Cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire: Psychometric properties of the Tunisian version.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in a Tunisian Arabic-Speaking population. METHOD: The CERQ original version was translated and back-translated and then administrated to 360 participants. Afterwards, using the explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis, we studied the latent factor structure for CERQ. The internal consistency of the subscales was assessed by Cronbach's alfa coefficients, and the test-retest and interscale reliability were assessed with Pearson correlations. The criterion validity was also examined using correlations between the CERQ subscales and both the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scales at first evaluation and at a one year follow-up. RESULTS: The Tunisian version was quite satisfactory with the nine-factor structure, as in the original CERQ. Moreover, all validity and reliability measures were comparable to the original CERQ. CONCLUSION: The present study is the first work devoted to a Tunisian adaptation of the CERQ. Our findings highlight that the Tunisian version is both reliable and valid for the measurement of cognitive emotion regulation strategies.

Gestural apraxia.

Gestural apraxia was first described in 1905 by Hugo Karl Liepmann. While his description is still used, the actual terms are often confusing. The cognitive approach using models proposes thinking of the condition in terms of production and conceptual knowledge. The underlying cognitive processes are still being debated, as are also the optimal ways to assess them. Several neuroimaging studies have revealed the involvement of a left-lateralized frontoparietal network, with preferential activation of the superior parietal lobe, intraparietal sulcus and inferior parietal cortex. The presence of apraxia after a stroke is prevalent, and the incidence is sufficient to propose rehabilitation.

Within-population Y-linked genetic variation for lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster.

The view that the Y chromosome is of little importance for phenotypic evolution stems from early studies of Drosophila melanogaster. This species' Y chromosome contains only 13 protein-coding genes, is almost entirely heterochromatic and is not necessary for male viability. Population genetic theory further suggests that non-neutral variation can only be maintained at the Y chromosome under special circumstances. Yet, recent studies suggest that the D. melanogaster Y chromosome trans-regulates hundreds to thousands of X and autosomal genes. This finding suggests that the Y chromosome may play a far more active role in adaptive evolution than has previously been assumed. To evaluate the potential for the Y chromosome to contribute to phenotypic evolution from standing genetic variation, we test for Y-linked variation in lifespan within a population of D. melanogaster. Assessing variation for lifespan provides a powerful test because lifespan (i) shows sexual dimorphism, which the Y is primarily predicted to contribute to, (ii) is influenced by many genes, which provides the Y with many potential regulatory targets and (iii) is sensitive to heterochromatin remodelling, a mechanism through which the Y chromosome is believed to regulate gene expression. Our results show a small but significant effect of the Y chromosome and thus suggest that the Y chromosome has the potential to respond to selection from standing genetic variation. Despite its small effect size, Y-linked variation may still be important, in particular when evolution of sexual dimorphism is genetically constrained elsewhere in the genome.

Assessment of everyday executive functioning in children with frontal or temporal epilepsies.

Executive functions are particularly vulnerable in case of brain disruption during childhood, when the brain is not fully mature. Some studies showed impairments of executive functions in children with epilepsy, but only a few of them investigated the impact of executive dysfunctions on daily life. The aim of this study was to understand the everyday executive functioning of children with epilepsy both at home and in school. We administered the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function to parents and teachers of 53 children (7-16 years of age) with structural epilepsies or epilepsies of unknown cause of temporal lobe (n=25) or frontal lobe (n=28). The results indicated a global executive impairment in the whole group of patients, compared with normative data, with no difference between the group with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and that with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE), except for monitor domain, which seemed more frequently impaired in the group with FLE. Congruence between parent and teacher ratings was found. The frequency of seizures was not related to executive dysfunction, whereas the number of antiepileptic drugs tended to positively correlate with working memory impairment. Onset of epilepsy at a younger age was also related to more executive difficulties but only according to teacher ratings. Lastly, duration of epilepsy was strongly associated with executive deficits reported in the context of school. Our results support the executive dysfunction hypothesis in daily life of children with structural focal epilepsy or focal epilepsy of unknown cause and are consistent with the early brain vulnerability hypothesis currently prevalent in the context of child neuropsychology. The BRIEF appears to be a clinically useful tool for assessing executive function impairment in this clinical population.

Utilization behavior: clinical and theoretical approaches.

