Consistent Effect Sizes Research Articles

Pri-miR-144 rs9279 is associated with type 2 diabetes and regulation of stress response.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of microRNAs (miRNAs) may alter miRNA expression, binding affinity, and/or messenger RNA expression levels of the target genes, thus leading to disease susceptibility. This study explored the association between SNPs in neuroendocrine stress response-related miRNAs and type 2 diabetes (T2D). In the screening stage, the association between six candidate SNPs of miRNAs and T2D was analyzed in a case-control study including 504 T2D cases and 494 healthy controls. Homozygous GG genotype of pri-miR-144 rs9279 showed significant association with increased risk of T2D compared with homozygous TT genotype (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.62, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-2.45; p = .023) and the combined TT/TG genotype (adjusted OR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.08-2.36; p = .020). In the validation stage, the association was further validated in a second independent set of subjects. The GG genotype showed consistent directions and effect sizes that were identified in previous additive and recessive models. The expression levels of miRNAs were further compared between different genotypes in the 179 newly diagnosed cases and 183 frequency-matched healthy controls. As a result, the GG genotype carriers had significantly upregulated expression of plasma miR-144 and cortisol, as compared to individuals with TT and TG genotypes, respectively, in total subjects and subgroups (p < .05). Eventually, NR3C1 was proved to be a stress-related target gene of miR-144, indicating that pri-miR-144 rs9279 may contribute to the development of T2D by altering regulation of stress response.

An untargeted metabolomics study of blood pressure: findings from the Bogalusa Heart Study.

To identify novel and confirm previously reported metabolites associated with SBP, DBP, and hypertension in a biracial sample of Bogalusa Heart Study (BHS) participants. We employed untargeted, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy metabolomics profiling among 1249 BHS participants (427 African-Americans and 822 whites) with BP and covariable data collected during the 2013 to 2016 visit cycle. A total of 1202 metabolites were tested for associations with continuous and binary BP phenotypes using multiple linear and logistic regression models, respectively, in overall and race-stratified analyses. A total of 24 novel metabolites robustly associated with BP, achieving Bonferroni-corrected P less than 4.16 × 10 in the overall analysis and consistent effect sizes across race groups. The identified metabolites included three amino acid and nucleotide metabolites from histidine, pyrimidine, or tryptophan metabolism sub-pathways, seven cofactor and vitamin or xenobiotic metabolites from the ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, bacterial/fungal, chemical, and food component sub-pathways, 10 lipid metabolites from the eicosanoid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and sphingolipid metabolism sub-pathways, and four still unnamed metabolites. Six previously described metabolites were robustly confirmed by our study (Bonferroni-corrected P < 4.95 × 10 and consistent effect directions across studies). Furthermore, previously reported metabolites for SBP, DBP, and hypertension demonstrated 5.92-fold, 4.77-fold, and 4.54-fold enrichment for nominally significant signals in the BHS (P = 3.08 × 10, 5.93 × 10, and 2.30 × 10, respectively). In aggregate, our study provides new information about potential molecular mechanisms underlying BP regulation. We also demonstrate reproducibility of findings across studies despite differences in study populations and metabolite profiling methods.

Commentary on Strickland et al. (2020): Do commodity purchase tasks provide clinically meaningful indices of motivation to consume drugs?

