Category: Uncategorized

Best of PubMed #20: CHICKEN special!

This week’s special topic: The science of chickens!

 

Birth lessons from a chicken
Remer M.
Midwifery Today Int Midwife. 2009 Spring;(89):49.
PMID: 19397165

 

Strange sensation after a chicken stew.
Kaemmerer D, Hörsch D.
Dis Esophagus. 2012 Feb;25(2):177. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-2050.2010.01132.x. Epub 2010 Nov 12.
PMID: 22335202

 

Is chicken soup an essential drug?
Ohry A, Tsafrir J.
CMAJ. 1999 Dec 14;161(12):1532-3.
PMID: 10624412

 

Funky chicken.
Taylor DA.
Environ Health Perspect. 2004 Jan;112(1):A50.
PMID: 14714546

 

Social change and health law: the court as can-opener; the legislature as soup.
Curran WJ.
Am J Public Health. 1971 Dec;61(12):2518-9.
PMID: 5128622

 

Passage of feed through the adult rooster.
Sibbald IR.
Poult Sci. 1979 Mar;58(2):446-59.
PMID: 530908

 

Hatching headless chickens from rational eggs.
Taylor I.
Lancet Oncol. 2001 Mar;2(3):131.
PMID: 11902560

 

The headless chicken syndrome.
Dickson N.
Nurs Times. 1989 Feb 22-28;85(8):24-5.
PMID: 2928235

 

Making the headless chicken squawk.
[No authors listed]
Lancet. 1988 Oct 22;2(8617):941-2.
PMID: 2902385

 

A surgical procedure for devocalizing the rooster.
Madsen DE.
Vet Med Small Anim Clin. 1967 Feb;62(2):114-8.
PMID: 5182625

 

[Penetration of light through the head of the Golden Comet rooster].
Viggiani E, Salzarulo L.
Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper. 1978 Mar 30;54(6):565-9. Italian.
PMID: 743474

 

Ocular injury from a rooster attack.
Kronwith SD, Hankin DE, Lipkin PH.
Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1996 Apr;35(4):219-20. Review.
PMID: 8665758

 

Cryopreservation of rooster sperm.
Buss EG.
Poult Sci. 1993 May;72(5):944-54.
PMID: 8502616

 

[Rooster on top even in woe – a hen below even in excellence: patriarchy, spousal relations, and the table of duties].
Eilola J.
Hist Ark. 2002;116:100-27. Finnish.
PMID: 17352057

 

Rooster attacks in childhood.
McGregor RS, Kavle E, Urbach AH.
Pediatr Emerg Care. 1992 Aug;8(4):216-7.
PMID: 1513733

Best of PubMed – Christmas Special!

“Here comes Santa Claus“: what is the evidence?
Highfield ME.
Adv Emerg Nurs J. 2011 Oct-Dec;33(4):354-8. doi: 10.1097/TME.0b013e318234ead3.
PMID: 22075686

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus“.
Angelica JC.
J Pastoral Care Counsel. 2011 Spring-Summer;65(1-2):10.1-2.
PMID: 21928502

Visiting Santa: an additional look.
Trinkaus J.
Psychol Rep. 2007 Dec;101(3 Pt 1):779-83.
PMID: 18232433

Hemoglobin’s moving around (to the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”).
Ahern K.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2007 Nov;35(6):478. doi: 10.1002/bmb.118.
PMID: 21591150

Santa Claus and staff retention.
Olivi PM.
Radiol Manage. 2005 Sep-Oct;27(5):10-1.
PMID: 16294580

Visiting Santa: an informal look.
Trinkaus J.
Psychol Rep. 2004 Oct;95(2):587-8.
PMID: 15587225

[Is Santa Claus still needed?].
Tamminen T.
Duodecim. 2003;119(23):2317-22. Finnish.
PMID: 14768260

Do reindeer and children know something that we don’t? Pediatric inpatients’ belief in Santa Claus.
Cyr C.
CMAJ. 2002 Dec 10;167(12):1325-7.
PMID: 12473618

The tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and the hard core drinking driver.
Chamberlain E, Solomon R.
Inj Prev. 2001 Dec;7(4):272-5.
PMID: 11770650

[Why is Santa Claus bowed?].
Leirisalo-Repo M.
Duodecim. 1998;114(23):2481-6. Finnish.
PMID: 11757148

Neurogenetics: three wishes to Santa Claus.
Coutinho P.
Arch Neurol. 2000 Jan;57(1):59.
PMID: 10634444

[Santa Claus as a consultant. “Then we together will rejoice, children’s eyes will shine with joy”].
Puumalainen AM, Vapalahti M.
Duodecim. 1997;113(23):2467-70. Finnish.
PMID: 10892154

Santa Claus: good or bad for children?
Nelms BC.
J Pediatr Health Care. 1996 Nov-Dec;10(6):243-4.
PMID: 9052114

Perhaps there is a Santa Claus.
Van Eldik DT.
J Fla Med Assoc. 1994 Dec;81(12):795-6.
PMID: 7861106

Encounter with reality: children’s reactions on discovering the Santa Claus myth.
Anderson CJ, Prentice NM.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 1994 Winter;25(2):67-84.
PMID: 7842832

Do you believe in Santa Claus?
Atkinson J.
Nurs Stand. 1988 Dec 31;3(13-14):20-1.
PMID: 3068551

Epidemiology of reindeer parasites.
Halvorsen O.
Parasitol Today. 1986 Dec;2(12):334-9.
PMID: 15462756

A letter to Santa Claus.
Shusterman C.
Am Laund Dig. 1985 Dec 15;50(12):14-6.
PMID: 10275266

In the absence of Santa Claus.
Tebben MP.
Public Health Rep. 1985 Jul;100(4):355.
PMID: 19313171

Picture Reports: Influenza virus, Santa Claus, or a mouse playing tennis?
Getty B.
Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1984 Dec 22;289(6460):1744.
PMID: 20742372

Children’s belief in santa claus: a developmental study of fantasy and causality.
Prentice NM, Schmechel LK, Manosevitz M.
J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1979 Autumn;18(4):658-67.
PMID: 541471

Imaginary figures of early childhood: santa claus, easter bunny, and the tooth fairy.
Prentice NM, Manosevitz M, Hubbs L.
Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1978 Oct;48(4):618-28.
PMID: 707613

Santa Claus will probably be coming.
Ammer DS.
Hosp Purch Manage. 1977 Dec;2(12):2-3.
PMID: 10305079

A note on the absence of a Santa Claus in any known ecosystem: a rejoinder to Willems.
Baer DM.
J Appl Behav Anal. 1974 Spring;7(1):167-9.
PMID: 16795462

The d.a. Who was Santa Claus?
Peyraud AP.
CAL. 1972 Dec;36(6):26-30.
PMID: 4510978

