Task demands affect manual asymmetries in pegboard performance

Previous work by Bryden and Roy (1999 Bryden, P. J. and Roy, E. A. 1999. Spatial task demands affect the extent of manual asymmetries. Laterality, 4(1): 27–37. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) showed a larger performance difference between the hands for placing pegs into holes on the Grooved Pegboard test than for removing pegs from the holes. The authors argued that these data provided evidence of the importance of task demands in manual asymmetries. However the study failed to control for the differing starting positions of the pegs. To clarify this possible confound, the purpose of the current investigation was to determine the influence of starting position on the between-hand performance differences on the Grooved Pegboard Test. To do so, both the start and end positions were manipulated, such that participants moved the pegs from the receptacle to another receptacle or to a set of holes, or participants moved the pegs from a set of holes to a receptacle or another set of holes. A total of 30 right-handed individuals (as classified using the Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire) participated in the experiment, completing five trials with each hand for each of the four conditions. While no significant effects of start position were found, a significant interaction between hand and end position, F(1.29) = 30.85, P<.001, was found for the time to complete the task, where larger differences between the hands, fovouring the right hand, were seen for placing pegs into the holes as opposed to the receptacles. This effect was also found when the data were expressed using a laterality quotient. The results are discussed in terms of the influence of task complexity on manual asymmetries.     

Late free atrial wall rupture after percutaneous atrial septal defect closure and transvenous pacemaker implantation

We report a remarkable case of right atrial rupture, 3 years after transcatheter closure of a secundum atrial septal defect, and 7 months after permanent transvenous two‐chamber pacemaker implantation. The etiology of the rupture remains unclear, but the presence of the two intracardiac devices is probably not coincidental. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Programmed death 1 (PD‐1) and ligand (PD‐L1) inhibitors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A meta‐analysis

BackgroundPD‐1 and PD‐L1 inhibitors have emerged as promising treatments for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).MethodsSystematic review and meta‐analysis of PD‐1 and PD‐L1 inhibitors in HNSCC. Outcomes: median overall survival (mOS), median progression‐free survival (mPFS), Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and treatment‐related adverse events (TRAEs).ResultsEleven trials reported data on 1088 patients (mean age: 59.9 years, range: 18–90). The total mOS was 7.97 months (range: 6.0–16.5). Mean mPFS for all studies was 2.84 months (range: 1.9–6.5). PD‐1 inhibitors had a lower rate of RECIST Progressive Disease than PD‐L1 inhibitors (42.61%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 36.29–49.06 vs. 56.79%, 95% CI: 49.18–64.19, P < 0.001). The rate of TRAEs of any grade (62.7%, 95% CI: 59.8–65.6) did not differ.ConclusionsMeta‐analysis shows the efficacy of PD‐1 and PD‐L1 inhibitors in HNSCC and suggests a possible difference in certain RECIST criterion between PD‐1 and PD‐L1 inhibitors. Future work to investigate the clinical significance of these findings is warranted.     

Evolution of infant feeding practices in children from 9 to 24 months,considering complementary feeding indicators and food processing: Results from the Brazilian cohort of the MAL‐ED study

Infant feeding practices impact children''s nutritional and health status, influencing growth and development. This study aimed to analyse the evolution of infant feeding practices from 9 to 24 months of age, considering infant and young child feeding (IYCF) indicators and food processing. The infant feeding practices in children from the Brazilian site of the MAL‐ED study were evaluated at 9 (n = 193), 15 (n = 182) and 24 months (n = 164) using 24‐h dietary recalls. IYCF indicators were evaluated, and the extent of food processing was evaluated, using the NOVA classification. Breastfeeding declined significantly over time, from 77.6% at 9 months to 45.1% at 24 months. Although dietary diversity did not significantly change during the study period (80.5% at 24 months), the minimum acceptable diet significantly increased from 67.9% to 76.1% at 24 months (p < 0.0005). All the studied children consumed sweetened beverages from 9 months. Unhealthy food consumption and zero vegetable or fruit consumption significantly increased over time (p < 0.0005). Unprocessed food consumption decreased from 9 to 24 months of age (p < 0.0005), while ultra‐processed food consumption increased (p < 0.0005) during the study period. Logistic regressions showed that, at 9 months, breastfed children presented a lower risk for ultra‐processed food consumption (odds ratio [OR] = 0.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.13–0.77); and children reaching the minimum acceptable diet presented more risk for ultra‐processed food consumption (OR = 2.31; 95% CI = 1.01–5.27). In conclusion, data showed a reduction in the quality of infant feeding practices over the first 2 years of life, with a decrease in breastfeeding and an increase in the consumption of unhealthy and ultra‐processed foods.     

