Why is there a left side underestimation in rod bisection?

Subjects set the extremities of a horizontal rod to appear equidistant from a central reference point, with or without central fixation. On either side, the contrast (salience) of the rod against the background was high or low. Extents to the left were set smaller than those to the right, an effect (LSU) which was stronger with central fixation, indicating that both hemispatial and anatomical pathway factors contribute. Reduced salience on the left increased rather than decreased the LSU, indicating the importance of attentional factors.     

Direction and location of movement in kinesthetic judgements of extent

In unimanual kinesthetic judgements, larger ipsilateral extents felt equal to smaller contralateral ones. This was more likely to be due to a limb's general "intentional" tendencies towards its own ipsilateral hemispace than to e.g. differential attentional tendencies or the effects of muscular tension when crossing the midline. However hand asymmetries in this respect cannot account for the "pseudoneglect" phenomenon of setting the subjective midpoint of a felt rod slightly too far to the left. This phenomenon may instead be due to an asymmetric deployment of attentional and processing resources.     

Lateralized recognition of incomplete figures in a prolonged display controlled by eye movements

A left field superiority is typically reported for processing a variety of simple and complex non-verbal and patterned visual stimuli, including pictures, though stimulus clarity, degradation and exposure duration may be a significant determinant. Clinical studies indicate deficits in the ability to recognize incomplete figures with right hemisphere damage. However when normal subjects attempted to recognize 80 series of progressively-less-incomplete common objects (each series graded in 10 steps) presented for prolonged inspection to one or other visual field via a display driven by an infrared eyemovement transducer, either field (hemisphere) proved to be equally competent. We review evidence to suggest that such "ecologically-more-valid" techniques may not in fact be intrinsically able to tap minor hemisphere function.     

Abduction, adduction and hand differences in simple and serial movements

Abductive or adductive movements were made either towards single targets left or right of "home", or sequentially from target to target with various levels of advance information. In the former situation the preferred hand completed responses (movement time, MT) faster than the non-preferred, while the non-preferred hand initiated them faster (reaction time, RT); these effects were in both cases stronger with harder (knob turn) than with easier (touch) responses. Abductive responses (MTs, not RTs) were faster than adductive, especially with the preferred right hand. However in the sequential task adductive responses were the faster, consistently so by MTs, while with respect to time spent motionless at each target (down time, DT) more so with the non-preferred hand, and under conditions of maximal advance information. Findings were discussed in the contexts of movement complexity, hemispatial representation, and how advance information may be utilized in the resolution of directional uncertainty. There may be an evolutionary advantage in making complex manipulative responses adductively, close to the body, while reaches are usually made abductively, to the periphery of circumcorporeal space.     

Sleeping at the margins: a qualitative study of homeless drug users who stay in emergency hostels and shelters

A growing social science literature demonstrates that sleep is not merely a personal matter but also a political problem and a public health issue. Taking this as a point of departure, our article presents an analysis of sleeping practices amongst homeless drug users (HDUs) who make use of emergency hostels and night shelters in England. Data generated by way of qualitative interviews undertaken with 29 men and 11 women reveal that, as we might expect, securing sleep for this group is by no means easy. The strategies they pursue to find places to sleep are described, as are the threats and barriers to their sleeping. Emergency hostels and night shelters can afford a lifeline; providing warmth, water, food and access to support services. But if these are inadequately resourced they can be experienced as volatile environments and inimical to sleeping. It is argued here that although sleep is an essential prerequisite for health, for this population it can, somewhat ironically, be experienced as a risky behaviour. Vulnerable to both physical risks (e.g. inclement weather) and social threats (e.g. abuse and violence), falling asleep can exacerbate exposure to such dangers. These vulnerabilities are compounded by the social position of HDUs who live in socially and physically marginal places. It is this marginality that prevents them from being able to secure sleep that is both restful and restorative.     