Lhermitte (1983) coined the term "utilization behavior" (UB) to define a neurobehavioral syndrome in which the visuo-tactile presentation of objects compels patients to grasp and use them, despite the fact that they have not been instructed to do so. The author suggested that UB was the consequence of frontal lobe damage. Thereafter, Shallice, Burgess, Schon, and Baxter (1989) questioned Lhermitte's (1983) procedure for eliciting UB, putting forward an alternative research methodology that led to differentiate two forms of UB: "induced" and "incidental." To date, there has been no direct comparison between these two procedures, nor have any other methodologies been used to explore this clinical sign, which is related to fundamental concepts such as free will and human autonomy. We investigated UB in 70 subjects (25 patients with frontal lobe lesions, 10 patients with posterior brain damage and 35 control subjects) using the methodologies of Lhermitte (1983) and Shallice et al. (1989), as well as an original "verbal generation" procedure. Our results show that the verbal generation procedure reveals UB efficiently and that elicitation of this sign appears to be directly linked to the content of the task. We discuss the interpretation of UB in terms of an executive control deficit.

Selective assembly of multi-component nanosprings and nanorods.

This communication proposes a new approach to create complex hierarchical nano-to-meso-scale architectures based on the use of biological connector molecules to direct the assembly of uniquely shaped multi-component nanostructures fabricated using glancing angle deposition (GLAD). Multiple sets of 50-nm-wide and 150 to 650-nm-tall Si-Cr/Au multi-stack zigzag nanosprings and nanorods are grown by GLAD on Si substrates. Nanorods, chosen for selective assembly, are detached from the substrate, suspended in an aqueous solution, and their surfaces are selectively functionalized by attaching biotin and streptavidin connector-molecules to the Au-regions. Successive mixing of different suspensions leads to the end-to-end assembly of long and short nanorods. This technique provides the path to build hybrid nano-architectures including nano-honeycombs, nanoladders, and 3D nanorod networks, comprised of controlled material combinations.

Evaluation of three different antigens in an indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay for the detection of antibodies against Brucella abortus SRB51 in vaccinated heifers.

The live attenuated Brucella abortus SRB51 (SRB51) is a partial O-chain-deprived mutant. The relative lack of the polysaccharide prevents it from inducing antibodies detectable by most of the serological tests used for the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis. The performance of three antigens used in an indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay test for detecting SRB51 antibodies were evaluated. A homogeneous group of twenty-five 10-month-old Hereford heifers was used. The animals were bled on day 0 and then subcutaneously vaccinated with 2 ml of a commercially available SRB51 vaccine (Schering-Plough) containing 1x10(7) to 3.4x10(7) viable cells. Blood samples without anticoagulant for sera obtaining were then collected at days 30, 90, 210 and 360 post-vaccination. To detect the SRB51 antibodies, Brucella ovis hot saline extract, B. ovis RLPS (RLPS), and SRB51-RLPS were used. The buffered antigen plate agglutination test and an indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay (I-ELISA) using the smooth LPS (SLPS) antigen from B. abortus were used as control tests. All the sera samples were negative in the BPA test and in the standard I-ELISA using the SLPS. The SRB51-RLPS and the B. ovis RLPS antigens performed better than the B. ovis hot saline extract antigen.

Psychosocial quality of life in patients after total laryngectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To examine Psychosocial Quality-of Life (PSQL) changes occurring over time among patients treated for laryngeal carcinoma by total laryngectomy. METHODS: A retrospective, observational transversal study was performed on PSQL changes over time in laryngeal carcinoma patients having undergone total laryngectomy. Patients were interviewed using a questionnaire developed by two sociologists and a head and neck surgeon. Changes over time were assessed according to information with regards to smoking, alcohol consumption, psychological well-being, social life, family support, occupation and medical and demographic data regarding age, gender, verbal communication and patient appearance. POPULATION: 150 patients completed the questionnaire. All were aged over 50 years at the time of surgery (total laryngectomy). Eighty-five percent of patients were smokers and 81% drinkers. On average, the questionnaires were completed by patients 6 years after surgery. RESULTS: Before and after total laryngectomy, no statistical differences were noted for marital status (p = 1.000), frequency of dining at home with friends (p = 0.175), frequency of weekend outings (p = 0.092) or frequency of holidays (p = 0.565). A significant decrease was noted for smoking and drinking (p < 0.001), frequency of going to a café (p < 0.001), frequency of dinner outings at friends' homes (p = 0.032) and frequency of going out to a restaurant (p < 0.001). A significant increase was observed in: owning a pet (p = 0.02) and time spent watching television (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The two latter results are indicative of feelings of solitude among total laryngectomees. Tracheostoma and voice deprivation are limiting factors in social relationships, hence pushing individuals into withdrawal.

