Interpretation Of Previous Studies Research Articles

Perinatal mortality in German dairy cattle: Unveiling the importance of cow-level risk factors and their interactions using a multifaceted modelling approach.

Perinatal mortality (PM) is a common issue on dairy farms, leading to calf losses and increased farming costs. The current knowledge about PM in dairy cattle is, however, limited and previous studies lack comparability. The topic has also primarily been studied in Holstein-Friesian cows and closely related breeds, while other dairy breeds have been largely ignored. Different data collection techniques, definitions of PM, studied variables and statistical approaches further limit the comparability and interpretation of previous studies. This article aims to investigate the factors contributing to PM in two underexplored breeds, Simmental (SIM) and Brown Swiss (BS), while comparing them to German Holstein on German farms, and to employ various modelling techniques to enhance comparability to other studies, and to determine if different statistical methods yield consistent results. A total of 133,942 calving records from 131,657 cows on 721 German farms were analyzed. Amongst these, the proportion of PM (defined as stillbirth or death up to 48 hours of age) was 6.1%. Univariable and multivariable mixed-effects logistic regressions, random forest and multimodel inference via brute-force model selection approaches were used to evaluate risk factors on the individual animal level. Although the balanced random forest did not incorporate the random effect, it yielded results similar to those of the mixed-effect model. The brute-force approach surpassed the widely adopted backwards variable selection method and represented a combination of strengths: it accounted for the random effect similar to mixed-effects regression and generated a variable importance plot similar to random forest. The difficulty of calving, breed and parity of the cow were found to be the most important factors, followed by farm size and season. Additionally, four significant interactions amongst predictors were identified: breed-calving ease, breed-season, parity-season and calving ease-farm size. The combination of factors, such as secondiparous SIM breed on small farms and experiencing easy calving in summer, showed the lowest probability of PM. Conversely, primiparous GH cows on large farms with difficult calving in winter exhibited the highest probability of PM. In order to reduce PM, appropriate management of dystocia, optimal heifer management and a wider use of SIM in dairy production are possible ways forward. It is also important that future studies are conducted to identify farm-specific contributors to higher PM on large farms.

형법상 전자기록 위작의 해석에 관하여

In recent years, there have been a number of crimes that attract investors by creating false cryptocurrency exchanges or by falsely manipulating transaction records on cryptocurrency trading sites in a situation where investment in cryptocurrency is hot. In relation to this record manipulation, the Supreme Court recently issued a decision on the concept of 'falsification' of electronic records, and here again, the opinions of judges were divided.
 In this study, first of all, the purpose and logic of the majority opinion and the opposition opinion of the Supreme Court's sentence of 2019Do11294 are analyzed and reviewed. The main issue of the case is whether the act of generating electronic records contrary to the will of the system installer or operator by abusing its authority constitutes a "falsification" of private electromagnetic records prescribed in Article 232-2 of the Criminal Act.
 In response, the majority opinion said, "In relation to the subject who installs and operates the system, a person who is not authorized to generate electronic records or inputs unit information necessary for the generation of electronic records, and a person who is authorized to enter false information in the scope of their duties is included in Article 227-2 of the Criminal Act. The above legal principles also apply to "falsification" defined as the aspect of the act in the crime of “falsification or alteration of private electromagnetic records” under Article 232-2 of the Criminal Act. The Supreme Court's legal principles on such forgery are valid and can be applied in this case." In response, the dissenting opinion is that "the Defendants' actions do not constitute a 'falsification' prescribed in Article 232-2 of the Criminal Act." Nevertheless, the lower court's judgment that the Defendants' actions constituted a "falsification" erred by misunderstanding the legal principles on the meaning of "falsification" as prescribed in Article 232-2 of the Criminal Act. Therefore, the judgment of the lower court regarding this part should be reversed and the case should be remanded to the lower court to hear and judge again." It has the opposite view of judging the Defendant's act as innocent by the majority opinion.
 The crime of falsification of electronic records is an area that requires an independent interpretation different from the crime of documents regarding the requirements for establishment of electronic records, falsification, and other personality of electronic records. In this regard, the interpretation of previous studies on the crime of falsification of electronic records is reviewed and analyzed. In addition, the concept of reasonable 'falsification' is derived by reflecting the legislator's purpose of the concept of 'falsification' through the 1995 criminal law revision data. Based on this, the logical basis of each of the Supreme Court's majority and dissenting opinions is analyzed and critically reviewed to establish a valid concept of 'fake', and the correct interpretation of the case and the direction of application to similar cases in the future is presented.

Increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Veterans with PTSD untreated with antipsychotic medications

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not solely a psychiatric disorder; it also includes significant medical morbidity. Although there is evidence of increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in PTSD, the interpretation of previous studies is confounded by the inclusion of people on antipsychotic medications, which independently cause increased MetS. In this study, we investigated whether Veterans with PTSD not treated with antipsychotic medications (n = 115) demonstrate increased MetS compared to an age-comparable group of people from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHNES; n = 1005). Using standardized criteria (abnormal values in 3 out of the 5 domains of obesity, hypertension, high density lipoprotein, triglyceride and fasting glucose concentrations) we compared the prevalence of MetS across groups. Relative to the NHNES group, a significantly higher proportion of the Veteran PTSD group met criteria for MetS (26.0% vs. 41.7%) with a higher proportion of abnormal values in four out of five MetS domains (excepting glucose). Our results suggest that the elevation of MetS associated with PTSD cannot be fully explained by iatrogenic effects of antipsychotic medication. We suggest that extra attention be devoted to the clinical management of metabolic risk factors for morbidity in patients with PTSD.

Comparisons of Serologic Responses of Early Syphilis to Treatment with a Single-Dose Benzathine Penicillin G Between HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Patients

IntroductionPoorer serologic responses of early syphilis to treatment have been inconsistently reported in HIV-positive patients compared with HIV-negative patients, but the interpretation of previous studies is limited by discrepant study designs. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of HIV infection on the treatment response to a single dose of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) for early syphilis.MethodsFrom January 2015 to March 2020, adult patients with early syphilis who received a single dose of BPG were enrolled and rapid plasma reagin (RPR) titers were periodically determined. The primary outcome was serologic response, defined as at least a fourfold decline of RPR titer at 12 months of BPG treatment compared with that at baseline, which was examined in the intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol analyses. Treatment failure included lack of at least a fourfold decline in RPR titers and at least a fourfold increase in RPR titers.ResultsWe prospectively enrolled 184 HIV-positive and 68 HIV-negative participants with early syphilis, who were all men who have sex with men, with a higher proportion of previous syphilis (70.1%) and early latent syphilis (64.1%) among HIV-positive participants. In the ITT with last-observation-carried-forward analysis, HIV-positive participants had a significantly lower serologic response rate at 12 months of treatment than HIV-negative participants (73.4% vs. 91.2%). Of HIV-positive participants, 12.5% failed to achieve at least fourfold decline in RPR titers and 14.1% had at least a fourfold increase in RPR titers. The factors associated with 12-month serologic response were HIV infection (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.33; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.13–0.81) and RPR titer (per 1-log2 increase, AOR 1.36; 95% CI 1.23–1.51).ConclusionHIV-positive patients with early syphilis had poorer serologic responses to BPG treatment than HIV-negative patients during a 12-month follow-up period.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40121-021-00450-6.

