Wheelerhamann9745

Yet, this association was no longer significant when controlling for the effect of the creative potential of an individual, which was strongly related to AUT outcomes. Being exploratory, we found a positive association between creative potential and vagal tone. These results imply that creative potential might be related to the capacity to relax.The forward testing effect (FTE) refers to the finding that testing of previously studied information enhances memory for subsequently studied other information. Previous research demonstrated that the FTE is a robust phenomenon that generalizes across different materials and populations. The present study examined whether the FTE is robust under acute psychosocial encoding/retrieval stress. In each of two experimental conditions, participants studied three item lists in anticipation of final cumulative recall testing. In the testing condition, participants were tested immediately on lists 1 and 2, whereas in the restudy condition, they restudied lists 1 and 2. In both conditions, participants were tested immediately on list 3. Acute psychosocial stress was induced in participants prior to the encoding of item lists using the Trier social stress test for groups protocol. No stress was induced in a control group. Salivary cortisol, alpha amylase, and subjective stress were measured repeatedly to capture the biopsychological stress response. The results showed a significant FTE on list 3 recall, that is, testing of lists 1 and 2 enhanced the recall of list 3. No significant effect of stress on the FTE was observed, suggesting that the FTE is robust under acute psychosocial encoding/retrieval stress. The discussion provides suggestions for future research directions.Acute stress can have both detrimental and beneficial effects on cognitive processing, but effects on concentration performance remain unclear. Here, we investigate the effects of acute psychosocial stress on concentration performance and possible underlying physiological and psychological mechanisms. The study sample comprised 47 healthy male participants who were randomly assigned either to a psychosocial stress situation (Trier Social Stress Test) or a neutral control task. Concentration performance was assessed using the d2 Test of Attention before and 30 min after the stress or control task. Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were repeatedly measured before and up to 1 hr after stress. We repeatedly assessed state anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and anticipatory cognitive stress appraisal using the Primary Appraisal Secondary Appraisal questionnaire. The stress group showed a significantly stronger improvement of concentration performance compared to the control group (p = .042). Concentration performance improvement was predicted by increased state anxiety (p = .020) and lower cortisol (stress) changes (p = .043). Neither changes in alpha-amylase nor cognitive stress appraisal did relate to concentration performance. Our results show improved concentration performance after acute psychosocial stress induction that was predicted by higher state anxiety increases and lower cortisol increases. This points to a potential modulating role of specific psycho-emotional and physiological factors with opposite effects.The intriguing interplay between acute stress physiology and cognitive processes has long been noted. However, while stress-induced release of glucocorticoids has repeatedly been shown to impact brain mechanisms underlying cognition and memory, less experimental research addressed the effects of stress-induced central sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation on cognitive performance. Moreover, despite the long-standing notion that the way performance is modulated by arousal may crucially depend on task complexity, mechanistic research demonstrating a direct, causal influence of altered SNS activity is scarce. Twelve healthy men participated in a placebo-controlled, pharmacologic dose-response study involving three within-subject assessments (1-week intervals). Subjective and objective indices of SNS activity as well as reaction time (RT) in three different tasks varying in cognitive demand (simple RT, choice RT, and verbal RT in complex mental arithmetic) were assessed during modulation of central SNS tone by intravenous infusions of dexmedetomidine (alpha2-agonist), yohimbine (alpha2-antagonist), and placebo. Cognitive performance was negatively affected by alpha2-agonism in all task conditions. By contrast, administration of yohimbine improved simple RT, while diminishing complex RT, supporting the assumption of a nonlinear way of action depending on task characteristics. Our results highlight the consequences of central (noradrenergic) SNS activation for cognitive-motor performance in RT tasks of varying complexity.Acute stress and chronic stress change the physiology and function of the individual. As one facet, stress and its neuroendocrine correlates - with glucocorticoids in particular - modulate memory in a concerted action. With respect to working memory, impairing effects of acute stress and increased levels of glucocorticoids could be expected, but empirical evidence on moderating effects of cortisol on working memory is ambiguous in human studies. In the current study, we thus aimed to investigate cortisol stress responses and memory performance. Older men and women (32 men, 43 women, aged 61-67 years) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and performed the 2-back task before and after exposure to acute stress. In line with theoretical assumptions, we found that higher cortisol stress responses led to a decline of working memory performance in men. However, the opposite was evident for women, who appeared to benefit from higher stress responses. This effect was evident for accuracy, but