Movement Intermittency in Social Coordination

Coordination of movements in humans has been extensively studied at a macroscopic level, such as the pacing of movements, particularly in tasks of interpersonal and bimanual coordination. However, by examining the fine structure of movement, another form of rhythmicity becomes apparent at a microscopic level. Movement is never completely smooth, but rather is organized into smaller units known as submovements, which appear as recurrent speed breaks occurring at faster timescales (2-3 Hz). These submovements may reflect intermittent feedback-based motor adjustments. To better understand the relationship between submovements in different coordination contexts, we characterized the timing of submovements emission in a series of rhythmic motor coordination task by asking participants to coordinate their index fingers either in-phase or anti-phase with themselves or with a real/virtual partner. In Study 1, we analysed the temporal relationship between submovements emitted by both hands of a single participant during a bimanual coordination task. We also manipulated the availability of visual feedback to understand its impact on the emission of submovements, which are believed to reflect a vision based movement correction mechanism. In Study 2, we explored the dynamics of submovements during interpersonal coordination, and thus with the goal of moving beyond their temporal emission in single individuals. In Study 3, we combined interpersonal and bimanual coordination into a single task by asking participants to coordinate with each other using both their hands. In Study 4, we tested the validity of our results on mutual adaptation of submovements during interpersonal coordination by replacing one member of the pair with an unresponsive virtual partner. Finally, in Study 5, building on the ease of transferability of the previous task to clinical settings, we investigated the pattern of submovements emission in individuals with Parkinson's disease and cerebellar disorders to identify potentially new diagnostic markers and gain novel insights into the neural substrates underlying movement intermittency. Overall, our results suggest that the mechanism responsible for the organization of movement into submovements is at least partly shared across different effectors, such as the two hands, and might be modulated by the availability and usability of visual and proprioceptive feedback. Moreover, the identification of different temporal patterns of submovements emission leads us to conclude that the mechanisms controlling submovements production are highly flexible and tunable depending on the coordinative context. Submovements control can thus provide valuable insights into the low-level motor control mechanisms involved in achieving intra- and interpersonal motor coordination. Finally, submovement-level control may serve as a novel objective marker of individual and social motor coordination capabilities that may be selectively impaired in some neurological and psychiatric conditions.La coordinazione dei movimenti negli esseri umani è stata ampiamente studiata a livello macroscopico, ad es. il ritmo dei movimenti, in particolare in compiti di coordinazione interpersonale e bimanuale. Tuttavia, esaminando la struttura fine del movimento, un'altra forma di ritmicità appare evidente a livello microscopico. Il movimento non è mai completamente fluido, ma è organizzato in unità più piccole note come sottomovimenti, che si manifestano come interruzioni di velocità ricorrenti su una scala temporale più veloce (2-3 Hz). Questi sottomovimenti possono riflettere aggiustamenti motori intermittenti basati sul feedback. Per comprendere meglio la relazione tra i sottomovimenti in contesti di coordinazione diversi, abbiamo caratterizzato i pattern di emissione temporale dei sottomovimenti in una serie di compiti di coordinazione motoria ritmica, chiedendo ai partecipanti di coordinare i loro indici in-fase o in anti-fase con se stessi o con un partner reale/virtuale. Nello Studio 1, abbiamo analizzato la relazione temporale tra i sottomovimenti emessi da entrambe le mani di un singolo partecipante durante un compito di coordinazione bimanuale. Abbiamo anche manipolato la disponibilità del feedback visivo per comprendere il suo impatto sull'emissione dei sottomovimenti, che si ritiene riflettano un meccanismo di correzione dei movimenti basato sulla visione. Nello Studio 2, abbiamo esplorato la dinamica dei sottomovimenti durante la coordinazione interpersonale, con l’obiettivo di indagare i loro pattern di emissione temporale in coppie di individui. Nello Studio 3, abbiamo combinato la coordinazione interpersonale e bimanuale in un unico compito, chiedendo ai partecipanti di coordinarsi reciprocamente utilizzando entrambe le mani. Nello Studio 4, abbiamo testato la validità dei nostri risultati sull'adattamento reciproco dei sottomovimenti durante la coordinazione interpersonale sostituendo uno dei membri della coppia con un partner virtuale non reattivo. Infine, nello Studio 5, considerata la facile trasferibilità del compito precedente in contesti clinici, abbiamo indagato il modello di emissione dei sottomovimenti in individui con malattia di Parkinson e disturbi cerebellari per identificare potenziali nuovi marker diagnostici e acquisire nuove informazioni sui substrati neurali alla base dell'intermittenza del movimento. Complessivamente, i nostri risultati suggeriscono che il meccanismo responsabile dell'organizzazione del movimento in sottomovimenti è almeno in parte condiviso tra differenti effettori, come le due mani, e potrebbe essere modulato dalla disponibilità e utilizzabilità del feedback visivo e propriocettivo. Inoltre, l'identificazione di diversi modelli temporali di emissione dei sottomovimenti ci porta a concludere che i meccanismi che controllano la produzione dei sottomovimenti sono altamente flessibili e adattabili in base al contesto coordinativo. Il controllo dei sottomovimenti può quindi fornire preziose informazioni sui meccanismi di controllo motorio di basso livello coinvolti nel raggiungimento della coordinazione motoria intra- e interpersonale. Infine, il controllo motorio a livello dei sottomovimenti potrebbe fungere da nuovo marker oggettivo delle capacità individuali e sociali di coordinazione motoria che potrebbero essere selettivamente compromesse in alcune condizioni neurologiche e psichiatriche

