The impact of physiological load on anticipation skills in badminton: From testing to training.

Research remains unclear on the impact of physiological load on perceptual-cognitive skills in sport. Moreover, no study has examined the training of perceptual-cognitive skills under physiological load. The current study comprised two phases. Firstly, we examined the impact of badminton-specific physiological load on anticipatory skills in expert badminton players (n = 13), including key underlying mechanisms, such as gaze behaviour. Under high physiological load, participants displayed less efficient visual search behaviour and showed a reduction in response accuracy. Secondly, we examined the effects of combining perceptual-cognitive simulation training with the high physiological load. Ten of the expert badminton players were assigned to a combined training group, where the simulation training and the physiological load intervention occurred simultaneously or an independent training group, whereby the two components were completed independently. The combined training group showed a positive change in the efficiency of their visual search behaviours compared to the independent training group, but no significant performance improvements were found. Overall, findings demonstrate that high physiological load is detrimental to experts' anticipatory skills. However, combining perceptual-cognitive simulation training with high physiological load can potentially negate these debilitating effects.

The formation of ubiquitin rich condensates triggers recruitment of the ATG9A lipid transfer complex to initiate basal autophagy.

Autophagy is an essential cellular recycling process that maintains protein and organelle homeostasis. ATG9A vesicle recruitment is a critical early step in autophagy to initiate autophagosome biogenesis. The mechanisms of ATG9A vesicle recruitment are best understood in the context of starvation-induced non-selective autophagy, whereas less is known about the signals driving ATG9A vesicle recruitment to autophagy initiation sites in the absence of nutrient stress. Here we demonstrate that loss of ATG9A or the lipid transfer protein ATG2 leads to the accumulation of phosphorylated p62 aggregates in the context of basal autophagy. Furthermore, we show that p62 degradation requires the lipid scramblase activity of ATG9A. Lastly, we present evidence that poly-ubiquitin is an essential signal that recruits ATG9A and mediates autophagy foci assembly in nutrient replete cells. Together, our data support a ubiquitin-driven model of ATG9A recruitment and autophagosome formation during basal autophagy.

Spontaneous resolution of diabetic macular oedema after discontinuation of thiazolidenediones.

AIM: To report a case of spontaneous resolution of diabetic maculopathy with cystoid macular oedema in a diabetic patient after discontinuation of rosiglitazone, documented with serial ocular computed tomography (OCT) images. METHODS: A 59-year-old male with a 6-year history of well-controlled diabetes mellitus presented with reduced visual acuity (VA) attributed to clinically significant macular oedema (CSMO). The patient had been started on rosiglitazone 8 months previously. Glitazone treatment was stopped and the patient prospectively followed up. RESULTS: The patient demonstrated CSMO on OCT at presentation. Three months after cessation of rosiglitazone, CSMO had completely resolved and VA improved. Resolution of CSMO was confirmed on OCT examination. The patient required no interventional treatment, i.e. no laser or intravitreal therapy, for his CSMO. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case to document spontaneous resolution of CSMO and improvement in VA on discontinuation of a glitazone. Glitazones have a definitive role in the management of diabetic patients and ophthalmologists and physicians should both be aware that there may be an association with weight gain, peripheral oedema and CSMO. We recommend that ophthalmologists consider discontinuing glitazones in consultation with the diabetologist before embarking on interventional management such as laser or intravitreal injections.

Human attention: the exclusion of distracting information as a function of real and apparent separation of relevant and irrelevant events.

A leading theory suggests that human vision operates by separate and parallel analysis of each of the simple features of the visual scene; but computation of the identity of objects, which needs combination of these features, is undertaken selectively and only for some parts of the incoming information. It is known that the identity of distracting events affects reaction time only for distractors spatially close to the reaction signal. This suggests that the selection is spatially based; perhaps taking place in the projection areas. Experiments on this topic have, however, normally considered events only at a fixed viewing distance; in this study different viewing distances were employed. It was found that, over the range of conditions used, the ability to exclude irrelevant distractors depended upon the true physical separation and not on the angular separation at the eye of the observer. Hence the 'attention' system must operate at a point later than the computation of true physical location, rather than at the very early stage where angular separation only is available.

Selective effect of lithium on cognitive performance in man.

The effects of lithium on psychomotor performance were examined in six healthy male volunteers (aged 26-31 years) and compared with those of a similar control population. Three computerised psychomotor tests (serial reaction time, semantic reasoning and syntatic reasoning) were administered before lithium, after 5 and 22 days of lithium carbonate (800 mg/d) and 4 days and 1 month after stopping the lithium. The only significant effect was an impairment of semantic reasoning during the chronic (22 day) test. This suggests a selective effect of lithium on associative mental tasks and may explain the subjects' experience of slowing in recall of object names whilst taking lithium.