Drug purchase tasks have the potential to measure clinically meaningful between- and intra-individual differences in strength of motivation to use drugs. These differences may guide decisions about degree of risk and need for treatment. Alcohol and drug purchase tasks are brief self-report measures that are modeled after laboratory drug self-administration paradigms used to quantify the strength of drugs as reinforcers, also known as drug demand. Individuals complete 10–20 hypothetical questions that ask how many standard units of a drug they would purchase and consume across a range of prices. Their responses are then used to generate three relatively distinct indices of strength of desire or motivation to use drugs that are central to theoretical and diagnostic models of addiction, but are not routinely collected as part of clinical assessments. First, the amount of the drug the individual would purchase/use if the drug was free (referred to as demand intensity) is collected; secondly, the greatest drug expenditure across the task items is collected (referred to as Omax, or output maximum). For example, purchasing five drinks priced at $10 would result in a $50 expenditure, which might be an individual's peak expenditure value. Thirdly, the rate of decrease in consumption as a function of increases in price (i.e. price sensitivity or elasticity of demand) is collected. A number of studies have demonstrated that alcohol and cigarette purchase tasks provide reliable and valid assessments of individual differences in these demand parameters. These differences then predict change in level of use over time and are acutely responsive to laboratory manipulations 1, 2 and clinical interventions 3-5. Strickland et al. 6 extend this literature with their timely and rigorous meta-analytical summary of the smaller but growing body of literature examining illicit drug purchase tasks. A relative challenge with drug purchase tasks is the lack of standardization of drug doses and varieties compared to alcohol standard drinks. This challenge may impact the accuracy of the specific quantities purchased more so than the validity of demand parameters as indicators of elevated risk for relapse or high-risk consumption. Strickland et al.’s results are generally consistent with the alcohol purchase task literature 7 and suggest that individual differences in demand show consistent medium effect size associations with cannabis and cocaine use and problems. One important conclusion of this meta-analysis, also consistent with the alcohol purchase task literature, is that demand intensity and Omax may be more clinically relevant indices of strength of motivation or problem severity than demand elasticity. An important research direction is to determine the extent to which drug purchase tasks have the potential to provide information beyond that offered by standard clinical measures of actual recent consumption in the same way that alcohol purchase tasks have. Given that there are myriad contextual factors that influence one's recent drinking and drug use (e.g. availability of drugs and alcohol for those who are underage or in an environment that prohibits use), purchase tasks may provide informative data on the likelihood of future consumption that could be useful in determining change in degree of clinical risk and need for intervention services. For example, an individual may report a desire to consume large amounts of an opiate if it were available or to drink at a level that could lead to a blackout, even if neither behavior occurred recently due to external constraints. Willingness to spend large amounts of money on drugs also indicates a level of motivation for use that may portend stable or increasing drug use over time, even if recent drug use levels are relatively low. Conversely, the presence of relatively low drug demand for an individual with high levels of recent drug use may suggest an impending reduction in drug use due to a shift in motivation or environmental context. Future research is needed to evaluate the utility of drug purchase tasks as dynamic indices of motivation that are responsive to both value enhancing stimuli (negative affect, drug and social context cues) and value reducing stimuli (treatment, next-day responsibilities, cognitive/visceral manipulations such as episodic future thinking or mindfulness 8). Alcohol demand can reduce immediately following an intervention and the extent of the reduction predicts subsequent changes in use 9, suggesting the potential clinical utility of these very brief measures for guiding drug use treatment planning and stepped-care decisions. Given that the availability and price of illicit drugs may fluctuate more than alcohol, and that self-reports of actual illicit drug use may expose individuals to legal or occupational sanctions, hypothetical drug purchasing scenarios may have unique utility in gauging strength of desire to use drugs. None.

Avatar characteristics induce users’ behavioral conformity with small-to-medium effect sizes: a meta-analysis of the proteus effect

ABSTRACT Over a decade of research on the Proteus effect in numerous contexts suggests that people conform in behavior and attitudes to their avatars’ characteristics. In order to provide clarity about the reliability and size of the Proteus effect, a meta-analysis was conducted with 46 quantitative experimental studies in which avatars with specific characteristics were randomly assigned to participants. Results indicate a relatively consistent effect size (between .22 and .26, depending on subset of studies examined) and nearly all variance explained. Unexplained variance differed between studies that used behavioral or attitudinal measures, while studies which examined potential moderators explained all variance. Overall, this research suggests that the Proteus effect is a reliable phenomenon, with a small-but-approaching-medium effect size according to a traditional rule of thumb, but is relatively large compared to other digital media effects examined in previous meta analyses.

Efficacy of binaural auditory beats in cognition, anxiety, and pain perception: a meta-analysis.

