Proxy-reported quality of life in adolescents and adults with dyskinetic cerebral palsy is associated with executive functions and cortical thickness

Purpose: Quality of life (QOL) is a key outcome for people with cerebral palsy (CP), and executive functioning is an important predictor of QOL in other health-related conditions. Little is known about this association in CP or about its neural substrate. We aim to analyze the influence of executive functioning (including cognitive flexibility) as well as that of other psychological, motor, communication and socioeconomic variables on QOL and to identify neuroanatomical areas related to QOL in adolescents and adults with CP. Methods: Fifty subjects diagnosed with dyskinetic CP (mean age 25.96 years) were recruited. Their caregivers completed the primary caregiver proxy report version of the CP QOL-Teen questionnaire. Motor status, communication, IQ, four executive function domains, anxiety/depression and socioeconomic status were evaluated. Correlations and multiple linear regression models were used to relate CP QOL domains and total score to these variables. Thirty-six participants underwent an MRI assessment. Correlations were examined between cortical thickness and CP QOL total score and between cortical thickness and variables that might predict the CP QOL total score. Results: Executive functions predict scores in four domains of CP QOL (General well-being and participation, Communication and physical health, Family health and Feelings about functioning) in the regression model. Among the cognitive domains that comprise executive function, only cognitive flexibility measured in terms of performance on the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) predicts the CP QOL total score. Monthly income, fine motor functioning and communication ability predict scores on the domains Access to services and Family Health, Feelings about functioning and School well being, respectively. The clusters resulting from the correlation between cortical thickness and both CP QOL total score and WCST performance overlapped in the posterior cingulate and precuneus cortices. Conclusions: Cognitive flexibility predicts proxy report CP QOL-Teen total score in dyskinetic CP. This relationship has its anatomical correlate in the posterior cingulate and precuneus cortices

Perceived teacher support in secondary education from 1980 to 2019: An integrative review

AbstractHow teacher support is perceived in secondary school was a main purpose for examination. As teacher support is a multidimensional construct, we conducted an integrative review to identify and analyze longitudinal and cross-sectional research trends, common practices, and general results in the field of perceived teacher support in secondary education. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a total of 198 articles were analyzed by abstract/methods and 95 by full-text. Our results suggest that teacher support is strongly related to academic motivation, health, and wellbeing but several gaps in the research literature needs attention. Subject topics are rarely reported, except for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and physical education, which make the body of research insensitive for various learning situations and teacher competence. The research is mainly quantitative, addressing the need for more qualitative studies. The teacher perspective is also sparse. The literature has mainly focused on three types of support: social/emotional, autonomy, and academic support. The research in the area has grown steadily since 1980, with a marked increase in publications and research quality since 2009. More research using qualitative and mixed methods and focusing on teachers’ perspectives is needed in addition to more adherence to APA guidelines

A longitudinal study of associations between psychiatric symptoms and disorders and cerebral gray matter volumes in adolescents born very preterm

Background:Being born preterm with very low birthweight (VLBW≤1500 g) poses a risk for cortical andsubcortical gray matter (GM) abnormalities, as well as for having more psychiatric problems during childhood andadolescence than term-born individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between corticaland subcortical GM volumes and the course of psychiatric disorders during adolescence in VLBW individuals.Methods:We followed VLBW individuals and term-born controls (birth weight≥10th percentile) from 15 (VLBW;controlsn=40;56)to19(n= 44;60) years of age. Of these, 30;37 individuals were examined longitudinally. Cortical andsubcortical GM volumes were extracted from MRPRAGE images obtained with the same 1.5 T MRI scanner at both timepoints and analyzed at each time point with the longitudinal stream of the FreeSurfer software package 5.3.0. Allparticipants underwent clinical interviews and were assessed for psychiatric symptoms and diagnosis (Schedule forAffective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children, Children’s Global Assessment Scale, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale-IV). VLBW adolescents were divided into two groups according to diagnostic statusfrom 15 to 19 years of age: persisting/developing psychiatric diagnosis or healthy/becoming healthy.Results:Reduction in subcortical GM volume at 15 and 19 years, not including the thalamus, was limited to VLBWadolescents with persisting/developing diagnosis during adolescence, whereas VLBW adolescents in the healthy/becoming healthy group had similar subcortical GM volumes to controls. Moreover, across the entire VLBW group,poorer psychosocial functioning was predicted by smaller subcortical GM volumes at both time points and withreduced GM volume in the thalamus and the parietal and occipital cortex at 15 years. Inattention problems werepredicted by smaller GM volumes in the parietal and occipital cortex.Conclusions:GM volume reductions in the parietal and occipital cortex as well as smaller thalamic and subcortical GMvolumes were associated with the higher rates of psychiatric symptoms found across the entire VLBW group.Significantly smaller subcortical GM volumes in VLBW individuals compared with term-born peers might pose a risk fordeveloping and maintaining psychiatric diagnoses during adolescence. Future research should explore the possiblerole of reduced cortical and subcortical GM volumes in the pathogenesis of psychiatric illness in VLBW adolescents

ISOLASI SILIKA (SiO ) DARI AMPAS TEBU (BA GA SSE) SEBAGAI BAHAN DASAR NATRIUM SILIKAT (Na 2 2 SiO ) UNTUK INHIBITOR KOROSI PADA BESI 3

Sintesis senyawa natrium silikat (Na 2 SiO ) sebagai inhibitor telah berhasil dilakukan menggunakan silika (SiO 2 3 ) yang berasal dari ampas tebu sebagai precursor. Silika dipisahkan menggunakan metode isolasi. Metode yang digunakan pada penentuan laju korosi ialah kehilangan berat. Senyawa natrium silikat dapat menghambat laju korosi dengan efisiensi inhibisi sebesar 59,58% pada medium asam klorida (HCl), 43,86% pada medium air laboratorium kimia FMIPA dan 63,53% pada medium garam. Kata Kunci : Natural silika, bagasse, besi, inhibitor, mediu

MOESM1 of Mental health and cerebellar volume during adolescence in very-low-birth-weight infants: a longitudinal study

Additional file 1: Appendix S1. Mixed model linear regressions with psychiatric data as dependent variable and cerebellar volumes (ml) and time as independent variables in the VLBW group. Adjusted for age, gender and estimated intracranial volume, but not for IQ

Reduced white matter fractional anisotropy mediates cortical thickening in adults born preterm with very low birthweight.

Development of the cerebral cortex may be affected by aberrant white matter development. Preterm birth with very low birth weight (VLBW) has been associated with reduced fractional anisotropy of white matter and changes in cortical thickness and surface area. We use a new methodological approach to combine white and gray matter data and test the hypothesis that white matter injury is primary, and acts as a mediating factor for concomitant gray matter aberrations, in the developing VLBW brain. T1 and dMRI data were obtained from 47 young adults born preterm with VLBW and 73 term-born peers (mean age = 26). Cortical thickness was measured across the cortical mantle and compared between the groups, using the FreeSurfer software suite. White matter pathways were reconstructed with the TRACULA software and projected to their cortical end regions, where cortical thickness was averaged. In the VLBW group, cortical thickness was increased in anteromedial frontal, orbitofrontal, and occipital regions, and fractional anisotropy (FA) was reduced in frontal lobe pathways, indicating compromised white matter integrity. Statistical mediation analyses demonstrated that increased cortical thickness in the frontal regions was mediated by reduced FA in the corpus callosum forceps minor, consistent with the notion that white matter injury can disrupt frontal lobe cortical development. Combining statistical mediation analysis with pathway projection onto the cortical surface offers a powerful novel tool to investigate how cortical regions are differentially affected by white matter injury