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Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsing disorder affecting an estimated 283 million individuals worldwide, with substantial health and economic consequences. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), particularly PPAR-α and PPAR-γ, have shown promise in preclinical studies as potential therapeutic targets for AUD. In this human laboratory study, we aimed to translate preclinical findings on the PPAR-α agonist fenofibrate to a human population with current AUD. We hypothesized that, relative to placebo, fenofibrate at the highest FDA-approved dose of 145 mg/d would attenuate responsiveness to in vivo alcohol cues in the lab and reduce drinking under natural conditions. However, the results did not show significant differences in craving and alcohol consumption between the fenofibrate and placebo groups. Reverse translational studies in rodent models confirmed the lack of fenofibrate effect at human-equivalent doses. These findings suggest that inadequate translation of drug dose from rodents to humans may account for the lack of fenofibrate effects on alcohol craving and consumption in humans with AUD. The results highlight the need for new brain-penetrant PPAR-α agonists to adequately test the therapeutic potential of PPAR-α agonists for AUD, and the importance of reverse translational approaches and selection of human-equivalent doses in drug development.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has significantly impacted the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This review examines the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 variants, their roles in epidemiological tracking, and their influence on viral fitness. Variants of concern (VOCs) such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron have demonstrated increased transmissibility, altered pathogenicity, and potential resistance to neutralizing antibodies. Epidemiological tracking of these variants is crucial for understanding their spread, informing public health interventions, and guiding vaccine development. The review also explores how specific mutations in the spike protein and other genomic regions contribute to viral fitness, affecting replication efficiency, immune escape, and transmission dynamics. By integrating genomic surveillance data with epidemiological and clinical findings, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and its implications for public health strategies and new vaccine development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of positive and negative feedback on recall of past decisions, focusing on behavioral performance and electrophysiological (EEG) responses. Participants completed a decision-making task involving 10 real-life scenarios, each followed by immediate positive or negative feedback. In a recall phase, participants' accuracy (ACC), errors (ERRs), and response times (RTs) were recorded alongside EEG data to analyze brain activity patterns related to recall. Results indicate that accurately recalled decisions with positive feedback had slower RTs, suggesting an attentional bias toward positive information that could increase cognitive load during memory retrieval. A lack of difference in recall accuracy implies that social stimuli and situational goals may influence the positivity bias. EEG data showed distinct patterns: lower alpha band activity in frontal regions (AF7, AF8) for both correct and incorrect decisions recall, reflecting focused attention and cognitive control. Correctly recalled decisions with negative feedback showed higher delta activity, often linked to aversive processing, while incorrect recalls with negative feedback showed higher beta and gamma activity. A theta band feedback-dependent modulation in electrode activity showed higher values for decisions with negative feedback, suggesting memory suppression. These findings suggest that recalling decisions linked to self-threatening feedback may require greater cognitive effort, as seen in increased beta and gamma activity, which may indicate motivational processing and selective memory suppression. This study provides insights into the neural mechanisms of feedback-based memory recall, showing how feedback valence affects not only behavioral outcomes but also the cognitive and emotional processes involved in decision recall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: F-8-coil repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and H-1-coil deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) have been indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adult patients by applying different treatment protocols. Nevertheless, the evidence for long-term electrophysiological alterations in the cortex following prolonged TMS interventions, as assessed by quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG), remains insufficiently explored. This study aims to demonstrate the qEEG-based distinctions between rTMS and dTMS in the management of depression and to evaluate the potential correlation between the electrophysiological changes induced by these two distinct TMS interventions and the clinical improvement in depressive and anxiety symptoms. Methods: A total of 60 patients diagnosed with treatment resistant depression received rTMS (n = 30) or dTMS (n = 30) along with their usual treatments in Kemal Arıkan Psychiatry Clinic. All the participants underwent resting-state qEEG recording before and at the end of 30 sessions of TMS treatment. The significant qEEG changes were then tested for their correlation with the improvement in depression and anxiety. Results: After the course of rTMS and dTMS a considerable reduction is seen in the severity of depression and anxiety. Although improvements in depression and anxiety were observed in both TMS groups, specific neural activity patterns were associated with better outcomes in depression. Patients who exhibited lower alpha activity in the left fronto-central region and higher gamma activity in the right prefrontal region following rTMS showed more significant improvements in depression symptoms. Similarly, those whose beta activity increased in the left prefrontal region but decreased in the right prefrontal region after rTMS tended to have greater reductions in depression and anxiety severity. For patients in the dTMS group, those who demonstrated a decrease in left temporal theta activity after treatment were more likely to experience a substantial improvement in depression severity. Conclusion: Following 30 sessions of rTMS with a F8 coil and dTMS with an H1 coil, notable alterations in qEEG activity with clinical significance were discerned. The persistence of these changes should be investigated in the subsequent follow-up period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postoperative delirium (POD) is the most common neurological adverse event among elderly patients undergoing surgery. POD is associated with an increased risk for postoperative complications, long-term cognitive decline, an increase in morbidity and mortality as well as extended hospital stays. Delirium prevention and treatment options are currently limited. This study will evaluate the effect of transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) on the incidence of POD. Methods: We will perform a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial using single-session postoperative application of tES in the recovery room in 225 patients (> 65 years) undergoing elective major surgery. Patients will be randomly allocated (ratio 1:1:1) to one of three study groups: (1) alpha-tACS over posterior parietal cortex [2 mA, 20 min], (2) anodal tDCS over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [2 mA, 20 min], (3) sham [2 mA, 30 s]. Delirium will be screened twice daily with the 3-min diagnostic interview Confusion Assessment Method (3D-CAM) in the 5 days following surgery. The primary outcome is the incidence of POD defined as at least one positive screening during the five first postoperative days compared between tACS and sham groups. Secondary outcomes include delirium severity, duration, phenotype, postoperative pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting, electroencephalographic (EEG) markers, and fluid biomarkers. Discussion: If effective, tES is a novel, easily applicable, non-invasive method to prevent the occurrence of POD. The comprehensive neurophysiological and biofluid assessments for markers of (neuro-)inflammation and neurodegeneration will shed light on the pathomechanisms behind POD and further elucidate the (after-)effects of tES. The potential implications for the postoperative recovery comprise enhanced patient safety, neurocognitive outcome, perioperative manageability but also reduced healthcare costs. Trial registration: German Clinical Trial Registry DRKS00033703. Registered on February 23, 2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electroencephalogram (EEG) biomarkers with adequate sensitivity and specificity to reflect the brain's health status can become indispensable for health monitoring during prolonged missions in space. The objective of our study was to assess whether the basic features of the posterior dominant rhythm (PDR) change under microgravity conditions compared to earth-based scalp EEG recordings. Methods: Three crew members during the 16-day AXIOM-1 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), underwent scalp EEG recordings before, during, and after the