Age and Depositional Environment of Walat Formation Based on Palynological Analysis in Sukabumi Regency, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract Walat Formation is equivalent to Bayah Formation. This formation is the beginning of Bogor basin deposition. In this case, age and environment of this formation have been analyzed by previous researchers, but the results of age and environment interpretations have different ranges, especially from its palynological aspect which until now Walat Formation is rarely analyzed using this aspect. This research was conducted to identify the age and depositional environment of Walat Formation in Sukabumi region by using pollen and spores to confirm different interpretations of previous studies. Measure section was carried out in sampling and chemical treatment method was carried out to see palynomorph content in the rock. Furthermore, data analysis was carried out with range of interval zones and pollen grouping based on their environment. The results show that Walat Formation has Late Eocene age based on the interval zone between first occurrence of Verrucatosporites usmensis and Meyeripollis naharkotensis, and the last occurence of Proxapertites operculatus, Proxapertites cursus, and Cicatricosisporites eocenicus. Walat Formation has fluvial depositional environment characterized by the dominance of Proxapertites operculatus and Proxapertites cursus. The results of this study confirm that the Walat Formation has an Eocene age and a fluvial depositional environment from a palinological aspect.

Unraveling the contributions to the neuromelanin-MRI contrast

The Locus Coeruleus (LC) and the Substantia Nigra (SN) are small brainstem nuclei that change with aging and may be involved in the development of various neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. Magnetization Transfer (MT) MRI has been shown to facilitate LC and the SN visualization, and the observed contrast is assumed to be related to neuromelanin accumulation. Imaging these nuclei may have predictive value for the progression of various diseases, but interpretation of previous studies is hindered by the fact that the precise biological source of the contrast remains unclear, though several hypotheses have been put forward. To inform clinical studies on the possible biological interpretation of the LC- and SN contrast, we examined an agar-based phantom containing samples of natural Sepia melanin and synthetic Cys-Dopa-Melanin and compared this to the in vivo human LC and SN. T1 and T2* maps, MT spectra and relaxation times of the phantom, the LC and the SN were measured, and a two-pool MT model was fitted. Additionally, Bloch simulations and a transient MT experiment were conducted to confirm the findings. Overall, our results indicate that Neuromelanin-MRI contrast in the LC likely results from a lower macromolecular fraction, thus facilitating interpretation of results in clinical populations. We further demonstrate that in older individuals T1 lengthening occurs in the LC.

4942Automated recognition of regional wall motion abnormalities by deep neural network interpretation of echocardiography

Abstract Background The deep neural network assisted in automated echocardiography interpretation joint to cardiologist final confirmation has now been gradually emerging. There were applications applied in echocardiography views classification, chamber size and myocardium mass evaluation, and certain disease detections already published. Our aim, instead of frame-by-frame “image-level” interpretation in previous studies, is to apply deep neural network in echocardiography temporal relationship analysis – “video-level” – and applied in automated left ventricle myocardium regional wall motion abnormalities recognition. Methods We collected all echocardiography performed in 2017, and preprocessed them into numeric arrays for matrix computations. Regional wall motion abnormalities were approved by authorized cardiologists, and processed into labels whether regional wall motion abnormalities presented in anterior, inferior, septal, or lateral walls of the left ventricle, as the ground truth. We then first developed a convolutional neural network (CNN) model to do view selection, and gathered parasternal long/short views, and apical four/two chamber views from each exam, as well as developing view prediction confidence for strict image quality control. Within these images, we annotated part of images to develop the second CNN model, known as U-net, for image segmentation and mark each regional wall. Finally, we developed the major three-dimensional CNN model with the inputs composed of four views of echocardiography videos and then output the final label for motion abnormalities in each wall. Results In total we collected 13,984 series of echocardiography, and gathered four main views with quality confidence level above 90%, which resulted in 9,323 series for training. Within these images, we annotated 2,736 frames for U-net model and resulted in dice score of segmentation 73%. With the join of segmentation model, the final three-dimensional CNN model predict regional wall motion with accuracy of 83%. Conclusions Deep neural network application in regional wall motion recognition is feasible and should mandate further investigation for promoting performance. Acknowledgement/Funding None

Preschool children and young adults' preferences and expectations for helpers and hinderers

