Disturbances of agency and ownership in schizophrenia: An auditory verbal event related potentials study

A ‘sense of self’ is essentially the ability to distinguish between self-generated and external stimuli. It consists of at least two very basic senses: a sense of agency and a sense of ownership. Disturbances seem to provide a basic deficit in many psychiatric diseases. The aim of our study was to manipulate those qualities separately in 28 patients with schizophrenia (14 auditory hallucinators and 14 non-hallucinators) and 28 healthy controls (HC) and to investigate the effects on the topographies and the power of the event-related potential (ERP). We performed a 76-channel EEG while the participants performed the task as in our previous paper. We computed ERPs and difference maps for the conditions and compared the amount of agency and ownership between the HC and the patients. Furthermore, we compared the global field power and the topographies of these effects. Our data showed effects of agency and ownership in the healthy controls and the hallucinator group and to a lesser degree in the non-hallucinator group. We found a reduction of the N100 during the presence of agency, and a bilateral temporal negativity related to the presence of ownership. For the agency effects, we found significant differences between HC and the patients. Contrary to the expectations, our findings were more pronounced in non-hallucinators, suggesting a more profoundly disturbed sense of agency compared to hallucinators. A contemporary increase of global field power in both patient groups indicates a compensatory recruitment of other mechanisms not normally associated with the processing of agency and ownership.

An investigation of the effectiveness of existing bridge design methodology in providing adequate structural resistance to seismic disturbances : Phase III, Nonlinear soil-structure interaction of skew highway bridges : final report : prepared for Federal Highway Administration, Offices of Research and Development /

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Mohave ethnopsychiatry and suicide: the psychiatric knowledge and the psychic disturbances of an Indian tribe.

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Language and language disturbances;

Mode of access: Internet.

Report of the Commission on the Palestine disturbances of August, 1929. /

Sir Walter Shaw, chairman.

An experimental and analytical investigation of the effect of truck-induced aerodynamic disturbances on passenger car control and performance. Interim report.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Research, Washington, D.C.

Vector polar method for shock interactions with area disturbances /

"AFOSR TN 59-701. Contract no. AF49(638)-166. I. E. R. project no. 96895."

Original papers relative to the disturbances in Bengal; containing every material transaction from 1759 to 1764.

Mode of access: Internet.

Color atlas of oral pathology : histology and embryology, developmental disturbances, diseases of the teeth and supporting structures, diseases of the oral mucosa and jaws, neoplasms /

Mode of access: Internet.

Delayed traveling ionospheric disturbances, especially in equatorial regions, following geomagnetic activity

For the Western-Pacific region spread-F has been found to occur with delays after geomagnetic activity (GA) ranging from 5 to 10 days as station groups are considered from low midlatitudes to equatorial regions. The statistical (superposed-epoch) analyses also indicate that at the equator the spread-F, and therefore associated medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MS-TIDs) occur with additional delays around 16, 22 and 28 days representing a 6-day modulation of the delay period. These results are compared with similar delays, including the modulation, for D-region enhanced hydroxyl emission (Shefov, 1969). It is proposed that this similarity may be explained by MS-TIDs influencing both the F and D regions as they travel. Long delays of over 20 days are also found near the equator for airglow-measured MS-TIDs (Sobral et al., 1997). These are recorded infrequently and have equatorward motions, while normally eastward motions are measured at the equator. Also in midlatitudes D-region absorption events have been shown (statistically) to have similar long delays after GA. It is suggested that atmospheric gravity waves and associated MS-TIDs may be generated by some of the precipitations responsible for the absorption. The recording of the delayed spread-F events depends on the GA being well below the average levels around sunset on the nights of recording. This implies that lower upper-atmosphere neutral particle densities are necessary.

The relationship of cervical joint position error to balance and eye movement disturbances in persistent whiplash

Cervical joint position error (JPE) has been used as a measure of cervical afferent input to detect disturbances in sensori-motor control as a possible contributor to a neck pain syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between cervical JPE, balance and eye movement control. It was of particular interest whether assessment of cervical ME alone was sufficient to signal the presence of disturbances in the two other tests. One hundred subjects with persistent whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) and 40 healthy controls subjects were assessed on measures of cervical JPE, standing balance and the smooth pursuit neck torsion test (SPNT). The results indicated that over all subjects, significant but weak-to-moderate correlations existed between all comfortable stance balance tests and both the SPNT and rotation cervical ME tests. A weak correlation was found between the SPNT and right rotation cervical JPE. An abnormal rotation cervical JPE score had a high positive prediction value (88%) but low sensitivity (60%) and specificity (54%) to determine abnormality in balance and or SPNT test. The results suggest that in patients with persistent WAD, it is not sufficient to measure ME alone. All three measures are required to identify disturbances in the postural control system. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The roles of exercise-induced immune system disturbances in the pathology of heat stroke - The dual pathway model of heat stroke