mission by means of a dry-electrode self-donning headgear designed to support long-term EEG recordings in space. Resting-state recordings were performed with eyes open and closed during relaxed wakefulness. The electrodes representative of EEG activity in each occipital lobe were used, and consecutive PDR oscillations were identified during periods of eye closure. In turn, cursor-based markers were placed at the negative peak of each sinusoidal wave of the PDR. Waveform averaging and time-frequency analysis were performed for all PDR samples for the respective pre-mission, mission, and post-mission EEGs. Results: No significant differences were found in the mean frequency of the PDR in any of the crew subjects between their EEG on the ISS and their pre- or post-mission EEG on ground level. The PDR oscillations varied over a ±1Hz standard deviation range. Similarly, no significant differences were found in PDR's power spectral density. Conclusions: Our study shows that the spectral features of the PDR remain within normal limits in a short exposure to the microgravity environment, with its frequency manifesting within an acceptable ±1 Hz variation from the pre-mission mean. Further investigations for EEG features and markers reflecting the human brain neurophysiology during space missions are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in Old Adults (HAROLD) is one of the most well-known models of compensatory brain involvement in older adults. Most evidence supports its occurrence from the perspective of PET and fMRI studies, with a deficiency in electroencephalographic research in this domain. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the possibility of identifying the HAROLD pattern in older adults' power of theta and alpha. The study sample comprised 50 older adults and 60 young adults performing n-back tasks while recording EEG signals. The level of cognitive performance and the theta and alpha power for pairs of symmetrical electrodes in the prefrontal, frontal, and parietal areas were analyzed. Older adults exhibited inferior cognitive performance compared to young adults and heightened theta power in the right hemisphere within the prefrontal and parietal areas. However, they also demonstrated increased alpha power in the right frontal pole, which contradicts the compensatory effects of theta power. Moreover, the two indicated phenomena of lateralization of theta and alpha power in older adults were unrelated to individual cognitive performance. The results make it challenging to discern whether the revealed age-related differences in theta and alpha power lateralization denote compensation, dedifferentiation, or nonselective recruitment as neutral features of brain activity in old adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The prevailing narrative in scientific literature has long overemphasized the role of ocular axes in intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, perpetuating misconceptions that have led to unnecessary exclusions of patients. Historical assumptions, coupled with inconsistent terminology and statistical inaccuracies, have muddled clinical decision-making. This review delves into these misconceptions, offering a critical reassessment of their relevance. Drawing from a non-systematic search across PubMed, the IOLEvidence App Database, and additional sources through snowballing, the review includes diverse studies exploring the relationship between ocular axes (angles, chords, kappa, alpha, lens, …) and IOL implantation. The findings reveal widespread confusion in terminology, particularly the interchangeable use of terms like ‘angles’ and ‘chords’, and highlight device-specific variability in parameters such as Chord-mu, Chord-alpha, and Chord-lens. Despite these inconsistencies, no robust evidence supports using these measures as grounds for excluding patients from IOL procedures. Interestingly, postoperative IOL centration (Chord-iol) emerged as a more critical factor for visual outcomes than preoperative ocular axes. The evidence suggests that values for Chord-mu, Chord-alpha, and Chord-lens should prompt further evaluation of atypical cases but are not reliable exclusion criteria. Moreover, a shift in focus toward aligning the IOL slightly temporal to the vertex normal appears to optimize visual acuity and minimize photic phenomena, challenging the established paradigm of knowledge about IOL centration.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the subarachnoid space around the brain has long been known to drain through the lymphatics to cervical lymph nodes1-17, but the connections and regulation have been challenging to identify. Here, using fluorescent CSF tracers in Prox1-GFP lymphatic reporter mice18, we found that the nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus is a major hub for CSF outflow to deep cervical lymph nodes. This plexus had unusual valves and short lymphangions but no smooth-muscle coverage, whereas downstream deep cervical lymphatics had typical semilunar valves, long lymphangions and smooth muscle coverage that transported CSF to the deep cervical lymph nodes. α-Adrenergic and nitric oxide signalling in the smooth muscle cells regulated CSF drainage through the transport properties of deep cervical lymphatics. During ageing, the nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus atrophied, but deep cervical lymphatics were not similarly altered, and CSF outflow could still be increased by adrenergic or nitric oxide signalling. Single-cell analysis of gene expression in lymphatic endothelial cells of the nasopharyngeal plexus of aged mice revealed increased type I interferon signalling and other inflammatory cytokines. The importance of evidence for the nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus functioning as a CSF outflow hub is highlighted by its regression during ageing. Yet, the ageing-resistant pharmacological activation of deep cervical lymphatic transport towards lymph nodes can still increase CSF outflow, offering an approach for augmenting CSF clearance in age-related neurological conditions in which greater efflux would be beneficial.

The prevailing narrative in scientific literature has long overemphasized the role of ocular axes in intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, perpetuating misconceptions that have led to unnecessary exclusions of patients. Historical assumptions, coupled with inconsistent terminology and statistical inaccuracies, have muddled clinical decision-making. This review delves into these misconceptions, offering a critical reassessment of their relevance. Drawing from a non-systematic search across PubMed, the IOLEvidence App Database, and additional sources through snowballing, the review includes diverse studies exploring the relationship between ocular axes (angles, chords, kappa, alpha, lens, ...) and IOL implantation. The findings reveal widespread confusion in terminology, particularly the interchangeable use of terms like 'angles' and 'chords', and highlight device-specific variability in parameters such as Chord-mu, Chord-alpha, and Chord-lens. Despite these inconsistencies, no robust evidence supports using these measures as grounds for excluding patients from IOL procedures. Interestingly, postoperative IOL centration (Chord-iol) emerged as a more critical factor for visual outcomes than preoperative ocular axes. The evidence suggests that values for Chord-mu, Chord-alpha, and Chord-lens should prompt further evaluation of atypical cases but are not reliable exclusion criteria. Moreover, a shift in focus toward aligning the IOL slightly temporal to the vertex normal appears to optimize visual acuity and minimize photic phenomena, challenging the established paradigm of knowledge about IOL centration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess outright and relative value opportunities in stocks and benchmark their performance against an index with global relevance, it is important to achieve and measure risk-adjusted excess returns. Academic and corporate research has focused quite extensively on analyzing stock returns and comparing the outperformance of specific investment strategies, with value investing being one of the most prominent and longest-known factor strategies. In this event study, to test for the existence of risk-adjusted excess returns, or alpha, a novel two-step approach is proposed to assess Enhanced Value in single stocks for three different investment approaches: plain value investing, investing in spin-offs, and investing in turnaround companies. While the first step of the two-step approach screens companies for a combination of financial company characteristics, the second step ranks and sorts them by either their price-earnings ratio or by their price-book ratio, thus “enhancing” the value assessment. Their short- and mid-term stock performance is investigated for an investment horizon of one year, three years, and five years. Stocks of value companies, spin-offs, and turnaround companies outperform the S&P 500 benchmark on average and on a risk-adjusted basis for all three investment horizons when tested for Enhanced Value with the novel two-step approach. The analysis results provide deeper insights into how the value factor in its different characteristics needs to be understood in the context of investment strategies and how it potentially can be applied to stock selection and portfolio construction, resulting in investment strategies showing a risk-adjusted outperformance.