AbstractSeveral studies suggest infants and young children prefer prosocial over antisocial individuals and expect individuals will selectively approach prosocial rather than antisocial others. There is, however, confusion regarding (a) the methods used to assess preference versus those used to assess expectations and (b) the interpretation of previous studies. In the current study, utilizing eye‐tracking technology, we dissect children and young adults' preferences and expectations after watching the hill paradigm, in which one character (the Helper) helps a protagonist ascend a hill whereas another character (the Hinderer) prevents the protagonist from doing so. Neither children nor young adults displayed a looking preference for the Helper over the Hinderer. With respect to expectations, children shown an animation in which the protagonist approached its Helper looked significantly longer than children shown an animation in which it approached its Hinderer, whereas young adults' looking times were comparable across the two scenarios. We argue longer looking time to the Helper‐approach animation may reflect that children expect the Helper to move in concert/coordination with the protagonist and are surprised when this does not occur. We discuss our findings in relation to arguments about boundaries between different techniques used to measure preferences versus expectations in developmental research.Highlights We address whether clear boundaries exist between developmental paradigms that aim to test preferences, predictions, and expectations. Eye tracking was used to collect data on children's and young adult's looking behaviour on a commonly used paradigm in social evaluation research. We demonstrate that measures of preferences, predictions, and expectations can be extracted from a single paradigm and, therefore, that the boundaries between paradigms are far from clear cut.

Magnetic model of oxidation process of Y containing Cr–Al–C films

ABSTRACTLayers containing a mixture of a solid solution and Cr2AlC-MAX phase were magnetically characterised for the first time for various oxidation times. It was found that with increasing oxidation time at 700 and 900°C, there was an initial decrease in the magnetic signal, followed by an increase for longer exposure times. This initial drop was interpreted as being due to the transformation process of the Cr–Al–C layer from solid solution to MAX phase and the subsequent increase due to the breakdown of the MAX phase.For the layers with Y a saturation in the magnetisation with oxidation time was observed which implies that the surface α-Al2O3 had protected the MAX phase from further oxidation and stopped the breakdown of the MAX phase, and for the layers without Y, no saturation was observed, which implies a continuous breakdown due to the ongoing growth of the various alumina phases. These results support the interpretation of previous studies and derived schematic model of the oxidation process on such layers.

Geodesic description of heavy-light Virasoro blocks

We continue to investigate the dual description of the Virasoro conformal blocks arising in the framework of the classical limit of the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence. To give such an interpretation in previous studies, certain restrictions were necessary. Our goal here is to consider a more general situation available through the worldline approximation to the dual AdS gravity. Namely, we are interested in computing the spherical conformal blocks without the previously imposed restrictions on the conformal dimensions of the internal channels. The duality is realised as an equality of the so-called heavy-light limit of the n-point conformal block and the action of n−2 particles propagating in some AdS-like background with either a conical singularity or a BTZ black hole. We describe a procedure that allows relaxing the constraint on the intermediate channels. To obtain an explicit expression for the conformal block on the CFT side, we use a recently proposed recursion procedure and find full agreement between the results of the boundary and bulk computations.

Intraspecific Variation in the Frequency of Multiple Paternity in the Japanese Wood Mouse (Apodemus speciosus)

Abstract. The magnitude of intraspecific variation in the frequency of multiple paternity, and patterns in its relationship with other variables, was investigated in wild populations of the Japanese wood mouse Apodemus speciosus. The genotypes of 34 females and their offspring were determined on the basis of five microsatellite loci. A high proportion of litters (61.8% = 21/34 litters) were found to have been sired by multiple males. There was high variation in the proportion of multiple paternity in association with sampling localities and/or sampling years (27.3%–78.3%), which was higher than the interspecific variation shown by the proportion of multiple paternity across all studies (40.0%–65.2%) in the genus Apodemus (five species). This large magnitude of intraspecific variation might potentially affect the interpretation in previous studies making interspecific comparisons, and should therefore be taken into account as an important variable.

Oxytocin and Self-Consciousness.