The effect of lincomycin on exoprotein production by Vibrio cholerae.

Lincomycin has a differential effect on exoprotein production by Vibrio cholerae. The production of some proteins, such as cholera toxin and deoxyribonuclease, is stimulated by low concentrations of the drug while production of other proteins, such as protease and alkaline phosphatase, is unaffected. Possible mechanisms of the lincomycin effect are discussed.

Effect of extracellular protease production on bacteriophage sensitivity of Vibrio cholerae.

The effect of varying levels of extracellular protease production on the bacteriophage type of Vibrio cholerae 1621 serotype 01, biotype E1 Tor, has been investigated. It has been shown that the production of high levels of exoprotease can alter the apparent type of the strain by rendering it insensitive to infection by a number of bacteriophages. Prevention of a productive infection appears to be due to altered surface characteristics rather than to specific damage to the bacteriophages. Such altered surface characteristics may be due to auto-digestion. The importance of this observation to epidemiological studies of V. cholerae is noted and discussed.

Effects of deficiency in p53 or bcl-2 on the sensitivity of clonogenic cells in the small intestine to low dose-rate irradiation.

PURPOSE: To study the role of p53 and bcl-2 in the response of the small intestine to irradiation delivered at low dose-rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mice homozygous for p53 or bcl-2 deletion (-/-), their respective heterozygotes (+/-), and their wild-type littermates (+/+) including a previously used hybrid strain (B6D2F1), were irradiated to the whole-body using 60Co gamma-rays at 1 Gy h(-1). Crypt survival levels in the small intestine were measured at day 3 after the end of irradiation. RESULTS: Crypt survival levels were higher in p53 -/- mice than in the other p53 genotypes after 25-30 Gy, but not after lower or higher doses. Similar experiments with the three genotypes for bcl-2 status showed lower crypt survival after all doses used in the -/- mice, compared with the +/- and +/+ mice, which were similar in response. The marked degree of curvature in the survival curve observed for the p53 genotypes was also observed in B6D2F1 hybrid mice, was particularly striking in the p53 -/- mice, but was not seen to the same extent in the bcl-2 genotypes. The heterozygotes for p53 or for bcl-2 were nearer in response to their respective +/+ genotypes rather than the -/- genotypes. CONCLUSION: The increased crypt survival levels at some radiation dose levels in the p53 nulls contrasts with the lack of change reported previously using irradiation at high dose-rate. The decreased survival in the bcl-2 nulls is consistent with the known 'survival' function of bcl-2, although bcl-2 expression has not been detected immunohistochemically in this intestinal site. The marked degree of curvature in the dose-response curve at high dose levels for some genotypes was unexpected at this low dose-rate.

Some further studies on the prediction of experimental colds in volunteers by psychological factors.

An analysis of the incidence of colds in volunteers, exposed experimentally to various rhinovirus and influenza virus challenges, confirmed an earlier report that assessments of virus shedding show a higher degree of infection by rhinovirus in Introverts than they do in Extroverts. The influenza trials however did not show such an effect. In addition, people with higher scores on a widely used self-report inventory of mild psychoneurotic symptoms tended to show more evidence of increased nasal secretion after infection by either type of virus. The specific scale showing the latter effect most clearly was that of Obsessional Symptoms. Taking account of these psychological factors greatly increased the sensitivity of a study of the beneficial effects of interferon.

Implicit and explicit knowledge bases in artificial grammar learning.

Two experiments examined the claim for distinct implicit and explicit learning modes in the artificial grammar-learning task (Reber, 1967, 1989). Subjects initially attempted to memorize strings of letters generated by a finite-state grammar and then classified new grammatical and nongrammatical strings. Experiment 1 showed that subjects' assessment of isolated parts of strings was sufficient to account for their classification performance but that the rules elicited in free report were not sufficient. Experiment 2 showed that performing a concurrent random number generation task under different priorities interfered with free report and classification performance equally. Furthermore, giving different groups of subjects incidental or intentional learning instructions did not affect classification or free report.

The clinical impact of job design.

This paper summarizes some of the evidence that particular features of jobs are associated with particular types of neurotic symptoms, in a way consistent with broader views both of cognitive psychology and biological studies of stress. Particular emphasis is placed on interactive effects of certain characteristics of individuals, making them more or less vulnerable to stress.

Effects of induced elated and depressed mood on self-focused attention.