Switching attention between or within tasks is part of the implementation and maintenance of executive control processes and plays an indispensable role in our daily lives: It allows us to perform on distinct tasks and with variable objects, enabling us to adapt to and respond in dynamically changing environments. Here, we tested if yoga could benefit switching of attention between distinct objects of one's focus (e.g., through practicing switching between one's own body, feelings, and different postures) in particular and executive control in general. We therefore conducted a randomized controlled trial with 98 participants and a waitlisted control group. In the intervention group, healthy yoga novices practiced Hatha yoga 3x a week, for 8 weeks. We conducted two experiments: A purely behavioral task investigating changes in behavioral costs during switching between attentional control sets (74 participants analyzed), and a modality-switching task focusing on electrophysiology (EEG data of 47 participants analyzed). At the electrophysiological level, frequency-tagging indicated no interventional effect on participants' ability to switch between the auditory and visual modalities. However, increases in task-related frontocentral theta activity, resulting from the intervention, indicated an ability to increasingly deploy executive resources to the prioritized task when needed. At the behavioral level, our intervention resulted in more efficient holding of target representations in working memory, indicated by decreased mixing costs. Again, however, intervention effects on switching costs were missing. We, thus, conclude that Hatha yoga has a positive influence on executive control, potentially through improvements in working memory rather than directly on switching. Clinical trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov , identifier [NCT05232422]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When faced with danger, human beings respond with a repertoire of defensive behaviors, including freezing and active avoidance. Previous research has revealed a pattern of physiological responses, characterized by heart rate bradycardia, reduced visual exploration, and heightened sympathetic arousal in reaction to avoidable threats, suggesting a state of attentive immobility in humans. However, the electrocortical underpinnings of these behaviors remain largely unexplored. To investigate the visuocortical components of attentive immobility, we recorded parieto-occipital alpha activity, along with eye movements and autonomic responses, while participants awaited either an avoidable, inevitable, or no threat. To test the robustness and generalizability of our findings, we collected data from a total of 101 participants (76 females, 25 males) at two laboratories. Across sites, we observed an enhanced suppression of parieto-occipital alpha activity during avoidable threats, in contrast to inevitable or no threat trials, particularly toward the end of the trial that prompted avoidance responses. This response pattern coincided with heart rate bradycardia, centralization of gaze, and increased sympathetic arousal. Furthermore, our findings expand on previous research by revealing that the amount of alpha suppression, along with centralization of gaze, and heart rate changes predict the speed of motor responses. Collectively, these findings indicate that when individuals encounter avoidable threats, they enter a state of attentive immobility, which enhances perceptual processing and facilitates action preparation. This state appears to reflect freezing-like behavior in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral candidiasis has been documented in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, with varying prevalence rates across geographic regions and patient demographics. This study aimed to ascertain the incidence, characteristics, and risk factors associated with the development of oral candidiasis in patients hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection in a tertiary infectious diseases hospital in Romania. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on adult patients hospitalized between March 2020 and December 2022 with moderate or severe forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, for whom a culture of lingual scrapings for Candida spp. was performed. Results: A total of 294 patients were deemed eligible for inclusion in the analysis, with an incidence rate of oral candidiasis of 17.0%. The incidence of oral candidiasis was 4.2 times higher in patients with severe forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to those with moderate forms. Patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 and oral candidiasis were more likely to receive antibiotics (98.0% vs. 86.1%, p = 0.017) and corticosteroids (100% vs. 83.6%, p = 0.003) than those without oral candidiasis. These findings were associated with a 19% higher relative risk of developing oral candidiasis for patients who received corticosteroid therapy compared to those who did not, and a 13% higher relative risk for those who were administered antibiotics compared to those who were not. The presence of respiratory insufficiency increased the odds of oral candidiasis association 4.7-fold (88.0% vs. 61.1%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Although the data have been analyzed retrospectively, we have shown that individuals with severe forms of COVID-19 exhibited an elevated risk of developing oral candidiasis. The administration of antibiotics and corticosteroids was identified as a positive predictor for the development of oral candidiasis. The data presented here suggest that a key aspect of the therapeutic management of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection should include the implementation of preventive measures to minimize the risk of secondary fungal infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of experience in the development and maintenance of emergent network properties such as cortical oscillations and states is poorly understood. To define how early-life experience affects cortical dynamics in the visual cortex of adult, head-fixed mice, we examined the effects of two forms of blindness initiated before eye opening and continuing through recording: (1) bilateral loss of retinal input (enucleation) and (2) degradation of visual input (eyelid suture). Neither form of deprivation fundamentally altered the state-dependent regulation of firing rates or local field potentials. However, each deprivation caused unique changes in network behavior. Laminar analysis revealed two different generative mechanisms for low-frequency synchronization: one prevalent during movement and the other during quiet wakefulness. The former was absent in enucleated mice, suggesting a mouse homolog of human alpha oscillations. In addition, neurons in enucleated animals were less correlated and fired more regularly, but no change in mean firing rate. Eyelid suture decreased firing rates during quiet wakefulness, but not during movement, with no effect on neural correlations or regularity. Sutured animals showed a broadband increase in depth EEG power and an increased occurrence, but reduced central frequency, of narrowband gamma oscillations. The complementary—rather than additive—effects of lid suture and enucleation suggest that the development of emergent network properties does not require vision but is plastic to modified input. Our results suggest a complex interaction of internal set points and experience determines mature cortical activity, with low-frequency synchronization being particularly susceptible to early deprivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Given the importance of emotion recognition for communication purposes, and the impairment for such skill in CI users despite impressive language performances, the aim of the present study was to investigate the neural correlates of emotion recognition skills, apart from language, in adult unilateral CI (UCI) users during a music in noise (happy/sad) recognition task. Furthermore, asymmetry was investigated through electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythm, given the traditional concept of hemispheric lateralization for emotional processing, and the intrinsic asymmetry due to the clinical UCI condition. Methods: Twenty adult UCI users and eight normal hearing (NH) controls were recruited. EEG gamma and alpha band power was assessed as there is evidence of a relationship between gamma and emotional response and between alpha asymmetry and tendency to approach or withdraw from stimuli. The TAS-20 questionnaire (alexithymia) was completed by the participants. Results: The results showed no effect of background noise, while supporting that gamma activity related to emotion processing shows alterations in the UCI group compared to the NH group, and that these alterations are also modulated by the etiology of deafness. In particular, relative higher gamma activity in the CI side corresponds to positive processes, correlated with higher emotion recognition abilities, whereas gamma activity in the non-CI side may be related to positive processes inversely correlated with alexithymia and also inversely correlated with age; a correlation between TAS-20 scores and age was found only in the NH group. Conclusions: EEG gamma activity appears to be fundamental to the processing of the emotional aspect of music and also to the psychocognitive emotion-related component in adults with CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In previous studies, there was an increase in mortality with secondary coinfections in all COVID-19 variants. However, no prior study has explored