Age-related differences in temporal binding and the influence of action body parts.

If voluntary action is followed by an effect with a short time delay, the time interval between action and effect is often perceived to be shorter than it actually is. This perceptual time compression is termed intentional binding or temporal binding. We investigated age-related changes in adulthood considering temporal binding and its dependence on action body parts (i.e., hand vs. foot). This experiment included 17 young adults (mean age: 21.71 ± 3.14 years) and 27 older adults (mean age: 74.41 ± 3.38 years). Participants performed a button press task using their index fingers (hand condition) or toes (foot condition). The results showed that older participants exhibited a strong time compression comparable to young participants in the voluntary condition. Older participants also showed a strong time compression in involuntary action, which was induced by a mechanical device, differently from young participants. In line with previous research, the present age-related differences in time compression considering involuntary action suggest that causal belief significantly influences event perception rather than the associated intention of action or sensory afferents. The present results also suggest that the nature of action body parts has no significant influence on temporal binding, independent of age group.

Inhibition of intentional binding by an additional sound presentation.

When a voluntary action is followed by an effect after a short delay, the time distance between the action and its effect is perceived to be shorter than the actual time distance. This phenomenon is known as intentional binding (IB). We investigated the influence of presentation of an additional effect on IB between the action and the target effect, and investigated the influence of the presentation timing of the additional effect. One sound (target sound) was constantly presented 250 ms after the button was pressed, and the other sound (additional sound) was presented simultaneously when the button was pressed (Experiment 1) or at one of various timings that included moments both before and after the target sound (Experiment 2). The results showed that IB between the action and target sound was significantly inhibited only when the additional sound was presented prior to the target sound. This suggests that the prior effect has a greater advantage in connecting to the action compared to the posterior sound.

Cardiac metastasis of lung cancer presented as mimicking ST-elevation myocardial infarction with reciprocal electrocardiographic changes.

We report the case of a patient with metastatic cardiac tumor who presented with chest pain and electrocardiographic changes mimicking acute inferior myocardial infarction. An 84-year-old man who had undergone lung cancer surgery one year earlier was referred to emergency outpatient visit because of chest pain. His 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) showed ST-segment elevation in the inferior leads with reciprocal ST-segment depression in the precordial and lateral leads, which was initially interpreted as inferior acute myocardial infarction. By emergency coronary angiography, however, there was no significant stenosis or occlusion in the right coronary artery or the left circumflex artery. In echocardiographic examinations after admission, a large mass was found in the area corresponding to the infero-posterior wall of the left ventricle, which had been detected only by positron emission tomography with computed tomography six months earlier. He died one month after admission. Pathological autopsy revealed a tumor of 8 × 5 cm size in the myocardium of the posterior to inferior wall of the left ventricle, and diagnosed as cardiac metastasis from lung cancer. ECG changes with ST-segment elevation, in particular persistent ST-elevation in the absence of Q waves, can be a sign for tumor invasion of the heart. Learning objective: It is necessary to consider the possibility of myocardial metastasis when a patient with malignancy presents with acute myocardial infarction-like electrocardiography findings. Besides, in this case, positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET-CT) had detected an abnormal accumulation in the left ventricle earlier than when the tumor was pointed out by echocardiography. Multimodality imaging including PET-CT could help physicians to make the early and accurate diagnosis of metastatic cardiac tumor.

Clinical and neonatal outcomes of individually vitrified human sperm with Cryotop and Cell Sleeper.

Technique for preserving limited number of human spermatozoa is important for successful treatment of patients with azoospermia and cryptozoospermia. This study determined whether the non-biological devices (Cryotop and Cell Sleeper) efficiently vitrify small numbers of human spermatozoa. From December 2011 to December 2018, 10 males with very low sperm numbers managed with a single sperm vitrification method. Post-warmed sperm recovery was similar with both devices. Post-warmed sperm motility and fertilization after intracytoplasmic sperm injection were significantly higher in Cryotop group than in Cell Sleeper group (40.0% vs. 22.0%, P < 0.01 and 50.7% vs. 21.7%, P < 0.01, respectively). The pregnancy rate was 15.4% and 2 healthy babies were born in the Cryotop, while 14.3% and 1 baby in the Cell Sleeper, which did not differ between the groups. Both devices have clinical advantages in terms of easy use and safety, and would be performed more efficiently by using devices with different properties.

