Using a social robot to teach gestural recognition and production in children with autism spectrum disorders

While it has been argued that children with autism spectrum disorders are responsive to robot-like toys, very little research has examined the impact of robot-based intervention on gesture use. These children have delayed gestural development. We used a social robot in two phases to teach them to recognize and produce eight pantomime gestures that expressed feelings and needs. Compared to the children in the wait-list control group (N?=?6), those in the intervention group (N?=?7) were more likely to recognize gestures and to gesture accurately in trained and untrained scenarios. They also generalized the acquired recognition (but not production) skills to human-to-human interaction. The benefits and limitations of robot-based intervention for gestural learning were highlighted.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• Compared to typically-developing children, children with autism spectrum disorders have delayed development of gesture comprehension and production.

• Robot-based intervention program was developed to teach children with autism spectrum disorders recognition (Phase I) and production (Phase II) of eight pantomime gestures that expressed feelings and needs.

• Children in the intervention group (but not in the wait-list control group) were able to recognize more gestures in both trained and untrained scenarios and generalize the acquired gestural recognition skills to human-to-human interaction.

• Similar findings were reported for gestural production except that there was no strong evidence showing children in the intervention group could produce gestures accurately in human-to-human interaction.

     

生活行为综合干预妊娠期糖尿病的效果评价

目的：探讨生活行为综合干预对妊娠糖尿病（GDM）患者临床预后的影响,为完善干预策略提供理论依据。方法：238例GDM患者随机分为对照组和干预组。对照组给予常规健康教育,实验组实施基于健康教育、膳食干预、运动干预、心理干预等生活行为综合干预。SPSS统计学软件分析评价两种干预方法的干预效果。结果：干预前,实验组与对照组基线资料中年龄、怀孕前体重、怀孕前BMI、文化程度、家族史、家庭年收入等均无差异（P>0.05）。干预后,实验组患者BMI、餐后血糖、甘油三酯、总胆固醇较干预前的降低量大于对照组,且均有统计学差异（P<0.05）,但两组患者高密度脂蛋白及低密度脂蛋白的变化无统计学差异（P>0.05）;干预后,对照组出现早产（29.0%）、巨大儿（20.2%）的概率高于实验组（χ2=5.11, P=0.024; χ2=4.20, P=0.040）,对照组患者并发妊娠高血压（6.5%）的概率高于实验组（3.5%）（P<0.05）。结论：综合干预在患者一般临床结局及改善妊娠相关并发症结局方面均优于对照组,值得进一步在大人群中推广应用。     

Non-pharmacological management of phantom limb pain in lower limb amputation: a systematic review

Background: The incidence and severity of phantom limb pain (PLP) does not differ much between the extremities of amputation. However, its impact on functional ability and quality of life in lower limb amputation may be different, as prosthetic weight bearing is a key component in the movement and functional rehabilitation of individuals with a lower limb amputation.

Objective: To evaluate the evidence for effectiveness or efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions in the management of PLP in adults with lower limb amputation.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search conducted on 11 electronic databases, from their inception to 25 March 2016 identified 626 potentially relevant articles. Full-text randomised controlled trials in English which examined any form of non-pharmacologic intervention for managing PLP in lower limb amputees were included. The data with regard to characteristics of the studies, participants, intervention and outcome measures and overall statistical result were extracted. The Cochrane ‘Risk of bias assessment tool’ was used to assess the bias of all included articles.

Results: Four studies met the final criteria to be included in the review. Four treatment techniques had been used in the treatment of 204 patients with lower limb amputation. Two trials showed a positive impact of intervention on PLP compared to control group. Risk of bias varied across studies, and only one included study was assessed as having a low risk of bias.

Conclusion: The review identified lack of evidence to support non-pharmacological interventions in the management of PLP. Adequately powered high-quality trials are needed in this area to inform rehabilitation.     