Binaural auditory beats are a perceptual phenomenon that occurs when presenting separately to each ear two tones that slightly differ in their frequency. It has been suggested that binaural beats can influence cognition and mental states among others. The objective of this meta-analysis was to study the effect of binaural beats on memory, attention, anxiety, and analgesia. Twenty-two studies met our inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. The results, based on 35 effect sizes, showed an overall medium, significant, consistent effect size (g = 0.45). Meta-regression results indicated that it does not seem to be necessary to mask binaural beats with white noise or pink noise in terms of effectiveness, obtaining similar effects with unmasked binaural beats. Moreover, the findings suggest that binaural-beat exposure before, and before and during the task produces superior results than exposure during the task. Time under exposure contributed significantly to the model indicating that longer periods are advisable to ensure maximum effectiveness. Our meta-analysis adds to the growing evidence that binaural-beat exposure is an effective way to affect cognition over and above reducing anxiety levels and the perception of pain without prior training, and that the direction and the magnitude of the effect depends upon the frequency used, time under exposure, and the moment in which the exposure takes place.

Minimizing confounders and increasing data quality in murine models for studies of the gut microbiome.

Murine models are widely used to explore host-microbe interactions because of the challenges and limitations inherent to human studies. However, microbiome studies in murine models are not without their nuances. Inter-individual variations in gut microbiota are frequent even in animals housed within the same room. We therefore sought to find an efficient and effective standard operating procedure (SOP) to minimize these effects to improve consistency and reproducibility in murine microbiota studies. Mice were housed in a single room under specific-pathogen free conditions. Soiled cage bedding was routinely mixed weekly and distributed among all cages from weaning (three weeks old) until the onset of the study. Females and males were separated by sex and group-housed (up to five mice/cage) at weaning. 16S rRNA gene analyses of fecal samples showed that this protocol significantly reduced pre-study variability of gut microbiota amongst animals compared to other conventional measures used to normalize microbiota when large experimental cohorts have been required. A significant and consistent effect size was observed in gut microbiota when mice were switched from regular chow to purified diet in both sexes. However, sex and aging appeared to be independent drivers of gut microbial assemblage and should be taken into account in studies of this nature. In summary, we report a practical and effective pre-study SOP for normalizing the gut microbiome of murine cohorts that minimizes inter-individual variability and resolves co-housing problems inherent to male mice. This SOP may increase quality, rigor, and reproducibility of data acquisition and analysis.

META-ANALISIS COOPERATIVE LEARNING TERHADAP KEMAMPUAN BERPIKIR KRITIS PADA PEMBELAJARAN IPA/ FISIKA SISWA

This meta-analysis aims to summarize the results of research on the effect of cooperative learning to improve students' critical thinking skills so that it can be seen: the average effect size (ES), the type of CL which has the largest and consistent effect size (ES) critical students. The research method used is descriptive with the form of survey research. The number of research results summarized is 19 journal articles. The results of the data analysis resulted in an ES of 0.71. (contributing 26, 32%). The type of cooperative learning that produces the greatest and most consistent influence is the Basic Learning Type Problem (ES = 1.08, contributing 17.97%). At the level of education CL the contribution is large at the high school level, namely (ES = 0.79, contributing 35.33%).

Genome-wide meta-analysis of copy number variations with alcohol dependence.

Genetic association studies and meta-analyses of alcohol dependence (AD) have reported AD-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These SNPs collectively account for a small portion of estimated heritability in AD. Recent genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) studies have identified CNVs associated with AD and substance dependence, suggesting that a portion of the missing heritability is explained by CNV. We applied PennCNV and QuantiSNP CNV calling algorithms to identify consensus CNVs in five AD cohorts of European and African origins. After rigorous quality control, genome-wide meta-analyses of CNVs were carried out in 3243 well-diagnosed AD cases and 2802 controls. We identified nine CNV regions, including a deletion in chromosome 5q21.3 with a suggestive association with AD (OR=2.15 (1.41-3.29) and P=3.8 × 10-4) and eight nominally significant CNV regions. All regions were replicated with consistent effect sizes across studies and populations. Pathway and gene-drug interaction enrichment analyses based on the resulting genes indicated the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway and the recombinant insulin and hyaluronidase drugs, which were relevant to AD biology or treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first genome-wide meta-analysis of CNVs with addiction. Further investigation of the AD-associated CNV regions will provide better understanding of the AD genetic mechanism.