Santa Claus drawings by Negro and white children.
Coyle FA Jr, Eisenman R.
J Soc Psychol. 1970 Apr;80(2):201-5.
PMID: 4924834

Barefoot in the hospital park or yes Virginia, there is a Mrs. Santa Claus known as the administrator’s wife.
Spencer V.
Hosp Manage. 1967 Dec;104(6):33-7.
PMID: 6063631

Charlie’s Santa Claus.
Stollard ML.
Nurs Times. 1965 Dec 24;61(52):1762.
PMID: 5849676

The northwest Santa and Mrs Claus–the real thing!
Copeland JA.
Caring. 2008 Dec;27(12):26-9.
PMID: 19278113

A visit from the Candy Witch: factors influencing young children’s belief in a novel fantastical being.
Woolley JD, Boerger EA, Markman AB.
Dev Sci. 2004 Sep;7(4):456-68.
PMID: 15484594

Why Rudolph‘s nose is red: observational study.
Ince C, van Kuijen AM, Milstein DM, Yürük K, Folkow LP, Fokkens WJ, Blix AS.
BMJ. 2012 Dec 14;345:e8311. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e8311.
PMID: 23247980

Song: the E. coli song (to the tune of “rudolph the red-nosed reindeer“).
Ahern K.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2006 Nov;34(6):426. doi: 10.1002/bmb.2006.494034062569.
PMID: 21638738

 

Best of PubMed #19

The cheerleader who won’t shake her pom pons.

Tremblay P.

Int J Orthod Milwaukee. 2008 Spring;19(1):37.

PMID: 18512662

Why Barbie is perceived as beautiful.

Magro AM.

Percept Mot Skills. 1997 Aug;85(1):363-74.

PMID: 9293600

Why Barbie feels heavier than Ken: the influence of size-based expectancies and social cues on the illusory perception of weight.

Dijker AJ.

Cognition. 2008 Mar;106(3):1109-25. Epub 2007 Jun 27.

PMID: 17599820

Math is hard, Barbie said.

Begley S.

Newsweek. 2008 Oct 27;152(17):57.

PMID: 18972952

Mathematicians talk tough to new barbie.

[No authors listed]

Science. 1992 Oct 16;258(5081):396.

PMID: 17833126

Can we keep up with Barbie?

Lamacki WF.

CDS Rev. 2009 May-Jun;102(3):48.

PMID: 19530471

Slip an extra locust on the barbie?

Delamothe T.

BMJ. 2013 May 20;346:f3293. doi: 10.1136/bmj.f3293.

PMID: 23690504

The young and the clueless.

Bunker KA, Kram KE, Ting S.

Harv Bus Rev. 2002 Dec;80(12):80-7, 133.

PMID: 12510540

Older male vs. younger female: a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Talbot T.

J Mich Dent Assoc. 2010 Dec;92(12):20.

PMID: 21291087

Ideal female brow aesthetics.

Griffin GR, Kim JC.

Clin Plast Surg. 2013 Jan;40(1):147-55. doi: 10.1016/j.cps.2012.07.003. Epub 2012 Sep 8. Review.

PMID: 23186765

Are there pit bulls with lipstick in your midst?

Briles J.

Tar Heel Nurse. 2009 Jul-Sep;71(3):13-4.

PMID: 19637643

NIH peer review reform–change we need, or lipstick on a pig?

Fang FC, Casadevall A.

Infect Immun. 2009 Mar;77(3):929-32. doi: 10.1128/IAI.01567-08.

PMID: 19168745

Do cosmetics enhance female Caucasian facial attractiveness?

Mulhern R, Fieldman G, Hussey T, Lévêque JL, Pineau P.

Int J Cosmet Sci. 2003 Aug;25(4):199-205. doi: 10.1046/j.1467-2494.2003.00188.x.

PMID: 18494902 [PubMed]

Improving lip wrinkles: lipstick-related image analysis.

Ryu JS, Park SG, Kwak TJ, Chang MY, Park ME, Choi KH, Sung KH, Shin HJ, Lee CK, Kang YS, Yoon MS, Rang MJ, Kim SJ.

Skin Res Technol. 2005 Aug;11(3):157-64.

PMID: 15998326

Lipstick and pearls.

Perrier ND.

Surgery. 2002 Jun;131(6):663-4.

PMID: 12075179

Being Barbie: the size of one’s own body determines the perceived size of the world.

van der Hoort B, Guterstam A, Ehrsson HH.

PLoS One. 2011;6(5):e20195. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020195. Epub 2011 May 25.

PMID: 21633503

Abstract

A classical question in philosophy and psychology is if the sense of one’s body influences how one visually perceives the world. Several theoreticians have suggested that our own body serves as a fundamental reference in visual perception of sizes and distances, although compelling experimental evidence for this hypothesis is lacking. In contrast, modern textbooks typically explain the perception of object size and distance by the combination of information from different visual cues. Here, we describe full body illusions in which subjects experience the ownership of a doll’s body (80 cm or 30 cm) and a giant’s body (400 cm) and use these as tools to demonstrate that the size of one’s sensed own body directly influences the perception of object size and distance. These effects were quantified in ten separate experiments with complementary verbal, questionnaire, manual, walking, and physiological measures. When participants experienced the tiny body as their own, they perceived objects to be larger and farther away, and when they experienced the large-body illusion, they perceived objects to be smaller and nearer. Importantly, despite identical retinal input, this “body size effect” was greater when the participants experienced a sense of ownership of the artificial bodies compared to a control condition in which ownership was disrupted. These findings are fundamentally important as they suggest a causal relationship between the representations of body space and external space. Thus, our own body size affects how we perceive the world.

WORLD SERIES MADNESS at the Best of PubMed!!!

This is a special edition of the Best of PubMed, in honor of the World Series, which is underway. As you’ll see, scientists have devoted an extraordinary amount of research into baseball… revealing that they aren’t immune to the obsession regarding gathering data and statistics that marks the true baseball fan!

We work our way from the pregame, to umpires, to the fellow at the plate, through the infield, and into the outfield. A lot of this is SERIOUS research, guys, really, really, really serious!

Here you’ll find answers to all those burning questions that you’ve wondered about: from the physics of the curve ball, to the life expectancy of left-handed vs. right-handed pitchers, whether being in the Hall of Fame extends your life, how to end a batting slump, whether hot days bring teams off the bench for a brawl, how to know where to run to catch a fly ball, whether there’s really an “at-home” advantage, does the team that bats last have an advantage…What can Babe Ruth teach psychologists? What can they learn from center fielders? The list goes on and on. Many of the links point to abstracts or even free full articles…

Be sure not to miss the hot topic of whether baseball players whose initials spell out “good” words (like “ACE”) live longer than those whose initials are bad (like “ASS”)!!! (See the section on epidemiology.)