the association of coinfection with outcomes of hospitalized patients among the COVID-19 variants (Alpha, Delta, and Omicron). Methods: This observational cohort study involved 21,186 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in 25 hospitals in Texas. Patients were divided into groups by surges of COVID-19: Alpha (November 1, 2020–February 10, 2021), Delta (July 10, 2021–October 14, 2021), and Omicron (December 21, 2021–March 3, 2022). Data were collected from electronic health records using methodology from the Viral Respiratory Illness Universal Study COVID-19 registry (NCT04323787) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. Multivariable Cox-proportional hazard regression model assessed the adjusted effect of different surge periods on mortality. Results: Bacterial coinfections varied among hospitalization surges associated with Alpha (8.5%), Delta (11.7%), and Omicron (11.9%) variants. Adjusted analyses showed a higher 30-day and 90-day mortality in all variants when coinfections were present compared with isolated COVID-19 infection. In particular, 30-day and 90-day mortality were significantly worse with Delta compared to Alpha and Omicron. Conclusions: All variants were associated with a higher mortality when bacterial coinfections were present. Delta was associated with a higher risk-adjusted mortality at 30 days and thereafter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A prominent theoretical framework spanning philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience holds that selective attention penetrates early stages of perceptual processing to alter the subjective visual experience of behaviorally relevant stimuli. For example, searching for a red apple at the grocery store might make the relevant color appear brighter and more saturated compared with seeing the exact same red apple while searching for a yellow banana. In contrast, recent proposals argue that data supporting attention-related changes in appearance reflect decision- and motor-level response biases without concurrent changes in perceptual experience. Here, we tested these accounts by evaluating attentional modulations of EEG responses recorded from male and female human subjects while they compared the perceived contrast of attended and unattended visual stimuli rendered at different levels of physical contrast. We found that attention enhanced the amplitude of the P1 component, an early evoked potential measured over visual cortex. A linking model based on signal detection theory suggests that response gain modulations of the P1 component track attention-induced changes in perceived contrast as measured with behavior. In contrast, attentional cues induced changes in the baseline amplitude of posterior alpha band oscillations (∼9-12 Hz), an effect that best accounts for cue-induced response biases, particularly when no stimuli are presented or when competing stimuli are similar and decisional uncertainty is high. The observation of dissociable neural markers that are linked to changes in subjective appearance and response bias supports a more unified theoretical account and demonstrates an approach to isolate subjective aspects of selective information processing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Does attention alter visual appearance, or does it simply induce response bias? In the present study, we examined these competing accounts using EEG and linking models based on signal detection theory. We found that response gain modulations of the visually evoked P1 component best accounted for attention-induced changes in visual appearance. In contrast, cue-induced baseline shifts in alpha band activity better explained response biases. Together, these results suggest that attention concurrently impacts visual appearance and response bias, and that these processes can be experimentally isolated.

BackgroundF-8-coil repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and H-1-coil deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) have been indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adult patients by applying different treatment protocols. Nevertheless, the evidence for long-term electrophysiological alterations in the cortex following prolonged TMS interventions, as assessed by quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG), remains insufficiently explored. This study aims to demonstrate the qEEG-based distinctions between rTMS and dTMS in the management of depression and to evaluate the potential correlation between the electrophysiological changes induced by these two distinct TMS interventions and the clinical improvement in depressive and anxiety symptoms.MethodsA total of 60 patients diagnosed with treatment resistant depression received rTMS (n = 30) or dTMS (n = 30) along with their usual treatments in Kemal Arıkan Psychiatry Clinic. All the participants underwent resting-state qEEG recording before and at the end of 30 sessions of TMS treatment. The significant qEEG changes were then tested for their correlation with the improvement in depression and anxiety.ResultsAfter the course of rTMS and dTMS a considerable reduction is seen in the severity of depression and anxiety. Although improvements in depression and anxiety were observed in both TMS groups, specific neural activity patterns were associated with better outcomes in depression. Patients who exhibited lower alpha activity in the left fronto-central region and higher gamma activity in the right prefrontal region following rTMS showed more significant improvements in depression symptoms. Similarly, those whose beta activity increased in the left prefrontal region but decreased in the right prefrontal region after rTMS tended to have greater reductions in depression and anxiety severity. For patients in the dTMS group, those who demonstrated a decrease in left temporal theta activity after treatment were more likely to experience a substantial improvement in depression severity.ConclusionFollowing 30 sessions of rTMS with a F8 coil and dTMS with an H1 coil, notable alterations in qEEG activity with clinical significance were discerned. The persistence of these changes should be investigated in the subsequent follow-up period.

This study examines the impact of positive and negative feedback on recall of past decisions, focusing on behavioral performance and electrophysiological (EEG) responses. Participants completed a decision-making task involving 10 real-life scenarios, each followed by immediate positive or negative feedback. In a recall phase, participants’ accuracy (ACC), errors (ERRs), and response times (RTs) were recorded alongside EEG data to analyze brain activity patterns related to recall. Results indicate that accurately recalled decisions with positive feedback had slower RTs, suggesting an attentional bias toward positive information that could increase cognitive load during memory retrieval. A lack of difference in recall accuracy implies that social stimuli and situational goals may influence the positivity bias. EEG data showed distinct patterns: lower alpha band activity in frontal regions (AF7, AF8) for both correct and incorrect decisions recall, reflecting focused attention and cognitive control. Correctly recalled decisions with negative feedback showed higher delta activity, often linked to aversive processing, while incorrect recalls with negative feedback showed higher beta and gamma activity. A theta band feedback-dependent modulation in electrode activity showed higher values for decisions with negative feedback, suggesting memory suppression. These findings suggest that recalling decisions linked to self-threatening feedback may require greater cognitive effort, as seen in increased beta and gamma activity, which may indicate motivational processing and selective memory suppression. This study provides insights into the neural mechanisms of feedback-based memory recall, showing how feedback valence affects not only behavioral outcomes but also the cognitive and emotional processes involved in decision recall.

The classical view of experts associates greater risks with greater rewards. The present study explores whether increased volatility in portfolios can create more returns for investors by using technical indicators or the buy-and-hold (BH) strategy. The study used closing prices of National Stock Exchange (NSE) 500 index firms for a period of 16 years (2007–2022). Five portfolios ranging from low to high volatility were created using standard deviation as a key measure. Findings indicate that as the volatility of the portfolios increases, the moving average (MA) returns seem to be higher. Across the various MA time frames, the 20-day MA seems to have generated the highest return annually (36.53% before transaction costs and 31.05% after transaction costs) due to reasonable trading opportunities with adjustable transaction costs. The CAPM also generated positive alpha (after bearing transaction costs) in the case of 20, 50, and 100 days MA, with the values being 16.66%, 13.29%, and 12.09%, respectively, in the case of highly volatile portfolios. On the other hand, while the BH strategy created substantial returns in all scenarios, the risk factor was extremely high due to the high standard deviation. Hence, it is suggested that investors/traders consider the BH strategy more cautiously while choosing between technical analysis returns and BH returns. Investors with high-risk preferences may have BH as their choice, while day traders with managed risk appetites may prefer technical tools over BH returns. AcknowledgmentThe infrastructural support provided by the FORE School of Management, New Delhi in completing this paper is gratefully acknowledged.

