Further analysis of the effects of positive reinforcement on working memory in children with autism

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often exhibit impaired executive function (EF) performance, including difficulty with working memory (WM), in particular. While research has documented the existence of these deficits, surprisingly little research exists that evaluates potential treatment strategies for improving EF or WM. One exception is a study that used positive reinforcement to improve performance on a classical WM task, the counting span, resulting in both maintenance and generalization (Baltruschat et al., 2011). The current study is the second in a programmatic line of research on behavioral intervention for improving WM in children with autism. This study extended the use of the same procedure (positive reinforcement) to another task which is said to measure WM, a Complex Span, and included three additional children with autism. Results demonstrated significant improvements in performance for each participant, including maintenance and generalization to untrained stimuli and untrained responses. These results provide further evidence that behavioral intervention procedures may be useful for improving skills labeled as EF or WM in children with ASD.     

女性缩阴术30例临床分析

1 临床资料 2000-03/2004-06阴道松弛症女性30例,年龄24～44岁,其中24～30岁12例,占40%;31～40岁10例,占33.3%;41～44岁8例,占26.7%.术前检查阴道容三指以上,自诉因阴道松弛性生活时快感不足,均排除子宫脱垂、阴道炎及阴道肿瘤等疾病.手术在月经完全干净3 d后,采用硬膜外麻醉或局部麻醉下进行.患者取膀胱截石位,于阴道口外6点处设计出一弧形切口,左右宽度3～7 cm具体视阴道松弛程度而定,沿设计线在阴道黏膜下注射盐酸肾上腺素盐水以利止血和分离,切开并剥离阴道后壁黏膜,暴露黏膜下肌肉,以可吸收缝线拉拢缝合阴道黏膜下左右侧阴道括约肌及肛提肌等,从阴道深处开始缝合,缝到阴道口附近处.缝合后阴道容二指松.阴道后壁黏膜不切除,阴道黏膜下肌肉左右对叠缝合后阴道黏膜自然向上膨隆形成一皱襞.阴道外的横弧形切口因黏膜下肌肉左右拉拢缝合,变成竖形切口以丝线间断缝合.术后静滴抗生素3 d,每天以碘伏清洗切口1次,7 d拆线,2 mo内禁止性生活.术后随访3～6 mo,自诉性快感明显增强22例,改善8例.     

Open Source Software Projects of the caBIG™ In Vivo Imaging Workspace Software Special Interest Group

The Cancer Bioinformatics Grid (caBIG?) program was created by the National Cancer Institute to facilitate sharing of IT infrastructure, data, and applications among the National Cancer Institute-sponsored cancer research centers. The program was launched in February 2004 and now links more than 50 cancer centers. In April 2005, the In Vivo Imaging Workspace was added to promote the use of imaging in cancer clinical trials. At the inaugural meeting, four special interest groups (SIGs) were established. The Software SIG was charged with identifying projects that focus on open-source software for image visualization and analysis. To date, two projects have been defined by the Software SIG. The eXtensible Imaging Platform project has produced a rapid application development environment that researchers may use to create targeted workflows customized for specific research projects. The Algorithm Validation Tools project will provide a set of tools and data structures that will be used to capture measurement information and associated needed to allow a gold standard to be defined for the given database against which change analysis algorithms can be tested. Through these and future efforts, the caBIG? In Vivo Imaging Workspace Software SIG endeavors to advance imaging informatics and provide new open-source software tools to advance cancer research.     

In vitro simian virus 40 large tumor antigen expression correlates with differential immune responses following DNA immunization

Simian virus 40 (SV40) contains an essential protein, large tumor antigen (Tag), which assists in viral replication and causes cell transformation and immortalization. Our laboratory has examined plasmid DNA, expressing SV40 Tag under two different promoters, for use in potential cancer vaccination strategies. One plasmid, pSV3-neo, failed to induce SV40 Tag antibody, produced a weak cell-mediated response, and only partial protection in murine experimental tumor challenge systems. The second plasmid, pCMV-Tag, induced antibodies to SV40 Tag, produced a robust cell-mediated response, and invoked complete tumor immunity in vivo. The induction of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses following plasmid DNA immunization and tumor cell challenge reflected a type 1 cytokine secretion profile. Our hypothesis for this differential immune response is that pCMV-Tag exhibits a higher level of transgene expression due to a more efficient promoter. We determined that pCMV-Tag levels of SV40 Tag mRNA and protein expression were higher when compared to pSV3-neo. A threshold amount of SV40 Tag may be required to stimulate antibody production and provide complete systemic tumor immunity.     

Living with Marfan syndrome I. Perceptions of the condition

We present data from an exploratory study of 174 adults with Marfan syndrome regarding their cognitive perceptions of the condition as postulated by the self-regulatory model (Leventhal H, Benyamini Y, Brownlee S et al. In: Petrie KI, Weinman JA, eds. Perceptions of Health and Illness: Current Research and Applications. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Harwood Academic, 1997: 19-45; Leventhal H, Nerenz DR, Steele DJ. In: Baum A, Taylor SE, Singer JE, eds. Handbook of Psychology and Health. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1984: 219-252). The vast majority of the respondents had adequate general knowledge about Marfan syndrome. Eighty-three percent of the respondents perceived Marfan syndrome as having had significant adverse consequences on their lives. Having striae, pain (sore joints), and depression were each independently correlated with this view. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents indicated that they felt they had low to moderate control over their condition, demonstrating variability. History of aortic dissection, pain (sore joints), and depressive symptoms were each negatively correlated with the view that Marfan syndrome is a curable/controllable condition. Moreover, approximately 28% view the condition as a lethal condition, whereas 67% view it as a serious condition. Forty-four percent of the cohort were found to have significant symptomatology of depression independent of beta- and Ca2+-channel blockade use. Respondents cited both advantages and disadvantages of being affected. Genetic counseling that addresses patients' perceptions of Marfan syndrome, and its associated pain, fatigue, and depressive symptoms, may enhance patient adaptation to the condition.     

激素治疗增加绝经后健康妇女尿失禁的发病率和严重程度

问题：在绝经后健康妇女中，激素治疗（hormone therapy，HT）对尿失禁（urinary incontinence，UI）的效果如何？