Heat stroke is a life-threatening condition that can be fatal if not appropriately managed. Although heat stroke has been recognised as a medical condition for centuries, a universally accepted definition of heat stroke is lacking and the pathology of heat stroke is not fully understood. Information derived from autopsy reports and the clinical presentation of patients with heat stroke indicates that hyperthermia, septicaemia, central nervous system impairment and cardiovascular failure play important roles in the pathology of heat stroke. The current models of heat stroke advocate that heat stroke is triggered by hyperthermia but is driven by endotoxaemia. Endotoxaemia triggers the systemic inflammatory response, which can lead to systemic coagulation and haemorrhage, necrosis, cell death and multi-organ failure. However, the current heat stroke models cannot fully explain the discrepancies in high core temperature (Tc) as a trigger of heat stroke within and between individuals. Research on the concept of critical Tc: as a limitation to endurance exercise implies that a high Tc may function as a signal to trigger the protective mechanisms against heat stroke. Athletes undergoing a period of intense training are subjected to a variety of immune and gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances. The immune disturbances include the suppression of immune cells and their functions, suppression of cell-mediated immunity, translocation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), suppression of anti-LPS antibodies, increased macrophage activity due to muscle tissue damage, and increased concentration of circulating inflammatory and pyrogenic cytokines. Common symptoms of exercise-induced GI disturbances include diarrhoea, vomiting, gastrointestinal bleeding, and cramps, which may increase gut-related LPS translocation. This article discusses the current evidence that supports the argument that these exercise-induced immune and GI disturbances may contribute to the development of endotoxaemia and heat stroke. When endotoxaemia can be tolerated or prevented, continuing exercise and heat exposure will elevate Tc to a higher level (> 42 degrees C), where heat stroke may occur through the direct thermal effects of heat on organ tissues and cells. We also discuss the evidence suggesting that heat stroke may occur through endotoxaemia (heat sepsis), the primary pathway of heat stroke, or hyperthermia, the secondary pathway of heat stroke. The existence of these two pathways of heat stroke and the contribution of exercise-induced immune and GI disturbances in the primary pathway of heat stroke are illustrated in the dual pathway model of heat stroke. This model of heat stroke suggests that prolonged intense exercise suppresses anti-LPS mechanisms, and promotes inflammatory and pyrogenic activities in the pathway of heat stroke.

A smart micro-drill for cochleostomy formation:a comparison of cochlear disturbances with manual drilling and a human trial

Background: Cochleostomy formation is a key stage of the cochlear implantation procedure. Minimizing the trauma sustained by the cochlea during this step is thought to be a critical feature in hearing preservation cochlear implantation. The aim of this paper is firstly, to assess the cochlea disturbances during manual and robotic cochleostomy formation. Secondly, to determine whether the use of a smart micro-drill is feasible during human cochlear implantation. Materials and methods: The disturbances within the cochlea during cochleostomy formation were analysed in a porcine specimen by creating a third window cochleostomy, preserving the underlying endosteal membrane, on the anterior aspect of the basal turn of the cochlea. A laser vibrometer was aimed at this third window, to assess its movement while a traditional cochleostomy was performed. Six cochleostomies were performed in total, three manually and three with a smart micro-drill. The mean and peak membrane movement was calculated for both manual and smart micro-drill arms, to represent the disturbances sustained within cochlea during cochleostomy formation. The smart micro-drill was further used to perform live human robotic cochleostomies on three adult patients who met the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence criteria for undergoing cochlear implantation. Results: In the porcine trial, the smart micro-drill preserved the endosteal membrane in all three cases. The velocity of movement of the endosteal membrane during manual cochleostomy is approximately 20 times higher on average and 100 times greater in peak velocity, than for robotic cochleostomy. The robot was safely utilized in theatre in all three cases and successfully created a bony cochleostomy while preserving the underlying endosteal membrane. Conclusions: Our experiments have revealed that controlling the force of drilling during cochleostomy formation and opening the endosteal membrane with a pick will minimize the trauma sustained by the cochlea by a factor of 20. Additionally, the smart micro-drill can safely perform a bony cochleostomy in humans under operative conditions and preserve the integrity of the underlying endosteal membrane. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2013.

Radiative forcing of natural forest disturbances

Forest disturbances are major sources of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and therefore impact global climate. Biogeophysical attributes, such as surface albedo (reflectivity), further control the climate-regulating properties of forests. Using both tower-based and remotely sensed data sets, we show that natural disturbances from wildfire, beetle outbreaks, and hurricane wind throw can significantly alter surface albedo, and the associated radiative forcing either offsets or enhances the CO2 forcing caused by reducing ecosystem carbon sequestration over multiple years. In the examined cases, the radiative forcing from albedo change is on the same order of magnitude as the CO2 forcing. The net radiative forcing resulting from these two factors leads to a local heating effect in a hurricane-damaged mangrove forest in the subtropics, and a cooling effect following wildfire and mountain pine beetle attack in boreal forests with winter snow. Although natural forest disturbances currently represent less than half of gross forest cover loss, that area will probably increase in the future under climate change, making it imperative to represent these processes accurately in global climate models.