Long-Term Acute-Phase Treatment With Antidepressants, 8 Weeks and Beyond: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trials.

In clinical practice, acute antidepressant treatment is often applied for several months until remission is achieved. However, data on treatment outcomes beyond 8 weeks are sparse and no systematic review exists to date. This study aims at assessing efficacy and tolerability of antidepressants compared to placebo in acute treatment at and beyond 8 weeks. MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CENTRAL databases were systematically searched through March 2014 using generic terms for depressive and affective disorders combined with generic terms for individual drugs and placebo. Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies of 8 weeks or more comparing antidepressant monotherapy to placebo in adult patients with acute depressive disorder. Data extraction and synthesis followed guidelines of the Cochrane Collaboration. All data were extracted independently by 2 reviewers. Primary outcome was standardized mean difference (SMD) between antidepressant and placebo; secondary outcomes were response, remission, and dropouts. Of 6,043 articles screened, we selected 104 studies that met criteria and included 35,052 patients. Active treatment was statistically significantly superior to placebo, with consistent effect sizes (SMD [95% CL]) after 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks: 0.27 (0.24, 0.30), 0.34 (0.25, 0.43), 0.24 (0.09, 0.40), 0.31 (0.12, 0.51), and 0.34 (0.18, 0.50), respectively. Results remained stable across secondary outcomes and subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Effect sizes of antidepressant monotherapy compared to placebo seem to be stable over 6 months. These results challenge the assumption that long-term antidepressant effects are due to the natural course of the disorder rather than to a pharmacologic effect.

Revisão da dimensão isolamento do inventário dimensional clínico da personalidade

The present study aimed to review the Isolation dimension of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory (DCPI). The method was divided in two steps, the fi rst focused on developing new items based on the literature, and the second for testing the psychometric properties of the new items dataset. The DCPI plus the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) were applied in a sample of 213 subjects aging between 18 and 69 years (M = 25.56; SD = 8.70), with predominance of women (74.3%) The fi rst step resulted in 39 items, of which 28 were new. The second stage results on a composite of 18 items, in four interpretable factors based on the internal structure analysis, Individualism, Social Isolation, Intimacy Avoidance and Emotional Apathy with internal consistency coeffi cients of .88 for total, and higher then .75 for each factor. The correlations of the scale with NEO-PI-R and PID-5 revealed consistent and expected effect sizes. The data reveal the adequacy of the new Isolation dimension of DCPI.

Relationships between bat occupancy and habitat and landscape structure along a savanna, woodland, forest gradient in the Missouri Ozarks

ABSTRACTMany land‐management agencies are restoring savannas and woodlands using prescribed fire and forest thinning, and information is needed on how wildlife species respond to these management activities. Our objectives were to evaluate support for relationships of bat site occupancy with vegetation structure and management and landscape composition and structure across a gradient of savanna to forest in the Missouri Ozark Highlands, USA. We selected study sites that were actively managed for savanna and woodland conditions and control areas on similar landforms that had succeeded to closed‐canopy forest. We used Anabat detectors to survey bats during the summers of 2010, 2011, and 2012. We fit single‐species site‐occupancy models to estimate detection probability and site occupancy. We evaluated a priori hypotheses in an information theoretic approach by evaluating support for candidate models that included habitat, landscape, and management effects. Site occupancy of evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) was negatively related to poletimber and sawtimber density and positively related to fire frequency, while northern long‐eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) site occupancy was positively related to poletimber density and negatively related to understory stem densities. Site occupancy of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis), and tri‐colored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) were mostly not related to local vegetation structure and site occupancy was high across the savanna, woodland, forest gradient. We found more consistent and larger effect sizes for landscape‐scale than for habitat‐scale relationships; therefore, land managers should be cognizant of large‐scale patterns in land cover when making local management decisions for these species. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Do assembly history effects attenuate from species to ecosystem properties? A field test with wood‐inhabiting fungi

Assembly history, or the order of species arrival, can have wide-ranging effects on species, communities and ecosystems. However, it remains unclear whether assembly history primarily affects individual species, with effects attenuating at the level of communities and ecosystems or, alternatively, has consistent effect sizes across increasing levels of ecological organisation. We address this question using a field-based manipulation of assembly history of wood-inhabiting fungi. The largest effect sizes were observed for the frequency of some individual species, and mean effect sizes were lower for community metrics of fungi immigrating from the regional species pool. There was little evidence, however, of attenuation in effect sizes at the ecosystem level (carbon, nitrogen, decomposition) in comparison to the species or community level. These results indicate that assembly history can have strong effects on ecosystem properties even under natural levels of environmental variability.

