• McCarthy Covington posted an update 1 week, 1 day ago

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by defects in social interaction. The past functional connectivity studies using resting-state fMRI have found both patterns of hypo-connectivity and hyper-connectivity in ASD and proposed the age as an important factor on functional connectivity disorders. However, this influence is not clearly characterized yet. Previous studies have often examined the functional connectivity disorders in particular brain regions in an age group or a mixture of age groups. The present study compares whole-brain within-connectivity and between-connectivity between ASD individuals and typically developing (TD) controls in three age groups including children ( 18 years), each comprising 21 ASD individuals and 21 TD controls. The age groups were matched for age, Full IQ, and gender. Independent component analysis and dual regression were used to investigate within-connectivity. The full and partial correlations between ICs were used to investigate between-connectivity. Examination of the within-connectivity showed hyper-connectivity, especially in cerebellum and brainstem in ASD children but both hyper/hypo connectivity in adolescents and ASD adults. In ASD children, difference in the between-connectivity among default mode network (DMN), salience-executive network and fronto-parietal network were observed. There was also a negative correlation between DMN and temporal network. Full correlation comparison between ASD adolescents and TD individuals showed significant differences between cerebellum and DMN. Our results supported just the hyper-connectivity in childhood, but both hypo and hyper-connectivity after childhood and hypothesized that abnormal resting connections in ASD exist in the regions of the brain known to be involved in social cognition.Risks and survival times of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts implanted due to hydrocephalus after craniotomies for brain tumors are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the overall timing of VP shunting and its failure after craniotomy for brain tumors in adults. The authors also wished to explore risk factors for early VP shunt failure (within 90 days). A population-based consecutive patient cohort of all craniotomies for intracranial tumors leading to VP shunt dependency in adults (> 18 years) from 2004 to 2013 was studied. Patients with pre-existing VP shunts prior to craniotomy were excluded. The survival time of VP shunts, i.e., the shunt longevity, was calculated from the day of shunt insertion post-craniotomy for a brain tumor until the day of shunt revision requiring replacement or removal of the shunt system. Out of 4774 craniotomies, 85 patients became VP shunt-dependent (1.8% of craniotomies). Median time from craniotomy to VP shunting was 1.9 months. Patients with hydrocephalus prior to tumor resection (N = 39) had significantly shorter time to shunt insertion than those without (N = 46) (p  less then  0.001), but there was no significant difference with respect to early shunt failure. Median time from shunt insertion to shunt failure was 20 days (range 1-35). At 90 days, 17 patients (20%) had confirmed shunt failure. Patient age, sex, tumor location, primary/secondary craniotomy, extra-axial/intra-axial tumor, ventricular entry, post-craniotomy bleeding, and infection did not show statistical significance. The risk of early shunt failure (within 90 days) of shunts after craniotomies for brain tumors was 20%. This study can serve as benchmark for future studies.In the last decades, the embodied approach to cognition and language gained momentum in the scientific debate, leading to evidence in different aspects of language processing. However, while the bodily grounding of concrete concepts seems to be relatively not controversial, abstract aspects, like the negation logical operator, are still today one of the main challenges for this research paradigm. In this framework, the present study has a twofold aim (1) to assess whether mechanisms for motor inhibition underpin the processing of sentential negation, thus, providing evidence for a bodily grounding of this logic operator, (2) to determine whether the Stop-Signal Task, which has been used to investigate motor inhibition, could represent a good tool to explore this issue. find more Twenty-three participants were recruited in this experiment. Ten hand-action-related sentences, both in affirmative and negative polarity, were presented on a screen. Participants were instructed to respond as quickly and accurately as possible to the direction of the Go Stimulus (an arrow) and to withhold their response when they heard a sound following the arrow. This paradigm allows estimating the Stop Signal Reaction Time (SSRT), a covert reaction time underlying the inhibitory process. Our results show that the SSRT measured after reading negative sentences are longer than after reading affirmative ones, highlighting the recruitment of inhibitory mechanisms while processing negative sentences. Furthermore, our methodological considerations suggest that the Stop-Signal Task is a good paradigm to assess motor inhibition’s role in the processing of sentence negation.Rapid Medical Evaluation (RME) is a new Emergency Department (ED) process that initiates testing while patients are in the Waiting Room. Primary goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of RME pathway on the patient flow through the ED. This was a retrospective, single site, cohort study of patients presenting to the ED 12 months before (PRE group) and 12 months after (POST group) RME implementation. The POST group was divided into those that underwent RME and those managed using standard care pathway (SCP). Data was collected from Electronic Health Record (EHR) database using SQL and consisted of time stamp data for discrete ED patient events. The following metrics were calculated for all ED encounters Active ED Room Time, Boarding Time, Total ED Room Time, Total ED Time, and Door-to-Provider Time. Patients undergoing RME on average spent 90-min less in ED Treatment Room compared to SCP group and were evaluated by a provider 151 min earlier than if they had waited for an available ED Treatment Room. Implementation of RME helped reduce time patients spend in ED Treatment Room, improved patient throughput, and decreased Door-to-Provider time during the busiest times in the ED.

