Saccadic eye movements and perceptual judgments reveal a shared visual representation that is increasingly accurate over time

Although there is evidence to suggest visual illusions affect perceptual judgments more than actions, many studies have failed to detect task-dependant dissociations. In two experiments we attempt to resolve the contradiction by exploring the time-course of visual illusion effects on both saccadic eye movements and perceptual judgments, using the Judd illusion. The results showed that, regardless of whether a saccadic response or a perceptual judgement was made, the illusory bias was larger when responses were based on less information, that is, when saccadic latencies were short, or display duration was brief. The time-course of the effect was similar for both the saccadic responses and perceptual judgements, suggesting that both modes may be driven by a shared visual representation. Changes in the strength of the illusion over time also highlight the importance of controlling for the latency of different response systems when evaluating possible dissociations between them.     

Atomoxetine for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children with pervasive developmental disorders: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study examined the effects of atomoxetine on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and autistic features in children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). METHOD: Twelve children (aged 6-14 years) with PDD accompanied by ADHD symptoms entered a 10-week open-label study with atomoxetine (1.19 +/- 0.41 mg/kg/day). Response was assessed by using parent and clinician rating scales with change in the ADHD-Rating Scale (ADHDRS) as primary outcome measure. RESULTS: Atomoxetine reduced ADHD-symptoms as measured by the ADHDRS (44% decrease vs. baseline, p < 0.003), the Conners' Parent Rating Scale-R:S (CPRS-R) (25% in the subscale "Cognitive Problems," p < 0.028; 32% in "Hyperactivity," p < 0.030; and 23% in "ADHD index," p < 0.023). We found a reduction of 21% (p = 0.071) for changes in the subscale "Hyperactivity" of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). No change was found in any of the other ABC subscales, nor in the subscale "Oppositional" of the CPRS-R. Five patients (42%) discontinued because of side effects. Gastrointestinal symptoms, irritability, sleep problems, and fatigue were the most frequent side effects. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings indicate that atomoxetine may be a promising new agent in the treatment of ADHD symptoms in children with PDD. However, children with PDD may have a higher vulnerability for some of the known side-effects of atomoxetine.     

A comparison of North American versus non-North American ADHD study populations

Few large, prospective clinical studies in Europe have assessed the validity and applicability of research methods used to study ADHD in North America. To assess comparability of study populations, we examined baseline patient characteristics from a group of North American studies against those of a large European/African/Australian study. All studies used identical diagnostic assessments and inclusion criteria, with ADHD diagnosis and the presence of comorbid psychiatric conditions confirmed using the KSADS-PL. Raters were trained and assessed to ensure uniform diagnostic and symptom severity rating standards. Six hundred and four patients (mean age=10.2 years) enrolled in the non-North American study, and 665 patients (mean age=10.4 years) enrolled in the North American study. The proportion of girls was higher in the North American studies (29.2% vs. 10.4%, p < 0.001). In both groups, most patients had a positive family history of ADHD and previous stimulant treatment. Fewer had the inattentive subtype of ADHD, and mean severity was slightly higher in the non-North American study. Results demonstrate that, when a uniform set of rigorous, standardized diagnostic criteria are used by skilled clinicians, the patient populations identified are generally similar. This supports the practice of generalizing results from treatment studies across geographies. The review process, editorial handling, and acceptance of this paper has been done by Helmut Remschmidt, co-editor.     

