Metamemory describes the monitoring and knowledge about one's memory capabilities. Patients with schizophrenia have been found to be less able in differentiating between correct and false answers ...(smaller confidence gap) when asked to provide retrospective confidence ratings in previous studies. Furthermore, higher proportions of very-high-confident but false responses have been found in this patient group (high knowledge corruption). Whether and how these biases contribute to the early pathogenesis of psychosis is yet unclear. This study thus aimed at investigating metamemory function in the early course of psychosis.
Patients in an at-risk mental state for psychosis (ARMS, n = 34), patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP, n = 21) and healthy controls (HCs, n = 38) were compared on a verbal recognition task combined with retrospective confidence-level ratings.
FEP patients showed the smallest confidence gap, followed by ARMS patients, followed by HCs. All groups differed significantly from each other. Regarding knowledge corruption, FEP patients differed significantly from HCs, whereas a statistical trend was revealed in comparison of ARMS and FEP groups. Correlations were revealed between metamemory, measures of positive symptoms and working memory performance.
These data underline the presence of a metamemory bias in ARMS patients which is even more pronounced in FEP patients. The bias might represent an early cognitive marker of the beginning psychotic state. Longitudinal studies are needed to unravel whether metacognitive deficits predict the transition to psychosis and to evaluate therapeutic interventions.
Rethinking restimulation: a case report Kranaster, Laura; Janke, Christoph; Lewien, Antje ...
The journal of ECT,
2012-December, Letnik:
28, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The individual time-course of the seizure threshold (ST) in electroconvulsive therapy is mostly unknown. It is assumed that a typical seizure is followed by a short refractory period and that ST ...increases in the long run. We hypothesize ST to be lowered immediately after the refractory period, particularly after inadequate or abortive seizures where risk for prolonged seizures is generally higher. Ketamine anesthesia does not possess pronounced anticonvulsive properties like propofol, etomidate, thiopental, or methohexital. It is therefore ideal to test such a hypothesis. We report the case of a geriatric patient with a major depressive episode, who received 5 consecutive electroconvulsive therapies with S-ketamine, all with identical right unilateral high-energy stimulation and restimulation. Whereas all primary stimulations were inadequate, all restimulations showed significantly improved seizure parameters such as midictal amplitude, maximal postictal heart rate, and average seizure energy index. In this patient, the refractory period turned out to be longer than 1 minute, and ST was lower in all 5 instances of restimulation. This ST decrease could be clinically useful in one-session restimulations.
As sleep-related difficulties are a growing public health concern, it is important to gain an overview of the specific difficulty areas of the most vulnerable individuals: children. The current ...descriptive study presents the prevalence of sleep-related difficulties in two large samples of healthy children and adolescents and outlines the effects of age, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) on various sleep-related difficulties.
Participants were 855 4-9 year-old children (child sample) and 1,047 10-17 year-old adolescents (adolescent sample) participating 2011-2015 in the LIFE Child study, a population-based cohort study in Germany. Parents of the child participants completed the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), whereas adolescents self-administered the Sleep Self Report (SSR). Familial SES was determined by a composite score considering parental education, occupational status, and income. Multiple regression analyses were carried out to address the research question.
Among 4-9 year-old children, the mean bedtime was reported to be 8 p.m., the mean wake-up time 7 a.m., and sleep duration decreased by 14 min/year of age. 22.6 % of the children and 20.0 % of the adolescents showed problematic amounts of sleep-related difficulties. In the child sample, bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, sleep-related anxiety, night waking, and parasomnia were more frequent in younger than older children. In the adolescent sample, difficulties at bedtime were more frequent among the younger adolescents, whereas daytime sleepiness was more prominent in the older than the younger adolescents. Considering gender differences, sleep-related difficulties were more frequent among boys in the child sample and among girls in the adolescent sample. Lower SES was associated with increased sleep-related difficulties in the adolescent, but not the child sample.
