The focus of attention at the virtual cocktail party--electrophysiological evidence

Adaptation of mouse horizontal optokinetic response (HOKR) eye movement provides an experimental model for cerebellum-dependent motor learning. Our previous study revealed that the memory trace of HOKR adaptation is initially encoded in the cerebellar flocculus after hours of optokinetic training, and transferred to the vestibular nuclei to be consolidated to long-term motor memory after days of training [28]. To reveal how the cerebellar cortex operates in the transfer of the memory trace of adaptation, we examined the effects of shutdown of the cerebellar cortex after daily training. Three groups of mice received 1 h of optokinetic training daily for 4 days, and showed similar amounts of adaptation after the end of 1 h of training throughout 4 days. However, in the mice which daily received bilateral floccular muscimol infusion under gas anesthesia in the post-training period, consolidation of memory of the adaptation was markedly impaired, compared with the control mice which daily received bilateral floccular Ringer's solution infusions under gas anesthesia or those which daily received only gas anesthesia. These results are consistent with the studies of the effects of inactivation of cerebellar cortex on the consolidation of motor memory of rabbit eyeblink conditioning [2], [4] and [18], and suggest that the post-training cerebellar cortex activity play an important for the consolidation of motor memory of HOKR adaptation.     

Intention-to-Treat Analyses in Behavioral Medicine Randomized Clinical Trials

Background  

Intention-to-treat (ITT) is an analytic approach where all randomized participants are included in analyses and in their originally assigned condition, regardless of adherence or protocol deviation.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium septicum</Emphasis> myonecrosis complicating diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome

We report the case of a 19-month-old male child with diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) who developed swelling of the right arm at the site of a peripherally inserted central venous catheter (PICC), fever, and later, ecchymosis. Wound cultures at the time of surgical debridement grew Clostridium septicum. The child subsequently required amputation of the right arm and prolonged therapy with parenteral penicillin and clindamycin. Clostridium septicum infections in children with HUS have been associated with a high rate of mortality. Along with colon cancer, diarrhea-associated HUS comprises a clinical entity which appears to predispose to atraumatic C. septicum infection, where acidic and anaerobic conditions in the diseased colon favor C. septicum invasion. Though not well recognized among pediatric nephrologists, C. septicum infection constitutes a severe, albeit rare, complication of diarrhea-associated HUS, but one in which a high index of suspicion is warranted as aggressive surgical and antibiotic therapy may be life-saving.     

A developmental cascade perspective of paediatric obesity: a conceptual model and scoping review

Considering the immense challenge of preventing obesity, the time has come to reconceptualise the way we study the obesity development in childhood. The developmental cascade model offers a longitudinal framework to elucidate the way cumulative consequences and spreading effects of risk and protective factors, across and within biopsychosocial spheres and phases of development, can propel individuals towards obesity. In this article, we use a theory-driven model-building approach and a scoping review that included 310 published studies to propose a developmental cascade model of paediatric obesity. The proposed model provides a basis for testing hypothesised cascades with multiple intervening variables and complex longitudinal processes. Moreover, the model informs future research by resolving seemingly contradictory findings on pathways to obesity previously thought to be distinct (low self-esteem, consuming sugary foods, and poor sleep cause obesity) that are actually processes working together over time (low self-esteem causes consumption of sugary foods which disrupts sleep quality and contributes to obesity). The findings of such inquiries can aid in identifying the timing and specific targets of preventive interventions across and within developmental phases. The implications of such a cascade model of paediatric obesity for health psychology and developmental and prevention sciences are discussed.     

Magnetic resonance thermometry of flowing blood

Blood temperature is a key determinant of tissue temperature and can be altered under normal physiological states, such as exercise, in diseases such as stroke or iatrogenically in therapies which modulate tissue temperature, such as therapeutic hypothermia. Currently available methods for the measurement of arterial and venous temperatures are invasive and, for small animal models, are impractical. Here, we present a methodology for the measurement of intravascular and tissue temperature by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the lanthanide agent TmDOTMA^? (DOTMA, tetramethyl‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐1,4,7,10‐tetraacetic acid; Tm, thulium). The approach makes use of phase‐sensitive imaging measurements, combined with spectrally selective excitation, to monitor the temperature‐dependent shift in the resonance of proton nuclei associated with water and with methyl groups of TmDOTMA^?. Measurements were first made in a flow phantom modelling diastolic blood flow in the mouse aorta or inferior vena cava (IVC) and imaged using 7‐T preclinical MRI with a custom‐built surface coil. Flowing and static fluid temperatures agreed to within 0.12°C for these experiments. Proof‐of‐concept experiments were also performed on three healthy adult mice, demonstrating temperature measurements in the aorta, IVC and kidney following a bolus injection of contrast agent. A small (0.7–1°C), but statistically significant, higher kidney temperature compared with the aorta (p  = 0.002–0.007) and IVC (p  = 0.003–0.03) was shown in all animals. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of the technique for in vivo applications and illustrate how the technique could be used to explore the relationship between blood and tissue temperature for a wide range of applications.