Genome-wide meta-analysis of five Asian cohorts identifies PDGFRA as a susceptibility locus for corneal astigmatism.

Corneal astigmatism refers to refractive abnormalities and irregularities in the curvature of the cornea, and this interferes with light being accurately focused at a single point in the eye. This ametropic condition is highly prevalent, influences visual acuity, and is a highly heritable trait. There is currently a paucity of research in the genetic etiology of corneal astigmatism. Here we report the results from five genome-wide association studies of corneal astigmatism across three Asian populations, with an initial discovery set of 4,254 Chinese and Malay individuals consisting of 2,249 cases and 2,005 controls. Replication was obtained from three surveys comprising of 2,139 Indians, an additional 929 Chinese children, and an independent 397 Chinese family trios. Variants in PDGFRA on chromosome 4q12 (lead SNP: rs7677751, allelic odds ratio = 1.26 (95% CI: 1.16–1.36), P meta = 7.87×10−9) were identified to be significantly associated with corneal astigmatism, exhibiting consistent effect sizes across all five cohorts. This highlights the potential role of variants in PDGFRA in the genetic etiology of corneal astigmatism across diverse Asian populations.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Is Associated with a Variant in Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein 1

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality and has a significant heritability. We carried out a genome-wide association discovery study of 1866 patients with AAA and 5435 controls and replication of promising signals (lead SNP with a p value < 1× 10(-5)) in 2871 additional cases and 32,687 controls and performed further follow-up in 1491 AAA and 11,060 controls. In the discovery study, nine loci demonstrated association with AAA (p < 1× 10(-5)). In the replication sample, the lead SNP at one of these loci, rs1466535, located within intron 1 of low-density-lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) demonstrated significant association (p = 0.0042). We confirmed the association of rs1466535 and AAA in our follow-up study (p = 0.035). In a combined analysis (6228 AAA and 49182 controls), rs1466535 had a consistent effect size and direction in all sample sets (combined p = 4.52× 10(-10), odds ratio 1.15 [1.10-1.21]). No associations were seen for either rs1466535 or the 12q13.3 locus in independent association studies of coronary artery disease, blood pressure, diabetes, or hyperlipidaemia, suggesting that this locus is specific to AAA. Gene-expression studies demonstrated a trend toward increased LRP1 expression for the rs1466535 CC genotype in arterial tissues; there was a significant (p = 0.029) 1.19-fold (1.04-1.36) increase in LRP1 expression in CC homozygotes compared to TT homozygotes in aortic adventitia. Functional studies demonstrated that rs1466535 might alter a SREBP-1 binding site and influence enhancer activity at the locus. In conclusion, this study has identified a biologically plausible genetic variant associated specifically with AAA, and we suggest that this variant has a possible functional role in LRP1 expression.

Multiple Treatment Meta-Analysis of Products Evaluated for Control of Fire Blight in the Eastern United States