not for reaction time. In conclusion, cortisol might mediate working memory alterations with stress in a sex-specific manner in older people. Possible mechanisms and causes for these sex differences put a focus on endocrine changes in the aging population that might lead to differential effects across the lifespan.Psychosocial stress has been shown to alter social perception and behavior. In the present study, we investigated whether a standardized psychosocial stressor modulates the perceptual sensitivity for positive and negative facial emotions and the tendency to allocate attention to facial expressions. Fifty-four male participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G) or a nonstressful control condition before they performed a facial emotions detection task and a facial dot-probe task to assess attention for positive and negative facial expressions. Saliva samples were collected over the course of the experiment to measure free cortisol and alpha amylase. In response to the TSST-G, participants showed marked increases in subjective stress, salivary cortisol, and alpha amylase compared to the control condition. In the control condition, detection performance was higher for angry compared to happy facial expressions, while in the stressful condition this difference was reversed. Here, participants were more sensitive to happy compared to angry facial expressions. Attention was unaffected by psychosocial stress. The results suggest that psychosocial stress shifts social perception in terms of detection sensitivity for facial expressions toward positive social cues, a pattern that is consistent with the tendency to seek social support for coping with stress.Instrumental learning is regulated by two memory systems a relatively rigid but efficient habit system and a flexible but resource-demanding goal-directed system. Previous work has demonstrated that exposure to acute stress may shift the balance between these systems toward the habitual system. In the current study, we used a 2-day outcome devaluation paradigm with a 75% reward contingency rate and altered food reward categories to replicate and extend our previous findings. Participants learned neutral stimulus-response-reward associations on the first day. On the second day, rewards were devalued by eating to satiety. Subsequently, acute stress was induced in half of the participants using the Maastricht Acute Stress Test, while the other half engaged in a nonstressful control task. Finally, relative goal-directed versus habitual behavior was evaluated in a slips-of-action phase, where more slips-of-action indicate a shift toward the habitual system. Results showed that participants successfully acquired the stimulus-response-reward associations, that devaluation was effective, and that stressed participants displayed significant increases in cortisol and blood pressure. Stress led participants to commit more slips-of-action compared with nonstressed controls. The current study extends previous work, showing that the employed paradigm and outcome devaluation procedure are boundary conditions to the stress-induced shift in instrumental responding.Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a serious and common complication in patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and contributes to mortality. Multidrug Gram-negative bacteria such as Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae are frequently associated with VAP in ICU. A prospective study was set up in three ICUs of the University Hospital Center Zagreb and one ICU in General Hospital Pula from September 2017 to March 2018. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by broth microdilution method. Production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) was determined by double-disk synergy test and carbapenemases by Hodge and carbapenem inactivation method (CIM). The genes encoding ESBLs, carbapenemases of class A, B and D and qnr genes were determined by PCR. In total 97 Gram-negative bacteria isolates were analyzed. P. aeruginosa demonstrated high resistance rates for imipenem and meropenem with 74% and 68% of resistant strains, respectively. Moderate resistance rates widentified in Enterobacteriaceae.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) remains controversial in patients with connective tissue disorders given the concern for durability. We report on the largest series to date on outcomes of patients with thoracic aortic disease and connective tissue disorders treated with TEVAR.

The Vascular Quality Initiative registry identified 12 207 patients treated with TEVAR from January 2010 to December 2018, including 102 with Marfans, Ehlers-Danlos, or Loey-Dietz syndrome. Outcomes were analyzed per the Society for Vascular Surgery reporting standards.

Median age was 50.6 years (interquartile range 57.0-75.0), and 62 (60.7%) were male. Eighty-eight (86.3%) patients had Marfan, 9 (8.8%) had Ehlers-Danlos, and 5 (4.9%) had Loey-Dietz syndrome. Twenty-six (25.5%) patients were treated for degenerative aneurysmal disease and 76 (74.5%) patients for type B dissections (33 acute, 31 chronic). Most common indications for interventions in patients with type B dissection were pain (n = 41), aneurysmal degenera higher risk subgroup with increased rates of endoleak and retrograde dissection. Closer follow-up for these patients and early reintervention may be beneficial.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair for patients with connective tissue disorders can be performed with low perioperative mortality, spinal cord ischemia, or Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA). On follow-up, acute type B aortic dissections represent a higher risk subgroup with increased rates of endoleak and retrograde dissection. Closer follow-up for these patients and early reintervention may be beneficial.