    This study aimed to determine whether crossing of the mesh’s lateral tails is beneficial in Lichtenstein repairs for medial (direct) inguinal hernias.

    We allocated 116 patients with unilateral medial (direct) inguinal hernias into two groups mesh tail crossing (group C) or no mesh tail crossing (group N). In group C, the lateral tails were sutured together at the inguinal ligament, whereas the lateral tails were sutured in a parallel position in group N. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores were postoperatively recorded in person at the 1st, 7th, 30th, and 90th days and at the 1st year. The Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores were calculated postoperatively at one month and one year. Examinations to detect hernia recurrence were performed at the end of the 1st year. Follow-ups at the 5th year were performed via phone calls to obtain the Sheffield pain scale and VAS values and to determine the possibility of hernia recurrence.

    VAS and SF-36 scores at the 1st, 7th, 30th, and 90th days and 1st year were all higher in group C than in group N. In group C, one patient experienced moderate pain, and one experienced severe pain. In the 5th year, VAS and Sheffield pain scores were significantly higher in group C than in group N.

    During Lichtenstein repair for medial (direct) inguinal hernias, crossing of the mesh tails may increase the frequency of postoperative chronic inguinal pain.

    During Lichtenstein repair for medial (direct) inguinal hernias, crossing of the mesh tails may increase the frequency of postoperative chronic inguinal pain.

    Promoting sustainable diets through sustainable food choices is essential for achieving the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. Establishing a practical tool that can measure and score sustainable and healthy eating is highly important.

    We established a 30-item questionnaire to evaluate sustainable-dietary consumption. Based on the literature and a multidisciplinary advisory panel, the questionnaire was computed by principal component analysis, yielding the Sustainable-HEalthy-Diet (SHED) Index. A rigorous multi-stage process included validation in training-verification sets, across recycling efforts, as an indicator of environmental commitment; and validation across the proportion of animal-protein consumption, as an indicator of adherence to a sustainable and healthy dietary-pattern. The EAT-Lancet reference-diet and the Mediterranean-Diet-score were used to investigate the construct validity of the SHED Index score. Reliability was assessed with a test-retest sample.

    Three-hundreed the SHED Index score, a simple, practical tool, for measuring healthy and sustainable individual-diets. The score reflects the nutritional, environmental and sociocultural aspects of sustainable diets; and provides a tangible tool to be used in intervention studies and in daily practice.

    To examine the associations of dietary patterns and nutrients with coronary artery calcification (CAC) and pericardial adiposity (PAT) in adults with and without type 1 diabetes.

    We conducted a six-year longitudinal analysis of data from Coronary Artery Calcification in Type 1 Diabetes study [n = 1255; T1D n = 563; non-DM n = 692] collected at baseline, year 3 and year 6. Participants completed a validated food frequency questionnaire, a physical examination, and fasting (12h overnight fast) biochemical analyses. CAC and PAT were measured using electron beam computed tomography. Dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine associations of dietary patterns and nutrients with CAC and PAT in models adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risks.

    The ‘starchy veggies, meats and alcohol pattern’ was associated with significantly increased risk of CAC presence in all adjusted models; an increasing trend was observed with CAC progression. Increasi4.

    To investigate the association between healthy Nordic diet and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in middle-aged and older men from eastern Finland.

    A total of 2332 men aged 42-60years and free of T2D at baseline in 1984-1989 were included. Diet was assessed with 4-day food records at baseline and the healthy Nordic diet score was calculated based on a modified Baltic Sea Diet Score. T2D diagnosis was based on self-administered questionnaires, fasting and 2-h oral glucose tolerance test blood glucose measurements, or by record linkage to national health registries. Cox proportional hazards regression and analysis of covariance were used for analyses.

    During the mean follow-up of 19.3years, 432 men (18.5%) were diagnosed with T2D. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for T2D in the lowest vs. the highest quartile of the healthy Nordic diet score was 1.35 (95% CI 1.03-1.76) (P trend across quartiles 0.028). Lower adherence to healthy Nordic diet was also associated with higher plasma glucose and insulin concentrations.