So, it’s off to the ball park (and PubMed) for some World Series madness…

LET THEM PLAY BALL.
BARNES FE Jr.
N C Med J. 1964 Oct;25:439-40.
PMID: 14200489

Before the game and behind the plate:

Singing the national anthem at major league baseball stadiums raises awareness of ALS.
Herreria J.
Profiles Healthc Mark. 1998 Jul-Aug;14(4):18-20.
PMID: 10186395

Concussions experienced by Major League Baseball catchers and umpires: field data and experimental baseball impacts.
Beyer JA, Rowson S, Duma SM.
Ann Biomed Eng. 2012 Jan;40(1):150-9.
PMID: 22012084

[A study on the effect of physical load of baseball umpire, during a baseball game in the summer].
Kurakake S, Sugawara K, Kumae T, Shimaoka A, Mathida K, Okamura N.
Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 1988 Feb;42(6):1013-22. Japanese.
PMID: 3398288

Life expectancy of major league baseball umpires.
Cohen RS, Kamps CA, Kokoska S, Segal EM, Tucker JB.
Phys Sportsmed. 2000 May;28(5):83-9. doi: 10.3810/psm.2000.05.904.
PMID: 20086642

Umpire needed
Pope A.
BMJ. 1999 May 8;318(7193):1280A.
PMID: 10231267

Quiet eye gaze behavior of expert, and near-expert, baseball plate umpires.
Millslagle DG, Hines BB, Smith MS.
Percept Mot Skills. 2013 Feb;116(1):69-77.
PMID: 23829135

Visual gaze behavior of near-expert and expert fast pitch softball umpires calling a pitch.
Millslagle DG, Smith MS, Hines BB.
J Strength Cond Res. 2013 May;27(5):1188-95. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318269ab15.
PMID: 22836605

Contextual influences on baseball ball-strike decisions in umpires, players, and controls.
MacMahon C, Starkes JL.
J Sports Sci. 2008 May;26(7):751-60. doi: 10.1080/02640410701813050.
PMID: 18409106

Magnitude of stress experienced by baseball and softball umpires.
Rainey DW.
Percept Mot Skills. 1994 Aug;79(1 Pt 1):255-8.
PMID: 7991318

 

AT THE PLATE:

Who is this ball player?
Fox K.
HDA Now. 2013 Summer:27-8.
PMID: 24079151

Balls, Strikes, and VIPs.
Kao A.
Virtual Mentor. 2001 May 1;3(5). doi:pii: virtualmentor.2001.3.5.dykn1-0105. 10.1001/virtualmentor.2001.3.5.dykn1-0105.
PMID: 23273008

Hitting is contagious: experience and action induction.
Gray R, Beilock SL.
J Exp Psychol Appl. 2011 Mar;17(1):49-59. doi: 10.1037/a0022846.
PMID: 21443380

Visual search strategies of baseball batters: eye movements during the preparatory phase of batting.
Kato T, Fukuda T.
Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Apr;94(2):380-6.
PMID: 12027326

Ending batting slumps in baseball: a qualitative investigation.
Prapavessis H, Grove JR.
Aust J Sci Med Sport. 1995 Mar;27(1):14-9.
PMID: 7780772

First-rib stress fractures related to hitting in two baseball teammates.
Young EJ, Curtis RJ.
Clin J Sport Med. 2008 May;18(3):300-1. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0b013e31816ffbd4.
PMID: 18469578

Thrown a curve.
Makaryus AN, Henry SA, Rutkin B, Boxt L.
Am J Med. 2007 May;120(5):420-1.
PMID: 17466652

You Can’t Think and Hit at the Same Time: Neural Correlates of Baseball Pitch Classification.
Sherwin J, Muraskin J, Sajda P.
Front Neurosci. 2012;6:177. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2012.00177. eCollection 2012.
PMID: 23267311

The effect of fastball backspin rate on baseball hitting accuracy.
Higuchi T, Morohoshi J, Nagami T, Nakata H, Kanosue K.
J Appl Biomech. 2013 Jun;29(3):279-84. Epub 2012 Aug 22.
PMID: 22923374

Transitions between central and peripheral vision create spatial/temporal distortions: a hypothesis concerning the perceived break of the curveball.
Shapiro A, Lu ZL, Huang CB, Knight E, Ennis R.
PLoS One. 2010 Oct 13;5(10):e13296. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013296.
PMID: 20967247

Hitting what one wants to hit and missing what one wants to miss.
Regan D, Gray R.
Vision Res. 2001;41(25-26):3321-9. Review.
PMID: 11718776

Expert baseball batters have greater sensitivity in making swing decisions.
Gray R.
Res Q Exerc Sport. 2010 Sep;81(3):373-8.
PMID: 20949857

How baseball players prepare to bat: tactical knowledge as a mediator of expert performance in baseball.
McPherson S, MacMahon C.
J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2008 Dec;30(6):755-78.
PMID: 19164840

A triarchical model of batting abilities: applying psychological statistics to baseball.
Kaufman JC.
Percept Mot Skills. 1997 Aug;85(1):299-304.
PMID: 9293591

ON THE MOUND:

The effects of extended play on professional baseball pitchers.
Murray TA, Cook TD, Werner SL, Schlegel TF, Hawkins RJ.
Am J Sports Med. 2001 Mar-Apr;29(2):137-42.
PMID: 11292037

Assessing pitcher and catcher influences on base stealing in Major League Baseball.
Loughin TM, Bargen JL.
J Sports Sci. 2008 Jan 1;26(1):15-20.
PMID: 17852677

Effect of three different between-inning recovery methods on baseball pitching performance.
Warren CD, Brown LE, Landers MR, Stahura KA.
J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Mar;25(3):683-8. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318208adfe.
PMID: 21311344

A biomechanical comparison of the fastball and curveball in adolescent baseball pitchers.
Nissen CW, Westwell M, Ounpuu S, Patel M, Solomito M, Tate J.
Am J Sports Med. 2009 Aug;37(8):1492-8. doi: 10.1177/0363546509333264. Epub 2009 May 15.
PMID: 19448049

The impact of pitch counts and days of rest on performance among major-league baseball pitchers.
Bradbury JC, Forman SL.
J Strength Cond Res. 2012 May;26(5):1181-7. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31824e16fe.
PMID: 22344048

Lefties are still a little shorter.
Abel EL, Kruger ML.
Percept Mot Skills. 2007 Apr;104(2):405-6.
PMID: 17566429

Do right-handers live longer? An updated assessment of baseball player data.
Hicks RA, Johnson C, Cuevas T, Deharo D, Bautista J.
Percept Mot Skills. 1994 Jun;78(3 Pt 2):1243-7.
PMID: 7936949