Two cycles of Atosiban in preventing preterm birth in twin pregnancies

Twin gestation contributes significantly to perinatal morbidity and mortality related to high occurrence of preterm birth. We evaluated 202 women consecutively selected with twin pregnancies and threatened preterm labor. 98 women were threatened with a single cycle of Atosiban; 34% of them delivered before 34 weeks. The study group consisted of 104 patients submitted to a second cycle of Atosiban because of regular uterine contractions and or cervical length modifications occurred from 48 hours to 7 days and gestational age was prior to 32 week of gestation (group A). After the second cycle of Atosiban, 49 out of 104 patients received a treatment with a vaginal tablet of lactoferrin (group B). After the second cycle of Atosiban, 84% of patients of group A and 90% of patients of group B delivered after 34 weeks. The overall rate of delivery before 34 weeks in the studies groups was of 16%. In our experience, repeated cycles of Atosiban have shown effectiveness in delaying delivery in twin pregnancies. It seems logical to use an oxytocin receptor antagonist as first line drugs in twin pregnancies because of the increased risk of pulmonary edema

An unusual case of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction following a late bare-metal stent fracture in a native coronary artery: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>A bare-metal stent fracture as a cause of acute coronary thrombosis and consequently of acute coronary syndrome is a rare clinical event that, to the best of our knowledge, has previously not been reported. A stent fracture is a rare complication arising from percutaneous coronary intervention.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first documented case of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in a patient following a late bare-metal stent fracture and thrombosis in a native coronary artery. The patient, a 51-year-old Caucasian man, was treated successfully with primary percutaneous coronary intervention and a new stent implantation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A coronary stent fracture is a rare complication that has been described in venous bypass grafts deploying either a drug-eluting stent or a bare-metal stent. Stent fractures rarely occur in coronary arteries. In light of the non-specific presentation of stent fracture, it is also an easily missed complication. Patients may present with a non-specific symptom of angina. The angina could either be stable or unstable as a result of restenosis or in-stent thrombosis, or both. Our case demonstrates the most severe consequences of a bare-metal stent fracture (sudden coronary thrombosis and subsequent myocardial infarction) in a native coronary artery. It was diagnosed angiographically and treated early and effectively.</p

Unexpected ovarian activity in premenopausal breast cancer survivors treated with exemestane and GnRH analogues

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Risk factors associated with adverse fetal outcomes in pregnancies affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a secondary analysis of the WAPM study on COVID-19.