The present results report sleep-related difficulties throughout both childhood and adolescence. Gender differences can already be observed in early childhood, while effects of SES emerge only later in adolescence. The awareness for this circumstance is of great importance for pediatric clinicians who ought to early identify sleep-related difficulties in particularly vulnerable individuals.
Genomics and high throughput phenomics have the potential to revolutionize the field of wheat (
L.) breeding. Genomic selection (GS) has been used for predicting various quantitative traits in wheat, ...especially grain yield. However, there are few GS studies for grain protein content (GPC), which is a crucial quality determinant. Incorporation of secondary correlated traits in GS models has been demonstrated to improve accuracy. The objectives of this research were to compare performance of single and multi-trait GS models for predicting GPC and grain yield in wheat and to identify optimal growth stages for collecting secondary traits. We used 650 recombinant inbred lines from a spring wheat nested association mapping (NAM) population. The population was phenotyped over 3 years (2014-2016), and spectral information was collected at heading and grain filling stages. The ability to predict GPC and grain yield was assessed using secondary traits, univariate, covariate, and multivariate GS models for within and across cycle predictions. Our results indicate that GS accuracy increased by an average of 12% for GPC and 20% for grain yield by including secondary traits in the models. Spectral information collected at heading was superior for predicting GPC, whereas grain yield was more accurately predicted during the grain filling stage. Green normalized difference vegetation index had the largest effect on the prediction of GPC either used individually or with multiple indices in the GS models. An increased prediction ability for GPC and grain yield with the inclusion of secondary traits demonstrates the potential to improve the genetic gain per unit time and cost in wheat breeding.
Eyespot, caused by the soil-borne necrotrophic fungi Oculimacula yallundae and O. acuformis, is a disease of major economic significance for wheat, barley and rye. Pacific Northwest (PNW) winter ...wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in areas of high rainfall and moderate winters is most vulnerable to infection. The objective of this research was to identify novel genomic regions associated with eyespot resistance in winter wheat adapted to the PNW. Two winter wheat panels of 469 and 399 lines were compiled for one of the first genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of eyespot resistance in US winter wheat germplasm. These panels were genotyped with the Infinium 9K and 90K iSelect SNP arrays. Both panels were phenotyped for disease resistance in a two-year field study and in replicated growth chamber trials. Growth chamber trials were used to evaluate the genetic resistance of O. acuformis and O. yallundae species separately. Best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) were calculated across all field and growth chamber environments. A total of 73 marker-trait associations (MTAs) were detected on nine different chromosomes (1A, 2A, 2B, 4A, 5A, 5B, 7A, 7B and 7D) that were significantly associated (p-value <0.001) with eyespot resistance in Panel A, and 19 MTAs on nine different chromosomes (1A, 1B, 2A, 2D, 3B, 5A, 5B, 7A, and 7B) in Panel B. The most significant SNPs were associated with Pch1 and Pch2 resistance genes on the long arms of chromosome 7D and 7A. Most of the novel MTAs appeared to have a minor effect on reducing eyespot disease. Nevertheless, eyespot disease scores decreased as the number of resistance alleles increased. Seven SNP markers, significantly associated with reducing eyespot disease across environments and in the absence and presence of Pch1 were identified. These markers were located on chromosomes 2A (IWB8331), 5A (IWB73709), 5B (IWB47298), 7AS (IWB47160), 7B (IWB45005) and two SNPs (Ex_c44379_2509 and IAAV4340) had unknown map positions. The additive effect of the MTAs explained most of the remaining phenotypic variation not accounted for by Pch1 or Pch2. This study provides breeders with adapted germplasm and novel sources of eyespot resistance to be used in the development of superior cultivars with increased eyespot resistance.