In recent years, the study of self-consciousness from neuroscience and psychobiological perspectives has flourished rapidly. The understanding of the brain areas involved in self-consciousness and the complex intertwining of self-consciousness levels has expanded greatly, and the awareness of neurotransmitter influence on self-consciousness has begun to emerge. Despite this, the neuropeptidergic influences on self-consciousness have been largely ignored However, recent studies of the neuropeptide oxytocin have yielded promising results that further our understanding of the psychobiological foundations of self-consciousness. Here, we argue that the oxytocinergic system plays a role in modulating several levels of self-consciousness, a conclusion that is usually underscored in interpretations of previous studies.

Investigating the Relationship between Psychopathic Personality Traits and Decision Making Deficits in a Prison Population

Since psychopathy poses major problems to society, it is of importance to gain more insight in this construct, which might be established by increasing knowledge of its neurocognitive underpinnings. Psychopathy may be related to failure to incorporate and learn from subtle or ambiguous feedback, which may lead to diminished awareness of potentially harmful consequences of choices. In result, this could induce increased risk-taking and decreased capability to adapt such behaviour. The aim of the present study was to investigate if a relation exists between psychopathic personality traits and risky decision making tendencies, and how this relation can be differentiated along specific symptoms of the psychopathic spectrum. Male prisoners (N = 119) completed a neuropsychological assessment of decision making tasks (the Iowa Gambling Task [IGT] and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task [WCST]) as well as a self-report measure for dimensional psychopathic personality traits (Psychopathic Personality Inventory – Revised). In line with some of the previous literature, no significant correlations were found between measures of psychopathy on the one hand, and measures of decision making on the other hand. Other variables, such as age (with a negative correlation) and presence of a history of drug abuse did contribute significantly in the prediction of the total amount of psychopathic personality traits. Implications for interpretation of previous studies and strengths and limitations of the present study are discussed. The literature on the topic of decision making and psychopathy is now building up, but leaves inconsistent and certainly no convincing consensus. Future studies on psychopathy and neurocognition may need to shift away from traditional decision making tasks and instead focus more on experimental, ‘pure’ neurocognitive measures to better identify how specific cognitive pitfalls in psychopathy influence behaviour and ability to learn.

PTU-176 Systematic review with meta-analysis: prevalence of bile acid malabsorption in irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea

Introduction Irritable bowel syndrome is a prevalent disorder with a marked socioeconomic burden. Previous studies support the proposal that a subset of patients with features compatible with diarrhoea predominant IBS (IBS-D) have bile acid malabsorption (BAM). We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of BAM in patients meeting accepted criteria for IBS-D. Method MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched up to February 2015. Studies recruiting adults with IBS-D, defined either by the Manning, Kruis, Rome I, II or III criteria and which used 23-seleno-25-homotaurocholic acid (SeHCAT) testing for the assessment of BAM were included. BAM was defined as 7 day SeHCAT retention of Results The search strategy identified 6 relevant studies comprising 908 individuals. The rate of BAM ranged from 16.9% to 35.3%, with an unadjusted rate of 29.3%. The pooled rate according to the random effect model was 28.1% (95% CI 22.6–34%), see Figure 1. There was significant heterogeneity in effect sizes (Q-test X 2 = 17.9, p 2 72.1%). The type of diagnostic criteria used or study country did not significantly modify the effect. Conclusion These data provide evidence that in excess of one quarter of patients meeting accepted criteria for IBS-D have BAM. This distinction has implications for the interpretation of previous studies as well as contemporaneous clinical practice and future guideline development. Disclosure of interest S. Slattery: None Declared, A. Ford: None Declared, Q. Aziz: None Declared, A. Farmer Speaker Bureau of: Almirall.

