenic determinants, different from SD antigens, probably play an important role as inducers of cell-mediated, graft-associated immunity in kidney-transplanted patients.     

Cell-mediated immunity to human oral leukoplakia demonstrated by the leukocyte migration test

Tissue extracts from 11 oral leukoplakias and from normal oral mucosa of the same patients were tested in the LMT against autologous leukocytes. Five patients showed inhibition of the migration with leukoplakial tissue and one showed inhibition with normal mucosa. The migration of leukocytes from matched controls was not influenced by the tissue extracts, which accordingly had no non-specific toxicity. It is concluded that oral leukoplakia is associated with a state of tissue-specific, cellular hypersensitivity against antigenic components of the leukoplakial tissue.