Verbal working memory (vWM) is an essential limited‐capacity cognitive system that spans the fronto‐parietal network and utilizes the subprocesses of encoding, maintenance, and retrieval. With the recent widespread use of noninvasive brain stimulation techniques, multiple recent studies have examined whether such stimulation may enhance cognitive abilities such as vWM, but the findings to date remain unclear in terms of both behavior and critical brain regions. In the current study, we applied high‐definition direct current stimulation to the left and right parietal cortices of 39 healthy adults in three separate sessions (left anodal, right anodal, and sham). Following stimulation, participants completed a vWM task during high‐density magnetoencephalography (MEG). Significant neural responses at the sensor‐level were imaged using a beamformer and whole‐brain ANOVAs were used to identify the specific neuromodulatory effects of the stimulation conditions on neural responses serving distinct phases of vWM. We found that right stimulation had a faciliatory effect relative to left stimulation and sham on theta oscillations during encoding in the right inferior frontal, while the opposite pattern was observed for left supramarginal regions. Stimulation also had a faciliatory effect on theta in occipital regions and alpha in temporal regions regardless of the laterality of stimulation. In summary, our data suggest that parietal HD‐tDCS both facilitates and interferes with neural responses underlying both the encoding and maintenance phases of vWM. Future studies are warranted to determine whether specific tDCS parameters can be tuned to accentuate the facilitation responses and attenuate the interfering aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive behaviors require the ability to resolve conflicting information caused by the processing of incompatible sensory inputs. Prominent theories of attention have posited that early selective attention helps mitigate cognitive interference caused by conflicting sensory information by facilitating the processing of task-relevant sensory inputs and filtering out behaviorally irrelevant information. Surprisingly, many recent studies that investigated the role of early selective attention on conflict mitigation have failed to provide positive evidence. Here, we examined changes in the selectivity of early visuospatial attention in male and female human subjects performing an attention-cueing Eriksen flanker task, where they discriminated the shape of a visual target surrounded by congruent or incongruent distractors. We used the inverted encoding model to reconstruct spatial representations of visual selective attention from the topographical patterns of amplitude modulations in alpha band oscillations in scalp EEG (∼8-12 Hz). We found that the fidelity of the alpha-based spatial reconstruction was significantly higher in the incongruent compared with the congruent condition. Importantly, these conflict-related modulations in the reconstruction fidelity occurred at a much earlier time window than those of the lateralized posterior event-related potentials associated with target selection and distractor suppression processes, as well as conflict-related modulations in the frontocentral negative-going wave and midline-frontal theta oscillations (∼3-7 Hz), thought to track executive control functions. Taken together, our data suggest that conflict resolution is supported by the cascade of neural processes underlying early selective visuospatial attention and frontal executive functions that unfold over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simulation of fuel composition requires coupled calculations of neutron transport and burnup. It is generally assumed that the neutron flux density and cross-sections remain constant within a burnup step. However, when there are strong absorber poisons present, the reaction rates of the absorbers change too rapidly over time, necessitating extremely fine step sizes to ensure computational accuracy, which in turn leads to low computational efficiency. As a type of accident tolerant fuel (ATF), fully ceramic micro-encapsulated (FCM) fuel is a promising new type of nuclear fuel. Accelerated algorithms for burnup calculations of FCM fuel containing gadolinium isotopes have been developed based on the ALPHA code, including the projected predictor–corrector (PPC), the log-linear rate (LLR), and the high-order predictor–corrector (HOPC) methods (including CE/LI, CE/QI, LE/LI, and LE/QI). The performances of different algorithms under the two forms of Gd2O3 existence were analyzed. The numerical results show that the LE/QI method performs the best overall. For Gd2O3 existing in both forms, the LE/QI algorithm can maintain accuracy with a burnup step size of up to 1.0 GWd/tU, keeping the infinite multiplication factor kinf within 100 pcm, and it exhibits high accuracy in simulating the atomic number densities of Gd-155 and Gd-157 throughout the burnup process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Emerging evidence suggests changes in several cognitive control processes in individuals with age-related hearing loss (ARHL). However, valuedirected strategic processing, which involves selectively processing salient information based on high value, has been relatively unexplored in ARHL. Our previous work has shown behavioral changes in strategic processing in individuals with ARHL. The current study examined event-related alpha and theta oscillations linked to a visual, value-directed strategic processing task in 19 individuals with mild untreated ARHL and 17 normal hearing controls of comparable age and education. Methods: Five unique word lists were presented where words were assigned high- or low-value based on the letter case, and electroencephalography (EEG) data was recorded during task performance. Results: The main effect of the group was observed in early time periods. Specifically, greater theta synchronization was seen in the ARHL group relative to the control group. Interaction between group and value was observed at later time points, with greater theta synchronization for high- versus low-value information in those with ARHL. Discussion: Our findings provide evidence for oscillatory changes tied to a visual task of value-directed strategic processing in individuals with mild untreated ARHL. This points towards modality-independent neurophysiological changes in cognitive control in individuals with mild degrees of ARHL and adds to the rapidly growing literature on the cognitive consequences of ARHL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testosterone levels sharply rise during the transition from childhood to adolescence and these changes are known to be associated with changes in human brain structure. During this same developmental window, there are also robust changes in the neural oscillatory dynamics serving verbal working memory processing. Surprisingly, whereas many studies have investigated the effects of chronological age on the neural oscillations supporting verbal working memory, none have probed the impact of endogenous testosterone levels during this developmental period. Using a sample of 89 youth aged 6–14 years‐old, we collected salivary testosterone samples and recorded magnetoencephalography during a modified Sternberg verbal working memory task. Significant oscillatory responses were identified and imaged using a beamforming approach and the resulting maps were subjected to whole‐brain ANCOVAs examining the effects of testosterone and sex, controlling for age, during verbal working memory encoding and maintenance. Our primary results indicated robust testosterone‐related effects in theta (4–7 Hz) and alpha (8–14 Hz) oscillatory activity, controlling for age. During encoding, females exhibited weaker theta oscillations than males in right cerebellar cortices and stronger alpha oscillations in left temporal cortices. During maintenance, youth with greater testosterone exhibited weaker alpha oscillations in right parahippocampal and cerebellar cortices, as well as regions across the left‐lateralized language network. These results extend the existing literature on the development of verbal working memory processing by showing region and sex‐specific effects of testosterone, and are the first results to link endogenous testosterone levels to the neural oscillatory activity serving verbal working memory, above and beyond the effects of chronological age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using SASB's materiality framework, prior research finds alpha for the portfolio of firms with improving ratings on material ESG issues. We replicate this finding and provide a fundamentals-based perspective on why the materiality portfolio outperforms. Our basic premise is that changes in material ESG issues reflect fundamental firm characteristics. More financially established firms—firms with larger size, lower growth, and higher profitability relative to their sector—are more likely to not only create material strengths but also resolve material weaknesses in their ESG scoring. This fundamental link dictates that one should comprehensively control for fundamental determinants of stock returns before attributing portfolio outperformance to improving material ESG scores. Indeed, we find that the materiality portfolio does not generate alpha after we account for its exposure to profitability and growth factors. Our evidence underscores the issue of correlated omitted fundamental factors in the debate of ESG alpha. Data Availability: Data are available from the sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: G11; G12; G14; M14; M41; Q51. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on selective attention has largely focused on the enhancement of behaviorally important information, with less focus on the suppression of distracting information. Enhancement and suppression can operate through a push-pull relationship attributable to competitive interactions among neural populations. There has been considerable debate, however, regarding (1) whether suppression can be voluntarily deployed, independent of enhancement, and (2) whether voluntary deployment of suppression is associated with neural processes occurring prior to the distractor onset. Here, we investigated the interplay between pre- and post-distractor neural processes, while male and female human subjects performed a visual search task with a cue that indicated the location of an upcoming distractor. We utilized two established EEG markers of suppression: the distractor positivity (PD) and alpha power (~8-15 Hz). The PD--a component of event-related potentials--has been linked with successful distractor suppression, and increased alpha power has been linked with attenuated sensory processing. Cueing the location of an upcoming distractor speeded responses and led to an earlier PD, consistent with earlier suppression due to strategic use of a spatial cue. In comparison, higher predistractor alpha power contralateral to distractors led to a later PD, consistent with later suppression. Lower alpha power contralateral to distractors instead led to distractor-related attentional capture. Lateralization of alpha power was not linked to the spatial cue. This observation, combined with differences in the timing of suppression--as indexed by earlier and later PD components--demonstrates that cue-related, voluntary suppression can occur separate from alpha-related gating of sensory processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research supports the efficacy of therapeutic hypnosis for reducing acute and chronic pain. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying these effects. This paper provides a review of the evidence regarding the role that electroencephalogram-assessed bandwidth power has in identifying who might benefit the most from hypnotic analgesia and how these effects occur. Findings are discussed in terms of the slow wave hypothesis, which posits that brain activity in slower bandwidths (e.g., theta and alpha) can facilitate hypnosis responsivity. Although the extant research is limited by small sample sizes, the findings from this research are generally consistent with the slow wave hypothesis. More research, including and especially studies with larger sample sizes, is needed to confirm these preliminary positive findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hedge funds earn positive ex post abnormal returns and avoid negative abnormal returns on their equity portfolios when trading in the opposite direction of highly diversified low-turnover institutional investors (quasi indexers). This pattern seems to be driven by the preferences of quasi indexers for high-market-beta stocks together with the ability of hedge funds to identify subsets of especially profitable trades. It remains pronounced when accounting for other determinants of hedge fund trades, such as stock liquidity, market anomalies, and major corporate events. Trading against other institutional investors or noninstitutions does not result in abnormal performance for hedge funds. This paper was accepted by David Sraer, finance. Supplemental Material: Data and the online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4877. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological and methodological aspects of using freeware software, such as GeoGebra, Wolfram|Alpha, Maxima, SageMath and GRAN1, for solving tasks with parameters, are presented in the article. Criteria were defined for selection of computer mathematics system (CMS) to solve tasks with parameters, including plotting a graph of a function given in explicit and implicit forms, using a parameter in a function’s analytical definition, and automatically changing the graph of a function depending on the parameter value; ability to changing the parameter step change; plotting of a tangent and a normal to a curve at a point; ability to change the scale; determination of the coordinates of the intersection of graphs of functions; obtaining an analytical solution. In the article, some examples were presented for graphic and analytical tasks that used CMS parameters. GRAN1 and GeoGebra are recommended to use for plotting and analyzing of the graphs

A major concept in cognitive neuroscience is that brains are “prediction machines”. Yet, conceptual frameworks on how perception and action become integrated still lack the concept of predictability and it is unclear how neural processes may implement predictive coding during dynamic perception-action integration. We show that distinct neurophysiological mechanisms of nonlinearly directed connectivities in the theta and alpha band between cortical structures underlie these processes. During the integration of perception and motor codes, especially theta band activity in the insular cortex and temporo-hippocampal structures is modulated by the predictability of upcoming information. Here, the insular cortex seems to guide processes. Conversely, the retrieval of such integrated perception-action codes during actions heavily relies on alpha band activity. Here, directed top-down influence of alpha band activity from inferior frontal structures on insular and temporo-hippocampal structures is key. This suggests that these top-down effects reflect attentional shielding of retrieval processes operating in the same neuroanatomical structures previously involved in the integration of perceptual and motor codes. Through neurophysiology, the present study connects predictive coding mechanisms with frameworks specifying the dynamic integration of perception and action.

Switching attention between or within tasks is part of the implementation and maintenance of executive control processes and plays an indispensable role in our daily lives: It allows us to perform on distinct tasks and with variable objects, enabling us to adapt to and respond in dynamically changing environments. Here, we tested if yoga could benefit switching of attention between distinct objects of one’s focus (e.g., through practicing switching between one’s own body, feelings, and different postures) in particular and executive control in general. We therefore conducted a randomized controlled trial with 98 participants and a waitlisted control group. In the intervention group, healthy yoga novices practiced Hatha yoga 3x a week, for 8 weeks. We conducted two experiments: A purely behavioral task investigating changes in behavioral costs during switching between attentional control sets (74 participants analyzed), and a modality-switching task focusing on electrophysiology (EEG data of 47 participants analyzed). At the electrophysiological level, frequency-tagging indicated no interventional effect on participants’ ability to switch between the auditory and visual modalities. However, increases in task-related frontocentral theta activity, resulting from the intervention, indicated an ability to increasingly deploy executive resources to the prioritized task when needed. At the behavioral level, our intervention resulted in more efficient holding of target representations in working memory, indicated by decreased mixing costs. Again, however, intervention effects on switching costs were missing. We, thus, conclude that Hatha yoga has a positive influence on executive control, potentially through improvements in working memory rather than directly on switching.Clinical trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov, identifier [NCT05232422].