Left-handed major-league baseball players and longevity re-examined.
Abel EL, Kruger ML.
Percept Mot Skills. 2004 Dec;99(3 Pt 1):990-2.
PMID: 15648498

Analysis of data from Reichler’s (1979) The Baseball Encyclopedia: right-handed pitchers are taller and heavier than left-handed pitchers.
Fudin R, Renninger L, Hirshon J.
Percept Mot Skills. 1994 Jun;78(3 Pt 1):1043-8.
PMID: 8084677

 

STUCK IN THE OUTFIELD:

Controlled variables: psychology as the center fielder views it.
Marken RS.
Am J Psychol. 2001 Summer;114(2):259-81.
PMID: 11430151

How baseball outfielders determine where to run to catch fly balls.
McBeath MK, Shaffer DM, Kaiser MK.
Science. 1995 Apr 28;268(5210):569-73.
PMID: 7725104

People favour imperfect catching by assuming a stable world.
López-Moliner J, Keil MS.
PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e35705. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035705. Epub 2012 Apr 25.
PMID: 22558205

Catching balls: how to get the hand to the right place at the right time.
Peper L, Bootsma RJ, Mestre DR, Bakker FC.
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 1994 Jun;20(3):591-612.
PMID: 8027714

Catching of balls unexpectedly thrown or fired by cannon.
Kenward B, Nilsson D.
Percept Mot Skills. 2011 Aug;113(1):171-87.
PMID: 21987918

Catching fly balls: a new model steps up to the plate.
Cipra B.
Science. 1995 Apr 28;268(5210):502.
PMID: 7725094

On catching fly balls.
Jacobs TM, Lawrence MD, Hong K, Giordano N Jr, Giordano N Sr.
Science. 1996 Jul 12;273(5272):257-8; author reply 258-60.
PMID: 8668999

I Lost It in the Lights: The Effects of Predictable and Variable Intermittent Vision on Unimanual Catching.
Lyons J, Fontaine R, Elliot D.
J Mot Behav. 1997 Jun;29(2):113-118.
PMID: 12453788

Catch this!
Gauldin D.
J Perinat Educ. 2002 Winter;11(1):49.
PMID: 17273288

WATCH YOUR TEMPER!

Temper, temperature, and temptation: heat-related retaliation in baseball.
Larrick RP, Timmerman TA, Carton AM, Abrevaya J.
Psychol Sci. 2011 Apr;22(4):423-8. doi: 10.1177/0956797611399292. Epub 2011 Feb 24.
PMID: 21350182

Impact of Yankee Stadium Bat Day on blunt trauma in northern New York City.
Bernstein SL, Rennie WP, Alagappan K.
Ann Emerg Med. 1994 Mar;23(3):555-9.
PMID: 8135433

THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BASEBALL:

Longevity of major league baseball players.
Abel EL, Kruger ML.
Res Sports Med. 2005 Jan-Mar;13(1):1-5.
PMID: 16389882

Major League Baseball Players’ Life Expectancies.
Saint Onge JM, Rogers RG, Krueger PM.
Soc Sci Q. 2008 Jul 17;89(3):817-830.
PMID: 19756205 [PubMed] Free PMC Article
Soc Sci Q. 2008 Jul 17;89(3):817-830.
RESULTS:
Compared to 20-year-old U.S. males, MLB players can expect almost five additional years of life. Height, weight, handedness, and player ratings are unassociated with the risk of death in this population of highly active and successful adults. Career length is inversely associated with the risk of death, likely because those who play longer gain additional incomes, physical fitness, and training.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our results indicate improvements in life expectancies with time for all age groups and indicate possible improvements in longevity in the general U.S. population.

The longevity of Baseball Hall of Famers compared to other players.
Abel EL, Kruger ML.
Death Stud. 2005 Dec;29(10):959-63.
PMID: 16265814
Abstract
The authors compared the longevity of all baseball players alive at the time of their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame with age-matched controls who were likewise alive at the time of the Hall of Famer’s induction, and also matched them for career length, player position, and body-mass index, to assess if fame in sports is associated with increased longevity. Median post-induction survival for Hall of Famers was 5 years shorter than for noninducted players (18 vs. 23 years, respectively). In a second analysis, significantly more Hall of Famers died of cardiovascular or stroke causes than other players for whom cause of death was known. Baseball fame may have a hitherto unrecognized price.

Symbolic significance of initials on longevity.
Abel EL, Kruger ML.
Percept Mot Skills. 2007 Feb;104(1):179-82.
PMID: 17450979
Abstract
The longevities of deceased major league baseball players who died prior to 1950 (N=3835) and whose initials formed acronyms, words, or names with “positive” or “negative” affect, as rated a priori by two judges, were compared with those for a group of neutral controls matched for birth year and career length, using the Berkeley standardized mortality tables. Players (n=11) with positive initials, e.g., A.C.E., lived a mean of 13 years longer than players (n=30) with negative initials, e.g., D.E.D., or players with neutral initials (n=864). These results corroborated a previous study and suggest positive name symbols are associated with increased longevity in this sample.

Another look at baseball player initials and longevity.
Smith G.
Percept Mot Skills. 2011 Feb;112(1):211-6.
PMID: 21466094
Abstract
Abel and Kruger (2007) reported that Major League Baseball players whose names have positive initials (such as ACE or GOD) live an average of 13 years longer than do players with negative initials (such as ASS or BAD) or players with neutral initials (such as GHR or TSW). However, this conclusion is based on a very small sample, selective initials, and a flawed statistical test. There is no statistically significant relationship between initials and longevity for Major League Baseball players when a correct test is applied to independently selected initials.

The “birthday blues” in a sample of major league baseball players’ suicides.
Lester D.
Percept Mot Skills. 2005 Oct;101(2):382.
PMID: 16383067

Seasonality of birth in the majors, 1880-1999.
Abel EL, Kruger ML.
Soc Biol. 2005 Spring-Summer;52(1-2):47-55.
PMID: 17619630
Abstract
We examined two alternative explanations, one demographic, the other sociological, for the uneven distribution of birth months of Major League baseball (MLB) players active between 1880 and 1999. Beginning in 1900, players born between August and October were significantly overrepresented, and this uneven distribution was almost identical for the next five 20-year periods. During the last 20-year period (1980-1999), the disparity in birth months became even more pronounced. Ethnicity, handedness, player position, accomplishment (winning an award), and career length were not significantly related to birth month. Prior to 1980, the distribution of births for MLB players did not differ significantly from the distribution for the general population, but after 1980, it did. We concluded that up until 1980, the uneven distribution of birth months in MLB originated in the demographic seasonality-related excess number of births in August and September in the United States. Beginning in the 1980s, this seasonality pattern was institutionally reinforced by the growing influence of Little League and related junior baseball leagues and their reliance on the August 1 birth date for age grouping.