Effects of luminance contrast, averaged luminance and spatial frequency on vection.

Changing the speed, size and material properties of optic flow can significantly alter the experience of vection (i.e. visually induced illusions of self-motion). Until now, there has not been a systematic investigation of the effects of luminance contrast, averaged luminance and stimulus spatial frequency on vection. This study examined the vection induced by horizontally oriented gratings that continuously drifted downwards at either 20° or 60°/s. Each of the visual motion stimuli tested had one of: (a) six different levels of luminance contrast; (b) four different levels of averaged luminance; and (c) four different spatial frequencies. Our experiments showed that vection could be significantly altered by manipulating each of these visual properties. Vection strength increased with the grating's luminance contrast (in Experiment 1), its averaged luminance (in Experiment 2), and its spatial frequency (in Experiment 3). Importantly, interactions between these three factors were also found for the vection induced in Experiment 4. While simulations showed that these vection results could have been caused by effects on stimulus motion energy, differences in perceived grating visibility, brightness or speed may have also contributed to our findings.

Laser-assisted hatching on clinical and neonatal outcomes in patients undergoing single vitrified Blastocyst transfer: A propensity score-matched study.

PURPOSE: This study determined the effect of laser-assisted hatching on the clinical and neonatal outcomes of single vitrified blastocyst transfer. METHODS: From June 2014 to March 2018, 289 matched pairs after propensity score matching were analyzed. During the blastocyst warming procedure, a small section of the zona pellucida area in the empty perivitelline space was sliced off using multiple laser beams. The clinical and neonatal outcomes of the laser-treated group and non-treatment control were analyzed. RESULTS: In the laser-assisted hatching group, significantly higher rates of clinical pregnancy (40.8% vs 29.4%, P < .01) and live delivery (34.3% vs 22.5%, P < .01) were observed compared to the control group. Other variables such as the average gestational weeks, the sex of the baby, birthweight, or congenital malformations were found to have no significant differences in neonatal outcomes. Moreover, all babies were singleton live births. CONCLUSIONS: Single vitrified blastocyst transfer treated with laser-assisted hatching increases the live birth rate and has no adverse effects on neonatal outcomes.

Effect of equilibration time on clinical and neonatal outcomes in human blastocysts vitrification.

PURPOSE: Prolonged exposure to equilibration solutions may be detrimental to an embryo's developmental potential, whereas a shorter exposure may affect the penetration of cryoprotectants into blastomeres. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different equilibration times on the clinical and neonatal outcomes of human blastocyst vitrification. METHODS: This is a retrospective study based on data collected between November 2008 and November 2015. A total of 192 blastocysts (80 non-expanded and 112 expanded) obtained from 167 patients were analyzed. The blastocysts were divided into two groups according to their equilibration time: 8-11 minutes or 12-15 minutes. The clinical and neonatal outcomes of warmed blastocysts were evaluated. RESULTS: The survival, implantation, and live birth rates of non-expanded blastocysts were not different between the two groups, but they significantly improved for the expanded blastocysts in the 12-15 minutes group compared to the 8-11 minutes group. The results were similar for the neonatal outcomes after vitrified embryo transfer, when partitioned by equilibration time and blastocyst stage at vitrification. CONCLUSIONS: For the non-expanded blastocysts, a shortened equilibration time (8-11 minutes) is sufficient for effective vitrification.

Evaluation of the effect of piezo-intracytoplasmic sperm injection on the laboratory, clinical, and neonatal outcomes.

PURPOSE: Limited research has been published on the effect of piezo-assisted intracytoplasmic sperm injection (P-ICSI). We evaluated the effect of P-ICSI on the laboratory, clinical, and neonatal outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective study was based on the data collected between April 2011 and October 2016. Total 1348 mature oocytes from 145 patients were analyzed. Laboratory, clinical, and neonatal outcomes of those given conventional intracytoplasmic sperm injection (C-ICSI) and those administered P-ICSI were examined. RESULTS: P-ICSI showed significantly more favorable results, with a survival rate of 97.0% (C-ICSI: 94.1%, P < .010) and a fertilization rate of 83.5% (C-ICSI: 70.6%, P < .001). There were no differences in the blastocyst development rate, implantation rate, miscarriage rate, live birth rate, gestational age, birth weight, proportion of male neonates, cesarean section rate, and congenital abnormalities between the two patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our comparison of P-ICSI with C-ICSI showed that P-ICSI significantly improved the survival and fertilization.