Drebrin depletion alters neurotransmitter receptor levels in protein complexes, dendritic spine morphogenesis and memory‐related synaptic plasticity in the mouse hippocampus

Drebrin an actin-bundling key regulator of dendritic spine genesis and morphology, has been recently proposed as a regulator of hippocampal glutamatergic activity which is critical for memory formation and maintenance. Here, we examined the effects of genetic deletion of drebrin on dendritic spine and on the level of complexes containing major brain receptors. To this end, homozygous and heterozygous drebrin knockout mice generated in our laboratory and related wild-type control animals were studied. Level of protein complexes containing dopamine receptor D1/dopamine receptor D2, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1A (5-HT1(A)R), and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 7 (5-HT7R) were significantly reduced in hippocampus of drebrin knockout mice whereas no significant changes were detected for GluR1, 2, and 3 and NR1 as examined by native gel-based immunoblotting. Drebrin depletion also altered dendritic spine formation, morphology, and reduced levels of dopamine receptor D1 in dendritic spines as evaluated using immunohistochemistry/confocal microscopy. Electrophysiological studies further showed significant reduction in memory-related hippocampal synaptic plasticity upon drebrin depletion. These findings provide unprecedented experimental support for a role of drebrin in the regulation of memory-related synaptic plasticity and neurotransmitter receptor signaling, offer relevant information regarding the interpretation of previous studies and help in the design of future studies on dendritic spines.

Differential susceptibility on myosin heavy chain isoform following eccentric-induced muscle damage.

Based on myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform, human skeletal muscle fibers can be categorized into three fiber types, type I, IIa, IIx fibers, and each fiber type has different characteristics. Typical characteristics are difference in force production, shortening velocity, and fatigue resistance. When the muscle is contract and stretched by a force that is greater than the force generated by the muscle, contraction-induced muscle damage frequently occurs. Several experimental models involving both human and animal have considered the susceptibility of different muscle fiber type and part of muscles to eccentric induced muscle damage. General consensus is a greater susceptibility of fast-twitch fiber or type II fiber to damage following eccentric contractions. However, the results from these previous efforts were not enough to conclude the susceptibility between each individual fiber types after eccentric contraction. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to explore detail limitation and interpretation of previous studies, and review the recent study that eliminated the prior limitations, such as strain magnitude, lengthening velocity, fiber type heterogeneity, and muscle architecture issue.

과학창의성 평가 공식의 개발과 적용

Researchers have employed a diversity of definitions and measurement methods for creativity. As a result, creativity research is underrepresented in the literature and the findings of different studies often prove difficult to draw into a coherent body of understanding. With regard to assessment, there are some important problems both in creativity research and practice, such as originality bias and Big-C creativity bias in teachers' perceptions about creativity and creative thinking, and additive rather than multiplicative scoring systems of creativity assessment. Drawing upon most widely accepted conceptions of the creativity construct, I defined 'student's scientific creativity' as the ability to make a product both original and useful to the student in terms of little-c creativity, and 'scientist's scientific creativity' as the ability to come up with a product both original and useful to the science community in terms of Big-C creativity. In this study, an 'Assessment Formula for Scientific Creativity' was developed, which is consisted of the multiplication of originality and usefulness scores rather than the sum of the two scores, and then, with scores calculated from the assessment formula, the scientific explanations generated by children were categorized into four types: routine, useful, original, and creative types. The assessment formula was revealed to be both valid and reliable. The implications of the assessment formula for scientific creativity are examined. The new assessment formula may contribute to the comprehensive understanding of scientific creativity to guide future research and the appropriate interpretation of previous studies.

The human fetal glial cell line SVG p12 contains infectious BK polyomavirus.