Background: Human respiratory sensory gating is a neural process associated with inhibiting the cortical processing of repetitive respiratory mechanical stimuli. While this gating is typically examined in the time domain, the neural oscillatory dynamics, which could offer supplementary insights into respiratory sensory gating, remain unknown. The purpose of the present study was to investigate central neural gating of respiratory sensation using both time- and frequency-domain analyses. Methods: A total of 37 healthy adults participated in this study. Two transient inspiratory occlusions were presented within one inspiration, while responses in the electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded. N1 amplitudes and oscillatory activities to the first stimulus (S1) and the second stimulus (S2) were measured. The perceived level of breathlessness and level of unpleasantness elicited by the occlusions were measured after the experiment. Results: As expected, the N1 peak amplitude to the S1 was significantly larger than to the S2. The averaged respiratory sensory gating S2/S1 ratio for the N1 peak amplitude was 0.71. For both the evoked- and induced-oscillations, time-frequency analysis showed higher theta activations in response to S1 relative to S2. A positive correlation was observed between the perceived unpleasantness and induced theta power. Conclusions: Our results suggest that theta oscillations, evoked as well as induced, reflect the “gating” of respiratory sensation. Theta oscillation, particularly theta-induced power, may be indicative of the emotional processing of respiratory mechanosensation. The findings of this study serve as a foundation for future investigations into the underlying mechanisms of respiratory sensory gating, particularly in patient populations.

Background: Freezing of gait (FOG) is a debilitating symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD) characterized by paroxysmal episodes in which patients are unable to step forward. A research priority is identifying cortical changes before freezing in PD-FOG. Methods: We tested 19 patients with PD who had been assessed for FOG (n=14 with FOG and 5 without FOG). While seated, patients stepped bilaterally on pedals to progress forward through a virtual hallway while 64-channel EEG was recorded. We assessed cortical activities before and during lower limb motor blocks (LLMB), defined as a break in rhythmic pedaling, and stops, defined as movement cessation following an auditory stop cue. This task was selected because LLMB correlates with FOG severity in PD and allows recording of high-quality EEG. Patients were tested after overnight withdrawal from dopaminergic medications (“off” state) and in the “on” medications state. EEG source activities were evaluated using individual MRI and standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA). Functional connectivity was evaluated by phase lag index between seeds and pre-defined cortical regions of interest. Results: EEG source activities for LLMB vs. cued stops localized to right posterior parietal area (Brodmann area 39), lateral premotor area (Brodmann area 6), and inferior frontal gyrus (Brodmann area 47). In these areas, PD-FOG (n=14) increased alpha rhythms (8-12 Hz) before LLMB vs. typical stepping, whereas PD without FOG (n=5) decreased alpha power. Alpha rhythms were linearly correlated with LLMB severity, and the relationship became an inverted U-shape when assessing alpha rhythms as a function of percent time in LLMB in the “off” medication state. Right inferior frontal gyrus and supplementary motor area connectivity was observed before LLMB in the beta band (13-30 Hz). This same pattern of connectivity was seen before stops. Dopaminergic medication improved FOG and led to less alpha synchronization and increased functional connections between frontal and parietal areas. Conclusions: Right inferior parietofrontal structures are implicated in PD-FOG. The predominant changes were in the alpha rhythm, which increased before LLMB and with LLMB severity. Similar connectivity was observed for LLMB and stops between the right inferior frontal gyrus and supplementary motor area, suggesting that FOG may be a form of “unintended stopping.” These findings may inform approaches to neurorehabilitation of PD-FOG.

Attention helps us to be aware of the external world, and this may be especially important when a threat stimulus predicts an aversive outcome. Electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha-band suppression has long been considered as a neural signature of attentional engagement. The present study was designed to test whether attentional engagement, as indexed by alpha-band suppression, is increased in a sustained manner following a conditioned stimulus (CS) that is paired with an aversive (CS+) vs neutral (CS-) outcome. We tested 70 healthy young adults in aversive conditioning and extinction paradigms. One of three colored circles served as the CS+, which was paired in 50% of the trials with a noise burst (unconditioned stimulus, US). The other colored circles (CS-) were never paired with the US. For conditioning, we found greater alpha-band suppression for the CS+ compared to the CS-; this suppression was sustained through the time of the predicted US. This effect was significantly reduced for extinction. These results indicate that conditioned threat stimuli trigger an increase in attentional engagement as subjects monitor the environment for the predicted aversive stimulus. Moreover, this alpha-band suppression effect may be valuable for future studies examining normal or pathological increases in attentional monitoring following threat stimuli.

Abstract Background The ORTO scale was developed in 2004 as a self-report questionnaire to assess symptoms of orthorexia nervosa (ON). ON is an unhealthy preoccupation with eating healthy food. The scale aims to measure obsessive attitudes and behaviors related to the selection, purchase, preparation, and consumption of pure, healthy food. Since its development, the ORTO-15 has been adapted into several shorter versions. The objective was to conduct a reliability generalization meta-analysis of the ORTO scale and its variant versions in all populations and languages. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies reporting the internal consistency of ORTO. Random-effect models were used to evaluate summary statistics of reliability coefficients, weighting the coefficients by the inverse variance using the restricted maximum likelihood method. The heterogeneity among the reliability coefficients was evaluated and assessed using numerous statistical metrics. The tau (τ), tau2 (τ2), I2, H2, R2, df, and the Q-statistic are among those obtained. Meta-regression analyses were used to examine moderators such as age and sex. Results Twenty-one studies (k = 21) involving 11,167 participants (n = 11,167) were analyzed. The overall effect estimate on internal consistency was 0.59 (95% CI 0.49–0.68), with a minimum reliability coefficient of 0.23 and a maximum reliability coefficient of 0.83. The heterogeneity statistics were found to have an I2 of 99.31%, which suggested high heterogeneity owing to a decrease in the confidence interval (95% CI) and an increase in variability. Sensitivity analysis revealed that a few studies strongly influenced the overall estimate. Egger’s test suggested possible publication bias. Neither age nor sex significantly moderated reliability via meta-regression. Conclusions The ORTO scale has a relatively low pooled reliability coefficient. Alternative ON assessment tools with enhanced psychometric properties are needed. Clinicians should not base diagnoses or treatment decisions on ORTO alone. Comprehensive psychiatric assessment is essential for accurate ON evaluation.