“One Degree of Separation”: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Canadian Mental Health Care User and Provider Experiences With Remote Care During COVID-19

ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to a shift from in-person to remote mental health care. While remote care methods have long existed, their widespread use is unprecedented. There is little research about mental health care user and provider experiences with this transition, and no published studies to date have compared satisfaction between these groups.MethodsCanadian mental health care users (n = 332) and providers (n = 107) completed an online self-report survey from October 2020 to February 2021 hosted by the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression. Using a mixed-methods approach, participants were asked about their use of remote care, including satisfaction, barriers to use, helpful and unhelpful factors, and suggestions for improvement.ResultsOverall, 59% to 63% of health care users and 59% of health care providers were satisfied with remote care. Users reported the greatest satisfaction with the convenience of remote care, while providers were most satisfied with the speed of provision of care; all groups were least satisfied with therapeutic rapport. Health care providers were less satisfied with the user-friendliness of remote care (P < 0.001) than users, while health care users were less satisfied than providers with continuity of care (P < 0.001). The use of a video-based platform was associated with remote care satisfaction among health care users (P < 0.02), and qualitative responses support the importance of visual cues in maintaining therapeutic rapport remotely. The majority of users (55%) and providers (87%) reported a likelihood of using remote care after the pandemic.ConclusionsRemote mental health care is generally accepted by both users and providers, and the majority would consider using remote care following the pandemic. Suggestions for improvement include greater use of video, increased attention to body language and eye contact, consistency with in-person care, as well as increased provider training and administrative support.     

Temporal stability of the hemodynamic response function across the majority of human cerebral cortex

The hemodynamic response function (HRF) measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging is generated by vascular and metabolic responses evoked by brief (<4 s) stimuli. It is known that the human HRF varies across cortex, between subjects, with stimulus paradigms, and even between different measurements in the same cortical location. However, our results demonstrate that strong HRFs are remarkably repeatable across sessions separated by time intervals up to 3 months. In this study, a multisensory stimulus was used to activate and measure the HRF across the majority of cortex (>70%, with lesser reliability observed in some areas of prefrontal cortex). HRFs were measured with high spatial resolution (2‐mm voxels) in central gray matter to minimize variations caused by partial‐volume effects. HRF amplitudes and temporal dynamics were highly repeatable across four sessions in 20 subjects. Positive and negative HRFs were consistently observed across sessions and subjects. Negative HRFs were generally weaker and, thus, more variable than positive HRFs. Statistical measurements showed that across‐session variability is highly correlated to the variability across events within a session; these measurements also indicated a normal distribution of variability across cortex. The overall repeatability of the HRFs over long time scales generally supports the long‐term use of event‐related functional magnetic resonance imaging protocols.     

Impact of Hepatitis B Virus Infection,Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease,and Hepatitis C Virus Co-infection on Liver-Related Death among People Tested for Hepatitis B Virus in British Columbia: Results from a Large Longitudinal Population-Based Cohort Study