The Effect of Optical Flow Motion Direction on Vection Strength.

In some phenomena of visual perception, the motion direction of visual stimuli can affect perception. In particular, asymmetries between oblique directions and cardinal (horizontal and vertical) directions have been reported and are known as oblique effects (e.g., contrast sensitivity and motion threshold). In this study, we investigated how vection strength depends on motion direction. Participants observed random-dot optical flow in a circular field and rated the perceived vection strength. Dot movement was systematically controlled using the following angles: 0° (up), 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, 120°, 135°, 150°, and 180° (down). We found that vection strength depended on motion direction and was weaker in the oblique directions than cardinal directions. Thus, the effect of motion direction on vection strength was variable, as seen in the shape of the oblique effect.

Effect on clinical and neonatal outcomes of blastocelic microsuction prior to vitrification.

PURPOSE: Microsuction (MS) is a technique for mechanically emptying fluid from blastocele using a microneedle. In this study, we evaluated the improvement in clinical and neonatal outcomes of vitrified blastocyst transfer programs when MS of blastocelic fluid was used before vitrification. METHODS: This was a retrospective study based on data collected between March 2014 and August 2016. A total of 317 blastocysts obtained from 211 patients were analyzed. The blastocelic fluid of expanded blastocysts was aspirated completely, and blastocysts were collapsed prior to vitrification. Clinical and neonatal outcomes of warmed blastocysts were compared. RESULTS: The survival rate of the MS blastocyst was significantly higher compared with the nontreatment control (98.7% vs 89.3%, OR: 9.34, 95% CI: 2.35-36.8, P < 0.01). The rates of implantation and live birth were higher in the MS group than in the control group, but the differences were not significant. There were no differences in gestational age, birthweight, proportion of male babies, rates of cesarean section, and congenital abnormalities. CONCLUSION: The MS procedure improved blastocyst survival and had little effect on further embryo development after warming.

Vection Is Enhanced by Increased Exposure to Optic Flow.

We examined whether vection strength could be modulated by altering the exposure duration to optic flow. Experiment 1 sourced 150 different video clips from various Japanese animation works which simulated self-motion. Despite large differences in the content of these video clips, we found a significant positive correlation between their play durations and their ratings of vection magnitude. Experiment 2 examined this relationship further using more tightly controlled visual motion stimuli. Vection was induced by presenting the motion of the same expanding grating stimulus for 8, 16, 32, or 64 seconds. While vection onset latencies remained constant across these four conditions, vection magnitude/strength was found to increase systematically with the exposure duration. As predicted by a recent computational model of vection, we conclude that subjective vection strength does depend on the exposure duration to optic flow.

Retraction notice to Granisetron, droperidol, and metoclopramide for the treatment of established postoperative nausea and vomiting in women undergoing gynecologic surgery: Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000;182:13-16.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. In 2012, a number of Editors-in-Chief requested a determination from several universities regarding the body of work published by Dr. Yoshitaka Fujii. An investigation by the University of Tsukaba, Japan, where the above work was conducted, concluded that Dr. Fujii made a false statement that the research had been approved by the Institutional Review Board and a false statement that he conducted the randomized clinical trial by himself. This retraction in AJOG was delayed due to an editorial oversight.

Retraction Note to: Combination Antiemetic Regimens for Prevention of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting : Focus on High-Risk Patients.

The Editor-in-Chief has retracted the original article [1] because a number of studies [2-15] included in this review (cited as references 25-29, 31, 32, 47, 48, 50-54) have been retracted, specifically those included in table III, table IV, section 3 and section 4.2. This has rendered the content of the review scientifically unreliable.

Retraction notice to "Treatment of postoperative emetic symptoms with granisetron in women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study": [CTR 65/4 (2004) 321-329].