The reliability is a property that all tests must exhibit. Since it is not generalizable from one sample to another, the meta-analysis of reliability generalization was developed. Currently, there are many statistical methods, but there is no agreement on the most suitable for this type of meta-analysis. This study compares 15 different statistical methods in three real datasets regarding the distribution of reliability coefficients, the estimation of average reliability, and the effect of moderator variables. The results indicated that distributions tend to achieved normality with the transformations. Discrepancies in estimates of average reliability were small but could lead to different substantive conclusions. Moderator variables yielded significant results depending on the method employed. The discussion revolves around how this discrepancy between methods may influence on specific applications of reliability generalization studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal dynamics of local cortical rhythms during acute pain remain largely unknown. The current study used a novel approach based on transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalogram (TMS‐EEG) to investigate evoked‐oscillatory cortical activity during acute pain. Motor (M1) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were probed by TMS, respectively, to record oscillatory power (event‐related spectral perturbation and relative spectral power) and phase synchronization (inter‐trial coherence) by 63 EEG channels during experimentally induced acute heat pain in 24 healthy participants. TMS‐EEG was recorded before, during, and after noxious heat (acute pain condition) and non‐noxious warm (Control condition), delivered in a randomized sequence. The main frequency bands (α, β1, and β2) of TMS‐evoked potentials after M1 and DLPFC stimulation were recorded close to the TMS coil and remotely. Cold and heat pain thresholds were measured before TMS‐EEG. Over M1, acute pain decreased α‐band oscillatory power locally and α‐band phase synchronization remotely in parietal–occipital clusters compared with non‐noxious warm (all p <.05). The remote (parietal–occipital) decrease in α‐band phase synchronization during acute pain correlated with the cold (p =.001) and heat pain thresholds (p =.023) and to local (M1) α‐band oscillatory power decrease (p =.024). Over DLPFC, acute pain only decreased β1‐band power locally compared with non‐noxious warm (p =.015). Thus, evoked‐oscillatory cortical activity to M1 stimulation is reduced by acute pain in central and parietal–occipital regions and correlated with pain sensitivity, in contrast to DLPFC, which had only local effects. This finding expands the significance of α and β band oscillations and may have relevance for pain therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 resulted in the emergence of several variants, including Alpha, Alpha + E484K, Beta, and Omicron. Our research integrated the study of eukaryotic translation factors and fundamental components in general protein synthesis with the analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccination status. Utilizing statistical methods, we successfully differentiated between variants in infected individuals and, to a lesser extent, between vaccinated and non-vaccinated infected individuals, relying on the expression profiles of translation factors. Additionally, our investigation identified common causal relationships among the translation factors, shedding light on the interplay between SARS-CoV-2 variants and the host's translation machinery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ORTO scale was developed in 2004 as a self-report questionnaire to assess symptoms of orthorexia nervosa (ON). ON is an unhealthy preoccupation with eating healthy food. The scale aims to measure obsessive attitudes and behaviors related to the selection, purchase, preparation, and consumption of pure, healthy food. Since its development, the ORTO-15 has been adapted into several shorter versions. The objective was to conduct a reliability generalization meta-analysis of the ORTO scale and its variant versions in all populations and languages. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies reporting the internal consistency of ORTO. Random-effect models were used to evaluate summary statistics of reliability coefficients, weighting the coefficients by the inverse variance using the restricted maximum likelihood method. The heterogeneity among the reliability coefficients was evaluated and assessed using numerous statistical metrics. The tau (τ), tau2 (τ2), I2, H2, R2, df, and the Q-statistic are among those obtained. Meta-regression analyses were used to examine moderators such as age and sex. Results: Twenty-one studies (k = 21) involving 11,167 participants (n = 11,167) were analyzed. The overall effect estimate on internal consistency was 0.59 (95% CI 0.49–0.68), with a minimum reliability coefficient of 0.23 and a maximum reliability coefficient of 0.83. The heterogeneity statistics were found to have an I2 of 99.31%, which suggested high heterogeneity owing to a decrease in the confidence interval (95% CI) and an increase in variability. Sensitivity analysis revealed that a few studies strongly influenced the overall estimate. Egger's test suggested possible publication bias. Neither age nor sex significantly moderated reliability via meta-regression. Conclusions: The ORTO scale has a relatively low pooled reliability coefficient. Alternative ON assessment tools with enhanced psychometric properties are needed. Clinicians should not base diagnoses or treatment decisions on ORTO alone. Comprehensive psychiatric assessment is essential for accurate ON evaluation. Plain English summary: This review looked at the reliability of the ORTO scale and its shortened versions for assessing orthorexia nervosa (an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy foods). The researchers analyzed data from 21 previous studies involving over 11,000 participants. Results showed that the ORTO scale had relatively low reliability in consistently measuring orthorexia symptoms across studies. The summary reliability score was 0.59 on a 0 to 1 scale, with individual study scores ranging from 0.23 to 0.83. There was a significant inconsistency across the different study results. We concluded that the ORTO scale has low reliability overall for diagnosing orthorexia nervosa. New assessment tools with better measurement properties are needed. Clinicians should not rely solely on the ORTO scale, but should conduct a comprehensive psychological evaluation to properly assess for orthorexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The risk of preterm birth (PTB) and stillbirth increases after a SARS-CoV-2 infection during gestation. We aimed to estimate the risk depending on gestational age at infection (early <28 + 0 and late ≥28 weeks of gestation, WoG), virus variants, severity of infection, and vaccination. Methods: PTB was divided into early PTB (<32 + 0) and late PTB (32 + 0–36 + 6 WoG). The prospective register COVID-19 Related Obstetrics and Neonatal Outcome Study (CRONOS) included 8032 pregnant women with a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from 3 April 2020 to 31 December 2022, in Germany and Austria. Results: Stillbirth and early preterm births rates were higher during the Alpha (1.56% and 3.13%) and Delta (1.56% and 3.44%) waves than during the Omicron wave (0.53% and 1.39%). Early SARS-CoV-2 infection increased the risk for stillbirth (aRR 5.76, 95% CI 3.07–10.83) and early PTB before 32 + 0 (aRR, 6.07, 95% CI 3.65–10.09). Hospital admission increased the risks further, especially in the case of ICU admission. Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 significantly reduced the risk of stillbirth (aRR 0.32, 95% CI 0.16–0.83). Conclusions: This multicentric prospective study shows an increased risk of stillbirth and preterm birth after infection early in pregnancy and therefore the importance of obstetrical surveillance thereafter. Vaccination offers effective protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionEmerging evidence suggests changes in several cognitive control processes in individuals with age-related hearing loss (ARHL). However, value-directed strategic processing, which involves selectively processing salient information based on high value, has been relatively unexplored in ARHL. Our previous work has shown behavioral changes in strategic processing in individuals with ARHL. The current study examined event-related alpha and theta oscillations linked to a visual, value-directed strategic processing task in 19 individuals with mild untreated ARHL and 17 normal hearing controls of comparable age and education.MethodsFive unique word lists were presented where words were assigned high- or low-value based on the letter case, and electroencephalography (EEG) data was recorded during task performance.ResultsThe main effect of the group was observed in early time periods. Specifically, greater theta synchronization was seen in the ARHL group relative to the control group. Interaction between group and value was observed at later time points, with greater theta synchronization for high- versus low-value information in those with ARHL.DiscussionOur findings provide evidence for oscillatory changes tied to a visual task of value-directed strategic processing in individuals with mild untreated ARHL. This points towards modality-independent neurophysiological changes in cognitive control in individuals with mild degrees of ARHL and adds to the rapidly growing literature on the cognitive consequences of ARHL.

Asymmetries in the size of structures deep below the cortex explain how alpha oscillations in the brain respond to shifts in attention.