A proficiency testing method for detecting antibodies against Brucella abortus in quantitative and qualitative serological tests.

A proficiency testing panel for detecting antibodies against Brucella abortus was developed and evaluated by both primary binding and conventional serological tests, using the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health and the International Organization for Standardization Guide 43-1. All serological tests were judged satisfactory. Among the primary binding tests, the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA 2) and the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA 1), with standard deviation indices (z-scores) of -0.06 and 0.10, respectively, performed best. Similarly, E(n) numbers (i.e. a way of comparing different measurements of performance) of 0 for both the competitive ELISA 2 and the indirect ELISA 1 indicated that these tests performed best in the initial round of proficiency testing. The conventional serological tests all passed the panel. Comparing data from both the quantitative and qualitative tests demonstrated that this proficiency testing scheme was fit for the purpose for which it was designed.

[Frontal lobe, executive functions and cognitive control]. / Lobe frontal, fonctions exécutives et controle cognitif.

The approach of executive functions began with the early description of behavioural disorders induced by frontal damage. The development of neuropsychology has led to the description of a large variety of cognitive disorders. The interpretation in cognitive terms of these disorders has emphasized the critical impairment of executive functions which are involved in non-routine situations. The role of working memory, initially suggested by animal studies, has also largely influenced theoretical approaches. Numerous studies have been interpreted within the theoretical frameworks developed by Shallice and by Baddeley. A large amount of studies have allowed the specification of control processes (initiation, inhibition...). Recent studies are beginning to investigate cognitive disorders underlying behavioural changes such as deficits of emotional, social and metacognitive processes. In addition these studies seriously question the assumption of a unique central control system. These studies have deeply influenced the clinical approach, the assessment and the diagnosis of executive syndrome. For clinical practice, these data lead to favour specific assessment of some key behavioural and cognitive deficits based on a battery of tests and structured interview of an informant.

Transmissible gastroenteritis. Mechanisms responsible for diarrhea in an acute viral enteritis in piglets.

We studied 3-wk-old piglets 40 h after experimental infection with transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) virus to identify the mechanisms of diarrhea in this disease and to better understand infectious diarrhea in humans. Using continuous segmental marker perfusion in four regions along the gut, we found significant increases in net intraluminal accumulation of water and electrolytes only in the proximal jejunum, the region infected by the virus. In this jejunal segment studied in vivo, unidirectional sodium flux, extracellular fluid (ECF) to lumen, significantly increased, lumen to ECF significantly decreased, compared with matchfed littermates. The standard perfusate rendered hypertonic by adding mannitol (450 mosmol/kg), in the same segment of normal pigs, caused only an increase in ECF to lumen flux of sodium. TGE did not alter gross villous structure or intraluminal bacteria, bile salts, lactate, pH, or osmolality. Epithelial cell migration was accelerated in the jejunum of infected pigs. Isolated in suspension, these cells from TGE pigs exhibited increased active and passive sodium efflux, cells from mannitol-perfused pigs exhibited only increased active sodium efflux. In this viral enteritis, altered sodium transport occurring in the jejunum, the region of the intestine infected appears to be associated with defective epithelial cell function. The precise nature of the abnormalities in sodium transport, their relationship to disturbances of transport of other solutes, and to virus epithelial cell interaction remain to be defined.

Human rotavirus enteritis induced in conventional piglets. Intestinal structure and transport.

To better understand the pathogenesis of infantile viral gastroenteritis, we studied Na+ and Cl- fluxes in vitro in short-circuited jejunal epithelium from 8-10-day-old piglets after infection with a standard dose of human rotavirus given via nasogastric tube. 11 infected piglets, all of whom became ill, were compared with 9 uninfected, healthy litter-mates. When killed 72 h after infection, intestinal villi were shorter and crypts deeper (P less than 0.025) in duodenum, upper jejunum, and mid-small intestine, but not ileum in infected piglets. Virus antigen was seen by fluorescence microscopy in occasional jejunal villus tip cells in only four infected piglets and no controls at 72 h. Net Na+ and Cl- fluxes did not differ from noninfected litter-mate controls under basal conditions, but response to glucose was blunted in infected piglets (P less than 0.001). Theophylline stimulated net Cl- secretion in both infected and control animals, and cyclic AMP concentration in isolated jejunal villus enterocytes did not differ significantly. In isolated jejunal villus enterocytes of infected piglets, thymidine kinase activity increased (P less than 0.001), and sucrase activity decreased (P less than 0.001). We conclude that in this invasive enteritis caused by a major human viral pathogen, glucose-coupled Na+ transport is impaired in the jejunum at a time when the villus epithelium shows enzyme characteristics of crypt epithelium, and when little or no virus is present. These findings are identical to those occurring in an invasive coronavirus enteritis of piglets but differ markedly from those seen with enterotoxigenic diarrhea.