Data on the contribution of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and related comorbidities to liver-related mortality in Canada are limited. We assessed the concurrent impact of HBV infection, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection on liver-related deaths in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We used data from the BC Hepatitis Testers Cohort (BC-HTC). We used Fine–Gray multivariable sub-distributional hazards models to assess the effect of HBV, NAFLD, and HCV coinfection on liver-related mortality, while adjusting for confounders and competing mortality risks. The liver-related mortality rate was higher among people with HBV infection than those without (2.57 per 1000 PYs (95%CI: 2.46, 2.69) vs. 0.62 per 1000 PYs (95%CI: 0.61, 0.64), respectively). Compared with the HBV negative groups, HBV infection was associated with increased liver-related mortality risk in almost all of the subgroups: HBV mono-infection (adjusted subdistribution hazards ratio (asHR) of 3.35, 95% CI 3.16, 3.55), NAFLD with HBV infection, (asHR 12.5, 95% CI 7.08, 22.07), and HBV/HCV coinfection (asHR 8.4, 95% CI 7.62, 9.26). HBV infection is associated with a higher risk of liver-related mortality, and has a greater relative impact on people with NAFLD and those with HCV coinfection. The diagnosis and treatment of viral and fatty liver disease are required to mitigate liver-related morbidity and mortality.     

Ancillary treatment of patients with lung disease due to non-tuberculous mycobacteria: a narrative review

Background and ObjectiveNon-tuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTM-LD) manifests with bronchiectasis, inflammatory bronchiolitis, nodules, and/or cavitation. Bronchiectasis is characterized by permanently dilated airways wherein mucus accumulates, creating a vicious cycle of chronic injurious inflammation and recurrent infections. While antibiotics are an important part of the treatment of NTM-LD, airway clearance techniques to mitigate this pathogenic mechanism of bronchiectasis as well as other ancillary measures are also important components of NTM-LD treatment. The objective of this contemporaneous Narrative Review is to emphasize the importance of such ancillary measures.MethodsWe searched PubMed for the key words of “airway clearance”, “pulmonary rehabilitation”, “nutrition”, “swallowing dysfunction”, “gastroesophageal reflux”, “vestibular dysfunction”, or “cochlear dysfunction” with that of “non-tuberculous mycobacterial lung disease”, “bronchiectasis”, or “respiratory disease”. The bibliographies of identified articles were further searched for relevant articles not previously identified. Each relevant article was reviewed by one or more of the authors and a narrative review was composed.Key Content and FindingsHerein, we discuss five ancillary treatment measures that are pertinent to patients with bronchiectasis and NTM-LD: (I) airway clearance; (II) physical and pulmonary rehabilitation; (III) nutrition; (IV) diagnosis and mitigation of swallowing dysfunction and of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD); and (V) minimization of vestibular and cochlear dysfunction associated with some anti-NTM drugs.ConclusionsWhile antibiotics is often the central focus of treatment of NTM-LD, given its propensity for recurrent and recalcitrant infection, other ancillary measures to break the vicious cycle of injurious inflammation and infection should also be emphasized to optimize treatment success.     

Assessment of Objective and Subjective Cognitive Function in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression Undergoing Repeated Ketamine Infusions

BackgroundSubanesthetic ketamine infusions can elicit rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, yet the potential cognitive impact of ketamine has not been thoroughly examined. This study measured changes in objective and subjective cognitive function following repeated ketamine treatment.MethodsThirty-eight patients with treatment-resistant depression were administered cognitive assessments before and after undergoing 7 i.v. ketamine infusions (0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes) within a clinical trial examining the efficacy of single and repeated administrations. Depression severity and perceived concentration were evaluated with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms Self-Report.ResultsTwenty-three participants (60.5%) responded after repeated infusions (≥50% decrease in MADRS total scores). We measured significant improvements in several cognitive domains, including attention, working memory, verbal, and visuospatial memory (effect sizes ranging from Cohen d = 0.37–0.79). Cognitive changes were attributed to reduction in depressive symptoms except for improvement in verbal memory, which remained significant after adjustment for change in MADRS total score (P = .029, η _p²=0.13). Only responders reported improvement in subjective cognitive function with repeated ketamine administration (MADRS item 6, P < .001, d = 2.00; Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms Self-Report item 10, P < .001, d = 1.36).ConclusionA short course of repeated ketamine infusions did not impair neurocognitive function in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Further research is required to understand the potential mediating role of response and remission on improved cognitive function accompanying ketamine treatment as well as to examine longer-term safety outcomes. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01945047","term_id":"NCT01945047"}}NCT01945047