The human fetal glial cell line SVG was generated in 1985 by transfecting primary fetal brain cells with a plasmid containing an origin-defective mutant of simian virus 40 (SV40). The cells, which express SV40 large T-antigen, support the replication of human JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) and have been used for JCPyV studies but also for other studies in which cells of neural origin were desirable. We intended to use the SVG p12 cells from ATCC for antiviral drug studies with JCPyV. However, during initial experiments, immunofluorescence microscopy controls unexpectedly revealed cells expressing the late viral proteins VP1, VP2/VP3, and agno. This was confirmed by Western blotting. Since our agnoprotein antiserum is specific for BKPyV agnoprotein, infection with BKPyV was suspected. Indeed, specific BKPyV PCR of SVG p12 supernatants revealed a viral load of >1 × 10(10) genomic equivalents/ml. Negative-staining electron microscopy showed characteristic polyomavirus virions, and infectious BKPyV was transmitted from SVG p12 supernatant to other cells. Long-range PCR covering the viral genome, followed by DNA sequencing, identified BKPyV strain UT as well as deletion derivatives. This was confirmed by next-generation sequencing. JCPyV (MAD-4) was found to infect apparently uninfected and BKPyV-infected SVG p12 cells. In total, 4 vials from 2 different ATCC lots of SVG p12 cells dating back to 2006 contained BKPyV, whereas the subclone SVG-A was negative. In conclusion, SVG p12 cells from ATCC contain infectious BKPyV. This may have affected results and interpretations of previous studies, and caution should be taken in future experiments. This work reveals that one of the most frequently used cell lines for JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) research, the SV40-immortalized human fetal glial cell line SVG p12 obtained directly from ATCC, contains infectious BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) of strain UT and a spectrum of defective mutants. Strain UT has been previously found in urine and in tumors of different patients but is also frequently used for research. It is therefore not clear if BKPyV was present in the brain tissue used to generate the cell line or if this is a contamination. Although productive JCPyV infection of SVG cells was not dependent on prior BKPyV infection, the unnoticed presence of BKPyV may have influenced the results of studies using these cells. The interpretation of past results should therefore be reconsidered and cells tested for BKPyV before new studies are initiated. The frequently used subclone SVG-A did not contain BKPyV and could be a useful substitute.

Consonant identification using temporal fine structure and recovered envelope cues.

The contribution of recovered envelopes (RENVs) to the utilization of temporal-fine structure (TFS) speech cues was examined in normal-hearing listeners. Consonant identification experiments used speech stimuli processed to present TFS or RENV cues. Experiment 1 examined the effects of exposure and presentation order using 16-band TFS speech and 40-band RENV speech recovered from 16-band TFS speech. Prior exposure to TFS speech aided in the reception of RENV speech. Performance on the two conditions was similar (∼50%-correct) for experienced listeners as was the pattern of consonant confusions. Experiment 2 examined the effect of varying the number of RENV bands recovered from 16-band TFS speech. Mean identification scores decreased as the number of RENV bands decreased from 40 to 8 and were only slightly above chance levels for 16 and 8 bands. Experiment 3 examined the effect of varying the number of bands in the TFS speech from which 40-band RENV speech was constructed. Performance fell from 85%- to 31%-correct as the number of TFS bands increased from 1 to 32. Overall, these results suggest that the interpretation of previous studies that have used TFS speech may have been confounded with the presence of RENVs.

Does the Presence of Multinational Corporations Affect a Country’s Gross Domestic Product?

This article investigates how using different measures of GDP can lead to conflicting development policies when it comes to industrial recruitment. The results suggest that often-employed policies of competing for inward FDI may not benefit GDP annual growth. A distinction is made between official exchange rate (OER) GDP and purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP. Both measures are employed as dependent variables in separate cross-sectional, time-series regression analyses of 60 nations. A measure of multinational corporation (MNC) concentration per nation is developed and included in the model to examine whether the investing nations benefit from the outward FDI of their firms. The data analysis shows that to be true particularly for developing nations that had top-ranked MNCs incorporated within their borders between 2005 and 2009. The findings challenge industrial recruitment policies and suggest that FDI outflows may be more contributive to GDP growth than FDI inflows. The findings also show conflicting results as to which factors contribute to GDP annual growth when both GDP measures are examined, thus raising questions about metrics fit and interpretations of previous studies.