The aim of this analysis was to estimate the effect sizes and consistency of products evaluated for fire blight control in the eastern United States over the last decade. Because only 3% of the 69 studies published from 2000 to 2008 explicitly presented a measure of within-study variability, a method for estimating the least significant difference (LSD) and, hence the sampling variance, for studies with at least two significant mean separations in the presented mean multiple comparisons was developed. Lin's concordance analysis indicated that the estimated LSD was an accurate predictor of the actual LSD based on 35 studies in a calibration evaluation (ρ(c) = 0.997). Separate multi-treatment random-effects meta-analyses were performed for three control categories: antibiotics, biological control, and plant defense-activating products and mean log response ratios relative to the nontreated controls ([Formula: see text]) were computed for each treatment and then back-transformed to obtain the mean percent disease control. None of the products evaluated performed as well as streptomycin, the standard product for fire blight control, for which the mean disease control was 68.6%. As a group, experimental antibiotics provided the best fire blight control with mean effect sizes ranging from 59.7 to 61.7%. Among the biological controls, the best control was noted for treatments combining the antibiotic streptomycin with a product based on Pantoea agglomerans (55.0% mean disease reduction) or Bacillus subtilis (53.9%). Mean disease control was 31.9, 25.7, and 22.6%, respectively, for products based on B. subtilis, Pantoea agglomerans, and Pseudomonas fluorescens without an antibiotic, suggesting that the higher efficacy of the combination treatments was due to the antibiotic. Among the plant defense-activating products, prohexadione calcium had the highest and most consistent effect size (50.7% control), while other products provided modest mean disease control of between 6.1 and 25.8%. Percent control values were significantly moderated by study location and cultivar used in the study, and were smaller, but more variable, when products were tested under high disease intensity compared with low disease intensity. Results indicate that wide-scale use of biological control and plant defense-activating products in the eastern United States is likely to remain low.

The role of clusterin, complement receptor 1, and phosphatidylinositol binding clathrin assembly protein in Alzheimer disease risk and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker levels.

Two recent and simultaneously published genome-wide association studies independently implicated clusterin (CLU), complement receptor 1 (CR1), and phosphatidylinositol binding clathrin assembly protein (PICALM) as putative novel Alzheimer disease (AD) risk loci. Despite their strong statistical support, all 3 signals emerged from heterogeneous case-control populations and lack replication in different settings. To determine whether genetic variants in CLU, CR1, and PICALM confer risk for AD in independent data sets (n = 4254) and to test the impact of these markers on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-Aβ42 and total-tau protein levels (n = 425). Genetic association study using family-based and case-control designs. Ambulatory or hospitalized care. Family samples originate from mostly multiplex pedigrees recruited at different centers in the United States (1245 families, 2654 individuals with AD, and 1175 unaffected relatives). Unrelated case-control subjects originate from 1 clinical center in Germany (214 individuals with AD and 211 controls). All subjects were of European descent. The association between 5 genetic variants in CLU, CR1, and PICALM and risk for AD, and the correlation between these 5 genetic variants and CSF-Aβ42 and tau levels. All 3 investigated loci showed significant associations between risk for AD (1-tailed P values ranging from <.001 to .02) and consistent effect sizes and direction. For each locus, the overall evidence of association was substantially strengthened on meta-analysis of all available data (2-tailed P values ranging from 1.1 × 10(-16) to 4.1 × 10⁻⁷). Of all markers tested, only rs541458 in PICALM was shown to have an effect on CSF protein levels, suggesting that the AD risk allele is associated with decreased CSF Aβ42 levels (2-tailed P = .002). This study provides compelling independent evidence that genetic variants in CLU, CR1, and PICALM are genetically associated with risk for AD. Furthermore, the CSF biomarker analyses provide a first insight into the potentially predominant pathogenetic mechanism(s) underlying the association between AD risk and PICALM.

Probing the relative contribution of the first and second responses to sensory gating indices: A meta‐analysis

Sensory gating deficit in schizophrenia patients has been well-documented. However, a central conceptual issue, regarding whether the gating deficit results from an abnormal initial response (S1) or difficulty in attenuating the response to the repeating stimulus (S2), raise doubts about the validity and utility of the S2/S1 ratio as a measure of sensory gating. This meta-analysis study, therefore, sought to determine the consistency and relative magnitude of the effect of the two essential components (S1 and S2) and the ratio. The results of weighted random effects meta-analysis revealed that the overall effect sizes for the S1 amplitude, S2 amplitude, and P50 S2/S1 ratio were -0.19 (small), 0.65 (medium to large), and 0.93 (large), respectively. These results confirm that the S2/S1 ratio and the repeating (S2) stimulus differ robustly between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls in contrast to the consistent but smaller effect size for the S1 amplitude. These findings are more likely to reflect defective inhibition of repeating redundant input rather than an abnormal response to novel stimuli.