Innate immunity of surfactant protein A and D in urinary tract infection with uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Objective To investigate the role of surfactant protein (SP) - A and SP - D in urinary tract infection mouse model, and evaluate the effects of SP-A and SP-D absence on urinary tract infection. Methods SP-A and SP-D double knockout (SP-A/D KO) mice were made. SP-A/D KO and wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 female mice were used for this study. The expression of SP-A and SP-D in kidney was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The levels of p - p38 and p38 protein in kidneys were measured by Western blotting. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli or buffer was delivered into the bladder of female mice. At 24 and 48 h after inoculation, CFU of Escherichia coli in the kidney and urine of the treated and control mice were measured. Histological, cellular and molecular analysis were performed by several methods of H/E staining, IHC and Western blotting. The effects of SP-A and SP-D on bacterial growth were studied in vitro. Results SP-A and SP-D in kidney were located in the proximal tubules and collecting tubules. Compared with WT mice, infected SP - A/D KO mice with UPEC had higher CFU in kidneys and urine at 24 h and 48 h, increased inflammatory cells infiltration in kidneys（P＜0.05）. Compared with WT mice, SP - A/D KO mice had higher p38 MAPK phosphorylation levels in kidneys（P＜0.05）. Growth of Escherichia coli was greatly inhibited by both SP-A and SP-D（P＜0.05）. Conclusions Both SP-A and SP-D are expressed in kidney. SP-A and SP-D can attenuate UTI induced by UPEC which may be through inhibiting bacterial growth and modulating renal inflammation.     

Serum Metabolomic Profiling and Incident CKD among African Americans

Background and objectives

Novel biomarkers that more accurately reflect kidney function and predict future CKD are needed. The human metabolome is the product of multiple physiologic or pathophysiologic processes and may provide novel insight into disease etiology and progression. This study investigated whether estimated kidney function would be associated with multiple metabolites and whether selected metabolomic factors would be independent risk factors for incident CKD.

Design, setting, participants, & measurements

In total, 1921 African Americans free of CKD with a median of 19.6 years follow-up among the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study were included. A total of 204 serum metabolites quantified by untargeted gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry was analyzed by both linear regression for the cross-sectional associations with eGFR (specified by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation) and Cox proportional hazards model for the longitudinal associations with incident CKD.

Results

Forty named and 34 unnamed metabolites were found to be associated with eGFR specified by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation with creatine and 3-indoxyl sulfate showing the strongest positive (2.8 ml/min per 1.73 m² per +1 SD; 95% confidence interval, 2.1 to 3.5) and negative association (−14.2 ml/min per 1.73 m² per +1 SD; 95% confidence interval, −17.0 to −11.3), respectively. Two hundred four incident CKD events with a median follow-up time of 19.6 years were included in the survival analyses. Higher levels of 5-oxoproline (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.60 to 0.82) and 1,5-anhydroglucitol (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.58 to 0.80) were significantly related to lower risk of incident CKD, and the associations did not appreciably change when mutually adjusted.

Conclusions

These data identify a large number of metabolites associated with kidney function as well as two metabolites that are candidate risk factors for CKD and may provide new insights into CKD biomarker identification.     

膳食模式与动脉粥样硬化关系的多种族研究

目的人们对膳食模式、代谢紊乱与左心室功能的关系研究报道不多,本研究旨在探讨膳食模式和左心室功能之间的关系以及代谢紊乱与动脉粥样硬化的关系。方法膳食模式采用降秩回归（reduced rankregression,RRR）方法构建;左室重量、心搏量和左室射血分数采用磁共振成像测量;膳食模式和左室指数之间的关系采用横断面分析法。结果选用4601例45～84岁、无临床心血管疾病受试者,RRR膳食模式得分数与高血糖指数、高脂肉类、奶酪、加工食品的摄人量呈正相关,而与蔬菜、大豆、水果、绿茶、黑茶、低脂甜点、种子、坚果和鱼肉的低摄入量呈负相关。多变量分析显示,RRR膳食模式得分增加1个单位,左室重量／体表面积就增加0．32g／ ㎡,心博量减少0．43mL／㎡,左室射血分数则减少0．21％。调整代谢综合征组分后,RRR膳食模式得分与左室重量和心搏指数之间的相关性减低,变为差异有统计学意义（P％0．05）。结论RRR膳食模式、代谢紊乱与左室功能紊乱有关。本研究属于横断面研究,结果的可靠性有待前瞻性研究进一步证实。     

Clinical trials in wound care. II: Achieving statistical significance

Clinical trials must be well designed in order to produce statistically and clinically significant results. This article describes the randomisation techniques that can prevent bias, the importance of sample size and the concept of power analysis.