Mortality salience of birthdays on day of death in the Major Leagues.
Abel EL, Kruger ML.
Death Stud. 2009 Feb;33(2):175-84. doi: 10.1080/07481180802138936.
PMID: 19143110
Abstract
The authors assessed the relationship of mortality salience, as represented by birthdays, on the day of death. Preliminary studies considered the role of possible artifacts such as seasonality of birth and death, and time units for evaluation. On the basis of terror management theory’s concept of “mortality salience,” the authors hypothesized that famous people, in this case Major League Baseball (MLB) players, would be more likely to die on or after their birthdays than would be expected by chance (the “birthday blues”), and that the greater their fame, as represented by induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the greater the concentration of deaths shortly after birthdays. The results supported the hypothesis. Theoretical underpinnings of these results and practical implications were discussed.

Birth month and suicide among major league baseball players.
Abel EL, Kruger ML.
Percept Mot Skills. 2005 Aug;101(1):21-4.
PMID: 16350605

Do right-handers live longer? An updated assessment of baseball player data.
Hicks RA, Johnson C, Cuevas T, Deharo D, Bautista J.
Percept Mot Skills. 1994 Jun;78(3 Pt 2):1243-7.
PMID: 7936949

Body type and performance of elite cuban baseball players.
Carvajal W, Ríos A, Echevarría I, Martínez M, Miñoso J, Rodríguez D.
MEDICC Rev. 2009 Apr;11(2):15-20.
PMID: 21483313 [PubMed] Free Article

Major league baseball performances of players who were later suicides or homicide victims.
Lester D, Topp R.
Percept Mot Skills. 1989 Aug;69(1):272.
PMID: 2780186

IMPROVING YOUR ODDS:

Batting last as a home advantage factor in men’s NCAA tournament baseball.
Bray SR, Obara J, Kwan M.
J Sports Sci. 2005 Jul;23(7):681-6.
PMID: 16195017

Human face structure correlates with professional baseball performance: insights from professional Japanese baseball players.
Tsujimura H, Banissy MJ.
Biol Lett. 2013 Apr 10;9(3):20130140. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0140. Print 2013.
PMID: 23576779

Home advantage in retractable-roof baseball stadia.
Romanowich P.
Percept Mot Skills. 2012 Oct;115(2):559-66.
PMID: 23265018

Measuring circadian advantage in Major League Baseball: a 10-year retrospective study.
Winter WC, Hammond WR, Green NH, Zhang Z, Bliwise DL.
Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2009 Sep;4(3):394-401.
PMID: 19953826

A major league loss.
Cloud J.
Time. 2003 Mar 3;161(9):60.
PMID: 12632674

Batting last as a home advantage factor in men’s NCAA tournament baseball.
Bray SR, Obara J, Kwan M.
J Sports Sci. 2005 Jul;23(7):681-6.
PMID: 16195017

Evidence of a reduced home advantage when a team moves to a new stadium.
Pollard R.
J Sports Sci. 2002 Dec;20(12):969-73.
PMID: 12477006

 

JUST SAY NO!

Use of smokeless tobacco in the 1986 World Series.
Jones RB.
N Engl J Med. 1987 Apr 9;316(15):952.
PMID: 3821849

Prevalence of spit tobacco use across studies of professional baseball players.
Greene JC, Walsh MM, Letendre MA.
J Calif Dent Assoc. 1998 May;26(5):358-64. Review.
PMID: 10528568

A program to help major league baseball players quit using spit tobacco.
Greene JC, Walsh MM, Masouredis C.
J Am Dent Assoc. 1994 May;125(5):559-68.
PMID: 8195497

Toxicological deaths of major league baseball players.
Boren S, Erickson TB.
J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1998;36(7):737-42.
PMID: 9865245

GENERAL ISSUES:

Psychology and “the Babe”.
Fuchs AH.
J Hist Behav Sci. 1998 Spring;34(2):153-65.
PMID: 9580977

High-speed video analysis of head-first and feet-first sliding techniques in collegiate baseball players.
Hosey RG, Mattacola CG, Shapiro R.
Clin J Sport Med. 2003 Jul;13(4):242-4.

Major league baseball players get dental coverage.
[No authors listed]
J Am Dent Assoc. 1969 Apr;78(4):737.
PMID: 5251266

Major league dreams.
Hallberg J.
Minn Med. 2000 Jun;83(6):12-6.
PMID: 10881568

A replay of the baseball data.
Coren S, Halpern DF.
Percept Mot Skills. 1993 Apr;76(2):403-6.
PMID: 8483647

What can major league baseball teach us about healthcare?
[No authors listed]
J Neurosci Nurs. 2012 Feb;44(1):1. doi: 10.1097/JNN.0b013e31823fdcec.
PMID: 22210298

Which would you prefer – liver, or pancreas?

A new article written for the MDC website at https://www.mdc-berlin.de/41851446/en/highlights/

The Spagnoli group at the MDC discovers a crucial step in the development of the pancreas and liver – and how to alter the fates of cells

Remember those time-lapse films in which flowers grow and bloom within seconds rather than weeks? A similar view of a human embryo would reveal some surprises. A fertilized egg divides into daughter cells that form three layers, fold into relatively simple shapes, then undergo intricate feats of “origami” and other processes to produce complex organs. The foregut, for example, begins as a simple tube and later yields the entire upper digestive system, including the liver and pancreas. These organs arise from a common pool of cells. At some point their “parents” acquire features that determine which organ they will become, but scientists have been unable to pinpoint the differences. Now Francesca Spagnoli’s group has identified a molecular signaling pathway that determines the cells’ fates. By activating the pancreatic pathway in the parent population, and even in cells already specialized for the liver, the scientists can trigger their development into pancreatic tissue. The findings, reported in the Sept. 1 issue of Genes & Development, may help scientists develop new treatments for diabetes and other diseases.

“We wanted to know what triggers endoderm cells to form the pancreas rather than the liver,” Francesca says. “Another question was what preserves the identity of these cells once they have differentiated, because the organs share certain functions. Usually cell fates are determined by the activation of unique sets of genes. At that point they produce different RNAs and proteins that alter cell structure and behavior.”
The scientists studied early stages of liver and pancreas development in mice, which provide insights into human organ formation because of the close evolutionary relationship between the two species. They examined cells derived from the foregut of embryos immediately prior to and immediately following the determination of their fates.