Recent accounts of depression propose a central role for increased self-focus in the onset and maintenance of depression. The present study investigated whether there might also be a converse effect of depressed mood increasing self-focus. A state measure of self-focused attention was administered to normal subjects before and after induction of depressed or happy mood. Compared to happy subjects, depressed subjects showed more negative and less positive self-focus. Positive and negative external focus were unaffected by mood. A reciprocally reinforcing relationship between depressed mood and negative self-focus may be important in onset and maintenance of depression.

Negative self-schema: the effects of induced depressed mood.

A depth-of-processing incidental recall paradigm, previously used as a measure of negative self-schema in depressed patients (Derry & Kuiper, 1981), was administered to normal subjects in whom depressed or neutral mood had been induced. Subjects in whom depressed mood was induced showed a pattern of recall similar to that previously found for depressed patients, suggesting (1) that at least some of the effects observed in depressed patients were a function of transient mood state, rather than persistent characteristics, and (2) that these effects of depressed mood also occur in individuals who have not been selected for vulnerability to clinical depression.

The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and its correlates.

This paper describes a questionnaire measure of self-reported failures in perception, memory, and motor function. Responses to all questions tend to be positively correlated, and the whole questionnaire correlates with other recent measures of self-reported deficit in memory, absent-mindedness, or slips of action. The questionnaire is however only weakly correlated with indices of social desirability set or of neuroticism. It is significantly correlated with ratings of the respondent by his or her spouse, and accordingly does have some external significance rather than purely private opinion of the self. The score is reasonably stable over long periods, to about the same extent as traditional measures of trait rather than state. Furthermore, it has not thus far been found to change in persons exposed to life-stresses. However, it does frequently correlate with the number of current psychiatric symptoms reported by the same person on the MHQ; and in one study it has been found that CFQ predicts subsequent MHQ in persons who work at a stressful job in the interval. It does not do so in those who work in a less stressful environment. The most plausible view is that cognitive failure makes a person vulnerable to showing bad effects of stress, rather than itself resulting from stress.

Performance correlates of self-reported cognitive failure and of obsessionality.

In six experiments, two performance tests, measuring a number of aspects of attention, were administered to 129 people from the general population. Self-reported cognitive failure, and a measure of obsessional personality, were related to one particular measure of attention. There was evidence that individuals with low cognitive failure show different patterns of attention when anxious, as compared with high scorers; this may underlie differences in vulnerability to environmental stresses.

Modality differences in relation to grouping in immediate recall.

An earlier study of auditory grouped presentation of digit strings had shown recall to be impaired by recalling the last group first. From this, it has been concluded that the item codes formed at Stage 1 of processing, and before conversion to a group code at Stage 2, were not yet in an output buffer. The present paper employs visual presentation for two similar studies, with results opposite to the earlier one; in a third experiment, ungrouped auditory stimulation gave results which were a compromise between those for vision and those for grouped auditory stimulation. These results suggest a use of echoic storage, over long intervals; in the visual case this is not so and an output buffer is employed.

Cattle plague in Shangri-La: observations on a severe outbreak of rinderpest in northern Pakistan 1994-1995.

Between April 1994 and November 1995 the most severe epidemic of rinderpest reported in the world for over a decade affected domestic livestock in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. As many as 40,000 cattle and yaks died, more by some estimates, and mortality rates may have exceeded 80 per cent in these species in several villages. This report describes some of the clinicopathological and epidemiological features peculiar to the outbreak, including laboratory-confirmed rinderpest in a goat, and the difficulties encountered before the disease was eradicated. It also describes the human costs and emphasises the need to accelerate the global eradication of this most eradicable disease.

Noise and the details of experiments: a reply to Poulton.

A recent paper has suggested that noise harms performance only through making it hard to hear key information from the task. This theory ignores essential facts in every experiment quoted. The harmful effects of noise are very similar to those of other arousing conditions which involve no acoustic stimulation. The theory thus illustrates the vital importance of careful attention to the detail of experiments.

Infections associated with ovine perinatal mortality in Victoria.

The occurrence of infections associated with perinatal mortality was investigated. In 1970, carcasses from 94 flocks distributed throughout Victoria were examined by microbiological and histopathological techniques. Carcasses from 4 of the same flocks were similarly examined in 1971. Widespread occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter fetus was demonstrated with L. monocytogenes being recognised in 25% of the flocks examined. No other bacterial pathogens commonly associated with ovine perinatal mortality were isolated, but adequate techniques for recognition of Toxoplasma gondii were not used. E. coli was isolated from a majority of the carcasses and in heavy pure culture from the liver of 26 cases. Evidence of non-specific bacterial infection was recognised histopathologically in carcasses from 30% of flocks in which specific infection was not recognised. Specific infections were demonstrated culturally or histologically in 16% of the 582 carcasses submitted to detailed laboratory examination. The reported findings suggest that further investigation into the incidence of specific congenital infections is required.