Functional Rehabilitation Interventions for Chronic Ankle Instability: A Systematic Review

Functional rehabilitation is often employed for ankle instability, but there is little evidence to support its efficacy, especially in those with chronic ankle instability (CAI). To review studies using both functional rehabilitation interventions and functional measurements to establish the effectiveness of functional rehabilitation for both postural control and self-reported outcomes in those with CAI. The databases of Medline, SPORTDiscus, and PubMed were searched between the years 1988 and 2008. Inclusion criteria required articles to have used a clinical research trial involving at least 1 functional rehabilitation intervention, have at least 1 outcome measure of function and/or functional performance, and to have used at least 1 group of subjects who reported either repeated lateral ankle sprains or episodes of "giving way." The term functional was operationally defined as dynamic, closed-kinetic-chain activity other than quiet standing. Six articles met the inclusion criteria. The articles reviewed used multiple functional means for assessment and training, with a wobble board or similar device being the most common. Despite effect sizes being inconsistent for measures of dynamic postural control, all interventions resulted in improvements. Significant improvements and strong effect sizes were demonstrated for self-reported outcomes. The reviewed studies using functional rehabilitation interventions and functional assessment tools were associated with improved ankle stability for both postural control and self-reported function, but more studies may be needed with more consistent effect sizes and confidence intervals to make a definitive conclusion.

Monitoring human impacts on sandy shore ecosystems: a test of ghost crabs (Ocypode spp.) as biological indicators on an urban beach

Sandy beaches comprise one of the most important coastal resources worldwide, providing habitats to threatened vertebrates, supporting underappreciated invertebrate biodiversity, and delivering crucial ecosystem services and economic benefits to mankind. Monitoring of the natural resource condition of sandy beaches and assessments of the ecological impacts of human disturbance are, however, rare on sandy shores. Because a crucial step in developing beach monitoring is to identify and test biological indicators, we evaluated the utility of using population densities of ghost crabs (genus Ocypode) to measure how beach biota respond to human pressures. Densities of crabs--estimated via burrow counts--were quantified at two sites exposed to high and low levels of human disturbance on an urban beach in eastern Australia. Human disturbance consisted of pedestrian trampling and shoreline armouring which led to the loss of dune habitat. Overall, crab numbers were halved in disturbed areas, but contrasts between impact and control sites were not necessarily consistent over time and varied between different levels of the shore: stronger and more consistent effect sizes were recorded on the upper shore than further seawards. In addition to lowering crab densities, human disturbance also caused shifts in intertidal distributions, with a greater proportion of individuals occurring lower on the shore in the impacted beach sections. The number of visible burrow openings also changed in response to weather conditions (temperature and wind). We demonstrate that spatial contrasts of burrow counts are broadly useful to indicate the existence of a human-induced disturbance effect on urban beaches; we also highlight a number of critical, hitherto unknown, issues in the application of this monitoring technique; these encompass three broad dimensions: (1) a need for standardised protocols; (2) unresolved causal links between observed patterns and putative pressures; and (3) uncertainties of how organisms responds specifically to both natural and human changes of environmental conditions on sandy shores.

The high producer variant of the Fc-receptor like-3 ( FCRL3) gene is involved in protection against multiple sclerosis

Some polymorphisms in the FCRL3 gene, a member of the Fc-receptor like family, have been associated with several autoimmune diseases and recently with multiple sclerosis (MS). We performed a case–control study of three SNPs in FCRL3 gene in 645 MS patients and 786 controls, all Caucasians from the South of Spain. Genotype and allele frequencies of two SNPs (rs7528684/ FCRL3_3 and rs7522061/ N28D), which were in high linkage disequilibrium ( r 2 = 0.87), differed between MS cases and controls. The C allele of FCRL3_3 was found to be protective for MS (per allele OR = 0.81, 95% C.I. = 0.70–0.94; P-value = 0.007) as was the G variant of N28D, but no association was found for rs11264799/ FCRL3_4. Haplotype analysis confirmed these associations with highly consistent effect sizes for haplotypes carrying the C allele of FCRL3_3.