Cognitive changes in asymptomatic carriers of the Huntington disease mutation gene.

Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder due to an excessive number of CAG repeats in the IT15 gene on chromosome 4. Studies of cognitive function in asymptomatic gene carriers have yielded contradictory results. This study compared cognitive performance in 44 subjects with the HD mutation (group of carriers) who had no clinical signs of HD and 39 at-risk individuals without HD mutation (group of non-carriers). Neuropsychological evaluation focused on global cognitive efficiency, psychomotor speed, attentional, executive and memory functions. Significant differences, with lower performances in the group of gene carriers, were detected for some measures of psychomotor speed, attention and executive functioning (all P < 0.01). More differences between groups were observed for memory measures, in particular on the California Verbal Memory Test. Complementing these observations, cognitive scores were correlated with age in the group of gene carriers, but not in the group of non-carriers. This suggests that the cognitive changes precede the appearance of the motor and psychiatric symptoms in HD and that tests proved to be sensitive to early HD deficiencies are better suited than global cognitive efficiency scales to observe them.

[A study of action planning in patients with Alzheimer's disease using the zoo map test]. / Etude de la planification de l'action au moyen du test du plan du zoo dans la maladie d'Alzheimer.

INTRODUCTION: Executive dysfunction is regularly reported in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Nevertheless few studies have focused on planning ability in this neurodegenerative disease. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the formulation and the execution of plans in Alzheimer's disease using an ecological planning subtask derived from the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome test battery, the "Zoo Map Test". There are two trials. The first trial consists of a "high demand" version of the subtask in which the subjects must plan in advance the order in which they will visit designated locations in a zoo (formulation level). In the second, or "low demand" version, the subject is simply required to follow a concrete externally imposed strategy to reach the locations to visit (execution level). The test was given to 16 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 13 normal elderly subjects. RESULTS: The two way ANOVAs mainly showed more difficulties in patients with Alzheimer's disease than in healthy elderly in both conditions. The difference between formulation and execution was greater in patients with Alzheimer's disease than in healthy elderly. Planning impairments mainly correlated with behavioural changes (in particular motivational changes) observed by patient's relatives. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that patients with Alzheimer's disease have some problems to mentally develop logical strategies and to execute complex predetermined plans, which are partially related to behavioural changes.

[Eating behavior in pediatric obesity: Of the advantages of combining the neurobiological and neuropsychological approaches]. / Comportement alimentaire de l'enfant et de l'adolescent souffrant d'obésité : intérêt d'un couplage des approches neurobiologique et neuropsychologique.

Obesity is currently considered a major public health concern, as shown by the growing number of people with excess weight, alarmingly in infants, and despite medical care. Many studies have underlined the reasons for medical care failure caused by an inability to sustain a resistant behavior towards palatable food (high sugar and fat content). Hence, previous research has highlighted connections between excessive eating behavior and the activity of neurotransmitters in brain areas involved in affective behavior and the reward circuit. Reduction of the dopaminergic activity in the prefrontal orbital and limbic cortex may raise the question of executive skills, which play a major role in social adaptation and behavior control. These findings remind us of the need to grasp environmental and behavioral factors to better identify cognitive and affective profiles and improve childhood obesity treatment.

Infrared Plasmonics with Conductive Ternary Nitrides.

Conductive transition metal nitrides are emerging as promising alternative plasmonic materials that are refractory and CMOS-compatible. In this work, we show that ternary transition metal nitrides of the B1 structure and consisting of a combination of group-IVb transition metal, such as Ti or Zr, and group III (Sc, Y, Al) or group II (Mg, Ca) elements can have tunable plasmonic activity in the infrared range in contrast to Ta-based ternary nitrides, which exhibit plasmonic performance in the visible and UV ranges. We consider the intrinsic quality factors of surface plasmon polariton for the ternary nitrides, and we calculate the dispersion of surface plasmon polariton and the field enhancement at the vicinity of nitride/silica interfaces. Based on these calculations, it is shown that among these nitrides the most promising are TixSc1-xN and TixMg1-xN. In particular, TixSc1-xN can have plasmonic activity in the usual telecom bands at 850, 1300, and 1550 nm. Still, these nitrides exhibit substantial electronic losses mostly due to fine crystalline grains that deteriorate the plasmonic field enhancement. This unequivocally calls for improved growth processes that would enable the fabrication of such ternary nitrides of high crystallinity.