Understanding the effect of socio-economic characteristics and psychosocial factors on household water treatment practices in rural Nepal using Bayesian Belief Networks

About 20 Million (73%) people in Nepal still do not have access to safely managed drinking water service and 22 million (79%) do not treat their drinking water before consumption. Few studies have addressed the combination of socio-economic characteristics and psychosocial factors that explain such behaviour in a probabilistic manner. In this paper we present a novel approach to assess the usage of household water treatment (HWT), using data from 451 households in mid and far-western rural Nepal. We developed a Bayesian belief network model that integrates socio-economic characteristics and five psychosocial factors. The socio-economic characteristics of households included presence of young children, having been exposed to HWT promotion in the past, level of education, type of water source used, access to technology and wealth level. The five psychosocial factors capture households’ perceptions of incidence and severity of water-borne infections, attitudes towards the impact of poor water quality on health, water treatment norms and the knowledge level for performing HWT. We found that the adoption of technology was influenced by the psychosocial factors norms, followed by the knowledge level for operating the technology. Education, wealth level, and being exposed to the promotion of HWT were the most influential socio-economic characteristics. Interestingly, households who were connected to a piped water scheme have a higher probability of HWT adoption compared to other types of water sources. The scenario analysis revealed that interventions that only target single socio-economic characteristics do not effectively boost the probability of HWT practice. However, interventions addressing several socio-economic characteristics increase the probability of HWT adoption among the target groups.     

Impact of ICU-acquired weakness on post-ICU physical functioning: a follow-up study

IntroductionICU-acquired weakness is thought to mediate physical impairments in survivors of critical illness, but few studies have investigated this thoroughly. The purpose was to investigate differences in post-ICU mortality and physical functioning between patients with and without ICU-acquired weakness at 6 months after ICU discharge.MethodICU patients, mechanically ventilated ≥2 days, were included in a single-center prospective observational cohort study. ICU-acquired weakness was diagnosed when the average Medical Research Council score was <4 in awake and attentive patients. Post-ICU mortality was recorded until 6 months after ICU discharge; in surviving patients, physical functioning was assessed using the Short-Form Health Survey physical functioning domain. The independent effect of ICU-acquired weakness on post-ICU mortality was analyzed using a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. The independent effect of ICU-acquired weakness on the physical functioning domain score was analyzed using a multivariable linear regression model.ResultsOf the 156 patients included, 80 had ICU-acquired weakness. Twenty-three patients died in the ICU (20 with ICU-acquired weakness); during 6 months follow-up after ICU discharge another 25 patients died (17 with ICU-acquired weakness). Physical functioning domain scores were available for 96 survivors (39 patients with ICU-acquired weakness). ICU-acquired weakness was independently associated with an increase in post-ICU mortality (hazard ratio 3.6, 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 9.8; P = 0.01) and with a decrease in physical functioning (β: -16.7 points; 95% confidence interval, -30.2 to -3.1; P = 0.02).ConclusionICU-acquired weakness is independently associated with higher post-ICU mortality and with clinically relevant lower physical functioning in survivors at 6 months after ICU discharge.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-015-0937-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Nighttime kidney transplantation is associated with less pure technical graft failure

Purpose

To minimize cold ischemia time, transplantations with kidneys from deceased donors are frequently performed during the night. However, sleep deprivation of those who perform the transplantation may have adverse effects on cognitive and psychomotor performance and may cause reduced cognitive flexibility. We hypothesize that renal transplantations performed during the night are associated with an increased incidence of pure technical graft failure.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of data of the Dutch Organ Transplant Registry concerning all transplants from deceased donors between 2000 and 2013 was performed. Nighttime surgery was defined as the start of the procedure between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. The primary outcome measure was technical graft failure, defined as graft loss within 10 days after surgery without signs of (hyper)acute rejection.

Results

Of 4.519 renal transplantations in adult recipients, 1.480 were performed during the night. The incidence of pure technical graft failure was 1.0 % for procedures started during the night versus 2.6 % for daytime surgery (p = .001). In a multivariable model, correcting for relevant donor, recipient and graft factors, daytime surgery was an independent predictor of pure technical graft failure (p < .001).

Conclusions

Limitation of this study is mainly to its retrospective design, and the influence of some relevant variables, such as the experience level of the surgeon, could not be assessed. We conclude that nighttime surgery is associated with less pure technical graft failures. Further research is required to explore factors that may positively influence the performance of the surgical team during the night.