Dual-Task Effects of Walking on Rate of Speech

The dual-task effect of walking on rate of speech was measured in 32 healthy young adults. The influence of word meaning and sex on rate of speech was also investigated. A separate inspection time task was used to determine whether speed of information processing (SIP), predicted the degree of dual-task interference of walking on rate of speech. This study revealed that rate of speech was influenced by dual-task interference effects due to the performance of a simultaneous gait task. Pause times suggested a sex effect, demonstrating that while walking, women spent significantly less time pausing between verbal stimuli than men. Articulation rates suggested a lexical effect, demonstrating an increase in dual-task interference when participants repeated real-words rather than non-words while walking. Results revealed that SIP did not predict the degree of dual-task interference on rate of speech. This study adds to our understanding of the dual-task effects of walking on rate of speech in healthy, young adults

Zombification and Central Bank Risk-Taking: The Lender of Last Resort as a Signal Extraction Problem

In the liquidity crises since 2008, central banks have extended the ability of banks to take recourse to central bank credit operations through changes of the collateral framework. Remarkably, in March 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) even lowered haircuts across a broad range of assets, and the Federal Reserve in March 2023 established a credit facility with securities accepted at par (without any haircut). Although such measures aim at stabilizing the banking system, some observers have warned that they would increase central bank risk exposure, encourage moral hazard, and ultimately lead to inefficiencies, as wasteful enterprises and “zombie” firms are kept afloat. We provide a simple four-sector model of the economy that illustrates the key trade-offs inherent in central banks’ responses to liquidity crises. Specifically, we derive central bank lender-of-last-resort (LOLR) policies as optimal from the perspective of a signal extraction problem, in which liquidity needs of banks toward the central bank are noisy signals of underlying firms’ performance. LOLR policies thus need to balance costs of default of illiquid but viable firms against the costs of letting unproductive zombie firms continue to operate. We explain why in a financial crisis, in which liquidity shocks become more erratic, central banks allow for greater potential recourse of banks to central bank credit. The model also shows the endogeneity of counterparty and issuer risks to the central bank’s collateral and related risk-control framework. Finally, the model allows identifying the circumstances under which the counterintuitive case arises in which a relaxation of the central bank collateral policy may reduce its expected losses while also supporting growth

Patient-Reported Disability Measures Do Not Correlate with Electrodiagnostic Severity in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Electrophysiologic studies including electromyography and nerve conduction studies play a role in the evaluation of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), despite evidence that these studies do not correlate with CTS-specific symptom scores. There is a lack of evidence comparing electrophysiologic data with general measures of function. METHODS: Fifty patients presenting for CTS treatment over an 8-month period were analyzed retrospectively. All patients completed surveys including the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire (DASH) and the Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Survey [(physical component summary 12, mental component summary (MCS-12)]. Electromyography and nerve conduction studies were performed on all patients and compared with outcome scores. RESULTS: Analysis demonstrated no relationship between DASH or MCS-12 and electrodiagnostic severity. No significant correlations were noted between DASH or MCS-12 and median motor or sensory latency. There was a moderate-weak correlation (rho = 0.34) between more severe electrophysiologic grade and better function based on physical component summary 12. CONCLUSIONS: Electrodiagnostic severity grades do not correlate with patient-reported disability, including the DASH and MCS-12 surveys. There is a counterintuitive correlation between more-severe electrodiagnostic findings and decreased physical disability. These findings indicate that disability may not correlate with electrodiagnostic severity of median neuropathy in CTS

Efficient Pricing and Calibration of High-Dimensional Basket Options

This paper studies equity basket options -- i.e., multi-dimensional derivatives whose payoffs depend on the value of a weighted sum of the underlying stocks -- and develops a new and innovative approach to ensure consistency between options on individual stocks and on the index comprising them. Specifically, we show how to resolve a well-known problem that when individual constituent distributions of an equity index are inferred from the single-stock option markets and combined in a multi-dimensional local/stochastic volatility model, the resulting basket option prices will not generate a skew matching that of the options on the equity index corresponding to the basket. To address this ``insufficient skewness'', we proceed in two steps. First, we propose an ``effective'' local volatility model by mapping the general multi-dimensional basket onto a collection of marginal distributions. Second, we build a multivariate dependence structure between all the marginal distributions assuming a jump-diffusion model for the effective projection parameters, and show how to calibrate the basket to the index smile. Numerical tests and calibration exercises demonstrate an excellent fit for a basket of as many as 30 stocks with fast calculation time

Functional and Psychosocial Outcomes of Hand Transplantation Compared with Prosthetic Fitting in Below-Elbow Amputees:A Multicenter Cohort Study

BACKGROUND:Hand-transplantation and improvements in the field of prostheses opened new frontiers in restoring hand function in below-elbow amputees. Both concepts aim at restoring reliable hand function, however, the indications, advantages and limitations for each treatment must be carefully considered depending on level and extent of amputation. Here we report our findings of a multi-center cohort study comparing hand function and quality-of-life of people with transplanted versus prosthetic hands. METHODS:Hand function in amputees with either transplant or prostheses was tested with Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP) and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand measure (DASH). Quality-of-life was compared with the Short-Form 36 (SF-36). RESULTS:Transplanted patients (n = 5) achieved a mean ARAT score of 40.86 ± 8.07 and an average SHAP score of 75.00 ± 11.06. Prosthetic patients (n = 7) achieved a mean ARAT score of 39.00 ± 3.61 and an average SHAP score of 75.43 ± 10.81. There was no significant difference between transplanted and prosthetic hands in ARAT, SHAP or DASH. While quality-of-life metrics were equivocal for four scales of the SF-36, transplanted patients reported significantly higher scores in "role-physical" (p = 0.006), "vitality" (p = 0.008), "role-emotional" (p = 0.035) and "mental-health" (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS:The indications for hand transplantation or prosthetic fitting in below-elbow amputees require careful consideration. As functional outcomes were not significantly different between groups, patient's best interests and the route of least harm should guide treatment. Due to the immunosuppressive side-effects, the indication for allotransplantation must still be restrictive, the best being bilateral amputees

Transient Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome associated with systemic lupus erythematosus

We present a patient who developed the Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) in association with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Severe proximal weakness with electrodiagnostic evidence of LEMS developed over 2 days during an exacerbation of cutaneous manifestations (bullous pemphigoid) associated with SLE. Following an increase in the daily dose of prednisone, there was complete clinical restitution of strength within 2 weeks and a slower resolution of electrodiagnostic abnormalities over 6 months. Marked serologic abnormalities were present at the onset and showed improvement over 6–8 months. LEMS had been infrequently described in association with SLE. The immunologic features of both SLE and LEMS suggest a linkage between the two diseases in this patient. We hypothesize that increased antibodies associated with exacerbation of SLE cross reacted with the neuromuscular junction membrane to produce LEMS.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50142/1/880120104_ftp.pd