First-principles phase diagram calculations for the rocksalt-structure quasibinary systems TiN-ZrN, TiN-HfN and ZrN-HfN.

We have studied the phase equilibria of three ceramic quasibinary systems Ti1-x Zr x N, Ti1-x Hf x N and Zr1-x Hf x N (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 1) with density functional theory, cluster expansion and Monte Carlo simulations. We predict consolute temperatures (T C), at which miscibility gaps close, for Ti1-x Zr x N to be 1400 K, for Ti1-x Hf x N to be 700 K, and below 200 K for Zr1-x Hf x N. The asymmetry of the formation energy ΔE f(x) is greater for Ti1-x Hf x N than Ti1-x Zr x N, with less solubility on the smaller cation TiN-side, and similar asymmetries were predicted for the corresponding phase diagrams. We also analyzed different energetic contributions: ΔE f of the random solid solutions were decomposed into a volume change term, [Formula: see text], and a chemical exchange and relaxation term, [Formula: see text]. These two energies partially cancel one another. We conclude that [Formula: see text] influences the magnitude of T C and [Formula: see text] influences the asymmetry of ΔE f(x) and phase boundaries. We also conclude that the absence of experimentally observed phase separation in Ti1-x Zr x N and Ti1-x Hf x N is due to slow kinetics at low temperatures. In addition, elastic constants and mechanical properties of the random solid solutions were studied with the special quasirandom solution approach. Monotonic trends, in the composition dependence, of shear-related mechanical properties, such as Vickers hardness between 18 to 23 GPa, were predicted. Trends for Ti1-x Zr x N and Ti1-x Hf x N exhibit down-bowing (convexity). It shows that mixing nitrides of same group transition metals does not lead to hardness increase from an electronic origin, but through solution hardening mechanism. The mixed thin films show consistency and stability with little phase separation, making them desirable coating choices.

Discrepancy between social and nonsocial decision-making under uncertainty following prefrontal lobe damage: the impact of an interactionist approach.

Deficits in decision-making are thought to contribute significantly to socio-behavioral impairments of patients with frontal lobe damage. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis of whether the inappropriate social behavior of patients with frontal lesions can be viewed as the product of a general failure of decision-making ability or as the result of socio-cognitive impairment. We studied a group of patients with prefrontal lesions (FL patients, n = 15) and a group of matched healthy controls (n = 30) on the Iowa Gambling task (IGT) of nonsocial decision-making, environmental dependency phenomena (EDP) during social interaction, and the "reading the mind in the eyes" and "character intention task" of theory of mind (TOM) tasks. The FL patients were impaired in both TOM and EDP protocols but, surprisingly, they behaved appropriately in the IGT. In addition, FL patients with EDP did not differ in executive functioning, IGT and TOM measures from those who did not demonstrate these behavioral disorders. The right orbitofrontal cortex was associated with social decision-making deficits. By adopting an interactionist approach, this study raises the possibility of identifying components of social and nonsocial decision-making, which could be helpful in understanding the behavioral disorders of FL patients.

Modulation of neuronal excitability by intracellular calcium buffering: from spiking to bursting.

We have investigated the detailed regulation of neuronal firing pattern by the cytosolic calcium buffering capacity using a combination of mathematical modeling and patch-clamp recording in acute slice. Theoretical results show that a high calcium buffer concentration alters the characteristic regular firing of cerebellar granule cells and that a transition to various modes of oscillations occurs, including bursting. Using bifurcation analysis, we show that this transition from spiking to bursting is a consequence of the major slowdown of calcium dynamics. Patch-clamp recordings on cerebellar granule cells loaded with a high concentration of the fast calcium buffer BAPTA (15 mM) reveal dramatic alterations in their excitability as compared to cells loaded with 0.15 mM BAPTA. In high calcium buffering conditions, granule cells exhibit all bursting behaviors predicted by the model whereas bursting is never observed in low buffering. These results suggest that cytosolic calcium buffering capacity can tightly modulate neuronal firing patterns leading to generation of complex patterns and therefore that calcium-binding proteins may play a critical role in the non-synaptic plasticity and information processing in the central nervous system.