Frailty assessment and impact of frailty on outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Introduction: Certain frail patients fail to achieve adequate functional or mortality benefit despite successful transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Therefore, frailty assessment methods are becoming an important tool to identify and intervene on this high-risk patient subset for improving clinical outcomes.

Areas covered: The authors provide an overview of frailty and frailty assessment tools being used in clinical practice and discuss the impact of frailty on the cardiac patients, particularly among the TAVR population.

Expert commentary: Available evidence suggests that frailty assessment is critical for identifying patients at high risk of morbidity and mortality after TAVR procedures. However, there is lack of consensus for the best methodology to determine frailty and its optimal management in TAVR populations. Although, physical exercise is a commonly employed intervention to reduce frailty, a greater attention towards improving nutrition may convey more benefit than either intervention alone. Ongoing studies are investigating the benefits of a multicomponent approach to improve clinical outcomes in frail patients undergoing TAVR.     

评分对高龄急性冠状动脉综合征患者介入治疗预后的评估价值

目的：评价Barthel评分应用于高龄急性冠状动脉综合征患者冠脉介入治疗的意义。方法：选择181例75岁以上因急性冠状动脉综合征行冠脉介入治疗的患者。根据Barthel评分,将其分成3组：＜70分组（n=62）、≥70～90分组（n=72）及≥90分组（n=47）。比较3组患者住院后1个月内的临床转归。结果：与≥90分组相比,＜70分组患者年龄较大、女性比例更高、入院时收缩压较低、白细胞计数更多、既往消化性溃疡比例较低、 ST段抬高型心肌梗死比例更高、进行急诊介入治疗的比例更高,差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05)。与≥90分组相比,＜70分组术后左心室射血分数较低、脑钠肽前体（pro- BNP）水平更高、消化道出血比例更高、住院时间更长,差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05)。≥70~90分组和≥90分组上述指标差异均无统计学意义。结论：罹患急性冠状动脉综合征且Barthel评分小于70分的高龄患者住院后1个月内临床转归不佳;这类患者进行冠脉介入治疗时,应慎重权衡风险与获益。     

Evaluation of multi‐outcome longitudinal studies

Evaluation of intervention effects on multiple outcomes is a common scenario in clinical studies. In longitudinal studies, such evaluation is a challenge if one wishes to adequately capture simultaneous data behavior. In this situation, a common approach is to analyze each outcome separately. As a result, multiple statistical statements describing the intervention effect need to be reported and an adjustment for multiple testing is necessary. This is typically done by means of the Bonferroni procedure, which does not take into account the correlation between outcomes, thus resulting in overly conservative conclusions. We propose an alternative approach for multiplicity adjustment that incorporates dependence between outcomes, resulting in an appreciably less conservative evaluation. The ability of the proposed method to control the familywise error rate is evaluated in a simulation study, and the applicability of the method is demonstrated in two examples from the literature. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancing social networks: a qualitative study of health and social care practice in UK mental health services

People with severe mental health problems such as psychosis have access to less social capital, defined as resources within social networks, than members of the general population. However, a lack of theoretically and empirically informed models hampers the development of social interventions which seek to enhance an individual's social networks. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study, which used ethnographic field methods in six sites in England to investigate how workers helped people recovering from psychosis to enhance their social networks. This study drew upon practice wisdom and lived experience to provide data for intervention modelling. Data were collected from 73 practitioners and 51 people who used their services in two phases. Data were selected and coded using a grounded theory approach to depict the key themes that appeared to underpin the generation of social capital within networks. Findings are presented in four over‐arching themes – worker skills, attitudes and roles; connecting people processes; role of the agency; and barriers to network development. The sub‐themes which were identified included worker attitudes; person‐centred approach; equality of worker–individual relationship; goal setting; creating new networks and relationships; engagement through activities; practical support; existing relationships; the individual taking responsibility; identifying and overcoming barriers; and moving on. Themes were consistent with recovery models used within mental health services and will provide the basis for the development of an intervention model to enhance individuals’ access to social capital within networks.