Postdoc Elisa Rodríguez-Seguel, with help from other members of Francesca’s lab and particularly Nancy Mah, a bioinformatician in Miguel Andrade’s lab, examined all RNA transcripts expressed in the foregut endoderm. This is the outer layer of the gut tube; its cells form bud-like protrusions that develop into either the liver or pancreas. The sets of RNAs produced by these cells indicated which genes were active at the two points of time.
The experiments revealed that prior to specialization, cells in the endoderm activate genes involved in the noncanonical Wnt pathway. Such signaling networks usually consist of dozens of key molecules that receive information from the environment and pass it into the cell interior, eventually changing the pattern of active and silent genes. One function of the information is to tell cells how to specialize and adopt their proper roles in organs and tissues.

“When the process of differentiation has begun,” Francesca says, “the progenitor cells that will form the pancreas maintain noncanonical Wnt signaling. But it shuts down in cells destined for the liver. At that point it is an either/or situation, and the signals are crucial in maintaining the cells’ identity.”
To test this scenario, the scientists used a molecule called Wnt5 to activate the pathway and observe the effects of the signal on the development of cells. Here they focused on frog embryos, in which noncanonical Wnt has been extensively studied. They followed up with similar studies in mice and embryonic stem cells that have been stimulated to acquire the features of pancreatic cells.

Each case revealed noncanonical Wnt signaling in pancreatic cells, but not in those of the liver. Additionally, the group was able to stimulate the pathway in liver progenitors and partially “reprogram” them to assume the properties of pancreatic tissue.

“Potentially, these findings could be extremely important in the development of new therapies for diabetes and other metabolic diseases,” Francesca says. “Type I diabetes is caused by a loss of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells. One solution might be to stimulate the noncanonical Wnt pathway in other healthy cells, which could cause them to specialize and replace the beta cells that have been lost.”
The work already represents a major step forward in research into the pancreas and liver. It gives researchers new tools to study the first steps in the development of these organs, and thus to identify what goes wrong when they fail to form in the proper way.

Rodríguez-Seguel E, Mah N, Naumann H, Pongrac IM, Cerdá-Esteban N, Fontaine JF, Wang Y, Chen W, Andrade-Navarro MA, Spagnoli FM. Mutually exclusive signaling signatures define the hepatic and pancreatic progenitor cell lineage divergence. Genes Dev. 2013 Sep 1;27(17):1932-46.

Best of PubMed #8

Some of my all-time favorites today! The list never ends.

 

Impact of Yankee Stadium Bat Day on blunt trauma in northern New York City.

Bernstein SL, Rennie WP, Alagappan K.

Ann Emerg Med. 1994 Mar;23(3):555-9.

PMID: 8135433 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Severe burns from inflammable cowboy pants.

BURNETT WE, CASWELL HT.

J Am Med Assoc. 1946 Apr 6;130:935. No abstract available.

PMID: 21019100 [PubMed – OLDMEDLINE]

 

[Coffee must be hot as hell, black as the devil, pure as an angel and sweet as love].

Bödding M.

Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2006 Dec 22;131(51-52):2889-94. German. No abstract available.

PMID: 17163364 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Would Tarzan believe in God? Conditions for the emergence of religious belief.

Banerjee K, Bloom P.

Trends Cogn Sci. 2013 Jan;17(1):7-8. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2012.11.005. Epub 2012 Dec 11.

PMID: 23238119 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Induction of an illusory shadow person.

Arzy S, Seeck M, Ortigue S, Spinelli L, Blanke O.

Nature. 2006 Sep 21;443(7109):287.

PMID: 16988702 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

 

On being treated as an ignorant hillbilly when escorting a patient to a London hospital.

Chellel A.

Nurs Stand. 1991 Dec 18-1992 Jan 7;6(13-14):42. No abstract available.

PMID: 1760310 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

 

How many angels could dance on the head of a pin?

Ehrlich GE.

J Rheumatol. 2002 Oct;29(10):2240; author reply 2240-1. No abstract available.

PMID: 12375343 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Not my circus, not my monkeys.

Mulaik MW.

Radiol Manage. 2013 May-Jun;35(3):30-1. No abstract available.

PMID: 23785951 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Long-term trends in human eye blink rate.

Monster AW, Chan HC, O’Connor D.

Biotelem Patient Monit. 1978;5(4):206-22.

PMID: 754827 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

 

 

“From so simple a beginning endless forms”

Another post from an MDC highlight… See more stories at http://www.mdc-berlin.de. Click on one of the highlights in the center and follow the links to past archives.

Wei Chen’s group captures the first full view of one of nature’s most complex genes

 “One gene makes one enzyme,” declared George Beadle and Edward Tatum in 1941, in work that led to a 1958 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine. This established a research pathway that forms the heart of modern genetics, but their principle has been vastly refined. Studies of the genomes of humans and other organisms have revealed that the vast majority of genes have a boxcar-like structure built of protein-encoding regions called exons and noncoding information called introns. Exons can be mixed and matched into a variety of proteins, each with a unique chemical recipe, in a process called alternative splicing. This allows amazing diversity from a limited number of genes and underpins many biological processes. A gene called Dscam in the “simple” fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is the current record-holder; it has 115 exons that can potentially be used to produce 38,016 distinct proteins. Each version may make an important contribution to the wiring of neurons in its brain, yet it has been extremely difficult to figure out which of all these possible candidates the fly actually produces, in which types of cells, and why the fly genome encodes such a seemingly unnecessary diversity. A new method by Wei Chen’s group reveals a way to answer these questions. The work is a collaboration with the lab of Dietmar Schmucker at the Vesalius Research Center in Leuven, Belgium, and appears in the June 21 issue of the EMBO Journal.

Dscam is an abbreviation for Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule. In 2007 scientists discovered that its potential diversity plays an important role in the wiring of the fly brain. Neighboring neurons in flies that produce identical forms repel each other, while those that become attached expressed different ones. In humans this process is largely governed by related cell-adhesion molecules of the so-called clustered protocadherin receptors.

Traditionally, it has been almost impossible to detect different forms of such complex molecules. Wei Sun and other members of Wei Chen’s group managed this with Dscam by developing a method called CAMSeq(for “Circularization-Assisted Multi-Segment Sequencing”).

“Cells transcribe Dscam into a huge RNA molecule that then undergoes a process called ‘alternative splicing,’” Wei Chen says. “A few regions remain in all versions of the protein, but the RNA also has four blocks containing multiple exons from which it chooses one version of each.”

It’s a bit like assembling your  wardrobe out of a catalogue that offers only one type of shoe, but 12 styles of socks, 48 types of trousers, 33 shirts, and two different hats. Altogether, those items could be combined in different ways to create 38,016 possible wardrobes. In the past, Wei Chen says, it was possible to look at just the “socks” exon and determine which form a molecule had, or the “shirts” exon. But you couldn’t step back and view the whole ensemble when comparing different versions of Dscam. It would be like knowing that 3,000 individual proteins had received the exon equivalent of a Hawaiian shirt, and 1,000 the blue shorts, but you couldn’t tell whether they were being worn together.