Objectives To evaluate the strength of association between maternal and pregnancy characteristics and the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies with laboratory confirmed COVID-19. Methods Secondary analysis of a multinational, cohort study on all consecutive pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020 from 73 centers from 22 different countries. A confirmed case of COVID-19 was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens. The primary outcome was a composite adverse fetal outcome, defined as the presence of either abortion (pregnancy loss before 22 weeks of gestations), stillbirth (intrauterine fetal death after 22 weeks of gestation), neonatal death (death of a live-born infant within the first 28 days of life), and perinatal death (either stillbirth or neonatal death). Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate parameters independently associated with the primary outcome. Logistic regression was reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Mean gestational age at diagnosis was 30.6+/-9.5 weeks, with 8.0% of women being diagnosed in the first, 22.2% in the second and 69.8% in the third trimester of pregnancy. There were six miscarriage (2.3%), six intrauterine device (IUD) (2.3) and 5 (2.0%) neonatal deaths, with an overall rate of perinatal death of 4.2% (11/265), thus resulting into 17 cases experiencing and 226 not experiencing composite adverse fetal outcome. Neither stillbirths nor neonatal deaths had congenital anomalies found at antenatal or postnatal evaluation. Furthermore, none of the cases experiencing IUD had signs of impending demise at arterial or venous Doppler. Neonatal deaths were all considered as prematurity-related adverse events. Of the 250 live-born neonates, one (0.4%) was found positive at RT-PCR pharyngeal swabs performed after delivery. The mother was tested positive during the third trimester of pregnancy. The newborn was asymptomatic and had negative RT-PCR test after 14 days of life. At logistic regression analysis, gestational age at diagnosis (OR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.8-0.9 per week increase; pPeer reviewe

A Qualitative Exploration of the Use of Contraband Cell Phones in Secured Facilities

Offenders accepting contraband cell phones in secured facilities violate state corrections law, and the possession of these cell phones is a form of risk taking behavior. When offenders continue this risky behavior, it affects their decision making in other domains where they are challenging authorities; and may impact the length of their incarceration. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experience of ex-offenders who had contraband cell phones in secured correctional facilities in order to better understand their reasons for taking risks with contraband cell phones. The theoretical foundation for this study was Trimpop\u27s risk-homeostasis and risk-motivation theories that suggest an individual\u27s behaviors adapt to negotiate between perceived risk and desired risk in order to achieve satisfaction. The research question explored beliefs and perceptions of ex-offenders who chose to accept the risk of using contraband cell phones during their time in secured facilities. Data were collected anonymously through recorded telephone interviews with 8 male adult ex-offenders and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Findings indicated participants felt empowered by possession of cell phones in prison, and it was an acceptable risk to stay connected to family out of concern for loved ones. The study contributes to social change by providing those justice system administrators, and prison managers responsible for prison cell phone policies with more detailed information about the motivations and perspectives of offenders in respect to using contraband cell phones while imprisoned in secured facilities

Excess dietary sodium and inadequate potassium intake by hypertensive patients in Italy: results of the MINISAL-SIIA study program.

Abstract Introduction: The aim of the study was to assess the age-specific, sex-specific, and region-specific average sodium and potassium intake and its association with anthropometric characteristics in a sample of the Italian adult hypertensive population. Methods: A total of 1232 hypertensive patients were recruited consecutively by 47 centers recognized by the Italian Society of Hypertension. The enrolled participants were on stable antihypertensive treatment. Anthropometric indices, blood pressure, 24-h urinary sodium, and potassium excretion were measured and used as proxy for the average daily sodium and potassium intake. Results: The average sodium intake was 172 mmol (or 10.1 g of salt/day) among men and 138 (or 8.1) among women, with no difference among geographical areas. Over 90% of men and 81% of women had a consumption higher than the recommended standard dietary intake of 5 g/day. The average potassium intake was 63 and 56 mmol, respectively in men and women, again without geographical differences, nearly 92% of men and 95% of women having an intake lower than the recommended intake (100 mmol/day or 3.9 g/day). There was a significant trend to a gradual decrease in sodium intake with age in both sexes (P <0.001). There was also a direct association between BMI and sodium intake in both sexes, this association being independent of age (P < 0.001). Conclusion: In this national sample of the Italian hypertensive population, dietary sodium intake was largely higher and potassium intake much lower than the recommended intakes, and this was true for all geographical areas. Overweight and obese hypertensive patients had particularly high sodium intakes