Our purpose is to investigate cognitive performance and extrapyramidal function early after ecstasy use.
Ecstasy, containing 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, has shown evidence of causing cognitive ...deficits and parkinsonian signs. Previous research has examined cognitive performance after a period of prolonged abstinence, but research assessing the early effects of ecstasy after recent use is limited despite temporal neurochemical differences demonstrated in nonhuman models.
This study compared task performance between 13 ecstasy users (10 to 15 h postdrug use) and a control group on a battery of neuropsychologic assessments while matching for education level, sleep deprivation, and premorbid IQ. The groups were also compared on measures relating to parkinsonian signs.
The ecstasy subjects showed impairments on measures of executive function as evaluated by Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST). Short-delay free recall memory was also impaired in ecstasy subjects on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II). No extrapyramidal motor impairments were detected.
These deficits resemble deficits previously reported in chronic ecstasy use but also seem to reveal transient impairments in executive function. Future research is needed to better understand the neurologic and neuropsychologic implications of ecstasy use across time and extent of use.
To investigate the association between organic solvent exposure and menstrual disturbance, we conducted a cross-sectional study among 1408 petrochemical workers in China, Based on an industrial ...hygiene evaluation, we classified the workshops according to the presence or absence of organic solvents (benzene, styrene, toluene, or xylene). We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for prolonged menstrual cycle length (oligomenorrhea: average cycle length >35 days dwring the previous year) associated with the exposure. After adjustment for confounders, each additional year of work in an exposed workshop was associated with a 7% increase in oligomenorrhea (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.14). Compared with no exposure, 3 or more years of exposure was associated with a 53% increase in oligomenorrhea (odds ratio, 1.53; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 2.34). We concluded that exposure to organic solvents is associated with a trend toward increased frequency of oligomenorrhea.
Protocols that involve a freezing process are frequently used for the preservation of fungi, but there have been few studies to assess the physiological and genetic stability of isolates after ...preservation. In this study, the effects of cryopreservation and lyophilisation on the viability, physiology and genetic stability of isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae, Fusarium oxysporum and Serpula lacrymans were examined. It was found that preservation regime influenced the characters of some of the test isolates. Secondary metabolite profiles and extracellular enzyme production can be affected by preservation. Polymorphism's were detected after PCR fingerprinting in replicates of 2 isolates of Metarhizium that had been preserved by cryopreservation and lyophilisation. The results indicated a need to improve existing preservation protocols. Research is being undertaken to develop novel cryopreservation regimes for recalcitrant micro-organisms. Biochemical and molecular techniques will be used to assess the effectiveness of preservation.
The military unit is a critical center of gravity in the military's efforts to enhance resilience and the health of the force. The purpose of this article is to augment the military's Total Force ...Fitness (TFF) guidance with a framework of TFF in units. The framework is based on a Military Demand-Resource model that highlights the dynamic interactions across demands, resources, and outcomes. A joint team of subject-matter experts identified key variables representing unit fitness demands, resources, and outcomes. The resulting framework informs and supports leaders, support agencies, and enterprise efforts to strengthen TFF in units by (1) identifying TFF unit variables aligned with current evidence and operational practices, (2) standardizing communication about TFF in units across the Department of Defense enterprise in a variety of military organizational contexts, (3) improving current resources including evidence-based actions for leaders, (4) identifying and addressing of gaps, and (5) directing future research for enhancing TFF in units. These goals are intended to inform and enhance Service efforts to develop Service-specific TFF models, as well as provide the conceptual foundation for a follow-on article about TFF metrics for units.
Reports an error in "Task control and cognitive abilities of self and spouse in collaboration in middle-aged and older couples" by Cynthia A. Berg, Timothy W. Smith, Kelly J. Ko, Nancy J. M. Henry, ...Paul Florsheim, Gale Pearce, Bert N. Uchino, Michelle A. Skinner, Ryan M. Beveridge, Nathan Story and Kelly Glazer ( Psychology and Aging, 2007Sep, Vol 223, 420-427). Due to an editing mistake, the order of authorship was incorrect. The correct order is as follows: Berg, Smith, Ko, Beveridge, Story, Henry, Florsheim, Pearce, Uchino, Skinner, & Glazer. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-13103-002.) Collaborative problem solving may be used by older couples to optimize cognitive functioning, with some suggestion that older couples exhibit greater collaborative expertise. The study explored age differences in 2 aspects of collaborative expertise: spouses' knowledge of their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities and the ability to fit task control to these cognitive abilities. The participants were 300 middle-aged and older couples who completed a hypothetical errand task. The interactions were coded for control asserted by husbands and wives. Fluid intelligence was assessed, and spouses rated their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities. The results revealed no age differences in couple expertise, either in the ability to predict their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities or in the ability to fit task control to abilities. However, gender differences were found. Women fit task control to their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities; men only fit task control to their spouse's cognitive abilities. For women only, the fit between control and abilities was associated with better performance. The results indicate no age differences in couple expertise but point to gender as a factor in optimal collaboration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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