Part of the problem in studying Dscam diversity has been fundamental limitations on the high-throughput technologies such as microarrays or deep sequencing methods that prepare the RNA transcripts and then analyze their complete composition. Normally, “deep sequencing” methods can only approach molecules that have a maximum of 1,000 bases in length, and then “read” their composition by starting at either end and working inward. “This is only accurate to about 150 ‘letters’ of the code, meaning that you can analyze  about 300 nucleotides long from molecules shorter than 1,000 bases,” Wei Chen says. “But the variable region of Dscam is much longer, which means that the normal method won’t work. An alternative has been to look at the single exons present in an RNA separately, but again, this doesn’t give us a view of how they are combined.”

To solve these technical problems, Wei and his colleagues added a few new steps to the sequencing process. They began by using PCR to produce cDNA molecules that contained the “variable regions.” But about half of this section is occupied by a very long stretch right in the middle that doesn’t vary and thus wasn’t interesting to look at.

“We realized that we could eliminate this section by drawing the cDNA into a ring, which puts the variable sections much closer together,” Wei says. “That places them in a stretch that is about 1,000 bases long and can be approached by our methods.”

Now the scientists could copy just the relevant stretch of Dscam using PCR. This allowed them to study combinations of the three most variable exons in RNAs, produced by cells in different tissues at various stages of development. They found 18,496 out of the 19,008 possible forms – another landmark in the paper.

“Previously scientists had no way to know all these possible combinations of exons were actually being used in the fly,” Wei Chen says. “They might just be ‘theoretical possibilities.’ For instance, the selection of a particular exon at one place might determine which one was being selected from another variable group, meaning that some combinations never appeared.”

But based on their results, Dscam doesn’t seem to be very particular about matching its “wardrobe”: the choice of one exon doesn’t seem to influence the selection at another.

“These measurements are permitting us to make a thorough evaluation of the total protein diversity in an organism, as well as different types that might be made by single cells,” Wei Chen says. “Those factors are essential in the way neurons weave together to make a functional brain architecture. Interestingly, the isoforms of Dscam were expressed at very different, fluctuating amounts. Some appeared at quantities tens of thousands of times higher than others, in a way significantly biased in specific cells and tissues and at various developmental stages. Until now this has been underappreciated, but such bias can dramatically reduce the ability of neurons to display unique surface receptor codes.”

One of the great puzzles related to Dscam has been the question of why flies would need to create a protein in so many different forms – producing each one costs energy and requires a great deal of cellular management. “What we see is that given the splicing biases and the random nature of the splicing process, this seemingly excessive diversity might nevertheless be essential so that neurons can clearly distinguish between ‘self’ and ‘non-self’ types.”

The method can also be applied, he says, to other cases of complex genes – including those of humans – that are spliced in many different ways to fulfill a wide variety of biological functions.

 

Note: The title of this story is a reference to Charles Darwin, taken from the last sentence of the 6th edition of the Origin of Species: “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone circling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.” Darwin and his contemporaries knew almost nothing about cellular chemistry, but this basic idea applies equally well to alternative splicing.

 

 

chen2Wei Chen’s group found a unique solution to capturing a complete view of combinations of the variable regions of Dscam: They drew the molecule into a ring shape that clustered these regions together and allowed them to eliminate invariable sequences. Now the cDNA was short enough to be copied and sequenced using standard methods.

Highlight Reference:

Sun W, You X, Gogol-Döring A, He H, Kise Y, Sohn M, Chen T, Klebes A, Schmucker D, Chen W. Ultra-deep profiling of alternatively spliced Drosophila Dscam isoforms by circularization-assisted multi-segment sequencing. EMBO J. 2013 Jun 21.

Two real winners from yesterday’s news

Don’t you just love those bits of science news that hook you with a headline, draw you in, and leave you hanging there? Yesterday’s news brought two examples. The first, found here, hits you with the header:

Smaller testicles may equal better father, says study

The article comes from CNN and mentions the method used: “Researchers used an MRI to study the testes of 70 biological fathers and their brain patterns as they looked at pictured of their children, other children and adults.” (Yes, it says “pictured”, but we all know that grammar doesn’t count if a text is posted on-line.)

This version of the story reports that “paternal investment” was inversely related to the size of testes and levels of testosterone. Then it concludes with the following sentence: “They say this does not mean that men with small testes are better dads, as a lot of other things go into being a father.” Hmm… Anybody detect a contradiction here? Readers could easily follow up on the story to get the details – for example, what “paternal investment” means, and whether you can really measure it by having people look at pictures of their kids, dogs, the Easter bunny, or anything else – if the post included a link to the original article. Unfortunately (sigh) it doesn’t.

Here you go: Testicular volume is inversely correlated with nurturing-related brain activity in human fathers

Article number two comes from space science, with the title:

Meteorite Brought Surprising Ingredient for Life to Earth in 2012

The article begins this way: “Scientists have discovered unexpected ingredients for life — organic molecules never seen before in meteorites — inside a chunk of space rock that fell to Earth over California last year, scientists say.” The story reports on an article due to appear in the journal PNAS that concerns the Sutter’s Mill meteorite, which struck in California. I actually like its account of the way researchers extracted compounds from its fragments using solvents that mimic the effect of hydrothermal vents on Earth. But in this version of the story we never learn what those “surprising ingredients” are. Tease, tease…

The original story comes from a press release issued by Arizona State University. It has a clever headline: “ASU scientists strike scientific gold with meteorite,” pointing out that the meteorite landed somewhere near Sutter’s Mill. (If you’re not up on your American history, that’s the site that triggered the 19th-century “Gold Rush.”)
The ASU statement offers a little more information: the molecules represent “a variety of long chain linear and branched polyethers, whose number is quite bewildering.” Well, that sounds interesting, but ASU’s official press release doesn’t offer a link to the original article, either. And the study can’t yet be found in PubMed. I’m sure that will change over the course of the day, but until then, I guess the interested reader just has to take its premise, methodology, and results on faith (oooops).

Best of PubMed #2

Today’s picks from PubMed explore head-banging in rock concerts, sending e-mails in your sleep, the effects of Polka music on developing Alzheimer’s Disease, how to tell the difference between good and bad conspiracy theories, potato chips that look like Elvis, and, of course, more insights into the zipper phenomenon. For links to the full articles, and deep insights go to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ and type in the PubMed or DOI number.

Neurology. 2001 Oct 23;57(8):1485.

Polka music and semantic dementia.

Boeve BF, Geda YE.

PMID: 11673594 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Am J Emerg Med. 2005 Jul;23(4):480-2.