Grain protein content (GPC) is controlled by complex genetic systems and their interactions and is an important quality determinant for hard spring wheat as it has a positive effect on bread and ...pasta quality. GPC is variable among genotypes and strongly influenced by the environment. Thus, understanding the genetic control of wheat GPC and identifying genotypes with improved stability is an important breeding goal. The objectives of this research were to identify genetic backgrounds with less variation for GPC across environments and identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling the stability of GPC. A spring wheat nested association mapping (NAM) population of 650 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from 26 diverse founder parents crossed to one common parent, ‘Berkut’, was phenotyped over three years of field trials (2014–2016). Genomic selection models were developed and compared based on predictions of GPC and GPC stability. After observing variable genetic control of GPC within the NAM population, seven RIL families displaying reduced marker-by-environment interaction were selected based on a stability index derived from a Finlay–Wilkinson regression. A genome-wide association study identified eighteen significant QTLs for GPC stability with a Bonferroni-adjusted p-value < 0.05 using four different models and out of these eighteen QTLs eight were identified by two or more GWAS models simultaneously. This study also demonstrated that genome-wide prediction of GPC with ridge regression best linear unbiased estimates reached up to r = 0.69. Genomic selection can be used to apply selection pressure for GPC and improve genetic gain for GPC.
Objective
The measurement of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) represents one way to detect type 1 and 2 diabetes in children at an early stage. However, to date, variations in HbA1c levels are not fully ...understood, even in healthy children. With this in mind, the present study aimed to establish HbA1c reference values in healthy children and to investigate the influence of various independent variables.
Study Design and Methods
Two thousand four hundred fifty‐five healthy children and adolescents aged between 0.5 and 18 years participated in the population‐based cohort study LIFE Child, Germany. Age‐ and gender‐dependent percentiles were estimated, enabling HbA1c values to be converted into standard deviation scores (SDS). Logistic regression models were applied to assess associations between HbA1c‐SDS (as outcome) and age, gender, BMI, birth weight, physical activity, pubertal status, and socioeconomic status (SES; as explanatory variables).
Results
The mean HbA1c value was 31.79 mmol/mol or 5.06% (SD = 3.3 mmol/mol, SD = 0.3%). Positive associations with HbA1c values were identified for age (b = 0.09, p < 0.001), gender (b = 0.25, p = 0.007), and BMI‐SDS (b = 0.06, p < 0.001). In addition, obesity was related to higher HbA1c values (b = 0.29, p < 0.001). Compared to prepuberty, the pubertal and postpubertal stages were associated with higher HbA1c levels. Furthermore, higher SES was associated with higher HbA1c‐SDS (b = 0.01, p = 0.04).
Conclusion
The present study established HbA1c reference values based on a large sample of healthy German children and adolescents. Age, gender, SES, pubertal stage, and BMI were found to be associated with higher HbA1c levels.
Diabetes continues to be the leading causes of kidney disease in the U.S. and around the world. Despite beneficial interventions implemented in patients with diabetes that mitigate some of its ...negative effects, kidney disease still progresses in most of these patients because the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease remains poorly understood. Recent evidence indicates that impairments in mitochondrial dynamics and function plays an important role in pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease and brings promise to treatment strategies for improving mitochondrial function and the related pathways that may prevent or slow the progression of kidney disease.
We aimed to test the influence of one key mitochondrial protein deacetylase, Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) as a potential target for therapy in diabetic kidney disease. In kidney biopsies from human patients with diabetic nephropathy, there are decreases in SIRT3 mRNA and protein abundance in glomeruli and tubules. To test the effect of SIRT3 on the prevention of diabetic kidney disease, we conducted a study comparing three groups of mice: A control group, a diabetic group (db/db), and a diabetic group treated with nicotinamide riboside (NR), a precursor for NAD+, which is a co‐substrate required for SIRT3 activity. Treatment of diabetic mice with NR resulted in a) increase in renal SIRT3 activity as determined by significant decreases in total acetylated proteins and acetylated SOD2, significant decreases in b) albuminuria, c) mesangial expansion and glomerular area, d) accumulation of collagen IV protein, e) loss of synaptopodin and f) accumulation of 4‐HNE. In conclusion, SIRT3 plays an important role in diabetic kidney disease and increasing the SIRT3 activity may prevent the progression of diabetic kidney disease.
Support or Funding Information
NIH
This is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this published in The FASEB Journal.
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