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1016/j.curtheres.2004.06.002.].

Retraction notice to "A Randomized, Double-Blind Comparison of Granisetron Alone and Combined with Dexamethasone for Post-Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Emetic Symptoms": [CTR 64/8 (2003) 514- 521].

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1016/j.curtheres.2003.08.009.].

Smoothness of stimulus motion can affect vection strength.

We examined the effect of the smoothness of motion on vection strength. The smoothness of stimulus motion was modulated by varying the number of frames comprising the movement. In this study, a horizontal grating translated through 360° of phase in 1 s divided into steps of 3, 4, 6, 12, 20, 30, or 60 frames. We hypothesized that smoother motion should induce stronger vection because the smoother stimulus is more natural and contains more motion energy. We examined this effect of frame number on vection for both downward (Experiment 1) and expanding (Experiment 2) optical flow. The results clearly showed that vection strength increased with increasing frame rate, however, the rates of increase in the vection strength with frame rate are not constant, but rapidly increase in the low frame-rate range and appear to asymptote in the high range. The strength estimates saturated at lower frame rates for expanding flow than for downward flow. This might be related to the fact that to process expanding flow it is necessary to integrate motion signals across the visual field. We conclude that the smoothness of the motion stimulus highly affects vection induction.

The Oscillating Potential Model of Visually Induced Vection.

Visually induced illusions of self-motion are often referred to as vection. This article developed and tested a model of responding to visually induced vection. We first constructed a mathematical model based on well-documented characteristics of vection and human behavioral responses to this illusion. We then conducted 10,000 virtual trial simulations using this Oscillating Potential Vection Model (OPVM). OPVM was used to generate simulated vection onset, duration, and magnitude responses for each of these trials. Finally, we compared the properties of OPVM's simulated vection responses with real responses obtained in seven different laboratory-based vection experiments. The OPVM output was found to compare favorably with the empirically obtained vection data.

A Phase II Study of Partial and Subtotal Thymectomy for Thymoma (JART02).

BACKGROUND: We believe the merit of preservation of a part of the thymus following surgery for thymoma. We evaluated the efficacy of partial or subtotal thymectomy for early-stage thymoma in the prospective study. METHODS: The Japanese Association for Research on the Thymus conducted a multiple institutional study of thymectomy for thymoma localized in the thymus without total thymectomy. Patients without autoimmune disease who had an anterior mediastinal tumor that had been clinically diagnosed as an early-stage thymoma were enrolled in the study. Patients who were positive for anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies were excluded. RESULTS: Sixty-three patients were enrolled preoperatively; 27 patients were judged as being inappropriate based on the other thymic pathologies or tumor invasion. The remaining 36 cases were diagnosed as early-staged thymoma and analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 61 years. The mean maximal tumor diameter in the resected specimens was 3.6 cm. The most common pathological types of thymoma were AB (n = 10) and B1 (n = 10). The Masaoka stages were classified as stage I (n = 22) and II (n = 14). The mean observation period was 63 months. Two patients died due to respiratory dysfunction, which was not related to thymoma. One hundred percent of the patients remained recurrence-free. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study suggested the efficacy of partial or subtotal thymectomy for early-stage thymoma in patients without any apparent evidence of autoimmune disease. We can preserve a part of the thymus even following surgery for thymoma to prepare the possible second malignancies or diseases in future.

New technique to prevent prolonged air leak: use of 'Tachosuture' technique.

Prolonged air leak (defined as air leak >7 days), caused by pulmonary resection or alveolar-pleural fistula, increases postoperative morbidity, prolongs hospital stay and increases healthcare costs. We describe a new technique ('Tachosuture' technique) to prevent prolonged air leak. The key point of this new technique is that air leak is classified into three types and an absorbable suture is added to a TachoSil® patch in each type to prevent detachment from the lung parenchyma. Between August 2013 and March 2016, 40 patients underwent thoracoscopic surgery using 'Tachosuture' technique. Postoperative air leak always stopped within 3 days (95% confidence interval for the absence of prolonged air leak: 92.5-100%). It is considered that this simple technique is useful to prevent prolonged air leak.