Comparing 2 methods of emergent zipper release.

Inoue N, Crook SC, Yamamoto LG.

Source

Department of Pediatrics, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI 96826, USA.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

There are several types of emergent zipper release methods described. The standard method can be difficult. The purpose of this study is to determine if an alternate method of zipper release can be easier to accomplish.

METHODS:

Subjects were provided with zippers and were taught 2 methods of emergent zipper release using a standard method (cutting the median bar of the actuator) and an alternate method (cutting the closed teeth of the zipper). The elapsed times to successful zipper release for both methods were measured.

RESULTS:

Mean zipper release times were faster for the alternate method (10.5 seconds) compared with the standard method (75.8 seconds) ( P < .001).

CONCLUSION:

The alternate method of zipper release is faster and easier than the standard method of zipper release; however, the optimal procedure is also dependent on the location of the entrapped tissue relative to the zipper actuator and the type of zipper.

MMW Fortschr Med. 2013 Apr 18;155(7):24.

 Bach, but not heavy metal is good for heart patients

[Article in German]

Stiefelhagen P.

PMID: 23668166 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Ann Thorac Surg. 2012 Dec;94(6):2113-4. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2012.05.054.

Mediastinal emphysema after head-banging in a rock artist: pseudo shaken-baby syndrome in adulthood.

Matsuzaki S, Tsunoda K, Chong T, Hamaguchi R.

Source

National Hospital Organization, Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

A 34-year-old man was seen because of severe right neck pain. He was a guitarist in a special type of heavy metal rock (so-called visual-kei, a subgenre related to glam-rock) band and habitually shook his head violently throughout concert performances. He regularly experienced neck and chest pain after a concert, which persisted for some time. Computed tomography scanning of the neck showed mediastinal emphysema. We surmise that head-banging resemble those of shaken-baby syndrome.

Copyright © 2012 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PMID: 23176926 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2004 Dec;25(4):273-5.

Velocity necessary for a BB to penetrate the eye: an experimental study using pig eyes.

Powley KD, Dahlstrom DB, Atkins VJ, Fackler ML.

Source

Forensic Laboratory, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To determine the V-50 threshold velocity needed for a steel BB to penetrate the eye of a 230-pound pig.

METHOD:

BBs were shot at a distance of 10 feet into the corneas of pig eyes with a pump-action BB gun.

RESULTS:

The V-50 velocity for corneal penetration and serious disruption of the eye was found to be 246 ft/sec.

CONCLUSION:

Due to the nearly identical size and anatomy of the human eye to the pig eyes used in this study, it is felt that 246 ft/sec is a reasonable approximation of the velocity needed to penetrate the human eye.

PMID: 15577514 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Singapore Med J. 1998 Mar;39(3):121-3.

“I’ve got a UFO stuck in my throat!”–an interesting case of foreign body impaction in the oesophagus.

Yip LW, Goh FS, Sim RS.

Source

Department of Otolaryngology, National University Hospital, Singapore.

Abstract

This is a case report of an elderly lady with odynophagia because she accidentally swallowed a tablet which was still wrapped in its blister pack. A discussion of foreign body ingestion, particularly in the elderly, is included. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that includes a lateral cervical radiograph of an ingested blister pack.

PMID: 9632971 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Science. 1993 Nov 12;262(5136):987.

UFO Sighters not Batty, Study Finds.

[No authors listed]

PMID: 17782045 [PubMed]

Appl Opt. 1978 Nov 1;17(21):3355-60. doi: 10.1364/AO.17.003355.

Insects as unidentified flying objects.

Callahan PS, Mankin RW.

Abstract

Five species of insects were subjected to a large electric field. Each of the insects stimulated in this manner emitted visible glows of various colors and blacklight (uv). It is postulated that the Uintah Basin, Utah, nocturnal UFO display (1965-1968) was partially due to mass swarms of spruce budworms, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), stimulated to emit this type of St. Elmo’s fire by flying into high electric fields caused by thunderheads and high density particulate matter in the air. There was excellent time and spatial correlation between the 1965-1968 UFO nocturnal sightings and spruce budworm infestation. It is suggested that a correlation of nocturnal UFO sightings throughout the U.S. and Canada with spruce budworm infestations might give some insight into nocturnal insect flight patterns.

PMID: 20203984 [PubMed]

 

Sci Am. 2010 Dec;303(6):102.

The conspiracy theory detector. How to tell the difference between true and false conspiracy theories.

Shermer M.

Erratum in

Sci Am. 2011 Apr;304(4):10.

PMID: 21141366 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Cereb Cortex. 2012 Oct;22(10):2354-64. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhr315. Epub 2011 Nov 10.

The potato chip really does look like Elvis! Neural hallmarks of conceptual processing associated with finding novel shapes subjectively meaningful.

Voss JL, Federmeier KD, Paller KA.

Source

Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. joelvoss@illinois.edu

Abstract

Clouds and inkblots often compellingly resemble something else–faces, animals, or other identifiable objects. Here, we investigated illusions of meaning produced by novel visual shapes. Individuals found some shapes meaningful and others meaningless, with considerable variability among individuals in these subjective categorizations. Repetition for shapes endorsed as meaningful produced conceptual priming in a priming test along with concurrent activity reductions in cortical regions associated with conceptual processing of real objects. Subjectively meaningless shapes elicited robust activity in the same brain areas, but activity was not influenced by repetition. Thus, all shapes were conceptually evaluated, but stable conceptual representations supported neural priming for meaningful shapes only. During a recognition memory test, performance was associated with increased frontoparietal activity, regardless of meaningfulness. In contrast, neural conceptual priming effects for meaningful shapes occurred during both priming and recognition testing. These different patterns of brain activation as a function of stimulus repetition, type of memory test, and subjective meaningfulness underscore the distinctive neural bases of conceptual fluency versus episodic memory retrieval. Finding meaning in ambiguous stimuli appears to depend on conceptual evaluation and cortical processing events similar to those typically observed for known objects. To the brain, the vaguely Elvis-like potato chip truly can provide a substitute for the King himself.

PMID: 22079921 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3432238 [Available on 2013/10/1]

Sleep Med. 2009 Feb;10(2):262-4. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2008.09.008. Epub 2008 Dec 6.

Writing emails as part of sleepwalking after increase in Zolpidem.

Siddiqui F, Osuna E, Chokroverty S.

Source

Seton Hall Univ. School of Graduate Med. Edu., New Jersey Neuroscience Inst. at JFK Medical Ctr., 3000 Arlington Ave, Toledo, OH 43614, USA; Neurol. Dept., Univ. of Toledo Medical Center, 3000 Arlington Ave, Toledo, OH 43614, USA. drfsid@yahoo.com

PMID: 19059805 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]